So you know you have to do it, or at least you should do it.  Why do we get so off track with posting to the blog and updating the Facebook page?  Well, all I can do is speculate for myself…laziness.  Other things have gotten in the way.  What gets in your way? 

 Maybe I set up unrealistic expectations?  I know for me to post, it is usually a bigger ordeal.  For most of my posts, I interview a company, and then write about it. THEN, it should get edited.  See, my horrible grammar and spelling seem to get me into trouble.  I always get the one or two people that know every grammatical rule or can win hands down in a game of Scrabble to read something, comment on it, and then give me a complex.  Well here is my warring from here on out:

 YOU WILL FIND ERRORS ON MY BLOG.  FOCUS ON THE CONTENT. 

 Enough said.  So now I just took out a step.  I will at least write everything in Word, and look for the red and green squigglies to fix what I can. 

 I know that to blog successfully, it should be done at a minimum of once a week.  I know that two or three is ideal for my type of company.  BUT, other stuff gets in the way.  Here is what I preach, now if I could follow my own advice…

1)      Create a calendar

2)      Be consistent

3)      Offer useful content to your audience that they want to read

4)      Be consistent!

 Okay.  So I have broken the silence and I will make a commitment to blog once a week minimum, whether I have an interview or not. 

 But, tell us what do you struggle with in creating a blog?  Have you started one?  If so, what do you write about?  Share with us.

grow it!

nick

Business #30…EmbroidMe Denver South:  Tim Sheahan.

Littleton,  Colorado

303-795-0234

http://www.embroidme-denversouth.com/

Favorite business book:  Good to Great by Jim Collins

Start Date:  Bought in June of 2009

The road to owning your own business is different for everyone.  Some begin with an idea on a napkin, and others buy something already up and running.  Tim Sheahan and his wife Cheryl decided to buy and existing franchise in Littleton after a 35 year career with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.  Tim left them a couple years ago and was running another nonprofit in Denver when he got laid off.  They did not want to leave Denver so they started looking at opportunities to work for themselves.

The Sheahans visited a franchise show in Denver and was turned on to EmbroidMe.  After hearing about the opportunity to buy an existing store, Tim knew he could capitalize on his vast network and really grow the business.  The nice part was that they already had an existing client base, and they were able to hit the ground running and not limping.  One smart thing they did when they bought the company was to set Cheryl up as the majority owner (60%), so they would be more likely to receive some government contracts. 

Upon purchasing the store, and buying into the franchise, they were required to go to embroidery school for two weeks at the EmbroidMe headquarters for training.  The training included how to do the technical work of embroidery, but they focused on how to run a business and not just do the work.  As the new cliché goes:  work on their business and not in the business. 

Even though they have a storefront, Tim does not rely on just foot traffic, and people coming to him.  He is constantly out in the community building relationships and partnership with other business owners; not much different than the relationships he was able to build and foster as part of the Boys and Girls Club.  Helping business owners create marketing strategies for their business after learning what they do, and how they try to bring value in the marketplace is a big part of what Tim tries to do with his customers.  Since they have over 750,000 items to offer, it is hard for individuals to really know the full scope of what is available.

On a basic level, EmbroidMe offers embroidery, screen printing, and promotional items.  What does that mean?  If you want a polo shirt with your logo embroidered…they can help.  If you want a mug that says “I dig for YOU!” they can help.  If you want 3 t-shirts for your service techs…they can also do that, and handle the low number at a reasonable rate. 

Tim feels his business strength really lies in sales, marketing, and networking.  This is a great asset to have when most business owners that I talk to have no idea how to market their business.  On the flip side, he feels he could use some help in the organization and details.  Sound familiar to any of you entrepreneurs out there?  Thankfully he has Cheryl who keeps a tight reign in the office, on production, and in the administrative side of the business.   Tim loves the fact that he is still involved with a lot of people on a daily basis. 

So what does marketing look like for them:  networking and building relationships.  This is a time intensive process, but the reality is most of the customers they get will be repeat business.  And, if they get in with a bigger company, they will often time be able to expand the business into other departments and other locations.  Being out in the community means volunteering, being a part of organizations like the Denver Rotary, and donating products to organizations and non-profits like Project Cure and the 9News Health Fair. 

They have plenty of opportunity for growth and have a 5 year vision of expanding into an additional store and acquiring another franchise license for an events business that is also associated with the EmbroidMe parent company.   So for now; there is no rest for Tim, Cheryl, and their 6 employees.

Tim’s advice to a new business owner: you have to have “lots of cash flow available.”  You need to watch your financials and figure out who you can partner with to build your business.  “Power Partners” are individuals that can drive business to you, but are not necessarily customers.  It works best if they are individuals that you too can help build their business. 

