SBT October 2013 magazine final

OCTOBER 2013

HOW TO START A BLOG

FOR YOUR SMALL BUSINESS

IS MY BUSINESS TOO LARGE

FOR SBA FINANCING?

DONNA FUJIMOTO COLE COLE CHEMICAL & DISTRIBUTING, INC.

Volume 2 Issue 7

EXCEPTIONAL SUCCESS THROUGH ETHICAL, CARING, AND COMPASSIONATE LEADERSHIP

www.SBTMagazine.net

SMALL BUSINESS TODAY MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2013

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CHAMPIONS SCHOOL OF

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT A Division of Champions School of Real Estate®

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MainStreetChamber presents

Class of 2013

Awards Ceremony Alex Lopez Negrete

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SBT Houston Staff October 2013

FROM THE

Publisher STEVE LEVINE

THREE SIMPLE RULES OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP I find Facebook and some of the other social media sites an amazing source for information that can be quite useful or useless.

Recently, I found a post on Facebook that I shared on my own personal page titled “Three Simple Rules of Life” which I find are applicable for entrepreneurship.

I have tweaked them slightly and thought it would be nice to share them with you. To the original author, I extend my apologies and appreciation.

Here they are: • If you don’t GO after your business goals and dreams you won’t ever achieve them.

• If you don’t ask, the answer will always be NO. • If you don’t attempt to move forward, you’ll always be in the same place.

• The message is “clear as a bell” (as they say).

• An entrepreneur must have clear goals and take the initiative and be willing to do whatever it takes to make them happen.

Our cover story this month, Ms. Donna Cole of Cole Chemical & Distributing, is a shining example of just how one individual went to work to establish her business and make it successful! Add to the above points her passion and compassion for others and you can understand the reason for her success and the level of respect and admiration that she has achieved in the business community.

Donna’s company is a certified WBE with the Women’s Business Enterprise Alliance and a minority certified business by the Houston Minority Supplier Development Council.

You will find more information about the Houston Minority Supplier Development Council (HMSDC) in the centerfold of this issue of the magazine. Following their story are two pages of quarter page ads. These companies are also certified by the Houston Minority Supplier Development Council and have come forward to be part of the story and agreed to help fund the marketing “reprints” that the Houston Minority Supplier Development Council will use in marketing. Please support these companies whenever possible.

Finally, if you had not heard the news, Barbara, John, and I now have our new “SMALL BUSINESS TODAY MAGAZINE TALK SHOW” on MJWJ Global Radio Network everyday at 4pm. Our guests include our past cover honorees, columnists, clients, and board members. If you would like to tune in, you can do so at www.MJWJTalkRadio.com.

If you would like to be a guest or sponsor of the show, email me at steve.levine@sbtmagazine.net.

Good Reading, Good Sales, & Success to You, Steve Levine Executive Publisher

President John Cruise Executive Publisher Steve Levine Associate Publisher/Creative Director/Editor Barbara Davis-Levine Business Development/PR Bill Huff Donna Rooney Sonia Guimbellot Stephen Zappala Susan Repka Graphic Designers Malka G. Levy Vanessa Vara Photographer Gwen Juarez Contributing Writers Errol Allen Barbara R. Davis Kari L. Fluegel Mila Golovine Lorraine Grubbs Bruce Hurta Craig Klein Daniel A. Krohn Ralph Lapin Hank Moore Mike Muhney Amy Olivieri Mayor Annise Parker George Rose Rita Santamaria Alvin Terry Holly Uverity Jack Warkenthien Doug Winnie Aimee Woodall Chief Advisor Hank Moore Publisher’s Advisory Board Cyndi Barnett Roger Burks Donna Cole John Cruise Dirk Cummins April Day Dr. John Demartini Maya Durnovo Kathie Edwards Leonard Faucher Mila Golovine Toni Harris David Holt Richard Huebner Jeffrey Jones Darryl King Craig Klein Wea Lee Bertrand McHenry Hank Moore Lisa M. Morton Mike Muhney Leisa Holland Nelson Mayor Annise Parker Maria Rios Grant Sadler Rita Santamaria Allen Shapiro William Sherrill Pam Terry Linda Toyota Jack Warkenthien Doug Winnie Aaron Young Phone: 832-460-2020 E-Mail: Steve.Levine@SBTMagazine.net Or Write: Small Business Today 5380 West 34th Street, Ste 230

Houston, TX 77092 See us on the web at www.SBTMagazine.net

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SMALL BUSINESS TODAY MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2013

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THE Organization Women-Owned Businesses rely on for Growth and Success.

Get certified and grow your business!

Become a Certified Woman Business Enterprise (WBE) and make the most of your business potential. Women Business Owners can find the tools they need to take their business to a new level and reach their goals at the WBEA: • Double Revenue with Corporate Procurement • Exceptional Peer Support • Professional Networking • Executive Scholarship Programs

SMALL BUSINESS TODAY MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2013

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www.SBTMagazine.net

FOR YOUR SMALL BUSINESS

IS MY BUSINESS TOO LARGE

FOR SBA FINANCING?

8

Why Do So Few Become Financially Independent?

9

DONNA FUJIMOTO COLE COLE CHEMICAL & DISTRIBUTING, INC.

EXCEPTIONAL SUCCESS THROUGH ETHICAL, CARING, AND COMPASSIONATE LEADERSHIP Volume 2 Issue 7

INSIDE

OCTOBER 2013 EDITION I HOUSTON

Every Employee is the Key to Your Company’s Reputation and Success

Strategic Storytelling That Builds Businesses

HOW TO START A BLOG

6

IN THIS ISSUE

Mediation vs. Litigation

OCTOBER 2013

DONNA FUJIMOTO COLE –

COLE CHEMICAL & DISTRIBUTING, INC.

22

THE HOUSTON MINORITY SUPPLIER DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL “MAKING SUCCESSFUL CONNECTIONS FOR MINORITY BUSINESSES”

EXCEPTIONAL SUCCESS THROUGH ETHICAL, CARING, AND COMPASSIONATE LEADERSHIP

10 DEVON RAY BATTAGLIA - DEVON RAY COMMUNICATIONS Strategic Storytelling That Builds Businesses

11

How to Start a Blog for Your Small Business

12

Culture Shock

14

Holding Big Banks and City Contractors Accountable

15

The Contact Sport of Business

17

Doing Business with the Russians

18

Developing Leaders: Part Two

19

Blast From the Past

21

The Statics Tree

28

Is My Business Too Large for SBA Financing?

31

Negotiation: The Art of Diplomacy in Business

34

Co-Owner Relationships

36

Not ready to retire?

How to Start an Encore Career

37

Top Ways to Smother the Flames of Employee Burnout

38

By Kari Fluegel

IN

today’s hectic marketplace, telling your company’s story in a distinctive and compelling way is essential to differentiating your goods and services from those of your competitors. Devon Ray Communications (DRC), a boutique public relations and marketing firm based in Houston, specializes in strategically crafting and disseminating a company’s unique brand in a manner that gets noticed and incites action.

“We craft your story and then aggressively and strategically spread it to your target audiences,” said DRC Founder Devon Ray Battaglia.

“When your messages are concisely, consistently, and tactically spread, they're heard; and when your messages are heard, attitudes change and sales, viewers, subscribers, etc. increase.”

Ms. Battaglia’s passion for helping small businesses launch, grow, or re-brand themselves was the fuel that launched DRC‘s growing public relations practice. “I fell in love with PR and have never looked back,” remarked Devon, a graduate of California State University, Northridge, with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and public relations. “I love the diversity of the field and its ability to be applied to every single industry and to every single situation.”

Battaglia’s blending of her education in classic public relations strategies and methodologies and her modern “know how” bring results in a creative and powerful combination for her clients whether they are start-ups or well-established enterprises.

Devon and DRC have worked with organizations and individuals from a variety of industries ranging from natural/non-toxic nail polish to those who serve the oil and gas industry, from Realtors(R) to non-profits, and holistic care practitioners to consulting firms. She is experienced in both the business-to-consumer and business-tobusiness arenas.

“We strive to be an extension of your team,” explained Battaglia.

“We want to build a trusted relationship with you. We stay on top of industry and media trends, and we pride ourselves on innovation and creativity. We are dedicated, motivated, and when we get behind something we believe in, there's no stopping us.”

DRC’s services include copywriting and content development; branding; media relations; strategic planning; social media marketing; design work; product launches; community relations; and employee communications.

With several years of experience, DRC has already had the distinction of assisting with and spearheading several successful campaigns. Ms. Battaglia elaborated, “We’ve built relationships with the ‘gatekeepers’ to increase the chances of media coverage and editorial product placements; and the boutique setting ensures quality of service and constant communication between us and our clients. We develop and execute personalized, strategic plans that achieve results.”

“Each company and each case is unique, and at Devon Ray Communications, we are prepared to roll up our sleeves to get down to the details, get creative, and ultimately help to enhance your growth and success.”

Devon contends that public relations is the best, most cost effective tool to ensure that a brand's message is heard and attitudes are influenced; and that effective communications is the cornerstone of every productive relationship. With those philosophies at the heart of the agency, DRC is dedicated to ensuring that its clients’ most important audiences are hearing, understanding, and following them on a daily basis.

“We really get to know you and your business to find those key aspects and message points from which to build. After a thorough needs analysis, we provide a plan of action to get you moving forward,” stated Ms. Battaglia.

Establishing a terrific product or service is the first step, but if no one knows about it, they're definitely not thinking about you and certainly aren’t buying from you,” emphasized Devon. “It's imperative that you set yourself apart from the rest and highlight your strengths and expertise by telling your own unique story which will ensure that you're not lost in a sea of noise and competition.”

DO YOU NEED HELP IN TELLING YOUR COMPANY’S STORY IN A DISTINCTIVE AND COMPELLING WAY? Then contact Devon Ray Communications by phone at (832) 551-7221; by e-mail at devon@devonraycomm.com; or on the web at www.devonraycomm.com.

WOULD YOU OR YOUR COMPANY LIKE TO BE PROFILED IN OUR NEXT ISSUE? CALL STEVE LEVINE AT 832-419-2814

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DEVON RAY BATTAGLIA -

DEVON RAY COMMUNICATIONS

STRATEGIC STORYTELLING THAT BUILDS BUSINESSES

Getting Organized: Got a Minute? 40 Winning Government Procurement Strategies of Successful Small Businesses 41

www.SBTMagazine.net

HOUSTON EDITION PUBLISHER: STEVE LEVINE SMALL BUSINESS MAGAZINE IS PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY LEGACY PUBLISHING GROUP, LLC. 5380 WEST 34TH ST. STE. 230 HOUSTON, TX 77092 EXECUTIVE PUBLISHER: STEVE LEVINE PRESIDENT: JOHN CRUISE PHONE: 832-460-2020 www.SBTMagazine.net ADVERTISING RATES ON REQUEST. BULK THIRD CLASS MAIL PAID IN TUCSON, AZ. POSTMASTER: PLEASE SEND NOTICES ON FORM 3579 TO 5380 WEST 34TH ST. STE. 230 HOUSTON, TX 77092 ALTHOUGH EVERY PRECAUTION IS TAKEN TO ENSURE ACCURACY OF PUBLISHED MATERIALS, SMALL BUSINESS TODAY MAGAZINE CANNOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR OPINIONS EXPRESSED OR FACTS SUPPLIED BY ITS AUTHORS. COPYRIGHT 2012, LEGACY PUBLISHING GROUP, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED.

SMALL BUSINESS TODAY MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2013

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By Barbara R. Davis n the world of business, it is quite common to encounter those whose primary focus in life is about making money at all costs, much like the character of Gordon Gekko in the movie “Wall Street.” Making a difference in others’ lives is the farthest from their mind. Donna Fujimoto Cole is not one of those people; she is the polar opposite. In fact, Cole Chemical’s exceptional success can be directly attributed to Donna’s ethical, caring, and compassionate leadership in business and how she continues to make a difference in others’ lives through her countless humanitarian efforts.

Starting with a meager “shoestring” budget of $5,000 in savings, Donna founded Cole Chemical 33 years ago as a chemical trading company. At that time, there was a big demand for minority suppliers and as a second generation, Japanese-American woman, Donna readily fit the bill. A divorce’ with a four-year-old daughter to care for and no other means of income (not even child support), Donna worked as hard as she could and tried to do as much as she could and learn as much as she could to succeed in a male dominated industry.

As a result of her perseverance, integrity, diligence, and conscientious work ethic, Donna quickly grew Cole Chemical to the point where it became necessary to purchase a warehouse facility in 1999, office building in 2000, and eventually bought two manufacturing firms in 2001. Presently, Cole Chemical manages under contract over $120 million dollars of chemicals and related products for their global customers and is ranked among the top 150 chemical distributors in the world!

As a distributor to keep up with industry trends, technological advances, and clients’ needs, Cole Chemical has evolved Into a value added chemical supply chain manager. Their claim to fame of sourcing chemicals in short supply globally is not the main reason companies do business with Cole Chemical. They provide additional online services that can save their clients money when they acquire products.

In addition, they specialize in the purchasing and selling of chemicals, logistics, inventory management, and supply chain management to reduce risks, financing, and carrying costs to add value for their customers. The majority of their clients are in the automotive, aeronautics, personal care, chemical, oil & gas production, and refining industries. Some of these corporations include Lockheed, Procter and Gamble, Spectra Energy, BP, United Airlines, Chevron, Phillips66, Shell, ExxonMobil, and Toyota.

DONNA FUJIMOTO COLE COLE CHEMICAL & DISTRIBUTING, INC.

EXCEPTIONAL SUCCESS THROUGH ETHICAL, CARING, AND COMPASSIONATE LEADERSHIP

Gwen Juarez Photography

SMALL BUSINESS TODAY MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2013

At Toyota, Cole Chemical manages the supply chain for engine coolant, windshield washer fluid, adhesives, and fuel in the U.S. and Mexico.

Cole Chemical also manages the fuel for BP delivering into all Chrysler plants for vehicles in the US. They also provide industrial and process chemicals used in a variety industries including fire resistant hydraulic fluids for steam turbines in gas gathering and power generation. Their chemicals are used at chemical plants, refineries, and in water treatment, deicers for jet fuel, and in making windshield washer fluid, fuels, and specialty chemicals for baby fabric and home care.

