Greater Charlotte Biz 2010.06

Technekes

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Bruce Julian Clothier

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Charles Luck Stone Center

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Rose Chauffeured Transportation

june 2010

FOR RICK HENDRICK, PEOPLE MAKE IT WORK Rick Hendrick Chairman and CEO Hendrick Automotive Group Hendrick Motorsports, LLC

CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED 7300 Carmel Executive Park Dr., Ste. 115, Charlotte, N.C. 28226-1310

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DON’T LET THE NAME FOOL YOU.

Yes, we have a reputation for doing things differently. But that’s what the best attorneys do.

Confidently confront complicated legal issues. Tirelessly analyze the facts. Doggedly search for unique, creative solutions to problems many consider unsolvable.

For over 50 years we’ve been helping individuals and businesses avoid problems, overcome obstacles and minimize consequences – fairly, efficiently and economically. So call us what you will. We’ve grown to love our reputation for loyal and tenacious representation.

GOOD DOG.

FOR DETAILED INFORMATION, CALL 704.372.9870 OR VISIT WWW.JMDLAW.COM.

#1 Small Business Administration Lender Thriving small businesses are good for business owners and local communities everywhere. And that’s why, at Wachovia, we’re dedicated to helping businesses succeed. We’ve been working successfully with business customers for over 157 years and we’re ready to help whenever you need us. In addition to being the #1 SBA lender in dollars,* we’re also the largest small business lender in the nation.** To find out how we can help your business, visit your local Wachovia location or call 1-800-WACHOVIA today.

*2009 SBA data. **2008 CRA data.

Wachovia Bank and Wachovia Bank of Delaware, divisions of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. Member FDIC. © 2010 Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. All rights reserved.

in this issue

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cover story

Hendrick Automotive Group • Hendrick Motorsports

He’s chairman of the nation’s second largest string of privately held car dealerships as well as his own racing team. “I’m the luckiest person around,” Rick Hendrick is quick to admit.

I get to make a living doing the two things in life I enjoy the most outside of my family.”

For his singular success in dual fields, Hendrick credits people. “It’s all about these people. ..We’ve done this together. We’ve built these two companies together.”

16

Technekes

Technekes bridges the gap between marketing and sales to bring buyers and sellers together, using calling programs, promotions, Web sites, micro sites, appointment setting, market research studies and direct mail, the company conceptualizes and executes multi-channel programs to drive sales for its clients.

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Bruce Julian Clothier

“I’m known for the clothes having a little step in them,” Julian says of his fashion-forward reputation as a specialty clothier. He firmly believes that good clothes open all doors from the company boardroom to the golf club, and has the clientele that will attest to it. He says he buys with “pizzazz.”

34

Charles Luck Stone Center

A visit to Charlotte’s Charles Luck Stone Center’s studio is more than a shopping expedition: It’s an experience. Located in Pineville; the studio itself is divided into a 3,500-square-foot studio and attached 2,000-square-foot gardens artfully incorporating an entire range of stone types, finishes, and applications.

june 2010

departments publisher’spost

4

legalbiz

5

Transforming the Business of Law to Meet the Needs of Business

webbiz

7

New Media Strategies, Secrets and Solutions

accountingbiz consultingbiz

He’s an odd mix of traits, this radio-personality-turned-limo-driver who is now owner and president of Charlotte’s largest chauffeured transportation company. H.A. Thompson is a showman at heart who understands the value of providing exceptional service.

11

Managing and Delivering Change to Optimize Business Value

employersbiz

13

Legislative and Regulatory Highlights for Area Employers

bizbits

20

biznetwork

44

on the cover:

Technekes

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Bruce Julian Clothier

•

Charles Luck Stone Center

•

Rose Chauffeured Transportation

june 2010

Rick Hendrick Chairman and CEO Hendrick Automotive Group Hendrick Motorsports, LLC

!"

Rose Chauffeured Transportation

9

Accounting, Tax and Consulting Solutions

FOR RICK HENDRICK, PEOPLE MAKE IT WORK Rick Hendrick Chairman and CEO Hendrick Automotive Group Hendrick Motorsports, LLC

Photography by Wayne Morris

YEARS

2000 - 2010

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[publisher’spost] 704-676-5850

The Tip of the Spear: U.S. Army Special Operations Forces Capabilities Exercise

June 2010 Volume 11 • Issue 06 Publisher John Paul Galles x102 jgalles@greatercharlottebiz.com

!Carolinas Contingent Invited to USASOC CAPEX

Associate Publisher/Editor

It is important to remember that our nation is fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The one is winding down in Iraq, but the other continues with no end in sight. These wars are different from John Paul Galles wars in the past. We are fighting a Global War on Terror in which the terrorist movement is elusive and dispersed. They are not from one specific country or another. They don’t wear uniforms or colors that are easily recognizable. We have no choice but to chase them, hunt them, and defeat them where we find them. There are complex, irregular and hybrid threats as well as regular threats to military forces.

At the same time, our soldiers need to engage the people they encounter within these wars. They must communicate and educate and train them to maintain their own security, so they can carry out somewhat normal lives for themselves and their families and their economy.

Given that background, nearly 50 business leaders and executives from !LTG Mulholland briefs on mission of USASOC the Carolinas were invited to Fort Bragg

“General Mulholland wanted us to remind others that we have to keep training our troops to be specially prepared for the war that continues.” in Fayetteville, N.C., to witness the U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) Capabilities Exercise (CAPEX).

The USASOC is based at Ft. Bragg and provides command and control of the Special Operations units including Special Forces, Ranger, 160th Aviation Regimen and other elite units. The purpose of this exercise was to showcase the capabilities of the finest and most capable military organization in the world.

Those of us from the Charlotte region !"Black Dagger" parachute demonstration team assembled at the N.C. Air National Guard unit on the grounds of the CharlotteDouglas Airport. We gathered on a Sunday afternoon and were briefed by MG William Ingram Jr. of the N.C. National Guard. Since 9-11, the N.C. National Guard has deployed over 18,000 soldiers/airmen in support of the Global War on Terror. We were flown to Pope AFB on C-130 transport planes. That evening we were escorted to the Airborne and Special Operations Museum full of history about these forces and how they have been used since World War II. " Cont. page 15

Let me know what you think - jgalles@greatercharlottebiz.com

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june 2010

Maryl A. Lane x104 mlane@greatercharlottebiz.com

Creative Director Trevor Adams x103 tadams@greatercharlottebiz.com

Advertising Sales 704-676-5850 x102 sales@greatercharlottebiz.com

partners !CC Communications, Inc. !Central Piedmont Community College !Elliott Davis, PLLC !NouvEON Technology Partners, Inc. !The Employers Association !UNC Belk College !Wishart, Norris, Henninger & Pittman, P.A.

Contributing Writers Ellison Clary Zenda Douglas Heather Head

Contributing Photographers Wayne Morris Trevor Adams Galles Communications Group, Inc. 7300 Carmel Executive Park Dr., Ste. 115 Charlotte, NC 28226-1310 704-676-5850 Phone • 704-676-5853 Fax www.greatercharlottebiz.com • Press releases and other news-related information: editor@greatercharlottebiz.com.

• Editorial: mlane@greatercharlottebiz.com.

• Advertising: jgalles@greatercharlottebiz.com.

• Subscription inquiries or change of address: subscriptions@greatercharlottebiz.com.

• Other inquiries: please call or fax at the numbers above or visit our Web site www.greatercharlottebiz.com. © Copyright 2010 by Galles Communications Group, Inc. All rights reserved. The information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. However, Galles Communications Group, Inc. makes no warranty to the accuracy or reliability of this information. Products named in these pages are trade names or trademarks of their respective companies. Views expressed herein are not necessarily those of Greater Charlotte Biz or Galles Communications Group, Inc. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from the publisher. For reprints call 704-676-5850 x102.

Greater Charlotte Biz (ISSN 1554-6551) is published monthly by Galles Communications Group, Inc., 7300 Carmel Executive Park Dr., Ste. 115, Charlotte, NC 28226-1310.

Telephone: 704-676-5850. Fax: 704-676-5853. Subscription rate is $24 for one year. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Greater Charlotte Biz, 7300 Carmel Executive Park Dr., Ste. 115, Charlotte, NC 28226-1310.

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Wishart Norris Henninger & Pittman

Wishart, Norris, Henninger & Pittman, P.A.

AT T O R N E Y S AT L AW

[legalbiz]

Transforming the Business of Law to Meet the Needs of Business

Do Employers Have to Accommodate the Medical Use of Marijuana?

!

!You Have Got to Hear This Imagine your business provides employees for another business. If that other business changes the requirements they have for the employees and you have to replace employees under your contract, you should be able to fire the employees that can no longer work at the other business, right? We will have to wait and see.

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has reviewed a case where the employer had a contract with the United States Marshal’s Service (USMS) to provide security in different buildings. The employee’s employment was terminated after the USMS adopted new hearing standards that the employee did not meet. The employer asked the USMS to reconsider the new standards, but the standards remained as revised.

The employee sued the employer and the USMS for disability discrimination. The Court decided that the employer could be liable for disability discrimination which occurred through its contract with the USMS. The USMS was dismissed from the case.

This case highlights, more than ever, that contracts must deal specifically with who pays for different liabilities, including claims by employees for any number of reasons. Just because the sexual harassment, discrimination or other bad actions were caused or allowed by another business or people other than a company’s employees, the owner and company may still be liable. It is to the responsibility of the business owner in preparing company contracts to be certain the proper person bears the cost.

Oregon’s Supreme Court has held that the federal Controlled Substances Act preempts the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act and that the Oregon employment discrimination statute requires accommodation of drug use only where such use is authorized by the Controlled Substances Act. Montana and California have reached similar conclusions where employees were terminated for medical use of marijuana.

Washington State appears to be headed to the same result, but the case is pending before the state supreme court. Fourteen states (Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont and those listed above) currently allow the medical use of marijuana, and each state is expected to need to address the issue of what, if any, accommodations must be made for employees using marijuana for medical purposes. Employers must be aware of the liability traps that collide when they consider: # what effects medications—marijuana or otherwise— have on employees, #$ what accommodations must be made for employees taking those medications so that they can work, and # what liabilities can be created with regard to other employees and third parties as a result of employee’s actions and the accommodations made.

~Eric Bass

!Accommodating Disabilities Created by Medication The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has indicated that the side effects of medication can by themselves constitute a disability under the ADA, even when the condition being treated by the medication is not a disability. The Court considered the following factors: ! whether the treatment is medically necessary in the prudent judgment of the medical profession; ! whether the treatment is not just an “attractive option” and that there is no available, equally effective alternative that lacks the side effects in question; and !whether the treatment is not required solely in anticipation of an impairment resulting from the plaintiff ’s voluntary choices.

In this case, the Court decided that the side effects of the employee’s medications (which dealt with treatments for obesity and sleep apnea) did not constitute a disabling impairment because he did not establish that they were medically necessary. The Court was clear that side effects from medications could be disabilities under the ADA which required reasonable accommodation.

Employees’ !Accommodating Ability to Travel to Work The Third Circuit Court of Appeals held that changing an employee’s work schedule in order to assist the employee’s travel to and from the workplace is an accommodation that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) contemplates. The employee in question became blind in one eye which made it dangerous for her to drive to and from work at night. The employee’s request to be assigned to daytime shifts only was refused.

The Court stated that the ADA does not limit accommodations to just problems once an employee arrives at the workplace. The Court noted that a Second Circuit Court of Appeals previously held there was nothing inherently unreasonable in requiring an employer to provide a disabled employee with assistance in travelling to work, such as paying for an employee’s parking spot closer to the workplace. The Third Circuit decided that a change to a workplace condition entirely within the employer’s control that would allow the employee to get to work to perform his or her job such as a shift change is reasonable.

!2010-2011 Budget Reconciliation Released While the Budget Reconciliation proposed by Governor Beverly Perdue contains many cuts and reductions, it also contains some significant additional spending to assist business in North Carolina.

