A Real Pain In The Back Your source for Small-Business news, reviews, trends and troubleshooting.

NovaCare Inc., a national employer of nearly 17,000 licensedphysical-rehabilitation clinicians, recently conducted a study todetermine which types of injuries were most frequently sustained inthe workplace. Topping the list for both men and women? Backinjuries, followed by neck and shoulder injuries.

"The findings," says John H. Foster, chairman and CEOof NovaCare, "are distressing, and point to the need forever-greater on-the-job injury-prevention efforts. Workplaceinjuries account for more than $70 billion annually in medicalexpenses and lost productivity."

As a small-business owner, the first preventative measure totake is as easy as listening to your body.

"If you often leave the office with stress, backaches,headaches or other pains, consider that these kinds of symptoms maybe your body's way of saying it can't adapt to the physicalaspects of your workplace," say Edith Weiner and Arnold Brown,authors of Office Biology (Weiner, Edrich, Brown Inc., $22,212-889-7007).

"Is your work surface too high or too low for you?"ask Weiner and Brown. "Must you assume an unnatural orstretched position in order to see or reach controls, to write ortype, or to get access to materials or parts of your work unit? Areyou required to hold up your arms or hands without the help ofarmrests? Do you have to lift and carry too much weight?"

Here are some of Weiner and Brown's suggestions for creatinga more body-friendly workplace:

• While at the keyboard, use a wristrest to keep your wristsstraight.

• If you talk on the phone while writing or typing, use aheadset; this will reduce the stress to your neck and upperbody.

• Watch your posture. Your seat should slope slightly forward, inorder to move some of the pressure off your spine and onto yourthighs and feet.

• Finally, take frequent breaks; sitting in one position for toolong isn't good for you.

Magnetic Attraction

Traditionally, magnets have been used to hold up artwork onrefrigerator doors. Lately, though, magnets themselves have becomemore of an expression of art--not to mention a booming product inthe marketplace.

With its "Dress Me Up! David" and "Dress Me Up!Venus" sets, Seattle's Caryco Magnets was one of the firstcompanies to jump-start America's current magnet craze. As aninnovative twist to dressing paper dolls, customers can garbminiature versions of the classic Michelangelo and Bouguereaustatues in leather jackets, denim jeans, Scottish kilts, hulaskirts, and Santa Claus costumes.

And then there's Minneapolis' Dave Kapell, who,realizing there's a bit of Keats, Whitman or Ginsberg in all ofus, created the immensely popular Magnetic Poetry kits, whichenable users to piece together lines of poetry from individuallyworded tiles.

Poetryslam Inc. in Carrboro, North Carolina, has taken theword-salad concept a step further with poetryslam, a magnetic boardgame (with an intentionally lowercased title, in homage to poete.e. cummings) that combines the basics of Scrabble with magneticpoetry composition.

Finally, Blue Q in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, has mastered theart of visual puns with its witty sets of themed magnets."Heart Attack On A Plate," one of the more memorablecompilations, features such heart-stopping diet heavies as a friedchicken leg, a slice of cheesecake, and a side ofsteak.--K.M.

Steps To Business Safety

Of increasing concern for small-business owners is thepossibility of a violent crime occurring on their property. Crimevictims are apt to sue the business where the assault took place,claiming the business was negligent by not providing adequatesecurity measures for their safety. Judicial courts have also hadthe tendency to shift responsibility from the criminals to"negligent" property owners; negligence suits today oftentop $1 million and have gone up as far as $10 million.

Simple measures, such as limiting access to your property andinstalling brighter outside lights, can make the difference in abusiness's crime liability, according to Jim McIntyre, managerof casualty loss control for The Hanover Insurance Company inWorcester, Massachusetts.

Some security recommendations: Be careful with your keys;install and maintain good locks on doors and windows; build a fencearound your business; make friends with the police; and documentyour security program.

For more information, refer to Hanover's free pamphlet,"Premises Security: 13 Steps to a More Secure BusinessProperty." To obtain a copy, contact your local independentagent or write to Betsy Sabourin, Hanover Insurance, 100 N. Pkwy.H260, Worcester, MA 01605-1396, and ask for order #111-2054.

--Allyssa Lee

Stoking The Fire

As an entrepreneur, you probably know the vital role motivationplays in helping you accomplish your goals. Steve Chandler's100 Ways to Motivate Yourself (Career Press, $15.99, 800-227-3371) features 100 simple and easy ways to motivateyourself.

For example: If you're having difficulty waking up in themorning, you may need to Create a vision that calls you outof bed each day--something to remind you of your mostimportant goals and inspirations.

Or maybe you're feeling intimidated by your lack ofknowledge about starting a new endeavor. If so, put your mind atease and Find your inner Einstein. Every human has thecapacity for genius, says Chandler, and access to it is gained notthrough knowledge, but rather through your commitment "tousing your imagination."

If you're overwhelmed by the thought of change and of havingto make change happen, Make small changes to acclimateyourself. "If you see yourself (or your business) as amasterpiece-in-progress," says Chandler, "then you willrelish small changes."--Lela Kim

The Suite Life

If you want to create your own Web site but feel overwhelmed atthe prospect, help is available. Peachtree's Business InternetSuite simplifies the process, providing all the necessary tools forboth Web-site creation and maintenance.

The Internet Suite includes a comprehensive tutorial, Web-sitecreation software, Internet access with browser (NetscapeNavigator), electronic-storefront capabilities (which enable you tointegrate to Peachtree Complete Accounting for Windows), PeachLinkorder processor, and e-mail. No need to learn Hypertext MarkupLanguage computer programming: The software provides you withseveral predesigned small-business Web-site templates to choosefrom. An optional domain-name-registration service and a freesearch-engine-registration service ensure that potential customersaround the world can easily find your new site.

