RISBJ - December 2020 Issue

December 2020

9

2021 Successful

Business

Goals

BASIC

MOVES IN MARKETING

PLUS SMALL BUSINESS

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Buying and Shopping Local

NEWS

For Your Business Needs

A N D U P D AT E S

L O C A L S T O R I1E S

Rhode Island Small Business Journal

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Ohanga Revolutionizes How We Celebrate Local Creativity CITY, RHODE ISLAND USA—Ohanga™ Inc., an early phase start-up, launched its online creative market this month. Ohanga is facilitating the connection between creatives and consumers, democratizing access to fine and functional art, and finally valuing the story behind each and every work and artist.

“This global pandemic has exposed an overlooked problem in the art industry: namely, that artists are expected to run their own art businesses as a one wo/man show. The struggling artist stereotype has wrongly been normalized. Ohanga will change that,” states Subham Sett, co-founder. Visit Ohanga here: www.ohanga.com.

The Rhode Island-based company, founded amid the COVID-19 pandemic, is assisting the hard-hit local art and artisanal community by driving art commerce through storytelling. Ohanga is taking giant steps towards, “a world where artists can grow and share their passions undeterred, and where communities can celebrate the arts and champion the creatives around them.” - Ohanga’s mission statement.

Ohanga is achieving its goals through several service offerings. While still in its pilot phase, Ohanga’s Aloha Pass™—a rewards system tied to the purchase of locally sourced and carefully curated themed gift boxes, for which the contributing artists are paid up front—has been very successful in the first weeks since it was made available to the public. Curated Ohanga Gift Boxes information here: https://www.ohanga.com/gift-subscription-box/#winteraloha “The Ohanga Gift Box was the best surprise to come home to after a long week working in the public schools during a pandemic! The curation and presentation of its products are lovely and incredibly impactful; knowing that this purchase helps support local artists makes the gift that much better!” - Karen Murray from Jamestown, Rhode Island.

The Amplify Pass™, for which we are accepting early applicants from the greater Rhode Island area, elevates a creatives’ brand through various storytelling, marketing, business, and fulfillment channels.

“Thanks to Ohanga, I don’t have to choose between promoting and creating: Ohanga takes care of my art business so that I can focus on what I do best— my artwork.” - Laurie Charpentier, Ohanga Pebble Artist and Owner of Max’s Farm in Hope Valley, Rhode Island.

Originally inspired by the struggles of a single artist, under the leadership of founders Yuping Wang and Subham Sett, Ohanga has now expanded to support over twenty-five local Rhode Island artists and artisans, from traditional painters to photographers to lavender farmers to natural healers. Their decades of experience in major technology companies such as Amazon and Dassault Systèmes bridge the gap between the tech and the art world in Ohanga’s pursuit of a global-local business model. By providing artists with a secure income, Ohanga is helping them unleash the full force of unbound, creative minds.

You can learn more about Ohanga’s origin here https://www.ohanga.com/origin-story.

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Rhode Island Small Business Journal

Does your Employer Offer Adequate Life Insurance | SMALL BUSINESS

Does your employer offer adequate

LIFE INSURANCE?

by Ted Donnelly If your workplace offers life insurance at a low cost (or no cost) to you, you may assume it provides sufficient coverage for your family—and not bother to give the subject a second thought. But you owe it to yourself, and your family, to make a more careful assessment. You may find that the coverage offered by your employer, welcome as it is, won’t actually cover your family’s future needs.

Here’s how to figure out whether your employer offers adequate coverage for you: Find out how much coverage is offered.

Your workplace’s group life insurance may be included in your benefits package—and you may be automatically enrolled—which makes it very convenient. However, it’s worthwhile to do a careful review of the coverage.

The amount your employer offers may start at $25,000 and range up to your annual salary. But a 2015 study by the Life Insurance and Market Research Association (LIMRA) reveals that 65 percent of employees with employer-sponsored group life insurance feel they need more insurance than what their employer provides.

Assess your family’s long-term needs.

Once you get married—or if you have dependents—you will probably want to increase your coverage. So that $25,000 policy may not seem like much once you sit down to do the math and figure out your needs five, 10, or 20 years down the line. You’ll probably want to make sure there’s enough coverage to pay off a mortgage, send your kids to college, or help your spouse comfortably retire.

(It is often recommended that insurance coverage be five to 10 times your annual salary.)

Even if you’re single, the group policy through your workplace may not be enough after you consider the potential total of your final expenses. Furthermore, if you have a co-signer for a mortgage, car loan, or student loans, remember that the burden will probably rest with your co-signer should something happen to you.

What happens if you change jobs?

Long gone are the days when people expected to stay at the same job for 30 years. A recent survey by LinkedIn found that younger workers change jobs, on average, four times in their first 10 years out of college.

If you job hop, you’ll lose your workplace insurance when you leave the company. And while you may be able to convert the group life insurance policy from your old employer into an individual policy, the cost of that coverage could go up significantly.

Look into options to supplement your coverage.

If you find your employer’s group life to be insufficient, you may want to add supplemental coverage.

Concerned that you can’t afford it? According to LIMRA, people estimate that life insurance will cost three times as much as it actually does. You’ll need to balance your family’s needs with the cost of insurance. But if you look into your options for a supplemental policy, you may find that life insurance is more affordable than you think.

This educational, third-party article is provided as a courtesy

by Ted Donnelly, Agent, New York Life Insurance Company. To learn more about the information or topics discussed, please contact Ted Donnelly at efdonnelly@ft.newyorklife.com or 401276-8728. ________________________________ Sources: Lawrence Pines, “When Should You Get Supplemental Life Insurance?”

