Matching a candidate’s experience with the job’s responsibilities seems like an easy one, right? Who would actually hire a person who doesn’t have experience? Many people actually do (I am guilty of it)! The reason business owners hire people without experience is because they often lack experience themselves in the particular area they are hiring for and take a candidates word that they can perform. A way to avoid making this mistake is by asking previous colleagues, business associates and friends for help. For example you have a business that is beginning to grow and you need someone to manage the day to day office operations while you focus on sales, marketing, product development, breathing and money. You have done a decent job taking care of the office but frankly it has never been your strong point and you have no interest in learning now. The best way to make sure a candidate has the right experience for what you need in this example is by asking your accountant to interview your ‘final’ candidates. Most accountants would be willing to help because it makes their job easier in the end for you to have a competent person in this role. If you need to hire a sales person and have no experience in sales ask a previous colleague, business associates or friend who has been successful in sales if they could interview your ‘final’ candidates. People like to help especially when they are able to demonstrate their level of experience.

It is important to match a candidate’s work ethic with your own. Work ethic doesn’t have to be solely about the hours a person puts in everyday it is more about the amount of work that is accomplished each day. If you’re a nose to the grind stone work type having a chatty Cathy or chatty Joey in the office will drive you insane and will most likely mean the amount of actual work performed by Cathy or Joey is less than desirable. You should keep this factor in mind when considering a friend or relative for a job. Many times friends and family have a hard time separating work and social life which can hurt your business and your personal relationship.

How to check a candidate’s references: You always want to talk to a previous boss or someone who holds (held) an equal position to the previous boss. The only time you can make an exception is if the person has only had one job and they are still in it. Talking to a co-worker doesn’t work because a co-worker never had a professional stake in the candidate’s work and will not be able to give an accurate picture of the candidate’s ability. Be skeptical of a reference who claims a candidate has no flaws and repeatedly praises them. I’m not perfect, you’re not perfect and the candidate is not perfect. Getting a reference from someone who can not be objective should make you question whether this person is a good judge of anything. Which brings me to my next point, once a reference is in a comfortable conversation about the candidate ask some questions of the reference relative to their current role as a check on their creditability…remember they have no stake after providing a reference to you so make sure they are at least competent.

An equally important factor in hiring an employee is being patient during the process. It doesn’t have to take weeks to find the right candidate, it may only take a day, but don’t hire the first person you interview because they’re perfect. Measure that person against two other candidates to give yourself a point of reference. You may ultimately decide that the first person you interview is still perfect but you avoid making a costly impulse decision. A phone interview is an excellent way to prescreen candidates and lessen the time you spend face to face interviewing. It is recommended that you have your final candidates interviewed by someone other than yourself to gain feedback from a different perspective. Ask your friends, family and business associates for help if you’re a one person shop.

Christine Colucci holds an MBA in Finance from Lubin School of Business at Pace University as well as a BS in Organizational Development from Manhattanville College. She was raised in an entrepreneurial environment with both her parents owning separate businesses and remembers fondly the nightly dinner table discussions that she actively participated in from a very young age. Christine has over thirteen years of corporate human resource experience with a focus in the areas of employee benefits, compensation structures and HRIS. Most recently she has been actively building her own business of qualifying and referring health insurance brokers to businesses that need cost effective assistance in managing their health insurance costs and providing value added voluntary benefits for employees. She is also a resource for finding personal financial planners / advisors that match an individuals needs. She can be reached at christinecolucci@aol.com.

For a new business it is very important to establish a realistic budget and use it as the business grows. The establishing of a budget is not an easy task, especially if there is no history to base it on. A new business should use their financial professional to help them establish the initial budget. Use your business contacts, family and friends. They can all be an invaluable source of information related to their own business experiences. There are two basic aspects to any budget or financial plan, fixed costs and variable costs. Fixed costs are monthly expenses that do not change such as rent and insurance. Variable costs are monthly expenses that vary from month to month such as material purchases, utilities and repairs. The computation of what your fixed and variable costs are will help you determine how much in sales you need to do just to break even. Once the budget is established it should be adhered to as much as possible to avoid overspending and thus putting a financial burden on the business, which can cause it to fail. Managing a budget and revising it as the business grows and changes will enhance the operation of the business and help you grow the business into a successful entity.