Thanks Tim for your time and willingness to share your story.

Have you ever found yourself asking yourself this question?  It is a great question.  A lot of times as a small business owner, we keep doing a list of things.  We keep trying to stay busy for busy sake.  Does it feel like you are banging your head against the wall and getting nowhere fast? 

I met with a guy last week that looked like this from the outside.  He is staying busy.  He is working seven days a week.  He is working to please customers with no clear understanding or process.  We have all been here, or at least most of us.  The problem is, if you don’t open your eyes, and see the futility of it, you will continue to do the same things, and continue to get the same results. 

How do you break out of this?  If you are in this place right now, I want to give you a few things that will hopefully get you out of this rut, and back on track. 

First, you need to know where you are going.  You need to set a ONE year goal, not a five year plan.  Small business owners need to have a bigger vision for what they are doing and where they are going, but spending too much time on a fancy five year plan can be a HUGE waste of time.  I don’t know about you, but my strategic plan has a tendency to shift from year to year, especially in the first 5 years.  You must have a clear idea about where you want to go over the next 12 months. 

Second, your plan must be based and grounded in reality.  Do you really think you can grow at a 300% rate, month over month for six months?  If you have only been adding one new customer a week for the last 2 months, what makes you thing that all of a sudden you will be able to add 5 per week?  Be realistic.  Don’t set yourself up for failure which leads to burn out and frustration. 

Third, meet with a group of like minded business owners that can give you feedback and accountability.  As a business owner, the best thing is that we don’t have a boss.  The worst thing about being a small business owner is that there is no one telling us what we need to do.  It is a double edge sword.  If you meet with a peer group, you will be able to stay on track and get good feedback on the steps you are planning on taking. 

Fourth (and this is very important), you must be receptive to the advice of others.  Most successful people realize their limitations and realize that they may not have all the answers.  We all have room for improvement.  I have a friend that is more organized than just about anyone.  He has a place for everything, and nothing is EVER out of place.  The great thing is that he always tells me, “I have to get more organized.  I can do better.”  If we all had this understanding, and acted on it, we would all continually improve and make our business better. 

 What will you do with this?  How will you change your habits?  Like I always say, ideas are worthless with out action.  Will you take action?

Business #29…Maguills Entertainment:  Joe Herbert

Denver, Colorado

303-638-3804

http://www.maguills.com

Start Date:  2004

What does fashion, hair care, sports drinks, luxury performance car driving, duck hunting, and sub sandwiches all have in common? Joe Herbert. He is the creative force they all call on when it is time to get their message out on the web, on the TV, and on the big screen. There are a lot of really intriguing business out there, and a lot of businesses that I have really enjoyed to hear about. Maguills Entertainment is a business that I truly admire. Joe Herbert and his partner have created a company

Pureology

that takes advantage of some unique vantage points to truly compete with some big guns in their industry.

Few students actually do what they go to school to do. Joe had gone to the Art Institute for visual effects and motion graphics with hopes of getting into the movies. Problem was, he was not willing to move to LA or New York to pursue a career, so he decided to let his clients come to him. He chose to stay in Denver to build his company and it has paid off. It is however a double edged sword. On one side, he is able to keep his cost much lower than his competitors in LA, New York, or even Chicago, but he does find he has to do a little more convincing with his potential clients to use his Colorado based video production company for their advertising pieces. 

When he was in school, he had a ton of projects to do, and did them for free. As school came to an end, he found that he still had projects to do, but now they were starting to pay. His first project was a pilot for an “American Chopper” style television show. One project has led to another project, and as most of us know, it is not as much what you know, but who you know that counts. Most of Joe’s projects come from word of mouth. People in the business talk a lot.

Even though they get a lot of requests, like other industries, people have distorted ideas when it comes to what things cost. Joe gets a lot of ridiculous requests for him to do projects that will pay little to nothing. This was okay when he was in school and getting started, but now it is for real.

As far as marketing the company, there is not much of a budget. Most of his marketing dollars go into his very video rich web site. Joe has thoughts of hiring a sales rep to help grow, but has not moved in that direction as of yet.  Most of his clients do come as word of mouth from his current client base, and they work directly with the end user.  Some agencies have requested him to work on sections of a single project.  This is not the ideal for Joe, since he likes to have more control of a project.  If they are only editing video and doing the end production, then they had no control over what shots were originally taken, and have the burden of telling a story with limited resources.  If they only do the filming, then they have no control over the end product, or how the story is told.

