Saturday

Saturday ... tbd

Saturday May 9

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Sunday Eve

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Wednessday Input

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RECESSION STRATEGY - PART 7: PROMOTION AND eCOMMERCE

PROMOTION

Don't strangle the marketing budget. Now is not the time to cut back on promoting your business. You may even have to increase promotion. Businesses that want to weather this downturn must seriously look at what it takes to stimulate demand. Reevaluate your promotion strategies and how you package your advertising. Analyze your advertising for cost versus results. Increase your advertising in key areas. Holding your own may be a plus. If you reduce your advertising, you might slip in market share or gross sales. Ask your sales team to give their input. What products are selling? What products need to be promoted to continue to sell?

Get closer to your customer. Ask them what they want.

eCOMMERCE

If you don't have a website, consider developing one. Use a web professional to craft the look of the website. Be savvy in hiring an e-professional. It can cost you hundreds of dollars and yield great results, or cost thousands and tank. Shop knowledgeably before you hire a specialist to develop your website. Don't spend money on a website unless your industry has a record of responding positively to e-commerce. Some of the best values and some of the best business opportunities are through the Internet. Seek the advice of your trade or professional association. What have other businesses like yours done regarding the Internet? Follow the technical guidelines for getting your website on the first page of a search engine. This practice is called "Search Engine Optimization." S. E. O. Internet business is an area that is either growing or reducing the effects of the recession. Consider how it can help your business during this downturn.

Mission Drift

Mission Drift - effectiveness.

OUR LOCAL TALENT

The Artisan and the Entrepreneur.

Sunday my wife and I attended the 27th annual Ceramic Showcase at the Convention Center. It is an event that is sponsored by the Oregon Potter's Association. This year it started on Friday, April 24th, and continued through the weekend. For the 2nd year the Guild of Oregon Woodworkers was there, cosponsored by Northwest Fine Woodworkers. Since we started attending five or six years ago, the Creative Metal Arts Guild and the Oregon Glass Guild have been presenting their wares as well.

I am kicking myself for not posting this event. I purposefully watch for it every year in the month of April. It is something I like to share with as many people as I can. Next year I will try to give several weeks lead time.

Each of these artisans or crafts persons is a small business owner as well. Not only are they artist and / or technician, they are the traditional owner, wearing many hats.

There is:
The Leader: This is the connector. The person that creates the social fabric in their field.
The Manager: The practical individual that does the books, makes the calls and schedules the events, just to name a few.
The Entrepreneur: The visionary that sees the possibilities. This is the person that experiments with their craft, senses the trends and the winds that buffet and blow their business-craft about.

Visit these organizations to see the work of some of Oregon's best artisans and crafts people. Look for events coming to your community.

http://www.cmaguild.org/
Creative Metal Arts Guild

Guild of Oregon Woodworkers
http://www.guildoforegonwoodworkers.com/

Northwest Fine Woodworkers
http://www.northwestfinewoodworkers.com/

Oregon Potters Association
http://www.oregonpotters.org/

Oregon Glass Guild
http://oregonglassguild.org/

RECESSION STRATEGY - Part 6: INVENTORY AND DISTRIBUTION

INVENTORY

Cut your inventory, but wisely. You don't have to continue stocking a product just because you have always stocked that product. Use the 20/80 rule. Trim inventory where it makes sense to do so. Examine your inventory and decide what twenty percent of your inventory produces eighty percent of your revenue. Define what "high end" product means to your business. Define the functionality of the products you stock. Look at your inventory by "functional" and "discretionary" categories. Examine recent sales of the high end products. Have your customers stopped buying these products? Do you see any patterns of purchases of functional or discretionary products? If you have an integrated analysis tool that allows you to calculate register sales and inventory, examine price point and functionality versus discretionary products. Review the trigger-points you created in your budget process and examine your drop in sales. Decide if you will continue stocking, drop or reduce products based on your sales triggers.

Think trimming and just-in-time ordering. Think cash-flow.

DISTRIBUTION

Not all businesses, especially small retail businesses, have multiple distribution points or distribution options. If you do, improve distribution when possible. If you can, increase yourf outlets. Regardless of the number of outlets, provide incentives for your sales staff.

