What a Long Strange Trips It's Been - Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead   We often hear how we are supposed to create an introduction or an elevator pitch. We read about taglines and slogans. What we really need to focus on is what to do afterward we meet someone.   The closing to a presentation is not quite the same thing as the closing to an elevator pitch or an introduction. When you’re closing a presentation, you have obviously had much more time to offer information, tell stories, and provide statistics. You’re in a much better position to extend a powerful call...

In observance of Memorial Day, our office will be closed on Monday, May 30. We will reopen for regular business hours on Tuesday, May 31.   On behalf of all of us at Available Staffing Network, LLC. we wish you, our employees, and families a safe Memorial Day weekend in honor of all the veterans and active service members.  

What a Long Strange Trips It's Been - Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead   Historical Perspectives   The legal history of cannabis in the U.S. dates back to 1906 with the passage of laws listing cannabis as poison in many states. Total prohibitions began in the 1920s, with cannabis being regulated as a drug in every state by the mid-1930s by the adoption of the Uniform State Narcotic Drug Act. The first national regulation was the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937.     Cannabis cultivation played a central role in the establishment of the United States. Supporters of cannabis legalization love to point out that our founding...

“Success is when I add value to myself, but significance is when I add value to others.” John Maxwell   All of us are in business to be successful. There is even a magazine titled “Success”. We are all striving for success, but how many of us have actually defined what we mean by it? Are we seeking wealth, power and prestige or are we striving for peace of mind, security, and comfort?   To make matters worse, many of us allow others to define success for us. Social media is awash with supposedly successful people telling us what success should look like. If...

The RI Unemployment Trust Fund is in Trouble     The Rhode Island Unemployment Trust Fund is in trouble, and the General Assembly is looking to the State’s employers to fix it. In any normal year, this would be routine. It is required that when a State’s IU trust fund drops, the employers have the burden of replenishing it.   However, these are not normal times. The global COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on the job market over the last two years, resulting in an unprecedentedly rapid rise in unemployment, which in turn caused the State’s trust fund to drop from $500 million to approximately...