Some of the specific proposals include (dollar amounts indicated in parentheses): • Additional funding for the One NC Fund for the recruitment of business to North Carolina ($15,000,000) • Increasing the One NC Small Business Fund which exists to create jobs in small businesses and to assist businesses in applying for federal Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer grants ($1,500,000)

• Additional assistance for the Main Street Solutions Fund for grants for small businesses in smaller downtown areas ($2,000,000) • Developing university-based buyer-supplier networks within emerging and established industry clusters inside the state ($150,000) • Funding the Job Maintenance and Capital Development Fund that provides grants to businesses located in economically distressed counties ($4,000,000) • Additional funding for the Small Business Assistance Fund to create a loan loss reserve that provides additional guarantees for SBAbacked loans ($1,000,000) • Providing funds for the Rural Economic Development Center’s Building Reuse and

p u r s u i n g a b a l a n c e o f b u s i n e s s a n d l i fe

Restoration Program ($3,000,000) • Creating the “Back to Work” Incentive Fund to supplement the federal HIRE Act benefit in order to provide an immediate direct payment to small businesses (under 25 employees) that hire someone that has been out of work for at least two months ($15,000,000) Content provided by Wishart, Norris, Henninger & Pittman, P.A., which partners with owners of closely-held businesses to provide comprehensive legal ser vices in all areas of business, tax, estate planning, succession planning, purchases and sales of businesses, real estate, family law, and litigation.

For more information, please call Robert Norris at 704-364-0010 or visit www.wnhplaw.com.

june 2010

5

0

UNIFY YOUR

No Matter Where You Are or What Device You Use, It's Just Like Being There!

COMMUNICATIONS

TO CONNECT SEAMLESSLY

Voice • Video • Data

Making IT Work!

962 5- D So u t h ern Pin e B lv d . • Cha rl ot te , NC 28 2 73 P h on e: 704. 831. 2 50 0 • To ll F r e e : 866. 70 8 .0 8 8 6

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CC Communications

[webbiz]

New Media Strategies, Secrets and Solutions

!Free Tools for Enhanced Web Design As Web sites become more and more sophisticated, many free and useful do-it-yourself online programming resources have also emerged to help you increase the overall scope and performance of your Web site.

From quick and convenient “code generators” and “new content” sources to advanced search engine optimization and useful Web site production tools, there is a wealth of reliable, easy-to-use applications that can save time and accelerate your progress. Think “Web Design Shortcuts.”

Free Web Interactive Applications… What was once an elaborate and expensive process, producing common interactive applications, can now be quickly streamlined by utilizing established online tools, such as complex online questionnaires provided by SurveyMonkey.com or instant Web site polls that are generated by websitegoodies.com and webtools4free.com. Interactive calendars with motigo.com, and free news tickers using webtools4free.com are other powerful applications that can be easily integrated into your Web site.

Free Web Development Tools…

Try these useful Web design time-savers: A free “copyright date manager,” offered at webweaver.nu/tools/copyright-generator/

that will automatically update the current year that is posted within your Web site footer, a “countdown clock generator” from webtools4free.com, a page “loading speed checker” and “broken link checker” also provided by websitegoodies.com, and a convenient text and graphic-oriented “banner creation” tool available at webweaver.nu/tools/simple-banner/.

Free Web Content Sources… A wide variety of free 2-D and 3-D graphic illustrations and photo images for Web site use are available online. Visit free-clip-art.com, webweaver.nu/clipart, bellsnwhistles.com, 3d-animated.com, creatingonline.com and animationplayhouse.com and browse their extensive libraries. Other forms of content, updated automatically, can be found at freesticky.com. With embedded code that is added to your Web page, this service delivers a regular supply of entertaining, informative content, such as the “Daily Phrazzle” or “Ultimate Questions” (brain teasers), “This Day in History,” “Interesting Facts,” “Random Joke,” and other features.

Free SEO Management Tools… To help fine-tune your online promotional strategies, use the free keyword density checker by iwebtool.com/ keyword_density/ and monitor your page ranking on Google using iwebtool.com/search_engine_position/.

QUESTION

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ANSWER Q: A:

!web @ work WCTDA: Customized Maps Feature for Tourism Destinations Boosting tourism is about educating travelers regarding your most interesting destinations and providing them with great choices for investment of their time and tourism dollars. Watauga County Tourism Development Authority (WCTDA) accomplishes these tasks for the greater Boone, N.C., area.

The Web site designed for WCTDA, ExploreBooneArea.com, includes a customized maps feature for tourism destinations.

Once visitors choose from Places to Stay, Play, Eat or Shop, then click for more information, they get a customized summary, complete with details about the destination, interesting places nearby, and directions! WCTDA is educating and motivating tourists by putting all the details they need at their traveling fingertips.

p u r s u i n g a b a l a n c e o f b u s i n e s s a n d l i fe

What happened to Google Local Business Center?

In late April 2010, Google Local Business Center (LBC) became Google Places. Google elected to merge these two search products to unite Google LBC listings with Google Places pages, which they introduced in late 2009.

This is a very natural and intuitive development and appears relatively seamless to Google account users. Current Google LBC accounts are being migrated to Google Places pages and set up of new Google business registrations remains much the same.

Users will notice new features with Google Places, such as a personal dashboard, realtime updates, service areas and customized QR codes for scanning by smart phones.

Learn more at Google.com/places.

Have a question about Web design or online marketing? Submit your question to www.greatercharlottebiz/webbiz.

Questions & Answers may be reprinted here in upcoming editions of Greater Charlotte Biz! Content contributed by CC Communications, a Web design, programming and Internet media company providing a full array of services to businesses and organizations to enhance and produce effective Web, e-mail, multimedia marketing initiatives and business process improvements. For more information, contact Kip Cozart at 704-543-1171 or visit www.cccommunications.com.

~Kip Cozart

june 2010

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It all started at CITY CHEVROLET... !"#$%$"&'()*+,-"./0/*12/*013"445

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Elliott Davis

[accountingbiz]

Accounting, Tax and Consulting Solutions

!How Long Should You Keep Your Business Records?

As a business owner, the April tax deadline is a distant memory, but the piles of financial and tax records at your company are likely still stacking up. While it’s important to keep your business records for as long as they are useful, you may want to establish a retention schedule that takes into account state and federal regulations, as well as industry standards. The guidelines below are intended to be general in nature and do not include all types of records that you may have for your business.

Retain Permanently:

Retain Temporarily:

• Audit reports • Board minutes • Canceled checks for important payments (i.e. taxes, property purchases, special contracts, etc) • Deeds, mortgages, bills of sale • Depreciation schedules • Financial statements • Insurance records • Intellectual property records • Property records • Tax returns and worksheets

• Account ledgers (7-8 years) • Bank reconciliations (7 years) • Bank statements (3 years) • Canceled checks (see “Retain Permanently” section) • Employment applications (3 years) • Employee personnel records (7 years) • Expense reports (7 years) • Inventory records (7 years) • Invoices (7 years) • Payroll records (7 years) • W-2 forms (7 years)

Before destroying any records, you should consult with a certified public accountant and/or an attorney.

Keep in mind, while you may not need to retain records for tax, audit or other legal purposes, some records may hold historical value for your company. ~Dan Warren, CPA, Managing Shareholder

!Are Accommodations Taxes Due on Your Summer Rental?

Dusting off your summer rental for busy season?

Generally, if you are renting a residence for periods less than 90 days, you are required to collect sales tax and possibly accommodations tax from your tenants.

It is important that these taxes are charged correctly and remitted to the proper taxing authority. Taxing authorities will look to the landlord for payment whether the tax was collected from tenants or not.

NORTH CAROLINA North Carolina state and local sales tax (up to 8.25%) applies to rentals of less than 90 days. If a tenant was charged sales tax initially but the rental period reached 90 days, the tax can be refunded to the tenant (and refunded from the state, if already paid). The sales tax applies to the rental charge as well as most other fees with some exceptions such as Internet access, laundry, telephone service and cancellation fees. Additional fees should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis to determine taxability.

Many localities in North Carolina also charge occupancy taxes (up to 8%), if the rental period does not

reach 90 days. If the occupancy tax is charged initially, but the rental period reaches 90 days, the occupancy tax should be refunded (and refunded from the locality if already remitted). Local occupancy taxes are administered by the local governments so returns must be filed with those jurisdictions.

SOUTH CAROLINA Sales tax also applies to rentals of less than 90 days in South Carolina. If the rental period is ultimately 90 days or more and the tenant has paid sales tax, the sales tax should be refunded (and refunded from the state if already remitted). The state tax rate charged on lodging is 5% as opposed to the general 6% state rate. In addition to the 5%, the state also asserts a 2% occupancy tax rate for a combined state tax rate of 7%. On top of the state tax rate, local sales tax of up to 2% could also apply for a maximum combined local rate of 9%.

The state accommodation and sales taxes and local sales taxes are administered by the state.

Local occupancy taxes (generally 3% or less) apply to rentals fewer than 90 days. This tax is administered by the local governments and returns must be filed with the local governments. Therefore, the total rate assessed may reach 12%.

Charges other than rent are taxed at the general sales tax rate and the state occupancy tax does not apply.

AVOID PENALTIES Failure to remit accommodations taxes on a timely basis may result in high tax and penalty assessments upon audit—all for taxes that could have been passed on to others. A certified public accountant will help you determine correct tax rates, the governments with which you need to file, and what charges are subject to various taxes. If you have been renting property for some time and were unaware of these taxes or are charging them incorrectly, a tax professional can assist you in determining how to best address this situation, too.

Content contributed by the Charlotte office of Elliott Davis, PLLC, an accounting, tax and consulting services firm providing clients the solutions needed to achieve their objectives in 10 offices throughout the Southeast. For more information, contact Dan Warren at 704-808-5210 or visit www.elliottdavis.com.

~Jack Schmoll, CPA, Senior Manager, Elliott Davis, PLLC

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9

Exponential growth. World-class scholarship. Leaders in research and innovation. It’s no wonder that UNC Charlotte was recently recognized by U.S. News and World Report as a university to watch.* 24,700 strong and growing, we’re the home of award-winning faculty, notable alumni, and the next generation of leaders who have what it takes to set the world on fire. Stake your claim to a university that’s got the whole world watching.

Tim Ernst, Student Body President, Class of 2009 * U.S. News & World Report 2008 University to Watch, 2009 Best College.

NouvEON

[consultingbiz]

Managing and Delivering Change to Optimize Business Value

!MANAGING KNOWLEDGE IN AN ERA OF INFORMATION OVERLOAD The Starbucks Example Imagine for a moment you walked into a Starbucks and the barista didn’t know how to make a cappuccino or latte! It’s well documented that Starbucks spends more on the education of its employee partners than it does on marketing.

And no doubt that education, that “management of coffee knowledge and expertise,” is shared through some type of explicit training classes and written material.

There is also much time spent outside of the classroom, mentoring the barista hands-on and promoting a culture of sharing tacit knowledge and best practices of making a consistent and quality cup of coffee every time.

Without their ability to manage and share knowledge and investment in people, Starbucks probably wouldn’t have been able to grow as fast, wouldn’t have been able to adapt to changing markets and customer needs, and wouldn’t have been able to earn billions in revenue. Starbucks provides a good example of the importance of knowledge management and impact that it can have on the bottom line.

Knowledge Management Knowledge Management (KM) has been one of those buzzwords that have been talked about for almost two decades, offering the promise of somehow capturing that explicit and tacit knowledge as a strategic asset to leverage to competitive advantage. Some of the drivers around KM efforts include: # sharing valuable organizational insights # avoiding redundancy of effort # reducing on-boarding time and learning curves for new employees # retaining intellectual capital due to turnover or aging work force # adapting to changing customer demands, environments and markets Microsoft SharePoint is a valuable product to address these objectives.

SharePoint is a fairly simple, highly reliable collaboration platform that connects and empowers people through online business communities, where they can collect and share important documents and keep track of project schedules. The consolidation of collaboration solutions onto SharePoint helps cut costs through lower training costs, increased IT productivity and cost-effective maintenance, all within a governable and compliant platform.

Knowledge workers spend 50% of their time searching for information, leaving only the remaining 50% to actually use what they have found. ~ Reuters Study Although Starbucks wasn’t able to take advantage of SharePoint (it didn’t exist back in the 1990s), it provides a good example for the need to manage knowledge as it evolves.

