A plan to getting paid on time in just 31 days

By Amy Calfee

The cash-poor business: day 1

Everyone has gone home for the day and here you are scanning the accounts receivables report. You can’t believe what you’re seeing—so many customers are past due. How can you get them back on track to pay on time and in full?

You thought you were limiting your risk by accepting credit cards and only issuing credit to people. It looks like your payment terms are “net later.” Sure, it’s a tough economy and it’s going to get tougher if you don’t take action. You hate calling people asking for money, especially since you’ve already earned it.

Maybe you need to just get organized and implement new policies and procedures. Yep, that’s it. Start cracking the whip, dig yourself out of this hole and pull yourself up by the bootstraps! (There, just what you needed—a pep talk.) Ugh. You’d rather be doing anything else than chasing people for money. There’s got to be a smarter way to stabilize cash flow!

Small business debt dilemma

If you can relate to this scenario, you’re not alone. According to a recent online survey of business owners by the web-based legal service Rocket Lawyer, 49% of respondents wrote off bad debt last year. With 43% reporting accounts older than 90 days, these companies were on track to repeat the same performance.

While over half use legal contracts for protection, only 34% and 30% call late paying customers and send formal demand letters, respectively.

“Business owners struggle with the time and skills it takes to effectively manage collection activities. It’s also very personal. How do they get paid when their customers are suffering from job loss, house loss and the rising prices of everything,” said Michelle Dunn, credit and collections expert.

“Something to remember when you are lenient with customers who are past due: If they owe you money, they probably owe others money and whoever takes action first, gets paid first.”

Dunn, who has owned and managed a debt collection agency, teaches others how to collect debt and provides insights for business owners through her websites, speaking engagements, books and webinars (www.MichelleDunn.com or www.Credit-and-Collections.com), says that when it comes to debt collection, “You have to do it! If you don’t want to do it or aren’t confident about how to collect a debt, hire a qualified agency to do it for you.”

Irv Pollan, vice president of Jacksonville-based NCC Business Services of America Inc. (NCC, www. NCCBusiness.com) says, “Before contacting us, past-due accounts must be thoroughly documented to prove the customer actually owes the debt. We then take the appropriate steps to locate and make contact to negotiate a payment.”

“While a demand letter may seem like a simple thing, all debt collection activities must follow the letter of the law, ” he continues. NCC, a third-party debt collection agency founded in 1986, offers small businesses low-cost and time saving demand letter programs in addition to contingent fee-based services.

Being in debt and collecting debt is not easy. “We train our team to work effectively and monitor their performance,” Pollan says. “At the same time, we understand the overwhelming circumstances many people face and are in a unique position to help them get out and stay out of debt.”

What you can do day 2

Try following Dunn’s “it must be done” advice. If not you, then assign these activities to an employee.

•Call anyone with a balance over 60 days. Make sure everything is OK, ask what you can do to help them pay the bills on time and get a payment promise today.

•Send a letter following up on your call — mail it immediately! It can be short and sweet, but must be very specific. Make sure to mention how much will be paid and by what date.

•Follow up! If you get a machine, call again and send a letter.

The next 28 days

Remember that pep talk to get organized with new policies and procedures? Here are some steps to get you started.

1. Print out or buy credit applications. (See www.michelledunn.com/free.html for an example.)
2. Put them on a clipboard at the front desk and on your website.
3. Have every new customer fill one out.
4. Mail one to every existing customer with a stamped, addressed envelope.
5. Check all references on any completed applications.
6. Set firm credit limits.
7. Set terms for every customer and print them on all invoices and statements.
8. Research debt collection laws.

Differentiate differences

Remember that while the economy is struggling, so are your customers—many of whom have never had a problem paying their bills. Differentiate between customers who’ve always paid on time and are now having a problem and those who regularly pay late.

Taking any or all of these steps will only help you to collect money in the short term. Without making changes, such as having a credit policy, conducting credit checks or retaining a debt collection agency, you’ll be right back where you started next month.

You have arrived!

Hooray! You have reached day 31 and now have fewer accounts that are past due and you have the systems and relationships in place to effectively manage your accounts receivables moving forward. Much better!

Amy Calfee is the Chief Listening Officer (CLO) for Temerity Creative LLC. She can be reached at 904-733-3511.

17 tips to getting paid

1. Require payment at the time of service.
2. Invoice customers on a regular basis and as soon as the work is completed.
3. Make sure the due date is clearly visible on invoices.
4. Change your payment terms. If your terms are net 60 or net 45, change them to net 30 or net 15.
5. Offer an early payment discount to anyone who pays early, such as 1% or 2% off the bill for payment within 10 days.
6. Act early. When an account reaches 30 days, take action.
7. Call big accounts or accounts with large balances 10 days before the invoice is due to make sure they have the invoice, the correct address to send payment and that the invoice is scheduled to be paid.
8. Be as flexible as you can with payment plans.
9. When setting up payment plans remember that you want as much as you can get as frequently as you can get it.
10. Be picky about new customers.
11. Have a strong contract.
12. Run weekly accounts receivable reports and follow up with any accounts that are past due or becoming past due.
13. Don’t extend credit blindly.
14. If a business owes you money, visit them. If it’s a restaurant, go there for lunch. If it’s a printing company, get something printed or copied. Every time you walk in they will see you and it reminds them that they owe you money.
15. Direct the account’s salesperson to collect the money or withhold their commission until the bill is paid.
16. Reduce minimum orders. You could possibly get more orders for less money paid up front.
17. Use a collection agency.

Making sure employees’ first experiences are good ones

By Ryan Skubis

If your company is like most, your new-employee orientation consists of a tour of the office and a few sessions on company policies and procedures. Even then, you may be ahead of the game. In a recent Accountemps survey, 34% of HR managers interviewed said their companies don’t even have a formal new-employee orientation program.

But, as the saying goes, you never have a second chance to make a first impression, and investing just a bit more time and resources on orientation and onboarding can pay off in a big way.

Orientation opportunity

New-employee orientation provides an ideal opportunity to give workers the tools they need to perform their jobs well — and to instill in them your company’s values and goals.

In fact, a strong new-employee orientation can spell the difference between a smooth transition into a new position or a rocky start on the job. In the same Accountemps survey, 35% of HR managers who indicated their companies did have orientation programs said the greatest benefit was employees’ stronger understanding of company values, guidelines and expectations.

Another 20% felt a formal orientation helps employees make positive contributions more quickly, and 19% noted that employees who go through orientation feel a more rapid connection to the company.

Tips for a good start

Any one of these benefits alone would provide a good argument for building a robust employee orientation program. Want to make yours more effective? Start with these tips:

Provide a warm welcome. Start making it a positive experience from the very beginning. Alert security that a new employee will be arriving, and make sure someone from your team (ideally, you) meets him at the front door and escorts him to his desk.

Ensure that his work area is set up and that he has the tools he needs to get started, including access to the company intranet and databases, if necessary. If you aren’t able to meet him at the door, stop by as soon as possible to tell him how happy you are that he’s joined the team and to let him know what he’ll be doing for the next few days. Make sure he feels valued and motivated from the very start.

Review the lay of the land. Introduce the newcomer personally to all of her coworkers and key contacts from other departments, and explain any policies and procedures specific to the department. If you have one, ask an HR representative to go over compensation, benefits, and company policies with her.

A tour of the facilities, including rest rooms and break areas, as well as how to set up voicemail, are also important: She’ll feel more at ease and ready to jump right in to the job if she’s not worrying about the little things.

Go over the basics of the job. Sit down with your new employee on his first day and make sure he understands his main job duties and how his work will contribute to departmental and company priorities. This is the time to elaborate on elements you reviewed during the recruitment process.

Go over the job description point by point, and highlight performance goals. Paint a detailed picture of what he can expect in the first few months on the job.

Provide an overview of the company. A savvy job candidate approaches an interview armed with knowledge of the company. Now fill in the gaps by explaining more about company operations, including all products and services.

Provide a short history of the organization, and discuss how it fits into its industry. And talk a bit about the office culture. All of these things will give the new employee a sense of how she can best fit in and begin contributing immediately.

Keep it lively. When orientation consists of dull slide presentations and piles of paperwork, no one wins — the employee is bored and doesn’t learn the things she needs to know, and the employer wastes the opportunity to inform the worker about what’s important.

Try different techniques — videos, games, group discussions, guest speakers — to keep things interesting and useful. That way, the employee is more likely to stay engaged and absorb pertinent information. If you are holding an orientation for multiple employees, consider bringing someone in from senior management to speak about the company’s mission and values; it will lend more credibility and importance to the entire process.

Space it out. Avoid overwhelming new workers with too much information at once. Instead, consider using a broader onboarding approach by spreading orientation over a few weeks, or even months. Hold some informal discussions on the first few days, and then follow up with a more formal program.

Continue to check in frequently with your new employee, perhaps once a week, to see how things are going, answer any questions, and provide feedback on her work.

Provide a point person for the future. If you have more tenured staff who are willing to help out, consider assigning new employees mentors who can provide more detailed guidance and advice as the weeks go by. Not only will this give new workers an additional go-to person for questions and concerns, but it also might give them a friend and confidant who can help them feel like a real part of the team as they settle into their new jobs.

It’s normal for new employees to be a bit uneasy in the early days on the job. But you can help ease their anxieties with a well-thought-out orientation process. What’s more, you’ll benefit from it, too, as these workers are better able to hit the ground running.

Ryan Skubis is the district president for Accountemps in Jacksonville. Accountemps is the world’s first and largest specialized staffing service for temporary accounting, finance and bookkeeping professionals. Accountemps has more than 350 offices worldwide and offers online job search services at www.accountemps.com.

Creating jobs and strengthening the U.S. economy through the E Visa

By Giselle Carson, Esq.

As a result of our tight labor market and the entrepreneurial spirit of many foreign nationals, we are seeing an increase in the usage of E visas granted to skilled and talented foreign entrepreneurs to come and work in the U.S.

This article will focus on the E‐2 Visa which is most commonly used.

The advantages of the E‐2 Visa

The E‐2 Visa is particularly advantageous for foreign business owners, managers and essential skilled employees to remain in the U.S. for extended periods of time in furtherance of their investment. E‐2 Visa renewals are, potentially, indefinite as long as the business continues to generate enough income to support more than the investor and his/her family.

It is also one of the best alternatives for a foreign national who has exhausted the allowed time in an H and/or L status. It can be used by non‐degree workers and for self‐petitioning. Additionally, the spouse of the E investor can apply to obtain work authorization

Who can obtain an E‐2 Visa?

A national of a foreign country in which the U.S. maintains an appropriate treaty of commerce and navigation, and who is coming to the U.S. to develop and direct the operations of an enterprise in which the national or the petitioning company has invested, or is actively in the process of investing a substantial amount of capital.

The investor may start, or buy an existing business. Oftentimes, it is best for the applicant to buy an existing business. This status is not designed for retirees or employees of nonprofit organizations.

What are the challenges of the E‐2 Visa application?

The increased scrutiny and inconsistencies of adjudications by the consular posts around the world coupled with the irrevocable expenses incurred by the client can cause much stress to the applicant and his/her family. A thorough and organized filing can make visa processing less stressful and oftentimes expedite an approval.

The first step in E‐2 Visa planning

The U.S. must have the requisite treaty with the applicant’s country of citizenship. Without the existence of the applicable treaty, no E‐2 visa application is possible. A list of the treaty countries which support E visa applications can be found in the Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM)¹ and at the Department of State website².

The individual investor or employee and the E business must have the nationality of the same treaty country. A person’s nationality is determined by the authorities of the country in which the person claims nationality.

The business’ nationality is determined by the nationality of the majority owners of the business. When the treaty business is at least fifty percent owned by nationals of the same treaty country, the nationality requirement is satisfied.

What additional requirements are needed to obtain a Treaty Investor (E‐2) Visa?

An E‐2 Visa applicant must also show that:

•He/She has invested or is actively in the process of investing funds which are at risk, or subject to loss, if the business fails.

•The enterprise is real and operational. Speculative or idle investments do not qualify.

•The investment is substantial and proportional to the cost of the enterprise.

•The investment generates sufficient income to provide a living for more than the investor and his/her family.

•The investor is coming to the U.S. to develop and direct the enterprise.

•If the applicant is not the principal investor, he/she must be employed in a supervisory, executive or highly specialized skills capacity.

•The applicant intends to depart the U.S. when the E status terminates.

How can the applicant show that he has invested irrevocably committed funds?

One of the most taxing requirements for the E visa applicant is that the investment capital must be subject to partial or total loss, if the investment is not successful. To show funds commitment, the investor should present statements verifying the purchase of items committed to the business and also that a portion of the required funds are being held in escrow pending visa approval.

What is a substantial investment?

There is no bright‐line minimum investment that qualifies as substantial. The applicant must show an investment sufficient to indicate the investor’s financial commitment to the enterprise and to support the successful development of the business.

For example, the guidelines provide that an investment of 100% or a higher of the cost of the business would typically qualify for a business that costs $100,000 or less. Conversely, an investment of $10 million in a business that costs $100 million would likely qualify as a substantial investment.

What is required to show that the investment is not marginal?

Meeting the marginality requirement is highly dependant on showing that the business can create and support jobs for U.S. workers. A marginal enterprise is one that does not have the present or future capacity to generate more than enough income to provide for minimal living for the investor and his/her family.

An investor cannot show independent sources of income to support his/her family to show that the business is not marginal. Although not as persuasive as creating direct jobs for U.S. workers, the applicant should indicate that the business will also create and support indirect job expansion, as it will provide commerce for other local businesses such as printers, couriers, banks, utility companies, etc.

What is the length of stay of an E visa holder and how long does the process take?

An E visa is typically issued for five years; however the I‐94, providing the length of stay allowed in the U.S., is given for two years at a time. Be prepared for an E‐2 Visa Application to take a several months. The length and the complexity of the adjudication vary from consulate to consulate.

What status can the spouse and children of the investor obtain?

The spouse and unmarried children under the age of 21 of the visa applicant, regardless of their nationality, can apply to obtain E status. A significant benefit of the E visa is that the spouse of the principal E visa holder is able to seek employment authorization from the DHS.

Where to apply for an E Visa?

This is a strategic decision that should be made with the guidance of an immigration attorney with experience in E visas. The application can be made in the U.S. or at the consular post after a full analysis of the facts of the case and the requirements of the applicable consular post.

Consular processing tips

When preparing the consulate application, it is critical to check the consulate’s website on a regular basis. Each consulate has specific requirements and filing procedures and formats that must be followed which change on a regular basis without notice. There are more than 75 U.S. embassies and consulates around the world, each with its own particular requirements.

What are the main reasons for a denial or requests for additional evidence?

•Presenting a disorganized and incomplete case. Officers tell us that the majority of these cases are submitted by applicants without an immigration attorney, to save money, but at the end it costs more and it may lead to a case denial.

•Failure of the applicant to be prepared for the interview;

•Failure to overcome the marginality threshold;

•Failure to complete the DS‐160 application accurately; and

•Failure to submit supporting documents for dependants.

What if the application is denied?

The best defense to avoid a denial is preparing the best possible application. In the case of a consular application for an E visa, in addition to a strong application, the client must be well prepared for the interview.

If the application is strong and maybe the denial is the result of an adjudication error or misunderstanding, the attorney should prepare a strong rebuttal legal brief with supporting evidence to submit to the interviewing officer for reconsideration as soon as possible.

How can an E‐2 Visa holder obtain legal permanent resident status?

The E‐2 visa is a nonimmigrant visa whereby the investor must have intent to return to his/her home country once the business obligations have concluded. Not surprisingly, after living and working in the U.S. and spending significant time, money and effort in running successful businesses many foreign nationals want to stay in the U.S. However, there is no clear path from E status to apply for legal permanent residency.

Potential immigrant options include:

•Employment‐based sponsorship: U.S. businesses may sponsor the foreign national or his/her spouse for a legal permanent residency.

•Family‐based sponsorship: the E visa holder marries a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident or has other immediate relatives (parent, sibling, or child) who can provide sponsorship.

•EB‐5 Immigrant Investors Visa

The E visa involves detailed planning and preparation. But, despite its challenges, with the right guidance, it can be a very effective option for foreign nationals to live and work in the U.S. and at the same time create jobs and strengthen our economy.

Giselle Carson, Esq., is an immigration and business attorney and shareholder at Marks Gray, P.A. She can be reached through www.marksgray.com.

References

¹ 9 FAM 41.51, Exhibit 1.

² http://travel.state.gov/visa

How you can use THE PLAYERS Championship to benefit your small business

Anyone who has been to THE PLAYERS Championship knows that the greatest tournament in golf is about more than the game itself. The annual tournament is a social mecca, a haven for new business development and the must-attend venue for executives of all levels.

THE PLAYERS is the place where businesses meet, new relationships are formed and deals are made. Each year, more than 350 corporate businesses invest in a range of hospitality and sponsorship programs at THE PLAYERS — all with a goal to build relationships and generate new business. But the question is often asked, “What is available for small business owners?”

What’s in it for me?

“There is no better event in Northeast Florida to meet influential business professionals and decision makers than at THE PLAYERS,” said Jared Rice, director of sales and marketing for THE PLAYERS. “But there is a misnomer out there that small businesses cannot get into these big hospitality tents.

“We want local businesses to have the opportunity to network with C-level executives from around the world and have created customized packages just for that purpose. We have thoughtfully designed tickets and venues that allow businesses of every size and type to attend the tournament and network with local, national and international executives who attend the tournament not only to watch the game, but to make deals and meet new contacts,” continues Rice.

Vince McCormack, president of locally based Perdue Office Interiors, is one small business owner who understands the value of networking at THE PLAYERS. For the past 20 years, McCormack has taken advantage of the opportunities afforded to small businesses by purchasing packages ranging from private chalets to The Benefactor packages.

This year, McCormack has already purchased a customized package for The Benefactor tent that includes 16 tickets per day, Monday through Sunday, for his sales team to utilize for business development and client entertainment.

“We often entertain clients at local events, such as the Jaguars’ games and the Gator Bowl, but THE PLAYERS is unique in that it is an international event right here in our backyard that draws business professionals from around the world,” said McCormack. “The tournament has always been a great value for our company — customers appreciate it and we are able to develop new relationships and enhance existing ones.”

Like McCormack, Andy Baggs is another local business owner that understands the value of business development at THE PLAYERS. Every year, The Baggs Craft Dixon Powell Group at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney purchases corporate hospitality packages to network with other business owners and generate business leads at the tournament.

“THE PLAYERS is the place to be for that one week in May and it is a great opportunity to network; odds are when you are out there you will run into people you know and be introduced to new business professionals,” said Baggs, first vice president, wealth advisor and investment management consultant with the financial group. Baggs is also a fourth-year vice chairman with THE PLAYERS.

For this year’s tournament, Baggs and his group purchased The Benefactor package, which includes 30 tickets per day to the venue, and divvied up the tickets amongst their team and other advisory groups. Baggs said this is the best way for small businesses like his to have access to corporate hospitality tents without spending outside their budgets. The tickets are used to entertain clients throughout the week, or in some cases, Baggs and his team will give the tickets to clients to use at their convenience.

“We get more mileage from The Benefactor package because we are able to take a small group of clients to the tournament each day and this fits well within our business model,” Baggs said. “I think THE PLAYERS has done a tremendous job of creating customized packages for small business owners who may have different needs and uses for the tournament than a Fortune 500 company.”

Be a part of the action

The key for small businesses to take advantage of the networking opportunities at THE PLAYERS is to find a plan that works for them. Here is a list of options for small businesses to attend the tournament and network at Northeast Florida’s largest business and sporting event:

•Decide which package or ticket is the best fit for your company. Small business owners and executives can purchase weekly and individual tickets to hospitality venues and make a plan to take one or two clients to the tournament each day.

•Work with THE PLAYERS sales and marketing team to discuss a custom package that fits your budget and entertainment style.

•Determine which clients, prospects or former clients you would like to invite to the tournament. Call and invite them to attend on a particular day or send an invitation.

•Make a list of other businesses and executives you want to meet at the tournament. Make it a priority to network at venues such as The Turn, The Benefactor, The Courtyard and The Clubhouse to meet new business contacts.

•Partner up with another small business to purchase a private tent or customized package to entertain your clients, prospects and employees. There are several private venues and packages that can be shared by companies that pool their funds together and divvy up the tickets.

Giving back

There is no doubt that THE PLAYERS is an economic engine for Northeast Florida and its small businesses. The tournament brings an economic impact of more than $150 million to the First Coast, which is the equivalent to having the Super Bowl in Northeast Florida every year.

Small businesses in Northeast Florida have the opportunity to take advantage of the tournament and create lasting relationships that will ultimately affect their bottom line. By investing their time and resources, small businesses can be a part of the action and increase their recognition, relationships and revenue by utilizing the networking opportunities available at THE PLAYERS.

2012 Fan Course Map of THE PLAYERS 

THE PLAYERS Championship 2012 – What You Need to Know

When: May 7-13, 2012

Where: TPC Sawgrass, Ponte Vedra Beach

Tickets: Children 18 and younger are admitted free with a ticketed adult. Tickets can be purchased at Publix or online at www.pgatour.com/theplayers.

Corporate Hospitality: Corporate hospitality packages are still available. Visit www.pgatour.com/theplayers and click on 2012 Tickets or Hospitality.

 Parking: All parking is onsite at THE PLAYERS Championship. General parking Monday through Wednesday is free. Parking passes Thursday through Sunday must be purchased prior to arriving at the tournament. Passes are $20 and can be purchased online at www.pgatour.com/theplayers, at Publix or at Will Call the day of the tournament.

Cell Phones: Cell phones are allowed at the tournament and THE PLAYERS will have upgraded towers for additional coverage and service.

 THE PLAYERS by the Numbers

$150 million: Estimated economic impact to Northeast Florida

350: Corporate businesses that invest in a range of hospitality and sponsorship programs at THE PLAYERS.

135,000: Approximate number of fans, business executives and media who attend THE PLAYERS each year

$50 million: THE PLAYERS goal over the next 10 years for local youth-related charities

$46 million: Generated for Northeast Florida charities since 1977

$5.9 million: Raised for local charities in 2011

20,000: Military tickets distributed for 2011 tournament

2,000: Volunteers who make THE PLAYERS possible every year

865: Media staff members representing 192 outlets and 12 countries covering THE PLAYERS

700 million: Households worldwide that receive THE PLAYERS telecast each year

38.4 million: Viewers who tuned into Golf Channel and NBC to watch the 2011 telecast

Tips for securing a business loan in a competitive lending market

By Nathaniel Herring

Nationally, economic indicators across the board suggest a rebound, however gradual, from the recent downturn—and businesses in all industries are taking note. The Jacksonville climate, in particular, continues to slowly brighten: The metro area added 5,500 private sector jobs last year, landing the area in the top 50 U.S. markets for job growth.

As the recovery continues to take hold, many business owners are considering more aggressive expansion strategies—and lending to small and mid-market companies is on the upswing.

Yet while banks are more actively lending, some business owners are hesitant to face credit standards and the underwriting processes. Companies looking to ramp up production, invest in new product development, hire more people, and otherwise march toward greater growth and profitability shouldn’t let this stop them—but they should plan on doing some work before going to a lender.

If you are planning to seek new capital through a business loan, consider the following tips:

Take a team approach

No matter where your company is in its business cycle, it’s crucial to maintain frequent and open communication with a team of professionals: your accountant, investment adviser, banker and other professionals. A balanced dialogue—that includes advisers who are well-informed about the market landscape and your business—is critical to helping you effectively shape the direction your company takes.

Your banker can serve as an insightful business adviser. Maintaining open and ongoing communication will help you take advantage of near- and long-term growth opportunities, as well as effectively weather downturns. When you sit down with your banker, be prepared to discuss not just your borrowing needs, but your overall business situation as well.

Plan ahead

Too many small and mid-sized companies focus on landing a large account without considering the end game: meeting needs, without going under. Put simply, businesses can’t afford to commit to a significant new project without securing the capital necessary to complete the job.

A forward-looking approach is essential in financial planning; if possible, forecast six to 12 months out for anything that can make a material change or put stress on working capital. Don’t wait until you have the purchase order in-hand before getting your bank involved.

Prepare a persuasive presentation

Present a clear view of your financials. To show that your company is financially sound and capable of taking on new endeavors, support your claims with detailed income statements and balance sheets, as well as at least three years of income projections.

In short, “Sales are up!” or “Talk to my accountant,” simply won’t cut it. While enthusiasm and confidence do count, you must articulate the specific value you expect from a new infusion of capital and demonstrate your ability to repay the note.

Another tip: Tell a compelling “story.” Give the financials context and dimension by providing background. What makes your business viable? How are you unique? What obstacles have you overcome? How do you stack up against the competition? If you’re meeting with a bank for the first time, consider rounding out your story with the following details:

•Company history

•Company accreditations, credentials, awards, recognitions

•Management team bios

•Product and services overview

•Marketing analysis and strategy

•Relevant operational and production plans

•Risk evaluations

Avoid common pitfalls

Many mistakes are easy to sidestep. Here are a few tips:

Get current valuations. Many business owners overstate the value of their collateral. Even though the bank will obtain an independent appraisal, it’s important that you have a solid understanding of your assets, including land, buildings and equipment.

Use setbacks to your advantage. Banks recognize that all businesses go through ups and downs, especially in a challenging market. Rather than downplay losses, discuss how you minimized the impact and what strategies you have in place to mitigate future issues.

Time it right. Banks underwrite based on a full year of financial reports, so consider this: Would your case for financing be stronger six months from now?

Be flexible. More stringent risk management policies in banking may mean your entire borrowing needs can’t be met with a single, lump-sum loan. Be open to exploring other options, such as an incremental financing program. Success with smaller infusions of capital over time can help increase your business’s credit-worthiness while assisting with cash flow.

Also, be sure to discuss all available funding options, including government initiatives like Florida’s Economic Gardening Institute—a program to support the growth of second-stage businesses—and SBA (U.S. Small Business Administration) guaranteed loans, with your banker.

Is it time for your business to take advantage of more favorable interest rates and improved lending terms to secure new capital? From gains in national consumer confidence to a two percent drop in Florida’s unemployment rate last year, signs of economic recovery are encouraging companies to explore opportunities for growth.

Before you decide to initiate expansion plans or take on that new, large project, make sure you have a banker on your team and your financing plans secured.

Nathaniel Herring is the city president of Fifth Third Bank (North Florida) and oversees the bank’s operations in the Jacksonville market. He is a Jacksonville native and has more than 19 years’ experience in the banking industry. He can be reached at 904-486-1927 or Nathaniel.Herring@53.com. For more information about Fifth Third Bank offers, visit www.53.com.

Hiring the right person the first time can save you money

By John Featherstone

Have you ever hired the wrong person? Most managers will have to answer “yes.” Hiring the right person the first time can save you tens of thousands of dollars in time and resources. And it’s not as difficult as you might think.

People are a company’s most valuable asset, so the company will only be as successful as the quality of the people it hires, trains and leads. Identifying what you need for the most success in a position, and then knowing how to find it in a candidate, is critical.

Improve your process

Step 1. Clearly identify the “musts” needed for a position, and then weight each criterion. These are things that candidates must have in order to be called for a phone interview. Beyond basic skills, managers need to give serious thought to special skills the employee will need to solve current problems and achieve performance improvements.

Step 2. Look for and rate those “musts” during the initial resume review and all interviews (phone and in-person). Ignore your “gut feeling”—whether positive or negative—until all candidates are interviewed and evaluated against the same criteria.

Step 3. People succeed from their strengths, so keep your focus there during the interview. Just be sure there are no weaknesses that would almost surely lead to failure on the job.