The basic assignment consists of one day of shooting and 1 to 2 days of post production, for a total of about 40 hours of work.  An advanced project with high detail can consist of up to 500 hrs of filming and production.  Because projects can very so greatly, it is imperative to discover through communicating with the client, what their desired results are. 

The biggest surprise to Joe has been how little location has mattered to the success of his company.  Even though he thought it would be more of an issue, it does still take a little convincing to clients.  The biggest struggle has been with companies wanting to hire them for videos that have little to no money.  On top of that is competition from inexperienced individuals offering to produce clips and videos for next to nothing just to fill their portfolios.  This has not done good things for the industry as a whole.  But, similar to other industries, it is a reality that when times are tough, there is always someone who just needs a little cash.  It is up to Joe to remind them (and us all) that our prospects will get what they pay for in the end…no matter how good the deal sounds.

Joe’s vision is to build his company to a point where they are shooting every day, and are always planning for the next project, eventually getting to the point where he is no longer in the field DOING, but managing.  Currently, like most small business owners, Joe finds himself with his hands on almost all pieces of a project. 

What does he love?  Joe is able to play on his computer almost every day.  He is doing what he loves, and what he is passionate about.  He admits that he “feels like he is just goofing around on the computer” most days.  This is when you know you are in your sweet spot.

Thanks Joe for your time and willingness to share your story with us.

Guest Post by:  Robert E. Lee is a CPA and MBA with Eminence Business Consulting, PC, a CPA consulting firm

When tax time rolls around, many small business owners scramble to get their tax returns done on time. The only way to keep your taxes in line is to plan, be organized and do it early enough so that all of your options are in play.

There is still time to implement strat­egies to mitigate taxes. You lose out on options come March 15 when S and C Corps are due and April 15 when taxes are due for partnerships, sole propri­etorships, single member and multi-member LLCs. If you owe tax and don’t have the cash flow to mitigate it, you will at least have a good idea of what your tax liability is and can plan on how to have the cash available to pay it by April 15.

Whatever you do, don’t put off filing, or you will gradually lose your ability to manage it. I prepared a tax return for a new client last year for the 2008 tax year. There was not much he could do but pay the tax and the penalty. There is no stra­tegic advantage to doing it that way. Delay and pay is not a plan.

There are literally hun­dreds of options that could be part of your tax strategy. It all depends on your unique circum­stances. Working with a tax professional gives you an edge over either doing it yourself or using any of the off-the-shelf tax preparation software. The quality of your return and the chances of you apply­ing the correct rules for your circumstances are

Are you ready?

 significantly improved by working with a profes­sional.

Just as there really are no “over­night successes,” there are no overnight failures. A fatalist might say that your future is written in the stars. But as a CPA, I can accurately predict that the future is written in your books and in how you plan and deal with challenges.

Success or failure might appear to come suddenly, but both are the direct result of decisions made over the course of time. There are always hints of what is to come in the books and how the business is run. It can be difficult for the entrepreneur who is committed to his idea, his business, so caught up in the day-to-day opera­tion to notice the sprouting seeds of success or failure.

For that reason alone, it’s vital to include a Certified Public Accountant as one of your closest advisors.

A good CPA has worked with many businesses and has experience with just about every challenge a startup will likely face. In my case, I’ve worked with many small businesses for 15 years now. During this time I’ve worked for companies in indus­tries such as retail, professional service, manufacturing, software development, computer hardware, real estate, and financial. I’ve had experience with company acquisitions & sales, company bankruptcy, and other com­plex financial deals. Furthermore, I earned my MBA from Regis University in 2003. As a CPA, I am very well rounded.

Robert E. Lee is a CPA and MBA with Eminence Business Consulting, PC, a CPA consulting firm that provides professional services related to Business Planning, Tax Planning & Preparation, QuickBooks Training, Setup and Review. His clients include new and small business. He can be reached at (303) 766-2076 or rlee@ebcconsult.com. http://www.EBCconsult.com  

Part II of the Kitchen Table story.  If you missed the first installment, please read it below.

Yvonne knows that her biggest weakness in running her business is her lack of experience.  Because of this, she feels that she is learning something new at every turn, every day.  She feels her strength is in managing and supporting her staff.  Delegating to competent people and finding and keeping a great team is vital to any businesses success.  Her attention to detail and high standards and in a consistent fashion helps ensure that this does not just become giving out tasks, but true delegation. 

Because of her ability to delegate and manage qualified people, Yvonne has hired a PR and marketing firm to manage and maintain their marketing functions.  Hiring Howard pr (www.howardpr.com) has helped get them great coverage in the local media.  Melanie Howard has been able to get them on TV and in local magazines.  Once people come in, their staff does a great job at integrating customers into the whole experience, and often gives tours of the facility to educate them on all the store has to offer. 

