Jacob Schpok

Andy Reinke - First things first – Happy New Year!

I realize this next topic is less than festive, however considering the attention this topic has commanded over the past few years and its importance for exporting firms to grasp, I think it’s time for discussion. I’m talking about the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (FCPA), 15 U.S.C., §§ 78dd-1, et seq., which prohibits US nationals and firms from engaging in payments to foreign officials for purposes of securing or retaining business in foreign markets. It is one of few if any US laws that govern how US citizens interact with companies and officials outside our borders.

The 28^th annual Bloomington Business Expo is bigger and better than ever. By popular demand, we’ve broken the day into two distinct events – a business-to-business portion and a public event. Most businesses have two types of customers, and the Expo will allow you to reach both in the same day.

Business Expo starts the day by getting down to business. From 11am-3pm every business in Bloomington and the surrounding area are invited to attend. Exhibitors will have only business-to-business traffic so your message can be targeted to a business audience.

From 3pm-7pm the event will be open to the public. Starting at 5pm, we bring back the “Taste of Expo”, with local BIRA restaurants providing free food. Great prizes are also available to be won. We’re expecting heavy attendance during this portion of the event, which means your products and services will be seen by a huge number of people.

If you’ve been an Expo exhibitor in the past, now’s the time to come back. If you’ve never exhibited, what are you waiting for? To reserve your booth for the 28^th annual Business Expo on Thursday, April 19th at the Bloomington/Monroe County Convention Center visit our website, www.bloomingtonbusinessexpo.com or call 812.334.4070 today!

*Image courtesy of http://www.bloomingtonbusinessexpo.com/

Alan Steele - The big topic in marketing in recent years has been social media, and the popularity of social media is easy to understand.  Humans are relational beings who thrive on communication and relationships, and we have experienced an explosion of new tools that allow us to stay connected.  Social media has been a major force in reshaping the marketing landscape and challenging our thinking about how to relate to our customers, but have we perhaps lost something in the process?

We have all invested time in learning about and experimenting with social media, but much of that attention has gone to learning the ins and outs of platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn and tools like Tweet Deck and Hoot Suite.  Perhaps it is time to think beyond the tools and to devote more time to the message and, in particular, to stories.

 Throughout history man has used stories as a fundamental means of communication.  Today we live in a culture of sound bites and 140 character messages.  Our hyper-connected world has provided tools that enable us to build and maintain vast numbers of connections.  We have gained quantity, but are we sacrificing quality?  We have breadth, but do we have depth?  Are we finding meaningful engagement or simply shouting for attention?  Stories give us an opportunity to connect on a deeper and more meaningful level.

So, what exactly is a story?  The famed screen writer Robert McKee says that a story is “a fundamental conflict between subjective expectation and cruel reality, about an imbalance and opposing forces.  A good storyteller describes what it’s like to deal with those opposing forces, calling on the protagonist to dig deeper, work with scarce resources, make difficult decisions and ultimately discover the truth.”  Doesn’t the last part of the quote sound a bit like starting and running a small business?  Digging deeper?  Working with scarce resources?  Making difficult decisions?  Ultimately discovering the truth, i.e. what works and what doesn’t?  Every small business has a story waiting to be told.

One of the great privileges in working with entrepreneurs and small businesses is having the opportunity to hear their stories.  Guy Kawasaki, in his book “The Art of the Start”, argues that making meaning is as important a reason to start a business as making money.  I find that many entrepreneurs have a passion and a purpose beyond financial gain, and that passion is the force that motivates them to embrace the challenges and risks inherent in starting a business.  That passion is also the root of a great story.  Like the cancer survivor starting a company to educate cancer patients so they have a better understanding of their options and someone to help them navigate the treatment process.  Like the single mom bravely balancing entrepreneurship and the needs of an eight year old child.  And like the woman establishing a business to help children and caregivers work through transitions with aging parents, improving the quality of life for all involved.  Those are great stories.  You have a story too, and it needs to be heard.

Stories all have plots, of course, and small business stories can be built upon several common plot lines:

Who I Am…Stories that enable the customer to connect with who you are or who the company is.

