Business Record - Iowa Biz

When bloggers collide

In my last post, I wrote about Hubbell Realty Co.’s new marketing tactic to sell some homes in West Des Moines.

It has stirred up quite a debate, including 18 comments on IowaBiz, a formal response from Hubbell and a spillover to at least two other Web sites.

Fellow IowaBiz blogger Drew McLellan garnered a whopping 47 responses to his Dec. 18 “Drew’s marketing minute” blog post and Tim Johnson, another IowaBiz professional, received 10 comments on his post at www.carpefactum.com.

A perk of blogging for me is the opportunity to include a little personal interjection into my writing, something that, as an objective news writer, I don’t get to do very often. (Disclosure: I have no problem with Hubbell’s marketing technique in this case. I say if it works, they should work it. No harm, no foul.)

Regardless of how you may feel about this particular issue – the majority of commentators believe Hubbell has committed a serious transgression with its Hailey Brownstone site – the fact that a short piece written about social networking applications, and published on a blog, has stirred up so much interaction in the online community is a testimony in itself to the power of online communication applications of all varieties.

My objective is to keep the discussion, on this topic and others to come, moving forward in the new year.

Feel free to chime in.

- Todd Razor

Year end thank you's - throw more than a bone

It is one of the most powerful and most overlooked marketing truths out there. Employees that feel appreciated will do the same for your clients. 

This is the time of year when many employers are thinking about how to best show their appreciation.  But how should you do that?

Lisa Cieslica from JobPoint makes the point that sometimes a sincere “thank you” can be the best incentive around.  But if you want to go beyond that…here are some other ideas.

• Let them decide:  The CEO of 1-800-GOT-JUNK asks his employees for 101 life goals.  When someone exceeds his expectations and he wants to reward them, he looks for ways to help them get closer to one of those life goals.

• Don’t forget their families:  When one of your team has been putting in a lot of extra hours and effort, or been on the road for a while, why not send a thank you note or gift to their family?

• It doesn’t have to be big:  Employees love creative ideas that demonstrate that you're thinking about what matters to them.  How about trying coupons that can be redeemed for a long lunch, or a half day Friday? 

No matter what you do, make sure you couple it with Cieslica’s suggestion – a genuine thank you.  That’s sweet music to anyone’s ears.

Top 10 Things You Didn't Know About Patents

There are very few things people have heard more, but know less, about than patents. Nearly every infomercial touts its product as "patented" or "patent pending," but what does that mean? Are patents easy to get? If you change 25 percent of the invention, can you avoid infringing a patent? When is a patent "pending"?

Misinformation abounds when it comes to patents.  While facts about patents would fill volumes, here are few interesting facts about patents you can use to regale your geeky relatives over the holidays:

10. You can keyword search millions of patents on Google Patent Search for free.
9. Patents expire 20 years after you file your application. Patent terms used to be 17 years from the date the patent issued. Some inventors, however, were intentionally dragging their feet, waiting until someone else brought their technology to market before having their submarine patents issue. Now, if you drag your feet for 19 years, your patent will only be valid for 1 year.
8. You must pay the Patent Office "maintenance fees" to keep your patents in force. Failure to pay these fees due at three and a half, seven and a half, and eleven and a half years from the date the patent is granted will cause your patent to become abandoned.
7. No patent search is 100 percent effective. Even if you searched all 7 million plus patents, patent applications are kept confidential for at least 18 months after filing. Theoretically someone else's patent could issue on your invention the day after your searched every published patent and patent application.
6. On average, your patent application will be pending nearly three years. This is not all bad though. Although you enforcement rights are severely limited while the patent is pending, having a competitor build up a demand for your product before the patent issues can be a very profitable turn of events.
5. There is no such thing as a "Poor Man's Patent." Relying on a letter you mailed yourself to protect your invention actually provides no protection whatsoever.
4. Just because you have a patent, does not necessarily mean your invention is valuable. Inventors have succeeded in obtaining patents on some pretty wacky inventions.
3. If your invention cannot be "reverse engineered" a trade secret may be a cheaper, easier and longer lasting alternative to a patent.
2. Ordinary attorneys are not allowed to draft patents for clients. To become a patent attorney, you have to have an undergraduate degree in a science, or the equivalent, and have passed the notoriously challenging patent bar exam. No two patents, or patent attorneys, are created equal. It would be extremely unlikely two patent attorneys would draft identical patent applications covering a given invention. The patent attorney's experience, and skill and knowledge of the field of art, all factor into whether the patent will be broad and enforceable or narrow and easily invalidated.
1. A patent does not give you the right to make your invention. Your patent merely gives you the right to prevent others from making your invention. The United States Patent and Trademark Office will grant patents on inventions which are improvements on other patented inventions. A patent in hand notwithstanding, if your invention infringes on a valid patent, you cannot make your invention absent a license agreement from the other patent holder.

