The Hartford's Business Owner's Playbook Visits Minneapolis: Minnesota Business Owners Primed For Insights On Protecting And Growing Their Enterprise And Personal Assets At Local Stop For National Program

2008-05-01 19:24:08 -

www.thehartford.com - The Hartford Pamela Rekow, 860-547-8990 pamela.rekow@thehartford.com or Laurenn Wolpoff, 212-239-6794 lwolpoff@cjpcom.com Accomplished Minneapolis area entrepreneurs joined distinguished panelists with business protection, personal finance and retirement insights when The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: HIG) brought its Business Owner's Playbook seminar to the Twin Cities this morning. The program is designed to help local business owners chart a course for the long term success of their enterprise.

At Jax Cafe in Minneapolis, Amy Langer, co-founder of SALO, LLC, and William Jurewicz, CEO and president of space150, shared their experiences with peers in the local business community. This morning's event, part of a national series making its first stop in Minnesota, was hosted by The Hartford in conjunction with the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal. The discussion brought to life important considerations addressed in the Business Owner's Playbook: A guide to protecting your business, growing your assets and planning for your future.

Created by The Hartford, the 40-page guide is designed to help time-stretched business owners address important financial and insurance matters - those which can have a tremendous impact on their business, their family and their future financial security. The Playbook also identifies the types of advisors - attorneys, accountants, insurance agents, financial professionals and others - who can provide more specific guidance based on particular circumstances and different stages of the business life cycle.

"In today's rocky climate, small business owners often have many concerns but little time to properly plan," said Langer, whose business provides staffing solutions for high-level positions in human resources and accounting. "I have found the age-old principle of 'being prepared' to be the most effective way to handle important ownership issues, such as cash flow crunches and employee attrition. Proper planning and working with right advisors are critical to protecting your assets in the short term and positioning your company for growth as business picks up again."

Langer and Jurewicz were joined on the panel by Ted Dyste, president of Dyste Williams, a Minneapolis-based business and personal insurance agency; and Bill Zimmerman, a retirement solutions consultant with The Hartford.

"With the many demands business owners face in the day-to-day operations of their businesses, it's critical that they have a trusted bench of advisors focused on their various business protection and financial planning needs," said Dyste, whose agency works with small and mid-sized businesses. "It's also important for business owners to 'help their advisors help them' by keeping them apprised of new developments or changes to their business, whether it be expanding their facility, acquiring a key employee, or preparing for transition."

An October 2006 survey by The Hartford of business owners with fewer than 100 employees found that nearly half (49 percent) wished they had more time to focus on personal financial planning. Moreover, nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of business owners worry about having enough money for retirement and more than half (66 percent) agree that their business is their greatest personal asset and the primary source of family income.

"The Hartford created the Business Owner's Playbook as a practical resource to help business owners identify and address the various business protection and personal finance issues they face and the types of advisors who can guide them based on their specific needs, said Jim Ketterson, branch manager for The Hartford's Minneapolis property and casualty operations. "We're pleased to bring this program to the Twin Cities, so that business owners in this region can benefit from the panel discussion and the insights and experiences of their peers."

The Minneapolis event was the first of several Business Owner's Playbook seminars scheduled this spring, with additional events to take place in New York City and St. Louis in June. Launched in 2007, The Playbook was developed with input from business owners and advisors who typically work with them. It is organized into sections for emerging, growing and transitioning companies, and covers such topics as business structure, finance, compensation, benefits, insurance, retirement and estate planning, as well as a list of resources for additional information. Copies of the Business Owner's Playbook are available free of charge at www.thehartford.com/businessowner.

Featured Minneapolis Panelists

Amy Langer is co-founder of SALO, LLC (www.salollc.com), a premier staffing firm for high level positions in human resources and accounting. Since being founded in October 2002, the company has grown to over 350 employees. Langer was recognized as a 2005 "Emerging Business Owner of the Year" and the 2004 "Woman to Watch," awarded by The Business Journal. She is active in Women Presidents' Organization (WPO), United Way's Women's Leadership Council and Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants. Langer also serves on the Board of Washburn Child Guidance Center, which works with children and their families to help children function better at home, in school and in their communities.

William "Billy" Jurewicz is president and chief executive officer at space150 (www.space150.com), a creative agency that "uses art and science, storytelling and strategy, to grow brands and help them evolve in the modern world." Under Jurewicz's direction, space150 has grown to over 100 employees since its 2000 founding, and was named to the Growth 50 by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal in both 2005 and 2006. Jurewicz is also a co-owner of the Minnesota Ripknees, a Premier Basketball League franchise.

Ted Dyste is president of Dyste Williams (www.dystewilliams.com), a full service independent insurance agency headquartered in Minneapolis. Founded in 1934, Dyste Williams is a third generation family-owned insurance agency, which handles a broad range of coverage needs for both businesses and individuals. In 2007, Dyste Williams was named Insurance Agency of the Year by the Minnesota Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers Association (MIIAB) in recognition of its leadership in the Minnesota insurance industry.

Bill Zimmerman is a member of The Hartford's team of Retirement Solutions Consultants, who work with financial advisors to educate both individuals and small business owners about retirement challenges due to longer life expectancy, inflation and other factors.

The Hartford survey was conducted among 500 small business owners (fewer than 100 employees) by Impulse Research in October 2006. It has a margin of error of +/- 3 percent.

About The Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal

The Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal delivers breaking business news and useful information to more than 118,000 readers and provides comprehensive news, rankings and information about Twin Cities businesses.

About The Hartford

The Hartford, a Fortune 100 company, is one of the nation's largest diversified financial services companies, with 2007 revenues of $25.9 billion. The Hartford is a leading provider of investment products, life insurance and group benefits; automobile and homeowners products; and business property and casualty insurance. International operations are located in Japan, the United Kingdom, Canada, Brazil and Ireland. The Hartford's Internet address is www.thehartford.com.

HIG-C

Some of the statements in this release may be considered forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We caution investors that these forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results may differ materially. Investors should consider the important risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ. These important risks and uncertainties include those discussed in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, our 2007 Annual Report on Form 10-K and the other filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We assume no obligation to update this release, which speaks as of the date issued.

"The Hartford" is The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries.

SALO, LLC, space150, Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal and Dyste Williams are not affiliates or subsidiaries of The Hartford.

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