All ICA vendor members are encouraged to attend.

Unless you are an accountant specializing in small business, you may not be aware of a new trend in the world of sole proprietorships: registering with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as a limited liability company (LLC). While LLCs have been around since 1977, their popularity among sole proprietors has accelerated in the past decade, data from the IRS reveals.

The stakes are huge. For all the public focus on twentysomethings moving back with their parents or Lena Dunham and her underemployed friends carping about their lot on HBO’s Girls, Millennials, roughly defined as young adults born after 1980, control maybe $2 trillion in liquid assets, Wealthfront says. By the end of the decade that number is expected to surge to $7 trillion. And that will get vastly bigger as Millennials enter their prime earning years and then a massive wealth transfer from their Boomer parents begins.

Organizations with great customer relationships are able to grow their businesses without gimmicks, fee cuts or special treatment. You have to be good at what you do, of course, but having a truly successful business is based on one simple concept: trust. Building trust takes time and a lot of hard work. But it’s entirely doable if you and your team work on three of your most important core competencies: service, consistency and transparency.

Every day, I receive via email about a dozen press releases. Very few of these emails are opened, fewer are read top to bottom, and fewer still end up inside an article or blog post. Over the years, I've noticed that one publicist keeps sending me press releases (mostly for books) that I open, read, and sometimes adapt into blog posts. I recently asked her what makes a "killer" press release. Here's what she said.

The Dee-Luxe Car Wash from the 1976 film "Car Wash" might have been demolished, but the West Camelback Car Wash at 2550 W. Camelback Road still stands. Constructed in 1967, this car wash sports a series of eight red tailfin shapes similar to the Los Angeles car wash in the movie, minus the letters on the fins.

Waukee Auto Wash features both self-service bays and automatic systems to serve a wide range of vehicles. The business is coming up on its 25th anniversary and was built by Brodie Brelsford’s parents. He serves as general manager of the family’s car wash operations, which include the site in Waukee, as well as in Grimes, the south side of Des Moines and Perry.

Caraway Car Wash opened at 304 East Street in Caraway, Arkansas. The new business owners Kyle and Hailey Vaughn were welcomed with a ribbon cutting Thursday evening. The three stall car wash can accommodate trucks and vans in the truck bay. Also, the car wash has a money changer, air for tires, and two vacuum cleaners.