Economic Outlook 2016 – Todd Shimkus

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Todd Shimkus, president, Saratoga County
Chamber of Commerce.

BY TODD SHIMKUS

Last year in this column, I said there were
four trends that the Saratoga County Chamber
of Commerce believed would drive our
economy forward. So how’d we do in our prognostications?

1. We said small business growth would
continue to drive our economy. In 2014, we
had hosted 80 ribbon cuttings. We added 60 in
2015. The talented volunteers from our SCORE
program saw record-breaking numbers of local
entrepreneurs and business owners seeking out
their free and confidential advice. These two
facts combine to tell us that there are many
people among us willing to create jobs and
invest in Saratoga County.

2. We said that the supply of available hotel
rooms would continue to increase. We added
that the appropriation of even more money for
our tourism promotion effort by the Saratoga
County Board of Supervisors would help to
drive up demand to fill many of these new
rooms.

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Business Report: Put Your Financial 'Puzzle' Together

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BY ROB SNELL

Jan. 29 is National Puzzle Day, with puzzle celebrations
and events taking place at museums, libraries
and other venues across the country.
Why this date was chosen–or why National
Puzzle Day even exists–is something of a mystery.
But as an investor, you can find value in the concept
of a puzzle, specifically, in putting together the pieces
of your financial puzzle.

What are these pieces? Here are the essential ones:

Growth

At different times in your life, you will have
various goals – purchasing a first or second home,
sending your children to college, enjoying a comfortable
retirement, and so on. While these goals
are diverse, they all have one thing in common: To
achieve them, you’ll need some growth potential in
your investment portfolio. The nature and the extent
of the growth-oriented vehicles, such as stocks and
stock-based instruments, in your holdings will depend
on your specific goals, risk tolerance and time
horizon – but growth opportunities you must have.

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Nurture Green Salon And Spa Owner Aspires In Business And Life To Promote 'Green' Ideals

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Lisa Liptak, owner of Nurture Green Salon and Spa at 182 South Broadway in Saratoga Springs,
is environmentally conscious from the products she uses to materials used to build her studio.

BY LIZ WITBECK

For Lisa Liptak, being conscious about the
environment is not just her career. It is something
she integrates into her daily life. When
she opened Nurture Green Salon and Spa, she
thought about ways she could make her facility
a better place for the earth.

Nurture Green Salon and Spa, at 182 South
Broadway in Saratoga Springs, had its grand
opening ceremony in November. Liptak was
interested in creating a salon and spa that promoted
a green atmosphere.

“Hair salons are very toxic places,” said Liptak.
“I want to show people that you can pamper yourself
and take care of the earth at the same time.”

Liptak has been a hair stylist for 17 years. She
got her degree from BOCES.

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Saratoga County Chamber Of Commerce Sets Its Second Annual Health & Wellness Week

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The Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce’s
second annual Health & Wellness
Week features a series of free events in January,
open to anyone interested in meeting up
with local wellness professionals and exploring
how they might achieve their wellness
goals in 2016.

Chamber officials said each of the Health
& Wellness Week events includes the chance
to meet with a variety of experts in one place
while also sampling various activities as well
as healthy food, water and juice, wine, and
perhaps even a beer.

Attendees are advised to dress comfortably
to take part in the voluntary activities and to
bring a friend to join them. Besides a range
of activities, participants will also be able to
find a time to chat with health and wellness
experts one-on-one.

Pre-registration is encouraged at
www.saratoga.org/pages/healthy-saratoga.

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