E-mail is overused and overloaded as a primary tool for communicating, sharing information and documents, and making decisions. Information is all over the place and exists in multiple repositories. Companies don’t know what they know and don’t know. Knowledge workers expect a Google-like experience within their organizations but just can’t seem to find the information they’re looking for. Information continues to grow exponentially and end users continue to experience the daily glut of information overload. Ultimately, information gets filed irreRich Blank, trievably, deleted or lost.

What can we learn from Starbucks’ success Managing Consultant

p u r s u i n g a b a l a n c e o f b u s i n e s s a n d l i fe

85% of the information businesses need to operate does not fall into structured formats of automated spreadsheets or databases. Instead, it exists in content such as e-mail, graphics or video. ~Document Magazine and their understanding that people and knowledge are indeed valuable corporate assets that rivals the way we think about raw financial or customer data?

We can learn that the keys to a successful KM initiative and ultimately a successful enterprise deployment and adoption of Microsoft SharePoint lie in the strategy, the people, the process, and the execution. It is important to have a good partner for implementation of the platform, one that addresses these specific areas: strategy, change management, process excellence, systems integration, and delivery management. The balance and intersection of these domains is how organizations can maximize the ROI of enterprise 2.0 technologies like SharePoint.

While collaboration has become one of the latest buzzwords, by itself collaboration is simply a process in which we connect, create, find, capture, share, and consume knowledge. And collaboration in the past and today continues to happen in the absence of SharePoint. However, in order to fully realize the potential of KM, it is essential to recognize and utilize the SharePoint technology as the collaboration platform, and then leverage it as a mechanism to manage and share knowledge.

Fully utilized, SharePoint is not just a platform for collaboration, but an ecosystem for capturing and managing knowledge that can transform your organization and help you realize the promise of SharePoint as a true enterprise collaborative knowledge management platform and strategic organizational asset, allowing you to identify opportunities and act upon them in a timely manner by getting the right people the right information at the right time.

»SharePoint Strategy and Pilot Implementation Case Study: Lowe’s Home Improvement The Challenge: One of the world’s largest home improvement retailers implemented Microsoft SharePoint for project team management, communication, collaboration, document workflow and basic methodology compliance management. However, the company needed a sound strategy and detailed plan. The extreme urgency for SharePoint was also rising. As a result, backlogs were developed and a sound strategy for the retailer to make effective use of SharePoint was in order, as were very detailed plans, budgets and funding to ensure success.

The Solution: Develop the strategy and implementation plan to implement SharePoint across the enterprise to achieve measurable, sustainable process improvements through collaboration, workflow management, document management, knowledge management, content management and auditable process compliance.

The Result: Strategy to implement SharePoint received leadership consensus, executive alignment and funding necessary to move forward.

As a result, the retailer was mobilized to successfully implement SharePoint across the enterprise.

Content contributed by NouvEON, a management consulting firm. For further insights and success stories, visit www.nouveon.com/insights. To contact NouvEON’s SharePoint expert, e-mail him at rblank@nouveon.com or follow on Twitter@ SharePointPMP and Twitter@NouvEON.

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SEP

1" 2010

The Hood Hargett Breakfast Club

is a ‘category exclusive’ business development organization that develops and hosts some 36 events throughout the year for its members and guests. The goal of these events: to provide success-minded business owners with first-class venues to entertain clients and prospects.

3R s

HHBC can provide your company with the 3Rs of business networking success:

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RENOWNED SPEAKERS We pride ourselves on bringing world-renowned speakers from all walks of life to these events on an on-going basis.

!"#$%&'()** Chairman of The McColl Group, LLC

Sept. 10, 2010

($+,%-.** Founder of The Chip Bell Group, Customer Loyalty Expert and Best-Selling Author

Oct. 8, 2010

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RELEVANT SUBJECTS The highlight of the breakfast is an ‘educate and inform’ message from our keynote speakers addressing issues that members and guests can use to improve their companies’ performance. Our members invite clients, key employees and prospects to attend and participate with them.

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REMARKABLE MEMBERS The key to any organization’s success is the quality of its members. We’re proud to represent the best and brightest of the local business community: men and women who have built their own companies to become leaders within their respective industries.

!"#$%&"'("! &"&)"*+ AAA Carolinas Charles Luck Stone Charlotte Regional Partnership Fifth Third Bank Jerald Melberg Gallery Larner’s Office Furniture Outlet Morgan Chair Piedmont Natural Gas The Charlotte Observer Time Warner Cable Yodle

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World’s Foremost Authority on Fraud and Identity Theft, Author of Best-Selling Book “Catch Me If You Can”

Nov. 12, 2010

“Every year since we’ve been a member of the Hood Hargett Breakfast Club, we’ve been able to recoup our investment—not only through new business that we’ve developed, but also existing business that continues to renew. What Hood Hargett Breakfast Club brings to the table are decision-makers, and those are the individuals that we are trying to get in touch with.” ~Lee Summey Business Wise, Inc.

“We’ve been a member of Hood Hargett Breakfast Club for nearly 10 years now and we especially appreciate the great speakers and the opportunity to entertain business decision-makers at quality events.” ~John P. Galles Greater Charlotte Biz

Accepting New Members Call Jenn Snyder at 704-602-9529 • jenn@hoodhargett.com !www.hoodhargettbreakfastclub.com

THE EMPLOYERS ASSOCIATION Trusted HR Advice, Tools & Training

Legislative and Regulatory Highlights for Area Employers

[employersbiz]

!Health reform questions and answers for deductibles and eyeglasses and contact lenses to the extent they qualify as medical care.

Also, for tax years beginning after December 31, 2012, health flexible spending arrangements (health FSAs) offered as a part of a cafeteria plan must limit contributions through salary reductions to an annual amount of $2,500.

The following are recent questions about the new health reform law that were submitted by subscribers and answered by editors of Spencer Benefits Reports. »Coverage of part-time employees Under health reform, are employers required to offer coverage to part-time employees; that is, will employers be penalized for not offering coverage to part-time employees? Either way, how is full-time employee defined?

The employer mandate in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act applies to “an employer who employed an average of at least 50 full-time employees on business days during the preceding calendar year.”

The health reform law defines full-time employee as follows: “The term ‘full-time employee’ means an employee who is employed on average at least 30 hours of service per week.”

Note that there is no requirement to offer coverage to employees who work less than 30 hours, but they are counted (on a pro rata basis) in determining the fee the employer must pay if the employer does not provide coverage to full-time employees. »Waiting period effective date With the recently passed health care reform bill, when must a self-funded employer health plan limit the waiting period for coverage to no more than 90 days? Is it within six months of enactment or 2014?

This provision, as shown below is effective for plan years beginning on or after

January 1, 2014: Public Health Service Act Sec. 2708. Prohibition On Excessive Waiting Periods. “A group health plan and a health insurance issuer offering group or individual health insurance coverage shall not apply any waiting period...that exceeds 90 days.” »Reimbursements under FSAs Under the recently passed health reform act, beginning on January 1, 2011, over-thecounter drugs and items will no longer be allowed as reimbusements from an FSA. Will you still be allowed to be reimbursed for deductibles, as well as eyeglasses and contact lenses?

You are correct that for health flexible spending arrangements, health reimbursement arrangements, and health savings accounts, for tax years beginning after December 31, 2010, reimbursements for medicines are restricted to prescribed drugs and insulin.

Other expenses previously allowed remain intact; so an employer plan still can reimburse

»W-2 reporting When does the new health care reform bill require employers to include on W-2 forms the amount of medical premium it pays for the employee?

For years beginning after December 31, 2010, employers must report health cost amounts for employer-sponsored coverage on Line 14 of the W-2 (Sec. 9002 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act).

Coverage is treated as applicable employersponsored coverage regardless of whether the employer or employee pays for the coverage.

Applicable employer-sponsored coverage does not include coverage for long-term care, accidents, or disability income insurance. Nor does it include coverage that applies to only a specified disease or illness, hospital indemnity, or other fixed indemnity insurance.

Applicable employer-sponsored coverage includes coverage under any group health plan established and maintained by the U.S. government, the government of any state or its political subdivision, or by any agency or instrumentality of such government. (www.hr.cch.com)

!Job market showing gradual improvement A renewed sense of optimism in hiring is revealed in CareerBuilder and USA TODAY’s latest nationwide survey of employers. For the third consecutive quarter, more employers are projecting they will increase headcount in the next three months while fewer employers are expecting staff cuts. The survey was conducted

by Harris Interactive from February 10 to March 2, 2010. More than 2,700 hiring managers and human resource professionals across industries participated.

Activity on CareerBuilder’s site also shows evidence that employers are ready to initiate growth strategies

once again. “The number of job listings on CareerBuilder.com have increased both sequentially and year over year in 2010,” says Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder. “The recovery in the job market will take some time as employers face new market realities and gauge demand, but we expect to see gradual improvement throughout the year. The rise in online job listings and resurgence in temporary hiring are good leading indicators for stability in the market and the creation of more permanent jobs down the road.”

Hiring in Q1 2010. Twenty-three percent of employers reported they increased their full-time, permanent staff in the first quarter. % Cont. page 20

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[publisher’spost]

Cont. from page 4

!Sniper rifle equipment

!Sniper training range

!Hostage rescue in live-fire close combat

photos: Joe Epley

!Hi-tech marksmanship training center

!Special Forces shooter demonstrates quick action drill

Our Morning On Monday morning at 7:30 a.m. we were picked up by bus from Ft. Bragg and divided into four groups. The exercise had begun.

Upon arrival at Special Ops headquarters, we were lined up side-by-side and then marched into General John Mulholland’s briefing room.

Within moments, the soldiers that took us from the buses told us to be quiet. Almost immediately, a cell phone rang and the soldiers tackled the person with the phone and handcuffed him, placed a bag over his head and threw him into a vehicle and drove off. I quickly reached down to make sure my phone was off! At that moment, it was clear that someone else was in charge.

In the briefing room, General Mulholland described our day of activity and told us that we were there as prisoners of war. He said that in each field of action, U.S. soldiers are dealing with the enemy, insurgents, local citizens, local forces being trained to take over and our own troops. He wanted us to witness these exercises and think about the different perspectives that soldiers confront every day.

This operation is the “tip of the spear” in our country. We were going to witness live fire

spends a minimum of eight weeks undergoing intensive training in preparation for fighting in Iraq and/or Afghanistan.

Our first training demonstration was with assault rifles. Now, I have not shot a firearm since the boy scouts and then it was only a small rifle. These were 50 caliber sniper rifles that would penetrate steel at 800 meters.

Four different sniper rifles were on display and each was demonstrated in front of us. We all had safety glasses and ear plugs, but the plugs did not seem to muffle the sound very well. And then, we were given the chance to fire each of the weapons.

There I was on my belly, looking through a scope that showed me crosshairs when the target was sighted. I was instructed to position the butt of the gun between my shoulder and my chest, my cheek against the stock and my finger near the trigger. I tried to relax and slowly pulled the trigger while keeping the crosshairs on the target. Boom went the gun and about two seconds later, I could hear the bullet hit the target…thud. That was an amazing experience for me. We shot three different sniper rifles, but not the biggest one that blew the doors off a vehicle at 450 meters.

“General Mulholland wanted us to witness these exercises and think about the different perspectives that soldiers confront every day. This operation is the “tip of the spear” in our country. We were going to witness live fire events and the incredibly bright young talent that makes all our military work well.

These are America’s elite fighting forces.” events and the incredibly bright young talent that makes all our military work well. These are America’s elite fighting forces.

Upon exiting the briefing, we were amazed by the Black Dagger Free Fall Jump demonstration. Six jumpers landed nearly perfectly one by one on a mark about 20 yards from where we were standing. These were sharp, crisp landings that were incredibly precise. Wow! We were ushered back onto the buses by the enemy guards that kept us quiet until we reached a checkpoint on base that appeared to be under their control. But when our buses stopped, they climbed out to check on some commotion and all of a sudden, boom, boom, boom, the guards were shot and U.S. Army forces took control and welcomed us to Shooting Range #37 for firing and assault demonstrations. Every Special Ops soldier

Our next demonstration was at another nearby shooting range where we were shown how soldiers fired the weapons that they carry with them. They included an M8 assault rifle, an MP5 assault rifle and a Glock pistol.

We watched several soldiers enter the range and attack multiple targets in single, semi and fully automatic firing positions. Then, we were invited and shown how to use each of those weapons.

