“Everyone has a plan ‘til they get punched in the mouth.” -Mike Tyson

I admit, I’m not a big fan of Mike Tyson, but when a statement rings true it’s time to listen.
In the past we’ve had lots of “feather weight” economic upheaval. There have been “light weight” and “middle weight” financial bouts; but in 2010 we are in the “heavy weight” division. In the heavy weight world you feel every punch.
When the business world entered the ring for this fight we had no idea it would last this many rounds. The initial hits we took could be expected and we made changes as needed. Now, as the rounds pile up and months turn into years everyone is digging deep just to stay alive.
These days clients and customers are reevaluating necessities, contracts, business relationships and employees— but that means opportunity, not dead ends. This is not a Pollyanna point of view, it is real. All those potential clients who have been sitting on status quo year after year now have a reason to open up to change.
Making changes when sales are flat can be scary. “If the change doesn’t work how big of a financial hit can we take?” Flat sales mean you are taking hits left and right. The cancelled order is a right jab. A top customer who went out of business is a left upper cut. Your top sales rep that goes to work for your competitor equals a straight right followed by a left hook.
After three years in a tough economy you’re bruised and bleeding. Here are some coaching tips:

1.  Move your feet. Are your employee’s running fast but getting nowhere? You may want to take a look at their feet. They could be shackled to an archaic system. “We re-did our ops manual last year.” Who re-did it? If it was constructed by management and signed off by operations, you might need to give it another shot.
Employee Training: Gather information from everyone. Where is the shortfall in operational procedures? Change people around and open up your cross-training to help employees feel both wanted and needed. Cross-training also allows you to hire from within and reduces ramp-up time with the bonus of employee satisfaction. Also, putting a supervisor on the front line can be a great inspiration generator.
Sales and Sales Training: Throw out the statistics. The idea that x number of calls equals so many appointments which equals so many sales will not work today like it did in 2007. Don’t blame your sales teams for not making sales; you’re the one that is holding them to the defunct sales standard. Deconstruct the sales process and ask your sales reps to put it back together. Give a prize for the most outlandish workable idea.

2.  Cut your eye. Blow after blow your face has taken a beating; we need to cut some flesh so you can see. It is time you looked at your company from the outside in. This is not as easy as it sounds. Some of the things you invested time and money into may need reworking or elimination. Areas to consider include:
Marketing: Down markets are a great time to take over market share. Have you cut back to conserve resources? When you stand on the outside can you even see a path looking into your company? Make your marketing dollars prove they are working for you. Wherever you spend money ask for a detailed report and electronic surveillance if possible. If there is no data available, even if you think it is working for you, if you are spending money, you should delete it. Times are tight, don‘t spend money on hope.
Website: “In our line of work no one really looks at our website.” What does your website look like? The majority of websites out there have a business that spent money on it but did not invest in it. When a website holds no value for today’s buyer, they won’t go to it, but it has nothing to do with “your line of work.”

3. Learn. “I’m scared every time I go into the ring, but it’s how you handle it. What you have to do is plant your feet, bite down on your mouthpiece and say, ‘Let’s go.’“ – Mike Tyson.
It is easy for business owners and management to get frustrated when you can’t seem to land a single punch. Your company is bobbing and weaving their hearts out but you just don’t seem to be gaining any edge.
Listen and learn from the guys with the championship belts. Call your clients who are holding their own or even prospering and ask for input. When you are in the fight you don’t see the whole picture. Get a new, different perspective from your usual sources. It’s easy to commiserate with a buddy and play the victim card but if that is your desire then throw in the towel now so you don’t have to take another hit. If you want to win; if you really, really want to win, now is the time to dig deep.

