1. business and industrial

Austin’s Business Magazine
HELLO,
MY NAME
IS MATT
And Through Door 64,
Everyone in the Tech Industry
Knows His Name
+
Central Texas Economic Outlook •
Opportunity Austin 2.0 • How to be
Everywhere • The Workplace Generation Gap
Winter 2009
www.abdmag.com
THE most INTERESTING MAN in the WORLD
on COLOGNE
COLOGNE SHOULD never LINGER
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©2008 CERVEZAS MEXICANAS, WHITE PLAINS, NY
10
5 PUBLISHER’S LETTER
10 INNOVATORS
6 SMALL BUSINESS COACH
12 STOKING THE ENTREPRENEURIAL
WEALTH CREATION PROCESS
8 SALES & MARKETING
How do I get ‘way more’ out of my sales efforts?
By Stan Tyler
MSTC program at University of Texas teaches
students how to ‘bridge the gap’ between
intellectual property (technology) and the needs of
consumers.
Steve Habel
21 THE STATE OF THE CENTRAL TEXAS
ECONOMY
Omnipresence: The art of being everywhere
By Pete Monfre
12 SECTOR SPOTLIGHT
Stoking the entrepreneurial wealth creation
process - UT’s MSTC program
By Steve Habel
14 PEOPLE MATTERS
Multiple generations in the workplace
We surveyed 239 business owners, leaders and
By Kay Oder
executives to get a statistically accurate picture of
how businesses are performing in our local area and 16 LEGAL CORNER
When do you need an NDA?
gauge their outlook and confidence in the coming
By Kelly Kordzick
year. If you’ve been listening to the national news,
their answers may surprise you.
26 HELLO, MY NAME IS MATT
Matt Genovese brings together Austin’s technology
community like no other.
Matt Scherer
29 OPPORTUNITY AUSTIN 2.0 KNOCKS
Opportunity Austin 2.0 asks area businesses to
continue to invest to assure region’s success. How
will the successful program be affected by today’s
economic challenges?
Steve Habel
26
18 FINANCE
Pete Monfre
Five ways to get the most bang out of your
charitable buck
By Matthew Wilson
32 ESSAY
Anybody going to San Antone?
By Matt Scherer
37 GET MOVING with Paul Carrozza
Avoiding convenience taxes
38 I GOTTA TELL YA! with Marc Katz
Growing your business in a down economy has
everything to do with attitude.
At least something in life can be FREE
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stin’s
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PLUS
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SPOTLIG y Busines
SECTORs Minorit
Austin’
Aus
PLUS:
Through Dell and Back:
Why you might not want to sign an
exclusive contract
Credit Unions:
Offering new solutions for businesses
Using Your IRA for Real
Estate Investments
KIRK WATSON
MEANS BUSINESS
The Former Mayor Known For Economic Development
Keys In On EDUCATION, TRANSPORTATION and JOB
GROWTH - Now At The State Level
Fleming’s Steakhouse offers
Prime beef and wine to public;
to staff, upward mobility
by Bea Fincher
itting next to Kaci Fleming, Private
Dining Director, with the warm glow
of amber lighting reflecting from
cherry wood walls, Darryl Wittle seems
satisfied and content. As well he should.
Advancement plays an important role in
Fleming’s Steakhouse. It even motivated
the 57-restaurant chain to open in Austin
and later, to join the Women’s Chamber of
Commerce of Texas.
At age 19, with two years of college
behind him, Darryl found himself broke and
unemployed. That’s when he started as a
busboy, figuring that at a restaurant, he’d at
least get to eat. Later, he returned to school
and received a degree in economics from
the University of Texas at Austin. Today, he is
Operating Partner of the local restaurant.
Upward mobility also explains why
Fleming’s came to Austin. “Austin is what
anthropologists call an edge city,” says Wittle,
full of enthusiasm. “It’s a city of the future
with a tremendous university and a huge
creative component. Its technology-driven,
industrial base is going to lead Austin into
the future.”
PUBLISHER & EDITOR
C. JASON MYERS
[email protected]
S
Fleming’s distinguishes itself by
serving Prime beef, one of only three
restaurants in the city to do so.
The USDA applies the word “Prime”
to only 3% of the beef inspected.
Fleming’s customers can also
enjoy 100 wines by the glass.
Such a city also boasts the right clientele
for Fleming’s: sophisticated and knowledgeable about food and wine. “Wine,” Wittle says,
“is a living product. It’s still alive in the bottle
and changes as it ages.” Fleming’s customers can enjoy 100 wines by the glass. That
allows people to try different wines without
purchasing a whole bottle. The restaurant
also offers “flights,” an opportunity to taste
three different wines.
When it comes to food, Fleming’s distinguishes itself by serving Prime beef,
one of only three restaurants in the city to
do so. The U.S. Department of Agriculture
applies the word Prime to only 3% of the
beef inspected.
The specialty of the house, not surprisingly, is the “Prime, bone-in, rib eye, which is
wet-aged for 30 days, hand-cut, Midwestern,
corn-fed beef,” words Wittle relishes to say.
He then adds, with just as much gusto,
Winter 2009
VOLUME IV, NUMBER 4
WWW.ABDMAG.COM
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
Jane Rash
[email protected]
MANAGING EDITOR
STEVE HABEL
[email protected]
ART DIRECTOR
TANIA COWHER
[email protected]
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BIG SHOT PHOTOGRAPHY
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“surrounded by Fleming’s potatoes with
deseeded jalapeño to take out the heat, and
topped off with chocolate lava cake.”
Kaci, too, started at the bottom, as a
server in Oklahoma. She wanted to grow with
the restaurant. With a degree in hotel and
restaurant administration, she was promoted
several times before transferring to Texas.
Her devotion to the restaurant shows when
she says, “Presentation is very important.
We take pride in the food we serve and
the way it’s presented.” To quickly enhance
food served at home, she advises, “Scatter
bits of greens as garnish and use a variety
of platters.” As an easy-to-prepare, home
meal, Kaci recommends steaming fish in
a foil packet.
In this milieu of ambitious, dedicated
professionals, Wittle had no problem determining what to do when he realized two-thirds
of his administrative staff were women.
Fleming’s joined the Women’s Chamber of
Commerce of Texas as an Associate member,
which allows three staff people to attend the
monthly meetings, among other benefits.
Characteristically, Wittle wanted his staff
“to be exposed to women successful in business, commerce and industry; to learn from
role models and to develop relationships.” He
wants to prepare his staff for bigger things,
and he knows the Women’s Chamber is the
place to do it.
Musers&Shakers sponsored by
www.womenschambertexas.com
CONTRIBUTORS:
Jody Badum
Bea Fincher
Paul Carrozza
Marc Katz
Daniel Maldonado
Andy Meadows
Pete Monfre
Kay Oder
Matt Scherer
Stan Tyler
Matthew Wilson
Editorial Advisory Board
Greg Holloway, Thompson & Knight; Rose Batson, Women’s
Chamber of Commerce, Bijoy Goswami, The Bootstrap
Network, Earl Maxwell, St. David’s Health Foundation, John
McClellan. Team McClellan, Pete Monfre, Clarity Marketing
Support, Sylvia Acevedo, CommuniCard, Inc.
TO SUBCRIBE for free to Business District magazine, please visit our
website at www.abdmag.com.
We welcome letters from our readers. Letters about this magazine
should be sent to the Editor, Business District Magazine, P.O. Box
10434, Austin, TX 78766, or emailed to: [email protected]. Letters must
be signed and include the writers address, telephone number and email
address, when possible. We reserve the right to edit letters for space
and clarity.
The entire contents of this publication are Copyright 2008© by Business
District Publishing, L.L.C. with all rights restricted. Any reproduction
or use of content without the expressed written consent of Business
District Publishing, L.L.C., is strictly prohibited. The magazine assumes
no responsibility for unsolicited materials and also reserves the
right for unrestricted editing of articles. Editorial content does not
necessarily reflect the opinions of the publisher of this magazine. Any
advice given in editorial content or advertising should be considered
to be informative only. Business District Magazine is locally owned and
operated.
POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to Business District, P.O.
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masters
Don’t
Panic
The talk of recession is everywhere. Doom and gloom at every turn. So if
you’re looking for more of the same in our annual reporting on the economy, you won’t find it here.
All of the articles in this issue of Business District are designed to help you
run your business more effectively through a downturn.
Let’s start with your attitude. Turn off your television, and read Marc
Katz’s article about how your attidude about an economic downturn has
everything to do with your growth.
Next, read Pete Monfre’s story about the state of the economy in Central
Texas, where Business District participated in a survey of over 239 professionals in the area asking all kinds of questions about their business and the
effect that the downturn was having. If you believe everything you’ve heard
on the national news, you’re in for a big surprise with their responses.
Next, read Opportunity Austin 2.0 Knocks. The story is based off of Gary
Farmer’s Keynote speech at Austin Open4Business in November. It’s really
exciting to hear about the preparation and planning that the city has done
in recent years to plan for our growth to combat exactly what the rest of the
country is experiencing right now.
After reading those articles. you should feel significantly better about the
state of our economy here, so now you can get to work.
Kay Oder’s article about mulitiple generations in the workplace will help
you communicate better with your employees. Stan Tyler helps you make
the most out of your own time, and Matt Wilson tells you how to get the
most out of your charitible buck.
I can’t think of a better place in the world to live right now than Austin.
(Forbes agrees, ranking Austin as one of the top 10 Recession Proof Cities)
Yes, we are already being effected by the national downturn and yes, it will
probably get worse.
But now is the time for business owners and managers to rise to the challenge. Restructure your organizations to be more efficient (this does not
mean layoff!), figure out what people need and develop new products to
satisfy that need, and increase (not decrease) your marketing. Your best opportunity to create a brand image for your company is when it’s quiet out
there.