Our demonstration continued with a climb up some scaffolding along the outside and over a building with about eight rooms. Four soldiers blasted their way into the building and demonstrated how they enter rooms, take out the enemy and rescue hostages. The doors were blown incredibly quickly and their guns were blazing with live ammunition. The smoke from the guns darkened our sight, " Cont. page 21

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Technekes is one eclectic bunch: Under a single roof are serious programmers, database wizards, graphic designers, strategists and planners, as well as experts in agriculture, healthcare and financial services. The work can be as simple as fine-tuning a database or as complex as a multi-channel program involving direct mail, call action and custom tools and applications to monitor results in real time.

(l to r) Preston Fay Jack Ross with Roxxy and Lucy Principals and Co-founders Technekes, LLC

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by zenda douglas

[bizprofile]

THE ROI OF

/CREATING ///////////////DEMAND ///////////////// TECHNEKES IS ONE ECLECTIC BUNCH

T

he majority of Technekes’ employees have been on board for a long time.

It’s no wonder. The environment inside Technekes’ brand new offices on S.Tryon Street is relaxed. LEED-certified lighting, which shuts off when there is little movement below, banishes glare. Shirtsleeves and dresscasual is the code. The atmosphere is friendly. Good humored conversations can be heard through the winding offices and low-walled cubicles.

Completely at home are dogs Roxxy and Lucy, belonging to Jack Ross, cofounder of Technekes, who attend meetings and run messages up and down the hallway. “We’re not a bunch of stuffed shirts,” says Preston Fay, the other principal and co-founder. “We let people do things in the way they want—within reason,” he adds. Don’t be misled. Low-key does not mean still. Technekes is an energetic, fastpaced company which adheres to a high standard of professionalism.

“We will make contact with a few million people this year,” ventures Steve Amedio, Technekes COO. “Each of those conversations has the same ultimate purpose: to create demand.”

Technekes is both a marketing strategy firm and direct marketing agency.

Through B2B relationships, it works at each end of the sales and marketing spectrum for its clients, providing strategy; analysis; definition and segmentation of prospects and customers; customer and prospect qualification and inducement; customer service and support, and sales incentives and awards. In many ways, Technekes serves as an outsourced marketing division for its clients.

Technekes bridges the gap between marketing and sales to bring buyers and sellers together. Utilizing a broad array of tools such as inbound and outbound calling programs, promotions, Web sites, micro sites, appointment setting, market research studies and direct mail, the company conceptualizes and executes multi-channel programs to drive sales for its clients’ products and services. “We aim to create a lot of handshakes,” summarizes Fay. Add creative services to that list of core competencies. While Technekes does not engage in developing television commercials or radio spots, it does create specialized campaigns with data and templating for specific purposes and tactics including software for event-driven marketing. "

p u r s u i n g a b a l a n c e o f b u s i n e s s a n d l i fe

“

~Preston Fay Principal and Co-founder

“We get it done. Lots of companies can tell you who the prospects are; not many can go out and get them in a way that gives significant return on investment for their clients.”

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/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / Follow-up on results with the client is integrated into all of these activities. “Getting all that work produced takes a certain amount of engineering savvy,” says Amedio, understating the talent, skill and technology required to handle these online and offline activities with the quality the company insists upon.

According to Ross, Technekes is focused on a good return on investment (ROI) for their clients.

“Everything we do is measurable towards that return on a project or campaign. We are usually able to provide real time ROI data especially when the client has sales reporting ability.” Technekes’ technology can match up a client’s incremental sales with their records of communications and activities.

Owning Success The success of Technekes’ clients has become their own. Amedio revels in last year’s impressive $12 million performance. This milestone meets another as Technekes celebrates it 10th anniversary this year.

The fact that Technekes is debt-free significantly enhances the company’s wealth. In the case of Technekes, the commitment to be debt-free comes straight out of its service philosophy.

“If we can’t make the money off the services we provide,” Fay explains, “then something is very wrong. If we make money for our customers, then the money for the company takes care of itself.”

“We get it done,” Fay continues. “Lots of companies can tell you who the prospects are; not many can go out and get them in a way that gives significant return on investment for their clients.”

Technekes focuses primarily on clients involved in life sciences, including agriculture and healthcare, financial services and a smaller segment of retail. Interestingly, even though agriculture and financial services have different verticals, their channels are similar.

“We are organized into practice groups so we can bring both market and industry experience to specific campaigns,” says Amedio. “But the majority of what we do is applicable across the board of clients and the work we do is quite similar from segment to segment of industry.”

Fay, Ross and Amedio complement each other with a diversity of strengths and interests.

“My comfort level—what I like to do—is to spend time with my customers; to create demand,” says Fay. He gives much more kudos for technology to Jack than himself. “Jack is as talented a technical person as I’ve ever known. I am much more of a marketer.”

Fay explains that it would be difficult to try to run everything in the company and spend time with customers and work through marketing programs. “Marketing is a lot more appealing to me than sitting down with a 401K

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photo: Adam Whitlow

//////////////////////////// “We’re targeting and segmenting to define decision makers.

Callers can reach someone who knows what they are talking about. The person answering the phone might be a pharmaceutical rep, a farmer, an agronomist, a retailer or representatives of other segments of industry. ~Jack Ross Principal and Co-founder

person or such,” admits Fay. That’s where Amedio comes in, with a firm grasp of operating the business and supplying it with talented human capital.

While Fay and Ross are more philosophical about the profits, Amedio is in those details.

Hatching a Techneke Fay and Ross met initially as competitors in 1990, ending up at the same company in 1994. In 1995, Fay was sent by the company to the U.K. to head up a business venture there, and Ross, who had

spearheaded database management for the company, followed nine months later. Fay returned to the U.S. in 1998 and Ross in early 2000.

Somewhere in between, both decided to team up to do the same things they had been doing. “No one can envision what things will be, but we are doing what we talked about doing,” says Ross. Fay echoes those sentiments and adds, “I had no grand vision in 1999 other than Jack and I implementing the capabilities that we’d spent our whole careers up to that point developing.”

Primed in database management and marketing, Fay, who grew up in Knoxville, Tenn., and

w w w. g re a t e rc h a r l o t t e b i z . c o m

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / graduated first with a degree in agriculture and animal sciences, then a graduate degree in communications and direct marketing from the University of Tennessee, and Ross, originally from New York but who grew up in England and graduated with a degree in computer science engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, were ready to be in business for themselves.

Fay had already been part of growing two other ventures from small to big during this dot-com era. “Everybody took in all this money and it just seemed crazy to us,” remembers Fay. “We were a service agency—we didn’t need outside money to do that. What we needed were some computers— and some customers.”

By June of 2000, Technekes had two customers, numerous buy-out offers and their first real office space. But by April of 2001, both customers, both dot-coms, were gone. It would be months before the partners reeled in their first large agriculture client and longer before they got a paycheck.

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photos: Adam Whitlow

There was no looking back. In a little over a year, Technekes had reached its first million dollars in revenue. It was a period of furious activity. “Lots of things we are doing now germinated during that time,” says Ross.

Steve Amedio, a native of Oswego, N.Y., and graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University, had come on board as a consultant in 2001 and in 2003 Technekes moved into a 4,000-square-foot office space in the Cedar Street Design Center, where they would remain for the next seven years.

Technekes went on to open its own customer support and call center in 2005 and its creative services department in 2006. In 2008, Amedio joined the firm full-time as its chief operating officer.

Last year the company moved its customer care center into a 13,000-square-foot space at Perimeter Park in Morrisville, N.C. (just outside of Research Triangle Park), and renamed it the Market Interaction Center and in early 2010, settled into its new "

!666@?ABC43BB6CB3@D5< Charlotte 6100 Fairview Rd. Suite 330 Charlotte, NC 28210 Phone: 704.554.4112

p u r s u i n g a b a l a n c e o f b u s i n e s s a n d l i fe

Atlanta 6190 Powers Ferry Rd. Suite 190 Atlanta, GA 30339 Phone: 770.956.1955

Dallas 15851 Dallas Pkwy Suite 600 Addison, TX 75001 Phone: 214.561.8692

BusinessWise Better Data...Better Decisions

june 2010

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/////////////////////////// “We will make contact with a few million people this year.

Each of those conversations has the same ultimate purpose: to create demand.” ~Steve Amedio President and COO

10,000-square-foot office space in Charlotte’s south end where there is room to grow.

Phenomenal Growth Technekes has experienced phenomenal growth with existing and new clients. “We’ve had a very good two years,” reflects Amedio.

The Market Interaction Center is a B2B customer support and service center which houses 125 seats in its calling center. Having no products of its own, what the center “sells” is customer focus; delivering to the customers of Technekes’ clients what they want—customized communications, according to Ross. Each inbound call goes through triage for level of action; each outbound call is completely branded to Technekes’ client.

“We’re not a chop-shop,” says Ross. “We don’t do telemarketing.”

Ross explains that what they do is high level service; doing work ahead of time so they know who to talk with. “We’re targeting and segmenting to define decision makers,” says Ross. “Callers can reach someone who knows what they are talking about.

The person answering the phone might be a pharmaceutical rep, a farmer, an agronomist, a retailer or representatives of other segments of industry.

“We’re looking to hire people with experience in the industry of the campaign we’re doing,” explains Ross. “These folks make the perfect customer support people.” Technekes also works closely with a client’s internal sales force, something a lot of companies make the mistake of leaving out, according to Ross.

Technekes is not a company to rest on its laurels. “If you are in the direct marketing business, you are not standing still; things are constantly moving, transforming and evolving,” says Amedio.

“We are constantly adding capabilities and tactics to improve marketing support strategies.”

Technekes and Xceleration, an Atlanta company, have recently embarked on a strategic venture to launch Ignite B2B. Xceleration has a framework for rewarding or incentivizing sales or distribution channels.

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“Ignite B2B is the brand name we have put on the collaboration,” says Fay. “We are the main creation component with our Ignition platform and have the skill sets and expertise to drive marketing while they have the experience in rewarding the behaviors that our clients are trying to achieve.” Ignition is the software platform that all of Technekes tactics are built upon. The two companies have begun to share some clients.

“We’ve been developing this since day one,” says Ross. “This is 10 years of blood, sweat and tears in getting those capabilities up and running.”

In other signs of growth, Technekes is increasing their analytic capacity by adding a business analytics practice group. “What we do produces great insights for our customers and we want to build on that,” says Ross. Also, hiring is underway for a new practice group leader in health care.

Amedio forecasts significant growth in all practice areas in the next 24 to 36 months and advancements in technology in the market center in the next 12 to 18 months. Their new Web site tells the whole story.

Nevertheless, Fay cautions: “People get too hung up on growth, the notion that we have to be a $50 million company in five years or such. The question I would ask is why. You could be a $50 million company and still lose money. I’d rather be a $30 million dollar company that makes money. If we’re profitable we can create an environment that is good for us, our staff and our customers.”

So far, so good. biz Zenda Douglas is a Charlotte-based freelance writer.

Technekes, LLC 1927 S.Tryon St., Ste. 310 Charlotte, N.C. 28203 Phone: 704-342-2900 Principals: Preston Fay and Jack Ross, Principals and Co-founders; Steve Amedio, President and COO Additional Offices: Market Interaction Center in Morrisville, N.C. Employees: 56 agency staff (all except a few are in Charlotte, N.C. office); 40 Market Interaction Center staff (Morrisville, N.C.) Business: Demand creation company implementing marketing and sales programs for world-class B2B clients; facilitates incremental growth for clients by executing multi-channel programs and solutions; brings buyers and sellers together to do business in measurable ways that result in a significant return-oninvestment for clients. www.technekes.com

[employersbiz]

Cont. from page 13

This is up from 13 percent in the same period last year and up from 20 percent in the fourth quarter. Twelve percent decreased headcount, down from 26 percent year over year and down from 13 percent in the fourth quarter.

Sixty-four percent of employers reported no change in their number of full-time, permanent employees while one percent were undecided.

Hiring in Q2 2010. Twenty-three percent of employers plan to add full-time, permanent headcount in the second quarter while 8 percent plan to downsize staffs. Sixty-four percent anticipate no change while 6 percent are undecided. Looking at actual hiring for the second quarter in 2009, 18 percent of employers reported they had hired full-time, permanent staff while 17 percent reported they had decreased staff.