Brett Trout

Make Your (Activity) List and Check it Twice!

It’s that time of year again. I love the Christmas season. I love the shopping, the presents, the food and the music (we actually had carolers come to the door this year).

As sales and business professionals we are given a wonderful gift this week and next. We’re given the gift of time. Much of our competition is hibernating. These are the people who have checked out and are using the holiday as an excuse. I’ve already heard it several times this week. They say “after Tuesday, nobody’s really working for the rest of the week”. Or they say, “nothing happens between Christmas and New Years." And my favorite, “nobody is making hiring or buying decisions this week. They’re waiting until after the holidays”.

I’m here to tell you it’s simply not true. On more than one occasion, the biggest deals of the year for me closed on Christmas Eve. Jeb Blount from The Sales Guy blog sums it up best:

In sales, like it or not, activity is everything. If you are not prospecting, questioning, presenting and closing you will fail – no matter what time of year it is. The problem many of us face during the holidays is that we slack off and let our self-discipline slip. We also have a tendency to allow the holidays to move us out of our normal daily routine. The result is reduced activity.

To keep this from happening to you, it is critical that you sit down with your daily planner right now and ensure that you have your calendar blocked properly for daily prospecting and lead generation, as well as information gathering, presentations, demos and closing meetings. Take into account all of your holiday activities and build them into your planner. You may have to do some work around, but the key here is to get everything planned out in advance. To stay on track set daily activity targets and commit to reviewing those targets each morning and afternoon. You will be amazed at how powerful this forward planning process is for keeping you on track and focused during the holidays and have plenty of time to enjoy the holidays with the ones you care about the most.

Take advantage this week by:

•    Don’t stop selling, average sales people stop selling this week;
•    Continue setting activity targets;
•    Plan your day (Include your Christmas shopping and family time into your plan);
•    This is a great time to move forward, to catch up and to prepare for next year;
•    I don’t doubt for a minute workforce production drops dramatically this week. Don’t let it be your              excuse!

What’s the greatest business success you’ve had during the week of Christmas and New Year’s Eve?

Iowa LLC Law Changes in 2009

There are significant changes to the Iowa limited liability company (LLC) statute effective Jan. 1, 2009.   The changes include everything from how an LLC is initially formed and filed with the Secretary of State to changes that apply when a member leaves (i.e. disassociates) from the LLC.

The changes in the law are too numerous to set out in one blog post. In fact, Marc Ward of the Dickinson Law Firm has devoted an ENTIRE blog to the 2009 Iowa LLC law changes.  

So instead of boring you with all the details, here are my top five Iowa LLC law changes for 2009:

1. Certificate of Organization: Starting with the new year, you will no longer file "Articles of Organization" with the Secretary of State to start your Iowa limited liability company. Instead, you will now file a "Certificate of Organization" to begin the process. Unless there are changes with the Secretary of State. The Certificate of Organization under the new Iowa LLC law will actually have less detail than Articles of Organization typically had in the past. The only information required for the Certificate of Organization are a) the name of limited liability company and b) the street and mailing address of the registered office and the name of the registered agent. 
2. Operating Agreement Pitfalls:  There are a couple of issues relating to operating agreements that LLC business owners must consider. The operating agreement is the document that sets forth how the LLC is governed and run. First, LLC operating agreements are not required to be in writing. While that may initially excite some LLC owners, the new law has provisions that may surprise and bite unknowing LLC owners especially with regard to management rights, profit distribution and transfers of interest. It is best practice to have a written operating agreement. Second, operating agreements may be amended orally. Again, while that may make it easy to amend the agreement it will likely remain best practice to override this statutory provision to include language in the written operating agreement requiring an amendment to be in writing. That way members may avoid the inevitable arguments that ensue when agreements are not memorialized in writing. People tend to remember things differently when agreements are not in writing and the agreement is more difficult to prove in court.
3. Statements of Authority: The new law also permits an LLC to file a statement of authority with the Iowa Secretary of State and the county recorder's office. The statement of authority will serve as notice of who does or does not have authority to act for the LLC, sign documents transferring real property, or otherwise act for and bind the LLC.  The statement can state the authority or limits on authority by position (e.g. member, manager, president) or a specific person or persons.
4. Pay Attention to Management:  The default provision with the new LLC law is one member=one vote. (Currently it's based upon ownership %). This means that even a member with a minority percentage may have the ability to have as much management authority as a member that has a majority of the membership units. Accordingly, if a majority owner wants to maintain management control, the written operating agreement will need to specify such arrangement.  
5. Disassociation of a Member: The new law has several provisions outlining what happens when a member leaves or is asked to leave an LLC. An operating agreement can vary the provisions contained in the law. The provisions relating to disassociation are a little complicated so it is important to get legal advice on these issues. For example, a person who disassociates may no longer have management rights but could still have the right to receive distributions. That may be a result that many members might not suspect could happen.

Please also know that the new LLC law will apply to older LLCs on Jan. 1, 2011, unless the members agree the new law will apply sooner to their company. Be sure to seek legal advice from a business attorney familiar with the new law. The changes are much more numerous and significant that set forth in this blog post. You certainly won't want unintended consequences to happen to you.

- Rush on Business

Lessons from a Reluctant Entrepreneur

It's the holidays. You recognize the name Koeze. You know...those catalogs that come this time of year, full of fancy glass jars with delicious-looking cashews, mixed nuts and candies for business gift giving. It's a business with $12 million in sales...certainly not peanuts.

December's issue of Inc. Magazine profiles the Koeze Co. and its CEO, Jeff Koeze. What a fascinating study in entrepreneurship and the art of learning to become a leader. When Koeze took the reins from his dad, Scott, 12 years ago, he knew almost nothing about running a business or being a leader. Talk about starting with a clean slate! And yet, Koeze has almost doubled sales, improved profit margins, introduced new products, modernized processes and systems, and enhanced the company's culture.

Admittedly it's been an overwhelming and trying -- but exhilarating -- 12-year ride for Koeze after taking up the reins from his fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants father. The lessons he's learned are a handy guide, and an inspiring story, for any business leader. Two of those lessons are:

Perpetual learning is critical:

A former college professor, Koeze ignored his father's advice: "You can't learn to run a business by reading a book." Instead, as he'd done with all previous problems, Koeze "started with a stack of books 18 feet high." He sought advice everywhere...consultants, psychologists, clinical social workers, philosophy professors...and eventually, like Koeze himself, Koeze Co. became smarter. Employees have gone from being intellectually passive to intellectually curious. Three of the most important books from that 18-foot stack, according to Koeze are:

• Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, by David Allen (Penguin, 2001).
• Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A's, Praise, and other Bribes, by Alfie Kohn (Houghton Mifflin, 1993).
• Small Giants: Companies That Choose to Be Great Instead of Big, by Bo Burlingham (Portfolio, 2005). 

Free-wheeling discussion is essential:

Koeze sees himself as "blunt and transparent" in his speech. That's how he wanted Koeze Co. to operate as well -- no hidden agendas, no sneak attacks in meetings. But it didn't. Not at the beginning. And Koeze realized that he had to change his approach in order for his employees to change their approach. He had assumed, as he'd done with his colleagues at the University of North Carolina, that the best argument wins and thus, he would be able to argue people into doing things his way. Not so with the production staff at Koeze.

