bill moller steps in, next. a lot of analysts & economists are expecting 2014 to be a year of growth and gain. but there's little evidence of that in the first month of the new year. just look at the findings of the just released small business scorecard which is produced each month by surepayroll the online payroll company. michael alter is ceo. so michael, where's the growth? >>unfortunately we're not really seeing it. i think everybody was really excited as we moved into the new year. we had some strong optimism coming into the new year but in the end what we have seen is more of the same. we saw a slight decline in hiring0.1 down. we saw a slight decline in the average paycheck0.2 down. we saw optimism hovering in that 65-70% range. >>what about what companies are expecting to do in terms of hiring and taking advantage of opportunities for growth? >>what we are looking at right now in 2014 is a little bit of a glass half empty, glass half full side among small business owners. half of them are planning to hi

that's straight ahead, with bill moller after this in the know message. i'm going to pass chemistry, and i'll take it from there. i'm going to do what makes me happy. i'm going to work hard. be independent. live large. make the most of every opportunity. i knew i wanted to go to college. but figuring out how to pay for it? i didn't have a clue. the u.s. department of education has over $100 billion. and that's a lot of money. to help students pay for college. and the free application? you mean the fafsa. i did it online. it was easy. i'm never giving up on my goals. i will make a difference. i'm going to find out how to pay for college. i'm going to college.gov. a lot of economists were predicting 2014 would be a year of steady growth and gain - but so far it's been a bust. the markets have been lagging and a key component of the economy - jobs growth, hasn't materialized? so, what's happening? jack ablin is the chief investment officer for bmo private bank. the jobs numbers came out friday - well below what a lot of smart people were expecting and i can'

no joke...bill moller joins us with that story, after this break. you're told your career should be your passion. but, gosh, often our passions - playing video games, shooting baskets, building lego creations - that can't easily be turned into a paying job? but, wait a minute, look at this. the product of a passionate lego builder and for david howard,that in fact is his job. he is paid to play with lego pieces. what's the title on his business card, master model builder. how did this job find you or you find it? >>i actually read it in a newspaper. a family friend of mine sent me a newspaper article and she said you've always loved playing with legoshere's the job for you. i read it and i thoughtthat's not real job. i could never do that. >>so when a young kid asks you what is your job how do you explain it to them? >>it's simple. i play with legos all day. i develop different classes. i develop new models for our events at the legoland discovery center chicago. >>these are all your creations. you love to do these heads. you were in a competition t

you will definitely want to stay tuned for the "glass half full" commentary, coming up next with bill moller. the high net worth investor-- outside of institutional investors, they are the ones who drive the markets. what they think matters. morgan stanley just conducted a poll of more than a thousand of these more affluent investors to gauge their mood. steven esposito is a morgan stanley advisor. steven, are they essentially bullish or bearish on the year ahead? >>most of the investorsabout 87%--are very bullish on the next year. they think the financial outlook will be better or the same as it was in 2013. they also think that portfolios will do well in 2014about 84% of them. >>where do they have concerns? >>concerns are 90%--which is a pretty big percentageare worried about the economy. followed by 87% at the deficit and the mid 80's 0r 70s on foreign conflict. so number one is the outlook for the economy for 2014 as well as the budget deficit. >>it doesn't sound like those concerns are all that high if it doesn't counterbalance their otherwise optimistic outlook for the year. >>they've

bill moller joins us next... for so many generations it was enough to just deliver the mail. but in the electronic communications age, well, the u.s. postal service is now a money losing enterprise. to try to staunch the red ink it's trying all kinds of things - including, becoming kind of a financial services store. business reporter becky yerak wrote about this for the chicago tribune, and gosh becky, didn't they just raise the price of a stamp? obviously it ain't enough. > > they did, bill, but they need more help. you know people used to. so the post office has come up with what it calls, what it literally calls a killer app a of a to diversify its revenue base thigh and that's to get more heavily if into the financial-services industry. > > ok what kinds of things? it's not going to be offering loans is it? > > well i'll tell you what they currently offer. they currently offer money orders and international money transfer. so they're already in this business a little bit, but they're also talking about getting into prepaid cards with the post office brand, bill payment s

