Caroline's Corner

As many of you know, I come from a large, close-knit family.  Like many families, we enjoy  spending quality time together.  In fact, this spring my Dad and four brothers are going to Hot Springs, Arkansas for their annual horse-racing adventure.  This year, I'm planning on joining the fun.  If all goes according to plan, we'll laugh, share, have a great time and hopefully, come home a little richer - if not in money, in spirit.

It’s no secret, at Caroline & Company we believe in being there for our family and friends.  If this spring and summer your work family needs staffing help, so your personal family can go on a needed vacation, we’d love to assist.  We’re good at it!  We specialize in having great people available to fill-in for short or long periods of time.   Give us a call with your specific office-staffing needs and we’ll gladly come to your rescue. 

Hope to stay in touch,

Happenings at Caroline & Company

Socks, Undies & Jammies for Kids

Thanks to everyone who generously donated on behalf of Socks, Undies & Jammies for Kids – our recent Holiday effort for the children and families in crisis served by Columbia ’s Rainbow House – we met and exceeded the previous 2004-campaign total of 20,000 items.  During this year’s 5 ½ week push, 20,151 new socks, undies, jammies and other assorted goodies were donated. 

It is projected the record-breaking effort will meet, or nearly meet, the needs of the 500 or more children served by Rainbow House’s Shelter, Family Crises Care and Child Advocacy Center during 2006.  The dollar savings to Rainbow’s budget has been estimated at well over eighteen-thousand dollars.

We’re in the News!

Inside Columbia selected our founder and executive, Caroline J. Gower as one of its sources for their January 2006, “Words from the Wise – Success Secrets of 7 Who Struck Out on Their Own” article.  In this informative piece by John Littell, Caroline joins six other noted Columbia business owners to discuss what did and didn’t work in starting their ventures. 

So, if you’ve ever thought of developing your own entrepreneur skills, here is a great chance to hear first-hand what pitfalls to avoid and what leaps to take.  For mid-Missourians that have misplaced their January issue of Inside Columbia, the informative text is available in its entirety in our newsroom.

Weird Business Trivia

	72% of the functions businesses outsource come under temporary staffing.
	Clerical and office positions continue to be the largest segment of all temp jobs, comprising almost 40% of all temporary positions.
	In 1904 St. Louis was the first US city to host the Summer Olympics.
	Charcoal was invented in the early 1920s by automobile-king Henry Ford.
	In the US, we eat 38% of our hot dogs between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
	The average person walks the equivalent of twice around the world in a lifetime.
	Over 515 million pairs of jeans are sold in the US each year.
	The US is #1 in ice-cream consumption – with New Zealand being 2nd.
	Anheuser-Busch brewery in St. Louis, Missouri is the largest beer producing plant in the nation.
	Experts say that at least 250,000 workers are illegally or unjustly fired each year.

The Demands of Work and Family

In this day and age, men as well as women are continually faced with how to balance personal and professional issues.  Not surprisingly, the business environment can compliment or conflict with that challenging pursuit.

Do Your Kids Remember What You Look Like? Entrepreneurs can easily get caught up in the day-to-day of their biz at the expense of family. How do children take it?

Get Family Friendly - Increasingly workers want management to consider their lives at home.

Fathers Figure - Don't forget men when setting work/family policies for your business.

Keeping Mums - Want a fiercely loyal work force? It's no secret-it pays to treat working mothers well.

Family Feud - Don't let employees without families feel neglected.

Should Both Parents Work? From a financial perspective, there are several pros and cons to consider.

The Vacation Dilemma

Will you, or won’t you, your employees and co-workers be taking summer vacations?  How will this onslaught of absences affect your bottom line?   Should vacations be business related; and/or should individuals address work issues while on vacation?  Can temporary staffing or outsourcing solve vacation downtime? 

 

Hopefully, reading the following articles will help answer these and other seasonal questions.

 

It's August - Where is Everybody?
Ten Tips to Prevent Vacation Downtime
Demand Intensifies for Temporary Recruiting Pros
Outsourcing: A Strategic Solution

When to Let a Crisis at Work Halt Your Vacation Plans
Should You Bring the Family on Your Next Business Trip?
Forming Relationships with Headhunters
Do Temp Agencies Handle All the Employment Paperwork?
Longing for a Summer Spent in Your Cubicle

Reflective Thought

A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing and the lawn mower is broken. ~ James Dent

Recommended Web Sites

If you enjoy traveling with your family and friends during the summer season, be sure and visit Roadside America -- an online guide to off-beat tourist attractions.  They list everything from locations of pet cemeteries to fiberglass giants.

For more traditional travel tips, check out L.L. Bean’s extensive directory of nearly every park in Missouri, the entire US and most of the world.  Their site also offers vacation tips and pointers.

Are you and your family part of the 85% of US citizens that own and use a barbeque grill?  If so, click on the Hearth, Patio and Barbeque Association’s website, which serves up a tasty array of assistance:

Have you discovered the world of digital photography yet?  Do you fully understand its numerous possibilities?  If not, go to Sympatico’s or ACDSee’s index pages:

If you’re looking for safe, fun, educational child-friendly ideas to occupy the endless hours of summer, check out Columbia House of Broker’s huge list of websites for kids.  It offers un-limited great suggestions.

Other local websites that you and the children in your family might really enjoy are:

	State Farm Insurance’s Kid Stuff Common Cents and Smoke Detectives® interactive game,
	Callaway Bank’s C. B. Squirrel The Lesson of the Acorn and The Callaway Kids Bank, or the
	Central Missouri Humane Society’s Thank-you page, which links to a touching assortment of adopted pets that are now living happily ever after in their new homes.

Feeling the need to polish up your resume before school re-starts in the fall?  If so, Resume-Resource.com offers extensive helpful information:

	Resume Examples
	Resume Power Verbs
	Resume Writing Articles
	Resume Writing Tips
	Resume Format