Most investors get excited about downturns because they know that’s
when all the deals happen. And it should be no different for you.
Of course, I’m concerned about how the economy will affect my business
next year, but I’m also excited about some new opportunities emerging.
Successful businesses are built out of downturns—just be smart. Seek
out advice from your peers. Read publications like Fast Company or Entreprenueur for ideas about your own business.
We’ll continue to provide information that is helpful—I’m right there
with you.
Jason Myers
Publisher
[email protected]
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Small Business Coach
How Do I Get ‘Way
More’ Sales out of my
efforts? By Stan Tyler
Be aware
of you blind
spots:
I realize that this
summary is a lot
like Steve Martin’s
formula for becoming a millionnaire: “first get a
million dollars.”
That being said,
the inquiry, the
self awareness
and the actions
that fall out of
it produce tremendous results
especially when
the process is
supported by an
action based support program.
At the end of the three weeks Steve’s sales
increased three-fold and he had discovered:
• Grouping his cold calls at the first of the
week allowed him to fill his sales appointment calendar for the balance of the next two
weeks.
• By grouping the tasks he was more effective
than he was when he frequently jumped back
and forth between prospecting and sales presentations.
• He found the ideal length of time he could
focus on a task without losing energy or effectiveness.
• He stopped checking his email in the morning because it frequently distracted him from
the sales priorities of his job.
• By making it clear to his key relationships
that he would check and respond to email
at the end of each day he was pleased to find
that when they could plan on that afternoon
commitment they were able to plan for it and
not stress.
Following the productivity program Steve
continued to track his activities and refine his
priority/time management tool. His results
have continued to increase to the point that
his sales have tripled again and the organization he works for began adding administrative and installation support personnel in
order to keep up with his sales growth. Steve’s
quest for self awareness, skills and process
improvement will continue to serve him in
his current sales role and the future leadership roles he is building toward.
The 21-Day Productivity Program starts on
the first Monday of each
month, for leaders who
want to produce huge results quickly.
One of the most frequent requests I hear as a business coach is
how do I get more sales from my time limited resources? Recently I was working with Steve Huskey who is one of the most
effective sales people I have ever been around. One of the reasons
he is so good is his constant search for improvement. After some
discussion we decided to use our 21-day Productivity Program
that is designed to produce big results in a short amount of time.
It has been used for many different purposes. As two examples, to
build a sustainable sales pipeline development system for a fortune 500 HR Consulting company and to assist in getting a book
written in three weeks after it had been in the “I’m going to” stage
for eight years.
As we worked from a big picture of his goal down to a more actionable focus he asked me how do I become more effective with
my time management. That led to an assignment: How efficiently
am I currently using my time?
Steve found that the gold that he discovered in this process was
wrestling with the question; What is the best use of my time for
my sales process? The inquiry is very subjective and touches on
interesting questions such as the value of networking as contrasted with cold calling, fostering synergistic alliance relationships,
requesting referrals, reactive and proactive customer service, etc.
This effort often highlights the need to discover what your current sales process really is and then moves to exploring how to
tune the process and the related skills needed to improve your
results.
Steve used the three-week productivity program to:
• Identify the action steps for his sales improvement project.
• Set up new habits that kept the rest of his life running well while
he focused on raising the bar on his sales productivity.
• Be accountable to other participants
• Share and learn from the best practices of the group
Stan Tyler is a professional
• Create his own personal support group
coach
and can be reached at
• Practice using a daily principle to improve his inner game
[email protected] or
• Share his wins and confess his “failures” each day
512-289-0604
How
efficiently
are you using
your time?
6
BUSINESS DISTRICT Winter 2009
1. Track your daily activities in 30 minute blocks for
at least one week
2. Place the activities into categories.
3. Create a priority scale of your choosing that ranks
the categories from “closing a sale” on the top end to
“driving to and from appointments” on the low end.
4. Use the category rankings to calculate the daily
and weekly score for the first weeks time track as a
base line.
It’s easier to outpace your competition
when you have an army of support.
- Arnold Palmer
Golf Legend, Small Business Owner
& Administaff Client
With Administaff, a dedicated team of HR professionals is behind you all the way, providing your
business with administrative relief, big company benefits, reduced liabilities and a systematic way to
improve productivity. To learn more about how Administaff can help you concentrate on smart
strategies to grow your business, call 866-715-3553 or visit Administaff.com.
To enter the Administaff BIG $100,000 Business Sweepstakes, visit Administaff.com today.
Sales & Marketing
Perform a
survey of your
client base
The more you
can find out about
the habits of the
people already
buying your products or services,
the better you can
narrow down how
to reach similar
people. Asking
which trade publications customers
read, how they
evaluate potential
vendors, what
their criteria is for
comparing one
company against
another and which
non-business
publications they
read can help you
determine where
your message
needs to be to create a high level of
awareness.
OMNIPRESENCE:
THE ART OF BEING
EVERYWHERE
By Pete Monfre
Physics dictates that you can’t be in two places at
the same time. With all due respect to Mr. Einstein, I
disagree. When it comes to marketing, omnipresence
is a worthy and achievable goal. In fact, being everywhere is easier and less expensive than you think.
I hope it seems obvious why you would want to
be everywhere. Familiarity is a powerful force when
it comes to marketing and sales. Sometimes this is
referred to as “top of mind” – the first option someone
thinks of when they have a need. When a company or
brand is familiar, this often equates to credibility and
the idea that “they must be good, I hear about them all
the time.”
There is no doubt that business people are bombarded with media choices and information sources.
From television and radio to magazines and newspapers to billboards to direct mail and more, everywhere
we turn we see marketing. Add in blogs, email, web
sites and banner ads and it’s easy to believe that the
average person is exposed to over 3000 messages daily.
So, how do we become omnipresent when there are so
many places for our marketing message?
The reality for most people is that we tend to
gravitate towards a handful of media and informa-
How to be
Everywhere
8
BUSINESS DISTRICT Winter 2009
tion sources as a daily routine. For most companies,
actually being everywhere is cost prohibitive. However,
even small organizations can create this impression
simply by understanding how their buyers evaluate
and receive information.
Performing a survey of your client base will allow
you to spot trends in how information is gathered.
Asking which trade publications customers read, how
they evaluate potential vendors, what their criteria
is for comparing one company against another and
which non-business publications they read can help
you determine where your message needs to be to create a high level of awareness.
The more you can find out about the habits of the
people already buying your products or services, the
better you can narrow down how to reach similar
people. Where do they hang out on-line? What social
networking tools do they use? What blogs do they
read? Which associations do they belong to? The
answers to these questions will tell you how you can
put your message in front of potentially large groups
of like minded people.
Taking this one step further, defining the universe
of people most likely to buy, (MLBs) and concentrat-
1. Do your homework. Learn how your customers analyze and
receive information. Ask questions about buying criteria, media
preferences, social networking and more.
2. Define your universe of MLBs. – Only invest resources (sales
and marketing) on those most likely to buy. Set the size of this universe according to what your organization can manage. Capture
names, addresses, titles, companies, etc. in a database.
3. Be relevant. Develop a message that hits home with suspects.
Speak to their needs (not your features). Be clear, simple and
bold.
4. Be everywhere your prospects are – focus only on media,
events and tactics that are likely to reach your target audience.
5. Be consistent. Set a budget, set the plan and then implement
for the long term. Don’t give up – adapt and improve continuously.
Gain feedback from the marketplace and push through the clutter.
ing all marketing and sales efforts on this
finite group will greatly increase the odds
of your message cutting through the clutter.
Thus, instead of a nebulous goal of “We’re
going to capture 20 percent of the global
market…” our goal becomes “We are going
to ensure these X number of people know
who we are, what we do and our value equation within the next X months.” Now, that is
an attainable goal.
Once you have a clear picture of how
your MLBs seek and digest information,
you can make an intelligent decision as to
which tactics and media will be most effective in reaching them. If they congregate
at a few national trade events, you’ll want
to be there. Add in some editorial coverage
and/or advertising in key publications, a
targeted direct marketing program, some
email permission marketing and a social
media strategy and you have the makings of
omnipresence.
However, there is one caveat to the above
scenario. You’ll still be competing with other
companies for attention. Being a wallflower
isn’t going to work. If your marketing ap-
there was zero commitment. It is as if the
goal is to save money rather than reach the
target audience. If your goal is to save money,
don’t do anything. You’ll save big time.
Remember, you have to break through
the clutter at least seven times before you
gain access to the buyer’s mind. Set a budget,
commit to the program for the long term,
track it closely and reap the rewards. The key
to turning your marketing expenditure into
an investment is seeing the effort as holistic
instead of just a series of projects. Before you
know it, people will be saying “You guys are
everywhere!”. Of course, you’re only everywhere you need to be.
Pete Monfre is a serial entrepreneur,
marketing guru,
raconteur, producer, writer and
omnipresent curmudgeon. You can
reach him buy calling 512+868+8460
or emailing [email protected]
proach screams “We’re just like the other
guys!” nobody is going to take notice. If you
are implementing a public relations strategy,
be newsworthy or controversial. If you are
running print ads, be bold and run as large
an ad as possible. Have a position and stand
by it. This is not a time to be shy – you are
one of 3000 messages – make sure you have
something to say.
But most of all, make sure you are
speaking to your buyer’s most pressing and
emotional needs. If you understand what is
most important to them during the buying
process you can craft a message that is super
relevant and everywhere they turn. Is there
primary concern speedy support? Are they
most concerned about geographical location? Can you solve a frustrating problem?
Finally, you’ll need to commit to a
consistent effort. Too many companies kill
potentially effective marketing programs
because they didn’t give them enough time
to work. “We tried (insert tactic here) but it
just doesn’t work” is a common refrain I hear
all the time. The fact is that the message was
irrelevant, the budget was microscopic and
“
Is Chiropractic For You?
