Owner Of Cleaning Business Opens New Boutique In Burnt Hills For Gift Shoppers

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Nicole Wilson recently opened Life Made Simple Boutique in Burnt Hills.
©2021 SaratogaPhotographer.com

By Susan Elise Campbell
Nicole Wilson has two messages for shoppers at her new Burnt Hills boutique: She helps make people’s lives simple and it is safe to shop there.
“After all, I do own a cleaning company,” said Wilson, who started Life Maid Spotless and Simple about 15 years ago. “Cleaning prevents COVID.”
The retail shop— called Life Made Simple Boutique—recently opened in Suite 5 at 772 Saratoga Road, the Dollar Tree Plaza. It had been a dream of Wilson’s for many years, partly because she has “a fire and a passion for shopping,” she said.
“I live on a farm and sell eggs and crafts,” said Wilson. But opportunity knocked for a boutique with home décor and gifts as she planned moving her cleaning business to Route 50.
“For the last five years I ran Spotless out of my home and with the pandemic, I thought we would be safer,” she said. “But I needed more room for the washer and dryer and to store supplies.”

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Gearing Up For Tax Season, CPAs Handle Challenges And Changes On The Horizon

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Laurie A. Stillwell is a CPA with offices in Saratoga Springs.

By Susan Elise Campbell
The fourth quarter of any fiscal year is a busy time for CPAs. But this year, advising clients is posing more than the usual challenges.
“It is difficult enough for CPAs to get out of 2020, much less plan for 2021, when passing laws pertaining to deductions, depreciation and taxes is delayed,” said Laurie A. Stillwell, a CPA in Saratoga Springs.
“My biggest fear professionally is that it is difficult to advise clients on how to move forward from a business and personal tax perspective,” she said. “I have never been busier, but I want to be proactive and that is nearly impossible.”
“It has been the busiest year-end in 10 years because of uncertainty with taxes and the economy,” said Paul A. Curtis, CPA, a founding partner of CMJ, LLP in Queensbury. “Our firm was in a rush to close business sales because the new administration is thinking of eliminating the maximum 20 percent capital gains rate and raising personal income tax rates.”
“A company that has grown to a million dollar business pays $200,000 under the current tax code but may have a $400,000 tax bill if they wait to cash in next year,” he said, which is why CMJ closed six major transactions in December. Uncertainty scares businesses to death.”
One issue that was clarified when the CARES Act and supplemental appropriations were signed on Dec. 27 is what would happen if small businesses were unable to repay their loans under the Payroll Protection Program.

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Technological Innovations Will Continue To Revolutionize Functions In Every Day Life

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Stephen Kyne, CFP, partner at Sterling Manor Financial LLC in Saratoga Springs.

By Stephen Kyne, CFP
There is an old curse that reads, “May you live in interesting times.” I think we can all agree that we are certainly in interesting times. From the pandemic and the economy, to the political climate, 2020 (and so far, 2021) will long be remembered as a consequential year. The question now: Where do we go from here?
2020 was a tale of two economies. Small businesses experienced a very different reality last year than large businesses. We all know local business owners who are struggling, or who have gone out of business, altogether. We know service sector workers whose financial lives are in complete collapse. Yet, on the other side, many large national businesses are booming. It’s a travesty, and our hearts go out to those suffering.
Things will get better.
For investors who stayed invested during 2020, it turned out to be a surprisingly positive year, especially in the technology sector.
This pandemic would have been untenable without recent technological innovations. Not only has technology allowed us to stay connected to loved ones during shutdowns, it has also allowed more people to work productively from home than ever before. As a result, non-tech companies, their employees and customers, have been direct beneficiaries since these companies have not had to shut down, could retain their employees, and consumers could still gain access to products and services which are essential to modern life. Imagine how much worse things would be if this had struck in the ‘90s.
What do we see for 2021?

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Business Report: Strategies For Strengthening Your Business

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David Cumming, financial advisor in Saratoga Springs at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC.

