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201 Great Ideas For Your Small Business Revised Updated Edition PDF
201 Great Ideas For Your Small Business Revised Updated Edition PDF
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Great 13
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FOR YOUR
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1 available from
2 Bloomberg Press
3
4 The Entrepreneur’s Desk Reference:
5 Authoritative Information, Ideas, and Solutions
6 for Your Small Business
7 by Jane Applegate
8 (January 2003)
9
10 Clicking Through: A Survival Guide
11 for Bringing Your Company Online
12 by Jonathan Ezor
13
14 The Business Owner’s Guide to Personal Finance:
15 When Your Business is Your Paycheck
16 by Jill Andresky Fraser
17
18 Outsmarting Goliath: How to Achieve
19 Equal Footing with Companies That Are Bigger,
20 Richer, Older, and Better Known
21 by Debra Koontz Traverso
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23 The Small Business Owner’s Guide to a
24 Good Night’s Sleep: Preventing and Solving
25 Chronic and Costly Problems
26 by Debra Koontz Traverso
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a complete list of our titles is available at
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www.bloomberg.com/books
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P.O. Box 888, Princeton, NJ 08542.
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1
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Jane Applegate 8
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201 14
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Great
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Small
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Business 28
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R E V I S E D A N D U P D AT E D E D I T I O N
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B L O O M B E R G P R E S S 38
P R I N C E T O N 39
1 © 2002 by Jane Applegate. All rights reserved. Protected under the Berne Convention.
Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored
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in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
3 photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the pub-
4 lisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For
5 information, please write: Permissions Department, Bloomberg Press, 100 Business Park
Drive, P.O. Box 888, Princeton, NJ 08542-0888 U.S.A.
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7 Books are available for bulk purchases at special discounts. Special editions or book
8 excerpts can also be created to specifications. For information, please write: Special
9 Markets Department, Bloomberg Press.
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bloomberg, bloomberg news, bloomberg financial markets, open bloomberg,
11 bloomberg personal, the bloomberg forum, company connection, company
12 connex, bloomberg press, bloomberg professional library, bloomberg
personal bookshelf, and bloomberg small business are trademarks and service
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marks of Bloomberg L.P. All rights reserved.
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15 This publication contains the author’s opinions and is designed to provide accurate and
16 authoritative information. It is sold with the understanding that the author, publisher,
and Bloomberg L.P. are not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, investment-plan-
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ning, or other professional advice. The reader should seek the services of a qualified
18 professional for such advice; the author, publisher, and Bloomberg L.P. cannot be held
19 responsible for any loss incurred as a result of specific investments or planning deci-
20 sions made by the reader.
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First edition published 1998
22 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
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24 Applegate, Jane
25 201 great ideas for your small business / Jane Applegate. -- Rev. and
26 Updated ed.
27 p. cm.
28 Includes index.
29 ISBN 1-57660-117-X (alk. paper)
30 1. Small business - - Management. I. Title.
31 HD62.7 .A64 2002
32 658.02’2 - - dc21
33 2002001941
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39 book design by Don Morris Design
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this book is dedicated to Joe, Jeanne, and Evan Applegate, 17
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who make my life worth living—also to my parents, 19
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Sherrie and Marty Weisman, who always encouraged me 21
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to “go f0r it.” 23
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1 INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
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4 C H A P T E R 1
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MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
6
Lessons to master the everyday challenges of building
7
your business
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9 1: Always Deal with Decision Makers 8
10 2: Don’t Be Afraid to Recreate Your Business 10
11 3: Hire a Great Lawyer 12
12 4: Turn to Spiritual Leaders and Science for
13 Management Advice 13
14 5: Solicit a Quick “Yes” or “No” 16
15 6: Tell the Truth—It’s Critical 17
16 7: Say Goodbye to Corporate Life 18
17 8: Create an Informal Advisory Board 20
18 9: Move Your Business to an Incubator 23
19 10: Overcome a Fear of Public Speaking 24
20 11: Find a Mentor 26
21 12: Organize a Company Retreat 27
22 13: Create a Smarter, Safer Workplace 28
23 14: Think Ergonomically 31
24 15: Make Your Meetings More Productive 33
25 16: Never Work with Anyone Who Gives You a Headache
26 or a Stomachache 34
27 17: Meet Clients in Public Places 35
28 18: Do Something about Your Stress Level 36
29 19: Work the Phones or Walk the Floor 38
30 20: Join a Business Owners’ Support Group—There’s
31 Strength in Numbers 39
32 21: Create a “Roundtable” Editorial for a
33 Trade Publication 40
34 22: Get Help from a Restaurant Consultant 41
35 23: Listen to the Telephone Doctor 42
36 24: Create a Disaster-Recovery Plan 44
37 25: Work Hard and Play Harder 45
38 26: Know When to Reach Out for Help 46
39 27: Know the DOS and DON’TS of Buying a Franchise 48
28: Consider Joining the Family Business 49 1
29: Get Free Government Counseling 51 2
30: Move Your Business into a Main Street 3
Revitalization Zone 52 4
31: Ask Your Employees to Evaluate You 53 5
32: Take This Self-Help Quiz for Managers 55 6
33: Understand What Success Means to You 57 7
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C H A P T E R 2 10
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MONEY MATTERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
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Crucial solutions and novel opportunities to keep
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the cash flowing
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34: Become a Profit Enhancement Officer 64 15
35: Look for “Smart Money” 66 16
36: Write a Killer Business Plan 67 17
37: Learn from David Bowie 69 18
38: Hire a Good Accountant 70 19
39: Find Yourself an Angel 72 20
40: Choose the Right Bank 74 21
41: Find a Strategic Partner 76 22
42: Sell Stock in Yourself 78 23
43: Rent a Financial Genius 81 24
44: Sell at the Right Time and Price 82 25
45: Be Prepared for the Sale 84 26
46: Use a Savvy Real Estate Broker 85 27
47: Shop Carefully for Long-Distance Service 87 28
48: Lock Your Supply Cabinet 88 29
49: Set Up a SIMPLE Retirement Plan 88 30
50: Create an Employee Stock-Ownership Plan 90 31
51: Join a Captive Insurance Company to Cut Costs 92 32
52: Be Prepared to Accept Credit Cards 93 33
53: Collect the Money People Owe You 95 34
54: Hire a Debt Arbitrator 97 35
55: Fight Unnecessary Chargebacks 98 36
56: Buy Disability Insurance 100 37
57: Expand Your Vendor Network 102 38
58: Ask for a Deposit 103 39
1 59: Discount Accounts Receivable 104
2 60: Be Talked Out of a Bad Idea 105
3 61: Hire an Enrolled Agent to Do Your Taxes 106
4 62: Take Advantage of a Tax Break 108
5 63: Know about Economic Development Incentives
6 and Agencies 110
7 64: Use Frequent Flier Miles for Meetings 112
8 65: Finance Your Independent Film 112
9 66: Take Advantage of Special Lending Programs
10 for Women 114
11 67: Get Free Financing Help 116
12 68: Get Some Help from Uncle Sam 116
13 69: Buy Used Office Furnishings 119
14 70: Buy Prepaid Legal Insurance 121
15 71: Locate the Right Space 121
16 72: Build Up Your Credit Lines 123
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19 C H A P T E R 3
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MARKETING STRATEGIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
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Creative ways to attract new customers and trounce
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the competition
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24 73: Strike a Deal with a Giant 131
25 74: Look Big in Cyberspace 133
26 75: Take Advantage of Co-op Advertising 135
27 76: Market to Callers on Hold 136
28 77: Set Up a Dealer Network 138
29 78: Create an Active Database 140
30 79: Market to the Gay Consumer 141
31 80: Give to Charity 142
32 81: Use Coupons to Attract Customers 145
33 82: Do Good for Your Community 146
34 83: Use Food as a Selling Tool 147
35 84: Set Up a Strong Referral Network 148
36 85: Give It Away 149
37 86: Design a Great Sign for Your Business 151
38 87: Produce an Infomercial 151
39 88: Put a Pig in Your Window 153
89: Put Your Company Name on Everything 154 1
90: Free Up Your Sales Force 155 2
91: Hire a Mascot or a Celebrity 156 3
92: Publish a Newsletter 157 4
93: Market Your Service-Based Business 159 5
94: Host an Open House 160 6
95: Promote with Prepaid Phone Cards 162 7
96: Generate Publicity in Your Community 163 8
97: Give Away a Seminar Seat 164 9
98: Know the Difference between Marketing, 10
Advertising, and PR 165 11
99: Ask for Two Business Cards 167 12
100: Have a Theater Party 168 13
101: Invite Associates to a Trade Show 168 14
102: Really Work a Trade Show 169 15
103: Know Your Competition 170 16
104: Tap the Growing Hispanic Market 172 17
105: Become Politically Active 173 18
106: Make Your 800 Line Ring 175 19
107: Attend Charity Events to Make Contacts 176 20
108: Publicize Your Food Business 177 21
109: Become a Government Contractor 179 22
110: Consider Multilevel Marketing 180 23
111: Send Pizza to Potential Clients 182 24
112: Think BIG—It Doesn’t Cost Any More than 25
Thinking Small 182 26
113: Get Certified as a Minority Supplier 186 27
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C H A P T E R 4 30
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DEVELOPING AND
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LAUNCHING PRODUCTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
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Nurturing your big idea and finding the perfect niche
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114: Create a Fad 192 35
115: Import Something New and Different 193 36
116: Turn Your Hobby into a Successful Business 195 37
117: Borrow Funds from Your Family 197 38
118: Become an Exclusive Importer 198 39
1 119: Be a Location Contrarian 201
2 120: Build a Working Model 203
3 121: Serve the Market’s High and Low Ends 205
4 122: Launch New Products with a Media Blitz 206
5 123: Do a Deal with a Big Company 208
6 124: Have Your Product Mandated for Use by
7 an Official Group 211
8 125: Find a Need and Fill It 212
9 126: Open Your Store in a Farmer’s Market 214
10 127: Turn Your Anger into Energy 215
11 128: Set Up a Cart in a Mall 216
12 129: Turn Your Passion into Profits 219
13 130: Develop a High-Tech Solution to a Problem 220
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16 C H A P T E R 5
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PEOPLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
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Recruiting talented, resourceful team members
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and keeping them productive
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21 131: Cast a Wide Net to Attract Good Employees 227
22 132: Write Clear Job Descriptions 228
23 133: Know What Not to Ask Job Applicants 229
24 134: Recruit Good Employees 230
25 135: Look Far and Wide for the Best Person 231
26 136: Work with People You Like 232
27 137: Hire Seniors as Employees 233
28 138: Hire Teenagers 235
29 139: Use the BATH System for Hiring 236
30 140: Perform a Personnel Checkup 237
31 141: Hire a Welfare Recipient 240
32 142: Consider Telecommuting as an Option 242
33 143: Tailor Benefits to Employees’ Needs 243
34 144: Offer Classes in English as a Second Language 244
35 145: Find Out How Disney Does It 245
36 146: Ask Good Clients to Meet Key Hires 247
37 147: Work with a Great Labor Attorney 248
38 148: Hire an Interim Executive 250
39 149: Offer to Train Your Employees 252
150: Offer Employees the Right Incentives 253 1
151: Deal Carefully with Issues of Workplace Violence 255 2
152: Take Your Sexual Harassment Policy Seriously 257 3
153: Rely on Temps or Leased Workers 258 4
154: Consider Hiring Remote Workers 260 5
155: Tips for Recruiting Executives 262 6
156: Send Flowers to an Employee’s Spouse 264 7
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C H A P T E R 6 10
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TIME MANAGEMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
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Organizing your office and yourself for better results
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157: Take This Time-Management Quiz 270 14
158: Get Organized—Right Now 271 15
159: Hire a Personal Information Officer 273 16
160: Plan “In” Days and “Out” Days 275 17
161: Beat Your Deadlines 276 18
162: Throw Away Your Expensive Time-Management 19
System 276 20
163: Follow These Five Quick Time-Management Tips 277 21
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C H A P T E R 7 24
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TECHNOLOGY AND
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TELECOMMUNICATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
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Using the latest equipment to streamline your company
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164: Five Great Things to Buy 284 29
165: Find the Right Communications Technology for 30
Your Business 286 31
166: Train Your Employees Online 287 32
167: Take Advantage of an Online Technology Marketplace 290 33
168: Set Up a Teleconference 293 34
169: Make the Most of Voice Mail 294 35
170: Perform a Technology Checkup 295 36
171: Use a Digital Camera for Your Website 297 37
172: Scan Your Business Cards 298 38
173: Create a Website 299 39
1 174: Computerize Your Service Business 301
2 175: Buy a High-Tech Postage Meter 302
3 176: Protect Your Business Data and Records 303
4 177: Use E-Fax 304
5 178: Sell Products Online 306
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7 C H A P T E R 8
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CUSTOMER SERVICE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
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Keeping customers happy to create a stronger business
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11 179: Take This Quick Customer Service Quiz 313
12 180: Hire a Mystery Shopper 314
13 181: Don’t Make Your Customers Angry 315
14 182: Make House Calls 316
15 183: Send Employees to a Retail Training Center 318
16 184: Demand Great Service from Vendors 318
17 185: Get to Know Your Customers Personally 319
18 186: Wrap It Up 320
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21 C H A P T E R 9
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GOING GLOBAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
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Expanding your reach and establishing an international
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network
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26 187: Expand Production South of the Border 326
27 188: Forge an International Alliance 328
28 189: Do Business in India 330
29 190: Explore Opportunities in Russia 331
30 191: Learn about a Culture before Doing Business 334
31 192: Go on a Trade Mission 335
32 193: Translate Your Marketing Materials 337
33 194: Abide by the Etiquette of International Trade 338
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C H A P T E R 1 0 1
2
GREAT IDEAS FROM VIPs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340
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Influential entrepreneurs tell you how they do it
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195: Herb Kelleher Be a Maverick in Your Industry 342 5
196: Muriel Siebert Find the Business That’s Right 6
for You 343 7
197: Mike Bloomberg Stick to Your Guns and Keep Your 8
Ideas Simple 345 9
198: Tom Peters Two Great Ideas 347 10
199: Harvey Mackay Benefit from Volunteerism 348 11
200: Wally Amos Reinvent Yourself 349 12
201: Lillian Vernon Take Some Advice from the 13
Mail-Order Queen 350 14
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CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354 17
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RESOURCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356 19
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INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380 21
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 13
every person quoted in this book deserves heartfelt 14
thanks for the many hours they spent being interviewed, 15
fact-checked, and pestered. 16
Every author needs a great agent and Dominick Abel is 17
the best. 18
Every writer needs great editors. My editors at Bloomberg 19
Press, Jacqueline Murphy and Chris Miles, provided the per- 20
fect balance of hand-holding, clear direction, and moral sup- 21
port. Thanks to Jared Kieling, editorial director, for his 22
enthusiasm for my work. 23
Special thanks to Michael Bloomberg for hiring me as a 24
consultant and giving me challenging projects that allowed 25
us to move to New York. He also contributed a great idea 26
and, best of all, published this book. 27
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Introduction
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Man’s mind, stretched to a new idea, 2
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Why I wrote “201” 8
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2 0 1 G R E AT I D E A S F O R Y O U R S M A L L B U S I N E S S
jane applegate 24
CEO SBTV Corp.
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Pelham, New York
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C H A P T E R 1
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Management
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Strategies 21
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S
1
8
ince i began writing about the
entrepreneurial market in 1988, I’ve compared
business owners to plate spinners in the circus. It
seems that as soon as you get one plate spinning,
another starts wobbling and crashes to the floor.
No matter what kind of business you’re
managing, you face big and small challenges every
day. Hands-on managers wear many hats but rarely
9 have time to hang any of them on a hat rack.
10 For instance, one morning when I arrived to have
11 my hair cut at the Total Image salon in New
12 Rochelle, New York, the owner, Frank Como, was
13 already facing an enormous pile of wet towels
14 because his clothes dryer wasn’t working. Several
15 minutes later, the real estate broker working a few
16 doors away ran into the salon in a lather because the
17 basement of her building was filling up with water.
18 That wasn’t all. Between clients, Frank was soothing
an upset hairdresser. Just a typical day, we agreed. 1
G R E AT
6 zabaglione cake from its menu, Rick Ghio feared his
7 2 dear, departed grandmother, Catherine, would send a
8 I D E A lightning bolt down from heaven in protest.
9 “But we were throwing away more cake than we were sell-
10 ing,” said Ghio of the traditional sponge cake served with a
11 rum custard sauce. Now Anthony’s serves trendier tiramisu
12 and fresh fruit tarts.
13 After fifty years, Anthony’s also dropped rosé from the
14 wine list, switching to white Zinfandel. These menu changes
15 are just part of the major facelift under way at the famous
16 San Diego–based restaurant chain.
17 Today Rick, a co-owner, manages the financial aspects of
18 the company. His brother, Craig, and three other family
19 members are the third generation to run the family-owned
20 10 business founded by their grandparents.
21 Rick and his counterparts are giving the business a total
MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES
6
7
Hire a Great Lawyer
8 G R E AT when you’re starting a business, it’s
9 natural to try to save money at every turn. But it
10 3 doesn’t pay to scrimp when it comes to getting solid
11 I D E A legal advice.
12 Most business owners’ first encounter with legal forms
13 comes with a DBA, which means “doing business as” and is
14 legally known as a fictitious name statement. After this first
15 step, you’ll need good legal advice to buy or sell real estate,
16 form a partnership, create job applications, and write
17 employee handbooks.
18 A good small business attorney will protect you and your
19 business from legal troubles involving staff, vendors, and
20 12 customers. He or she can also help when you are looking for
21 investors or dealing with bankers.
MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES
6 like to do business.
7 I know people appreciate our straightforward approach.
8 Down the line, if something doesn’t feel right, I try to get out
9 of it as smoothly and as ethically as possible. Sometimes the
10 chemistry isn’t right, or you realize you’ve made a mistake by
11 taking on a certain aspect of the project. Maybe you simply
12 don’t like dealing with the people you have to deal with.
13 So tell the truth and move along. People will respect you,
14 and new opportunities will surely replace the ones you leave
15 behind.
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17
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Say Goodbye to Corporate Life
19 G R E AT “i suddenly realized i was taking just as big
20 18 a risk staying in my corporate job as I would if I
21 7 left,” said Dairl Johnson, who was at the peak of his
MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES
6 “The most vital things about the incubator are the consul-
7 tations and the meetings,” said Scovil. “You save money on
8 professional services. The people here are like angels with a
9 lot of contacts.”
10 Scovil admits that “the screening process to land a spot at
11 EC2 was pretty intense. We found out about this incubator
12 from a friend who was one of the people who set up the
13 high-tech equipment,” he said. “We were trying to figure out
14 our vision, and it just meshed with what Egg was doing.”
15 While many incubators are hatched on college campuses,
16 some are privately funded ventures. Foundation Capital in
17 Menlo Park, California, for instance, invested $1 million on
18 idealab!, a Pasadena incubator for Internet companies. ideal-
19 ab! attracted the funding in part because it was founded by
20 24 Bill Gross, a veteran software entrepreneur.
21 To find out more about business incubators, check out the
MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES
22 ble. Recycle all the paper you can: white paper, newsprint,
23 and cardboard. Townsend says it takes one-third less gross
24 energy to make one sheet of recycled paper compared to vir-
25 gin paper.
26 ◆ Recycling programs. Paper is not the only office supply that
27 can be easily recycled. Recycle everything you can. One com-
28 pany’s waste is another company’s treasure. You can recycle
29 carpets, CD-ROMs, computer batteries, computers, printer
30 cartridges, construction-site waste, floppy disks, glass, light-
31 bulbs, holiday cards, light ballasts, and packing materials.