Investopedia, December 16, 2016 http://www.investopedia.com/articles/ company-insights/090116/when-shouldyou-get-supplemental-life-insurance. asp?lgl=myfinance-layout Ashley Eneriz, “Why Your Group Life Insurance Is Not Enough,” Kiplinger, February 10, 2017 http://www.kiplinger.com/article/insurance/ T065-C000-S015-why-your-group-life-insurance-is-not-enough.html Heather Long, The New Normal: 4 Job Changes by the Time You’re 32,” CNN Money, April 12, 2016 http://money.cnn. com/2016/04/12/news/economy/millennials-change-jobs-frequently/index.html LIMRA, “Facts about Life 2016,” September 2016 http://www.limra.com/uploadedFiles/ limra.com/LIMRA_Root/Posts/PR/_Media/ PDFs/Facts-of-Life-2016.pdf

“ You may find that the coverage offered by your employer, welcome as it is, won’t actually cover your family’s future needs.”

Rhode Island Small Business Journal

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SMALL BUSINESS | A Primer For Early Stage Companies Seeking Outside Investors

A

S

The concept is that the company uses the proceeds of the convertible note financing to get the company up and running 8

Rhode Island Small Business Journal

PRIMER F

O I

A Primer For Early Stage Companies Seeking Outside Investors | SMALL BUSINESS

FOR

EARLY STAGE COMPANIES

 – C N  “SAFE”  “KISS”

By William F. Miller, Esq. It is a rare company that can fund its growth using only internal cash flow. Start-ups and early stage companies can be particularly challenged because they often do not have access to either bank financing or venture capital since both sources typically require several years of positive operating results before a company becomes a viable candidate for either. The following are two types of financing options early stage companies seeking outside investors may want to consider.

CONVERTIBLE NOTES If a company decides to seek outside investments from friends, family or other investors, the very first question the company will be asked is what percent of the company will I get for my investment. The answer to that question requires that the company and the investor agree on the current value of the company and that can be a difficult and time-consuming exercise.

The reason convertible notes are so often used as the financing vehicle for start-ups and early stage companies is that they postpone the need to agree on the value of the company. In a typical convertible note financing, the investor receives a convertible note, which provides for an annual interest rate and a maturity date of 18 months to three years. Principal and sometimes interest are typically paid in a single installment at maturity.

However, the note is automatically converted to the class of shares issued to new equity investors in an equity financing that closes on or before the maturity date, at the same price and terms (or sometimes at a discounted price) as those offered to the new equity investors. If the company does not close on an equity financing before the maturity date of the note, the note becomes due, just like a normal loan. The concept is that the company uses the proceeds of the convertible note financing to get the company up and running. Once it is generating cash flow, the valuation is less subjective and an equity financing (typically called an “A round”) is far more likely to be successful.

“SAFE”  “KISS”

SAFEs (which stands for Simple Agreement for Future Equity) and KISSes (an acronym for Keep It Simple Security) are relatively new alternative investment vehicles which have been developed over the last few years by Y-Combinator and 500 Startups, respectively. Both of these are West Coast accelerators.

A great deal has been written about SAFEs and KISSes and sample legal documents are available online. Both have been billed as alternatives to more traditional convertible notes. While it is probably worthwhile being familiar with the terms, the reality is that neither SAFEs nor KISSes have been widely used outside Silicon Valley, perhaps because they are less favorable to investors. Unlike convertible notes, among other things they typically have no maturity date and do not provide for payments of interest.

SOME PRACTICAL ADVICE SAFEs and KISSes have very few disadvantages for early stage companies and have fewer terms to be negotiated than convertible notes. However, despite being around since 2013, they still have not gained wide acceptance, at least on the East Coast. Convertible notes are well known and widely accepted.

Unless your prospective investors suggest a SAFE or KISS structure, most companies would be well advised to use the convertible note structure when seeking seed capital investments from friends and family. If you have questions, contact PLDO Partner William F. Miller at 401-824-5100 or email wmiller@pldolaw.com.

William F. Miller, Esq. Partner Pannone Lopes Devereaux & O’Gara LLC

Rhode Island Small Business Journal

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9

SMALL BUSINESS | 9 Back-to-Basics Marketing Moves for 2019

Back-to-Basics Marketing Moves for 2021

by Carolyn Lavin

I often am asked by current and prospective clients about the next hot, go-to tactic for marketing that will deliver magical results. Yes, there are certainly trends in the business world -such as video and content marketing -- but sometimes the best approach for a make-over or refresh is getting back to basics.

Yes, January is a time when businesses think anew about setting goals for marketing and the year ahead; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the perfect time to ring in the new year with an examination of your marketing fundamentals.

1. Assess the marketplace and where you fit. Have

competitors entered your space or is the competition dwindling? Are you finding that your success is based on something new that you should be sure to leverage in your marketing vehicles?

2. Revisit your key selling points. As you assess the

marketplace, step back to pinpoint and define where you stand out. Be specific in identifying three to five key selling points that are integral to your success.

5. Refresh your brand to remain current. Does your logo,

font, tagline or other element of your branding seem tired and old? Consider a modification to look contemporary in 2021, while avoiding the costs and pain of a total rebranding exercise.

6. Enhance your business writing. In todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s world, where

business success is based on relationships, review your web and print writing to be sure it is concise and readerfriendly, informal in tone, free from industry jargon and, of course, lacking any grammar goofs or typos.

7. Update your photography. Whether you capture your

space, your team, your customers or any other part of your company, paying for new photography often will rejuvenate your business look in a flash. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s still true that a picture is worth a thousand words.

8. Improve team communications. One of the biggest

action items from workplace surveys is always improved communication. Let your team know about the changes ahead and the achievements from the past year. Likewise, reach out to clients to ensure their satisfaction.