Six employment trends for Q2 2010 1. Hiring contract workers. Hesitant to accelerate hiring of permanent staff, 25 percent of employers anticipate hiring contract workers or freelancers in the second quarter to help fill productivity gaps. Thirteen percent said they are likely to hire these workers on a permanent basis.

2. Offering internships. Employers are also upping their number of interns to costeffectively add resources in the interim. Nearly one-quarter (24 percent) of employers said that they will be hiring interns at their location in the second quarter.

3. Hiring for social media. The pervasiveness of social media is reflected in companies’ plans to add jobs and responsibilities related to Web 2.0. Nearly one-in-ten employers (9 percent) plan to hire a new employee in the second quarter to focus on social media. An additional 13 percent plan to add social media management to a current employee’s responsibilities.

4. Adding bilingual staff. Employers are diversifying their work force to appeal to broader consumer segments. One-third (33 percent) said they plan to hire bilingual candidates in the second quarter. Half (50 percent) said that if they had two equally qualified candidates, they would be more inclined to hire the bilingual candidate. % Cont. page 39

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!Hand-to-hand combat

but inside of three minutes, the enemy were dead, the rooms cleared and the soldiers were off to the next building.

Following that, we were escorted to laser firing ranges where both close-up shooting and distance shooting were controlled by different computers. It was the stand-up version with various simulations and conditions, similar to video games. Again, we were given a chance to shoot these weapons to see how they were helpful in training our soldiers.

We broke for lunch and were served MREs (Meal, Ready-to-Eat). Not too bad, but not great; nevertheless filling if you ate all that was provided.

Our Afternoon The afternoon began with more briefings about communications equipment, physical training and hand-to-hand combat techniques as well as PSYOPs or psychological

!Night stalkers bring in the rangers

!Rangers move to secure the town

photos: Joe Epley

!Civilians evacuated by 160th Special Ops Chinooks

!After action briefing before going home

village and overcame the enemy. Then we were ushered onto the helicopters. They took off, flying just over the treetops with the tail end halfway open, and we were flown back to Pope AFB. General Mulholland greeted us and welcomed us to freedom. He also congratulated us on our escape and our adventure. He expressed gratitude for the time and attention that we had given from our daily lives to learn about the U.S. Army and the Special Operations Forces. He wanted us to take back to our friends and community the exercises that we had just completed. He wanted us to remind others that we have to keep training our troops to be specially prepared for the war that continues.

We boarded the C-130 plane for our hourlong flight back home to Charlotte. Our minds were filled with all that we had witnessed and learned. It was an experience of a lifetime for

It was an experience of a lifetime for me and the others. We were so impressed at the resources and training and the preparation for war. We are immensely grateful for the soldiers, airmen, sailors and marines who fight to defend and protect our way of life. We wish them well and remain determined to keep them well prepared for these confrontations. We also pray and wish that their families are cared for while they are absent from them. operations training and civil affairs training.

Then, we were assembled to watch an unconventional warfare setting where the enemy was engaged by local troops that had been trained to defend themselves and to protect their stations. Mortar shells, smoke bombs, machine gun fire, explosions and different weapons were used and demonstrated with lots of action, smoke and noise.

Again, we boarded our buses and were taken through a peaceful demonstration and road block with a leaflet drop. Demonstrators pounded on our doors and told us to leave.

After they were broken up and departed, we were escorted to the roof tops of two buildings that overlooked a small village with two- and three-story buildings filled will enemy snipers firing at civilians. Air Mobile Operations delivered an assault team on MH-47 Chinook helicopters that attacked the

p u r s u i n g a b a l a n c e o f b u s i n e s s a n d l i fe

me and the others. We were so impressed at the resources and training and the preparation for war. We are immensely grateful for the soldiers, airmen, sailors and marines who fight to defend and protect our way of life.

We wish them well and remain determined to keep them well prepared for these confrontations. We also pray and wish that their families are cared for while they are absent from them.

May God bless our troops and their families and keep them safe and healthy so we may succeed in our objectives and to keep America safe! biz

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photo: Wayne Morris

Rick Hendrick Chairman and CEO Hendrick Automotive Group Hendrick Motorsports, LLC

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by ellison clary

FOR RICK HENDRICK, PEOPLE MAKE IT WORK »MARK MARTIN | GO DADDY

#5 »JEFF GORDON | DU PONT

#24 »JIMMIE JOHNSON | LOWE'S

»DALE EARNHARDT JR. AMP | NATIONAL GUARD

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p u r s u i n g a b a l a n c e o f b u s i n e s s a n d l i fe

[bizprofile]

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ith 60 stores and 80 franchises, he’s chairman of Hendrick Automotive Group, the nation’s second largest string of privately held car dealerships which sold almost 100,000 vehicles and serviced 1.5 million in 2009, generating more than $3.5 billion in revenue.

His racing team is the only one to win four consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup championships, and it’s turned the trick twice. Since 1984, Hendrick Motorsports drivers have won 191 races, and it’s pointing to 200 this season.

“I’m the luckiest person around,” Rick Hendrick is quick to admit.

“I get to make a living doing the two things in life I enjoy the most outside of my family,” he explains. “That’s racing and the car business. I love them both equally.”

For singular success in dual fields, Hendrick credits people.

“The key is people and the commitment to work together,” says the 60-year-old leader. He’s in a conference room at his flagship dealer, City Chevrolet, on Independence Boulevard. “It’s all about having folks who are talented, who believe in the same things and are willing to work together.”

Those who’ve known and admired Hendrick validate that thought.

“He is the ultimate people person,” says Humpy Wheeler, former president and general manager of Charlotte Motor Speedway and now chair of the Wheeler Company headquartered on East Morehead Street.

“He knows how to get people together with a common goal. He’s a wonderful leader,” adds the author of the new book, Growing Up NASCAR. Sports marketing pioneer Max Muhleman agrees. After creating Muhleman Marketing, he was instrumental in getting Hendrick into NASCAR. “Rick’s a real golden-ruler,” observes Muhleman, principal of Charlottebased Private Sports Consulting. “He practices treating other people like he’d want to be treated.

“He’s always treated his employees like family,” Muhleman adds. “They take out billboards on his birthday and call him things like ‘greatest boss in the world.’”

That touches on another reason for Hendrick’s success.

“A lot of people say the number one thing in business is customer satisfaction, and I think it’s number two,” Hendrick explains. “To us, it’s employee satisfaction. Unless you’ve got happy employees, they’re not going to treat " people right. They’re going to treat people like you treat them.”

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Getting in Gear In life, in business and in racing, Hendrick rose from humble beginnings.

Born in the northeastern North Carolina town of Warrenton, he grew up on a tobacco farm near South Hill, Va. His dad, “Papa Joe,” taught him to fix farm equipment while instilling the value of hard work as well as a pure passion for the automobile.

At 14, Hendrick set local drag strip records with a 1931 Chevrolet he’d nursed into racing shape. He had a chance at professional baseball, but chose a Westinghouse vocational program at North Carolina State University.

“I finished up a Class B tool and die maker,” Hendrick says, but he entered the automobile business with well-known Raleigh dealer Mike Leith.

Pretty soon, he was selling enough used cars to attract the attention of General Motors’ Chevrolet Division. The brass wanted him to take over a struggling dealership in Bennettsville, S.C. That was 1976, but Hendrick still shakes his head. “It didn’t even have a showroom,” he remembers. “They were selling 200 cars a year. At Leith, we were selling 300 cars a month. I sold 1,000 cars my first year down there.”

Early on, a Bennettsville businessman visited with a proposition: Put a new clutch in his delivery truck overnight and he’d buy his fleet vehicles from Hendrick.

Hendrick drove to Laurinburg to pick up the proper parts, and then installed it himself. “I sold the guy trucks the rest of the time,” he smiles.

If Hendrick did well in Bennettsville, the Chevrolet people promised, they’d find him better opportunities. So when Charlotte’s coveted City Chevrolet came up for sale in 1977, Hendrick bought it and it became his second dealership.

Currently, Hendrick owns five of the top Chevy stores in the southeast, with leader City Chevrolet celebrating 75 years.

“We’re going to have a big luncheon and a lot of factory people are going to come in,” Hendrick says. “We’re going to tie the anniversary into our advertising. For any kind of business, 75 years is phenomenal.”

Overall, Hendrick’s chain is split almost evenly between domestics and imports. Though he sells lots of Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Honda products, he likes the future for General Motors and Chrysler.

A key to Hendrick’s steady growth has been an emphasis on service. While the industry benchmark for expenses covered by parts and service is 52 percent, in the Hendrick chain it’s 83 percent.

“We don’t care where you bought the car, we want to work on it,” he says. “If we do our job right, you will end up being our customer.”

Though the recession has wrought as rough a business climate as he’s seen, Hendrick hasn’t closed any dealerships. Helping significantly was

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(l to r) !Current location of City Chevrolet. !Rick Hendrick in City Chevrolet office in the 1980s. !City Chevrolet in the mid-’50s at the South Tryon Street location. !Harry Hyde, crew chief and veteran driver, and Rick Hendrick.

City Chevrolet

Celebrates

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&%N>I%ID%KF?>%F%EARAGN%HDAGN%I=>%ILD%I=AGNB%AG%EAS>%&%>GUD@% I=>%KDBI%DQIBAH>%DS%K@%SFKAE@7%+=FIOB%MFJAGN%FGH%I=>%JFM% PQBAG>BB7%&%EDR>%I=>K%PDI=%>VQFEE@7 ~Rick Hendrick Chairman and CEO Hendrick’s $40 million investment in 5,000 used vehicles which sold like wildfire in early 2009.

Entering the Race Meanwhile, he’s almost completed a heritage center at Hendrick Motorsports near Charlotte Motor Speedway. It includes many of the 180 cars he and his dad accumulated before Papa Joe’s death in 2004. But it also has a replica of his granddad’s general store where he built his first racer. And there’s a miniature City Chevrolet and a scale model speed shop and tractor company like the one his dad worked in.

Between the Hendrick Automotive Group headquarters on Monroe Road and the motor sports complex, Hendrick wheels a shiny black Chevrolet Tahoe SUV. “It’s got a lot of room,” he says. “I never know what I’ve got to carry with me. It’s smooth. It’s a comfortable car on the road.”

Hendrick Motorsports is on more than 100 acres. “We’ve grown from 5,000 square feet to 600,000 square feet and from five people to 550

people,” Hendrick says proudly. He doesn’t disclose revenue, but says about 70 percent comes from sponsors, the rest from driver winnings.

Hendrick, his dad and some others raced speedboats early on and the Hendrick team won three national championships and set a world speed record with a craft called “Nitro Fever.”

But the lure of auto racing was strong and, in 1983, Hendrick partnered with Robert Gee on a car that Gee’s son-in-law Dale Earnhardt drove to victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Soon after, Muhleman got Hendrick interested in partnering with country music star Kenny Rogers and NASCAR king Richard Petty in a stock car venture. The deal fell apart, leaving Hendrick and crew chief Harry Hyde with a fast Chevy and a team called “All Star Racing.”

After seven races in 1984, they were not only winless but sponsorless. They were thinking of packing it in. Then, with driver Geoff Bodine, they won in Martinsville, found financial support and ended the season with three victories.

Now Hendrick Motorsports has four superstar

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drivers in Jimmie Johnson, among the fastest to reach 50 wins; Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr., who long have split avid NASCAR fans as favorites; and Mark Martin, who continues to win in his 50s.

Though NASCAR remains hugely popular, the recession has cut into revenues. Still, Hendrick thinks those who run the sport and others on the periphery are doing what it takes to survive and thrive.

“Everybody has had to tighten their belt,” he says. “Speedways have gotten cheap tickets now and hotels have said, ‘Okay, we’ve got rooms.

We’ll deal.’”

Female driver Danica Patrick has fueled more interest and NASCAR czar Brian France has presided over fan-friendly rules changes, such as making it less likely a race ends under a caution flag.

“From the standpoint of owners, drivers and NASCAR communicating and trying to work together for the good of the sport, it’s the best it’s ever been,” Hendrick says.

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He gushes about financial prospects for the new NASCAR Hall of Fame in center city Charlotte. “This Hall of Fame is giving us a chance to host events and showcase the city,” he says. “Huge events will be happening there.”