By David Cumming
As a small business owner, you are playing a big role in driving our nation’s economy. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, small businesses create two out of every three net new jobs in the private sector. Currently, there are over 30.7 million small businesses in the U.S., accounting for 47.3 percent of all U.S. employees.
If you’re like most entrepreneurs, you wear many hats, including overseeing the finances of your business. Each day, you face critical decisions that may have an enormous impact on the future success of your company. Questions about day-to-day cash flow, attracting and retaining talented employees and balancing finances at work and at home are just some of the challenges you must consider as you grow your business.
Every business is unique, but the five critical strategies for strengthening a business for long-term growth are the same.
1. Managing cash flow
Having an effective cash flow strategy can assist you in keeping your finger on the pulse of how quickly and effectively cash is moving in and out of your business, while also working to enhance the yield on your short-term assets. You’ll also need skills and resources to address a broad range of credit structures.
2. Protecting your assets
Unforeseen events can jeopardize the value of your business. What if something happens to you, or another person who is critical to the success of the business? Or what if you get sued?

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New Center In Clifton Park Provides Special Treatments For Neurological Aches, Pains

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Capital Region Calmare & Massage, a state-certified Women Business Enterprise (WBE) that is a licensed provider of innovative electrical stimulation (eSTIM) calmare treatment for neurologic pain, plans to open a new location at 800 Route 146, Suite 492, in Clifton Park.
The office will be officially opened at ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, Jan. 21.
Calmare is a safe alternative treatment for those suffering from pain caused by a nerve. Approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration, used by the Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins Medicine, it is said by providers to be effective in four of five cases.
Calmare uses an eSTIM machine to relieve the pain caused by fibromyalgia, migraines, sciatica, neuropathy, complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) and other nerve-related ailments, while also helping patients avoid invasive surgical procedures and prescription medications, including opioids.

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With The Sudden Arise Of Pandemic, Use Of Telemedicine Equipment Sees Huge Rise

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Dr. Dan Eldridge at Saratoga Hospital communicates with a patient who is off site. Use of telemedicine was a future trend, but skyrocketed because of the pandemic. Courtesy Saratoga Hospital

By Christine Graf
According to national data, doctors in the United States logged more than 1 billion virtual telemedicine appointments during 2020. Its usage peaked in April at which time 69 percent of all patient visits were virtual.
Saratoga Hospital Medical Group, a group of more than 250 providers practicing out of 20-plus locations, implemented a telemedicine platform in the spring of 2019.
“We had the capability, but found we weren’t using it,” said Julie Demaree, Saratoga Hospital director of informatics and data integrity. “We didn’t have much interest from our providers and patients.”
The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 put the issue in a different light.
In mid-March, all providers in the group were trained on how to use the platform. In the two weeks that followed, 3,500 virtual visits were conducted.
“It was a learning curve for both patients and providers,” said Demaree. “I really give so much credit to our providers because they had to pivot very quickly. Delivering medicine through a camera is very different than doing it in person. They also had to take on a new role of being tech support for patients.”
At Glens Falls Hospital, no telemedicine system was in place when the pandemic began. As a result, administrators had to scramble to get a system in place.
“This was all new to all of us,” said Patti Hammond, vice president for physician practice management. “One of the reasons was that the insurance companies including Medicare were not paying for virtual visits as though it was an in-person visit. Because of COVID, there were some emergency approvals, and the insurance companies said they would pay for that visit just as though the patient was in your office setting.”
In a matter of 48 hours, Glens Falls Hospital had a telemedicine system up and running. The hospital uses the Doxy.me platform and pays a monthly fee for each provider who uses the tool.

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Saratoga Hospital Expands Sterile Processing Unit To Aid In Complex Surgical Procedures

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This is the central sterile processing department at the Saratoga Surgery Center in Wilton. It helps accommodate growth in complex surgical procedures.
Courtesy Saratoga Hospital

Saratoga Hospital recently completed a $5 million expansion of its central sterile processing department to accommodate significant growth in complex surgical procedures at the hospital and its Saratoga Surgery Center in Wilton.
The renovations increased the central sterile processing space by about 80 percent and added the latest disinfection and sterilization equipment, officials said.
The number of surgeries performed at Saratoga Hospital and Saratoga Surgery Center continues to increase each year. Much of the growth is in minimally invasive procedures that involve smaller, more sophisticated instruments that can be more challenging to clean and decontaminate, according to the hospital.
“Each instrument has to be cleaned differently, and each is sterilized and disinfected to meet the highest standards,” said Clay Landry, certified central processing director at Saratoga Hospital.
The department runs 24/7 to clean and decontaminate hundreds of surgical instruments used each day in the hospital’s surgical pavilion and Saratoga Surgery Center, as well as in the endoscopy suites at both locations.