3. Keep up with company changes. If you company has

9. Get an unbiased perspective: Invite a trusted colleague,

4. Dig for data on your target audiences. Undertake a

Cheers to jump-starting your marketing momentum in the new year.

added employees, expanded its offerings or capabilities or switched gears to a different focus, be sure you have implemented those changes across all marketing vehicles including print and web, social media and other marketing channels. simple analysis of your last 20, 30 or 50 customers/clients and determine from where they came. If you notice a new path to increased business, be sure your marketing tactics include a special reach to that audience.

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Rhode Island Small Business Journal

prospective customer or marketing-savvy professional to evaluate your marketing materials and ensure you are projecting the emphasis, image and capabilities you strive to present.

Carolyn Lavin is the president of Lavin Marketing Communications.

She can be reached at lavinmarketing@cox.net or 401.451.9660.

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SMALL BUSINESS | Why Is No Man An Island?

WHY IS

No Man an

Island?

by Larry Girouard

Most of us have heard the phrase “No man is an island” many times throughout our lives, but have you ever thought about its origin? I found the following on the web: ** The phrase ‘no man is an island’ expresses the idea that human beings do badly when isolated from others, and need to be part of a community in order to thrive.

‘No man is an island’ is a quotation from the English metaphysical poet John Donne (1572-1631)

He writes:

“No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as any manner of thy friends or of thine own were; any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind. And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”

“Every man is a piece of the continent” as is, every employee a piece of your company. Together this is your team. How will you teach them? How will you motivate them? How will you get them to focus on your company goals and vision?

It does not matter if you are a manufacturer, a research company, a service company, or any type of organization, TRUST is the knitting that must be at the core of your

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Rhode Island Small Business Journal

company’s culture to optimize performance.

In the world of business today, trust is more important than ever, especially when it comes to building relationships with your clients, customers, employees and all stakeholders in your business.

Trust is defined as the assured reliance on the integrity, character, strength, ability, and surety of a person or thing that provides the confidence of expectation. I firmly believe that trust is right at the foundation of the survival and success of any business. Without trust, there can be no sustainable business. Trust represents the capstone of your company’s being.

Everyday activities requires you to interact with others both internal and external to your business. Without trust in those interactions you have nothing. You can’t buy trust, nor can you coerce trust. Trust must be earned over a period that requires multiple interactions between people and between companies.

Trust is as close to being digital as anything I can think of.

Either you trust a person, or company, or you don’t. There is no middle ground.

There are many studies that focus on the power of trust in improving company performance. Referencing one study, “The Business Case for a High-Trust Culture”, that you can easily find on Google, you are presented with the following:

Why Is No Man An Island? | SMALL BUSINESS

1) There is a strong connection between a high-trust culture and business success. In fact, the connection is so strong that it can reasonably be argued that strategy-minded leaders, who care deeply about the financial wellbeing of their business, should make building a high-trust culture a top priority.

Regardless of the company size, or leadership style, a high-trust culture is a defining characteristic of almost every company. Leaders must be credible, treat all employees with respect and be fair in dealing with everyone.

2) There is a direct link between trust and a healthy bottom line ... high-trust companies have less turnover, higher productivity, attract better qualified applicants, increased profitability, higher sales per employee, improved competitive advantage, faster growth rates, better customer relationships, and higher business value when the owner is ready to sell.

between employee well-being and financial performance. ..... It was employee wellbeing that led to positive financial performance, rather than the other way aroundâ&#x20AC;?. It is trust that inspires innovation and productivity.

The bottom line is that there are mountains of data that support the thesis that trust and the bottom line are directly related. So, if trust is a key ingredient that helps define your companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s value proposition, how do you develop a trusting environment to deliver on your promises?

Here are a couple of suggestions for you to consider: 1) Employee recognition ... this is not about financial recognition. Congratulate your employees for a job well done.

3) Trust versus Performance > â&#x20AC;&#x153;..... In 2015, Alex Edmans, a Professor of Finance at the London Business School gave a TEDx Talk on the findings from his fouryear research project that sought to understand the link

2) Increase leadership compassion ... respect, recognize and appreciate your employees for their needs. Never judge, but seek to understand.

Larry Girouard

CEO of the Business Avionix Company, LLC,

No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by

A Business Consulting Firm

the sea

Rhode Island Small Business Journal

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SMALL BUSINESS | Refresh Your Focus For Success In 2018

Refresh Your Focus January is a turning-point for many. On a personal level we resolve to become fit, healthier, and maintain better relationships. From a business stand point we focus on profit and growth. Unfortunately, much of that profit and growth is harder to achieve if you are not up to speed with current trends. Shift your focus to the following areas:

presentation skills seminars or effective sales workshops which will show them you care about their professional improvements. Get to know them and acknowledge a job well done, a thank you always goes a long way.

Invest In Your Employees And Leverage Their Strengths

Build Your Company Culture

Know the weaknesses of your employees but highlight their strengths. Leaders that can pinpoint the strengths of their employees will have greater success when managing projects, building culture, and maintaining satisfied employees. Create scenarios in which you know they will be successful. This practice helps build their confidence both in the workplace and in their industry. Invest in their growth by offering tools to master their weaknesses such as

To take your business to the next level you must build a strong foundation.

By shaping company culture, the customer experience grows ten-fold because when your employees enjoy what they do and their workplace environment, they exert that same energy to both clients and co-workers.

Companies like Zappos are known for their incredibly happy employees which translates into incredibly happy customers. Happiness is contagious for sure.

Leaders that can pinpoint the strengths of their employees will have greater success when managing projects, building culture, and maintaining satisfied employees.

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Refresh Your Focus For Success In 2018 | SMALL BUSINESS

For Success in Tell Your Story

More companies are finding a way to tell their story. By revealing the faces, experiences, dreams, and concerns about the world around us, consumers can connect more deeply with a company. Products become sentimental and services become essential. In order to build your companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s story you need to: be honest; show your customers they have a need that your company can solve; convey what your values are; and continuously build upon that story.