Building a Legacy As his mentors, Hendrick cites “Papa Joe” and his mother Mary. His dad taught him to take care of people and how to work on cars.

His mother, a long-time bank teller, showed him the value of borrowing money.

Long ago, Hendrick passed on a chance to own a race track. “You can only do so many things right,” he says as he points to the empire " that friend and fellow Charlottean Bruton

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Hendrick does own the Mercedes dealership next door to City Chevrolet, a jewel that Smith also tried to buy when the late Skipper Beck put it up for sale. Smith’s auto dealership chain is a public corporation and much larger than Hendrick’s.

“We compete,” Hendrick says of Smith, “but it’s a friendly competition. I have a lot of respect for Bruton. We’re good friends.”

Beck died in a plane crash. An earlier crash took the lives of Hendrick’s son Ricky, brother John, nieces Jennifer and Kimberly and six others during a 2004 flight to a race in Martinsville.

It’s not the only major adversity Hendrick has faced. In 1996, he was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia. In 1997, he pleaded guilty to charges involving gifts to American Honda Motor Company executives.

The leukemia has been in full remission since December 1999. Hendrick served a mail fraud sentence, then received a full pardon from President Bill Clinton. Later, Gov. Jim Hunt recognized him with The Order of the Long Leaf Pine, North Carolina’s highest civilian honor.

But the pain of losing loved ones continues.

To this day, Hendrick team members swivel their caps backward when they win a race, in honor of Ricky Hendrick and the other crash victims.

Further, Hendrick champions the Hendrick Foundation for Children established by brother John. That entity committed $3 million to help build the Levine Children’s Hospital.

After his father died, the Hendrick Automotive Group donated $1 million toward construction of the Joe Hendrick Center for Automotive Technology at Central Piedmont Community College.

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Wheeler marvels at Hendrick’s reaction to his challenges. “So many people retreat and withdraw into a shell when things like that happen,” Wheeler observes. “He reaches out and goes to people. I think that’s what gets him through it.”

That seems to describe Hendrick’s personal formula.

“There’s got to be a reason to go forward,” Hendrick says. “For me, it’s your faith, your family and your friends.

“I battled leukemia and didn’t think I’d be here,” he muses. “You just get up every day and brush yourself off.”

He gestures to the City Chevrolet showroom. “It’s all about these people,” he says. “I walked in here this morning and people were coming up and hugging, and you’re like family.

“So it’s the people. We’ve done this together.

We’ve built these two companies together.” biz Ellison Clary is a Charlotte-based freelance writer.

Photos courtesy of Hendrick Motorsports, LLC.

Hendrick Automotive Group 6000 Monroe Road Charlotte, N.C. 28212 Phone: 704-568-5550 Principal: Joseph (Rick) Riddick Hendrick III, Chairman Established: 1976 Employees: 6,200 Locations: 80 franchises; 60 dealerships; 10 states Revenue: $3.5 billion (2009) Business: Second largest privately owned dealership group in the U.S.; 20 makes from Acura to Volvo. www.hendrickauto.com Hendrick Motorsports, LLC 4400 Papa Joe Hendrick Blvd.

Charlotte, N.C. 28262 Phone: 704-455-3400 Principal: Joseph (Rick) Riddick Hendrick III, Chairman and CEO Established: 1984, with crew chief and veteran driver Harry Hyde Employees: 550 Manufacturer/Model: Chevrolet Impala Drivers: Dale Earnhardt Jr. (#88); Jeff Gordon (#24), Jimmie Johnson (#48), Mark Martin (#5) Business: One of the top auto racing enterprises in the U.S. with four teams; handles marketing and licensing; designs and builds cars; builds and re-builds engines; 191 wins and 13 NASCAR Championships. www.hendrickmotorsports.com

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Bruce Julian Owner Bruce Julian Clothier

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by ellison clary

[bizprofile]

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SPECIALTY

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BRUCE JULIAN BELIEVES GOOD CLOTHES OPEN ALL DOORS “It’s a specialty store. What I carry has to be priced right, it’s got to be the right color and it’s got to be the right quality.” ~Bruce Julian

Owner

The Bruce Julian logo is a representation of his father Milton’s face on the body of a man in a 1920s suit rowing a boat, emblematic of the Ivy League look he pioneered throughout the Southeast.

p u r s u i n g a b a l a n c e o f b u s i n e s s a n d l i fe

eople call Bruce Julian funny and colorful, and savvy as well. He recently reopened his eponymous men’s store after a fire with a one-liner about “hot fashion that could make Henny Youngman blush.”

His reopening coincided with his wedding anniversary which was, yes, April Fool’s Day. Flamboyant both in style and personality, he fingers a mini-pony tail for his thinning but longish hair, dressed stylishly with a panache of color.

“I’m known for the clothes having a little step in them,” Julian says of his fashion-forward reputation. “And for not being stupidly priced.”

He firmly believes that good clothes open all doors from the company boardroom to the golf club, and has the clientele that will attest to it.

And he’s dedicated. Shut down from December 19 until April 1, he speaks of having 14 straight Saturdays free. Then he admits he worked most of them in temporary quarters, receiving customers and taking orders. He visited New York City four times picking new inventory, and he shopped a fashion show in Las Vegas and another in Charlotte.

Little wonder then that, after a next-door fire left him with extensive smoke damage, Julian reopened Bruce Julian Clothier with flair. Many customers consider his current stock a superlative selection. He offers brands such as Joseph Abboud and Talia, names not commonly available on other Charlotte racks.

“It’s a specialty store,” Julian explains. “What I carry has to be priced right, it’s got to be the right color and it’s got to be the right quality.”

Even with brands other stores carry, Julian remains different. “I’m going to buy with pizzazz,” he explains, “and department store buyers tend to be conservative. I’m priced pretty much the same as Men’s Warehouse or Brooks Brothers, but for them, it’s got to work in Milwaukee and Florida " and upstate New York.

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“My job is to make the customer love the clothes, love the quality and what I’m offering. And secondly, love the environment.

There’s always going to be something exciting and new.” ~Bruce Julian Owner

“I’m going for the Charlotte guy with my taste, and it’s much more specific and more exciting,” he adds.

Though he stocks traditional styles, Julian likes fashion with an edge. These days, a fresh look is luring young people for the first time in years.

“The style is a two-button coat, side vents, and flat front trousers with a snugger fit,” Julian says.

“The kids are totally coming back for that,” he continues, adding older men are getting used to it.

The Julian reopening on April 1 truly did coincide with the 10-year anniversary of his marriage to the former Bonnie Bullock of Charlotte. She runs a fabric printing business in New York. The Julians split time between a Manhattan apartment and a Lake Wylie home in Clover, S.C. Julian’s April 9 reopening party featured heavy hors d’oeuvres by restaurant Ilios Noche and a store stuffed with the latest men’s fashions, from ties to shoes, with lots of suits, sport coats and trousers in the latest colors and cuts.

The more than 200 who celebrated with Julian reveled in his return.

“I’ve been a Bruce Julian customer for at least 15 years,” says Dewey Todd, who attended the festivities with his wife Frohn. During his 38 years

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with Springs Industries, Todd learned the nuances of fine cloth. “I appreciate his eye for fabric and he offers top-quality products,” adds Todd.

These days Todd is director of quality and product development of Guest Supply, a Sysco Company that operates from Concord offices.

The Todds live in Kershaw, S.C., but don’t mind visits to Julian in South Charlotte.

His Father’s Son Bruce Julian was born with men’s clothing in his blood. The story begins in 1946, when the Julian brothers, Milton and Maurice (father of fashion designer Alexander Julian), opened their first shop in Chapel Hill. Two years later, Milton went out on his own with Milton’s Clothing Cupboard, pioneering the Ivy League look throughout the Southeast.

A local icon, Milton remained in his original Chapel Hill Franklin Street location for more than 40 years. Through the ’50s and ’60s, Milton’s expanded to locations in Charlotte, Dallas and Atlanta.

In 1977, Milton invited the 25-year-old Bruce to open his own store in Charlotte “for better or worse.”

Early on, it was mainly for worse in the South

Tryon Street location that had been a Pontiac dealership. Center city was largely a ghost town. Most retailers had fled to the suburbs.

Through with being beat up and robbed, Julian moved Milton’s in 1980 to a location across the street from SouthPark Mall to be close to Joseph Bank, the men’s upscale discounter. He stayed at that Morrison Boulevard address until 2001. That’s when his lease ran out and the owners had other ideas for the land.

Julian then moved his company to the Arboretum Shopping Center at the intersection of Providence Road and Pineville-Matthews Road and changed the name to Bruce Julian Clothier. He selected a handsome spot with 3,200 square feet, but it’s about 10 miles from center city and half that from SouthPark. He worked hard to entice long-time customers to drop by.

“I persevered, man,” Julian says. “I kept calling people. A good many of them, I forced into coming. I’ve got a customer who lives in Dilworth.

He says he has to take a plane out here.”

Julian hung on with promotions such as his “2 fer,” to which he later added his “3 fer.” When currently offered, that means two suits regularly $995 for the price of one, or even three for one. And he’ll do a “2 fer” on suits regularly $595 and on sport coats regularly $375. The “2 fer” often extends to polo shirts, dress pants and jeans.

Suffice it to say he’s a promoter. He learned that from his father and uncle Maurice Julian.

Bruce Julian grew up working in his dad’s Chapel

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Hill store which for a time operated across the street from one operated by uncle Maurice.

“He used to send me up on the roof,” Julian reminisces about his father, who would stir interest in a sale by keeping his doors locked until 4 p.m. People would gather on the sidewalk waiting to get in. It was Bruce’s job to fling items of free clothing into the crowd.

Such frenzy developed that Milton’s would remain open until the wee hours of the morning.

“So I got my deal-making from my dad,” Julian says.

A Promotional Wonder Julian started cooking up his own marketing schemes as early as age 14, when he unleashed dozens of turtles marked ‘Sale at Milton’s’ all over the UNC campuses.

Nowadays, a bit more reverent, among Julian’s most successful promotions is a ladies’ day he has established on one of the first Saturday’s in December. It’s a chance for women to shop for their men.

“I offer them a nice spread and complimentary mimosas,” says Julian, who offers beer, wine and mixed drinks routinely from an in-store bar.

“Women love to come in here. They’re not put off. We don’t do stodgy.”

The live band that played for the reopening party supplanted the usual unique recorded music, a constant in the Julian environment.

“I’ve always been into music and I keep it playing,” he says. “I’ve got 14,000 songs on the iPod.” Eclectic is how he defines his musical taste, professing to like all styles except some of the heavy metal.

It’s another enticement to enter the store. So is the putting green. Ditto the pinball and slot machines.

Thinking of other lures, Julian offers, “I like to feed customers. More Saturdays than not, I’ll have a restaurant in here catering. It’s kind of old school.”

Given his innate hankering for promotions of all sorts, he muses about promotions gone wrong. A scheme to spin a wheel for varying discounts failed spectacularly. Then there was the time he mailed coupons for a free bottle of wine, no strings attached.

“You got to see ‘the other side,’” he giggles, eyes filled with glee. “I had people come in here, they just wanted that wine. They didn’t want to see nothin’ else. That was funny.”

What did work was when Julian found his sales manager of 15 years, Ace Whiteheart. A regular customer, Whiteheart’s gig selling jeans on the road fizzled and Julian brought him on, initially as an outside person, taking fashions to businesses and outfitting employees of car dealers and such.

A diminutive dandy with a healthy handle" bar mustache, Whiteheart enjoys a natural

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gift of gab. Soon, customers were demanding his services.

“I shop at Bruce Julian because of Ace,” says Thom McKinney, principal of Thom McKinney & Associates. He’s a Charlotte-based motivational speaker and corporate trainer.

“I also like the fact that the clothes, when I put them on, make me look wonderful,” McKinney says. “As an old man, that’s what you want from clothes.”

Julian’s typical customer is a family man in his early 40s. “He’s the guy who’s running the company for the guy who owns it,” he says. “He’s going to live mostly in this neighborhood or farther south.”

He’s built his custom clothing offerings, too.

Custom now accounts for a quarter of his business.

Toying With the Future Also prominent in the store are thousands of toys, with emphasis on cars and sports games.

