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January 30, 2004
Culture
The Donald - Episode 4
Posted by Nadine Heintz at 4:38 PM
Geez. I can't believe the guys lost again! This is getting really painful. I'm glad the teams are being mixed together next week. The interaction should be interesting. I'm also keen on seeing whether or not the women tone down their "sex sells" approach now that they've gotten a talking to (however halfhearted it was) by the Donald.
I wasn't really rooting for anyone until I saw the latest episode. I thought Bill was great. He was professional, stayed cool under pressure, and was really smart to offer the waitstaff performance incentives. Bowie was nice, but he wasn't too charismatic or fast-thinking. Not much of a leader.
Needless to say, I could've done without the women's ridiculous antics. They were totally embarrassing and tacky as usual. When I was in college I worked at a couple of restaurants with bars, and we never badgered people into buying drinks like that. That was so classless! I think they're setting a bad example for other businesspeople. Basically, they're aiming for victory at any cost. That may work for a while, but I have a feeling it will come back to haunt them eventually!
January 29, 2004
A Lesson in Staying Focused
Posted by Carole Matthews at 10:27 AM
Turn down a $22 million contract? What owner of a growing company in her right mind would do that? Well, Lurita Doan, the founder of Technology Management in Reston, Va., did. And she hasn't regretted it a bit.
In the New York Times story, For Her, U.S. Borders are Profit Centers (online subscribers only access), writer Melinda Ligos writes about a government contract worth $22 million that Doan turned down back in 2000. Doan's reason: She needed the company to stay focused on what it was good at, even if it meant turning down this and other lucrative deals.
Her "stay focused mantra" has hurt business a bit. Today, the company is a recognized leader in the border surveillance technology with 150 employees and $14 million in revenue.
January 28, 2004
Super Bowl CEO's
Posted by at 2:38 PM
So, we didn't back the right horse, or the right Fox. As far as the NFL playoffs, though, we did fairly well as Andy Reid, Jeff Fisher and Brian Billick got in, but we didn't nail down the Super Bowl coaches, alas.
We were, however, on the right track with the CEO/Head Coach comparison, according to this Boston Globe story on the NFL's resident genius..
Of the Final Four, who do you think did the best managerial job this year?
--Tony Dungy, for getting the playoff-loser stigma off his back by letting his main man Manning unleash his audiblizing id on quaking defenses (paging Kansas City)
--John Fox, for taking a team that was nothing two years ago to a tough, pound-the-ball squad that won a lot of games by sticking to the fundamentals and winning in the end (sort of the anti-Spurrier who is now delivering his "ole' ball coach" routine to his pitching wedge)
--Andy Reid, for bringing a team left for dead after week two, and left on life support with a wicked rash of injuries, and getting to a third straight NFC championship (in a town slightly more pessimistic and bitter than Lucy Van Pelt)
--Bill Belichick, for being Bill Belichick (Nuff said)
And if you think it's another coach, make a case (unless it is for Mike Martz, because that would just be silly)
Enjoy the Super Bowl.
Take Red Sox Nation (and the points) over Tar Heel State, Patriots 27 -- Panthers 10
And one last time to make myself feel better:
Fly Eagles Fly, On the Road to Victory...oh, whatever, never mind.
MSAs a Sweet Deal
Posted by Carole Matthews at 12:26 PM
If an IRA looked attractive before, the deal that was recently wrapped up into the Medicare prescription benefit bill passed by Congress at the end of last year just may be irresistable. A recent Reuters article, Medical Savings Accounts Get Better highlights legislation that established new tax-deductible savings accounts called Healthcare Savings Accounts (HSAs), which are Medical Savings Accounts (MSAs) with some beefed up savings features.
What makes the HSA so attractive as a retirement vehicle is that all contributions to the account are fully tax deductible, and if the money is used for health-care purposes, it remains tax-free forever. If the account isn't drained at the end of the year, it just rolls over, so you can make maximum contributions each year ($2,600 as an individual; $5,150 as a family, and an additional $500 per month if you're over 55) and reap the benefits of saving hard-earned cash for retirement tax-free. And for the self-empoyed, there's another advantage -- you can set up a company and deduct contributions as a business expense.
Purchasing affordable health insurance has always been a struggle for the self-employed. If you're not caustrophically ill or emergency room prone, an HSA can do double duty for you by helping you manage health-care costs and save for retirement. But don't jump at the first one you find. The Reuters' article notes that by Q3 2004, competition will have ramped up, and your shopping options will be plentiful.
