Climate change strikes again with another polar vortex in the U.S., creating new sources of big dollar demand for the restoration industry. 

Numerous articles have been written about the importance of having the right people in an organization. The group of employees that make up a business—the team—is one of the few remaining sources of sustainable competitive advantage.

If we’re all honest with ourselves, we have to agree most small businesses are short-handed. In my 30 years of business consulting, I would estimate 40% to 50% of my client/franchisee interactions have something to do with staffing. Short-staffed, as a condition, can be caused by a number of other conditions, and “short-handed” can come in many forms.

“Don’t mess with Texas” has been the unofficial slogan of the Lone Star State since 1985. While the rest of the country thinks it’s just a catchphrase, true Texans know it actually began as an anti-littering campaign. 

One of the challenges in making predictions is being blindsided by items you could never have seen coming. Before last year, imagine someone telling you the country would be shut down for months, you could not go to a restaurant or church service for months, college basketball would stop the week before March Madness, and most schools would be closed for months (or in some cases, a year).