Step 4. The in-depth interview is a fact-gathering session that allows you to make a good hiring decision. Spend your time gathering facts directly related to job performance. Don’t do all the talking. Candidates should be able to share tangible results that are directly relatable to the position for which they are applying.

Step 5. Commit to taking time for a successful recruiting project. Take no shortcuts. Doing the job properly the first time will save you time, money, energy, frustration (yours and the employee’s co-workers) and the need to do this all over again too soon.

Too many managers hire based on their “gut feelings” or on interviews in which the hiring manager has talked more than the candidate for hire. Seldom does one learn anything while talking. The purpose of the interview is to gather job-related facts. This requires that the candidate talk about 80% of the time.

Areas of assessment

There are areas of assessment in which intensive questioning is needed to clearly identify the best people to hire. Here is just a sampling of those areas and related questions:

1. The practice of management
a. Define “management” for me.
b. How would your previous superiors describe your management skills?
c. What is your style of management, and can you share an example of how well it has worked for you?

2. Leadership
a. Tell me about a policy you put in place that generated employee resistance.
b. Describe and give examples of your self-confidence.
c. How do you convince people to want to do what needs to be done?

3. Risk-taking
a. How do you assess risk?
b. Describe the circumstances where you had to make a decision before you had sufficient facts.

4. Results-oriented
a. How did you bring about your greatest achievement?
b. How are your previous employers better off as a result of your employment?

5. Delegation
a. Is delegation worth the risk? Explain with examples.
b. How do you manage a task delegated to a subordinate?

6. Judgment
a. What was the worst decision you made in the last year, and what was the outcome?

7. Ability/desire to learn
a. What periodicals do you currently read?
b. What did you learn from your previous superior?

8. Planning ability
a. Tell me about the best plan you prepared, how you implemented it and the results.
b. How do you decide what elements of a plan to delegate?

9. Ability to organize
a. Help me to understand how job descriptions help employees work better.
b. What data do you collect to measure progress in your area, and how do you use it?

The other areas can be identified by contacting the author:

John Featherstone, author of “Start Hiring Winners,” is a consultant to small business and a former five-year volunteer with SCORE, mentoring and training small-business owners and employees. As a division vice president/general manager for a privately held confectionery company, Featherstone managed a spectacular annual growth rate of 50% for seven consecutive years.

What it means for you and your company

By Mike deVaux

If you are like most employers, you are wondering where the health reform roller coaster is going to take you and your company’s medical insurance plan next. You would also not be alone.

The question of, “What actions do I need to take as an employer to comply with health reform” is frequently asked, but the unfortunate reality is it is not very easy to answer. With 26 states in a lawsuit against the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), better known as health reform, that is to be heard by the Supreme Court this spring, the future of health reform remains uncertain.

If the Supreme Court rules the mandate unconstitutional, it doesn’t necessarily mean the entire health reform will be reversed. A change in the presidency and the Senate in 2012 also don’t guarantee complete repeal, with many of the reform measures already incorporated into our medical insurance plans remaining.

Regardless of which side of the debate you are on, the issue for many companies remains how to best deal with the changes that have already occurred and the changes to come. Most of the early aspects of the health reform were not favorable to lowering the cost of the coverage.

Components such as no policy maximum, dependent coverage to age 26, 100% coverage for preventative care and no pre-existing conditions for under age 19 dependents are all good features to have in a policy. The bottom line, however, is they add to the cost of the claims incurred by the carriers, which means health reform isn’t going to lower the cost of coverage for employers.

What’s next for health reform?

In 2012, the big item implemented was the requirement for employers to report the cost of employer sponsored health coverage—which only applies to employers who produce more than 250 W2s per year. (For information on this requirement, reference IRS Notice 2012-9.) In 2013, all employers will be required to report cost of health coverage on W2s.

The next big event in health reform will be the implementation of the exchanges. Without getting into too much detail, the exchange concept was created to provide a marketplace to make insurance more affordable and easier to purchase for small employers and individuals.

By 2014, every state is required to provide an exchange to allow the comparison of cost and different types of benefits for employers and individuals to purchase insurance. If your state chooses not to implement an exchange, then you will have access to a multi-state exchange.

Like many aspects of health reform, the exact rules and regulations haven’t been finalized. With state budgets being tight, not many states are proactively spending the money to develop exchanges and the likelihood of the exchanges being ready for a roll out in 2014 is highly questionable.

One thing is for certain: If the exchanges do come about, the only way to claim the Health Insurance Premium Tax Credit for your employees that qualify will be through insurance purchased through the exchanges.

What to do as an employer?

You can’t control what is going to happen with health reform. One thing you can do is not worry about it until the next aspect of health reform is implemented, more than likely sometime after the Supreme Court ruling and the elections of 2012.

If your company is on a fully insured plan, your insurance company will help you keep your plan in compliance.

As far as saving money goes, health reform is not going to bend the medical insurance cost curve for you and costs will continue to go up as they have in the past. The national medical trend rate (i.e., medical inflation rate) is 10% to 11% and will most likely continue to be a starting point for your renewal rates.

Prior claims and demographic changes will be factored around the medical trend factor to determine your renewal rates.

How to control costs

Now that you know health reform isn’t going to lower the cost of health insurance, what can you do to control costs?

To contain and reduce costs, you need to change the way you look at health insurance. There are some businesses that have had low claims years but still received double digit renewals, but why?  There was components of their health plans they were paying too much for.

Bottom line: your company is most likely overpaying for first-dollar insurance company benefits that most of your employees never use.

Statistics show that:

•88% of your employees will spend less than $500 per year on health care;

•93% of your employees will spend less than $1,000 per year on health care; and

•Tower Perrins studies show that 80% of your claims will come from 20% of your enrolled.

To cut unnecessary cost, remove overpriced components of your health plan that very few employees actually use. You can also stop pre-paying insurance companies to administer benefits that are not cost-effective.

If providing first-dollar coverage is essential to your business and employees, then incorporate a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) and a high-deductible strategy to have the money available for employee use, but only send to the providers when services are utilized. If services are not utilized then the money stays with the company and not the insurance company.

Finding a solution

Health insurance is never going to be free and health reform certainly didn’t provide a solution to make it less expensive. The health insurance market will continue to be a very fluid environment.

The only solution to managing medical insurance costs is a proactive approach on the part of the employer working with their broker to build a cost-effective and comprehensive medical insurance program that provides protection for your employees and their families at the best possible cost.

Mike deVaux is a Registered Health Underwriter and Managing Partner of Keystone Benefit Group, an employee benefits consulting firm in Jacksonville. Keystone Benefit Group serves clients throughout the U.S. helping them develop, implement and manage employee benefit solutions. He can be reached at mdevaux@kbgllc.com, 904-464-0888 or by visiting www.YourInsuranceKeystone.com.

How small businesses are finding financing online

Small businesses near and far are thankful that technology is on their side, especially when it comes to financing. Tremendous strides have been made in the banking world in the last few years that makes getting a loan easier than before, but many small businesses are finding that there is none easier than online.

Online financing?

Touting themselves as something of a Match.com for lenders and borrowers, BoeFly (www.boefly.com) is an online loan exchange that efficiently connects small business owners with more than 2,000 business lenders.

“We connect borrowers and lenders by helping borrowers build a better loan package and helping lenders find those borrowers,” says David A. Nayor, co-president and chief operating officer for BoeFly. “Being former lenders ourselves, we noticed inefficiencies in the marketplace—mainly where borrowers were having trouble finding lenders.

“We took a step back and figured there’s got to be a better way,” Nayor continues. “Looking at other industries that use the Internet to connect parties more efficiently, such as eHarmony, Match.com, Cars.com, or eBay, we took that concept and applied it to small business lending with BoeFly.”

How it works

BoeFly is a loan-packaging service with software that helps the borrower gain a thorough understanding of what goes into a small business loan request and how to properly package it. Within that process, the borrower receives feedback from the exchange explaining where the strengths and weaknesses are in the deal and allows adjustments to be made as to what lenders want to see based on the marketplace of lender preferences.

“It’s not incredibly complicated, but it does take work to get a loan—no matter the size,” says Nayor. “There is a certain amount of work that lenders want to see in the loan request and we empower borrowers to be prepared before they connect with lenders. It also helps lenders find deals they wouldn’t have ever been privy to otherwise. Really, the success comes down to us matching borrowers with lenders, and ensuring it’s the right lender.”

Kevin Ellis, vice president of Small Business Lending at Atlantic Coast Bank, is one such lender that uses BoeFly to make connections. “With traditional methods, someone looking for lending would have to send their information, documents, and loan package to me. Then I would have to sort through it and ask for documents that may be missing,” says Ellis.

“With BoeFly, there is very little to sort through as everything is right in front of you to make an informed decision—the business plan, tax returns, estimates for build out costs and equipment costs, data on the franchise and the industry, resumes… the whole spectrum of things we would ask for, which sometimes when dealing with a busy borrower can take a long time to obtain,” says Ellis.

Making a deal

One such informed decision Ellis made after a BoeFly alert came across his desk was with Nick Borst, a Jet’s Pizza franchisee in Destin. Borst, who was looking to get funding to open this franchise, says he saved the online financing option for last not thinking he would find anyone, “but within 24 hours we had Atlantic Coast Bank interested.”

“It is probably the best example of the strength of BoeFly’s platform in matching me with the borrower,” says Ellis. “He’s in Destin and I’m in Jacksonville, and we were still able to make this deal happen in a matter of hours.”

“This project would have been up and running three months earlier if we would’ve started with BoeFly,” says Borst. “We tried several traditional avenues, and while they thought we would be great people to run it, they didn’t have the ability to fund us and we lost a lot of time with their processes. With BoeFly, you know the interest you receive from a lender is from somebody with a serious interest.”

“There is a lot of information you have to put in to the system, but the more you put in the better your chances are and the nice thing is you only have to put it in once,” continues Borst. “In our case, we had a very in-depth, several hundred page—probably too much—business plan and BoeFly helped us determine what was pertinent information and actually needed for the loan. They outlined what they and lenders look for which allowed us put the right information in the right spots.”

Ease of use

“The word that always comes back to us is that it is efficient,” says Nayor. “Efficient from a time perspective as the borrower only has to build a loan package once and efficient from a cost perspective as borrowers and lenders only pay a very small posting or subscription fee to use the platform.  There are no large commissions involved as BoeFly did not want to drive up the cost of the transaction or this interest rate that the borrower ultimately pays. This allows lenders to get more aggressive on their pricing and terms and it allows borrowers to find the best deal for them.”

Ellis adds, “It’s a different financial world these days. This is a great way that allows borrowers, lenders, franchisors—really everyone—to navigate this new environment and reach places and surrounding areas that wouldn’t have been available to them otherwise. It allows me to be mobile without being mobile.”

Learn to effectively manage your patrons, partners, and property

By David P. Grigaltchik

So, you’ve got a plan, a product and a partner, and you’re ready to launch your very own business and take the world markets by storm. In this article, we will explore the different legal issues that prudent business owners should address before going forward with any business venture. Essential to the operation of any successful business is the effective management of the three P’s of business: patrons, partners, and property.

Patrons

The success or failure of your business depends on one thing: your patrons, customers and clients. Having a large pool of clients is always a good thing, but, as with most things in life, quality counts for more than quantity.

Business owners learn early and are reminded frequently that customers may be their best friends or their worst enemies. Billing disputes and frivolous lawsuits regularly cost American businesses millions of dollars.

Since business owners typically lack the ability to pick and choose their patrons, they must learn to protect themselves through other means. Liability or malpractice insurance is something that business owners routinely pay for and hope to never have to use. Liability waivers may allow business owners to resolve adverse litigation quickly or to prevent it altogether, thereby avoiding having to pay larger insurance premiums.

By using waivers, business owners may guarantee certain rights to the patrons of their businesses, accepting liability in specific cases for the patrons’ financial or physical security, but limiting liability in other ways. By signing waivers, business patrons are essentially signing away their rights, and many such rights must be considered when drafting waivers, including rights to privacy.

Since courts are typically hesitant to limit the rights of individuals, waivers containing specific and clear language will have a higher chance of enforcement than waivers containing general and vague language. Waivers are not just for business owners whose businesses involve routine operations that have a high risk of causing financial or physical injury to clients.

As a rule of thumb, if you pay a liability or malpractice insurance premium, you should probably be using waivers. Waivers will not protect business owners who cause harm to their clients wantonly or take unreasonable risks. There is no reason, however, for business owners to live in fear of being held liable for the negligent actions of their employees or for damages caused by unforeseeable environmental factors.

Partners

Your business partner is your wing man. More than just a friend, your business partner is someone you rely on to keep your dreams of operating a successful business alive.

The process of starting a business is exceedingly simple in Florida. In most cases, in order to form a limited liability company, future business owners must simply file the Articles of Organization and pay a small fee. The Articles contain tiny snippets of information concerning your business; typically, the names of the officers and the registered agent, and the address of the company are listed, but little else.

This means that, at the outset, nothing exists delineating the duties, obligations, rights, privileges, or profit allocations among business partners. In other words, at the outset, your relationship with your business partner and, by extension, your business is held together with nothing more than a gentleman’s word.

With a little foresight, this precarious situation may be remedied by way of an operating agreement for your limited liability company. For a limited liability company consisting of two or more business partners, an operating agreement is an absolute must. Not only do operating agreements contain such essential information as the initial capital contributions of each business partner or member, but also provide for the allocation of profits, the timelines of disbursements, and the assignment of other duties.

Operating agreements may contain information specifying the employment of certain professionals, such as lawyers and accountants, and may designate members as specifically responsible for handling tax issues or other specific duties for the benefit of the company.

Consider that most people get married without ever intending to divorce, and yet divorce happens all the time. Similarly, even if the relationship between business partners is stellar, prudent business owners must have the vision and foresight to consider the possibilities of disagreement and dissatisfaction.

Property

Your interest in your business is a property interest. Like most property interests, it is freely alienable, which means that you are free to dispose of it as you like. It may be sold. It may be given away. It may be inherited upon your death. What’s true for you is also true for your business partner.

What happens to your business if your business partner no longer wants to be involved? What happens to your business if your business partner, god forbid, dies an untimely death? The answer is that you may end up having to deal with someone you never wanted to deal with, a business partner you don’t know, like or trust. In many situations, this will effectively bring an end to your business.

Once more, with a little foresight, you may address these issues before they arise by executing a buy-sell agreement with your partners. Buy-sell agreements govern the transfer of a business interest upon a business partner’s unwillingness or inability to continue with the relationship.

Typically, buy-sell agreements grant to the remaining partners the first option to purchase the withdrawing partner’s interest. Such agreements also contain provisions addressing the purchase of a deceased partner’s interest from the estate of the deceased partner. Buy-sell agreements may be tailored in many ways, in some cases making the purchase of the withdrawing partner’s share mandatory.

Regardless of how such agreements are tailored, they allow business owners to protect their interest in the business by giving them the option to continue to operate the business on their own terms following the departure of a business partner.

Gain foresight

In order to be successful in managing the three P’s of business, patrons, partners and property, business owners must have foresight and exercise such foresight by timely executing a series of available legal agreements.

In dealing with patrons, customers or clients, business owners should make use of waivers to limit their liability, thereby protecting themselves from frivolous lawsuits. In dealing with business partners, business owners should make use of operating agreements to ensure that all the rights and duties are clearly delineated at the beginning. In order to manage their property interest in their business, business owners should make use of buy-sell agreements to enable them to continue operating their business on their terms.

Many surprises will greet you in during all phases of business operation, from formation, through expansion, and into dissolution, but with a little foresight, you will be able to nip some of these in the bud.

David P. Grigaltchik is a business law attorney practicing law with his own law firm, David P. Grigaltchik, P.A. His office is located at: 6144 Gazebo Park Place South, Suite 215, Jacksonville, FL 32257. He may be reached at: 904-738-8398 or info@griglaw.com.

Why you should hire for attitude, train for skills

By Greg Crabtree

Your newest hire has worked for their first 30 days and while looking back at their great resume and 15 years of experience, all you can think is, “Does he really have 15 years of experience or just one year of experience 15 times?”

Sometimes hiring someone with experience means they are competent in only one area instead of many. Since they also had “years” of experience, they demanded a premium pay that bore a poor relationship to profitability. This type of experience is why you to have to make “you have to love training” one of your core values.

Instead of just passing on the cost to your clients by paying too much for labor, solve the problem a different way. By growing your own talent, you would be able to keep access to your services more affordable and fulfill your company’s mission.

Taking the steps

The first step is to identify which core areas you need your employees to be competent in. For instance, a CPA firm may need it to be personal tax, business tax, accounting system implementation, financial statement preparation and forecast modeling.

The next step is to identify the personality characteristics you need and screen your candidates for those characteristics. If you need an outgoing personality for your customer service, be sure to hire someone with a friendly disposition. If you need someone who is extremely organized, ask questions that would provide you some insight as to how they organize.

Some companies offer a test (for a fee) you can use such as Caliper (www.calipercorp.com). After your candidate takes the test, you get an email with basic results within 24 hours, a call from their consultant to discuss the results and a written report with even greater detail findings within three days.

Once you hire your employee, schedule the work for them to stretch but not break them. One way to achieve this is to employ a 70/20/10 training philosophy, which is 10% classroom, 20% one-on-one mentoring and 70% “throw you off the deep end of the pool to see what you can do.”

Until you throw them off the deep end of the pool, you won’t know what they really can do! You are not going to let them “drown,” but this technique lets you know what they are capable of and what limits you can expect, and then you can train them for how you want things done.

Making improvements

When you add an expensive person with narrow experience, you may get some growth but not much in the way of profit since he or she cannot be used for more than one service offering and may be resistant to expanding his or her skill set. When that employee leaves, either by your choice or theirs, the crazy cycle starts all over again.

When you hire an employee based on personality characteristics, however, you get an employee that will be with you for a while and more than likely become one of your top performers. Going from turning over two staff members a year to turning over two staff members in, say, seven years is a much better statistic. There will always be plenty of new business opportunities; your only bottleneck will be how quickly you can add the right people.

Hire for attitude, train for skills—it really works!

Greg Crabtree has worked in the financial industry for more than 30 years. He founded Crabtree, Rowe & Berger, PC, a CPA firm dedicated to helping entrepreneurs build the economic engine of their business. Crabtree leads the business consulting team, helping clients align their financial goals with their profit model and their core business values. He is the author of “Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits!” He can be reached through www.seeingbeyondnumbers.com.

7 moves you can do from your office chair to better improve your day

By Bonnie Murdoch

Let’s face it, you are busy. Directives, assignments, projects, meetings, expectations and deadlines hover around you—and you struggle to get it all done and to fit it all in, let alone to find the time to take care of yourself along the way. Life has taken on the shape of constant movement and the stress of it all takes a toll on your mind and your body.

The net effect? Fatigue, decreased productivity, lack of focus, stress and disease. Taking a few moments each day to breathe deeply and stretch into your body, reduces stress and tension, stimulates circulation, focuses the mind and leaves you feeling better and better equipped to face the challenges of the day.

Try the following and see how you feel. Start now.

1. Neck rolls. Close your eyes. Take a deep breathe. Relax your shoulders. Gently lower your chin to your chest and feel the sensation of the back of your neck lengthening. Begin to slowly roll the neck in a circular movement, reaching your right ear toward your right shoulder, then tilting your head back, and reaching your left ear toward your left shoulder. Move slowly. Stop to experience the stretch in the front, back and sides of the neck as you explore your range of motion. Move in both directions.

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2. Chair twist. Place your feet flat on the floor with your knees stacking over your ankles. Sit up tall. Relax your shoulders. Take a deep breath in and, as you exhale, reach for the back of your chair and twist to the right. Close your eyes. As you inhale, feel the spine lengthening. As you exhale, peel your right shoulder open and twist through the torso. Explore the range of your twist for several breaths then switch sides.

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3. Ragdoll. Stand up. Separate your feet hip distance apart. Bend your knees. Slowly hinge at the hips and fold forward. Reach for the opposite elbows. Let the head hang heavy and release any tension in the neck. Feel the hamstrings, hip and spine beginning to lengthen as you relax into your breath.

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4. Wrist stretch. Lift the arms chest height and bring your forearms parallel to the floor. Place the backs of the hands together with the fingers pointed toward to the floor. Reach the backs of the hands toward one another and begin to drop the elbows until you feel a stretch in the top of the wrists. Breathe.

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5. Forearm lengthener. Place your palms on your desk with fingertips pointing toward your body. Take a deep breath in and, as you exhale, gently lean into the wrists and reach the palms of the hands  toward the desk.

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6. Standing pigeon. Stand at your desk with your feet flat on the floor. Lift the right knee up and place the shin on your desk parallel to the front edge. Inhale to lengthen your spine and, as you exhale, begin to lean the body forward until you feel a stretch in the outer right hip. Repeat on the left.

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7. Breathe. Close your eyes. Sit up tall. Begin to breathe deeply in and out of the nose. Relax your jaw and shoulders. Become aware of the sensation of your breath. Notice where it goes in your body. Feel its warmth. Allow your body to relax into the sensation of the breath moving through you.

It starts with an intention. Set yours and off you go.

Bonnie Murdoch has been practicing law for more than 15 years and yoga for almost 10. Three years ago, she reduced her hours at the law firm to open Lotus Yoga, a vinyasa flow yoga studio in Riverside/Avondale. She co-owns the studio with her good friend and fellow lawyer/yogi, Bethany Crawley. Bonnie believes in the power of yoga as a process to develop mindfulness, strengthen the body, cultivate balance and transcend boundaries. For more information regarding Lotus Yoga, visit www.lotusyogajax.com or email Bonnie at bonnie@lotusyogajax.com.

What being proactive can mean to your small business

By Christy Crump

Think of a friend’s family pet. When you enter the home, you may find him lying in the corner of the living room. What is the likelihood of you walking across the room to pet him if he took no initiative to be noticed and seemingly was comfortable right where he was?

If he got up, however, waddled over and looked up at you, whined a little, and then rolled over next to your foot with his belly and all four paws in the air, what would you most likely do then? Most likely you would lean over and scratch his belly.

 Make an effort

When it comes to your business, you have these same options. As the owner, you can choose to merely do just what it takes to maintain your business or you can make an effort to go above and beyond and give 10% more than is requested, required, or expected of you to ultimately be successful. While most small business owners make that effort, can they say the same for the employees?

There are those employees that sit at their desk, do what their job description says and simply exist—never making an effort to get up and get noticed. If they do choose to simply exist, they will get an equal return—a paycheck with no advancement, no raise, and no extra benefits, which is of no real benefit to you or your business. So, how can you get your employees on the same page as you?

Motivate!

It will take a little motivation and letting them know upfront what you expect. Let them know that if they make an effort to get noticed and do more than required, you can reward them. It may not be monetary or even instantaneous, but they will be rewarded for their hard work and effort.

Far too often employers hear, “I don’t want to be promoted or move ahead. I want to do my job, get paid, and go home.” That attitude may have been viewed as job security in times past, but in today’s business world, you must stand out from the crowd in order to even be retained.

Years ago, loyalty and longevity with a company equaled guaranteed retention during staff cuts, but in this day and age above and beyond is the only way to stand a chance of sticking around.

Proactive vs. reactive

As being proactive and taking initiative are the best and fastest ways for employees to get noticed and are often leading factors in being considered for retention and career advancement, you as the employer need to hire those that already are proactive or train them to be.

The definition of proactive is doing things before they need to be done, rather than after the need is identified. When you are proactive, you are looking ahead. You make a conscious effort to pinpoint what you have coming up and begin preparing now for what lays ahead.

Initiative is the power or ability to begin and to follow through energetically with a plan or task. First, you are proactive. You look ahead at what needs to be done. Then, you take the initiative to do it.

The opposite of proactive is reactive. When you are faced with a situation you aren’t expecting, you go into reactive mode. When you kick into reactive mode, or emergency mode, your physical body tenses up, your blood pressure rises, your heart rate increases, and your mental state is both clouded and crowded. You are far too anxious to even think clearly.

Reactive mode causes detriment to your health, compromises the success of your work product, and stifles, or even ruins, your reputation. It is much more beneficial to everyone involved to stay in proactive mode as often as possible.

Managing up

In addition to being proactive and taking initiative, in today’s world employers need employees who are self-motivated, quick learners, detail-oriented, reliable, and dependable. In other words, employers need employees to master the skill of “managing up.”

One component to managing up effectively is to teach your employees to constantly ask themselves:

•What can I do to be of more value to my employer?

•What is he not getting from me that he needs or that would make his job easier and less stressful?

•What needs to be done?

•How can I do it or make sure it gets done?

Other components of managing up include:

Understanding the mission and structure of the organization. Ensure employees read the policy and procedure manual so they can gain insight into how every part of your organization contributes to the whole.

Setting goals. When the employee begins, set a goal for them to be successful and decide what that means to you in the overall scheme of the organization. Does it mean they learn a new skill, take on additional responsibility, or overcome a fear?

Setting expectations. Let each and every employee know what you expect of them. How can they go above and beyond if they don’t know what you expect? Have open communication with your employees, answer questions, and offer clarification.

Developing ideas. Provide employees the training and tools they need so they can develop and implement ideas that benefit you, your colleagues, and your office. When they come to you with an idea, offer them this list to consider:

•What is the opportunity for improvement?

•Is there a reason to change this task from the way it is currently performed?

•Can it be done faster or with less effort?

•Can it be done earlier to avoid a last minute emergency?

•Can it be done in a way that is easier for someone else involved in the process?

•Will changing it save money or enhance job performance?

•What roadblocks might I encounter and how can I remove them?

Want to get your belly scratched? Then ensure you have employees that get up from the dog blanket and make the effort to get noticed. Hire or train employees to be proactive, take initiative, manage up, problem solve, and implement positive change on behalf of your office or business. You will be rewarded.

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” ~Aristotle

Christy Crump is president of Crump & Associates, a company that enhances human capital through a unique, proven approach to staff education and training that improves performance and increases efficiency and effectiveness. She can be reached at www.crumpandassociatesfl.com.

Consider branching into international markets to increase your bottom line

By Mona Pearl

Need an antidote for shrinking domestic markets? Consider international markets. They offer unparalleled opportunity for growth, increased sales, diversified markets and increased profit for successful businesses.

Unfortunately, many U.S. companies gaze with trepidation at the process and surrender to fear before making an earnest effort. The main problem is simply a mindset, which contributes to a lack of experience, talent and confidence on behalf of U.S. business people to navigate emerging global markets. Smaller countries around the world, however, have operated globally with success for generations.

Are you ready to go global?

Unlike smaller countries that think globally from the beginning of a product’s life cycle, U.S companies typically consider global expansion only after achieving domestic success.

In this scenario, a well marketed product or service already exists, but new markets are needed to continue upward profitability. Before starting the new market search, however, businesses must administer an honest self-assessment to include commitments, budgets, human capital, international expertise, and global objectives.

Given the assessment results, the precise time may not be right; but, being aware of the risks as well as the opportunities is important. In today’s economic climate, no rock can be left unturned in search for new opportunities.

The million dollar question is the same: “What markets will generate the greatest success for my company?” While there is no “one size fits all” solution, in-depth research and expert advice can attempt to answer this critical question. Too often, the lack of adequate market knowledge leads to failure.

Secondary market research consists of information collected from published sources such as books, newspapers, market reports, studies and the Internet. Primary market research fills in any gaps through direct personal contact with local industry experts, customers, trade commissioners and other local persons with the requisite knowledge to assist. It’s also important for businesses to tap into resources such as local trade associations, lawyers, experts in the field of global expansion, accountants and potential partners.

While in-depth research may seem tedious, it ultimately saves time, money and other valued resources. Without a solid base of research, businesses will be unable to anticipate issues and answer difficult questions such as:

•Where in the world should I go?

•What is the best global direction for my business / specific products?

•What paths lead to sustainable growth?

•How can ROI projections be fully realized?