And if you're interested in a new cost-saving option for business owners, check out Passing the Buck by Alison Stein Wellner, in the January 2004 issue of Inc.. In it she explains how health reimbursement accounts (HRAs) are helping employers reduce premiums by passing the responsibility of managing health-care expenses onto employees.
January 27, 2004
Striking a Balance
Posted by Carole Matthews at 12:21 PM
The February 2004 issue of Inc. magazine (on sale now) devotes over 10 pages to helping entrepreneurs find a work/life balance in "The Well-Balanced Life," on pages 65-79. Inc.com wants to discover more strategies for creating and maintaining a healthy, productive lifestyle as an entrepreneur.
How do you do it? Are there any secrets to your success? Share your stories here, and hear what your peers have to say about striking that delicate balance between having a life and having a business.
January 23, 2004
Screening Employees for Drug Use
Posted by Carole Matthews at 10:31 AM
Do you want to know if your employees are using drugs? Skip the urine tests. Try testing your offices for the presence of drugs. Kris Maher of the Wall Street Journal recently reported that Global Detection & Reporting Inc. markets a drug-wipe test that's less costly than a urine test, which run about $35 per employee, and can test for five drugs, including marijuana and cocaine. A single $10 kit offers a general assessment of drug use by employees and can be used to test multiple work spaces. The test is proving to be an affordable alternative for smaller employers -- the company has sold its drug wipe kit to more than 100 small companies during the past year.
Swiping your office light switches and employee keyboards for the presence of drugs sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen, but legal experts say workers would have little recourse against this type of testing. "Anything in the workplace is fair game for a company," Maher quoted Lawrence Lorber, a partner in labor and employment group of Proskauer Rose LLP.
January 22, 2004
Culture
The Donald - Episode 3
Posted by Nadine Heintz at 11:27 AM
I must admit I was kind of sad to see Sam go last night, even though he was so annoying and didn't add anything to the men's team. He was all bark and no bite when it came to actual business acumen. I did love to hate him though. I'm so tired of the guys losing. And, once again, the women stooped to using their good looks to win. The only exception seemed to be Amy, who wisely offered the sports store salesman "cost plus 10 percent" for the Callaway golf club. Meanwhile, the men didn't display any negotiation skills. Going to a fancy spa for a leg wax was just plain stupid. And for the past two episodes they've kept three people at home base doing "research" but that's a total waste of time, especially since the information they came up with this was sparse and inaccurate!
Hopefully the guys will win next week now that Sam's gone. I'm interested to see how the two teams handle the challenge to manage restaurants in Times Square for a day. The previews seemed to hint that the women will finally get burned by their "sex sells" approach. I really hope so, because their behavior is embarrassing, especially to women who are making it in the business world based on talent and knowledge, not on tight skirts and cute hairdos!
In the end, is working for the Donald that great of a reward? An executive compensation firm recently surveyed 137 company execs and employees and revealed that 38 percent of those polled would only work for the Donald for more than $250,000 a year. A surprising 27 percent said they wouldn't work for the Donald for any amount of money.
We've come up with a little poll of our own. Tell us if you think the guys' team will rally now that Sam's history.
January 21, 2004
Not in the Real World
Posted by Carole Matthews at 2:34 PM
A Fresh Inc. reader ventures to comment in the The Donald, Episode 2 webblog that the girls' winning proposal would be a huge waste of money on advertising.
Reader Keith Price offers these six expensive mistakes the "Winning" team made, including:
1. Too much shock value; too little substance.
2. No mention of the benefits of Marquis Jet.
3. No differentiation between Marquis and an ordinary plan ride.
4. Nothing defining the service's ideal customers.
5. No way of knowing what was being offered based on the ads.
6. No call to action.
Job Exportation, Part 2
Posted by Carole Matthews at 10:45 AM
Harvard Business School professor Jim Heskett recently invited Working Knowledge readers to respond to this question: How shoud we should think about the exportation of jobs? (The question was based on his original column of the same name.) The responses he received were thoughtful and two sided, with an almost equal number of readers supporting job exportation and condemning it. A few readers noted larger social consequences of job exportation. One MBA candidate noted that increased exportation could result in increased income discrepancy and eventually increased social chaos, while another noted that many of the skilled, unemployed workers today are keeping the pharmaceutical companies fat and happy with the workers' increased use of antidepressants.