Focus On Relationship Marketing

This goes hand-in-hand with creating your company story. Developing an ongoing relationship is not always enough for consumers, they are looking to their peers for purchasing opinions and are taking into consideration their best buying experiences. Go above and beyond by offering a little to get a lot in return: ask for customer feedback; offer incentives without expectation; switch out products seasonally; and go above and beyond.

2021

Have A Digital Marketing Strategy

Placing your products or services in the forefront of the consumer is increasingly difficult without an implementation strategy for digital marketing.

Unfortunately, many small businesses do not always have a team in place to be able to create and execute. To become more organized, the first step is to look to look at a calendar and map out important marketing dates month by month.

Then list necessary steps for execution: do you have to hire a photographer; do you need to create content for an email; will you have to have a banner ad designed? By doing so, you will be much more organized when you are ready to implement your plan.

At the beginning of each month take time to set deadlines for campaigns and begin to check tasks off your list. Break the week down by using social scheduling tools like Hootsuite, to organize social content. Create clear and simple content for emails campaigns and always keep your message consistent from your website, to banner ads, to your Facebook cover. This will allow you to stay more organized and avoid becoming stagnant.

Rhode Island Small Business Journal

15

Is Personal Credit Stopping Your Business Dreams?

CREDIT SCORE

9 Steps Toward Launch Have you been dreaming of starting a small business? Before you start a business plan, it’s time to check closer to home:

630 FAIR

how how are are your your personal personal finances? finances?

Wait! Isn’t that a totally separate issue? I’ve got a brilliant idea that’s going to change the world!

Well hold your horses, because if your personal credit is lacking, you may not get out of the gate.

“Personal financial [issues] can have a huge impact on whether you get going,” said Josh Daly, RISBDC business counselor and southern regional director. “It can have as much or more impact than a good business plan.” A lender will look at your personal credit score as an indicator of how well you manage money, and as an entrepreneur or sole proprietor a bank will assume the same level of care will be taken in your business finances. If your credit score or credit history reveals difficulty in that area, banks are likely to see you as a high of

If your personal finances are a barrier to starting the small business of your dreams, here are nine steps you need to take to lay the foundation for (eventual) success.

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Rhode Island Small Business Journal

1

Obtain a credit history report. You can get a free annual

credit report once per year from each of the three major credit reporting companies. This gives you a good baseline from which to review your personal credit. It will show how many accounts you have open and for how long, your level of credit utilization, and history of payment. Note and dispute anything that seems incorrect.

2

Get your credit score. This

number will come separate from your credit history report, but may be found on your credit card statement, from a non-profit credit counselor, or for a fee from the credit reporting agencies. As a general rule of thumb, if you want to have an easy time securing financing, your credit score should be above 700 (and the higher the better). A lower score means you’ll have more trouble getting approved, and will likely have to pay a higher interest rate for the privilege of borrowing.

According to RISBDC business counselor and Providence region director Manuel Batlle, obtaining financing will be “difficult” with a credit score between 600-700, and if you’re below 600, “forget it,” because anyone willing to lend you money would be charging exorbitant interest.

Instead of paying high interest rates, build and repair your credit history. There are a number of ways that you can begin improving your credit score. They include establishing credit (if you have none), paying your bills in full on time, and reducing your overall credit debt.

For help creating a plan to gain control of your finances and connecting with resources, seek out a reputable nonprofit credit counseling agency.

3

4

Make a personal budget.

While you’re inching up your credit score, now is a good time to take a look at the overall financial picture that starting a business would create in your life. Would the business you plan to start realistically be capable of replacing your current salary, or keeping you in your current or preferred standard of living? Remember that the business profits need to cover all your current and anticipated personal expenses, so you need to have a good handle on what your monthly living expenses are. You’ll also need to earn enough to cover medical insurance, retirement funds, additional childcare, college savings accounts, and more. This number will be a starting point for determining whether it’s the right time in your life to go for it. Daly points out that it’s not a personal judgment if the timing is just not right to pursue your venture, say, because you need a steady paycheck while you have small children at home. It’s far better to know that before you sink in time and resources that you don’t yet have. Smartsheet has several good, free budget templates to work from.

5

Make a business budget.

“Most people underestimate the costs of starting a business,” Daly said. “By a lot.” Having a realistic and specific business budget will help you insulate your personal finances by making sure that you fund your business accordingly. With proper planning, you (hopefully) won’t have to cancel Junior’s piano lessons or skip that family vacation because your startup costs ran higher than expected.

6

Fill your piggy bank. While all business plans and models may vary, a good rule of thumb is to have three to six months worth of

funds saved before starting your business — make sure both your business and personal expenses are covered during that time, while you’re waiting to achieve the profit you need for regular monthly cash flow. Some businesses may take longer to turn a profit.

7

Attend RISBDC’s The Right Foot workshop.

Personal finances and business budgeting are just two of the many topics covered in our startup training class.

8

Address any deficits in a personal letter. When you’ve

established your budgets and ensured that it’s a great time to launch, you’re likely to find yourself seeking financing. Even if you did major work cleaning up your credit, remember it can take 7-10 years for a bankruptcy or other negative events to clear from your credit report. Whether your history has cracks due to identity fraud or due to your own actions, it’s important to explain to potential lenders any extenuating circumstances or outline (and back up!) any steps you’ve taken to reassure the lender that you are no longer making those mistakes.

9

Don’t risk your progress.

Your loan has been approved.

You’re waiting to close. You can taste how sweet that first champagne will be. Don’t start spending that money just yet. If your loan doesn’t close for some reason, you’d still be on the hook for expenses you incurred. If you can’t pay them back, then your credit could take a significant hit which would put you back at square one.