“A champion shows who he is by what he does when he’s tested. When a person gets up and says ‘I can still do it’, he’s a champion.” -Evander Holyfield
By: Shari Allison

Golden Capital Network and NoRTEC have launched a series of business development workshops to get companies on the road to growing their entrepreneurial venture into a thriving, successful business.
The Venture Island Entrepreneur Workshop series, which began in August, is currently focused on giving Venture Island-North State contestants the skills they will need to make it to the top of the competition. Venture Island-North State is in full force with the last competition on October 29. Previous workshop topics have included beginning a business, entrepreneurial strategies and PowerPoint fundamentals. All workshops will be held at the Uptime Coworking Studio (101 Salem Street, Suite 240), which opened last November. Golden Capital Network created this venue for knowledge sharing forums such as these.
“Our vision as an organization is to promote entrepreneurship and innovation as an economic development strategy,” said Alan Chamberlain, program director of Golden Capital Network. “Those are the people who are going to create companies that will grow and provide good, sustainable employment opportunities for workers.
Although these workshops will focus primarily on the contest up until September 28, the content is valuable to anyone pursuing commercial success, so everyone is welcome.
On September 9, entrepreneurs can practice PowerPoint presentations at a “pitch clinic” that will offer feedback and suggestions for improvement. Throughout the rest of September and end of October workshops will focus on financial analysis. Businesses will have a chance to learn about revenue and expense projection, capitalization and business strategies.
At the closing of the Venture Island competition on October 29, the workshops will move forward to topics on growing small businesses. Companies can become more familiar with human resources practices, business law, accounting management and more.
“Our local small businesses are struggling in this economy and learning some things will help make their businesses better and hopefully lead them to growing their business,” Chamberlain said.
The seminars will not only give businesses skills to succeed, they will provide participants an opportunity to meet others interested in what they do, he said.
Each workshop will be taught by an expert in the business field, said Jon Gregory, president/CEO of Golden Capital Network.
“Workshops provide access to leading business executives and service providers for both start-up and existing growth companies to amplify their business acumen, and accelerate success,” Gregory said.
The connections made at these workshops will provide entrepreneurs with the guidance and support that will aid them in growing their venture.
These workshops will be every Wednesday from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. All sessions are free, but space is limited. To register visit uptimechico.ning.com, or for more information on the workshops go to www.ventureisland-northstate.com.

LuLu's Clothing

What started out as a small store in downtown Chico has developed into a popular fashion gathering for local women, as well as a growing Web site that has been acknowledged throughout the nation.
Lulu’s started in 1996 as a mother-daughter dream. Debra Cannon and her daughter Colleen Winter decided to open the store after Winter had just finished up college. They had lived in Chico a long time and felt that creating LuLu’s would be an enjoyable career move for them both.
“We wanted to have a business and support ourselves,” Cannon said. “We didn’t ever realize where it would go.”
The store became so popular after a year that it had to move from its tiny home on Third Street to a bigger building on Main Street.
As the business continued to grow, they found themselves adding more and more merchandise. About two-and-a-half years ago they decided it was time to increase their distribution, so they looked toward the Web.
In order to get the word out they spent time and money sending e-mails, writing fashion blogs, buying Google-paid ads and sending samples to popular magazines throughout the U.S. Eventually their hard work paid off.
“I really think the turning point for us was the magazine editorials,” Winter said. “We’ve been in magazines for a year and a half straight. Sometimes up to eight a month.”
LuLu’s has had their merchandise featured in magazines such as Seventeen and US Weekly. Their audience now reaches throughout the country.
“We have almost 40,000 customers,” Cannon said.
To keep their buyers coming back they spend a lot of time sending out e-mails, creating contests and providing coupons for potential consumers.
Winter believes that the attention they give their subscribers is a big part of their success.
“We really concentrate on customer service,” Winter said. “We have an e-mail that goes out twice a week to our subscribers.”
On top of that, about 10,000 people a day visit the Web site, so they are constantly e-mailing customers back about their questions or concerns, she said.
Their success has now grown to be bigger than their Internet warehouse. Since the Web site began they have been running it in the upstairs of LuLu’s, but it was time for the site to have its own shop.
Cannon and Winter own two other downtown stores: Trucker and GiGi Shoe Parlor. The most logical thing they felt they could do was use GiGi as their new warehouse, so they distributed the shoes to LuLu’s and Trucker and made way for a bigger Web site location that would accommodate their needs.
The owners have put a lot of effort into finding clothes that won’t empty their customer’s wallets.
“Our prices are really good and our clothes are cutting edge for a low price,” Cannon said. “We shop around and do our homework to get good clothes for a cheap price.”
Winter said that their high-quality, yet fair prices have been a huge help with the Web site.
“We found a nitch online that wasn’t being offered,” she said. “There are a lot of low-end stores and a lot of high-end stores.”
The prices tend to fall somewhere in the middle, she said. They work for young girls and for women who are busy and want to be able to shop online and get good quality, but not pay the high prices.
Although they have managed to gain an excellent reputation, it has been challenging for the company to compete with larger corporations who have already made a name for themselves.
“Most of the fashion Web sites out there have bigger budgets,” Winter said. “We really had to work for this.”
The two work at their business nonstop and are motivated to keep LuLu’s flourishing.
“I think the challenge is just keeping up the pace.” Cannon said. “But we’re into it. We have passion and that keeps us going.”