Effective research allows these difficult decisions to be driven by evidence-based data.

Selecting a market

Choosing a target market(s) starts with knowing the product/service and what range of functionality it can offer the global community. Then, scan the markets suitable for that product. Another excellent starting point in evaluating potential countries/regions is gauging the U.S. government’s attitude toward them.

For example: Does the U.S. government maintain a line of credit with the country? Are there export controls? How is the country ranked internationally? These broad questions will narrow down the list of potential target countries to consider.

The next step of research involves a more detailed analysis of risks and opportunities for those markets that emerged as potentially good targets given the product/service under consideration.

You will want to look at these key issues:

•Legal environment

•Ethics

•Attitude towards foreign investment and R&D

•Economic/political stability

After a country/region is selected, it’s important to further identify their strengths and weaknesses relative to your product and business. This process will prepare you to anticipate potential surprises and be equipped with a carefully planned response instead of a hasty reaction when, not if, they occur.

Product adaptation—“know” the target audience

Various international audiences have different needs, unique preferences and diverse ways/nuances of conducting business. This includes, but is not limited to, learning their culture, traditions, practices, philosophy, preferences and their way of conducting both life and business. Only with a thorough understanding of the target market can you make wise and sustainable economic decisions about product adaptation and, ultimately, success.

Each product, in every respect, needs to be tailored to suit the local tastes, customs and preferences. This includes packaging, branding, pricing and after-sale servicing. Become thoroughly familiar with the local people; it may avert an expensive, and potentially embarrassing, mistake.

Market entry: a “dynamic” actionable plan

While there are many important decisions to make when launching into a new international market, two are particularly critical. First, decide whether to enter the market alone or seek alliances with existing local businesses. Secondly, choose an appropriate distribution channel.

In both of these, there are tradeoffs in terms of financial commitment and control over the product as it reaches the end customer, as well as general cultural and other integration issues. Due diligence is important as the perception of any foreign organization is filtered through whom they partner with locally—team up with the wrong partner and failure can strike before any business is conducted.

A local partner can also provide insight, contacts and expertise. A strategic alliance also provides more effective market access, resulting in higher foreign sales in less time. Not surprisingly, as the pressure to rapidly exploit new technology and products has increased, so have the options for businesses interested in franchising, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions or other strategic alliances. While the flip-side is less control, it forces cooperation with local business which can be a recipe for success.

Secondly, distribution is one of the most crucial decisions in a global expansion strategy. It represents a significant overhead cost and lies at the heart of the connection between what the market wants and what the market gets.

Ultimately, both decisions will be guided by the international business community, the type of market for the product (mass market or limited), available capital, sales volume and access to information technology.

Access to talent—a limiting factor

One emerging trend to watch is a shrinking pool of talent. This promises to be a major obstacle for organizations looking to expand globally. In fact, several companies report “the only thing limiting growth abroad is that we cannot find enough people—engineers, sales staff, and marketing—who are bilingual, globally orientated and willing to live abroad.”

The U.S., more than ever before, lacks professionals with the global experience necessary to bridge cross-border operations.

Focus on opportunities, not obstacles

As international leaders in innovation, it is important for U.S. businesses to look at the world from a fresh angle with a new perspective. “A global mindset is the opposite of economic isolationism. We are part of the globe, and should stop looking inward, but look out,” commented Carlos Gutierrez, former Secretary of Commerce.

It’s time for U.S. businesses to take the next step internationally through the development of a winning expansion strategy—a practical approach that eliminates surprises and gets it right the first time. After all, there is no challenge too great for a country that has proven itself over and over again. So, let’s start the journey.

Mona Pearl is an author, a global strategic business development expert as well as the founder and COO of Beyond A Strategy Inc., a company providing expertise to plan and implement cost-effective and sustainable global growth that improves a company’s bottom line and helps realize seamless international operations. She can be reached through www.monapearl.com.

***Includes excerpts from “Grow Globally: Opportunities for Your Middle-Market Company Around the World.” Copyright (c) 2011 by Mona Pearl.  Reprinted with permission of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.***

Tips on how to get your videos and commercials accomplished

By Katrina Diamond

You’ve launched your website and the new office furniture is being delivered tomorrow, but before you kick up your heels on the new mahogany desk, ask yourself one question: Does your small business have a video? If you answered no, then you should keep reading.

The average website user session is 30 seconds, but when the website has a video, the session can last 5 minutes, 50 seconds. Most users that make a Google search are more tempted to click a website that has a video. Correctly optimized, websites with video are 53 times more likely to appear on the first page of Google—not to mention that in the last three years, cell phone video traffic increased 5,000% (Facts about Online Video, the YouOn Group, Sept. 2011).

In addition to all the print, online, experiential and PR/marketing you have prepared, you must have videos to engage users, explain why your business exists and how you can help. You must consider each viewer a potential client.

Whether it’s an intro from the CEO, an animated how-to video, a public service announcement (PSA), or a full-blown commercial, you need a video to introduce your business. The sooner you realize that, the better you can position your company and start owning your space in the market.

And…action!

Set your goals and follow through. In the same way you would prepare your kitchen and recipes before cooking a big feast, you should always be prepared going into a production contract. Know the clear goals of your video and grab as many examples as possible of what you like and don’t like before getting quotes from vendors.

When you are ready, find and hire the appropriate media company or freelance provider and be sure to:

Check out their reels. You want to be able to compare one company’s reel to others in their specialty. Do the skills measure up in the work showcased?

Pay attention to third-party recommendations. Look at who their other clients are. Do they have an impressive client list of legitimate testimonials?

Ask for references. Make sure to get some that you can call. While online recommendations are great, nothing beats having a client reference you can call and hear about experience for yourself.

Inspect specific project experience. Know what they offer and if they can do the job you are looking to have done. Do the clients, reels or credits give you assurance the vendor can handle your type of project, i.e. A “reality show webisode” versus a traditional corporate training video?

Rolling!

The next step is knowing where to look and what to look for. Begin by researching appropriate pricing bids. You will want to compare apples to apples to ensure you aren’t getting taken advantage of during the process.

Keep an open mind that it may take two different companies to get the job done as not all companies can help from concept to completion. For example, you may need to hire a freelance scriptwriter first, and then go with a production company to bring your script to life.

Once you are ready, begin locating the professionals you need. You may find what you are looking for by simply performing a Google search, i.e., “Production Houses in NYC” or “Animators in Wisconsin,” but know there are also production companies that can match you to qualified, available vendors within minutes.  

Script changes

When it comes to your production, there are a few things in the fine print to watch for.

Make sure they are insured. Protect your production—better to be on the safe side early on than regret it later.

Don’t pay in full upfront. Paying half at the start of project and half upon completion or by one-thirds (1/3 at start, 1/3 mid-project, 1/3 upon completion) is standard.

Have a deadline. Ensure it is mutually agreed upon, in writing and clearly outlined so everyone is on the same page. Make sure to add an addendum any time something is removed, added on or changed that may affect the cost of the production.

Secure all the pertinent text, verbiage, artwork, etc. You want to have all photos, b-roll, design elements, logos, updated contact info, etc. prior to starting so no one is waiting on you at any point in the production.

Set expectations early on. You get what you pay for —don’t expect a Super Bowl commercial when you go with  “Discount Dave.”

Take your work seriously—not yourself. Everybody has their weaknesses. If yours is being camera ready, then plan ahead to select a spokesperson or PR representative for your company that may do a better job.

Request raw files. Whether or not you plan on updating this video later on, make sure you request the raw files along with the final deliverable of the finished product. You may want to add elements to your site or future promotional materials down the line.

Own the rights. Make sure you own the rights to your video and that the vendor isn’t selling the content to other takers. There should be verbiage in contract stating this, but it’s always good to highlight this as a line item and make sure they only use the footage in their own promotional reels, not for other projects.

This should go without saying, but nonetheless, make sure you feel comfortable with the vendor and don’t settle for the first quote you see. You may be torn between two vendors with comparable fees, recommendations and work, so choose who you like best and wouldn’t mind speaking to on a regular basis for production meetings and updates.

That’s a wrap!

Your video is complete and you are ready to…now what? Some ways to maximize your video is to use it for:

SEO. Optimize your video content for search engine optimization (SEO)—use search-friendly URLS, no Flash, video descriptions and tags.

Links. At the end of the video, make sure the video links to your website and has your email and phone number. You also want to link to your video in relevant brochures and marketing materials.

Social media. You will want to post it to your Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, etc. Consider using a social media dashboard like Hootsuite to track and schedule your social media messages. You can use predefined keyword streams to respond to customer feedback or use it to find new clients and respond to them directly.

Networking. Are you involved in a niche online community for your industry? Link the video from your professional online networks. Staying active and becoming an influencer in one or two of these niche sites is always better than having empty profiles in all of them.

Prepared clients usually end up being the happiest clients. Give yourself and your small business the gift of a video. Happy shooting!

Katrina Diamond is the marketing/PR manager for ProductionHUB Inc., the search engine for media and entertainment that connects film, television, video, live event and digital media production with those seeking industry services, equipment and professionals. She can be reached at 877-629-4122, at kdiamond@productionhub.com or through www.productionhub.com.

How “gameification” can accelerate learning in business training

By Daniel Burrus

Anyone who has been around children and young adults for a while knows they are attracted to video games. And while older adults may think they are being lazy or using their time idly when they’re connected to their Wii or Xbox using a Kinect, in reality they are paving the way for business training and education.

How? It’s part of a future trend first identified in the 1980s that is now being called “gameification.” Today, that growing trend is reaching a tipping point. In fact, many of the greatest technological advances in business have come from the world of children and games.

Paving the way

To see the migration of how a concept goes from children and games to adults and business, just look at the evolution of social media. At first, young people were the predominant ones on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook. Adults simply didn’t see the value of social media—after all, who really cared what you had for lunch or what outfit someone wore to the dance.

As adults eventually took more and more interest in social media, many companies made formal policies forbidding employees from using Twitter and Facebook at work. But now that the business world has seen the relevancy of social media and how it can be a brand management, marketing, and collaboration tool, they’re embracing it, some even going so far as creating their own internal versions of Twitter and Facebook.

Granted, video games and social media are different technologies, but the concept migration pattern is still the same. And with game controllers like the Wii and Xbox Kinect giving people new ways of interacting with technology, the business world is currently on the threshold of being game-ified.

Thanks to Microsoft releasing  a software development kit for the Kinect that allows programmers to create new applications, university students started taking this gaming concept and writing software that allows users to control business software using only hand motions—no keyboard or mouse. An early example would be if you want to go to the next page, you do a sweep of your hand across the screen without touching anything. You can sweep to the left, sweep to the right, scroll up, scroll down, and many other things.

The core of gameification

The heart of the gameification trend is using interactive gaming as a tool to transform training and education. Based on 25 years of research, there are five core elements that when applied together can dramatically accelerate learning. When you model your company’s training to include these five elements, your employees will learn more in less time and have better results. The five core elements are:

Self-diagnostic. In the world of gaming, as you accomplish new feats and your character gets better, the game gives you greater challenges. When you power down, it remembers where you left off. When you return, you don’t have to start over from ground zero.

In the case of business training, if you learn something, there’s no need for a trainer to re-teach it to you. A better idea is for business training to have a self-diagnostic component. The interactive, competitive, and immersed module can know your skill or knowledge level and progress accordingly. It can know where you left off and give you next steps from that point when you log back in. This is the best way to allow for individual training and learning.

Interactivity. For centuries, education and training have been, for the most part, passive experiences. Someone stands in front of a group and talks and the people being educated or trained sit and listen—taking a few notes here and there. As technology evolved, the trainer or teacher showed a movie or two to keep people involved, but in the end, the people learning just sat and watched.

Regardless of someone’s inherent learning style, learning is much more effective when you’re interacting with the material, not passively sitting there. When you learn by gaming, you’re interacting with the information and concepts. You’re moving things around, you’re manipulating items, and you’re actually doing things. It’s no longer passive training. Now you are much more engaged and immersed.

Immersion. In the recent past to the present, video games use interspatial 3-D, where you go into worlds. So instead of images popping out at you, you go inside to them. This sort of technology gives an immersed effect, which engages people more.

To apply this to business, if you’re training salespeople on a particular manufacturing tool they need to sell, why not have them see the tool in 3-D and actually get to virtually manipulate the tool rather than have them read spec sheets about it? The former will give them more insight to the tool, which will make selling it easier.

Competition. Humans are naturally competitive beings—we want to sell more, be more productive, innovate faster, and be smarter than the next person. When you’re sitting in class learning, there’s little competitive value. You’re all there for the entire timeframe whether you’ve learned the materials in one hour or three. No one advances until the class is over.

When you’re competing, however, as in a game, there’s an adrenaline rush that keeps you engaged and focused on the task at hand. In an effort to “win,” people master concepts faster so they can be first.

Focus. When you’re playing a game, you’re forced to focus. You have to do A in order for B to occur. If you don’t do A, then you won’t get far in the game. Focus is the result of interactivity, competition, immersion, and self-diagnosis. When you can focus, you can learn virtually anything…fast.

Accelerate learning

Using all five core elements is a key to accelerating learning. With more and more to learn, it will be increasingly important to gameify both business and education to create better results faster.

Those companies that adopt early will be the long-term winners. So here’s your homework assignment: Get together with a child and play one of their games. While you’re playing, think Wii or Kinect for business. Think of the five core elements and how you could reinvent learning with tools like these.

Since businesses spend large sums of money on training and education, any tool that can accelerate or enhance learning will save both time and dollars.

Daniel Burrus is considered one of the world’s leading technology forecasters and business strategists, and is the founder and CEO of Burrus Research, a research and consulting firm that monitors global advancements in technology-driven trends to help clients better understand how technological, social and business forces are converging to create enormous, untapped opportunities. He is the author of six books, including “Flash Foresight: How To See the Invisible and Do the Impossible” (www.flashforesight.com) and “Technotrends.” He can reached through www.burrus.com.

Improve your productivity and profits by using managed technology services

By Ted Werth

As a small business owner, you depend on reliable access to technology to run your business and generate revenue. A technology outage—due to service, network, cloud or device issues—can bring productivity to a painful halt, leaving sales, operations and customer-facing personnel without the tools they need to do their jobs.

To ensure business continuity while also containing technical support costs, you should consider teaming up with a technology services partner.

Cost-effective access to a proven technology services provider maximizes your ability to keep vital business technology up and running and enhances your ability to satisfy customers. A dedicated technology services partner enables you to focus on your core business, improving productivity in a way that drives profits.

IT support services deliver new opportunities

The rapidly evolving world of business technology provides you new opportunities to gain a competitive edge—and technology services play an important part in that. The technology services landscape has changed dramatically in recent years, and new capabilities will continue to alter the way you operate for the foreseeable future.

For example, in years past, a startup company would have to configure and stand up its technical environment, patching together hosting, email, servers, mobile and desktop devices, routers, printers and more, while typically bootstrapping support resources. This need for service prevented companies, especially small companies, from focusing the maximum number of resources and investments on profit-generating activities.

Today, however, the availability of remote managed services enables startups to get up and running quickly. This allows companies to immediately focus on generating revenue and achieving operational excellence. Similarly, the availability of expert mobile and Web services support can improve your small business by ensuring you have access to vital data and productivity tools wherever and whenever you do business.

The backup plan

Another mission-critical need that can be filled via remote technical support is disaster recovery through backup services that protect business-critical data. This is a key component of a sound technology strategy for any startup or established enterprise.

In your small business, it’s not a matter of “if” you will experience data loss, it’s a question of “when.” And given that a very high percentage of smaller enterprises that lose vital data go out of business within two years of the data loss, it’s crucial to make sure you have the backup and recovery capabilities to ensure that your company thrives.

Technology services companies can deliver offsite and cloud-based data backup services that ensure recovery in case of a major technology issue. This type of service can also help you comply with regulatory guidelines that mandate retention of key data. Many small business owners assume their critical intellectual property is protected, but the issue is too important to leave to chance.

It’s a great idea to have a data backup professional conduct a thorough review to ensure you have the resources in place to recover from disaster, whether caused by user error, hacker activities, a technology issue, severe weather impact or fire. This will not only provide the peace of mind that comes with knowing your business is ready to meet the challenges associated with an unexpected technology disruption, it also provides your customers with the assurance that your business will be there when needed, protecting important data and delivering the services they expect.

For you and your customers

As a small business owner, you may be able to significantly increase your company’s efficiency and productivity with a managed technology services contract, which reaches beyond your basic IT or help desk support. In addition to reliable access to the technology tools you depend on to run your business and serve your customers, managed technology services can expand your team’s capabilities.

For example: The ability to securely upload business data from the field can eliminate the need for sales or service teams to capture customer information and manually enter data later.

Up to 95% of technical problems can be resolved via remotely delivered support, which can drastically reduce productivity lost due to waiting for onsite assistance. But the benefits of receiving managed technology services from a technical services specialist extend even further to include proactive maintenance to anticipate needs and address issues before they become problems.

By taking a proactive rather than strictly reactive break-fix approach, you can gain a competitive advantage.

Do a lot with a little

The benefits of having 24×7 access to technology services solutions are clear:

•Higher productivity and efficiency;

•Reliable access to vital business tools;

•A sound backup and business continuity strategy; and

•Greater customer satisfaction.

However, you may be concerned about the costs associated with a managed technical support contract.

Generally, the cost ranges from $20-$40 per computer and approximately $299 per server supported. To put that cost into context, think about the loss of profits that would result from a technical failure that brings all business activities to a standstill—even for a single day.

If you’re ready to position your business for continued growth and success with a proactive approach to technology services and support that allows your team to focus on core competencies, it’s time to think about forming a partnership with a company that specializes in managed technology services for small and medium businesses. As you consider your options, evaluate potential partners’ experience and credibility.

Make sure you find a partner with a strong history in the industry and accounts that will provide references. Ensure your potential technology services vendor can be trusted with your vital business data and has the resources needed to respond immediately with reliable service when you need it. Above all, make sure your potential partner is committed to providing an excellent customer service experience. By taking these steps, you can do a lot with a little.

Ted Werth is founder, chairman and CEO of PlumChoice, a provider of 24×7 online repair and assistance and managed technical support to SMBs and consumers directly and through telecommunications, cable company and retail partnerships. He can be reached through www.plumchoice.com.

Being savvy in social media can enhance your business’s success

By Steve Ennen

To the uninitiated small business owner, social media may seem like an intimidating prospect. Even if you already have a personal Facebook profile or Twitter account, creating one for your business—and, more importantly, making it successful—is a different thing entirely.

If you feel this way, you’re not alone. According to an OfficeArrow survey on the state of social media for small business,* only about 30% of small businesses are planning on increasing their investment in social media in 2012. That’s mostly due to the fact they don’t know how to do so effectively.

Only 4% of small businesses use social media management services to monitor their status on social networks. And 90% of small businesses primarily use their company website to distribute information to customers—more than double the amount that use social networks to do so.

If you’re running a small business, it means that an effective social media presence will put you leagues ahead of most other small businesses in the country. Small businesses are the fuel of the American economy, and it is important that they get the most out of powerful tools using social media.

What is social media?

Before you start using social media for your small business, however, you have to educate yourself on what social media encompasses and how it can be used for business purposes.

Social media empowers the consumer, connects your business to that consumer, and allows you to listen to the consumer—all in real-time. It’s far more powerful than traditional media choices.

Most businesses just think of social media as a way to push more content to customers. While this is certainly a use for social media, it is not the most effective approach for businesses…by itself. Instead, businesses can get the most value out of social media by active listening.

Social media done right: the case of 8th Continent Soymilk

The best way to understand what this means is through an example: 8th Continent, a soy milk company, used Twitter and other social channels to monitor what soy milk consumers were saying—not only about the brand, but about competitors, too.

They developed a novel approach; whenever they came across a negative post or comment about one of their competitors, they responded to each user with a comment and a link to a coupon for one of their products.

The result was a whopping 37% return rate on those coupons—significantly higher than the typical 0.7% rate for hard copy coupons. That, along with the positive publicity that followed their move, means that 8th Continent saw a real boost to its business because of social media.

How to build and execute your social media strategy in five steps

So how can you apply this example to your business? To begin, it outlines an effective process that you can use to develop a social media strategy in a few easy steps:

Listen. The key to using social media is to listen to your customer-base and potential customers. It’s a daunting task unless you employ social media monitoring services.

Companies should first search for their brand on social networks. If there are discussions, and they’re positive, then you have a great start. If you have only negative feedback, then pay attention to those comments just as much as if they made those complaints directly to you. If there isn’t much discussion, then find someone to help spark that conversation.

It’s also helpful to follow 8th Continent’s lead and research what consumers are saying about your competitors. You’ll be able to see what they’re doing, right and wrong, and adjust your own social media strategy to take advantage.

Go where your customers are. It’s important to find out where exactly your customers are discussing your business. If you run a restaurant, for example, you may want to look at Yelp, which features a thriving restaurant review community. Depending on what you find on various sites, consider connecting with your customers.

Sometimes you will find frequent mentions of your small business in Facebook groups organized around a different topic. Look at what else they are discussing regardless; it could provide valuable insight into potential new services they are looking for or general consumer expectations.

Craft your social media strategy. Once you have identified your customers’s location, needs, and expectations, you should use that information to create a strategy to engage with them. Often, this may simply involve connecting with users online.

If you find a negative comment from a customer on a social network, respond to them directly and try to alleviate their concerns. This could mean sending them a coupon, but it should focus more on engaging in true communication and making your customer feel like they are valued.

The key to building a strategy is setting goals for your social media presence. Do you want to promote brand awareness? Improve your business’s reputation? Bring in more revenue and new customers? By setting benchmarks, you will position your small business for future success.

Engage. Customer engagement through social media can take a myriad of forms. Promotions through Facebook integrated with email addresses you acquired via social networks is an easy way to start. Or you may employ videos or podcasts to educate your customers. But the key is to listen to your customers, not simply talk to them. Social media is a two-way street, and users are quick to distrust organizations that don’t take that truth to heart.

Fine-tune your process. There are also many tools out there that can help you fine-tune your social media presence. EmailDirect or MailChimp are examples of email newsletter services that can help you reach your customers directly. There are many different social network monitoring tools, which can greatly reduce the amount of time needed to stay abreast of all the real-time developments.

There are also social media tools being developed with small businesses specifically in mind. Once you have a handle on social media, you can use these tools to further streamline your strategy.

Endless possibilities

Of course, this is only the tip of the iceberg, but that’s what makes social media for small business so exciting. It is such a young medium that the possibilities are endless. The best thing you can do for your business is to focus on learning, listening, and interacting with your customers, and hopefully picking up some new ones in the process.

By getting started now, you’ll be far ahead of the pack and have your own social media strategy set in place before most of your competitors have even started considering theirs.

Steve Ennen is president and Chief Intelligence Officer for the Ponte Vedra startup Social Strategy1, a company that helps businesses use the social Web for business growth and intelligence and develops tools with small businesses in mind, such as its Beam Social. He can be reached at steve@socialstrategy1.com or through www.socialstrategy1.com

*http://www.officearrow.com/small-business-management/small-business-stuck-neutral-social-media-infographic-oaiur-15517/view.html

Think differently to save cash instead of saving taxes this year

By Greg Crabtree, CPA

Every business owner knows the drill; you made a profit this year so you need to spend your cash to save on taxes. Try to think differently this upcoming year to “save cash” not “save taxes.”

The inherent flaw in spending your cash is that you have to spend a dollar to save 40 cents in tax, which just seems like a bad idea. You come up with excuses to spend money you think you would have spent anyway—you buy new computers, some extra supplies, a new vehicle because you heard you can “write it off.”

The point is that if you did without those costs up to December, maybe you did not need to spend it after all! Most successful entrepreneurs spend a dollar at the last possible moment it is needed.

Build wealth or save taxes?

You can only build wealth from “after tax” income, so every attempt to lower your taxes lowers your ability to create wealth. The number one key performance indicator of wealth creation is “how big of a check did your write to the IRS.”

If you did not write a big check, you either cheated or you did not make any money—both are bad. Do not pay more taxes than you should, but you should be focused on building wealth above savings taxes.

What if I am cash basis?

For those who are a cash-basis businesses, you can easily fall into the trap of draining your cash paying off vendors at year end. While this seems enticing, you eventually take it to the illogical extreme and have such a huge amount pushed forward it causes you to make sloppy decisions at year end.

Here are just a few of the issues that you could encounter:

•Bank financing. Your year-end financials are more important than ever these days. By focusing on taxes instead of good business fundamentals, you distort your balance sheet at year end and spend the next year explaining why your balance sheet looks bad at December so you can get your line of credit or bonding renewed.

•Missed opportunities. Because you dumped all of your cash in December, it takes longer than you think to build it back in January and February. By not having cash available to start new projects, you delay or miss out on new opportunities. To delay acting on an opportunity wastes a day of potential productivity that can never be recovered.

•“Deferring Taxes” versus “Saving Taxes.” Did you really save taxes or did you just defer them? Be honest with your language when you spend your year-end cash. It is not saving taxes unless you are saving at a high rate this year and you pay a lower rate in the future.

Not likely to happen. Most entrepreneurs defer taxes at year end and push their rates down into the lower brackets to end up paying at a much higher rate in the future when they have kicked the can as far down the road as they can.

•Borrowing money to finance that year-end equipment purchase. This is the ultimate tax trap. You borrow $100,000 to buy that new piece of equipment (that could have been delayed) and you end up taking the expensing election on the equipment. Inevitably, this purchase pushes you down into the 20% or lower bracket.

The only way to repay debt is to make after-tax profit. To make enough profit to repay the loan, it pushes you into the higher brackets and you end up paying close to 40% tax to generate enough cash flow to get out of debt (if you are lucky).

A better way to think

You need to approach taxes as the logical outcome of a profitable business that is your primary wealth-building engine. These are the keys to make this happen:

•Owners wages. Set your wages out of the business at a market rate for the job you have in the business. Then live off of that wage. Do not fall into the trap of consuming the profits of the business.

•Get profitable with the business you have. Once you properly set your wage as an owner, your net income gives you a true picture of the profitability of your business. If you are not profitable, the key is to make all labor productive and eliminate any labor that does not add value. You have to get your current business model profitable before you grow.

•Grow your own capital. Once you are profitable, retain after tax business profits until the business is fully capitalized. One definition of being fully capitalized is having two months of operating expenses in cash with nothing drawn on a line of credit. A business that has two months of cash can act on opportunities as they come up and you do not need to “get permission” from your banker.

•Get shareholders healthy. Once the business is fully capitalized, you can then take distributions to get your personal finances healthy. Get out of debt first (yes, that means all debt… including your home!), and then build up your emergency fund.

•Strategically redeploy profits. Once your business and personal finances are stable, then you can make strategic decisions about the after-tax profits of the business and decide if you want to grow the business larger or just continue to harvest the profitability of the business.

•Beware of “consumption cancer.” Everything you buy owns a piece of you and creates a financial drag. If you learn to live off your wages and leave the profits of the business for wealth creation, you have mental clarity of what produces wealth, what is investing and what is consumption. If you set a lifestyle target before you have the income to act on it, you will stand a better chance to control consumption.

It is time for entrepreneurs to get back to fundamentals and build profitable businesses that do useful things and grow your own capital. Stable businesses are the ones that create jobs that last and build a strong economy that can weather the storms of the market.

Greg Crabtree has worked in the financial industry for more than 30 years and founded Crabtree, Rowe & Berger, PC, a CPA firm dedicated to helping entrepreneurs build the economic engine of their business. In addition to serving as the firm’s CEO, Crabtree leads the business consulting team—helping clients align their financial goals with their profit model and their core business values. He is the author of Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits! He can be contacted through www.seeingbeyondnumbers.com.