The next logical step in money management is that once you have it, what do you do with it, money that is. How do you make it work for you? How do you make it grow? How do you keep it safe? You can try and do this yourself but there are so many varied options available that it is probably more than the average person would want to or should get involved with. If you want to be able to manage your own monetary assets so that you can get the best return on your dollar then you need to educate yourself as to the different options available and what the ramifications of those options are. It is advisable in most situations to enlist a professional money manager or investment advisor to monitor your assets. A qualified individual will spend the time with you to determine what your financial goals are, what level of risk you are comfortable with and they will put together a proposed financial portfolio to help you accomplish those goals.

Money management is not something that happens by accident, it takes work and dedication towards accomplishing set goals. Whether creating an accurate, realistic budget or managing your investments, in most instances you should enlist the help of a professional who is familiar with the intricacies of what you are trying to accomplish. You need to define your needs and goals and as difficult as it is sometimes, you need to stick to the game plan that is established. These steps will enable you to concentrate on growing your business; accumulating assets and having those assets work for you.

Jeffrey was very active in the Make-A-Wish Foundation from 1984 until 2000, serving for three years as the Treasurer and three years as the Chairman of the Audit and Investment Committee of the National Foundation. He also served on the Board of Directors of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Suffolk County where he served as Chairman of the Board for his final two years of his term.

Jeff concentrates in the area of tax planning and feels that it is essential to provide all of his clients with personalized service. He has extensive expertise in non-profit accounting with Make-A-Wish and numerous other not-for-profit organizations. He has also been published in The Real Estate Finance Journal, a national publication, where he co-authored an article on the redevelopment of contaminated land sites (brownfields). Jeff also guest lectures at seminars on various business and financial topics.

#1- It’s a classic. How many of you have classic things in your closet that you can’t even remember when you bought them. It could be a great basic suit that never goes out of style and you wear at least once a week or a good handbag that you use constantly. Why spend on classic? Items that are classic get a lot of wear, they are so classic that they just don’t have an expiration date on them. One day take one of your classic pieces that you have had forever and do the math. Take the price that you spent on it add any cost for alterations and divide it by the amount of times you wore or will wear it in one year. You may start to find that the particular item owes you absolutely nothing. So for example, if you invest $500 in a suit and do $75 in alterations but wear the suit at least once a week, $575 divided by 52 the suit actually costs you $11.06 per wearing, suddenly that $500 suit doesn’t seem like a waste of money. Conversely if you were to buy a $500 trendy skirt that you wear once or twice before it looks dated that skirt winds up costing you at least $250 per wear. Big difference! Good clothes last longer, so if you plan on making a particular item a classic staple in your wardrobe, making it an investment piece and spending the extra money is the way to go. Use the above equation in your shopping trips and you may start to notice that your shopping habits may change.

#2 They’re your feet remember. Many women think that it’s ok to skimp on shoes. Wrong! This is an area that requires some investing. I am not saying that your wardrobe needs to be filled with all Jimmy Choo’s, but your feet will thank you if you put them in a pair of shoes that will support them. Sure 9 West is a nice place to shop, but the shoes are meant to be disposable. If you are in New York or if you put a lot of mileage in walking, 9 West may not be the way to go. If you are on a budget, look out for sample sales or shop outlets for some better brands on sale.

#3 Hair. Even the less discerning can spot a horrible haircut a million miles away. And hair dye that you do yourself will eventually wreak havoc on your hair shaft. What happens is when you are older you may have a problem with thinning hair. The stuff at the drugstore in the box is not the same as the stuff the pros use. Treat your hair right by getting a haircut at least every 6-8 weeks, and if you color it and are on a budget, try to get your hair professionally colored at least once every few months. Also, just because shampoo is on sale doesn’t mean it is good for you. Consult with your hairdresser as to the best shampoo for you.

#4 Undergarments. Ladies, these are your breasts we are talking about! We complain and complain about our fears of sagging boobs but rarely do we give them enough support. Victoria’s Secret is pretty but if you are a well-endowed woman, you may want to rethink where you purchase your bras. And don’t let your bras get stretched out before you replace them. Bras should never be put in the dryer and when possible hand wash them.