T
D
Dr. Mary Beth Eastwood, D.C.
6101 Balcones Dr., Suite 102
Austin, TX 78731
(512) 371-1305
www.DrEastwood.com
he goal of chiropractic treatment is the enhancement
of health through the reduction of spinal nerve stress.
However, many conditions such as colds, ear infections,
PMS, spinal or disc problems, arthritis, insomnia, stress, vision problems, headaches, allergies, high blood pressure and
others are treatable through chiropractic care.
The above list may seem long, as though chiropractic
care were a Panacea. On the contrary, chiropractic is a
complete healing art within itself, concerned only with the
systems such as nervous, circulatory, digestive, respiratory,
eliminatory, reproductive, hormonal, musculoskelatal, etc.
and seeks to correct health problems within those systems.
r. Eastwood analyzes your body for
vertebral subluxations, a condition
that puts pressure on nerves, unbalances your body, lowers your resistance to
disease, and weakens you.
Subluxations are caused by stress,
and can occur in infancy from a difficult
birth or from childhood falls. Later in life,
emotional tension or stress can gradually
damage your spine or violent injuries from
automobile accidents or sports can suddenly knock you “out of whack.”
Using her hands and other analysis tools,
Dr. Eastwood corrects or removes any
spinal nerve stress using various spinal
adjustment techniques.
“I used to experience daily pain due
to repetative use injuries at work. I
was wearing a brace on my wrist and
was having trouble sleeping due to
deep nack pain. After my first session
with Dr. Eastwood, my wrist pain was
gone! I’ve been seeing her for over a
year now and I feel great!” -Patient.
Nearly everyone gets spinal nerve
stress, and for this reason it is good to
have it checked by a doctor of chiropractic as often as your teeth, eyes or blood
pressure.
“Mention that you saw me in Business District Magazine and we’ll give you a free exam & X-Ray!” (a $450 value)
Offer does not include Medicare or Medicaid
innovators
Andy Meadows
Founder
Live Oak 360
Andy Meadows, founder of Live Oak 360 is
no stranger to building a business in a recession. “We founded Live Oak 360 in February
of 2002 when the economy was tanking and
businesses were struggling to take advantage
of web technology to reduce costs and gain a
competitive edge,” said Meadows.
Since that time, Live Oak 360 has become
a local leader in providing custom web application development that helps companies to
incorporate social media, build analytics into
marketing campaigns, provide click-through
tracking applications with real-time reporting, and provide direct mail applications that
simplify the process and provide reports to
customers.
With customers ranging from small to
very large, Meadows has been able to grow
10
BUSINESS DISTRICT
Winter 2009
Live Oak 360 to over seven figures in less
than five years. “There’s no cookie-cutter formula for success in business,” said Meadows.
“It takes lots of hard work, and growth is the
hardest factor to manage. Conservation and
planning is the key--you must be able to scale
based on your success, or your growth will
bury your team.”
Meadows suggests that mapping out scenarios, assigning ownership and executing on
the plan is critical to success. “It’s the last five
percent that everyone forgets and that causes
your customers the greatest frustration,” he
said. “Our team is empowered to make decisions when working with our customers and
they have ownership of the relationship.”
Each new stage of growth introduces new
challenges and elevates the stakes for the next
round of the adventure. A key lesson learned
has been taking time for reflection and planning. The old adage of working “on” your
business instead of “in” your business is a real
issue for many entrepreneurs.
Now six years later as we face another
recession, Meadows is focusing more on
operational efficiencies in all aspects of the
business, including better processes, better
documentation, and faster access to answers.
“We’re becoming more engaged with our
customers and partners, working with them
to succeed and thrive, and helping them
through their own challenges,” noted Meadows. “Our growth has always been rooted in
the success of our customers, but this fact is
more true now than ever before.”
innovators
Jody Badum
Founder, PrismNet, Ltd.
Started on April 26th, 1995 above Freytag’s
Florists on Mesa drive, PrismNet has survived
everything from a massive flooding of the
market of ISPs, to vendors becoming competitors, to a dot com bust, to consolidation
in the industry, and has managed to remain
in the top best ISPs in Central Texas.
In July 1997, PrismNet did its first buyout. “It was basically this guy with goats and
chickens in his back yard, and hundreds of
phone lines connected to his house, with his
network infrastructure in his garage. But he
had a lot of business accounts, and when we
took it over, we earned the trust of switching
customers over to our network. We also got
our first T1 customer from the acquisition,”
said Badum.
During the dot com boom, ISPs flooded
the scene. “At one point, we counted over 200
ISPs in Central Texas,” said Badum. “Since
everyone was on the internet, the game
changed. It became all about taking customers from your rivals.”
Most other ISPs failed because they
couldn’t transition from dial-up.
“We saw the writing on the wall in that dial-up was not going to be successful for us in
the long term,” noted Badum, “So we started
broadening our product offerings to include
web hosting and co-location to cut the phone
company out of the process.”
Today, PrismNet Ltd. has three major
product offerings: Co-location, Voice over
Internet Protocols phone service, and T1 installations and service.
Badum sees the biggest opportunity mov-
ing forward in Voice over IP Technology. “If
you have any special services on your phone
bill, like caller ID, long distance or call notes,
it’s priced really high,” he said. “With Voice
over IP, it’s just like our dial-up unlimited
product in the beginning—it’s one package
price. We can give you all the bells and whistles that you need in your phone system for a
fraction of the price you’re paying now.”
Badum attributes much of PrismNet’s success over the long term because of their attention to customer service. “When you call
PrismNet with an issue, you talk to Ted about
web issues or Stephen about co-location. You
don’t get voice prompts or get transferred to
India. And nothing beats our ability to get in
the car and go visit our customer onsite in
necessary to resolve their issue quickly.”
STOKING THE ENTREPRENEURIAL
WEALTH CREATION PROCESS
MSTC program at University of Texas teaches students how to ‘bridge the gap’ between intellectual
property (technology) and the needs of consumers.
By Steve Habel
Technology commercialization is key to the
reinvention of organizations, failed economies and the basis for the creation of new
customer oriented technology-based enterprises. The future of Austin, Central Texas
and the country as a whole are all intertwined
with the ability to commercialize new technologies being developed at our universities
and laboratories.
Through the Master of Science in Technology Commercialization (MSTC) program
offered at The University of Texas students
gain the knowledge and skills to cope with
the formidable economic, social, financial
and political changes associated with creating economic value from knowledge.
The focus of the program is on the rapid
transfer of research, knowledge and technology from ideas to the marketplace – in essence, the entrepreneurial wealth creation
process. The mission of UT’s MSTC program
is to combine cutting edge technology, entrepreneurship and education to bridge the gap
between ideas and needs in the marketplace
resulting in the creation of new, innovative
ventures.
The MSTC program at UT is unique both
in its content and its delivery. Students in the
MSTC program learn to evaluate the economic potential of new technologies through
the IC² Institute’s proprietary technology
called “Quicklook.” The program focuses on
the early stage of a venture or new product.
“In this focus the MSTC differs from many
of our graduates’ second choice – the MBA,”
said Dr. Gary Cadenhead, the director of the
MSTC program and an expert in accounting,
strategy and entrepreneurship. “The MBA
covers the entire lifecycle of a business and
does not specialize in the early stage. In this
regard, the MSTC differs significantly from
an MBA; one is not right and the other wrong,
they have different objectives.”
The MSTC program was conceived by
George Kozmetsky, then director of the IC²
Institute and former dean of the UT Business
School. He realized that the MBA did not address how to launch a new venture. With a
small group of IC² fellows, he created the cur12
BUSINESS DISTRICT
Winter 2009
riculum and established the MSTC degree
with the first graduating class in 1996.
A prospective student wanting to be director of marketing for a large corporation like
Proctor & Gamble should pursue an MBA;
one who wants to launch an entrepreneurial
venture based on a new technology should
get an MSTC degree.
Only a handful of other universities offer
technology commercialization degrees and
none of those are within a thousand miles of
Austin.
The MSTC degree is a one-year program
that prepares individuals for successful en-
trepreneurship and for fields such as technology assessment, IP development, technology transfer, product licensing, product
line development and management, business
development and strategic planning. The
curriculum is about action-based learning –
rather than working on business case studies
and hypothetical exercises, students work on
real technologies and learn how to assess and
calculate the viability of the product, identify the correct market and finally launch the
product for profit.
The MSTC program is focused on technology commercialization and acquiring the
skill set necessary to take a product from lab
to market. The program teaches students
how to ‘bridge the gap’ between intellectual
property (technology) and the needs of consumers. Graduates earn their Master of Science in Technology Commercialization from
The University of Texas at Austin.
Classes meet every-other weekend, on Fridays and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.,
for a total of 27 weekends. The program begins in April of each year and consists of 36
graduate credits packed into an intensive sequence of 12 three-credit courses.
Students can attend classes in Austin, via
video webcast or video archive or do a combination of all three. Students have the option
of fully completing the program without ever
coming to Austin, because there is no residency requirement for the MSTC program.
All classes are webcast live over the Internet,
so students participate and ask questions
from anywhere in the world that they can access a broadband connection.
Class videos are archived online after the
live session, so students can watch the lectures
at a later time if they are unable to make the
live class or if they desire additional review.
“Our online program is one of the best,” said
Lara Horowitz, the MSTC program’s marketing coordinator. “Most assignments are done
on teams of 4-6 students, and these teams develop and commercialize several new technologies over the course of the year.”
“The fact that our program is only oneyear, designed for working professionals and
has such participation flexibility really makes
us unique,” Horowitz said.“Other universities
have online programs, but most are done via
virtual classrooms – our online students can
actually be seen and heard in the class that is
actually taking place.”
