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Weekly UpdatesMore than 1,000 professionals, business owners, and aspiring entrepreneurs ventured to Detroit for the 2009 BLACK ENTERPRISE Entrepreneurs Conference + Expo hosted by General Motors and ExxonMobil. Our editors have culled some of the advice, resources, and highlights provided by experts and veteran entrepreneurs who were all there with one mission in mind: to provide attendees with tactical tools and sound strategies to improve their businesses and navigate the new terrain. There's something for everyone across these four pages, so gain the competitive advantage and take a lesson from BE.
--The Editors
Additional reporting by Lauren Lea
Affordable Franchises You Should Buy Now.
Franchising is looking attractive these days as a turnkey solution to the economic downturn. But before you jump in, Miriam Brewer, director of education and diversity for the International Franchise Association, offers this advice to help you figure out which system is right for you:
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Research. Available in nearly 100 different industries, franchises can be purchased in a range of sizes and investments. Visit www.franchise.org.
Stay afloat. Provide a service or product people will need in any economy.
Keep up. Trade regulations are amended often. Log on to www.ftc.gov to read current policies or http://thomas.loc.gov for pending legislation.
Securing Capital in a Tight Market
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Where's the money? One place is community banks. Bankers such as Deloris Sims, chairman & CEO of Milwaukee-based Legacy Bank (No. 13 on the BE BANKS list with $224.5 million in assets), help their neighborhoods prosper by providing funding to viable small businesses. But the first source of capital is identifying internal cash. Eric Dobyne, Midwest regional director for the Minority Business Development Agency (www.mbda.gov), a bureau of the U.S. Department of Commerce, says the money could be there and you not even know it--especially if inventory is improperly monitored or priced, or if cash flow is mismanaged. "Ninety percent of companies fail because of the back room," he says. The key is being comfortable with your numbers; if you're unfamiliar it's best to seek the help of experienced professionals or utilize software.
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"Upside potential in today's economy is tremendous, so now is the time to take risks and think outside the box. Now is the time when great entrepreneurs reinvent themselves and when great fortunes are made."
--R. Donahue Peebles, Chairman and CEO of the Peebles Corp., the country's largest black--owned real estate development company
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Finding Passion in Your Profession
Judge Glenda Hatchett's "Golden Rules" to success.
1 Be grateful
2 Live on purpose
3 Don't let others rob you of your joy
4 Know your spiritual worth
Reinvent Your Business to Thrive in Turbulent Times
I. According to Pamela Mitchell, owner of The Reinvention Institute, this is the best time to start anew. She offers these tips on getting started: Identify your challenges and establish clear goals and objectives. Next, narrow your focus by making adjustments to one product or service; assess the results, moving forward from there. And finally, find a mentor who has also gone through a business reinvention and ask for insights and advice.
II. Marlon Cousin, managing partner of the executive search firm, The Marquin Group, suggests four ways to stay relevant in your industry:
1 Back to the basics. Remember the principles you established when you started your company; rely on the fundamentals.
2 Be open. Consider operating across multiple industries and platforms.
3 Evaluate your team. Do your employees have the talent to attain the goals you've set for the organization?
4 Evaluate yourself. Conduct an unbiased assessment of your leadership. What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? What do you need to do to lead your team to new heights?
III. Ready for a new you? Check out these recommendations:
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The Knack: How Street-Smart Entrepreneurs Learn to Handle Whatever Comes Up by Norm Brodsky and Bo Burlingham (Penguin Group; $25.95)
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Good in a Room: How to Sell Yourself (and Your Ideas) and Win Over an Audience by Stephanie Palmer (Broadway Business; $23.95)
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Collapse of Distinction: Stand Out and Hove Up While Your Competition Fails by Scott McKain (Thomas Nelson; $24.99)
Growing Your Business Through Social Networking & New Media
Brandon Broussard, co-owner, Barackawear Inc.: "You have to get on Facebook or Twitter as yourself--let people get to know you before you mention your products or services. Be very organic."