Ms. Cole elaborated, “We’re the behind the scenes partner. We help identify cost improvements for customers and are transparent to the customer and the suppliers. We provide quality tracking and improvements online to allow our customers to be effective and efficient in their business. We even invoice for our customers and collect money for them as well.”

Before Donna began Cole Chemical, she had been pounding the pavement looking for a j-o-b. Her daughter, Tami, was a baby at the time when Donna landed a job at GoldKing Chemical International, a trading company here in Houston, owned by Jack Warren and Andy Hill. In addition, they owned Hill Petroleum, GoldKing Refining, and GoldKing Productions. Whenever they were making chemicals like benzene and toluene and it wasn’t going into the motor gas pool, then GoldKing Chemical could sell them in the petrochemical industry. They

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Gwen Juarez Photography

didn’t always have products, so they often had to go out and find other products to buy and resell.

Ms. Cole commented, “We have great people at our company who have previously worked at Exxon, Shell, Union Carbide, and Dow Chemical and they’re using all of their expertise here where we value their input and empower them to make positive changes. They have maintained many of their same clients after 33 years because of their expertise, innovation, and responsiveness.”

Donna worked for the President of GoldKing Chemicals who taught her everything he knew.

Always desiring to exceed everyone’s expectations and challenge herself in reaching new levels of accomplishment, Donna made it her initiative to learn more and do more.

All of Donna’s staff at Cole Chemical & Distributing are experts, innovative, and As a result of her perseverresponsible. Pictured here (from left to right) Hilda Rader, Ben Rader, Ninfa Guyed, ance, integrity, and excepHuman effectiveness Donna Cole, Regina Delfalco, Michael Forcutt, Donna Jolly, and Jennifer Cherry. tional work ethic, her custraining has been an imtomers such as Monsanto, portant aspect of Cole Shell, Exxon, and Dupont were prodding Donna to start her own busiChemical’s business culture. They know how to use their chemical and ness. It was the late 70s and at that time there was a minority purchasing business integrated software system effectively and they have frequent program in place when these companies needed to buy large spends like meetings to continually make improvements. The employees have a chemicals to satisfy their government subcontracting agreements great attitude about embracing change. It all works so well because Donna provides training for employees to learn who they are, where they With Donna’s business acumen, entrepreneurial spirit, and positive can stretch, and how to communicate effectively with one another. attitude, she was the ideal person to start a minority owned company; and so began Cole Chemical and Distributing, Inc. with Donna as the founder “We are ISO 9002 certified by ABS and we have been at it for 22 and CEO. She had a friend who had a real estate office who allowed her years. This last October was the first time we experienced zero to share the office space and utilize the copy machine, telephone, and non-conformances, minor or major. So finally, we’ve embedded our desk - all the basic things one needed to start a business! quality system into our software and online system so that it makes it easier for us to keep up with issues, improvements, and keep moving During this time, Donna’s friends would help by picking up her daughter, forward rather than looking backwards,” explained Ms. Cole.

Tami, from daycare so she wouldn’t have to pay the $5.00 per minute late fee because she was driving from across town. Donna didn’t make out She continued, ”We were the first chemical distributor in the United of town sales calls during the year. She waited for summertime so her States to become ISO Certified. In the beginning, it was time consuming daughter could stay the summer with her parents. To this day, Donna to document what we do to meet customer’s expectations and today it feels a little remorse about this but on the other hand, her daughter has a is just a normal part of who we are. We have 99.9937 percent on time very close relationship with her grandparents. deliveries and our cost of quality is very low 0.000263 percent of sales and 0.006289 percent error rate. We want to continue to grow our supply To help Donna in the early days, her customers gave her net 15 day chain management business and I also have some other very interesting pay terms, buying and selling recommendations, and some packaging investments in the horizon.” opportunities. After 60 days, Donna ran out of credit on her good name in the industry, so she had to take on some investors. They were four Ms. Cole is on the boards of the Center for Asian-Pacific American Women men in the industry. In addition, they gave Donna a working partner. It and HMSDC (the Houston Minority Supplier Development Council). She was April of 1980 and they provided a line of credit of $125,000 but by is also a founding member of the WBEA (Women Business Enterprise July, her partners needed that money for another deal.. So in November Alliance). She has been a fellow of the Asian Pacific American Leadership of 1980, she bought them all out for a modest profit. She has been on Institute, American Leadership Forum, a U.S. Japan Council delegate to her own ever since!!!

Japan, Asian American Leader delegate to Israel by the Jewish American Community, and a Center for Houston’s Future graduate. She’s a founding During this time, Donna had a mentor named Bob Berryman with member of the Asian Chamber of Commerce and she participates in many Berryman Chemical, who also encouraged her to be on her own. He organizations including the University of St Thomas. would tell her, “You can do it. You’ve been running this other business for years.” When she first met him, Donna was offended by his abrupt For 11 consecutive years, Cole Chemical has received Chrysler’s straightforwardness. Eventually, she got used to it and they started Pentastar Quality Award for on-time delivery, safety, technology, dating. So now they have been together for 25 years!!! pricing, and cost savings. This award was given to 260 of Chrysler’s 6000 suppliers. Ms. Cole continues to receive praises and recognition As a result of Chrysler encouraging Donna to take the next step from from companies like Toyota, ConocoPhillips, Shell, and Chevron. warehousing, blending and packaging of chemicals to manufacturing, Cole Chemical, in 2000, purchased a company with two manufacturing Donna has also received many accolades including the Joseph facilities in Auburn Hills, Michigan where they made surface coating Jaworski Leadership Award by the American Leadership Forum, Junior technology and mold release agents.

Achievement Laureate by Junior Achievement, with and the Breakfast of Champions Award by the Harris County Education Department Prior to the automotive industry downturn, Ms. Cole had up to 50 because Donna started the All-Earth EcoBot Challenge as part of the employees in three locations and now with automation and technology, S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Program they can do more business with just eight employees. Donna really for 5th through 8th grade students. One can go to appreciates her employees in how they work together as a team. www.ecobotchallenge.com to find out more.

She provides training, and empowers them with guidelines and Cole Chemical’s employees have successfully stepped up to the plate time and time again.

Continued on page 32

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SMALL BUSINESS TODAY MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2013

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EDITORIAL FEATURE

Every Employee is the Key to Your Company’s Reputation and Success

THE BUSINESS OF REAL ESTATE

By Rita Santamaria

I

n the words of General Norman Schwarzkopf:

“I think that there is one really fundamental military truth and that’s that you can add up the correlation of forces, you can look at the number of tanks, you can look at the number of airplanes, you can look at all these factors of military might and put them together; but unless the soldier on the ground or the airman in the air has the will to win, has the strength of character to go into battle... all the rest of that stuff is irrelevant.”

• Not listening to the customer but instead the employee is thinking of their next statement back to the dissatisfied customer • Not making eye contact with the customer • Demonstrating body language that says, “I’m in a hurry and you are taking up my time” • Not greeting the customer when they arrive • Greeting the customer in an unfriendly or disinterested type of greeting • When the customer asks a question, the associate or employee shrugs

It is each of our employees or associates in the company who, together, make our business continue to grow. Our website can be the most up to date, google SEO awesome, our brochures filled with colorful graphics, and our ads so inspiring and purposeful that you want to tear them out and tape them to a wall; but our individual colleagues must be customer friendly to the point of making our customers feel like they are well received in an environment that is appreciative of their business. All the beautiful bells and whistles we have invested in time and resources mean nothing if the “soldier” greeting the customer as they enter or call on our business has a negative attitude or demonstrates negative body language.

At our business, we have grown to become the largest real estate school in the nation because of our quality, first rate reputation. Here are the daily practices within our company that are universally considered desirable and complimentary: • Every customer gets a friendly greeting when they call or walk in the door Continued on page 16

CHAMPIONS SCHOOL OF REAL ESTATE ®

Providing Award-Winning Education Since 1983

Real Estate, Loan Origination, Appraisal and Home Inspection

Training a new hire has to be centered on the actual tasks necessary for their individual key responsibilities but the overriding evaluation during training is attitude.

Attitude can make or break a customer relationship and eventually close the operations of a company.

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Here are some attitudes that are universally considered undesirable: • Talking over the person who is trying to talk SMALL BUSINESS TODAY MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2013

their shoulders and/or grunts a reply • When the customer is talking to the employee, the employee simply walks away without stating what they are doing or where they are going

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EDITORIAL FEATURE

Why Do So Few Become Financially Independent?

By Dr John Demartini

H

ave you ever wondered why so many people are challenged financially even though they desire to be financially independent; or have you ever wondered why the few rich frequently get richer and the many poor more often get poorer? Even though the overall living standards have markedly increased over the last two centuries, there still exists a wide inequality when it comes to wealth distribution.

It has been claimed by some authorities that only 1% of the world’s population ever reach financial independence, but why so few? Let’s explore some interesting behaviours that lead to such polarized results when it comes to money and its management.

As I have travelled the world and participated in the education process of millions of people, I have frequently asked more general public audiences, “How many of you would love to become financially independent?” Without fail, 99.99% of the attendees quickly put their hands up, begin to smile and even laugh, and collectively say I do, I do, I do like the answer to the ultimate question in a marriage ceremony; but their laughter often indicates their internal tragedies and struggles associated with their management of money.

It has been known for centuries that tragedies often underlie comedies. I next ask, “So who among you are either on your way to being or are already presently financially independent?”

Of course, the majority of the hands immediately go down. I then ask, “Which of you are ready to transform your financial destiny and become a part of the 1% club?” They generally point to themselves and assume that those around them are the misfortunate ones. Their response is predictable and is an expression of their unrealistic expectation or fantasy.

When I present these questions to more financially savvy and adept audiences, the response is quite different. In this group, not everyone rushes to put their hand up and assume they are obviously the ones destined for financial freedom. There are distinct personalities of the wealthy-minded who are heading for financial freedom versus those who live in a fantasy about their future misfortunes. www.SBTMagazine.net

So let’s look at some of the distinctions I have noticed between those who are more and those who are less likely to become financially independent.

Those who are more likely to become financially independent: • They understand and appreciate the purpose of money and how it represents a rational means of exchanging fairly between two or more parties.

• They truly have a higher value or priority on serving ever greater numbers of people and believe they are destined to serve vastly and be rewarded immensely so they have their money working for them instead of them working for money.

• They are long-term visionaries that save and invest their company’s profits on building appreciable assets for personal and then, familial, social, or charitable causes.

• They truly have a value on studying the principles of wealth accumulation and management for the sake of their family, loved ones, and society.

• They are working on their businesses more than just in their businesses and they are refining their actions to maximize their profit margins and minimize their redundant actions or unnecessary expenses.

• They prioritize their actions and delegate low priorities that cost them time and money and extract surplus value out of productive and competitively advantaged work teams capitalistically.

• They leverage their money making opportunities and embrace progressive levels of risks and rewards and more often become owners rather than renters. They often value themselves and pay themselves first.

• They are more masters of their destinies than victims of their histories.

Those who are less likely to become financially independent: • They don’t understand nor truly appreciate the purpose of money. They often have illusions concerning money’s goodness or evilness and become trapped in moral dilemmas.

Continued on page 16 SMALL BUSINESS TODAY MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2013

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EDITORIAL FEATURE

Mediation vs. Litigation

ENTREPRENEURS TOOL BOX

By Alvin E. Terry MBA, Business Consultant, Dynamic Business Builders

A

fter being certified as a “Professional Mediator” for ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) and accredited by the State Bar of Texas, I knew that it would be befitting of me to pass on to the readers of SBT Magazine the basic principles that can help all businesses understand that there is an alternative to litigation. There are over 75,000 court case filings in Harris County, Texas alone, not to mention all of the filings in the adjacent counties of Ft. Bend, Brazoria, Galveston, and Montgomery Counties.

Historically, mediation has been used over thousands of years to settle disputes. As a mediator, I was trained to understand different cultures and their approach in settling disputes as an alternative to fighting or adversarial approaches to problem solving. It should be noted that mediation is a flexible process that has evolved over a period of time partly influenced by its flexible process.

Mediation was used in China and Japan as a primary means of conflict resolution. This was the first choice for those documented cultures to live in peace and harmony as they knew it. Currently, China resolves over 7.2 million disputes annually. Even though they have over a billion people, this process is alive and well. These resolutions are based on morals rather than coercion. A win or lose approach is not an acceptable means of resolution.

Mediation is based on a third party intermediary approach to conflict. It all started with a community approach that evolved to resolve more than 80% of all civil disputes Informal dispute resolution has been used in many other cultures as well. In 1913, Congress established the Department of Labor and provided that the Secretary of Labor act as a mediator. Mediation was used so that disputes could be settled expeditiously and strikes could be avoided.

The current history of mediation use in the United States has two distinct paths; neither of which is within the formal legal system. One course by which formal mediation developed was a method of providing community justice. Disputes in the labor arena contributed to other historical developments. Only very recently have the courts considered the use of mediation as an alternative course of dispute resolution as opposed to full blown litigation.

Today, there are over 400 Dispute Resolution Centers throughout the SMALL BUSINESS TODAY MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2013

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country. There is at least one in every state and many states have a system wide network of centers.

The work of these centers led to the development of ADR use in the court system. There are a number of reasons which account for this transition. First, many of the centers were located in or near the courthouse. Second, since the programs were often sponsored by bar associations, many of the individuals who worked as center volunteers were attorneys or judges. These judges and lawyers observed firsthand the benefits of mediation and recognized that ADR processes were successful in resolving many problems.

Trained volunteers serve as mediators and in some instances the services are offered at a minimal cost or no cost to the disputants. Many centers have expanded to handle “minor” matters and are not located in neighborhoods. Some of the centers have expanded to other services as domestic conflicts, Veterans’ issues with family and spouses, labor disputes, corporate disputes, business disputes, and community disputes.

There are over 20 Texas Dispute Resolution Centers currently in operation. Each dispute has its own set of circumstances. Some of the disputes may be settled through resolution, others may have to be decided by a judge or a court of law, and others may be settled out of court.

To the readers, there is so much information on this subject that it could not be covered in this article. Most importantly, it is incumbent that before you result in litigation that you excuse yourself from the emotional side of the argument of facts if you can. Litigation is very expensive and time consuming. If you have deep pockets, time to afford the process, which could take a year or two, and are unwilling to concede to a meeting of the minds, then litigation may be your only alternative. A lot of million dollar cases have been resolved through mediation which includes corporate cases, domestic cases, labor cases, minor neighbor disputes, and consumer cases.