The program culminates in formal presentations of the student-teams’ final technology
commercialization plans before a panel of
faculty, industry leaders and venture capitalists. A number of the technologies developed
in the program have resulted in subsequent
commercial ventures for MSTC graduates.
The program’s two biggest successes to
date have been realized by the MacuCLEAR
Corporation and LabNow.
MacuCLEAR Corp. is an innovative pharmaceutical company started by Chris Aniszczyk and Doug Baum, graduates of the MSTC
Program. They won the Texas Moot Corp
Competition and the Peltier New Venture Ty-
ler Business Plan Competition. Baum credits
the MSTC Program, courses and instructors
in helping develop their firm’s business plan
and strategy, which lead them to raise money
and launch the venture before even completing the MSTC Program. The duo learned
about this technology when they applied the
‘Quicklook’ methodology to this Texas A&M
technology during their first semester in the
program; they signed an exclusive license
with A&M during the second semester and
raised $1.7 million during their final semester.
to perform business evaluations, planning
and implementation. Skraba joined the LabNow founder’s team, participated in licensing technology from The University of Texas
and helped raise the $34 million that funds
LabNow’s development of the first portable
monitoring device for AIDS.
As of this year almost 500 students have
graduated from the MSTC program. Most
of the graduates work in one of three areas:
1) start-up ventures involving commercializing emerging technologies; 2) product development divisions of major corporations
new ventures. MSTC graduates are involved
in all stages of this process. Some are part
of the entrepreneurial teams proposing to
the ETF. Others are involved in assisting the
seven Regional Centers for Innovation and
Commercialization (RCICs) in evaluating
the proposed technologies.
MSTC graduates frequently work with
IC²’s Global Commercialization Group in
performing Quicklooks literally around the
world. They have done so in India, Poland,
Portugal, Chile, Korea, and Mexico in the
past year. These studies assist these countries
Students can attend classes in Austin, via video webcast or video archive or do a
combination of all three.
LabNow’s technology has the capability to
automate complex fluid analysis quickly, accurately and at lower cost than current methods. The microfluidics sensor technology has
broad uses in medical, homeland security,
environmental chemistry and process engineering applications. The MSTC program
equipped graduate Joe Skraba with the tools
including IBM, Dell, Applied Materials and
National Oilwell Varco; and, 3) technology
transfer professionals at research universities
and federal laboratories.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry has strongly supported commercializing new technologies
with the Emerging Technology Fund, an account that has invested over $200 million in
in their own economic development efforts.
Approximately 100 Quicklooks will be done
in 2009.
You can read further about the MSTC program, its course descriptions, its faculty and
more at www.ic2.utexas.edu/mstc.
“
get famous.
www.celeb4aday.com
People Matters
the 2008
Generation
Gap
Managing
Multiple
Generations in
the workplace
By Kay Oder
guide
For the first
time in history, four
generations
of employees
are now working together.
Each group
has its unique
strengths and
differences,
and is often
misunderstood
by the other,
thus resulting
in conflict.
Diversity issues have existed for several decades in the workplace. They
are typically derived from differences in ethnicity, gender, race and
age. Although corporate America is
still faced with balancing all areas
of diversity, it has reached a historic
precedence when it comes to age.
For the first time in history, four generations of
employees are now working together. Each group
has its unique strengths and differences, and is often
misunderstood by the other, thus resulting in conflict.
According to a survey conducted by BridgeWorks,
65 percent of employees agreed that generation gaps
make it harder to get things done at work. In addition, one-third of the respondents said they were often offended by someone from another generation
at work.
Defining
Generations
There is overlap in the
definitions of these
generations, but here are the
most common.
14
BUSINESS DISTRICT
In order to cultivate a more cohesive environment,
companies must educate themselves and their employees on the generational differences. Research indicates
that with the unstable economy, many older employees
will continue to work past retirement age. Therefore,
this trend of multiple generations working together is
unlikely to change.
It’s important for all employees to recognize the different core values and attributes that set each group
apart. The following list consists of generalized characteristics that typically define each generation.
Traditionalists were born prior to 1945 and are currently 63 years or older. Also referred to as “Veterans,”
this generation is characterized as loyal, conservative,
detail-oriented and respectful of authority. When it
comes to leadership styles, they prefer a top-down
chain of command, which may be the result of more
than half of the men in this group having served in the
military. Traditionalists are also known as conformists
and value acknowledgement for their experience and
work.
Baby Boomer—is a term used to describe a person
who was born during the demographic Post-World War
II baby boom 1946 to 1964.
Generation X—originally referred to as the “baby bust”
and most commonly describes those born between
1965 and 1980.
Generation Y—a.k.a. Echo Boomers, Millenials and Net
Generation—most commonly used to describe those
born between 1981 and 2000.
Winter 2009
Baby Boomers include people born between 1946 and 1964, who are approximately 44-62 years
old. Currently known as the largest and most influential generation, Baby Boomers are viewed as
competitive workaholics who are optimistic and results-oriented. They want respect and feel everyone should pay their dues in order to move ahead. Baby Boomers often take personal satisfaction
from their contributions in the workplace. They are known to be relationship-focused and thrive
on meetings. Baby Boomers are also nonconformists who question authority. Recent studies have
reported that many Baby Boomers plan to continue to work past retirement age, possibly in a parttime capacity.
Generation X encompasses people born between 1965 and 1980, who are currently 28 to 43 years
old. As the first generation to grow up alongside technology, Generation X is often characterized as
independent self-starters with entrepreneurial and flexible traits. While they like to be given structure and direction, Generation X doesn’t like to be micromanaged. They can be loyal employees, but
are also known to not feel attached to any one organization like previous generations. This group
craves flexibility and work-life balance.
Generation Y consists of people between 1981 and 2000, currently aged 27 and younger. Also
known as the “Millenials,” this generation is fast-approaching the Baby Boomers in numbers. Generation Y can be characterized as confident non-conformists who are collaborative, open-minded
and socially conscious. They’ve never lived without technology. This group can be very demanding
since they usually get what they want, particularly when it comes to moving ahead in the workplace.
Generation Y seeks personal satisfaction in their work, and as a result have the highest turnover rate.
While this generation is very capable of multi-tasking, it also expects flexible hours and work-life
balance.
There are several improvements organizations can make to help these four distinct groups work
better together and stay motivated.
Adjust communication
Each generation has its own preferred method of communication. A Traditionalist or Baby Boomer
might prefer a face-to-face meeting whereas a Generation X or Y employee may prefer e-mail. To
help resolve potential issues, employees need to consider accommodating each group’s style. For
example, an occasional face-to-face talk instead of only sending e-mails to an older co-worker goes
a long way in showing flexibility.
Encourage mentoring
Many older employees may retire or take on a part-time position in the upcoming years. Mentoring is a great way to prepare for this transition and also allows employees to learn from one another.
It’s important to make sure older employees are offering suggestions and providing feedback rather
than “telling” younger employees what to do. In addition, older employees are just as eager to learn
as their younger co-workers. While the older generation may not be as technologically savvy as the
younger ones, they are capable of using technology in some capacity and will probably welcome the
opportunity to learn more.
Customize motivation and incentives
It’s important to find the right motivation for each group. While older employees may value monetary incentives for hard work on a project, younger employees might prefer time off from work.
More creative recruiting
With a growing number of Generation Y entering the workforce and many Traditionalists and Baby
Boomers staying, companies also need to rethink their recruiting. Flexible hours and telecommuting are very appealing to younger and older workers alike. Many companies are also offering volunteering as a benefit to attract Generation Y, which has the highest volunteer
rate.
Most employees want to contribute and feel good about what they’ve accomplished at work. It’s the responsibility of all companies to help employees
understand their diversity and find common ground to respect each other
and work together.
Kay Oder is a district manager for Administaff in
the Austin market and can be reached at
800-465-3800 or [email protected].
Don’t Know
What Businesses
You Can Trust?
Visit Us Online
www.bbb.org
Legal Corner
When do you need
a Non-Disclosure
Agreement?
[Editor’s Note] In talking with
a number of entrepreneurs and
investors, one subject that many
ask about are non-disclosure
agreements, mostly in terms of
usage and enforcement.
Business District Magazine asked
Kelly Kordzik, principal of Fish &
Richardson to clear up some of
the misconceptions behind NDAs
and clearly define when they are
needed.
What are
NDA’s?
NDAs are legal
contracts to be
governed by
state law, or the
law of another
country if such
a situation
BUSINESS DISTRICT: Who should worry
about a NDA?
Kordzik: An NDA should be considered by
any company or individual who wishes to share
any information that they value to another party.
Examples:
• An inventor who wishes to disclose her
invention to a potential investor or business
partner.
• When two companies wish to collaborate on
an R&D project.
• When a company wishes to hire another party
to perform some work on the company’s
technology.
• If an inventor has yet to file a patent application
and needs to disclose the invention to another
party before a patent application is able to be
filed. This is so the inventor can preserve the
ability to obtain patent protection in foreign
arises. Therefore,
it is important
to know the law
of the state or
country the NDA
will be enforced
under before
selecting that
state or country.
Components
of an NDA
16
BUSINESS DISTRICT
Winter 2009
countries, since countries other than the U.S.
will not grant or enforce a patent that was filed
after the invention was publicly disclosed.
BUSINESS DISTRICT: What is the purpose of
having an NDA?
Kordzik: To contractually restrict what the receiver
of the confidential information can do with the
shared information.
Examples:
• Not disclose the shared information to a third
party.
• Not use the confidential information for
purposes other than particularly articulated in
the NDA.
• Not use the confidential information to compete
with the disclosing party.
• As a tool to protect the shared information as a
trade secret
BUSINESS DISTRICT: Who should I expect to
sign an NDA (some investors will not sign them,
and pass on the plan altogether--how do you
identify the proper introduction of an NDA).