There is nothing like the thrill of a good bargain. When we get something on sale we get a rush like somehow we beat the fashion system. We can’t help but share with other’s our victory. I grew up with a mother who was labeled a bargain hunter, we would be shocked at how she rarely paid full price for anything. Interestingly though what she bought was never cheap, she just had the incredible ability to spend next to nothing on good quality items. Getting a good deal is when you can beat the system and get something of value on sale. But when it is just inexpensive to begin with you may actually wind up wasting money having to replace it again and again because it isn’t made as well. A place that you can shop cheaply is on trendy items unless you have disposable income. And for expensive trendy things find those expensive trendy items on sale and you will never live with the guilt that you threw money away again. H&M and Old Navy are great stores for what they are, but never consider them the place to shop when you are trying to make a smart investment for your wardrobe with the expectation that it will last.

Bridgette Raes Style Group a New York based image and style consulting company was founded to provide results driven image and personal style instruction at reasonable rates. Started by Bridgette Raes in 2002, Bridgette Raes Style Group helps women create their ultimate image and personal style to guarantee their success through one-on-one services, seminars, and speaking events. Since its inception Bridgette Raes Style Group has helped many women with a message that has spread internationally.

One of the easiest and most effective ways to stay in touch is with the power of the personal note. In research I’ve conducted in my consulting, I ask the question, “How many of you send out personal notes to people?” I also ask, “How many of you receive personal notes from clients or business associates?” The response indicates that few people take this practice seriously. As a follow up, I ask, “Has anyone received notes of appreciation, and how does that make you feel?” I trust you know the answer to this last question.

Here are eight opportunities to send a “thank you,” and when and how to do it effectively:

1. When customers do business with you, every time. Write a short, personalized “thank you” on an interesting card, letterhead, or even a postcard that says, “I appreciate your business, thank you.” You can never say thank you to someone too many times. We all appreciate the fact that people go out of their way to make us feel important and recognized.
2. When they compliment you. When a client compliments you about something, it’s an opportunity to jot off a little note of thanks, saying, “Thank you for taking the time for making my day. I appreciate it.” Compliments are given so rarely, so take the lead to say thank you when you get one.
3. When clients offer comments or suggestions. It’s a wonderful gift when your clients give you a suggestion or comment on how you might do something better or different. They’re also giving you an incredible buying signal. They might really be saying, “If you make that change, your product or service will be more attractive to me.” Here’s how to start this type of note: “Thank you for your suggestion on how I can better serve you. I’m in business to do exactly that. And you make my job easier and so much more enjoyable when you provide input.”
4. When customers try something you recommended. When clients buy into something new, solely based on your suggestion, they’re going out of their “comfort zone”. They’re putting trust in you and your product. This calls for a another special note that could read, “Thank you for your trust in me. I value your business.”
5. When customers recommend you. This is the best form of advertising you can ever get. It’s so easy to take the time and go back to our advocate, and say, “thank you for referring me to —–. I will keep you posted and informed on what develops. It means a great deal to me to know that you’re willing to recommend me. I appreciate it.” This type of “thank you” might include a small gift as well.
6. When customers are patient, or not so patient. Our clients help us when they give us time to learn how to best serve them. Often this requires their patience. On the other hand, they give us a “wake up call” when they ask us to hurry up. When this happens they might really be saying, “Hey, remember me? Keep me in mind, or I just might get swept away by the competition.” In either case, pull out a notecard again, and let them know how important they are to you. Perhaps say, “Thanks for keeping me on my toes. I appreciate how you help me keep your business.”
7. When clients say “no” to you. You’ve just pitched an account and you didn’t get their business, this time. It’s still the an opportunity to write a short note. Thank them for their time, their consideration and their honesty. Keep the door opened by being friendly and courteous. Research I conducted in the last four years shows that almost 20% of my business comes from prospects that said no the first time. People remembered the notes I sent and it made a difference. Such a difference that I got referrals, even from contacts who were not able to use my services themselves.
8. When customers make you smile. I have one client who e-mails me jokes all the time. Another one will call up and just give me some good news. Whatever it is, it makes me smile, and I want clients to know that they’ve made me feel good. I’ll send them a note with one of those little smile faces stickers. This technique always gets noticed and remembered.

Finally, here’s my bonus note to you:

Dear reader,

Thanks for taking the time to read my article. I know that you’re busy. As a “thank you” gift, I want to share what I call my “Power of Three”.

Every day take 15 minutes at the beginning or end of the day and write three short goodwill notes: one to a prospect, one to a client and one to a friend. Just say hi, send an article, or say thanks and make it specific. When you do this, at the end of the week you’ll have made 15 “goodwill” contacts, and at the end of the year, 750. Think of the “business seeds” you’ll have planted. Some of this could germinate into additional business. And if you like this article, drop me a note.