Five ‘musts’ for creating a great first impression for your employee

By Polly White

To paraphrase an old saying, employees are not your greatest asset—great employees are your greatest asset. Whether your organization is large or small, make sure you set the stage for their success by creating a positive first impression by implementing these five “musts”:

1. Have a plan. The difference between a worker who becomes productive quickly and one who languishes is often how well they are oriented to their new company. The first hours and days of an employee’s new career are the time when they become acquainted to the requirements and expectations of their job, the culture of the organization and where and how they fit into the company.

You can greatly increase the speed at which your employees become fully productive by having a personalized orientation plan in place for their onboarding. The plan should balance time spent learning about the organization and their coworkers’ responsibilities with his or her specific job duties.

It is not necessary that their first hours be spent filling out the myriad of employment-related forms. This may be convenient for HR, payroll or accounting, but does not create the best first impression. While the employee will eventually need to fill out certain forms, most federal and state requirements allow the new employee and your company several days to complete the task. Spending your first hours creating a friendly, comfortable and productive experience for the employee is a better use of time.

2. Have a place for your new employee to call their own. Whether the employee will have a desk, a locker, a workstation, or a peg on the wall, you should have it labeled, clean and stocked with all of the equipment the employee will need to do his or her job. Nothing says, “We really want you to be happy and productive” like a well-appointed workstation.

When desks and workstations are left empty for any length of time, two things happen. First, any useful equipment, office supplies or gadgets seem to walk away. Second, the empty desk becomes a dumping ground for stacks of papers, files and other debris. The day before the new employee is to arrive, take a few minutes to restock the workstation and clean off unnecessary clutter.

3. Introduce them to their co-workers. Most businesses provide new employees with the standard tour and introduction. While this is a step in the right direction, there are ways to increase the benefit to the organization. Spend at least part of the first day celebrating the arrival of the new employee.

Have coffee with everyone on the team, allowing time for socializing and rapport building. If possible, add a donut or other snack into the mix. There is nothing like food to help with bonding and creating great memories.

4. Choose carefully when involving others in the onboarding process. Watch out for the “curmudgeon buzzard”— the longer-term employee who feels obligated to swoop in on your new employee and explain to them in great detail why coming to work in your organization may be the biggest mistake of their career. They peck away of the employee’s confidence regaling their new colleague with stories of times when management was unfair or unkind to the rank-and-file.

The curmudgeon buzzard carries a great deal of baggage with them that must be unloaded on the unsuspecting newbie. They are only effective, however, if they can poison the new employee before he or she has fully formed his or her opinion of the company.

Keeping the buzzards away from your new hires during the first few hours or days of their employment will allow the new employee to form a favorable impression of your company—one that will be hard to change. Coach the new employees yourself or assign them to employees who will represent your company in its best light. The rewards will be long lasting.

5. Outline what the new employee needs to accomplish to succeed—then set them up for success. Finally, explain to your employee what you want them to accomplish in his or her first days on the job. Understanding exactly what you want them to do and how you will measure their success will increase the new employee’s confidence and the likelihood that you will get great performance.

Make sure the tasks you select are ones that 1) will be part of the employee’s routine assignments, and 2) are very doable. Remember, you want the employee to succeed in the early days so that they will be eager to take on the more difficult work that lies ahead.

Polly White is a principal at Whitestone Partners. She has more than 20 years of experience working with companies to improve the skills, behaviors and attitudes of their workforce. Her career has included roles in administration, human resources, curriculum and employee development. She is a noted author, speaker and instructor and has worked for companies ranging from small start-ups to Fortune 100 corporations. She can be reached through www.whitestonepartnersinc.com.

5 ways to achieve greater success from your employees

By Jolly Backer

Employee performance is an issue that concerns every entrepreneur. While a high employee-turnover rate can be costly to a business, so is having employees who don’t work up to their potential, or who have lackluster job performance. Just about every business across the country can benefit from taking measures to improve employee performance.

By improving employee performance, businesses will have a much easier time meeting the goals they have set, as well as reducing employee turnover and improving employee satisfaction rates.

Here are five ways to improve employee performance:

1. Change the environment. Often, employee performance is in line with the environment of the company. Making sure the workplace environment is positive, goal-oriented, and supportive will help to motivate employees. Start by looking at what needs to be improved in your workplace environment.

2. Improve communication. Whether the boss isn’t listening to employees enough or isn’t providing feedback, there may be room for improvement in communication. Those who communicate well with their employees will automatically motivate them to do more.

3. Provide training. Not having enough training costs companies a lot of money. The money that is invested in proper training and tools to do the job will be well worth the investment. When you invest in employees, they are better able to do their job, and will invest more deeply in meeting the company’s goals.

4. Get healthy. Obesity and health issues cost employers an estimated $73 billion or more per year in increased healthcare costs and lost productivity. Helping employees get, and stay, healthy will also help improve productivity. One way to do that is to ensure there is access to healthy snack and food options in the workplace.

5. Share goals. Employees will have a difficult time helping their employer reach business goals if they don’t know what they are. All businesses should have goals for growth or service, and should share them with their employees, which will likely motivate them to help the company reach its goals.

Taking steps to help improve employee performance will pay off. In an effort to help employees get healthy, many workplaces are replacing old, unhealthy vending machines with new ones offering healthier options. Doing this provides more nutritious food options, which will give workers a healthy energy boost while at work, while also helping them reach fitness goals, which will improve overall work performance.

Jolly Backer is chief executive officer of Fresh Healthy Vending, a company that is revolutionizing vending machines by filling dual-climate-controlled machines with healthy, natural food options, such as 100-percent juices, fresh vegetables, fruits, smoothies, and yogurts. She can be reached through www.freshvending.com.

Why now is the time for your business to embrace remote working

By Cindy Bates

When was the last time you fielded a work call from the sidelines of your child’s sporting event or while in line at the grocery store? Chances are it wasn’t too long ago, considering the fact that an increasingly mobile marketplace is slowly but surely unraveling the sense of “office hours” and making it possible to conduct business in far more places than ever.

Not only has it become possible for you to work anytime, anywhere, but the ability to work remotely has actually become a business imperative, even for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).

A recent survey conducted by Microsoft and Ipsos Public Affairs gauged the opinions and attitudes of 1,285 information workers in 15 U.S. markets toward telework at their businesses. The results indicate that telework is becoming more than just a corporate perk for SMBs.

More than half of SMB information workers (59%) say their companies provide access to tech support for working remotely. Additionally, 39% of respondents report that their company has a formal telework policy, and 72% of those surveyed indicate a positive preference for remote working.

A crucial ingredient for success

The statistics point to a growing acceptance among SMB decision makers that their success depends in part upon their ability to mobilize employees. Indeed, failing to embrace remote working and the technologies that support it could result in lost business opportunities, not to mention dissatisfied employees, clients and customers.

Millennials in particular have come to expect flexible work environments, and this means SMBs will face increasing expectations of telework options from their employees, while external audiences will demand more real-time responsiveness and access to information.

Yet, SMBs do have some catching up to do when it comes to capitalizing on flexible work arrangements and making the most of technologies that support remote working. On average, SMB information workers work remotely 3.2 days per month, even though they would prefer to do so eight days per month.

A win-win situation

When SMBs embrace remote working, it’s rare that one side gains more than the other, since telework provides a host of benefits to employees and employers alike. The primary reason to telework, as cited by the survey respondents, is to counteract transportation challenges, such as escalating fuel prices and long commutes.

Additional reasons for and benefits of remote working included striking a better balance between work and home priorities, increasing productivity and needing to complete unfinished work.

Employers who support remote-working scenarios also stand to gain, since they acquire access to a larger talent pool that stretches beyond their immediate geographies and reap the benefits of more productive employees. Employers also might find that remote-working policies enable them to reduce overhead costs, since having fewer employees in-house can significantly reduce office space requirements and energy expenses.

Furthermore, giving employees the ability to conduct business outside the office often means getting more face time with customers and partners, a bonus that can sharpen an SMB’s competitive advantage.

Developing your telework plan

Each business’s remote working policies and arrangements will vary, depending on the nature of an organization’s services and products. For example, a coffee shop will always need employees present during business hours, as the functions of food service demand the physical presence of employees. But, with the right technologies in place, coffee shop employees also could easily conduct behind-the-scenes tasks, such as accounting and marketing, from remote locations.

Therefore, as you begin or refine the process of developing your business’s remote-working strategy, consider the following, while also keeping in mind that every business is unique and there is no one-size-fits-all remote working scenario:

Does your company have a formal or consistent policy around telework? If not, make steps to form one. Establishing telework policies will help employees better understand their privileges and limitations and will also set a foundation for technology implementation.

What are your business’s internal and remote technology capabilities? For instance, how easily can your employees communicate and collaborate with one another inside the office, and do they experience the same capabilities outside the office environment? Incorporating internal collaboration tools and leveraging cloud-based software that’s accessible anywhere that employees have Internet connectivity will enable them to conduct business with greater efficiency and speed both in and out of the office.

How secure are your internal and remote systems? In an effort to increase accessibility and enable instant collaboration, many business decision-makers err by relying on public networking or social media platforms, even though these solutions are not appropriate venues for the exchange of sensitive ideas and information. Therefore, invest in communications technologies with heightened security protocols, always prioritizing the integrity of your business’s information rather than getting sidelined by free solutions that can’t guarantee the protection your business needs to succeed.

For today’s SMBs, the good news is that technologies that support telework are rapidly advancing and are also becoming increasingly affordable. There’s never been a better or more pivotal time for SMBs to capitalize on the new world of mobile work.

Cindy Bates is vice president of Microsoft’s U.S. SMB organization where she is responsible for the company’s end-to-end SMB sales and marketing efforts, including SMB strategy; business development; regional field sales; and national distribution sales, channel marketing, and customer marketing. Bates is an 11-year Microsoft veteran and blogs regularly at www.microsoftbusinesshub.com, where you’ll find technology tips and resources related to remote working.

Why you need to think outside the GAAP

By Chris Bryan

Are you struggling to see the benefits of your lean initiatives? If so, you’re not alone. You started your lean journey with the expectation that the benefits would flow to the bottom line. Unfortunately, the early financial numbers may not be what you expected.

Many companies abruptly take an exit from their lean journey when early indications don’t show expected benefits. Implementing the principles of lean is a long-term initiative, however, and will ultimately provide a significant competitive advantage—but it will test your vision and leadership mettle.

Lean principles

The goal of implementing lean principles is to find and eliminate waste along the value stream. Most companies appoint a lean champion. Employees are trained and lean teams are formed to map key production processes. This process is called value stream mapping.

The objective is to identify steps and resources that add no value to the consumer of your product. Once non-value added steps are identified, the value stream map is redesigned and waste in the process is eliminated. Production planning changes dramatically. Manufacture-for-stock is reduced or eliminated in favor of manufacture-to actual-demand. When a lean team has redesigned the process, an implementation event, or kiazen event, is planned to execute the changes.

Kiazen events usually take one to several days of intense work. When the event is complete, production resumes using the new lean production flow. It is common for lean teams to shorten manufacturing times, free floor-space, reduce in-process part movement and shrink (or eliminate) inventories. Compelling evidence shows that firms, large and small, benefit from implementing lean principles.

Nothing rivals the excitement and energy generated during the early stages of a lean journey. You will feel great about gathering your employees for training, forming lean teams and redesigning your value stream maps, and everyone will be eager to participate in the initial kiazen events. The optimism is intoxicating. Soon, however, you will face the task of measuring the progress of your lean initiatives.

Challenges measuring lean initiatives

Looking to your standard financial statements in the first few months of a lean journey is likely to give you a confusing picture. Unfortunately, standard accounting methods don’t reflect the progress made by lean teams in the early stages.

Costs associated with training employees, reconfiguring production space, relocating inventory, and conducting kiazen events all hit the profit and loss statement immediately. Liquidating excess inventory, an important initiative in lean, may hit profit margins and increase trade accounts receivable in the short-term.

Worthwhile lean projects that may not result in significant costs, such as clearing production floor-space and establishing point-of-use inventory locations, may not result in immediate cost decreases (rent or depreciation).

If that isn’t enough, standard production cost accounting methods actually reward operations managers for over-producing. Often, manufacturing overhead allocations are based on direct labor hours and other activity-based metrics.

When lean teams work to reduce excess inventory, production quantities may decline, direct labor hours and other metrics may decline and create unfavorable absorption variances. When new, lean production processes are implemented and production is limited to actual customer demand, unfavorable variances may persist.

The good news is that variable manufacturing costs can be reduced immediately; however, it takes time for you to reduce semi-variable and fixed costs that make up the manufacturing overhead pool.

When your generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) financial statements and traditional product cost reports don’t represent the early progress being made, it’s easy to be distracted from the ultimate goal. To keep your direction and focus, develop a system of specific measures that will ultimately drive broader measures of performance.

Use specific measures to motivate

It is necessary, especially at the beginning of a lean journey, that you implement a system of measurements that can be communicated back to your lean teams. Specific measures and short-term incentives based on achievement are key tools to motivate your lean teams to exert extra effort, develop creative ideas, and to challenge inefficient but deeply entrenched processes.

These measurements will encourage you and your staff to keep driving the right events even when your financial statements do not yet show the fruits of your labor. The benefits of implementing lean principles will, in time, improve your financial statements and become a testament of your leadership skills.

Considerations in measuring lean

Shareholders, owners, partners and other financial stakeholders all rely on your financial statements to measure the performance of your operation. It’s a great advantage when you can link the benefits of your lean activities directly to improving numbers and trends from your audited or reviewed statements.

This is especially true if your business needs to acquire new, more efficient equipment through financing. Consider preparing a three-tiered reporting pack that links production-floor activities to broader performance measures that drive financial metrics.

The first tier reporting can be used to summarize each kiazen event. The summary should include a brief description of the event and how the changes implemented are expected to benefit either the profit and loss statement or balance sheet. (For example, the event may reduce costs or lower inventory.)

The expected cost and benefit of the event can be estimated with your accountant, but the estimate need not comply with traditional accounting rules. One of the benefits of documenting specific kiazen events is that it allows lean champions to later revisit the event and check if the results are meeting or exceeding the estimate.

The second tier can present monthly lean team metrics that don’t show up on financial statements, but will drive the top-tier metrics directly derived from the financial statements. Examples of middle-tier metrics to support inventory reduction metrics include takt time, consigned inventory value, and JIT supplier performance.

The top tier should contain four to six broad measurements of business performance that can be derived with at least one key piece of information from the financial statements such as sales per employee, inventory turns, return on net assets, return on sales, profit to operating cash conversion ratio, and gross profit margin.

Your vision and focus will become evident over time. One of the most significant and often immeasurable benefits of implementing lean, however, is the ability to take advantage of market opportunities in your industry. Lean initiatives can provide your company with additional capacity to capture new customers and make solid gains in market share.

This reporting pack proposal will help you concentrate on the proper metrics early in your lean journey. If you maintain focus, your business will gain a substantial advantage against your competition through operational excellence and market leadership.

Chris Bryan is a CPA and CFE with Christopher S. Bryan CPA, Inc. offering CFO services and fraud prevention services to local and national clients. He is a six-year veteran of measuring and reporting the lean journey. He can be contacted at 904-437-7022, cbryan@christophersbryancpa.com or through www.christophersbryancpa.com.

How your business may still be in the dark ages

By Pete Lamson

The digital age is in full force and ledger sheets, receipt books and cash registers are a distant memory. Today, small businesses have shifted to accounting software, customer relationship management applications and point-of-sale devices to accelerate operations, improve accuracy, and ultimately to ensure their business runs as smoothly as possible—generating tons of valuable data about their businesses.

Unfortunately, this shift means all this important data is vulnerable to viruses, malicious hackers, physical damage or simply leaving your laptop behind at the coffee house.

The risk of losing your company’s most valuable asset—your business data— is real. And running your business is competitive enough without the hassle of lost files. Losing your data means potentially losing your business. Yet surprisingly, 86% of small businesses are relying on antiquated backup methods (Carbonite Inc., December 2010 SMB Data Backup Study).

Data is vulnerable

A 2011 study conducted by Carbonite Inc. uncovered that 48% of small businesses have lost digital documents or other records—up from 42% since 2010.

These businesses noted that the major ways they lost information were hardware or software failure (54%), accidental file deletion (54%), computer virus damage (33%), and theft of computers or stored data (10%).

Data catastrophe also can occur from fire, hurricane, flood, tornado or earthquake. While buildings are replaceable, lost information about your finances, your inventory, your customers, and even your email often is not.

Protecting business data

Your business’s data is its lifeline and this vital information must be backed up. Though many of you are backing up in some manner today, the reality is that copying your files onto physical devices like external hard drives or USBs is not a complete solution and does not ensure you can retrieve your files if and when needed.

When using devices like external hard drives, CDs, DVDs or USB/flash memory sticks, the backup is actually only the first step. All these drives or disks must also be removed from the business premises every night and returned every morning.

If not, anything that should happen onsite—from fire to theft—could wipe out both your original files and the backup. Even if these steps keep your backups current and separate from the originals, those hard drives and memory sticks are still vulnerable to theft, tampering or loss.

Backup with the cloud

Fortunately, technology has developed a solution, and it resides in the “cloud.” For a small fee, commercial services enable you to store copies of your files online—on tightly secured servers operated by companies dedicated to backing up business files. These services offer more than just storage; they make backing up convenient and time-efficient.

Easy-to-use, cloud-based methods aren’t vulnerable to the problems associated with those antiquated backup methods. Once you realize you need to better protect your data and ultimately your business, you need to choose the right online backup solution.

Choosing the cloud solution for your business

Here are six key capabilities to look for when trusting your files to online services for backup and restoration in case your computers crash, burn or just die:

1. Affordability. The best services may cost only $229 a year to back up an unlimited number of computers in your company. This is a predictable, sustainable cost you can plan for. It’s really the lowest insurance premium you’ll keep on your books, and it protects the most valuable asset in your business—your data.

2. Automatic backup. The files on your business computers should be copied and stored on a cloud-based server without you needing to do anything but register with the service. As you create new files or edit existing documents, the files should back up automatically.

3. Easy restoration. With online backup, you no longer need to worry about transporting your backup files daily. The cloud-based servers are far removed from your location, so if something unfortunate did happen onsite, you could retrieve the data you created on your computers. The service you choose should enable you to simply boot up a new computer, connect to the Internet, visit where your files are stored, and download your files. The best cloud-based backup services will even place your restored files in the same folders in the same locations as they were on your original computer.

4. Anywhere, anytime access. You don’t need to suffer a disaster to be saved by online backup. The best backup services allow you to retrieve whatever files you need by accessing it from your laptop computer or smartphone. Now, when you are with a customer offsite and realize you urgently need a particular file to document an action you have taken or an invoice you sent, you can have it on hand.

5. No extra equipment. You should only need to register and download a small piece of software that lets you retrieve or restore your files. Everything else should happen automatically.

6. Security. Most cloud-based backup companies encrypt every byte of data throughout the complete process—uploading, storing and downloading a file from the cloud. It’s the same secure technology that banks use for their online operations.

Once you have an online backup service in place, you will have safe, certain, anytime-anywhere access to your files. If your business expands, you can extend your backup service to more computers or locations.

Knowing that your company’s data is backed up properly can provide you with the peace of mind you need to focus on running your business. You have a responsibility to your business, your employees, your customers and yourself to consider the impact of data loss and to take action to implement a backup procedure that fits your company’s needs. You can get started in minutes and be protected from whatever lies ahead.

Pete Lamson is senior vice president and general manager of the small business group at Carbonite, a leading provider of online backup solutions for consumers and small- to medium-sized businesses. More than 1.1 million subscribers in over 100 countries rely on Carbonite to provide easy-to-use, affordable, unlimited and secure online backup solutions with anytime, anywhere data access. For information on Carbonite, visit www.carbonite.com.

How to transition from your business on your terms, for your price

By Lewis Hunter

As a business owner, you are accustomed to, and perhaps even thrive upon, solving today’s pressing problems and pushing on totomorrow. But have you looked beyond this week, this month, or even this year?

The average owner spends 80,000 hours building their company but only six hours planning its transfer. As a result, 80% of business owners fail to get top dollar when they sell. That is like winning a free lottery ticket on a drawing for a $1 million jackpot—you may have won, but you missed out on a much bigger prize.

Just as winning the lottery is not a viable strategy for achieving your dreams, nor is hoping that you will sell your business for enough money to support your future lifestyle.

Use a business transition plan to control your exit and maximize your payout. Plan now when you will exit, how and for how much, rather than leaving it to chance.

Analyze your current situation

As with any journey, you must know where you are before you can determine where you are going. Transition planning involves reviewing your business and personal life.

Review your personal finances; focusing on the wealth gap you must close to support your goals for life after your business. If you want to retire, how much money will you need and what price would you have to sell your business for to net that amount?

For your business, document your vision and strategy for the company. Identify critical success factors and measure performance against them through operational metrics. Undertake legal and taxation reviews to ensure compliance with regulations and to protect against risks.

Identify your objectives

Set clear, measurable, attainable objectives for your life after your business, and your business’s life after you.

Business owners typically start planning transitions for one of three reasons:

•A personal health scare, or death or illness of someone close to them, has reminded the owner of their own mortality. They contemplate what would happen to their business and their loved ones if they suddenly stopped working.

•The owner has tired of their work and wants to do something different, such as go into public service or spend more time with friends and family.

•They desire to leave a legacy, ensuring the company survives them and that their work continues to benefit others.

Don’t wait for one of these to occur. Identify your long-term financial and lifestyle needs, the needs of family and stakeholders, and your desired business legacy.

Select your options

Whether you will transfer your business, continue working or retire, there are many ways to accomplish your objectives. Some options to consider and factors to review:

•Internal transfer—Consider whether the next owner(s) would be capable of running the business. Be impartial, even if they are one or more of your children or a long-time employee. Also, ensure you achieve your personal financial goals without irreparably impairing the company. Use trusts, buy/sell agreements, employee stock ownership plans or management buyouts, for example.

•External transfer—Your influence over your company’s future may wane with an outside buyer. Their plan should align with your vision for the business and the needs of your stakeholders, including employees and customers. Would the buyer be making a strategic acquisition with the intent of operating, and perhaps growing, the business over time? Or would they be a financial purchaser, hoping to squeeze cash and profit from a future sale? Will you solicit bids for the company or negotiate with a single prospective buyer?

Identify the options available to you and evaluate each one based on your objectives. Choose one and put a contingency plan in place so the business can operate and your personal goals can be achieved if you cannot complete the transition as hoped, perhaps due to health or performance issues. Use insurance and legal protections.

Create your plan

When will you transition and for how much? What will the acquirer look like? How will your family’s and stakeholder’s needs be met? Compile the answers in your plan and state how you will attain your objectives. Be specific.

The wealth gap between what your business is worth and what you need to sell it for can provide your timeline. If it is worth $1 million today and you need to sell it for $2 million, will it take three years to close the gap? Five?

Decrease the company’s dependence upon you. Allow time to build business value by grooming leaders, implementing systems, improving processes and increasing revenues and profits.

Your transition should occur when you want and in your accordance with your wishes for the future ownership of the business and at a value that fulfills your wealth objectives. Spell out roles and responsibilities for key individuals, draft the management structure, and detail how you will be paid.

When your transition plan is complete, break it down further into tasks with due dates and responsibilities assigned.

Create your plan, build your business’s value and transition when you are ready—then you won’t need to win the lottery to achieve your dreams.

Lewis Hunter is a Jacksonville-based business transition specialist with ROCG Americas, LLC, an international consulting firm that helps owners of small- and medium-sized companies start, build and exit. He can be reached at 904-400-6610, lewis.hunter@rocg.com, or through http://business-transition.com/.

Get ready

•Set up a team of advisors.

•Draft a letter to your spouse or loved one, stating whom to contact and what to do if you die or are incapacitated before you transition.

•Perform a business valuation.

•Measure the wealth gap between your company’s current value and what you need to sell it for to achieve your personal financial goals.

•Create your transition plan.

•Optimize your business.

•Build business value by eliminating the company’s dependency on you as much as possible.

Optimizing your health can help achieve professional aspirations

By Dr. Earl Eye

The dream of business success captures the imagination of aspiring and existing business owners everywhere. A vision of flowing profits, industry respect, thrilled customers, and a balanced life permeates your consciousness and keeps you motivated.

As an entrepreneur, time is your most valuable asset—yet it’s the only part of your existence you can’t leverage. You only have so much of it in your day and you can’t add more to those 24 hours, no matter what you do or what you pay.

You may think you’re doing your business a favor by sacrificing sleep, diet, and an exercise program, but the truth is you’re not. While it may seem counter intuitive, spending a little less time at the office and redirecting it toward optimizing your health may be just the ticket to achieving your professional aspirations.

Steps to optimal health

Three areas in which you can take some simple and time-conscious steps to optimize your health include:

•Sleep. When you’re tired, your ability to work productively and think clearly may suffer, which could lead to dangerous or costly mistakes and take a toll on your professional reputation.

Poor sleep can make it difficult to multi-task, make you slower to get your work done, and some people report it affects creative thinking and memory. Some ways to reduce insomnia include:

Taking melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone that helps regulate sleep, and as you age, your body produces less and less. It doesn’t cause dependence or addiction and as a side benefit, it naturally increases your body’s growth hormone production.

Sleeping no more than seven hours. Most people need no more than seven and a half hours, but if you cut back to seven, you’ll have sounder sleep with fewer awakenings.

Getting up at the same time every morning. Your body rhythms are tied to the time you awaken, so it’s important to keep it constant. That means not oversleeping on weekends.

Getting into bed only when you’re sleepy. Spending time awake in bed can make you anxious and can lead you to associate your bed with anxiety. If you can’t drop off to sleep after 15 minutes, try slow deep breaths. If you reach 200 breaths go to another room and do something relaxing such as reading a book until you are sleepy.

•Nutrition. Nutrition isn’t about a single “perfect” diet. For thousands of years, human diets were simple: We ate what grew from the ground, fell from the trees, ran across our path or swam the waters.

The diet most synergistic with our Paleolithic-era ancestors: high in nutrient-dense foods (fruits, vegetables, lean meats and essential fats) and low in refined, overly processed foods, fats and simple carbohydrates.

To improve upon your eating habits, try:

Choosing natural foods. If it grows from the ground, falls from the trees, runs, flies, swims, it is an optimal choice. Best of all, natural foods such as fruits and veggies are most nutritional in the raw, making them quick and easy to prepare. If you must eat packaged foods, choose those that are minimally processed.

Eating once every three to four hours. Your metabolism is like an engine—the more often you give it fuel, the better it works. When you deprive your body of food, it shuts down to preserve energy. Good examples of some snacks to eat in between meals are nuts, cottage cheese, or jerky.

Taking supplements. Supplements are a quick and easy way to ensure your body is getting all of the necessary nutrients it needs to be healthy. Research is constantly demonstrating that truly therapeutic doses of vitamins and minerals and anti-oxidants—the amounts needed to reduce the risk for various diseases—are substantially higher than the RDAs.

•Exercise. All you need is 30 minutes a day to optimize your health. If you don’t know the first thing about exercising, hire a trainer once or twice to teach you the basics.

Set aside time each day for an activity that you enjoy, such as practicing yoga or lifting some weights. Better yet, discover activities where you can get exercise and spend quality time with your partner, family or friends—such as tennis, hiking, or dancing.

Weight training is the best way to burn fat; it’s more effective for losing weight than aerobic activity because it burns calories while you’re exercising and at rest. Here’s the math: The body requires approximately 30-50 calories daily, per pound of muscle. When you add five pounds of lean muscle, you’ll burn an additional 150-250 calories every day, even on days you don’t exercise. This adds up to 15 to 26 pounds of fat loss every year.