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Outlook 2021 – Mark Shaw

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Mark Shaw, president and CEO of Stored Technology Solutions Inc. (StoredTech).
Courtesy StoredTech

By Mark Shaw
Over the past few years, we have discussed several different yearly topics on what to watch. In 2018 we discussed everything as a service. Servers, email, everything heading to the cloud. This was a long discussion on how to change your current hardware and software spend from a capital expense to a monthly service model.
In 2019 we talked about security. Why it’s so important and why doing the basics is the most critical thing you can do for your business. Employees are firm’s biggest asset and weakest link. Starting with a plan that allows you to help educate and train your team is the first step in Cyber Security 101.
And finally, last year in 2020, we discussed how your cyber security company should NOT be your internal or external IT resources. They hold different functions, require different skills, and much like in accounting – one person should not have all the keys to the financial kingdom. This is not dissimilar from your technology.
Now in 2021, everything is coming together. All the technology changes that we have been preaching since 2018 are culminating into this great “work-from-home” event called COVID-19. The slow pace of migrating your environment to the cloud and educating on security separating business functions in technology, have been thrust into the spotlight of the current pandemic environment.
If your business has not been following the technology path as quickly as you would have liked and you are stuck with the pain of servers in an office, an office you might not need anymore, then now is the time to consider the move to the cloud. This guidance in 2018 is still a path that is viable today.

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Outlook 2021 – Darryl Leggieri

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Darryl Leggieri is the president of Discover Saratoga.
Courtesy Discover Saratoga

BY Darryl Leggieri
I think it is safe to say that 2020 has been a year like any other for our community, as well as the meetings, events, and hospitality industry.
The silver lining has been the numerous collaborative opportunities that were forged due to the pandemic. These collaborations among economic development agencies, various businesses, and elected officials have served to highlight the value of working together. Instead of working in our own silos, we united to help our community.
While most meetings, conferences, sporting events, and social events were canceled or postponed, we focused on helping our local businesses survive. They are the fabric of our community; they are what makes Saratoga Springs and Saratoga County so special. Without them, we would lose our identity, our brand. I continue to be amazed at the creativity of our small business owners.
They really did the heavy lifting when it came to understanding their viability as a business and how to make their offerings safe for their employees and their customers. Our lodging partners were also resilient. Faced with withering occupancy, they quickly adapted to the new safety protocols and found a way to create safe meetings and events for up to 50 people.
When the warmer days came around, we did have relatively strong demand during the summer, which were mostly leisure travelers from inside a three-hour drive market. Many were visiting our wide-open spaces for the first time. They were looking to escape, and they fell in love with our destination.

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Outlook 2021 – Dennis Brobston

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Dennis Brobston, president, Saratoga Economic Development Corp.
Courtesy Saratoga Economic Development Corp.

By Dennis Brobston
Here we are again at the start of a new year, but nothing was like last year, right? 2020 is over and while it was a strange and upsetting year, it did present many businesses with opportunities.
We were thrust into unknowns and our businesses proved responsive with resilience to quickly regroup and rebound beyond their own expectations of abilities. Many SEDC members provided vital supplies to other industries to keep their workforce and worksites safe.
For Saratoga Economic Development Corporation (SEDC), it was the busiest year since the days of 2009.
Why 2009? That was when GlobalFoundries broke ground and our attraction efforts were immersed in the semiconductor industry! And since 2009, in addition to GlobalFoundries and the industry awakening in our region, an additional 15,000 jobs of all types were created in Saratoga County.
Saratoga County has to experience continued business and job growth in order to raise the finances to support the services our residents have come to rely upon and deserve. The successful past efforts of the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors, our cities, towns and villages have paid dividends in keeping our county the lowest taxed in New York state.
Our continued partnership with the Saratoga County, Clifton Park and Mechanicville-Stillwater IDAs provides the local support to entice retention and the creation of jobs. In our 43 year existence, SEDC helped over 300 companies grow here in Saratoga County.
SEDC’s efforts in 2020 produced more investment for Saratoga County than the previous four years combined! $121.3 million of investment retained 447 jobs and enabled the creation of 698 new jobs.

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