bill moller sifts through why that complicated merger could be bad for both companies and consumers. that's next! a great hue and cry has gone up following the monster merger proposal between comcast and time warner. a legion of lobbyists on both sides is being deployed to kill or advance the deal. but aside from what the justice department's antitrust division will consider - does the business case for this merger make sense? jeremy eden is one of the founders of the management consulting firm harvest earnings and co- authored the book low hanging fruit. if approved, how complex a merger will this be? >>this could be incredibly complex. it's an 160,000 person company. they're gonna do everything from run theme parks to provide internet services to develop new technologieseach of these companies today is hugely complex. together they are going to be enormously hard to manage. >>comcast is touting this as a deal made in heaven. it's going to have all these efficiencies which will increase earnings and be great for customer service. what do you think? >>it will certainly have some effi

that's right around the corner, with bill moller. real issues they're dealing with can be awkward and uncomfortable. but when their behavior changes, it's time to act. because if we don't, our families and relationships will suffer. listen to the veterans in your life and show you care. it matters. when you recognize a veteran is in crisis, call the veterans crisis line at 1-800-273-8255 and press "1". driverless cars. they're coming. right now they're being tested on roads in europe and the united states. when this goes mainstream - one of the big advantages will not only be that you can read and work while behind the wheel. it'll be the plunge in road accidents - and- a big drop in car insurance costs. becky yerak did some research on this. she's a business reporter at the chicago tribune. bring it on...is this plausible or probable? >>a few years ago this was looking merely plausible but now we're heading to probable. maybe in the next decade or so we may be paying a lot less for car insurance because we're seeing fewer accidents and fewer fatalities. and for a combination of reaso

bill moller joins us after the break! it's a fact. stress in the workplace is rising. several employee support organizations report this. and the negative consequence are many both in the workplace and the home. bernie dyme is president and ceo of the workplace resources company, perspectives - and you're seeing this too. >>in a big way. over a million peopleu.s. employees are really having problems everyday because of stress related issues. >>where does this come from? the productivity demands on the average employee are increasing? >>i think the economy has had a huge impact on this kind of phenomenon. that happened back in 2008 and it's not getting better quick. >>well what are the consequences when an employee is feeling stressed? >>lost work hours. lost productivitya lot of problems at home that come into the workplace. and some potential for some really devastating things to the organization. >>do managers understand this? >>i think managers are going through the same kind of stress that employees are. so i think they kind of hunker down and focus on where they n

that's next with bill moller! ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ talking to veterans about the real issues they're dealing with can be awkward and uncomfortable. but when their behavior changes, it's time to act. because if we don't, our families and relationships will suffer. listen to the veterans in your life and show you care. it matters. when you recognize a veteran is in crisis, call the veterans crisis line at 1-800-273-8255 and press "1". the word brand. it's become a buzz word. but what gives a brand prominence & staying power - a logo, a company's advertising or social media profile - something about a company's image or identity that it pushes out?the answer is explored in the terrific new book, what great brands do: the 7 brand- building principles that separate the best from the rest. written by denise lee yohn, a marketing consultant who also writes a top marketing blog. in a nutshell what is it that gives a brand staying power and impact. >>a great brand is expressed through things like a logo or tagline or advertising. but