And remember: Decisions, Decisions Your clientele and how often you want to interact with them will determine which platform you use,
Interest = Customers Find something compelling about your background that separates you from the competition.
Shifting Gears: New Realities, New Rules, New Opportunities
Game Changers: Success Strategies for the 21st Century Entrepreneurs must take steps so their businesses come through today's crisis transformed--stronger, more efficient, and better equipped to sustain any and all challenges. That's the advice of three topflight CEOs: Harold T. Epps, CEO of PRWT Services Inc. (No. 25 on the BE INDUSTRIAL/SERVICE COMPANIES list with $167 million in revenues) and this year's BE Industrial/Service Company of the Year; Suzanne Shank, president and CEO of Siebert Brandford Shank (No. 1 in tax-exempt securities with $5.4 billion in lead issues on the BE INVESTMENT BANKS list); and Ulice Payne Jr., founder and president of Esquire Petroleum, one of ExxonMobil's leading distributorships. Here are their game-changing approaches:
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Shank
FIND TOP TALENT IN TOUGH TIMES
The turbulent financial markets affected every aspect of Shank's business. So what did she do? "We decided to use this as an opportunity to hire talent," she says. "We increased our staff by about 30% in 2008, because we had the opportunity to hire really great people from all of our competing firms."
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Epps
FORGE PARTNERSHIPS THAT WORK
PRWT has grown through strategic alliances with the nation's largest corporations such as Lockheed Martin and, recently, Merck (See "The Many Colors of PRWT," June 2009). "So we now have diversification that allows us to better weather some of the storms that can happen when you have a single-focused company," says Epps. And he says get to know the people you want in your circle before you need something.
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Payne
KNOW YOUR BUSINESS
In building Esquire Petroleum, which sells fuel wholesale to gas stations, Payne learned all aspects of the oil industry--from exploration to retail sales. By doing so, he has been able to determine cost, risk, sales, and margins. And since 2007, his distributorship has grown from 14 million to 35 million gallons in the Chicago market. His philosophy: "Fish where the fish are. Basically, know your business because it's hard to be successful if you don't."
Going Global: Finding Fortune Beyond Our Borders
Here are some tips for tackling the global terrain:
* Know before you go: Be knowledgeable about the country and the culture where you plan to do business.
* Choose carefully. If you're based in the U.S., partner with someone who knows the foreign landscape.
* Get more info: The International Trade Administration (vvww.trade.gov) helps entrepreneurs do business abroad.
"Everything you need to succeed is inside of you in the form of a seed called brilliance. When I operate in my insight, my potential, my genius, I literally begin to live from the inside out. So no matter what is happening in any economy, I am able to thrive because of the brilliance within."
--Simon Bailey, author, motivational speaker founder of the Brillance Institute Inc.
Small Business Success Boot Camps hosted by Sam's Club
Cash Flow Management
Robert Wallace, author, and CEO of BITHGROUP Technologies Inc. insists that healthy cash flow occurs only within companies that manage their partnerships well; companies need to understand how their talents complement their partners' strengths and weaknesses.
Marketing Magic
Five Dimensions of Customer Value:
1. Simplicity
2. Clarity
3. Quality
4. Access
5. Value
"You need to translate however you're operating today into ways to improve upon these dimensions," says Aubyn E. Thomas, senior vice president of marketing services and corporate marketing for Macy's Inc. "It will increase your brand value, because customers want to do business with companies in this way."
Building a World-Class Workforce
"The way you do business is as important as the business you do," says executive coach Chris Bryant, founder of Rapport Strategies Group
* RECRUIT top talent only.
* REWARD what you want repeated
* RENEW your team for long-term performance
Tackle Technology
"What drives people to us on the Web is interesting, fascinating, and captivating content (i.e., a blog post, comment, video, etc.). The goal: Get them to respond to you. So we want to get into good conversations, giving us an opportunity to have meaningful exchanges, sharing of information, building that relationship. And if we have enough of those exchanges, we'll begin to create business relationships. Maybe it'll be a customer, maybe it's a vendor or a partner relationship, but it's somebody that will add value to the bottom line.
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