No matter how great your business idea, your personal creditand finances matter.

Take the time to get (and keep!) them in great shape to ensure the best chances of success for your venture. With your personal finances in order, your business launch will go more smoothly, and the likelihood that your venture will prosper will be greater. Our next Right Foot Workshop is coming up soon – join us and take action!

Bio: The Rhode Island Small Business Development Center at URI is part of a national network of nearly 1,000 business assistance centers that provide counseling and training to small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs. Partially funded through a cooperative ag reement with the U.S. Small Business Administration, we help businesses to succeed from start-up to maturity.

Rhode Island Small Business Journal

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SMALL BUSINESS | Why Senior Executives Fail

WHY SENIOR

EXECUTIVES

“ Life is like a dogsled team. If you

by Mary T. O’Sullivan In the early 1990’s, Jack Welch gathered 20 of his brightest executives to capture rubrics of their success. These individuals were the future senior leaders of GE. They spent much time evolving a seminar to be presented to GE’S global management team, to inspire the next generation of leaders and to impart the learning and experiences of Welch’s top people. Welch and his team evolved the objective: teaching the “hi-pot” managers “The GE Way”.

Among the topics discussed was “Why Senior Executives Fail in GE” and is captured in a slide which I have hanging on my cubicle wall at work. As a one-time GE employee, these simple guidelines seem so self-evident. But, not so at ZeroCorp, a company I once worked for, after the GE years. For many ex-GE employees, pointing out the glaring contrasts between leadership at GE and ZeroCorp is actually a cleansing and cathartic experience. Three glaring contrasts remind us we’re not in “Oz” any more.

“Bad Actor: Behavior contrary to corporate culture/values, etc.” At ZeroCorp, great emphasis is placed on living the company values, which include “People” as the number one value. The message every employee wears on his/her “values” badge card proclaims, “You’re important to us” Yet, recently, a VP, Bob Shrub, was hired and enthroned in the corner office (with a great view of the local scenic bay coincidently). It seems his people skills were not high on the list of qualifications at hiring time. Bob

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Rhode Island Small Business Journal

Shrub seldom stepped out of the executive suite and didn’t acknowledge employees by name; as one manager commented, “He only talks to 14 people”. Shrub has been known to shout his demands without concern for others around him. In one case, he requested his secretary bring him a bottle of water in the following manner, shouting loudly: “Hey, lady. Get me water.” In a roomful of people, not one other person was offered refreshment. In another case, Shrub was touring the manufacturing area, where a strict no food or drink policy exists. Shrub entered the area with an open cup of coffee. When this was pointed out, Shrub rejoined: “No coffee, no Shrub”, leaving employees in stunned silence. Inopportunely, Shrub has a two-year contract with ZeroCorp, and according to highly placed reliable sources, he isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

“Flawed Organization Concept: Unnecessary Layer…” At ZeroCorp, if you are a friend of Tom Jones (President), you are guaranteed employment for life. In the case of Eddy Lapstein, failure as a project area lead gave him entry into the world of business development, despite the fact that Eddy had little experience in that area. Since Eddy was originally hired as a director, Tom Jones decreed that Eddy would become the “Deputy” Director of business development for a particular customer-based business. (Interestingly, none of the other businesses has a “Deputy” BD Director.) Since Eddy has an engineering background, rather than spending his time with customers and watching competitors, he instead, perfected his chart making skills. He has created charts for BD process, new business investment funding, and the five-year plan. He also successfully coordinated a corporate loss analysis, ironically, conducted on

FAIL

Why Senior Executives Fail | SMALL BUSINESS

u ain’t the lead dog, the scenery never changes. ” —Lewis Grizzard one of Eddy’s major business failures. Eddy had aspirations to the “real” BD director’s job. But Tom Jones is a wise man. If we are lucky, Eddy will return to engineering, where he was considered quite a star.

“Can’t Pull the Trigger: Talks a Good Game…Great Analysis but Doesn’t Get It Done.” Zeke Hanna was the manager of Business Development “Operations” for many years. As such, he conducted multiple studies, analyses, and led several projects investigating the reasons for poor BD overall performance.

ZeroCorp wasn’t winning much new business. Time after time, the results of these many efforts showed that there was nothing wrong with the current, existing processes, procedures and policies. They were all intact, accessible, and aligned with industry standards across the board. Zeke ruminated over these results, called many meetings, and created even more presentations on the topic. Zeke even attached himself to a company wide study, led by several Six Sigma Black Belts to dig further into this apparent conundrum. Each time, the results were fashioned into death by Power Point and some even found their way to senior management. Over and over again, the problem was traced to the same root cause: in ZeroCorp, there were absolutely no consequences attached to ignoring policies, ignoring process and procedures, etc. I actually participated in a few of these exercises, and recall suggesting if we connected following process to dollar figures to achieve the next process step, we may see better results in process adherence. While Zeke agreed with me, he could never bring himself to enact that policy. After eight years with ZeroCorp for, the company still suffered from a lack of process adherence as well as a dearth of new business.

Although much of Jack Welch’s work has been published and studied, there are still companies that are content to founder and flail, and watch their bookings, sales, profit and cash dwindle away: mostly due to bad actors, flawed organization concepts and those who “can’t pull the trigger”.

In his day, Welch clearly tied executive and company performance to faithfulness to GE values, and predicted certain doom for leader with big titles who could not incorporate those values into work performance.

At the time, GE’s brightest minds gathered to clarify what good leadership is about; the slide addressing why executives fail makes clear what leadership is not...This is why that slide remained hanging on my cubicle wall.