The most important message from this article is that you have alternatives. Please explore them. This is your right.

If you would like to contact me concerning Business or Real Estate, I may be reached at alvin.terry@rocketmail.com or Cell 713-392-9107. www.SBTMagazine.net

DEVON RAY BATTAGLIA - DEVON RAY COMMUNICATIONS Strategic Storytelling That Builds Businesses

By Kari Fluegel

IN

today’s hectic marketplace, telling your company’s story in a distinctive and compelling way is essential to differentiating your goods and services from those of your competitors. Devon Ray Communications (DRC), a boutique public relations and marketing firm based in Houston, specializes in strategically crafting and disseminating a company’s unique brand in a manner that gets noticed and incites action.

“We craft your story and then aggressively and strategically spread it to your target audiences,” said DRC Founder Devon Ray Battaglia.

“When your messages are concisely, consistently, and tactically spread, they're heard; and when your messages are heard, attitudes change and sales, viewers, subscribers, etc. increase.”

Ms. Battaglia’s passion for helping small businesses launch, grow, or re-brand themselves was the fuel that launched DRC‘s growing public relations practice. “I fell in love with PR and have never looked back,” remarked Devon, a graduate of California State University, Northridge, with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and public relations. “I love the diversity of the field and its ability to be applied to every single industry and to every single situation.”

Battaglia’s blending of her education in classic public relations strategies and methodologies and her modern “know how” bring results in a creative and powerful combination for her clients whether they are start-ups or well-established enterprises.

Devon and DRC have worked with organizations and individuals from a variety of industries ranging from natural/non-toxic nail polish to those who serve the oil and gas industry, from Realtors(R) to non-profits, and holistic care practitioners to consulting firms. She is experienced in both the business-to-consumer and business-tobusiness arenas.

“We strive to be an extension of your team,” explained Battaglia.

“We want to build a trusted relationship with you. We stay on top of industry and media trends, and we pride ourselves on innovation and creativity. We are dedicated, motivated, and when we get behind something we believe in, there's no stopping us.”

DRC’s services include copywriting and content development; branding; media relations; strategic planning; social media marketing; design work; product launches; community relations; and employee communications.

With several years of experience, DRC has already had the distinction of assisting with and spearheading several successful campaigns. Ms. Battaglia elaborated, “We’ve built relationships with the ‘gatekeepers’ to increase the chances of media coverage and editorial product placements; and the boutique setting ensures quality of service and constant communication between us and our clients. We develop and execute personalized, strategic plans that achieve results.”

“Each company and each case is unique, and at Devon Ray Communications, we are prepared to roll up our sleeves to get down to the details, get creative, and ultimately help to enhance your growth and success.”

Devon contends that public relations is the best, most cost effective tool to ensure that a brand's message is heard and attitudes are influenced; and that effective communications is the cornerstone of every productive relationship. With those philosophies at the heart of the agency, DRC is dedicated to ensuring that its clients’ most important audiences are hearing, understanding, and following them on a daily basis.

“We really get to know you and your business to find those key aspects and message points from which to build. After a thorough needs analysis, we provide a plan of action to get you moving forward,” stated Ms. Battaglia.

Establishing a terrific product or service is the first step, but if no one knows about it, they're definitely not thinking about you and certainly aren’t buying from you,” emphasized Devon. “It's imperative that you set yourself apart from the rest and highlight your strengths and expertise by telling your own unique story which will ensure that you're not lost in a sea of noise and competition.”

DO YOU NEED HELP IN TELLING YOUR COMPANY’S STORY IN A DISTINCTIVE AND COMPELLING WAY? Then contact Devon Ray Communications by phone at (832) 551-7221; by e-mail at devon@devonraycomm.com; or on the web at www.devonraycomm.com.

SMALL BUSINESS TODAY MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2013 www.SBTMagazine.net

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EDITORIAL FEATURE

How to Start a Blog for Your Small Business By: Amy Olivieri, Constant Contact Regional Development Director Amy Olivieri

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logs are an increasingly valuable resource for small businesses. They play an important role in improving your website SEO, generating better results from your email marketing, and boosting engagement on your social networks. For businesses that are serious about creating great content, having a blog is more important today than ever before.

How often will you post?

As with everything you’re already doing to market your business online, frequency needs to be an important consideration when starting your blog. Try to do too much, too early, and you risk getting overwhelmed or burnt out by the blogging experience. However, post too infrequently and it could be difficult to build a meaningful audience.

However, the reality is that starting (or restarting) a blog isn’t always as simple as just wanting to do it.

For many people, overcoming the anxiety of getting started is the hardest part of the entire process. If you’re serious about getting started, here are some things to consider:

Here’s a good rule of thumb: Commit to doing at least one post a week for your first few months of blogging. Look at your calendar and set hard deadlines for when you want your posts to go up.

These don’t all have to be groundbreaking pieces of online literature. Something as simple as a photo and a few words can go a long way towards letting your audiences know you’re serious about staying active. From there, you can make more decisions down the road about whether or not you should be posting more frequently.

What is your goal?

Before you start writing, have a good idea of what you want this blog to do for your business. Even more importantly, consider what benefits your blog will bring to the people who are reading it. Identify your goals from the start and let that guide the rest of your decisions.

Who is your audience?

What you decide to talk about on your blog will depend entirely on who you’re writing it for. Who are the people who will be reading your blog? What type of knowledge can you share with them? What are the questions they need answered? Identify your target audience before coming up with topic ideas.

What topics will your blog focus on?

Every blog is built on certain “cornerstone” topics that spring from a number of key elements — your audience, your industry, and the community in which you work. By establishing the topics to focus on, you’ll make better decisions about what ends up on your blog. You’ll be able to build a community around your blog and increase the chances of having readers referring other people to it. Putting your content in front of a wider audience will also boost your presence on search engines like Google.

What type of content do you want to create?

One of the biggest misconceptions people have about blogs is that a certain level of writing expertise is required to create one; but the fact is, for a lot of people, writing isn’t something that comes easily nor is it something they particularly enjoy doing. For those people, incorporating other types of content, like photos and videos, may be a good alternative.

You don’t have to be a talented writer to create great content. In reality, great content is all about answering the questions your audience has. So think about these questions and write out the answers or simply record yourself answering the questions.

Then transcribe it or use a dictation tool to turn your voice into text.

How will your blog fit into your other marketing efforts?

Chances are, you’ve already been creating content for quite some time, whether it’s coming up with information for your latest email or figuring out what Continued on page 42

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EDITORIAL FEATURE

5 Awesome Ways to be Guided

by Your Business GPS

By Craig Klein, CEO of SalesNexus.com

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ave you ever felt aimlessly stuck in your business? It is common for seasoned business owners to feel that something has shifted in their business environment. The smart ones take the time to analyze what has shifted and why things have shifted…then plan how to adapt to those shifts.

You may want to hire a consultant to tell you what needs to be done to evolve with the changing market. That’s not a bad idea.

You might want to dig into your Business GPS first. WHAT????

OK – you don’t know what I mean by a Business GPS. In short, it is your “online CRM.” If you have been gathering data about your customers over time, you will find the moves in the marketplace. The CRM will map out your Business Global Position System and it will likely guide you to your next turn. Here are a few things you will discover: 1. What lead source brings the most revenue per sales lead? For many, the days of traditional advertising are over.

Even Pay Per Click (PPC) has shifted for many companies. After all, PPC is simply traditional advertising in a digital world.

Compare referrals, trade shows, cold calls, web forms, incoming calls/emails, and your outbound email campaign.

Calculate costs in time and money and compare it to the revenue generated.

To get a really good picture, compare this data to what it all looked like 5 years ago. I am pretty certain you will see differences.

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2. How many sales leads are unqualified for an appointment with a salesperson? Smart companies have adopted the quick and ruthless qualifying method. After all, consumers want to control the buying process. Until they are ready, they simply want you to furnish them with information. Quickly get those “not yet ready” sales leads into a lead nurturing campaign.

3. Where are sales becoming stalled within your sales process?

The ability to measure the effectiveness of each step of the sales process is a goldmine for improving profits. When you know where the pipeline is leaking, you can investigate what needs to be done to tweak the process.

In Lisa Gansky’s “TED Talk”, she shows us how business is recognizing the need to “define, refine, and scale” their approach to business. She tells about how “Zipcar … understood that they are in an information business, not a car business.” The truth is, all business is in the information business first. The product or service is secondary to the demand from consumers for information. Watch how your customers move through the sales process so you can anticipate what they will want next.

It is a fundamental shift in how we must do business today.

4. What questions do new customers ask before, during, and after the decision to purchase your product/ service? Knowing these important questions will help drive a lot of your

communications. You may want to set up an auto-responder library so customer service can answer the FAQs easily.

Perhaps more valuable, you can use these questions to create valuable content pieces for your marketing automation.

5. What is your 90 day revenue forecast?

Again, the CRM can answer that question. When you gather data about steps of the sales process, close ratios, and delivery timelines, it is relatively easy to do accurate sales or cash flow forecasts. The more you measure…the more accurate the forecast.

These accurate pipeline reports are extremely valuable if you need to get additional funding from the bank.

According to Jim Wilkerson of “Strategic CFO”, “When you have statistically proven data to support a projection of closing 87%, the banker will have much more confidence than when you project 90% without the documentation. They will have confidence in the number and in you as the person managing the business. A number like 90% looks like a guess.”

Craig is the founder of SalesNexus. com, a leading provider of CRM, Email Marketing, and Lead Generation solutions to business 2 business sales teams.

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EDITORIAL FEATURE

Culture Shock

By Doug Winnie, PMP

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ulture Shock can be described as the disorientation a person may feel when surrounded by an unfamiliar way of life. Traveling abroad is a classic example – different language, food, housing, and people. In business, the differences in corporate culture are equally vast. Knowing there are cultural differences is one thing; being comfortable with them is another.

What if you were tasked to create a corporate culture? What if this culture is immensely valuable in your growing, profitable company? What if creating a great culture was the single most important thing to do in your company - more important than marketing or sales or the business operation itself?

You’ve probably experienced the culture of Southwest Airlines. What comes to mind when you think of their culture? Probably fun is at the top of your list. Fun, then maybe safety or teamwork would be next. How can fun be a company value?

Consider their real business. Southwest is in the business of people and it is very likely you are too! So, if people are your product and people like to have fun, then it makes sense to have fun as a significant company culture.

Corporate culture describes and governs the ways a company’s owners and employees think, feel, and act. With a great culture at your company, you will experience several very powerful and financially significant benefits.

Who you hire and how you hire. So, your company needs more staff. You can do

SMALL BUSINESS TODAY MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2013

traditional methods - place ads in newspapers and on job boards costing money and time. You can also recruit through your own staff. Your employees are experts on your company’s products and culture. Give them the job description and let them find the perfect match.

What is better, having a happy, committed, productive employee recommending your next great employee or getting someone off the street you know nothing about? One financial benefit to a great culture is hiring great people. You will save thousands of dollars by having your team recruiting new staff.

Financial benefit of a great culture is that of sales. People buy from you when they like you and trust you. Buying is not just the transaction of cash for products or services. People invest in relationships.

When people trust and like who they work with, does productivity improve? Why do companies invest in team training?

Because there is a financial benefit in doing so. People who like and trust each other can generate loads more work.

Your great company culture will increase productivity and thus cost you less on your payroll.

Make More Money with great corporate culture. Look at Zappos, an online shoe company which has a phenomenal company culture, one that is well documented. Zappos grew from a tiny company with $1,000 in monthly sales to one that now has over a billion dollars in annual sales - in only 10 years.

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Components for Great Culture - Vision, Mission, and Values Vision: A vision is the “where we are going” statement. It is the “why we do this” concept which is well known to everyone on the team. At ActionCOACH, the vision is “World abundance through business re-education”. A great vision statement will engage and inspire your team. When you have an engaged and inspired team, your team will commit to reaching your vision.

Mission Statement: The roadmap to your vision. Some mission statements are short and less than a page, while others can be binders and binders of documentation. A mission statement tells who we are as an organization, what we do, who we do it for, and what makes us different from our competition.

Who We Are: The mission statement would start with something like, “We are a diverse group of professionally educated engineers committed to...” That would say the team is diverse in their makeup and are educated engineers. If you were growing a pizzeria you wouldn’t quite have that as the beginning of your mission statement. It might begin, “Our team is energetic and excited...”

What We Do: “We are in the business to help companies stay legal in their employment activities...” What we do” clearly describes what your product or service does.

Continued on page 42

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EDITORIAL FEATURE

Holding Big Banks and City Contractors Accountable

By Mayor Annise Parker

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t’s hard to imagine being more proud of a hometown than I am of Houston. We have sacrificed together to make our city stronger in the face of the worst recession in generations.

That’s what we do in Houston. We work hard, tackle our problems with integrity and determination, and always keep one foot squarely planted in the future.

On the other hand, when we’re not working on a level playing field, these efforts are not enough. That’s why I asked the city’s legal department to aggressively pursue two lawsuits for fraud just last month.

As our economic recovery began, we learned that 16 international financial institutions were participating in a conspiracy to manipulate a key interest rate – known as London Interbank Offered Rate, or LIBOR – that determines how much the city pays to borrow money and how much the city earns on many of its investments.

While we were cutting back on everything possible to protect essential services during the recession, these big banks were boosting their profits illegally and at our expense – siphoning away more than $9 million of your hard-earned tax dollars that could have paid for more after-school programs, more police officers, or more crews to repair broken streets.

Ultimately, this suit is about recovering money owed to the city and to taxpayers. Although our final calculations will not be made until we are further along into the lawsuit, we have estimated damages to be around $9 million. Under federal anti-trust law, the city can sue for three times the determined damages amount.

While that sum probably does not mean much to these big banks, that is a significant amount of money we could reclaim for our city.

My goal is to prevent these financial giants from running away with Houstonians’ hard-earned dollars.

LIBOR is based on the average of the interest rates reported by each LIBOR member bank. Specifically, banks are responsible for reporting the interest rate each would pay were it to borrow funds from a fellow member bank. Since these banks had been tasked with reporting and certifying their own interest rates, the LIB OR market was ripe for manipulation.

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In filing a suit July 23, Houston joined a number of cities and agencies across the country alleging LIBOR rate manipulation.

Baltimore, Los Angeles, Sacramento, and San Diego Counties have all filed suits. There are also several class action suits based in the Southern District of New York that are on appeal.