Start at the beginning…
The Marketing Mix (every business must be examined to define that these 5 critical elements are strategically in place in your marketing orientation):

1. Product
* If your business is targeted to the consumer market or to the business market, your orientation must be customer-centric. Make sure that there is a market for your product or service before you invest any dollars in marketing. Gain consumer feedback on your product/service. Make modifications based on that feedback. Do it either with an ad hoc survey or through professional market research, but make sure that people or businesses want what you have to offer. Beta test your product to get the bugs out and also to create testimonials for your product/service. If your product is consumer centric and live tested with testimonials, you are ready to launch the new or improved version.
* Who are you and what do you stand for? What is your promise to the market about your product or service (your brand)? What makes you unique? What is your unique selling proposition (USP)? Why should the target customer even consider your product let alone actually spend money for it and then return to spend more money? Who is your competition and what are the competitive products in the market currently? Why are people buying competitive products? What is your edge over those products? You must answer all of these questions to define your marketing strategy and communication messages.
* Do a SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat) analysis of the market and your self in the market. What macro-environmental influences are there to define how best to posture your company, product or service.
2. Price
* Do a financial analysis of your business before you look at pricing strategy. “financial analysis” does not just mean looking at your accounting statement. That’s the start. You must separate fixed and variable costs so that you can ultimately calculate your variable profit and your breakeven. Your “variable profit” is the incremental profit that you make on each item you sell. Know what the economics of your business are before you get into pricing decisions.
* Calculate your own breakeven and create a variable profit paradigm for defining break even so that you can determine “fair” pricing. “Fair” means don’t charge too much to your new business for existing levels of business. The new products do not have to absorb 100% of the overhead. Part of that is already being absorbed by existing services/products. Don’t penalize your new product launch with a pricing structure that prevents competitive pricing or low pricing.
* In other words, when you price an item, if you are a going concern, there is no need to absorb overhead costs into the pricing formula. The question to be raised is what is your variable cost to produce and deliver a new product. What is your current variable profit? Your average price for a product less the variable costs or direct cost to make/buy and deliver to your customer, equals variable profit. Take your fixed costs in running your business, divide by the variable profit percentage and the result is the break-even dollar amount of total sales needed to cover overhead. Divide that by the average dollar price and you find the break-even unit sales level.
* Know what the competitive environment is like. What pricing is competition using. What price incentives are they giving. Are you better offering a discount on price or a rebated promotion. Which will maintain better perceived value.
* Do some studies to evaluate the pricing discrimination of your customer. Do some price testing to determine which price is the best price. Define the perceived value of your product or service. Knowing that, combined with the financial analysis discussed above, you will know what your range of flexibility is in setting the market price.
* Do you want to have a high penetration into the market or do you want to reap or skim the profits earned from early adopters among your customers. High penetration is low pricing; skimming the profits is high pricing. Your choice here is based on your beta test & testimonials, the quality and quantity of competitors in your space and your available promotion budget.
3. Place
* Get to the customer where they want to be gotten; get to the customer where they are. Define what their touch points are. Physical. Virtual. In person. On line. In the mail. Where and how do they want to conduct business? Determine the logistics of your channel to your customer based upon how the customer wants to buy or receive information. Let the customer tell you where and how they want to not only buy from you but to receive marketing communication messages from you. Can you sell them by using direct marketing methods or do you need shelf space in a physical shopping environment. If you need shelf space, define how you are going to get that space. What incentives do you need to get that space. Are there mixed channels of delivering your message that are available.
* Who is your target market and how are you going to reach it? How well do you know your target? Why do they behave the way they do and what motivates them to buy. Where are they and how do you reach them. What other clutter are they faced with and what do we know about them that would indicate the type of breaking through the clutter you will have to do?
4. People
* What kind of training have you given to your people so that they are customer oriented? Have you established good CRM (customer relationship management) practices so that when the phone rings and is answered by your staff they are making the caller feel right at home and comfortable for calling? Do they speak English well or other language depending upon your targeted prospect? When was the last time you reviewed their scripts? When was the last time you cold called your own customer service number to see how you would be treated as a customer or prospect? Would you want to call back or just go onto another vendor?
* Are your people aware of cross selling and trading up practices? Are they aware of your product lines and office directory so that they can clearly service any caller? Do they know how to ask your customer “do you want fries with that burger….” related to your product lines or services?
5. Promotion
* Taking all of the above into consideration, have you structured your integrated marketing message to be consumer centric and need driven? Your strategy must be about solutions and the subject of your communication must be your target not you.
* Surround your target with your message. Don’t just rely on one type of communication medium to reach your target. Create your message so that you will maximize interest where the target is. SPAM existed long before email marketing. Just think of all the 5,000 (according to Ad Age) messages that you get each day from marketers vying for your attention. How many do you respond to? You reject the majority. But you respond to the one that breaks through the clutter.
* Know how to manage the creative effort, objectively, so that your marketing message gets translated into the proper creative representation.
* Know the media that you use and the value that each has to deliver your message. Make certain that you understand the difference between “awareness” media and “response” media and how to exploit each for your purposes. Know how to measure each. If you want response, then strategically you want to do direct marketing. Remember, direct marketing is not just direct mail and that direct mail is not necessarily direct marketing.
* You want your message to be accountable. If you spend a dollar, what do you get in return? You must be able to track it and see it result in a response. A negative response counts. That tells us its not working to the specific target it was sent to.
* Test, test, test variations of your message, creative and delivery in a scientific manner.
* Set up your relational data base to track messages and responses to your targets.

