Reference mtl

List of content 1. Hypermarkets a Hit With Taiwan's Consumers 2. Liberalizing Hong Kong's border 3. Wyatt’s reading 4. Writing and Organizing a Winning Speech

Patricia Fripp

5. Polishing and Rehearsing for a Perfect Presentation Patricia Fripp 6. Deliver a Stellar Speech

Patricia Fripp

7. Conquer Distractions When Delivering a Speech

Patricia Fripp

8. Emotional Branding

Mike Hofman

9. STRAIGHT-UP COMPETITION:

Rodney Evans

10. How to Start Your Franchise Search

From StartupJournal.com

11.

Home-Based Franchises Could Be Right for You

By GWEN MORAN

12.

Why U.S. Franchises Face Problems Abroad

By JULIE BENNETT

13.

Turning Your Business Into A Franchise Can Pay Off

By DAN MORSE

14.

Is Franchising the Right Business for You?

By MAURA RURAK

15.

You Are Not Ready for the Future

by Hans Ruinemans

16.

Turn Yourself Inside Out

Barrett Hazeltine

17.

研究房地产“入世”要兼顾共性和特点

18.

19.

20.

Love Inc.

By: Bruce Kohl

Think of the End at the Start

By: Rhonda Abrams

Planning for Succession

By: Carole Matthews

21.

8 Strategies of Wise Negotiators

By Anthony Parinello

22.

Creative Marketing on a Shoestring

By Isabella Trebond

2001-09-27

23. Attracting Referrals

By Kim T. Gordon

24.

Slumber Party

By Kim T. Gordon

25.

Network With Confidence

By Ivan Misner

July 15, 2002

26.

Get Exactly What You Want

By Phyllis Davis

June 03, 2002

27.

Push Yourself!

By James Maduk

28.

Marketing From the Inside Out: A Coach's Perspective By Rebecca Cooper

May 20, 2002

29.

Marketing From the Inside Out: Analyzing Your Market By Rebecca Cooper

May 28, 2002

30.

Marketing From the Inside Out: Clarity + Alignment = Traction

31.

Power-Schmoozing Your Way to the Top

By Phyllis Davis

32.

8 Ways to Make Your Start-Up Message Contagious

By Nick D'Alto

33.

Better Than Cosmo

By Kim T. Gordon

34.

(Re) Brand You

By Cecilia Rothenberger

Rebecca Cooper June 03, 2002 May 06, 2002 May 2001

35.

10 Questions to Build a Better Understanding of Boss By Fast Company

36.

Going from Employee to Entrepreneur

37.

10 Tips for Avoiding Burnout and Inviting Balance By: Jamie Walters

38.

When Fickle Customers Leave You Holding the Bag

By: Rhonda Abrams By: Rhonda Abrams

39. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Presenters

By: Susan Greco

40.

The Dignity of Discount

41.

A League of Your Own

42.

Eight Keys to Creating a Customer Service Culture

By: Peggy Morrow

43.

Notes on Presentation

By: CwwJOForum180103

44.

The Six Costliest Mistakes You Can Make in Marketing to WomenBy: Andrea Learned January 02, 2003

1.

Hypermarkets a Hit With Taiwan's Consumers

By: Mitch McCasland By: Donna Fenn August 02, 2000

It could be just the sheer volume of Taiwan’s food retail sector that’s a turn-on for U.S. agricultural exporters. With $27.5 billion in sales in 1997--up almost 8 percent from 1996--the food business in Taiwan can't help but pique the entrepreneurial spirit in any global exporter.

Of course, Asia’s recent financial crisis will affect 1998's bottom line, but be aware that any dip should be just that and not a permanent status quo.

All Taiwan’s food retail segments continue to earn the bucks--including hypermarket, supermarket, department stores and convenience stores. Each serves a broad spectrum of consumers at different times and for different purposes.

The supermarket segment has been stagnant over the last few years and is not expected to grow significantly in the near future.

Similarly, the department store segment is expected to grow only slightly during the next few years.

But hypermarkets and convenience stores, which zero in on the current needs of a changing population, are keeping company with dynamic growth rates.

The hypermarket provides a leading competitive edge in the food retail sector, cutting into bottom lines of other outlets while enhancing the choices of consumers. Aptly named, the convenience store provides on-the-go service for busy workers.

The hypermarket and convenience segments outshine the supermarket and department store segments. Growth for supermarkets is expected to be slow, while the department stores are expected to expand only slightly during the next few years.

Hypermarkets, Convenience Stores Thrive

Supermarkets. Numbering almost 500 in 1997, supermarket growth has been hampered by stringent competition from hypermarkets and convenience stores. A lack of suitable locations and increased operating costs have also dampened the sector.

Competition from hypermarkets is expected to increase as the larger stores move to the suburbs.

Convenience Stores. It’s the traditional mom-and-pop stores that are taking it on the chin from convenience stores. The segment is spreading out to the eastern portion of the island and to more rural areas. However, with 500 new stores expected to open each year, the take for individual stores is going down.

Hypermarkets. This star of the food retail sector grew 57 percent from 1996 to 1997. The stores are large, clean, well organized and have vibrant promotion programs. And they draw in droves of customers.

Department Stores. Targeting consumers in the middle to upper economic classes, the 140 stores that sell groceries alongside other products generated $429 million in food sales in 1997, up 8 percent from 1996.

Distribution Channels Simplifying

A registered trading company needs only a $175,000 capital base to handle food in Taiwan. Consequently, many small businesses with tight profit margins play the multiple roles of importer, distributor, wholesaler and even retailer to make ends meet.

This system worked very well with the traditional wet (street) market and mom-and-pop retail formats. However, the competition engendered by hypermarkets and supermarkets has mandated cheaper products.

This competition has changed the way food retailers procure their products. They’re streamlining to avoid the traditional many-layered distribution channels.

In the past, unprocessed foods--mainly seafood, fruits and vegetables--were imported and sold through a network of regional agricultural markets. Replacing these markets: Direct imports by hypermarkets and supermarkets.

Centralized distribution centers by food manufacturers.

Direct sales by many importers to food outlets.

Product Pricing Pivotal Welcome to a market where underpricing a product can actually limit customer acceptance. Consumers in Taiwan are very aware of the virtues of a product and are willing to pay a higher price for perceived quality.

Along with price, there are other considerations market entrants need to keep in mind. Retailers looking for new products have definite agendas: market trends, health benefits, convenience and novelty.

Freshness is probably the top concern for consumers, followed by hygiene. Because of the freshness preference, the vast majority of consumers still favor locally produced products, but this is slowly changing.

Domestic Goods Favored by Consumers

Due to small farm sizes, it’s hard for local production to compete with cheaper imports. So leading domestic manufacturers tend to emphasize more sophisticated, diverse products--and they take promotion very seriously. Fortunately for Taiwan's agricultural producers, their customers also tend to be loyal to domestic goods.

Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Thailand and the European Union also provide the United States with competition based on price and novelty.

WTO Entry Just Around the Corner The domestic food industry is taking a wait-and-see attitude concerning the impact of Taiwan’s membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO).

They do anticipate that imported raw materials will be cheaper. Expected advances in technology, such as the introduction of advanced biochemistry, packaging and storage technology, will also help lower food processing costs, making Taiwan's food industry more competitive internationally.

Good Prospects for Convenience Foods

Today's buzzword is convenience. Besides convenience stores, frozen convenience foods are catching on. Also, sales of frozen desserts, especially ice cream, have been increasing rapidly.

Keep an eye on growth in the imported snack sector too. Though they tend to be more expensive than domestic items and, due to new flavors, often require consumer education, consumers respond readily to new snack product line promotions.

Given the length of time it takes to build brand recognition, the new exporter wanting to enter the market now might consider using existing product lines and distribution channels. For example, "Tropicana" juice from the United States has become a popular brand in Taiwan, due to the aggressive marketing efforts of its joint venture partner, President Enterprise Corp. President has been promoting the brand through its own retail chains. _____________________________ This report, based on a contract report by Asia Market Intelligence, was prepared by the Agricultural Trade Office in Taipei, Taiwan. Tel.: (8862) 2709-2000, Ext. 8286; Fax: (8862) 2305-7073.Last modified: Thursday, April 12, 2001

2.

Liberalizing Hong Kong's border

An extract from another e-mail, commenting on whether Hong Kong should have a more open border with Mainland China (such as open for 24 hours), in view of the possible downward pressure on property prices in the New Territories and the potential impact on retailers in HK, follows for your reference.

----- Forwarded by Kwok Kwok Chuen/APRN/SCB on 10/08/01 05:39 PM -----

... If markets have to adjust, then it's better to let them adjust instead of trying to resist change or to support them artificially. Japan tried to manage markets (protect jobs, institutions, banks, etc.), create demand by fiscal pump priming, and refused to allow markets to adjust during the 1990s. The result was simply that the adjustment process was prolonged unnecessarily, and the costs to the community became arguably much larger.

Investors are not stupid. If they believe prices are going to go down sooner or later, they are not going to buy even if prices are supported at artificial levels. What you have is just a false market with little transactions. If prices do adjust, even massively, you have transactions.

Hong Kong thrives on trade, on transactions. Transactions create activity, and activities create jobs. This is much better than pleasing the vested interests by maintaining artificial markets with little transactions. From this perspective, I would see the recent drop in prices of new sales flats by some developers as a positive development for HK. In any case, the gap between the prices of properties on the two sides of the SAR's boundary is actually narrowing fast.

High-end residential property prices in Shenzhen are quite close to some of the low end property prices in northern New Territiries now.

The problem for Hong Kong, as I see it, is not whether to liberalize or not to liberalize the border. The problem is to figure out how to promote more two-way traffic flows. Right now, the flow is predominantly one way, and this is a problem for HK. The "one country, two systems" concept, institutions, structures, etc. were put forward at a time when the predominant thinking was to stop people and organizations in the Mainland from interfering into HK. Five years after 1997, we know the problem today is to facilitate a suitable degree of interflow between HK and the Mainland. We need to get rid of the obstacles which were set up in the past, although most of them were introduced for good reasons. We know very well how difficult it is for officials, businessmen and tourists in the Mainland to come to HK. We know how inefficient the quota system for HK-bound travellers is managed in the Mainland. We know that the cooperation and interflow between HK and Taiwan could have been better. A lot of the news about HK are treated as too sensitive to be published in the Mainland's media (because of the need to avoid any suggestions of interfering into HK), but this means that people in the Mainland know very little about HK. There must be a lot other problems.

Now that Beijing is getting more concerned about HK's economic difficulties, it is an opportune time for the SAR government to get rid of some of these stumbling blocks in the Mainland.

Even in the absence of such "liberalization" from Beijing, I think we should not look at unilateral liberalization as something bad for Hong Kong. HK used to open up its trade freely to the rest of the world during the past few decades, at a time when protectionism was the norm. By opening up to free trade, some of our industries lose out, but we benefited a lot more from the industries that we developed. The same is true of opening up the links with Mainland China. The retail industry, particularly in northern NT, complained about citizens spending money in Shenzhen. But why should HK as a whole protect the retailers, against the interest of the consumers. What's the difference between HK's argument as compared with the workers' unions in the US or Europe, asking their governments to protect their jobs.

In addition, by having a more smooth flow of goods and people across the border, there will be a lot more other activities that will arise and these will create more opportunities for HK. We may not be able to figure out exactly what such activities are. Let the market tells us. What I know is that less problem at the border reduces the costs of a lot of people.

Just imagine the time costs wasted and the frustrations experienced by thousands of people and firms everyday because of congestions or other problems at the border. Most of these people and firms are from HK. They could have done more business, reduced their costs, or done other useful things, if not because of the time and energy wasted at the border.

Dear Wyatt, 3.

Here is the reading you requested in which you have precise details about what came through to me about

you. Before I reveal this information it is very important that you aware of certain elements before reading the rest: If we came into contact (even if it's by e-mail and not actually face-to-face) it wasn't a chance meeting. It isn't only because you requested a reading on my site but more because you came through very strongly to me before you even went to my site. What came through initially to me was confirmed in the reading you are going to read now.

I know that your main concern at the moment is the environment you're living in and that you aren't happy there and would like to move. I also know that something is stopping you : money.

Well I have some excellent news for you. I spent rather longer than usual on your reading and in the coming weeks there will be an important event linked to this money question.

First I want you to know that I took the time to double check what I was going to reveal to you because as a professional I do not commit myself unless I'm completely sure. I am sure of what I am saying now and any of my colleagues will confirm it : you are part of a particularly favorable astral configuration.

While I was studying your case the sensations I got linked to a sum of money were extremely strong. Pay great attention to what I'm going to tell you now.

This period of 56 days is extremely important for you since it will enable you to get the sum of money you need to move. 4 elements came through clearly to me: 1) You must do the right things at the right time to be sure to obtain this sum of money 2) This sum of money is linked to something which happened about 3 years ago(it could be something you did or someone you met) and there's a direct link between this period of 2 favourable moons (56 days) and this money that will enable you to move

3) This period of 56 days represents a new beginning for you in life and it would really be a shame to miss it as it isn't likely to come around again in your stars for a long time.

4) You know that to seize this opportunity you must be aware of certain details especially what you must do and on which days exactly. I advise you to get help from somebody competent who will be able to give you the precise details about these all-important days I hope above all that you take what I've just said very seriously as I'm absolutely sure of it. You really must have a comprehensive precise report done which will give you the necessary details for you to be able to take full advantage of the 56 days when the moon is particularly favorable in your configuration.

You must also realize that you will not be able to discover these details on your own: somebody competent must find them out for you. It doesn't matter WHO helps you (whether it's me or someone else) as long as they are competent in this domain. Maybe there is a medium among your friends and family or one you've consulted recently that you can give the reading I sent you to. By studying your configuration they will understand (as I have) that there is an extremely important period on its way to you.

I can't insist enough on this fact. I've been using my gift to help people for over 20 years now and I've realised that when people aren't happy it isn't usually because they're unlucky. It's often because they don't seize a fantastic opportunity when it comes their way quite simply because they don't know how to. In a few days' time you'll get the opportunity to solve your problems and be helped to do it. Don't waste any more time ! If there's nobody close to you who can help then I will. For that I need to spend an afternoon concentrating to develop your reading and provide you with a comprehensive detailed report that will give you all the details you need but can't discover without help.

I know that the coming period which is composed of 2 moons is crucial for your future but that you will only be able to take advantage of it if you have the precise details about it. I don't remember if I've already told you but the information I have about you comes from a flash I got that I developed in your astral configuration. I want you to know that a medium is not a magician and that these flashes have nothing to do with magic - they are quite simply a premonition in the form of a dream. A competent reliable medium won't tell you the color of your trousers but thanks to their gift that they have trained and developed he or she will be able to PREDICT events before they happen (just like most animals can). Examples of this gift abound !

Back to your future. As a competent reliable professional I cannot give you any more details at this stage because although I am sure of what I've told you I don't want to give you a few hasty details here and there. As I've already explained it would take up a full afternoon of my time and concentration to give you the details and dates and step-by-step instructions on what you must do since your future depends on it.

Tough times never last. Tough people do. -- Robert Schuller 4.

Writing and Organizing a Winning Speech

Author:Patricia Fripp

How do I organize my talk?

There are two basic outlines that work well for the beginning speaker.

1.

The Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) format.

AA members use this when they stand up and "qualify" their experiences: This is where I was.

This is where I am now.

This is how I got here.

This simple outline can help you tell the audience who you are and why you are qualified to speak on the topic you've chosen. A friend of mine had been asked to present a 25-minute speech for the local Board of Realtors because of her great success in real estate. I suggested she use the AA outline and open like this: "Twelve years ago, when I went into the real estate business, I had never sold anything but Girl Scout cookies and hadn't done well with that." (This is where I was.) "Last year, I sold $15 million of real estate in a slow market, selling homes that averaged $150,000 each." (This is where I am now.) "Today, I'll tell you how I did that." (This is how I got here.)

2.

The Q & A format.

List the questions your prospects, clients, and friends ask you most often about your business. Then open your talk with, "The five questions I am most frequently asked about investments (or engineering or whatever your field is) are..."

Pose the first question to the audience, and answer it for them in a conversational manner, just as you would to a potential customer or someone you meet at a party. You may never have given a speech before, but you certainly have a lot of practice answering these questions.

How do I write my speech?

1. Open with a bang.

The first and last 30 seconds of your speech have the most impact, so give them extra thought and effort. If you haven't hooked your audience's interest, their minds are going to wander off. Whatever you do, don't waste any of your precious seconds with "Ladies and Gentlemen, it is a pleasure to be here tonight." Open with an intriguing or startling statement: "Half the people in this room are going to . . .," "As a young man, my father gave me this valuable advice...," "Of all the questions I am most frequently asked..."

2. Use humor cautiously.

Opening a speech with a joke or funny story is the conventional wisdom, but nothing falls flatter than inappropriate humor.

A friend who works at AT&T was convinced a joke was the only way to start a speech. He called me late one night, frantic to find the perfect joke for his boss to use the next day. I asked if his boss was funny. "No!" he answered emphatically.

Then, I said, "you're going to make your boss look like an idiot in front of the troops." I suggested opening with an inspirational quote instead. We chose one, and the speech was a great success.

Before you use humor to open your talk, test each possibility by asking: Is it appropriate to the occasion and for the audience?

Is it in good taste?

Does it relate to me, my product or service, the event, or the group?

Does it support my topic or its key points?

If you can't answer yes to these questions, choose a different opening. It's safer and more effective to tell the audience what they most want to know from you. For example, I helped a neighbor, Mike Powell, with a speech he was putting together for the Continental Breakfast Club in San Francisco. Mike was a senior scientist with Genentech at the time. I suggested that since most of us don't know what scientists are like or what they do, he should tell the audience what it was like to be a scientist. Mike captured everyone's attention by saying, "Being a scientist is like doing a jigsaw puzzle in a snowstorm at night: You don't have all the pieces and you don't have the picture you are trying to create."

You can say more with less. Think about your audience. What is the information they want the most from you? If you know your business, you'll be able to predict what their questions will be simply by experience. If you're not sure what a particular audience might want to hear, talk to the program chair ahead of time and get that information.

3. Develop strong supporting stories.

If you're using the AA format, the middle of your talk is where you expand on your key points and develop personal stories that support where you were and where you are now. In the Q&A format, develop one or two strong anecdotes to support each answer. Personal anecdotes are best, but you can also insert some of the ideas and examples you've been gathering in your journal or computer.

4. Close on a high note.

Your close should be the high point of your speech. First, summarize the key elements of the investment process (or whatever your topic is). If you're planning to take questions from the audience, say, "Before my closing remarks, are there any questions." Answer them then.

The last 30 seconds of your speech must send people out energized and fulfilled. Finish your talk with something inspirational that supports your theme. My scientist friend Mike talked of the frustrations of being a scientist, and he closed by saying, "People often ask, Why should anyone want to be a scientist?" Then Mike told them about a particularly information-intensive medical conference he had attended. The final speaker rose and said, "I am a thirty-two-year-old wife and mother of two. I have AIDS. Please work fast."

Mike got a standing ovation for his speech. He told his audience what they needed to know.

Read the first part of this series, Get Publicity and Bolster Profits through Public Speaking.

Patricia Fripp is a San Francisco-based executive speech coach and professional speaker on change, teamwork, customer service, promoting business, and communication skills. She is the author of Make It, So You Don't Have to Fake It and Get What You Want! Fripp also served as president of the National Speakers Association. She can be contacted via e-mail, at 800-634-3035, or through her Web site Fripp.com.

5.

Polishing and Rehearsing for a Perfect Presentation

Author:Patricia Fripp

Editor's note: This article is the third in a series on preparing and presenting the perfect speech. If you have questions or comments regarding this series of articles, join in on our inc.com discussion area.

How do I polish it?

Once you assemble your notes and write a draft of your speech (or you may prefer to speak your ideas into a tape recorder), you still have more work to do before delivering your speech. Read your draft over to confirm that it is: 1. Interesting After every point you make, ask yourself, "Who cares?" If you imagine no one does, edit it out.

2. On track Did you go off on a tangent that doesn't relate to your main theme? Edit it out.

3. Concise Are you redundant, saying the same thing three ways? Are there cliches like "without further ado," "that's a tough act to follow," etc.? Edit out all nonessential words and phrases.

4. Effective Are your supporting examples strong and on target? If not, replace them.

5. Personal Does it have a high I/You Factor? Be sure you've connected yourself with your audience by putting them into your speech.

If your subject is financial planning, for example a low I/You Factor would be: "I always pay myself first. Not the recommended 10%. I save 20% of my gross income." Your audience would probably be rolling their eyes and thinking, "Yeah, right..." But if, instead, you said, "We're all hurting in this economy. That's why saving money is more important than ever. Your goal is to get something -- anything! -- out of each check. Sometimes I can manage to squeeze out up to 10%, but I know that even 1% is essential if I'm going to maintain the habit of paying myself first. That 1% is the difference

between winning and losing." You've put your audience in your speech. Instead of scoffing, they are more likely to identify with what you're saying.

6. Politically correct Being "PC" is sometimes overdone, but it is essential. Consider the opening of an address by cartoonist Gary Trudeau at Yale: "...Distinguished faculty, graduating seniors, people of color, colorful people, people of height, the vertically challenged, people of hair, the differently coiffed, the optically challenged, the temporarily sighted, the insightful, the out of sight, the homeless, the home boys..." Trudeau was poking fun at political correctness, but if you don't use inclusive language, you may offend and lose part of your audience. The safest (and politest) thing is to call people what they want to be called. Refer to adult females as women. Say "physically challenged" rather than "disabled." Whether you're talking about managing employees or selling cars, your stories need to reflect a balance of male and female. Remember that not all doctors are "he's", not all nurses are "she's." Ask the program chair if there are any terms and phrases you should avoid or include.

Vigorous polishing makes your talk tighter, more powerful, and less likely to bore or irritate your audience.

How do I rehearse?

You've edited and fine-tuned a written version of your talk. Now you're going to practice it. (You may think this is too much trouble, but you'll be glad you did.)

1. Read your talk out loud.

Read your written talk into a tape recorder to get some idea of timing and emphasis. When you are happy with it, go on to step 2.

2. Prepare outline notes.

Even though you've just gone to a great deal of trouble to prepare a written speech, you're NOT going to read it! Nothing puts an audience to sleep faster. Instead, you're going to speak directly and spontaneously to the audience, maintaining essential eye contact. The secret is to prepare easy-to-read notes. Write your key points on a pad or card that you'll keep on the lectern or table. Use a felt tip pen or a large typeface on your laser printer. As you speak, follow your road map with quick glances. An easy-to-read wristwatch or small clock on the lectern lets you keep track of the time so that you can speed up or slow down, cut or add material, and finish on time.

3.

Tape your "impromptu" talk.

Again, check for timing. As you play back your tape, notice repetitive phrases and nonwords such as "er" and "ah." Try again, minus these distracting irritants, until you are speaking smoothly and confidently.

4.

Practice in front of an audience.

Ask one or two perceptive people for their feedback. Make it clear that you want constructive criticism, not just praise. Did they understand the points you were making? Was there a lack of logic or continuity? Did they think you spoke too quickly

or slowly? Use their feedback to polish your presentation.

Now you're nearly ready to do your talk. You have one more task. Am I done writing now? No. Write your own introduction and bring a printed copy to your talk. Even if you're speaking for free, you want the emcee to pronounce your name right, mention your company's name, and tell people how to get in touch with you. You want all attention on you, so you don't need an introducer who rambles on or tells tired jokes.

If you're not sure what to say about yourself, use your résumé as a guide, customized to fit your topic. If you've earned or been honored with impressive designations or awards, let the introducer say so. But don't include your job as a lifeguard in your intro unless it directly relates to your subject. Don't leave anything to chance. If you're working on a stage, explain to the introducer that you'll come on stage from the wings before he/she leaves the lectern. The introducer needs to get off the stage before the audience stops applauding.

This way, the audience looks at you instead of the emcee. You've taken center stage -- now take it away!

6.

Deliver a Stellar Speech

Author:Patricia Fripp

The big day has come. You're ready to deliver your talk. But you need to do a few final things before facing your audience.

•

Check in early. Arrive early so that you can check out the logistics of the room in which you'll be speaking. Where is the platform? Where will you be when you are introduced? How will you reach the lectern? Is the audience close enough to build intimacy? Is the light on you?

•

Familiarize yourself with the microphone. Learn how to turn it off and on, and how to remove it from the stand.

Practice talking into it and walking without tangling the cord around your feet.

•

Understand your technical equipment. Whether it's an overhead projector, slide projector, or a VCR, make sure that the equipment is in working order and that you know how to use it. Inspect your slides, transparencies, or videotapes. Are they in the right sequence? Are they in good shape?

•

Be ready to write. Do you have lots of appropriate writing materials for your easel or chalkboard, and extras of everything? Can you write some of your information beforehand to save time during your presentation?

•

Connect with the organizer or emcee. Be clear about who will introduce you and where you'll be. (Best is to walk on from the wings.) If it's a banquet, check that you will have a clear path to the mike -- no tripping over wires, chairs, or diners. Hand the emcee your prewritten introduction, and be sure that he or she can pronounce your name correctly.

Have it written in 18–20 point type so that it is easy to read, and make sure it clearly includes any special instructions.

Let the introducers know that if there are any words they are not comfortable with, they can substitute their own.

It's time to look your audience in the eye and tell them all the exciting things you know they are eager to hear. If the butterflies in your stomach are taking some of the joy out of the occasion, here is what the professionals do.

Find a private place to warm up by relaxing your body and face. Stand on one leg and shake the other. When you put your foot back on the ground, it's going to feel lighter. Switch legs and shake again. It's a technique that actors use. Shake your hands fast. Hold them above your head, bending at the wrist and elbow, and lower them. This will make your hand movements more natural. Relax your face muscles by chewing in an highly exaggerated way. Do shoulder and neck rolls.

Give your speech. Remember that the audience is on your side. That's the good news. People are giving you their time, and they want you to be good. They'll stay on your side for about 30 seconds. You have about that much time to keep them on your side for the rest of your speech. How do you do that?

1. Look the part. First impressions are hard to overcome. Looking professional adds to your credibility and that of your business.

2. Act naturally. "What an actor has to do is be personal in public," said acting coach Lee Strasberg. Being on a stage makes you a larger than life, but you also need to be personal in public. That's what all those warm-up exercises are about -- to help you feel natural and act naturally.

3. Don't tell what you can show. I learned this from Chuck Norris and Jean-Claude Van Damme. Norris learned it from his friend, the late Steve McQueen, who advised Norris, "Say the last word in the scene, and don't say anything you don't have to." Audiences don't go to hear what Norris or Van Damme say. They go to see what they do.

4. Choose your emphasis. Examine each word in your speech, looking for the emotion. Every word is not equally important. The audience will get your message based on the inflection and emphasis you place on key words and phrases.

5. Move about if you can. I urge you not to stand behind the lectern throughout your entire talk. It puts a barrier between you and the audience, and they feel it. However, if you feel more secure standing behind the lectern, never lean on it.