If you have the kind of business that invites quantity purchases, offer discounts for larger orders. Give discounts for advanced (committed) orders.

Maintain your cash flow. Identify and promote low margin but high volume products. Examine what you can do to develop marginal accounts or marginal territories.

Don't compartmentalize your thinking or actions. Remember, inventory and distribution are an integral part of the rest of your business. Continue to think of your business as a whole. Understand what effect your inventory and distribution decisions will have on the rest of your business.

Taxation and Large Business helping Small Business

Best and Worst States for Small-Business Taxation

Just as you recover from tax day, the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council offers its analysis of the best and worst states when it comes to taxes.

The “Business Tax Index 2009: Best to Worst State Tax Systems for Entrepreneurship and Small Business,” ranks the 50 states and District of Columbia according to the costs of their tax systems for entrepreneurship and small business. The index pulls together 16 different tax measures and combines those into one overall tax score. Among the taxes included are income, property, death/inheritance, unemployment, and consumption-based taxes like gas and diesel levies.

Large companies launching initiatives to help smaller customers succeed

Some large companies, including Sam’s Club and Verizon, are reaching out to help their smaller customers save money and become more efficient in today’s challenging economy.

This week, Verizon launched a new online Small Business Center as a one-stop portal to help business owners increase their productivity.

Visitors to the site can set up a profile for networking; find discounts on products and services; and access news and information. Businesses also can pay $24.99 a month (or less depending on the number of users) to use the site’s Verizon Collaboration Center, which provides voice and Web conferencing to act like a company Intranet.

Verizon also will offer free bi-weekly Webinars with small business experts talking about topics ranging from managing a Twitter account to increasing productivity. The first one on April 21 will feature Shankar Iyer, senior director of business communities for Cisco Systems Inc., discussing how technology can help small businesses work better, faster and cheaper.

RECESSION STRATEGY - Part 5: PRICING & PURCHASING

PRICING

Maintain your gross revenue. Lower the price of your products or services only when necessary.

Give quantity discounts to customers if it is appropriate in your industry. Consider a rebate or coupon strategy for your customers. Discuss the effectiveness of discounts or coupons with your wholesaler/supplier and with your employees. With sales revenue dropping, competitors may increase their prices. Holding your price steady is an effective "reduction" and may be an effective means to maintain customer loyalty. In the grocery industry, some manufacturers are reducing the size of the container or the amount in a container as a means of increasing unit price. The consumer is not fooled by this, but it does not seem to have a negative influence with regard to brand loyalty. Increase your prices only when you have to and understand what effect this has on consumer demand, your gross margin, and profit.

PURCHASING

Don't tie up cash for a long time. Buy products and supplies wisely. Reduce or stop purchasing slow moving or low profit products.

Suppliers need buyers. This can be a time to re-negotiate contracts for lower prices or better terms. Review your current purchase contracts. Review return policies with vendors and negotiate favorable changes. Can any of your current purchase agreements be canceled or modified?

Examine your supply channels. Consider other sources. If you buy in advance, be cautious and realistic. Always consider cash flow in your purchasing strategy.

Use your supplier's network. Ask them about ways to reduce costs. What do they hear from other retailers?

Effective pricing and purchasing strategies can help you to maintain positive cash flow, adequate margins and profits during a recession.

How to Recession-Proof a Retail Business

Recession-Proof Your Retail Business

E - How has a six step process to help your retail business weather this recession.


Visit E-How for other useful tips and information.

An Important Seminar for Tough Economic Times

Navigating your Business Through an Economic Downturn

The Small Business Development Center through Mt. Hood Community College is offering an important seminar at 4 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, April 22, 2009. The seminar is free and will be held at the Conference Room, Gresham City Hall.
1333 NW Eastman Pkwy, Gresham 97030

The seminar speaker is: Robert Sherk, Mt Hood Faculty and Small Business Advisor.

To RSVP call: 503-491-7658

Don't miss this opportunity to learn valuable information on operating your business through this economic downturn.