“Leaders are people who can pursue a path that is seemingly nonsensical or even dangerous to everybody else. Common sense tells us that nobody needs a leader to take the path that’s intuitive; people would do that on their own. Therefore, since the leader recommends a path that is illogical to the “average” person, we can conclude that a leader must be either: 1. So smart that nobody can share the vision or 2. A nitwit.”

Mary T. O’Sullivan, MSOL, ICF-ACC, SHRM-SCP, EAPA

Six Sigma Specialist, Certified IPT Leader, Certified Contracts Manager Helping good leaders get even better through positive behavior change.

401-742-1965 | www.encoreexecutivecoaching.com Rhode Island Small Business Journal

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SMALL BUSINESS | Why Do Many Businesses Fear Technology?

o

any

Businesses

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Is Your Home Holiday Ready? | BUY LOCAL, SHOP LOCAL Why Do Many Businesses Fear Technology? | SMALL BUSINESS

Technology has provided company presidents and management teams with tools that allow them to focus on more value added activities, rather than wasting time looking for information to better run their businesses

by Larry Girouard

Technology is playing an ever increasing role in our businesses each year. I can remember my first job as a design engineer for the DuPont Company’s engineering department in Newark, Delaware. The prime focus of this department was to design chemical plants that produce materials like Mylar© (polyester films), Kapton© (polyimide films), and other such products.

Using today’s computer technology as a reference, we had no such invention back in 1966. Plant designs were created on drawing boards using 3’ x 4’ engineering drawings. Think about the challenge of designing a chemical plant with all its piping, electrical conduit, HVAC ducts, process equipment, and the like, all represented using only two dimensional drawings. In some cases scale models were constructed to provide a three dimensional representation of the evolving plant design.

This is how is was done “way back then”. No personal computers; no hand held calculators, no CAD (computer aided design) software tools, were available. We used carbon paper and mimeograph machines to make copies. We referenced the multi-volume “Thomas Register” to access data for business, or the Encyclopedia to look up historical facts. Cell phones were something out of Dick Tracey. Thinking about this now, 1966 seemed to have been the dark ages, yet we got things done.

Plants were designed and built, small businesses were running successfully, and at the time, we were on the leading edge of technology.

Fast forward now to 2018. The technology available at our fingertips today has greatly facilitated access to massive amounts of information at lightning speed with the click of a button. Today it is almost impossible to separate technology and business. Technology paves the way for innovation, the lifeblood of any business.

Business operations and transactions today are totally dependent on technology. Technology has provided a faster, more convenient, and more efficient way of conducting all business transactions. The ability to effectively mine data allows you to look at the health of any aspect of your business in real time through dashboards. Think about it, you would never drive your car without an operating dashboard, yet we drive our businesses without dashboards every single day. From a 1966 perspective, this is all science fiction, yet all this is proven, available now, and easily accessible for any business.

Technology has provided company presidents and management teams with tools that allow them to focus on more value added activities, rather than wasting time looking for information to better run their businesses. We now take for granted accounting systems, management information systems (MIS), point of sales systems (POS) and other such tools.

Information Technology (IT) has resulted in businesses living in an information world where instant access to volumes of information. If used properly, IT will simplify communication within a business, and between all its stakeholders. IT also streamlines your decision making abilities by allowing you to analyze various options before hitting the “GO” button.

So, with all this technology available to business owners, why do so many fear it? A recent study by Wakefield Research revealed that for 500 companies with less than 100 employees, 64% still feel “overwhelmed” by technology. The primary reason for this apprehension is that most small companies do not have anyone in their organization to turn to for help and advice.

Also, there remains a deep concern among 50% of small business owners that, if they invest too quickly in IT, it will have a negative impact because their business would not be able to adapt fast enough, and therefore not worth the risk. The other 50% feel that investment in IT will provide them with a competitive advantage.

It is a risk not to invest in technology if you ever expect to be competitive in the future. You might consider the following to help overcome the technology fear: 1. Do your due diligence ... don’t jump into the deep end of the technology pool. Talk with a tech savvy person about your business needs and see what technology is available. Take baby steps in the beginning because the use of IT as a management tool is an acquired taste.

2. Take advantage of free trials ... Most providers will offer free trials with no risk. This “try before you buy” approach will be helpful because you will get some hands on experience before you commit.

3. Rely on bottom line decision making ... determine how the IT software will help your business become more profitable.

Use this to calculate your Return on Investment (ROI). Stay away from the “latest greatest” when the “tried and true” will work fine.

4. Use a phased in approach ... instead of investing in everything all at once, consider the phased in approach so you can beta test the software, if possible. New software is usually accompanied by a change in the way you communicate within the company.

Technology, if used properly, will significantly reduce the cost of doing business. It will improve both internal and external communications which will, by default, drive both the top and bottom lines of your small business. Today, business survival depends on IT.

Larry Girouard

CEO of the Business Avionix Company, LLC, | A Business Consulting Firm Rhode Island Small Business Journal

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Rhode Island Small Business Journal

Small Business Website Security Awareness | SMALL BUSINESS

Small Business WebSite Security Awareness Written By Bradley Fowler, MA One of the most invaluable components today’s small businesses and organizations should consider utilizing is a Web site URL security assessment tool. After all, learning how to utilize these effective security assessment tools can save you a great deal of money. In fact, understanding how to rely on Web site security assessment tools-can prevent your small business or organization’s website from being targeted by hackers and/or infected with malware.

I also want to stress the value of maintaining effective updates on the antivirus software, you may be utilizing. After all, not updating the antivirus software application on your small business devices can pose a serious threat. In fact, this enables attackers to possibly integrate Botnets that you may not be aware of- because Botnets can be installed during a simple download, and stored on your device hard drive for months- until activated by the controller.