32 The Association of Foam Packaging Recyclers operates more
33 than forty-five recycling centers around the United States.
34 Check the phone book for the center closest to your office.
35 ◆ Telecommuting/transportation. Encourage your workers to
36 carpool, bike, or use public transportation. Try telecommut-
37 ing at least one day a week to save time and fuel.
38 Townsend’s book is available from Gila Press: P.O. Box
39 623, Olney, MD 20830; (800) 959-0917.
1
Think Ergonomically 2
INVEST IN GOOD OFFICE FURNITURE 3
G R E AT i’m usually the last one to urge any 4
entrepreneur to spend money on office trappings. In 5
14 my previous life as a white-collar crime reporter, I 6
I D E A quickly learned the glitzier the office, the worse the 7
criminal who worked there (see Great Idea 69). 8
But with repetitive-motion injuries costing U.S. business 9
owners an estimated $100 million in lost productivity and 10
millions more in workers’ comp each year, it’s important to 11
make sure you and your employees are sitting on the right 12
kind of chairs behind the right desks. 13
If you work in California, you have to comply with a vari- 14
ety of ergonomic regulations. As onerous as it sounds, pro- 15
viding a comfortable workplace is becoming mandatory, 16
no matter where you live and work. In 1999, federal statis- 17
tics showed there were 246,000 cases of repeated trauma 18
disorders affecting workers from white-collar executives to 19
meatpackers. 31 20
“The most important investment you can make is in a 21
chair with adjustable lumbar support and height features,” 22
said Mark Dutka, founder of In House in San Francisco, a 23
design firm specializing in home office furniture. His per- 24
sonal favorite is the Herman Miller “Aeron” chair, which 25
retails for about $1,150. 26
Rebecca Boenigk, chief executive officer and chairman of 27
Neutral Posture Inc. in Bryan, Texas, is very familiar with 28
good office chairs. Her father, Dr. Jerome Congleton, is a 29
national expert on ergonomics and designer of the com- 30
pany’s adjustable chairs. 31
“If you don’t have proper support, you’ll go home hurt- 32
ing every day,” said Boenigk. “We want you to change 33
the position of your chair all day long and make it easy 34
to do so.” 35
Recognizing that too many expensive chairs are not 36
properly used, her company sends out a videotape and 37
instruction booklet with every chair. They also have an 38
animated computer software program that explains how 39
1
2 How to gear up ergonomically
3
4 ◆ Hire an ergonomics consultant to review your office.
5 ◆ Determine what equipment you need to reduce back and
2 0 1 G R E AT I D E A S F O R Y O U R S M A L L B U S I N E S S
6 wrist problems.
7 ◆ Start by buying the low-budget items: back support pil-
8 lows, wrist rests for keyboards, foot stools, copy holders,
9 and good lighting.
10 ◆ Work your way up to complete workstations and expen-
11 sive chairs.
12 For a serious look at how ergonomics affects your bottom
13 line, read The Right Fit, by Dr. Clifford Gross, director of the
14 Center for Product Ergonomics at the University of South
15 Florida in Tampa. The book is published by Productivity
16 Press: P.O. Box 13390, Portland, OR 97213-0390; 503-
17 235-0600 (1996).
18
19 to operate Neutral Posture chairs.
20 32 “Some people think a $200 chair is expensive,” she said.
21 “But the chair is the most important part of the workstation.”
MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES
G R E AT
6 Life is too short to work with people who make you
7 16 miserable. This isn’t emotional hogwash. You can’t
8 I D E A do your best work when you hate the person manag-
9 ing you or the project.
10 I know. I’ve tried. Without naming names, I’ll share a
11 quick story. A very big company interested in selling its ser-
12 vices to entrepreneurs asked me to come up with some good
13 ideas to get them started.
14 I came up with a concept the company believed was a win-
15 ner. My former partner and I wrote a formal proposal for
16 funding. After months of “yes, it’s happening,” then, “no, it
17 isn’t,” we were awarded a six-figure contract.
18 But it wasn’t time for champagne. During the rocky
19 negotiations, I realized that while my idea was embraced
20 34 by the top brass, his second in command hated it. Why?
21 Because it was “not invented here” (see Great Idea 1). The
MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES
22 www.bookpassage.com.
23 Petrocelli shared one great idea that anyone who owns a
24 retail store or small business should try: Work on the floor.
25 “The company execs are scheduled like everyone else to get
26 out and sell books,” said Petrocelli. “Everyone here has been
27 on the floor as a bookseller.”
28 Covering the lunch hour while your employees take a
29 break is a great way to stay in touch with the front line of
30 your business. Sit in for the receptionist and answer the
31 phone. Don’t make a big deal out of it. Just roll up your
32 sleeves and be the best employee you can be.
33 “We had a marketing meeting, and so much of the infor-
34 mation came from people saying, ‘when I was on the floor
35 yesterday …’ ” said Petrocelli. You’ll be surprised how much
36 valuable insight can be gained by working directly with your
37 consumers. It might even provide you with the ideas and
38 ammunition you’ve been searching for to put you ahead of
39 your competition.
1
Join a Business Owners’ Support 2
3
Group—There’s Strength in Numbers 4
G R E AT entrepreneurs have a very tough time 5
admitting they need help. But the smartest entrepre- 6
20 neurs I know aren’t too proud to seek outside counsel 7
I D E A and objective perspective. 8
There are many groups set up to function as self-help or 9
peer counseling groups for troubled business owners. San 10
Diego–based The Executive Committee or TEC, as it is 11
known, has been around since 1957. Until recently, it 12
focused mainly on big business, but now the group has a 13
program for smaller companies—organizations that have 14
been in business for three years or more with at least $3 mil- 15
lion in revenues and twenty-five employees. 16
The by-invitation-only organization created the “TEC for 17
Emerging Entrepreneurs” program with more than 200 18
members in thirteen states. Each group includes no more 19
than fourteen CEOs from noncompeting industries who can 39 20
afford to spend $5,400 a year on peer support. For more 21
information on TEC, phone 800-274-2367. 22
There are many other groups out there that provide peer 23
support and motivation for busy entrepreneurs. Joining 24
your local chamber of commerce is a good place to start. Be 25
sure to attend the monthly mixers and get to know as many 26
members as possible. For more information visit the Cham- 27
ber of Commerce of the United States website (www. 28
uschamber.org ). 29
Be sure to join a trade or professional association to con- 30
nect with colleagues and competitors. I belong to several 31
journalistic groups, and their publications keep me up-to- 32
date on what’s happening in my profession. 33
Women business owners can join the National Associa- 34
tion of Women Business Owners (www.NAWBO.org), 35
which has chapters around the country. Chapters of the 36
Women Presidents’ Organization (www.womenpresidents 37
org.com) provide peer counseling, educational events, and 38
an annual conference. 39
1 Minority business owners can also contact the National
2 Association of Minority Contractors (www.namconline.org),
3 the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (www.ushcc.com),
4 or the National Black Chamber of Commerce (www.national
5 bcc.org).
2 0 1 G R E AT I D E A S F O R Y O U R S M A L L B U S I N E S S
22 kitchen design.”
23 Kharasch’s reputation for improving customer service
24 is spreading beyond the hospitality business. In 1997, he
25 began offering training and seminars for banks, law firms,
26 and hospitals. “They are learning about hospitality as a
27 way to beat competition, and it has nothing to do with
28 food,” he said.
29
30
31
Listen to the Telephone Doctor
32 G R E AT nancy friedman, known as the “telephone
33 Doctor,” is one of my favorite customer service
34 23 experts. She’s an energetic, intelligent woman who
35 I D E A teaches people how to make the most of their most
36 valuable business tool—the phone—via seminars, books,
37 and tapes.
38 Unfortunately, many people take their telephone for
39 granted. They answer it without enthusiasm, half-listen to
what’s being said, and take poor, incomplete messages. We 1
may carry cellular phones around and worry about missing 2
calls, but Friedman’s contention is that we don’t appreciate 3
or make use of the telephone’s real power. 4
If you teach your employees to answer the phone properly 5
and place calls in a professional manner, it will boost sales as 6
well as morale. She was gracious enough to contribute a few 7
great ideas for this book: 8
◆ Teach your employees to smile before they answer the 9
phone. Even if it’s forced, smiling brightens your voice and 10
boosts your energy. 11
◆ Keep important numbers handy. In all print correspon- 12
dence, type the addressee’s phone number directly under the 13
city and state in the opening part of a letter. This makes it 14
easy for you to call the person to follow up. 15
◆ When you are out of the office, call your staff at a 16
specified time. When you check in, ask them to tell you 17
exactly what’s been going on that day. No business owner 18
or boss ever wants to hear “nothing’s going on” at the 19
office. 43 20
◆ Learn to love voice mail. No matter how annoying you might 21
think it is, voice mail is here to stay. Learn to swear by it, not 22
at it. If you don’t want to hear that robotic, annoying “thank 23
you for calling…,” hit the “O” and most of the time you’ll 24
reach a live operator. If you don’t want to go into someone’s 25
voice mail, return to the operator and ask if you can leave a 26
personal message. 27
28
To find out more about improving telephone skills, check 29
out Friedman’s website: www.teldoc.com. Or contact Nancy 30
Friedman: Telephone Doctor, 30 Hollenberg Ct., St. Louis, 31
MO 63044; 314-291-3710. 32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
1
2
Create a Disaster-Recovery Plan
3 G R E AT nobody likes to talk about the possibility
4 of disaster, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have
5 24 a comprehensive disaster-recovery plan for your busi-
2 0 1 G R E AT I D E A S F O R Y O U R S M A L L B U S I N E S S
22 ◆ please elaborate
23 3 What can I do to improve the way I manage the company?
24 Please comment and provide specific suggestions:
25 4 Would you recommend that friends apply for jobs here if their
26 skills fit our needs?
27 ◆ If yes, why?
28 ◆ If no, why not?
29 5 Do I praise people publicly for their good work?
30 6 Do I criticize people for poor performance in front of col-
31 leagues?
32 7 What is the best decision I’ve made this year?
33 8 What is the worst decision I’ve made this year?
34 9 How would you have handled the problem with
35 differently than the way I did?
36
37 On the form, request that responses are returned to you
38 by a specified date and remind employees that there is no
39 need to sign their names. After you review the comments,
schedule a staff meeting to discuss their suggestions for 1
improvement and how you plan to respond. 2
3
Take This Self-Help Quiz 4
5
for Managers 6
G R E AT
self-help quizzes and do-it-yourself 7
diagnostics are popular features in women’s maga- 8
32 zines, but rarely appear in business books. Yet it’s 9
I D E A worth taking a few minutes to think about how you 10
are coping with the toughest job in America—running a 11
small business. 12
Being an entrepreneur is incredibly stressful. Despite 13
computers, cellular phones, pagers, scanners, and e-mail, an 14
entrepreneur’s life is not simple. For most of us, it’s a 15
chaotic juggling act. 16
So spend a few minutes with this quiz. There are no right 17
or wrong answers. It’s meant to provoke thought—and 18
action. 19
There are three sections: Management and Personnel, 55 20
Money, and Time. 21
22
Management and Personnel 23
1 Do you dread it when someone walks into your office to speak 24
to you privately? 25
2 When was the last time you had breakfast or lunch with your 26
key employees? 27
3 When was the last time you hosted an offsite staff meeting? 28
4 Have you implemented any new ideas proposed by your staff 29
since the beginning of the year? 30
5 If you had a magic wand and could vaporize aggravating 31
employees, who would be on your list? 32
6 Do you spend an inordinate amount of time each day handling 33
personnel conflicts? 34
7 When was the last time you hired someone? 35
8 Fired someone? 36
9 Do you offer onsite training or tuition reimbursement? 37
10 Do you have a mentor or colleague to call when things aren’t 38
going well? 39
1 Based on your answers, you might want to make some
2 personnel changes. Life is too short to work with anyone
3 who gives you a headache or a stomachache (see Great Idea
4 16). In a small business, every person counts. And, since
5 you’re the boss, you can choose who you work with every day.
2 0 1 G R E AT I D E A S F O R Y O U R S M A L L B U S I N E S S
6 including Roseanne, Cybill, 3rd Rock from the Sun, and the
7 Cosby Show.
8 Although she does a few hours of paperwork at home in
9 the evening, fighting workaholism has paid off for Carsey,
10 whose firm, Carsey-Werner, is regarded as one of the world’s
11 most successful independent television production compa-
12 nies. The company is growing rapidly. It moved worldwide
13 distribution of its popular shows in-house and added a fea-
14 ture film group.
15 Despite the pressures of managing a high-profile, high-
16 profit business, Carsey puts her family first, frequently
17 speaking to her husband and kids from the office. “I very
18 much needed the ability to balance my life,” said Carsey. “I
19 believe in a team approach to doing everything—and I
20 58 believe wholeheartedly in delegating.” Carsey, who vows to
21 spend more time out of the office, “living and meeting peo-
MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES
Money
17
18
19
20
Matters 21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
M
1
8
spending it.
oney fuels your dreams.
Without enough of it, your business will shrivel up
and die. Entrepreneurs are obsessed with money.
We fret about raising it, saving it, borrowing it, and
for paying the bills while I maxed out all our credit 4
22
23
Become a Profit Enhancement Officer
24 G R E AT we’re all familiar with ceos, but ever hear
25 of a “PEO”? A PEO is a “profit enhancement officer,”
26 34 and that’s what every business owner should be,
27 I D E A according to Barry Schimel, a Maryland CPA who
28 quit doing tax returns to devote his life to boosting business
29 owners’ profits.
30 “If you ask employees what their responsibilities are, the
31 word ‘profit’ rarely comes out of their mouths,” said
32 Schimel, cofounder of The Profit Advisors in Rockville,
33 Maryland. “People do work, but there’s no relationship
34 between what they do and how it affects the bottom line.”
35 Beefing up the bottom line is the goal of Schimel’s rigor-
36 ous analysis and intense brainstorming sessions. Although
37 he charges clients five-figure consulting fees, Schimel claims
38 he’s helped them reap more than $200 million in additional
39 profits over the past few years.
“Because he was a complete outsider, he gave us new 1
ways of looking at things,” said Debbie Hastings, vice presi- 2
dent of East End Moving and Storage Inc. in Rochester, New 3
York. After hearing him speak at a moving-industry confer- 4
ence, Hastings hired Schimel to turn twenty of her sixty 5
employees into “profit champions.” Everyone from packers 6
to salespeople was taught how to dig for profits. 7
Schimel was quick to implement money-making strate- 8
gies. His first focus was clerical. East End employees pledged 9
to vigilantly complete all the move-related paperwork, 10
because when packers and movers didn’t keep track of all the 11
materials used or hours spent on a job, the customer 12
couldn’t be billed—and profits were lost. Hastings said that 13
simple tactic added about $1,000 a week to the company’s 14
bottom line. 15
After receiving Hastings’s permission to tape-record his 16
calls to East End’s sales department, Schimel played the 17
tapes at the brainstorming session. “That was a real eye- 18
opener,” said Hastings. “One salesperson was essentially giv- 19
ing away out-of-state business by referring customers to 65 20
other movers.” The employee was counseled and sales poli- 21
cies were changed. 22
Some profit-boosting suggestions were small, such as 23
putting supervisors in charge of distributing office supplies 24
to cut costs. “It’s hard to keep track of specific savings, but 25
based on our financial statement, we’re doing better,” said 26
Hastings. 27
With Schimel’s help, Washington Express Service Inc., 28
based in Beltsville, Maryland, found that it could reap a 29
windfall just by reviewing customer accounts. The company, 30
with annual revenues of $7.5 million, serves mostly 31
white-collar clients such as law and accounting firms. 32
“We found a lot of customers with special discounts that 33
no one had reviewed for years,” said Gil Carpel, president 34
and CEO. He immediately updated the old rates. Then they 35
began charging extra for mileage, round-trips, and waiting 36
time. Very few customers complained about these minor 37
adjustments, which brought in an extra $100,000 a year. 38
“It was really manna from heaven,” said Carpel. He also 39
1 “fired” some customers to eliminate the expense of servicing
2 companies that rarely called with business. Based on
3 Schimel’s brainstorming sessions, they also installed a
4 toll-free 800 number for drivers who had been calling dis-
5 patchers collect, consolidated vendors, and installed an
2 0 1 G R E AT I D E A S F O R Y O U R S M A L L B U S I N E S S
6
7
8
Hire a Good Accountant
9 G R E AT no matter what stage of life your business
10 is in, you’ll need an experienced accountant not just
11 38 to prepare your taxes, but also to help you plan your
12 I D E A long-term financial goals.
13 A good small business accountant understands and keeps
14 up with state and federal tax laws but also should know
15 enough about your business to become a vital member of
16 your advisory team. Your accountant should be consulted
17 before you buy any equipment, sign a major deal, or sell or
18 relocate your business.
19 But how do you find the right accountant for your small
20 70 business? If possible, look for someone with experience in
21 your specific industry. If you are in the apparel business, you
MONEY MATTERS
6
7
Find a Strategic Partner
8 G R E AT finding the right strategic partner is a
9 critical key to success for many small companies.
10 41 Teaming up with a bigger, financially stronger part-
11 I D E A ner can provide a source of cash for growth and
12 expansion. Joining forces with a more creative, nimble, or
13 well-connected partner can open doors to new markets.
14 In the case of BabyPressConference.com, which provides
15 live streaming video from kiosks set up in hospital maternity
16 wards, the company relied on a strong relationship between
17 its owner and the chain of hospitals he worked for to raise
18 $4.9 million in 2000 when the rest of the dot-com world
19 was crashing. The company, founded in late 1998 by Lee
20 76 Perlman, executive vice president of the Greater New York
21 Hospital Association, capitalized on Perlman’s strong indus-
MONEY MATTERS
22 tive investors?
23 ◆ Can my business be understood by people who may have
24 no experience buying stock?
25 ◆ Does my company have affinity groups who would recog-
26 nize our name and products?
27 ◆ Can we obtain names, addresses, and phone numbers of
28 people in our affinity groups?
29 ◆ Can our management team devote time to the offering?
30 ◆ Do we have audited financial reports for at least two
31 fiscal years?
32 If the answer to most of these questions is yes, look
33 further into DPOs. Also, read Field’s book, Direct Public
34 Offerings: The New Method for Taking Your Company Public
35 (Sourcebooks; 1997).
36 The SCOR Report is available for $280 a year from Tom
37 Stewart-Gordon. Write to P.O. Box 781992, Dallas, TX
38 75378.
39
One of the smallest DPOs in history raised $470,000 1
for Hahnemann Laboratories Inc., a homeopathic pharma- 2
cy in Albany, California. Founder and president Michael 3
Quinn said he turned to his customers for help because he 4
didn’t have the money needed to build an FDA-licensed 5
laboratory. The company produces natural homeopathic 6
remedies, which are considered an alternative to synthetic 7
prescription drugs. 8
Quinn, a former hospital pharmacist, sent 30,000 letters 9
to people on his mailing list. He followed up with a prospec- 10
tus to 2,100 people who asked for more information. A total 11
of 242 investors ended up investing just under $2,000 each. 12
The new lab in San Rafael cost about $250,000—money 13
raised by the DPO. Quinn said legal, accounting, printing, 14
and postage costs for the offering were about $103,000, but 15
said it was money well spent. “It’s worth the time and money 16
it takes if you are totally committed to the work you’re 17
doing,” said Quinn. 18
19
20
Rent a Financial Genius 81
21
G R E AT ward wieman, founder of management 22
Overload in Santa Monica, California, helps small, 23
43 fast-growing companies manage rapid growth. To 24
I D E A manage his own cash flow, he says, “I rent a financial 25
genius once a month.” Relying on this kind of outside exper- 26
tise helps him keep track of his big financial picture. 27
“These temps have proven to be exceptional,” said Wie- 28
man, who pays about $250 to $300 an hour for savvy finan- 29
cial advice. “For many business owners, these finance man- 30
agers do a good job at managing the resources the company 31
already has. Sometimes they will tackle or identify a potential 32
problem, like when a business owner doesn’t know whether 33
he’s making or losing money.” 34
Many businesses can’t afford, or don’t need, a full-time 35
chief financial officer. If that’s the case, you can “rent” a very 36
competent one. “A finance pro can highlight the problems 37
and the strong points of your business,” Wieman said. 38
He also reminds business owners that no matter what 39
1 happens in the business world, “cash is king.” “The only true
2 growth is in profits,” Wieman said. “If profits are not grow-
3 ing faster than revenues, something’s wrong.”