that's next with bill moller! more and more environmentally friendly products are going mainstream. costs are coming down, performance is going up and the number of choices are increasing. one of the leading companies in the consumer products category is earth friendly products. john vlahakis is president of the company whose cleaners, soaps & detergents are sold in costco & other retailers in the us & around the world. it is a family business and it was your dad who started it. >>my dad started the company in '67. i joined the company out of college and then after grad school i started the earth friendly products brand in '93. >>even in '93 it was not fully and broadly adopted yet. so to go clean and green was a bit of a risk. >>i was a risk but i don't think it's quite mainstream yet either but we're gaining. >>you are also a market leader. is that because of patents you have taken out or recognition of the brand? >>i think our success has been based on price. we're trying to provide a low cost green alternative so when the consumer makes the decision to try our product they are d

that's next with bill moller. ted ligety, shaun white, bode millerthese are some of the big names at the sochi olympics-- names that win big endorsements and sponsors. but there are lesser known names that can attract sponsors too. chicago sports & entertainment partners represents 11 us athletes now competing at sochi. scott kirkpatrick is a partner for the agency. good work, you've won your 11 clients some 40 sponsorship deals? that sounds impressive. >>yes, it was a lot of hard work. we are fortunate to work with a lot of wonderful athletes so that helps. >>give me some ideasyou've got one guy and he's in a pretty well known ad right now. >>billy demong's in the citi commercial right now. it's great to see all of the effort that he's put in capitalizing on his gold medal in vancouver and the hard work. he's just a wonderful individual and we're really excited for his success. >>how long is the process? have you been working on some of these deals for years or is it just the past few months? >>i would say the fi

bill moller steps in next... though the news media have been brimming with stories about the march 31st deadline to sign up for health insurance under the affordable care act - a bankrate survey found 55 percent of americans actually don't know that's the deadline. ladies and gentlemen, the time to sign is now. let's talk to john divito. he's president of the private insurance exchange, flexible benefit. it's the law. don't they understand? there's a serious penalty if they don't sign. >>no i don't think people truly understand that there's a very serious penalty that sits out there if they do not buy insurance by april 1st. >>or by midnight the 31stso they hear this $95 penalty and they think that's it. >>$95 would represent someone who makes $9,500 a year because that is 1% of your pay. so the story is it's $95 or 1% of your pay. the average college student graduating today is making $40,000. 1% of 40,000 is $400so that's a stiff penalty not to have insurance. >>yeah, then they have to wait until the next enrol

she shares her story next, with bill moller. m ben affleck, and many actors have played the part of a u.s. serviceman in the movies, but for veterans like james crosby and so many other brave men and women, his service and his sacrifice for our country are real. outside baghdad, a rocket attack blew up my humvee, killing one of my marines and leaving me paralyzed. [ben affleck] when james returned home, he, like many others, was in no condition to cope and advocate for the services he needed. fortunately, paralyzed veterans of america's trained experts were there to help him so he could concentrate on getting well. for over sixty years, paralyzed veterans of america has worked to ensure that our injured veterans get the medical, housing and auto benefits they have earned. i'm so thankful paralyzed veterans of america was there for me. surely those who sacrificed so much deserve no less. join me in supporting our paralyzed veterans. visit p-v-a dot org. how 'bout this for a career? shoemaker. for sara mcintosh, that's not an anachronism. you design and make shoes by hand & run the chic

that's next with bill moller! real issues they're dealing with can be awkward and uncomfortable. but when their behavior changes, it's time to act. because if we don't, our families and relationships will suffer. listen to the veterans in your life and show you care. it matters. when you recognize a veteran is in crisis, call the veterans crisis line at 1-800-273-8255 and press "1". you have heard of crowdfunding. it's really become a craze. it seems anything and everything is being funded these days by people like you & me. we make small investments, through all those online sites. you've heard of kickstarter. well, you've got an idea for a business, maybe you have a need - maybe you want somebody to pay for your college education? you can get strangers to do that, and you might be able to raise thousands, 10's of thousands of dollars or more this way. it doesn't seem like you need a bank loan anymore. let's talk with jeanette pavini, she writes the buyer beware column for marketwatch.com. one of your headline columns was, "don't let crowdfunding become crowd scamming." what do