6. Vary your intensity. You're new to speaking, and you're not an actor, but you can add excitement to your talk just the same. When I saw myself on video at an communications seminar many years ago, I thought they were running the video on double time. The teacher said, "Your strength is your energy, but think of a symphony. It has a slow, quiet movement and then builds to a crescendo. The variety makes each element more effective." The enemy of the speaker is sameness. Stand, move, be serious and be funny, talk loudly, talk softly, don't speak in black and white.

Speak in Technicolor!

7.

Conquer Distractions When Delivering a Speech

Author:Patricia Fripp

Editor's note: This article is the fifth in a series on preparing and presenting the perfect speech. If you have questions or comments regarding this series of articles, join in on our inc.com discussion area.

Dealing with Your Audience •

The one-face myth. Have you ever heard that you should look at one friendly person in the audience? If you do, I promise you that person will ask you out to dinner because they think you're trying to pick them up. Do NOT look at one person. Give each segment of the audience equal time and eye contact, as in pieces of a pie.

•

Dealing with distractions. Eliminate as many as you can. When they do occur, ignore them, or incorporate them into your talk. During a speech I delivered in Australia before 2000 people, one man accepted three phone calls. I chose to ignore him. I walked to the opposite side of the stage, away from the caller, bringing the audience's attention.

Remember that the eye follows movement. I worked the crowd from there until he hung up.

Incorporating the distraction into your talk can be tricky, and it will be different every time. A woman asked my advice about a talk she gave while an important football game was in progress. Members of her audience kept slipping out of the meeting room to get a glimpse of it in the hotel bar. I suggested she acknowledge a similar future distraction by saying something like, "If I didn't have to work here tonight, I'd probably be watching the game. If you don't need the information I'm offering, you can leave with my blessing. But for the benefit of those who stay, please don't disrupt by coming back." By acknowledging the situation and graciously allowing people to leave, you have the rest of the audience on your side.

•

Timing. Keep yourself on schedule by keeping a small travel-style clock set on the lectern, or a clearly visible wall clock in the room. The audience should never be aware that you're doing this. Don't be surprised if the meeting is running late. Ask the program chair if he or she would like you to cut a few minutes out of your talk to get the event back on schedule. It's not as difficult as you think. Don't sacrifice your strong opening or dramatic closing. Instead, hit the highlights of your talk, dropping some of the supporting stories or anecdotes.

If, on the other hand, the program chair asks you to stretch out your talk, here are some techniques that have worked well for me.

1. Always have an extra chunk of material prepared. Perhaps a slightly longer version of a key story or extra supportive stories for each point. If the format is suitable (e.g., roundtable seating), invite group discussions on one of your major points.

2. If you're teaching a skill, invite someone in the audience to role-play it with you.

3. Ask audience members to share their personal experiences that relate to your topic (customer service, sales technique, buying real estate, etc.) When I do this, I ask, "What did you learn from this experience that you can use in your business?" I offer small prizes to those who speak up; for example, a cassette tape of one of my speeches. This guarantees others in the audience will participate more freely.

Promoting your Business If you're like me, the point of speaking is to increase awareness of your business and expand your client base. Over the years, I've learned a great deal about marketing myself. Here are some techniques that will serve you well.

Handouts. Develop a page detailing your key points. Or, if you've had an article published, make copies for the audience members. Make sure the handout includes your name, address, and telephone number. You might also include an order blank for your product or service printed on the back of one of your handouts.

Door prizes. You can offer a door prize (this can be a product you sell or certificate for service -- a free evaluation of financial status, etc.) Ask everyone to drop their business cards in a box, and draw the winner at the end of your talk.

Business Cards. If your goal is to develop business contacts, always collect business cards from the audience members.

You can offer to send additional information, articles, or tip sheets to them.

8.

Emotional Branding

Author:Mike Hofman

Inc magazine-May 01, 2002

The walls of Rodney Evans's cluttered New York City office give you a sense of who he is. There is the Knicks home schedule scribbled on a whiteboard. There is a certificate of merit that his daughter received at nursery school. There are framed photos of Muhammed Ali with Malcolm X that Evans bought for five bucks from a street vendor, and also a huge poster of Aretha Franklin. And by the door is a photo of the U.S. Capitol taken on October 16, 1995, the day of the Million Man March.

Evans snapped that shot himself, standing on the fender of a truck for a better vantage point. The event lives in his memory as a turning point. "It was good to see so many African American brothers from places like Alaska and New Mexico," he recalls. "We talked about really helping ourselves, so when I came back, I gave two weeks' notice, quit my job, and started a company."

Seven years later, Skyline Connections Inc. [#3] has grown to revenues of $14 million. The company started out as a hardware reseller but has evolved into a business that sells network and information-technology services to clients like Lockheed Martin and Bank of America. Evans says his ambition is to take his business to $100 million. With a five-year compound annual growth rate of 124%, his claim cannot be dismissed.

9.

STRAIGHT-UP COMPETITION:

"It's not my style to sell anything other than my services and products."

--Rodney Evans, CEO of Skyline Connections #3, 2002 Inner City 100 Skyline happens to be the highest-ranked minority-owned company on Inc's fourth annual Inner City 100 list. Many entrepreneurs would consider that credential a major achievement, but Evans has historically approached the "minority" label with some reluctance. "Obviously, when I walk in the door and hand you a business card that says I'm president and CEO, you know that Skyline is a black-owned business," Evans says. "But it's not my style to sell anything other than my services and products. I like to compete straight up." The CEO, 49, asserts the standard Skyline pitch is to "sharpen a pencil and come up with some good numbers."

His way is not the only way, however. Among the entrepreneurs on this year's Inner City 100, quite a few offer a provocative contrast to Evans's "numbers first, identity second" approach. They seem much more comfortable crafting and then selling a story around their own identity, ranging from their background to their skin color. Davin Wedel, who runs Global Protection [#94], a condom manufacturer, wraps his company in slacker slickness by telling people how he started it from his college dorm. Veronica Rose, CEO of Aurora Electric [#5], says 80% of her potential clients want "all the details" about what her life as a female electrician is like. DivorcĂŠe-cum-CEO Carol Latham, who employs many former welfare mothers at her polymer manufacturer Thermagon [#16], was cited in Thomas Petzinger Jr.'s The New Pioneers, a noted business book. And Lanre Olotu, who emigrated from Nigeria in 1980, says he details his background on almost every sales call he makes for his company, Printing Methods [#61].

STARTING FROM SCRATCH: "I don't have connections. I haven't lived in this town for 40 years. I was born in Brazil, and my parents are both immigrants. I think I lose a lot because I don't have that network that goes back a generation.

That's a very big deal."

--Marina Inez Poropat, CEO of Intaglio #71, 2002 Inner City 100 Using your life story to sell your company is one form of what experts call emotional marketing -- getting customers to take an interest in your business not just because you offer a snazzy value proposition but because they feel something about your company. If CEOs are comfortable talking about themselves -- and can connect their story to their customers' needs -- emotional branding can be a freebie competitive advantage for a small business. "I never wanted it to be about me, but people got such a kick out of me," says Rose. "That's what I needed to do to get my foot in the door." But as Rose and other CEOs on the Inner City 100 can attest, tying a company's identity to its leader can be a tricky proposition, both for the emotional toll it can take on the CEOs themselves and for their companies' long-term growth.

Ivan J. Juzang, CEO of MEE Productions Inc. [#20], is among the most adept of the emotional brand builders on the Inner

City 100 this year. His communications-research and media company, located in blighted North Philadelphia, offers its take on the tastes of black urban youth to customers ranging from New Line Cinema to the National Institutes of Health.

Like many entrepreneurs who engage in emotional marketing, Juzang honed his story when he was looking for investors.

"People like the story of how we started," he says. "I was head coach of a little league basketball team in Pittsburgh -- I went to Carnegie Mellon -- and I saw how young people gravitated to hip-hop music and hip-hop culture."

From there Juzang went to IBM and then to Wharton for his M.B.A. As a class assignment, he wrote a business plan for a company that would make videos that blend hip-hop music with a self-help motivational message geared toward kids.

Juzang's team presented the plan to some venture capitalists that his professor brought to class. But their reaction to the idea was negative. "They kept asking me, 'Where's the research?' " Juzang recalls. "They wanted to know what did I know about low-income African American urban youth? I was this guy from Wharton." It was then that he realized there might be a marvelous market opportunity for figuring out what inner-city kids like and want, and why.

After Wharton, Juzang honed his pitch and started shopping around his business plan. The new and improved version mitigated the VCs' criticism by promising that the start-up would extensively survey at-risk youth to get feedback on its videos. Juzang even suggested that the company would employ urban street kids in the making of its videos as a means of ensuring the work's street cred.

"I don't think in a company that's had our growth we ever plan for a downside. There are always setbacks, but everybody's always looking for it to go up. I think it's better to look ahead than stand around trying to figure out where you were."

--Bob Plitt, president of the Plitt Company #86, 2002 Inner City 100 Even though Juzang was starting an "asset-lite" media consulting company in the midst of the 1991 recession, some people found his story irresistible. Calvert Social Venture Partners, a Virginia venture-capital fund that invests in companies that it sees as both moneymaking and socially responsible, decided to invest $50,000 in the start-up. An angel investor who read about the company in the Philadelphia Inquirer called Juzang out of the blue and invested $50,000. And the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation awarded a $50,000 grant to study the impact of the foundation's ubiquitous "This is your brain on drugs" ad campaign on at-risk youth.

Juzang's story still evokes strong emotion among his backers. "I love him," says John May, managing partner of Calvert Social Venture Partners. "This is the classic case when the founder is visionary, and you back the jockey, not the horse.

That company wouldn't be what it is without him."

Benchmark The IC 100 by sector: Service

58%

Manufacturing

31%

Distribution

9%

Retail

2%

Juzang's story may sound like one in a million, but it isn't even one in a hundred. Two other entrepreneurs on this year's list similarly pitch their companies as connectors between urban minority communities and the mainstream economy. One is Eugene Morris, CEO of E. Morris Communications Inc. [#59], a Chicago agency that creates advertising that targets African Americans for big consumer marketers like General Motors.

The other is Glynn Lloyd, founder and CEO of City Fresh Foods [#81], which mirrors MEE Productions in many ways. For instance, it tailors the services of big institutions to their minority constituents. City Fresh Foods is paid by city health agencies to provide ethnic food to the homebound elderly. Lloyd sold the idea for his company to customers and investors based in part on his history in the largely African American neighborhood of Boston in which the company was going to be based -- and whose residents would be its meal recipients. "It helped us that we're from here and that our folks are from here and that my grandmother lives down the street," Lloyd says. "We're real and we're authentic."

Like Juzang, Lloyd wrote a business plan and shopped it around to investors, even though catering, like focus-group research, is not a market chock-full of venture-backed start-ups. And like Juzang, Lloyd was successful. City Fresh raised $190,000 in equity from two socially conscious funders in 1995 and has since grown to revenues of $1.3 million on local government contracts.

NEW MARKETS: "I think that there is a lot of opportunity out there because, even though the economy is suffering, I think finally there are companies out there who realize the importance of the African American segment. Even though it's a segment, it's a very viable segment."

--Eugene Morris, CEO of E. Morris Communications #59, 2002 Inner City 100 Lloyd, 34, says that his pitch is boosted by his company's essential mission: cooking soul food for little old ladies. "The food we're putting out works in our favor," he says. But so does the fact that he's a local guy looking to do a little good.

"Politically and businesswise, being local helped us maneuver," Lloyd says. "We could say that, missionwise, we wanted to create jobs and create capacity and wealth here. When I had to, that was the conversation I had. And it wasn't bullshit, either -- it was true."

Even though some investors might eat up the love-me-love-my-company pitch, a sales call is perhaps a bigger deal. How does a CEO infuse emotion into an initial contact without turning it into an uncomfortable "pity me" kind of conversation?

After all, prospective customers just want a product or service hassle-free. What do they care about the CEO? The answer, according to Inner City 100 CEOs, seems to be that many customers will actually create the opening, particularly if a company is small or young like many on the Inner City 100. "People buy from who they know and like to be around," says Lanre Olotu, the Nigerian ĂŠmigrĂŠ-turned-entrepreneur.

The CEO, whose $10-million business is based in Rochester, N.Y., devised his emotional branding pitch during the early days, when he was Printing Methods' principal salesperson. When he called on clients, his West African cadence served as an icebreaker of sorts. Prospects almost always asked, "That's a strange accent. Where are you from?" Olotu says. He was happy to field the question. "I tell them that I'm from Nigeria, that I went to London and studied printing, that I came to America in 1980, then went to the Rochester Institute of Technology and got a degree, and became a citizen in 1992," Olotu says. "I tell them all of this so that they can see that I know what I am doing."

Benchmark Ethnicity of CEOs: White

67%

Black

17%

Latino

8%

Asian

7%

Native American

1%

Veronica Rose, the electrician based in Queens, N.Y., says that she is always egged into sharing her history with potential customers of Aurora Electric, her $5-million, 25-employee business. "I'm a novelty," she explains. "I'm six feet tall, I have long blond hair, and I can tell you what size turbine you need."

Having been in business since 1993, Rose has boiled down her life story into a two-minute sound bite for sales prospects.

But for her the purpose of painting a vivid picture of her life is to then turn the tables. "When people ask me about my background, I ask them about theirs. If my price is the same as somebody else's, and they feel I've taken the time to know them, I'm the one who's going to get the job," she says.

Marina Inez Poropat, CEO of Intaglio [#71], a printing and graphic-design company based in Los Angeles, has also found that her customers want to get a good sense of who she is. Back in 1991, when she bought the company, her first sales prospects were particularly interested to know how a woman as young as 28 years old came to own her own business.

"People were always shocked at how young I was," she says. "Just to have a female owner in a male-dominated industry was weird for some people, but youth was the biggest thing and the toughest thing for me."

"People don't expect a manufacturer who's doing well in New York City to stay in New York City. People usually move away to Texas or Florida."

--Bob Nyman of Crystal Window & Door Systems, which has just finished building a 165,000-square-foot plant in Queens #73, 2002 Inner City 100 Because of those factors, Poropat never went the emotional route. In fact, the entrepreneur was so afraid that people would stereotype her business when they met her that she briefly considered having no title on her business cards. When potential customers asked her about herself, "I would sidestep!" she says with a laugh. "I would say, 'Tell me about your

company.' " Now that Intaglio has grown to $2.2 million, Poropat could reassess her options and start describing herself and her company in classic pluck-and-luck terms. But still she avoids revealing much about herself. Why? "I've never sold that way," she says. "I don't see the business as being an extension of me. I see it being the result of a vision I had to deliver services. So I sell the idea that I have a team behind me, an entire organization that's going to take care of you."

John Alan Laurie, president of Jack Laurie Commercial Floors Inc. [#21], a 52-year-old company in Fort Wayne, Ind., that was founded by and named after his father, also sees more value in projecting a sense of scale than a sense of intimacy.

Laurie, a Harvard Business School graduate who previously worked for Procter & Gamble, took over the company in 1995. The business's positioning then played on themes of familiarity and longevity. Laurie's father's story was the stuff of family and local business lore. "My dad drove around in an old Chesterfield cigarette truck with one helper," Laurie says.

"To have his last name attached to the company means a lot because people who buy services like to deal with an owner."

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION: "I physically go over to the airport, to the facility-man-agement offices of each terminal, and stop in to see what they got on the desk and ask if I can help with anything. I can be in constant contact with my potential customers ... the squeaky wheel always gets the oil."

--Veronica Rose, CEO of Aurora Electric #5, 2002 Inner City 100 While the family brand provided a superb competitive advantage in Fort Wayne, however, Laurie had the ambition to expand regionally. Thinking strategically, he made the hard decision to junk the paterfamilias from his company's identity.

In the seven cities in which he's opened stores in the past four years, Laurie does business as a franchisee of DuPont Flooring Systems, licensing the name of the large manufacturer. "I don't know if I could have gotten into other cities if I didn't use the DuPont name instead of Jack Laurie," he says. "It would have taken too long to ramp up profitability and sustainability as we built brand awareness."

Of course, all CEOs have personal stories, and in the case of most growth companies the tale's central role in sales and marketing almost guarantees that it will become part of the pitch. But the CEOs of the Inner City 100 fall into a special category, since all of them can claim to be urban pioneers -- and all have embraced that position, to varying degrees, for their companies. Aside from working in inner cities, many of the entrepreneurs on the list can also brand their companies by highlighting such characteristics as gender and ethnicity. Thirty-three of the 100 are members of ethnic minority groups, and 15 are women. How much they wish to brand the company around their identity is a choice they have had to make early on.

"In some areas it works against you; in some areas it works in your favor," says Olotu, referring to printing work he has gotten through the supplier-diversity initiatives of companies like Verizon and Johnson & Johnson. "For the people who think it's a plus, sometimes they feel sorry for you, so they give you an order. Which is OK. I'll take it any way I can."

Benchmark Median sales

$16,055,980

Median CEO salary

$140,000

Average age of CEO

45

Average age of CEO at time of company's founding

33

But not all Inner City 100 entrepreneurs find it that easy to ignore the source of their customers' motivation. When Rodney Evans started Skyline, in 1995, he wanted no part of the federal government's 8(a) program, which sets aside certain contracts for businesses owned by women and minorities. Far from helping his company, he feared, the 8(a) designation might actually limit what Skyline could accomplish -- making his business overly dependent on government contracts. "A lot of companies don't have the commercial base," explains Evans, "so when they have to give up the 8(a), they fail."

Evans's qualms about the "minority-owned business" label are evident in the company's marketing material even today.

An article about the company posted on Skyline's Web site states: "For many fledgling minority and women entrepreneurs, securing federal contracts is the first order of business. In keeping with its commitment to be different, Skyline went the opposite route -- pursuing commercial contracts. Their first clients were the brokerage houses of Smith Barney and Morgan Stanley." Skyline's printed brochure only briefly mentions the company's certification as a minorityowned business. Neither Evans's name nor his picture appears. "In the commercial arena you can't use that," he says.

"Our goal is to be the best place to work in the Southwest, and the inner city has allowed that to happen."

--Gay Warren Gaddis, CEO of T3, in Austin #64, 2002 Inner City 100 Slowly, Evans has learned to reap some of the benefits of the minority label. Last year he finally applied for his 8(a) certification. These days Evans frequently takes the high-speed Acela Express train down to the nation's capital, making as many as four government sales calls before boarding the return train home. The recession has taken its toll on his business, he explains. He would be foolish to not pursue 8(a) work now. "I'm going to take a piece of that pie," he says, adding, "in the federal arena, if they like the people who run the company, they can get contracts without bidding."

Veronica Rose would certainly encourage Evans to use his unique story when he's promoting his company -- whether in D.C. or other markets. "I do it 100% because I believe that my company is different from other companies, and I believe with all my heart and passion that it's a good difference," she says. At the same time, she has moved subtly away from depending on emotional marketing. "I've learned that if that's how I operate, I will have created a job for myself, but I will not have created a great company," she says. "I want to still be the spokesperson for this business, but when I give my two-minute spiel, 30 seconds will be on how I got there, and then I'll talk for the next minute and a half about all the great people who came on board."

10.

How to Start Your Franchise Search

From StartupJournal.com

Franchising and the general economy sit on opposite sides of a seesaw. During times of full employment, interest in owning a franchise is low. In today's world of low stock-market returns and corporate downsizing, franchising is flying high.

Does this mean you should join the rush of prospective franchisees and invest your severance package into a Copacatana Tanning Salon, a Maui Wowi Smoothie Stand, or a Jackson Hewitt Tax Service? Perhaps, but you must do some research first, and you may want help selecting the right franchise for your personality and pocketbook.

On the surface, franchising looks simple, essentially a business in a box. For an upfront sum, called a franchise fee, you're allowed to duplicate an entire business, from a smoothie stand to a cleaning service, for a certain period of time, usually 10 to 20 years. The franchise fee, which can range from a few thousand dollars to more than $50,000, gives you access to a franchiser's operations manuals, logos and trade secrets, like the recipe to that 'special sauce,' and covers the cost of training for you and, sometimes, your key employees. In exchange, you pay the franchiser a royalty, generally 4% to 8% of gross revenues, and often must contribute to an advertising fund.

Franchising offers definite advantages -- instead of starting a business from scratch, you can be successful right out of that box, by using your franchiser's time-tested recipes and business methods. Instead of running Joe's Print Shop or Jill's Pizza Stand, you have a recognized brand name with years of marketing behind it.

But beneath all those advantages lurks a maze of rules as well as potential problems. Did you know that your franchiser can tell you what brand of cheese you must buy for your pizza toppings or what color you must paint that back wall? And what time you'll have to open your business each morning? You'll have to spend your hard-earned, or hard-borrowed, money to build an office or retail location to the franchiser's exact specifications. Then your business may do so well that the franchiser decides to sell competing locations right around the corner. We'll explore the ins and outs of the franchising business in this series. Today's theme: How do you get started?

If franchising appeals to you, your first hurdle is finding the business that is perfect for you. According to Rob Bond, publisher of Source Books, there are currently about 2,300 franchise companies in North America operating in more than 50 industries, from automotive products and services to travel. At least 25 Internet sites provide directories of franchise companies and a half-dozen publishers sell print directories. Of course, no single directory covers everything. "Bond's Franchise Guide 2001" (Source Book Publications, 2001) provides in-depth profiles of the 1,200 or so companies that returned his questionnaire; and "Franchise Opportunities Guide" (International Franchise Association, 2000) cites the 800 franchisers that are members of the trade group International Franchise Association.

So choose an interest. Like lampshades? Check out A Shade Better, in Cleveland. Billiards fanciers can choose between the American Poolplayers Association in St. Louis, or Side Pockets, in Lenexa, Kan. A Cruise Holidays franchise lets travel

mavens book cruises. Franchise Solutions, a franchise- and business-opportunity information provider in Portsmouth, N.H., has designed its Web site so you can sort through franchise options according to category and the amount of money you can invest. A search of Home Services franchises under $50,000, for example, yields 45 companies, including both the well-known ServiceMaster Residential and Commercial Services in Memphis, Tenn., and Gumbusters North America, a Falls Church, Va., franchiser whose locations really do remove gum from bus stations and movie seats.

But be aware that franchise companies are drowning in requests for information. It can take weeks for some franchisers to send out brochures or return phone calls.

Mail Boxes, Etc., San Diego, received more than 20,000 inquiries in the first nine months of 2001. Ron Eriksen, the vice president of market development for the Baby's Room USA Inc., Elmhurst, Ill., says sending out a four-color brochure by Priority Mail costs $14. Last year, it sent out 775 brochures, and only 6% of those recipients sent back a preliminary application form; 1.8% of the 775 became new Baby's Room franchisees. Steven Romaniello, president and chief operating officer of US Franchise Systems Inc., in Atlanta, says his hotel company spends $50,000 on promotion and recruitment efforts for each franchisee who eventually buys a Days Inn, Microtel or Hawthorn Suites franchise. Greg Longe, president of the Molly Maid and Mr. Handyman franchise systems in Ann Arbor, Mich., says, "Our Internet leads are way up this year, but all that means is that we have to do a lot more work to generate a solid candidate. Most of the people we're hearing from aren't qualified to run our concept."

To sort out the muddle, an industry of middlemen is available to help you select a franchise and to provide qualified candidates to franchisers. The leading companies -- Entrepreneur's Source, Southbury, Conn.; FranChoice Inc., Eden Prairie, Minn.; and FranNet, Carlsbad, Calif. -- somewhat like real-estate brokers, will interview you about your interests, skills and desires, discuss how much income you'll need, and introduce you to franchise systems that fit your parameters.

If you sign up, your franchiser pays them a commission, typically 30% to 75% of your franchise fee.

Jeff Elgin, a former franchise executive who started FranChoice in 2000, says, "We can work with anyone whose net worth is between $300,000 and $700,000, with good credit and at least $20,000 in cash." He will not, however, help choose between a Burger King and a McDonald's. "Fast food requires too high an investment and people without restaurant experience can get eaten alive in that industry," he says.

Terry Powell, CEO of Entrepreneur's Source, runs his firm as a franchise. Unlike his competitors, who use contract employees to run their satellite offices, Mr. Powell sells each separate office as a franchised business. When they place a candidate, Entrepreneur's Source franchisees keep 75% of the placement fee, and return the rest to Mr. Powell as a royalty payment. "Our business is up 220% this year," he says. "Most clients come in with an idea of what kind of franchise they'd like to operate. When they finish our counseling process, 95% of them end up choosing something else."

11.

Home-Based Franchises Could Be Right for You By GWEN MORAN

It was a beautiful day when Jocelyn Gold realized that her future was junk. After accompanying her brother on a few runs for his home-based 1-800-GOTJUNK? franchise, the former financial-services marketing consultant knew that the opportunities in hauling other people's castoffs was her calling and soon began the process of opening her own homebased 1-800-GOTJUNK? operation. The franchisees specialize in removing the refuse that local trash haulers and organizations such as the Salvation Army won't take. The material is taken to the local dump or reclamation center and fees are charged to the customer based on the amount and type of junk removed.

"I've always wanted to run my own business," explains the Oakland, Calif.-based franchisee. "Working at home definitely has its advantages and keeps overhead down." After less than six months in the business, Ms. Gold estimates that her salary is about equal to what she made in her marketing position, while the potential to grow her income is much greater.

While there aren't many hard statistics on the home-based franchise market, the segment definitely has grown over the past several years, says Don DeBolt, president of the International Franchise Association (IFA). Mr. DeBolt estimates that out of the 1,200 to 1,300 active franchise concepts, at least 150 are suitable for home-based businesses.

Many home-based franchise opportunities are service-oriented, such as home-inspection firms, computer repair and interior decorating, but a wide variety of retail, consulting and other opportunities also are available. American Poolplayers Association Inc. franchises run recreational billiards leagues, with more than 240 units in the U. S. and Canada. More than 400 Candy Bouquet franchisees create arrangements using candies and chocolates in place of flowers. Other opportunities include wedding-planning, publishing and advertising companies and holiday-decorating services. According to the IFA, while approximately 72% of franchises require an initial investment of up to $250,000, most home-based franchises max out at an initial investment of $50,000 to $60,000.

A Texas Couple Investigates The relatively low up-front cost attracted Bill Peterman. He and his wife, Karla, own a home-based Furniture Medic franchise in Austin, Texas, and travel to office buildings, homes and other locations to refinish, repair and touch up wood furniture and finishes. The Petermans had seen a television commercial for Furniture Medic franchises (there are more than 550 in the U.S. and internationally) and decided to check out the opportunity.

Furniture Medic seemed like a bargain compared to other franchises they had investigated, such as a hardware store that required hundreds of thousands of dollars up front. Initial investment was limited to the cost of the van and some equipment. Before leaving their jobs as counselors to individuals recovering from brain injuries, they managed to stash away six months of living expenses. However, Mr. Peterman admits, the first years were a scramble. "During the transition, we took any piece of business we could get," he recalls. "Now, we routinely refer business to [competitors] and work a lot less. It's up to us to determine how much money we want to make."