What I Do…Explaining what you do in a way that gets at why you do it.  Share your passion for the business.

Vision…What do you plan for the future?  People like to hear about aspirations and beliefs.

Values in Action…How you live out the principles upon which you built the business.

David and Goliath…People like to root for underdogs.  It’s exciting to hear the entrepreneur talk about taking on big challenges and changing the world.

When you have identified your plot line, and begun to craft your story, remember to think about inciting incidents.  Most stories are sparked by a particular event or circumstance.  What is the key moment in the establishment or evolution of your business?  Think also about conflict and about overcoming adversity.  Conflict drives stories because it drives transformation.  People and companies grow as a result of overcoming challenges.  Remember also that companies have internal stories.  Those stories help form the company culture, a culture that is experienced by your customers in every interaction they have with your organization.  Don’t forget to nurture the internal stories that give your customers a deeper look into, and greater emotional connection with, your company.

Finally, a few guidelines to keep in mind.  Here are five important attributes that are important to a good STORY:

S = Succinct.  Get to the point and be easily and quickly understood.  Clear and concise stories are easily shared, and that is one of your goals.  Make it easy for customers to share your story.

T = True.  Consumers are savvy and will sense any lack of authenticity.  Unless you are creating an obviously fictional story to educate or entertain, it is vital that you are credible.

O = Objective.  What is your objective in telling the story?  Are you teaching? Motivating action?  Clearly understand your goal.

R = Relevant.  Why does the story matter?  Understand your audience and tell a story they can connect to on an emotional level.

Y = Yearning for more.  A great story makes the audience want to engage.  Give them an opportunity to join in the story.

While stories have endings, remember that storytelling is more about the process and the journey.  Regardless of success or failure, there are more stories to create and tell.  Take time to nurture your stories and connect with your customers on a deeper level.  In the words of one of the great thinkers of the 20^th Century, Mr. Rogers, “It’s hard not to like someone once you know their story.”  Do your customers know yours?

Alan Steele is a Business Advisor with the North Central Indiana Small Business Development Center.  Prior to joining the ISBDC in 2008 he held a variety of senior level marketing and business development positions, working with both products and services in B2B settings.

Dr. Erin Albert – There’s officially a new way to begin viewing entrepreneurship in this country.  I actually began witnessing an emerging trend from my last book project, Single. Women. Entrepreneurs. I kept finding more and more women performing multiple jobs simultaneously in their careers. They had day jobs, AND worked on the side with an entrepreneurial endeavor in some cases. Wanting to know more, I unearthed a new way of working in America that we all should consider moving forward in this new global economy. I call it Plan C.

Plan A is typically when someone graduates from college, he or she then tries and gets the very best day job s/he can. Unfortunately in this economy, many have been laid off from that very best day job. Plan B is chucking the idea of the day job and going to full-time entrepreneurship only if someone carried along that dream of someday owning a business. Unfortunately, that in many cases leads to working three times as hard for a third of the money that the day job supplied. This could lead (and often does lead in many cases as the statistics bear) to being broke and going out of business, exhausted.

Many entrepreneurs have chosen Plan C. Plan C is having the full-time professional day job AND a part-time business or entrepreneurial endeavor on the side. There is a batch of professionals out there, Plan Cers I call them, who are doing both. This, I argue is a safer way to start a business, because it allows for the financial support of a stable day job, but also allows for entrepreneurs at heart to truly create multiple streams of income and financial independence, ultimately.

About twenty professionals in the book agree with me, who are actually living the Plan C life currently, or lived it and then moved on to full-time entrepreneurship. Through this book, I explore how people are doing both. In addition to those doing both, I unearthed a few trends as well:

1.  People who are trying part-time entrepreneurship are professionals first.  They realize that day jobs are important, and many actually went to professional schools and continued the professional day job before starting their own businesses. For example, there are pharmacists, attorneys, engineers, and others in the book who have successfully managed to balance the day job with the part-time business on the side.