Jeff began to share his thoughts. He became more patient. Which began to put people at ease. And one of his greatest insights: "He realized he confused people by verbally debating with himself the very issue on which he was about to give an order." Do you know anyone who has the habit of thinking out loud? And they do it with their direct reports, which confuse the heck out of people as they strive to discern from the monologue, "What am I supposed to do?" Koeze quit doing that and became comfortable with various forms of decision making, even simply giving orders.

Koeze, the professor, became a nut man, and over the course of a dozen years, not only became smarter himself, but now runs one of the smartest companies around.

You Are Your Own Bailout

Welcome to the new U.S. economy of bailouts.  Companies can plan horribly, not understand there financial situation, not understand the economy and the markets there in, and loose money like water out of a tap - no worry, they can get a bailout.

As the leaders of these companies, you can make poor decisions, lay people off, ruin peoples 401(k) accounts and share values, spend as you please - no worry you can get a bailout, and if you really screw it up you will still get a bonus.

The truly sad story is that there are far too many employees, retirees and college students that will not get a bailout - you are your own bailout.  I hate saying this, but we must take care of ourselves.  Counting on any company or any level of government appears to be a pretty risky venture.

I know that there are great companies out there, but the true test of great is when tough times hit.  What sacrifices are the owners, leaders, board of directors and managers willing to make to honor their commitments to employees?

I think this correction in our economy is a wake up call to everyone.  Make sure that you have your own bailout in order.  Here is a short list for creating your own bailout plan:

• Do not spend more than you make
• Do not try to "keep up with the Jones"
• Make sure you can handle your debt even with loosing your key career or job
• Save enough to cash flow your lifestyle for a year
• Take a hard look at how you want to live once you retire - then make sure you stick to a plan. The minimum is on your own dime, above that can come from a company or the government.
• Keep educating and training yourself - diversification is good for business and for individuals
• Keep laughing and having some fun

Bailout - Start your own today!

2009 is the Year of Business Technology

I'm making my New Year's resolution early this year.  I resolve to raise the level of conversation as it pertains to the transformation of IT (Information Technology) to BT (Business Technology).  Why, you might ask, am I dedicating my efforts to this?  It needs to be done.  The gap between business and IT is growing not shrinking.  In a July 2008 Forrester survey of 600 business executives the numbers made me say, "what?"  All this talk about bringing IT and Business closer and "aligning" the two is nothing but total bunk.  A lot of talk and no one doing anything about making it real. 

I want to share with you some of the numbers that support my case:

1. 82% of respondents agree that technology is core to their business, but only 71% see IT as effective at supporting that requirement.
2. 72% of respondents see technology as central to the goal of competitive differentiation, but only 61% see IT as effective.
3. 77% view IT as mandatory for sales and distribution, but only 67% see IT as effectively supporting them.
4. When asked to assess the importance of business drivers and compare how well IT is supporting them, the gap widens.  The only category where IT support quality approached importance of the business driver was in improving end user workforce productivity - 78% viewed this as a somewhat or critically important business driver, but only 45% viewed IT as supporting this need very well or excellently.  Worse of all, IT's support for global expansion was viewed by 61% of respondents as important, but only 23% of respondents said IT was doing a good job at it.

See?  So what is behind these numbers?  An inescapable factor in today's business environment: the constancy of change. I've said it before, enterprises must adapt to the economic imperatives or whither and die; enterprises mastering the art of business agility can gain substantial and sustainable advantage.

The complexity of today's modern enterprise - its business and IT components, and its linkages with other enterprises - increases the difficulty of implementing changes.  Different elements change at different rates, but the pressure to change is always there.

As you can see by this graphic there are many pressures on the business: 

 

In this type of environment, how can you make your business more agile and capitalize on change?  By having a model/framework that addresses many of the difficult problems associated with change.