Do some high intensity endurance exercises, which is at least 12-15 minutes of pushing your body to the limit of its capabilities. Interval training is the best way to get a rigorous workout quickly. Using a treadmill or elliptical, start at a low to moderate pace for one minute, then up your speed to an all-out sprint for 30 seconds, then back down to the moderate pace for one minute, and then back up to a sprint for another 30 seconds. Do this five times. An alternate would be using telephone poles. Sprint in between two, then walk between the next two, and repeat.

The most serious thing that could happen is the loss of your productivity—which ultimately not only affects you, but also your business, employees, family and loved ones.

It’s much better to work for seven hours a day at peak performance than for 10 hours a day at half-consciousness. Get on a good diet, a good workout plan, and get plenty of sleep. It’s fine to be off balance sometimes, but never forget the adage, “Sound body; sound mind.”

Dr. Earl Eye is an AMA certified age-management specialist at Cenegenics Jacksonville, a practice committed to helping patients maintain health and live well longer. He is an institute physician at Cenegenics’ corporate headquarters and is the CEO and CMO of Cenegenics Jacksonville. Dr. Eye is also board certified in critical care medicine, infectious diseases medicine, pulmonary medicine, and internal medicine. He can be reached at 904-674-0404, contact@cenegenicsjax.com, or through www.cenegenicsjax.com.

How to protect your rights when dealing with your insurance company  

By Mark Bajalia, Esq.

As a business owner, you will very likely need to make a claim under one of your insurance policies at some point. If you do, you may receive a “reservation of rights” letter from your insurer.

A reservation of rights letter often leaves insured parties confused and unsure about how to respond; however, you will find information about what a reservation of rights letter is and the various options and opportunities it presents for an insured party follows.

What it is

A reservation of rights letter does not necessarily mean the claim is not covered under the insurance policy. It does mean that the insurer thinks it may have grounds to deny coverage for some part of the claim or the entire claim. For example: Most policies have what is called an “intentional acts” exclusion. If it appears that the damages or injuries were the result of an intentional act on the part of the insured party, then the insurer may send a reservation of rights letter indicating that, under the terms of the policy, it may have grounds to deny coverage.

In some cases there may be claims that are covered and claims that are not and the insurer may send a reservation of rights letter indicating that it is providing coverage for only a portion of the claim.

Why they are sent

Insurers send reservations of rights letters to keep their options open. If the insurer does not reserve its rights and provides a defense to the claim, but later discovers that circumstances exist that trigger an exclusion or otherwise call into question coverage under the policy, then the insurer will be stopped from raising a coverage defense.

Under those circumstances, courts could, and have, said that the acts of the insurer in providing a defense without reserving its rights constitutes a waiver of its right to deny coverage. Thus, rather than deny coverage outright, the insurer will send a reservation of rights letter and keep its options open.

Essentially, the insurer is letting the insured party know there is going to be an investigation but is preserving its right to deny coverage if the investigation shows that it is not a covered loss.

What are your options?

You have several options when you receive a reservation of rights letter:

•Ignore it: The insurer may be correct in reserving its rights as to part of the claim.

•Dispute the reservation: As the insured party, if you disagree with the reservation of rights and your insurer’s interpretation of the policy language, you should go “on record” that you dispute the reservation and set forth the reasons that you dispute it.

You should also send it to the claims representative by certified mail and request a response. This will cause the insurer to reassess its position and even if the insurer’s position does not change, you have created a paper trail, which may be useful if the coverage dispute ends up in court.

•Ask for more information: Some insurers will intentionally keep the reservation of rights letter vague to keep their options open. An insured party should counter by asking for specifics as to the purported basis for the coverage issue and the rationale for it.

•Start the clock: Once an insurer reserves its rights, it must eventually declare whether or not it is going to provide coverage for the loss. If the insurer continues to investigate the claim but never conclusively disclaims or accepts coverage within a reasonable time frame, then the insurer may be stopped from doing so. Keep following up with the insurer and periodically ask the insurer to state its position.

•Explore new opportunities: If an insurer reserves its rights, you may have the right to hire your own lawyer to defend the claim, not one picked by the insurer. The insurer will nevertheless be required to pay for your lawyer of choice.

Courts have said that when an insurer hires a lawyer for the insured party, it creates an inherent conflict of interest, which may allow the insured to retain its own counsel. Thus, when confronted with a reservation of rights, it may create an opportunity for the insured party that didn’t previously exist.

•Seek a declaratory judgment: Despite the reservation of rights, if you or your attorney feels that coverage for the loss does exist, then you can seek to have a court review the policy language and the facts as presented and make a determination as to whether coverage exists.

In essence, you are asking the court to “declare” what the policy language means and whether coverage exists. This forces the insurer to address the coverage issues before proceeding on the merits of the underlying lawsuit or claim. The prospect of spending more on legal fees to defend itself in a declaratory judgment action may also encourage the insurer to go ahead and provide coverage and defend the claim.

If you feel strongly that the insurer is reserving its rights on false grounds, you may want to sue the insurer for breach of contract and bad faith claims handling as well. Ultimately you need to understand your rights and protect your rights when you receive a reservation of rights. When in doubt, consult an attorney with experience dealing with insurance matters.

Mark Bajalia is a partner and a managing member in Brennan, Manna & Diamond’s Jacksonville office. He is an experienced commercial, business and insurance litigator, having prosecuted and defended numerous cases in state and federal courts and in arbitration. He is rated AV Preeminent by Martindale Hubble, has been recognized as one of Florida’s Legal Elite by “Florida Trend” Magazine and has been selected as a Florida Super Lawyer in the field of business and insurance litigation.

How a little focus and delegation can improve your business  

By John Geshay

Being a certified business coach who works with small business owners, it is not uncommon to hear from them that they  have little to no time to work on the “bigger picture” items of their business. They almost always say they were too busy addressing everyday product and or service issues and employee and customer requests to do it.

What can you do to get out of this day-to-day struggle you may constantly find yourself in? Two ways to get out of this struggle is to improve your business focus and delegate certain job responsibilities.

Enhance your business focus

From within the “Effectiveness” module of Brian Tracy’s coaching program, Tracy outlines a seven step exercise to help you improve your business focus:

Step 1: You must first identify your 10 most important goals. From your subcategory of “business goals,” list the top 10 and commit them to memory.

Step 2: Determine your current hourly rate. To do this, take your current annual income and divide by average annual hours worked. For instance, if current annual income is $150,000, and you worked 2,000 hours, then your current hourly rate = $75/hr.

Step 3: Identify your desired hourly rate. If your desired annual income is $250,000, then your desired hourly rate at 2,000 hours is $125/hr.

Step 4: For one week, keep a detailed list of how you spent your time. Use time sheets like those used by lawyers and accountants, logging your time in 10-minute or 15-minute segments. This may require a great deal of self-discipline as entrepreneurs think in terms of results not hours, however, stick with it. See this as an investment that can pay enormous dividends.

Step 5: Rank all of your activities and tasks on the list. Each evening of that week, carefully review your time sheet and mark each task you performed with a ranking of one to 10 (one being the highest value, 10 being the lowest) based on your evaluation of how important that activity was in contributing to the achievement of your 10 most important business goals.

Step 6: Now with the perspective of five days’ worth of tracking your activities, segment the list to include:

•Your 20%, high value activities (1′s and 2′s),

•Activities for which you would pay your current hourly rate (could be the 4’s to 7’s),

•Activities for which you would pay your desired hourly rate (can be a 1, or 2’s to 3’s), and

•Your low value activities (7’s to 10’s).

Step 7: Focus your own time on the 20%, high value activities. Moving forward, resolve to spend as much time as possible on your high value activities—the 20% that contribute most to the achievement of your most important business goals, and those for which you would be willing to pay someone your current or even your desired hourly rate to accomplish, and to delegate or eliminate as many of your low value (7 to 10) activities as possible.

Delegate, delegate, delegate!

Some business owners say they pride themselves on the fact they are copied on every email regarding their company, but much of that really comes from the fact they don’t think anyone could do the tasks as well as they can.

By not delegating, however, their own strategic business goals are not being accomplished because they have zero time to work on them. If you’re struggling with this same issue, don’t trust your team, feel you must control everything, and are not hitting your own goals, then commit to delegating.

From your lists of high and low value activities, select one activity or task that does not represent the highest and best use of your time but that is nevertheless important to the success of your business. While not everything goes overboard initially, just try one or two to start. Commit to delegating this activity or task to a person who is qualified to carry it out.

List the skills and experience necessary to efficiently and effectively carry out this activity or task and find someone who possesses them. Look around. Who in your group has shown these qualifications and might be available? The person may be a member of your staff, or they could also be a contractor to whom you could outsource.

Clearly define the activity or task you will delegate and describe in detail the results you expect when the delegated task has been successfully completed.  Provide a deadline for successful completion of the delegated activity or task, with benchmarks, or short-term results, by which you will measure the progress of the delegated activity or task.

Determine which resources will be required to efficiently and effectively carry out the delegated activity or task, and what the rewards and consequences will be for the person to whom you delegate the activity or task when he/she successfully or unsuccessfully completes it.

Improving continues

Continue to list your daily and weekly tasks, evaluate those tasks, and determine who might be the best fit to help you have more time for the bigger things in your business.

Improving your business focus and learning to delegate can help you have more time to focus on the “bigger picture” of your business and get you accomplishing your strategic business goals.

Now, go delegate and be successful!

John Geshay is a certified business coach and area developer with FocalPoint of Florida. He can be reached at 904-923-1246, jgeshay@focalpointcoaching.com, or through www.focalpointcoaching.com and www.linkedin.com/in/jgeshay.

Preventive safeguards can protect your small business finances and relieve anxiety

By Cindy Stover

Attention Jacksonville small business owners: What measures are you taking to protect your company from fraud?

According to a 2010 report from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), incidents of occupational fraud are 31% more likely to occur at small businesses as opposed to larger companies. To add insult to injury, as many as 40% of small business owners are embezzlement victims, and a staggering one-third of all bankruptcies are the direct result of internal theft.

More alarmingly, a recent TD Bank Small Business survey found that although nearly three-quarters of American small businesses polled are incorporating some steps to protect their business, only 1% of respondents cite falling victim to fraud as a top business concern, even as cases of criminal fraud are on the rise.

Five proactive steps

Here are five proactive steps you can take immediately to help prevent fraud. Remember, the best defense is a good offense!

#1. Manage finances using secure online banking. Banks and other financial institutions are at the forefront of developing and using security measures that help ensure financial information remains confidential and safe.

Online banking is a secure and essential tool for any small business owner. The benefits of this useful service include 24/7 access to real-time information, account transfers and payment management. You can easily schedule and manage your payments, submit remittance information, and have an audit trail of all transactions.

It’s important to check your account activity regularly. Having instant access to your history helps you closely monitor your account for any discrepancies. If you see any, contact your financial institution immediately.

Many banks also offer free (and secure) online bill pay—saving you money on postage costs and mitigating the chance of a paper check being lost or stolen in the mail.

#2. Protect computer systems and practice online awareness. Being complacent about cyber protection can lead to the compromise of critical information and detrimental consequences for your business. Every computer at home and in the office should have installed and regularly updated firewalls and anti-virus software.

While conducting business online, be aware of “phishing”—an electronic scam that attempts to obtain confidential personal or financial information from its target. It takes the form of a fake message, usually an email, which appears to be from a financial institution or service provider.

While some emails are easily identified as fraudulent, including some containing enticing headlines, others may appear to come from a legitimate address. Never reply to any email or pop-up message that requests you to update or provide personal information.

Given the influx of new digital technologies and operational tools available for small business owners, it’s increasingly important to learn about the latest trends and techniques used by cyber criminals. If an offer received via email or on a website sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

#3. Safely handle sensitive documents and financial statements. The Web isn’t the only place where thieves can steal valuable information. Some of your own employees and outside parties can steal important mail, credit card information or checks and commit fraud.

Printed financial statements, social security numbers and other sensitive papers should be disposed properly using a shredder or saved in a securely locked device. To avoid the hassle of handling several papers, certain banks allow customers to opt out of paper statements and receive online statements instead.

Technological advances have even put photocopiers at risk. Most photocopiers built since 2002 contain a hard drive that stores every image scanned, copied or emailed. When a business sells or upgrades their copier, the machine is usually cleaned up and reconditioned, but often times the hard drive is left intact and isn’t scrubbed.

Once resold, it’s possible for anyone to simply pop out the hard drive, and access and sell confidential information, such as income tax and bank records, social security numbers, and birth and medical records.

Treat documents in the standard office copier just as they would any printed document, and guard that information accordingly.

#4. Obtain fidelity insurance. Crime and fraud-related losses generally aren’t covered by property insurance policies. As a result, it’s important to protect money losses from workplace fraud.

Fidelity insurance protects your business against criminal acts such as robbery, embezzlement, forgery and credit card fraud. Liabilities secured under this type of insurance usually include money loss coverage (burglary or theft) and employee dishonesty (embezzlement and forgery).

According to the ACFE, 80% of workplace crime and abuse is performed by employees. Tough economic times often result in increased incidents of fraud and embezzlement. Although fidelity insurance means an additional cost for your business, it will save a lot of headaches should your business fall victim to workplace fraud.

Search for low rates and partner with a broker who can help you shop for the best deal.

#5. Incorporate appropriate checks and balances. Every small business owner should perform an internal review and assessment of company finances on a monthly basis. Make sure payment amounts match all invoices and check for any missing documents. Running random audits or having a third-party audit your books once a year will show your employees you are serious about fraud and deter them from committing deceptive acts.

If you think you’re a victim of business fraud, immediately contact the fraud department of any of the three major credit bureaus to place a fraud alert on your credit file. Also, contact your banks, credit card issuers and other creditors where your finances and information are available.

Following these five preventive tips will help protect your finances and allow you to focus on the success of your business!

Cindy Stover is market president of TD Bank’s, America’s Most Convenient Bank, North Florida market and is responsible for the commercial, government and community banking business for Florida’s Northwest, Northeast, North Central and Mid-North regions. Stover has over 27 years in banking experience and is involved in many local community organizations. TD Bank works hard with its customers to prevent fraud and takes several measures to protect their privacy. Visit its online security center for more tips at www.tdbank.com/security.

6 steps to creating a strategic word-of-mouth marketing plan  

By Hector Cisneros

In dealing with business people that are considered “top-notch networkers,” there always seems to be a common thread in what they say has contributed to their success. Many times their answers are similar, and oftentimes they are blindingly obvious, but yet these “top-notchers” seem to be the only ones doing it.

How can you be as successful? Try creating a word-of-mouth marketing business plan with these six items that were in all of the top-notch player’s plans.

Top-notch game plan

• Set goals. If you look at most successful people, you will notice they have their SMART goals (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely) written down. This is so they can review them daily and assess their effectiveness every four months. Make sure your goals are visible and with you at all times, perhaps in the form of a dream book or a goal board.

Following an old adage that says, “If you don’t know where you’re going, you will never know how to get there,” you want to perform your goal setting in the early months of the year.

• Obtain strategic partners. Strategic partners may be other businesses that sell or service the same customers, but they don’t compete directly with your business. Making these people you’re referral partners (i.e., earning their trust and building a mutually beneficial business relationship with them), however, is a powerful way to multiply your efforts without multiplying your W-2 numbers at the end of the year.

You can also make a list of who is in your contact sphere and list which categories are missing from your networking chapter. Once you know who is on your list, you can start earning their trust so referrals can happen, and you can start recruiting people to fill the gaps.

You want to try and have about five or six strategic partners, but a dozen or more is ideal. With a dozen strategic referral partners, you will be able to give many referrals and get just as many in return, if not more.

•Be accountable. It can be lonely at the top of your organization because some aspects of your business cannot be easily shared with employees or others in your company. This is why a third-party unbiased neutral professional is best way to go.

Get a coach, join a peer group or find a mentor or friend that is not afraid to tell you the truth and is not fearful of damaging your relationship. You need someone to hold your feet to the fire and keep you performing specific behaviors and working toward achieving your goals.

•Use your resources. Look at what resources and educational materials are available—books, tapes, CDs, MP3 video, DVDs, etc.—that can help you stay on track. The TV, radio, and regular new sources, however, can be a big source of negative distraction, which you don’t want.

If you want to be the best at anything, you must immerse yourself in that subject matter in a positive way. The longer you stay immersed, the more focused you become. The more focused you become, the more things “just seem to go your way.”

Feed your fire with positive knowledge and maintain your focus by immersing your mind on what, when, where, how and why of your industry and you will achieve your goals.

•Plan a calendar. Use your calendar to lay out your plan. Take the time to break your calendar into smaller campaigns, such as planning to deliver a specific focused and consistent message for four to six weeks, while still aligning this focus with your goals.

For example: If you are in the health and wellness industry, you can piggyback your message on to events like cancer awareness month and heart disease month. During those months, your focused message is how your product or service can help individuals with those issues.

Your focused campaigns can be based on holidays, annual events, political events, seasonal events, periodic events or even events dictated by your company—or a combination of all.

•Make it happen. Lastly, and just as important as the first five, are filling in the details and making it happen. Once you’ve created your goals, chosen your specific direction and decided on the themes for each month (or period), sit down and break each week into individual behaviors to perform.

Your theme may last four to six weeks, but you should change-up your message just enough to keep your strategic referral partner interested and listing. Your message may be your 60-second presentation, your elevator speech, a 10-minute presentation or a 45 minute seminar—what matters most is you stick to the theme.

Last points

Everything stated above still requires that you earn a person’s trust, and that you take the time to build strong and giving relations with your strategic partners.

These six items do not necessarily constitute the “be-all, end-all” of marketing plans, however it’s a great start.  Although it is not an exhaustive list, it does provide needed help, especially if you have decided to build your own strategic plan.

Experience shows that is if you do the six action steps listed above and hold yourself accountable, you will get more referrals, make more money and grow your business.

Hector Cisneros is a 17-year veteran of BNI and was the BNI Director for more than six years. He is an entrepreneur and businessman with more than 30 years of networking experience, and currently manages three businesses and educates business people in Internet and word-of-mouth marketing. He can be contacted at 904-712-9355, hecisneros@gmail.com or through his blog at www.networkersapprentice.com.

Align your actions with your ultimate life goals for better results  

By J.H. Hyun

Apple founder Steve Jobs, in his commencement address to Stanford University in 2005, made the following statement, which pretty much explained why he was so successful in his life:

“When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: ‘If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.’ It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: ‘If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?’ And whenever the answer has been ‘No’ for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.”

What have you been doing lately? Where would that lead you? Are you living consistently with how you want to be remembered by your loved ones when you are no longer around?

Your life plan

Many of you are so busy living day-to-day, bouncing from one urgent issue to the next, that you have lost focus on your ultimate destination. You meander through the maze of your life without a clear focus and ultimate destination in mind.

Too many times you allow other people and events to dictate your priorities, your life goals and the life path you take. If you happen to be in this situation, here is a set of practical steps you can take to realign your actions with your ultimate goals.

Reflect on your life to date and prioritize your life. Invest sometime today to reflect on the most important people and commitments in your life. Take 10 minutes each morning before you start your day to properly plan and prioritize your activities for the day.

Make sure to work on the high priority items first and cross them off as you complete the tasks. Take one full day each year to reflect on the past year and to set your priorities for the upcoming year. We can get the most of our lives by not only appropriately choosing what we do, but just as important, what we choose not to do. Make sure to define your priorities clearly and take actions consistently.

Clearly define what you want out of your life. Would you ever hop into a taxi and expect the cab driver to tell you where you should go? Of course, the ultimate destination should be dictated by you. The driver is there to help you by choosing the right path and making the appropriate turns. Just as true, when it comes to your life journey, you should define your own set of goals and your final destination.

Be specific in defining your goals. Be a better spouse, be a more loving parent, get in shape, lose weight, work harder, be a better Christian, etc. aren’t specific enough. When you define your goals, double check to make sure you can measure your progress.

Replace your vague ambitions with clear goals: Spend 20 minutes each night reading to my son as he goes to bed. Join my neighbor in running around the park every Monday and Wednesday mornings at 6 a.m. Stop eating afternoon snacks at work and no fried food for the next 30 days. Take public transportation and pack my own lunch for the next three months to save enough for my wife’s birthday gift in January.

You will have much better chance of success with specific goals than admirable but ambiguous ones.

Make necessary readjustments—starting today! Your today is an accumulated result of your yesterdays—the planned and unplanned events that took place in your life, decisions you have made, people you have met and chose to associate with, actions you took, how you chose to invest your time, money and effort.

Likewise, your tomorrow is being shaped and determined by how you choose to spend today. For everyone, without an exception, we are where we are as a consequence of our past, and our future is being formed by how we choose to spend this very moment. Start today on achieving your ultimate dreams and goals!

Joong (“Joon”) H. Hyun is the author of recently released “Outswimming the Sharks: Overcoming Adversities, Naysayers, and Other Obstacles to Lead a Meaningful Life.” For the past two decades, Hyun has worked with various global Fortune 500 companies at the executive level before his current role as vice president of Global Business Processes for a multibillion-dollar U.S. based company. He can be reached through www.outswimmingthesharks.com.

How green cleaning practices can positively affect your bottom line

By Robert Owens

Your business is only as strong as your most valuable assets—your employees. In a competitive landscape, protecting their health and enhancing their productivity by incorporating green cleaning practices can positively affect your bottom line.

From workplaces across the country, stories abound. Employees are falling ill with respiratory problems, chronic headaches and other health issues—creating increased absenteeism and high health insurance, which all adversely affect the bottom line and leaves company executives wondering why so many workers are missing so many days.

What most of them don’t know is that the answer may lie in the actual buildings in which their businesses operate.

Why suffer?

According to the American Institute of Architects, 30% of U.S. workers suffer from health problems caused by volatile organic compounds from carpeting and furniture, inadequate air circulation, poor lighting and mold build-up.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates workers take up to $3 billion worth of sick days annually to recover from the ailments and numerous other health conditions that stem from unhealthy work environments.

A recent Consumer Federation of America study shows that about $100 billion annually in healthcare costs and lost earnings can be attributed to Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) and the reduced productivity it causes.

Although this poses a serious health and productivity threat to the American workforce, the good news is that more and more companies are realizing the importance of a healthy work environment.

A manifestation of increased environmental awareness, green cleaning is good for your employees—and for your bottom line.

Green cleaning benefits

Green cleaning uses a combination of products, practices and equipment to clean effectively while protecting the environment and the people who work there. Recent studies suggest that its effects are substantial.

According to the Indoor Environment Department at the Lawrence Berkley National Design Laboratory in California, improved air quality that is achieved through sustainable design, building and cleaning strategies can lower SBS symptoms by 20% to 50%, while cold and influenza are reduced by 9% to 20%, and allergies and asthma drop by 8% to 25%.

Understanding the importance of a healthy workplace and striving to improve the health and productivity of your employees through the use of technology and green-certified cleaning products will help you achieve a better bottom line in more ways than one. A few things to implement include:

•Spray cleaners. Instead of taking the mop-and-bucket approach to cleaning, use spray cleaners with microfiber floor polishers that are either reusable or disposable from the standpoint that they don’t introduce dirty water to the floor.

•HEPA filtered vacuums. Use vacuum cleaners that come equipped with High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters that trap small particles that would be left behind by conventional vacuum cleaners or worse, lifted and spread into the air.

•Recycled paper products. You can also use recycled bathroom paper products—tissue paper and paper towels—because they are biodegradable.

Long-term benefits

By maintaining healthier, happier employees and a more sustainable workplace, green cleaning provides long-term health and cost benefits that clearly make the switch from traditional cleaning advantageous. If you have not incorporated these products and techniques into your business, now is the time to start.

Robert Owens, co-founder and president of O,R&L, has more than 22 years of experience in the real estate management and construction industries. Under his leadership, O,R&L Facility Services has become an industry leader in facility management, property management and janitorial services for properties and companies. He can be reached at O,R&L’s Florida headquarters at Bowens@or-l.com or through www.or-l.com.

Why consistency is the key to successful marketing

By Robyn A. Friedman

For the past 10 years, Claudette Brodeur has been doing the same thing every Monday morning. She prepares a two-page, direct-mail piece advertising her business by personalizing it on her computer and then sends it out to new prospects.

Brodeur

As an interior designer focusing on window treatments, Brodeur knows her target market is homeowners. So she consistently sends both new and existing homeowners her advertisement and then follows up with similar pieces every four months for a year.

Her response rate: 2%.

“It’s a great response,” said Brodeur, owner of Claudettes [CQ] Decors in Jacksonville. “I’ve perfected it to the point where I just don’t mess with it. I’ve found out what works.”

The ultimate goal

Brodeur’s goal—and the goal of any small business marketing its product or service—is to gain top of mind awareness (TOMA), which occurs when customers think of you first when they are ready to purchase. TOMA is essential for any successful marketer. After all, the average consumer is bombarded by literally thousands of advertising messages every day.

To make sure yours is noticed and resonates in the minds of prospects, you must not only be consistent in repeating your brand message, but also in making sure your message is uniform, unique and identifiable—whether it’s in print, online, in a sales pitch, on a billboard or even in an on-hold message script.

“The average person sees 3,000 commercial messages a day, so it’s important to keep your

Smith

message in front of customers,” said Robert Smith, chief executive officer of Champion Media Worldwide, a public relations and advertising firm with offices in Jacksonville. “Most successful marketers use the ‘Rule of Seven’ or until their customers buy or die.”

The commitment

Smith advises small business owners to commit to marketing to prospects at least seven times. “The first one or two times, they may never even notice your ad or commercial,” he said. “Studies show that most people buy after the fourth or fifth contact, so if you only contact them once, you are leaving a ton of money on the table.”

Consistent marketing is also the key to successful branding—using words, designs or symbols to give your company, product or service a unique identity and distinguish it from the competition. Brands need to be both recognizable and memorable, so marketers need to repeat their message enough times to achieve that goal.

Tips to achieve consistency

If you’re planning to advertise your product or service, keep the following tips in mind to achieve consistency:

Repetition is the key. Keith Kessler, president of Kessler Creative, a Jacksonville-based,

Kessler

direct-marketing firm, said that consistency varies depending on the business. “The $64,000 question is, ‘What is the consistency?’” he asks. “Is it monthly, quarterly? There are a lot of variables.”

Kessler said that at a minimum, small businesses should advertise in print or send a direct mail piece at least quarterly and preferably monthly. “The industry standard is that it takes eight different touches before somebody will recognize your brand and act on it,” he said.

Don’t just rely on one form of advertising—it takes a mix. A good marketing campaign depends on several strategies that work in tandem. Don’t just advertise; include public relations and social media strategies as well. “These days we have too many

Rossiter

advertisements that compete for our attention, and people ignore them,” said Nancy Rossiter, assistant professor of entrepreneurship at Jacksonville University. “What works these days is buzz.”

Rossiter said that she advertised a business she owns in a local magazine every month for a year, with little success. But after the magazine wrote an article about her business, she was inundated with new customers. “People ignored our paid advertisements, but paid attention and acted upon the buzz that was created from the story,” she said. “And the story was free.” 

Don’t expect immediate results. Once you take the time to put together a marketing plan, stick with it. The insertion of one ad in a magazine might work to bring in new business, but in most cases, it takes consistent advertising or marketing to achieve results. Brodeur advertises for at least four or five months in a new publication before assessing whether her ads are working. “If it doesn’t make the phone ring, then I just walk away,” she said. “You can’t just give it one month.”

Mistakes happen. Don’t give up. If you’re doing a direct-mail campaign, for example, start with a sample of 1,000 rather than mailing 10,000 without knowing if it works. Smith once spent nearly $5,000 on a promotion that bombed. “Always remember to test small,” he said. If your strategy isn’t working, try tweaking it. Sometimes it takes a while to determine the exact mix that works for your business.