Next issue: “Creative Plan – Think Out of the Box.”

The next section of your business plan is the time to delve into the core of who is your business, and what your business does. The business description covers a lot of information, so you might wind up with several sub-headings…

The Where
The first task is to cover the basics of where is your business. The first question you must answer, is where is the business based? Depending upon your business location, the business will be subject to different regulations and laws. These can range from the company’s tax rate to the strictness of local zoning ordinances.

To learn about the local business climate, you can check out your department of state, local development corporations or business improvement districts as well as Small Business Development Centers. For example, if you want to operate a store in New York City, you should learn about New York State’s requirements as well as New York City’s. To do this, you can check out the following websites: http://www.dos.state.ny.us/ and http://www.nyc.gov.
These organizations often have answers to frequently asked questions and can point you to the resources you might need, saving the entrepreneur much valuable time and energy.

So the first task is for you to decide where to locate your business on a few levels. The first level is where will your business be legally formed. Second, where will your business operation be based? Thirdly, where will the bulk of your business transactions take place?

In some cases, a business will be legally formed in one state, but actually perform the bulk of its business and have a physical location in another state. For example, I had one client who formed a corporation in the state of Delaware and opened a retail store located in the East Village of Manhattan, New York State. However, as her business evolved, the bulk of the purchases for her product took place on-line. In a sense, she had three business “locations”.

The What
Along with identifying the location(s) of your business, you need to state the legal formation of your business. There are three basic types of legal forms: a sole proprietor, partnership and corporation. Many people ask me, “Which is the best one?” The right answer varies according to your individual situation.

Legal forms of organization differ according to the amount of personal liability an owner might have, the tax rate, cost of formation, the ease of transferring ownership and the level of control. The legal form can also impact the ability of the business to raise funds.

For example, Joanne is a sole proprietorship. In a sole proprietorship, the owner is the business. Therefore, any money Joanne makes from the business is reported on her personal taxes. Therefore, the tax rate is lower. Since the Joanne is the business, she can make any and all decisions and does not need to check in with anyone. The drawback is that should the business face a lawsuit, Joanne’s personal assets are on the line.

On the other hand, Joanne might form a corporation in which she is 100% owner. The corporation files its own, separate tax returns and is taxed at another rate. In order to make major decisions, technically Joanne must get the majority of the vote from her corporate board. A major benefit of forming a corporation is that should the business face a lawsuit, in most cases, the business would be responsible for the settlement, not Joanne.

To learn more about the specifics of each legal form, first steps can include checking out information posted at www.sba.gov and www.irs.gov. When deciding which form to choose, it is a good idea to consult a lawyer and a CPA, as the tax laws and liabilities can vary according to your industry.

The Who
Thirdly, you should identify the ownership of the company: who owns what. The reader wants to know upfront, who has control and is responsible for this business!

The Result
Ultimately, you are doing substantial research for a fairly short and very important paragraph. Your final result might look something like, “XYZ Clothiers is a New York State based corporation, which is owned 80% by Allison Lehr and 20% by Ms. Smith.”