Julian started collecting in the mid-’80s and he restocked his toy selection for the reopening by shopping the New York Gift Show.

He favors toys with action to them, such as windups and those that operate on batteries. All are for sale.

Whatever it takes to make shopping for men’s clothes enjoyable is what he’s up to, Julian explains.

“My job is to make the customer love the clothes, love the quality and what I’m offering,” he says. “And secondly, love the environment. There’s always going to be something exciting and new.”

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He pauses, and then with a wicked chuckle, adds: “And I’ll take as much of your money as you’ll let me.”

It works. “I like Bruce and Ace,” says David Wagner, a principal at Wagner Murray Architects in Charlotte. “They’re engaging people. They’re always cheerful and happy to see you. They make working with them pleasurable.

“Plus, they’re stylish,” Wagner adds. “I still wear a jacket I bought from Bruce when he was uptown in 1979.”

Julian dodges questions about revenue, but shares that he’s grown a little more than 10 percent annually in the last three years.

He acknowledges his father as his biggest influence. “He is the most ridiculously positive person,” Julian smiles. His dad’s face adorns the Julian logo. It’s on the body of a man in a 1920s suit rowing a boat.

Now 92, Milton Julian still takes orders from long-time customers. He lives on a farm near Chapel Hill with Julian’s mother and sister.

“He likes to come down during the Charlotte men’s show because he sees his all his cronies,” Julian says of his dad.

Julian has plied his trade for 33 years now.

At 58, he harbors no thoughts of retirement. The question seems a surprise.

“I had a chance to get out with the fire and didn’t even blink at taking it,” Julian says. “I’m sure there will come a time when I want to cash in and travel. But what am I going to do on Saturdays?”

His voice switches to a more serious tone. “This is what I do and I do it with a passion,” he says.

“When somebody comes in here, they’re going to be taken care of with a passion. That might be all that really matters.” biz Ellison Clary is a Charlotte-based freelance writer.

Julian’s, Inc. dba

Bruce Julian Clothier Arboretum Shopping Center 8128-300 Providence Road Charlotte, N.C. 28277 Phone: 704-364-8686 Principal: Bruce Julian, Owner; Ace Whiteheart, Sales Manager; Cheryl Hughes, Tailor Established: 1977 (Milton’s Clothing Cupboard of Charlotte, Inc.) Employees: 4 full-time and seasonal part-time Business: Specialty men’s retailer recognized for its stylish, high-quality merchandise and uniquely entertaining atmosphere. www.brucejulian.com

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visit to Charlotte’s Charles Luck Stone Center’s studio is more than a shopping expedition: It’s an experience.

If the staff knows you are coming, expect a gracious concierge to greet you by name the moment you step into the airy stone-clad vestibule. You’ll be offered a beverage in the marble-topped hospitality areas while you admire the thickness of the countertop, the stylish yet timeless design of the marble sink, or the luminous stone tiles hanging artfully upon the wall.

Says Ashley Quick, studio manager, the sense of experience in the space is no accident. The one-year-old design studio was created with the goal of turning Charlotte, and the Charles Luck Stone Center, into a world-class destination for fashionable homeowners, designers, builders and architects.

Considering that customers arrive from all over the Southeast, including as far south as Orlando, to visit the Charles Luck studio (often followed by a trip to High Point for furniture), it seems that the company has succeeded.

Visitors are encouraged to bring ideas and creativity to Charles Luck with them. Browse stone samples mounted on giant swinging racks, put your hands on blocks of dimensional stone in every color and texture imaginable. Feel inspired by quotes about stones and mountains from Michelangelo and William Blake etched upon the wall. Stand in awe before walls of sandstone blasted from the side of a mountain, dynamite channels still intact. Breathe deeply the fresh air of the display gardens while you investigate the many uses of stone in the walkways and columns. Even the bathroom elicits coos of appreciation for the warm golden marble mounted in complementary patterns upon the wall, and the swirling orange and white marble designs upon the floor.

Recovering from the awe inspired by the artful incorporation of stone and wood into every detail of the space, a visitor can relax and enjoy the outstanding care offered by Charles Luck’s professionals.

Plug a laptop into one of the studio’s charrette tables and discuss your images displayed on the integrated television screen. Bring your fabric swatches, wood samples, sketches, and imagination and participate as Charles Luck’s consultants translate your dreams into " tangible possibilities.

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Charles Luck Stone Center is located on 10 acres in Pineville; the studio itself is divided into a 3,500-square-foot studio and attached 2,000-square-foot gardens artfully incorporating an entire range of stone types, finishes, and applications.

(l to r) Mason Morton Contractor Center Operations Manager Ashley Quick Studio Manager Charles Luck Stone Center

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When you leave, after an hour or five hours or three days, carry with you a pretty fabric tote containing 2.5 inch square samples of marble and stone to examine in greater detail, to carry into the flooring and fabric studios, or to place against walls and furniture to better judge its effect.

Also, take with you a new understanding and appreciation for the beauty, versatility, and limitless design possibilities of stone.

Laying the Foundation In its current incarnation, the Charles Luck Stone Center is barely two years old in Charlotte. But the parent company Luck Stone Corporation has been around for 87 years, and in Charlotte for 12.

In 1923, Charles S. Luck Jr. opened a quarry outside Richmond, Va. Since that time (it was originally called Sunnyside Granite Company), the company has remained in family hands through three generations and is now privately held by Charles Luck IV. Beginning in the 1930s with modern manufacturing facilities and early adoption of electric machines, the company has always been forwardthinking and innovative. Currently, Luck Stone is recognized as a leader in environmental stewardship and plant safety. The Charlotte contractor yard boasts a six-year 100% accident-free status, and the company has won numerous environmental awards. From preserving resources to reclaiming land in an environmentally sensitive manner, the company consistently out-performs environmental regulatory requirements.

Charles Luck Stone Center has always led the market in customer service as well. Whether it’s a cup of coffee or a ground-up architectural design, the staff at Charles Luck is ready. But it hasn’t always been easy. For its first 11 years in Charlotte, the center did business on a 5-acre campus with an approximately 1,500-squarefoot facility.

Mason Morton, operations manager, remembers: “We had seven people working in a space the size of our new conference room. While visiting to discuss a home improvement project, you might be in the room with an architect who needed to make selections by lunchtime, and a contractor trying to order a pallet of bluestone.”

Recognizing that they needed more space in order to meet their ideals for customer service, the company began soliciting ideas and feedback from the community. They formed focus groups to find out what customers wanted from the Charles Luck experience. “What people kept telling us is that they wanted to know more about stone,” says Morton. In addition to space, they wanted education and inspiration.

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A Monument to Design Located on 10 acres in Pineville, and encompassing a total of approximately 9,000 square feet of indoor space, the studio and contractor yard represent the company’s answer to customer desires. By multiplying indoor square footage by six, and separating contractor areas from design areas, the company solved the most basic space problem.

The 3,500-square-foot studio and attached 2,000-square-foot gardens artfully incorporate an entire range of stone types, finishes, and applications.

Boulders in their most raw form ornament the property’s most visible corner. Behind them, an exterior stone wall extends inward, jutting into the vestibule of the studio. This wall is formed of basic sandstone finished only enough to make the blocks fit neatly together—but with rough edges and dynamite channels still visible.

On the other end of the spectrum are highend display pieces fashioned from tiger’s eye, obsidian, rose quartz, jade, and other gorgeous, colorful stones. Hanging on the wall of the coffee room, these tiles are formed from semi-precious stone sliced into sections, fitted together by artisans, and polished until they gleam almost with their own light.

Throughout the studio and gardens, stone is thoughtfully incorporated to display its many useful and aesthetic properties. The hospitality suite sink, designed and built in-house, is formed of thick white marble polished with two different methods to give a subtle variation and at the same time show off the difference between finishes.

There are floors of travertine, walls of obsidian, even floor mosaics incorporating small stones and gold leaf. A limestone fireplace is formed from only six pieces of stone. And as a testament to the genius of Charles Luck designers, the wild variety of stone and finish and applications somehow manage to come together to create a space that feels airy, timeless, and inviting.

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“As we move toward our goal of fulfilling our potential as a nationally respected brand in the architecture and design community, we feel Charlotte is a key component. And because it’s a hub for a major airline, it’s a great location for sourcing materials from around the world.”

Although the effect is breathtakingly gorgeous, the new facility also serves its function for education and inspiration. Against one wall of the

~Mason Morton Contractor Center Operations Manager design area is a set of shelves holding blocks of dimensional stone. Representing dozens of types of stone and finish, the display gives visitors an

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opportunity to see what options are available for sculptural purposes such as fireplaces, sinks or dimensional art. On the same wall, divided by use—whether for outdoors, indoors, floors, or patios—are giant swinging racks displaying stone tiles in an astonishing array of varieties.

Outdoors, the demonstration garden is segmented and each segment shows off different types of stone for patio walkways, walls and columns. Looking past the gardens, it’s possible to see row upon row of stone—boulders, pallets of flagstone, pallets of marble—across from several large bays full of gravel, crushed stone and decorative pebbles.

But you don’t have to walk across the hot gravel drive to see what a pallet of your chosen " stone will look like, because Charles Luck

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designers have thoughtfully arranged to have a pallet of each type of stone available in a viewing area just outside the gardens.

Perhaps even more importantly, the design studio staff is highly knowledgeable, trained, and eager to assist. Whether you have questions about particular pieces of stone, or you need the assistance of a professional architect or designer, Charles Luck has you covered.

For contractors and those who already know what they want and are ready for fulfillment, there’s the contractor’s yard. Past the rows of stone and bays of gravel, a 5,000-square-foot building houses project management and fulfillment staff, a more laid-back space where architects and contractors can quickly have their selections made and orders filled.

On one side of the building is a warehouse for storing weather-sensitive materials, and on the other side is a giant weight scale for loads of stone.

A Jewel in the Queen City’s Crown Though it has a presence throughout the mid-Atlantic and Southeast, Charles Luck is committed to the Charlotte market. This studio is one of only three Charles Luck flagship locations, and is a pleasure to see even from the street. Moreover, by creating a compelling destination, Charles Luck has brought revenue and

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“We believe in the design community in Charlotte. Charlotte is a great place, with designers who are influencing design throughout the entire nation. In addition, it’s a great place to travel—we have Hickory furniture mart, coastal communities, and mountain communities all within a couple hours’ drive.”

~Ashley Quick Studio Manager

tourism to Charlotte from all over the Southeast.

Additionally, they maintain active membership in many Charlotte civic organizations, business coalitions and design organizations.

Asked why Charles Luck is here, and why they care about contributing to the community, their answer is simple: They love Charlotte. Quick Explains: “We believe in the design community in Charlotte. Charlotte is a great place, with designers who are influencing design throughout the entire nation. In addition, it’s a great place to travel—we have Hickory furniture mart, coastal communities, and mountain communities all within a couple hours’ drive.”

Adds Morton: “As we move toward our goal of fulfilling our potential as a nationally respected brand in the architecture and design community,

we feel Charlotte is a key component. And because it’s a hub for a major airline, it’s a great location for sourcing materials from around the world.”

And they do source material from around the world. “If you want it,” says Quick, “We can find it and bring it to you.”

But that doesn’t mean everything comes from far away. In fact, part of their environmental commitment involves sourcing many materials from nearby quarries, and this area is rich in that respect.

Morton likes to tell a story about going to Italy in search of new and exotic materials, and finding a stone that they use in many of their countertops: Virginia Mist granite, sourced in Virginia.

Which just goes to show you that sometimes, the best things in life can be found in your own backyard. And thanks to the Charles Luck Stone Center, that is certainly true for Charlotte denizens seeking an interesting and unique, a “rock solid” design experience. biz Heather Head is a Charlotte-based freelance writer.

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a Division of Luck Stone Corporation

605 Towne Centre Blvd.

Pineville, N.C. 28134 Phone: 704-889-3600 Principals: Charles S. Luck III, Chairman; Charles S. Luck IV, President and CEO; Mason Morton, Charlotte Contractor Center Operations Manager; Ashley Quick, Charlotte Studio Manager Headquarters: Richmond,Va.; 6 stone center studios in Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland In Business: 87 years; 12 in Charlotte Employees: Approximately 800 associates (nationally); 14 (Charlotte only) Business: Largest architectural stone supplier in the mid-Atlantic and Southeast providing a distinctive line of stone products for the home, landscape and business. www.charlesluck.com

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Cont. from page 20

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• IT Outsourcing

5. Replacing lower-performing employees.

Companies are re-evaluating their current staffs to prepare for the upturn ahead. Twenty-eight percent of companies said they plan to replace lower-performing employees with higher-performers in the second quarter.