Make sure your message is right. No matter how consistent you are, your marketing won’t work unless the message you’re disseminating is good. The last thing you want to do is consistently market the wrong message. To get the best bang for your marketing buck, consider hiring a professional to make sure you get it right the first time.

Maintain consistency across platforms. Consistency isn’t important only in terms of repeating your brand message. It’s also important to be consistent across platforms. In other words, your print and online advertising should have a consistent look, feel and message—as should your other forms of marketing communications: sales scripts, on-hold messages, social media and more.

Fisher

“Consistency allows you to be easily recognized,” said Mary Fisher, owner of Mary Fisher Design in Jacksonville, a full-service marketing firm. “If you design an ad that looks one way in one publication and then another publication’s ad is totally different, people won’t know it’s the same company.”

Bruce Newmark has successfully incorporated that strategy into the marketing plan for his business, MarkOne Financial, a Jacksonville-based

Newmark

indirect auto lender. “Our sales force uses a script that communicates consistently the kinds of things that we’re also going to communicate in our media advertising,” he said. “That way, our message stays consistent.” Newmark also strives to maintain a consistent marketing message among the different products under his brand.

Make sure your advertising reaches your target market. Make sure that your message gets to the people who are likely to purchase your product or service. “All the money in marketing isn’t going to be worth a hill of beans if it doesn’t get into the right hands,” said Kessler. “Spend time—and maybe a little money—to identify who your actual customer is.”

Robyn A. Friedman is a contributing writer to Advantage. She can be reached at robyn@everythingwrite.com or through www.EverythingWrite.com.

4 myths to avoid while climbing the leadership ladder of success

By Myron Pincomb

I constantly observe and work with leaders that are building some of the most successfulcompanies and organizations and then watch as they suddenly “hit a wall.” What happened? How did individuals who have reached the top of their profession by doing all the right things suddenly slip and fall?

They were sucked into one of the myths of leadership success.

In my career I have had the opportunity to lead a variety of companies from very successful technology start-ups to seasoned organizations with over 600 veteran employees. I will be the first to admit that I have personally been sucked into each one of the four common myths of leadership success on multiple occasions.

Four myths

Leadership myth #1: Yesterday’s success. What got you here won’t keep you here. Many of us were taught in school to rely on best practices and proven techniques to build a successful team or business. The reality is that no two companies or two teams are exactly the same and best practices and proven techniques rarely work twice.

This “old” way of thinking is completely counterproductive to the culture of innovation needed to be successful in today’s digital economy where product life cycles and time to market are measured in hours rather than years.

Don’t get me wrong; we should always learn from the success and failures of others, but at the end of the day the formula for success with your team or business is most likely very unique from others.

How can you avoid the “Yesterday’s success” myth? First you must recognize it. “The punch that knocks you out is the one you didn’t see,” said the famous boxer Joe Frazier. Once you recognize that complacency and the “reliance on yesterday’s success” has crept into your organization, you need to really focus on growth and innovation. Growth equals change.

Continually ask: Is there a better way? The answer is always, “Yes!”

If you are really serious about growth and innovation, get someone from outside your organization who knows your business, give them all the details and let them give you a fresh perspective. Pay for outside consulting.

In today’s economy, the most successful leaders recognize that a culture of growth and innovation is paramount to success.

Leadership myth #2: We are the experts. The only way to close 100% of your leads is to give the customer exactly what they want. Many times the leadership team relies heavily on the feedback from the sales and marketing teams to shape the next promotion or product. The reality is that most of that feedback is shaped by personal agendas and biases that result in missed sales targets and upset leadership teams. Only your customer can truly define what they need.

How can you avoid the “We are the experts” myth? The next time you try to create a great new promotion or develop the next home run product, start with a trip to the customer’s office. After the customer shows you exactly what they need, go back to your team and make it happen.

I have also had a lot of success with focus groups, fish bowl sessions and product pilots. The key to success is getting your customer involved in the process long before the sales pitch takes place.

Leadership myth #3: I am a leader, not a product expert. It is impossible to effectively lead a team without extensive product knowledge. Without a doubt, I can say that nine out of 10 leaders I have worked with do not personally have the product knowledge needed to successfully lead their team.

Many of these same people tell me that their company does not have a formal training program because they only hire experienced professionals. The result is that many companies have a team of “experienced professionals” that know very little about the actual product and how it relates to the customer.

How can you avoid the “I am a leader, not a product expert” myth? Every member of the leadership team from the CEO on down the ladder should be required to complete extensive product training on an ongoing basis. I strongly believe this product training should also be extended to the leadership teams in human resources, accounting, finance and logistics. The only way to hire the perfect candidate for an open position is to know the product yourself.

Leadership myth #4: I am a manager, not an employee. An isolated leader is an ineffective leader. No matter how good you think you are greatness has never been accomplished alone. True leaders will never tell you that it is lonely at the top. If you are at the top and all alone, then no one is following you. Get off the mountain, and go find your team and connect.

Great leaders learn early in their career that the people they manage are the only appreciable asset with which they have to work. They also know that leadership has nothing to do with position or title; it has everything to do with your scope of influence.

How can you avoid the “I am a manager, not an employee” myth? An “open door policy” is not enough; walk the floor, connect with your team and understand their pain before you ask them to follow you. Remember that people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.

Myron Pincomb is the CEO/president of The Pincomb Group. To learn more go to www.thepincombgroup.com or send an e-mail to Myron.pincomb@gmail.com.

Stay up-to-date on hiring protocol to avoid legal woes

By John F. MacLennan

As a small business leader, you wear numerous hats—you serve as president, HR directorand marketing manager, and also take on a myriad of other day-to-day tasks. While you may be confident in your leadership and management roles, the recruitment process often can be confusing.

Without a dedicated recruiting staff, small businesses can unwittingly enter into legal liability because of unsound recruitment practices. Business leaders preparing to hire new staff members should follow these rules throughout all phases of recruitment.

Understand the basics

Company leaders managing the hiring process should become familiar with current employment laws and regulations, which are enforced by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The EEOC’s website (www.eeoc.gov) outlines the federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination and provides regulatory updates. Prohibited questions should be frequently communicated to all individuals involved in the interview process, especially prior to initiating a new recruitment effort.

Under federal laws, it is illegal for an employer to discriminate against a job applicant because of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age or genetic information. Florida law further extends discrimination to include marital status, meaning all questions regarding current or prior marriages, divorces or engagements are not allowed during the recruitment process.

Ask only what is needed to select the best candidate

To protect an organization from potential liability, questions on an application form or asked during an interview should be limited to those needed to determine if an applicant is qualified for a position.

While most employers know not to ask personal questions during an interview, these types of questions often appear on job applications. Companies should use the simple rule of “need to know”— if an employer doesn’t need to know a response in order to make a hiring decision, then the question shouldn’t be asked. Otherwise, applicants denied employment may later argue that irrelevant questions played a role in the company’s decision.

Look beyond the obvious

•Age. Discrimination based on age, or ageism, does not only include recruitment materials overtly asking an applicant’s age or date of birth. Employers also should not request information regarding an applicant’s year of graduation from high school or secondary education institutions. Graduation dates may allow interviewers to infer an applicant’s age.

•Pregnancy. Some employers may mistakenly believe pregnancy discrimination violations are limited to asking female applicants about their current pregnancy status. In fact, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 also prohibits questions regarding an applicant’s medical history of pregnancy, future childbearing plans, children, provisions for child care, abortions, birth control and ability to reproduce.

•National origin and citizenship. A casually posed, “Where are you from?” may seem like a natural conversation starter, but during an interview it can have legal ramifications. Recruiters should never ask about where an applicant was born—prior to extending a formal job offer—as this can discriminate against legal immigrants and individuals with work visas.

Employers can and should ask applicants about their ability to work in the United States; after offering the person the job, employers must obtain proper documentation to work in U.S. (including a social security card or work visa).

Concentrate on abilities vs. disabilities

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits employment questions regarding physical disabilities. If there are challenging physical tasks associated with a position, it is appropriate to ask applicants how they would accomplish specific responsibilities. In addition, prior to a job offer, all questions regarding medical conditions are strictly prohibited under ADA regulations.

Examples of prohibited questions include: Have you been injured on the job? Have you ever filed a workers’ compensation complaint? What medical treatments or prescription drugs are you receiving or have you received in the past? How many sick leave days did you take at your last place of employment?

Watch out for disparate impact

Most employers understand factors affecting disparate treatment claims, which refer to violations in which the EEOC’s protected categories directly influence how an applicant or employee is treated.

Many are less familiar, however, with issues surrounding disparate impact violations, which occur when seemingly neutral hiring policies or practices have a disproportionate, adverse impact on a particular group. These types of hiring requirements become illegal if an organization cannot justify the need.

•Height and weight. Organizations should not ask applicants to list their height and weight. Such questions pose a risk for disparate impact on women, particularly those of Asian descent, and do not accurately reflect a person’s capacity for a particular position.

In addition, organizations that require applicants to note whether they are able to lift a significant amount of weight may open themselves to gender discrimination claims if that task is not necessary for the job.

•Financial status. Questions regarding an applicant’s financial status—including bankruptcies, debt or poor credit—should be avoided unless there is a clear connection to the position.

These are justifiable questions for hiring personnel who would be directly handling company funds, such as accounts payable staff or a bank teller. Otherwise, they can have a disparate impact on low-income applicants or those who have been laid off (whose credit scores often suffer as a result).

•Criminal record. Questions regarding arrest records also are an example of a potential disparate impact violation against low-income applicants. Limit questions regarding criminal records to felony or violent crime convictions.

Recruitment materials should note that a person’s criminal record would not make them ineligible for a position. As well, an application should allow space for explanation of criminal records.

•Military service. An applicant’s military service often is a source of pride, and it is appropriate to inquire about current or prior positions within the military. It is not appropriate, however, to ask about the type of discharge received.

Military records were made private in 2004, and this information is available only by written request. Questions regarding discharge make employers vulnerable to disparate impact claims. The EEOC has deemed such questions impermissible, as minority members of the military historically receive less desirable discharges and there is no clear connection between type of discharge and an applicant’s capabilities.

Cautiously use social media as a recruitment tool

Social media outlets offer a bevy of information about users—often much more than a candidate would (or should) share with interviewers. Tempting though it may be to review social platforms, such as Facebook, for additional information about candidates, employers should be cautious in their use of social media to make hiring decisions.

Facebook profiles often reveal personal details (such as age, religious views and even photographs), and referencing them can expose employers to information that is protected by the EEOC.

Limiting social media use for recruitment to professional networks, such as LinkedIn, is one way to avoid protected information. Some employers have begun accepting applicants’ LinkedIn profiles as a supplement to the standard résumé. The important factor is making the application process universal, and only reviewing social media profiles that applicants voluntarily share on application materials.

For your protection

Like any business endeavor, recruitment protocol should be reviewed and revamped as needed. By staying up-to-date on hiring protocol, a small business leader can protect his or her organization from legal woes.

For more information on best practices or to address specific concerns regarding the legality of interview or application questions, employers should consult an attorney specializing in employment law.

John F. MacLennan is a shareholder with Jacksonville business law firm Smith Hulsey & Busey, where he specializes in employment law. He can be reached at 904-359-7812, jmaclennan@smithhulsey.com or through www.smithhulsey.com.

How you can conduct business internationally

By Keith Johnson

As a small business owner, you probably already know that in this economy, getting any kind of business is hard. In order to be successful, you need to consider expanding the variety of revenue streams—and that includes dealing with businesses that may not be based in the U.S.

Success steps

Going global with your business is not easy. Once you decide to do business with non-U.S. companies, there is a lot of work to be done.

•Understand your industry. Know your industry and how it works in the country(ies) you wish to do business in. You have to know how your product or service will attract and keep buyers in the target markets. You also need to know if your product or service is priced competitively.

The value of what you sell must exceed that of not only your competition in your customer’s home country, but also from other U.S. companies that also want to expand their business by going global.

•Knows the laws of trading. You have to understand the laws of trading with a foreign business. What may be legal in the U.S. may not be outside of it, and vice versa. While bribery is acceptable in many nations, it is highly illegal under U.S. law. Your product may pass safety regulation muster here in the U.S., but maybe not in other countries.

•Be familiar with various currencies. Having a solid knowledge of currencies is necessary to be able to track differences in currency values between the U.S. dollar and a Euro or Dinar or Yen. You may find yourself caught short agreeing to a sale that when currency differences now and during the sale period are taken into account, your expenses will exceed your expected revenues because of the loss of value in the dollar.

•Have an infrastructure. A business owner must­ have the infrastructure in place to facilitate trade between the U.S. and other nations. There are many different companies that specialize in facilitating trade by working with customs, financing, collections, and shipping. Trying to do all of it yourself is at best, very draining on your time and resources, and at worst exposes you to serious problems with your shipments and even legal complications.

•Learn the culture. Last, but not least, a successful business owner needs to learn the culture of the trading partner. Again, what is acceptable here may be highly offensive in say, Brazil. What customs are acceptable in Egypt may be frowned upon here. You need to take the time and do the research on your customer’s country so that an innocent remark may not spark a diplomatic crisis.

Personal experience

While most of my clients are U.S. based, I do have some tax clients that are not. One client supplies materials in support of the U.S. base in Kyrgyzstan. While the owner is American, preparing the tax return is a challenge as I have to understand international taxation and how best to report the foreign business activity—but I do enjoy the opportunity to grow professionally.

Another client is a school supporting a U.S. Air Force base in South Korea. Again, while the owners are American, doing the return requires me to understand some tax regulations governing relations between the U.S. and South Korea. I try to look at each such opportunity as a chance to improve my skills for the next clients.

To be honest, I have only met one of my clients thanks to the power of modern technology. Having an Internet presence and a strong SEO and social media plan allows people from all over the world to find your business easily and get them to consider your business as opposed to your competitors.

Earlier this year, I had the exciting opportunity to go to Cuba for two weeks to prepare tax returns for support personnel at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Air Station. While I worked with U.S. personnel mostly, I was exposed to some Cuban culture and it also allowed development of the government procurement side of my practice.

The right resources

Sounds a little daunting, and it is. However, fear not! There are a lot of resources here in River City that can help get your business prepared for international expansion.

Earlier this year, I earned a certificate in International trading from the UNF Small Business Development Center. It is about 20 hours over six weeks that explains all of the nuts and bolts of international trading. The knowledge, networking, and materials gained from the course have helped me a great deal. The cost is $299, but there are programs from Worksource that can help pay for it.

There is a wonderful resource here in Jacksonville named Jorge Arce. He is a local director for the U.S. Department of Commerce. The Commerce Department is committed to helping small businesses develop and execute a plan to export products and services

Finally, I would be remiss in not mentioning Larry Bernaski and Enterprise Florida. Enterprise Florida is the state agency that is charged with helping Florida businesses take advantage of their favorable geography and help grow an export business. Many of these services are either free or at a nominal cost, but the investment can be well worth it.

Survival box

In order for your business to survive today, you must think out of the box and consider all options in and out of the U.S. You must consider a business owner in the Ukraine for your product just as much as someone from Orange Park. Fortunately, there are a lot of resources at your fingertips to get your through the maze of regulations and cultures to get your goods to market. They have helped me, and now it’s your turn. Good luck!

Keith E. Johnson CPA, is owner of Keith E. Johnson CPA PA in Jacksonville, Fla., a full-service CPA firm providing accounting, auditing, consulting, and tax services to individuals, businesses, and non-profits. He can be contacted at 904-727-0077 or kejcpa@comcast.net.

How mentoring can benefit your business now and in the future

By Nancy Andersen

The benefit for a business that encourages mentoring relationships among its employees isstraightforward: Mentoring prepares organizations for the future.

Whether as a formal program or informal arrangement, mentoring can provide the personal attention less-experienced professionals need to round out their technical and interpersonal skills, equipping them for later leadership positions within a growing company—perhaps even your own.

Mentoring relationships increase the pool of qualified candidates prepared to assume expanded roles. In addition, there is often an accompanying morale boost since this customized approach to employees’ career development gives them a greater sense of belonging within the organization. Knowing that someone cares about their success adds to their satisfaction, making mentoring a powerful retention tool.

A convincing argument

If your business doesn’t have the resources to create a formal mentoring program, how do you convince your best people to take time out of their busy schedules to become mentors? It’s not always an easy sell. More than half, 51%, of executives interviewed in a new Robert Half Management Resources survey (http://rhmr.mediaroom.com/mentoring) said they’ve never been mentors.

Still, that’s another half who have served as mentors, and they have a variety of stories to tell about why it’s a worthwhile experience—for their mentees, for themselves and for the company.

Mentors provide valuable guidance on decision-making and career management that mentees may not be able to obtain from other sources. But mentoring experiences also lay the groundwork for rewarding professional relationships that can last a lifetime. Ultimately, an employee’s decision to become a mentor may boil down to a sense that it’s just the right thing to do.

Of survey respondents who have served as mentors, 50% said they feel the greatest benefit is the satisfaction they gain from helping someone else. These professionals realize that the mark of a great mentor is an understanding that it’s not “all about you.”

The business environment of the last two years has been challenging to say the least. While mentors can’t address or control everything, they can do two important things—listen and offer advice. Many people are burned out and stressed out, and mentors can serve as an important sounding board. Many people might not have objective, trustworthy sources for guidance in their companies, at home or among their friends, so their mentors become a steady support system.

Mentors can offer advice on day-to-day and big picture situations ranging from handling an interpersonal conflict at work to adjusting when a new boss arrives to evaluating a potential job change. Mentors also can point mentees in the right career direction—where they can beef up their skills and networking efforts, for instance, to be more marketable. A mentee benefits from mentors’ years of work experience, the path they’ve taken and perhaps mistakes they’ve learned from.

Doing it for the greater good

It’s not unusual for people to feel hesitant about becoming a mentor. Despite their level of expertise, many professionals consider themselves hardly qualified to be an “expert” or advisor. The truth is, even if they have only a few years with a firm, they no doubt possess valuable knowledge that could help someone. Conversely, everyone at every career level can benefit from having mentors.

As a business owner or senior manager, you can provide guidance to employees you feel would make good mentors—or even to be a mentor yourself. A few things to consider:

•Your strengths. What are the most valuable things you’ve learned over the course of your career? Think about what you have to offer someone just starting out.

•Listen. The best mentors are often the best listeners. Understand your mentee’s situation and his or her greatest needs before you offer guidance. Sometimes the most valuable role you can play is that of a sounding board.

•Look beyond the newly hired. Professionals at all levels can benefit from having a mentor. Those trying to advance to the next level or looking to make a change might particularly welcome your advice.

•Be realistic. Given the realities of time pressures and impending deadlines in your role, it’s important to make clear to your mentee the amount of time you have to devote to the relationship. That way you can better define expectations and avoid potential disappointments.

Mentoring provides a triple advantage if it’s effectively designed: It benefits mentees, mentors and the company. The best mentors offer direct, candid feedback, but always maintain a positive attitude and provide constructive criticism. They also keep an open mind—they don’t allow their years of experience to cause them to respond negatively to new or different ideas or dismiss an employee’s concerns.

Nancy Andersen is the division director for Robert Half Management Resources in Jacksonville. Robert Half Management Resources is the world’s premier provider of senior-level accounting and finance professionals on a project and interim basis

SIDEBAR:

The greatest benefit of being a mentor

•Provides the internal satisfaction of helping someone else – 50%

•Offers you the opportunity to improve your leadership skills – 32%

•Helps you build your professional network – 9%

•Allows you to stay current on industry trends – 8%

•No benefit – 1%

Source: Robert Half Management Resources, 2011

7 steps to a drama-free (and more productive) office

By Kaley Klemp and Jim Warner

If you work with other people (and who doesn’t?) reflect on the last week and notice howmuch time you wasted in drama: The energy-draining behaviors or exchanges that keep you from what you really want to be doing.

Think about all the infighting, water-cooler talk, meaningless meetings, turf wars, pouting, rants, and other behaviors that blocked positive, productive interactions in your organization.

Now, think about how many creative projects you could have completed, or how much time you could have spent having fun with friends and family if you had that time and energy back.

By following these seven steps, you can shift yourself (and your team) away from drama to more enjoyable and productive tasks!

Step 1: Get out of your own drama

One of the most difficult challenges for aspiring leaders is to “own their stuff”—to acknowledge their own responsibility for relationship shortcomings. So, before you can guide others, you must take inventory of both your interaction strengths (i.e., where you uplift relationships) and the ways you sabotage relationships.

The strength inventory is usually easy. The sabotage inventory is more difficult. It requires the vulnerability and courage to seek others’ candid observations and advice about your behavior. To find out your own drama tendencies, you can use self-reflection, ask your colleagues, or take a drama-assessment (http://www.dramafreeoffice.com/self-assessment-survey/).

You can only help others when you are curious yourself. Take a deep breath, get re-centered and get out of your own way.

Step 2: Diagnose the type of drama in the other person

Once you are committed to authenticity and curiosity yourself, you can determine what kind of drama the other person is displaying. There are four primary drama roles that emerge most frequently in office settings: the complainer, the controller, the cynic and the caretaker.

You’ll need to use different strategies for different personality types—there is no “one size fits all” antidote for drama. Notice the kind of person you’re dealing with. Will they respond more to direct confrontation and setting boundaries (better for controllers and cynics), or to appreciation and encouragement (better for caretakers and complainers)?

Know who you’re dealing with and tailor your approach to maximize your chance for shifting their behavior.

Step 3: Assess the risk of confronting the other person

Before meeting with drama-prone colleagues, you must identify and evaluate the potential downsides of a confrontation. Without objectively assessing these risks, you might be tempted to either accept a dysfunctional relationship you could have salvaged or make a misstep you could have avoided.

So, before launching into a direct conversation with a team member, consider the possible side effects (e.g., nothing happens, it gets worse, they abruptly leave) and whether you’re willing to face them.

Step 4: Develop rapport with the drama-prone person

It’s important to establish rapport with the other person so he or she is best prepared to receive your message. Try opening with a blend of connection, appreciation, ground rules, and expectations.

Your goal is to get the person’s full attention and to set him or her up to be receptive to your ideas. People prefer to collaborate with those they know and like, so this step is powerful in setting the tone for the rest of the conversation.

Step 5: Have a direct conversation

While an entire article could be written about direct conversations, when confronting a person about their drama, stay dispassionate and state “the facts” clearly and concisely. Also present the meaning you derived from the facts (i.e., your perceptions), and any emotions you experience—usually some combination of fear, anger, guilt or embarrassment.

This next part is a little tougher. Share with the person how you contributed to the situation (why it may be your fault, too). Then, end with a specific request. Usually these conversations end with an agreement about what will happen next to make sure the drama ends.

While this may sound simple, each component outlined above is worth practicing and mastering so that the entire conversation flows smoothly. For instance, it’s very easy to mix facts and derived meaning.

People often say, “The facts are, you are being difficult.” When, in fact, the level of cooperation or difficulty of an individual is derived meaning or perception. One person may consider challenging an idea as difficult behavior and another might appreciate it as a commitment to improvement.

Step 6: Get their commitment

The last step of the direct conversation in Step 5 is your specific requests or expectations of the person. A commitment to realize these expectations without excuses, sarcasm, self-pity, or martyrdom is often difficult to obtain from drama-prone people. They’ll dance around the expectation or rephrase them in vague terms.

These deflection or evasion tactics are a self-protection mechanism that helps the dramatic person avoid both change and accountability. Don’t get hooked. Reiterate both your specific expectations and your need for the drama-prone person’s commitment to meet them. If he or she continues to resist or deflect, be prepared to calmly lay out an ultimatum, including specific rewards for meeting objectives and consequences for missing objectives.

Step 7: Validate and anchor their commitment and new behavior

Praise the person for his or her positive behaviors during your meeting, and honor the commitments he or she made. Follow up with a short note or email confirming and affirming the person’s commitments. Ideally, ask them to create a summary of your meeting that includes their specific agreements. People live up to what they write down.

Once you’ve done these seven steps, you have done the hard work. Now you can redirect your energy toward the collaborative, meaningful projects that you enjoy doing, and work in an office free from drama.

Kaley Klemp and Jim Warner are the authors of “The Drama-Free Office: A Guide to Healthy Collaboration with Your Team, Coworkers, and Boss.” You can get a free sample of the book on Facebook, www.facebook.com/KaleyKlemp, follow them on twitter, @KaleyKlemp and read more about them at www.DramaFreeOffice.com.

What you can do to lower your stress levels and be more productive

By Snowden McFall

Cash flow, deadlines, and payroll—they can all create enormous stress and pressure for you. And as an entrepreneur, you are especially prone to burnout.

The American Psychological Association says 80% of all American workers feel burned out (not just stressed), and one-third of Americans say they are living with extreme stress.¹ Nearly 80% of all doctor visits are stress-related, with 43% of all adults having ill health because of stress.

So that raises the question, “How stressed out are you?” Check the boxes that apply to you:

• You come home regularly dead-tired with little or no energy.
• The concept of vacation is inconceivable to you- you have way too much to do to go away.
• You don’t have time to exercise regularly or participate in your favorite hobbies.
• You snap at your loved ones and friends fairly often.

If three of the above are true for you, you may be hovering near burnout.

What can you do to lower your stress levels?

1. Get more sleep. You need at least seven hours a night, (the minimum to prevent cancer according to the World Health Organization.) Less than seven hours means you are functioning at a cognitive disadvantage and are three times more susceptible to colds.

You are also likely to gain more weight and carry an extra 20 pounds. Your body is 30% less efficient at burning calories when it is sleep-deprived. Fortune Small Business reported that 13% of entrepreneurs have trouble getting to sleep every night. Do that long enough and you end up with high levels of cortisol, a stress hormone.

The solution: plan for good sleep. Go to bed earlier, do not check email before bed, do not take your phone or beeper to bed, do not watch TV in bed. Make your bedroom a sanctuary for sleeping, making love, and resting.

2. Take vacations: Expedia found that 34% of Americans don’t go on vacation at all! What’s scary about that is for women aged 45-64, two weeks of vacation cut their incidence of heart attack in half, according to a study by Boston College!²

A study by Expedia found most people feel rested and rejuvenated after vacation, are more productive and more satisfied with their marriages. Think your business will suffer if you are out of touch for a week or two? Strategic Coach in Canada discovered that when his clients doubled their vacation days, they doubled their income.³

3. Drink water. Every cell in your body depends on water to function properly. Throughout the day, you lose about eight cups of water, which must be replenished. A 5% drop in body fluids will cause a 25% to 30% loss in energy; a 15% drop causes death. Often overlooked, water is vital to health, to life and to stress reduction.

Try to drink filtered clean water, relieved of toxins like mercury, chlorine, etc., that are often found in public water systems. Never drink water from a bottle that has been sitting in the hot sun all day—that can be a carcinogen. And caffeine drinks actually leach water from your system, so you need to drink more to replace those beverages.

To determine exactly the right amount for you, take your weight and divide it in half. That’s approximately how many ounces of water a day you need to drink. Try it, you’ll be amazed at the increase in energy.

4. Cultivate optimism. Optimists live seven years longer than pessimists, have better lung function and are far less likely to die young or from cancer. Optimists actually breathe easier. Several studies from National Institute of Health (NIH) and Yale demonstrate this.

Dr. Martin Sullivan of the University of Pennsylvania spent 20 years interviewing 350,000 executives and learned something fascinating—the top 10% performers think differently from others; they are all optimists! So if you want greater success, achievements, and profits in your business, become a more positive thinker.

Small business owners provide two-thirds of the jobs in the greater Jacksonville area. You can only continue to run a successful business if you take care of yourself and lower the stress levels of yourself and your staff. You’ll live longer, be healthier and your family will thank you, too.

Snowden McFall, is a professional speaker and author and co-author of five books, including “Fired Up!,” and “Stress Express! 15 Instant Stress Relievers.” An expert on stress, motivation and optimism/happiness, she can be reached at 904-940-7355 or through www.firedupnow.com.