Kordzik: It is desired that a NDA will be executed
1. Particulary identify the party disclosing the information and the party, or parties, that can receive the confidential information.
2. Identification of the confidential information.
3. Particularly specify how the receiving party can use the disclosed information.
4. List the actions the receiving party is restricted from doing with the information.
5. List some actions that are exceptions to the list in #4, which generally refer to
when the confidential information becomes known by the general public through
no fault or bad acts by the receiving party.
6. The term of the NDA, and also the term for how long the receiving party is to
be restricted by the list in #4.
7. Boilerplate provisions, including which state or country law will govern the
NDA.
every time information will be shared with another party for whatever
reason or purpose. If a potential investor will not execute an NDA,
then try to file a patent application(s) on the invention(s) before the
disclosure occurs.
BUSINESS DISTRICT: Which State Law is applicable? How
enforceable are these agreements?
Kordzik: NDAs are legal contracts to be governed by state law, or
the law of another country if such a situation arises. Therefore, it is
important to know the law of the state or country the NDA will be
enforced under before selecting that state or country. For example,
states have statute of limitations laws, which limit the time period in
which a party can file a lawsuit (e.g., six years). In some states, the
party disclosing the confidential information has six years from the
date the party discovered that the receiving party breached the NDA,
while in other states, the disclosing party has to file a suit for breach
of the NDA six years from the date of the action asserted as a breach. So, in those latter states, the disclosing party would have to file a suit
for breach within six years from the date the receiving party made the
illicit disclosure; it could be quite easy for six years to have already
passed by the time the disclosing party makes such a discovery.
BUSINESS DISTRICT: Any other issues pertaining to NDAs that
you think people should know about?
Kordzik: NDAs should not be entered into lightly, with the belief that
all NDAs are basically the same. Every NDA should be reviewed by
an attorney before execution so at least the party knows the risks it
is getting into. This is especially true when the other side is insisting
upon use of its NDA form without any changes.
In certain situations, it is not enough that the receiving party merely
be obligated not to disclose the information to a third party. If this
is the case, then the receiving party can use the information to its
benefit internally, such as to improve its own products. It is important
to also restrict how the receiving party will use the information it is
to receive.
Be wary of the very commonly included provisions that information
shared orally (such as in a meeting between the scientists or engineers
of the two parties) will only be considered confidential, and therefore
protected under the NDA, if a confirmation in writing is sent by the
disclosing party within a period of time, which is commonly 30 days. If this is agreed upon (and such provisions are very, very common),
then it is absolutely imperative that there be
procedures for recording what is disclosed orally
and followed up with a written confirmation.
Kelly Kordzik is a principal
of Fish & Richardson and can
be reached at [email protected] or
512-472-5070
Being so close to downtown, Grey Rock Golf
Club makes it easy for you to impress your
clients. From our welcoming staff of experts
to our impeccably maintained course, every
aspect of our award-winning club is designed
to exceed your expectations.
At Grey Rock, we pride ourselves on offering
A championship golf course only
minutes from downtown.
a premier golfing environment for corporate
Don’t be surprised if your clients
request weekly meetings.
to experience all that Grey Rock has to offer, call
golfers, as well as daily play guests and members.
We invite you to take a short drive to our course
where you can treat your clients to a round, or
us today for corporate membership information.
Give your clients another reason to do business
with you. Welcome to your home for golf.
Welcome to Grey Rock.
5 1 2 -2 8 8 -4 2 9 7
Gr e y Ro c kG o l f Clu b . co m
Belong Here.
BUSINESS DISTRICT Winter 2009
17
Finance
FIVE WAYS TO GET THE MOST BANG FROM
YOUR CHARITABLE BUCK.
By Matthew Wilson
As we
Develop an
Intellectual
Property
Program:
Whether a
company is
just starting out or is a
multi-nation
company with
enormous
revenues,
an effective
IPR protection strategy
or program
(“Program”)
is critical to a
competitive
advantage.
18
BUSINESS DISTRICT
approach the holidays and the end of
2008, our thoughts often turn to those less fortunate
than ourselves. A year-end charitable donation can
make a difference in the lives of others, and it can
also help reduce your income tax burden. But did
you know that different ways of giving the same gift
can have different effects on your taxable income?
Making a charitable donation may seem as simple
as writing a check and deducting the donation on
your tax return, but the reality is more complex, especially for larger gifts or bequests (bequests are gifts
from the estate of a deceased individual). Fortunately, there are a variety of techniques and structures
available to minimize the tax burden on charitable
gifts and also take into account the unique needs
of both donors and charities. A carefully-designed
planned giving program can benefit both sides: by
making it convenient, tax-efficient, and cost-effective for donors to structure their gifts, a good program can improve the size and rate of giving to an
organization. Here are five good ideas:
1. Donate Appreciated Securities. If you choose
to donate appreciated securities held for at least one
year instead of selling the securities and donating the
resulting cash, you may be able to avoid recognizing
the gain on the securities and take the fair market
value of the securities as a deduction. If you sell the
securities and donate cash, you must recognize the
capital gain on the sale of the securities and you may
also deduct the cash donation. “Keep in mind that
your deduction for charitably-gifted securities is
limited to 30% of your AGI,” says local CPA, David
Kangas. “And that limit is 20% for qualified appreciated stock contributed to a private foundation.”
As an example, suppose Edward and Mary each
bought a stock for $2,000 which is today worth
$10,000. If Edward sells his stock and donates
$10,000 in cash to a charity, he must report $8,000
of taxable capital gains and a $10,000 charitable
donation. If Mary donates her stock directly to the
charity without selling it, she is entitled to report
no taxable gains on the transaction, and a $10,000
charitable donation.
2. Create and Fund a Donor-Advised Fund (DAF).
A DAF is a separate account that is funded by a donor with irrevocable gifts, which can then used to
make donations to specific charitable causes. The
initial gifts to the DAF are tax-deductible in the year
Winter 2009
that they are made, not the year that funds are subsequently donated to charities. The donor directs
the subsequent donations: to whom, when, and how
much. The fund manager or trustee typically charges a fee for this type of arrangement. A DAF offers
a potential tax advantage over a family foundation,
because an asset transferred to a family foundation
is transferred at its cost basis, while the same asset
transferred to a DAF is donated at fair market value.
If the asset has appreciated, this results in a larger deduction to the donor.
3. Create and Fund a Charitable Remainder Trust
(CRT). A Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT) provides income to benefit the trust owner or designated beneficiary during the lifetime of the owner or
beneficiary. When the trust terminates or the owner/
beneficiary dies, the remaining assets are transferred
to a charity. According to attorney Barbara Lipscomb
of Barnes Lipscomb & Stewart PLLC, a gift to a charitable trust may create a “double” tax benefit for the
donor. Such a gift “may entitle the donor to a current
income tax deduction based on the present value of
the charitable gift in the year the trust is created, and
then the charitable gift passes from the trust to the
charitable beneficiary free of transfer (gift or estate)
tax when the trust terminates.”
4. Make a Gift of Life Insurance. You can enter an
agreement to make regular donations to a charity to
fund an insurance policy on your life, owned by the
organization. Your donations can be deducted from
your income as allowed by law, and the organization
will receive the policy proceeds when they are paid
out. If you own the policy yourself, your premium
payments are not tax-deductible.
5. Make a Gift of Annuity Death Benefit. As with
a Charitable Remainder Trust, you can receive lifetime income from an annuity but name a charitable
organization as beneficiary of the death benefit or
residual value upon your demise.
In tight times, you may be able to constrain legal
costs simply by discussing your intentions with the
charitable organization. Marilyn Willson, Development Director for AIDS Services of Austin, notes,
“For donors who want to structure a large gift to
AIDS Services of Austin, we are able to offer suggestions on beneficiary language to include in trust and
legal documents.”
Sources: UBS Financial Services, Inc.; Your Life,
Your Legacy, by Brad Wiewel.
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THE STATE
Of The Central Texas Economy
ce Prevail A
mo
n
g
rs
Optim
is m
d
en
d
i
f
n
Co
ead e
BL
B2
an
by Pete Monfre
BUSINESS DISTRICT Winter 2009 21
BUSINESS DISTRICT September 2008 19
BUSINESS DISTRICT Winter 2009
21
If you’ve
turned on your television or radio over the
last six months or so, you’ve been the recipient of an almost unprecedented drumbeat of
economic doom and gloom. It is no wonder
that business owners and executives are concerned over the performance of the economy
and its impact on the bottom line. From the
time we wake up to the time we go to bed,
we are bombarded with stories about rising
unemployment, Wall Street histrionics and
the credit and housing crisis. However, it is
difficult to glean any useful information from
a medium where “if it bleeds, it leads” while
presenting information about complex subjects in sound bites. Adding to the difficulty,
the media is even less reliable during an election cycle.
There is little doubt that perception can become reality. Most business owners acknowledge that their business is still growing but
still have concerns whether this growth will
continue – citing mostly media reports as the
source of this concern. The reality is that, in
Central Texas, businesses have experienced
strong growth over the past few years so any
slow down might be perceived as more dramatic, even though we are still doing better
than the rest of the country.
In October of 2008, Clarity Marketing Support, SomersetGuild and Business District
Magazine, set out to find out what is really
happening on the street in Central Texas. We
surveyed 239 business owners, leaders and
executives to get a statistically accurate picture of how businesses are performing in our
local area and gauge their outlook and confidence in the coming year.
The grass really is greener in Central
Texas
Most people feel that Central Texas is somewhat insulated from the rest of the country.
