These local businesses take teamwork to the next level with bold colors and innovative designs that inspire creativity and collaboration. Show us your company’s collaborative space for a chance to take over our Instagram account! 

Ask Andy Paul or Ana Manzano about launching their businesses and they’ll answer with smiles. The two previous winners of the Downtown Sacramento Partnership’s Calling All Dreamers contest have gone on to successfully launch their dream companies, including brick-and-mortar storefronts that will serve as milestones in the revitalization of downtown’s shopping corridors.

I was originally hired for a position that requires me to be in office, working with clients already retained by my company to ensure their contract deliverables are on track. Three months after hire, I was asked to also start working to bring on new clients as well (without commission), something that was not part of my original job description. What happens when the job description and or responsibilities are changed without a change in wage?

HomeZada is more than digital storage for insurance purposes. The comprehensive solution helps long-time homeowners and new buyers maintain and manage their budgets, plans and possessions online. 

I hired a new business development director because she promised she could bring a specific new client on board. It’s been six months, and it’s pretty clear that the client is not happening. She’s done a great job otherwise, but I feel duped. What can I do?

Quality communication goes far beyond organizational structures, clear directives and efficient systems. Time and again, I’ve watched highly effective teams crumble due to a lack of effective dialogue. And that’s because the most successful way to engage and improve your company is not by talking. It’s by listening.

When can we officially declare Sacramento as no longer being a cow town? I’m pretty sure we’ve hit that milestone. Business leaders, developers and innovators are pushing boundaries they likely wouldn’t have considered even a decade ago, as can be seen on nearly every page of this month’s magazine.

The Workplace Bullying Institute would like to see legislation put in place to protect employees from abusive coworkers or bosses. The California State Council for the Society for Human Resource Management says legislation would leave too much room for subjective analysis. What do you think?

Carrie Clark, a former teacher, says bullies aren’t confined to playgrounds. Sometimes, they run the whole school. And they do more than demand that work get done. They threaten, humiliate or intimidate for reasons unrelated to job performance.

To find the kind of innovative employees needed to continue pushing the food movement forward, it’s important to look as much as listen. For instance:

“This position requires a vegetable costume as occasional work attire.”