The biggest surprise for Yvonne has been first how much work it is, but second, how happy customers respond to everything they have to offer.  Yvonne would say she loves how things are so different every day.  There is always a different class, a different stress, a different excitement…and it is always exciting.   If she could change one thing, she would have done more planning; the learning curve slows them down.

Thankfully, Yvonne did do a lot of research prior to opening.  She was fortunate enough to have several family members and friends in the food business.  So making food and offering classes has been the easy part.  It has been the business side of paperwork, laws, health department, and accounting which she felt slightly unprepared for. 

Her long term vision for her store is not earth shattering.  It is a simple desire to continue to serve her customers and offer high quality products and classes.  She wants the focus to remain on the people that populate both the school and the cafe.  They are what has made it successful, and she never wants that to go away.  If she is constantly offering more classes, continues to foster the open environment, and has fun, I am sure they will be around for a long time to come. 

Advice Yvonne would give to a new business owner:  “You need to research your target demographics.  Choose the right location for your business – knowing that where you open your business is important.  Have something unique.  Have a plan; but know that how you do it, will change.  And know the core of your business.”

What a great business.  Thank you Yvonne for sharing your story, and I wish you nothing but the best.

Business #28…Kitchen Table:  Yvonne Haag.

Greenwood Village, Colorado

303-220-9769

http://www.kitchentablegv.com

Favorite business book:  The New Gold Standard by Joseph A Michelli

Start Date:  February 2008

Yvonne Haag had dreamt of opening a cooking school for the everyday cook for years, but in 2006, her dream started to take shape.  Even though the final outcome was much different that what she had in mind, Yvonne’s journey to opening the Kitchen Table café and cooking school has been exciting.  In the summer of 2006, Yvonne was informed of the Landmark development in Greenwood Village.  The décor and feel was to something akin to a European market, and they were looking to fill the spaces with unique and upscale shops. 

In 2007, Yvonne was asked by the developer if she would consider adding a café to her original concept of a cooking school.  Even though the cafe was not in the original plan, she liked the idea for folks coming in to stay, relax, and enjoy coffee, a glass of wine, or a pastry. Everything that is served in Esspessole Caffe is created in house, and not shipped in, so the pastries are fresh, and the croissants are baked just one room over.   She would not only be able to take the mystery out of cooking for the average person, she would also be able to share some of their creations with patrons of her coffee bar.

So Yvonne has two businesses in one.  On one side of their space, she has a cooking school that offers classes to the every day cook.  The list of available classes are amazing; everything from Moroccan Cuisine to Fresh and Healthy Meals, and from French Pastries to Pies and Tarts.  And soon, you can even take a course on choosing the right wine to pair with your meal.  If you want to see the list of classes, go to http://www.kitchentablegv.com/by_date.php .

And if you are just in the mood to have a cup of espresso or to eat a French pastry, then you can visit Espressole Caffe.  The caffe (and yes, that is how they spell it), serves espressos and coffee drinks, chai tea, glass of Merlot, or a shot of Jack.  It is a full bar as well as a café.  The atmosphere is very relaxed.  On a Friday or Saturday night, you might find musician playing guitar in the corner, and you can always warm up in front of the fireplace.  Yvonne wanted to create a warm and inviting atmosphere that encouraged customers to come, stay, connect, and relax. 

You would never know it, but Yvonne does not come from a background of running other businesses.  She actually has been a stay-at-home mom for most of her adult life.  In fact, she is still able to get home by 3:30 every afternoon to see her kids come in the door.  So she has not forgotten her first food critics that have had to endure all her cooking experimentations over the years.  Her husband and kids are still a huge priority to her, and she has created a business that still allows her to be a mom and a wife.  In order to accomplish this, she has had to find great team members that run the business whether she is present or not.  It has been a priority for her from day one, and she is proud of the fact that everyone on her staff has been with her from the opening of the store.

Chef Cody

Come back tomorrow, and learn about Ynonne’s big weakness, how they have been able to get good media coverage, and her big vision for her business.

A friend of mine challanged me with an idea last week, and I can’t get it out of my head.  He asked me if I was “playing to win”, or “playing to not lose.”  At the time, I was a little caught off guard.  It didn’t settle with me very well.  I thought, of course I was playing to win; playing to not lose was so ridiculous.  But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it wasn’t that I was playing to not loose as much as I was just showing up to play.

I started to play soccer this year.  It has been a really great outlet for me.  So much, that I have now joined three teams.