As it stands, three LIBOR member banks have paid more than $2.5 billion in penalties. Charges against numerous other banks are pending.

Government regulators in the United States, United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Japan announced in March 2011 that they had launched investigations of LIBOR rate manipulation affecting global financial markets. LIBOR member banks are under scrutiny for manipulating LIBOR upward to increase their own profits and also for manipulating LIBOR downward, since reporting lower borrowing rates creates an illusion of financial strength.

Until this recent LIBOR scandal broke, the global financial system accepted LIBOR as the true cost of borrowing between financial institutions. Worldwide, LIBOR was trusted to represent the true interest rate at which banks are able to borrow money.

Recovering What is Owed Taxpayers The city also has filed another suit for fraud – this time against the firm that the city hired to handle ambulance billings and collections.

All Houston taxpayers deserve transparency and fair dealing from the city’s vendors; those who pay for EMS and ambulance services are often vulnerable economically and deserve nothing less.

We won’t know the extent of the damages until the lawsuit progresses. We’ve canceled the contract and are engaging a new firm to do the work.

It takes all of us to keep Houston the best place in America to live, work, and raise a family – and there is a lot of work ahead of us.

Houston’s taxpayers are doing their part. My job is to pay attention to the details – like watching over your tax dollars – so the best city in America can get even better.

I have instructed the city legal department to aggressively pursue any monies owed the city and I will continue to update Houstonians with our progress.

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Continued from page 8 Every Employee is the Key to Your Company’s Reputation and Success

• E-mails are reviewed so they demonstrate a happy and helpful employee • When the customer is speaking to us, we acknowledge the customer with eye contact and a helpful and positive look on our face • We don’t interrupt the customer when they are talking or asking a question • If we need to walk away to access the computer, materials, or product, we tell the customer what we are doing • We always stay calm and have a positive attitude We end every contact and conversation with “Is there anything else I can do for you?” and “Thank you for your business”.

Continued from page 9 Why Do So Few Become Financially Independent?

• They are immediate gratifiers that spend their monies on things that depreciate in value or liabilities so they work for money instead of having their money work for them.

• They fantasize about how they will spend their imagined fortunes on progressively fancier lifestyles instead of strategizing, structuring, and managing money to make it grow.

• They don’t truly have a high value on serving ever greater numbers of people.

• They expect entitlements in their life rather than empowering themselves and dedicating themselves to serving others.

• They have less, little, or no value on studying the principles of wealth management and accumulation.

• They are working in other people’s businesses instead of running their own business.

• They are not refining their actions to maximize their profit margins and minimize their redundant actions or unnecessary expenses.

• They don’t prioritize their actions and delegate low priorities that are costing them time and money.

• They fear financial risks and leveraging and withdraw to the assumed security of safe earning redundancies.

• They often live as renters with short-term and cloudy visions.

• They often devalue themselves and pay themselves last.

• They are more victims of their histories instead of masters of their destinies.

When I have asked those who feel financially strapped what they would do if they suddenly had a substantial sum of money,

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Many of our customers consistently state, “When we arrive in your place of business, we feel like we are home”.

That is the utmost compliment to any business. It is completely up to management and ownership to take regular feedback from customers seriously, and if there is an issue, take care of it immediately! By the same token, when employees get compliments and kudos, they are to be acknowledged and praised.

“Each individual person is the true key to success!”

Rita Santamaria is the owner of Champions School of Real Estate and Champions Professional Development.

For more information, go to www.ChampionsSchool.com.

Champions School of Real Estate since 1983 and 2013 BBB Award for Excellence in Business.

their answer is usually they would spend their money on depreciable items. The answer is rarely how they would make their newly acquired money grow by saving and investing. People who are unlikely to be wealthy are spenders - not savers.

On the other hand, when I asked wealthier people what they would do if they came into such a sum, their answer has been that they would preserve and grow their wealth.

The wealthy and the poor have different hierarchies of values and mindsets. The wealthy value and understand money more; they see, create, and attract ever greater opportunities to grow their fortunes. Those who manage money wisely receive more money to manage and those that manage it poorly receive less.

Money automatically circulates through the social economy from those who value it least to those who truly value it most.

Dr John Demartini, a native of Houston, is a world renowned expert in human behavior and leadership development. He has synthesized 41 years of research in over 280 disciplines into keynote presentations, seminars, 40 self-development books, and an extensive library of CDs and DVDs covering topics from business and financial mastery, building teams, communication to activating leadership, and greater productivity in all areas of life. He has shared the stage with Sir Richard Branson, Steven Covey, Deepak Chopra, and Donald Trump and been interviewed by the world’s leading media such as Larry King Live, Wall Street Journal, and O Magazine (Oprah).

www.SBTMagazine.net

EDITORIAL FEATURE

The Contact Sport of Business Requires Fundamentals and Hail Marys

By Mike Muhney

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eter Drucker, the Father of Management, said that the only purpose of any business is to create a customer.

Just as in any professional athletic organization, there are hundreds of plays used in the pursuit of victory.

So, too, in business, there are a myriad of “plays” we employ to create and keep a customer. Nonetheless, there is most definitely a core of fundamental business practices upon which success typically rests.

The increasing speed of technology and broadening reach of communication give us more options than ever before when it comes to reaching our audience. It can seem like a disproportionate amount of focus is given to the latest gimmick, rather than the fundamentals of good business. Big mistake.

But this creates a big opportunity, too.

Why? On the “playing field” full of competitors throwing Hail Mary passes, the professionals focusing on fundamentals can stand out more than ever. While everyone is trying to construct exotic “stand out” plays to get attention, you can not only stand out from them but also create sustainable customer relationships. Let me give a couple of examples, one I personally experienced and the other one I read about.

Keep in mind, as “normal” as they may seem without any embellishment, it is because they are so fundamental that they do, in fact, stand out.

While visiting friends in another city, I had dinner at a mid-tier steak restaurant, which was not a franchise, by the way. We were so engaged in conversation that halfway through the meal, my steak (accompanied by French fries, of course) got cold.

So, I asked the server if she would mind reheating it. She gladly took it back to the kitchen. When she returned, not only was my steak nice and hot, she had added more fries to my plate. Not only was I thrilled because I love French fries but I was struck by the attention to detail and their “going the extra mile” to please the customer. Simple, little thing, really, but that fundamental courtesy made a lifetime patron out of me.

The second example is a quote by former supermodel turned business mogul Kathy Ireland in which she said, “If the

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customer expects a newspaper on the driveway, put it on their front porch.” That’s exactly what that server at the steak restaurant did. No need for a Hail Mary pass in a marketplace crowded by other options. Instead, that restaurant stood out by doing nothing more than serving common sense with a side of courtesy. They have mastered the fundamentals of excellent service.

We all want to experience those exciting and miraculous exchanges with customers; but focusing on them as the “norm” can severely limit the likelihood of our ever achieving them.

Instead, the opportunities lie where virtually no one else is looking; sometimes right under our noses.

Each and every day, by focusing on the fundamentals of doing that one little extra thing, like a newspaper on the porch instead of the driveway, we can win small victories that will add up to a big win in the end. When the need to gain extra yards meets with an opportunity to throw the occasional Hail Mary pass, go for it. Mastering the fundamentals provides the freedom to gamble a bit on the unknown long shots.

EVERY HIT DOES NOT PRODUCE A HOME RUN. BUT EVERY SINGLE HOME RUN IS THE RESULT OF BOTH AN ATTEMPT AND A HIT.

Mike Muhney is the co-inventor of ACT! is now the CEO & co-founder of VIPorbit Software, creators of VIPorbit mobile relationship management apps for iPhone, iPad and Mac. viporbit.com

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EDITORIAL FEATURE

Doing Business with the Russians

By Ludmila (Mila) Rusakova Golovine

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ussia has always been an intriguing land. Since the time of Queen Elizabeth I, Westerners have sought to conduct commerce and business there. That enthusiasm should be no less zealous today than it was then.

Russia is the ninth global economy and the largest exporter of oil and natural gas.

Russia boasts a highly educated and industrious emerging middle class. Moscow, the capital, now has more billionaires than any other city on Earth.

The evidence clearly shows that now is an excellent time to do business in Russia yet it has been considered one of the most difficult places to do business. The simple fact is that many people have overlooked the cultural differences between Russia and the West.

However, through proper preparation and sensitivity, one can certainly succeed in conducting business in Russia.

The major impediment to doing business there is the labyrinthine nature of the system itself. Half of the industries in Russia are intertwined with the government. Therefore, there is bureaucracy on top of bureaucracy.

In order to get anything accomplished, one must have “svyazi” (connections). Like many cultures, Russians prefer to do business with people who they already know. In addition, it takes someone well-connected to cut through all of the bureaucracy and red tape to actually make a deal.

The best advice is to thoroughly research the company that you want to do business with and try to contact the most influential person there. Bear in mind that Russians respect authority, age, and hierarchy; so the most senior person will obviously be the decision-maker.

One key tool that can give you an advantage when dealing with Russians is the language.

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Russians know that their language is difficult and have high regard for those who learn it even to an intermediate level. If you take the time to learn as much as you can and demonstrate this to your counterparts, you will gain their respect. Remember that respect cannot be bought or traded; it can only be earned.

Speaking the language may not close the deal, but it can certainly help you gain the lead in the beginning negotiations; and in the world of business, every opportunity to gain an edge should be taken. Business is fairly formal in Russia. Men wear dark business suits and women wear dark dresses or jackets with skirts. Upon greeting your Russian counterpart, it is customary to shake hands and maintain firm eye contact. If both you and your counterpart are men, then the handshake will be very firm, almost bone crushing. If your counterpart is a female then the handshake will be softer.

Do not proceed immediately to the business at hand. Your Russian counterpart will most likely want to get to know you better before proceeding to the next step. Once the business discussion has begun, do not pressure the Russian representatives for quick decisions. This approach will not work and most likely will backfire as Russian business people prefer to take their time to make a decision. Be aware that Russians are shrewd negotiators and will go so far as to walk out of a meeting in order to gain concessions. In this situation, it is important to not show any weakness or desperation.

The best course of action would be to continue pursuing the venture in a calm and collected manner. That said, at some point you will have to make a few concessions just to placate your Russian counterpart’s

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mind. Russians view negotiations as a win/ lose proposition. If they yield concessions, they lose. If not, they win. In order to make a deal, you must allow them to have a sense of winning.

As previously stated, Russian businesspeople are well-educated. They like to see logical, evidence-based presentations.

Flash and flair will not win them over. Your presentation must be well-researched. Furthermore, it is a good idea to bring along a few technical experts. They will add extra credence to your proposal. Should your venture proceed well, ensure that you have translated versions of all contracts.

It is highly likely that your counterpart will want to make last minute changes or additions. Be sure you have experienced translators who can verify that both sides’ obligations are clear and understood. Winston Churchill may have said that Russia was “a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.” No one can look at Russian business and doubt the validity of this statement. Nevertheless, the riddle is solvable. The solution is diligence, patience, and willingness to engage in cultural sensitivity. Through preparedness and determination, you can certainly succeed in Russian business.

Ludmila (Mila) Rusakova Golovine, Founder/ CEO and President of MasterWord Services, Inc. is a graduate of the Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Houston. Mila started her company with a vision of seamlessly connecting people across any language, any time, and any culture so she understands the complexities of the global marketplace and excels at providing language solutions based on creative thinking and strategic planning. www.SBTMagazine.net

EDITORIAL FEATURE

Developing Leaders: Part Two

By Lorraine Grubbs

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This article is the second in a series of steps designed to give small businesses the roadmap to developing effective leaders.

In last month’s SBT article, I discussed how, regardless of size, every company needs strong, competent leaders to help operate and grow the business. Yet many leaders working for small companies are poorly prepared for those roles. This results in low morale, high turnover, and poor customer service. The investment a company makes in developing their leaders is critical in today’s competitive market. Some companies don’t think they have the time, tools, or budget to develop their leaders. They think, “What if I develop them and they leave?” Think of it another way: “What if I don’t develop them and they stay?” The first step in developing leaders was covered in last month’s article. We discussed the topic of assessing the leader’s effectiveness through a 360-degree survey. The 360-degree survey is an assessment given to a leader’s team, coworkers, and boss asking them for feedback on the leader’s performance.

There are typically two reasons to do an assessment of this type: The first is that the leader is not doing well and they need to improve. If they don’t improve, you will ultimately be firing or demoting them. If they do improve, they get to keep their job. The second reason to do this type of assessment is to help the leader develop their potential. They are doing a good job and you want to take them to the next level. Make sure the leader undergoing the assessment process is clear on which of the two situations they are in and, having their own teammates assess them (anonymously) makes the information more objective. They know it’s not just your or one person’s opinion and it’s hard for them to argue with the feedback given by their own team and coworkers.

“And the survey says” - Once you have the information back from the survey, figure out what it’s telling you and then decide what to do about it. The eight areas measured in the assessment (introduced last month) are: Administrative, Leadership, Communication, Interpersonal, Decision Making, Technical, Personal Motivation, and Customer Orientation. www.SBTMagazine.net

Within each of those eight areas there are three different items to rate. For example, under the Communication Area you will be rating how well a leader communicates overall, how well they listen, and how well they keep their direct reports in the loop. Make sure to leave room for comments. After the results are tabulated, it should give a clear view of the leader’s strengths and weaknesses.

So, with results in hand, it’s time to review them. Sit down with the leader and go over each area, one by one. Allow time for them to ask questions for clarification (since this is the first time they are seeing the results). Oftentimes, people are so busy looking at the “negative”, they don’t really take the time to process the positive results. They may need to schedule another appointment so they can digest the information.

Be very clear that, as their leader, you are giving them this opportunity because you want them to succeed.

Once you’ve reviewed the results and all their questions have been addressed, put together a six-month learning and development plan. To get their buy in, have them write their own plan (which you will approve prior to implementing it). Make sure the plan incorporates the SMART approach (Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time Bound).

Then help the leader identify resources to help them achieve their goals. Resources fall into the category of books, classes, mentors within, or coaches outside of the company. Don’t try to tackle all areas of improvement at once. Start with the most critical and then add one per month.

For example, if one of their goals is to get to know their direct reports better, the plan would include: Goal: Get to know my team better.

Action: Meet with each team member to discuss how I can

best support him or her.

Develop a system where I remember their special days

such as anniversary with the company and birthday;

then bring them a special gift or card on that day.