6. Holding on to talent. Thirty-two percent of employers are concerned that some of their top employees may leave their organizations in the next few months as market conditions improve. To help retain workers, 14 percent are offering more flexible work arrangements, 14 percent are investing more in training, 10 percent are promising future raises or promotions and 9 percent are offering more performance-based incentives such as trips and bonuses. Another 5 percent are providing a higher title without the salary.

Hiring by region in Q2 2010. Companies in both the Northeast and the West are tracking above the national average of employers who said they plan to hire in the second quarter. One-quarter of employers in the Northeast (26 percent) and West (25 percent) said they plan to add full-time workers in the second quarter compared to 21 percent in the South and 20 percent in the Midwest.

While plans to decrease headcount in the second quarter are down from 2009 averages across all regions, 10 percent of employers in the Northeast plan to trim staff levels followed by 8 percent in the Midwest, and 7 percent in both the South and West.

Compensation in Q2 2010. Forty percent of employers expect there will be no change in salary levels in the second quarter.

Thirty-seven percent expect an increase of 3 percent or less. Thirteen percent said they expect their average raises will be between 4 and 10 percent and two percent predict an increase of 11 percent or more. Four percent anticipate a decrease in salaries. (www.careerbuilder.com) Content contributed by The Employers Association, providing comprehensive human resources and training services to a membership of over 865 companies in the greater Charlotte region. For more information, please call Laura Hampton at 704-522-8011 or visit www.employersassoc.com.

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(l to r) Andy Thompson Vice President John Keesee General Manager H.A.Thompson President and Founder Tom Holden Operations Rose Chauffeured Transportation, Ltd.

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by heather head

[bizprofile]

Service OF SHOWMANSHIP 6C;S):)%C73

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e’s an odd mix of traits, this radio-personalityturned-limo-driver who is now owner and president of Charlotte’s largest chauffeured transportation company. H.A. Thompson is a showman at heart who understands the value of providing exceptional service.

“Everybody gives ‘good service,’” Thompson says. “But ‘good service’ is defined differently by different people. But for us it means having a gracious service attitude.”

That combination—the showmanship and the humility—contradictory though it seems, is a winning combination for a chauffeuring company whose customers expect the best of everything.

The Rose offices themselves are demonstrative of this dichotomy. Housed in a warehouse-style building off Nations Ford in Pineville, the facility is at once homey and unassuming. There is no formal waiting room: Visitors walk straight into a room full of cubicles. The walls are, in places, unfinished brick, and the carpet is industrial grade.

But facing the entrance is an entire wall is plastered with glowing reviews, thank yous, news reports, magazine

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features, and over-the-top testimonials in honor of the company and its founder. And, in the center of it all, is a large picture of Thompson himself in chauffeur’s cap washing a car, a brilliant smile brightening his face.

Memory Lane Forty-nine years ago, Thompson left the advertising agency he was working for, brushed up his broadcasting skills in Chicago, and moved to Toledo for a job in radio.

Broadcasting eventually brought him to Charlotte where he built a two-decades-long career, becoming one of the city’s most popular radio talk show hosts. Although he still had several years left at the station in 1985, Thompson knew it couldn’t last forever. So he bought a limo.

His sons were 17 and 21 at the time. They drove the vehicle, chauffeuring weddings and proms, while Thompson continued to work at the station. By 1989, the limo business had grown to six vehicles and several parttime employees, but he was still running it on the side out of his home—all six limousines parked in the driveway. " Overhead was low and profit margins were high.

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“We stake our reputation on the legendary service and unforgettable experiences we provide to our customers through professionally trained chauffeurs, attentive and personable customer service, attention to detail for each trip and our immaculate fleet of vehicles.” ~H.A. Thompson President and Founder

That was before the letter arrived from his homeowner’s association.

“The drivers were parking their cars up and down this little residential street,” Thompson explains in his gravelly radio voice. “They said it was a violation.”

But the irony of the situation is that the final straw for the neighbors was Thompson’s uncompromising attention to detail. Clean car detail, that is: “We were vacuuming cars at six in the morning—they’d been out the night before, and we had to pick people up at nine o’clock. The neighbors were sleeping.”

And the next thing he knew, Rose Limo was looking for commercial space. Their overhead went up, but the company continued to grow, thanks to the same attention to detail that got the company booted out of a sleepy residential neighborhood.

Thompson says a lot of people buy into the concept of “don’t sweat the small stuff,” but he’s not one of them. It’s the little details that make the difference between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.

In his book (yes, he’s a writer too), If You Want Something You Don’t Have… You’ve Got to do Something You’ve Never Done, he tells the story of a time when he had finished up late and decided his car was clean enough—he was too tired to do anything else, and he figured his

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pre-dawn customer couldn’t possibly notice if the car was a little less than perfectly clean. But he couldn’t sleep for thinking about the notquite-clean car, so he headed back out and gave it its customary spit and polish.

The next morning, he was gratified when the customer commented, “You must have washed this car this morning. It’s spotless.”

But never trust a character like Thompson to rely on small details and quiet humility entirely.

In 1987, he gave into his impulse for the dramatic when he purchased the Cadillac limousine that had belonged to Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker.

In 1989, he proved his flair for the dramatic when he and his wife, Lucille, showed up on practically every news medium in the country. They had placed magnetic bumper stickers announcing the origins of the Cadillac, then driven it to the courthouse where the Bakker’s trial was taking place, and emerged in Jim and Tammy Faye rubber masks and costumes.

The publicity was good for business and for the showman’s soul, but bad for the radio career.

Later the next year Thompson’s contract was not renewed by the station.

Not one to dwell on the past, Thompson exited the radio business in 1990, just as his company was growing beyond limousines and expanding into other forms of transportation. In 2002, on the advice of a business consultant, Thompson stopped

driving altogether and began running the business behind the eighteen vehicles then in operation.

Driven to Success In 2007, Thompson again evaluated the business model for his company. A second consultant convinced him that the company had grown past the point where one person could run the whole show, so he hired John Keesee as CFO to run the financial end.

He changed the name of the company from Rose Limo to Rose Chauffeured Transportation to reflect the change in the business model. Thompson explains that as the company has grown, it has moved further and further from weddings and proms, and added more corporate, university, sports, and events customers to its roster.

Today, the 26,000-square-foot garage houses 33 vehicles including executive sedans, luxury SUVs, executive vans, mini-buses, and high end motor coaches.

When Keesee came on board, he looked at the company’s strengths and weaknesses and decided what it needed to focus on were repeat customers He drew on his institutional background to seek out contracts and relationships with universities and organizations—Wingate, Queens, the Carolina Panthers, Bank of America.

With those types of clients, Keesee could project revenues as well as driver and vehicle needs on a

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month-by-month and seasonal basis.

Additionally, he instituted business practices that allow the company’s productivity to be measured more precisely. Each vehicle in the garage is treated like its own business, with its own sales goals. If it’s not hitting the revenue goal, then it’s time to divest the company’s investment in that vehicle.

As a result, the company has not only remained solvent through the current down economy, but has continued to grow. Although he has no plans to retire any time soon, Thompson expects to pass a healthy, growing business to his son Andy, who is currently vice president.

But having sound business practices in place is not the only reason the company is growing.

Far from it. Thompson and company still adhere to the founding principle that delivers customer loyalty and a file cabinet full of thank you letters: True service.

“Everybody gives good service. But ‘good service’ is defined differently by different people. But for us it means having a gracious service attitude.”

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President and Founder

When Thompson. talks about service, he doesn’t just mean answering the phone with a smile and being on time, although those things are certainly part of it. He’s talking about a true attitude of being of service, going out of your way to create an exceptional experience for the customer. He likes to tell the story from a few years ago when Bill Gates was coming to Charlotte to make a corporate donation.

A few minutes before his scheduled arrival, Thompson received a phone call from a young lady who was aboard Gates’ personal aircraft. She wanted to know if one of Rose’s drivers could pick up a hamburger for Gates before he arrived.

“How long before you touch down?” he asked.

Ten minutes, she said. “No way,” he thought. The drivers were already parked and waiting, and there was no fast food close enough to get back in time.

“They’ll be happy to take Mr. Gates through a drivethrough as soon as he arrives,” offered Thompson.

But Gates didn’t want to do that.

So Thompson dropped what he was doing, and ran to the McDonald’s himself. Ten minutes later, " he was standing on the highway outside the

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“Growing the bottom line is easier than growing grass, if you use great service as fertilizer.” ~H.A. Thompson

President and Founder

airport when a luxury sedan pulled up beside him.

The driver rolled down the window, accepted the paper package he held out, and drove off. Gates got his Big Mac, Thompson got a pat on the back and a big check.

But the Rose model is not about seat-of-thepants service situations. It’s also about the GPS units in every vehicle, the 24/7 dispatch center that monitors vehicle location as well as weather and flight conditions, and systems that run every aspect of the business. “Systems run the business, and people run the systems,” says Thompson.

Nevertheless, it still comes down to making sure every employee makes every customer feel like a million dollars. “The way we treat our employees is the way they will treat our customers,” says Thompson. He is adamant that every employee in the company has an impact on customer experience. Once a month, the management staff holds employee meetings in which he reminds them that everyone touches the customer, even the porter who washes the car.

Rosie Outlook The Rose Chauffeured Transportation commitment to service shows in everything they do, and the customers have noticed. “We’re not the cheapest chauffeured transportation in town,” Thompson admits. “Someone with a limo parked in his driveway is going to be cheaper. But if your service reputation is superior, the customer is willing to pay more.”

And their service reputation is superior. If the wall of testimonials and thank you letters isn’t

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convincing enough (plus the file drawer full of more), the stories themselves are.

One mother wrote to thank Rose Chauffeured Transportation for saving her night with her daughter at the Hannah Montana concert. They had flown in for the event, but just as she got in the Rose luxury SUV, she realized she had forgotten her digital camera. The driver reached into a glove compartment, pulled out his personal camera, and gave it to her to use. After the event, he sent her the digital images she had captured on his equipment.

The service mentality is so embedded in the Rose culture that it happens as if on autopilot. The day that I met with Thompson, I left my briefcase in the conference room when I followed him back to his office. At the end of our interview, I arose to bid him goodbye and return to my car. Neatly placed outside his office door, I found my briefcase as if by magic, placed there for my convenience. That’s paying attention to details!

“Growing the bottom line is easier than growing grass,” says Thompson, “if you use great service as fertilizer.” By that gauge, Rose Chauffeured Transportation is certainly motoring in the right direction. biz Heather Head is a Charlotte-based freelance writer.

Rose Chauffeured Transportation, Ltd. 11325-A Nations Ford Road Pineville, N.C. 28134 Phone: 704-522-8258 Principals: H.A. Thompson, President and Founder; Andy Thompson,Vice President; John Keesee, General Manager; Tom Holden, Operations In Business: 25 years Employees: 65 Recognition: 2008 Operator of the Year, Limousine and Chauffeured Transportation Business: Luxury corporate, group and event transportation services. www.riderose.com

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Internet | Phone | Cable TV | Ethernet

Offer available to new subscribers who purchase 7Mx768K Internet access tier and either Business Class Phone or standard Cable TV service with a new three-year term agreement. Standard construction rates (if applicable) apply. All Business Class Phone calling plans are eligible for the offer. After the six-month discount period, contracted standard monthly service rates will apply. If any service is cancelled prior to the end of the term, early termination fees may apply. Additional charges apply for taxes, fees, Directory Assistance, Operator Services, and calls to international locations. Business Class Phone does not include back-up power and should there be a power outage, Business Class Phone, including the ability to access 911 services, may not be available. Offer valid for business customers in Business Class Phone serviceable areas. Contract must be signed by 7/31/2010 to take advantage of the offer. Time Warner is a trademark of Time Warner Inc. Used under license. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Š2010 Time Warner Cable, Inc. All rights reserved.