Interview with an entrepeneur

At The Next Step Magazine, I get to interview some cool people. Here is a recent interview I did that shares some advice for young people thinkinging about getting into business.

Who: Norm Brodsky, entrepreneur
What he’s done: Norm Brodsky is a veteran entrepreneur whose six businesses include a three-time “Inc. 500” company. He shares advice as a regular Inc. magazine contributor and is CEO of CitiStorage Inc. in Brooklyn, N.Y., an independent records-storage business. He has also partnered with Bo Burlingham and written a book called The Knack. I read it and it's awesome! Buy it at Amazon.com.
How to learn more: Read Norm’s column in Inc., or go to www.inc.com/magazine/columns/streetsmarts/index.html

NSM: What caused you to start your own business in the first place?
Norm Brodsky: I think that goes back to when I was in high school. My friends and I grew up in a lower-middle class family, and there was a consensus that we were all going to be rich.

NSM: What are the benefits of being an entrepreneur, and what are the downsides?
NB: Benefits are numerous: from being independent; setting your own standards, pace, hours; and of course, having the ability to earn a lot of money. A lot of those benefits are also downsides. When you work for someone else, you leave at 5 o’clock. When you’re an entrepreneur, you always take your work home.

It can be a very stressful life at times, and it’s not always as glamorous as it looks. Most people don’t understand, or care, what you’re going through.

NSM: What are the traits that you see in successful entrepreneurs?
NB: The trait of not quitting, ever. You can never give up as an entrepreneur. If their first business goes under, they start another one. If their seventh business goes under, they start another one, and so on.

Also, I see a lot of people that had tough times growing up be successful entrepreneurs. They have a trait of survival. I had to declare bankruptcy on one my first businesses, and it was a miserable experience at the time. But I learned from my mistakes and vowed not to repeat them in the future.

Another trait I see is not listening to the masses when they say something can’t be done. Successful entrepreneurs have the perseverance to see their idea through when others say it can’t be done. They never listen to the naysayer.

NSM: How can young entrepreneurs gain respect and be taken seriously?
NB: People like to be around successful people, whether they’re young or not. So to have an air of success is a very good thing, even if you haven’t “made it” yet. Additionally, people respect people who help in their community with charity, boards and things like that. Be seen at charitable events, and take an active interest in helping your community.

People will admire your confidence as long as it doesn’t cross the line of being a bragger. You can temper your bravado with the charity work and show people that you really care.

NSM: What advice do you have for a teen in high school who is thinking about starting a business?
NB: Develop your contacts. Every time a person asks you to do a favor and you can do it, just do it. What will happen is that you’ll develop a network of people that can help you later in life when and if you need them. The more you put in now, the more you’ll get out later.

Next Step has 2020 Vision!

Last year, I met Ari Weinzweig, co-founder of the famous Zingerman’s Community of Businesses in Ann Arbor, MI. Ari and his partner Paul Saginaw have built many thriving businesses, all around common themes, including food and culture.

I asked Ari how they went from being just a small deli to creating a thriving community of businesses. He said it was all because of their vision. He and Paul, at a crossroads of whether to expand the deli nationwide or not, opted to grow within Ann Arbor instead and create a community of related and exceptional businesses.

The mission was to create a vision that described the company in 20 years. They did that and actually finished their vision years ahead of schedule.

Ari told me that the important thing to remember is that the vision is not how to get there but what it looks like. It’s a destination of where you want to be.

So, I came back to Rochester and started the first draft of Next Step’s 2020 vision. It’s for the year 2020 but also ties in nicely to having great vision! I asked my managers to dig into it next and then the rest of our coworkers. It’s been a collaborative effort that began more than six months ago.

The goals are simple:

1. It is inspiring? Does it excite and motivate?
2. It is strategically sound. Is it challenging but attainable?
3. It is well documented? Is the vision written well, handed out to the team and reviewed frequently?
4. Is it communicated effectively? Are we clearly and regularly communicating the vision to coworkers, customers and to the community at large in both direct and indirect ways?

The Next Step 2020 Vision is finally complete and I am very passionate about it! It’s very bold, yet very doable. If you’d like to take a look at it, e-mail me at David@nextSTEPmag.com.

I hope it inspires you to think about your own vision. It could be about your company or your life.

Engaging Budget Cuts

I am not sure if you noticed but budgets are getting cut. Next Step Magazine gets most of our revenue from colleges, student loan companies and the military advertising. We have already seen the student loan companies disappear due to the liquidity crisis. As the recession deepens, we need to be prepared to feel the pain from other advertiser cuts as well.