Still, working from home isn't as easy as hanging a shingle in front of your house, says Jim Deitz, aka The Franchise Doctor and president of Andover Franchising Inc., an Atlanta-based consultancy that helps bring franchisees and

franchisers together. Mr. Dietz counsels clients to be diligent about examining the opportunity as well as their own interest and passion to make sure that the match is a good fit. Some potential home-based franchisees believe wrongly that opening a home-based franchise is a way to cut their 40-to-50-hour workweek.

"Starting a home-based franchise is like starting any other business. It's going to require a lot of work at the start," he says. "You might work 60 to 70 hours a week in the first years and then grow into a 30-to-40-hour week in three to five years as your business grows and you get more established."

Factors to Consider According to Mr. Dietz and other experts, there are five primary considerations that prospective franchisees should consider before investing in an opportunity. While these tips won't guarantee success, ignoring them can increase the risk of failure.

1. Understand the opportunity.

Mr. Deitz cautions his clients to understand the difference between franchises and "business opportunities." Business opportunities can range from multilevel marketing programs and distributorships to fee-for-information programs, and they aren't regulated in the way that franchises are. "The only people who are making millions [working] in their underwear are the models in the Victoria's Secret catalog," Mr. Dietz says.

Howard Bassuk, president of The Franchise Network Group, another franchise-consulting group, notes that many of these "opportunities" charge an up-front fee for information but have no underlying business and offer little or nothing in the way of support. Franchises, on the other hand, are licenses to use a name and a trademark and generally offer a great deal of continuing support. Even home-based franchises must fully disclose their list of other franchisees to prospects considering investing in the franchise and often have specific protocols that must be followed.

Both experts emphasize the importance of taking one to three months to fully investigate any opportunity. Call other franchisees. Check out the opportunity with the International Franchise Association and the Better Business Bureau. Mr. Bassuk adds that a track record is very important, but that good opportunities also can be found in new franchises. The key, he says, is to be diligent in gathering information.

"Some people like to take advantage of an established franchise, while others prefer to be in on the ground floor, helping to make decisions to guide the company," he explains. "There's no right or wrong answer, but be sure that you are thorough in checking [out the opportunity]." He recommends taking at least two to four months to research and compare franchise opportunities and to avoid making snap decisions.

2. Know what it takes to work from home.

Working from home can present challenges to franchise owners who aren't prepared for the isolation, distractions and long hours. Mr. Dietz notes that home-based franchise owners who leave jobs where interaction with other employees was common may feel isolated when working alone. He advises home-based franchise owners to develop a network of other franchisees within the company's network or, at least, with other business owners in their area. This circle of likeminded business owners can be a tremendous source of support and ideas.

Some franchisees may wish to invest in a business coach who can, for a monthly or hourly fee, provide help with motivation and goal-setting for the business and the owner. And while the idea of having more flexibility can be attractive to many home-based franchisees, it's important to also have a regular schedule to keep productivity high. Mr. Deitz explains that many a home-based business has lost valuable work hours when an owner has decided to mow the lawn or take care of other household chores during business hours instead of taking care of the business.

Both consultants agree that home-based franchises need to be more aggressive about sales and marketing. Mr. Deitz explains that while out-of-home businesses can benefit from the visibility of a storefront or signage, "no one's going to walk down the street and say 'I wonder what they sell at this house.' " 3. Know yourself -- and your finances.

When you're investigating a franchise opportunity, it's important to look beyond face value and find out what's really involved in running that business. The majority of your job, as owner, may be spent on administration and planning vs. providing the day-to-day products or services of the business. Your venture may be in trouble, Mr. Bassuk warns, if the demands don't match your work strengths and your interests.

Mr. Deitz's consulting company has developed a personality profile to help prospective franchisees find out which opportunities may be right for them. The $30 profile helps analyze the work strengths and weaknesses of the candidate.

For instance, a prospective franchisee profiled as an introvert might not do as well with a job that involves a long or intensive sales process, whereas those assessed as extroverts may thrive in that environment. Extroverts, on the other hand, may wither in a business that doesn't allow ample contact with others. The profile investigates several areas of personality and work habits and suggests types of businesses for which those traits are best suited.

The IFA's Mr. DeBolt adds that one must consider the cost, as well as the worst-case scenario if the business fails and that investment is lost. "Know how much investment you're willing to put at risk. Investing in any business, including a franchise, is risky. We like to think that (the franchise structure) will lessen that risk, but business is business and there are no guarantees."

4. Check out the local laws.

Mr. Bassuck advises prospective franchisees to investigate local ordinances and prospective business. Restrictions on home-based businesses vary significantly from town to town, so it's best to be certain that the venture complies with those

rules and regulations. For instance, some municipalities may allow home-based businesses as long as the business doesn't attract customers to the home. Other areas may require that the business obtain various licenses. And the homeowner may need a variance from the local zoning board to run a business from the home. By checking to see that the business can be operated legally from the home, you'll protect yourself and your business from fines or being shut down by local law enforcement.

5. Have a growth plan.

Managing growth also can be a challenge for home-based franchisees who suddenly discover they need to hire employees. Business owners may be uncomfortable having employees work out of their homes. Often, says the IFA's Mr. DeBolt, when it's time to hire employees, it's time to move out of the house. "That's a great way [to grow]," he explains.

"You really bootstrap in the beginning and then grow into a location as you can afford it."

Still, the benefits of being home-based make sense for many even when the business prospers. Lane Thomas works with his wife Betty and daughter Alicia as well as with two part-time staffers in his CruiseOne franchise, which operates out of the dining room of his Houston home. After a year of red ink, Mr. Thomas sold more than $1 million worth of cruises, netting in excess of $100,000 in commissions, in his second year. After being in operation for five years, he says the business earns "much more" than those early figures, offering the family a comfortable living.

While there are no guarantees when it comes to opening a home-based franchise, this option allows you to enter into a proven business model for less than traditional out-of-home franchise opportunities. Since the parent company of the franchise often recoups a portion of the franchise profits for a period of time, it's in the best interest of that company to do everything possible to ensure the health of new operations. Therefore, many franchise programs offer extensive training and support to those who buy into their program.

12.

Why U.S. Franchises Face Problems Abroad

By JULIE BENNETT

The Internet and satellite television have increased the desire for American products and services around the world. But instead of getting easier, selling franchises overseas is getting more challenging.

One reason, says Russell Smith, vice president of franchising for Regus Business Centers Inc., of Kennesaw, Ga., is that U.S. franchise companies have already picked the low-hanging fruit, and ventured into markets that are easy to enter. "To further expand globally, we must face more challenging markets, where economies are not as fully developed," he says.

The economic infrastructure that has evolved in emerging-market countries can be very confusing, even to long-time franchise attorneys like Joyce Mazero, head of franchise development for Jenkens & Gilchrist P.C., in Dallas. "The hardest bit of information to track down today is who you're actually doing business with," she says. "Is the person you're negotiating with the one who's making financial guarantees, or will someone else be standing behind your contract?"

Mark Forseth, senior counsel for Marriott International in Washington, D.C., says his company recently ended negotiations on a hotel deal in an unnamed city when it discovered that the investors planned to sell interests in the property, just like a condo. "Would we then have been doing business with 350 individuals?" he asks.

To prevent such confusion, Ms. Mazero advises her franchise clients to begin each negotiation with an organizational checklist, detailing who owns the company and the other businesses they're affiliated with. In the native language, of course.

The Language Barrier When international franchising was easier, a franchisor could expect someone on his international partner's staff to speak English. That's no longer true. "In 22 years of negotiating internationally, I never had a real problem with language, until last year, when one client expanded into the People's Republic of China," says Ms. Mazero. Translating disclosure documents and 85-page franchise contracts into less-common languages adds weeks and thousands of dollars to each deal, she says.

Those documents are further complicated by a spate of new laws. Today, other jurisdictions -- including Albania, Australia, Brazil, some Canadian provinces, China, France, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Romania, Russia, South Africa, South Korea and Spain -- have passed their own franchising laws, and rules are pending in Venezuela and Sweden. While some of these laws simply regulate what information a franchisor must disclose to a prospective franchisee, others attempt to regulate the franchising relationship, says Kay Marie Ainsley, managing director of Michael Seid & Associates, a franchise consultancy in Troy, Mich.

The Internet's Influence On the plus side, the global environment has helped spawn 52 world-wide franchise associations, from Argentina to Zimbabwe, that franchisors can contact for expansion assistance.

Perhaps no force has influenced international franchising more than the Internet. Franchise companies' Web sites are available world-wide, and franchisors who once promoted international opportunities at a couple of trade shows each year now receive e-mailed requests for information on a 24/7 basis.

But, launching franchise names and trademarks into cyberspace also puts them in danger. "You must protect your intellectual property rights from trademark pirates," warns Erik Wulff, a partner in the franchise group at Hogan & Hartson LLP, in Washington, D.C. "If you go into Sydney Airport, you'll pass hamburger stands called Burger King and Hungry Jacks. In Australia, another restaurant group registered the Burger King name first, so all real BK burgers there are sold at Hungry Jacks."

Mr. Wulff advises franchisors to register their primary trademarks in "every significant country," before someone else takes them. Domain names are also in jeopardy. It's less expensive to register every permutation of your franchise company's name, even the pejorative ones, than it is to litigate a single dispute, Mr. Wulff says.

A Case for Caution In the new global environment, you can also damage your name on your own. Just a few years ago, international franchising was a hit-or-miss affair. A franchisor sold a license to someone he met at a trade show or who sent him a fax.

If the franchise succeeded, great. If it failed, no one knew about it anyway. Today, a problem with an international franchisee can ruin your brand in that country, says Ms. Ainsley of Michael Seid & Associates. "If something goes wrong, there's a stigma of failure that makes it more difficult to reintroduce your brand."

"International franchising can be a great opportunity," says Ms. Ainsley. "But it's easy to underestimate the amount of time and money it costs. You can get a store open in 120 days in the U.S.; in some of the emerging markets it can take years."

"With the demand for franchising so high today, it's tempting to sign an overseas contract and consider the $500,000 license fee as profit to your company. But with attorney's fees, translations, travel, trademark registrations and other expenses, you can run through that money very quickly," she says. "If you want to franchise internationally, do it because you believe your products or services will make a difference there. Don't do it to fix your problems at home."

13.

Turning Your Business Into A Franchise Can Pay Off

By DAN MORSE

Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal. From The Wall Street Journal Online In northern Illinois, a 67-year-old former nurse named Seattle Sutton has everything figured out -- except franchising.

Her meal-delivery business is an unqualified success. From a state-of-the-art kitchen the size of a basketball court, her staff prepares three meals a day for close to 3,000 customers in and around Chicago. With revenue of more than $6 million last year, Mrs. Sutton has become something of a celebrity, too. In 30-second TV spots, she wears a white lab coat and speaks in a cheery North Dakota accent: "We serve ya' what ya' should be eating for the rest of your life."

Mrs. Sutton started Seattle Sutton's Healthy Eating in 1985, and had always intended to franchise. Two years ago, she took the plunge, and has since spent about $100,000 hiring franchising experts, filing state registration forms and looking for franchisee candidates to duplicate her business elsewhere.

She has yet to find her first one.

It's not for lack of trying. In April, Mrs. Sutton spent three long days working a booth at the nation's largest franchise expo in Washington, D.C. She spoke to 150 prospective buyers, but to date none are close to coming on board.

The start-up costs -- as much as $800,000 -- have discouraged many. She even addressed that problem. Earlier this year, Mrs. Sutton's franchise salesman offered a less-expensive option, whereby franchisees could have meals trucked in from Mrs. Sutton's kitchen. That, too, didn't work, and Mrs. Sutton recently shelved the idea, fearing it would attract lesscommitted operators. "What I want," she says firmly, "is all or nothing."

Perhaps she'll find such franchisees. For now, though, Mrs. Sutton's story provides an important lesson for small-business owners: While a recent study found there were about 1,400 registered franchise concepts in the U.S., franchising isn't a slam dunk. Even such successful business owners as Mrs. Sutton can stumble when trying to take their concept to a different level.

Still, with proper strategies and the right concept, an entrepreneur can blanket the nation with a network of franchises inside of 10 years -- using other people's money. The trick, of course, is to find the right concept, and to put it to work smartly. Here are some tips for success: Build a Successful Model First "Never franchise [just] a concept," says Rhonda Sanderson, a public-relations consultant in Highland Park, Ill., who for 20 years has helped turn successful businesses into franchise operations. "You have no idea how many people want to do that."

Some concept sellers simply believe that their idea is hot and that they need to move quickly. That's understandable, but it ignores a simple truth: Few franchisee prospects, particularly the smart ones, will sign up for something simply because you promise them it will work.

Make Sure It Makes Money That's another obvious hurdle, but one that is often barreled through by eager franchisers, convinced that adding more units is the way to overcome a rocky start.

Indeed, building more units to simply build more market presence is hardly a way to generate profits for your whole system. And for your franchisees, that's "a big fat zero, going nowhere," says Susan Kezios, president of the American Franchisee Association, Chicago. In fact, it's often less than zero. Here's the math: One store losing $10,000 equals minus $10,000. Fifty stores losing $10,000 equals minus $500,000.

Experts suggest waiting for at least three consecutive years of profits before starting a franchise. Ask Raymond J. Huntington, who opened his first tutoring center in 1977 in Oradell, N.J. Despite early success, he held off franchising his Huntington Learning Centers Inc., for kindergarten through high-school students, even as a competitor, Sylvan Learning Systems Inc., of Baltimore, began franchising a similar concept. Before launching his own franchise operation, Dr.

Huntington built 17 more learning centers himself, perfecting his procedures and training. "Everything else kind of flows from that," he says.

He sold his first franchise in 1985, expanded quickly, and now has 155 franchised learning centers in addition to the 47 centers owned by the Oradell-based corporation. (Dr. Huntington estimates that if he had built the 155 franchised centers himself, it would have cost him about $25 million in today's dollars.)

In franchising, profits must feed two mouths -- yours and the franchisee's. So, be sure the profit margin is there. David Kaufmann, a franchise attorney in New York, says he was always leery of bagel chains -- simply because he grew up in the Bronx near an independent bagel guy named Jerry. Every day, Jerry eked out a living, arriving before dawn and leaving after dark. "And Jerry wasn't walking into a Mercedes," Mr. Kaufmann says. "He was walking into a beat-up Impala." ... But in Tech, Rules Change Three years can be too long to wait to franchise a concept tied to computer technology-franchising Internet service for example.

Take the case of Quik Internet, an Internet service provider based in Carson City, Nev. Jack Reynolds formed the company in January 1996, just as the Internet was taking off. Two months later, he began searching for franchisees -placing small ads in several dozen newspapers throughout the nation, stating: "Become an Internet provider."

On the other side of the country, 25-year-old Kylan Koblitz was hanging out in a coffee shop when a friend "told me about this thing called the Internet." The next day, he signed up for an account with the provider America Online Inc., and was hooked. A few months later, Mr. Koblitz picked up the Palm Beach Post and saw one of the ads for Quik. He called Mr. Reynolds, Quik's founder, and within three weeks had signed up. (He paid a franchise fee of $10,000, plus $35,000 in equipment and office expenses. Quik's franchise fee has since gone up to $35,000.)

"It's been phenomenal," Mr. Koblitz says of his own operations, reporting growth in sales of 150% in 1997 and again in 1998. He supplies Internet access and designs Web sites for businesses in Palm Beach County. Now 28 years old, he won't reveal how much he's earning, but says he's "very comfortable" and rents a beach condo with a nice view of the ocean.

Meanwhile, in Nevada, Mr. Reynolds recently signed up his 122nd franchisee. "We certainly couldn't have waited three years," Mr. Reynolds says.

If you must move quickly, experts recommend hiring an accountant. Many fledgling franchise operators have no idea whether they're actually making a profit because they're living off their business, says Rupert Barkoff, a franchising attorney in Atlanta. "If they put cash in the bank at the end of the day, they assume they're profitable," he says. But they

may be overlooking certain expenses that still have to be paid.

Don't Prop Up Your Franchisees Some entrepreneurs figure they can essentially act as their franchisees' bank until things get cooking. Bad move.

Look no further than Boston Chicken Inc., which started franchising in 1993. By design, the company's founders acted as a bank for their franchisees -- raising money from Wall Street to do so. All told, investors and lenders pumped about $1.7 billion into what to them seemed like a great new concept dubbed "home-meal replacement."

Wall Street's money hid the fact that franchisees were losing their shirts -- more than $350 million from 1994 to 1996, according to John Hamburger, publisher of the Restaurant Finance Monitor newsletter. And it also hid basic operational problems at the Golden, Colo., company. By the end of 1997, loans to franchisees had reached about $800 million.

Finally, in the fall of 1998, the chain filed for bankruptcy-law protection.

Acting as a bank has other problems. One day you're telling the franchisees we're in this together, the next you're yelling: "Where's my money?" Under the franchising-banking model, you don't maintain corporate control of your units, yet you don't get the plus of having someone else building them. "That's the worst of both worlds," says Carl Jeffers, who helps recruit franchisees for new systems. "Do one or the other."

Open Up the Checkbook Franchising takes "a boatload of money," says Mr. Kaufmann, the New York attorney. "Going in on the cheap, that's essentially a recipe for disaster."

He puts the boatload at a minimum $125,000. Don DeBolt, president of the International Franchise Association, puts it at $100,000 at the least.

The costs will include attorneys, accountants, publicity agents and training manuals, among other things. Often, you'll have to hire someone to find the franchisees, possibly by working industry trade shows; such in-house headhunters can command more than $100,000 a year, including bonuses and incentives. "They're the ones who pay for themselves," says James McPhee, president of Fantastic Sams, the Anaheim, Calif., hair-salon chain.

The good news: Lenders increasingly have a better opinion of franchising, which over the past decade has shed its snake-oil connotations.

Looking to test the waters for as little as $25,000? Here's how: Build a second unit yourself in a new market, and hire a manager to run it for a year under your immediate supervision. Then turn him into your first franchisee. "I call it the fake franchise," says Mr. Barkoff, the Atlanta franchising attorney.

Fake or not, it's often enough to tell you which way to go. Some consultants will try to convince you that anything can be franchised, boasting such nonsense as a franchisee's chances of success are eight to 10 times better than those of independent operators. These consultants will often offer to write registration forms, prepare brochures, find franchisees and train them -- ignoring, of course, that franchising isn't always the best way to expand. Seattle-based Starbucks Corp. certainly didn't think so, and has built nearly 2,300 shops itself over the past dozen years.

A good rule of thumb: Avoid any consultant if the only way he or she makes money is if you franchise.

More Than One? As sales increase on the Internet and through catalogs, it's more important than ever to ask whether you really need all that bricks and mortar. Now is probably not the time, for instance, to try to franchise greeting-card shops. Consumers today go to the Web to order cards, make cards and send them.

"This isn't baseball," says Mr. Kaufmann. "If you build it, they won't necessarily come." So you must ask: What will franchisees give me?

Sometimes, quite a bit. In 1996 in Dallas, David Kiger started Worldwide Express Inc., an overnight shipping service. His franchisees became his salesmen, hitting up small companies that don't receive the same attention from Federal Express and United Parcel Service that major corporations receive, Mr. Kiger says.

In three years, he has sold about 90 franchises. And this year, he expects to double 1998 revenue of $38 million. Mr. Kiger says his franchisees -- because they own the outlets -- give him a level of commitment he would never receive from farflung corporate employees. Worldwide Express's customers, in turn, get better service. "That's the absolute key for us," Mr. Kiger says.

Again and Again Before a franchisee will buy into your system, the concept has to be repeatable.

This ultimately may be Seattle Sutton's problem; her business is tightly interwoven with her personality. The irony, of course, is that's just what makes it such a success.

Her Ottawa, Ill., food business boasts a carefully assembled network of distributors, which now stands at 51. But franchising has been a tough sell. Franchisee candidates essentially have been asked to fork over as much as $800,000 to determine whether the concept can be duplicated. And Mrs. Sutton herself is pretty picky, knowing the wrong franchisee could damage her reputation. "That would bother me a lot, " she says. "This is my baby."

Keep It Simple With replication comes training. Ask yourself if you could teach a stranger all your tricks during a three- to six-week training course. And could that franchisee return home and teach his staff?

A word of caution is in order from James Khadem, an Iranian immigrant who in 1985 co-founded Chick's Natural, a rotisserie-chicken restaurant in San Diego. Customers flocked there. Mr. Khadem and his partner, Abbas Anvar, opened another nearby Chick's Natural in 1987. Their secret: Soak the birds for two days in a special marinade of herbs and juices.

In 1988 and 1989, they started franchising, and quickly flopped. "This isn't french fries, where you put them in, five minutes, they're done," Mr. Khadem explains today. "You have to watch the chicken all the time. It gets dry, it's no good."

Tensions flared between the founders and their nine franchisees. Three of the franchisees sued, claiming Messrs.

Khadem and Anvar led them to believe their expenses would be less. The franchisees' attorney, Robert Purvin, says the restaurant founders were "honest people" who simply underestimated the clone-ability of their restaurant.

"Purvin is right," says Mr. Khadem, adding that he settled the lawsuits, but had to cough up $90,000 in legal bills.

"Franchising is good for the big companies," he concludes. "They have a lot of money to spend with attorneys."

Don't Lure the Big Boys It's all right to enter a crowded field -- if you have something truly unique that can't be easily mimicked.

When Dave Thomas started franchising Wendy's hamburgers in 1973, most folks thought the nation already had enough burgers. But his hook -- fresh ground beef -- was such a departure that neither McDonald's nor Burger King changed its established, frozen-patty delivery system. Needless to say, Wendy's is still very much around.

By contrast, when Rally's and Checkers burst forth in the late 1980s, they pinned their hopes on 99-cent burgers. With little effort, McDonald's, Burger King and Wendy's simply rolled out a series of 99-cent offerings, says Don Boroian, whose Francorp Inc., Olympia Fields, Ill., helps companies build franchise systems. "Today, Rally's and Checkers are a nonfactor," he adds.

The two chains, which are in the process of merging, boast a total of 934 restaurants nationwide. But their flat growth is a far cry from the exponential growth before the "99-cent-burger price wars" of 1993, says Joe Stein, a former top executive for both companies, who calls the price wars "the most significant" factor in the chains' slowdown.

Location, Location...

Not all concepts can go everywhere. So don't try to sell franchises everywhere.

Southland Corp., the Dallas-based franchisers of 7-Eleven convenience stores, learned its lesson about Manhattan when it opened stores there in the late 1970s. Customers couldn't get the same fresh food that was widely available from numerous corner delis, so by July 1982, Southland wound up closing all five of its Manhattan stores.

Now, because the chain is emphasizing freshly made items such as bagels, salads and sandwiches -- and fine-tuning distribution channels for its stores in Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and the Bronx -- the chain says the it could try Manhattan again.

Southland has stores from coast to coast, of course, but stays out of certain geographical pockets -- mainly areas that are too rural -- where it cannot concentrate its distribution network. "If someone wants to open a store in Mississippi, we'll say thanks but no thanks," says Margaret Chabris, a company spokeswoman.

Look in the Mirror Not everyone makes a good franchiser.

Those who are too entrepreneurial may not be able to share success and growth with others. "Your scope has to be broad enough to see running a company, not just a muffler shop," says Mr. Boroian, the franchising consultant outside Chicago.

On the other hand, you've got to be a bit of a showman -- such that you can inspire dozens of others to invest in your vision.

Finally, you should realize that you won't be able to please everyone in your system. "You have to listen and be totally accessible for your franchisees," says Ms. Sanderson, the public-relations consultant. "They need to feel like they're talking to their cousin, but know it's the cousin who makes all the decisions for the family.

Careful at First If the initial franchisees are happy, they'll tell future prospects they're happy. If they're unhappy, they'll also relay that -usually a lot more loudly.

So when you find a top candidate, be willing to offer big concessions -- something beyond just knocking 10% off the franchise fee. Mr. Kaufmann, the New York attorney, sometimes advises clients to cut the fees in half for the early signees. In extreme cases, when franchisers want successful independent businesses to join their franchise systems, Mr. Kaufmann has even recommended paying the top performers to come on board.

"If you're careful," Mr. Kaufmann says, "your first 10 franchisees will sell your next 90 units."

-- Mr. Morse, from Atlanta, covers franchising for The Wall Street Journal.

14.

Is Franchising the Right Business for You?

By MAURA RURAK

Blair Taylor always knew he would own a business someday. To prepare, he spent 10 years in corporate America gaining experience and perfecting his skills. When the time came to make the transition to business ownership, he decided to buy a franchise instead of starting from scratch. He believes franchising offers the structure and support needed to guide his entrepreneurial spirit.

"This is a great field for entrepreneurs," he says. "But you must find a franchise system that will give you the right amount of freedom and the ability to put your own stamp on the business."

Today, as CEO of Consolidated Operations International Corp., a Marina del Rey, Calif., holding company, he owns and operates four Athlete's Foot stores, one Mail Boxes Etc. and one Fanamania store in Southern California, plus another Athlete's Foot store in the Caribbean. He expects to open an Athlete's Foot store this month and two more Mail Boxes Etc. this fall in Southern California.

For Mr. Taylor, spending time in the corporate world before moving to franchising was essential. As a senior executive at PepsiCo. Inc., he learned business know-how and built a strong professional network. Now he's comfortable making business decisions under fire. "Expanding your network is critical because you'll need these people for support during the dry season," he says.

Industry contacts are essential for potential franchise owners, but they aren't enough to make a venture work. A passion for the business is vital. "If you need to ask if you should open a franchise, you probably shouldn't," says Mr. Taylor.

The Nuts and Bolts Franchising is booming. According to the International Franchise Association, a trade group based in Washington, D.C., the industry has grown by at least 10% in each of the past three years. Today, there are between 2,000 and 2,500 operating franchise systems and more than a half million franchise outlets nationwide.

When buying a franchise, you not only gain a service or retail outlet, but you receive detailed instruction on how it should be run. In return for national advertising and support from the parent company, franchisees pay a monthly fee. Depending on the franchise company and industry, monthly royalty fees will range between 3% and 8% of monthly sales, reports the IFA. While corporate executives who buy franchises may not earn as much as they once did, they can make a good living,

according to the IFA. A survey of 1,000 franchise owners shows they grossed (after expenses but before taxes) an average of $91,630 annually.

Owners of multiple stores often have higher gross incomes than those with just one, and the longer the business is open, the higher the average annual gross income, reports the IFA. Yet, only one out of four franchise owners (24%) grossed more than $100,000 during 1997, while 64% earned less than $100,000.

Ideal Candidates Executives are drawn to franchising as an alternative to the corporate world, and many make good prospects, say industry professionals. Corporate executives usually are systems-oriented and willing to follow the rules of the franchise organization, which makes them "ideal candidates," says Jerry Thissen, president of National Franchise Sales, a franchise brokerage firm based in Buena Park, Calif. And typically, senior-level executives have the cash--an average of $143,260, including franchise fees and additional expenses--to purchase a franchise business.

In fact, many franchisees come from executive positions, says Paula Turner, senior executive of franchising for Express Personnel Services in Oklahoma City. Nearly half (45%) of respondents held a professional or managerial position before becoming a franchisee, according to the IFA. While leaving a top post to start a franchise may seem an unlikely move, it often satisfies executives' career goals.