Recession Strategy - Part 4: Looking At The Numbers

The primary focus for a business in a recession are the numbers. The emphasis needs to be in the form of a financial action plan; with trigger points! Prepare your forecast using the best information available. Prepare an expected budget; an emergency budget, and a disaster budget. Note: the emergency budget and disaster budget may be one and the same.

Strengthen financial controls to maximize cash flow. Prepare a Cash flow Statement. Create a "Rolling Cash flow" form to stay informed of your cash position.

Reduce expenses that match your forecast. Watch carefully those internal expenses you have direct control over.

Be in "monitor mode." Think in terms of IF // THEN statements! IF my sales decline X% do I reduce my prices by Y%? THEN where are we at? (Reducing product prices may or may not be appropriate.)

What is going on with your business? Use your expected budget as a template. This will help you be prepared. Events or changes in the economy may happen fast. Anticipate and understand what you must do when those changes occur.

Examine inventories carefully. Use the 20/80 rule. Ask yourself: "What 20% of my inventory produces 80% of my gross revenue?" Examine low margin product lines and eliminate low profit product lines.

Review your Expected and Emergency budgets often. Be informed what is happening in the nation's economy; our state economy, and our local economy.

Assess employee expense. Justify salaries. If possible, move employees into direct revenue generating positions.

Do your homework with regard to credit. Though it is a tough credit environment, realistically examine your options. Is there any room to stretch your supplier credit or change the terms for a more favorable position? What is available to you through your bank? Make an appointment and have a conversation with your banker. Examine your Accounts Receivable policies.

If you are in "emergency mode" don't let lenders force you into selling products or goods at a loss to pay debts.

If possible, stay liquid. Have cash; use savings or CDs when appropriate.

Recession Strategy - Part 3: Ten Steps for Survival

What is different about this recession? It is global in nature. Though the Great Depression was global the perspective of America was not, the United States was much more nationally focused. Today we are more interconnected. The second facet that is markedly different is the aspirations of second and third world nations, especially India and China. Their actions have a pronounced influence on our economy, positive and negative. Their appetite for fossil fuels influences the world's energy markets; China's purchase of our Treasury Notes enhances our financial markets.

Instead of "riding it out" and passively absorbing the shocks, consider being proactive. The Forum Corp. (www.forum.com) has come up with ten steps in three areas of your business: 1) Financials; 2) People, and 3) The Organization/Climate. These steps can increase your chances of surviving the recession and positioning your business for recovery.

Finances

1 Reduce costs and control spending. Focus on a few critical priorities that will offer your organization a clear lead against your competitors.


2 Refrain from across-the-board cutbacks. Maintain products and services that customers value most. By cutting in all areas, organizations find that they cannot maintain strong service and deliverability to customers. Customer surveys can reveal a company’s most valuable products and services.


3 Consider alternatives to layoffs. Although downsizing may deliver a short-term boost to a company’s bottom line and stock price, it can create long-term negative effects. Before laying off workers, consider cutting management bonuses, freezing salaries and reducing compensation options. Remember to offer employees a clear explanation about the reasons for cutbacks.


4 Invest in opportunity. Bargains in assets and talent are often available during an economic downturn. Emphasize investments in research and development, marketing and customer-perceived quality.


People

5 Retain and develop top talent. Offer new challenges, training and valuable experiences to top performers. They are the most likely to be lured by a competitor when the economy is ailing.


6 Align the workforce around key goals. Performance suffers when team members are uncertain and hidden agendas emerge. Instead, frame an agenda, gain support and build commitment to goals and values.


7 Encourage questions and new ideas. Seek input from employees and offer a safe environment for them to share their feedback.


Climate

8 Squelch the temptation to make unilateral decisions. During tough times, leaders may be tempted to dictate solutions. However, this leadership style does not take advantage of a broad base of support and doesn’t allow challenges from others that could result in better decisions.


9 Communicate authentically. When strong leaders share their struggles, they build trust.


10 Create a positive vision and attitude that acknowledges reality. When leaders mobilize employees to respond to customers’ interests and values, they increase the chance that, when the downturn ends, they’ll come out on top.