4 In addition to renting a financial expert, you can rent a
5 credit manager. Eric Shaw, founder and president of New
2 0 1 G R E AT I D E A S F O R Y O U R S M A L L B U S I N E S S
22 space.”
23 Sit down with your employees and decide exactly how
24 much space you need. Brokers say figure on renting about
25 250 square feet of rentable space per employee as a rule of
26 thumb. Write down what you need in terms of private
27 offices, conference rooms, a reception area, storage space,
28 kitchen, parking, and security.
29 Be sure to factor in growth.The worst thing is moving in
30 and realizing that you will soon outgrow your new digs. If
31 you end up with an extra office or two, you might consider
32 subleasing to another small business owner. But be sure
33 your lease allows you to sublease.
34 Feeling good about where you work is essential. It’s well
35 worth your effort to find the right broker to help you locate
36 space and sign a lease that suits your needs.
37 For tips on choosing office space that fits your specific
38 business, see Great Idea 71.
39
1
Shop Carefully for 2
3
Long-Distance Service 4
G R E AT every day, entrepreneurs are bombarded 5
with offers by long-distance companies. Deregula- 6
47 tion has created absolute chaos and confusion in the 7
I D E A marketplace. But you can sort it out if you know the 8
right questions to ask. 9
Gerald Dunne Jr., former chief executive officer of Group 10
Long Distance Inc. in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, put together 11
this list of questions to ask. Before you make comparisons, 12
get the answers from your current carrier. 13
1 Does your company bill in six-second increments, or will I be 14
charged for a full minute no matter how brief the call? 15
2 Will I be billed at the same rate for calls made during the 16
day, evening, or night? How will interstate, intrastate, and 17
international calls be billed? 18
3 Do you bill me directly, or will I have to resolve any billing 19
disputes through my local phone service provider? 87 20
4 What other services do you provide? Conference calling? 21
Calling cards? Debit cards? Internet access service? 22
5 Does your company own its own switches, or will my calls be 23
subjected to multiple rerouting? 24
6 Who is your underlying carrier? Is it AT&T or a smaller, less- 25
known carrier? 26
7 How long has your company been in business? 27
8 Are you privately or publicly owned? 28
9 In how many states are you licensed to operate? Licensing by 29
the public service commission in all fifty states indicates a 30
strong, established company. 31
10 Are you a member of the Telecommunications Resellers Asso- 32
ciation? Membership in this trade group is important to rep- 33
utable companies. 34
35
After getting answers to these questions, you should 36
be better able to make an informed decision. Periodically 37
check your bills to make sure you are being served by the 38
company of your choice. “Slamming”—illegally switching 39
1 customers—is a nasty and prevalent tactic. You shouldn’t
2 be switched unless you personally sign an authorization
3 form.
4 If you receive bills from an unknown company, call your
5 local phone company and demand to be switched back.
2 0 1 G R E AT I D E A S F O R Y O U R S M A L L B U S I N E S S
6
7
8
LockYour Supply Cabinet
9 G R E AT profit-meister barry schimel shared this
10 idea. If your office supply bill is skyrocketing, and the
11 48 supply closet shelves are always empty, try locking the
12 I D E A closet. Hand the key to one responsible person, the
13 office manager, or if that’s not feasible, to a couple of man-
14 agers or supervisors on different shifts. This way, no one can
15 just root around for an armload of supplies. Add a sign-out
16 sheet, too, to monitor who is taking what.
17 If this sounds too draconian, take a lighter approach. At
18 the end of a staff meeting, ask everyone to go back to their
19 desks and rescue all the pencils, pens, and markers hidden
20 88 under piles of paper or tucked into the backs of drawers.
21 Look in your briefcase or purse, too—you’ll be surprised by
MONEY MATTERS
G R E AT
6 out or pull some equity out of his or her business,
7 50 there are several options. One of the best options for
8 I D E A both employers and employees is an employee stock-
9 ownership plan, or ESOP.
10 ESOPs allow business owners to sell company shares to
11 employees at a fair price. ESOPs also provide significant tax
12 benefits for owners while providing retirement benefits for
13 workers. Workers who own shares usually feel more loyal
14 and driven to perform, so productivity increases and, as a
15 result, their stock increases in value. An ESOP can also help
16 finance the expansion of the business, so everyone benefits.
17 ESOPs work especially well for small, stable companies
18 with fewer than 100 loyal, long-time employees. “The
19 employees get all the economic benefits of being a share-
20 90 holder without the liabilities,” said Steve Bohn, senior vice
21 president of business advisory services for Merrill Lynch.
MONEY MATTERS
G R E AT
6 “cherry-pickers” three hundred feet above Times
7 51 Square would make most insurance brokers sweat.
8 I D E A But not Richard Butwin, who has been the Artkraft
9 Strauss Sign Co.’s broker for the past seven years.
10 Six years ago, Butwin, a principal in the Nathan Butwin
11 agency in Great Neck, New York, encouraged Artkraft to join
12 what is known as a “captive” insurance company.
13 Captives are a form of self-insurance designed to serve
14 small manufacturing companies seeking to reduce their
15 workers’ compensation and liability insurance premiums.
16 There are about 3,200 captive insurance companies in
17 existence.
18 “The primary reason to join a captive is to gain long-term
19 control over your insurance costs and make them level and
20 92 predictable,” said Butwin. To take advantage of favorable tax
21 benefits, most captives are based in Bermuda or the Cayman
MONEY MATTERS
history? 29
30
31
Collect the Money People OweYou 32
G R E AT when people owe you money, it hurts you 33
and your business. No matter how careful your 34
53 credit-granting policy may be, someday, sometime, 35
I D E A some people will fall behind on their bills and owe 36
you money. 37
The key to collecting money from customers is to do it in 38
a way that won’t ruin the business relationship. First, you 39
1
2
3
Tips for finding the right
4 collection agency
5
2 0 1 G R E AT I D E A S F O R Y O U R S M A L L B U S I N E S S
22
23
Fight Unnecessary Chargebacks
24 G R E AT every year, hundreds of small apparel
25 manufacturers are charged millions of dollars for fail-
26 55 ing to ship clothing to stores in “floor ready” condi-
27 I D E A tion. Retailers, contending that without specifications
28 there would be chaos in their stores, deduct funds for items
29 that are not packed in the right kind of box, hung on the
30 right hangers, or properly tagged.
31 Smaller manufacturers have the most trouble meeting
32 these demands, and while they can protest these deductions
33 or chargebacks, it’s a long and tedious process. Major retail-
34 ers publish telephone book–sized packing and shipping
35 guides for vendors who want to do business with them.
36 There is little consistency; every retailer has a different set of
37 specifications. Bill Chapman, accounting manager for Seattle
38 Pacific Industries Inc., offered an example: “We were
39 charged $150 for putting a piece of tissue paper in a carton.”
Seattle Pacific, which sells trendy casual wear to Sears, 1
Mervyn’s, and Federated, among others, is trying to reduce 2
its chargebacks from about $10 million a year to $2 million. 3
Company executives have made reducing chargebacks a top 4
priority, and the company’s 250 employees are working hard 5
to reduce problems caused at their end. 6
John Metzger, founder and chief executive officer of 7
Creditek, a financial services outsourcing company based 8
in Parsippany, New Jersey, said U.S. retailers have grown 9
so huge through consolidation that it’s difficult for a $10 10
million clothing company to do business with an $8 billion 11
retailer. 12
“I fear that in five to ten years, the innovative, small fash- 13
ion houses are going to go out of business,” said Metzger. 14
“It’s a scary scenario for the apparel industry.” Metzger said 15
small companies find that dealing with chargebacks “is grue- 16
somely technical, detailed, and labor-intensive work.” 17
Sandi Wolf, chargeback manager for Gabar Inc., a Farm- 18
ingdale, New York, maker of resort and swimwear, agrees. 19
Plus, she said, the penalties have become “beyond outra- 99 20
geous.” On the day we spoke, Wolf was dealing with a 21
$2,000 penalty for shipping too many swimsuits to a store. 22
She said chargebacks can equal 2 to 5 percent of total annual 23
sales, which is significant for smaller companies like Gabar, 24
with sales of under $50 million. 25
Ken Green, president of the Internal Audit Bureau in 26
Hamlin, Pennsylvania, helps companies like Gabar recover 27
chargebacks and provides other accounting support services. 28
IAB is paid a percentage of the funds collected, usually less 29
than 50 percent. 30
Green said the big guys win most battles in the charge- 31
back war. “It used to be a 65/35 percent split in favor of the 32
retailers,” said Green. “Now, it’s 75/25 percent in favor of 33
retailers.” To their credit, several major retailers, including 34
Federated, are involved in an industrywide effort to make life 35
easier for small manufacturers. 36
“The wave of the future is the website, where, with the 37
proper security codes, manufacturers could find out what’s 38
wrong and correct the problems in advance,” said Kim 39
1 Zablocky, president of the New York Credit and Financial
2 Management Association (NYCFMA), which represents
3 credit managers in many industries. Henry Gerstman, a
4 NYCFMA member and treasurer of Century Business Credit
5 Corp. in Manhattan, which finances apparel transactions,
2 0 1 G R E AT I D E A S F O R Y O U R S M A L L B U S I N E S S
G R E AT
for many entrepreneurs, making a sale is 22
easy. The tough part is getting paid. But without steady 23
58 cash flow, even the strongest business will starve. 24
I D E A In 2000, small businesses buffeted by the reces- 25
sion began asking customers for deposits before they started 26
the work or filled an order. Asking for a deposit is a great way 27
to boost your cash flow. If handled fairly and properly, it 28
won’t alienate good customers. 29
Professional consultants often require 50 percent of the 30
first month’s fee when they are retained. Payments are made 31
along the way, and the balance is due when the project or 32
report is completed. 33
If you haven’t required deposits before, draft a short letter 34
of explanation and send it out to all your customers or 35
clients. Make sure you are clear about your new policy and 36
don’t play favorites. If you begin asking for deposits, you 37
have to make sure every customer or client is required to 38
comply with the policy. 39
1 You don’t have to be a painter or carpenter to ask for a
2 deposit. Your customers shouldn’t object to paying 20, 30, or
3 even 50 percent down when they place an order or sign a
4 contract. So ask for a deposit to secure your products, time,
5 and services. It makes good business sense.
2 0 1 G R E AT I D E A S F O R Y O U R S M A L L B U S I N E S S
6
7
8
Discount Accounts Receivable
9 G R E AT here’s another cash-flow boosting idea.
10 If people owe you money, consider offering them a
11 59 discount on the balance—if and only if they pay up
12 I D E A immediately. Try this only after you’ve called and
13 asked why they haven’t paid up on time. This incentive often
14 does the trick if the person actually has the cash but is just
15 holding back.
16 For this to work, you need to offer a significant dis-
17 count—at least 20 percent—because most people need a
18 real incentive to send the check immediately. Set a tight
19 deadline for them to respond. To sweeten the offer, include
20 104 a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Even if just a handful
21 of customers respond, it may bring in needed cash. Be
MONEY MATTERS
6
7
to Do Your Taxes
8 G R E AT nobody likes to pay taxes. it’s even worse if
9 you’re unhappy with your current tax preparer. If you
10 61 are thinking about a change, you might consider hir-
11 I D E A ing an enrolled agent.
12 Although they’ve been around since 1884 and prepare
13 millions of tax returns a year, enrolled agents, or EAs as they
14 are known, are a well-kept secret. While certified public
15 accountants (CPAs) and public accountants (PAs) are
16 licensed by the state, enrolled agents are licensed by the fed-
17 eral government. Enrolled agents specialize in preparing tax
18 returns and can represent taxpayers before the Internal Rev-
19 enue Service, just like CPAs and tax attorneys.
20 106 They have to renew their license every three years after
21 completing seventy-two hours of education in taxation.
MONEY MATTERS
6
7
Take Advantage of a Tax Break
8 G R E AT the old cliché, “if something sounds too
9 good to be true, it probably is” applies to many
10 62 schemes and scams offered to small business own-
11 I D E A ers. However, an obscure provision of the federal tax
12 code actually gives mom-and-pop businesses a real break.
13 Although it sounds too good to be true, Section 105 allows
14 very small, family-owned businesses to reimburse them-
15 selves for 100 percent of their uninsured medical, dental,
16 and vision-care expenses. The regulation has been on the
17 books since 1954, but few business people seem to know
18 anything about it.
19 Those who do take advantage of Section 105 have to meet
20 108 strict requirements set up by the Department of Labor and
21 the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, known as
MONEY MATTERS
22 ERISA. You also have to file the appropriate forms with your
23 tax returns and keep careful payroll records, according to
24 Juda Kallus, a Manhattan accountant who is familiar with
25 Section 105. “First of all, you have to have a bona fide work-
26 ing relationship with your spouse,” said Kallus. “Then, the
27 record-keeping requirements are very severe.”
28 Kallus says Section 105 may work for you, if
29 1 You operate a husband-and-wife sole proprietorship or part-
30 nership.
31 2 One spouse works for the other.
32 3 You pay your spouse a reasonable salary.
33 4 You withhold payroll taxes and keep careful time sheets.
34 5 You keep a separate business banking account for reimburse-
35 ments.
36 6 The spouse on the payroll incurs the expenses and requests
37 reimbursement from you, the business owner.
38 7 You are willing to file the necessary paperwork with the fed-
39 eral government.
kallus, who has about fifteen clients using section 1
105, said he advised Patricia Buckley to look into Section 105 2
when she lost her job and began managing her husband’s 3
photography studio a few years ago. 4
Buckley and her husband, Ned Matura, are typical of 5
those who take advantage of Section 105. “I’m a full-time 6
employee of our business,” said Buckley. “I invoice clients, 7
write up estimates, and run the office.” 8
Before they heard about Section 105, Buckley said they 9
were spending about $9,000 a year for a health insurance 10
policy through a federal plan which allows people who have 11
lost their jobs to pay insurance premiums on their own. It’s 12
generally more expensive than group coverage, but better 13
than nothing. 14
By switching to a cheaper, catastrophic medical insurance 15
with a high deductible, Buckley said they save about $4,000 16
a year. Under Section 105, she’s now reimbursed by the busi- 17
ness for all out-of-pocket family medical expenses. 18
Although any accountant can learn how to fill out all the 19
forms, many refer clients to a company set up exclusively to 109 20
administer Section 105 reimbursements for business own- 21
ers. “I would not set up a plan for my clients on my own— 22
it’s too complicated,” said Don Yoder, founder of Yoder’s Tax 23
and Accounting Service in Kalona, Iowa. 24
Yoder, who prepares tax returns for scores of farmers and 25
small business owners, lets AgriPlan/BizPlan, based in Adel, 26
Iowa, handle all the Section 105 paperwork. In 1995, Agri- 27
Plan/BizPlan had 40,000 clients taking advantage of Section 28
105; in 1997, the number grew to 50,000, says president 29
Phil Harrington. 30
Harrington, who joined the company in 1989, said it was 31
founded in 1986 by Don Rashke, a Wisconsin insurance 32
agent. Rashke, now retired, wondered why big corporations 33
could legally deduct 100 percent of the cost of providing 34
medical benefits, but small businesses couldn’t. He found 35
Section 105 when he was digging around for answers. “Our 36
clients have an average tax saving of $1,800 a year,” said Har- 37
rington. BizPlan, which relies on computers to keep the 38
administrative costs down, charges clients a flat fee of $175 a 39
1 year to handle all the necessary paperwork. BizPlan markets
2 its services to accountants and pays them a modest referral
3 fee of about $50 per client.
4 Their client base is growing, even though small business
5 owners can now deduct 40 percent of their health care costs
2 0 1 G R E AT I D E A S F O R Y O U R S M A L L B U S I N E S S
22
23 G R E AT
although there are nine million women
24 business owners in America, employing roughly 18.5
25 66 million people, women still have a tough time secur-
26 I D E A ing bank loans.
27 But there is help: the women’s prequalification program,
28 which was launched as an experiment in 1994. The pro-
29 gram works like this: The SBA directs women business
30 owners to a nonprofit group that helps them write or polish
31 up their business plan and fill out a loan application. The
32 completed application package is then presented to the
33 SBA. If it looks good, the SBA issues a letter stating that
34 the applicant qualifies for a government loan guaranty. Let-
35 ter in hand, the business owner goes to a commercial
36 lender to apply for a loan of up to $250,000. “The SBA’s
37 stamp of approval helps women get what they need,” said
38 former SBA chief Ada Alvarez.
39 Fortunately, two of the nation’s largest banks are
embracing women business owners by aligning with major 1
women’s business organizations. San Francisco–based 2
Wells Fargo Bank has teamed up with the National Associa- 3
tion of Women Business Owners, a Washington, D.C.– 4
based group with sixty chapters, while Bank of America 5
linked up with Women Inc., a Los Angeles–based trade 6
association. 7
Both giants have committed billions to the women’s mar- 8
ket. “The success of our efforts has exceeded our expecta- 9
tions,” said Terri Dial, formerly responsible for small busi- 10
ness and consumer lending at Wells. “What’s really exciting 11
about reaching this goal is that we accomplished it by mak- 12
ing lots of small loans. In fact, most of the small businesses 13
seeking loans want $25,000 or less.” 14
Wells’s loans are unsecured and require a one-page appli- 15
cation form with no tax returns or financial statements. The 16
minimum loan amount is $5,000. To qualify for a loan, 17
women must have good personal and business credit, be in 18
business for two years, and be profitable. 19
Bank of America (BofA) jumped into the market with its 115 20
own lending program targeted at women. “We are excited to 21
be working with an organization that shares our goal of 22
financially empowering women business owners,” said 23
Kathleen Brown, former executive vice president of BofA. 24
She said the bank committed to lend $10.6 billion to small 25
business owners over a three-year period. “We expect about 26
30 to 40 percent of that will finance women-owned business, 27
based on the makeup of the small business segment, but 28
there is no upper limit.” 29
Before you apply for a bank loan, make sure your financial 30
records are in good order. Minding Her Own Business: The 31
Self-Employed Woman’s Guide to Taxes and Recordkeeping, 32
by Jan Zobel (Adams Media Corp.; 2000), is a great addition 33
to any woman’s business library. 34
35
36
37
38
39
1
2
Get Free Financing Help
3 USE A SCORE COUNSELOR
4 G R E AT in 2001 counselors from the service
5 Corps of Retired Executives counseled more than
2 0 1 G R E AT I D E A S F O R Y O U R S M A L L B U S I N E S S
G R E AT
entrepreneurs cringe at the thought of 34
leasing office space. It’s scary and expensive and 35
71 takes time to do. That’s why so many of us work at 36
I D E A home until we get thrown out by our loving families. 37
The Applegate Group, founded in the cozy den of our 38
home in Sun Valley, California, outgrew that space within a 39
1 year. Taking a big risk, we invested $10,000 to remodel the
2 garage. It was a great commute—down the driveway.
3 We stayed in the garage until we moved to New York. Our
4 temporary quarters there were in a basement—it was either
5 blasting hot or freezing cold. When my husband and I
2 0 1 G R E AT I D E A S F O R Y O U R S M A L L B U S I N E S S
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C H A P T E R 3
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Marketing
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Strategies 21
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39
M
1
8
arketing is considered
the “softer” side of any business plan. Yet without a
well-executed marketing strategy, your business will
never be as successful as it could be.
