Month: March 2019

Woman Operates Two Businesses, Working With Wellness Issues And Company Branding

March 6, 2019March 8, 2019

Antoinette DiMascio is chief financial officer of Newkey Media Solutions.
©2019 Saratoga Photographer.com

By Susan E. Campbell
Media marketing solutions and health and wellness services are being covered in the career of Antoinette DiMascio.
DiMascio is chief financial officer of Newkey Media Solutions and founder of Newkey Esthetics and Wellness in Ballston Lake, two seemingly disparate businesses. Yet there is an overarching theme under which she connects them—relationship enrichment.
“Whether building a brand or employing therapeutic techniques, it’s still about working on a relationship,” said DiMascio, who is a licensed cosmetologist and asethetician, a certified yoga instructor, and a doctoral candidate in metaphysics and religious studies.

Brown Teaches Quickbooks, But Also Offers Coaching, Training For Small Businesses

March 6, 2019March 8, 2019

Linda Brown of Spire Business Inc. trains and educates small business owners.
Courtesy Linda Brown

By Christine Graf
Linda Brown of Spire Business, Inc. never set out to start her own business. She had a successful career in money management and financial planning when she took a maternity leave in 2002.
While on leave, a CPA asked her if she could help some of his clients with QuickBooks.
“I never went back to corporate America,” she said. “As a financial planner, you work 70 hours a week and I really didn’t want to do that.”

For Banks, Customer Service Means Keeping Up With The Latest Advances In Technology

March 6, 2019March 8, 2019

Charles Wait. Jr., executive vice president of Adirondack Trust Co.
Courtesy Adirondack Trust

By Jill Nagy
Customer service is important to any business, including banks. So keeping up with the latest in technology is important, as banks compete to retain and draw customers.
Online apps that allow customers to make deposits, move money to other people’s accounts, as well as check their own accounts; ATM’s that accept cash deposits and return a photographic record of a check deposit; and branches smaller and more streamlined that offer a range of financial services, including insurance and investment services, are all services banks now offer.
To eliminate telephone customers waiting “on hold,” Saratoga National Bank has made employees more available with direct lines and company-issued cellphones. Customers can reach them easily and anytime, said David DeMarco, the bank’s CEO.

Business Report: Roth IRA And Traditional IRA

March 6, 2019March 8, 2019

Kevin M. Hedley is a partner with Hedley & Co. PLLC.

By Kevin M. Hedley
2018 was a year that most people who watch the financial markets are likely going to want to forget. There were few positive numbers across the different asset classes and sectors. At the broadest level the U.S. bond market was the only market to see a positive return—all of one basis point.
It was an unusual year with few places to find a positive return. In fact of the eight major asset classes none of them provided a return above 2 percent – the first time since 1972. Even in 2008, at least one asset class saw a return around 5 percent
And another point on how extraordinary the end of the year was, December’s 9.2 percent drop was second worst December on record after 1931.

NY State Of Health Program Sees Huge Gain In Enrollment; New Plan Options Cited

March 6, 2019March 8, 2019

NY State of Health, the state’s official health plan marketplace, as experienced “overwhelming success” with New York’s Small Business Marketplace (SBM) following implementation of a simplified enrollment process and the addition of thousands of new plan options in April 2018, according to the Department of Health.
Since then, the number of small employers participating in the SBM has grown to 12,219, an increase of 465 percent, officials said. Greater plan choice and easier access to the federal Small Business Health Care Tax Credit have contributed to the rapid growth.

Albany Med Biomedical Research Arm Will Get Boost From $250K National Grid Grant

March 6, 2019March 8, 2019

A regional economic initiative to bring biomedical innovations to market was awarded a $250,000 economic development grant from National Grid.
The Biomedical Acceleration and Commercialization Center (BACC) at Albany Medical College received a grant from National Grid to provide direct financial assistance to BACC biomedical start-up companies for commercialization needs and access to experts. It will also help support the BACC’s entrepreneurs in the arenas of clinical trials, prototype development, marketing and hiring consultants for regulatory needs, officials said.

Mexican Restaurant ‘Mi Rancho’ Opens In Main Street Building In South Glens Falls

March 6, 2019March 8, 2019

Jose Magdelena and his wife, Maria, operate Mi Rancho, a Mexican restaurant at 23 Main St. in South Glens Falls. It was formerly Cirelli’s Osteria.
©2019 Saratoga Photographer.com

By Jennifer Farnsworth
For people looking for authentic Mexican food, Jose Magdalena says to look no further than South Glens Falls.
Magdalena, owner of Mi Rancho, said his restaurant serves cuisine that is a taste of Mexico in upstate New York.

Saratoga Casino Hotel Presents Four Team Members With Awards At Annual Banquet

March 6, 2019March 8, 2019

Scott Walrath, left, audio/video technician at Saratoga Casino Hotel, gets an award at the casino’s awards banquet with Alex Tucker, hotel GM, center, Skip Carlson, vice president of external affairs.
Courtesy Saratoga Casino Hotel

Saratoga Casino Hotel honored the exceptional performance of four top team members during an annual awards banquet on Feb. 25 in the hotel ballroom.
Over 125 were in attendance for this year’s event.
Awards were presented to: Dan Dyer, restaurant chef, Leader of Distinction; Sarah Kittle, housekeeping manager, Supervisor of the Year: Scott Walrath, audio/video maintenance technician, and Linda Osuchowski, guest service representative, Team Members of the Year.

BNI Winners Circle Chapter In Saratoga Passes The $1 Million Mark For Business In 2018

March 6, 2019March 8, 2019

Members of the BNI Winners Circle leadership team, from left Lee Evans, Joan Taub, Ava Marco, Dan Bullis and Sabrina Houser, received an award recognizing the group’s $1 million-plus 2018.
Courtesy BNI Winners Circle Chapter

BNI’s Winners Circle Chapter in Saratoga Springs was recognized for passing $1,121,944 in business in 2018.
The ceremony took place at the Hyatt Place in Malta during International Networking Week in February. BNI is the world’s largest networking organization. There are two chapters in Saratoga Springs.

38 Business Leaders Attend Learning LABs

March 6, 2019March 8, 2019

Elliott Masie, an international learning analyst and curator, hosted 38 corporate leaders from around the world at his Learning Innovations LAB last week in Saratoga Springs.
As business and work changes, the format and style of workplace learning must innovate to leverage new technologies and methodologies to upskill employees, according to Masie.