Thus, I’ve complied a small list of website security assessment tools that are free open-source applications, and can be easily downloaded and installed on a laptop or desktop device. Each one of these tools has been evaluated for potential risk, and have proven to be useful in helping save small business owners money. However, it is recommended that, you take time to better educate yourself on how each of these listed tools works, and how each can benefit your business or organization.

OWASP- Open Web Application Security Project is a free open source application distribution platform- developed to provide small business owners useful security tools that better protect their networks from potential threats and

vulnerabilities. To learn more about this useful tool, log on to the following link: https://www.owasp.org/index.php/Main_Page To download the free open source application, log on to https:// www.owasp.org/index.php/OWASP_Zed_Attack_Proxy_Project One thing, I should suggest; whenever, you are surfing on-line to download any free software, please be sure to evaluate all Web sites, you’re downloading software applications from. Most Web sites offering free secure open source security softwarehave the HTTPS address headers; unlike common HTTP address headers. HTTPS URL headers are commonly utilized by financial, government, education, and medical institutions- to secure sensitive data.

Meanwhile, another free open source website security assessment tool is-Virus Total. This tool will enable, you to type in the URL of your website, and evaluate if worms, viruses, malware, or additional threats may be infecting your site.

To learn more about this tool, please log on to https://www. virustotal.com/#/home/upload.

Understanding the value of maintaining a safe and secure website for your potential clients is key to helping protect, both your network and client computers from being victimized by attackers who roam the Web- seeking vulnerable small business websites that can be attacked, and subjected to a form of Ransom Ware. Being a victim of Ransom ware can cost your small business or organization tremendously. Thus, to learn more about Botnets, malware, and security assessment tools, rely on primary sources such as reputable security software developers (i.e., Symantec or Cisco). In fact, you can type in the keywords-Botnet and malware, into the search box, and click enter. Doing so will enable you to become more knowledgeable on combating potential threats to your small business or organization. To learn more small business security secrets, log on to my Blog: http://bfcybersecurityjournal. blogspot.com

Rhode Island Small Business Journal

25

SMALL BUSINESS | Too Busy To Get Organized This Year?

Too busy to get organized this year?

by Kristin MacRae

How many times during 2017 did you say you were too busy to get organized? How much of your valuable time did you spend searching for things in your office? How much unnecessary stress did it cause you? How many clients did you lose because you weren’t following up with them on a timely basis? If your staff is disorganized, do you think they may have been the cause of a client leaving you? When a business is disorganized, there are important qualities that are lacking.

If you’re disorganized, here are 5 areas of your office that will need your attention in 2018.

Paper management. When you don’t have filing systems in place, you’ll end up with chaos in all areas of the office. You’ll waste valuable time searching for a file when you could have just gone to the file drawer to grab it. Files all over the office will also cause a distraction when working. Think about how efficient you were this past year when you were searching for a file.

Handling of money. You make a phone call to your client looking for their payment. They state they mailed you the check weeks ago. It arrived on your desk, but it ended up getting stuck in one of your piles of paper. Were you embarrassed that you had to call your client and tell them you found it? Money in the form of cash, checks and gift cards will be found all over your office if you don’t have a system to process it when it arrives into your office. How much money have you lost this year in the form of cash, checks, or poor record keeping?

Office supplies. Keep all excess office supplies organized and stored in one area of the office. Keep daily office supplies organized in drawer organizers. Keep what you need closest

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Rhode Island Small Business Journal

to you so when you need it, you can grab it in seconds without rifling through other items in your drawers. How much money have you wasted on purchasing duplicate supplies because you couldn’t find what you were looking for?

Desk clutter. When you have too much work material on your desk, it can be a distraction. Are you working with too many chatzkies on the desk, bookshelves full of books or binders that are no longer being utilized? Do you have a bulletin board full of useless information and papers taped to the wall? If you bring clients to your office, your clients will be more focused on the disorganization surrounding you at your desk than what you have to say. Utilize your desk drawers for the abundance of writing instruments and supplies you have on your desk. How many of those pens are you using in a day?

Time management. You want to be more efficient and productive. The first thing you have to do is get organized and your time management skills will improve. Once the clutter is cleared and the office is organized, you will see clearer, be more focused and less distracted.

Before you say you’re too busy to get organized, think about how much time and money you’ve wasted this past year. Think about how many clients you may have lost. Take your business to the next level in 2021 just by getting organized. If you continue to operate in a chaotic state, it won’t take long to notice you’re in a downward spiral. Eventually, your business is going to suffer. Make this a priority and watch your business thrive!

Kristin MacRae

Organizing and Efficiency Expert, www.organizinginri.com

Payroll…It’s Not Just About Paying Yourself | SMALL BUSINESS

Payroll… It’s Not Just About Paying Yourself

by Steven Byler

When a company falls behind in paying payroll taxes, workers’ compensation insurance, or jurisdiction selection, there is often a snowball effect. The resulting paperwork, penalties and fees is enough to bury many small business owners. We find that over 50% of our new payroll business isn’t driven by price, but by the fact that companies have been trying to do payroll internally for months, or even years. The first time they receive a late payroll tax reminder, they don’t think much of it because they get a pass, but the second and third time, the penalties start adding up. Any savings on carrying costs, or avoiding a service provider, is wiped out by penalties and regulatory audits.

For small businesses, a payroll service provider may seem expensive, so owners often try to save money by figuring it out internally. They do payroll on their own, or calculate payroll in their accounting software, and then pay themselves and their employees. All too often, these companies cut the paychecks, but forget to pay the taxes, even though they may have been calculated correctly!

Even if the payroll taxes were properly calculated and paid, a business owner cannot forget about workers’ compensation insurance, or federal and state regulatory filings. Accounting and bookkeeping professionals know that outsourcing payroll can be one of the greatest returns on investment for small business owners, and is an efficient step in growing and focusing on your business.