By Kayla Cook

By Scott Camp

In almost any area of activity there’s a time when someone says, “We’ve got to get back to the basics if we’re going to make it.” This is said with a knowing, authoritative voice, and everyone else says, “Yes, that’s right!” as though some particularly intelligent thing had just been said. What usually happens is…
• People keep doing what they’ve been doing; only they do it with more vigor and energy
• Or…they do things they haven’t been doing (not all of which are the right things)—at least for a little while. Then they fall back into their normal behaviors.

So what are “The Basics” in business? Well, every business has its own. Retail is different from manufacturing, which is different from nonprofits, which is different from…well, you get the idea. Here are some universal “Basics”:

FIRST IMPRESSIONS ARE IMPORTANT!
• What does your parking lot look like?
• If you have windows, are they clean?
• Does your front door have peeling, sun-faded decals from every organization or credit card you work with?
• If you have a receptionist, make sure he/she is well groomed, well dressed and knows how to greet people politely and quickly.
• Have you ever called your business on the phone and really listened to what the person answering the phone says?
• What about your reception area? Is it the storage area for your bottled water and extra supplies or other “stuff”?
• If there’s a help-yourself coffee or refreshment area, is it neat, orderly and complete?
• Is there a restroom available to customers? Does someone have the responsibility to check it regularly throughout the day?

WHAT ABOUT YOUR COMPETITORS?
• You should be “shopping” your competitors regularly—at least once a quarter.
• If you have salespeople, have them do the shopping. You should do it at least once a year yourself. Sometimes you can do this over the phone. Other times you may have to visit their location.
• What is it you want to know when you shop them?
o How do their prices compare to yours on similar products?
o Will they negotiate prices if pushed?
o How quickly can they deliver?
o What do they say about you, and other competitors, when you tell their salesperson you’re going to look around at XYZ?
o Can you learn anything from them that they are doing better than you are?

MARKETING IS AN INVESTMENT, NOT AN EXPENSE.
• It is easier to get more revenue from people with whom you’re already doing business than it is to go out and get new business.
o Do you have a current customer list in a usable database? If not, why not?
o If so, how often do you “attack” it with new messages, new products, reduced prices, incentives to come in, rewards for shopping with you or for recommending friends of theirs who could be customers?
• Do you have ways to measure the effectiveness of the marketing you do?
o When a media rep wants your business, tell them to figure out how you can measure the effectiveness of what they’re offering, and if they can’t do that, find something else that can be measured.
o Once you know what’s working, take money away from what isn’t and increase your investment in what is.
o When media reps offer big discounts for long-term advertising commitments, give them an alternative proposal…“ I won’t make a long-term commitment, but if what I do works and I keep renewing my ads with you, then I want a retroactive discount when my total investment reaches what the long-term commitment would have been.” If they won’t do that, find another medium.

People may say, “This is all old stuff. There’s nothing new here!”

EXACTIMUNDO…That’s why it’s called getting “Back to the Basics.” The “Basics” are called the “Basics” for a reason.