This is the chapter with the most great ideas for
several reasons. I love writing about savvy
marketing ideas—the nuttier the better. Marketing
challenges your creativity. It’s fun and compelling.
9 For many entrepreneurs, it’s the most confusing,
10 expensive, and upsetting aspect of running their
11 businesses.
12 It’s not so squishy or confusing if you realize that
13 the only way to judge whether something is working
14 is to track, measure, and carefully monitor every
15 marketing gimmick you try. If you spend money
16 doing something zany without determining whether
17 it’s working, you might as well toss the money out
18 the window.
Through the years, I’ve emphasized marketing 1
shoestring budget. 9
22
23 G R E AT
“we put over 100 customers on hold every
24 day,” said Elie Wade, president of Mortgage Makers
25 76 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Wade turned that
26 I D E A annoying waiting time into a marketing opportunity
27 by signing up for a service that produces the messages
28 callers hear while on hold.
29 “We make mortgage loans, so one of the things we put
30 on the message is a list of things you need to bring to a
31 [real estate] closing,” said Wade. “We also provide infor-
32 mation about my radio show, and customers always say,
33 ‘Oh, you do a radio show!’ and they don’t mind holding
34 anymore.”
35 Wade worked with Tulsa-based Impressions on Hold,
36 which has 10,000 clients and seventy franchises in thirty-
37 two states, to set up and maintain her system. “We gave
38 them the information, and they wrote the script. They did
39 everything,” said Wade, adding that a messages-on-hold
1
2
Tips for creating good messages 3
on hold: 4
5
◆ With a captive audience on the line, record a message 6
that will encourage people to do more business with your 7
company. 8
◆ Feature topics that will be interesting to callers such as 9
special offers or discounts you are currently promoting, 10
details of any industry news, and awards won by your 11
company or employees. 12
◆ Change the message every few weeks to keep it fresh. 13
◆ Ask colleagues to recommend the company they use for 14
this service, or you can search online for a company. Be 15
sure to check references and sign the shortest agreement 16
possible. 17
18
service is affordable and professional. “I’ve never had nega- 19
tive feedback.” 137 20
Impressions on Hold charges about $400 a year for 21
equipment and set-up of an eight-minute tape. That’s in line 22
with other companies like On Hold Advantage, also in Tulsa. 23
On-Hold Inc., in Stoughton, Massachusetts, has been in 24
business since 1983 and boasts a client list of 15,000, includ- 25
ing MetLife, the Marriott Corporation, and Century 21. It 26
charges about $600 and $800 for a one-message set-up; the 27
higher price is for digital equipment, which is more reliable 28
than audiocassette. Costs go up when you change your mes- 29
sage frequently. On-Hold’s “unlimited message” package 30
costs about $200 a month with a two-year minimum com- 31
mitment. 32
John Bersin, who founded Impressions on Hold in 1991, 33
said too many small business owners buy the wrong kind of 34
advertising for their business. “You want to spend dollars 35
impacting the right prospects,” said Bersin. “We know we’re 36
dealing with a targeted audience because they wouldn’t be on 37
hold otherwise. They’re at the point of purchase.” 38
39
1
2
Set Up a Dealer Network
3 G R E AT consumers are accustomed to buying cars,
4 tires, and computers through authorized dealers—
5 77 and other businesses can benefit from a similar sales
2 0 1 G R E AT I D E A S F O R Y O U R S M A L L B U S I N E S S
6 I D E A model.
7 David Usher, who died in a kayaking accident in March
8 1997, was a brilliant entrepreneur. A former paper salesman,
9 he began selling artists’ prints out of the trunk of his car. He
10 traveled around the United States, establishing close rela-
11 tionships with galleries and framing shops, believing that
12 direct distribution was the way to go.
13 Today Greenwich Workshop, founded by Usher, sells lim-
14 ited edition prints and porcelain collectibles through a net-
15 work of 1,200 dealers across the country. Usher said the
16 secret of the company’s success was treating every dealer like
17 part of the family.
18 “We’re continually providing them with information, mar-
19 keting, and resources, and helping them run their business,”
20 138 said Usher, who served as chairman and CEO until his
21 death.
MARKETING STRATEGIES
22 football teams.
23 ◆ Join the chamber of commerce to get acquainted with other
24 business owners in your town.
25 ◆ If you can’t serve on a board or devote a lot of time to work-
26 ing with a group, sign up to work on a specific project.
27 ◆ If you have a big conference room, consider providing the
28 space for a community group to meet in your office after
29 hours.
30
31 Doing good work can attract good workers to your busi-
32 ness, raise your profile in the community, and make you feel
33 good about yourself. Entrepreneurs often forget how impor-
34 tant they are to the community, their employees, and their
35 families. They rarely receive the credit they deserve for pro-
36 viding jobs, goods, services, and a future for many young
37 employees.
38
39
1
Use Coupons to Attract Customers 2
G R E AT on a balmy spring evening, i took myself 3
out to the local movie theater. Standing outside the 4
81 door was a young man in a Häagen-Dazs apron. He 5
I D E A was passing out coupons offering a “double fea- 6
ture”—a free scoop of ice cream when you bought one scoop 7
at the regular price. I immediately knew where I was head- 8
ing after the show. 9
Ticket stub in hand, I trotted down the block to be the first 10
in line. (I didn’t want to embarrass myself by running.) For a 11
mere $1.85, I savored my calorie-laden pralines-and-cream 12
and coffee-chip double scoop. The kid even let me keep the 13
coupon for a repeat performance. Talk about generating 14
goodwill! 15
Giving away a free scoop of ice cream brought me into the 16
store for the first time. And, of course, it wasn’t the last. It 17
also proved to me that a coupon is a low-cost way to attract 18
new and repeat customers. 19
Coupons are great because they are cheap to print and 145 20
easy to distribute. You can print them yourself on your PC if 21
you don’t want to do anything fancy. Then you can pay to 22
have them stuffed into the local Pennysaver or newspaper. 23
You can also pay the post office to deliver them to local 24
households. 25
Or you can send an associate to place them under the 26
windshield wipers of parked cars. Although, admittedly, this 27
method can be annoying and produces litter, it’s good for a 28
local promotion. You might also consider giving your 29
coupons to local merchants—and offer to pass out their 30
coupons in exchange. 31
When you print up your coupons, be sure to code them so 32
you can track response. For example, put an “N” on them if 33
they were placed in a newspaper or “M” if they were mailed 34
to “resident” or “occupant.” 35
But before you run to the printer, think about an appeal- 36
ing offer. Anything “free” works if you have some sort of 37
retail operation. If you own a dry cleaner, you can offer dis- 38
counts on large orders. Any sort of “gift with purchase” 39
1 coupon will attract customers. It doesn’t matter what you
2 offer as long as it has a high perceived value and will draw
3 people to your door.
4
5
Do Good forYour Community
2 0 1 G R E AT I D E A S F O R Y O U R S M A L L B U S I N E S S
6
7 G R E AT one of the easiest ways to draw attention
8 to your business is to do something good for your
9 82 community. Small business owners across the coun-
10 I D E A try are coming up with terrific ways to contribute and
11 make a positive impression at the same time. You don’t have
12 to spend a lot of time or money on your project.
13 Here are some of my favorite ideas:
14 ◆ If you have a store with foot traffic, collect food or clothing
15 for the homeless or for your favorite charity.
16 ◆ Ask your employees and their families if they will participate
17 in a blood drive for the Red Cross or a local hospital.
18 ◆ Donate your services—it’s easy. A dry cleaner in Ohio, for
19 example, offered free dry cleaning to unemployed cus-
20 146 tomers who needed clean clothes for job interviews. When
21 someone got a new job, of course they became a steady,
MARKETING STRATEGIES
22 business to you:
23 ◆ Establish a “best customer” program to reward good
24 customers for referrals with free shipping, two-for-one
25 and early-bird specials, or extra discounts on products
26 they buy frequently.
27 ◆ Ask customers if they know anyone who needs your prod-
28 ucts or services. You have to be proactive and not wait for
29 them to make referrals.
30 ◆ Publicize good referrals in your company newsletter or
31 on your website. People love to be recognized for doing
32 good things.
33 ◆ Offer incentives to your employees who ask customers to
34 refer new business. A day off with pay is a welcome
35 reward for landing a new client or customer.
36 ◆ Thank customers for their referrals by sending flowers,
37 a fruit basket, a gift certificate for a restaurant, or
38 movie tickets.
39
“We put together information so it looks like they’re pro- 1
viding a very needed service for their clients, yet the end 2
result is a valuable referral,” said Adkinson. “We do all the 3
work, then give them a 10 percent commission for each 4
referral.” The beauty of this cash-incentive system is that 5
Adkinson in effect expands her sales force “for the cost of 6
postage, printing, and phone expenses.” 7
You don’t have to be in the floral preservation business to 8
share customers. For instance, years ago I wrote about a 9
group of Orange County, California, hardware and software 10
companies that formed a marketing alliance to provide better 11
service. If someone called one of the companies for help, 12
they would inquire if they should also bring along someone 13
from an associated company. Business owners benefited 14
from the extra service and usually appreciated a turnkey 15
approach to solving their computer problems. 16
David McLean, with the Institute of Business Excel- 17
lence in Orlando, suggests faxing a coupon to customers 18
and clients offering them a discount on their next order if 19
they provide three referrals. Betsy Holtzapple, with Apple 149 20
Irrigation Inc. in Orlando, also sends coupons to clients 21
offering them a free sprinkler system inspection if they 22
come up with three referrals. Setting up a strong referral 23
network is a great way to receive a constant stream of new 24
customers. 25
26
27
Give It Away 28
G R E AT no matter what kind of business you’re in, 29
“free” is the most powerful word in your marketing 30
85 vocabulary. Offering potential clients or customers a 31
I D E A no-charge deal is an excellent way to gain new busi- 32
ness. For example, Sprint signed up thousands of new cus- 33
tomers by offering small business owners free phone calls 34
on Fridays. 35
“I was given a Sprint deal which pays all my local tele- 36
phone service for two years and provides free calling on 37
Fridays, plus free 800-line pagers for my employees,” 38
said Bob Dudley, president of Amerisat, a San Diego 39
1 commercial satellite-dish provider.
2 But you don’t have to be as big as Sprint to offer cus-
3 tomers something for free. Consultants can host a free edu-
4 cational seminar to attract potential clients. The session is a
5 perfect way to show off your expertise and prequalify clients
2 0 1 G R E AT I D E A S F O R Y O U R S M A L L B U S I N E S S
22
23
Host an Open House
24 G R E AT one of the best ways to acquaint customers
25 and clients with your business is to arrange a visit.
26 94 An open house combines a social event with the abili-
27 I D E A ty to do some serious one-to-one marketing. Of
28 course, if you deal with toxic chemicals or dangerous
29 machinery, you’ll have to decide whether or not an open
30 house is the best way to boost awareness of your business.
31 One of my strongest and fondest memories is touring the
32 Pepperidge Farm bakery on a third-grade field trip. I’ll never
33 forget the sweet, yeasty smell of the bakery and the freshly
34 baked loaf of white bread they gave each of us to take home.
35 Since that tour, I’ve been a loyal Pepperidge Farm customer.
36 Hershey Foods is another big company that invites thou-
37 sands of visitors into their factories each year. That open-
38 door policy has turned Hershey, Pennsylvania, into a major
39 American tourist mecca.
Even if you rarely have visitors, think of the things people 1
would like to learn about your business. Few people ever have 2
the opportunity to see how things are made and packaged. 3
You may not have a glitzy office, but even a small-scale 4
open house can draw people to your door. Derek Selbo, pro- 5
gram manager of The Knowledge Shop in Casselberry, Flori- 6
da, decided to host just such an event to introduce people to 7
the vast array of personal enrichment and professional class- 8
es they offered. 9
“When the Internet was new we had a free ‘Try the Inter- 10
net Day,’” said Selbo. Visitors were encouraged to ask ques- 11
tions and surf the Net. They sent electronic-mail messages to 12
friends and learned how to find and navigate websites. “This 13
event brought us a surge of enrollment in our computer and 14
social classes,” said Selbo. 15
No matter how boring you think your business is, re- 16
member that people love to have a behind-the-scenes look 17
at anything. Consider the incredible popularity of Universal 18
Studios tours that visitors line up for. 19
Here are some tips for planning an open house: 161 20
◆ Create a small committee to make the preparations, but 21
involve everyone you can in the planning process. 22
◆ Figure out whether you’ll give organized tours or let people 23
wander around on their own. 24
◆ Plan a menu of easy-to-eat finger foods and simple beverages. 25
Restrict eating to the lunchroom or other suitable area. 26
◆ Pick a time of year when your business looks its best, and 27
weather won’t jeopardize attendance. 28
◆ Send out invitations at least a month in advance. Ask people 29
to RSVP via telephone, fax, or e-mail. Schedule the event to 30
last two or three hours—no more. 31
◆ Ask all your employees to tidy up their areas and find places 32
to lock up any valuables before the open house. 33
◆ Hand out a flyer with basic information about your company. 34
◆ Assign plenty of staffers to act as hosts and guides. 35
◆ Buy flowers or plants to decorate the reception area. 36
◆ Rest up the night before so you are ready to meet and greet 37
people. 38
◆ Try to have fun. 39
1
2
Promote with Prepaid Phone Cards
3 G R E AT phone cards have been popular in europe
4 since the mid-1980s when British Telecom first
5 95 issued them to make it easier for customers to call
2 0 1 G R E AT I D E A S F O R Y O U R S M A L L B U S I N E S S
6 also hot.
7 Marketing involves a myriad of creative promotional
8 campaigns—all designed specifically to push your products.
9 Advertising means paying for space in a newspaper or mag-
10 azine, or buying time on a radio station, television station,
11 or website.
12 But before you spend a dollar on advertising, figure out
13 exactly what your competition is doing, establish specific
14 goals, and set a budget, advises Andy Narraway, general
15 manager of Odiorne Wilde Narraway & Partners, an adver-
16 tising agency based in San Francisco.
17 Narraway’s colleagues at the shop charge clients flat fees
18 and present simple sketches rather than elaborate cam-
19 paigns to land new business. He has this advice for entrepre-
20 166 neurs: “Determine whether you really need an agency or
21 whether a graphic designer, freelance artist, or copywriter
MARKETING STRATEGIES
22
23 G R E AT
if exhibiting at or attending a trade show
24 is on your calendar this year, turn it into a valuable
25 101 business trip by inviting business associates to meet
26 I D E A you there. As soon as you sign up to attend, go
27 through your database or business card file and make a list
28 of everyone you know who lives within 100 miles of the
29 show. Then invite them to meet you there. You might want
30 to pay their registration fee, if it isn’t too exorbitant.
31 Meeting business associates or prospective customers
32 at a show has several advantages. It saves you an extra
33 trip to their city, for one thing, and if you are exhibiting at
34 the show, they’ll see your products and services displayed
35 in a high-profile place. They’ll also be able to meet your
36 key staff members and see how you interact with the pub-
37 lic. If you can wangle an invitation to speak at a seminar
38 or take part in a panel discussion, better yet. Invite your
39 associates to hear your presentation. What better way to
position yourself as a leader in your industry? 1
If you aren’t exhibiting, it’s still great to walk the aisles 2
with a colleague and check out the competition. You can 3
brainstorm as you collect information and brochures; you 4
can introduce your guest to others in your industry. 5
If several clients accept your invitation to meet, turn it 6
into a party by planning a breakfast or dinner to entertain 7
them. Be sure to make reservations early because the city 8
may be overrun with convention attendees. 9
Attending a trade show, with or without guests, is an 10
essential activity for successful entrepreneurs—it helps you 11
to keep up with the competition and connect with other 12
industry movers and shakers. 13
14
15
Really Work a Trade Show 16
G R E AT hedy ratner, founder and copresident of 17
the Women’s Business Development Center 18
102 (WBDC) in Chicago, really knows how to work a 19
I D E A room. A consummate networker, she has devoted 20
169
years to helping women entrepreneurs start and grow their 21
businesses. 22
Here are some of her great tips for making the most of a 23
trip to a trade show: 24
◆ Remember why you registered. Ask yourself whether your 25
goal is to find new suppliers or study the competition. 26
“Decide on your goals and be certain to accomplish them 27
before the day ends,” said Ratner. 28
◆ Dress for success and comfort. “First impressions are impor- 29
tant, so dress businesslike,” Ratner advises. “You’ll meet 30
potential clients, resource people, and perhaps a banker who 31
may one day consider your loan.” 32
◆ Wear comfortable shoes because you will walk for miles. 33
◆ Plan your schedule and decide which exhibits you want to 34
visit ahead of time. 35
◆ Carry a small tape recorder or notebook to take notes on 36
things you need to follow up on. 37
◆ Note seminars, workshops, and other events that occur during 38
the conference. Be sure to attend the key ones. 39
1 ◆ Bring lots of business cards and brochures. Don’t forget trav-
2 elers’ checks, credit cards, and personal identification.
3 ◆ Be flexible and leave time for spontaneous meetings with
4 important people. “Trust your instincts to lead you to men-
5 tors, models, key contacts, and resources.”
2 0 1 G R E AT I D E A S F O R Y O U R S M A L L B U S I N E S S
6 ◆ Don’t forget to follow up. Sort out the material and cards you
7 collected soon after returning to the office. Record new con-
8 tacts and remind yourself to take action.
9
10 For information on WBDC programs and services, call
11 312-853-3477.
12
13
14
KnowYour Competition
15 G R E AT
entrepreneurs love to brag about beating
16 their competition, but the truth is, most small busi-
17 103 ness owners are too buried in work to keep track of
18 I D E A what their competition is up to. But operating your
19 business in a vacuum can lead to its demise.
20 170 “You have to start with the basic premise that you need
21 to know what your competition is doing,” said Guy Kawasa-
MARKETING STRATEGIES
22
23
Tap the Growing Hispanic Market
24 G R E AT some of the 2000 census figures have the
25 U.S. Hispanic community feeling new strength.
26 104 The numbers show a population growing faster
27 I D E A than expected and more broadly distributed than
28 in years past.
29 “Best of all,” says George Herrera, president and CEO of
30 the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, “it’s a
31 young population, which means it’s a population of con-
32 sumers who will be here for a long time. We are offering
33 corporate America a very young and very long-term con-
34 sumer base.”
35 The Census figures released in March 2001 indicate that
36 in twenty years Latinos will represent 20 percent of this
37 country’s youth. In 1997 they were 16 percent of the nation’s
38 69.5 million people under the age of eighteen.
39 A young and growing population represents an increas-
ingly significant economic force, Herrera says. Corporations 1
on the ball already are moving to serve this market. Others 2
will follow. “Hispanics in this country have a purchasing 3
power of $348 billion,” Herrera says. 4
One way to test sales in the Hispanic market is to partner 5
with a Hispanic company. Another way is to repackage your 6
products to appeal to Hispanic tastes. But this takes an 7
investment and careful planning. 8
Savvy business owners wanting to expand sales into the 9
Hispanic market should always rely on a competent transla- 10
tor. One major Los Angeles bank had egg on its face a few 11
years ago when a loan campaign aimed at Spanish-speaking 12
clients went awry. When translated into Spanish, the ad copy 13
said something like: “Remember when your mom used to 14
steal money from you? Think of us as your mom.” 15
A mortified bank representative told the ad agency that the 16
newspaper advertising salesperson had messed up the trans- 17
lation. So never trust your translations to an amateur. Be sure 18
to hire someone familiar with the local dialects and who 19
knows the cultural nuances of the specific Latin community 173 20
you want to reach. Mexicans speak a different type of Spanish 21
and have a far different culture than Salvadoreans or Panama- 22
nians, so make sure you carefully target the market. 23
Many ad agencies now specialize in ethnic marketing, so 24
find a good one in your area and try test-marketing one prod- 25
uct or service. 26
For more information, contact the U.S. Hispanic Cham- 27
ber of Commerce at 202-842-1212. 28
29
30
Become Politically Active 31
G R E AT dal lamagna has sold millions of tweezers. 32
In 1996 he was busy selling himself. 33
105 “Hi, I’m Dal LaMagna, and I’m running for Con- 34
I D E A gress,” LaMagna said, handing out campaign flyers to 35
sunbathers on Tobay Beach on Long Island. “LaMagna— 36
rhymes with lasagna.” 37
LaMagna, a successful entrepreneur, spent about 38
$200,000 of his own money to unsuccessfully run against 39
1 Rep. Peter King (R-NY). King represents the affluent 3rd Dis-
2 trict, which includes Nassau County.
