Do a quick Google search on the term “rent prices” and you’ll see headlines like “The middle class is struggling to make the rent” and “Rent inflation shows no signs of letting up.” At the same time, the headlines on home buying read “Home Sales Surge as Prices Pick Up.”

So let’s get this straight, rent prices are up and unaffordable, but home prices are also increasing – what’s a person to do? If you’re trying to decide whether to renew the lease at your rental or sign up for that 30-year mortgage – read on to help you make that decision.

There are pieces of furniture and then there are works of art that double as furniture. Works that exude the theme or vision of a setting, something that is either a grand find or a custom job. You know the type, the ones that ooze craftsmanship and talent, where you can actually see the love and passion imbued into each piece. Jesse, of Crafthammer Design is an artist of such caliber.

Maybe you’ve seen his work in a magazine or perhaps you wandered by the showroom in Kirkland.  Perhaps the rustic, aged feel really stood out when you saw his work at the 2014 Holiday Party or one of the tradeshows he has attended.  Whenever or wherever you saw a bench, table or chair made by Crafthammer Design, it surely left a lasting impression.

We recently had the chance to sit down with the owner and operator of Crafthammer Design, Jesse Wood, to talk furniture, fabrication and of course, BizX.

Measure twice, cut once - a common theme on any jobsite. The same should be said in an office, interview twice, hire once. Not literally of course, but make sure you are really hiring the right man or women for the job. Hiring can be both an exciting and scary thought, as research shows that “even an $8/hour employee can end up costing a company around $3,500 in turnover costs, both direct and indirect.”

Surely not all employees will cost that much to hire, not even close, but advertising, drug screenings and background checks, to name a few, can quickly add up. This means when it comes time to bring new people into your company, you’ll want to be sure you’ve hired the right person, who will learn and grow with the company for a long time.

Here are our top tips on what to look for to achieve success when hiring a new employee.

Ahh, temperatures are rising and summer has officially begun! It’s time again for swimsuits, sun and oh yeah, mid-year reviews.

We all start the year with an idea of goals and resolutions for how we’ll succeed in the work year ahead, but when we get to our mid-year reviews, are we really satisfied?

But even if we’re not where we wanted to be by June, there’s still plenty of time to turn it around and be successful by the end of the year. Here are my tops tips for better execution on your strategic objectives during the remainder of 2015.

Drowning in student loans doesn't stop Millennials from spending, so there shouldn't be any excuses from companies as to why you can't connect with them.

The Millennial generation is comprised of 80 million Americans, making up a fourth of the nation’s population and representing 200 billion in annual buying power. Regardless of who they are, with those numbers and that buying power any savvy business owner should be scrambling for a piece of that pie.

Not only are they a quarter of the market, but they are trendsetters across all industries with a huge amount of influence over older generations. To complicate things, traditional methods of advertising are about as effective as a smoke signal during a hurricane when trying to reach the selfie generation.

How does one reach this seemingly unreachable market and crack the Millennial mystery?