The California Public Employees’ Retirement System, the largest U.S. public pension fund, is ratcheting down expected investment gains over the next decade as low interest rates and a gloomier stock market depress returns.

Have you heard the riddle of a father and son who get in a horrible car crash that kills the dad? The son is rushed to the hospital and the surgeon exclaims, “I can’t operate, that boy is my son!” The listener’s expectation is challenged when the riddle’s answer is given: The surgeon might be the boy’s mother.

Recently, within the context of being a co-founder and mentor at Roseville’s Glue Factory, an incubator for entrepreneurs willing to give back to the community in exchange for free workspace and guidance, I am often asked about the ins and outs of family and friends investing in a startup company.

Do you live in Stockton? Well then you can take your business across the street. That’s because the popular and ever-growing Stockmarket has officially moved its location from downtown to the Miracle Mile, as of this Saturday. 

I was fired for not meeting 100 percent or higher of my performance goals. I feel these goals are unattainable. People are fired if they are at 99 percent. Is an employer allowed to set those types of goals?

Boundaries are the metaphorical lines we draw to ensure we don’t slip into doing things that counter our value systems. Having clear boundaries prevents other people from taking advantage of you and helps you keep your distance from possible dubious activities. While there are no hard-and-fast rules for setting your boundaries, these tips may be helpful.

I’m a business owner in California and I’m worried about the impact of the new overtime wage rules in the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. How can I best prepare my business for the changes caused by the regulations?

If I have learned one thing by working with people in organizations, it’s that there’s much more telling than asking going on. As a business coach, my clients will expect me to ask, at some point in their session, “So what’s the question?”

George Lucas is reportedly considering his home state of California as the location for his proposed Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. Let’s ponder for a moment why Sacramento might be the perfect place.

I’m a 27-year-old high school English teacher, but my long-term goal is to open a performing arts school. I’m torn between obtaining an MFA so that I may bring a strong creative background to my future students, and earning a business degree so that I may learn how to run the school. I worry the MBA will be too broad but that the MFA will be less valuable.