For use with an IBM-compatible 386 or higher, running Windows95, minimum 14.4 Kbps modem, 13MB free hard-disk space, CD-ROMdrive, and 8MB RAM. Retail price: $129.

From Peachtree Software, Norcross, GA. To order, call (800)247-3224.--Amy Lewis

Dr. Troubleshooter

By Roger Fritz

Every business has problems. But entrepreneurial survivors solvetheir business's problems as they arise, and grow by convertingthose solutions into future opportunities.

Dr. Roger Fritz has more than 40 years of experience as aneducator, manager, corporate executive, university president,small-business consultant, and author of 28 business and managementbooks.

This month in Dr. Troubleshooter's waiting room, we discoverthe importance of evaluating your cash flow.

Problem: Business is growing, new clients are coming onboard every day, and orders are increasing. Things couldn't bebetter, right? Wrong. Because of increased activity, your expensesare increasing--but the money isn't coming in as fast. Yourcompany is experiencing cash-flow problems.

Diagnosis: Your company's accounts-payable strategyshould be based on its own cash-flow requirements. Otherwise, youare, in effect, bankrolling your customers.

Prescription: If it takes 120 days to collect on youraccounts receivable, it is financially unreasonable for you to payyour own bills within 15 days. Review your cash-flow cycle (thatis, the time that elapses from when you spend your money on rawmaterials, labor, shipping, and so forth, through the sales andmarketing process, until the time you are paid by yourcustomers).

For the purpose of illustration, assume you are a distributor.You buy a product on February 1, sell it on April 30, and receivepayment for it on June 15. In other words, you have had your money"invested" in that product for about 105 days!

If you paid your supplier for the product within 30 days of thetime you bought it, you have been "financing" the productfor about 75 days!

Remember that your profit is based on how much you mark-up yourproducts, and does not include "interest" on whatevermoney you may have tied up in the product between the time you buyit and the time you sell it. That expense comes directly out ofyour gross profit.

There are several ways in which to reduce this cash-to-cashcycle:

• Collect money from your customers faster.

• Move your product faster.

• Pay your own bills slower.

Excerpted with permission from Roger Fritz's The SmallBusiness Troubleshooter: 152 Solutions to the Problems Faced byEvery Growing Company (Career Press, $16.99, 630-420-7673).

Q&A

By Melisa Giordano

Q: I am looking for information on the art of hat-making for menand women. Where can I get detailed information about making hats?Any help would be appreciated.

Yolanda Reynolds

Chicago, Illinois

A: Provided by Randy Hirschfield, president of National CapManufacturers Inc., in Orange, California, a company which handlesthe sales, design, production and distribution of hats.

The hat-making business--whether it's baseball caps orfloppy hats for women--is a very labor-intensive process, filledwith multiple steps and sub-steps. This is true of almost anybusiness which involves sewing and factory work, because almostevery step requires a very specialized job and piece ofmachinery.

For example, the sewing process alone for a high-qualitysix-panel baseball cap contains between 18 and 20 individualoperations; therefore, production lines are normally set up withseparate operators to perform each function. Although you can beginwith basic machines, special attachments and other parts can beretrofitted to these machines to meet your specific needs. Onecompany which provides this service is Tennessee Attachment, inWhite Bluff, Tennessee (800-251-5000).

The best source guide I can recommend is an industry-specificannual publication called The Hat Life Directory, whichlists about 1,000 hat manufacturers, wholesalers, renovators andimporters of men's headwear. Available for $19, the directoryalso lists trade suppliers, and sources for trim, fabrics,specialized machinery, etc. To order, call (201) 434-8322, or writeto 66 York St., Jersey City, NJ 07302.

For information about fashion headwear, the Headwear InformationBureau (HIB) in New York City offers a directory withmanufacturers, importers and suppliers. As a national industryorganization, annual dues range from $35 to $150, according to yourbusiness's production volume. For more information, write to302 W. 12th St., Penthouse C, New York, NY 10014, or call (212)627-8333.

A phone call to any local bookstore can provide you withextensive information about books on the art of hat-making, as wellas directional guides on how to start a business. I recommendThe Hat Book, by Juliet Bawden (Lark Books, $14.95,800-284-3388), as well as taking a class in hat-making at a localcollege.

Experience, however, is the greatest teacher. The best way tolearn how to make hats and to improve the quality of existing hatsis to take them apart. Buy a bunch of different hats and undoeverything, so you can see what each is made of, and learn whatsteps to follow. Also, scrutinize the quality of the hat, includingits material, stitching, styling and durability. If you provide acustomer with quality without making them pay more, they will mostlikely buy from your company again.

Although no national association exists specifically forheadwear companies, a good place to start might be the HeadwearDivision of the American Apparel Manufacturers Association. Forinformation on their services, call the staff liaison, Joan McNeal,at (703) 524-1864, or write to 2500 Wilson Blvd., #301, Arlington,Virginia 22201.

Finally, start-up capital is a must. It's my belief thatmore headwear-manufacturing operations fail in the start-up stagedue to lack of sufficient capital than anything else. Getting intothe hat business is one thing, but delivering a quality product ata competitive price is the greatest challenge.

Contact Sources

Caryco Magnets, 2366 Eastlake Ave. E., #429, Seattle, WA98102, (206) 325-2767.

National Cap Manufacturers Inc., 535 W. Walnut, Orange,CA 92868, (714) 288-8410.

Dr. Roger Fritz, 1240 Iroquois Dr., #406, Naperville, IL60563, (630) 420-7673.

Poetryslam Inc., P.O. Box 1025, Carrboro, NC 27510, (888)777-1825.

Tennessee Attachment, 4600 Hwy. 70, White Bluff, TN37187, (800) 251-5000.