Sims set up a filing system for Needel and helped him organize his office. The results were amazing. Now Needel can find things quickly, and his well-organized office environment has improved his creativity and productivity. "The outlay was paid back several times," Needel says. "There's been a huge return."
Busy business owners often fall behind on mundane tasks such as filing. Experts say that's just a symptom of poor management skills. But poor time management causes more than just clutter; it also wastes time that small-business owners could otherwise be using to make money. "Without proper planning, things will distract you," Sims says. "You won't stay focused, and you'll end up not accomplishing what you need to accomplish to stay in business."
Indeed, time management skills are essential to the success of a venture. Good time management helps business owners such as Andy Guerke streamline their operations and run their businesses more efficiently and productively. Guerke is co-owner of We Take the Cake, a mail-order cake company based in Fort Lauderdale. Every day Guerke needs to have his orders ready to ship when FedEx arrives. But he finds it difficult to finish his cakes with phones ringing and people walking into his bakery. So Guerke copes by juggling his workload. He comes in early to do paperwork and other tasks before the phones start ringing. And he reserves a block of time to get his daily work done. "You have to know your business," Guerke says. "You have to know when it's busy and plan accordingly."
What else can busy executives do to better manage their time?
-- Use a planner. That's an absolute necessity, Sims says. "You need to have a main planner," she says. "You don't want to run a computer system and a manual system and a refrigerator system and a Palm Pilot. It doesn't work." And once you have a planning system in place, you need to use it to keep track of appointments and deadlines. Sims suggests making a list every day of the six most important things you want to accomplish tomorrow. Then make sure you do them.
-- When you receive mail or e-mail, take action right away. If you put it aside to make a decision later, you're creating clutter, Sims says.
-- Establish a good filing system and use it. When you file on a regular basis, the task remains manageable.
-- Arrange your tasks according to the demands of your business. If you get a lot of phone calls in the morning, don't plan to handle an important project at that time.
-- Consider outsourcing administrative tasks. Human resources functions, for example, can be delegated to a professional employer organization (PEO). "A PEO handles the 'adminis-trivia,' those tedious tasks of paperwork and record keeping that can become time-consuming and unproductive," says Carlos Rodriguez, president of ADP TotalSource, a PEO headquartered in Miami. "By outsourcing, business owners can focus their time on the things that will make money."
Dealing with mundane tasks such as filing or record keeping is a pain. But if you don't keep up with it -- or hire someone who will -- it will take over your life and your business. "We all have too much to do and not enough time," Sims says. "But some people hold onto things, and some people make decisions and release them. Clutter is not the problem; not making decisions is."
Perking Up the Workplace
Companies are discovering that creative perks -- ranging from massages to nap time -- attract and retain employees.
By Robyn A. Friedman
Tanya Racoobian had a massage the other day. A week ago, she attended a "Green Eggs and Ham Breakfast" to honor Dr. Seuss. And last month, Racoobian went to an ice cream sundae social. These events weren't run-of-the-mill occurrences in an active social life; they all took place at Racoobian's workplace. "It's a very intense environment," says Racoobian, an account executive at Thorp & Co., a Coral Gables-based public relations firm. "We all work hard, and these perks are a way for the company to say thank you for our hard work."
But the perks do more than that, says owner Patricia Thorp. They also inspire loyalty. "We haven't lost any of our top-tier people in three years in a terribly tight labor market," she says. "And I know people get several headhunting calls each week."
Firms around Florida are becoming more creative in the benefits they offer their employees. Gone are the days when stock options alone were enough to attract and retain employees, experts say. Employees are looking for other things, and a fun environment in which they feel appreciated is key.
Boca Raton-based NetByTel, which sells speech recognition services, provides massages, an on-site gym complete with a personal trainer, free lunches and video games to its employees in an effort to create a family environment. "Companies are looking for a lot from their employees today," says Stephen Avalone, director of marketing. "There needs to be the right corporate culture so that everybody likes coming to work." The strategy apparently works for NetByTel. It hasn't lost an employee since the company was established in April 1999.
Trey Hutt takes a paternal approach to the employee benefits he offers. Hutt, president of Panama City-based Hutt Insurance Agency, has 13 full-time employees. When his employees' kids go back to school, he gives the parents cash bonuses to pay for clothes and supplies. If he hears that someone's car needs work, he'll pay for the repairs. At Christmas, he sends everyone on a vacation wherever they want to go. And if people need time off because their children are sick or they need to go to the dentist, doctor or vet, they take it. "I think of it as an investment," Hutt says. "And it does pay considerable dividends. Our employee retention is terrific."