3 “Tweezerman,” as LaMagna is known, said he decided to
4 run for office when the federal government shut down dur-
5 ing 1995’s acrimonious budget debate. “I was outraged,” he
2 0 1 G R E AT I D E A S F O R Y O U R S M A L L B U S I N E S S
6 need it.
7 4 Notify all your employees. They should know who’s autho-
8 rized to use the 800 number and what you want it to accom-
9 plish. Your employees can’t help you if they don’t know the
10 game plan.
11 5 Appoint someone as 800 project manager. Tell them their
12 charter is to make the number start ringing today. Challenge
13 them to be creative but cost-conscious. Consider giving
14 awards or bonuses for increasing 800 calls. Ask for weekly
15 progress reports. Get every employee involved in publicizing
16 the number by sponsoring a contest to see who can come up
17 with the most creative way to use it to get new business.
18 Then award prizes for ideas you use.
19
20 176 Attend Charity Events
21
to Make Contacts
MARKETING STRATEGIES
22
23 G R E AT dust off your tuxedo or evening gown—
24 it’s time to socialize with the leaders of your business
25 107 community. One great way to meet the “who’s who”
26 I D E A of your town is to buy a ticket to a local charity event
27 where you can rub shoulders with people you wouldn’t oth-
28 erwise be able to contact. At such events, you can mingle and
29 schmooze your way through the cocktail hour and look for
30 an empty seat at a corporate table if you wait until the last
31 minute to sit down.
32 A friend who was making a transition from the shoe busi-
33 ness to high-end real estate went a step further. She didn’t
34 have the money to buy the $500 or $1,000 tickets to the
35 charity balls she needed to attend, so she volunteered to
36 work at the registration desk. At one gala, she was given the
37 task of pinning carnations on the lapels of all the men who
38 arrived. She’s a relentless flirt and made an impression as
39 she fastened flowers to the jackets of dozens of New York
City’s business elite. She made new contacts and was able to 1
follow up with phone calls a few days later. 2
One of the best ways to find out about charity events is to 3
read the society pages of the local newspaper. The New York 4
Times, for instance, has a section devoted to upcoming 5
events, where they are, and how to buy the tickets. While 6
you may think $1,000 per ticket is expensive, it is much 7
cheaper than the cost of attending an industry trade show in 8
another city. 9
Do your research carefully. You want to attend a benefit 10
that attracts high-level people in your industry. For example, 11
music industry executives may be in attendance at an annual 12
benefit that raises money for music education. If you are try- 13
ing to make connections in that industry, that’s the benefit 14
you want to attend. 15
Since most people leave their business cards home when 16
they put on a tuxedo or formal dress, you will have to depend 17
on your memory to make follow-up calls after the event. Be 18
charming and interesting, and if you decide to make a call, 19
do it shortly after you’ve met the person so they don’t have 177 20
time to forget who you are. 21
22
23
PublicizeYour Food Business 24
G R E AT
the power of the press is greater than 25
ever when it comes to driving sales of offbeat 26
108 specialty foods. Positive publicity sends foodies to 27
I D E A the phones to feed their passion for unique food 28
and condiments. With Americans buying an estimated 29
$400 million worth of specialty foods a year by mail, 30
according to the National Association for the Specialty 31
Food Trade in New York City, the field is a gold mine for 32
smaller companies. 33
A short blurb by a noted food writer, critic, or author often 34
means the difference between success and failure for a start- 35
up. For example, a mention in Florence Fabricant’s New York 36
Times “Food Notes” column launched Matt and Ted Lee’s 37
boiled-peanuts-by-mail business. 38
“The reason I went for the boiled peanuts was because it 39
1 was a regional specialty,” said Fabricant. “Before the Lee
2 Brothers offered it, boiled peanuts were not available outside
3 a certain region in the South.” Fabricant said she receives
4 about two dozen pitches a week from small, specialty food
5 product makers hoping for her attention.
2 0 1 G R E AT I D E A S F O R Y O U R S M A L L B U S I N E S S
Developing 14
15
16
17
and 18
19
20
Launching 21
22
23
Products
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
1
8
T he american dream of becoming wildly
successful with a new product or service turns into a
nightmare for far too many entrepreneurs—not
because their idea is bad, but because they lack a
coherent development plan.
Too many business owners consider the launch of
a product an event rather than a long, carefully
orchestrated process. Saving or borrowing enough
9 money to design and manufacture a prototype of your
10 product is just a baby step along the way to success.
11 Thousands of entrepreneurs working in back
12 bedrooms, garages, incubators, and industrial parks
13 get through the exciting initial stages of product
14 development, but few manage to get any further
15 before running out of money. Most end up wasting
16 thousands of dollars on products that really should
17 have made it, but didn’t, for a variety of reasons.
18 Based on interviews with hundreds of entrepre-
neurs, I see that many make the same fatal 1
Japan? 12
6 in Fargo.
7 Meier and Watnemo, who started their business before
8 they started their families, now have five children between
9 them. They divide the work and profits equally. Their hus-
10 bands also help out when they can.
11 Meier, the more outgoing partner, focuses on the whole-
12 sale, marketing, and advertising side of the business. She
13 designed their website and encourages online sales promo-
14 tions. Watnemo, the quiet partner, designs all the new pat-
15 terns and keeps close track of the retail operation. “I know a
16 lot of partnerships don’t go well, but Roz and I are very dif-
17 ferent from each other, and we complement each other,”
18 said Meier.
19 Watnemo, the Hardanger expert, produces about a
20 196 dozen new pattern books each year. She designs by hand,
21 but relies on a software program to create the actual pat-
DEVELOPING AND LAUNCHING PRODUCTS
22 tern graphs.
23 Here are some tips for turning your hobby into a small
24 business:
25 ◆ Find out if others who share your passion are looking for
26 equipment or supplies in your town.
27 ◆ Attend a hobby or craft trade show to check out the trends
28 and competition.
29 ◆ Subscribe to all the magazines and newsletters that cover
30 your hobby.
31 ◆ Find out if their subscription list is offered for “rent” and do
32 a test mailing.
33 ◆ Start small. Offer a few products to test the market.
34 ◆ Check with your accountant about the IRS rules on tax
35 deductions for hobbies versus businesses.
36
37
38
39
1
Borrow Funds from Your Family 2
G R E AT like most good parents, gene and sandee 3
Nabat did everything they could to give their three 4
117 kids a comfortable upbringing. They lived in West 5
I D E A Bloomfield, a suburb of Detroit, and sent the children 6
to good schools. But the Nabats never planned to invest 7
$500,000 in their only son’s invention, a small black plastic 8
gizmo called the Findit™. 9
As a teenager Craig Nabat washed, waxed, and detailed 10
cars and sold T-shirts to earn extra cash. In college he sold 11
pepper spray to sorority girls. Reading Napoleon Hill’s 12
classic book Think and Grow Rich (Fawcett Books reissue 13
edition; 1990) prompted Nabat to dream up something he 14
could sell to the masses via infomercials. He wasn’t sure 15
what “it” was until he came home late one night and 16
couldn’t find his TV remote control. That’s when the 17
brainstorm hit. He’d invent something to help people find 18
lost items. Designed to help absent-minded folks locate 19
small things like remote control units and car keys, the 197 20
Findit emits a high-pitched beep when you clap your 21
hands three times. 22
With his own family’s money on the line, Nabat works 23
seven days a week and has put his romance on hold to devote 24
all his time to his invention. When dozens of electronic engi- 25
neers refused to meet with him, he flew out to Northern Cal- 26
ifornia and finally got an appointment. 27
When his parents balked at contributing any more capi- 28
tal, he hired a consultant to draft a formal business and 29
financial plan, which indicated the Findit could actually 30
make money—if it was a hit. “He keeps saying to me, ‘Dad, 31
we’re going to be rich!’” said Gene. “He’s convinced he’ll 32
sell millions.” 33
Gene and Sandee Nabat admit the past six years have 34
been very tough. Gene, an accountant by training, manages 35
the money for a property management firm. He’s planning 36
to retire soon and hopes to have his money back. What was 37
initially going to be the $35,000 they’d set aside for Craig 38
to attend graduate school, somehow ballooned into half a 39
1
2
3
How to borrow money from your
4 family
5
2 0 1 G R E AT I D E A S F O R Y O U R S M A L L B U S I N E S S
22 ◆ Do you like the feeling of the place? Can you see yourself
23 working here every day? Visit the mall at different times
24 of the day and night to check foot traffic and parking
25 availability.
26 ◆ How many arrests for shoplifting were made in the recent
27 months? Mugging? Vandalism in the parking lot? Check
28 with the local police department to determine the safety
29 and security of the mall.
30 ◆ Will you be paying for utilities? Do you have to pay for all
31 interior improvements? Can you sublease the space to
32 another business? Make sure you understand exactly what
33 your lease includes and sign the shortest lease possible to
34 give yourself an out if your business fails.
35
36 tions in Boston; Washington, D.C.; Denver; and several areas
37 in Florida. “We are looking for the best real estate opportuni-
38 ties,” said Leff, adding that it took a year to find the right site
39 for the first Stir Crazy location.
He doesn’t envision being the next McDonald’s or Red 1
Lobster, but he would like to build forty units in the next five 2
years and 150 in ten. “We will be a major player in Asian 3
casual dining,” he predicts. Leff’s compensation and stake in 4
the company are hinged to performance, so he hopes his 5
predictions are right. 6
7
8
Build a Working Model 9
G R E AT you may have the most brilliant concept 10
in the world, but raising money to manufacture and 11
120 market your baby is almost impossible without a 12
I D E A working model. The problem is that too many entre- 13
preneurs fall prey to invention scam artists who promise to 14
introduce them to manufacturers but often end up stealing 15
their money. 16
Your challenge is finding a reputable product design firm 17
that won’t just perfect your prototype, but will also propose 18
economic options to mass-produce it and bring it to market. 19
“People think that if they have a patent they are nine-tenths 203 20
of the way there,” said Henry Keck, who has been designing 21
products since the 1950s. “When the inventor says it’s 90 22
percent complete, we say there’s 90 percent more to go.” 23
Keck, cofounder of Keck-Craig Inc. in Pasadena, has 24
many well-known product designs to his credit. He’s most 25
famous for designing the sleek metal-and-glass flip-top 26
sugar dispenser sitting on millions of restaurant tables 27
around the world. 28
“We want our products to be well styled and highly mar- 29
ketable,” Keck said. He and his partner, Warren Haussler, 30
rely on a staff of six engineers and model makers to design 31
everything from portable eye washers to battery-operated 32
pesticide sprayers. Their tidy model shop is a tinkerer’s 33
dream, filled with rows of lathes, presses, mills, and saws. 34
The veteran industrial designers say that too many inven- 35
tors make the mistake of patenting their idea before they 36
find out whether or not it can be mass-produced in a cost- 37
effective way. “People suffer by being stuck to their patents,” 38
Keck said. “You can add things to a patent or make changes 39
1 while it’s being processed, but once it’s issued, that’s it.”
2 Although many big companies, such as Robertshaw
3 Controls and Avery-Dennison, turn to Keck-Craig for
4 design help, the firm serves small entrepreneurs as well.
5 Small design projects cost $5,000 to $10,000; big jobs can
2 0 1 G R E AT I D E A S F O R Y O U R S M A L L B U S I N E S S
G R E AT
in 1988, miami radio salesman eduardo 5
Barea read about a mandatory uniform policy about 6
124 to be implemented in local public schools. That day a 7
I D E A great idea took hold: He would get into the school 8
uniform business. 9
This father of four founded Ibiley School Uniforms Inc. 10
and immediately began pitching the benefits of uniforms to 11
parents, kids, and teachers. He truly believes that wearing 12
school uniforms reduces peer pressure and truancy and 13
encourages better behavior. 14
His fervent pitch to school board members worked: In the 15
first year, he sold uniforms to fourteen schools. Barea, who 16
was named the Small Business Person of the Year from 17
Florida in 1997, has sales of $6 million and 200 employees 18
during the peak summer buying season. 19
His greatest challenge is still the seasonal nature of the 211 20
business and being able to keep the cash flowing year-round. 21
He continues to grow his business by attending PTA meet- 22
ings and lobbying for more schools to adopt the mandatory 23
uniform policy. 24
Up the coast, a New York firm is also benefiting from 25
government mandates. Maurice King, founder of King 26
Research Inc. in Brooklyn, pioneered a mandated product 27
strategy in the late 1940s. King, who developed Barbicide, 28
the bright-blue disinfectant for haircutters, traveled around 29
the country with his younger brother, James, meeting with 30
state health officials to extol the virtues of his sanitizing 31
product. 32
“Sure enough, the state officials began to pass rules that 33
there be a disinfectant [in barber shops] and in some cases, 34
they said, ‘Sure, Mr. King, but can you suggest a product?’” 35
recalls Maurice’s son, Ben King. “‘Why, yes!’ my father 36
replied. ‘Barbicide! It’s germicidal and fungicidal’—and Bar- 37
bicide got written into a number of the rule books being cre- 38
ated,” says Ben King, who serves as chief executive officer 39
1 and president of the small family business.
2 As more and more states issued regulations requiring
3 barbers to soak their barbering tools, Barbicide sales grew.
4 Although the product is mentioned by name in only two
5 state rule books, it still flourishes.
2 0 1 G R E AT I D E A S F O R Y O U R S M A L L B U S I N E S S
G R E AT
geoffrey berliner is a tinkerer. he began 3
tinkering with old watches, pens, and lighters when 4
129 he was at Harvard Divinity School in the late 1980s. 5
I D E A “I like to bring things back to life,” he explained. 6
As a student in Cambridge, he frequented a pipe and 7
tobacco shop that had a collection of vintage pens and 8
antiques in the back room. He began collecting old pens for 9
around $25 each because he couldn’t afford to buy old watch- 10
es. “Those pens warmed me up,” said Berliner, who intend- 11
ed to be a college professor, but became a paralegal when he 12
moved back to New York City. 13
In New York he began haunting flea markets and antique 14
stores, buying and repairing pens, some more than 100 15
years old. “I began machining some of my own parts and 16
finding parts from old junker pens,” he said. “I was still col- 17
lecting and working out of my apartment.” 18
His fame as a “pen doctor” grew. He began writing arti- 19
cles on pen repair for Pen World magazine and became a 219 20
director of the Pen Collectors of America. “I’ve always liked 21
the idea of living in another century,” said Berliner. “Pens 22
slow you down—they’re very deliberate. Computers make 23
you do everything quicker.” 24
When it was apparent there was a real market for his 25
products and repair services, he moved his business out of 26
his apartment into a 1,000-square-foot space in the Flatiron 27
District of Manhattan. And as he became busier, he couldn’t 28
keep up with demand. He met his future partner, Bernard 29
Isaacson, at a flea market, and they became friends. Isaacson 30
eventually gave up his job as a hospital administrator to work 31
full-time at Berliner Pen. Today their cozy shop sells both 32
antique and contemporary pens. They also have a pen muse- 33
um, a website, and a quarterly magazine, Penfinder. 34
“We are a full-service pen shop,” said Berliner, who sells 35
pens ranging from $35 to $20,000. “You’ve got to spend at 36
least $300 on a quality pen.” Berliner said sales are between 37
$500,000 and $1 million a year. At some point, he’d like to 38
design his own line of pens, “but who has the time?” 39
1 Berliner has this advice for entrepreneurs who want to
2 turn their hobby into a business: “Enjoy what you’re doing,
3 and the money will follow,” he said, adding that being ethical
4 when you parlay your passion into a business is essential.
5 Why? Because you want to develop long-term relationships
2 0 1 G R E AT I D E A S F O R Y O U R S M A L L B U S I N E S S
People 19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
1
8
P eople can make your business and person-
al life miserable or magical.
If it’s magic you want, surround yourself with
talented, confident, and resourceful people. It’s a
secret of success to swear by in life and in business.
The challenge is to find the right mix of people in
a very competitive economic environment. Talented
workers, especially in health care and high tech-
9 nology, have their pick of good jobs virtually any-
10 where in this country—or abroad. This means small
11 business owners have to compete for talent with not
12 only local competitors, but also with bigger com-
13 panies offering fat salaries, benefits, and expensive
14 perks.
15 It’s tough, but you can build and grow a terrific
16 team if you try some of these great ideas to attract,
17 develop, and retain good employees. In this chapter,
18 you’ll learn how to find great applicants, how to
interview and screen them, hire them, discipline 1
think about the good old days when it was just me, 10
6
7
Recruit Good Employees
8 G R E AT a small business can’t afford to make poor
9 hiring choices. Yet small business owners too often
10 134 hire the first person who drifts through the door,
11 I D E A even for key jobs. Casting the widest net possible
12 before hiring is one approach (see Great Ideas 131 and 135),
13 but it often pays to bring in professional help. Why? Because
14 in a small, expanding business, your people-power means
15 the difference between success and failure.
16 You should begin a search with local networking, classi-
17 fied advertising, and word-of-mouth, but that’s often not
18 enough to attract the very best candidates. Many entrepre-
19 neurs believe they can’t afford the professional services of
20 230 an executive recruiter. But consider how critical a savvy
21 sales manager or controller can be to the future of your
PEOPLE
22 business.
23 Executive recruiters, long retained by big companies to
24 find just the right person, also work with many smaller
25 firms. Their fee—traditionally 331/3 percent of the total first
26 year’s salary plus all expenses—may sound steep, but think
27 of it as an investment. “We create a strategy for the hunt,”
28 said Brad Marks, chairman and chief executive officer of
29 Brad Marks International in Century City, California.
30 Marks, a veteran executive recruiter, has placed many top
31 executives in the entertainment industry. A former executive
32 at Walt Disney Co. and ABC, he’s been helping companies
33 find just the right person since 1982.
34 Marks, who works with four women colleagues, is particu-
35 larly known for placing high-level women in a traditionally
36 male-dominated field. “I have a distinct desire on my part to
37 find the best executive for the position, and in many cases
38 that turns out to be a woman,” said Marks.