Recession Strategy - Part 2: Introduction

Past recessions have shown that companies did a poor job of preparing for an economic downturn. Managers felt the situation was out of their control and, therefor, could not do any meaningful work. Since World War Two there have been eight recessions. Managers, supervisors, or business owners will experience several economic slow-downs in their career. If we factor in a downturn in specific industries, it is possible for a manager to experience several financially challenging periods each decade. The volatile chip manufacturing industry is a prime example. Makers of electronic chips fluctuate from downturns in the general economy and from a drop in plant capacity or unintended consequences related to technology.

While recession planning is unpleasant, it is vital that it not be put off. Financial reversals must be anticipated and prepared for. Though some of the actions may be painful, it is important that managers and owners not allow themselves to feel as if their hands are tied.

A consulting firm, the Forum Corp. (www.forum.com), and training company, Paradigm Learning, have teamed up to examine 10 steps that can help managers focus in a recession environment. The 10 steps cover three areas, financial, people, and organizational climate.

Recession Strategy - Part 1: Introduction

Recessions are particularly hard on owners and managers of businesses and non-profits. Those responsible for the day-to-day activities of businesses, government departments and organizations are wired for success! It would be counterproductive to have any other perspective. In 1979, during a past recession, James Stone framed it appropriately: "Managers expect and are rewarded for growth in output and earnings. Their concept of success is, therefore, tied to expansion; their energies and skills focus on corporate growth; they are committed to the optimistic belief that the future will be quantitatively better; and they position their companies to fulfill this concept and need."

Stone felt that this "quantitatively better" perspective got in the way of a fundamental shift in the manager's "patterns of thought, behavior, and expectation." Instead of using their management skills to mitigate the recession's harm, he said the "manager sees recession as a period where real work cannot be done. The result is crisis management, unduly impulsive reaction, and the hope that the problem will go away."

Since it will not go away, at least not in the near-term, let's look at how we can use our management and leadership skills to minimize the human and financial reversals caused by the downturn. Though recession planning can be unpleasant, putting off strategic action can be worse. Over the next several weeks, let's look at ways to help us weather these economic challenges.

I would like to hear your thoughts and ideas.

Stay tuned!

Sunday: Books for the small business owner

Must read books for the small business owner

Hopefully, you're like me and know there is a fairly cheap source of small business training available to you, and you're willing to exert the effort to do a little reading.

Without question, there are experts out there willing to share their knowledge. So, take a look a these offereings to help you plan, start, run and market your small business:

Sunday Post: Stimulus' Key Small Business Tax Provisions

The Stimulus' Key Small Business Tax Provisions

Experts who are in the process of familiarizing themselves with the new law explain how it will benefit small companies in terms of tax relief

The stimulus bill signed into law by President Barack Obama on Feb. 17, formally known as the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act, provides $288 billion in tax relief to individuals and companies. But how much of that will benefit small business owners—and how? You can read the 407-page law posted online, but we wonder how many members of Congress managed that. Instead, columnist Karen E. Klein has made things a bit easier by highlighting the law's most important tax provisions applying specifically to small firms. Bear in mind, these changes only apply to federal tax liability, not state.

Search Engine Optimization and Umpqua Bank

Search Engine Academy of Oregon is named a superlative SEO Training Programs company for the month of February 2009 by topseos.

Portland, Oregon (PRWEB) February 5, 2009 -- Search Engine Academy of Oregon has secured the number 4 rank on this month's list of the top 5 SEO training programs. The monthly rankings list published by TopSEOs.com is a guide to the cream of the crop of internet marketing vendors in the industry.
Search Engine Academy of Oregon is included in this list for its consistent performance and the superior services rendered to its SEO training students.

topseos seeks out the leading firms in the industry through rigorous evaluation criteria that includes:

* Competitive advantage
* Superior services and pricing
* Customer and technical support
* Response to client problems
* Innovations that set it apart from the competition
* Overall efficiency
* Overall performance

About Search Engine Academy of Oregon
Search Engine Academy of Oregon is a subsidiary of Response Interactive LLC , an interactive marketing agency based in Portland Oregon. The Search Engine Academy of Oregon offers 2, 3 and 5 Day SEO Training classes that teach a six step, stress free approach to search engine optimization. For more information on SEO Training programs in Portland, Oregon, please visit the www.sea-oregon.com website.