Consider that during Mr. Taylor's 10 years with PepsiCo, he had been the brand marketing manager in its world beverage headquarters in Somers, N.Y., national sales and marketing director in PepsiCo's western divisional headquarters and director of operations for PepsiCo in Las Vegas. He also had five years of information systems experience with International Business Machines Corp.

Franchising offers mid- to senior-level executives the ownership they can't get in most organizations. "At the top levels, you don't work hands-on," says Ms. Turner. "But as a franchisee, you're involved on a daily basis. You're the owner on the premises and you're responsible for all operations." Indeed, 83% of franchise owners say they're actively involved with their store operations, the IFA says.

A Different Kind of Support Running a franchise isn't like having a traditional job where you're in charge of one function. At first, franchisees must do everything--from ordering business cards to buying fax paper. This adjustment can be difficult for executives used to the perks of a large corporation. "You'll have fewer resources and less support staff," says Mr. Taylor.

But you won't be alone. The franchiser serves as a business partner. "They're your family," says Ms. Turner. "You have a safety net." Franchiser assistance can help executives operating businesses for the first time solve tricky dilemmas.

"You're in business for yourself but not by yourself," she says, "You're a semi-entrepreneur." Of owners surveyed by the IFA, 64% say they would be less successful if they had tried to open the same type of business without the support of a franchise system.

Buying a franchise helps establish your business in the community. Name recognition is the most important advantage to owning a franchise for 22% of franchise owners, followed by company support (21%), product knowledge and expertise (8%) and advertising (6%), the IFA survey shows. Further, half of respondents say they would recommend purchasing a franchise rather than opening a non-franchise business.

Make an Educated Decision The decision to leave a corporate position to start a franchise shouldn't be made on a whim. Mr. Taylor spent nearly 18 months researching 100 different concepts to find a business he liked and a franchiser who could build a strong relationship. He had three primary criteria: The franchise company had to be flexible and have a strong reputation and well-developed operating systems. He opened his first Athlete's Foot store in Brea, Calif., in 1996 and is now the area developer for Athlete's Foot in California.

As a former athlete, he particularly liked the products sold at Athlete's Foot. "If you don't like what you're selling, you'll be miserable," says Mr. Taylor.

His methodical approach to choosing a franchise may be unusual for franchisees. Many executives who take early retirement or are laid off with severance opt to become franchisees when they can't land new positions. "It's difficult to find a job at the age of 56," says Jay Mitchell, national director for franchise sales for U-Save Auto Rental based in Hanover, Md. "These professionals now have the money to buy themselves a job."

At age 43, Joe Zdybel was the human resources director for Zenith Electronics in Chicago. He was offered and accepted a position as the HR director for the data systems division of Zenith in Benton Harbor, Mich. A few years after he and his family had bought a new home and moved, the company was sold. Out of a job and anxious to move back to Chicago, he began to research franchising.

Mr. Zdybel now owns Express Personnel Services offices in Schaumberg and Elmhurst, Ill. He hopes to open another office in Des Plaines, Ill., later this year.

To be a good franchisee, you must be a self-starter, he says, and not every executive fits that description. "Many executives in the corporate world aren't as independent as they like to think they are," he says.

The Real World The good news is age is seldom a factor in franchising. Many successful owners have reached their maximum earnings or

promotion potential in the business world, or believe their positions were in jeopardy, says Ms. Turner. "Age doesn't determine success," she says.

Still, franchising isn't the right move for every executive. "Owning a franchise isn't a retirement venture," says Mr. Thissen.

In fact, 58% of franchise owners say they work more hours as a franchise owner than in their previous positions, according to the IFA survey.

Before buying a unit, be prepared for dramatic changes in your work style. Some executives think running a franchise will be easier than their corporate jobs. But the sense of risk and reward is greater because you're in business for yourself, says Mr. Mitchell. The buck stops with you.

The Downsides Franchise owners say the most significant drawbacks to being with a franchise system are paying royalties (39%), followed by lack of support (15%) and freedom (11%), reports the IFA. Some franchise systems are known for providing low levels of support. However, any franchise system that's worth its weight will provide training and support, says Kara LaGrassa, media relations manager for the IFA. "Franchisees must be successful for the parent company to be successful," she says.

Determining franchise turnover is difficult. An IFA study found that system growth and industry category affects franchise turnover. Systems with more than 50% growth annually tend to have higher turnover. By category, baked goods, children's products and general services have higher turnover than others. Restaurants and fast-food and retail-food outlets change hands often, but much of that simply is transferring ownership from one franchisee to another, according to the IFA. Tips From an Owner To make it as a franchisee, Mr. Taylor advises gaining direct sales experience with customers before leaving the corporate world. Sales is the most important skill to acquire because success depends on your selling abilities, he says. "You'll either be selling yourself to investors or selling your product."

Franchise organizations screen executives for their ability to be hands-on managers. If you operate a retail outlet, you'll be managing younger people. Some fast-track types may have a hard time managing 18-year-olds, who lack their employers' commitment, says Ms. Turner.

As boss, you must set an example, says Don Lowman, who left pharmaceutical sales in 1997 to become owner and operator of an Express Personnel Services office in Hickory, N.C. "You can't jump on them for being late to work if you're never on time," he says. And respect comes because you earn it, not because you hold a top corporate job, says Ms. Turner.

Still, nearly two-thirds of respondents say they would purchase or invest in the same franchise business again, if given the opportunity. Of respondents who wouldn't buy the same franchise again, those earning $150,000 or more annually were more likely to consider purchasing a different franchise.

Getting Started Leaving a secure corporate post to open a franchise is a major decision. These tips will help you determine if it's the right move for you: Do thorough research.

Talk to other franchisees, including past and present owners.

Hire an attorney to review all documents.

Consider how much cash you can afford to invest in a new business.

Reflect on the type of business you can feel passionate about.

Ms. Rurak is a staff writer for the National Business Employment Weekly.

15.

You Are Not Ready for the Future

by Hans Ruinemans

No matter how smart you may be, how proactive, how visionary, the only certain thing about the future is this: Everything will change.

Let's start with a provocative concept. Today, you can buy a $100 chip with the processing capacity of an insect's brain. In 10 years, that same amount of money will buy you the processing capacity of a mouse. In 20 years, it will buy you the processing capacity of a human being. And, according to some futurists, in 30 to 40 years, $100 could buy you the processing capacity of the entire human race.

What does that mean for the next decade? How do you outthink and outsmart the competition? How do you learn to work faster? How do you tackle new tasks? An MBA doesn't teach you how to handle mass delusion or disloyalty, or how to live a life without privacy -- especially when every click on the Net leaves a footprint.

In a year or two, your smart refrigerator will be linked to your supermarket, and your smart toilet will analyze the state of your health or beep if you are pregnant. Gadgets will be integrated into your clothes. If one of your children cries, a washable chip in her handkerchief will send a message to your cell phone. If your heartbeat speeds up in an unhealthy way, your T-shirt will inform your physician. Everything will be connected.

But as we gain more connectivity, we will increasingly sacrifice security and privacy. The division between the virtual and real worlds is blurring. Business leaders today are managing within a sphere characterized by enhanced polarization and

conflicting paradigms. Some areas in the world are cash-rich and time-poor; others are cash-poor and time-rich. While the world is becoming more connected and getting "smaller," the Internet is growing. The marketplace is already hypercompetitive and will grow even more so. Customers have become vigilantes: well-connected, keenly alert, and attentive. Clients behave like IWICs: Incredibly Well-Informed Customers.

Change is the only constant factor for the future. Managerial skills that anticipate change and understand its velocity and density will be the tools necessary for guiding your company and insuring its survival in the next economy.

Grasp the overview. Cultivate out-of-the-box thinking. Take the long-term perspective. ( Your young employees may live into the next century! ) Understand that environmental and social issues have become more important; hybrid lifestyles are necessary. Don't be myopic; think about the whole picture. Demonstrate a commitment to society's values; do well by doing good.

16.

Turn Yourself Inside Out

Learn something every week. It would be best to learn something every day, but some days are too cluttered -- and it's discouraging to resolve to do something that can't happen. At the very least, learn a new shortcut on whatever operating system you're using or a new tool-bar button in Microsoft Word or Excel.

Make difficult friends. This idea is not original: It comes from former IBM CEO Thomas J. Watson Jr. It's easier to be friendly with people who have your tastes and interests, but you learn more from people who are different from you.

Watson was noted for managing by walking around IBM. I presume he made friends at the same time.

Learn how some important but complicated technology works. GPS is my first candidate, and DVD is close behind.

How can you pretend to understand the world you live in if you do not know how it works? Understanding a technology may help you see new possibilities.

Bite the bullet, and sell some of those highly appreciated stocks, even though you'll have to pay taxes. If anything is apparent from the stock market in the past six months, it's that inflated prices based on earnings growth will drop when those earnings regress to the mean. And earnings will regress.

Don't open email attachments unless you know the sender really well -- well enough, for example, to lend her $500.

Acquaintances and students are often not careful enough to be trusted. And of course, don't open attachments from strangers.

Vote in every election. Those people who did not vote in November should feel sick. And understanding the issues is even better than just voting.

Reflect on your future, even if you cannot make definite plans. The world, at least for Fast Company readers, is changing so fast that it's difficult to plan realistically. Ten years ago, who could have planned for a career in an Internet startup? Anyone over 55 should, at least, think about what things he would like to accomplish by the end of his lifetime and what he has to do to accomplish those things. Younger people should think about a direction for their lives.

Spend regular time with children and grandchildren. This resolution is related to the previous one, and when I brought this list up at Thanksgiving dinner, everyone agreed: If you miss the early years with grandchildren, you can never get them back. Also, remember that wisdom really does come from the mouths of children.

Find at least one service or community organization, and become a significant part of it. Giving money is good, but many organizations need experience and management too. You would surely learn a lot from such an experience.

Be a little bit paranoid, and worry about your own competence -- especially about what you think you do best.

What made you great does not necessarily keep you great. You may think you are doing everything right, and you may be -- but the things you are doing can become irrelevant.

Barrett Hazeltine ( Barrett_Hazeltine@brown.edu ) teaches management at Brown University and works with young entrepreneurs. He was trained as an engineer and has taught at several African universities

17.

研究房地产“入世”要兼顾共性和特点

2001-09-27

近年来，报刊上发表了许多研究加入世界贸易组织对中国房地产业影响的文章，在房地产业“入世”问题研 究上迈开了一大步，开了一个好头。 在“入世”影响方面，房地产与其他商品有许多共同之处。对这些“共性”进行研究，是房地产“入世”研究的一 个重要组成部分。许多文章已经对共性问题作了较多的研究，提出了许多对策建议，这是完全必要的。房地产又是 一个很有特点的商品，在“入世。研究时，还必须研究其特点以及因之而需要采取的对策。而许多文章，却漏掉了 这一方面的研究。 房地产是一种特殊商品，它有一个有别于其他商品的特点，就是房地产不能移动，不能在本国生产了房 地产运输到另一国去销售。如要参与另一国的房地产贸易，必须到另一国家去开发或经营。这是世界各国共有的特 点，还不是我国房地产“入世”要突出研究的特点。而在我国，还有另一条与“入世”有关的重要特点，就是用于房地 产开发的工地，是由我国政府垄断的国有工地。这才是房地产“入世”的突出特点和需要研究的重点。 在这次“入世”谈判中，我国提出了原油、成品油、化肥、粮食、棉花、植物油、食糖和烟草等 8 种大宗产品由我

国政府指定少数公司专营。也就是说，这 8 种产品与其它外商可以自由经营贸易的商品截然不同，是通过专营而 在我国政府控制下进行贸易的产品。对这 8 种产品的“入世”研究，重点是如何合理地使用“专营”这个“控制权”的问 题。 房地产不在这 8 种产品之列。但因为外国企业在我国境内采开发房地产，首先必须要取得出让土地使用权。 而土地是我国政府控制的，是否出让，是我国的主权。从这个意义上讲，房地产也是一种受我国政府控制的高品。 前 8 种产品是通过“专营”而取得“控制权”，而房地产则允许外商来经营，但却通过工地使用权出让而取得“控制权” 。 两个“控制权”区别明显，采取的对策也不应相同。如何合理使用出让土地这个“控制权”，是研究房地产。入世”问题 必须抓住的重点。 “入世”之后，外商进入我国参与房地产经营、贸易；主要有以下几种情况：一是，外商投入资金在我国开 发房地产项目；二是，外商投入资金在我国开发项目的同时，明确要委托外国房地产开发公司来开发；三是，外 商在中国开设房地产开发公司承坦房地产开发业务；四是，外商在中国开设房地产经营公司和物业管理企业，承 坦房地产销售、租赁经营和物业管理业务；五是，外商在我国开展房地产中介业务，包括设正房地产金融、房地产 经纪入、房地产估价、房地产法律、会计、审计等机构；六是，外商参与其他有关房地产的经营、贸易活动。上述六种 情况的前三种业务，是外商进入我国房地产经营贸易的重点。由于开展这三种业务，必须取得土地使用权，属于 我国政府可以控制的范围。由此可见，合理使用土地出让这个“控制权”的问题，在房地产“入世”研究中占有十分重 要的地位。 房地产入世对上述三种情况如何合理地使用“控制权”，我们的指导思想应是，以有利于我国的发展和进步 为准绳。具体地说，外商来参与我国的房地产开发，凡是有利于我国发展和进步的，我们不仅要放歼，而且要积 极创造条件，改善硬、软件环境，让外商愿意来；凡是不利于我国发展和进步的，诸如重要的、落后的层至推销“ 洋垃圾”和转嫁污染的项目，就要利用“控制权”’坚决拒之门外。这个指导思想，适用于外商，也适用于规范自己的 行为，防止过去普经出现过的盲目引进，或者闭关锁国、保护落后等错误行为。 为了把这个指导思想落实到行动上，需要通过研究从以下几个方面提出对策建议：一是，提出对现行体制、政策、 法律、规范的改革和补充修改建议；二是，提出改善硬、软件环境和合理调整税费的建议；三是，提出发展房地产 市场，使之与国际接轨的建议；四是，提出加强政府宏观调控以及合理使用“控制权”的建议。 希望广大业内人土在进一步进行房地产“入世”研究时，兼顾“共性”和“特点”，提高研究的广度和深度，提 出有利于我国发展和进步的对策和建议，保证我国的房地产业能在“入世”后，持续、健康地发展。 作者：包宗华 来源：《中国房地产》 182 芳蓮小姐雅正

端凝容顏芳華韻緻

俊逸丰姿蓮荷雅潔 二ｏｏ二年三月十七日大佛敬撰

18.

Love Inc.

By: Bruce Kohl

What's it like to share a business with your spouse? Personal finance experts and media personalities Ken and Daria Dolan know better than most. The two, once dubbed the "Fred and Ginger of the airwaves," have been married 28 years and have worked together for more than 12. But to the outside world, the Dolans' dance of love and work looks exhausting. How do these two people maintain a healthy marriage while simultaneously doing a daily radio show, writing books, lecturing, and appearing on television together? Over the years, the Dolans' entrepreneurial empire has at various times also included a newsletter, a cable television show on CNBC, a monthly column in Money magazine, and regular appearances on the CBS program This Morning. Inc.com caught up with Ken and Daria Dolan to talk about what has kept them together personally and professionally, what lies ahead for their company, and how to be in love and in business at the same time. inc.com: Many couples are intrigued by the possibility of working together. What would you say have been the greatest benefits and drawbacks to the arrangement?

Daria: The biggest benefit is after a particularly harried day ... you don't have to come home to your significant other to answer, "How was your day?"

Ken: The downside is that it would be nice to have someone else to talk to. If you are in a two- or three-person company, and you are two of the three, then there's really no one else. ... There are only two of us. I have enormous respect for Daria's ability, but I don't think it would hurt to get other ideas. We have contacts and friends we can turn to whom we respect. Running a business takes all the input and creativity you can get.

Daria: We have to be realists. Ken and I aren't all sweetness and light around each other 24 hours a day. There are times, from my perspective, when Ken says, "I am the person who started this thing, and I have decided..." I have to step in and say, "'I have decided?' I don't think so." If we had to go back to square one again, it would be to put together a shareholders' agreement about what has to be unanimously decided on and which responsibilities are whose. We have taken on all of the responsibilities as "ours." The friction comes when he thinks our responsibilities are his. inc.com: Because you two work and live together so closely, isn't there a risk of getting too isolated from others' opinions?

Couldn't that have a bad effect on your business?

Ken: It is a challenge. The good news can be the bad news. We trust each other so implicitly. Daria's opinion is the most important in the world to me, emotionally and professionally. If Daria says, "I think it is a stupid idea," it probably is. ... I am the dreamer ... and she is very much the day-to-day pragmatist. The bottom line is that a lot of what Daria says on an idea

or concept I will pretty much take. ... We are emotionally tied and self-contained, sort of our own board of directors. That is not to say we don't have friends, lawyers, and agents to turn to. inc.com: Couples may try a business together briefly but may not be able to make it work. What has been the key to your success in this area?

Daria: First off, I see nothing wrong with a couple saying, "Let's try this for a year and see how it works." Maybe a year is all it is worth. ... What is the worst that can happen?

Ken: Daria is right. Don't make this a decision of your lifetime. You may think you will work well together and don't. A lot of people say they could never work with their spouse, then they try it and love it. ... It may be the best or worst thing. If it is the worst, for the sake of your marriage, give it up. I believe, though, that if you have a great marriage, based on mutual respect, trust, and humor, then that can translate into a great business.

Daria: If you are lukewarm on what your business is, don't do it. You have to love it. It has to be the type of situation where you can't imagine doing anything else. ... If you both don't feel that way about the business, the business or the relationship will suffer. No one should enter into a couple's business with the idea that "She wants me to" or "He wants me to" or "He can't afford to hire anyone else." That will never work. It has to be a mutually shared vision in a mutually loved area. inc.com: In running a business, you often must venture out into new areas where you might not have any expertise. Both of you have successfully moved from radio into several other media. How do you navigate those new challenges in your work life?

Ken: Daria makes all the major decisions! (laughs) Daria: Ken is enamored with Dolans.com [a Web site currently under development]. I personally could care less. Rather than have it be something we both have to devote time to kicking and screaming, we decided that if there is something you want to do that won't destroy what we already have going, then you go do that. Occasionally we do separate things. I am starting a separate business. It is a whole new way of selling our own line of cosmetics, and I am doing this with a new partner. ... It is strange doing it without Ken, but good. It makes me appreciate our relationship and our business life more.

I needed to try something totally different without him. inc.com: Daria, do you have any fear that your separate business will become so consuming for you that it will be a distraction from the ventures that you and Ken are involved in together?

Daria: Only the stuff I didn't want to participate in in the first place! ... I am always the optimist. It will only impinge on the things I want it to impinge on.

inc.com: Couples in business often use some clever tactics to balance work and home, things like not talking shop after dinner. Are there any strategies you use?

Daria: The only tip is that it is a movable feast. If we had laid down a whole set of rules about what we could have done at home and at work, it wouldn't have been successful.

Ken: I don't think you can legislate or can post the "Cider House Rules." ... I work seven days a week. Daria will occasionally say, "Enough already!" Daria's weekend is the weekend, and my weekend is just another day. I am the most passionate person about my business, and she is much more temperate. I once walked downstairs with a stack of 20 magazines with a dinner guest five minutes away, and Daria was not pleased! We are in so many businesses that we have to talk a lot about business on personal time. It is not as though on Fridays at 4:30, we don't talk anymore. ... If something happens at 5:00 on a Friday, does that mean you don't talk about it? I am a structured person but not a fan of those kind of rules. inc.com: Money is a big issue for couples -- whether or not they are in business together. How do you handle it?

Ken: Daria pays the bills and handles the investing ... and does a great job. I am more involved in Dolans.com. She takes the initiative to handle the money, but she won't write a check for $5,000 to buy a FabergĂŠ egg without talking to me. It is her primary responsibility, but we talk about it all the time. inc.com: Have you ever talked about an exit strategy in case one or both of you want out of the business?

Daria: That's the fly in the Dolan ointment! We haven't ever really discussed an exit strategy. You may want to revisit us when one of us wants to exit in the future -- we may want to kill each other at that point! We have never discussed it, and I know that is not good planning. We are enjoying so much what we do that it is the furthest thing from our mind.

Bruce Kohl is a producer at inc.com.

FURTHER READING Thinking about sharing a business with your spouse? Here's the good news: You're not alone. These stories, mostly from the Inc. magazine archives, look at how to merge your personal and professional partnerships.

Double Trouble?

You think you have problems managing your life and your business? Try multiplying those challenges by two. There's a trend toward two-company households, where both spouses run a business. The upside is that you may not have to explain to your significant other why you missed dinner, and you can get free and often unlimited advice from a trusted business colleague. However, there are more than a few dilemmas to be worked out along the way.

"Married with Companies"

Room for Two What happens when the professional manager you broughtin to grow your business is also the person you're married to?

Fred DaMert, founder of DaMert Co., a specialty toy manufacturer based in Berkeley, Calif., found out when his wife Gail Patton DaMert came to his company's rescue. The DaMerts parlayed their complementary strengths and made revenues skyrocket. Their experiences shed light on what it takes to mix love, marriage, and a business.

"Mad about You" Sole Proprietorships: A Sweetheart Deal for Couples?

The IRS permits couples to create a sole proprietorship. This setup allows a spouse to work for the company without being classified as an employee or business partner, according to this article from Nolo.com. The result is less paperwork and no payroll tax for the spouse. However, before you become infatuated with the possibilities of a sole proprietorship, know that the arrangement isn't intended for couples who want to share decision-making power equally in the business.

"Tax Realities of Husband and Wife Sole Proprietorships" What Next?

In business and in relationships, endings often aren't easy. John and Gloria McManus, cofounders of Magellan's, a travel gear company based in Santa Barbara, Calif., thought they were ready to leave their business, but they couldn't find the escape hatch. Thoughts of selling the business proved fruitless. True direction came in the form of a striking realization -the McManuses didn't need to leave their company, they needed to transform it.

"The Wall" Before You Take the Plunge Think you're prepared to start a company with your spouse? Before you do, consider what could happen if your marriage ends before your business does. This decidedly unromantic but very useful piece includes the careful steps one couple took to maintain corporate sanity after their personal partnership came to an end.

"Irreconcilable Differences" RESOURCES How can you turn marital bliss into a successful business partnership? If you're thinking about starting a business with your spouse, consider these resources: Honey, I Want to Start My Own Business: A Planning Guide for Couples, by Azriela Jaffe, HarperCollins, 1997.

Jaffe, founder of Anchored Dreams, a consulting firm based in Lancaster, Pa., has written a guide that explores the practical realities and emotional intricacies of starting a business with a spouse.

For anyone who is married and self-employed, Jaffe also offers the free biweekly "Entrepreneurial Couples Success (ECS)" newsletter. Subscriptions are available by sending an e-mail with "Subscribe ECS Inc." in the subject line to az@azriela.com.

The Coalition for Marriage, Family, and Couples Education Serving as a clearinghouse to provide couples with access to the latest research about what makes marriages and relationships work, the coalition maintains the Smart Marriages.com Web site. Formed by therapists and marriage counselors, the coalition sponsors a free e-mail newsletter, an annual conference, and educational programs for couples around the country.

Fambiz.com The phrase "family business" often conjures up images of a stern father and a rebellious son waging a power struggle for control of a business. In fact, married couples in business together are also classified as family businesses. Fambiz.com is a solid starting point for understanding the issues involved in family businesses of all types. The site features a searchable archive of content, as well as news items on family business topics. Fambiz.com also provides links to universities that have centers for family business.

The Family Firm Institute (FFI) A professional organization for family business advisers, educators, researchers, and consultants, FFI maintains a directory of consultants and speakers for those looking for professional assistance. FFI also offers other publications, resources, and case studies.

19.

Think of the End at the Start

By: Rhonda Abrams

If you're busy starting a business, you don't have a lot of time to worry about how you're eventually going to end it. Oh, maybe you think one day you're going to retire, but while you can envision yourself golfing or gardening, what's happened to your company? You need an "exit plan."

An exit plan is a long-term strategy for transferring ownership of your company to others. "Whoa, Rhonda," I imagine you saying. "I hardly know what I'm going to be doing next month, why should I figure out what I'm going to do with my company 10 or 20 years from now?"

First of all, your exit might not be so far away. It used to be when someone started a business, their intent was to build a company, make money and perhaps leave it to their children. Today, many entrepreneurs hope to start a business, grow it, and then have it acquired by a larger company.

Even if you hope to run your company for 20 years, it's important to consider what you'd eventually like to do with it. Your thoughts about an exit help shape decisions you make now and give you a clearer direction on how to grow your company.

If, for instance, you want to build a big company that could be acquired by a larger company, you may decide to target a different kind of customer, perhaps sacrificing income now to enable you to grow bigger. An exit plan may even help you

choose the name of your company: "Rhonda, Inc." is more difficult to sell than "Small Business Advice, Inc." If there is more than one partner in the business, it's imperative you all discuss your eventual exit. This doesn't mean you can't change strategy over time, but unspoken exit assumptions can cause a great deal of friction. I've seen a business where one founder dreamed of building a company worth millions to be sold in a few years, while the other hoped to build a modest business she could run for the rest of her life. They never aired these different exit goals, and it's not surprising they quickly clashed over every business decision.

If you're looking for an investor in your company, you'll have to spell out an exit. After all, they want to know how they're going to get their money back. For most investors, it's not enough to get a share of profits, they eventually want their investment turned to cash -- to be "liquid."

Some of the most common exit strategies are: Sell. All types of companies can be sold, not just retail or manufacturing enterprises. Typically, professional businesses, such as doctors' and dentists' practices, are "bought into" by new partners. Even a one-person consulting business may be able to be sold if you find someone who wants a built-in customer base.

Be acquired. Your company may be a good fit for a larger company. Perhaps they want a product you've developed, your customer base, or your visibility and connection in the part of the market you serve.

Merge. This is similar to being acquired but the assets of the two merging companies form a new entity, and it's usually with a similar-sized company. You may or may not leave the merged company.

"Go public." When you first issue shares in your company traded on a public stock market, it's called "going public" or issuing an IPO -- initial public offering. This gives you and your investors a way to get some of your money out.

Have family members take over. Many people dream of leaving their business to their children. But you still need a plan.

After all, your family members might not want to or be capable of running the company.

Employee buy-out. An excellent way to keep your company together and to retain the jobs you've created is to structure a way for management or employees to buy the company.

Close, retire, go fishing. This is the simplest way to end a business, but you also get the least financial reward. But sometimes, you just want to get on with the rest of your life.

20.

Planning for Succession

By: Carole Matthews

Succession planning is, to some, an admission of their own mortality. Understandably, many CEOs put it off. But without a plan, business owners miss out on being able to ensure business continuity and future direction. CEOs also risk creating extra trauma for their businesses when there could already be trauma due to some unexpected accident or event.