2.  The Plan Cers have one of two ultimate goals.   Plan Cers, or those who are working full time at a day job and opened a part-time business want to go one of two ultimate paths—they either ultimately want to arrive at full-time entrepreneurship, OR they want to keep the professional day job long-term AND the business(es) on the side. There are different philosophical camps on this, but most whom I interviewed had one of the two clear paths delineated.

3.  There are also important support systems available for the Plan Cer.  In the book, on top of the interviews with the Plan Cers, I also interviewed three different coach/support professionals for the person who is either contemplating the Plan C lifestyle or living it—an attorney (Indiana native, Kenan Farrell, Esq. of KLF Legal), a life/business coach, and a money coach (Pete The Planner). It is really important to get all three lines (legal, life, and money) in proper alignment before managing both the day job and the entrepreneurial endeavor. Each gives important and sage advice to contemplate regarding the Plan C lifestyle, and what pitfalls to avoid.

4.  Plan C is a great retention strategy for big businesses with the best day job employees.  Big businesses need strategies for retaining top talent. One way to retain the best and brightest and have them bring more value back to the day job is by allowing them to start a part-time business on the side. While there are some issues to work around (as I mentioned in the previous bullet), employers who employ Plan Cers get more benefits from having intrapreneurial and entrepreneurial thinkers on their payroll. The big business day jobs get access to the Plan Cers’ networks, social capital, and connections in the community. The Plan Cers bring their creative, innovative minds to the day job, and the Plan Cer benefits from seeing the bigger picture of big business by being an entrepreneur him or herself. There are a lot of other benefits enumerated in this book for the employers of part-time entrepreneurs.

Lastly, there are many who can benefit from reading this book.  College students fresh out of commencement who cannot find their “dream” job should read this book in order to start an entrepreneurial dream, along with mid-level career professionals who are either bored or unfulfilled with their day jobs, or want a change, but perhaps have bills to pay and need to keep the stable day job. Lastly, the book is ideal for professionals who are near the end of their careers and preparing for retirement, who can plan ahead, start a business before they leave the workforce, and prepare for full-time entrepreneurship after their day job retirement.

The way that we work now is project-based. We can no longer rely on merely one stream of income in a global economy—as the old adage becomes true, never put your (career) eggs in one basket. Although there are professionals who truly think the ONLY way to successfully start and grow a business is by managing it 100% of the time, 24/7/365, I argue that there’s a smarter way to grow a business in an unsteady economy. It’s called Plan C, and this book shows how other people have learned to live the Plan C dream, despite a bad economy. This new year, consider this growing trend to re-create how we work in Indiana and America, and redefine the new American Dream.

Dr. Erin Albert recently released her seventh book, Plan C: The Full-Time Employee and Part-Time Entrepreneur, which challenges intrapreneurs in the work force to consider entrepreneurship in a different way.  For more on the author, logon to her writing website at: www.erinalbert.com, or her company’s website, www.yuspie.com. She provides today’s guest blog post, discussing the trends she found while writing this latest book. The book is available in e-format at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, and at the publisher’s website in several different electronic formats.

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David Amick – If you have a mortgage on the building your company occupies, you may be eligible for a low rate refinance program offered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) in partnership with your bank. The program is designed to improve your cash flow, and if there is enough equity in the property, allow you to take cash out for future business expenses.

This is a temporary program was first introduced in September of 2010. The initial rules of the program were so stringent that it failed to find a market.  With time running out, the program ends in September of 2012, the SBA listened to the industry and made a number of changes that now make it viable. The new rules went to effect in October and already activity has been brisk.

This limited time refinancing program is offered through the SBA’s 504 loan program. In a typical structure the bank refinances half of your outstanding mortgage balance and the SBA the other half. The advantage to you as a business owner is that the half the SBA finances is at a low fixed rate. The SBA’s November rate for the program was 5.1% fixed for twenty years. Depending on your current mortgage rate, you may also be able to negotiate a lower rate on the bank’s portion of the refinancing, further improving cash flow.

The advantage to your bank is that they lower their exposure on the property by reducing their loan to value (LTV). The 504 program allows the bank to continue being in a first lien position on the property while the SBA takes a second lien position. As an owner you end up with two loans, one to the bank and the other to the SBA.