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EDITORIAL FEATURE

Blast From the Past

By Aimee Woodall

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here is one word (okay, it’s two) that go against everything that my years as a writer have taught me: “Email blast”. I know what you’re thinking, “Email blast? What’s wrong with email blast?” It’s not repulsive like one of the aforementioned words that I can’t even bring myself to say again. It’s not a crutch used by “The Future Business Leaders of Tomorrow Who Don’t Know What They’re Talking about Today”, like “solutions.” Yes, I see your point. You’re right. There is nothing offensive about the sound of “email blast”.

In fact, separately, I like both words but put them together and it’s a very different story.

I have a problem with what “email blast” means. When someone suggests that I send one, it’s like they’re plunging a dagger into my heart. Follow it up with “to your entire media list,” and it’s like they’ve twisted the knife.

treated.” Do you like getting junk mail? I didn’t think so and a mass email pitch is basically spam.

Instead, send something personal even if you don’t know that reporter personally. Do your research — reporter style! Make sure the event you’re pitching is something this particular reporter would cover. There’s nothing more annoying than a public relations coordinator who asks you to pass something along to the correct reporter.

EMAIL BLAST

After conducting media relations for years, I’ve learned a few things about the dos and don’ts of contacting (you guessed it) the media, and sending out a one-size-fits-all mass email pitch to the media is more than your average don’t.

Try reaching out on social media. Twitter was designed to allow you to talk to people it would be totally weird to talk to in real life.

Form a bond and help a reporter get the information they need and suddenly you’re a source. Sure, it takes a little more time, but you’ll start seeing much better results.

Pretty soon, they’ll be coming to you for the big Sunday front-page story.

Once you see the success you have by building a personal relationship, you too will cringe at the word “email blast”. On the other hand, “moist” and “solutions” might just be my own hang up.

I understand that as a small business owner, it’s tempting. You’re busy. - Really busy. You’ve got a business to run, accounting to attend to, customers, AND employees to keep happy — all on top of trying to promote your business.

Even though sending a single email blast to many different reporters might seem like the most efficient option, it’s more likely to prove as a huge waste of time.

Aimee Woodall is the owner of the Black Sheep Agency. The Black Sheep Agency is a Houston-based creative agency specializing in non-traditional public relations, social media, and experiential marketing. You can contact Amy at 832.971.7725 or email her at aimee@theblacksheepagency.com.

The media is actually made up of people (People who are not so different from you and me). So a simple rule when emailing members of the media is “treat others like you would like to be

For more information, go to www.theblacksheepagency.com.

Follow them on Facebook at Facebook.com/theblacksheepagency and on Twitter@shearcreativity.

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The Houston Minority Supplier Development Council

ERIC KLEIMAN PHOTOGRAPHY

“Making Successful Connections for Minority Businesses”

By Barbara R. Davis

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he Houston Minority Supplier Development Council (HMSDC) is an organization comprised of 153 major corporations and nearly 1,000 certified Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs) who share a common mission to increase and expand business opportunities and business growth for minority-owned businesses. HMSDC’s service area ranges from the Louisiana border down to Corpus Christi and up to College Station but their principal focus is in the Greater Houston and surrounding areas where so many major corporations are located. With the creation of their “Four Pillars,” they continue to connect their firms to the information, insight, people, and resources that drive business success.

As a premier sourcing organization for major corporations, HMSDC helps MBEs capitalize on change. Today corporations that operate globally are looking for suppliers with an international presence. Whether that’s done by a company growing to the point where it has established its own international presence or where it grows through strategic alliances, HMSDC is the resource that bridges the gap. HMSDC links minority businesses with major corporations, their prime suppliers, and other minority businesses in order to form strategic partnerships that bring a level of capacity large enough to compete in a global market.

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The Houston Minority Supplier Development Council began as the result of a conference in the early 1970s between President Richard Nixon and a group of industrial leaders. Nixon wanted to address the growing plight of minority communities who had lost their economic base following the civil rights movement as those with the economic means were now able to leave their communities for “greener” pastures.

President Nixon was looking for solutions to the problem. The corporate leaders understood that there can never be equality unless there’s economic opportunity.

The solution was to create viable businesses in economically distressed communities and grow corporate expenditures with those businesses. As those businesses grew, they would create jobs, economic self-sufficiency, a broader tax base for the community, a lower tax rate overall, and an increased purchasing power for other goods and services. In essence, it would create an economic engine that would fuel the growth of those communities as well as the city, state, and the nation.

One of those leaders in attendance at the White House was Dick Bauer, Vice President over procurement at Shell Oil Company. After returning to Houston, he pulled together 11 other companies and formed what was then called the Houston Regional Minority Purchasing

Council. The first task was to go out and find minority firms that could do business and then to actually grow them. As a result, HMSDC has been driving results for minority businesses ever since.

For the past 28 years, Richard Huebner, President of HMSDC, has been at the helm of the organization. Under his leadership, HMSDC has re-invented itself through innovation and drive to better serve minority-owned businesses.

In doing so, HMSDC has been nationally recognized five times as “Council of the Year” and by the Greater Houston Partnership as “Houston’s Greatest Non-Profit Business Organization.”

HMSDC has a Board of Directors that is comprised of top corporate and MBE leaders and is representative of the diversity in the city based on industry, minority group, and gender. The Board of Directors is more of a strategic board, setting direction and oversight of the Council while a host of committees create and implement programs and services that will benefit the members.

HMSDC is an affiliate of the National Minority Supplier Development Council with regional councils that cover the entire United States and affiliate councils in Brazil, the United Kingdom, China, South Africa, and Canada.

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The Houston Minority Supplier Development Council

does four major things which they refer to as the “Four Pillars.”

Pillar One: Certification of Minority Businesses Committed to excellence and efficiency in MBE certification, HMSDC takes an in-depth look at the applicant and validates that it is a company 51 percent or more owned, managed, and controlled by one or more ethnic minorities who are U.S. citizens. Certification is based on criteria set by the National Minority Supplier Development Council. HMSDC certification is accepted by major corporations throughout the country as well as the State of Texas, HISD, and the Port of Houston. A common certification agreement signed with Mayor Annise Parker expedites certification with the City of Houston for HMSDC certified MBEs. HMSDC is the only minority certifying organization accepted by the private sector in the Greater Houston area.

Pillar Two: Development HMSDC regularly provides valueadded educational opportunities for minority business development. The MBE Accelerator is an assessment program that is used to help minority

SMALL BUSINESS TODAY MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2013

businesses identify where they are in their growth curve and what they need to focus on from an educational development standpoint to create a solid foundation in carrying them to the next level of success.

The HMSDC Board of Directors is proud that HMSDC has become quite good at positioning MBEs where they can effectively compete for, win, and perform on major contracts. Their charge is to take MBE development to an even higher level and position minority firms in such a manner that business is attracted to them because they are that good and because HMSDC says so. HMSDC has spent the past year exploring what that will take. They have identified the attributes that would cause a decision-maker in a major corporation to seek out those firms. Pathways to Excellence will become a cornerstone program of HMSDC to guide MBEs to unprecedented success.

The MBE Business Executive Scholarship program awards over $50,000

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annually to MBE business owners to pursue courses of study directly related to their next stage of business growth.

HMSDC has developed new programs l i k e t h e M B E A c c e l e r a t o r, C E O Academy, Supplier Idol, and Strategic Teaming Alliances Practicum to develop world-class suppliers that just happen to be owned by minorities. They also have hired a new Director of Consulting Services and gathered a team of consultants to provide more deliberate, hands-on coaching, counseling, and support to those firms that have the aspiration to grow.

Pillar Three: Connect The Houston Minority Supplier Development Council’s EXPO provides faceto-face connections between MBEs and more than 1,500 decision-makers from more than 200 exhibiting major corporations and government agencies. All underneath one roof, MBEs have direct access to advocates and decision-makers from corporations willing to discuss their business opportunities and to build relationships.

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HMSDC also facilitates introductions between the businesses to assist them in meeting with targeted decision-makers – the ones who will be knowledgeable in the industries they want to make connections with. Industry Groups have been formed for Professional Services, Legal & Accounting, Construction, Technology, and Consulting.

Throughout the year, HMSDC connects MBEs to key information and insight enabling them to bring better solutions to the pressing problems of their current and prospective customers. Information, insight, and relationships drive opportunity!

Other HMSDC events where businesses connect and network are “Matchmaker Luncheons” and the “Scholarship Fundraiser Golf Tournament.”

The Fourth Pillar: Advocate Helping people understand the immense importance of minority business development and the values that it provides to customers, communities, cities, states, and nations is one aspect of advocacy. The other aspect of advocacy is showing the entrepreneurs that they can accomplish what they set out to do by doing things the right way. At the HMSDC “Emerging-10 Awards,” inspirational stories are shared www.SBTMagazine.net

by award recipients on how they have overcome obstacles, achieved success, and are giving back to their communities. These stories create excitement and gives others hope.

Mr. Huebner expressed, “A lot of entrepreneurship involves going out on a limb, operating with faith that it’s actually going to work, and then working really hard to find a way to make it work. Often that excitement gets thwarted because, in reality, it’s a tough market to penetrate. That’s the reason 85 percent of small businesses don’t make it five years. A lot of them just give up because they just don’t see it happening. So success stories are really important. HMSDC plays a key role in developing both the competence and the confidence to succeed.”

A corporate CEO in HMSDC remarked, “Supplier diversity has grown from corporations helping MBEs to MBEs helping us.” Everyone benefits from having full participation of MBEs in our economic system. With the dramatic growth of “minorities” in America (now comprising the majority in a growing number of American cities like Houston), the work of HMSDC is even more important to keep cities like Houston lively, fresh, and with a great quality of life.

Houston Minority Supplier Development Council For more information on how the Houston Minority Supplier Development Council can help make successful connections for your business, contact them at:

713-271-7805

visit them on the Web at www.hmsdc.org or email them at info@hmsdc.org

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JAS OFFI

PRODUC CE

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A S A LU T E TO S M A L L BUSINESS

TE

As a proud member of the HMSDC, Tejas Office Products recognizes that small business powers the U.S. economy.

From paper and ink to office furniture of all kinds, Tejas makes your business day easier.

We congratulate the HMSDC on its 40th anniversary.

Tejas Office Products, Inc. 1225 W. 20th St. Houston, Texas 77008 713-864-6004 / 800-593-6004 www.TejasOffice.com

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Proud Member of the

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EDITORIAL FEATURE

The Statistics Tree

BIG PICTURE OF BUSINESS

Understanding Figures and What They Symbolize, Relating Directly to Your Business Success.

By Hank Moore / Corporate Strategist™

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usiness bases much of what it does on statistics.

Most often, they’re financial numbers or sales goals.

More importantly are the Big Picture statistics that affect every aspect of business growth and success.

The way in which the bigger issues are interpreted has direct bearing on strategy and implementation.

Here are some of the most significant statistics that relate to your ability to do business: Only 2% of the businesses have a plan of any kind. What many of them think is a plan include some accounting figures or sales goals. That is not a full-scope plan. Of the companies who continue to operate without a plan, 40% of them will be out of business in the next 10 years.

Only 2% of those who call themselves consultants really are just that. That 2% includes all the doctors, lawyers, accountants, and engineers…those of us who actually advise. Most so-called consultants are vendors who peddle what they have to sell, rather than what the client companies really need. The answer is for companies to utilize seasoned advisers, rather than coaches and other vendors.

Research shows that change is 90% positive and beneficial.

Why then do many organizations fight what is in their best interest? The average person and organization changes 71% per year. The mastery of change is to benefit from it rather than become a victim of it.

92% of all business mistakes may be attributed to poor management decisions. 85% of the time, a formal program of crisis preparedness will help the organization to avert the crisis.

The average person spends 150 hours each year in looking for misplaced information and files. One learns three times more from failure than from success. Failures are the surest tracks toward future successes.

One-third of the Gross National Product is sent each year toward cleaning up mistakes, rework, make-goods, corrective

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action, and correcting defects. Yet, only 5.1% is spent on education, which is the key to avoiding mistakes on the front end.

50% of the population reads books. 50% do not. Of all high school graduates, 37% will never read another book after formal schooling. Of all college graduates, 16% will never read another book. Thus, a declining overall level of education in our society and serious challenges faced by organizations in training the workforce. Yet, the holdings of the world’s libraries are doubling every 14 years.

Today’s work force requires three times the amount of training they now get in order to remain competitive in the future. 29% of the work force wants their boss’ job. 70% of corporate CEOs think that business is too much focused on the short-term.

The human brain has more than 300 million component parts.

The human brain connects to 13 billion nerves in the body.

The human body has 600 muscles. The human body has 206 bones. The average person speaks 30,000 words per day. The average person is bombarded with more than 600 messages per day. More enlightened, actively communicating people are bombarded with more than 900 messages per day.

98% of all new business starts are small businesses. 45% of small business owners are children of small business owners.

83% of all domestic companies have fewer than 20 employees.

Only 7% of all companies have 100 or more employees.

The current success rate for organizational hires is 14%. If further research is put into looking at the total person and truly fitting the person to the job, then the success rate soars to 75%.

That involves testing and more sophisticated hiring practices.

Retaining good employees, involving training, motivation, and incentives, is yet another matter. According to research conducted by the Ethics Resource Center: • Employees of organizations steal 10 times more than do shoplifters. www.SBTMagazine.net

EDITORIAL FEATURE

• Employee theft and shoplifting accounting for 15% of the retail cost of merchandise.

• 35% of employees steal from the company.

• 28% of those who steal think that they deserve what they take.

• 21% of those who steal think that the boss can afford the losses.

• 56% of employees lie to supervisors.

• 41% of employees falsify records and reports.

• 31% of the workforce abuses substances.

On any given day, Americans spend over $33 million buying lottery tickets. On that same day, 99 American families fall below the poverty line. 68% of Americans do not like to take chances.

5% of all Americans go to McDonald’s every day.

99% of American women think that contributing to or bettering society is important. 35% of Americans are involved in community service and charity activities. During the last 3,500 years, the world has been at peace only 8 percent of the time.

Data from the Census Bureau shows that 69% of new companies with employees survive at least two years, and that 51% survive at least five years. An independent analysis by the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that 49% of new businesses survive for five years or more. 34% of new businesses survive ten years or more, and 26% are still in business at least 15 years after being started.

Small businesses really do drive the economy. Many people believe that businesses frequently fail because there are a large number closing every year. In 2009, for example, more than 550,000 businesses were opened, and more than 660,000 closed. This occurred during a recession. However, during an economic expansion, the number of new businesses would outnumber the closures.