Whether you're the spry young age of 28 and just starting up or 55 and looking for early retirement, a succession plan should be on your mind if you want to see your business succeed. "I'm 38 years old, and I have a succession plan already," says Robert Bradford, CEO of the Center for Simplified Strategic Planning (www.cssp.com), a consulting firm focusing on strategic planning for small- and mid-sized businesses, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The time to start planning is now.

But where do you start? Bradford suggests starting with the understanding of two things about the CEO role: balance and function. "A CEO needs a sense of balance," Bradford says. The CEO role balances finances, marketing and operations, and depending on what background the potential successor is coming from, the CEO should evaluate what the person's perspective is - i.e., sales, finances, etc. - and discover ways to give the candidate the perspective that will allow him or her to balance their history or career with the new role.

Second, the CEO's function is often that of visionary. CEOs spend a good deal of their time deeply involved in strategic thinking, and therefore, a CEO needs to involve a potential successor in his or her strategic thinking process. "Give him or her a chance to learn by doing," Bradford says. You need to be able to grow the next CEO into the job as your company grows, which entails knowing the business's direction as well as CEO responsibilities.

Once you've understood the role, you're ready to begin putting a plan into place. Bradford offers these steps to get you started.

1. Evaluate the resources you have at your disposal. "The most important resource for this is time," says Bradford. How much time can you devote to this? Is this something you should be spending 15 minutes a year on or a half a day every quarter on? If you're in start-up mode, then you probably shouldn't be going through a series of three-day meetings on succession planning, says Bradford. But sitting down and writing down your thoughts about the company, where it's going, and what will take it there would be instrumental.

It's also important to know whether you or others in your company have the skills to assess potential successors.

Most CEOs should have this skill inside the company already since it's a skill many CEOs themselves possess, but if not, you may need to seek an outsider to help in the assessment.

Lastly, money may be an issue. If you want outside help in assessing candidates or drawing up a succession plan, you'll need money. For smaller organizations, it might not be wise to spend money on this type of development unless you entirely lack the in-house resources to successfully assess candidates and put a plan in place. "For larger companies, it could be money well spent, as you won't waste time reinventing the wheel," Bradford says.

2. Analyze and record what your function in the organization is and the value that you create as CEO. Start by writing down your own job description. Think about what you spend your time doing and what do you do particularly well. If you have a lot of time to devote to this, you might want to keep a log of what you do from week to week, suggests Bradford. You might even want to consider bringing in an outsider to assess what you do if you have adequate resources to do so, he adds.

3. Look at people in your organization and figure out which people could do your job half as well as you. "I don't believe most managers believe anybody could do a job as well as they do," Bradford says. He suggests looking at the three or four most critical elements of the CEO's job and picking out the main skills required to be successful in the role. "For example, in my company, the CEO has a big marketing function that involves combining an understanding of the customer, some statistical analysis, and a vision for what the company will do to create value for our customers," Bradford says. "I need to be able to look at the individuals in my company and ask myself, 'Could this person do well at what I do?'"

Most CEOs will need to examine a candidate's skills in the following areas: leadership, marketing, finances, and operations. "The leadership skill is probably the most important," Bradford says. "It involves a difficult balance of knowing when to push, to check, to actively manage people, and when to step back and let them do things they can already do very well." "In many senses, leaders have this paradoxical combination of leading with vision and following their people," he adds.

4. Take the people you think could do the job and have them do a self-assessment. "You want to look for someone who can be honest with him or herself," says Bradford. The assessment should include questions that help the individual evaluate his or her weaknesses in key leadership areas. According to Bradford, the assessment should include questions like: What are my strengths and weaknesses as a manager? What tasks do I perform well, and what tasks should I delegate to others? (In most organizations, you will want to break this down into the following categories: Leadership, Financial, Sales/marketing, Operational/technical, and Strategy.)

Do I have the perspective (operational, financial, market) to drive a balanced vision for the company? If not, what perspective do I need to add to my current level of experience?

What would I need to learn if I were going to become CEO? What kind of help will I need to be a good CEO? 5. Compare your job description with your potential successor's self-assessment and develop a plan based on the gaps. "What are the gaps between what they need to be good at and what they are good at," says Bradford.

Consider how this person is going to grow and be able to do your job and devise ways to get them there.

When Bradford succeeded his father in business, he evaluated his skill set and compared them to his father's. It turned out that he had work to do, and they created a plan to ensure he received the skills. "I looked at what he was doing and asked him if he felt I could do those tasks," Bradford says. "I would put time on my calendar to participate in any activity where I felt I needed to learn something." Encourage your potential successor to become actively involved

with the learning process, evaluating his or her readiness, and then offer him or her paths to take to acquire the necessary skills.

7. Start grooming. How you prepare the next in line will vary based on your corporate culture, but Bradford believes that exposing your candidate to your strategic thinking process and planning is a good start. Have the candidate get involved in the strategic planning. Help him or her embody what your vision for the company is, because after all, sustaining your vision of the company is really why you're choosing a successor.

21.

8 Strategies of Wise Negotiators

By Anthony Parinello

Straight from the mouths of successful CEOs, these strategies will give you the upper hand in any negotiation.

April 01, 2002 I just finished writing Chapter 19 of my new book, Think and Sell Like a CEO, due out in September from Entrepreneur Press. It's on the topic of negotiating. I thought since the first quarter of 2002 is all but done, it might be a good idea to share with you some of the most advanced tactics that I've ever seen for the all important task of getting what you deserve (or giving up as little as possible). Here's a glimpse of what I've learned so far from the people I considered to be the wisest, most experienced people. Not too surprising, I imagine. Let's look at the most profound yet subtle strategies for wise negotiating…as practiced at the top.

1. Pick Your Battles Carefully CEOs who sell and negotiate successfully know that sometimes even the most valiant fight may not be worth the potential loss it entails. They know it's up to them to assign value to the campaign they decide to take on or decline--not outside forces like sales vice presidents or prospective customers. In other words, good CEOs are more likely than most other businesspeople to "walk" when they sense there will be no alternative to a bad deal. They don't negotiate a deal just to be able to say they've negotiated something.

Karin Bellantoni, CEO of I-Mark (the company that specializes in "permission-based" voice-mail messaging systems), puts it this way: "I'll only negotiate with people who can hear my message."

2. Leave No Loose Ends Once they take on a negotiating project--or any project, for that matter--CEOs make sure everything on the "hot list" gets taken care of. They can't afford to leave any loose ends in a negotiating session, and they commit to following through on all their commitments. You'll want to do the same. (Side note: Every CEO I interviewed for this book had some personalized strategy for making sure that nothing "fell through the cracks.")

Joe Gustafson, CEO of Brainshark, knows both sides of the "get it done" equation: "I'll run fast and far from salespeople

and prospects who cannot clearly commit to what needs to be done." Moral: Before entering a negotiation, make your list and check it twice!

3. Know When to Ask, Not Just What to Ask For Successful CEOs know that you can't reap what you don't sow. Their actions always seem to be in accordance with the "ebb and flow." They get involved early in important deals, they know when to wait, and they know when to push. This trait comes in handy in negotiating sessions.

Emil Wong, CEO of Latitude, attributes this trait to an ability to be involved throughout the sales process; he points out that the sales and negotiating functions are really interwoven. "You've always got to be 'closing' for something," he says. "I need to get involved early in the sales cycle. I can't wait until we're losing the deal or until we're at an impasse. I'm not big on waiting until the bottom of the ninth to get things done."

4. Don't Take Shortcuts CEOs have certain values that they just won't compromise. That's not to say they are stubborn, but they do know how, when and where to draw a boundary. Ill-advised departures from guiding principles can carry huge costs, the most important of which are non-monetary: lower self-worth, lower esteem, damaged reputation and damaged self-image, to name just a few.

Keith McCumber, CEO of DayLite Systems Inc., has a core value that says (as he puts it): "Learn to recognize early on when we're looking at a situation in which we're unlikely to be successful. I allow people to fail ‌ but making the same mistake twice is out of the question." This translates, in his case, to highly focused negotiations, and hardly any that drag on interminably. Successful CEOs are happy with what they have and who they are. That doesn't mean that they don't want to grow and prosper. They just know the importance of being happy with what is taking place in the here and now.

That may not seem like a trait for successful negotiation, but it is. Envy saps energy and poisons relationships; admiration of another's positive traits and accomplishments is a supreme compliment that helps you focus on what you need to improve in your life, your business, your relationships, your finances--and your negotiating posture.

Sam Katz, CEO of Sam Katz Inc., says: "Don't try to be a wise guy! Skip the typical sales spiel--which usually covers something negative--and stay on-purpose." (Sam also points out that we tend to play power games with people we envy, and he advises against this: "Whenever you're in a negotiation never, ever interrupt the person doing the talking." His reasoning? Interrupting that sounds like interrupting looks like an attempt to shift the power, control and authority away from the other person and onto you. Not a good idea.)

6. Avoid the Other Person's Problem(s) This is a great (and simple) "negotiating tactic" that more than one of the CEOs I interviewed for this book mentioned. It is also one I've used regularly over three decades of negotiating with CEOs and other high-level contacts.

This tactic is all about not inheriting someone's unresolved problem as your own. If I had a dollar for every time I've heard "We don't have that amount of money in our budget," or "We don't have a budget," or "Your price is too high," or "I don't have the authority," or "We can't move forward right now," or "We need this by no later than next Monday," I'd be a millionaire. Look at all these typical responses again, and you'll see that each is an attempt to put the buyer's issues onto the seller's list of problems.

Instead of fighting the problem, putting it off until "later on" in the negotiations or throwing a new one into the mix, what would happen if you approached the problem from the standpoint of finding a solution--of acting as a consultant with the responsibility of finding an outcome that makes both sides happy?

Keith McCumber, CEO of Daylite Systems Inc., urges you to address of the issues whenever they come up. Prompt the issues, and don't pick up any baggage that doesn't belong to you. "Beware of any term or condition that is put off for later discussion. When someone says, 'We can discuss this at a later point--I don't see this condition as being a big problem,' watch out!" This "insignificant" issue is very likely the deal-breaker that will be rolled across the table when time is running out for you, the seller (i.e., it's getting close to the end of your quarter or fiscal year, or some other important deadline is looming). CEOs and other effective negotiators know that people tend to become much more flexible when the time is running out.

Heed McCumber's warning. Don't wait until "later." Deal with the issues now!

7. Do the CEO Swagger To think, sell and negotiate like a CEO, you must understand that more than anyone in an organization, the CEO has the ultimate walk-away power. The power to walk away is the most profound negotiating tactic that a CEO will use. She/he basically says "I am totally willing to pass on this opportunity." There is a big difference in that thinking vs. "I am going to get the price as low as I can before I buy." Walk-away power takes the opportunity past the point of no return. The winning party will convince the other party that they can and will walk away from the relationship (buy or sell). Keep in mind that the goal here is not to actually 'walk'; the goal is to get the other party to do whatever the 'walking' party wants them to do.

Joe Mancuso, CEO of the CEO Club, points out there are two very distinct ways to protect yourself against this tactic: Increase your options. If you're looking to contract with a business consultant, make sure you've got at least one other business consultant that you would hire. This way, when it comes to "walking" on the first one, you've got a backup.

Make sure you don't give too much early on in the selling or buying process. The point here is that "give and take" makes much more sense than "give and give some more." If you and the buyer/seller both invest in the relationship, you're more likely not to run into the "walk-away" tactic at the bottom of the ninth inning.

8. Ask for the Stars Asking for more than is expected (moving beyond expectations) is a great trait of the CEO. You'll be able to see this one

coming if you're a salesperson because you're already conditioned to the "do whatever it takes to get the sale" mentality.

CEOs know this, too. Therefore, be prepared, and you may even want to use this yourself when you're on the "seller's" side of the table. By doing so, you'll be modeling an important CEO negotiating trait.

Consider this about asking for more than is expected:

•

It's one of the only ways to establish perceived value beyond actual value. Example: ask your prospect CEO if they would be willing to be used as a reference site as soon as they receive their expected result or within three months, whichever comes first.

•

It gives a CEO room to "wiggle" later on. She/he can always lower their expectations. Example: in the spirit of "marketing mobility" (Chapter 13 of my book), ask your prospect CEO to allow your products to be included in their quarterly newsletter to their customer base.

•

It tends to prevent "deadlocks" in negotiations because it promotes free discussions of the most important issues early on in the process. Example: Asking for payment upon receipt of order in place of the "normal" net 30 will help with your organization's net working capital and put the pressure on the "buying" organization.

•

Asking for more than is expected will almost always create a feeling that the other person has won when the expectations are lowered. Example: Giving net 30 in the above case will almost always make the "buying" CEO happy, and you'll be right where you need to be.

22.

Creative Marketing on a Shoestring By Isabella Trebond

You've ransacked your brain for a shred of creativity, and you still can't come up with some decent marketing tactics.

Good news: We've done the work for you.

In a world where a decent print ad can run to five digits, Internet ads start at hundreds a month and direct mail costs a dollar a pop, what's a cash-strapped entrepreneur to do? Fear not. If you're willing to put in time in lieu of money and aren't afraid of a little adventure, there are always ways to market your business--all for the price of a large pizza or less.

Just avoid blowing money on methods that don't work for start-up businesses. Instead, try these unorthodox but effective (and inexpensive) marketing measures.

Pull a Stunt As you sit in a sidewalk café one sunny afternoon, you notice heads suddenly swiveling. A woman is walking down the street…in a boned, laced bodice that gives her a silhouette that would make strong men faint. She hands out leaflets to her entranced audience. She makes more than $3,000 in bodice orders within the week. Not bad for a marketing outlay of $10 and a couple of hours.

A good publicity stunt is a startlingly effective way to catapult your business into the public eye and gain exposure that could otherwise cost you a fortune--if you're the kind of person who's not afraid to be a bit wacky. Think up a clever, funny, outrageous idea and tell the local media--newspapers, radio stations, TV stations--all about it. Call everyone you know, and ask them to spread the word.

If you're starting a homemade jam business, for example, put out a public challenge for a jam-sandwich-eating contest. Or stage a "live" commercial in a crowded mall or even the street. (Get permission first.) See if you can convince (or entice with free offers of whatever you sell) friends or family to take part. Otherwise, you can probably hire aspiring actors or musicians from local schools and guilds for very little money.

Even if you're not willing to go quite that far, you can whip up some public interest by adding theater to your business. If you're selling hand-painted silk accessories, give a full-blown silk-painting demonstration in the park, complete with flying painted-silk pennants. Or spread a bright cloth on the grass by a high-traffic area of the park, sit down in a suit with a briefcase, and put up a big sign that reads "Tax accountant for hire." The possibilities are limited only by your imagination.

Barter Before there was money, there was bartering, the direct exchange of goods and services. You might not have money for marketing, but you do have something to trade: your business.

Call your local radio stations and offer free gifts, appointments, coupons--whatever you've got and can afford--to be used as prizes in their promotional draws or contests. In exchange, you get to include your business name and contact information on all these products, and they make periodic announcements on the air that sing praises of your contributions.

You can also barter with other small businesses in your area. Are you an information broker, plumber, candlestick maker?

Find a copywriter, Web site designer or desktop publisher and offer to trade your services for professionally written ad copy and polished Web sites and brochures.

Give Away Tips (and Your Name) Name recognition: that's what those giant billboard ads and full-color magazine spreads are trying to build. Name recognition sells because people fall back on the things that are familiar. You, too, can cash in on this tendency--and spend nothing more than your time and photocopying costs.

Start by writing a short article that offers a set of tips related to your business. Remember, on this topic, you're the expert.

Pick a catchy title that promises secrets, numbers and reasons ("Become your own boss in five easy steps," "Three things to try when your computer dies" and "7 mortgage mistakes to avoid," for example). Don't overtly sell your business, though you can make references to it. Many people who never read ads will read an article, especially one that promises a tangible benefit.

Format the article so you can fold it into a convenient shape for mailing or handing out. Include contact information and a clear but brief description of your business where they're visible but not obtrusive. Hand out the "free tips" at networking events, send them to relatives and friends, and post them on bulletin boards in coffee shops, Laundromats, public libraries and malls. Offer them free from your Web site if you have one.

Ask compatible local businesses to keep a stack of them as a service to customers. "10 things to look for in a good pet sitter" would probably be welcomed at your vet's office, "Beat stress through aromatherapy" at a natural products store.

And the next time someone is going on holiday in Europe or runs into a stressful spell, your pet-sitting or aromatherapy massage business will be first in line for consideration.

Stand United This is probably the most effective and least-utilized way you can get more business fast: Join forces with other entrepreneurs who run businesses complementary to yours. If you're a copywriter, seek out a graphic designer and a printer. Interior designers can team up with house painters and custom furniture makers, resume writers with employment consultants.

Market your services jointly, and refer your clients to each other. Offer coupons that offer discounts to each others' services. Not only do you get many times the exposure you'd get if you were marketing alone, but you'll also attract extra customers who want the convenience of one-stop shopping for all their needs. Influence the Influencers Say you're a photographer who specializes in wedding pictures. If you can get just one bridal store to recommend you to its customers, you've done the equivalent of advertising yourself to the dozens or hundreds of people who shop there every week.

Make it convenient for your host store to recommend you to its customers. Run off simple, persuasive leaflets that describe your service, a big glossy photograph of your product for permanent display (alongside business cards for people to take away), or coupons that offer special discounts. Then start approaching local businesses whose clientele might also be interested in what you sell.

"Would You Like Fries With That?"

This simple question rakes in so much extra profit for McDonald's, employees probably have it sewn into their shirt collars.

There's a lesson in this for you: Don't be so focused on getting new business that you neglect your most promising and potentially profitable market--your past and current customers.

After a sale, always offer clients companion products or additional services at a discount--if they buy now. If your business has built-in repeat potential (pet grooming, accounting or carpet cleaning, to name a few), drop a regular postcard or phone call to solicit another appointment with past customers. There's a good chance that they'll become regulars who then recommend you to people they know.

Even if your business offers a one-time service, ask your clients' permission to retain contact with them. Then send them an e-mail announcing a new and improved product, a holiday special or a discount for anyone they refer to you. Think how much more successful this would be than to start over with folks who've never even heard of you.

23.

Attracting Referrals

By Kim T. Gordon

April 01, 2002

Encourage your happy customers to spread the word about your business.

Q: What can we do to win more referrals for our business? We see a lot of our competitors getting customers this way, but we don't seem to have the same luck.

A: When it comes to winning referral business, luck plays a smaller role than you may think. What matters most is cultivating current customers or clients and creating an ongoing program to generate referrals from "influencers."

Learn to Ask Your first step is to communicate with your customers to let them know you're open to receiving referrals and what you're looking for. This may be done in person--when meeting or speaking with them on the telephone--and it's best to be direct.

Let's say you write a newsletter for a division of a major corporation. When meeting with a department head with whom you regularly work, you could ask her to refer you to other divisions within the company that might benefit from copywriting services. If you have a good, solid working relationship and a happy client, she may be willing to make introductions for you throughout the company.

But sometimes this kind of direct request is difficult for entrepreneurs, and you may find you're more comfortable using comment cards, surveys or other forms of written communication with your customers to get referral names. A remodeling contractor, for example, could send a follow-up letter at the end of each project asking for feedback and include a section requesting referrals. Depending on your type of business, you may find it advantageous to offer an incentive to your current customers to provide referrals, such as a discount or rebate, when their friends or family members make a purchase or sign up for services.

Market to Influencers Influencers are people who have direct contact with your primary prospects and can send them your way. For instance, real estate sales associates are major influencers for home inspectors, since many prospective homeowners rely on them to recommend an inspector before they make an offer on a home. Likewise, home security companies that install smoke detectors and other equipment often consider insurance agents major influencers, as they frequently recommend installing such devices when reviewing new policies with homeowners.

What types of businesses or individuals are major influencers for your company? There may be thousands in your area--

as in the case of a home inspector who relies on referrals from real estate sales associates--or just a handful. Often, marketing to them can be as important as the campaigns you use to reach your prospective customers or clients. That's why it's essential to set up a program that includes a combination of sales contacts and marketing tactics to keep referrals coming in year-round. Since referral relationships are based on trust, it's vital to get to know your key influencers one-onone. So you'll need to identify them, then call and set up meetings to get acquainted.

Once these relationships are initiated, it's important to nurture and maintain them by staying in contact by telephone, in person and through marketing tools such as direct mail, e-mail or by fax. A great way help your influencers send business your way is to supply them with marketing tools to use directly with your prospects. The home inspector, for instance, could create a "10 Point Inspection Checklist" with his company's name and contact information for real estate sales associates to use with prospective home buyers.

Set up a database with your referral list and schedule your ongoing activity in your contact management program just as you would contacts with prospective clients or customers. This will keep your program on track and important contacts from falling by the wayside.

The way you handle the referrals you receive will solidify your relationships with your sources. So be sure to keep your influencers in the loop with thank-you notes or calls and updates on the satisfaction of each referral they send your way.

With a hard-working referral program in place, you won't have to rely on luck to win the business your company needs.

24.

Slumber Party

By Kim T. Gordon

Low-budget marketing tips you can use while the economy is sleeping Entrepreneur magazine - May 2002 In an economic downturn, yesterday's marketing strategies just won't cut it. Either they're too expensive, or your audience has tuned out. But that doesn't mean you should start cutting your marketing budget. Instead, you should use this time to develop specific strategies that produce bottom-line results. That means you have to get back to basics and adopt new, hard-working tactics that bring you closer to your customers.

Here are five steps you can take today to help your company ride out the rocky times. They may not give you a recessionproof business, but they'll keep your marketing efforts moving in the right direction through this downturn and beyond.

1. Make ads pay. Starting today, eliminate your old "image" campaign and replace it with one that's designed to produce bottom-line results. Every ad must communicate benefits and make a strong call to action that produces a measurable response. To track the results of your marketing efforts, place response codes in all your ads and lead-generation tools.

You should also train your staff to always ask prospects where they learned about your company and use contactmanagement software to record all the information you get from them.

2. Use CRM. It's never been more important to know and understand your customers. A good customer relationship marketing program is a high-touch, low-cost way to get feedback while increasing sales. By listening carefully to your customers, you'll gain insight into what they want most and how you can provide it. Rather than cutting your prices, now is the best time to offer additional value-enhancements to your present product or service offering that let you rise above your competitors and meet your customers' needs in more compelling ways. Segment your customer base, set up a multitiered program of telephone contact and mailings, and offer special support or additional services to the customers who generate the greatest sales or profits.

3. Dig deeper. Are you aggressively looking for new ways to persuade prospects to take interest in your company? Take advantage of focus groups and surveys, and stay abreast of the latest research and published articles (try www.magportal.com) to discover your target market's current needs, desires and buying preferences. Put customer feedback forms on your Web site and take steps to make your online presence more interactive.

It's also a good time to take on a new prospect group by expanding into an ethnic or demographic niche. Is there a way to retool your product or service to meet the special needs of seniors, people with a certain disability or your local Asian or Hispanic community, for example? At a time when broad-based consumer marketing has become too costly an option for many entrepreneurs, filling the needs of smaller niche markets can reduce your business's marketing costs while increasing sales.

4. Turn on the spotlight. Right now, media relations and special events are essential tools. You can intensify your media relations efforts by targeting several media outlets (find them at www.gebbieinc.com) with story ideas tailored specifically for their viewers, readers or listeners. Identify specific journalists or editors to receive your information and find out if they prefer releases via fax, e-mail or standard mail. After sending your initial information, follow up with phone calls and a polished press kit.

To increase your company's visibility, associate with a charitable cause or community-based group for a special event.

Take a high-profile position-rather than melting into the crowd-but be careful to avoid the appearance of giving for the purpose of self-aggrandizement.

5. Get personal. During an economic downturn, it's a great idea to get back to basics by beefing up your networking activities. Designate several members of your company to get out and attend different groups, assign goals for follow-up and regularly add contacts to your database. Communicate with your entire prospect database about once every six weeks by direct mail, e-mail, fax, phone or in person, and you'll come out of this downturn with a strong and loyal customer base.

25.

Network With Confidence

By Ivan Misner

July 15, 2002

Afraid to meet new people? It's time you faced your fears, because that's what networking is all about.

Q: I have a lot of trouble feeling comfortable enough to introduce myself to total strangers, but I know this is important in networking. How can I overcome this obstacle?

A: In her book Skills for Success: A Guide to the Top for Men and Women, Adele M. Scheele tells about a cocktail party where she met someone who was hesitant to introduce himself to total strangers. Scheele suggested that he "consider a different scenario for the evening. That is, consider himself the party's host instead of its guest." She asked him: What if he were the host? Wouldn't he introduce himself to people he didn't know and then introduce them to each other?

Wouldn't he watch for lulls in conversations or bring new people over to an already-formed small group?

Scheele's new acquaintance acknowledged the obvious difference between the active role of the host and the passive role of the guest. Scheele concluded that "there was nothing to stop this man from playing the role of host, even though he wasn't the actual host."

Now I know that sounds easy, but when it comes right down to it, actually acting like the host isn't so simple for many people. Not all individuals are good at "acting" like something they are not. Therefore, I have one important thing to add to this advice: Don't "act" like the host, "be" the host.

Most of the business organizations you go to have a position that is responsible for meeting visitors. And I know it sounds crazy telling someone who is uncomfortable meeting new people at a networking event to be the host. At first, it must sound a little like telling a boxer to "lean into a punch!" But there's a big difference, and it really works.

Most people's fears relating to meeting new people at networking events come from not having a proper context to introduce themselves to others. Just as Scheele points out, when you are the host, you don't feel uncomfortable introducing yourself to someone you don't know who's at your party. So the key in feeling comfortable is to establish the proper context.

To establish the proper context, I recommend that you volunteer to be an ambassador, or a visitor host, at the networking groups you belong to. An ambassador or visitor host is someone who greets all the visitors and introduces them to others.

Over time, this type of position will give you an opportunity to meet many people, put them together with others and become an accomplished gatekeeper. Helping others connect, meet and get what they need will unquestionably help you build your business. Furthermore, it will do it in a way that helps others.

By using this technique, you'll start to develop excellent networking skills and get great exposure to many business professionals in a short time.

A distinguishing characteristic of self-made millionaires is that they network everywhere. Most importantly, they do it all the time--at business conferences, at the health club, on the golf course or with the person sitting next to them on a plane.

This fact alone should motivate you to place yourself in situations where you can meet new people and do so in a way

that you feel comfortable.

It's not called net-sit or net-eat, it's called net-work. If you want to become a better networker, give this technique a try. You will be pleased with the results.

26.

Get Exactly What You Want

By Phyllis Davis

June 03, 2002

Charismatic people don't just stand out--they get rewarded. Here's how to put charisma to work for you.

"You know what charm is: a way of getting the answer 'yes' without having asked any clear question." --Albert Camus, French philosopher, 1913-1960 Newsflash: The world rewards an extrovert. Charisma is a set of skills that you can learn and perfect in a flash. Yes, some people are born with high doses of the magical stuff, but you can duplicate the characteristics associated with charisma so that people will automatically like you, trust you and follow you wherever you lead them.