In this sentence you’ve demonstrated to the reader that you have chosen the legal form and tax structure of your business as well as who are the owners. The reader already understands the level of liability, who are the key players in the business, and what laws pertain to it. This is very helpful information!

Next issue, we’ll focus on the bigger “what” of your business, the description of your product and services.

One of my clients today related a dream about winning the lottery and imagined what she would do if money were no issue in her life. It started me thinking about money and how it preoccupies so many of us so much of the time — myself included. And yet I have seen clients with what I consider true abundance feel like they don’t have enough, and people with not much consider themselves truly rich. Ironically, this latter group often attracts exactly what they need or want in their lives, with money having very little to do with it. I find this to be a very interesting phenomenon.

As I delved into the subject further, I learned from a fellow coach who advises clients on creating prosperity that we tend to go through our lives with childlike assignments to money. She explained that while most of our childhood impressions and questions get clarified by teachers, parents, etc. as we grow older, money and money matters rarely get such rational clarification. Instead (she pointed out), money is often imbued with emotional themes of deprivation, envy, and longing, e.g., “we can’t get that — it’s too expensive”, “money doesn’t grow on trees”, “they’re rich — they don’t have a care”, “maybe when our ship comes in…”, etc. So I began to see how we might have skewed impressions about money and whether we have enough or not.

I looked at my own childhood. My parents had very different thoughts about money and fought about it all the time. From my childhood vantage point, I came to believe that money causes fights and disharmony in families and for many years I did everything I could to avoid the subject of money, such as not keeping track of it or spending it the moment I earned it. I seemed to want to get it away from me because (I imagined) maybe if it was away from me it would not wreak havoc on the harmony I craved. The irony is that it actually did the opposite. I lived for too many years having it drain me of precious energy. I would worry about how to get more, whether I could pay my bills this month, and why I was always looking at an empty bank account. Somehow it was comfortable to have my husband be the one in charge of “money” (thus removing the stress), but there was conflict and it ultimately became clear to me what my belief was and that I could do something about it.

How was money talked about in your home growing up? Was it talked about at all? What meaning do you assign to money? For instance, do you believe there will never be enough, always just enough, or plenty? The prosperity coach recommends that her clients examine what messages they heard as children and consider saying different things about it. Here’s one example: I have a business owner client who for a decade made the same amount every year. Because she truly believed she would only earn “enough”, that’s all she did earn. Once she became aware of her limiting belief, she changed it and doubled her annual income in one year.

So lots of money may be out there for us all — not necessarily in the form of winning lottery tickets, but in becoming conscious of what you say and believe about it. Two excellent books on the subject are “The Energy of Money” by Maria Nemeth and “Transforming Your Relationship with Money” by Joe Dominguez.

Persephone Zill is a Business and Life Strategy Coach. She works with clients who seek transformational change in their careers and in their lives. Her background includes guiding several hundred women entrepreneurs to turn their dreams into functioning businesses at the American Woman’s Economic Development Corporation (AWED) in New York City and she is the Co-Leader of the Westchester/Rockland County Chapter of the International Coach Federation (ICF).

Jackie worked her way up at the hottest restaurants in New York City as a chef or waitress to pay for her singing lessons. She then moved to Australia where she was singing and performing; until she created her first woman’s documentary show called “Black Pearls and Strange Fruit”. Jackie, along with her band, performed a musical tribute to the history of Black American women singers from slavery to the Civil Rights movement, and their struggle for racial dignity.

The show was sold out, although Jackie never invested in paid advertising. She garnered free publicity by writing and sending press releases geared to specific sections of magazines and newspapers. She also conducted radio interviews and generated additional word of mouth about the show by networking. Jackie remembers her struggle to put the first show together, as her partner’s partner had a heart attack five weeks before the show, and she was left alone to do everything. Due to the show’s huge success, Jackie Gordon was invited to perform “Black Pearls and Strange Fruit” at the prestigious Melbourne International Festival, in Australia, which features the world’s leading entertainers.

To cover a year window between the first and second shows, and to maintain her visibility and popularity, Jackie came up with the idea to create a dinner show about Black American music and food called “The Fried Chicken According to Jackie Gordon”. Not only did she write, produce and star in the show, but she also secured a sponsorship from Tabasco, devised and implemented a PR campaign, hired and trained the chefs and personally sold every ticket. It turned out to be another sold-out recipe to triumph.