22
BUSINESS DISTRICT
Winter 2009
Indeed, Austin has seen amazing growth in
terms of people moving to the city as well
as business startups. According to the Texas
Workforce Commission, The statewide seasonally adjusted unemployment rate as of
April 2008 fell to 4.1 percent, down from
4.3 percent during the same time period in
2007.
The unemployment rate in Texas remains
far below the U.S. rate of 5.0 percent. Business
in Texas continues to expand with an annual
job growth rate of 2.5 percent. 86 percent of
respondents thought the Central Texas economy was either average or above average.
However, there was little expectation that the
local economy would improve over the next
six months with only four percent indicating
they expected improvement. Only 24 percent
expected the economy to turn substantially
worse. 44 percent had a great deal of confidence in the local economy.
“Any steep decline in economic activity will likely be
offset by future surges in the
economy’s growth.”
While people toss around terms like “recession” and “economic meltdown,” the reality in Central Texas is that there won’t be any
soup lines in the near future. Business leaders here seem to understand economies are
cyclical. Any steep decline in economic activity will likely be offset by future surges in
the economy’s growth. In the long term, the
highs and lows average out to form the trend,
or average, economic growth rate. This trend
growth rate is subject to change, but it has
remained relatively steady in the past, indicating the general rate of growth that we can
expect to see in the future.
Since the late 1940s the United States has
suffered 10 recessions. On average, they’ve
lasted 10 months. The worst recessions of
1973-75 and 1981-82 lasted 16 months with
peak unemployment reaching 9.0 percent
and 10.8 percent respectively. With the current national unemployment rate at about
6.5 percent, this indicator would have to rise
dramatically to match post World War II levels. The duration of recessions has steadily
decreased over the years - a testament to the
ever increasing strength of the American
economy. In fact, Austin has experienced a
decline in unemployment dropping from 3.8
percent to 3.6 percent in recent months.
The most serious issues facing Central
Texas businesses
When asked to think about their own organizations, respondents said the most pressing issue facing their company concerned
some aspect of the economy with 20 percent mentioning availability of credit and
10 percent citing some aspect of consumer
confidence. Outside of the economy the issue that received the most frequent mention
was finding and keeping talented, trained
employees (six percent). A common theme
throughout the survey was anger at the negative tone with which the economic crisis had
been covered by the news media.
It is interesting to note that the issues cited
by leaders are not particularly new issues.
Growing businesses struggle with obtaining
adequate credit, the whims of customer confidence and the difficulty of recruiting and
retainment as a matter of course. While these
issues may seem more acute in the short term
most of the concern is about the future – not
focused on what is happening today.
“There’s a bombardment of negative news
about the economy...people here are feeling
scared and withdrawn even though their lives
have not been affected directly as of yet.” says
Dena Roberts, an Austin-based psychotherapist. “We seem to lose distinction as to what’s
happening in the local market as opposed to
the national market—What do I see actually
happening around me as opposed to what
I’m afraid might happen to me.”
When it comes to financial performance
compared to expectations, about a third of
respondents indicated that their company
was performing better than expected with
34 percent responding that performance was
about what they expected and about a third
stating they were not meeting expectations.
There was some concern about possible future reductions in customer spending.
Job Growth Evens Out
The majority of respondents indicated that
they will remain at their current levels of
staffing with only 21 percent planning to add
staff. The last figures available (July 2008)
from the Texas Workforce commission, show
an unemployment rate of 4.7 percent in Texas
overall, a figure much lower than the national
rate of 6.5 percent. A rate of 4.5 percent is
considered “full employment” by the U.S.
government. This jump in unemployment
shows that Texas is beginning to feel the effects of the national economic slowdown and
our survey, while optimistic, confirms this.
Texas has always shown a healthy propensity for job creation. In fact, Texas accounted
for 60 percent of all job growth over the past
year according to a new report from TorontoDominion Bank. The rest of the nation has
experienced six consecutive months of job
losses.
“If there is any reason that we are more insulated from the rest of the country, it’s probably because we have more companies that
aren’t revenue driven, they are driven by investors,” says Peter Strople, cheif executive officer of Zero2 Holdings. “And now that we are
starting to evolve, we’re starting seeing bigger
businesses, were starting to see later stage
early businesses that are becoming successful. And those things are being affected by
the market. As Austin grows and we get less
investment and more revenue, we’ll probably
be more effected by the national economy.”
How are Central Texas Businesses adapting?
When asked how respondents were adapt-
ing to changing market conditions, the majority (44 percent) anticipated no change in
marketing budgets or plans. However, a surprising number (34 percent) were planning
on increasing budget and activity. This is an
interesting finding given the level of concern
expressed about possible reductions in client spending. Not surprisingly, when asked
to evaluate their organizations marketing efforts, the numbers break down similarly with
44 percent indicating their marketing efforts
were better than average and about a 25 percent indicating efforts were below average.
There is little doubt that improving customer acquisition processes and programs
can help offset changes in demand. Even
when rating efforts as “better than average”
most business leaders feel that there is always
room for improvement.
In terms of business development, about
half of respondents felt that their efforts were
above average. When asked about sales performance, answers were equally optimistic,
with 48 percent giving a rating of above average and only 19 percent rating sales activities
as below average.
According to Will Guild, principal of SomersetGuild Research, “It is important to note
that [when it comes to rating respondent’s
own marketing and sales abilities] these are
very optimistic answers statistically. In some
respect, this data might reflect a tendency for
people to overestimate their own position
and ability. Only about 25 percent thought
their marketing efforts were poor. That says
that the majority believe they are above average. It just can’t be true.”
Matching a national trend, about a third of
companies were shifting marketing resources
toward social media to a substantial degree
including more emphasis on the web, blogs,
on-line communities and other tools. Another 24 percent indicated they had shifted in
this direction to a moderate degree.
According to a new study by Forrester Research, marketers are likely to decrease spending in traditional media geared to building
simple brand awareness. However, direct response advertising is still a strong performer.
The study forecasts online direct response
vehicles like search and email marketing will
gain market share because companies can tie
them to sales. Interest in social media continues to grow but businesses struggle with how
to measure it.
No one knows for sure what lies ahead for
Central Texas businesses in the coming year.
But one thing seems clear: Texas is uniquely
situated to prosper and grow regardless of national economic trends. With a GDP ranked
12th in the world(higher than India, South
Korea and Australia), Texas’ economic engine
is resilient. Perhaps this is due to a low cost of
living, effective business incentives and a robust, highly skilled workforce. Or maybe it’s
just the hard work ethic and the pro-business
Texan attitude that keeps the wheels of commerce turning. While we may not see the levels of growth we’ve become accustomed to, it
seems clear that Central Texas will weather
this storm just like it has before.
For a copy of the report from this study, visit
www.claritymarketingsupport.com. To discuss
the data, the Central Texas economy or to relate your experience, visit http://petemonfre.
wordpress.com. BD
BUSINESS DISTRICT Winter 2009
23
STOP
BLAMING THE
ECONOMY
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creative ideas but also deadlines and details.
You don’t often see this in one package.
I would recommend Pete Monfre
without reservation for roles involving
everything from strategy to
marketing implementation.
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Analogic Corp.
GET REFRESHING CLARITY.
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866.567.4050
Department: the scene
Business District Magazine congratulates Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille
on its grand opening in the Austin market in October benefiting the
Austin Symphony Orchestra. Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille is located at
7th and Colorado on the ground level of the historic Norwood Tower.
BUSINESS DISTRICT Winter 2009
25
By Matt Scherer
IF YOU ARE EVEN REMOTELY ASSOCIATED WITH
AUSTIN’S TECH INDUSTRY, YOU SHOULD KNOW
THIS NAME.
Wear one
of those white "Hello My Name Is" name tags
to a door64.com mixer with the same first
name as Matt Genovese and there's a good
chance that at least three to six people will
want to personally thank you.
After telling door64 mixer attendees that
I only share his first name at several of these
events, I always hear: "I just wanted to tell him
thank you for what he has done for the Austin
technology community. Can you introduce
me to him?"
In just over a year and without any money
spent on marketing, over 2900 users have
registered on the door64.com web site. Genovese's online efforts have made a difference
for many in Austin's tech community.
As someone who has worked as a public relations professional in the technology sector
in San Antonio and now Austin for over a decade, I am amazed at the energy and the vibe
found in the three door64 events that I have
attended. At the March 27 mixer, I was one
of the lucky 250 or so people that got into J.
Blacks on the west side of Sixth Street at 5:30
p.m. Within 45 minutes, the Austin fire marshal arrived at the Sixth Street establishment
and began to control the overflow of the 150
to 250 people who wanted to join the mixers.
In true Austin Sixth Street fashion, the
26
BUSINESS DISTRICT
Winter 2009
crowd of restless technology advocates waiting outside moved the party next door to The
Ranch. That bar quickly filled up, allowing
people to move from venue to venue. "We
poured the event over to the Ranch," Genovese said.
Joining door64.com as a technical publicist wasn't easy for me when I signed on
nearly nine months ago. After requesting to
join, I got an email from Genovese asking
me some questions about my clients and my
background.
"I get a lot of requests from realtors, bankers and financial planners who want to join
the web site," Genovese said. "Because I restrict membership, the door64 community
members are almost virtually assured to find
their industry peers on the web site and at
our networking events. You won't find a life
insurance agent at one of my events."
While the door64 founder has been pleased
with the high turnout for his mixers, the web
site also focuses on online chats, job placement, job postings and the best calendar listing for technology events in Austin.
"We are not just about networking, although that's a piece of the pie," Genovese
said. "We're about community and that's
more than a mere web site."
"Communities support each other, and
are excited about each others' successes," he
added. "When someone finds a new job and
posts it on our site, others in the community
are there to congratulate them. Other people
ask for help and suggestions with finding a
job, and both recruiters and tech professionals alike respond. We have a culture—another sign of a community."
Genovese started the web site a year ago.