Think of someone you know who has buckets of charisma. Chances are, you are drawn to them because they make you feel accepted, well-liked, and important to a cause or an idea. You might believe they have been able to master high degrees of self-forgetting when they walk into a room so they can focus on you and others in the room, but that's not true.

They are keenly aware of each subtle gesture and comment they make. A charismatic person knows how to make you "feel good" when you see them. They know how to elicit a positive emotional response from you that lingers after they have left the room. How do they do that? Read on and learn how to do it yourself.

Learn to create a sense of enthusiasm and urgency about your projects, ideas and tasks.

A charismatic person is generally in a hurry and clearly demonstrates the value of their time. They exude a sense of selfconfidence, and they're vocal about the fact that they trust you and the group to help them accomplish their goals. You respond both consciously and unconsciously by getting caught in their charismatic web of excitement about their idea or project.

Create a clear and concise message.

A charismatic person has a message. They don't have 10 messages or 50 messages; they have one single message. It may be for the success of a project or for the ultimate success of an entire company, but that person has a single message that they carry with them wherever they go. They have visual aids; they tell a great story; they have a plan and a goal to accomplish a specific outcome. Charisma without a clear vision can't survive. You may enjoy someone with lots of verve and nerve and wit for a short time, but if they have no vision, they quickly become a nuisance.

Confide in people to let them know you trust them.

A charismatic person reveals carefully calculated confidences with you or a group. You may feel like they are telling you

secrets intended only for you or your group, but a person with charisma knows how to draw you in with their style, their delivery and tone to make you feel like they're entrusting you with private information that is intended for your use only.

They adopt a conspiratorial approach when they give you information so you'll feel special and chosen to know the inside scoop.

Make a deep human connection with individuals and groups.

Charismatic people stand more than they sit. They smile while they talk, make eye contact, use powerful body and facial gestures, and listen more than they speak. They deliver only key points regarding their message, and they avoid any chitchat that might accidentally reveal their status of being a mere mortal with feet of clay.

Create a fire in your belly about a project, an idea or about life in general.

Charismatic people are perpetually optimistic and sizzle with energy. They paint visual pictures for you to enroll you in helping them succeed in their projects. They are leaders because they are enticing, entertaining and have a sphere of influence of people who believe in them.

Seek out risks.

Charismatic people embrace challenges, and their bravery and optimism make them appear even more charismatic. They go where angels fear to tread and the rest of us stand along the sidelines, applauding them for their gladiator-like qualities.

Choose any one of the characteristics of a charismatic person, and work on it this month as you develop your own style.

Next month, we'll get up close and personal, and you'll learn how to develop the charismatic skills that create dedication, commitment and loyalty among your work associates, your friends and even your own family members.

27.

Push Yourself!

By James Maduk

In the race called getting the sale, it's all about training, improving and getting out of your comfort zone.

HomeOfficeMag.com - June 2002 Running a marathon is like running your small business. You start with high hopes and great expectations. As you expand and grow your business, the challenges mount and the work gets harder, and sometimes you wonder if you've made the right choice. Yet when you finish, you're filled with a renewed enthusiasm for more races.

In every race, you will find yourself in some uncharted territory, that place where everything that was new and exciting begins to feel very uncomfortable. On Mother's Day, I was in this place. I ran my first competitive half-marathon. That's 13.1 miles. This was a big stretch for me, for a few reasons: 1. If you saw me, you would know right away that I'm not blessed with a traditional runner's body.

2. The longest run I'd done before the race was 10 miles, and that was more than a month before race day.

3. I'd never been in a race before with 3,500 graceful runners who all had the "right clothes" on.

Yet I still did it. And running the race wasn't even the most important part--it was all the training. For 50 weeks, I had to work hard, get out of my comfort zone and push the limits of what I thought I was capable of. Are you pushing yourself when it comes to your sales efforts? What part of the sales process do you find uncomfortable? Closing the sale? Making cold calls? Whatever it is that makes you uncomfortable, you can get over it in three steps:

1. Base training: You need a solid base and foundation to work from. If you don't know the real benefits of your product or service, how could you possibly hope to communicate them successfully to your prospects?

2. Threshold training: Now it's time to test yourself. This part of your training builds on all the work you've already done and helps you perfect your skills. For a runner, threshold training means running "hills" (tackle a big hill and jog back down several times) and "intervals" (a mixture of jogging and sprinting). For you, it means challenging yourself and gradually building your strength and endurance. For instance, if you don't like making cold calls, set aside 30 minutes a day to call a set number of contacts, then gradually increase the number of calls or length of time.

3. Speed training: To really get your sales moving, set aside a special day every week or two to "go all out" and focus exclusively on the skill you need to improve. If you have a solid base and have been pushing yourself to do some of the sales activities that you don't like, you might find that "going all out" is kind of fun.

If you want to get serious about selling your products and services, keep these points in mind: •

Stretch one skill at a time. As a salesperson, you must train in the specific skills, processes and tactics that will allow you to win your race. Pick a single skill that you need to improve, and focus on improving it. Work on the skills that will help you sell--don't just learn the topics that you find easy or enjoy.

•

Take time to rest and reward yourself. From time to time, you need to rest. Without a rest period, you are prone to injury and burnout. If you set goals and meet your milestones, reward yourself.

•

Pace yourself. Don't expect everything to change the first time out. Results come when you make stretching a regular, structured part of your professional development.

•

Take a long-term approach. As sales professionals, we all run the sales marathon. Some of us are training to win; others are training just to finish. Getting out of our comfort zone is no longer an option for those committed to a career in sales. Long-term success and being able to say "After four decades of selling, I feel great after every sales call" comes from constant improvement.

28.

Marketing From the Inside Out: A Coach's Perspective

By Rebecca Cooper

May 20, 2002

Part one in a series on reframing your marketing efforts, analyzing your target market and creating a marketing plan Recently I was participating in a group of entrepreneurs who were discussing how to market their professional services.

Many of the people in the room had never marketed anything, let alone themselves. The group leader asked a simple question: "What does marketing mean to you?" The negatives came pouring out: dishonesty, fear that my message will turn some people off, manipulation, I don't like the idea of "packaging" myself, junk mail, obnoxious telemarketers, used car salesmen, unethical. The negatives went on for 15 minutes. Their feelings can be summarized in the following statements: •

"Marketing is a necessary evil to survive in business."

•

"I don't want to put myself in the same group as unscrupulous salespeople and obnoxious telemarketers."

•

"I'm afraid I'll screw it up because I don't know how to 'do' marketing."

•

And the biggest fear of all, "What if I market my services and products and no one is interested?"

In executive coaching, we often reframe a client's statement so that he or she may look at it from a different perspective.

Reframing the above statements might look like the following: •

"Marketing is the way I communicate my passion to the outside world."

•

"I choose to honor my values and ethics by marketing in the same way I enjoy receiving information from others."

•

"Marketing is nothing mysterious, but simply an activity directed at satisfying needs and wants through the process of exchange. I will use my common sense and enlist the help of others to do things beyond my interest and skill level."

•

"I am confident that I am filling a stated need in the marketplace."

I have shortened these to four simple guidelines: •

Express your passion.

•

Honor your values.

•

Use common sense.

•

Find a need and fill it.

Express Your Passion How many times have you made a recommendation to a friend about something you enjoyed? "You have got to see that new movie!" or "I went to the most amazing massage therapist yesterday!" or "A week at that resort changed my life!" It's easy to get excited and convey your ideas with enthusiasm when you're really moved by something. There are myriad

things that touch our lives and change them for the better, increasing our sense of wellbeing. We relay stories about compassionate acts. We show off our latest gadget and extol its virtues. We encourage friends to seek help and support them by recommending professionals we have dealt with. All of this comes from the heart--because we care. We are not lying. We have nothing to gain by sharing this information, other than the good feeling that comes from sharing and helping.

Marketing yourself and your business is no more than sharing your passion. You chose your profession for a reason-presumably because you believed there was value in what you do. Focus on that value. Telling your story--marketing your business--is most credible when it comes from the same place that led you to your business in the first place.

Think of a product or service that you really admire and imagine yourself telling a friend about it. What are the benefits you received? How did it help or change your life? Why is this one better than anything else you've tried? Now do the same exercise describing your own business. Detach from the fear of rejection, or the embarrassment of talking about yourself.

Try to be objective, and remember the passion that drove you to start this business in the first place.

Honor Your Values Product value can be defined as price plus perceived benefit. If the price a person pays is equal to the benefit a customer perceives he is getting, he feels that he got a fair deal. If the price is too low, he might think there is less perceived benefit--that the product is cheap or shoddy. If the price is too high, relative to the perceived benefit, the customer might not waste his money. The goal is to understand the benefit of what you offer and then price it appropriately.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------"We will compromise on almost anything, but not on our values, or our aesthetics, or our idealism, or our sense of curiosity."

--Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------There is another place for the word "value" in marketing. Our personal values are the principles we live by, and a fulfilling career is one where our core values are honored. Ask yourself how your business honors your core values. Are there any aspects of your business that do not honor your values? If so, those are areas that you might want to realign. In order to express your passion fully, there should be nothing that you are "fudging" on or making excuses about. If you do the best you can and honor your values, your business will be more fulfilling. To paraphrase the golden rule, market to others as you would have them market to you. In what marketing textbook is it written that marketing must be intrusive, obnoxious, insulting or unethical? If you love receiving phone calls during the dinner hour, then by all means, telemarket your service.

But consider how your customers or clients like to receive information. If you are unsure, ask them.

As to ethics and manipulation, your ideal customer doesn't like being lied to anymore than you do. A business that honors your core values will more than likely honor your customer as well. The impact of customer satisfaction is huge. A general rule of thumb is that when someone likes a product, they tell an average of three other people about it. However, when they are unhappy, they will tell seven other people about their negative experience.

The last common-sense guideline is to do what you are comfortable with. If you detest public speaking, don't do it. You will be uncomfortable and probably not show your business in its best light. An alternative might be to write articles or put up a Web site that people could visit. Create the marketing mix of product, promotion and pricing that works with your style and supports your values. This might mean hiring people to do the parts you feel are necessary but are not prepared to do yourself.

Find a Need and Fill It The best definition I ever saw of marketing was on the side of a cement truck on a California freeway. The big mixing drum was rotating, and the slogan painted on the side was "Find a Need and Fill It." Rarely do people purchase goods or services unless they perceive a need. And it is an uphill battle to educate someone who doesn't believe they need something. So target marketing was invented. You have to find the people who have the need for what you're offering.

Define your ideal customer or client. Then spend some time thinking about how they make purchasing decisions. Who influences them? Where do they get their information? What is the need your business fills, and what are the benefits to the customers?

Once you have identified customer needs and benefits, checked your business against your core values, assessed your personal strengths and weaknesses in communicating with prospects, and reconnected with the passion that brought you to this career in the first place, you are well on your way to marketing from the inside out.

29.

Marketing From the Inside Out: Analyzing Your Market

By Rebecca Cooper

May 28, 2002

Part two in a three-part series: how to determine what your market wants and give it to them This is the second of a three-part series on "Marketing From the Inside Out." In part one, I offered four guidelines for marketing: express your passion, honor your values, use common sense, and find a need and fill it. In this article, I will explore market analysis.

One of my marketing maxims over the years has been "Know your audience (before you open your mouth)." People will hear your message a lot better if you are speaking their language. You don't communicate with your doctor like you would with a toddler, and you don't assume a Russian speaks Japanese. Communications that rely solely on cleverness, chestthumping superlatives or jargon are often missing the target.

Step 1: Conduct Customer Analysis Most businesspeople have heard of the concept of communicating benefits, not just features. To identify benefits, you must first understand your customers, their motivations and needs, and how well they are being served.

I've met many people in my career who identify their market as everyone or anyone. Well, it's pretty difficult, not to mention expensive, to let everyone know about your product or service. So you need to find the people most likely to buy

your product. Answer the following questions (use your gut if you don't have hard data): •

Why would someone want your product or service? What need does it fill? List the benefits and the problems it solves. In what way does it improve the life of the user?

•

Would you personally buy this product? Why or why not? The "why nots" may give you an insight into potential weaknesses.

•

Who, in your opinion, is most likely to buy it? Be as specific as you can. How old are they? Male or female? Where do they live? Where do they work? These people are your primary target market. It doesn't mean that you don't have second- or third-tier markets.

•

How does your primary target market currently go about buying existing products or services of this type? What are their sources of information? Word-of-mouth? Trade publications? Yellow pages? The Internet?

Step 2: Survey the Competition & Other Hurdles So you have a pretty good idea of whom you will go after first. This is your market segment. And you're not alone. As you look around, there are lots of other companies vying for your customer's attention. Your goal is to create value, a reflection of worth rather than cost. This is where you have to differentiate yourself. If there is no difference between you and the next guy, it all comes down to price.

It is also important to understand what the competition is. The competition is the method by which your prospective customer is meeting his needs now. To a landscape service, the competition might be a lawn-mower manufacturer whose new self-propelled Mower 9000 makes it look so easy to do it yourself. To a company selling tax software, the competitive landscape includes other software products as well as CPAs, storefront tax services and the prospect's brother-in-law.

The following questions can help you get a clearer picture of where you fit in: •

Who and what is the competition? Include every way a person currently solves the problem your product or service addresses.

•

Is there room for another competitor in your primary market segment? If the answer is no, you might look to see if there is another segment where you could add value. If the answer is yes, go to the next question.

•

Why would a customer come to you vs. one of your competitors? This is defining your value proposition. They might come to you for a number of reasons: convenience, price, reputation, quality, expertise, recommendations, etc.

In addition to the competition, it is useful to understand the bigger industry you are playing in as well as the environmental and regulatory climate. Now that you've chosen your target market and understand the competitive landscape, how do you fit in? The easiest way to find out is to take a snapshot--a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats). Included in this should be: •

A cost analysis--what does it cost you to deliver the product and service?

•

What are the financial resources and constraints of the company?

•

What are your distinctive assets and liabilities?

•

What strategic questions do you have?

In part one of this series, I talked about honoring your core values, and the relative ease of expressing your passion when you operate from those values. The same is true for your company. What does the company stand for? Clearly it is there to make money, but money is the byproduct of a well-run organization. A company that understands and operates from its ethical core will also produce a sustainable business with satisfied customers, fulfilled employees, industry respect and the potential to do great things.

External Analysis & Internal Imperatives It is easy to look around today and see examples of companies that either didn't have an ethical core, or moved away from it. How else could one explain how company executives could lock down their employees' stock investments while remaining free to sell stock themselves? That kind of behavior is evocative of the galley slaves in Ben Hur that were shackled to the oars as the ship was sinking.

Executives only responding to the external demands of Wall Street might see a short-term financial uptick, but they'll ultimately pay the price by compromising the company's long-term sustainability. To build a healthy business (as contrasted with the smash-and-grab mentality of many of the dotcoms), core values must be part of the business culture and woven into the business plan. Ask yourself: What are my values, and how am I honoring them in the way I do business?

30.

Marketing From the Inside Out: Clarity + Alignment = Traction

By Rebecca Cooper June 03, 2002

Part three in a three-part series: how to create a values-based marketing plan This is the last of a three-part series in Marketing from the Inside Out. In the first article, I offered four guidelines for marketing: express your passion, honor your values, use common sense, and find a need and fill it. In the second article, I laid out a fundamental marketing analysis, which included the importance of examining core values at a corporate and personal level. Now we will explore how to create a values-based marketing plan.

The biggest obstacles in my life were usually put there by me. To quote the cartoon character Pogo, "We have met the enemy, and he is us." As a life coach, one of my jobs is to help people get out of their own way. In their hearts, they know what they want to do. They know right from wrong. They know when they are lying to themselves. They know they have choices. But sometimes they forget. Instead, they get in the habit of reacting to external demands, or following the herd, instead of listening to their own inner wisdom.

Clarity & Alignment Hopefully the earlier articles in this series helped you gain some clarity about your product, your marketplace and your most authentic style of communicating your message. You also had an opportunity to explore your core values and to see

where they were aligned with how you do business. Now it is time to put it together in order to gain some traction in today's mercurial marketplace. Begin with a situational analysis. This includes an external analysis as well as a selfanalysis.

The external analysis includes: •

Customer analysis: What are the market segments, motivations and unmet needs?

•

Competitive analysis: Identify who your competitors are and their relative strengths and weaknesses.

•

Market landscape: This includes an industry analysis, the regulatory climate, etc.

The self-analysis includes: •

Performance analysis: What is your ROI, expected growth, etc.?

•

Cost analysis: Define your sustainable advantage, experience curve, etc.

•

Financial resources and constraints

•

Strengths and weaknesses: Include distinctive competencies, assets and liabilities

•

Strategic questions

•

Identify your core values and where in your business you best honor them as well as where you would like to more fully honor them.

Gaining Traction You are now ready to identify strategic alternatives based on your company strengths and core values. The goal is to develop a sustainable competitive advantage (SCA), which has three components: 1. The SCA must be important to the marketplace. (Find a need and fill it.)

2. The advantage needs to be substantial enough to really make a difference. This can be challenging in a saturated market, but becomes easier when one focuses on a specific niche.

3. It needs to be sustainable in the face of environmental changes and competition. This also speaks to how the company defines itself. The classic example is the railroad industry. Were they in the business of running trains or in the business of moving people and goods? How you define your business will have an impact on your ability to adjust to external factors.

There are three basic types of strategies: differentiation, low-cost and focus or niche.

•

Differentiation strategy: To differentiate your product or service from your competitors, you must make it appear different in some meaningful way. This can be based on quality, reliability, innovation, level of service or product features.

•

Low-cost strategy: This is self-explanatory. When you are unable to differentiate your product from someone else's (e.g., it is a commodity), the purchase decision is often based on price. The focus then becomes on controlling costs

and reducing overhead in order to maintain margins.

•

Focus or niche strategy: The focus strategy will involve either differentiation or low-cost, and it will target one or more specific areas of the larger marketplace. It will not attempt to compete across the board, nor be all things to all people. For small businesses with limited marketing funds and resources, it is important to choose these niches where you have the greatest sustainable competitive advantage.

Selecting the Strategy To select the most appropriate strategy, consider the following questions: •

What is or what should be your business mission?

•

What investment level can you make in the strategy? Which is the most cost-effective for your long-term goals?

•

What is your sustainable competitive advantage? Which type of strategy (differentiation, low-cost or focus) best supports your SCA?

•

Which strategy best fits your strengths, objectives and core values?

Examples of how this might apply to a product or service business are given below. Notice how the product or service offering reflects the values of the owner.

Mission

Product-Based Business

Service Business

Chef's own salad dressing

Industrial cleaning business

To bottle and sell well-known restaurant

To become the largest cleaning service of

chef's private-label salad dressing to 1)

office buildings in the greater Seattle area

begin product line and generate revenue

Investment Level

and 2) publicize and increase name Small

Medium

SCA

Award-winning chef developed this house-

All bonded, legal-resident employees.

favorite recipe and uses it nightly in his

Provides highest quality with lowest cost.

famous high-end restaurant.

Aesthetics, leadership, independence

Honesty, wealth, service/contribution

Core Values

How Core Values Are Beautiful packaging and highest-quality

Only using legal residents (even though

Honored

ingredients. Branded products will

illegal aliens would work for less).

contribute to long-term financial

Carefully managing overhead, through

independence and enhance restaurant

computerized scheduling, multilingual

recognition.

checklists and other economies of scale.

Focus strategy: gourmet cooks and

Helping the immigrant community by Low-cost strategy. Highest-quality service

purchasers of high-end specialty food items.

for lowest cost.

Marketing Strategy

Distribute through gourmet shops, online gourmet retailers, the restaurant and

An effective marketing plan will address the 4 Ps: product, price, place (distribution) and promotion. The following decisions should be made based on your values, mission and strategic goals.

Product Decisions •

Develop new product/service

•

Change current product/service

•

Add or drop product or service from line

•

Product positioning: How are you perceived relative to the competition? What is your sustainable competitive advantage?

•

Branding: What is the image you are projecting in the marketplace?

•

Other product decisions: You add to list.

Price Decisions •

Price level (above, same as or below competition)

•

Price variation (discount structure, bundling of services, etc.)

•

Margins (price less cost to deliver product or service)

•

Other pricing decisions: You add to list.

Distribution Decisions (Place) •

Intensity of distribution (Will your product or service be widely available or on an exclusive basis?)

•

Multiple channels (How will your product or service reach your customers?)

•

Distribution structure (Will you use intermediaries, wholesalers, retailers, sell direct, etc.)

•

Other distribution decisions: You add to list.

Promotion Decisions •

Promotional mix of personal selling, advertising, dealer incentives, sales promotion, direct mail, etc.

•

Budget

•

Message

•

Media (e.g. print, Internet, broadcast, etc.)

•

Other promotional decisions: You add to list.

Two last things to think about:

1. When external factors change, your marketing program must change as well. For that reason, revisit your situation analysis and strategic alternatives on a regular basis. A marketing program is not cast in stone. It is a reflection of the situation at a point in time.

2. Do not assume that you can make customers change their current behavior patterns. It is a much safer strategy to adapt to existing behavior patterns. Marketing does not "make" people buy goods and services. Wise marketers

monitor the reasons people purchase and then adapt their programs accordingly.

The key to marketing from the inside out is in developing your skills of making supported and reasoned decisions that are grounded in a sound marketing analysis and are in alignment with your core values. The world is moving quickly, and the Internet allows your customers to educate themselves, compare prices, understand your company structure and even check you out as an individual. The BS detector is set on high, and it is the most authentic products and services, those that offer true value for an expressed need, by people with ethics and honor, that will survive and prosper.

31.

Power-Schmoozing Your Way to the Top

By Phyllis Davis

May 06, 2002

If you want to get in good with potential clients, you've got to schmooze it up. Here's how to do it without making enemies.

"Never allow a person to tell you no who doesn't have the power to say yes." --Eleanor Roosevelt, American First Lady, 1884-1962 Twenty-first century networking and marketing is a tough, edgy game that requires planning, execution and follow-up.

There's a lot more to successful networking in today's competitive marketplace than just "suiting up and showing up." If you want to learn the insider secrets and shortcuts for becoming a power-schmoozer to save yourself time and money, read on.

News flash: Everyone wants to conduct business with people they like who offer services or products they believe in using. If people like you, they'll help you. If they don't like you, they won't. Power-schmoozing is a highly developed skill that develops trust and deep levels of rapport with people who will, in turn, help you with some aspect of your business.

Remember that networking is not selling. Networking is about meeting people with whom you can begin to build a relationship over time. If you attend a networking event with that "hungry look" in your eye, people will avoid you. In fact, if you're too aggressive in your card-gathering efforts, people will avoid you.

If you want to become a power-schmoozer, here are some fail-proof suggestions for you to follow: •

You need a good business card and a 10-second elevator pitch that introduces you: "Hello. I'm Catherine Clark. I'm the regional vice president for Coo-Coo Clocks Unlimited in Cincinnati. We design, manufacture and ship more coocoo clocks than any company in the country."

•

A successful power-schmoozer attends networking events with the attitude that they are attending the networking group to contribute their time, talents and expertise to a group, to get involved with the group and to be of service to them. They also let the people at the networking group know that they are attending to learn from the group. If the people in the group think you're there to sell their attendees anything, you will fail to create mutually beneficial

relationships and you'll strike out before the second pitch.

•

Power-schmoozing takes time. Attend networking events as if you are on a relationship-building campaign. If you make a minimum 90-day commitment to become a power-schmoozer and you attend two networking groups per week over that 90-day period, you will develop a minimum of 10 new contacts that you can begin to develop over time.

•

Next comes the part that separates the wanna-be power-schmoozers from the ones who succeed at high levels. After you have identified a few people who fit your criteria for relationship development, then begin a personal campaign around each one of these individuals by sending them articles in the mail that might interest them, asking them to lunch, offering your time to help serve them in their affiliate networking groups, sending them birthday cards, and emailing them updates or things that might interest them. Your job as a power-schmoozer is to develop a professional relationship with at least 50 new people every year. By demonstrating your value to these individuals, you are building a quick history with them through your efforts at personal contact.

•

If you're a widget salesperson, don't go to too many gatherings of widget salespeople--they already have their own widgets. Go to groups to meet people that can help you with some aspect of your business.

•

When you attend a networking function, don't talk to anyone for more than eight minutes. You're there to work the room, not chitchat. You will have the opportunity to demonstrate your value to these new people at a later time, but not the first time you meet them.

•

Eat as early in the networking event as possible so you can talk to people.

•

Meet people by standing near the food. People like to talk when they're eating.

•

Ask the people at the registration desk to give you the names of the leaders of the group. When you see them (or spot their name on their name tag), introduce yourself.

•

32.

Listen 80 percent of the time and talk 20 percent of the time.

8 Ways to Make Your Start-Up Message Contagious

By Nick D'Alto

Implement these viral-marketing tactics, and the diagnosis will be strictly incurable success.

There are alligators living in the New York City sewer system—slimy green snapping ones—ever since the actor who played Eddie Haskell died in Vietnam. I heard it all from the disappearing hitchhiker—the one who always starts talking about God.

Wait a minute. How do we all "know" stories like that? No full-page ads, no marketing blitz. In fact, not a single one of those advertising dollars that you and I cry we don't have was ever spent to hawk those yarns. And yet we can all recognize these wacked-out tales—and every person we meet seems to know about them, too.

So here's my question: What if it were your product that everyone knew so well? Hmmm?

I'm talking buzz. The grapevine, the rumors, the whisper in your ear. Those very off-the-record tidbits that you and I share over a slice of deep dish in the student lounge. It's the outrageous occurrence that someone just saw and can't wait to describe, and the friend-of-a-friend who just bought something incredibly cool. It's yada, yada, yada.

And that's the most powerful marketing machine in the world. Because in today's cyber-joined reality, every "have you heard?" can get clicked to a zillion other hackers faster than you can download the latest pictures of Anna Kournakova.

Traditional advertising is dead—even Titanic-sized billboards don't fetch a glance anymore. But we all still read the scribblings on the bathroom wall.

You've heard of a computer virus. (Poof—it's everywhere!) Now meet the virus of marketing. Basically, its a business message that attaches to its host and then spreads to other customers in an epidemic called incredible sales. Do it properly, and "viral marketing" can be a very good thing.

So whether it's that "e-mail to a friend" button just tempting you to click it, or a pair of real (and very satisfied) lips whispering persuasive endorsements into receptive ears, viral marketing can transmit your business message at biological speed. Faster than a rumor in a college dorm, at no cost to you. Cool.

So are you prepared to turn your new business into the next urban legend? That juicy piece of gossip that people can't live without? Then begin by reading the viral-marketing chain letter we've written below. Because these eight tips will turn your business into a very contagious thing.

1. Pursue the cool.

Madonna put nice girls in bustiers, and James Dean made rebels of us all. How did it happen? Tastemakers endorse something by doing it, and the rest of us follow. They start the commotion (like Rosie's Tickle-Me-Elmo), and we go into buying motion.

To spread the viral message about your firm, you just need to get the right person to "sneeze" what you do. Sell the president of the Realtors Association on your house-painting service. Convince the "Outdoors" columnist to review your rafting vacations. Or get the gadget hounds and urban kids to make your streetwise electronics cool.