Of the dozen or more responses, however, I was surprised to see that only one touched upon innovation. The reader commented that the increased exportation will force our country to become an "innovation" economy, as we were when we moved from manufacturing to a service industry. While I agree that reviving our place as innovators is a must, I fear that all of the job exportation, especially of highly skilled labor like IT workers, will weaken our ability to remain competitive on this front. How many employers out there have had their talented IT leader take his or her ideas to start a company? I noted back in an August 2003 blog a report that cited increased R&D investment in China is helping boost innovation in that country. With increased job exportation, it would seem that we're investing in boosting innovation in other countries, perhaps increasing our own competition, while ignoring the real need to employ our own out-of-work skilled labor to come up with the "next big things."
Yes, exporting jobs can have positive effect on the bottom line, and it's absolutely beneficial to the world economy, but will boosting the bottom line in the short term have devasting long-term effects on our ability to remain leader in innovation?
January 16, 2004
Culture
The Donald - Episode 2
Posted by Nadine Heintz at 4:41 PM
I had to agree with the Donald again last night. Although I thought Jason was a competent guy and a good leader, he really blew it by not meeting with the execs at Marquis Jet. His logic was terrible too. The team definitely could have sent one or two guys to meet with the clients. What a mistake. I also couldn't figure out why he'd choose Nick to join him in the boardroom. Maybe I missed something.
But choosing Sam was a no-brainer. I'm beginning to suspect that he's a plant. He's too bizarre. I almost died when he fell asleep (or pretended to fall asleep) on the floor. I can't wait to see what happens when he's project manager next week. Should be interesting. Is anyone still rooting for him?
As for the ad campaigns, I thought both were good, but the women definitely had the right idea when they pushed the envelope and did something daring. Omarosa was against the idea from the beginning, which makes me wonder how much she's actually contributing to the success of the women's team. She may be a plant as well.
I'm interested to see what next week's task will be. If the guys don't win the next challenge, low morale is going to be a big problem. So far, I'm not convinced that the challenges given to the teams actually prove their ability to be president of a Trump company. But I guess the Donald is the best judge of that.
January 15, 2004
A Little Stress is Good
Posted by Carole Matthews at 2:12 PM
At least that's what a graduate student and a biology professor are saying in a recent press release published online by Northwestern University. According to graduate student James F. Morley and Richard I. Morimoto, a professor of biology at Northwestern, occasional bursts of stress or low levels of stress can actually have long-term benefits to cells, helping to release "chaperones" that capture damaged proteins, which can cause, if accumulated to high degrees, such neurodegenerative diseases as Huntington's, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and Lou Gehrig's diseases.
Now there's more to this than I've covered here. The Northwestern press release obviously goes into more detail about how cell proteins are affected by stress, and the findings are published online by the Molecular Biology of the Cell and will appear in print in the journal's February 2004 issue. But the findings do suggest that a little stress can be a healthy thing.
Entrepreneurs should be all set then. I don't think I know one business owner who doesn't experience a bit of stress now and then (understatement). But if you're running on high octane 24/7, you might want to consider the negative effects chronic stress can have on your brain as noted in this online article.
January 14, 2004
Googlewashing
Posted by Carole Matthews at 10:48 AM
Seems that all of this webblogging isn't doing much for Google. Apparently, terms that are bandied about in webblogs tend to show up higher in the ranks than the document from which the term was originally derived. This "googlewashing," as described by Danny Sullivan in a ClickZ article today, makes it much more difficult to find a legitimate site for a term since the most relevant sites seem to be pushed to the bottom of the pile.
Honestly, I can't remember the last time I found the most relevant site for a term on page one of a Google search. I've had to increasingly dive into at least page two if not deeper before finding something of real substance. Have you had the same problems? What search engines do you use?
January 13, 2004
Outsourcing for Small Businesses
Posted by Carole Matthews at 3:32 PM
What are the realities of outsourcing for small businesses? EcommerceTimes.com Viewpoint columnist Christopher Kenton discovered a few during a nine-month exposure to overseas outsourcing, as he recounts in "The Changing Face of Offshore Programming". Kenton spent the months outsourcing on a per-project basis and was interested discovering what cost benefits he might experience in doing so. What he discovered, however, was that in a few areas hidden costs added up quickly.
* Project management -- Sending work to overseas programmers is easy, but who manages the project? The quality assurance? The contracts? It turns out Kenton did, which added significantly to the bottom-line cost of outsourcing his projects.