The Business Technology approach:

• Targets change as the fundamental architectural problem to address
  • Recognizes that being adaptive requires balancing agility with three other key dimensions: financial returns (especially lower costs), performance and risk management
• Defines a core set of architectural principles to promote agility, and applies them consistently across people, processes and technology throughout the extended enterprise:
  • Modularity: to minimize the dependencies between changes
  • Integration: to enable the composition of separate modules into useful systems
  • Standardization: to facilitate integration, maximizing reuse and extraction of value
  • Simplification: to minimize what needs to change and the associated costs

So stay tuned in 2009 as I start to put together the framework and show you ways to transform IT into Business Technology.

I'll admit it. I'm going back to paper.

Image via Wikipedia

Okay... confession time.

I have a Mac.  I love it. 

I dig technology even though it doesn't always dig me.

I will also admit that the latter part of this year has been an "experiment" with technology. 

It's been an experiment to automate and to use technology to improve my work-life balance and my productivity.  I wanted to try new strategies to help juggle, prioritize and clarify.

So... I shifted from my paper-based Franklin Covey system.  That's right.  I closed that seven-ring binder.  Put it on a book shelf and walked away.

I went smart phone.

I started running most of my life through my Mac.  Schedule.  To-dos.  Projects.  Et cetera.

At first, it felt clunky... just like any new habit feels. Then I started to get the hang of it. 

Entering things.  Syncing.  Entering to-do's with their due dates, et cetera.  Color coding.  Categories.

Yup.  It almost started to feel right.

But... as I progressed in my little experiment...  I had to admit that I missed that feeling of paper.  That pencil.  That moving things from day-to-day with an eraser instead of a mouse.  And... the biggest thing... was that feeling of checking off a "to-do" with pen to paper instead of a cursor to electronic box. 

Yeah... sorry... the e-version of that feeling didn't compare.

So... call me an old-school dork... but I'm going back to paper in 2009.

That's right.  I may still carry around a cool phone and have a Mac in my bag... but I'll have my little ol' seven-ring day planner with me too.

Now, as I wrap this up, I'm not going to advocate for going paper or high-tech in your pursuit of better work-life balance.  Nope.  Neither.

What I'm going to ask you to do... is... as you are wrapping up your year... run a little experiment for yourself.

Try some new things for organizing your life.  See what works for you and what doesn't.

And... once you've tried some new things... make a decision.  Commit to improving at two to three things for your work-life balance systems for the new year... whether it involves pencil and paper or something you have to plug in!

Oh... and join in the conversation. 

Leave a comment on whether your organizational toolbox is high-tech or low-tech... AND what's something new you are going to try in 2009 to better balance your life!

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Why do I need an insurance audit?

Well, the end of the year is upon us and something that often comes up with your business insurance at this time is your annual audit.

Ever wonder why you receive an audit from your insurance company? What are they looking for?

Well some of the main things they want to verify are:

• Job descriptions
• Payroll
• Annual sales
• Number of employees
• Driver information

All of these things help determine your risk classification and ensure that the insurance company is charging you the correct amount of premium for the risk that they are insuring.

It is important that this information is reviewed and updated on an annual basis because if it is not you can face some issues.

The most obvious being that you could be paying too much or too little for your insurance. Your rates are determined by the information they receive through your audit. When the insurance company receives it, they will adjust your premium accordingly with the information you provide. This can result in an increase to your insurance or a decrease in your next year’s premium.

This can be shocking to a new business owner if they haven’t updated their new hires and their payroll with their insurance agent throughout the year.

Probably the most important aspect of having this information correct would be in the event of a loss. If your business is not correctly classified you are running the risk of being denied coverage or worse having your policy voided due to misrepresentation.

Insurance companies have different risk appetites. Should you have a loss and during the investigation, the insurance company determines that your business is not an industry they would normally insure, they could possibly deny coverage and/or cancel your policy. 

Now you might think that this doesn’t happen, however, it can and very easily happens without you even realizing it.

Businesses tend to evolve over time.

• You may start a business and then add different components to it.
• You may change your focus altogether while keeping the same name.
• Or, you may simply change your insurance company.

When you do make these types of changes to your business it is important to keep your insurance company in the loop, so you don’t end up out of the loop should a claim occur.