1. “Stress in US Rises, Causes Health Problems,” The Scoop, The Meeting Professional, March 2008, p.442.
2. Brown, Sarah, “Clean Break,” Vogue, June 2003
3. Brown, Sarah, “Clean Break,” Vogue, June 2003

Why you may be overpaying your federal taxes every year

By Brent Ross

Countless numbers of commercial property owners overpay federal taxes every year and are missing out on allowable depreciation expense deductions. Under existing IRS tax law, accelerated depreciation expense deductions are available to all federal taxpayers; however, without an engineering-based cost segregation analysis, the taxpayer is unable to take full advantage of the tax law and, therefore, surrenders significant cash flow to the IRS.

What is cost segregation?

A typical cost segregation study maximizes the tax benefit of real estate ownership by identifying, segregating and classifying a building’s components to asset categories with the shortest possible life creating significant tax deductions sooner for federal and state income tax purposes.

This is determined though an analysis that reclassifies components of a building from 27.5, 31.5 and 39 year depreciable lives to five, seven and 15 year depreciable lives. The benefit comes from accelerating the depreciation tax deductions, which are more valuable today than 39 years from now.

Nonstructural items like carpet, accent lighting and signage, or exterior items such as paving, sidewalks and landscaping are examples of building components eligible for accelerated depreciation, and are items that can be “broken out” from structural costs and depreciated over a shorter period.

Many property owners can identify nonstructural items that qualify for accelerated depreciation, but the greatest savings come from identifying assets in three broad areas: electrical, mechanical and plumbing.

Let’s say a standard office has three electrical outlets. To effectively operate your computers, printers, projectors, etc. in your office, however, you require six electrical outlets; those “extra” three outlets may qualify as five-year property and accelerated depreciation. The same can be said for specific air conditioners when a certain temperature must be maintained for the safety of the product, such as in grocery/food stores or maintenance facilities so equipment won’t overheat.

Depreciation can increase your ROI

An often overlooked tax-saving opportunity is accelerated depreciation of cost associated with the construction, renovation or purchase of a new building or real estate. Taking advantage of certain techniques can boost your return on investment (ROI), and a cost segregation study can help you improve profitability and increase ROI by maximizing tax benefits on certain projects.

Property owners can substantially reduce taxable income and maximize current depreciation by accelerating deductions, thereby increasing after-tax cash flow. In addition to recently purchased or constructed properties, a cost segregation study can produce substantial tax benefits for properties that have already been depreciated for as many as 10 years or more by catching up on missed depreciation.

Most business owners who own a building understand that they recover their investment through depreciation. What they may not understand is how to look at an entire facility and allocate as much cost as possible to things with the shortest depreciable life thereby recovering the cost of their investment for tax purposes much sooner.

Business owners often overlook the opportunity to allocate costs to land improvements and things that qualify as furnishings that depreciate in five to 15 years as opposed to the building itself, which depreciates over 39 years for commercial property and 27.5 years for residential rental property.

A proven and allowable tax strategy

Cost segregation is by no means an aggressive or risky strategy. For decades, court rulings havesupported the practice of segregating costs for tax depreciation on commercial buildings. In 1997, the U.S. Tax Court ruled that segregating costs for tax purposes was allowable. Subsequently, cost segregation has become an accepted—if somewhat underutilized—tax planning strategy.

Using sources such as revenue rulings, court cases, IRS publications, senate and congressional finance committee reports and IRS regulations, cost segregation experts are able to help companies apply deductions that create tax savings starting in the first year.

Is a cost segregation study for you?

Office, manufacturing, retail, professional, residential rental—it doesn’t really matter which type of real estate you are building or acquiring. If the property can be depreciated, a cost segregation study would be a valuable strategy. The study can help you find hidden deductions and help you realize substantial tax savings. Even if your real estate project has been completed for several years, the IRS allows for a look back of the benefits from previous years through a change in accounting method.

A cost segregation study requires detective work. It might start with an invoice, but it goes into extensive analysis involving the examination of construction documents, blueprints and an inspection of property. This approach analyzes both actual cost records and cost estimates and may take up to a month to complete. Trained engineering and tax specialists will work closely with you and your contractor to identify more assets that qualify for shorter depreciable lives and accelerated depreciation, including all assets that are imbedded in your building’s construction or acquisition costs.

The business owner receives a detailed report including background, the methodology, asset classification summary and support, and the complete allocation of costs—everything they would ever need to know about the process and results.

Reinvest in your company

It’s important for the property owner to have a detailed report from a CPA so they understand exactly what they did. The engagement will pay for itself many times over through the first year’s tax savings. Earning these tax savings now, as opposed to many years from now is valuable. The property owner can take that money and invest it back into their business.

It’s important however, for property owners to work with engineers and tax advisors that are intimately familiar with cost segregation rules and requirements in order to make sure the study is in compliance with the constantly changing regulations regarding how assets may be classified. Any building put into service after 1987 qualifies. Even now, years later, the benefits can be realized.

The money you save from a cost segregation study can help your company in many ways. It could for example be used as additional working capital for operations, or be used toward new investments and ventures or used to pay down debt and reduce interest costs.

Brent Ross, CPA, is president of Brent Ross & Associates, CPAs, LLC. He has worked in the area of federal and state taxation since 1972. Having worked as a practicing CPA since the early 1970s, he has extensive experience dealing with issues related to investment tax credits (ITC) and property qualifying for ITC and component depreciation. This body of experience is the backbone of knowledge necessary to complete quality cost segregation analysis and reports to owners. He can be reached at 904-448-6408, bross@brjaxcpa.com, or through http://brjaxcpa.com/default.aspx.

Who qualifies?

Although any non-residential commercial property may qualify for tax deferral and increased cash flow, here is a sampling of the types of properties with a high probability of benefiting from a cost segregation study:

Corporate office buildings

Warehouses and distribution centers

Hospitals

Medical/dental offices

Nursing homes

Apartment buildings

Restaurants

Hotels and motels

Strip malls and retail stores

Car dealerships

Golf courses and country clubs

Grocery stores

Airport hangers

Four ways to create motivation and buy-in

By John Chappelear

“Motivation and buy-in” are like everything else in life, always cycling up or cycling down; there is no static position. Energy and effort must be applied continually and consistently to create and maintain a high-performing organization with the momentum needed for motivation and buy-in.

The cornerstone to successful motivation and buy-in is trust. The level of trust that exists within your organization will determine how hard and how long you will have to work to get your organization fully motivated and completely committed.

Four simple ideas

By utilizing these four simple ideas every day, you will be more able to generate the results you want.

#1. Trust. To build trust, you should begin with a more honest, open and inclusive communication style and be more trusting of others. Trust is the pipeline through which all good business practices flow, and it instills a sense of confidence without the presence of worry or suspicion.

Without trust, people move at whatever speed they can move at without getting into any trouble, which is not the speed you want for your organization. If people feel their input is unwanted or their mistakes will be met with criticism or possibly dismissal, then mood and morale will be bad, turnover and absenteeism will be high, motivation will be low, and buy-in will be nonexistent. The cycle is heading down.

Trust is maintained by the consistent achievement of personal and organizational goals. With trust, workers move away from a self-protection, begin to take risks, look for new ways to improve workflow, and exceed expectations.

When goals are achieved and exceeded, your trust and confidence in the whole process is strengthened. The cycle is heading up.

#2. Transparency. Transparency is allowing people at all levels to have a clear understanding of your organization’s overall goals and objectives, as well as the importance of their personal and departmental roles in the success of your organization.

When times are tough, making sure you have transparency in your management becomes even more critical to the success of your business. When employees understand the issues that you face on a regular basis, they are more invested (buy-in) in the solutions.

And when organizations encourage frequent two-way communication at all levels, they generate a level of positive energy (motivation) making it easier to find new ideas and/or solutions. Change is much easier to implement with open communication, support and trust. Very quickly employees do more than buy into change, they own it.

As you willingly open up your thinking and decision-making processes, your organization becomes more transparent and “same side of the table thinking” begins. The entire staff knows what is expected of them individually and collectively, and will be much more supportive of any necessary changes to ensure the success of your organization.

With transparency, employees are more motivated and feel an increased sense of self-value and self-worth that is directly related to their efforts. It also becomes much more likely that their wages will increase because profits will increase, and levels of absenteeism and turnover will decrease. And that’s a good start.

#3. Treat everyone the same, but differently. Consciously or unconsciously people connect with some people better than others. And while it’s human nature, making that kind of mistake can ruin morale, interfere with productivity and occasionally create some discrimination issues.

The most effective way to communicate and reward people is to base it on individual need and personality style. The rewards for comparable work must be of the same value, but not necessarily the same. For example: One person may need public acknowledgement of their successes in order to be motivated while another may be embarrassed by that method and instead require some one-on-one time for personal recognition.

A good manager or management team needs to know their people. They need to understand what motivates the individual and respond accordingly. It may seem like a lot of extra work, but the dividends are worth the effort.

#4. Change the people or change the people. Good management is focused on making sure everyone in the organization has the necessary training and support to maximize their ROI. Once it becomes obvious an employee is not living up to his or her potential, however, a good manager will make the necessary change.

Do everything possible to change or improve the people, but if that isn’t possible, then change or replace the people. Change takes time and how long it will take depends on the shape your organization is in when you begin this process.

Remember, the way to achieve motivation and buy-in is through trust and the key to building trust is your willingness to assimilate all four ideas; trust, transparency, treat everyone the same but differently, and change the people or change the people. Make the commitment and don’t give up. You and your organization are worth the work.

John Chappelear is an author, speaker, executive coach, and trainer. John’s programs build positive, powerful, and balanced individuals, and more productive, creative, and profitable organizations. He is internationally recognized as a life balance, leadership and communication expert. He can be reached at john@johnchappelear.com or through www.changingthefocus.com.

From glass walls to technology hubs, offices across Northeast Florida embrace the latest design trends

By Keith Tickell

The average American spends more than 2,200 hours at work during a typical year—that’s more time than they spend watching TV, enjoying their families and engaging in leisurely activities. Given the time that is dedicated to a profession, it’s no wonder that many employers want to make the workspace the most collaborative, comfortable and productive environment possible.

Latest and greatest

As technologies continue to change and employees seek an increasing work-life balance, many companies are embracing new office design trends that engage and entice their teams to perform better and more efficiently.

Some of the latest and greatest office design trends to hit the market in recent years include collaboration, open-air offices and floor plans, tech-savvy spaces, going green, and creating custom office spaces.

Collaboration. Gone are the days of the cubicle jungle, where employees are roped off from their co-workers and secluded to their own 7 foot-by-7 foot cube. Today’s employers want their teams to engage with one another in collaborative, open workspaces that allow for constant interaction and brainstorming. It’s the same principle as a classroom or group meeting where everyone is asked to sit in a circle and share thoughts, opinions and ideas.

The best way to create a collaborative work environment in an office is to form team workspaces where desks are grouped together in a pod or common area. This allows co-workers to speak freely, solve problems together and transform ideas into innovative products. Another option is to create low-profile workstations with nice finishes that give the feeling of a private desk but still allow interaction among employees.

Open-air offices and floor plans. Open-air offices are the visual equivalent of the open-door policy employers like to communicate to their team. By creating executive offices with all glass fronts and no doors, team members feel as though they can openly communicate with their leaders. This type of office environment creates a perfect balance of quiet workspace and the ability for employees to feel comfortable interacting openly with their bosses.

Similar to open-air offices, an open office floor plan naturally creates connectivity, energy and the open flow of ideas in an office. This concept also creates a community atmosphere among employees and team leaders.

Tech-savvy spaces. Today’s workplace is drastically different than it was 20 years ago. Laptops, wireless printers and Internet, scanners and smart phones have changed the way we work and the spaces we do it in. Workers need less space to conduct business, but more adaptable spaces that will allow new technologies to be seamlessly integrated.

This means providing spaces that allow for easy WiFi connections and wireless technologies, aflexible information technology structure, collaborative workstations and any additional technology needs specific to the company occupying the space.

Green is good. After waning for a few years during the economic downturn, companies have once again turned their focus toward sustainable efforts. While there are varying degrees of green an office can accommodate, any move toward creating a more sustainable work environment is ultimately better for a company’s bottom line and its employees.

Most companies today have sustainability programs in place. These programs can be wide-ranging, from the types of office supplies they purchase to products used in maintaining their facilities to ultimately creating a LEED-certified office space.

Creating a custom office space. One goal we have is to pair companies with office spaces that fit their corporate culture and technology needs. Most businesses today are looking to promote cooperation and team problem solving, and creating an open environment is a key component to that goal.

The new corporate office for the Flagler team here in Jacksonville was recently retrofitted to incorporate the newest and most requested office features, including open floor plans, glass walls and workstations with low profiles to promote employee collaboration.

Vastly different needs

As the economy continues to improve, more companies are relocating, retrofitting or redesigning their office space. It is important to note that there is not a “one-size-fits-all” office design for every company.

Each business has vastly different needs for its employees, from technology requirements and desk space to gyms and social areas. When it comes time to redesign or relocate your office, it is necessary to communicate your needs with the building’s owner or your designer to ensure the new space fits the needs of your corporate culture.

Keith Tickell is executive vice president of Flagler, one of Florida’s oldest and largest commercial real estate companies. He oversees the company’s portfolio of 12 million square feet of Class-A office and industrial space statewide. Tickell is active in NAIOP and serves on the Board of Directors of the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce. Tickell can be reached through www.flaglerdev.com.

6 lessons for turning public speaking into personal and business development

By Doug Wilder

Have you thought about going on the speaker circuit, but aren’t sure if it will be worth your time orstress? Whether you are just speaking up at a board meeting, presenting at a workshop, or giving the keynote speech at a convention, speaking in public can be good for you personally as well as professionally.

Good for personal development

Public speaking is good for personal development because enhances your leadership skills, boosts your confidence and courage, and actually becomes fun.

•Leadership skills. To lead is to inspire others into thought or action. People who speak publicly often acquire the ability to inspire and those leadership skills are carried over into normal non-speaking time.

Lesson 1: Create speeches that inspire and entertain. If you aren’t sure how to accomplish this, join a Toastmasters Club or ask someone to help you. Be bold. Sprinkle in heavy doses of character, wisdom and good cheer in your speeches. The more serious the topic; the greater the need for humor. As you inspire, be inspired.

•Confidence boost. Confidence is the belief that what you are doing is “right” and that you will be successful. By speaking in public you will find that you can and will rise to the occasion, and your worst fears are rarely realized. If you do not give up, you will continue to improve, and you will boost your confidence.

Lesson 2: Make it a practice to always say “yes” when asked to speak. Have courage. Face your fears and do it anyway. You will become more confident, and that confidence will help you on and off stage.

•Enjoyment. Speaking in front of groups can be quite enjoyable. As your confidence and courage increase, you will find your abilities and control increase and your stress will decrease.

Lesson 3: Choose to enjoy public speaking. You may need to fake it until you make it. Laugh at your mistakes. As Oscar Wilde said, “Life is too important to be taken seriously!”

Good for business development

Gerlach, Wilder, and Caplan

While eating lunch with two lawyers who do public speaking to enhance their business, they mentioned three ways they benefit from presenting at seminars: credibility, publicity, and direct business.

•Credibility. Howard Caplan, business lawyer (caplawfirm.com), said that public speaking brings him additional credibility. People can see and hear his expertise on Intellectual Property Rights, particularly when he is able to engage the audience in a discussion.

Caplan said, “For instance, at a recent Continuing Legal Education (CLE) class at which I co-presented with Patent Attorney Jo-Anne Yau, we welcomed dialogue and involved the audience.” Therefore the lawyers in the audience were more likely to see the presenting lawyers as subject matter experts and refer business to them.

Lesson 4: Keep track of the places you speak at so you can later furnish that credibility list when needed. Also, gather testimonials in a file.

•Publicity: Caplan said publicity is another reason public speaking is good for business development. “When the CLE classes were advertised, it was in essence an advertisement for me.”

Lesson 5: Before the event, ensure the event announcements are strategically circulated and that you are getting the publicity you want. If not, see what announcements you can create yourself. Don’t forget to use social media to spread the word. Let your clients and friends know what you are doing. After an event, you can tell everyone that you did it and perhaps something about it that might interest them.

•Direct business: Gregg Gerlach, an employment lawyer (harpergerlach.com) and the other lawyer at lunch, chimed in, “Public speaking is an integral part of our firm’s business development strategy. While we don’t solicit the audience to hire us, sometimes the attendees call for advice and do indeed hire us.

“Last week I was the main speaker at an HR conference where 65 supervisors were in attendance and listening to my ‘war stories’ about legal issues facing other supervisors. I have already received a phone call from one of the attendees wanting advice.”

Lesson 6: It is sometimes considered gauche to sell your services or products while speaking at an engagement. If you must, get permission first. For most speakers, just being a great speaker will entice some in the audience to want to do business with you. Be sure to leave something with your name and contact information with the audience so they may contact you later.

By applying the six lessons above, your public speaking will be good for your personal development and your business development. Speak up, and be prosperous and happy!

Doug Wilder is a speech coach with Wilder Business Success Inc., which  strives to create wilder success with less stress. He can be reached at 904-880-8877 or through www.WilderSuccess.com.

How to use QR codes to enhance your business

By Mark A. Carillon

The simplicity of the QR code is helping more and more businesses generate leads, bring in more sales, and create long-time customers. With the snap of a camera phone—or one equipped with a QR code reader—consumers can scan your QR code and instantly connect to various forms of digital media or retrieve desired information about your business, product or service.

A QR code changes the consumer experience by making it possible to “scan” instead of “type” to access your information on their mobile device. Think of these QR codes as “hyperlinks” that connect your physical world to the online world.

What are they?

In 1994, Denso Wave, a subsidiary of Toyota Corporation, invented the QR (Quick Response) code—a two-dimensional barcode used to transfer information to mobile phone barcode readers. Where traditional barcodes only held 16-20 characters of data and were very slow, Denso Wave’s 2-D barcode could read up to 7,000 characters very quickly.

In 2002, while exploring ways to add more value and features to their devices, mobile phone manufacturers decided to use QR codes to allow access to website URLs and the Internet—and the rest they say is history. In 2010, the number of scans increased 1,300%—13 times more than 2009.

QR codes are almost always free to create, store a lot of data, and do not require expensive barcode scanning devices to work. Search Google for “QR code generator” and you’ll find tons of sites where you can make these codes for free.

A QR code reader is very easy to download from your app store or marketplace, but many mobile smart phones come with a QR code reader installed.

4 Ms of mobile marketing

When considering the use of QR codes, understand the 4 Ms of mobile marketing: market, mindset, message and mistake.

•Market. There are over five billion mobile phone users in the world today and it is the fastest growing segment on the Internet. Think about your own mobile usage—chances are you leave home each day with three things: your keys, wallet, and phone. If any of these are missing, you promptly return home to get what you forgot. Your clients do the same.

•Mindset. When mobile users are on their phone, they want info now and they want it fast. QR codes make it quick and easy for them to get to your information. They’re also three times more likely to “buy” when compared to someone searching from their desktop.

•Message. The message you give to mobile users must be concise and succinct. This is an excellent opportunity to offer up a coupon or a free report or video to further educate, entertain and engage your prospect as to why they should be doing business with you.

It should complement and add value to their experience and not repeat the same message that lead them to scan your QR code in the first place. A brochure which leads to a YouTube video that shows your product in action is a perfect one-two punch.

•Mistake. The most common mistake is to take customers to your full size website. Why? You’re stuffing 17 inches worth of information onto a 3-inch device. This forces your prospect to scroll left, right, up, down, etc.—making your mobile users work way too hard.

Instead, take them to a mobile optimized site that displays properly on their phone and make it “one-click simple” so they can call you, send you an email or text message, view a video, listen to an audio, import your contact details, etc. with one click.

Popular uses

Some of the most popular uses for QR codes include:

•Building a customer list. Create a QR code that links to an opt-in page where consumers will leave their name and email address in exchange for some type of report or incentive. Once a consumer has your QR code stored on their phone, it also serves as a reminder about your business.

•Enhancing marketing and advertising materials. QR codes can be easily placed on business cards, T-shirts, flyers, receipts, print advertising, signs, billboards, websites, store windows/displays, vehicle wraps, car magnets, menus, receipts and many others. And it’s easy to make changes to your QR’s destination when things change, so you don’t have to worry about changing your ad and then re-printing and re-publishing.

•Linking to social sites. Link to your social media profiles on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube to create a powerful list-building combination.

•Obtaining reviews. Create QR codes to help get customer reviews on your online directory listings; such as your Google Places, Yelp, Insider Reviews, Super Pages, and the like. Good online customer reviews are powerful in converting prospects into customers and are one of the best ways to help get your website listed higher on search engines.

•Creating electronic connections. You can create a QR code that goes to an electronic version of your business card, commonly referred to as a VCARD or MECARD, and to an electronic calendar entry, commonly called a VCAL. A scan of the code and your contact information is being added to your prospect’s phone contact list or an event gets added to your calendar—making it easy to RSVP.

•Making business better. Service providers can have QR codes that lead to the service history of a particular item, or manufacturers can link to written assembly instructions that lead to a video that provides step-by-step displays through the building of that item.

There are so many different ways QR codes can help you and your business attract and retain more clients, so do yourself a favor and jump in with both feet now. The question is not if you will use QR codes, but rather when—so get ahead of your competitors.

Mark Carillon is president of Web904.com, a company specializing in marketing your business with custom websites, mobile websites, QR Codes, social networking and mobile phones. He can be reached at 904-375-0194, mark@web904.com, or through www.web904.com.

How to read a QR code

Anyone with a camera on their phone can read a QR code, but there are different ways to receive the results. A QR reader on your phone is much simpler and faster, but if you have an older phone, then emailing or text messaging for results will work as well.

• Download a QR reader for your phone. If your phone is nto already equipped with a reader, you can easily download one. There are multiple ones to choose from, with many being free.

•Send an email. Capture the QR code with your phone’s camera and then email that picture to scan@scanlife.com.

•Send a text message. Take a picture of the QR code and send it via MMS text messaging to 43588.

How to conduct business on the golf course

While there are many ways to conduct business, the golf course is definitely at the top of many lists—but there is a certain art to it.

“A lot of people think you don’t get to know a person until you get on that golf course and you’re playing,” says Mary Hafeman, president and owner of Fore in One Golf Services, former LPGA Tour player, and speaker at the Knowledge is Power workshop, “The art of business on the golf course: Building better relationships one hole at a time,” presented by Comcast Business Class. “And it’s not about how well you play; it’s really about looking at the other person and seeing how they really are and how they react to different situations—are they playing fair and calm, or are they cheating, yelling, and throwing their clubs?” she jokes.

According to Hafeman, golf and business really mix on multiple levels. “The best aspects of playing golf with clients is how it promotes relationship and career building and helps with your networking because you already share a common interest,” says Hafeman. And because it is outside of the office setting, you have four to six hours with your client or boss without any distractions.

The basics

“You don’t have to be a super fantastic player to conduct business on the golf course, but you should know some proper golf etiquette,” says Hafeman, who recommends that before you play, you know the dress code and who goes first on the tees. “You have to look like you know what’s going on and how to get around a course and clubhouse. The easiest way to learn proper golf etiquette is to ask friends who are knowledgeable in golf or golf pro at the club.”

You also have to know the basic rules. “While there are only 32 rules in the game of golf, the perception of what the rules are differ because the decisions book is huge,” says Hafeman. She recommends you at least know the six main rules, such as where do you start, which tees, not teeing up in front of the tee markers, what to do about a lost ball, who should go first, and what the red stakes are such as water hazards and positioning.

“Social golf is different than competitive golf, so basically if you can’t figure out what the rule is, do what’s fair,” says Hafeman. As far as equipment goes, Hafeman says you need to know what you need to play, such as clubs, shoes, proper clothes, gloves, hats, golf balls, etc., but watch out as perception is reality and you don’t want to “upstage” your client or boss. “It’s all in knowing who you are playing with and at what level,” advises Hafeman.

Ready to play

Now you are ready to play, but what are some of the logistics? Prior to playing, you need to figure out who to ask to play. Not everyone will be a golfer, so you have to know who of your clients play and at what ability or skill set. Once you establish that, choose a course, scope it out to set up expectations, and arrange tee times.

“It is also helpful to find out what that course’s dress code is so you can prepare yourself as well as your client or boss as different courses allow different attire. A little pre-course planning will go a long way when it comes to conducting business on the course,” says Hafeman.

When you are on the course, Hafeman recommends you establish upfront who is teeing off first and what the game entails, such as will there be betting. “When it comes to the rest of the game, basically you want to follow general rules of etiquette regarding the beverage cart and determining who pays for what and when you should start talking business,” says Hafeman.

“After you play 18 holes, you should come in to the clubhouse and do the traditional have lunch or a drink or settle the betting of the game if there was any,” says Hafeman. “And it is OK to purchase a little something as a memento in the pro shop for your client, if you so desire.”

Golf and business

“Remain friendly and calm, and you will develop relationships and have fun with the game and experience,” says Hafeman. Golf and business do mix perfectly together, and by knowing basic golf etiquette, the rules of golf, your required equipment, and a little preplanning, you can be getting to the green in more ways than one.

Mary Hafeman

Mary Hafeman can be reached at 904-233-0989, mhafe@aol.com, or through www.maryhafemangolf.com.

The truth about the cost of greening your business

By Helen Rake

Have you ever watched the television show, “The Biggest Loser”? At first, most contestantsalmost give up because they fear change and doubt their physical abilities; many have become complacent in their ways and think it’s easier to just accept the situation.

Although their fear almost gets the best of them, Bob and Jillian, the coaches, push them to their physical limits and challenge them to change their complacent and destructive mindset so they don’t backslide after all the hard work. Once they start to see the results of following a comprehensive weight-loss program they realize that they have the strength of mind and body to accomplish almost anything.

By the end of the season, the change in their bodies and their self-confidence is incredible. The finale leaves you feeling inspired and hopeful that real change can be achieved if people just stick with a simple program.

Bringing it to business

For local small business owners, adopting sustainable business practices, going green, is a little like “The Biggest Loser” for them. Daunting at first, but with measured changes in behavior and mindset, it becomes not only easier to be green over time, but the rewards, such as savings, energy efficiencies, and community goodwill, start to compound. The pride in their accomplishments as they begin to see the results encourages them to continue on the quest.

When talking to small business owners about making sustainable practices part of their business plan, one objection crops up almost every time, “It’s just too expensive.” They usually justify this by pointing out that many of the examples used are from large fortune 500 companies with unlimited resources to conduct extensive rebranding, and they don’t think they can take the steps needed to be considered socially responsible by eco-aware consumers.

And with the economic crisis still wreaking havoc on many small companies, that seems to be a logical argument—unless you consider that many green strategies not only result in cost savings, but actually cost nothing to implement in the first place.

Knocking misconceptions

This popular misconception mainly exists because business owners feel they must do it all at once or they won’t be taken seriously for their measured efforts by the eco-elite, and you can’t blame them. There is a lot of rhetoric in the media and among various green organizations criticizing “greenwashers.”

That term is mostly used to mean “fakers,” and really, you are only a “faker” if you aren’t making an honest effort to be more responsible, or you lie about what you are doing or the extent to which you are doing it.

It’s true that if you decide to tackle greening in large chunks, say making your building more energy efficient through various updates or upgrades, the upfront costs can be significant. For example: It can cost anywhere from $2,000 to $5,000 to upgrade or replace insulation in a 2,500 square-foot building and sealing the duct work can cost another $1,350.

The payback, however, comes in lowered energy costs, but it could take as many as 14 years to recoup the cost of such a project. To some this may be a small price to pay for the ability to claim a “greener” space, but many small businesses are barely making ends meet right now and spending thousands on such upgrades could be completely out of reach.