He chose the name door64 in homage to a
Commodore 64, his first computer.
"Many of us tech professionals and geeks
have come from similar origins, getting our
feet wet in programming BASIC on Commodores and Apple IIs," Genovese recalled. "I
think those youthful experiences profoundly impacted a generation, and to a degree
door64 is serving that same generation, all
grown up."
In August, Genovese expanded the door64
efforts with his first High-Tech Career Fair
and Networking Night, held at the Monarch
Event Center.
"Matt's real passion is to help people get
and keep jobs," Kevin Koym, the chief executive officer of Enterprise Teaming and one of
Genovese's advisors. "In helping him develop
his strategy for the site, I pushed him to just
focus on his one passion – job creation."
"When you're looking for a job, a door64
event helps you stay connected with other
technology types," Dan Enberg, an engineering consultant said at the August 7 High-Tech
Career Fair. "From time to time, you need to
speak to someone you met on line about job
opportunities and technology trends. Matt's
web site and these mixers help me do that."
Kevin Blanchard, an IT and security professional, was one of the 500 attendees who said
he benefitted from attending the career fair.
After attending several other local job fairs,
Blanchard said Genovese's door64 event reminded him of the ones held in Washington,
D.C.
"Typically, I'll walk into a job fair with
10 resumes and walk out with nine of them,"
Blanchard said about other Austin events.
"And, the one resume I give out is usually to
the one table that is hiring for anything remotely IT or the recruiter who says 'I think
we have an IT department.'"
"Sadly, in the last few months most of
the job fairs I have gone to took me longer
to drive to than they did to attend," he said.
"Most of the booths were hiring for non IT
related entry level or retail positions."
"I really hope door64 has more job fairs like
this," Blanchard added. "I walked out of this
event with no resumes or business cards
left."
Genovese said that he designed his career
fair in reverse to help people like Blanchard
find potential employers.
"Usually career fairs line up employers first,
and then invite people to attend," he said.
"Instead, I spoke to the door64 members first,
and surveyed what they're looking for. Then
as they signed up, I went back to employers
to inform them of the types of registrants we
had so far."
Then the employers signed up with an
understanding of the types of professionals
who planned to attend. It made more sense
that way," he added.
Managing door64's growing array of mixers and the on line site is a part-time gig for
Genovese. During the day, the Owego, N.Y.,
native works for Freescale Semiconductor as
a verification engineer. After hours, when
his children, Caleb and Emily go to bed, the
door64.com founder works in his south Austin home, updating his site and handling the
logistics for his next event.
For the August event, Genovese coordinated 22 booths for corporate and technical
recruiting specialists. He also worked as the
event liaison with Rackspace and LinkedIn,
the event's sponsors who paid for the food,
complimentary drinks and door prizes.
Genovese takes a hands-on approach to
managing each event. With the help of several volunteers, the door64.com founder set up
the sign-in booth, hung posters and met the
caterer. When the 550 or more attendees at
the August event emptied the trays of jalapeno cheese poppers and hot wings, Genovese
replaced them with more finger food.
By 9 p.m., when a handful of attendees remained to discuss technology or other business ventures, he was pulling down the signs,
disconnecting the audiovisual computer and
heading home to another day of work.
"I think one of the reasons that Matt succeeds is his hands on approach to these networking mixers and events," Koym said. "As
people get to know Matt, they respect him for
“I want to help existing
niche groups to grow,
and foster the creation
of new ones.”
the fact that he does all those little details to
make it work for them."
Another aspect is cost. Unlike other mixers, there is no charge for attending a door64
event. Working with corporate sponsors,
Genovese offsets the costs for the food and
drinks. In turn, the corporate sponsors are
promoted before and during the event, giving
local companies a chance to take center stage
among a room full of technology professionals.
While the past door64 events have attracted large groups, Genovese's first networking
event held at the Gingerman, a downtown
Austin bar, only attracted about 50 to 60
people.
"I was one of the people to come to that
mixer," Chris Garrigues. "I am amazed at how
quickly they have grown into bigger events."
While door64. events have helped the Austin technology community meet in person,
Genovese's effort also has helped the tech
community list programs, events and mix-
ers. Log on to the door64.com web site, and
there are more than 30 monthly events listed.
The site makes it easy to contribute items.
After creating an account, anyone that wants
to publicize an event can easily list it on the
door64.com calendar of events.
"Collaboration among technology groups
in Central Texas is very important," said
Alisha Ring, president, Austin Technology
Council. "Austin Technology Council partners with organizations, such as Door64 to
work towards a common goal of connecting
people locally to maintain our status as one of
the leading technology cities in the nation."
"It upsets me when my user group forgets
to lists our programs on door64.com," Nathan Zook said. "It's so easy to list an item on
the web site."
"If a small group of people from a given
background or expertise want to meet, posting tech-related events on the door64 calendar is a great way to spread the word and find
others who are also interested," Genovese
said. "I want to help existing niche groups to
grow, and foster the creation of new ones."
Buoyed by the success of his events, Genovese said he has further plans to improve
both the web site and the programs associated with door64.
"My goal is to develop the web site to enable
more on line interaction between members,"
said Genovese. "I also want the site to become more well-organized and user-friendly.
I have some new functionality improvement
ideas for door64, which I plan to develop and
unveil by the end of the year."
Technology advocates should also expect
more mixers but with a focus on a specific
industry.
"I want to hold more face-to-face events,
even ones that are more focused to a particular discipline in high-tech," Genovese said.
"For example, my previous AMCC Networking Night was focused just on chip design
folks - it was a great success."
Whatever the event or venue, the buzz today about door64.com among members of
the Austin tech community from Blanchard
and Zook has helped make Genovese's efforts a success.
"I had been involved in several other networking and IT groups here in Austin and
in Washington," Blanchard said. "Prior to
attending this event, I had heard only good
things about door64." BD
BUSINESS DISTRICT Winter 2009
27
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OPPORTUNITY
KNOCKS
By Steve Habel
The need to create jobs, attract companies to the Austin area and find a
way to keep the region’s business moving forward is even more pressing
in today’s economic world of challenges and the obstacles created by those
trials.
Despite the seeming lack of funds to push business initiative in the region, the Austin Chamber of Commerce is asking area business leaders and
their companies to invest in Opportunity Austin 2.0, a program that will
continue to spur Central Texas’ strong economic development growth and
to allow the region to more effectively compete with national and international communities in attracting and retaining talent and businesses. With Opportunity Austin 2.0, the latest initiative put in place by the Chamber and its members, business leaders in Central Texas are reinforcing their
0
.
2
KEEPING CENTRAL TEXAS BUSINESS FRONT AND CENTER
Opportunity Austin 2.0 asks area businesses to continue to invest to assure
region’s success. How will the successful program be affected by today’s
economic challenges?
steadfast commitment to improving the area’s work force, quality of life
and business climate through aggressive, proactive programming.
Opportunity Austin has focused on strategies to make the Austin
region – which includes Williamson, Travis, Bastrop, Hays and Caldwell
counties – more competitive with its rival regions by retaining its existing companies and attracting new businesses.
“We’ve got all these great assets throughout our region,” said Charisse
Bodisch, the Austin Chamber of Commerce’s vice-president of economic development.“They’re not confined to a city boundary, and that’s
attractive to a prospective company. You don’t have to create everything
in every community. Everyone gains from each other’s assets. You can
easily snap a stick in half, but it’s harder to break a whole bundle.”
BUSINESS DISTRICT Winter 2009
29
Gary Farmer at Austin Open4Business
The program follows in the footsteps of the original Opportunity Austin initiative,
which was launched in January 2004 as an ambitious, five-year regional economic development strategy aimed to create 72,000 regional jobs and increase regional payroll by $2.9 billion.
The original Opportunity Austin program concludes on Dec. 31, 2008 after its first five-year
period. The results have been dramatic and beyond the Chamber’s original expectations.
To date 142 companies have relocated or expanded to the Austin area and approximately
130,000 jobs have been created in the five-county region. New roads have been completed and
additional roads have been approved. Home values in Central Texas have actually increased
and foreclosures have remained low in relative terms.
Significant employment increases in high-wage job sectors like wholesale trade, professional and technical services, finance, insurance and healthcare show that the over reliance on
high-tech that caused Austin’s economy to suffer is being supplemented by a more diversified
economy.
Notable successes include The Home Depot and Hewlett-Packard data centers and Freescale Semiconductor, Borland Software and Dimensional Fund Advisors all locating corporate
headquarters in Austin, as well as Samsung’s expansion of its semiconductor manufacturing
operations.
In the same five year period, Austin's job growth has outpaced most cities in Texas and the
United States. That success has come as the result of a well-articulated, well-funded and wellexecuted economic development game plan.
“This has been an incredible team effort,” said Gary Farmer, Opportunity Austin’s chairman
and the president of Heritage Title of Austin, “Even though we have exceeded many of our
original goals, much work remains to be done if we hope to create a diversified, sustainable
and truly vibrant economy in Central Texas. We must avoid complacency at all costs.”
30
BUSINESS DISTRICT September 2008
Austin’s unique character, sense of place
and commitment to environmental integrity will be reinforced through the Chamber’s
support of policies that sustain and protect
Austin’s air, land and water through the smart
development of our community. Diversification will help lead to innovative development,
attract and keep the finest talent in our area
and permit greater Austin to sustain and increase its competitive edge.
Opportunity Austin 2.0 is not about getting
back in the game, but rather staying ahead of
competitor communities, both in the U.S.
and abroad. This means thinking differently
about economic development.
“Austin has done a great job of building its
programs and meeting its goals, but the continued success is still an uphill climb,” said
Mac Holladay, CEO and Founder of Market
Street Services, a firm retained by Opportunity Austin to help create the new strategy for
Opportunity Austin 2.0 that also created the
strategy for the first initiative in 2003. “Austin
has to prove they are in it for the long haul
as the competition for business and talent
moves to the global stage.”