However you do it, get your message to the influential people who can start the buzz. Then look who's talking now.

2. Let's give them something to talk about.

"I know where you can get a terrific deal on software," someone tells you at a party. "My carpet guy can get those stains out for you," your sister informs you. Guess what. Recommending a great product makes people feel smart. Like they're important. They know the answer. Give a customer a great product, and you become their brag.

To do it, fill a burning need. People don't find baby-sitters or landscapers through advertising—they hear about them at weddings and bar mitzvahs. We all share the unusual ("Vinny's Cameras gives free film"), the scandalous ("You have to see the bikini car wash!") and the radical (Remember the first time you saw a Walkman? "What's that—and where can I get one?"). Now you've got them talking.

3. A tight little package.

This is all you desire in your viral blurb: easy to explain ("They sell the most beautiful earrings") and instantly understandable ("Your kids will love these toys!"). Always stand out (the best service, the biggest selection) in a way the customer will want to share. And be so easy to remember ("It's called 1-800-Flowers") that your message never gets lost on the tip of a tongue.

Pop quiz. Describe your firm, right now, until you say it virally right. If you can't do it, your customers won't.

4. It's like the measles in kindergarten.

Your viral message will spread best if you "sneeze" it in the right direction—in Starbucks, at Gymboree or wherever your target customers are likely to be found.

Once you do that, find your "Typhoid Marys"—the people who'll spread your business even as they pursue their own. The bridal shop who recommends your limos just found another way to please their customers—and you reap the reward.

Ditto when that Elvis Web site links to your vintage poster page. And when that boutique owner dishes about your shampoos, you soak up the sales.

5. "To register your own e-mail account, click here."

You just received one—now buy one yourself. From bouquets to "gifts for the golfer," "share-me" products give you the opportunity to spread your message inside what you sell. It's product as pitchman.

Case in point: Marketing maven Raj Khera of e-mail list management service Mailermailer LLC can create a customized e-newsletter package that will spread your business message to target users, all through the Internet grapevine. Keep those customers loving your product, because they'll tell—and sell—others.

6. So pay it forward. Generate more sales.

"Thanks so much for your business. Share this coupon with a friend, and she'll receive a complete facial at 20 percent off.

To receive your free gift, please sign below." That's business author Jan Norman's magic; she just helped you land a customer you've never met, and reward another one to boot.

It's the business card in the bottom of the bag, and the "remember to tell your friends" when you close the sale—absurdly easy ways to boost sales. Offer something free for new names on your mailing list, and watch everyone join your sales force.

7. Because she'll tell two friends.

And they'll tell two friends, and so on, and so on. But forget the fancy marketing theories; it works because I heard it from a friend who liked it, not from some pitchman who sells anything for a buck. That's validation—nontraditional advertising that retains the truth.

Here's an idea. Instead of that silent store display you once dreamed about—and where most products die a very lonely death—why not "Tupperware party" whatever you sell. Customers will tell each other, and your products will sell themselves.

8. So overcome their resistance.

Your viral message will take time to take hold. Problem-solving guru Jordan Ayan points to persistence as the key ingredient to championing your business idea. Like that winter flu that some people don't contract until May, some customers will need many exposures before they'll "catch the bug" about what you sell—no matter how great your product may be. "Are you willing to ask for referrals again and again?" Jan Norman asks. "Because that's the way to build word-ofmouth."

And that's the gossip on viral marketing. Prepare for your outbreak. Of course, don't sizzle and then serve no steak; even the fanciest paint job blows when there's nothing under the hood. Remember that disappointing products, poor customer service or other business blunders create the opposite buzz—one that can kill your business. And anyone who spams (i.e., annoying/unsolicited product plugs/blanket e-mails) kills their business even faster.

But by now, I don't even need to remind you about that. Why? Because you already know it. How? I guess you heard it from someone. Yeah. And they knew their stuff. In fact, that advice was so good, you went out and told everyone. Must have told a hundred people...

33.

Better Than Cosmo

By Kim T. Gordon

May 2001

Sorry. We can’t tell you how good a lover you are. But our quiz can tell you how to sell with the best.

How advanced is your marketing knowledge? You may think you know it all-but you won't know for sure until you take the quiz in this column. In order to challenge you on the latest marketing information, we've broken it down into six vital areas, from how to reach working women to PR strategy and trade magazine ads. So break out a writing implement, and circle one letter for each answer. When you've completed the quiz, check out our answers. Then go put that information to work in your own business.

1. Teens represent a $150 billion market, yet motivating them to spend their money can be tricky. After product quality, which marketing factor do teens say has the most powerful influence on their purchasing decisions?

A. Price B. Advertising C. Whether a company donates to a cause D. Celebrity endorsements 2. Contest promotions with large grand prizes are used exclusively by major corporations with deep pockets to support big payouts.

A. True B. False 3. Broadcast faxing is a high-impact, low-cost direct marketing tactic that can replace direct mail to cold prospects.

A. True B. False 4. Nine out of 10 women are the primary shoppers for their households, and 75 percent of all women between the ages of 25 and 54 work full time or part time. What's the best broadcast advertising vehicle for reaching them?

A. Radio B. Television 5. What percentage of buyers and specifiers (the people who are responsible for recommending products their companies should purchase) look for Web site addresses in trade magazine ads when they're trying to find additional information about the products?

A. Less than 10 percent B. 25 percent C. 50 percent D. Nearly 90 percent 6. Which of the following factors is the principal advantage of conducting market research online?

A. Lower cost B. Speed C. Surveys hard-to-reach respondents D. All of the above

Give yourself 20 points for each correct answer: 1. C. Eighty-five percent of teens would switch to retailers associated with a good cause, according to the 2000 "Cone/Roper Cause-Related Teen Survey." After the quality of the product, teens consider whether a company makes a donation to a cause (71 percent) and whether the company supports the cause (68 percent) to be the second and third most important factors when deciding what to buy. Teens indicate they're most concerned about violence in school, drug and alcohol abuse and crime. Make a smart PR move by affiliating with related causes.

2. B. Entrepreneurs are increasingly sponsoring major promotions by using prize payout insurance. Companies such as SCA Promotions Inc., in partnership with commercial reinsurers such as Lloyds of London, offer guaranteed payment of prizes for on-air radio promotions, retail and sports contests, and Internet promotions. For pennies on the dollar, the provider assumes all the financial risks, helping a modest promotional budget support a large grand prize.

3. B. Although broadcast faxing is high-impact and low-cost, it is best used to maintain ongoing relationships with existing

prospects or customers. Unlike direct mail, unsolicited faxes fall afoul of the FCC's Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Permission to send unsolicited faxes is presumed to exist only if you have an established business relationship with the companies you're faxing to.

4. A. Working women are approximately half as likely as the average adult to be TV watchers, according to MediaMark Research Inc., and 16 percent more likely than the average adult to be radio listeners. So radio is the best broadcast tool for reaching working women between the hours of 6 a.m. and 7 p.m., which covers an important purchasing time—the evening commute home.

5. D. A whopping 87 percent of buyers and specifiers search for URLs in trade advertisements, according to research by Martin Akel & Associates in conjunction with Cahners. If you want to help buyers get the information they need quickly and easily, include your URL in all your trade ads.

6. D. Considering the refusal rate of people asked to participate in phone or direct surveys has reached 60 percent, online surveys make a good alternative. Entrepreneurs can find a variety of vendors on the Internet that provide inexpensive, doit-yourself research tools and databases for B2B and consumer marketers. One such site is InsightExpress.

If you scored 100 to 120, consider yourself a marketing genius. If you fall between 60 and 80, you should increase your efforts to bring your marketing knowledge up to speed. And if you scored 40 or less, don’t worry—just remember this quiz is simply an indication that it’s time for you to get motivated and brush up on your skills.

34.

(Re) Brand You

by Cecilia Rothenberger

This marketing expert and author will help you reboot yourself after a layoff.

Late last year, as the tide of layoffs in the dotcom sector reached a groundswell, a certain bravado still characterized the newly unemployed. Pink-slip parties were all the rage in Manhattan and San Francisco. Internet castoffs were using their severance checks to travel or just to recover from a massive dotcom hangover.

But as the winter dragged on, reality began to sink in: Job = Money = Rent. And with Internet job losses totaling more than 50,000 people in the past 12 months, people who were courted enthusiastically a few months ago are now finding the job market excruciatingly tight.

Small wonder that armies of dotcom refugees are now feeling a little dispirited, wondering how to regroup and reposition themselves, especially with a layoff or two sullying their resumes.

Robin Fisher Roffer says not to worry. The marketing veteran who helped build CNN into one of TV's most recognized news sources wants people to build brands strong enough to survive a dotcom flop. As president of Big Fish Marketing

Inc., Roffer translates the rules of product marketing into a personal arena that helps people find their "big idea" and go after it.

Roffer believes that the right personal branding will secure people a future rich in fulfillment and success -- even as victims of downsizing. Fast Company sat down with her to discuss her latest book, Make a Name for Yourself, and to learn how to create a personal brand after a layoff.

Lose the Guilt Above all, promote your authentic self -- your specialized set of talents and the vital strengths that you bring to the table, inside and outside of a job. Roffer says, "Constructing your brand based on these attributes shows that you offer real value, regardless of the jobs that you've held or lost. You must disassociate with a company's failure. Too many people wrap up their ego in their job title."

Get a Slogan Create a personal mission statement and tag line. Successful companies stand firmly behind their vision and goals. In the same way that Maxwell House coffee is "Good to the last drop!" and BMW is "The Ultimate Driving Machine," you should consistently bill yourself as the best person for the job.

Your tag line shouldn't hinge on your company or job title. Get to know your audience's taste and package yourself accordingly. "Like with any product, it is vital that your personal brand resonates with your audience and its specific needs," Roffer says.

Walk the Walk "Trade shows, conferences, and networking parties are the best ways to find jobs and are the most accurate test markets for your brand," Roffer says. "Dress the part, walk the part, and tell others who you are. If you act the part long enough, you will become your desired brand."

Believe in the Sacred Trinity The sacred trinity responsible for a brand's success is consistency, authenticity, and clarity. For example, Tide laundry detergent and Oprah Winfrey both demonstrate wholesome, reliable brands that American consumers have come to trust.

Tide continues to wash clothes as consistently as Oprah promotes new books or advocates women's issues. A recognizable brand identity communicates itself in a clear and consistent way.

Move On There is too much emotion surrounding the new-economy slowdown and ensuing layoffs. "Your feelings should direct your mission; they shouldn't get in the way of your success," Roffer says. "You should not feel defeated because your company was. The past few years were a time of tremendous exploration. Those who entered the new economy were pioneers.

Pioneers always get arrows in their backs, but they keep striving for their mission."

35.

10 Questions to Build a Better Understanding of the Boss

by Fast Company

Get inside your bosses head.

Can't figure out what makes the boss tick? Ask yourself these 10 questions and you may arrive at a better understanding of the boss -- and a better work life for yourself.

1. What is your boss trying to accomplish?

2. What are your boss's goals? ( These may be different from what the boss is trying to accomplish. ) 3. What does your boss want you to accomplish -- and how does that relate to question #1?

4. Is your boss ambitious or content?

5. If your boss is ambitious, is it about substance or recognition -- or both?

6. Why is your boss the boss? Why did they pick your boss for the job?

7. Are you more ambitious than your boss?

8. What do you want out of your current position -- and is this compatible with your boss's goals and ambitions?

9. Do your goals advance your boss's ambitions -- or conflict with them?

10. What kinds of problems most worry your boss? What kinds of victories most please your boss?

36.

Going from Employee to Entrepreneur

By: Rhonda Abrams

This year, hundreds of thousands of employees will get laid off from their jobs. In fact, unemployment claims have just reached the highest level since 1991. One result is that many of these people will start their own businesses or become independent consultants.If you’ve been laid off, or think you may be laid off, you too may be considering going out on your own.

It’s a reasonable choice. Starting your own business can be a huge sacrifice if you’ve got a steady paycheck, benefits, and relatively satisfying work. But if someone takes all that away from you, then you’re not giving up nearly as much.

You’ll find, however, there’s a big difference in being someone else’s employee and in working for yourself. Much of that

difference is welcome and wonderful--I certainly think so, since I’ve been self-employed since 1986. But some of those differences are tough to get used to.

What kinds of changes can you expect if you’re going from employee to entrepreneur?

Money: From now on, every dollar is YOUR dollar. Even if you have investors or partners, at the end of the day, money becomes a lot more real. Whether you’re spending it or earning it, every dollar has a direct impact on your personal income and well-being. Even if you were a conscientious employee, always watching the company’s bottom line, you’re going to find you have a whole new respect for money when you’re the last one paid, and every dollar spent or unearned could have ended up in your wallet.

This is going to take a number of different forms. First, you’re going to view expenditures a lot more carefully. For instance, if you worked for a Fortune 500 company, you probably didn’t think a great deal about how much you spent on office supplies. But when you have to earn every dollar yourself, and you understand how hard money is to replace, that $29 label maker may seem an unnecessary luxury, especially when you know the same $29 could be used to buy clothes for your kids.

Control: This is definitely a two-edged sword. One of the best things about being your own boss is that you get to make the decisions. You no longer have to follow seemingly senseless corporate mandates. But with control comes responsibility, and you’re going to find you have to make oodles of decisions.

There are the really big decisions when you first start, such as what kind of business to go into, what kind of financing to look for, where to locate. But the hundreds of smaller choices can be just as intimidating--whether or not to exhibit at a trade show, what kind of insurance to buy, what kind of phones to get, when to hire employees, which tasks are most important, and on and on. It can be exhausting, rather than exhilarating, when so many decisions end up on your desk.

Humility: Few things instill as much pride as earning your own living. When you do that in your own business, you have the right to be especially proud. But with that pride comes a lot of other stuff too, such as running the errands, stuffing the envelopes, apologizing to obnoxious customers, emptying the garbage. I once heard about a man who was self-employed for just one day: When he went to start work and realized there was no one else to order a desk or phones, he quit.

Risk: Perhaps the biggest change of all is going to be your relationship to risk. When you’re an employee, you’re concerned with taking care of your career, and it’s typically wiser to take fewer risks and thus make fewer mistakes. In your own business, however, taking fewer risks and doing less isn’t an option.

If you think these differences seem overwhelming, don’t be completely put off by the idea of becoming an entrepreneur.

One of the greatest benefits in going from an employee to being self-employed is you discover a lot about yourself, including the many talents and traits you never realized you had.

37.

10 Tips for Avoiding Burnout and Inviting Balance

By: Jamie Walters

Breathe deeply – Have you ever noticed your breathing when you’re feeling stressed or moving at warp speed? It’s probably shallow and tight. Borrow a tip from professional athletes, and take a few slow, deep breaths to relax and collect yourself.

Take a walk – "Take a hike" can be good advice. Not only does it help burn off nervous energy, but you can get some exercise and enjoy the scenery, which can help you think more clearly than you might if you’re always tethered to your desk or buzzing about mindlessly.

Eat well – Busy people can be chronic meal-skippers, or too frequently eat junk food on the run. Heavy foods, too many or too few calories, and inadequate nutrition can make you feel like you’re short on fuel. Go for the veggies, fruits, grains and lean proteins -– a nutritionist can provide advice and a list of nutritious, high-energy foods.

Drink water – Most people don’t drink enough water, and end up feeling dehydrated, tired, cranky and achy. Next time you feel dry or in need of a liquid "pick me up," go for the water bottle instead of coffee or soda. In fact, experts say that once you feel thirsty, you’re already dehydrated, so drink up. An added bonus? Water helps flush toxins away.

Slow down – "Type A" stands for anxious, not admirable. Don’t worry; you don’t have to plod along or come to a standstill. By making sure your mind is actually where your body is, you’ll feel (and appear) less scattered, think more clearly, and be more effective. Good time-management and delegation strategies can help avoid confused priorities and schedule-melt-downs.

Team up – If you’re a burned-out business owner, chances are good that there’s at least one thing you’re not very good at: letting other people help you get things done. Whether via delegating to employees, partnering with other firms or vendors, or simply networking for support and advice, sharing the load with other people can help avoid burnout.

Sleep well – A good night’s sleep isn’t a luxury; it’s a necessity for clear-thinking and mindful responsiveness (versus mindless reactivity). Aim to get a good night’s rest by watching what you eat before you go to bed, turning off the television and computer, taking a few minutes to slow down and transition from "busy day" to "restful night," sipping some herbal tea and listening to soothing music.

Loosen up – Tight muscles and narrow, critical thinking exacerbate stress and propel you toward burnout. One solution?

Find ways to stretch both body and mind. Yoga or other gentle stretching loosens tight muscles, while similar "mind exercises" help lessen chronic perfectionism, judgmentalism and criticism.

Have fun – Laughter is great medicine, so provide yourself with a basket of toys at the office, watch your favorite funny

movies, play with your kids or animals, choose to be around people who make you laugh, or just laugh at yourself when you get overly serious or cranky. It’s nearly impossible to wallow in your stress when you’re enjoying a good belly laugh.

Get away – Whether for an hour, a day, two weeks or a month, unleash yourself from your business and concentrate 100 percent on someone or something else. Don’t eat lunch at your desk, don’t call in or do work while on vacation or out for a "vision day," and don’t spend your allotted rejuvenation time busying yourself with chores. Remember the old saying, "All work and no play makes Jack a very dull boy." Clean kennels at the pound, get a facial at the spa, see a movie in the middle of a workday afternoon, read a book, listen to music, take a hike in nature, or take a nap. Just recharge your battery.

38.

When Fickle Customers Leave You Holding the Bag

By: Rhonda Abrams

Customers change their minds.

For those of us in business, that's hardly news. We're all faced with clients or customers who order or agree to one thing, then later -- whether out of necessity or whim -- revise what they want.

When the change is easy and doesn't cost money, of course, we're happy to oblige. But sometimes those changes disrupt our businesses or entail expenses. What do we do then? Just pass the cost along to the customer or eat the expense ourself? Explain the difficulties or keep quiet?

The problem, of course, is that often you want to accommodate the customer -- after all, you'd like to keep their business.

But you've got a business to run, and you don't want customers to take advantage of you.

So how do you make reasonable accommodation without either losing your shirt or your self-respect?

•

Be clear about terms upfront. Often, we're so eager to make a sale that we neglect to mention or underplay any additional costs or change penalties a customer may face. Of course, you don't want to mention extra fees first thing, but before the customer signs on the dotted line, make certain they understand the complete terms.

•

Get it in writing. You can avoid some misunderstandings if you have a written agreement: a contract, purchase order, signed proposal. But don't depend on the client to read the small print -- make sure you clearly point out the penalties for changes, if any. If it's not your practice to ask for a signed agreement (and why isn't it?) then send the customer an email or letter, confirming the terms of your oral agreement.

•

Explain limits on special deals. Let's say you're able to offer a customer a lower price because it's your slow season or you got a particularly good deal on raw materials or supplies. Don't keep the reason for your special deal a secret.

Let the customer know the reason and when the offer expires. That will keep them from demanding the same prices months later.

•

Always consider the long-term cost/benefit. Bend over backward to accommodate an established, long-term good customer. Even if you have to suffer a financial loss on this one order, it's worth it to keep the relationship. Face it,

that's a cost of doing business. Of course, it's just good sense to let the customer know you're absorbing the costs for them; hopefully, they'll appreciate your gesture. •

Don't set the wrong precedent. Be particularly careful with new customers -- or new staff members of existing customers. Don't let your eagerness to develop an ongoing account allow you to set patterns that will be difficult to break. If you do accommodate their changes without cost, be very specific that next time there will be a charge.

•

Develop clear change policies. If you're in a business where customers are likely to make alterations or revisions, devise a clear policy relating to those changes -- what kinds of alterations will be charged for, and which will be free.

That makes it easier both to accommodate customers and to charge them when they make changes outside the policy.

•

Develop policies that encourage customers to be committed. Few things are as frustrating as customers who back out of deals completely. Clients and customers don't realize that, often, even before you've spent money out-ofpocket, you've rearranged your schedule or begun work on their project. This is particularly true in consulting businesses, where you may have started research. Non-refundable deposits are an effective method to encourage customers to truly be committed before they give you the go-ahead. In some industries (for instance, real estate), buyers are typically required to make a substantial deposit which they'll forfeit if they back out of the deal. Don't be afraid to try this if it's at all appropriate in your business.

Nothing will completely erase the frustrations of dealing with customers who change their minds -- and their orders. And each situation, of course, depends on the specifics of the job and customer. But having clear policies -- and nonrefundable deposits -- can take the confusion -- and the cost -- out of their capriciousness.

Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.

39.

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Presenters

By: Susan Greco

Entrepreneurs at Springboard Enterprises' boot camps learn pretty fast that making a verbal pitch to investors is very different from submitting a written business plan. A good pitch puts the basic plan to music (through anecdotes, props, slides) and arranges the music in a way that is pleasing to investors' ears. If you think you have the right stuff, you may want to apply directly to Springboard or another venture-capital forum. If your pitch needs work, here are seven good practices gleaned from Springboard's most recent New England boot camp, held at Babson College, in Wellesley, Mass.

1. Write every single word for investors. So says Andrea Silbert, cofounder of Springboard and CEO of the Bostonbased Center for Women & Enterprise. "You want to answer their questions, not push your information on them," she says. VCs ask the same basic questions: What's the opportunity? How will you be profitable? How can I as an investor get some of those profits? Silbert says she's seen too many presentations in which product details take center stage and everything else "is crammed into a couple of slides."

2. Make yourself familiar. Elizabeth Riley, an adjunct professor at Babson's Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship, advises that you put yourself in one of the categories VCs have invested in, such as "faster/better/cheaper." Don't tout a "unique" product -- "unique" is associated with "small" and having a product rather than a business, she says. Above all else, VCs want to see proof of the concept. "It's good if people need it -- and even better if customers couldn't live without it," Riley says. In other words, don't just spell out the product benefits. "Put a dollar amount on the pain or savings to the customer," says Kim Marinucci, a speech coach for Winning Pitch.

3. Think bigger, much bigger. Don't think that VCs have lowered their expectations just because of the dot-com debacle.

Today they want to see companies with an "addressable" market of $1 billion or more. You need to provide a three-year forecast and to detail your assumptions about unit sales and the customers required to get there. And you need to support all of that with facts. "Before it was about telling the story," says Amy Millman, president of Springboard. "Now it's about telling the financial story."

4. Play up your experience even if you're not the CEO. If you're the one speaking, you're the most important person on the management team at that moment. The investors are listening to you. So don't forget to talk about the accomplishments that demonstrate your value. (At the first Springboard boot camps a few years ago, women entrepreneurs often failed to mention themselves at all, Millman says, but they had no problem talking about the rest of the management team.)

5. Justify every penny you want to raise. The details show that you're a good manager. What exactly do you want to do with the money? "When you're really granular, VCs are more likely to give you more money," says Nelson Stacks, a venture capitalist at international VC firm 3i Capital. "The more granular you are with what you need for each milestone, the better you'll do," he adds. By the way, don't try to say what you think your new round of financing will be valued at -that's not appropriate in a 10-minute presentation.

6. Tell investors whom you'd like to hire and why, and put a price tag on the talent. It's OK that you don't have a full management team today. "VCs want to help pick people who are going to make money for them," says Experience.com's Jennifer Floren, a successful Springboard alum who has raised millions in VC funding for her online recruiting company.

She says that when her company was a spanking new start-up with no customers, VCs invested in her management team's ability to execute.

7. Think about multiple exit strategies. Since an initial public offering isn't likely, you need to find competitors with comparable numbers for the purpose of a sale. "Figure out who would acquire you," says Andrea Teichman, a member of Hill & Barlow's technology and emerging companies practice group and venture capital and private equity practice group.

40.

The Dignity of Discount

By: Mitch McCasland

A betting man would have lost his shirt. Anyone with good sense would have thought the likes of K-Mart and the late Montgomery Ward would have thrived in the economic downturn of the past two years.

Shoppers naturally should be drawn to the discount proposition in uncertain economic times, right?

Turns out, there are things that even the most frugal shoppers won't do to save a buck.

You Marked it at U-Markit When I was a kid, my cash-strapped parents found creative ways to stretch $528 a month across four kids, a car payment and a miniature schnauzer.

One such endeavor was a trip to U-Markit. In the days of retail grocery before the price scanner, U-Markit's management decided to dispense with the individual price labeling on products, as well as the traditional rows of neatly aligned packages and cans. After all, these were very expensive, labor-intensive efforts.

U-Markit threw out all aesthetic considerations and simply left products in their shipping boxes on stark warehouse shelving. Next to each shelf was a grease pencil for shoppers to mark the posted price on each product.

What I remember most is that U-Markit smelled odd. Of the top things that consumers look for in a grocery store, an odd smell is not one of them.

That was our one and only visit to U-Markit. Years later when I became marketing director for a national shopping center company, I recalled the fateful shopping trip and I asked my mother why we never went back.

She said, "It required way too much effort and was a filthy, awful place. Besides, we discovered FedMart.

The Evolution of FedMart I remember FedMart as a remarkable place that sold more than just groceries; it sold clothing and even some home furnishings -- very unusual back then. It offered an assortment of national brands and private label FedMart-branded products.

No funny smells, no grease pencils. Compared to U-Markit, FedMart was a cleaner and more dignified discount retail experience.

Eventually, FedMart became Price Club, which eventually merged with Costco. And in the current economic downturn, Costco is thriving.

Admittedly, membership warehouses are poised for prosperity in hard times. Buying in bulk can save the typical family hundreds of dollars each year. And yet, Costco offers products that most consumers would never consider--like $4,000 flat screen televisions and $30,000 diamond solitaires.

But what about K-Mart and Montgomery Ward? Weren't they ripe for the price-conscious consumer?

Dignity Is the Key A substantial part of the American psyche is connected to the concept of economic prosperity. Accordingly, the ability to acquire brands of quality is a vital part of most shoppers' consciousness.

It's also important to note that recoveries from economic recessions historically have been attributed to consumer spending. Yet despite economic hard times, the consumers still long for quality brands and the esteem they carry.

Most consumers are okay with buying off-price; and buying off-brand is okay with consumers in selected categories. In

tough times the handbag may still say Prada, but it's okay if the T-shirt and socks are from Kohl's.

Savvy shoppers pick and choose their battles. And this too is reflected in where they choose to shop.

For retailers, two critical areas of concern arise when courting consumers during tough times: The brands retailers choose to carry and the quality of the retail experience.

Epitomizing these two ideals is Target. Target has defined a new retail category of "dignified discount" by paying careful attention to brand affiliations and putting into practice some of the most sophisticatedly simple merchandising in retailing today.

An antithesis to struggling K-Mart, Target offers a stunning array of the most respected brands in a shopping experience that treats consumers with consideration and intelligence.

Merchandising is clean and uncluttered. Color, lighting and iconography are used to bring feng shui into the discount space.

Granted, not every shopper demands that her children's toys come from such renowned designers as Philippe Starck, but it's nice to know that Target has brought the opportunity to the masses.