* Intellectual property -- As Kenton puts it, "A contract is only as strong as your ability to enforce it." Are you willing, and financially able, to fight an international legal battle?
* Wages -- It's not a hidden cost, but as outsourcing becomes increasingly popular, international hourly wages are going up. Kenton discovered that 60% of the work he planned to outsource overseas ended up remaining stateside for this reason.
In the end, Kenton concluded that despite its advantages and disadvantages, outsourcing will eventually become less of an issue as the labor markets equalize.
January 12, 2004
Today's news
The Safety of Cell Phones
Posted by Carole Matthews at 2:54 PM
Do cell phones cause brain damage? A February 2004 article in Popular Science magazine suggests that they just might. A team of scientists from Lund University in Sweden discovered a link between microwave radiation emitted by GSM mobile phones and brain damage in rats, re-igniting interest in the safety of cell phones.
The team exposed a group of rats to two-hours of microwave radiation from GSM cellphones. Fifty days after the exposure, the rats' brains showed signficant blood vessel leakage and areas of shrunken and damaged neurons. Not surprisingly, the cell phone industry is dismissing the data, stating that cellphone emissions are well within the FDA guidelines for radiation exposure. And, the Swedish team does admit that these initial findings need to be further supported, but I for one will probably become a little more aware of the time I spend on my cellphone.
Technology
New Products for Small Business
Posted by Carole Matthews at 11:17 AM
The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, which ran through yesterday, is probably best known for showcasing the latest in gizmos and gadgets, but this year's show had a few notable technology announcements for the small business owner, as reported by the staff of Smallbusinesscomputing.com.
Some products to consider for 2004:
* Brother International's sub-$1000 color laser printer, the HL-2700CN
* NetGear's Super Wireless Media Router, the WGT634U, a wireless home networking solution with USB data storage capabilities
* A new antispam Web-based e-mail service from Mailblocks
Check out the article on CES' website, and read transcripts from keynote speakers and articles focused on key business technology issues addressed at the show.
January 9, 2004
The Apprentice
The Donald
Posted by Nadine Heintz at 1:46 PM
I flipped on NBC's The Apprentice last night expecting to watch it for a few minutes before putting in a video: Holiday, starring Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn. Within seconds of watching the latest reality TV offering, I was captivated. I'm not sure whether it was the bickering apprentice wanna-be's or the Donald's mesmerizing hair-do (how does he do that?!) that kept me glued to the set, but my fervor for the reality genre has been renewed. The Apprentice is just like Survivor, except that its contestants compete on the island of Manhattan, not in some exotic Caribbean locale. The reward is being named president of one of Donald Trump's companies for one year, instead of a million bucks. And deciding who stays and who guys isn't left up to some wimpy democratic vote; the only one making decisions on this show is the Donald himself. Trump definitely makes the show. I almost died laughing when he was shown spying on the boys' team, which had been assigned to sell lemonade, from his helicopter, expressing disgust with their decsion to set up shop near the smelly Fulton Fish Market. Ha! And who else but Trump would have the gall to make a brief visit to his own over-golded apartment the prize for the winning team?In the end, the women's team outsold the men's by a huge margin (possibly because they were smooching a lot of their customers), so the guys were forced to face the firing squad. Dave, the hyper VC guy most memorable for crazily chasing a bicyclist who wouldn't buy any lemonade, wound up getting the ax. I was pretty happy with the Donald's choice, but I was gunning for that annoying Sam character, who tried to sell a cup of lemonade to someone for $1,000. Duh! So before I knew it, I had watched the entire episode. When I finally pressed play on Holiday, the film, about a financier who just wants to make enough money to retire and live a meager lifestyle and "find himself," seemed particularly antiquated. I'm normally a huge Cary Grant fan, but this time his nicely coiffed mane just left me longing for the Donald's crazy 'do.
January 8, 2004
Today's news
Support for Malden Mills
Posted by Carole Matthews at 1:20 PM
Aaron Feuerstein's bid to buy back control of Malden Mills has rallied support in Washington, as reported today in "Lawmakers Lobbying for Malden Mills" in the Boston Globe. It's hard to say, however, if the political backers will be enough to sway the U.S. Export-Import Bank to provide the $35 million in loan guarantees Feuerstein needs to buy back the Lawrence, Mass.-based textile maker from General Electric Co. (GE gained control when Feuerstein had to file bankruptcy protection in 2001 after Feuerstein's heroic efforts to save his company after a devastating fire.) Back in August, Mike Hofman posted a short piece about Malden Mills' emergence from bankruptcy, but today, Feuerstein still struggles to secure the capital he needs to regain control of the business.