What you can do

So what do you do if you want to green your business, but don’t have the money to take on major projects?

In some circles, the following information may not be popular—there are critics that say unless you make a concerted effort to be completely responsible and employ only green practices you are not truly “green”—but I think doing something, even if it is small, is a lot better than doing nothing.

And starting small is OK—at least it’s starting. Like losing weight, it is usually best to undertake greening your business in small bites over time because according to most physicians lasting weight loss is best achieved by measured changes over time.

Simple actions

Start with simple actions that cost nothing, such as:

1. Turn up the thermostat when you leave. By simply turning up the thermostat five degrees before leaving your office at the end of each day, you can save 5% on energy bills each year. At some point, it may be feasible to spend a few dollars on a programmable thermostat, but until then turn it up when you leave.

2. Print on both sides of the paper. This can cut your paper consumption by as much as 50% at no additional cost. Not only does this save paper, it saves ink and creates less wear and tear on your printer resulting in significant savings over time.

3. Scan and email instead of faxing. This is another great way to save paper, ink, and fax machine wear.

4. Recycle. Many communities provide for recycling at little or no cost. This can include paper, plastic, and aluminum. Here in Jacksonville, you can not only recycle, but you can help put under privileged citizens to work by using Shred It First Coast.

5. Get an energy audit. Locally, JEA and FPL both offer energy audits at no cost to you. These can be invaluable when you want to learn how to save even more on energy costs and many of their suggestions involve little or no cost solutions. They may even help fund some of the changes through their small business incentives programs. To find out more about these programs, go to JEA.com to the Conservation Center and search for “small business.”

For pennies on the dollar you can also:

6. Caulk your windows. It may cost a couple hundred dollars on a 2,500 square-foot building, but it can save around $250 a year, an almost immediate payback.

7. Replace light bulbs. The same goes for replacing existing bulbs with compact fluorescents. This can cost $136 dollars, but save you $200 each year.

8. Decorate with plants. Decorate indoor work spaces with inexpensive hardy plants. They improve air quality and create a more inviting décor.

9. Use power strips. Use a power management strip on all of your electronics. This reduces energy emitted from electronics while they are not in use but still on. Some electronics cannot be simply cut off so this may be a good option for them. You can buy one for less than $100.

Improvements as reinvestments

It’s a good idea to look at these improvements as reinvestments into your business. That way you can measure your return on investment (ROI) as a profit/loss sheet item and feel better about the initial outlay. Like the contestants on “The Biggest Loser” that see their efforts translate into falling numbers on the scale, as you see the savings start to add up because of your efforts you will be more likely to continue down the road to sustainability.

Remember, long-term success in weight loss has more to do with your mindset than almost anything else so it is important to think about sustainable business practices as a permanent part of your business plan.

Lose the fear

Is cost really the issue, or is it more the fear of change? The fact is, most of us take our environment for granted. We have become complacent thinking that being eco-friendly is best left to extremists and tree huggers. This type of thinking does more to harm your business than help it grow.

Consumers want to buy products from evolved businesses. They want to feel good not only about the products they buy, but the services they use and the places they get them. Sustainability is now commonplace and expected. If you choose not to at least attempt to adopt more sustainable practices, you are missing the boat and may eventually be overtaken by the wave of businesses that will.

On “The Biggest Loser,” almost every contestant eventually realizes that they have put up roadblocks to their own success because they have let fear of change control them. They have to shed complacency to move forward into a better and more rewarding future.

As a small business owner, you may need to overcome psychological roadblocks that say that greening your business isn’t practical or possible because of the cost. The real cost is in losing a whole segment of new consumers that want to support honest, sustainability efforts locally.

Start small, start smart, but start now so you don’t get left behind.

Helen Rake

Helen Rake is president of the Northeast Florida Green Chamber. She can be reached at 904-493-7500 ext. 9, helen.rake@nefl.greencs.org, or through www.neflgreenchamber.org.

How electronic newsletters and email advertisements promote top-of-mind mentality and raise brand awareness

By Chris Edwards

Driving sales, generating revenue, and growing a customer base are key goals to running asuccessful business. To do all that, consider email marketing as part of your marketing mix of business development activities.

While many business owners already know email marketing can generate new business and retain current customers, it is also important to know that electronic newsletters and email advertisements promote top-of-mind mentality and raise brand awareness.

You undoubtedly have received email from something you signed up for, whether it’s your bank providing a service update, a local sports team listing upcoming games, or your favorite fruit smoothie place announcing a new tropical flavor. That’s the simplicity of email marketing—you target an audience who is generally interested in your product or service.

Begin with a list

All email campaigns begin with mailing lists. If you’re in business, you already have a mailing list—your customers. The next, most common mailing list is your leads, and chances are you’ve got that information available as well. Most small businesses start with these two mailing lists, but as you grow your business and marketing efforts, you may want to employ multiple mailing lists.

For example: If you have a service that is specific to your customers in Jacksonville only and not available to your customers in Tampa and Miami, then you would organize your customers mailing lists based on their location. This control of the relationship between your message and your audience can be critical in maintaining a solid email campaign.

Managing your mailing lists as you expand is important too. You should get permission to send marketing-related emails to your lists whether they signup online or tell you in-person. Providing unsubscribe options and deleting contacts that do not exist or return bounce back emails are more ways to ensure your email campaigns see the best return possible.

Making it count

Your email competes with every email in someone’s inbox, so you need to make it count!

•The introduction. Most people tend to forget this, but the first introduction a recipient has of your email is who it’s from and the subject line. The sending email address should use the same domain as your website, and you should make it so if anyone replies, the emails go to you or a designated email account that you monitor. The subject line should be appropriate in that it’s accurate to the email’s message and it’s interesting.

•The look. The look of your email needs to generate attention and capture interest. After all, the average email user probably runs through several emails every day. Make yours stand out! Colors, graphics, and a well-planned design to boost your message helps grab attention. If you have a solid website design, make your emails look like your website to present your message in a consistent marketing effort.

•The message. The message of your email should be clear. A discontinuous or rambling message will turn readers away while text that drives them to a point or action, such as clicking a link or calling, is the intended goal.

•The links. Links should be available to your website and in some cases, a re-creation of your website navigation menu can be ideal for giving recipients access to your company’s entire website from a single email.

If you have a specific page in your website you are referencing, hot link the text or pictures directly there. A recipient that clicks on a link for a coffee mug is more likely to buy that coffee mug if the link takes them to a Web page where they can buy it versus if the link takes them to the home page forcing them to find the coffee mug purchase page.

•The results. With any marketing, you need measurable results. Whatever platform you decide to use, review the performance of your emails to see how well they did and decide on improvements for future campaigns. Emails can be measured based on how many people open then, and better yet, how many people clicked in them.

You can also break information further down. For example: If you had links to three separate products in your email, a report indicating which links were clicked and how many times will let you know which product is more popular for that market.

Other common reports are bounces (contacts that did not receive your email), spam reports, and opt-outs which will need to be monitored to keep your mailing lists clean and your campaigns doing well. Many programs also report how many people forwarded your email.

Success!

There are many facets to running a business, advertising holding a significant role for many. Within the realm of advertising, email marketing is a relatively cheap method that can be utilized to speak to your market. Like any successfully marketing maneuver it takes planning, execution, and review. Then improve and repeat.

Chris Edwards

Chris Edwards is the director of strategy at Elyk Innovation, a Web development company offering email marketing services for small- and medium-size businesses. Elyk Innovation also specializes in website design, Web applications, and pay-per-click marketing. He can be reached at 904-998-1935, cedwards@elykinnovation.com, or by visiting www.elykinnovation.com.

What you need to know to conduct powerful sales meetings

By John R. Treace

Designing a powerful sales meeting is not an easy task, but it is one of the most importantaspects of building and maintaining a high-velocity sales organization. The objective of all sales meetings should be to increase sales—period. That’s why we call them sales meetings. Entertaining the participants and having them leave full of enthusiasm is a good thing, but it should never overshadow the need to produce sales.

It is the sales management’s responsibility to be a good shepherd of corporate resources, so spending money without expecting a measurable return is not good business. Every high-performing salesperson who attends a meeting will be thinking, “Is this meeting making me money, or is my time being wasted?”

Mixed messages

A company’s high performers will usually produce at least 60% of the company’s revenues, so when you waste top salespeople’s time with poorly designed meetings, it sends several negative messages:

1. You are not considerate of employees’ time (high performers know that time is money), and

2. You do not understand the business, do not know what needs to be done to increase sales, and are wasting corporate resources.

If the sales team begins to suspect that you don’t know how to increase sales, morale will be negatively affected and team members will question their choice of employers. Additionally, salespeople are conscious of the way you spend company money, so seeing waste during ineffective meetings degrades their confidence in the company and makes them less considerate of protecting the corporate resources under their control.

Unproductive meetings also signal that you are not committed to excellence—and powerful salespeople don’t want to work for companies like that. They want to make money, want to focus their attention on that goal, and want to work for managers who are committed to being the best.

Develop a statement

With so much at stake in a sales meeting, how can you ensure that the meeting will bring value to the sales team and produce sales? The answer is simple, but the implementation is not: You need to develop a statement of strategic intent for the meeting, along with defined, time-sensitive metrics that will be used to measure the meeting’s success.

For example: You might say that the strategic intent of your meeting is to train representatives to sell X product, with the goal of 80% of them exceeding quota within 30 days of the meeting and maintaining that performance through the end of the year.

The challenge in developing a statement of strategic intent is in knowing what needs to be accomplished in the meeting to reach the required performance goal. The specifics must be laid out, and an aggressive but realistic performance goal must be defined. Carrying out this process takes a deep understanding of the business, the sales force, and the competition.

Powerful sales meetings driven by statements of strategic intent and clear objectives are at the core of powerful companies. Management teams that hold them regularly will always stay on top.

Five common afflictions

There are five common afflictions that affect many sales teams, each of which reduces morale and sales performance. They can be found to some degree in most almost every organization. Smart management teams are aware of these afflictions and work to avoid their potentially destructive impact.

Any one occurrence of these problems will not necessary hurt the sales effort, but if allowed to progress to extremes, or if multiple conditions exist at once, they can be extremely harmful.

•Affliction 1: Wasting sales representatives’ time. One prime affliction of sales teams is forcing them to spend time on non-sales tasks, such as making accounts receivable collections, managing product recalls, or filling out reports that do not directly relate to the sales process.

If you, for instance, divert 5% of a sales team’s time to managing customer collections, you effectively reduce the number of feet on the ground by the same amount—and the reverse is true as well.

Sometimes it’s necessary to assign non-sales tasks to salespeople, but before you do,  audit your sales process to determine whether the tasks could be assigned elsewhere. Finding as many ways as possible to remove unnecessary tasks from the sales team’s shoulders will result in sales increases that will more than pay for the adjustments in duties.

•Affliction 2: Poor sales meetings. Another affliction of sales teams is poor or boring sales meetings. Powerful salespeople are self-motivated, and they intuitively know if their time is being wasted. Again, the simple way to ensure effective sales meetings is to develop a statement of strategic intent that includes clear success metrics and defines in specific terms what needs to be accomplished and the metrics needed to determine whether the goals set in the meeting were accomplished. The bottom line is that powerful sales meetings produce sales and keep morale high.

•Affliction 3: Poor strategy. Ineffective marketing or sales strategies will always negatively impact the sales team. The sales team will recognize ineffective strategy and will lose faith in the managers who developed it. If the players on a sports team lose faith in the coaching, the path to winning will be difficult, if not impossible; the same is true with sales teams.

Don’t let lackluster or nonexistent strategy cause this lack of faith. A successful sales effort hinges on good strategy, and companies that fail in this regard severely handicap their sales teams.

•Affliction 4: Capping or reducing income. Powerful companies have managers who do not get envious when large paychecks go to the sales force. Managers who are resentful of this often respond to rising sales income by reducing commissions, capping earnings, reducing territories, or removing products. These are all practices to be avoided, as they destroy morale, which hurts sales.

When it is absolutely necessary to cap or reduce reps’ earnings, it must be done carefully. If it’s done carelessly, you will send the message that future earnings for the sales team have been limited.

Powerful salespeople want to leverage today’s efforts into greater sales and income for tomorrow. If their commissions are reduced, earnings capped, or territory removed, they will feel like that ability has been taken away, and the high performers will quickly look for employment elsewhere.

•Affliction 5: Favoritism. Everyone has favorites in life and that’s normal, but playing favorites with individuals on a sales team is very destructive. Salespeople want to work for companies that keep the playing field level for all. If select salespeople are given extra incentives, special attention, benefits, or favors not afforded others, you are sending a clear message that there is a privileged class within the team.

And that is one of the best ways to lessen team spirit, as reps will spend their time trying to move into that special class and not trying to close sales. You can’t buy the loyalty of a team by strengthening a small political power base within a company. Playing favorites within a sales team causes problems for all team members (even the favored ones), but keeping the playing field level will pay big dividends.

Wasting time, poor sales meetings, poor strategy, capping income, and playing favorites are, with few exceptions, situations to be avoided. They are destructive to morale and they lead to poor performance. Effective managers will be careful to avoid these situations, and astute salespeople will bring these practices to the attention of management for correction.

John R. Treace

John R. Treace has over 30 years’ experience as a sales executive in the medical products industry and in 2010 founded JR Treace & Associates, a sales management consulting business. He spent over 10 years specializing in the restructuring of sales departments of companies that were either bankrupt or failing. Investor groups and venture capital firms hired him to manage turnarounds of pre-IPO companies. He can be reached at 904-314-1442, john@treaceconsulting.com, or through www.treaceconsulting.com.

Identify how stress affects you and ways to better manage it

By Dr. Earl Eye

When the topic of stress levels comes up in my weekly consultations with executives andbusiness owners interested in a preventative approach to medicine, their eyes get wide and with a half-hearted smile, they sigh. They describe themselves as over-worked and burnt out.

The psychological and physical effects of their hectic professional life are taking its toll and if they continue on this path and don’t make some changes, it will ultimately encroach on their job performance and worse, their health.

Looking to the past

It is a bit odd when you think about it. Your ancestors just a few generations removed walked or rode a horse to work. There were no cell phones, computers, automobiles, or airplanes. They couldn’t have imagined labor-saving developments like washing machines, microwaves, supermarkets, or the Internet.

Yet they still found time for leisure and would no doubt be awestruck by people today who choose to live their lives in a perpetual rush, as if being busy every minute of the day is a sign of accomplishment.

On the way to fiscal nirvana, high performers such as yourself notoriously spend your health to gain wealth. You labor over business strategies to ensure your professional success, leaving your health behind. Eventually, 21st century stress, poor nutrition, reduced exercise, and plummeting hormone levels take their toll. The most costly event in your life—loss of productivity—goes unnoticed.

The shame is so many of you are fixated on succeeding that you forget what a gift good health is, and only after it’s gone do you realize that neglecting it was your fatal mistake. Worse, the stress from this overachieving lifestyle leads to adverse health changes, frequently accelerating your aging and, if not corrected, will lead you to premature death. All your accumulated wealth will do little to help you then, except make your funeral elaborate.

What happens with stress

During periods of stress, the hormone Cortisol is secreted by the adrenal glands. Although stress isn’t the only reason Cortisol is secreted into the bloodstream, it has been termed the “stress hormone” because it’s also secreted in higher levels during the body’s fight or flight response to stress, and is responsible for several stress-related changes in the body.

Under normal circumstances, it has positive effects. Cortisol regulates blood pressure, the release of insulin for sugar maintenance, immune response, glucose metabolism, and inflammation.

While Cortisol is an important and helpful part of the body’s response to stress, it’s important that the body then activates its relaxation response so functions can return to normal following a stressful event. Unfortunately, in your current high-stress culture, the body’s stress response is constantly activated and therefore the body doesn’t always have a chance to return to normal. This results in a constant, chronic state of stress with higher and more prolonged levels of Cortisol remaining in the body.

Face the consequences

Chronic stress, which causes consistently elevated Cortisol levels, has highly detrimental consequences. Impaired cognitive functioning with brain shrinkage, hypo or hyperthyroidism, hyperglycemia, decreased bone mineral density, muscle loss, elevated blood pressure, decreased immunity, slowed wound healing, and other health consequences may result.

Excess Cortisol is also responsible for increased abdominal fat (adipose tissue). This belly fat is especially concerning because it is more metabolically active than other fat and increases inflammation in the body. It multiplies the odds of strokes, heart attacks, vascular disease, and dementia.

Learn to relax

To keep Cortisol levels healthy and under control, you must activate your body’s relaxation response. You can learn to relax your body with various stress management techniques and make lifestyle changes in order to keep from reacting to stress.

The first step is to understand what’s causing your stress—in most cases it’s obvious. In other cases, investigation may be needed. Keeping a stress journal may help. Get a notebook and write down when something makes you feel stressed. Then write how you reacted and what you did to deal with it. You can also take a written stress test that may help define what is causing your responses if the causes are not clear.

Once identified, the best ways to relieve stress are different for each person, but you can try some of these ideas to see which ones work for you:

• Exercise, exercise, exercise. Regular exercise is just about the best way to manage your stress. Walking is a great way to get started.

• Manage your time better. Make a schedule and stick to it. Think about which things are most important, and make them a priority.

• Take care of yourself. Get plenty of sleep, eat a low glycemic diet, don’t smoke, limit how much alcohol you drink, and balance out your life.

• Learn ways to relax your body. This can include massage, muscle relaxation, yoga, sex, and exercises like tai chi and qi gong.

• Try out new ways of thinking. When you find yourself starting to worry, try to stop the thoughts. Work on letting go of things you cannot change. Learn to say “no.”

• Do something you enjoy. A hobby can help you relax. Volunteer work or work that helps others can be a great stress reliever.

• Find better ways to cope. Analyze how you have been dealing with stress. Be honest about what works and what doesn’t. Identify alternatives that might be more effective.

• Focus on the present. Try meditation—MRI studies shows it nearly doubles your brain activity. Listen to relaxing music. Look for the humor in life—laughter really can be the best medicine.

• Speak up. Not being able to talk about your needs and concerns creates stress and can make negative feelings worse. Assertive communication can help you express how you feel in a thoughtful, tactful way. Laugh, cry, and express anger when you need to with someone you trust.

• Ask for help. People who have a strong network of family and friends manage stress better. Sometimes stress is just too much to handle alone. Talking to a friend or family member may help, but you may also want to speak with a counselor.

The most precious resource

Your most precious resource is the short, unknown time you have left on this little blue planet. It is perishable, irreplaceable, and, unlike money, cannot be saved. There isn’t a magic pill you can take to manage your stress. For most people, it’s an overall change in managing health.

It’s about proper nutrition, adequate exercise, getting the right vitamins and minerals, and optimizing your hormones and metabolics. Americans live, on average, just 28,000 days. So it behooves you to ask, “Am I living well and taking care of myself? What can I do to give me the best chance to beat the odds and stay more youthful and have more time on this planet to enjoy the fruits of my labor?”

Money alone doesn’t make anyone wealthy. True wealth is a life rich in love, friends, wisdom, and interests, and the time and health to enjoy it all.

Dr. Eye

The basic steps to take in getting an effective Internet marketing strategy

By Bobbye Brooks and Tonilee Adamson

Internet marketing is a hot topic for just about everyone who is trying to capitalize on the buzz of social media and making money online. What exactly is Internet marketing? Internet marketing was founded by those online entrepreneurs who learned how to make a prosperous living promoting and selling their products and services through Internet channels.

Today, Internet marketing has expanded beyond the “Internet marketer” into the everyday person or business owner wanting to promote their products and services strategically and effectively to a growing global audience.

What are the basic steps to take in getting an effective Internet marketing strategy?  The following tips are designed to help get the most out of your online marketing efforts.

1. Develop a basic plan

The first step in any good strategy is taking the time to write a basic plan for your business (or whatever you are going to be marketing online). Include your goals, timeframe, budget allocations, and resources needed.

For the marketing strategy, list your ideas for how you plan to use the Internet, i.e., social media, paid ads, online stores, etc.

2. Monetize your website

To use Internet marketing effectively, the most important component is your website. Your website is your business storefront. If you are marketing your business online, then you must send people to your website to buy your products or services (or you are sending them to another site for purchases).

Make sure your website has a clear “call to action” on the home page, where your visitor can connect with you, either in a purchase or by subscribing to your information. Think of your website as your place of business and design it to meet your customers’ needs.

3. Create social media campaigns

Social Media cannot be overstated at this point. The top five social media networks that every business should use in Internet marketing include:

•Facebook: Create a Facebook Fanpage for your business, invite your friends to “like” it, and use it to promote your business. Post special deals, business updates, and information about your company. Make sure the icon is on your website home page.

•Twitter: Set up a Twitter page for your business. Invite similar-type businesses to “follow” you and then follow them back. Grow your Twitter list by inviting others to find you on Twitter. Post your website link in all of your communications.

•LinkedIn: Create a business page on LinkedIn and complete the profile information with as much detail about your company as possible. LinkedIn allows for immediate links to other social networks, including your blog page. Use this network to communicate with other professionals and groups.

•YouTube: Set up an account with YouTube and create a Channel for your business. YouTube is now the second largest search engine. Start using videos to promote your business and place them on your channel. Send out the video links through your other social media networks and ask others to “subscribe” to your channel.

•Wordpress: Create a WordPress blog page for your business. As with all of the social media networks, use the same logo, color schemes, and overall look for branding purposes. Write and post at least one blog entry per week and send out through other networks. WordPress will connect directly with most of the other sites, creating instant updates to your other social media networks.

4. Use the free classifieds

There are several places to post free classified ads for your business. One of the most common is Craigslist. Open a free account on Craigslist and start creating your own ads. Ebay has a classified section that lets you create free ads as well.

Search for “free classifieds” online and several websites will appear. Remember to use your business name as your title and select the best keywords that describe your business niche.

5. Schedule your posts and updates

Internet marketing is most effective when it is consistently being done. Create a calendar and set up reminders that help you keep your social networks updated on a regular basis. It is a fact that Google is using Facebook and Twitter activity as part of their ranking algorithm. The more you are online, the more attention you receive from the search engines. Stay active and fresh in your updates.

Internet marketing is fast becoming one of the most sought after avenues for reaching audiences around the world. The traditional avenues of advertising are changing daily, which continues to increase the opportunities for everyone at every level.

Having basic knowledge of the Internet and applying a few strategic steps can make a substantial difference in the success of your business.

Bobbye Brooks

Tonilee Adamson

Bobbye Brooks, CEO, and Tonilee Adamson, COO, are the co-founders of Media 4 Women Enterprises, Inc., which works with individuals and businesses to help maximize their effectiveness of Internet and online marketing strategies. They can be reached at 800-992-0369 or through www.media4women.com.

5 tips for bolstering your bottom line by adding some balance to your life

By Robyn A. Friedman

Susan Carter

Every year on April 16, Susan Carter breathes a sigh of relief. That date signals the end of tax season—and the beginning of her return to 50-hour workweeks after a whirlwind three and a half months spent working 70 to 75 hours per week.

Those long hours may be de rigueur for accountants, but they don’t help Carter, a CPA in Orange Park, achieve any sort of balance in her life.

“The balance between work and home is very difficult, especially as a woman business owner because you are trying to do it all,” says Carter, who admits that during her 17-year career, she didn’t spend as much time as she would have liked with her children, now 19 and 24.

Facts are facts

But Carter is not the only small business owner struggling to achieve balance. According to a survey released by Staples in January, 60% of small business owners admit to spending more time holding their mobile devices than the hand of their significant others, and 43% say they work during hours they are supposed to be devoting to family.

A CareerBuilder survey released in December 2010 revealed that nearly one in four respondents (24%) found it hard to stop thinking about work at the end of the day and that nearly one in five (19%) said they dream about work.

And the National Study of the Changing Workforce, released in 2008, found that 75% of employed parents feel they don’t have enough time with their children, 63% of employees in couple relationships feel they don’t have enough time with their significant others and 60% of employees feel they don’t have enough time for themselves.

The need for balance

Lack of work/life balance is a serious problem for small business owners. Sure, entrepreneurs need to spend time cultivating their businesses to maximize their chances of success. But those who adopt an all-work-and-no-play policy usually pay a price for doing so, such as stress-related health issues, a lack of time to pursue personal interests, or friction with family members.

And what small business owners may not realize is that a lack of work/life balance, rather than helping them achieve success, may actually impair their ability to do so. In other words, improving work/life balance may bolster the bottom line.

“Achieving work/life balance is important to the health of the business and the business person,” says Arthur Lynnworth, the

Arthur Lynnworth

Fernandina Beach-based author of “Slice the Salami—Tips for Life and Leadership, One Slice at a Time.” “A small business owner will not function at top performance solving problems and dealing with competitive issues if he or she is stressed out due to conflicts of work/life balance. Not only does the person suffer, but the less-than-optimum decision making, due to stress, also translates to subpar business performance.”

That can impact the bottom line because a business owner who is stressed out is not as productive,

Shirley Davis

experts say. “You’re not going to come up with the best solutions, be innovative and creative with new product ideas, reach out and service customers or broaden your business,” says Shirley Davis, Ph.D., co-director of the Workplace Flexibility Program for the Society of Human Resources Management. “Employees who don’t have work/life balance tend to be more likely to be late to work, not engaged at work, or call in sick.”

Strategies to reclaim balance

So what can you do to reclaim control of your out-of-balance life? Consider these strategies to restore harmony.

•Improve your time management skills. Plan each day by setting realistic objectives—and then try to meet them. “Don’t think that

Jack Harsh

busyness is the same as business,” says Jack Harsh, a business coach in Jacksonville. “Decide what your top three priorities are each day and what you will focus your time and attention on. Do that for both your personal life and your business.”

•Take real vacations. Everyone needs time away from work to recharge. By getting away from their businesses periodically, small business owners can better focus on important family relationships—relationships that will ultimately help nurture them. “That pays off in tremendous ways back in the business because they now have better balance,” says Harsh.

•Cultivate a support system. Entrepreneurs are notoriously bad at delegating. “Many small business owners bury their personal time

John Geshay

while pouring all their energy into the business,” says John Geshay, a certified business coach with FocalPoint of North Florida in Jacksonville. “Then they realize too late that while they may have achieved success in their business, they sacrificed a lot of other aspects in their lives.”

Geshay recommends delegating and outsourcing. He suggests that business owners divide their net income by the number of hours they work per year to see what their time is worth. For example: If a company’s net income is $100,000 and the owner works 2,000 per year, then his hourly rate is $50. “If there is any task he does that is worth less than $50 an hour, he should find someone else to get that done,” says Geshay. “That maximizes the ROE—return on energy.”

•Leave work at work. Smart phones and other technology make it difficult to create a boundary between work and home. It’s important, however, to block out time for your family that is free of distractions. Paresh Hirapara, president and CEO of Enaptive, a Jacksonville-based software development firm, works hard—about 60 hours per week. But he reserves his weekends for his family. “The weekends are our time,” he says. “I’ll hang out with the kids, do something around town or do stuff around the house. Building software requires a lot of creativity, and I can’t focus unless I maintain a good mental state.”

•If all else fails, seek help. Susan Carter, the CPA, realized that her life was out of balance after she heard Jack Harsh speak at a local networking group. “I felt that my business had consumed me,” she recalls. “When I listened to him talk about balance between work and personal time, I realized that I wanted that.” So she signed on as a coaching client and has since learned how to manage her time better, delegate, set goals and carve out time for family and fun.

Now Carter says she is more relaxed—and much more productive. “This tax season has probably been the least stressful one I’ve ever had,” she says. “And our revenues increased 25%.”

Robyn A. Friedman is a contributing writer to Advantage. She can be reached at robyn@everythingwrite.com or through www.EverythingWrite.com.