The SBA’s 504 program is funded through the sale of U.S. Government backed debentures (bonds). The 504 debentures are offered to investors for either ten or twenty year terms.  With the backing of the U.S. Government the debenture sales are able to attract low fixed rates that are used to fund the 504 program.

Should you wish to learn more about the opportunity discussed in this article, please contact me at 317-613-3504.  Premier Capital is proud to be a sponsor of Indiana Companies to Watch and we salute you and the impact of your business on the Indiana economy. 

Indianapolis, Ind. – In an effort to provide Super Bowl XLVI guests staying in the NFL-reserved hotels a complete shopping experience, the NFL and MainGate announced that MainGate is the exclusive retail and merchandising company for the hotels the League will use at Super Bowl XLVI.

“We are pleased to work with MainGate to deliver quality merchandise and great customer service to our fans,” said Leo Kane, the NFL’s SVP of Consumer Products. “We look forward to working with them to continue to raise the level of our fans’ shopping experience.”

The agreement which formally begins at Super Bowl XLVI in February 2012 positions MainGate to operate merchandise sales at ten (10) hotels downtown Indianapolis and one (1) location at the NFL House located in Union Station. MainGate will utilize a variety of new selling locations that put an emphasis on the Super Bowl brand and the fan experience. MainGate is committed to providing the best customer service in the retail industry.

“We are absolutely thrilled to be awarded this opportunity. Being selected for the most prestigious sporting event in this world is an honor for our company. This validates to us that we are living up to our vision of being the premier event retail and merchandising company in the country,” said David Moroknek, President and CEO of MainGate. “We are excited to have a small part in the first Indianapolis Super Bowl. As a locally based company we bring an extra level of pride to the event as it means a great deal to each one of our employees.”

The 2011 Inc 5000 list was released in late September and we are pleased to announce of the 60 Indiana companies listed, 26 are CTW winners. 4 of these winners, AIT Laboratories, Kem Krest, Polaris Laboraties and Health Systems International have surpassed CTW eligibility based on revenue and employee growth. Congratulations to all and we look forward to seeing more CTW winners on the 2012 list.

Andy Reinke - Following several years of negotiation spanning two U.S. Administrations, President Obama signed the U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement last month, along with free trade agreements with Colombia and Panama. These free trade agreements (FTA’s) are the largest most extensive since NAFTA was passed in the mid-90’s, and is in line with the President’s objective to double U.S. exports within 5 years. As I write this, the President is hosting APEC in Honolulu, HI, at which the U.S. is furthering its efforts to reach a multilateral trade agreement with 8 other Pacific Rim nations, again aimed at propelling America’s export engine. While the agreements with Panama and Colombia are in themselves beneficial to the U.S., the focus of this blog installment will address our recent free trade agreement with South Korea (KORUS FTA).

Whenever the topic of free trade agreements arises, detractors for trade suggest FTA’s fuel the exportation of American jobs to those nations with which we enter into such agreements.  The facts point to a much different outcome.  As Former U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab said at a National District Export Council Meeting in November 2008, the U.S. has a trade SURPLUS with every nation with which we’ve entered into a Free Trade Agreement if we deduct oil imports from the equation. A Wall Street Journal article also acknowledges that the U.S., on aggregate, must lower its tariff and non-tariff barriers far less than other nations when entering into bilateral trade agreements because the U.S. already has relatively one of lowest tariff levels and least cumbersome set of import regulations of any nation. What does this all mean? It means historically, FTA’s are good for American exports, good for creating and sustaining U.S. jobs and this translates similarly to our own Indiana economy.

Let’s lay out some trade facts first:  The US exported $1.28 trillion to the rest of the world in ’10, and Indiana’s share of that was $29 billion, making the Hoosier state the 14^th largest in the union. South Korea has 49 million consumers with a per capita GDP of $20,491, and is the world’s 12^th largest economy ($1.5 trilliion in GDP), all in a land mass slightly larger than Indiana. South Korea is our country’s 7^th largest trading partner for manufactured goods and services, and 5^th largest for US agricultural exports.