Tips: Stack the Deck in Your Favor When Seeking Seasonal Workers
In the wake of the tightest labor market in 30 years, small businesses can expect to have a tough time finding temporary employees this holiday season. "Local recruitment firms are literally looking for warm bodies," says Paul Spector, a professor of industrial and organizational psychology at the University of South Florida in Tampa. "There's a lot of competition."
But there are a few things that employers can do to better attract the seasonal worker:
-- Offer competitive wages. Seasonal employees aren't interested in a long-term relationship with your company; they're interested in cold, hard cash. Most seasonal employees are high school or college students on break and retirees. Since jobs in retail especially are interchangeable -- it doesn't matter to many employees where they work -- offering a higher hourly wage increases the likelihood of attracting warm bodies.
-- Treat employees fairly. Try to be flexible on hours, for example, when possible. "Try to build a good relationship with people," Spector advises. "If you push people around, you're going to lose them very quickly in a labor market where they can just go next door and get the same job."
-- Be proactive. Don't wait until the last minute to search for seasonal employees. If all else fails, you can still find employees through an agency. At Labor Ready, a Tacoma, Wash.-based temporary labor firm that supplies warehouse, manufacturing, hospitality and country club employees to Florida businesses, hourly rates for its workers range from $9 to $11, says Larry "Mo" Violett, area director. He estimates the firm will place more than 100,000 temporary employees in Florida this holiday season. Says Violett: "Get started early because it's a tight market. Demand is so high for seasonal workers that even we have a struggle making sure our customers' needs get met." -- Robyn A. Friedman
Whistle While You Work
According to a survey of 606 companies recently conducted by the Society for Human Resources Management, an increasing number of employers are offering uncommon benefits. Here are some of the perks being offered and the percentage of companies offering them:
Health club memberships -- 27%
Legal assistance -- 19%
Dry-cleaning services -- 11%
Massage therapy -- 8%
Self-defense training -- 5%
Concierge services -- 4%
Nap time during the workday -- 1%
Pet health insurance -- 1%
Company Profile: Austin's Carpet Service
Success by the Square Foot
A Milton businesswoman bounces back from hardship, making her business a labor of love.
By Amy Welch
Challenges excite Beverly Austin. And after the year she's had, it's a good thing. In January, her husband, Charles, died of congestive heart failure at age 70, and Austin was left with both the grief of losing her best friend and the responsibility for their 27-year-old business, Austin's Carpet Service.
The two moved to Milton -- about 30 miles north of Pensacola -- from northwest Georgia just after they were married and started their own carpet, ceramic tile, vinyl, wood and laminate flooring company. The business grew and succeeded through word-of-mouth, Austin says. Austin, 57, who had handled the accounting and office responsibilities most of the time, didn't realize how many satisfied customers they had befriended until Charles' funeral, where close to 200 people showed up to pay their respects.
After the funeral, Austin set out to protect her husband's business legacy. She revamped the store's marketing and began advertising on the local cable network. In September, she opened a showroom with interactive computers; customers can scan pictures of the rooms they want redone into the computer and use the technology to see how a new floor covering will look before they buy. It's been a huge success. She says the business pulled in about $600,000 in revenues this year. Next year, she expects to boost sales to $1 million. "All of those businesses coming in -- Lowe's, Home Depot -- it excites me because I know they are not giving customers the same service we give them," Austin says.
Carpet and flooring mills come to her for business now that the company's volume has increased. It used to be the other way around. She can give customers better deals than before, but it's the added personal touches that customers remember, she says. The company gives new customers complimentary cleaning supplies and calls within 48 hours to make sure they are happy with the flooring.
Her goal now is not much different from the one she and her husband had when they started out as newlyweds -- to build a good business by making people happy, she says. Now, she sees children of former customers coming to her for their flooring needs. And though her husband's death is still fresh in her mind, she doesn't feel completely alone, she says. "I feel very lucky because Charles still lives on here through the people who come in. He left a legacy that I intend to carry on."
Small Talk
Health Care Initiative
With the demise of Florida's Community Health Purchasing Alliances (CHPAs), the National Federation of Independent Business in Florida (NFIB), the state's largest small-business organization, is working on a new plan to help small businesses obtain affordable health insurance. NFIB is in talks with Agents' Umbrella Group, an insurance agency, and Workable Solutions, an Orlando-based administrator of small-employer purchasing alliances, to create Florida Health-Care Alliance. Bill Herrle, NFIB state director, says that the alliance will give small employers who have had limited choices in the past access to top health-insurance carriers. For the status of the alliance, call NFIB at 850/681-0416.
