Pilots know how to fly an airplane, but they may not know exactly how a plane flies. That is where the mechanics and engineers come in.
Running a business, or even being a consumer, can follow the same principle.
So we have assembled a cadre of metaphorical engineers and mechanics to help you negotiate the flight paths of the business world.
Next week we will begin running columns written by members of the community who have the professional background, training and experience to offer sound advice on a variety of business subjects, from how to deal with getting a business license to how to protect your intellectual property.
These community columns will appear each day on our business page on a rotating basis, some more frequently than others. They will join our established business columnists Alan Hall, who writes about entrepreneurship each Wednesday, and Ron Campbell, who writes each Sunday about how to find and get the ideal job.
I'm excited about this new group and what they have to offer. I think you will also enjoy their insights.
Here's the lineup so far:
* Joshua Rigley (Digital Biz): Rigley is an online marketing consultant living in Layton. He is a Layton High graduate currently attending college. Although he's young, that is not unusual in his field. He has already submitted a couple of columns and plans to write on the importance of having a mobile website, how to use QR Codes to increase sales, how to use crowd funding to start a business, how to create an online marketing blueprint and the importance of having a Facebook fanpage.
* E. Kent Winward (Business Law): Winward has been practicing law in the Ogden area since the mid-1990s. He says that most attorneys are frustrated writers and former English majors. His practice focuses on consumer bankruptcy, but his column topics will have a broader scope.
* Tom Fehr (Innovators and the Law): A graduate of Harvard Law School, Fehr also has two degrees in physics from the University of Utah. Although he's based in Ogden, Fehr has an international practice concentrating on intellectual property and cooperates with foreign patent law firms.
The son of an Ogden High School English teacher, Fehr will be writing about patents, trademarks and copyrights, as well as possible forays into corporate and environmental legal issues.
* Steve Curtis (City Biz): Curtis, as many of you know, is the mayor of Layton, but has worked as a business consultant and communications specialist. He's also been president of the Utah League of Cities and Towns and board member of the Wasatch Integrated Waste Management District, the Utah Transit Authority and Economic Development Corporation of Utah.
He will be writing on the relations between municipalities and businesses in regards to economic development, commercial and industrial zoning, and licensing and code enforcement.
* Brad Larsen (Success Strategies): Larsen is a life coach and corporate consultant. He has a master's degree in counseling from Utah State University and is a former school teacher and principal.
He will be writing on the mental side of being successful in business, including managing job stress and creating a career plan.
* Tracy Bunner (Talkin' Taxes): Bunner is an enrolled agent and tax preparer with a practice in Harrisville. She provides tax preparation for more than 500 individuals and 36 businesses.
Bunner plans to give tips and tax advice for both private citizens and commercial businesses. This will include updating readers on the ever-changing tax codes and tax forms.
We still hope to add columnists in the banking, real estate and medical fields. However, I think this is a good crop of pilots to start with.
Andy Howell is executive editor. He can be reached at 801-625-4210 or ahowell@standard.net.
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