Ann Gioe, CRP -Central and Southern Indiana

The Indiana Economic Development Corporpation put together a cost comparison for businesses looking at Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin.

The data was taken from the US Bureau of Labor and the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

When loooking at the cost of doing business they made the assumption of:

Taxable income = $1,000,000

Employment = 100

We rated in the following categories against the 9 Midwest States:

1st Place - Total State Business Taxes

1st Place - Average Workers Compensation Annual Premium

1st Place - Average Workers Compensation Rate

1st Place - Average Unemployment Insurance

3rd Place - Average Annual Wage

4th Place - Average Price of Electricity

6th Place - Corporate Income Tax Due

Hendricks County is west of Indianapolis and has a well-kept secret that needs to go public!

For those of you looking for a Hike - this is not for you - this trail is for vehicular traffic - unless you want to hike for 72 miles!

This adventure will take you on a rustic tour through most of the towns in Hendricks County. There are stops in Danville, Plainfield, Brownsburg, Pittsboro, Coatesville and North Salem.

Some of the highlights include 15 art galleries, cafes, craft shops, a winery, museum, one room schoolhouse and bakery.

This trail actually started in 2010 with 10 shops - so it's grown and has received a grant for marketing purposes. You can get more info, directions and map atwww.ruralroutestomainstreet.com.

Have a Saturday with nothing to do? Wander Indiana and find some hidden jewels!

Yes - life goes on after the SuperBowl - and there's plenty to do, even in the "winter". Check it out!

Indiana Events In February

Indiana Deer, Turkey & Waterfowl
Indianapolis
February 17th to 19th
indianadeerandturkeyexpo.com/

Indianapolis Boat, Sport & Travel Show
Indianapolis
February 17th to 26th
indianapolisboatsportandtravelshow.com/

Indiana Motorcycle Expo
Indianapolis
February 24th to 26th
indianamotorcycleexpo.com/

Annual Maple Syrup Festival
Salem
February 25 & 26 and March 3 & 4
www.lmsugarbush.com/ourfestival.html

Are you marketing a vacant home - or perhaps you have a large blank wall and a small budget?

Here's a couple inexpensive and unique ideas for adding some wall decor:

1. Poster Art has graduated from the teen bedroom and college dorm. You can order some great vintage posters atwww.internationalposter.com or some really bright art prints atwww.powerslidedesign.com. You can either mount them or frame them cheaply and they can add a lot of color and design to a room.

2.Back when I had a roommate and no money - we were looking for a way to decorate some large open walls to warm up our apartment. It happened to be summer time, and we were in a large department store and walked by their beach towels. They had a NY ballet beach towel in black and white and this great mural type print of faces. We bought the two beach towels, then went to a craft store and bought 2 large stretcher frames. We used a staple gun to mount the towels on the frames and hung them on the walls. We got more compliments on those "pictures" than on anything else in the apartment.

Have you ever wanted to add some color to a room - but didn't want to commit to painting or wallpaper?

You can find Roman blinds/shades in all sorts of technicolors that will really add a pop to a room. Put your color in your accessories and decor and not in the carpet or paint.

Need to replace some flooring - but there are too many choices?

Hardwood - high demand, great resale, easy to maintain and can last 100 years. It is one of the pricist options, can be loud, can scuff or scratch

Laminate - affordable, do-it-yourself, low maintenance, not a prestige material - so resale value is very low, can not be repaired/refinished - only replaced

Carpet - affordable, cozy, insulating, professional install needed, can stain and harbor allergies

Cork - environmentally friendly, insulates, absorbs shocks and sound, can stain, scratch and fade

Bamboo - renewable material, easy to maintain, can be diy, less available

Tile - large array of size, material, color, finish, unforgiving, grout can stain

Downsizing for self or selling?

Give yourself a month to go through everything so you don't get overwhelmed or toss something valuable.

Designate four categories: donate, keep, sell and toss

Buy rubber bins to store things you'll be keeping or selling

There is a collector for almost anything - so do some research online first before selling or donating or throwing away

Watch out for vintage ads, vintage childhood toys, china and silver sets, first-edition books and anything mid-century modern

In our quest for world dominance.......well, at least to keep expanding our Indiana coverage - we now have an office in Evansville, Indiana!

They were already a Prudential office operating as Prudential Prime Properties - but they have now joined our alliance and have rebranded as Prudential Indiana Realty. Same great office, same great agents (cue the Batman music). They are located at: 4111 Washington Avenue, Evansville 47714 and can be reached at 812-474-7000

You can find all their agents and other information on our company website at: www.PrudentialIndiana.com

Evansville is located in SW Indiana right on the Ohio River. A mecca of activity and opportunity. We welcome them to the family and look forward to an awesome future together.

Here's a little video view of Evansville.....