Play to Win

I think if there was one team that practiced a few days a week, it would be enough, but this is the over 30 league.  We just play games.  At first, I was amazing.  I hadn’t played in about 16 years, but I was the top scorer out of our first three games.  I was an animal.  I would attack and I would win the ball, or take out the guy trying.  Needless to say, this got me a very quick reputation, as well as a lot of penalties.  I was quicker than most, and I was in better shape.  Up and down the field I would run.  Then I realized that this was just a game.  We are suppose to be having a fun time, and I was coming home injured almost every night.  It was time to calm down.

So now, I’ve played about three, 8 week sessions.  I am much more mellow.  Two weeks ago, some of the guys asked me what happened to the Nick we use to see.  I shrugged it off and said I needed to mellow out and not get so worked up.  I started to just show up.

Tonight, I sit with two skinned knees, a bruised forearm, and a twisted ankle.  I didn’t get put in the penalty box (that was last Monday), but I did score, and had some fantasticly aggressive plays.  I was playing to win tonight, and it was so much fun.  I am not a big finess player like a lot of the guys, but with attitude and desire to push the envelope, I can compete with these guys that have been playing most of their life.

It is the same in running our businesses.  Do you play to win, or do you play to just show up?  There is a group of mostly business owners that I see fairly regularly, and sadly, most of them just show up.  They don’t put on their A-Game when they leave the house.  They don’t call people back in a timely manner.  They don’t speak as professionally as they could…they just show up.

Play to WIN!!

Some days, I am guilty of just showing up.  Last week I had a day or two like that.  I was sick, I had a few things go the wrong direction, and I started to just go through the motions.  Every day we need to put on our game face and play to win.  You never know who you are going to talk to, or what opportunity could come your way.  You might get a little scuffed up or bruised up.

You might hear “No” a few times.  But what happens in those situations when you keep pressing and have the determination and grit to attack?  You win more times than you loose.  Why?  Because everyone gets excited when they spend time with people on their A-Game.  It is contageous.  They want to hang around you. They want to do business with you.

So go ahead…push the limits.  Get aggressive.  No blood, no foul.  It is time to score, and it is time to win.

Business #27…Snap! PR:  Heather Willison.

Boulder, Colorado

303.517.1118

http://www.snap-pr.com

Favorite business books:  Purple Cow by Seth Godin

Start Date:  February 2007

For some people, starting a new business is a total adventure with new and exciting things to discover every day.  Other times, it is less of a discovery adventure, and just time to do something for ourselves instead of building someone else’s bottom line.  For Heather Willison, it was time to build something for herself.  Marketing and public relations was what Heather knew and what she did.  But in the early 2000s, Heather discovered a passion and love of working with natural food products.  She had help to build a successful campaign for Izze natural soda (www.izze.com), which was eventually bought by Pepsi (maybe I can get their story soon). 

After the huge success with Izze, Heather found herself with a plethora of requests from other natural food product makers and decided to go it alone.  No more “big corporate” environment for her.  She wanted to create a lean and efficient PR company that would be flexible to work with all sizes of companies and all types of projects.

Heather focuses of companies that are less than two years old and have a passion for creating natural products.  In that focus, she has landed some successful campaigns.  Her biggest success has been landing an article for a client, Snikiddy, a wholesome snack creator  in the Wall Street Journal.  But I must say, it is just one of the over 60 articles that have been written or reported on since 2006.  Heather and Snap!PR have created quite the buzz for this snack company.

Snap! PR can help small businesses in event marketing, celebrity outreach, social media, product launches, and in obtaining traditional PR opportunities in magazines, newspapers, and on television.  Heather will typically meet to find out the long range goals of the company, and then set out a short and long term plan for the campaign.  Because her company is small, she is more flexible on working arrangements than the large firms. 

Heather has identified that her challenges have changed from being a PR firm employee to now running the firm.  Working with and obtaining new clients have not been her only responsibilities.  One of her biggest strengths in working with her clients is having experience in several successful product launches, but realizes one of her biggest weaknesses lays in delegation.  This lack of handing off tasks has hindered her from growing.  She admits that finding new talent that shares her passion and commitment has also contributed to stunting the company’s growth.  Surprisingly, finding new opportunities and potential business has not been a problem.  There seems to be “an endless amount of opportunity.” 

Heather reported that she loves to see the direct impact that she can have on a company.  When she starts working with a client, she can just see the sales and revenue go up.  If she could change one thing however, it would be to have more bandwidth; she does not have enough time to do all the tasks. 

Heather’s advice to a new or aspiring entrepreneur would be to have confidence in what you do, and to never underestimate the power of networking. 

Thanks Heather for sharing your story with us.  Keep telling the story of others’

 Until next time, continue to plan, plant, and grow your business, but don’t forget to harvest!