Backers from the Senate and House are trying to sway the four-member board of the Ex-Im Bank to make the loan guarantees. Half of the $35 million was approved in August, and some Ex-Im Bank staffers have recommended the full amount be guaranteed, but bank leaders overruled the staff recommendations and imposed stiffer loan terms, which make it virtually impossible for Feuerstein to secure any further loans if this one is granted.
January 7, 2004
Today's news
SBA 7(a) Loans Suspended
Posted by Bobbie Gossage at 3:43 PM
The SBA has suspended its 7(a) loan program, possibly until the end of the month, reports the Washington Business Journal. The agency reportedly backed a large number of loans since September, 37% more than the year before. At the end of December, the SBA also announced it was lowering the cap on the maximum loan size from $2 million to $750,000 (effective tomorrow).
Fun Read
Posted by Carole Matthews at 10:17 AM
In What Were We Thinking?, CIO Magazine takes a look at some past predictions it made and pokes fun at just how absurd they seem now. It's nothing substantive, but it's great for a quick chuckle with your morning coffee. Enjoy!
January 6, 2004
Today's news
Cutting OT Costs
Posted by Carole Matthews at 2:56 PM
The U.S. Department of Labor is suggesting ways to keep employers' overtime costs from going up. In an AP story, U.S. Offers Tips on Cutting OT Costs, released this morning, the Labor Department offered tips such as cutting hourly wages and adding in the overtime pay to create an amount equal to the original salary, or raising salaries to $22,100 annually to make employees ineligible for overtime, among others.
Doesn't seem quite fair. Hourly workers often find themselves working overtime to earn needed cash. But employers who have suffered costly lawsuits in response to worker litigation accusing them of withholding overtime pay have another story to tell. Former Inc. writer Chris Caggiano broached the topic in "Are You Cheating Your Employees?" in a February 2003 article. In it he noted the rising incidence of lawsuits and the difficulty many small-business owners have when trying to comply with the antiquated Fair Labor Standards Act (it was first enacted in 1938). Caggiano said that the FLSA is often confusing for business owners and easy to misinterpret. He also quoted a DOL administrator saying, "Even our investigators have trouble applying the rules."
So what's to be done with an act that no one really understands? The new regulations proposed last March would help by clarifying the definition of exempt employees and modifying the salary basis test, but if enacted this March, will they be enough?
Las Vegas, Baby
Posted by Carole Matthews at 10:44 AM
There's more to Vegas than bright lights, roulette and Tom Jones. A group of angel investors is singing Las Vegas' praises as a hotspot for high-tech investment. Vegas Valley Angels, a nonprofit group established in January 2003, has focused its efforts on recruiting companies from less flashy locations to relocate to this city better known for high-rollers than an entrepreneurship.
The group is most interested in investing in fledgling businesses that are on the slow and stabile path to growth -- certainly not your traditional venture capital strategy. Visit the group's website for more information.
January 5, 2004
My Holiday Reading
Posted by Carole Matthews at 12:04 PM
After a two-week vacation, the Inc. staff is back online and back to work. So, for my first post of 2004, I'd like to share some reading I was doing over the long break. The book, "What Should I Do With My Life?" by Po Bronson (I know, it's been out a while, but I'm always behind in my reading), sucked me in over my vacation while I contemplated making New Year's resolutions.
Bronson joins a slew of professionals who embark on a journey to answer this very question. Not all of the vignettes he shares have happy endings, but most are pretty enlightening and provide some interesting insight into the complexity of finding such an answer.
One story, however, struck me more than the others. Being the editor of a website devoted to business owners, it was Bronson's profile of a young couple who purchased a tree nursery in Washington state that drew me in. Both had been in the telecommunications industry, but not happily, and their decision to buy a business they had absolutely no experience in was born of their desire to, well, be happier. It wasn't about money nor about some huge need to grow trees or save the environment. It was simply to be happier in what they did. After somewhat reluctantly putting up their house and unfinished ski cottage for collateral on a bank loan, they became business owners, and according to Bronson, they find that it's been a worthwhile and fulfilling adventure.
Why share this story? Because I thought it would be nice to start off the new year with a quick shot of inspiration for those who are thinking about going off on their own in 2004, and I thought it would be great if others would share their stories of why they started businesses. Why did you start your business? And has it been all that you expected it to be? Let us know.
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