Umpqua Bank Introduces New Lending Initiatives

PORTLAND--Umpqua Bank, a subsidiary of Umpqua Holdings Corporation , introduces several loan initiatives for individuals and businesses in the communities it serves. These new loan initiatives are meant to support community growth and stimulate local economies by augmenting Umpqua’s full range of existing loan products and programs.

STARTING A BUSINESS & GETTING A LOAN

A Banker’s Tips for a Potential Business Borrower

BOB SEIWERT, the senior vice president for the Center for Commercial Lending and Business Banking at the American Bankers Association, a trade group in Washington, urges small-business owners to start meeting with bankers before they need a new loan or credit line. Mr. Seiwert spoke in a recent interview about the challenges facing small-business owners seeking business loans.

Before joining the bankers’ association, Mr. Seiwert worked for 30 years as a commercial banker — more than half of that with the Banc One Corporation.

Starting A Small Business In Tough Economic Times

Starting a small business is hard work. In a tough economy, it can be even harder. This is partly because when credit markets are tight, it can be tough to get startup financing. That's why it's crucial for small business owners to hone their business plans. In other words, if you want a slice of the financing pie, you had better work your cash projections really hard and know your bottom line down to the penny - how much money you need to put into the business, how much you will need to charge to meet your operating costs and, hopefully, what you need to do to realize a profit.

If you're thinking about making the leap into entrepreneurship, consider the following tips to successfully build your business in a difficult economy.

8 Tips For Starting Your Own Business

A Green Niche and Medford Brew

Salem climate change: Kulongoski earning green stripes

The governor’s early bid for a signature environmental achievement —— cleaning up the Willamette River —— ran aground.

But Kulongoski has found his green niche, and maybe his place in Oregon history, with an aggressive campaign to forestall global warming by reducing carbon emissions.

Under his stewardship, Oregon is swiftly becoming a world manufacturing center of solar energy materials, and a hotbed for wind and wave energy development.

Medford's Southern Oregon Brewing begins bottling

While some Southern Oregon business see this as a time to cut back, Southern Oregon Brewing, with the help of mobile bottling company Green Bottling, will begin bottling its award-winning brew today.

"As our draft business continues to grow in the Southern Oregon and Portland markets its was time to move to the next phase of our growth plan," states President/Founder Dr. Tom Hammond. "We're excited that our award-winning beer will soon be available for purchase at selected stores and supermarkets.

TICK - TOCK: Think differently

Periodically I look for ways to rearrange my thinking in how I go about my work. Recently Intel's Tick-Tock product development system was brought to my attention. It is their way of driving the development of new chips and their manufacturing processes. Intel uses alternate years to introduce new processes or architectures. The "tick" is the manufacturing method, it's the shrinkage of the elements on the chip. The "tock" is the change in the design, or the microarchitecture itself.

I am experimenting with Tick-Tock as a means to be more effective with an increase in my writing projects. With a heavy list of things I want to accomplish in 2009, I had to approach my writing with a different system than just a linear schedule (I am aware of the myth of "multi-tasking!"). Intel uses alternate years, but I am thinking in terms of alternate months or alternate weeks.

Check out the following sites, which have short videos to illustrate Tick-Tock.

Intel's Tick-Tock Model

Year 1: First the "Tick"

Driving technology innovation on a reliable and predictable timeline, Intel developed a model designed to deliver ongoing innovation. Referred to as our “tick-tock model” Intel has successfully alternated and delivered the next-generation of silicon technology as well as new processor micro-architecture year after year.

Year 2: Then the "Tock"

Intel delivers entirely new processor microarchitecture to optimize the value of the increased number of transistors and technology updates now available.