With new small business clients, we see a range of challenges they face regarding payroll processing. These five tend to be the most common challenges: • •

Tracking Time & Paying Staff - It’s not as easy as just printing the checks. The process needs to start with a time management and capture system.

Paying Taxes & Filing Forms - Many internal systems are used to process payroll and calculate the required taxes, but do not process the payment or file the forms

•

•

•

needed, leaving a company vulnerable to non-compliance.

Direct Deposit - Employees like to be paid promptly.

Companies often have a distributed workforce making it difficult to hand a check to the employee. Direct deposit solves this, but many companies are intimidated by handling employee banking info.

Domain Expertise - Entrepreneurs are stellar at what they do and don’t need to be payroll experts.When navigating the logistics of payroll, it’s helpful to have support when something goes wrong.

Workers’ Compensation - Too many small businesses think that workers’ compensation insurance is part of payroll. In truth, if you have payroll, you need workers compensation; however it needs to be sourced separately.

We have heard these issues from many small businesses.

Clearly, payroll is complicated and can cost a small business if it’s not done correctly. Outsourcing payroll can be a smart move and has many advantages, including:

1. It lets you focus on the business you love, and not worry about payroll.

2. It dramatically reduces your likelihood of incurring penalties and unnecessary fees.

3. It ensures that you’re paying your employees on time...all the time!

4. It gives you a resource to turn to that has payroll expertise.

So what do you need to get started? Call your CPA or bookkeeper! We are here to help and it is never too late to get your payroll organized. If you currently do payroll in-house, rest assured that providers are aware of many of the problems faced by small businesses, and will be able to help you navigate through the seemingly complex payroll system. They may also be able to help you with other practices, such as payroll coding, reconciliation, and expense tracking. These aren’t only critical in financial management, but also for preparation of potential future audits. In our experience, we have rarely found a business that has not been able to improve their efficiencies by having an expert by their side.

Steven Byler

COO and Co-Founder GrowthLab LLC.

Rhode Island Small Business Journal

27

LEGAL | Personnel Practices: Employees’ Right To Privacy

Personnel Practices EMPLOYEES’

RIGHT

by Kristen M. Whittle, Esq. and Alexandra Rotondo, Esq.

In the interests of improving workplace safety and security, maintaining productivity, and protecting confidential information, employers are generally permitted to monitor and regulate employees’ electronic activities so long as it does not become excessive or unjustified. Recently, privacy issues for employers and employees have grown as new technology creates additional ways in which employers can store, access, and share their employees’ information. Because this enhanced ability to monitor employees’ electronic activities increases the risk of invasion of privacy claims, employers must be aware of their employees’ privacy rights and clearly communicate the degree of privacy that should be expected in the workplace.

Electronic Communications

It is well-established that when employees use property owned by their employers to communicate electronically, such as company-owned networks or personal electronic

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Rhode Island Small Business Journal

TO

P R I VAC Y

devices, they should have no expectation of privacy in those communications. For instance, any email an employee sends or receives through a company email account is the property of the employer and therefore can be accessed or read by the company without notice. In fact, even if employees store emails in password-protected, personal folders, there is no reasonable expectation of privacy in the contents of email messages transmitted over the company’s network or intranet system.

However, in the context of labor disputes, the federal National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has consistently prohibited employers from taking adverse employment action against employees for engaging in “concerted activity,” which includes an employee discussing workplace conditions, pay, activities, or problems with another employee. For example, the NLRB has held that an employee using the company’s email system to discuss and criticize the company’s personnel policy with coworkers was protected by federal labor law.

Personnel Practices: Employees’ Right To Privacy | LEGAL

Social Media Use

Rhode Island law prohibits employers from asking or requiring employees to share their login information for their personal social media accounts or allow access to their social media accounts. However, employers may monitor any information that employees publicly share on social media, and, in some instances, may use such information in making employmentrelated decisions. In a recent case, the Rhode Island Supreme Court held that it was unlawful for an employer to have denied a former employee’s unemployment benefits because he had posted complaints about his boss on Facebook. While the decision was based on a statute relating to unemployment benefits, and not whether the employee was justifiably terminated, the Court suggested that employers may consider the following factors when determining whether a social media post constitutes workplace misconduct: whether the employee has “blocked” access to his/her social media account; whether a post was directly accessible to any other employee, associate, or customer; whether the employee authored the post from an electronic device belonging to the employer; whether the post violates the employer’s social media policy; and whether the content of the post relates to the employee’s job performance.

With RISBJ

However, employers must be careful not to interfere with employees’ rights under federal law to engage in “concerted activities,” such as discussing the terms and conditions of employment on social media. Therefore, to the extent an employment complaint posted by an employee on social media is considered “concerted activity” (rather than an individual grievance), it will be protected under federal labor law.

Workplace Privacy Policies

Privacy rights in the private-sector workplace are primarily determined through an evaluation of whether an employee’s expectation of privacy is reasonable under the circumstances.

As workplace policies often affect an employee’s expectation of privacy, they can be an important factor when evaluating the merits of a privacy violation claim. Accordingly, employers should ensure that they have written policies in place that provide notice and transparency to employees about what privacy rights do and do not exist in the workplace.

Specifically, workplace technology policies should expressly preserve the employer’s right to search, monitor, and intercept any information created or shared on employer-owned networks or devices.

Further, employers should maintain a social media policy that clearly articulates which employee behaviors concerning social media use are not permitted. However, employers should ensure that their policies regarding social media posts and other online activity do not limit employees’ ability to discuss working conditions. Accordingly, carefully drafted privacy policies regarding electronic communications can reduce the risk of invasion of privacy claims brought by employees against their employers.

Kristen M. Whittle, Esq. Partner, Barton Gilman LLP

Alexandra Rotondo, Esq. Associate, Barton Gilman LLP

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