39 According to an industry report, 24 percent of the news
directors in the top ten media markets are women. Two- 1
thirds of all news writers and producers are women, and 41 2
percent of all middle managers at radio and television sta- 3
tions are female. 4
Marks said a willingness to consider women for high-level 5
jobs began in the 1980s, when the leveraged buyouts of Hol- 6
lywood studios took many out of family hands and put them 7
under corporate control. 8
Marks, who encouraged KNBC in Los Angeles to hire Car- 9
ole Black as general manager and placed Dawn Tarnofsky at 10
Lifetime, said his type of work can be very “cloak and dag- 11
ger,” especially when he is replacing people who don’t know 12
they are about to lose their jobs. 13
He said the executive search process has several steps. 14
After meeting with clients to determine exactly what kind of 15
person they need, he and his team begin searching for suit- 16
able candidates. It can often take up to ten weeks to track 17
down and interview people. Marks then narrows the field to 18
about twenty people who are interviewed by him and his 19
associates. After careful evaluation, the top five people are 231 20
scheduled to meet with the client. 21
Hopefully, one will be a perfect fit. If you need to hire a 22
key manager, consider paying for professional help. 23
24
25
Look Far and Wide for the Best Person 26
G R E AT finding the right person to help run your 27
small business may mean hiring an out-of-towner 28
135 and paying to relocate that person. Relocation 29
I D E A involves a myriad of financial and emotional issues 30
for both you and your employee. It’s a complex and expen- 31
sive process. 32
Finding a comparable and comfortable place to live is 33
important, but a positive relocation depends on many fac- 34
tors, according to Maryanne Rainone, vice president of Hey- 35
man Associates, a Manhattan executive search firm. “We talk 36
to thousands of job candidates, and you get to know what 37
kind of things are red lights for a prospective employee,” 38
said Rainone. 39
1 She said it’s important to ask job candidates if they’ve
2 thought about relocation even before the first interview. If
3 their résumés show they’ve gone to school and worked in
4 only one state, they are probably not good candidates for a
5 major move. “Make sure the candidate is open to moving
2 0 1 G R E AT I D E A S F O R Y O U R S M A L L B U S I N E S S
22 hire anyone to deal with the mail; plus, it was the perfect
23 job for them. George got a kick out of reading the fan mail
24 and questions from readers. Jean was content to slice
25 open the piles of envelopes and be on the brochure-stuff-
26 ing team.
27 For that same project, I recruited my now dearly depart-
28 ed Aunt Pearl Weissman. Although she was busy tutoring
29 foreign-born students and volunteering at the local Democ-
30 ratic Party headquarters, she would make time to stuff a
31 few hundred envelopes with brochures every week. I’d visit
32 with her and my uncle Sam for a while, then return a few
33 days later to pick up the finished work at their Santa Moni-
34 ca apartment.
35 Consider how you can tap into the wisdom and skill of
36 older workers. Don’t reject candidates because they have gray
37 hair and wrinkles. Hire them.
38
39
1
Hire Teenagers 2
G R E AT in response to the shifting economy, seven 3
out of ten high school students want to start a busi- 4
138 ness, according to a Gallup Poll. The primary motiva- 5
I D E A tion is to be their own boss, not to earn a lot of money. 6
Although there are no firm statistics on how many of 7
America’s 27 million teens run small businesses, the num- 8
bers are well into the thousands and growing, according to 9
those involved in training young entrepreneurs. Teens are 10
selling handmade crafts, moving furniture, detailing cars, 11
and designing clothes, among other ventures. But not all 12
teenagers have a natural entrepreneurial bent. 13
Despite this strong interest, 86 percent of the teens sur- 14
veyed said they lacked the skills needed to start even the sim- 15
plest business. The study, commissioned by the Center for 16
Entrepreneurial Leadership at the Ewing Marion Kauffman 17
Foundation in Kansas City, Missouri, also found that most of 18
the students were taught little or nothing about running a 19
small business. 235 20
This thirst for practical information has fueled the growth 21
of several organizations aimed at training young entrepre- 22
neurs. Independent Means is an educational organization 23
devoted to teaching teenage girls about business, with offices 24
in New York and Santa Barbara. It operates summer camps, 25
sponsors seminars, and organizes a national business plan 26
competition for girls. “We have to train kids not just how to 27
get a job, but how to make a job,” said Joline Godfrey, 28
founder of Independent Means. 29
Other groups are serving low-income youth or business 30
owners’ children with a variety of training programs. Steve 31
Mariotti, founder of the National Foundation for Teaching 32
Entrepreneurship in Manhattan, said his group reaches out 33
to economically disadvantaged teenagers in fourteen cities. 34
The program boasts 12,000 graduates, a $5 million budget, 35
and 200 corporate sponsors. 36
“Economic illiteracy is an intellectual handicap in a 37
capitalist society,” Mariotti said. “It’s life-threatening for 38
the poor.” 39
1 Mariotti, coauthor of The Young Entrepreneur’s Guide to
2 Starting and Running a Business (Times Books; 2000), said
3 teens who participate in the foundation’s classes are taught
4 the practical marketing and financial skills needed to make it
5 in the business world.
2 0 1 G R E AT I D E A S F O R Y O U R S M A L L B U S I N E S S
6 this courtesy call. If your client feels negative about the per-
7 son, and you end up hiring him or her, the new employee
8 will have to work extra-hard to build the relationship. On the
9 flip side, if your client is very impressed, you might risk los-
10 ing that person to the client at some point. But I believe the
11 risks are worth it.
12 When I was looking for a new research associate, I
13 planned to introduce the top candidate to my then biggest
14 client, my colleagues at Bloomberg Television. But, as it
15 turned out, they had already met, as she had previously
16 interned at Bloomberg.
17 Because of that, I was able to judge the quality of her work
18 firsthand. It worked out well for everyone. They benefited
19 from her familiarity with Bloomberg and her expertise in
20 248 scouting locations and helping to produce segments for our
21 small business show.
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8
T ime is money” is a very old cliché, but
it’s still true. If you waste time, you waste money
and add major stress to your busy life.
Most successful entrepreneurs work incredibly
long hours. There are some people, though, who
manage to accomplish so much more than the rest
of us—and in less time. So what’s their secret?
They are relentless delegators. They let go of all
9 the things they know they don’t need to do
10 themselves, like answer the phone, open the mail,
11 and fill out FedEx forms. They have skilled support
12 people manage their schedules, deal with paper-
13 work, return phone calls, host nonessential staff
14 meetings, and make travel arrangements.
15 Savvy entrepreneurs take full advantage of voice
16 mail and e-mail. They leave long, detailed messages
17 and instructions late at night when they are sure no
18 one will answer the phone. They answer e-mail in
batches and don’t continually sign on to check 1
who keep track of all the details that bog down busy 5
269
entrepreneurs. A good assistant screens calls, deals 6
morale. 17
mail. 3
2 You bring an overflowing binder or briefcase with “stuff you 4
have to do” on a one- or two-day trip. 5
3 Your cell phone bill is half your office rent. 6
4 Most of your conversations begin with, “I’m sorry I didn’t get 7
back to you sooner, but….” 8
5 You dream about e-mail more than you dream about humans. 9
6 While on vacation, you spend more time around the fax 10
machine than around the pool. 11
12
If you agree with most of these statements, you need to 13
get a grip and get your life organized. For help, read on and 14
find more great ideas for better time management. 15
16
17
Get Organized—Right Now 18
G R E AT
every successful entrepreneur tries to be 19
well-organized in order to maximize every minute of 271 20
158 the day. If you believe getting organized is just for the 21
I D E A compulsively neat, add up the time you spend every 22
day hunting around for misplaced files or documents. You’ll 23
be shocked at how much time and money your messy desk 24
costs your business. 25
Hiring a professional organizer is one way to go, but be 26
prepared to pay between $50 and $150 an hour. It’s also not 27
that difficult to do it yourself. Start by reading Taming the 28
Paper Tiger at Work (Kiplinger Books; 1998), by Barbara 29
Hemphill. 30
Meanwhile, here are some things you can do to get 31
started right now: 32
1 Schedule a weekend or two to totally clean up your 33
office. If necessary, pay employees overtime to help you 34
tackle the mess. Get into the right mood by playing your 35
favorite music. Bring in plenty of snacks, soft drinks, clean- 36
ing supplies, and lots of big trash bags. 37
2 Take everything off your desk and set things on the 38
floor. Throw away any piece of paper that you haven’t 39
1 touched for a month. Next, go through your “in” basket and
2 distribute everything you can.
3 3 Scan through those stacks of magazines and newspa-
4 pers. Tear out articles that you absolutely must read. Recy-
5 cle the rest.
2 0 1 G R E AT I D E A S F O R Y O U R S M A L L B U S I N E S S
G R E AT
the information superhighway leads to 15
information overload for many busy entrepreneurs. 16
159 With so much to do, it’s difficult to find the time 17
I D E A to keep up with all the websites, books, magazines, 18
and professional journals we know we should be reading. 19
One solution with multiple benefits is to ask your assis- 273 20
tant or a key staffer to serve as your “personal information 21
officer,” or PIO. 22
Your PIO benefits by being well informed and learning 23
about your world, while you save time by reading only the 24
material you absolutely must read. This system takes a lit- 25
tle time and planning, but it will save you many hours over 26
the long run. 27
First, decide which magazines, newspapers, and web- 28
sites provide valuable information and insights for your 29
particular business. If your daily newspapers are piling up 30
unread, get started by pulling out the business section and 31
recycling the rest. 32
If you don’t subscribe to your industry’s top trade journal, 33
subscribe right away. 34
Once you’ve made a “must-read” list of publications, 35
go online and use search engines to find the websites 36
that should be visited at least once a week (don’t forget to 37
include sbtv.com ). “Bookmark” these sites or put them in 38
“Favorites” so you can reach them quickly when you or 39
1 your assistant sign on.
2 Collect a stack of current publications and sit down with
3 your assistant to point out which articles are of particular
4 interest to you. Note which columns (including my weekly
5 newspaper column) you want clipped out every week.
2 0 1 G R E AT I D E A S F O R Y O U R S M A L L B U S I N E S S
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C H A P T E R 7
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Technology 16
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and 20
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Telecommunications 23
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1
8
I admit that i am no high-tech guru,
but any book full of great ideas has to include vital
tips on making the most of affordable equipment
and technology. Even the worst technophobe has to
deal with it. You can’t be in business without the
right stuff, especially when computer and
communications equipment has never been faster,
better, and cheaper. Affordable technology truly
9 levels the playing field, giving any company the
10 chance to act as competitive and professional as
11 much bigger firms with greater resources.
12 Computers are great, but they’re not cheap.
13 Companies with fewer than twenty employees
14 spend an average of $292 a month on computer
15 maintenance. Companies with fifty to one hundred
16 employees spend an average of $1,019 a month,
17 according to a survey conducted by Hewlett-Packard.
18 Most entrepreneurs rely on others to guide them
when it comes to choosing and maintaining their 1
G R E AT
6 kinds of communications technology for my busi-
7 165 ness, I turned to an expert I can trust: my sister Amy
8 I D E A Berger, founder of Berger Technology Research in
9 Reseda, California.
10 Communicating with your customers is the most impor-
11 tant thing for small business owners. Here are some key
12 devices and services to consider:
13 ◆ Cellular telephones.In today’s mobile society, most busi-
14 ness owners need a cell phone. They are getting cheaper
15 every year and many companies offer excellent and flexible
16 service plans, so you’ll want to shop around for the best deal.
17 Digital phones are being superseded by PCS telephones.
18 PCS stands for “personal communications services.” PCS
19 relies on radio frequencies that the FCC made available with-
20 286 in the past few years. PCS frequencies are now available
21 nationwide, but make sure they are in your area before you
TECHNOLOGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
22 buy a phone.
23 There are many, many companies providing a confusing
24 array of cellular phone services. Do your homework and ask
25 other business owners which providers they use before sign-
26 ing a long-term service contract.
27 ◆ Multifunction boxes. This telecommunications product
28 looks like a printer with a scanner, but it can do four things:
29 fax, print, copy, and scan. For about $800 retail, it’s a great
30 deal for a small office. Hewlett-Packard and Canon make
31 these affordable multifunctional machines.
32 ◆ Two-way pagers. PageNet and Skytel sell pagers that can
33 answer a message. With new technology and radio fre-
34 quencies, users can send an alphanumeric message and
35 receive a reply. Some pagers can hook up to your voice mail
36 system for continual access to incoming phone calls.
37 Again, there are many, many models and service providers,
38 so look for reliability and solid equipment. E-mail pagers
39 are also available.
◆ Internet service providers. There are more than 5,000 1
Internet service providers in the world, ranging from tiny 2
businesses to AT&T. The Internet provides access to unlimit- 3
ed information, e-mail, and electronic commerce. You can 4
also link to individual customers’ websites and find all sorts 5
of specialized business-support groups. 6
◆ Personal digital assistants (PDAs). These devices are the 7
size of a small waffle. They typically have a small screen and 8
a writing device—much like the Etch-A-Sketch you played 9
with as a kid. Many PDAs have some kind of mini-keyboard 10
and modem. They are portable companions to your personal 11
computer, not a replacement, and must be hooked up by a 12
wire or wireless communication. 13
What you create on a PDA can easily be downloaded into 14
your PC. PDAs are good for people on the go who don’t want 15
to lug around a laptop. PDAs are made by U.S. Robotics, 16
Palm, Casio, Apple Computer, Sony, and Handspring. 17
◆ Fax/modem card. For less than $100, you can buy a 18
modem/fax card that you can put into your PC. This dual- 19
function device allows you to send and receive faxes, 287 20
e-mail, and computer files. You need to leave your PC turned 21
on to enjoy the benefits of a fax/modem card. 22
◆ Wireless modems. Another technology to consider is wire- 23
less communications devices, which transmit information to 24
the nearest radio tower, then rely on land lines to connect a 25
provider who relays the information to the client’s database. 26
This works well when you have lots of sales reps on the road 27
who need to place orders with a quick turnaround. 28
29
30
TrainYour Employees Online 31
G R E AT
in the rush to upgrade computers and buy 32
new software, many business owners forget that peo- 33
166 ple need to be taught how to use the software before 34
I D E A they can begin to be more productive. Employees can 35
lose up to three weeks of work time tackling computer prob- 36
lems on their own, according to a survey of 400 PC users by 37
SCO, a British software firm, and Harris Research. In fact, 38
the first month after a new software program is introduced, 39
1 employees spend an average of 100 minutes a week trying to
2 figure out how to use it. “The latest software isn’t empower-
3 ing these users, it’s disrupting their workday,” said Geoff
4 Seabrook of SCO.
5 One alternative to sending your employees to community
2 0 1 G R E AT I D E A S F O R Y O U R S M A L L B U S I N E S S
G R E AT
6 companies is a win-win scenario for everyone
7 167 involved. Corporations invested $187 billion in
8 I D E A research and development in 2001, according to the
9 Battelle Memorial Institute, and selling licenses and collect-
10 ing royalties is one way to earn back that money. Additional-
11 ly, licensing deals can create new opportunities to grow your
12 business. One simple way to find a product to license or to
13 expose your intellectual property to potential licensees is via
14 an online technology marketplace.
15 Frank Jaksch, CEO of ChromaDex Inc., a small Laguna
16 Hills, California–based company that sells high-purity chem-
17 icals isolated from plants to manufacturers of vitamins and
18 supplements, saved his company time and money by looking
19 online. Screening for bacterial contamination is important to
20 290 maintaining the safety of ChromaDex’s products, which are
21 produced using the raw materials derived from plants and
TECHNOLOGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
6 free of charge.
7 ◆ Immediate results. Wonder whether you got the shot?
8 Just hook the camera up to your computer or view the
9 results instantly on the camera’s built-in LCD panel.
10 ◆ Easy integration into digital media. With desktop
11 publishing tools, digital cameras provide powerful
12 graphic ammunition with minimal fuss and bother.
13 ◆ Easy transmission via fax or modem. With a digital
14 camera, you can grab a picture and quickly send it by
15 e-mail or print a copy and fax it.
16
17 costs about 75 cents a sheet.
18 There is a downside: While digital images are quicker and
19 easier to manipulate than traditional film images, the quality
20 298 is still not as good as film if you want to produce a high-end
21 catalog or advertisement. And professional photographers
TECHNOLOGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
22 will tell you that digital images pale compared to those they
23 shoot on film. Morgenstern also cautions: “Unless you use
24 an expensive laser printer, the quality of photographic output
25 doesn’t match the clarity of a drugstore snapshot reprint.”
26
27
28
ScanYour Business Cards
29 G R E AT your rolodex is a gold mine, but flipping
30 through it and keeping it up-to-date is a hassle.
31 172 Insurance broker Richard Butwin, of Great Neck,
32 I D E A New York, said his greatest idea was to buy a Card-
33 Scan system. Through the miracles of modern technology,
34 you pop a business card into the scanner, and within min-
35 utes the data is read and stored. Then, when you are ready,
36 the software transfers the information into whatever contact
37 management software you use.
38 The company says the system is great for salespeople,
39 executives, assistants—anyone who has to keep track of lots
of people. CardScan’s basic software costs $79; the system 1
with scanner and software is $299. For more information, 2
call CardScan at 800-942-6739, or visit their website at 3
www.cardscan.com. 4
5
6
Create aWebsite 7
G R E AT
creating your own website is a complex 8
and demanding project that can cost you money 9
173 instead of making you money—if you don’t do it 10
I D E A right. Before you plan your site, determine whether 11
you can afford to create and maintain it. You can’t just put it 12
out there in cyberspace and forget about it. At least once a 13
week, you should be adding fresh information, offers, and 14
incentives to visit your site. You also need to make sure that 15
your customers and clients are Web-savvy. If they aren’t yet 16
going online to find information or make purchases, there’s 17
a chance you may be wasting your time and money. 18
Here are some steps to get you started: 19
1 Go online to check out a variety of websites belonging 299 20
to big and small companies. This is the best way to figure 21
out exactly what you like and don’t like. Some sites are very 22
elaborate, with all sorts of graphics and animation. Some are 23
very simple and elegant. Mark the sites you like so you can 24
share them with a designer. 25
2 Outline all the elements you would like to include on 26
your own site. Carefully list the information you want to 27
share with your customers or clients. Ask yourself: Do you 28
need to include product information and a price list? An 29
order form? Will you be putting your catalog online? Will 30
you feature some sort of schedule to track product releases 31
or shipments? 32
3 Make a list of the sections and estimate how many 33
pages of text they will take up. Most website estimates 34
are based on the number of pages or screens. 35
4 Once you’ve outlined all of the sections you want on 36
your site, make appointments to meet with at least two 37
or three designers. Ask your friends or colleagues to rec- 38
ommend good website designers. Or better yet, call the com- 39
1 panies whose sites you liked best and ask them for the name
2 and phone number of their designer. Before you set up an
3 appointment to meet with a designer, ask for some refer-
4 ences and call them. Meet only with the people who come
5 highly recommended. You don’t want to waste time getting
2 0 1 G R E AT I D E A S F O R Y O U R S M A L L B U S I N E S S
6 up and running.
7 The advantages of having a customized system are many.
8 You get exactly what you need—nothing more. The software
9 is written for your particular industry and is frequently
10 updated.
11 The best way to find the right software is to contact your
12 trade or professional association and ask for a list of software
13 vendors serving your industry. If you don’t belong to a group,
14 now is the time to join.
15 If you think your business is too esoteric to have software
16 written for it, think again. My friend and neighbor, Debra
17 Orlando, designs store interiors for Esteé Lauder stores
18 around the world. She works on a Macintosh computer
19 loaded with special CAD-CAM software for interior design-
20 302 ers. She sends a disk to the architects and contractors, who
21 download her files to print out detailed construction plans.
TECHNOLOGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Customer
Service
I laughed when someone once said to
me, “Business is great, except for the people.” It’s
true, but without people you won’t have a business,
so your job is to provide the best customer service
possible.
We all know that one unhappy customer blabs to
ten others about how awful you or your staff has
treated them, but a happy customer rarely passes
along the good news.
Your challenge is to get your good customers to
generate a positive buzz about your business. They
will, if you give them excellent service and a reason
to recommend you.
It sounds easier than it is. Providing really
good customer service takes time, money, and
extraordinary patience. It means putting yourself
out there to take the good news with the bad.
And it means taking responsibility for making
sure no complaint goes unresolved.
My husband, Joe, refuses to put up with poor
service or shoddy products. In a typical week, he
returned a broken cordless phone to Staples and
got a full refund from the manager, even though a
311
clerk said it was impossible because we had
thrown the box away. “I had the receipt, so they
had to give me my money back,” he explained.