Intel design teams work in parallel around the globe to deliver coordinated technology advances based on our tick-tock model. The results can be seen in launches such as the Intel® Core™2 processor family, delivering industry-leading performance and energy efficiency on 65nm Intel® Core™ microarchitecture (tock). More recently, the same microarchitecture was refined and implemented on 45nm Intel® process technology (tick), delivering significant performance gains while dramatically decreasing transistor size.

Intel Tick-Tock
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wikipedia has a nice "roadmap" for the process.


Competitive Advantage Brings Innovation with Every Tick and Tock
This Intel Blog/site has another interesting video about the process.

At Intel, the Tick - Tock mindset creates different teams (manufacturing and architecture), working continuously on improvement. My two major projects for 2009 involve a team of one, so it is essentially my linear planning process ... with a twist. Rather than being in a continuous mode of research and writing, I am experimenting with a week of research followed by a week of writing.

What if I run out of research tasks before the end of the week, you say? What if I don't produce enough research to keep me in writing for the week? Dunno? Even Intel has it's critics of tick-tock. Journalists and industry analysts often criticize them for being off schedule in their chip release. They are, however, the industry leader. Works for me! How 'bout you? I can always go back to my ol' linear grind!

Experiment! Go home a different way!

Better News: Brewing and Bandwidth.

Nation’s Greenest State Honors Brewery for Responsible Business Practices

Portland, Or - Full Sail Brewing Company was honored by the State of Oregon for their outstanding commitment to sustainable business practices. The Brewery received the Governor’s Sustainability Award for small business. The State of Oregon, ranked the greenest state in the nation by Forbes.com and Business Facilities Magazine, presents the awards annually to innovative companies and organizations that demonstrate an exemplary commitment to sustainability.

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Portland WiMAX launch expected this week

The US wireless broadband operator Clearwire is expected to launch its second city-wide WiMAX network this week with a switch-on across 700 square miles in Portland, Oregon. Having launched its first commercial network in Baltimore last September, Clearwire was hoping to introduce services in Chicago and Washington DC by end-2008, but these launches have now been postponed ...

2009

Your Tech To Do list for 2009: Get the most out of your e-helpers

Start 2009 with seven resolutions that will help you make the most of your computer, the Internet and other tech devices:

2009: The forecast for entrepreneurs

Small companies ended 2008 with a laundry list of troubles, with sales slow, bank lending frozen, and health care and credit-card costs soaring. Here's what to expect in 2009 on 7 key issues.

2009 Trend Forecast
by Cheryl Swanson

Six Key Trends

"Survival of the Fastest" has been a driving socio-cultural macro trend since 1998. Affecting all levels of western culture, and infiltrating developing countries, Survival of the Fastest is characterised by technology becoming our personal sustenance. Twenty years ago, the US spent $614-billion on food and beverages and $2-billion on computers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That's a ratio of 300 to 1. That ratio is now at parity - we currently spend the same amount of money on technology as we do on our nutritional needs, and as a result, our lives have been transformed.

Happy New Year?

Is it appropriate to say: "Happy New Year?"

2008 has been a challenge to millions of Americans. In the extreme it has meant the loss of jobs or homes. At the very least, those that have jobs feel insecure about their employment and their financial future, including retirement prospects. While I would like to think that 2009 will bring a thaw in our financial deep-freeze, I don't think it will happen.

I appreciate your patience with my prolonged absence. For the last four months I have been both doing and reflecting. Like yourself, I am making changes in my professional life and business that adjusts to the new financial realities.

I will continue to provide quality and economical management coaching. I am also going to provide discounts to small businesses in distress.

I have created a website so that small businesses in the area can both "find" me and understand what they can achieve through working with me. Management coaching can return benefits five-to-one. Not too shabby in a time when most investments are heading south! Call or email me if you need help.

My web address is: http://www.goodmanagement.biz

I'll end this first blog entry of the year with two sayings. From my perspective they dovetail appropriate sentiments for the next year:

"In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity." -- Albert Einstein
"If I am not for myself, who will be; if I am only for myself, what does that make me?" -- Unknown.

I wish you well in the next year. It will be possible to get through the following months. Read ... observe ..... develop ... connect, and DO!