Sectors

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Whether it’s agriculture, tourism or energy, a look at the industries that shape Idaho’s economy and how they are affected by state policies.

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March 27, 2012

Micron Explosion Causes Brief Evacuation

By all accounts, today’s explosions at Micron Technology’s Boise campus were relatively minor. Boise State Public Radio reports seven people were treated for minor injuries after two blasts occurred in an underground utility room this morning. The Idaho Statesman reports about 200 people were briefly evacuated from a section of Micron’s headquarters. “[T]he Boise Fire […]

March 26, 2012

Most Direct Sellers Don’t Earn A Living Through Sales

Earlier today we introduced you to Maggie Clark, an independent salesperson for the wickless candle maker Scentsy. Clark says she earns about $1,200 a month on her business. That is well above the median income for someone in the direct selling industry. The Direct Selling Association, an industry trade group, says the median annual income […]

Scentsy Becomes A Multimillion Dollar Business

Many Idaho companies issued a fair number of pink slips during the recession. But Meridian-based Scentsy didn’t. Instead, the wickless-candle maker grew. It’s ranked among the country’s most promising companies by business magazines like Forbes and Inc.com. In just seven years, Scentsy has become a multimillion dollar enterprise. Selling Scentsy Maggie Clark started selling Scentsy […]

March 23, 2012

Do Direct Sales Models Work Better In The West?

When I started researching the direct sales industry and one of Idaho’s newest direct sales companies, Scentsy, I wanted to find out if that model of selling at parties and events does particularly well in Idaho. The Direct Selling Association has this handy map that shows the percent of sales by region. Idaho is part […]

March 22, 2012

Economist To Leave BSU’s Economic Research Center

The Idaho Business Review reports Economist Brian Greber is leaving Boise State University’s Center for Business Research and Economic Development. Greber has directed COBE, part-time, since December 2009. He told the Idaho Business Review he’s leaving the University to do area consulting work. “‘I wasn’t doing it for the money,” he said March 21. “It was […]

March 21, 2012

MTV’s ‘Teen Mom’ Cast Members Selling Scentsy

The direct selling industry isn’t just for Mary Kay or Tupperware consumers anymore. It seems the younger demographic is getting on board. The entertainment blog WetPaint and parenting blog Babble have recently posted that two women from the MTV reality show Teen Mom are selling Scentsy products. Scentsy is the Meridian, Idaho-based wickless-candle and personal […]

Boise Air Travel By The Numbers

For the last week, StateImpact Idaho has been reporting on recent cuts to flights in and out of Boise. The guiding question: will airlines’ cutbacks affect Idaho’s prospects for an economic turnaround? Airlines are, of course, responding to broader economic conditions when they determine to stop offering a flight between, say, Boise and Los Angeles. […]

March 20, 2012

Direct Sales Companies Saw Spike In Sellers During Recession

One of Idaho’s fast growing companies is Scentsy. They sell wickless candles and personal care products. It’s a direct sales company, meaning independent consultants sell products largely through home parties (think The Pampered Chef). The Direct Selling Association is a trade group for some of the country’s most well known direct sales companies like Avon, […]

Soaring Fuel Prices Mean Fewer Flights For Boise

A story in today’s news drives home the large forces at play when Southwest decides — as it recently did — to stop making flights from Boise to Seattle, Salt Lake and Reno. The International Air Transport Association, a trade group representing major passenger and cargo lines, says industry earnings will probably drop to $3 […]

March 14, 2012

New Reports Show Staggering Pace Of Foreclosure Signing

Four hundred. That’s how many foreclosure-related documents an Ally bank employee might have processed every day at the height of the foreclosure crisis. At Bank of America, the rate was a stunning 75 to 80 per hour. Those figures come from a set of government reports released this week. According to The Wall Street Journal, […]

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