John Munsell
President & CEO, Bizzuka
RANK: #8
Corridor companies shouldn’t wait for the state’s economy to change before deciding on a course of action. They (and the state) would be best served by developing a strategy to generate revenues beyond Louisiana’s borders, while keeping their corporate headquarters and employees within the state. Simply recirculating dollars within our own economy will not help Louisiana or our corporate infrastructure to grow.
“In many cases, tapping external economies can be accomplished easily by deploying a mobile sales force and supplementing it with an appropriate Web communications strategy. Utilizing the Web to provide suppliers, distributors, prospects and customers with instant access to pertinent and/or critical information is a great way to drive efficiencies often overlooked. Cloud-based resources like Salesforce.com and Landslide.com help companies manage remote sales teams with precision and ease. Web-based networking through LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter help expand a company’s sphere of influence more rapidly than ever before. Video conferencing tools like Skype and Oovoo are inexpensive and eliminate the misunderstandings frequently created by email communications.
“People want instant access to information anywhere, anytime. Corridor companies that maximize Web-based technologies can expand their geographic reach far beyond the local terrain—and reap the rewards.
Todd Graves
Founder, CEO, fry cook and cashier
Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers
RANK: #22
At Raising Cane’s we see so much opportunity in the corridor and throughout Louisiana. The people here are passionate about food, family and their communities. The people of south Louisiana recognize when businesses are good to the community and to their employees and they support these businesses whole heartedly.
I truly believe that much of Raising Cane’s success is because of our commitment to be an active community partner in every market we serve. By supporting thousands of local schools, nonprofit organizations and community events, we not only improve our home, we also find our most loyal Caniacs.
Another key to success is to create an environment where people are happy at work. At Raising Cane’s we work very hard to reward, respect and recognize our crewmembers. We recognize that the most important jobs at Raising Cane’s are those that serve our customers—our fry cooks and cashiers. Our crew works hard while having fun, and the results are crewmembers who love what they do and great service for our customers.
George Hutchinson
COO, Cabildo Holdings
RANK: #4
The uncertain political future regarding small business tax cuts, health care reform and labor law compliance, make the landscape rife with uncertainty and peril and should give all business leaders ample justification for keeping their game tight.
First, will the tax cuts remain or not? Nobody can say … which makes it difficult for business leaders to plan ahead. All we can do is plan for the worst and hope for the best … not an ideal situation.
Second, anyone who has truly taken the time to analyze and understand the Affordable Care Act realizes what a disaster it might be for some small businesses. Even companies that wish to comply will undoubtedly suffer from the massive administrative burden this legislation will place on them … and that’s IF they are even able to comply.
Third, all companies should beware that the Fed is cracking down. Wage-and-hour audits are on the rise. For example, the IRS has announced it is auditing 6,000 companies regarding the legitimacy of issuing 1099s instead of W-2s to employees. The Feds know they are losing billions on this and other common business practices—neglecting it any longer is not an option.
The best advice is be careful and work only with companies that you know are competent and comply with all appropriate local and federal laws.