Impact on Indiana

The following information contains data that comes from the U.S. Department of Commerce, the International Trade Administration, U.S. and Indiana Agricultural Departments, the World Economic Forum, the American Farm Bureau Federation and from a presentation to the Indiana District Export Council on October 2011 by Michael Choi, International Trade Specialist,  U.S. Department of Commerce.

The US exported $55 Billion to South Korea in 2010 and Indiana’s share was $551 million. Although not enough to place the Asian nation among the top 10 export destinations for our state’s exports, South Korea’s imports of Indiana goods are definitely on the rise, and are expected to surge with the new trade agreement.

Auto Sector:  Indiana’s manufacturing ties to the auto and transportation sectors are well known, and our state transportation-related exports typically rank among the top three of Indiana’s exported products, being first in 2010. 9% of our exports to Korea are in the auto and transportation sector. Current South Korean tariffs on these goods average 8.3% but are expected to eventually drop to 0%. Regulatory transparencies coupled with ease in standards are expected to help Indiana’s transportation sector gain a larger presence in South Korea.

Medical Equipment:  Indiana’s 4^th largest export industry, medical instruments, may also expect to fare better in free trade with the South Korean market. Top U.S. medical equipment exports to South Korea include surgical instruments, diagnostic equipment, artificial joints and medical appliances. Current South Korean tariffs average 5.4%, but can range up to 50% depending on a product’s Harmonized Tariff schedule. Other current impediments to trade include inadequate regulatory transparency and difficulty in satisfying testing and certification requirements, which are to be significantly lessened under the trade deal.

Machinery:  Indiana’s portion of the U.S.’ $5 billion in exports to South Korea in Machinery (Indiana’s 3^rd largest export industry), was $50 million in 2010. Current tariffs levied against U.S. Machinery by the South Koreans range from 0% to 13%, averaging 7.5%. Again, difficulty in satisfying testing and certification requirements and inadequate regulatory transparency are to be streamlined and made easier for U.S. exporters of industrial machinery.

Services:   The United States typically enjoys a trade SURPLUS with the rest of the world in the increasingly vital service sector (services ranging from architecture, medical imaging and assessment, financial and service sectors, tourism, legal, insurance, technology, distribution, express delivery and education). The U.S. exports $12 billion on average to South Korea in services with nearly a two to one edge over imports by U.S. firms from South Korea.

Agriculture:  U.S. food and agricultural exports to Korea are also expected to surge due to the FTA. Indiana’s agricultural exports totaled $3.4 billion of the total $9.6 billion of Indiana’s 2010 agricultural receipts.

The American Farm Bureau Federation estimates that Indiana’s agricultural exports to Korea will increase by $39 million. Among the top winners in this new agreement which call for the elimination of nearly 2/3 of all duties for U.S. agricultural exports, are feed grains, soybeans and related products, and pork and dairy products. Food exports to Korea need to be registered with the Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA), and must comply with the Korean Food Code, the Korean Food Safety Code and the Korean Food Additives Code. These codes do not align with international standards to which most food products need to meet, and is one cause of difficulty for U.S. agricultural exports to Korea addressed by the FTA.

Although much of the architecture for implementing the KORUS FTA needs drafting, for more information on how the FTA with South Korea will impact your products, contact your local Indiana Small Business Development Center and let us help you assess current U.S. exports to South Korea within your product range, and how quickly the Korean duty on your products will decrease.

Recently, the KORUS-FTA was approved by Korea’s National Assembly, the last hurdle to making the agreement law in both nations. The net effect is that this agreement is a good deal for Indiana’s economy.

As the current U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk indicated in an article appearing in the Ft. Wayne Journal Gazatte late last month following passage of the KORUS FTA, “’Made in America’ are still three of the most treasured words in the world. It is the most powerful brand”.

Andy Reinke is the President of Foreign Targets, Inc. (FTI)  an export management company creating and managing proactive export programs for small and medium sized manufacturing firms.  This is achieved by utilizing a proven methodology:  FTI’s Core-8 Steps to Export Management. Read more about export in the ISBDC’s Exporting Your Products and Services FAQ Page.