Many people may not realize how many small businesses there are in the country. In 2011, the Department of Commerce estimated that there were 27.5 million businesses in the United States. Only 18,000 of those businesses had more than 500 employees and the rest were considered small businesses.

29% are still in business at the end of year 10 and the biggest drop comes in the first 5 years when half of startups go belly up. This shows that the odds are against startups staying in business. The internet home business success rate is only 5%.

7 Primary Factors of Business Failure: 1. Failure to value and optimize true company resources.

2. Poor premises, policies, processes, procedures, precedents, and planning.

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3. Opportunities not heeded or capitalized.

4. The wrong people in the wrong jobs. Under-trained employees.

5. The wrong consultants (miscast, untrained, improperly used).

6. Lack of articulated focus and vision. With no plan, no journey will be completed.

7. Lack of movement means falling behind the pack and eventually losing ground.

What Could Have Reduced These High Costs: 1. Effective policies and procedures.

2. Setting and respecting boundaries.

3. Realistic expectations and measurements.

4. Training and development of people.

5. Commitments to quality at all links in the chain.

6. Planning.

7. Organizational vision.

Success is just in front of our faces. Yet, we often fail to see it coming. Too many companies live with their heads in the sand.

Many go down into defeat because it was never on their radar to change.

Contact information for Hank Moore.

Website: http://www.hankmoore.com.

Email: hankmoore4218@sbcglobal.net.

Phone: 713-668-0664.

Hank Moore has advised 5,000+ client organizations, including 100 of the Fortune 500, public sector agencies, small businesses and non-profit organizations.

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EDITORIAL FEATURE

Is My Business Too Large for SBA Financing?

By Bruce Hurta

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I own a small business. At least we were a ‘small’ business last time I checked. Do I qualify for SBA government-backed financing?”

Is this a question that you as a business owner should be asking? It might be a good idea if you have outgrown your facilities and you require financing for a new office or warehouse building. It might be a good idea if your company has short term bank debt that would benefit from a longer term and lower payments. It might be a good idea if you are contemplating buying a business. If your business is a “small” business, you might be eligible for SBA government-backed financing. We will talk about what it means to be eligible as a “small” business after highlighting the following reasons for taking advantage of SBA (U.S. Small Business Administration) financing: • SBA loans provide permanent, long-term financing. (25 years for small business real estate loans. 10 years for other small business loan purposes.) Conventional bank financing is typically temporary financing. A balloon feature requires the small business to re-qualify to refinance the loan in the future.

• SBA loans typically have lower down payment requirements than conventional bank financing.

• SBA loans have easier qualifying criteria than conventional bank loans.

Why wouldn’t all businesses want to qualify for SBA financing?

The main reason would be that the business has matured and reached a stage in its operations where favorable financing is readily available due to their long term business track record.

Their track record with their business bankers allows them to negotiate loan terms from the “driver’s seat”. Many small businesses today, however, are not in that category. They should consider SBA financing as a tool for growing their business. In order to be eligible for SBA financing, the borrower must meet the SBA definition of a “small” business.

SBA size guidelines define the maximum size that a firm (including its affiliates) can be to qualify as a small business for www.SBTMagazine.net

most SBA programs. Size standards usually are a measure of a business’s number of employees or its average annual receipts.

Based on those criteria, the SBA has established the following common standards for a small business, depending on its North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code:

• 500 employees for most manufacturing and mining industries, and

• $7 million in average annual receipts for most nonmanufacturing industries.

There are many exceptions, but these are the primary size standards for most industries.

You may take it for granted that your company is a “small business.” The distinction is important if you wish to qualify for SBA financing or if you wish to register for government contracting as a small business. In addition to the size standard requirement, SBA defines a U.S. small business as a concern that: • Is organized for profit; • Has a place of business in the US; • Operates primarily within the U.S. or makes a significant contribution to the U.S. economy through payment of taxes or use of American products, materials, or labor; • Is independently owned and operated; and • Is not dominant in its field on a national basis.

The business may be a sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, or any other legal form. In determining what constitutes a small business, the definition will vary to reflect industry differences, such as size standards.

Your SBA loan officer will be happy to research and confirm your business’s size standard eligibility for you at the start of the loan Continued on page 42 SMALL BUSINESS TODAY MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2013

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Donna believes in the detoxification of the body, the relief of pain, and the re-energizing within with a Vibe Machine and uses one for herself, staff, and clients in her office.

The EcoBot Challenge began five years ago when Ms. Cole was the President of the Japan-America Society and they brought over remote control robots that played soccer in Japan for the Japan Festival here in Houston. They connected the students from Japan with Hamilton Middle School in The Heights and that is when they decided to put together an all earth robotics challenge. Ms. Cole elaborated, “We felt children needed to know more about math, sciences, technology, and how to work in teams to solve day-to-day problems if they are going to get jobs in the future.”

Both of Donna’s maternal grandparents and paternal great-grandparents came to the U.S. from Japan in the early 1,900s to pursue the “American dream.” During WWII, Donna’s family, although not interned, could not travel more than two miles from their farm in Colorado without FBI approval. Her family burned all of their books and documents with Japanese writing so they would not be accused of being a spy. Samurai swords were taken and never returned after the war. “We were expected to go to school and be like Americans and thus the reason why many of us third generations don’t speak Japanese,” reflected Donna.

When Donna was six months old, her parents moved from Denver, Colorado, where she had been born, to South Texas where she grew up in the Rio Grande Valley. Donna recalled, “I can remember when I was in elementary school being teased and called names including ‘slant eyes,’ so I always took my Dad’s 442nd Army book to school for ‘show and tell’ to prove we were Americans and that he fought in the US Army. I always knew in the fall when the WWII military movies started on TV that the anniversary of Pearl Harbor would be just around the corner and the name calling would start. I really didn’t want to go to school on those days and wasn’t fond of history. I was so proud to show that my Dad fought for the 442nd, an all Japanese American battalion.”

“I’ve been blessed to have a successful business to travel to meet other Japanese Americans who encountered the same discrimination in other parts of the country. While others grew up on the west coast where persons of Japanese ancestry were interned in remote camps and their fathers joined the 442nd or Military Intelligence Service to fight in the war to prove their loyalty and citizenship, I am able to make sure that these stories are told. There were 20,000 soldiers in the 100th and 442nd.

Finally, the Congressional Gold Medal was awarded to the Japanese American Veterans of the 100th, 442nd, and Military Intelligence Service after 67 years,” continued Ms. Cole.

Japanese-Americans. There were 6,000 in the MIS. They were sent to Japanese school and then sent off to war in the Middle East, Africa, Russia, China, and the Pacific into all areas of the armed services. The MIS was one of the United States biggest military secrets and the Military Intelligence Service information was declassified in the 70s. So that’s why most people don’t know about them.”

The Congressional Medal of Honor was awarded to the 100th, the 442nd, and the MIS in November of 2011 in Washington, D.C. and when they told Donna the veterans would have to buy their own medals, she said, “Oh no, they deserve them and should not have to buy them.” So Donna and Bob bought the medals for each of the Veterans.

Ms. Cole remarked, “We are proud to announce the Congressional Gold Medal will be on exhibit at the Holocaust Museum Houston December 19, 2013 through January 26, 2014 and hopefully everyone in Houston will see the medal and the movies. Sadly, we are losing these veterans every day. Coming in from Boston, we have Sus Ito who was in the 522nd Artillery Division. He actually busted some of the locks off of the sub-camps of Dachau.”

Another fascinating accomplishment of Ms. Cole is that she was instrumental in bringing a boxcar from Germany that had been used to transport Jews to the concentration camps and donated it to the Holocaust Museum in Houston. Mr. Pete Berkowitz, who was the Chair of the Holocaust Museum, sought out Donna to see if she could locate a box car that was used during the Holocaust. Pete said to Donna, “I need your help. I need a boxcar from Germany that was used to transport Jews to the camps. Donna answered, “I don’t know.” Pete then said, “Don’t you do business with German companies?” “Yes,” replied Donna. Then Pete asked, “Will you try?”

Donna called the German companies that she did business with but no one was able to help. She remembered a German chemical trader by the name of Gene Zeier who she dealt with years ago. He agreed to help and to everyone’s surprise, he located a box car and it was verified that it was indeed authentic. There were many organizations and people who assisted Pete in bringing the car from Germany, restoring it, and displaying it at the Holocaust Museum Houston. “That’s another fine thing I’ve done in my lifetime that I am very proud of,” said Donna. With great emotion, Donna added, “To go over there and be inside of the car is just incredible. It’s unimaginable how they squeezed 120 people inside such a very small space.”

More people should aspire to be like Ms. Cole; the world would definitely be better off for it. Another example of her inspirational thoughts are reflected in these remarks, “Just think, how awesome it would be if we could uplift the whole community. Some people may call me a ‘Pollyanna’ but that’s okay because hope springs eternal. I think I’m blessed as the Lord blesses me because I’m a good steward of his blessings. It’s all about ethical, caring, and compassionate leadership and I like to surround myself with those types of people.”

Mr. Pete Berkowitz, former chairman of the Houston Holocaust Museum, was convinced that he needed a box car from the Holocaust for the museum and that Donna was “The Person” to not only find one but get it here...and get it here (with lots of help) she did!

“We will make available to teachers and students the six character values of these men who received the most medals for bravery during U.S. military history for their size and length of service. It was a terrible time in American history when hysteria put Americans of Japanese ancestry into desolate remote internment camps and at the end of the war, no Japanese American was ever convicted of any espionage,” expressed Donna.

Donna explained, “People know about the ‘Tuskegee Airmen’ and about the ‘Navajo Code Talkers’ but not many people know about the M.I.S. (Military Intelligence Service) which was completely comprised of SMALL BUSINESS TODAY MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2013

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Gwen Juarez Photography

Gwen Juarez Photography

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Gwen Juarez Photography

KEY TAKE-AWAY NOTES 1. Do hire a good attorney, get a banker that takes the time to understand your business, a CPA, and a good insurance company because those are the people who are going to help and protect you.

2. Ask questions and seek two-way communications. Ask your customers what trends and issues are they facing and what changes are they implementing as this will help you know what changes you should make to your business so there will not be any negative impact to your company.

3. Understand and articulate your value proposition in one sentence.

4. Hire slow, meaning have several interviews. Check referrals. Use many tools to assess what they know, who you are hiring, and how to manage them. Document and discuss. Then, if there are no improvements, fire fast.

5. Update your business plan using a SWOT Analysis once per year or at least every two years. Involve as many employees as you possible can to learn from their department and company perspective what are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

6. When you have a gut feeling, go with your gut. To keep your intuition sharp, you should meditate daily to keep a clear mind. It will help you to be strategic.

7. Watch your money carefully; know your business financial health; meet regularly with your CPA and banker; and provide updates on the business.

8. Safety, quality, responsible care, cyber security, environmental sustainability, and business continuity plans are areas that your business should address.

9. If you are a ‘cash cow’ company, you can leverage your cash flow to start other businesses, joint ventures, and acquisitions.

10. Periodically have a luncheon and invite your attorney, trust attorney, CPA, insurance brokers, stock brokers, and bankers to give them an update on your company and meet your succession team. In case you are involved in an accident, all the key people will know each other and will keep the business going.

11. Have an open door venting policy with your employees with guidelines. I always tell my employees, “You can come to me and tell me if you want to come and vent only if you want to vent and you want some advice or you want to vent and you want me to do something about the issue.

12. Give back to the community; if you bless others, you will be blessed in return. You can make money in business by considering the greater good in your actions.

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EDITORIAL FEATURE

Negotiation: The Art of Diplomacy in Business

3 counter-intuitive techniques for successfully negotiating conflict and avoiding litigation

By Raphael Lapin

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n the international relations and statesmanship arena, everyone understands the difference between diplomacy and war. Furthermore, we recognize the cost of war and we only pursue it as a last resort after all efforts at diplomacy have failed. In the business arena however, the line between diplomacy and war is not quite so clear and we often confuse the two. For example, we frequently approach negotiations (a diplomatic process to be sure), as a war of wills and an attempt of one party to dominate and “conquer” the other. We deploy tricky tactics and intimidation rather than sophisticated and authentic technique. We perceive our objective as being to “win” rather than getting our needs met, and we see our counterpart as a fierce adversary rather than a collaborative partner. This confusion sabotages our relationships, erodes trust, destroys our reputation and produces sub-optimal outcomes.

membership and threatened a strike if even one person were to lose his job. A terribly acrimonious session ensued as they argued and shouted. Each side became more entrenched in their positions. Relationships rapidly deteriorated and trust vanished. They became highly suspicious of one another and they prepared for battle.

In business, where it is imperative to meet our business objectives optimally and also maintain strong working relationships, we must adopt a cogent strategy of diplomatic negotiations. This will enhance our reputation, build trust and allow us to craft effective, productive and profitable partnerships and agreements. Whereas the primary means used in an adversarial negotiation are tactics and intimidation aimed at winning, which includes litigation, in a diplomatic approach, the primary means is dialogue aimed at achieving common understanding and mutually satisfying resolution. When we facilitate dialogue effectively, it generates a productive exchange and develops useful, relevant information, which advances the negotiations productively. This however, requires disciplined process, strong communication skills, and practiced technique.

Although it would be impossible to provide comprehensive dialogue training within an 800-word column, nevertheless, here are three techniques to get you started.

Develop a nature of constructive curiosity: In any negotiation, it is best to initially suspend your views, positions, and assumptions while making every effort to probe, learn and understand your counterpart’s. This will advance productive dialogue dramatically as understanding, respect, and trust builds.

Resist the urge to immediately defend your position: In a negotiation between the Steelworkers’ Union and the management of a large steel company, the president of the company stood up and announced: “We need to reduce man-hours per ton at this plant.” Hearing this announcement, the Union representatives assumed that some of their people were going to lose their jobs. They instantly became viciously defensive, advocated venomously on behalf of their SMALL BUSINESS TODAY MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2013

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When we perceive our vital interests as being threatened, it is quite normal to vehemently protect them. But in doing so, we become defensive and we induce defensiveness on the other side too. When both sides become defensive, opportunity for productive exchange and dialogue is obstructed, and a mutually satisfying outcome is forfeited. Rather than becoming defensive, it is far more valuable to adopt an attitude of enquiry, a mind-set of learning and an open mind.