Scott Camp consults with the Redding Chamber of Commerce on marketing and political issues and has a private business consulting practice. He has more than 25 years experience in retail, manufacturing and advertising. He can be reached at 530-736-1181 or e-mail to: scott.camp@sbcglobal.net.

By Chris Robbins

Oroville will always be the City of Gold, but now we also want people to know, “The fun starts here!”
A new logo and promotional materials for Oroville were introduced at the Department of Water Resources’ Oroville booth at the Sacramento Sportsmen’s Expo in January. DWR, in conjunction with the Oroville Area Chamber of Commerce, developed the materials to represent the whole community.
The new logo and tag line were created by Bob Peterson, a graphic designer for DWR. The logo splits the word Oroville and stacks Oro on top of ville. The tag line is, “The Fun Starts Here!”
Recent efforts by the Oroville Tourism Committee to come up with a new logo and tag line spawned some great ideas, but nothing that appealed to everyone, according to Claudia Knaus, executive director of the Oroville Chamber. This new concept has been, thus far, universally accepted and approved.
“As soon as we saw the logo and heard the tag line, we said, ‘Yes, this is it!’” Knaus said. “We loved it right away, and everyone we have shown it to has loved it. It’s simple, but it’s modern and fresh.”
The Oroville Chamber has already begun using the materials. We have ordered shopping bags, key chains and other promotional items with the new logo on them. The logo is available for local businesses and agencies to use in their efforts to promote the Oroville area.
“We hope the community will embrace these new promotional materials and think long-term,” Knaus said. “We hope this will create an image that we can be proud of for years to come.”
For more information or to obtain a copy of the new logo, contact the Chamber at 538-2542.
Knaus began discussions over a year ago with representatives from DWR regarding updating the agency’s billboards along Highway 99. They had lost their luster and looked dated. Last spring, DWR brought a team of photographers and models to the area and shot more than 7,500 photos of people enjoying the lake and surrounding areas. Peterson used these photos to create new promotional materials, including new banners to replace the billboards on Hwy. 99. The new banners show people of all ages and races enjoying a variety of activities, including fishing, horseback riding, boating, hiking and more. For DWR, this campaign is also a trial for other lakes in the state.

Some of the other partners working with the Oroville Chamber to promote the area include the Oroville Tourism Committee, Oroville Downtown Business Association, Oroville YMCA, Feather River Recreation & Park District, City of Oroville, Oroville Economic Development Corporation, other Chambers in the region and a growing list of businesses, service clubs, organizations and government entities.
The Tourism Committee, composed of representatives from a variety of area stakeholders, is in the process of putting together a cell phone tour of the Chinese Temple, Bolt’s Tool Museum, the award-winning Centennial Plaza, the Ehmann Home and the State Theater. The committee also has plans to promote a Greenline tour running from Historic Downtown Oroville up to Oroville Dam and the Visitor Center. They have developed new signage and will repaint the original Greenline.
The Chamber is also working with the City of Oroville and area businesses to bring an FLW Stren Series Fishing Tournament to Oroville. The tournament was scheduled for January, but low lake levels necessitated rescheduling the event for May 14-18. It will bring hundreds of anglers, their family and friends, dozens of tournament organizers and television crew members, scores of spectators and hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Oroville area.
Other projects and events the Chamber is involved in include operating a community calendar, promoting Oroville’s Enterprise Zone, sponsoring dozens of fishing tournaments and presenting, coordinating and/or promoting major community events, such as Feather Fiesta Days, Oroville Salmon Festival, The Bounty of Oroville and more.
“With the challenges we are all facing in 2009, it’s more important than ever for businesses, organizations and communities to pull together,” Knaus said. “Oroville has experienced tough times before, and we’ve survived. We’re not wringing our hands and feeling sorry for ourselves; we’re reaching out and forming partnerships to promote the area like never before.”

Chris Robbins is event, membership and marketing coordinator for the Oroville Area Chamber of Commerce and can be reached at 530-538-2542 or e-mail at crobbins@orovillechamber.net.