IVOIRE

From back rubs to health food, alternative-lifestyle franchises are booming Who knew that you could franchise the concept of getting business owners together to talk shop? Minneapolis entrepreneur Norm Stoehr thought so; he put a New Age spin on the idea and turned it into a national franchise chain. Stoehr’s company, Inner Circle International Ltd., sponsors encounter groups for entrepreneurs from noncompeting businesses. Meetings are a blend of camaraderie and tough love: members vent about the

Companies outsource services they once performed in-house Long ago, U.S. corporations used to handle their own public relations, their own accounting, their own hiring. They had work crews to address equipment failure; some even did their own printing. Then downsizing swept through corporate America like an Old Testament plague. Companies grew lean and mean; outsourcing became the name of the game. And suddenly the hills were alive with the sound of pink-slipped middle managers typing their