Jackie considers herself a businessperson that makes “art”. After living in Australia for 10 years, she returned to New York in 2001, and found a small venue to present “Black Pearls and Strange Fruit”, but after 9/11, the venue was sold and the show was cancelled.

Jackie turned her idea to create shows around food, music and humor into a business, calling it Divalicious, to separate herself from the company. Divalicious’ goals are to showcase food in an entertaining way, promote the use of high quality ingredients and foods cooked from scratch, and to expand the knowledge of food history and culture. The end result is what Jackie calls “eatertaining”.

Jackie uses the same educating singing formula to create jingles for products other than food, and she has participated in advertising campaigns for companies such as BMW, as a singer giving the car an even more elegant look. When organizing events, Jackie always combines her entertaining talents with an important message, so the audience can have fun while absorbing information.

Instead of a business plan, Jackie has a marketing plan, which details how to sell her services and shows. She reads books on marketing, publicity and selling to help her succeed.

One of her weaknesses turns out to also be one of her greatest strengths. Without a lot of capital, Jackie gets to have her hands on everything. For example, she designed her website, she creates different opportunities as her own publicist and she develops her company’s marketing strategy. On top of all that, she develops and performs her shows.

Jackie Gordon offers the following advice until a business takes off: “Make sure you have a way of making money. It is very important to have your own money”. She acknowledges the support she receives from her family; yet, she believes she needs to have a way to keep generating her own money until her first show takes off. When planning to start a business, Jackie reminds us that “it’s important to make sure you have a great idea”, and to then ask yourself, “Why would anybody want to buy that?”

Her greatest lesson has been persistence. Jackie mentioned that when she was in Australia, she was in her element and had more contacts, but in New York, she has had to again start from scratch. “It’s been difficult,” she says, but she persists, “if you get knocked down, get up again.” Jackie suggests that one should create a new product or path rather than follow an existing one. She realizes, despite the effort, her journey has been a fun one. “Although it’s hard it is very exciting and fulfilling.”

Jackie’s first U.S. “eatertainment” show: Say Cheese: a tongue-titillating tasting of artisanal cheeses, wines and the songs they inspire, opens April 28th at New York’s West Bank Café – Laurie Beechman Theater. The audience will learn about fine cheeses while they taste eight of the finest artisan-made cheeses in the world with wines, bread, crackers, Divalicious’ own Ruby Sun Splash Relish and other accompaniments. The all-inclusive tickets are $60.00 per person and available from www.ticketcentral.com.
Dates: April 28th, 29th
May 5th, 7th, 12th, 13th, 19th, 20th, 26th and 27th
June 2nd, 3rd, 9th and 11th.

For more information about Jackie Gordon, her shows and Divalicious Inc., please visit www.divalicious.biz.

Background
Amy Cole, while pursuing her degree in physical therapy in Boston, had an internship in fashion. After she graduated, she moved to New York to work in the swimwear industry. Lisa Cole was an English major in college in Los Angeles, and when Amy was in L.A. for shows with the swimwear company, Lisa would help her. After she graduated, the president of the company Amy was working for asked if Lisa would like to work for him, and she accepted and moved to New York. The company was mainly the president, Amy and Lisa.

Entrepreneurial Experience
Both Amy and Lisa recognize the impact working at the swimwear company had on their entrepreneurial lives. Every two years they would go after new clients, while keeping previous ones, and they would ask if the clients wanted the swimwear company to license and create new swimwear for them. Therefore, they had to create a new team, hire a production manager, a production assistant, and constantly put new businesses together. Ten years working for this company made them realize they had acquired the knowledge to build a business from the ground up and gave them the confidence to consider starting their own company. Before they resigned, they met every other Wednesday to discuss what kind of business they would like to run and to perfect their idea. Lisa quit in May and Amy in August, and they registered Acquaint New York in October 2001.

Acquaint New York (A.N.Y.)
While still at the swimwear company, according to Lisa, they were often considered the “big sisters”, helping young women in the office find housing, adjust to the city or evaluate their careers. In addition, a career director in a college outside New York often recommended that students contact Amy and Lisa with questions about housing and employment in the city. By consistently helping others and being asked valid questions regarding housing, neighborhoods, and employment, they realized the knowledge they had acquired from living in New York City for over 15 years was valuable and could be the basis of a successful business.

