![(iStockPhoto) (iStockPhoto)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/1019_feat_leadership_istock.jpg?1577874530)
Stop Fearing Failure
If your business or career isn’t working, it’s time to regroup and rebound
Henry Ford dreamed of mass-producing cars. So he started the Detroit Automobile Company … and it flopped. Oprah Winfrey was fired from her first job at a TV station. Before she dominated the world of fashion, Vera Wang failed to realize her original dream — making it as an Olympic figure skater.
![Jamie Nutting came home to Camino to manage Hangman's Tree Ice Cream Saloon for her parents. She graduated from nearby Union Mine High School.](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/0919_dept_mainstreet_tomcouzens_1.jpg?1577874530)
Main Street: Reviving History
One of Placerville’s most famous buildings now dishes out ice cream
Hangman’s Tree closed in 2008, when the building was deemed unsafe, and the structure was unoccupied until Sue and Tim Taylor purchased it and the adjacent Herrick Building in 2012 and began restoring both buildings.
![](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/0919_dept_buzzword_marissalewis.png?1577874530)
Buzzwords: Silo
A part of a company that works in isolation from others, making for a culture of limited communication
Silos can be formed when making sure employees’ time is spent only on their expertise or when everyone in the company is so busy they feel they don’t have time to reach beyond their domain.
![](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/0919_feat_management_mikegraff.jpg?1577874530)
Meeting Goals
Sure, we all hate meetings — but they are essential, and there are ways to make them better
I bet you a cup of coffee that you are reading this just before a meeting, or maybe just after. Another bet: You feel that there are too many meetings. A third: This gauntlet of meetings can make it tough — or impossible — to finish your work.
![(iStock)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/0919_feat_education_shutterstock.png?1577874530)
College Confidential
There are proven ways to navigate the college admissions process without cheating the system
With tens of thousands of undergrads applying each year for limited spots, California’s college systems have approved admission criteria for assessing incoming freshmen. While the strength of a student’s academic record is one of its top considerations, the University of California system has established 14 factors — both academic and nonacademic — for undergraduate admissions.
![](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/0919_dept_sotm_terenceduffy.jpg?1577874530)
Startup of the Month: PairAnything
A new age for wine
PairAnything, run by an eight-person team, won the $10,000 Food + Agriculture Sector Award at the 2019 Big Bang Business Competition at UC Davis.
![(Shutterstock)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/1019_dept_leadership_shutterstock.png?1577874530)
Out in the Open
The good, bad and ugly of open-space offices
The idea of open-space offices has been with us since the start of the tech revolution. It seems we are under the mistaken belief that the early technology companies — such as Google, Wikipedia, eBay — were onto something when they tore down office walls, removed cubicles and allowed workers to float in a sea of open access. Teamwork became the goal.
![](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/0919_dept_itm_fredgreaves_lead_1.jpg?1577874530)
In the Making: At Conscious Creamery, a Good Dessert
The walls of Conscious Creamery’s commercial kitchen in Sacramento’s Del Paso Heights neighborhood are lined with stainless steel freezers, constantly humming loud and keeping chef Andrea Seppinni’s plant-based gelato frozen.
![(Shutterstock)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/1019_dept_evilhr_shutterstock.png?1577874530)
Dilemma of the Month: Padding an Employee’s Timecard
The Fair Labor Standards Act has strict rules regarding paying nonexempt employees, and California is even stricter; one of the key components is that employees must be paid for every hour they work
![(Pexels)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/accounting-finance-hand-921783.jpg?1577874530)
A Split-Roll Property Tax Measure Is Bad for Business
Next year, voters will be asked to amend Prop. 13 through a ballot measure that will upset more than 40 years of that steadiness and a “no surprises” business environment. It’s a tax hit businesses can’t afford, especially in an economy with flat consumer spending and trade tariffs.