Then he returned a broken plastic dimmer knob
to the manufacturer and received a nice brass one in
the mail a few days later. He’s found that being a
squeaky wheel really works—most of the time.
But don’t wait for complaints to set your services
in order—having a courteous and consistent
customer service policy will win you a lot of new
business. The burden is on you, the business owner,
to keep customers loyal.
No chapter on customer service would be com-
1 plete without mentioning Nordstrom, the Cadillac of cus-
2 tomer service-oriented companies. Their employee hand-
3 book is just a five-by-eight-inch gray card that reads:
4
5 We’re glad to have you with our company.
2 0 1 G R E AT I D E A S F O R Y O U R S M A L L B U S I N E S S
G R E AT
6 access to capital as the top small business challenge
7 183 in several recent independent surveys. Now the retail
8 I D E A industry is doing something about it, and every con-
9 sumer who has waited patiently while an unskilled clerk
10 attempted to ring up a sale can rejoice.
11 The nation’s first “retail skills center” opened in 1997 in
12 the King of Prussia mall near Philadelphia. The National
13 Retail Federation partnered with American Express, Kravco
14 Co., the mall developer, and the Commonwealth of Pennsyl-
15 vania to sponsor the hands-on training program.
16 “I’ve heard from employers time and time again that they
17 can’t find workers with the skills to succeed,” then Pennsyl-
18 vania Governor Tom Ridge told members of the National
19 Retail Federation meeting. “This unique partnership helps to
20 318 ensure that this is not the case in King of Prussia. And for
21 those desiring the skills to go to work, the program lends
CUSTOMER SERVICE
Going
Global
I f your business is failing, going
global won’t save it. But if your business is poised
for growth and offers a product or service with
universal appeal, read on.
Entering the international marketplace has
never been easier. The U.S. Small Business Ad-
ministration has several export development
programs. There are wonderful books on how to
deal with customs brokers, shipping lines, and
embassies. State and federal agencies, including
the U.S. Export-Import Bank, offer entrepreneurs a
plethora of business development services. Major
insurance companies sell insurance policies
designed to help minimize the risk of doing
business abroad.
Doing your homework is the first and most
important step on the road to international trade.
Find out everything you possibly can about the
country you think you’d like to do business in.
Make sure there are consumers with cash and a
business infrastructure before you book one plane
ticket. Most developed and undeveloped nations
have consuls and business development officials
325
based here and abroad. You can search the
Internet and collect more information than you’ll
need to get started.
The best way to find out what’s going on in
other countries is to speak with other business
owners already doing business overseas. Most en-
trepreneurs are happy to share their horror stories
and victories.
In this section, I cover a few specific countries,
and I share some tips on how not to embarrass
yourself abroad. So read it all before you pack
your bags.
1
2 Expand Production
3
4
South of the Border
5 japanese giants sony, sanyo electric, and
2 0 1 G R E AT I D E A S F O R Y O U R S M A L L B U S I N E S S
G R E AT
6 Hitachi made headlines by investing hundreds of
7 187 millions of dollars in Mexican border factories, but
8 I D E A hundreds of small U.S. businesses are also taking
9 advantage of Mexico’s affordable skilled labor force. “It’s the
10 big guys and the small guys—the growth is phenomenal,”
11 said Mike Patten, editor of Twin Plant News, a trade maga-
12 zine covering the maquila industry.
13 Shared production plants, known as “maquiladoras,” offer
14 big and small businesses a cost-effective way to boost pro-
15 duction. There are about 3,000 maquiladoras employing
16 about one million workers in Mexico. Employment has dou-
17 bled since the peso devaluation in 1994, according to indus-
18 try experts. The majority of workers are making electronic
19 equipment, automotive parts, textiles, and furniture. Tijuana
20 326 has become the TV production capital of the world, manu-
21 facturing 14 million units a year, according to Business Week.
GOING GLOBAL
G R E AT
6 that makes perfect sense falls apart for no apparent
7 191 reason. The numbers look good, but personalities
8 I D E A clash, or someone says something that sends the deal
9 spinning out of control.
10 The problem may be caused by a breach of business eti-
11 quette, according to experts in protocol and negotiation.
12 “About 80 percent of all business owners going abroad fail to
13 complete a deal because they don’t do their homework,” said
14 Syndi Seid, founder of Advanced Etiquette in San Francisco.
15 Frank Acuff, author of How to Negotiate Anything with
16 Anyone, Anywhere Around the World (AMACOM; 1997)
17 agrees. “American culture focuses on the logical part of the deal,
18 but in other cultures the relationship comes first,” said Acuff,
19 director of Human Resources International based in Oakbrook
20 334 Terrace, Illinois. Knowing how to act in a foreign business situa-
21 tion is critical to your success, he said, especially since many
GOING GLOBAL
6 negotiable.
7 You might want to call the consulate of the country you
8 are preparing materials for and ask if they can recommend a
9 native speaker who freelances. Advertising agencies and
10 marketing consultants who specialize in target marketing
11 often have a stable of skilled linguists on call.
12 Above all, be sure to do your homework and learn every-
13 thing possible about the culture; you don’t want to end up
14 offending the people you are trying to attract.
15
16 Abide by the Etiquette
17
18
of InternationalTrade
19 G R E AT with everyone buzzing about international
20 338 trade, it helps to know the DO’s and DON’Ts of con-
21 194 ducting business abroad. I asked my friend Syndi
GOING GLOBAL
Great 14
15
16
17
Ideas 18
19
20
from 21
22
23
VIPs 24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
1
2 HERB KELLEHER
3
4
Be a Maverick inYour Industry
5 herb kelleher, his friend rollin king,
2 0 1 G R E AT I D E A S F O R Y O U R S M A L L B U S I N E S S
G R E AT
6 and banker John Parker sketched out the idea for
7 195 Southwest Airlines on a cocktail napkin in a bar.
8 I D E A True story.
9 They began with one simple notion: If you get your pas-
10 sengers to their destinations when they want to get there, on
11 time, at the lowest possible fares, and make darn sure they
12 have a good time doing it, people will fly your airline. Kelle-
13 her, now chairman of the fifth-largest U.S. airline, said he
14 liked the idea because he had admired the way the now-
15 defunct Pacific Southwest Airlines pioneered cheap, short-
16 haul service throughout California.
17 Doing the same thing in Texas generated a firestorm of
18 industry opposition and a tangle of government red tape. But
19 Kelleher fought on. In 1968, after much wrangling, the
20 342 Texas Aeronautics Commission finally approved Southwest’s
21 plan to fly between three cities. But the next day, competing
GREAT IDEAS FROM VIPS
22
Were you born with golden hands? If you can fix anything
23 from leather to lampshades, a repair business may be your
24 bag. Even in our affluent society, folks don’t like to throw
25 things away. You might want to sublease some space from a
26 mall merchant—you’ll both benefit from each other’s traffic.
27 Finally, if you are great with people, consider signing on as
28 an independent sales rep for a company whose product you
29 respect, especially if you are handy enough to demonstrate it.
30 You may have noticed that entrepreneurs need to com-
31 bine several strengths to launch their ships—and to avoid
steering courses where their weaknesses will wreck them.
32
Match your own strength to the opportunities popping up
33
around you, as lifestyles change along with the economy. Test
34
your idea. Don’t commit to a long lease or expensive equip-
35
ment until you are certain that the idea is viable.
36 No matter how favorable the financing terms may be, how
37 glowing the prospects of the industry, if a prospective busi-
38 ness bores you or scares you, step away from it.
39
This advice is born from decades of experience. Siebert 1
proved herself to be an entrepreneurial risk-taker from the 2
very start of her business career. To learn more about the 3
“First Woman of Finance,” check out Siebert & Company’s 4
website at www.msiebert.com. 5
6
7
8
MIKE BLOOMBERG
9
Stick toYour Guns and 10
11
KeepYour Ideas Simple 12
G R E AT michael bloomberg is a genius whose 13
success is an inspiration for all entrepreneurs. His 14
197 achievements exemplify the American Dream—start- 15
I D E A ing a business from scratch and earning billions. 16
And since this interview, Bloomberg has gone on to run an 17
even bigger operation: the City of New York. 18
After some sticky personality clashes and the sale in 1981 19
of Salomon Brothers to Philbro Corporation ended his fif- 345 20
teen-year career there, Bloomberg, with about $10 million in 21
hand, set out to develop the premiere, proprietary informa- 22
tion system for traders and savvy investors. Hence, the 23
beginning of Bloomberg Financial Markets. 24
There are about 157,000 Bloomberg terminals in use 25
around the world today, providing current data on a myriad of 26
subjects that matter most to traders, brokers, analysts, and 27
investors. Once focused exclusively on financial market data, 28
the Bloomberg system of today also offers news stories, multi- 29
media reports, apartment listings in New York City—it even 30
helps you send flowers. The amount of financial information 31
and general resources available on the Bloomberg system, and 32
the level of customer service that is offered, is astounding. 33
I know Mike personally and was able to watch him in 34
action on a regular basis when I was a producer/reporter 35
on Bloomberg’s small business TV program. Of course, I 36
took appropriate advantage of my time at Bloomberg to get 37
into the mind of the master and ask him to share some of 38
his ideas on business for aspiring entrepreneurs. 39
1 “Do something simple that you can really define,” he said,
2 twirling his reading glasses. “Sitting in your office, ponder-
3 ing momentous, abstract ideas doesn’t always work.” You
4 need to keep it straightforward, particularly in the initial
5 stages, and then you can build from there, he said.
2 0 1 G R E AT I D E A S F O R Y O U R S M A L L B U S I N E S S
22 tion area and do your thing. You never know who you’ll meet
23 or bump into. The structure is deliberate.
24 “Walls and titles act as barriers,” said Bloomberg. That’s
25 why open space is the rule around the office.
26 Although it appears that the company took off like a rock-
27 et from the beginning, Bloomberg said it took years to build
28 the business because “we didn’t try to do everything at once.”
29 Perfecting and updating the Bloomberg system takes top
30 priority. The company spends about $30 million a year on
31 research and development.
32 The radio, television, and publishing operations are the
33 toddlers in the Bloomberg family. Bloomberg Television
34 provides twenty-four hours of news every day through
35 national cable distribution, USA Network, DirecTV, and
36 the Bloomberg terminal. Bloomberg News Radio is syndi-
37 cated through more than 200 affiliates worldwide and airs
38 on Bloomberg 1130 AM in New York. The company pub-
39 lishes four magazines for consumers and professionals
and books focused essentially on finance and business. 1
“You’ve got to sit back and do things carefully,” advised 2
Bloomberg. “You can’t jump to the endgame.” 3
4
TOM PETERS 5
6
Two Great Ideas 7
G R E AT
tom peters, best-selling author, high-level 8
consultant, entrepreneur, and speaker, was in a state 9
198 of transition when we met in New York City in the 10
I D E A summer of 1997. He had just sold The Tom Peters 11
Group, the training side of his Palo Alto–based communi- 12
cations business and was devoting most of his attention to 13
his new company, a textile and bedding venture owned by 14
his wife, textile designer Susan Sargent in Pawlett, Ver- 15
mont. Previously, Peters worked for McKinsey & Company, 16
a management consulting firm, where he eventually 17
became a partner. 18
Taking a cue from the Japanese, Peters adopted manage- 19
ment strategies which he teaches around the world. Since 347 20
he’s been a sharp observer of the changing business world 21
for many years, he has offered two great ideas for small busi- 22
ness owners. 23
1 Focus on a creative brand design. “Produce first-class 24
marketing materials for your company,” he said. “Find an 25
innovative, young design team on Day One to create a Star- 26
bucks/Nike kind of feel for the enterprise.” Then put your 27
very cool image on “everything from the website, to the 28
nameplate, to the business cards.” Although graphics and 29
printing are costly, “spend the money whether you are run- 30
ning a twelve-table restaurant, a three-person company, or 31
anything in between.” 32
2 Look beyond credentials. “The great people at business love 33
hanging around people,” he said. So, when you are building 34
your team, “my advice is, ‘forget the certificates.’” 35
He said when he and Susan began advertising for their 36
first administrator for their textile business, “I stole the 37
words from Steve Jobs, and I said, ‘this is a company that 38
from Day One intends on being insanely great, and if you’re 39
1 not insanely great—don’t even think about applying.’”
2 “Well,” he said with a grin, “that draws in some flakes
3 you wouldn’t touch with a twenty-meter pole—on the
4 other hand, it was great to see the responses from all over
5 the map.”
2 0 1 G R E AT I D E A S F O R Y O U R S M A L L B U S I N E S S
22
23
24
the Mail-Order Queen
25 G R E AT the first thing i thought when i met
26 Lillian Vernon was, “Wow, I hope I have as much
27 201 energy and look as great as she does when I’m older!”
28 I D E A This petite powerhouse of the mail-order industry
29 started her business on her kitchen table in the early 1950s.
30 She was pregnant and needed to earn money, but working
31 outside the home was frowned upon at the time. Her father
32 was in the leather business, and she thought she could make
33 money by selling his fashion accessories.
34 Taking a risk, she placed a $495 ad in the September
35 1951 issue of Seventeen magazine: “Be the first to sport that
36 personalized look on your bag and belt,” read the ad tout-
37 ing a $2.99 leather purse and $1.99 belt. That ad, placed
38 by Vernon, a suburban New York housewife and mother,
39 garnered $32,000 worth of orders—a huge amount of
money at the time. It also launched a mail order empire. 1
“I make quick decisions based on my golden gut,” said 2
Vernon, who named her firm after the New York suburb of 3
Mount Vernon where she lived. Later in life, she changed her 4
name legally from Lillian Hochberg to Lillian Vernon. 5
In several interviews, the feisty entrepreneur told me how, 6
despite a lack of formal business training, she turned 7
$2,000 in wedding money into a successful mail order busi- 8
ness serving 18 million customers. “To this day, I don’t know 9
how to read a financial statement,” she admits. “I still need 10
help with the numbers.” 11
She doesn’t need any help selecting merchandise. Every 12
year, hundreds of items are submitted by eager vendors. 13
Only a fraction ever make it into her slick catalogs. Her 14
biggest hits are the items she dreams up herself. For exam- 15
ple, once Vernon received 120,000 orders for the Battenburg 16
lace Christmas tree angels she designed. Not bad for a Jew- 17
ish woman whose family fled their comfortable life in 18
Leipzig, Germany, after the Nazis threw them out of their 19
home in 1933. 351 20
Vernon’s rags-to-riches story is detailed in her amazing 21
autobiography, An Eye for Winners (Harper Business; 1997). 22
Vernon’s book stands apart from many autobiographies 23
because it combines intimate and often painful details of her 24
life story with practical business advice. 25
Known for her sharp wit and strong support of Demo- 26
cratic politics, Vernon told me her company has flourished 27
by finding the right professional managers to complement 28
her entrepreneurial style. But the process hasn’t been easy. 29
“At one point, I surrounded myself with experienced veter- 30
ans of large corporate cultures,” she said. “Unfortunately, 31
they almost killed us—they took analysis to the point of 32
paralysis.” 33
Now she relies on a team of skilled managers, including 34
her two sons, to help her manage the Rye, New York–based 35
company. Times have changed since she started the busi- 36
ness. In the 1950s there were about fifty specialty catalogs; 37
now, there are nearly 10,000, generating about $70 billion 38
a year. 39
1 The tough competition keeps Vernon busy. A few years
2 ago, she said, 89 percent of the items in her catalogs made
3 money; today the percentage has dipped to about 79 percent.
4 A few years ago, mail-order industry analysts criticized
5 Vernon for lagging behind competitors when it came to
2 0 1 G R E AT I D E A S F O R Y O U R S M A L L B U S I N E S S
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Conclusion
1
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1
2
Just one great idea can completely 3
4
revolutionize your life. 5
—EARL NIGHTINGALE 6
7
8
9
10
11
ABrief Conclusion 12
well, if you’ve gotten this far (or, maybe you started 13
reading here!), you deserve a short farewell. For several 14
years, I collected and researched these 201 really great ideas. 15
I set the bar very high and rejected many for being too dull 16
or too obvious. To make the cut, these ideas had to be cre- 17
ative, practical, and proven effective. None were made up or 18
embellished. 19
I hope you are able to use many of these ideas in your 355 20
business. Or maybe some of my ideas inspired you to come 21
up with a great idea of your own. 22
Now, I’d like to ask you a favor. If you have a great idea 23
that has helped you make money or run your small business 24
better, send it to me! I would like to share it in my column, 25
or perhaps in another book. 26
During the final days of writing, I joked that my next book 27
will be titled: “Two Ideas for Great Success.” The ideas are 28
simple: Rob a bank and flee the country. 29
But, I’m kidding. You know I’ll be back interviewing more 30
wonderful entrepreneurs just like you, as soon as I can take 31
the Band-Aids off my fingers. 32
If reading this book inspires you to share a great idea 33
with me, I’d welcome it. Please send it to: Jane Applegate, 34
P.O. Box 768, Pelham, NY 10803. 35
36
37
38
39
Resources
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
1
Agencies, SBA, and Other 2
3
U.S. Government Offices 4
SBA OFFICES 5
SBA Office of Financial Assistance 6
202-205-6490 7
Direct loan funds are limited to businesses owned by dis- 8
abled individuals; all other assistance is provided through 9
SBA guarantees of loans made by local banks. 10
(See also “Getting Money” section, below) 11
SBA Office of Rural Affairs & Economic 12
Development 13
(See U.S. Department of Agriculture, below) 14
SBA Office of International Trade 15
202-205-6720 16
(See also “Export/Trade” section, below) 17
SBA Office of Government Contracting 18
202-205-6460 19
SBA Procurement Automated Source System (PASS) 357 20
409 3rd Street, SW 21
Washington, DC 20416 22
202-205-7310 23
For small businesses interested in government procurement 24
opportunities. 25
Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) 26
National SCORE Office 27
409 3rd Street, SW, 6th floor 28
Washington, DC 20024 29
800-634-0245 30
fax: 202-205-7636 31
In addition to one-on-one counseling, SCORE offers a free 32
nineteen-page workbook entitled How to Really Start Your 33
Own Business. 34
35
REGIONAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES 36
in addition to sba district offices, every state has a 37
primary agency or office to provide one-stop guidance on the 38
programs and services offered to small businesses at the 39
1 state level. In each state this agency or office goes by a differ-
2 ent name. Below are listings for the biggest states.
3 California Trade and Commerce Agency
4 Office of Small Business
5 801 K Street, Suite 1600
2 0 1 G R E AT I D E A S F O R Y O U R S M A L L B U S I N E S S
6 Sacramento, CA 95814
7 916-324-1295
8 New York Department of Economic Development
9 Business Assistance Hotline
10 633 3rd Street
11 New York, NY 10017
12 800-782-8369
13 Texas Department of Economic Development
14 1700 North Congress Avenue
15 Austin, TX 78711
16 512-936-0100
17 U.S. Small Business Administration
18 409 3rd Street, SW
19 Washington, DC 20416
20 358 800-U-ASK-SBA; 800-827-5722
21 fax: 202-205-7064
RESOURCES
22 TDD: 704-344-6640
23 Most dealings with the SBA are best handled through district
24 or regional offices. Call the toll-free number above to find the
25 SBA district office nearest you.
26
27 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WEB SITES
28 SBA
29 www.sba.gov
30 The home page of the SBA.
31 U.S. Business Advisor
32 www.business.gov
33 A one-stop link to government for business.
34 Federal Marketplace
35 www.fedmarket.com
36 The “federal marketplace” is the Internet’s procurement
37 resource gateway for firms interested in marketing and sell-
38 ing products and services to the U.S. government.