And where else but Super Target can a shopper stop by the in-store Starbucks to sip a caramel macchiato, while buying Starbucks beans in the coffee aisle, and cruising by the freezer section for some Starbucks ice cream?

Truth is, it's been a long time since anyone bragged about shopping at Montgomery Ward. And today, many consumers would cringe if caught buying Martha Stewart towels in a K-Mart.

Such retailers often fail to respect consumers and don't fully invest in the consumer-centered research required to build a shopping experience that is meaningful and renewable.

Want to bolster consumer confidence, increase purchases and foster loyalty? Retailers should provide consumers with the opportunity to practice frugality in a way that doesn't seem frugal, while lifting the perception of their quality of life. Such retailers as Target, Kohl's and Costco are providing consumers with a dignified shopping experience at a time when it is hard to be a consumer.

And as long as they do that, consumers will thank them from the bottom of their wallets.

41.

A League of Your Own

By: Donna Fenn

New evidence suggests that a reliable business network for women--providing capital, know-how, and encouragement--is finally achieving critical mass. Company builders like Fran Lent are the proof Fran Lent knew exactly what it would take to start her business. After nearly 10 years at Del Monte Foods and at Specialty Brands, she had decided to do for herself what she had done for others for so many years--create and market a brand.

Inspiration had come in the form of several futile trips to local grocery stores. Lent, a working mother of two who lives in Burlingame, Calif., couldn't find healthful convenience foods for her young children. Other discerning parents confirmed her perception of a clear market need, and Lent, who had always viewed her corporate career as a starting block for entrepreneurship, began to feel a fusion of opportunity and passion. She would create her own brand of frozen-food entrĂŠes for children. Wildly ambitious? Absolutely. "The cost of doing business in this industry is huge," says Lent. "It costs

most large companies $250 million to build a brand." She didn't have nearly that much money. But she had something better. She had a network.

Ten years ago Lent's idea might well have played itself out on a much less ambitious scale in her kitchen. Like it or not, back then her chances of success would have been exponentially higher if she had been male, but not for the reasons we have come to believe. Sure, sexism and discrimination were--and still are--alive and well, but they were never the biggest barriers for female entrepreneurs.

Consider that at its very heart, business is predicated on relationships and access to resources. Entrepreneurial success lies not just in the power of a great idea but in one's ability to finance it, bring it to market, grow it. This is never a solitary pursuit; it's an intricate dance in which the performers are plucked as they are needed from a cast that one spends a lifetime cultivating--one's own personal network. We look for those who possess the knowledge we lack but who also share with us a common frame of reference. For women in business, that has always been tricky, not so much because men have deliberately excluded them but because that common frame of reference was so often missing. Regardless of intention, the effect was the same: an unlevel playing field.

But as Fran Lent has discovered, things are changing. The National Foundation for Women Business Owners (NFWBO) reports that from 1987 to 1996, the number of companies owned by women increased by 78% nationwide, with employment and sales in those businesses growing by 183% and 236%, respectively. According to NFWBO's research director, Julie R. Weeks, the growth in the number of women's companies outpaces the growth of all businesses by nearly two to one. Are women smarter, more ambitious, or more entrepreneurial than they have been in the past? Probably not.

Rather, their networks, though always present, have become increasingly sophisticated and are now ramped up to provide everything from the most rudimentary business advice to new financing avenues.

When Lent was ready to start her business, the network she needed to make it happen was solidly in place--former coworkers, local women's business centers, an enlightened venture capitalist, a respected woman entrepreneur who wanted to help open doors. True, Lent was lucky. But she was also the beneficiary of resources that didn't exist until recently. Some have been created solely to assist woman entrepreneurs, others have evolved as a direct result of women's growing presence in the workforce, and still others have burgeoned in response to a perceived market opportunity. Whatever their genesis, those resources effectively nurture fledgling enterprises like Lent's, not simply because they are woman-owned but because they represent a previously unserviced niche. The network doesn't only help explain the growth in female-owned businesses; it also sheds light on what it takes for just about anyone to start a company.

The Career Network What I hear from a lot of women is that they've gone through their corporate days, they've built a career, and now they want to start a business of their own," says Amy Millman, executive director of the National Women's Business Council, a federal-government advisory panel in Washington, D.C. In fact, a new study reveals that 22% of women who have started businesses within the past 10 years have had senior management experience, compared with only 13% of those who

started businesses 10 to 19 years ago, and 11% of those who started 20 or more years ago.

Fran Lent is part of that growing segment--women who come to entrepreneurship via corporate careers and bring with them a critical mass of knowledge and contacts. "If I hadn't worked for Del Monte for so long, I never would have been able to do this," concedes Lent. "I pulled together nine consultants and made a virtual company, and they were all from Del Monte or Specialty Brands."

Ada Chang and Debbie Bliss, former Del Monte executives, helped Lent with operations and marketing, respectively, and Lorelle Del Matto, formerly with Specialty Brands, signed on as her registered dietitian. Lent also outsourced her initial formula development to Del Monte's R&D department, where a team of people who knew her well "really went the extra mile for me."

Another business contact, from a local office of a worldwide ad agency, moonlighted to work on her packaging and printadvertising campaign, and a handful of business associates helped her brainstorm to come up with a name for her company, now called Fran's Healthy Helpings Inc. "Everything I did in my corporate career I did to help me start my own company," says Lent. "It made me work even harder because I was using it as a training ground."

She left Del Monte in January 1994 to take a job at Specialty Brands specifically because the company had a reputation for allowing its employees to be entrepreneurial. "It was the first time I was able to take responsibility for a whole project," she recalls. Her assignment was to reposition the company's Durkee Spice line, a project that required her to manage a team of 30 employees for a year and a half and to travel from California to Bethlehem, Pa., once a month.

"I had to work with so many different constituencies to get this project done," she says. It looked very much like a trial run for starting her own company.

The Women's Business Center Network Corporate contacts were just the beginning of Lent's networking efforts. "I joined every women's business group I could find," she recalls. And she found plenty. Through the Women's Economic Network, a private group in San Francisco, she gained access to CEOs in the food industry, who schooled her on servicing retailers. Karen Csejtey, the director of the YWCA's Women Entrepreneurs Program in Palo Alto, Calif., used her media contacts to help get Lent covered in the San Jose Mercury News. And at the Center to Develop Women Entrepreneurs, a mentoring program at San Jose State University, Lent met the CEO of a frozen-cookie-dough company who allowed her to warehouse her sample products for free.

Like most of their counterparts in other regions, those groups either didn't exist or were just in their infancy five years ago.

Now more than 60 women's business centers are partially funded by the Small Business Administration and by countless more independent nonprofit groups that charge minimal fees, according to Harriet Fredman, deputy assistant administrator at the SBA's Office of Women's Business Ownership, in Washington, D.C. "There have always been small groups around the country, but now they're part of a larger network," says Fredman. Centers that receive SBA funding

participate in a monthly conference call with Fredman's office and are also linked through a new Web site that Fredman says received more than 350,000 hits in its first three months.

For Lent, persistent networking at women's business centers opened up a world of contacts that moved her beyond her corporate frame of reference. For others, the centers serve an even more critical role, often training women who have little or no business experience. For instance, Marsha Florio and her partners, many of them former athletes, coaches, and teachers, worked with the Women's Business Development Center in Philadelphia for a year and a half before opening HerSport, a Haddonfield, N.J., sports specialty store for women. "We took a 12-week course at the center and came out with a business plan," says Florio. The course instructor, Linda Karl, used her banking connections to help the partners secure a loan, and center director Geri Swift introduced Florio and her partners to Sherry Black, another course graduate, who produces specialty gift items for women and girls in sports. Black is now a supplier to HerSport. "I don't think we'd be where we are if we didn't have the center as a stepping-stone," says Florio. "They've really taken care of us." The total cost for the course: approximately $500.

The Capital Network Historically, women have cited the lack of access to capital as one of the biggest barriers to starting a business. "When we first started, women were getting love money and running up their credit cards to start businesses," recalls Hedy Ratner, director of the Women's Business Development Center in Chicago. "Now banks are less resistant, and women are a target market." Women's business centers that once focused almost exclusively on training and education are now more often doing their own microlending, using money they've raised through private investors, the SBA, or state economicdevelopment agencies. They also link clients to the larger banking community through the SBA's prequalification and loan-guarantee programs. "A bank might now refer a client to us for more help on, say, a business plan," says Wendy Werkmeister, president of the Wisconsin Women's Business Initiative Corp. "In the past, she might just get rejected and never cross our radar screen."

Fran Lent's financing challenges were more complex than most founders', given the scale of her idea. Stock options from her husband's former employer yielded $100,000, but Lent needed close to $1 million in seed capital, and she was determined to raise it through the venture-capital community. Her networking efforts led her to F. Noel Perry, managing director at Baccharis Capital, a Menlo Park, Calif., venture-capital firm that is "very committed to funding women-led businesses," says Perry. Lent impressed him as "the quintessential entrepreneur," and he agreed to sponsor her presentation to Investors' Circle, an elite group of individuals committed to socially responsible investing. On the strength of her pitch, Lent landed the funding she needed from Baccharis Capital and another Investors' Circle member.

According to Investors' Circle founder Susan Davis, members' investments in companies led by women have grown from 2% to 25% in the past three years, an increase she attributes to a temporary spin-off of 15 female investors. "The women in the circle felt we weren't getting enough women-led deals," says Davis. "So they formed their own group and raised between $2 million and $3 million." After two years the women investors merged back into the larger group, bringing with them the contacts and experience that had originally eluded the larger group.

"One of the reasons women don't get money is that they don't have relationships within venture funds," says Patty Abramson, managing director of the Women's Growth Capital Fund, in Washington, D.C., who is also involved in the Investors' Circle. "I wouldn't say this is about discrimination; it's about not having the relationships, and business is about relationships. The way we see it is that there are women-owned businesses out there that are every bit as credit-worthy as male-owned businesses, but they just weren't getting in the door."

Abramson's group has raised $6 million from individuals and institutional investors and plans to grow that into a $25million-to-$30-million fund with help from a Small Business Investment Co. and additional investments. The group's funds are earmarked specifically for expansion of woman-owned companies. Her male counterparts in the mainstream venturecapital community tell her that she'll have those deals to herself--that the kinds of companies she's interested in funding just don't come to their attention. But part of her mission is to make sure they do. "We spend an enormous amount of time creating relationships with other venture firms," she says. "We want them to invest with us."

Abramson is not alone. "There is an increase in funds being put together to invest in woman-owned businesses," says Nina McLemore, senior managing partner at Regent Capital Partners, a New York City venture-capital firm. "There are women in the banking field who now have the credentials to start their own funds, and they believe that there is a trend toward women starting businesses that these funds can invest in." Christine Cordaro, for instance, spent six years at a venture-capital firm and felt "there was an opportunity to create a fund around a market not being adequately served."

With data provided by a venture-industry research group, she estimated that only 1.6% of venture money invested from 1991 to 1996 went to woman-owned businesses. So she founded Aurora Venture Partners in late 1996, raising about 80% of what will ultimately be a $45-million equity fund targeting companies owned by women. "I'm not doing this on a socially correct platform," she insists. "This is purely a business opportunity."

The Mentor Network When Lane Nemeth founded Discovery Toys, 20 years ago, it never occurred to her to seek out a female mentor to guide her through the labyrinth of complex decisions that nascent entrepreneurs face every day. There simply weren't any readily available role models. Now Nemeth, the CEO of a $100-million company, receives on average one phone call a week from entrepreneurs seeking advice or an investment. A year and a half ago, Fran Lent was among them, and Nemeth, intrigued by the product, agreed to grant her a 15-minute audience. "In those 15 minutes, I saw myself at 30 and said, This woman has got to succeed," recalls Nemeth. "I would have killed for a mentor." That day, Nemeth agreed to sit on Lent's board of directors. "When she was first looking for venture capital, I helped her with negotiating strategies, and we talked through the wisdom of deciding who your venture capitalist will be," says Nemeth, who received venture funding for her own company. "We've talked through marketing ideas and joint-venture proposals. It's not that I'm that smart--I've just done it for 20 years, and I can keep her out of trouble."

Nemeth is among a growing number of seasoned female entrepreneurs who are now mentoring the younger generation.

"I see an increasing number of women who are asking for mentors, for technical and network assistance," says Anna K. Lloyd, president of the Committee of 200, a Chicago-based national network of top woman executives and CEOs. In response, the group is launching a pilot mentoring program that will match three C-200 members with each protĂŠgĂŠ.

Most women's business centers also have formal mentoring programs that match successful company owners with their fledgling counterparts. "Our mentoring program started five years ago, and it's one of the most powerful things we do," says Wendy Werkmeister of the Wisconsin Women's Business Initiative. The organization has matched more than 100 early-stage entrepreneurs with mentors. Among them are Laura Farchmin, owner of Fairchild's Juice and Java, and Mary Jane Zvara, her mentor and the CEO of Creative Office Management.

Farchmin began working with Zvara last year, when staffing and cash-flow problems at her two-year-old coffeehouse had her "burned out and wondering whether I wanted to continue." Zvara helped her reduce turnover by implementing a new hiring and training program that cut the number of Farchmin's W-2s from 27 in 1996 to 6 last year. "One of the things you lose when you start a business is the benefit of having a boss--someone who has more experience than you do. She's someone to check in with," says Farchmin.

Fran Lent's products--three different frozen-food meals for kids--are now distributed in more than 300 grocery stores in northern California, and she expects Fran's Healthy Helpings to rack up $2 million in revenues this year. She talks to Nemeth every couple of weeks, is in touch with Patty Abramson about the possibility of an investment down the road, and still relies heavily on her former colleagues even though she has started hiring full-time employees.

The network has served Lent well, but it has changed somewhat since she first started her company: it has expanded and has started to include more men. And that was always the goal. The network didn't emerge so that those who felt excluded could take their marbles out of the big game and play on their own. It evolved as a bridge to a larger playing field where gender becomes virtually insignificant.

42.

Eight Keys to Creating a Customer Service Culture

By: Peggy Morrow August 02, 2000

1. Management must make the measurement of service quality and feedback from the customer a basic part of everyone's work experience. This information must be available and understood by everyone, no matter what their level. The entire organization must become obsessed with what the customer wants.

A printing firm has signs all over the shop saying, "Is it good enough? Ask the customer." This statement serves as a constant reminder to everyone that customers are the ultimate judge of whether the service is what it should be, and that all employees must be constantly surveying customers for what and how they want it. The firm regularly sends out questionnaires about the quality of their service and then posts these results for all to see.

When you survey your customers on the quality of service, make sure that everyone, from the top down, knows of the results and receives recognition for the things that are going well. Behavioral research has shown that you get more of the behavior you reward. So don't make the mistake of mentioning only the area of poor performance; also mention and reward those who are doing well, and involve all employees in brainstorming ways to improve the things that are

unsatisfactory.

2. Be very clear about specifying the behavior that employees are expected to deliver, both with external customers and their coworkers.

3. Explain why giving excellent customer service is important -- not only for the company, but for the world. What does your company do that makes life easier for everyone? What does your product or service add? Be sure to include this in the reasons for achieving customer service excellence.

A good example of this principle at work is in the field of health care. People are often drawn into this profession because they enjoy helping and caring for people. Smart health care organizations show how their desired customer service behaviors enable employees to help and care for the patients and their families.

Reward people for their good service behaviors. Cash awards are nice, yes, but there are many other ways to say, "job well done." Extra time off, for instance, or an article in the company newsletter, a trophy or plaque awarded at a special recognition dinner, tickets to special events tied to an employee's interests, or a simple written note are all ways to reward the kinds of behaviors you want to see more of.

4. Create ways to communicate excellent examples of customer service both within and outside the company. Institute celebrations, recognition ceremonies, logos, and symbols of the customer service culture and its values. This is where you want the mugs, buttons, and banners. Have a customer service bulletin board to feature service incidents that were special. Seize every opportunity to publicize the times when employees do it right.

A newsletter should be developed to boast of customer service successes so that the idea of service is constantly in front of everyone. One company, a major utility, devoted an entire issue of the company magazine to "24 Karat Customer Service." It featured examples of how individual employees defined customer service, stories of humorous or unusual customer service situations, an article on the importance of internal customer service, and other ideas designed to keep employees aware of the importance of their efforts in achieving quality customer service.

A hospital not only touts their customer service "hero stories" in their newsletter, they also have a giant pep rally once a quarter for everyone to share their stories. Individual teams get together often to focus on what has gone right as well as wrong in their patient and other customer relations.

Even if you are a very small business with only a few employees, post instances of superior customer service of your own and others that you read about. Talk about customer service and its importance every day.

5. Indoctrinate and train everyone in the culture as soon as they are hired. Disney is famous for this. It puts all newcomers through a "traditions" course that details the company history with customer relations and how it is the backbone of Disney. Your orientation program is a key part of the ultimate success of your customer service efforts.

Make sure that it contains more than an explanation of benefits and a tour of the facilities. It can be an important element in planting the customer service culture of the company so it can flourish and grow.

6. Encourage a sense of responsibility for group performance. Help employees see how their performance affects others. Emphasize the importance of "internal customer service." Help everyone to see that if you don't serve each other well, you can never hope to serve your ultimate customer.

Does accounts payable or shipping see that the timeliness of their service to other employees makes a big difference in how the customer is served? Does the cook realize how important it is to get the order exactly right in the kitchen so the waitstaff can please the restaurant customer? Even something as seemingly insignificant as returning from lunch break on time can affect the quality of the customer service you offer by determining whether you have enough coverage to serve employees promptly.

Repeat again and again that customer service is the responsibility of everyone in the organization, not just the "customer service department."

7. Establish policies that are "customer friendly" and that show concern for your customers. Eliminate all routine and rigid policies and guidelines. Knock yourself out to be a company that is easy to do business with. Never let your customer service representatives say, "Those are the rules I have to follow; there's nothing I can do about it." There is always a way to satisfy the customer. You must give your employees the power to do so.

8. Remove any employees who do not show the behavior necessary to please customers. Too many companies allow frontline service representatives to remain on the job when they are not suited to a customer service position. If employees don't want to serve the customer in the best way possible, document their behaviors and use this information to help them change or to move them to areas away from customer interaction.

In order for a culture of customer service excellence to grow and thrive, management must have a burning desire for it to be that way and the energy to ensure that this desire spreads throughout the organization and remains there permanently.

You must become a totally customer-focused organization. Everyone, from the top down, must believe that they work for the customer.

This material was excerpted from Customer Service -- the Key to Your Competitive Edge, a common-sense guide to establishing a customer service program by Peggy Morrow. Morrow is a speaker, author, consultant, and president of Peggy Morrow & Associates, a training and development firm specializing in highly customized speeches, seminars, and workshops.

43.

Notes on Presentation

CwwJOForum180103

Formal - to Management or Public; Briefing – to colleagues; Causal exchange Purpose Get audience to AGREE/ACCEPT your views or proposal.

Three steps 1.

Clear statement

2.

Audience understands

3.

Audience accepts

Clear Statement 1.

What is the message to get across?

2.

Is it a positive or negative message?

3.

Must make it an interesting message.

4.

Summarize your presentation in 3 key messages.

5.

Make sure the 3 key messages make sense and relate to each other.

6.

Check and organize 3 key messages to form a logical sequence.

7.

Rank and prioritize the most important message.

Don’t 1.

Think you can make presentation because you know the subject very well.

2.

Think you can ad lip from past experience.

Do 1.

Prepare well by going through the above steps.

2.

Consider carefully what you want the audience to endorse – in point form.

3.

Prioritize the messages to make sure they are in logical sequence.

4.

Properly evaluate the audience before hand. How much do they know? How much do they need to know?

5.

Give adequate background information to put your message in content.

6.

Technical terms should be explained or substituted by simple words.

7.

Put your messages in financial content. Quote industry practice.

8.

Use examples to show your point.

9.

Relate your messages to audience’s work so that they appreciate the issues discussed.

10.

Repeat the key messages until you feel the audience has understood them.

Practical tips 1.

Take 3 deep breathes before speaking.

2.

Remember 3 key messages

3.

Be enthusiastic about conveying the messages.

4.

Use the law of “3s” for depth and sophistication.

5.

Get the facts and figures right to avoid challenge.

6.

Start off with a statement to get the audience on your side; use “WE” as much as possible; say something that wins approval as early as possible.

7.

Get the attention of the audience right away.

8.

Anticipate embarrassing/awkward questions by well-prepared Q & A

9.

Scan the audience for friendly face

10.

Acknowledge good questions and defer answers rather than brushing issues aside or giving wrong answers.

11.

Know when to shorten or lengthen your answer depending on reception of audience.

44.

The Six Costliest Mistakes You Can Make in Marketing to Women By: Andrea Learned January 02, 2003

If you've been paying attention lately, some companies are marketing to women very effectively, while others are not.

The smart ones are beefing up their customer service training, offering incredible return policies and providing intuitive "email a friend" tools. The slower-on-the-uptake companies may do as little as use photos of women on their sites and call it a day.

The following mistakes, with tips for avoiding them, are meant to serve as a quick checklist to follow as you approach a new campaign or Web site redesign. So print it and tack these to your bulletin board!

Here we go: 1. Mistake: Thinking that women are a "niche."

Reality: Women are the primary consumers in the United States.

Women represent an economic powerhouse, making over 85% of the consumer purchases (in the United States) and influencing over 95% of total goods and services.1 Women's consumer spending is $3.7 trillion and business spending is $1.5 trillion.2 Women also purchase 50% or better in traditional "male" categories like automobiles, consumer electronics, and PCs. Tip: Develop a visual image to represent how many dollars women consumers spend in your industry. This exercise should help your whole marketing or product development team to "get it" so they join wholeheartedly into the effort.

How: If your business generates $100 million a year and women purchase and/or influence 80% of all your goods and services, women are an $80 million factor in your business. Work the numbers into a visual comparison to give you and your management a clear, and dramatic, picture of the role women play in your current success and future growth.

2. Mistake: Thinking that the female consumer marketing opportunity requires less funding.

Reality: Women are no "specialty" market, so reaching them should be a budget priority.

As a consumer group, women have not been the "minority" for years. An initiative to reach a sub-specialty market like "senior women who drink scotch and ride motorcycles" can be treated speculatively, for sure. But, efforts to connect with your women consumers overall should have fully dedicated funds (and corporate commitment) behind them.

Tip: If securing marketing dollars for reaching women is a challenge, focus on budgeting around -- rather than trying to secure -- the illusive (and often tiny) "women's initiative" budget.

How: Identify the best ways to strengthen your customer touch points to the (higher) standards of women and seek approval on their own merit, as plain and simple customer service or marketing enhancements.

3. Mistake: Dividing markets along purely gender or demographic lines.

Reality: Within all those demographic categories lies the key -- consumer behavior.

Life-stage and the fundamental truths of consumer behavior will matter the most in reaching women consumers. Women, on the whole, cannot be expected to respond to gender-oriented "pastel" print ads or Web sites. Instead, think solid information, ease of use, stellar customer service, and simple design (no flash!). Web sites or marketing efforts meant to appeal to consumers, in general (male, female, old, young) must go deeper to develop a relationship based on interests, personal identities, and affinities.

Tip: Develop an in-depth knowledge of your customer group. Women are incredibly diverse and can be better defined by their interests and personal identities (musician, investor, collector of rare books, person interested in foreign adoption) than their gender alone.

How: Listening to women via small gatherings, focus groups, forums, e-mail surveys and customer feedback, will give you a clear understanding of their interests. Using such methods you may discover things like their passions, life-stages, the problems they need solved, their consumer sophistication level within your industry, and the role they want your brand to play in their life.

4. Mistake: More men are on-line than women.

Reality: Women have become the majority of Web users and do the most on-line shopping in the US. According to the US Census in 2000, women became a slight majority of Web users in the United States for the first time in history (51% female/49% male). Women make up almost half of first-time Web buyers. 3 Women will continue to flock to the on-line platform that allows them to save time researching and buying.

Tip: Keep your eye on the on-line behavior trends of women consumers. Their numbers on-line will grow and their comfort

with on-line shopping will only improve.

How: Even reading an occasional case study or tidbit can really help you stay up-to-date and thinking "fresh" about reaching women. Some suggestions for keeping your finger on the pulse without too much extra effort:

•

Sign up for our newsletter (you knew I'd say that) and check out the archives at: http://www.reachwomen.com/archive/ (I cull from a lot of the resources I recommend, so you can get it all in one place)

•

Subscribe or find in your library the print-only newsletter, Marketing to Women by EPM Communications

•

Read back issues of American Demographics

•

Check out MarketingSherpa.com's consumer marketing biz newsletter: www.consumermarketingbiz.com for some great case studies.

5. Mistake: Women like to browse and be entertained while on-line shopping (the same way they do at the mall).

Reality: Making informed purchasing decisions is an on-line woman shopper's goal.

If you truly understood the role women want your brand to play in their life, all of your efforts would focus on informing them as consumers. This includes any e-mail correspondence, site navigation, archives and customer service. Seventyeight percent of women in the US use the Internet for product information before making a purchase and 33% research products and services on-line before buying offline.4 So, it's actually quite different than their stereotyped, meandering and social, offline "mall cruising" behavior.

Tip: Pay attention to the clues women give in order to serve them better. Better yet, ask your customers directly what you can do for them.

How: Become a detective. Clues often come in the form of complaints, oversold items, e-mail feedback, products that don't sell, marketing content or programs that are flops, and the odd unattended area of the business that is generating a lot of consumer heat (like replacement washers for a particular plumbing fixture).

6. Mistake: Focusing on women will alienate men.

Reality: Focusing on women delivers the best to everyone.

Women are not afraid to stop and ask for help, so they will demand more, in terms of customer touch points, from any product, service or marketing campaign. If you incorporate the higher information-delivery and customer service standards of women into the development of your product or service, or its Web site, you are bound to give men a bit more than they even thought to ask for. And, of note: marketing materials that use cliché women's colors (filmy pinks and purples) or focus on "women's topics," do, indeed, alienate men. But women are insulted by that approach as well.

Tip: Survey your employees to evaluate your Web site's language, tone, overall "feel," and do some blind customer service inquires. Remind them to use their eagle eyes and be truly critical.

How: A quick comparison of slightly different versions of your homepage could do wonders. Use your existing homepage as one version, and develop an alternative mock-up of your homepage that has been tweaked to be more informative and "customer supportive." (Even moving the Customer Service link to a more visible spot is a worthy change.)

The above tips should help you save significant time and money whether you are examining your current marketing strategy, or building a new initiative.

Whatever you do, don't try the latest tactic or copy a program that seemed to work for another company before you learn more about the women who buy your product.

Reaching women more effectively ain't rocket science, but it is a little bit complicated. And so very worth the extra effort.

Notes: 1

Competitive Edge Magazine and EPM's Marketing to Women

2

Women's Market

3

WiredNews.com

4

Millward Brown Intelliquest

Andrea Learned and Lisa Johnson are cofounders of ReachWomen LLC, a marketing and research firm that helps clients tap the buying power of women by better understanding their consumer behavior. ReachWomen publishes its own newsletter, Reaching Women On-line, and its principals are working on a book or two.