So far, we’re hanging in there quite well. But often, it only takes a bad few months to reverse a small business’s success. So what is a maverick small business guy to do? (Ok, sorry, I just wanted to say maverick. Sometimes I feel so mavericky! Go to:
http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/clips/vp-debate-open-palin-biden/727421/ for more on being mavericky).

Anyway, what is the first thing a small business can do when facing a looming economic crisis. Obviously, cut the budget. The last thing you want to do it cut payroll and derail the moral of your coworkers. The first thing you want to do is to engage them in the process.

That’s what we did yesterday. We held a non-mandatory budget cut meeting. Since Next Step has an open book management philosophy, everyone knows every line item in the budget anyway. So about half the staff showed up to the meeting and offered their thoughts on what we can cut.

They shared great ideas and seemed to feel excited to be part of the process. They thought of things that I hadn’t. Their ideas ranged from postponing new computer purchases to having the staff volunteer to bake birthday cakes instead of the company buying them.

My role was to shut up and listen. Of course, that was not entirely possible but I think I did quite well!

Bottom line, I bet their suggestions will save us around $50,000 a year. That’s helps a lot! And it also helped that the staff was involved. Nobody likes heavy, top down decisions without being able to give feedback. Granted you can’t always implement every piece of feedback received, but the environment you will create by sincerely allowing feedback will be a cornerstone to a thriving workplace culture.

Eyes on the Future

I went to the Rochester business pep rally called "Eyes on the Future" Friday morning and felt jazzed. Even though the Rochester and New York State economies are in the crapper, I left feeling hope. I always say that for a city our size, we do amazing things. And the thing I felt good about was the people that were there. We have some top notch people and leaders in our community. Kudos to Tom Ioele for putting the event together.

I feel confort knowing that Dennis Mullen, former head of Greater Rochester Enterprise is now the upstate president of the Empire State Development Corp. I am also grateful that we have a sensible County Execetive in Maggie Brooks who gets along with our Mayor, Bob Duffy. I have great respect for both.

And last but not least, it's been fulfilling to watch Governor Paterson become a leader. The role of Governor was thrust upon him and like Abraham Lincoln did, he is evolving into a leader for our times. I strongly disagree with his SUNY cuts but at least he is not hiding his head in the sand and seems to battling our state's finanacial crisis head on.

So, while I watch the news and stock market, I feel like we are approaching times of doom and gloom. The "Eyes on the Future" event was just the shot in the arm I needed to be reminded that at the end of the day, it all about people and great leaders getting us back on track.

We have them here in Rochester. Everything will be all right.

Bocce Ball and Business

What do bocce ball and business have in common?

Not much. And that was the point of the staff at Next Step Magazine playing last month. My co-workers worked hard over the summer to get our back to school issue off the ground while also kicking off the new school year. It was time to have fun!

So we used the professional course at Nazareth College's Casa Italiana and had a bocce ball tournament. We had some great Italian food for lunch and of course, had cannoli for dessert. We even polished a few bottles of wine!

It was a great day. The weather was perfect and the bocce playing was superb.
Team Diana Fisher/Chris Roberts won the tournament and each took home some Italian liquor!

The point was to have a work day that was nothing about work. Just fun. We deserved it!

What does your company do for fun?

Making the Most of a Trade Show

Have you ever been an attendee at a conference and gone to the exhibit area? You know, where all those trade show booths are and the vendors are standing behind them, ready to espouse their company's benefits to you?

I have been to many; and have been on both sides. I have been an attendee many times and even more so, a vendor.

What baffles me is that when I am an attendee and walk the exhibit booth isles, I see much aloofness. Many of the vendors don’t even look up because they are talking to their co-worker, checking their Blackberry and/or gazing deeply into their laptop monitor.

I am quite sure that this is not what their boss envisioned when he/she paid thousands of dollars for the company to be there.

What do these vendors expect? That potential customer will make a bee-line for their booth? Good luck with that....

No, an exhibit hall vendor must be very proactive in getting the attention of all the prospects walking by. Odd are, they don’t know much about your company and if you give a smile and good morning, they will do the same to you. Then a simple, "Have you heard of what our company can do for you?" will probably buy you at least a minute to reel them in a bit more.