To do this however, one needs to develop a nature of enquiry and curiosity. Ask yourself questions like, “How can I learn more about my counterpart’s view?” or “What have I learned by listening to her that I was not aware of before?” Another useful question is, “What have I heard so far that would make me rethink my own views or assumptions?” This approach will not only promote dialogue but also expand the scope of useful and relevant discussion.

When the president of the steel company announced that man-hours per ton would need to be reduced, the union representative, rather than becoming belligerent and defensive, could have enquired as to why the president thought that a reduction of man-hours was necessary. The president might have spoken about the efficiency of competitors’ plants, which may have expanded the discussion to other ways of becoming Continued on page 43

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EDITORIAL FEATURE

Quality Standards Create Great Customer Experiences

By Errol D. Allen

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tandards Assist in Communicating the Customer Experience Goals - When developing quality standards, determine what the end result should look like and work backwards. It’s important that the individual service providers have a clear picture of their individual goals. Individual methods such as step sequence may be slightly different regarding task completion, but the end result should be the same. A customer should receive the same level of service no matter the individual service provider. Make sure the standard for the end result is based upon what’s important to the customer. Service organizations such as hotels, restaurants, in home services, and others where tasks are somewhat repetitive are good candidates for incorporating quality standards.

Service providers can self-check their work against the standard to insure their task performance is contributing to a great customer experience.

Standards Assist in Reducing the Need for Rework - When service providers are provided with quality standards along with the proper training to perform their respective tasks, a reduction in the amount of rework usually follows.

Standards combined with competence are a potent combination when attempting to provide a great customer experience. The individual service provider must be properly trained in whatever tasks for which they’re held responsible. It’s been my experience that inadequate training leads to rework, which can lead to an unhappy customer. Take in-home services for instance; usually the

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customer must be present in order to receive service. Should the customer have to request an additional service call due to the initial issue not being fully resolved or perhaps the product is not functioning properly, that means the customer must once again be available.

As a service provider, it’s critical to remember to value your customer’s time.

If proper training contributes to creating a great customer experience, then it’s important to make sure service providers are properly trained before providing service to customers. Rework is both expensive and a deterrent to establishing a long-term relationship with customers. When service provider training is aligned with quality standards, great customer experiences are sure to follow.

Standards Assist in Evaluating Performance - Once quality standards are properly developed and communicated, the task of evaluating performance becomes simplified. Individual service providers’ task evaluations should be objectively based upon the standards.

Utilize your quality standards to assist in creating performance standards.

Objective evaluations lead to better employee morale as objectivity, even when the employee’s performance falls beneath what’s required, is better than subjectivity. Employees are more likely to better receive a negative objective evaluation than a negative subjective evaluation. Employee morale is important when attempting to create great customer experiences. Happy employees

who understand how they’re being evaluated assist in creating great customer experiences.

Developing quality standards can be beneficial to your organization. Under most circumstances, creating standards is not a one-day project but one that requires patience and long-term thinking.

When making the decision on whether or not to develop and implement organizational standards, remember to think about these three points: • Standards Assist in Communicating the Customer Experience Goals, • Standards Assist in Reducing the Need for Rework, and • Standards Assist in Evaluating Performance.

Errol Allen – Customer Service Engineer can be contacted by email at errol@errolallenconsulting.com or by phone at 1-800-830-4167. For more information, go to www.errolallenconsulting.com.

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EDITORIAL FEATURE

Co-Owner Relationships

By Dan Krohn

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ou and a friend are meeting over coffee and have just come up with an idea for a new business. This is exciting! Following tradition, you grab a napkin and start to work. You come up with a name for the company, an idea for a logo, and decide where you would like to be located. As the conversation continues, the two of you decide to invite two of your mutual friends to join the effort.

You commit to conduct market research to confirm the idea’s validity and develop an initial business plan within the next four weeks. These are valid steps which should not be overlooked; but there are other matters to be discussed which are too rarely found on those napkin notes.

First, talk about your individual goals.

Yes, the goal is to build a profitable business; but what does each of your four founders want to accomplish? Is one of you a serial entrepreneur looking to build a company for three to five years and then sell it for a profit? Perhaps one of you desires a place where he can do the work he loves until retirement; or maybe one of you wants to hit one out of the park and build an incredibly successful company over ten to twenty years then exit big with an IPO? All of these goals are worthy and legitimate, yet differences among you could mean misery down the road. This conversation deserves its own meeting over coffee.

Then there is intellectual property. Critically, one of you might have an invention, patented or not, or even a well-developed idea for an invention which will be the basis of the new venture. Those other than the inventor will expect the invention to be given to the company. The inventor might well be expecting something in return.

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Expectations not discussed transparently at the outset are seeds for animosity. No new venture can afford battles or ill will among its founders. Have this conversation early.

Third, determine how decisions are made. For example, how much spending authority do each of you and each of your salaried officers have? Which decisions are to be voted upon by the owners? With an even number of equal owners, it’s wise to decide in advance how to break ties.

This is where a mutually admired outside director might help, but there are other methods. Even rock, paper, scissors can be better than nothing when an important matter needs prompt action. You might want to require a supermajority or unanimous vote as to some decisions.

These often include bringing in new owners, dramatically changing the business plan, merging with another company, or selling the company.

When setting up the company, co-owners should address scenarios that I call the 4 D’s of disaster: death, disability, divorce, and disagreement. These things happen, and it’s foolhardy not to plan in advance.

Do you really want as a business partner someone you cannot now identify?

Suppose a co-owner marries a bozo and then dies. Do you want him or her at the table? Successful companies can be killed by the disruption of these events.

You may not want a co-owner’s unidentified heirs as business partners; and in the case of disability, you might not want whoever is appointed guardian of the disabled co-owner participating in business decisions. There needs to be a process for buying out an unexpected and

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unwanted co-owner. In the case of death, a potential buyout can be funded with insurance.

Disability can also be insured against. Meet with a qualified insurance specialist. If insurance is not an option, there are other ways these situations might be addressed.

Divorce is a tricky, emotional issue.

In this day and age, people change spouses from time to time. It’s foolish to assume otherwise. There are two critical rules here: treat spouses fairly and have the spouses agree to the deal. Any deal which is unfair to a spouse could be invalidated by a court.

Disagreement does not refer to the inevitable disagreements which will arise in any group setting. We’re talking a serious “this town ain’t big enough for the two of us” kind of disagreement.

Agreeing how to handle this situation while everyone is getting along can prevent disaster.

As a primary care attorney, Dan helps entrepreneurs with relationship management and dispute prevention.

Dan provides services to Houston’s small business community as a welltrusted source of legal advice. His office is located in central Houston and he can be reached by phone at (713) 529-0655 or by email at DanKrohn@Krohnlaw com.

For more information, go to www.KrohnLaw.com.

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EDITORIAL FEATURE

Not ready to retire? How to Start an Encore Career By: George Rose, Wells Fargo V.P., Business Relationship Manager George Rose, Wells Fargo V.P.

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n increasing number of Americans aren’t ending their careers at retirement – they are launching encore careers by starting their own businesses. In fact, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the rate of self-employment is higher among people in their 60s than even those in their 50s, let alone those in their 20s or 30s. (1).

Even so, starting a small business in your 50s or 60s can be a daunting task. Since it may take several years before your new venture turns a profit, launching a business requires smart design and careful execution.

From our experience working with customers who started businesses after retirement, we have identified several ways to increase your chances of success. Start small and carve out time to run the venture before you retire. If that’s not possible, work on your business idea during your last few years on the job. Work with your financial advisor to make certain you’re saving enough money to get you through the transition period by using these four tips as a guide:

1. Be financially prepared.

Research the startup costs for your business and develop a business plan with a clear vision and objective on how to obtain your goals. Retain an accountant to set up your bookkeeping properly from the beginning, even if you plan to use an accounting package for ongoing management.

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business. Many new businesses must seek outside investors, borrow, or do both to meet their initial funding needs. Weigh the potential risks and rewards of each approach carefully before you put up your own capital, issue equity, or take on debt.

Since financial institutions in general want to see revenue and credit payment history for a business, you may not qualify for a conventional business loan at the outset.

Talk with your banker about how to establish business credit, particularly if this is your first venture.

2. Prepare Plan B. One important step before

you launch your new enterprise: Have a Plan B. What will you do if the business doesn’t work out? You can probably afford to lose a small investment; but make sure you don’t endanger your home or wipe out your retirement income, particularly if you are starting a new business close to retirement age. Ensure that you have the resources and cash flow to cover a start-up period of a year or more. Financial advisers can help you compare your work and retirement op¬tions and assess your assets.

3. Know what you’re getting into. Don’t ruin

Set up a business checking account to keep your personal and business finances separate.

If you plan to sell your products or services online or accept credit and debit cards, you should explore your options for establishing a merchant account to process these payments.

your hobby by turning it into your business.

Make sure you are prepared for the time it will take to invest in a new business. Seek guidance on managing your own shop from experienced peers. You can find advisors, as well as potential clients, by joining business associations and visiting your local business development center or chamber of commerce.

Organizations such as the U.S. Small Business Administration and AARP also offer a wealth of advice for starting a business.

If you have the resources, using your personal assets is by far the easiest way to fund your

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EDITORIAL FEATURE

Your Next Step

Top Ways to Smother the Flames of Employee Burnout

By Jack Warkenthien

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hen I had a real job— working for IBM in the decade between 1978 and 1988— one of the first impressions made, on Day 1, came from a sign in the lunchroom, “The difference between a career and a job is twenty hours a week”.

The inference? You are expected to work at least 60 hours a week, for Big Blue, compared to other J.O.B.s (Just Over Broke), where you put in your 40 and call it a week. Fast forward to Jack Warkenthien, Small Business Owner, since 1995. When one works for a Small Business, you’re never “off the clock”, and every employee is expected to wear several “hats”, as there’s nobody to delegate to, in many instances.

Hence, burnout is a common “disease”, and the symptoms must be treated before the “fire” gets out of control.

“Mary” (not her real name) taught me a lesson on causes of workplace burnout, and I’d like to share the top four we recognized, as well as the top four ways to address or prevent burnout in the office.

ROLE AMBIGUITY Mary was the Office Manager. Her duties also included the role of Receptionist, greeting the walk-in guests, fielding the numerous phone calls from vendors, sales people, customers, and others. Of course, she was expected to perform her other duties, and ensure all departments were well-informed and supported. As the Owner, I never really defined her position, or prioritized her tasks.

At the end of the day, Mary felt underappreciated and over-worked.

SOLUTION: We promoted her to Director, and gifted her with shiny new business cards, with an impressive new title:

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Director of First Impressions. So apt when you think about it. Mary was the outside world’s first “touch”, no matter what direction they came, and we reiterated her tremendous value to the company.

She now realized that everything she did, had everything to do, with everything she did (say that fast three times), and came to work with a new attitude.

JOB DEMANDS A Small Business has all the same requisite departments as a large one, whether it’s Finance, Operations, Administration, Sales, Marketing, etc.

The difference: few employees, some covering more than one functional area, often overwhelmed with demands and tasks, must keep up with the tasks, often before and after business hours. I always try to lead by example, and there’s never a day where I don’t take work home with me, and our Team usually did the same.

However, knowing I have more “skin in the game” than my employees, I needed to thank them in another tangible way.

SOLUTION: We reward paid mental health days. Our cherished employees are given paid time off—approximately commensurate with the overtime they’ve invested—to do anything that makes them happy. Some choose to donate their time at a local Food Bank, or work on a special home project they’ve been putting off, and all appreciate the “gift” with the ability to extend a vacation or just do nothing. In every instance, you’ll notice a new attitude when they step back into the office, relaxed and refreshed.

MICRO-MANAGING It’s often bad enough that we don’t

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encourage more decision-making participation—another cause of burnout—but when they feel like their being micro-managed, you’re stoking the burnout flames with pure oxygen. The less flexibility a worker feels like they have, the less they care about what goes on, around them. Now, they feel like indentured-servants, rather than integral members of a Team.

SOLUTION: Give employees leeway.

Everyone knows the Marines have their sacred mantra: Semper Fidelis—Always be Faithful. We have our own mantra: Semper Gumby—Always be Flexible.

When a deadline is unrealistic, we change it so it’s attainable. If we’ve assigned the wrong person to perform a task, we reassign it. Above all, be generous with feedback—on ideas, job performance, opinions, etc. Your employees want to know they’ve been heard, and the best way is to acknowledge them (ie. “Let me make sure I understand what you’re suggesting….”), and set your ego aside as you implement their idea, concept or strategy, even if yours is cast in concrete.

LACK OF RESOURCES Few things are worse than expecting your Team to slay their workload, and only arming them with a slingshot. It may have worked for David, but the chances of one working for your Team members are slim to none—and Slim’s left town. In many cases, they’ve not received the training they need, to exceed the expectations you’ve set for them. Maybe you think that training is too expensive, but consider the cost of ignorance.

Continued on page 43

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Continued from page 17 A Blended Lesson

was completely unexpected. I immediately took to Twitter to start a conversation with her, and we met later in the week to grab drinks and talk collaboration.

Surprise evokes emotion, and emotion evokes National of Owners National Association of Women Women Business action. Association Never underestimate theBusiness positive Owners impact an Houston Houston Chapter Chapter unexpected gesture can create –– especially when it Connecting Connecting Women Women Who Who Mean Mean Business Business comes to your customers.

Why NAWBO? While much

of this seems basic, it’s amazing how infrequently this advice is followed. Social media • Women own an estimated 10.6 million businesses isn’t that different in the United States from the IRL world. It might seem easyemploy to shrug off an workers interaction • They 19.1 million (1 in 7)made over social • Their businesses account $2.5 trillion in sales media.

(KitchenAid, I’mforlooking at you.)

But more and • Women business are philanthropically more, the linesowners between life online and off-line are active: seven in 10 volunteer at least once per blurring. We have to treat online interactions with the month; 31% contribute $5,000 or more to charity same care we use in real life. We annually; 15%and giveconsideration $10,000 or more. appreciate thoughtful, kind, creative people in real Shouldn’t you beappreciate involved in an organization thatcreative takes social life, so we thoughtful, kind, media accounts. or call 713-487-8475 www.nawbohouston.org We also appreciate free blenders.

Aimee Woodall/Black Sheep can be contacted at 832.971.7725 or email her at aimee@theblacksheepagency.com Theblacksheepagency.com

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EDITORIAL FEATURE

Getting Organized: Got a Minute?

