Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com February 22, 2016 • Hartford Business Journal 21 BIZ BOOKS 100 basic ideas to run a successful business "U se What You Have to Get What You Want: 100 Basic Ideas That Mean Business" by Jack Nadel (JNJ Publisher, $12.95). Nadel, now 92 years young, grew his sales and advertising promotion business into a global firm over six decades of boom- and-bust economies and changing national and international political landscapes. His business grew because he always focuses on what he has, not what he lacks. His 100 basic ideas come from his successes — and what he learned from his failures. Here are my favorites: 4. "The 3 R's for suc- cessful businesses are: relationships, results and rewards." Transactions deal only with today. Relation- ships think of today's deal as tomorrow's table setter. Work- ing together always produces better products, services and profits because two-perspective input leads to continuous improvement. 10. "Scale your business plan to fit your ability to finance it. If funds are limited, take it in stages." Too many entre- preneurs try to do too much too soon. If you grow in stages, you develop a track record that makes it easier to finance the next stage. You'll get more favorable terms, too. 18. "Subcontracting is the cheapest form of manu- facturing." Someone some- place has the right plant and equipment to make your product. That someone also has knowledge that you don't have. You gain production expertise and a finished- cost contract, which makes profits more predictable. 22. "If you can't explain your product or service in 30 seconds, you probably can't sell it." Com- plexity and misunderstanding are unri- valed siblings. Keep it simple when pitching a customer, investor or lender. 24. "Your business should be mar- ket driven — not product driven." Markets shift; new markets spring up. Pushing what you want to sell creates pushback, not sales. 30. "Perceived value is what sells — real value is what repeats." You're bet- ter off under-promising and over-delivering. 36. "The marketing program that worked in the past may not fly today." Products and concepts evolve. "If you are not current, you are extinct." 44. "Always confirm your agreements in writing." Memories fade. You can always use a document to point out what the parties agreed to do. Also, handshakes usually don't work when tested in court. 50. "Don't let your ego get in the way." The smartest person in the room knows that "they don't know what they don't know." Presumption of knowledge often oversteps capability. 56. "A good accountant is not just a scorekeeper." The bigger the business, the more complex its financial issues. A good accountant keeps you on the right side of your bank and creditors. Accountants have specialties; so you may need more than one good accountant. 60. "The chief function of your attorney is to protect and advise." He/ she wants to keep you out of trouble, not bail you out of it. Spending a few bucks to get legal input before a decision is made is far cheaper than the cost of litigation. 66. "The right place to manufacture is where you get the best quality at the lowest price." While "Made in the USA" may be politically correct, "bang for the buck" opens consumers' wallets. 73. "Trust your gut." If you have but- terflies about a deal or course of action, it doesn't matter what the numbers and your advisors say. Butterflies mean you're not "all in." If you're not all in, you won't go all out. 81. "Truly understanding the prob- lem is halfway to the solution." Define the real issue. Focusing on the effects, rath- er than the cause(s) wastes time and money. Also, fix it right; a Band-Aid never solves a problem. n Jim Pawlak is a nationally syndicated book reviewer. Jim Pawlak EXPERTS CORNER Leveraging technology as a competitive advantage By Carlos Perez A common trend we find with our customers is their need to cut costs to remain competitive. Technology can and is a catalyst for cutting costs, but it is time to stop looking at technology as merely an operational expense and see it as a competi- tive advantage. With the advances in technol- ogy and the evolution of IT, many large corporations are funda- mentally shifting their view of IT as a way to gain market share, launch competitive products and enhance their services. For small businesses, these advancements are great news as they can often realize the same benefits of IT as their large business counterparts. At the center of this fundamental shift in IT are mobile and cloud-based technologies. Mobile devices already play a significant role in our everyday lives, but they should be playing a stronger role in your business. Businesses are looking to have a mobile strategy that could give employ- ees secure access to their business data, apps and produc- tivity suites, regardless of where they are located. The ability of an employee to respond to an email from a lead, or access a file and deliver a proposal in a timely fashion, can be the difference between winning the busi- ness or not. Thus, the business with a mobile strategy is at a significant advantage for landing that new account or retaining an existing one. This advantage is fueled by the emergence of cloud technologies. More and more customers are beginning to see the value of cloud services and how they can not only support an effective mobile/digital strategy but modern- ize operational technology. Some of the biggest, recent success stories of where mobile and cloud-based technologies provided a significant competitive advantage and created a new marketplace include car services like Uber and Lyft. These companies leveraged technology to enhance and revolutionize the outdated concept of taxi services. The result is an efficient business model that meets the needs of today's mobile and connected consumer. Michael Porter from the Harvard Business Review says "new technology changes the nature of competition," by: changing industry structure and, in so doing, altering the rules of competition; creating competitive advantage by giving companies new ways to outperform their rivals; and spawning whole new businesses, often from within a company's existing operations. These are only a few reasons why any business owner should use technology to their advantage. If you're look- ing for that competitive edge, here are a few tips to get you started: Identify areas of your business that could potentially benefit from these strategies; insist on hav- ing a mobile and cloud strategy; apply these strategies to employee's day-to-day workflow. n Carlos Perez is a principal at Hartford-based Perez Technology Group. Carlos Perez ▶ ▶ If you can't explain your product or service in 30 seconds, you probably can't sell it. LETTER TO THE EDITOR International recruitment worrisome trend A Feb. 8 article in the Hartford Business Journal ("CT Innovations looks be- yond U.S. for investments") about Connecticut Innovations' hopes of recruiting international companies to Connecticut through equity or debt awards was a little disturbing to me. I understand Connecticut needs more businesses, but I object to having the state (the taxpayers) pay for adding more competition to companies that are already here, paying taxes, hiring employees, and being generous to our communities. Those who have been in business for several years could have a competitor brought in with state provided funds to help them eat into our sales. I am sure other countries do not look outside of their borders to bring in com- petitors and in addition give them assistance. I have looked and not found one. States started to offer financial incentives to companies several years ago, and it has become a standard way of doing business since then, with states not offering such deals leaving themselves at a disadvantage. I am not sure how effective this is over the long term. I do not think states are qualified to determine which businesses are worth- while to invest in. This is especially true for startups and companies that plan to expand. If these companies cannot obtain commercial lending, then they are at risk for staying in business. I think true entrepreneurs should be encouraged and supported in some way. They must have skin in the game and have leveraged their finances and any other sources before getting help from the state. The U.S. Small Business Admin- istration is a great way to finance a company and we used it early in our history. Over the past 30 years, we have built a solid company respected within our industry and by our customers without resorting to government help, with the exception of the SBA. Does it make sense for the state to loan or give money to companies that can- not get financing at rates lower than banks offer? Let's make the state busi- ness friendly, help keep our businesses, and not look at us as the bad guys. Frustrated, Charlie Sears, President, Dri-Air Industries Inc., East Windsor

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