Editor, Jason Schaff As it turns into December 2010, I’d like to tell readers that the Business Journal has 2011 all planned out and we’ve got some interesting things planned as far as special reports go. I say that we’ve got everything planned out but I don’t really mean everything. We’re a newspaper and will cover the news as it happens, good or bad, and you can’t always predict the news. Here’s a preview of some of the things we will report on. If you’ve got some specific story ideas about these topics, please let me know. In January, we’ve got our annual law report. We’ll be focusing on the small firms and solo practitioners. There are a lot of these types of firms in our greater Valley area. We hope that the professionals in those firms can provide some insights into how they run these entities as a business, how they compete in a very tough industry and why they decide to remain small. Smaller seems to be better in many industries these days for many businesspeople. They can control their own destiny better it seems. We’ll hear some small business success stories in February. Small businesses are the heart and soul of our greater Valley community so to learn from the successful ones I hope will be valuable. Next up, instead of 40 Under 40 this year, we’re going to report on 20 In Their 20s. We don’t report enough about the very young professionals who either have started their own businesses or have risen quickly through the ranks in somebody else’s company. These are the truly talented and courageous people of a generation. We’ll hear their stories. Other highlights include a green report which will showcase how the greater Valley area actually has some significant businesses that are leading the way in this burgeoning industry. Finally, there is some traction in this segment. Anniversary The year 2011 is the Business Journal’s 15th year in publishing. And we’re going to publish a special magazine about our greater Valley area and its changes in the business community during that period of time. We’ll honor companies in several different industries who have been ahead of the pack in the last 15 years as well as one individual who has been a leader truly worthy of honor for their work in their business and within the overall business community during that period of time. If you have a suggestion of the person to honor, e-mail me or call me. My e-mail address and phone number is at the bottom of this column. Another new report will be on the people involved in residential real estate. The Who’s Who will focus on the creative and powerful people in this industry. What a whirlwind it has been for these professionals in the past few years. Family business Family business comes back as a special report next year. It has been awhile since we’ve done this. We all know that there are some incredibly successful family businesses in our area. We’ll update our List of successful firms and also engage how family firms succeed in the 21st Century. Has the business model changed? And in October we’ll look at one of the most consistently successful segments of our Valley-area economy — the so-called trusted advisors – the accountants, bankers, attorneys and insurance professionals. These are some of the highlights of the special reports we’ll be featuring next year. Your comments and suggestions are always welcome. Thanks in advance. Business Journal Editor Jason Schaff can be reached at (818) 316-3125 or at [email protected].