39
The Patent and Trademark Office 1
www.uspto.gov 2
The home page of the Patent and Trademark Office. 3
(See “Patents” section, below.) 4
5
CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES 6
Senate Small Business Committee 7
Russell Building, Room SR-428A 8
202-224-5175 9
or write to: 10
The Honorable ____________________________ 11
U.S. Senate 12
Washington, D.C. 20510 13
House Small Business Committee 14
Rayburn Building, Room 2361 15
202-225-5821 16
or write to: 17
The Honorable ____________________________ 18
U.S. House of Representatives 19
Washington, DC 20515 359 20
21
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 22
14th Street & Constitution Avenue, NW 23
Washington, DC 20230 24
202-482-2000 25
www.doc.gov 26
Economic Development Administration (EDA) 27
202-482-5081 28
The purpose of this administration is to generate jobs, to 29
help protect existing jobs, and to stimulate commercial and 30
industrial growth in economically distressed areas of the 31
United States. 32
(See also Trade Information Center in “Export/Trade” 33
section, below.) 34
35
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 36
the u.s. department of agriculture works to improve 37
and maintain income and to develop and expand markets 38
abroad for agricultural products. 39
1 12th Street and Jefferson Drive, SW
2 Washington, DC 20250
3 202-720-2791
4 Rural Information Center
5 800-633-7701
2 0 1 G R E AT I D E A S F O R Y O U R S M A L L B U S I N E S S
22 Gaithersburg, MD 20899
23 301-975-2000
24 www.nist.gov
25 Advanced Technology Program (ATP)
26 800-287-3863
27 Provides funds to help U.S. businesses develop new tech-
28 nologies that are commercially promising.
29
30 OTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCIES AND PROGRAMS
31 small business development centers (sbdc) coordinate
32 federal, state, local, university, and private resources in coun-
33 seling and training small business owners. There is an
34 SBDC in every major city in the United States. You can find
35 out the telephone number of the SBDC nearest you by call-
36 ing the SBA’s toll-free number 800-U-ASK-SBA. Some U.S.
37 state SBDC reference lines are listed below.
38
39
CALIFORNIA 1
California Trade and Commerce Agency 2
916-324-5068 3
NEW YORK 4
State University of New York (SUNY) 5
800-732-SBDC 6
TEXAS 7
Dallas County Community College 8
214-860-5850 9
10
11
Books 12
◆ The Business Owner’s Guide to Personal Finance: When 13
Your Business Is Your Paycheck, by Jill Andresky Fraser 14
(Bloomberg Press; 2001) 15
◆ Clicking Through: A Survival Guide for Bringing Your 16
Company Online, by Jonathan Ezor (Bloomberg Press; 17
1999) 18
◆ Dig Your Well before You’re Thirsty: The Only Network- 19
ing Book You’ll Ever Need, by Harvey MacKay (Doubleday; 361 20
1999) 21
◆ Effective Presentation Skills: A Practical Guide for Bet- 22
ter Speaking, by Steve Mandel (Crisp Publications; 2000) 23
◆ Hire, Manage and Retain Employees for Your Small 24
Business, by Joel Handelsman (Commerce Clearing House; 25
1998) 26
◆ Home Business Made Easy: How to Select & Start a 27
Home Business That Fits Your Interests, Lifestyle & 28
Pocketbook, by David Hanania covers businesses you can 29
run from your home and has a small business resource guide 30
(PSI Research/The Oasis Press; 1998). 31
◆ How to Drive Your Competition Crazy: Creating Disrup- 32
tion for Fun and Profit, by Guy Kawasaki (Hyperion; 1996) 33
◆ How to Sell Your Business—And Get What You Want!, 34
by Colin Gabriel (Gwent Press; 1998) 35
◆ Leadership by the Book: Tools to Transform Your Work- 36
place, by Kenneth Blanchard (William Morris & Co.; 1999) 37
◆ Minding Her Own Business: The Self-Employed 38
Woman’s Guide to Taxes and Recordkeeping, by Jan 39
1 Zobel (Adams Media Corp.; 2000)
2 ◆ Moses on Management: 50 Leadership Lessons from the
3 Greatest Manager of All Time, by David Baron (Pocket
4 Books; 2000)
5 ◆ The Natural Laws of Business: How to Harness the
2 0 1 G R E AT I D E A S F O R Y O U R S M A L L B U S I N E S S
6 800-243-7232
7 Speak to a trade specialist to discuss export problems and get
8 advice; they also publish industry reports, distributor lists,
9 country market reports, and more. Their basic starter book
10 is Exportise; it includes a list of sources.
11 Export/Import Bank (EXIMBANK)
12 811 Vermont Avenue, NW
13 Washington, DC 20571
14 202-565-3200
15 Government agency that provides export financing to large
16 and small businesses and exporters who have had difficulty
17 obtaining loans from commercial lenders.
18 Export Hotline (International Strategies, Inc.)
19 800-USA-XPORT
20 364 www.exporthotline.com
21 The export hotline and trade bank provides global business
RESOURCES
22
23 U.S. Small Business Administration
24 Office of Financial Assistance
25 202-205-6490
26 Direct loan funds are limited to businesses owned by dis-
27 abled individuals; all other assistance is provided through
28 SBA guarantees of loans made by local banks.
29 Small Business Investment Companies (SBICs)
30 SBICs are privately capitalized, owned, and managed invest-
31 ment firms licensed by the SBA that provide equity capital,
32 long-term financing, and management assistance to small
33 business. Contact your nearest SBA office. A directory of
34 SBICs is available by sending $10 to:
35 NASBIC Directory
36 P.O. Box 4039
37 Merrifield, VA 22116
38 Office of Business Development and Marketing (SBA)
39 409 3rd Street, SW
Washington, D.C. 20416 1
202-205-6666 2
Offers free fact sheet on the basics of raising money, types of 3
business loans, writing a loan proposal. 4
National Association of Development Companies 5
(NADCO) 6
6764 Old McLean, Village Drive 7
McLean, VA 22203 8
703-812-9000 9
The trade group for Certified Development Companies 10
(CDCs) promotes small business expansion through the 504 11
loan program. This program offers fixed, low-interest loans 12
to qualified existing businesses for the purchase of fixed 13
assets such as real estate or machinery. All CDC funding is 14
guaranteed by the SBA. 15
National Association of Small Business Investment Com- 16
panies 17
666 11th Street, NW, Suite 750 18
Washington, DC 20001 19
202-628-5055 367 20
fax: 202-628-5080 21
www.nasbic.org 22
National Venture Capital Association 23
1655 N. Fort Myer Drive 24
Arlington, VA 22209 25
703-524-2549 26
www.nvca.org 27
Membership organization of over 200 venture capital firms. 28
The site includes a discussion of venture capital in general 29
and what it does for the business community. 30
The Foundation Center 31
79 Fifth Avenue 32
New York, NY 10003 33
212-620-4230 34
www.fdncenter.org 35
Gathers data on foundations /corporate giving programs/ 36
contribution programs; also has grant listings. 37
38
39
1
2
Minorities
3 Office of Minority Enterprise Development (MED) SBA
4 409 3rd Street, SW, Suite 8000
5 Washington, DC 20416
2 0 1 G R E AT I D E A S F O R Y O U R S M A L L B U S I N E S S
6 202-205-6410
7 Helps foster business ownership by individuals who are
8 socially and economically disadvantaged. The SBA has
9 combined its efforts with those of private industry, banks,
10 local communities, and other government agencies to meet
11 that goal.
12 Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA)
13 U.S. Department of Commerce
14 Washington, DC 20230
15 202-482-1015
16 Management and technical assistance provided to business-
17 es primarily through a network of local Minority Business
18 Development Centers. Call number above to find your near-
19 est MBDC.
20 368 National Minority Supplier Development Council
21 (NMSDC)
RESOURCES
22 www.entrepreneurmag.com
23 Franchise Times
24 www.franchisetimes.com
25 Inc Online
26 www.inc.com
27 The online version of the magazine has some content the
28 magazine doesn’t. You can download worksheets on finance
29 and management.
30 Black Enterprise Magazine
31 www.blackenterprise.com
32 Business Week Online
33 www.businessweek.com
34 SBTV (Small Business TV)
35 www.sbtv.com
36
37 WEBSITES TO CHECK OUT
38 CCH Business Owners’s Toolkit
39 www.toolkit.cch.com
A great resource for small business owners. Basically, a 1
small business guidebook on the Web. 2
Costco 3
www.costco.com 4
Hewlett Packard’s small business site 5
www.hp.com 6
7
Organizations, Foundations, 8
9
and More Advocacy Groups 10
National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) 11
1201 F Street NW, Suite 200 12
Washington, DC 20004 13
800-634-2669 14
fax: 202-554-0496 15
www.nfibonline.com 16
Nation’s largest small business advocacy group; represents 17
more than 600,000 small and independent businesses 18
before legislatures and government agencies at the federal 19
and state levels. Also disseminates educational information. 371 20
National Small Business United (NSBU) 21
1156 15th Street, NW, Suite 1100 22
Washington, DC 20005 23
202-293-8830 24
fax: 202-872-8543 25
e-mail: nsbu@nsbu.org 26
Join and subscribe to a weekly two-page fax of information 27
on legislation, regulations, and news that affects the small 28
business world. 29
American Staffing Association 30
277 S. Washington Street 31
Alexandria, VA 22314 32
703-253-2020 33
fax: 703-253-2053 34
www.natss.org 35
Call American Staffing Association for information about 36
employment and economic trends. 37
38
39
1 TEC: An International Organization of CEOs
2 5469 Kearny Villa Road, Suite 101
3 San Diego, CA 92123-1159
4 800-274-2367
5 fax: 800-934-4540
2 0 1 G R E AT I D E A S F O R Y O U R S M A L L B U S I N E S S
6 www.tecceo.com
7 More than 7,000 members worldwide; membership by invi-
8 tation only.
9 Edward Lowe Foundation
10 58220 Decatur Road, P.O. Box 8
11 Cassopolis, MI 49031
12 800-232-5693
13 fax: 616-445-4350
14 smallbizNet: www.lowe.org
15 American Society for Training and Development (ASTD)
16 1640 King Street, Box 1443
17 Alexandria, VA 22313-2043
18 703-683-8100
19 www.astd.org
20 372 Business for Social Responsibility (BSR)
21 A national association that provides assistance to companies
RESOURCES
6
7
Video Publishers
8 Video Arts
9 8614 W. Catalpa Avenue
10 Chicago, IL 60656
11 800-553-0091
12 e-mail: videoart@interaccess.com
13 This video publisher is “The world’s leading provider” of
14 business training programs, founded in 1972 by Monty
15 Python comic genius John Cleese. Video programs cover
16 management, customer service, finance, and sales.
17
18
19
Women in Small Business
20 376 Office of Women’s Business Ownership (OWBO)
21 SBA
RESOURCES
22 202-205-6673
23 www.sbaonline.sba.gov/womeninbusiness
24 An office of the SBA; advocates the ownership and success
25 of women-owned businesses with information and special
26 assistance programs. Call the number above to find your
27 nearest OWBO office.
28 National Association of Women Business Owners
29 (NAWBO)
30 1595 Spring Hill Road, Suite 330
31 Vienna, VA 22182
32 703-506-3268
33 fax: 703-506-3266
34 e-mail: national@nawbo.org
35 www.nawbo.org
36 A membership-based federation with fifty local chapters and
37 almost 5,000 members nationwide. It works with women’s
38 businesses to expand operations and represents women’s
39 business interests to federal and state governments.
Center for Women’s Business Research 1
1411 K Street, #1350 2
Washington, DC 20005-3507 3
202-638-3060 4
fax: 202-638-3064 5
e-mail: info@womensbusinessresearch.org 6
www.womensbusinessresearch.org 7
Les Femmes Chefs d’Entreprises Mondiales 8
www.fcem.org 9
NAWBO is a member of this international organization. 10
Business & Professional Women (BPW USA) 11
BPW Foundation 12
2012 Massachusetts Avenue, NW 13
Washington, DC 20036 14
202-293-1100 15
fax: 202-861-0298 16
www.bpwusa.org 17
Women’s Bureau of the U.S. Department of Labor 18
Washington, DC 20210 19
800-827-5335 377 20
TDD: 800-326-2577 21
This bureau researches and promotes policies to improve 22
working conditions for women. Find out about issues relat- 23
ing to sexual harassment, medical/family leave, pregnancy, 24
and discrimination. 25
26
27
Working from Home 28
National Association for the Self-Employed 29
P.O. Box 612067 30
Dallas, TX 75261 31
800-232-6273 32
www.nase.org 33
Offers health plans and free booklets for members, includ- 34
ing the Small Business Resource Guide Book. 35
National Association of Home-Based Businesses 36
P.O. Box 362, 10451 Mill Run Circle, #400 37
Owings Mills, MD 21117 38
410-363-3698 39
1 www.usahomebusiness.com
2 Home Business News
3 12221 Beaver Pike
4 Jackson, OH 45640
5 614-988-2331
2 0 1 G R E AT I D E A S F O R Y O U R S M A L L B U S I N E S S
6 www.homebiznews.com
7 Bimonthly magazine for home-based entrepreneurs.
8
9
10
Young Entrepreneurs
11 KidsWay, Inc.
12 5589 Peachtree Road
13 Chamblee, GA 30341
14 888-KIDS-WAY
15 Publishes Young Biz, a bimonthly magazine (annual sub-
16 scription $18) that includes a calendar of upcoming events
17 for young entrepreneurs, business strategies, and profiles of
18 enterprising young people.
19 National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship
20 378 (NFTE)
21 120 Wall Street, 29th floor
RESOURCES
10
11
12
13
14
15
Index
accountants, finding, 70–71 Corporate Card, 20–21, 183
ACE-NET, 118 Gift Cheques, 253
Act!, 140 America Online, 184, 185
Acuff, Frank, 334–335 Amos, Wally, 349–350
Adia, 258 Amtrak, 183, 185
Adkins, Dinah, 23 Angel Investing: Matching Startup
Adkinson, Dana, 148–149 Funds with Startup
Adobe PhotoShop, 297 Companies (Robinson and
Advanced Etiquette, 334, 339 Van Osnabrugge), 73
Advanced Motion Technologies Inc. angel investors, 72–73
(AMT), 291 Annie’s Homegrown, 79
advertising Anthony’s Fish Grotto, 10–12
See also marketing strategies apparel industry, 98–100, 326–327
co-op, 135–136 Apple Computer, 287
differences between marketing Applegate, Jane, 228
and public relations and, Applegate, Joe, 229
165–167 APS Technologies, 284
signs, 151 Artists’ Framing Service, 143
advice Artkraft Strauss Sign Co., 92–93
free, 116 Art Works, Etc., 138
from financial advisers, 105–106 Ascend, 285
from government sources, Association of Foam Packaging
116–119 Recyclers, 30
from spiritual leaders, 13–15 AT&T, 287
advisory boards, creating, 20–22 Avery Dennison, 209
AgriPlan, 109 Avignone, Lou, 350
Air Force Business Education Team, Avis Rent-a-Car, 22
180 Avon, 187, 317
Allen, Jim, 217
Almeas, Ira, 142–143 Babies“R”Us, 77
Alvarez, Ada, 114 BabyPressConference.com, 76–77
Alzheimer’s disease, 212–214 Back on Track America™, 183–186
American Bar Association Guide to Ban, Jean, 250
Workplace Law: Everything Bank of America, 115
You Need to know About Your banks, selecting, 74–76
Rights As an Employee or Barber & Ross Millwork, 111
Employer, 240 Barbicide, 211–212
American Express, 318 Barea, Eduardo, 211
Baron, David, 13, 14–15 Caplan, Karen, 194
1
BATH system for hiring, 236–237 Caplan-Wiggins, Jackie, 194
Battelle Memorial Institute, 290 captive insurance companies, 92–93 2
Bayer AG, 290–291 CardScan, 298–299 3
Bell, Judy, 44 Carpel, Gil, 65–66 4
Bergen Brunswig, 25 Carper, Tom, 242 5
Berger, Amy, 286–287 Carr, Brad, 12
6
Berliner, Geoffrey, 219–220 Carsey, Marcy, 58
7
Berliner Pen, 219–220 Carter, Tony, 22
Berry, Lamar, 246 cash flow, methods for improving, 8
Bersin, John, 137 103–104 9
big, thinking, 182–186 Casio, 287 10
Biggs, Tim, 69–70 CD storage systems, 209–210 11
Binkley, Glenda, 336 Cedar Creek Productions, 113, 114
12
Biotech Marketing Inc., 260–262 celebrities, for marketing, 156
13
BizPlan, 109–110 Certified Development Company
Black, Carole, 231 Program, 118 14
Blanchard, Ken, 13, 14 Chamber of Commerce, 39, 40, 333, 15
Bloomberg, Michael, 345–347 360 16
Bloomberg Financial Markets, changes, making, 10–12 17
345–347 Chapman, Bill, 98, 100
18
Blumenfeld, Robert, 97–98 chargebacks, 98–100
19
Blumenthal, David, 156 charities, marketing using, 142–144,
Boenigk, Rebecca, 31–32 176–177 381 20
Bohn, Steve, 90 Chase Manhattan, 332 21
bonds, royalty-based, 69–70 Chatfield, Craig, 238 22
Book Passage, 38 Chelsea Market, 215 23
Bowe, Jim, 317 Cherry, Carol, 314
24
Bowie, David, 69–70 Chevrolet, 337
25
Branson, Richard, 208 Chicone, Jerry, 49–50
Bright Star Resorts, 147 Chicone, Susan, 49–50 26
Brody, Melinda, 314–315 ChromaDex Inc., 290–291 27
Brown, Kathleen, 115 Chuang, John, 232–233 28
Brown, Ron, 336 Ciotti, Jennifer, 217–218 29
business cards, 167, 298–299 Clicking Through: A Survival Guide
30
Business Information Centers, 51 for Bringing Your Company
31
business plans, 67–69 Online (Ezor), 301
Business Service Centers (BSCs), clients, 34–36 32
179–180 Clinton, Bill, 110, 336 33
Butwin, Richard, 92–93, 298 Club Corp., 184 34
Coan, George, 234, 315 35
Cabletron Systems’ Enterasys Coan, Jean, 234
36
Networks, 77 Coan, Steve, 21
37
Canevari, Erica, 139 Cogni-Tech Corp., 348
Canon, 285, 286 Coker, David, 213 38
Canterbury Travel Inc., 151 Collands, Michael, 245–246 39
Caplan, Frieda, 193–195 collecting money owed you, 95–98,
104 Daily, Frederick, 107
1
collection agencies, 96, 97 Daily Report for Executives, 157
2 collection letters, 96 Daniele Trissi Ltd., 135
3 community programs, marketing D’Aquila, John, 184, 228
4 and, 146–147, 163–164 databases, 140–141
5 Como, Frank, 6–7 Davidian, Sona, 143
companies, teaming up with large, Davis, Beverly, 158
6
2 0 1 G R E AT I D E A S F O R Y O U R S M A L L B U S I N E S S
5
Buy This
6
7
Book!
Jane Applegate knows you
8
have no time to waste when
9 looking for answers to tough
10
business questions. In The
Entrepreneur’s Desk
11 Reference, she has compiled
12 advice, information, and
solutions in an alphabetical
13 Available in
format, making it easy to find
14 exactly what you need—fast. January 2003
15 Filled with definitions, checklists, proven strate-
16 gies, and specific resources, The Entrepreneur’s
Desk Reference points you in the right direction. In
17
each entry Applegate and other top small business
18 experts answer your top-of-the mind questions on
19
subjects like accountants, brand building, employee
benefits, firing and hiring, mission statements, trade
20 associations, valuation, and much more.
21
Whether you are a seasoned entrepreneur or
22 just launching your small business and The
23 Entrepreneur’s Desk Reference belongs on your
shelf—you will turn to it over and over again.
24
25
26