Venture Forum 2001
The Florida Venture Forum will hold its 10th annual venture capital conference Jan. 17-18. For the first time, the forum will move from Coral Gables to the Boca Raton Resort & Club in Palm Beach County. The conference will showcase about 20 high-growth companies before a national audience of venture capitalists. Presenters at the nine previous conferences have raised more than $350 million, with $106 million raised by this year's presenters alone. For 2001, the forum will select existing companies as well as start-ups -- even if they are not currently looking for funding -- in Florida and the Southeast U.S.
Franchise Financing
Florida franchisors may now have better luck attracting franchisees outside the U.S. The Overseas Private Investment Corp. (OPIC), a Washington, D.C.-based federal agency, is now offering long-term direct loans to overseas franchisees of U.S. franchisors. To qualify, the U.S. franchisor must meet OPIC's guidelines for a small business. The key requirement for the franchisor is annual sales of less than $250 million or, for individuals or entities without sales, a maximum net worth of $67 million.
Venture Capital: Money Where It's Needed Most
SBA's New Market Venture Capital initiative may spur business growth in low-income areas -- if Congress funds the program.
By Barbara Miracle
With great fanfare, President Clinton and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced plans last winter to set up a program to encourage private-sector venture capital investing in low- and moderate-income areas. The idea is to use government-backed debt to help new VC firms raise equity, which they would then invest in small businesses in targeted communities. The VC firms would also offer hands-on technical assistance.
New Market Venture Capital (NMVC) firms are designed to be privately managed, for-profit investment companies formed expressly for this program. They must be led by a management team with demonstrated experience in community development financing or venture capital. And they must be able to attract at least $5 million in capital (or binding commitments) from investors. The SBA's role would be in guaranteeing a debenture that a NMVC could issue to raise additional investment capital equal to the amount raised from investors. The debt would have deferred interest for the first five years.
The NMVC would have to invest the money in small companies -- in most cases defined as businesses that have a net worth of $6 million or less and average annual after-tax earnings for the previous two years of $2 million or less. Eighty percent of investments must go to low-income areas, defined as Census tracts with a poverty rate of at least 20%, HUBZones, Urban Empowerment zones and communities and Rural Empowerment zones and communities. A typical investment would be between $50,000 to $300,000. (Small Business Investment Companies, the SBA's other venture capital-like endeavor, usually invest from $300,000 to $5 million.)
But as of early October, the NMVC program was on hold because of Congress' inaction. It's unclear whether the legislation needed to authorize the program and provide $50 million in funding for the government-backed debt and technical assistance grants will be enacted this year.
Deals
In the largest venture capital deal in Florida history, Pensacola's Network Telephone, a "competitive local telephone carrier," received $156 million in funding from Lehman Bros., Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., Desai Capital Management, Wind Point Partners and Spectrum Equity Investors. In addition, the company obtained $100 million in debt financing. Network Telephone, founded in 1998, offers telecommunications services, including high-speed DSL Internet access and local and long-distance service in nine states. Since its founding, Network has received $204.5 million in equity investments. In mid-September, the company purchased an 80,000-sq.-ft. former department store that it expects to house 400 to 600 new workers over the next two years.
AquaGene, a Gainesville area biotechnology company that uses fish to produce proteins and peptides, has received $475,000 in first-round funding. Advantage Capital Florida, a Tampa venture capital fund, invested $275,000. The remaining $200,000 came from an angel investment group. The deal was organized by Caerus FirstRound Partners, a small Gainesville-based technology fund that Advantage helped to organize earlier this year.
SportsYA!, the Miami-based web portal designed for Spanish-speaking sports fans, has raised $10 million in financing from IMG/Chase Sports Capital, Chase Capital Partners, Flatiron Partners and Ventech LLC. At the same time, the company cut its editorial staff by 25% as part of its move toward profitability.
Silicon Valley Bank ["Leveraging Venture Capital with Debt," July 2000] has opened an office in West Palm Beach, its first Florida location. The Santa Clara, Calif.-based bank focuses on serving fast-growing, high-tech companies that have received venture capital. Silicon Valley Bank Senior Vice President Jeffrey White will manage the Florida office.