During the business planning process Amy and Lisa took classes, participated in small business seminars, met with small business coaches, talked to attorneys and accountants, and traveled around in order to create an effective business model and marketing strategy. Acquaint New York offers personalized services to young women such as:

• Networking: Connecting diverse and young professionals;
• Events: Monthly events in which they invite people from different fields to speak to members of the A.N.Y. network;
• Housing: They work with their clients and with building managers to find affordable housing and the right neighborhood;
• College tour: They give seminars about relocating to New York and other urban environments, keeping their costs low by traveling by car;
• Employment: Services include revising resumes and tailoring them to a particular job or industry, mock interviews, tips on thank you notes, and then, they call everybody they know in that particular field to see if they are hiring;
• Recruiting: Companies are getting to know the quality of the service provided by Acquaint New York, and they contact Amy and Lisa when they need to hire.

Even though A.N.Y. has competitors in different areas of its business, none of them offer all services in one. Amy emphasizes the fact that for realtors, clients are just a number, but at A.N.Y. their personality, financial capabilities and desires are taken into consideration to help clients make a good, affordable decision before signing a lease.

Knowing the faces and names of everyone in their network, understanding their needs and wants, and being able to help them by tailoring their resumes, giving advice on interviews and appropriate follow-up protocol, matching their personalities with a suitable neighborhood, and creating relevant networking events are some of the areas which best define Acquaint New York.
“The whole business model is based on two sisters taking young women under their wings.” Lisa Cole

Family Business
Amy and Lisa are two years apart, and they were always close growing up. They have a mutual respect and admiration. Since the first year they worked at the swimwear company they realized they could work perfectly well together. They understand their differences and draw from one another’s strengths to define their roles. Their personalities are complementary; Amy is the motivator, great with people, and Lisa takes care of the back end of the business, creating the written material, researching schools, and contacting building managers.

Business Evolution

* Time Management
Two and a half years after they started A.N.Y., Amy and Lisa better manage their time. Lisa has a child and another on the way, and she feels that their work is more efficient, compared to when they started, when they were working late at night, going out and networking 5 nights a week, and volunteering their time to institutions without generating business. Amy agrees and adds that their lives are definitely more fulfilling now.
* Contacts
In the beginning, they counted mainly on personal networking to help them with employment opportunities for their clients. After a while they realized they couldn’t keep calling the same people, and they had to grow their network. Now they have business relationships with companies that have hired A.N.Y. women, are happy with them, and when they need to hire again they contact Amy and Lisa, and that has been a new and growing relationship. Lisa recognizes that it is fair to get help from friends at the start, but then the business needs to find other ways to grow.
* Target Market
When they started they knew they would work with women, but their target was too broad. Later they realized that by focusing on a well-defined niche, A.N.Y. could really flourish. For example, they were targeting women at any age and experience, and they realized the scope of work when trying to help someone with over 20 years of experience find a job is very different than helping recent graduates look for a position. One of A.N.Y.’s secrets to success has been to focus on women one to ten years into their careers.

Rewards

Amy and Lisa always thought of having their own business, and doing it has been the greatest reward. Furthermore, the feedback and appreciation they receive not only from their women clients but also from their families are incredible. They gave an example of a client from Wisconsin who contacted them and within a 3-month period was established in New York, with an apartment and a job, and she thanked them for helping her dream come true.

Advice
Amy’s advice is to follow what she and Lisa did before jumping out of the corporate world: “Put it on paper and answer the question: Is it really of interest to the person on the other end?” Lisa reminds Women and Biz readers that there is risk involved and that an entrepreneur needs to be a risk taker. She mentioned that they were fortunate to make a profit in the first year, however she insists that they kept their costs low, they invested their own money, didn’t have overhead costs and had home offices. Amy commented that financially owning a business is a different world than working for a corporation, and they watch their personal and business expenses carefully.

Lessons
Having a niche and staying focused are lessons Amy and Lisa learned by keeping an eye on what was going on with their business and analyzing what they could do differently in order to maintain their high-quality customer service.

Plans for the future
Amy and Lisa’s plans for the future include hiring full-time employees that would represent A.N.Y. in a way in which both sisters would feel proud. Ideally, they both want a person to head each unit of their business while maintaining their trademark “personal” style, which is what Amy and Lisa consider to be A.N.Y.’s major strength. They are also planning to have offices in other major cities in the United States to represent Acquaint New York, as long as they can find the right people with enough knowledge of each city.

For more information about Acquaint New York, Amy Cole and Lisa Cole and to join their network, visit www.acquaintnewyork.com.