The sales staff at Next Step Magazine and I were just in Seattle for a NACAC (National Association for College Admission Counseling) conference of college admissions and school counselor professionals. There were literally thousands of people there.

I have to say, I was very proud of my co-workers. We worked it hard. Nobody got by our booth without a hello and a smile. Hey, sometimes we were ignored but most of the time people would stop by and chat for a while. Then we were able to see how Next Step could help them with their job. We sucked the juice out of that conference and made hundreds of great new contacts. Plus connected with some old ones too!

I walked around a bit to see what the other exhibitors were up to. It never fails to amaze me, but most of the exhibitors barely looked up as I walked past them. I blame them for laziness but also their boss for not being clear about the expectations of a trade show.

Here are some good trade show tips that I found to get the most out a trade show:

Don't sit - The tradeshow environment is a tough one. I know that. By the end of the day your entire body feels weak and numbed. I also know that the next day you’d rather have your legs amputated than stand on them, but buck up! When you’re sitting, you look lazy and less approachable. In that state, lead-generating opportunities will pass you by like grandma getting passed on the highway.

Talking with other booth staff - Remember, this is not the break room and you’re not at the show to talk with “Joe." Save the conversation for the hotel later. Otherwise, if you’re in the middle of chumming it up, show attendees will not even try to interrupt your conversation to ask for information. The same goes for the cell phone as well; if you need to take a call, excuse yourself from the booth.

80/20 - Remember the 80/20 rule – listen 80% of the time and talk 20%. Many people, when put in the show situation, tend to “throw-up” on the attendees. You’ve seen it, I’ve done it. It’s just wrong. For example, the attendee asks a question, “Does your product do this?” Then you reply, “The product does this and that and my company was founded in 1912 by a farmer and a goose. I started working with the company when Carter was president. Boy, it was a hot summer.” You did nothing but point out that you’re uncomfortable being there. Listen to the customer. Process what they want to know, then respond with pertinent information. Wait, then ask if your response adequately answered their question. If you’re nervous, take a breath or two before speaking. You’ll be glad you did.

Train your trade show team - Trade shows are unlike other sales environments. Limited time and attention of attendees requires quick qualifying, and lead generating tactics. Make sure your staff is prepared and has a clear goal for each day.

Call them while they're hot - Sales staff frequently make the mistake of contacting trade show leads, months after the show. Make sure your sales staff has extra time and incentive to follow-up with all leads within weeks of your trade show exhibit.

Booth Love - Effectively utilize display accessories, banners, graphics, lighting, booth design, and materials to heighten visibility and drive sales.

The bottom line - For a successful trade show, make sure you are as approachable and professional as possible. Remember that at any given moment, you will be on center stage. The customer is looking at your booth and asking themselves, “Do I need what they have?” Then they’ll look at you and decide, “Do I want to work with them?” That is not a good time to pick your nose.

You only get one chance to make a first impression. At a trade show, you are making that impression on someone at every moment. How will you and your company be remembered?

Woodstock for Entrepreneurs

I just went to the Inc. 5000 Conference in Washington, D.C. and it was an amazing experience! It was loaded with A+ speakers; most of whom have the top business books out today. I even got to have dinner with Ari Weinzweig, co-founder of Zingerman's Deli and Zingerman's Community of Businesses. He is a business mentor of mine and has become a friend. I love his personality, business model and willingness to share his brain!

I ran into Joe Mansueto, who owns Inc. Magazine and told him how incredible the conference was. He said they were trying to create an experience that could be described as Woodstock for Entrepreneurs. I think they did it! And they didn't even need all the drugs. The speakers were the drugs!

Motivaitonal conferences are great for many reasons. You get pumped up, you meet incredible people and of course to learn many things.

Below are some of the people that gave presentations. I suggest you read their books and/or check out their Web sites...

Jim Collins, author of Good to Great. www.jimcollins.com

Norm Brodsky, co-author of a new book called The Knack. http://www.inc.com/magazine/columns/streetsmarts/

Bo Burlingham, author of Small Giants, co-author of The Knack, editor at large of Inc. Magazine, more... www.smallgiantsbook.com

Seth Godin, author of numrous books including Purple Cow, Permission Marketing. www.sethgodin.com

Keith McFarland, author of The Breakthrough Company, www.breakthroughcompany.com

Ari Weinzweig, co-founder and CEO of Zingerman's Commununity of Businesses. www.zingermans.com

There were many more amazing speakers. For a complete list, go to:
www.inc500conference.com