By: Holly Uverity CPO®, Office Organizers Holly Uverity

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djust your Attitude - Think of an interruption simply as a part of your job and try not to be irritated when it occurs.

You’ll be less frustrated and more able to see the situation clearly, and therefore more able to control it.

Leave Holes in Your Day - Don’t over schedule yourself; leave about 40% of your time “open” so that when interruptions do occur, you have time enough in your day to deal with both the interruption and the work you had scheduled to do.

Set Goals to Keep You On Track - Setting goals provide focus and direction and filter out extraneous demands. As each interruption occurs, determine how it fits into your overall plan and make a decision about how to handle the interruption.

Make the Info Available - Many interruptions happen simply because people need information, so they come to you to get it. Keep track of the types of information that you are routinely asked for and make it available to those who need it.

Plan your Calls - Outgoing phone calls can also be interruptions; it’s easy to move into trivial talk if you don’t have an agenda and timeframe for the call before you pick up the phone. Begin your calls with “I only have a few minutes but I wanted to talk to you about . . . .” which will keep you on track.

Use your Voicemail - Establish times of the day when you take phone calls; send your phone to voicemail and put on a message that says that you return calls between 10 am and 2 pm each day.

Your clients and co-workers will appreciate knowing when they can expect a return call and you won’t be interrupted all day by the telephone.

Get Organized - Organize your papers and projects. If your work is organized, when Joe drops in to talk to you about items on his agenda, you can also cover items on yours, thereby saving another phone call or email to him.

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to keep the chairs, arrange them so a drop-in visitor will have to move one to sit down. (If you are expecting someone, place the chair in the appropriate spot before s/he arrives.) Situate your desk so it doesn’t face the door. People will be less likely to drop in if they can’t catch your eye as they walk past your door.

Understand what Open Door Policy Means - An Open Door Policy does not mean that your door is literally open all the time. An Open Door Policy simply means that you are accessible but you are not at the mercy of anyone who walks through the door. Be sure to create some boundaries pertaining to your “Open Door” and communicate them to your co-workers and staff.

Close Your Door - If someone knocks and asks if they can come in, tell them no and give them a time when you will be available. Ask What They Want.

When someone drops in, ask what they want and how you can help them. Remember, they may be dropping in simply because they are bored or need a break. If what they need is not a priority, try to schedule another time to talk about it.

Stand Up - When someone enters your office, stand up. This is a non-verbal cue that they shouldn’t linger. If you’re trying to get the visitor to leave, simply begin walking out of your office.

Time It - Time the interruption. Let your visitor know that you’ll be happy to help but only for a certain period of time. Saying “Yes, I can do that but I only have 15 minutes” will help keep the visit short.

Don’t be afraid to use an actual timer if you have to.

Holly Uverity, CPO® is the owner of Office Organizers – The Entrepreneur’s Organizer.

She can be reached at 281.655.5022, www.OfficeOrganizers.com or www.FB.com/OfficeOrganizers. www.SBTMagazine.net

EDITORIAL FEATURE

Winning Government Procurement Strategies of Successful Small Businesses (Part One of a Three Part Series)

By Helen Callier

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t is October and the US Federal Government, the world’s largest single buyer of goods and services, will spend hundreds of billions of dollars in its new fiscal year. This combined with local and state government agencies’ procurements, with billions of dollars to spend annually, makes the government market an ideal arena for small businesses to build their revenue. And given the goals that government agencies have in awarding contracts to small businesses, the government marketplace is an important market for small business to consider as a way to grow and to become successful.

The small businesses that are successful in consistently winning government contracts are not successful by happenstance. Market data show five key strategies that help small businesses to be successful in securing contract awards.

Three of these strategies are as follows: 1) Start Small and Grow Over Time, 2) Be Persistent and Stay in the Game, and 3) Propose More and Invest More.

Start Small And Grow Over Time – This strategy allows small businesses to gain a foothold at a target agency account and allows the opportunity to build relationships and gain valuable experience. The Start Small / Grow Over Time strategy involves the small business to: • Focus on one or two target agencies and seek smaller prime contracts sometimes ranging from $25,000 to $250,000 (varies depending on specific government agency’s procurement process) • Pursue purchase order type contracts for goods or services under $25,000 (will vary)

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• Team as a subcontractor to a large prime • Another way to leverage this strategy is to team with another small business that offers complimenting or similar products or services which allow your small business to pursue larger contract opportunities with a combined small business team force.

Be Persistent and Stay in the Game – Being persistent is important in landing government contracts. Government agencies’ procurement cycles often take a long time in comparison to the private sector. It may take up to 2 years to win your first contract on the Federal side; and it will take months with most state and local government agencies.

During this long timeframe, successful small businesses stay visible and remain in the sales and marketing game by participating in procurement pre-proposal meetings, attending matchmaking events, researching agency web sites, and networking at government procurement conferences. This strategy can assist you in building relationships and marketing your small business to key persons at targeted agency accounts.

Propose More and Invest More – Many small businesses burn out and quit after failing to win a contract the first or second time proposing. This is counter to those small businesses achieving success and consistently landing work in the government market.

Successful small businesses in the government space are more active. They submit more bids or proposals than those small businesses that give up. If they

were unsuccessful in winning a contract award, data show that successful small businesses often seek a post contract award debrief meeting and obtain information on reasons for not winning.

This meeting also allows them (successful small businesses) to continue marketing their firm’s services or products, and sometimes can learn about upcoming future opportunities.

In addition, Small Business Administration (SBA) data show that successful small businesses in the Federal market invest more time and money. Note: The same data outcome holds true in local and state market sectors. These small businesses are unique and successful because they consistently market their products or services, regularly meet and nurture relationships with key agency personnel such as Procurement Officers, Project Managers, Contract Administrators, and Small Business Specialists.

Also, those small businesses that are successful in winning projects do the following: • Keep company profiles updated in key agencies’ small business data bases • Maintain and obtain new certifications, as appropriate, such as small business certification (SBE) or Woman Business Enterprise (WBE) or Small Disabled Veteran Owned Business (SDVOB) • Take advantage of technical assistance training through various agencies and organizations such as Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTAC) funded by SBA Continued on page 43

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Continued from page 12 How to Start a Blog for Your Small Business

Continued from page 19 Developing Leaders: Part Two

to post on Facebook or Twitter. Having a blog should make those efforts easier not more difficult. If you commit to writing one blog post a week for an entire month, you’ll have four valuable pieces of content to fuel your online marketing.

Result: Touch base with them often to ensure that I am being

effective Date: (each item will have a separate date attached).

Start now! Overcome the anxiety of getting going. Okay, so you know what you need to do. Now it’s time to do it! Don’t be afraid to start small. For a lot of people, using that first post to introduce your blog takes a lot of stress out of getting started.

The Personal Development Plan is the key to improvement. It will become your primary measurement tool to ensure the leader is moving forward. Ensure you have regular meetings with the leader to review progress. Have them give you a monthly report giving a short description of what they have done that month to improve using the Personal Development Plan Goals as their guide.

Congratulations! You’ve taken the critical first steps towards a stronger leadership team. Next month, I will go over several effective tools that you can easily make available to your leaders.

Amy E. Olivieri is Regional Development Director at Constant Contact.

Reach her at: aolivieri@constantcontact.com, (713) 401-2841 www.constantcontact.com/amy-olivier

Lorraine Grubbs is the president of Lessons in Loyalty.

You can contact Lorraine at 281-813-0305 or by email at lorrainegrubbs@gmail.com www.lessonsinloyalty.com

Continued from page 31 Is My Business Too Large for SBA Financing?

Continued from page 14 Culture Shock

application process. Chances are pretty good that your business is a “small” business!

Who We Do It For: “We help small to mid-size IT companies solve their training challenges....” starts to define the target.

Who is the best customer for your company? Are they small or large, are they local or global, are they best if they have a PHD, or is education irrelevant?

Small businesses make up: • 99.7 percent of U.S. employer firms, • 64 percent of net new private-sector jobs,

What Makes Us Different: Are you the same as every one of your competitors? Your points of difference can be oneof-a-kind, best in class, great value, remarkable customer service, unique solution, or so many others. This is a great opportunity to brainstorm your company’s unique attributes.

• 49.2 percent of private-sector employment, • 42.9 percent of private-sector payroll, • 46 percent of private-sector output, • 43 percent of high-tech employment,

By defining all four of these areas, who you are, who you help, what you do, and what makes you unique, you have given your team the roadmap to follow.

• 98 percent of firms exporting goods, and • 33 percent of exporting value.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, SUSB, CPS, International Trade Administration, Bureau of Labor Statistics, BED, Advocacy-funded research, Small Business GDP: Update 2002-2010, www.sba.gov/advocacy/7540/42371.

For more information, please contact Bruce Hurta, Business Lending Manager at Member’s Choice Credit Union by phone at 281-754-1112 or by email at BHurta@mccu.com.

You can also follow Bruce’s Blog at http://bruce.hurta.wordpress.com/mccu.com.

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A company culture is both financially rewarding and really adds clarity to the purpose and methods, the people and values allowing everyone in the business to be more engaged, instructed, and more productive.

For more information on growing a business more efficiently in less time, contact ActionCOACH Doug Winnie at 713-936-3814, via email dougwinnie@actioncoach.com, or at the central-Houston office at 5373 W. Alabama, Suite 430, Houston, Texas, 77056

www.SBTMagazine.net

Continued from page 41 Winning Government Procurement Strategies of Successful Small Businesses – (Part One of a Three Part Series)

• Participate in coaching and mentoring programs • Leverage social media and technology, respectively such as Linkedin, Twitter (great for market research too), Pinterest, Youtube, and more Being in the government market – local, state, federal - require a proactive plan to win and successful small businesses take specific actions that the unsuccessful small businesses have selected not to do. This article provides a glimpse on proven winning strategies to build your small business revenue, achieve growth and a solid business foundation via government contracts.

For more tips and strategies for winning government contracts, make sure to read the November issue of Small Business Today Magazine at www.sbtmagazine.net for part two of this three part series on “Winning Government Procurement Strategies of Successful Small Businesses”. In Part three of this series, helpful resources will be provided to assist your small business toward success in a market that represents hundreds of billions of dollars.

Continued from page 34 Negotiation: The Art of Diplomacy in Business

more competitive. One simple enquiry might have turned the confrontation into dialogue and collaboration.

Create an atmosphere of respect: When people feel disrespected, they become reticent, and conversely when they are respected, they are forthcoming and open. To encourage dialogue it is crucial to create an atmosphere of respect. Show your counterpart that you are interested in what they have to say, that you are taking them seriously and that you respect their views even though you may not agree with them. Acknowledge their opinions and find points that you can agree with and validate. Affording the other side respect is a very cheap concession for you, but with priceless benefits that will facilitate an efficient, amicable and productive outcome.

Becoming skillful and fluent in these three techniques will transform you into a recognized statesman and artful diplomat and will provide you with a competitive edge in the world of business.

Helen Callier, President of Bradlink LLC, a Technical Services Firm, bestselling author of “Your Money is in the Follow-up”, radio show host and speaker. Tel: 281.312.9981, www.yourmoneyisinthefollowup.com

Raphael Lapin is a negotiation specialist, consultant, and mediator with Lapin Negotiation Strategies. He can be reached via telephone at 888-964-8884 or via email at relapin@conflict-management.net

Continued from page 38 Top Ways to Smother the Flames of Employee Burnout

Continued from page 37 Not ready to retire? How to Start an Encore Career

The only thing worse than investing in training for your employees and have them leave, is to not invest in training and have them stay.

SOLUTION: Equip your Team with the right tools and training.

You will then set your employees up for success, and they’ll begin to execute their tasks flawlessly—or at least in a more effective and efficient manner. In fact, ask THEM what they need to ensure success. What classes or training do THEY think they need, to up their game? Don’t “poor boy” here. Ensure there is enough budget to fund their tools for success.

As a Small Business Owner, I’m asked daily, to do more with less. That becomes a daily source of stress. Nothing’s more stressful to an owner, than to lose a “Rock Star” employee to another employer, or worse: burnout or stress. I believe the corporate world has it all wrong, when they’re spending millions of dollars on classes titled, “How To Reduce Workload Stress”.

Rather I believe a better solution is to help others increase their capacity for stress. Personally I’ve learned to thrive under stress, and I believe I perform better when there’s a little stress in my life. What can you do to help others do the same?

Jack Warkenthien, CEO, NextStep Solutions. Email him at jwarkenthien@nextstep-solutions.com or call him at 832-344-6998 www.nextstep-solutions.com www.SBTMagazine.net

Choose a career that has the potential for success and is something that you will continue to enjoy.

Some of the most successful post-retirement businesses have been started by people who combined their professional skills with their passions.

In addition, it is important to prepare your family and yourself for the long hours and stresses that will inevitably come with the new venture. Running a small business can be a rewarding experience, but it’s wise to do your research and prepare properly before going out on your own.

4. Form a support team. Before your new venture is up and running you’ll need to retain professional services, such as accounting, banking, and legal advice. Involve your financial advisor, who can help you evaluate the benefits of delaying full-time retirement, the financial risks of starting a new business, and the steps you need to take to begin a profitable and rewarding encore career.

George Rose is a Wells Fargo Vice President, Business Banking Relationship Manager. He is based in Houston, Texas. George can be reached via email at George.Rose@wellsfargo.com.

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Designing For Your Success ™

that

design

works advertising branding graphics logos & more

™

713.667.5389 I AdvertisingDesignSystems.net Advertiser’s Index Advertising Design Systems.................................. 44

Q Environmental.................................................... 26

BMS Construction, Inc........................................... 27

Sales Nexus.......................................................... 20

Bashen Corp......................................................... 27

Small Business Today Magazine Radio Show ............................................Back Cover

Champions School of Business Development........ 1 Champions School of Real Estate........................... 8 Gwen Juarez Photography.................................... 39 Houston Business Legends..................................... 2 Houston Hispanic Chamber.................................. 39 Houston Minority Supplier Development Council................... Inside Back Cover McConnell, Jones, Lanier & Murphy, LLP ............ 27

STOA Architects.................................................... 26 Tejas Office Products, Inc...................................... 27 TG Designs........................................................... 30 Veritas Supply....................................................... 26 Virtual Intelligence Providers, LLC........................ 26 WBEA...................................................................... 4 Westpark Communications...........Inside Front Cover

NAWBO................................................................. 39

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