The most competitive communities are
those with a steadfast commitment to improving their work force, quality of life and
business climate through aggressive, proactive programming. Now more than ever, it is
time to take Austin’s efforts to the next level
to meet new challenges.
Job and wage increases projected in the
next five-year implementation cycle of Opportunity Austin show a net gain of over
117,000 jobs and a $10.8 billion increase in
greater Austin’s total payroll.
This is a critical program
According Farmer to the Opportunity Austin
2.0 initiative remains critical to the business
climate in several ways.
“First, this program is all about creating
jobs,” Farmer said. “When more families in
Central Texas have jobs, they are better positioned to pursue their hopes and dreams.
Perhaps they can afford to buy their first
home or a new car. Maybe they can start to
save for the children's college fund or a rainy
day fund. Certainly, they will be in a great position to support Austin area merchants.
“Second,” Farmer added, “this program
focuses on diversifying our economic base
by recruiting new industry clusters and new
technologies to Central Texas. The array of
opportunities in the clean energy sector or
the digital media sector would be great examples.
“Third,” Farmer continued, “we will work
hard to ensure that our existing employers
stay in Central Texas and are able to expand
here. Fourth, we are focusing a significant
amount of resource on students in the region. We have the opportunity and the responsibility to ensure that our young people
stay in school, are college ready and will
matriculate to institutions of higher learning. Finally, we will direct our attention to
the infrastructure needs of the region. We
must pursue additional mobility solutions
in order to maintain our economic vitality,
environmental integrity and quality of life in
Central Texas.”
Economic diversification is first in a threepart action plan
“Boosting the greater Austin economy is our
No. 1 priority, and our agenda is most ambitious,” Farmer said. “Given our area’s deep re-
source of leadership, we plan to fully leverage
Austin’s key public and private leaders and
their networks of relationships.”
Two examples of this leadership are the
Central Texas Angel Network (CTAN), a
group that connects Central Texas entrepreneurs who need capital with individual investors, and the Central Texas Regional Center of
Innovation & Commercialization (CenTexRCIC), whose goal is to serve as a catalyst for
emerging technology research, development,
commercialization and start-up incubation.
“We recognize it is important to improve
the coordination between small business, entrepreneur and technology/commercialization services,” Farmer said. “Realizing that 80
percent of new jobs will be created by existing businesses, retaining current companies
and fostering their growth are essential to the
economic vitality of the region. We are working to fine-tune existing processes with local
companies, as well as to engage the support
of regional partners, colleges and universities
in business-retention and expansion activities.”
Among the target-related infrastructure
developments Opportunity Austin 2.0 is actively supporting is prioritizing the funding,
development and construction of a top-tier
medical school in Austin and securing the
development of the TxAN research lab in
Central Texas.
To increase the region’s competitiveness
for new and existing businesses, the initiative
will market Austin’s relatively low cost of living, low energy costs, reasonable wages and
unique lifestyle. It plans to strategically market to specific industries through targeted
media, direct mail, trade shows and recruiting trips.
“We can’t afford to ignore international opportunities,” Farmer said. “We plan to fund
and staff a comprehensive international development program at the Austin Chamber
of Commerce. We will target companies with
presence around the world, as we did successfully in Korea with Samsung.”
Working with Market Street, Opportunity
Austin 2.0 is specifically targeting five indus...continued on page 35
“
We’re making some big changes next year!
9
0
20
In addition to more content relevant to your business, look out for:
- More local CEO-driven content
- product and business lifestyle profiles such as executive cars and meeting places
- A brand new website to deliver more relevant content more often
- better resources to get connected to the local business market and entrepreneur communities
and much more!
For advertising closing deadlines, subscription information, past articles, and more,
visit www.abdmag.com or call Jane Rash at (512) 689-4654.
Essay
the 2008
Is anybody
going to San
Antone?
“Despite what
many San Antonio and Austin residents
think, there are
some commonalities between
both cities. If
San Antonio
and Austin
can overcome
some major
differences and
work on ways
to improve the
development
of more business between
each other, the
region could
become a super technology
center on the
scale of California’ Silicon
Valley or North
Carolina’s Golden Triangle.”
32
BUSINESS DISTRICT
By Matt Scherer
When traveling to meetings
or to after hour networking
events in Austin, the mention of the fact that I live in
San Antonio often brings a
raised eyebrow or two from
people who meet me for the
first time.
And, when I tell my San Antonio friends that I
travel to Austin about once or twice a week, their
non-verbal response is similar in scope. As a former
Air Force public affairs manager, I have lived in both
Austin and San Antonio. In the early 1980s, I was stationed at Bergstrom AFB, helping the base deal with
the noise issue of the RF-4Cs flying over the growth
of residential homes near the base and editing the
weekly Jet Gazette newspaper. More than a decade
later, I retired from the Air Force at Lackland AFB.
It wasn't until Sloan Foster, the president of the
Digitial Convergence Initiative, asked me to serve on
this organization's board of directors that I began to
spend a lot of time in Austin helping the organization
promote its objectives of bringing both communities
closer together.
Despite what many San Antonio and Austin residents think, there are some commonalities between
both cities. Sure, there are some significant differences, but there are also ways that the two cities conduct
business, but there are too many similarities between
both that could help spur growth between both. If
San Antonio and Austin can overcome some major
differences and work on ways to improve the development of more business between each other, the region could become a super technology center on the
scale of California' Silicon Valley or North Carolina's
Golden Triangle.
Winter 2009
What San Antonio and Austin have in common
Both cities find any excuse to take time off to party:
Like Austin when it hosts its weekly South by Southwest, the city of San Antonio stops everything to take
10-days off to party for its annual Fiesta celebration.
While Fiesta doesn't appear to draw the name acts like
South by Southwest, it's still a major draw for the conventional tourists who travel all over the world to get
medals and attend three parades.
An appreciation for technology: Sure, Austin is
nationally known for its technical footprint, but San
Antonio was the birth of military aviation, the heart
stint and other great technology breakthroughs. Until
San Antonio's business leaders understand the value
of the technology that has grown in this city, technology will take a back seat to Austin. What San Antonio
truly needs are a couple of Austin visionaries to take
the time to explore the intellectual capital and energize
the city leadership.
Academic institutions: While Austin boasts the University of Texas, San Antonio has both the University
of Texas at San Antonio and Texas A&M Kingsville.
By combining the academic talent of both the UT and
A&M systems, San Antonio is poised to assume a major leadership role in developing the academic pipeline
needed to help grow more industries like the Toyota
plant on the city's south side.
uniquely Austin
A
USTINISNOAVERAGECITYANDAUSTINCOMISNOT
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PORTALTOTHEVIBRANTWAYOFLIFETHAT!USTINITESENJOY
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WILL I JUST BE GIVING AWAY
OW?
tion a lot. It’s an older philosophy
rry about talking too much about
and fret that all your trade secrets
rom you. I haven’t seen a case yet
s happened with blogging. Sure,
se some discretion when writing,
tant to include information that is
useful to the reader – just like you
have a face-to-face conversation.
ople are coming to you because
pert in your field. Your product is
given application. They just want
they don’t have time to figure it
s or try to apply what they learn
eally works. When they see that
y done the testing, they want you
or them.
I TURN ON THE COMMENTS
F THE BLOG SOFTWARE?
cases you want comments. You
to feed back to you what they
w you can improve your business
yes. You can, of course, delete
n&
comments that are totally off-target or meanspirited. Remember that it can take time for
comments to start showing up. People are busy
and in many cases won’t take the time to write.
But when they do, you may receive valuable
feedback.
So get started now. A few tips – don’t think
about writing too much. These aren’t eighthgrade essays. Just write short notes like you
do short email responses to people asking you
questions. Some can be long; most can be short.
Don’t worry about writing every day. Write
when you have something useful to say. And by
all means don’t be solo about your writing. Link
to other businesses that have blogs. Respond to
what others are saying in their blogs, and add
your two cents’ worth. Many people forget
– blogging is about community, collaboration
and communication. Involve others and you
will be involved.
512.589.1229
Tom Parish is a Internet marketing consultant
specializes in search engine optimization techniques
with emphasis on business blogs, podcasting and RSS
feeds -- he can be reached at [email protected]
and 512 646 0817
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34
BUSINESS DISTRICT September 2008
One great sports franchise: Austin has the Longhorns; the Spurs rule
the sports scene in San Antonio. When the Longhorns play football, it's the
same as when the former NBA champions take the court. The world stops.
Non-sports fans in both towns know that when either franchise plays a
game, it's a good time to go shopping. Of course, finding a sales clerk when
the Spurs play is another story.
What makes San Antonio and Austin different from each other?
Parks and recreation: When people in Austin take time off to "park and recreate," Austin has some great parks, bike trails and sports programs. Sadly,
some of our city leaders think that by having both a Six Flags franchise and
SeaWorld in your backyard qualify as having great recreational opportunities. San Antonio Mayor Phil Hardberger has spent a lot of time as the
city's chief executive trying to gain some parity with Austin's recreational
facilities. Having recently passed an $80 million bond to improve the parks
in San Antonio, the city could someday reach the recreational excellence of
its neighboring city.
Roads: Until the toll roads get completed in Austin, San Antonio has a
superior public roads except for the north side of the city by 281 and 1604.
One only has to spend two hours crawling from the north side of Austin to
Kyle to know that Austin needs help in building a better way to travel. After
any road trip that involves that two hour wait in Austin, driving during rush
hour in San Antonio seems much calmer.
Timing: As Dean McCall, president of Podcast Ready, Inc., one of the
founders of the DCI once noted: "Austin people want it yesterday; San Antonians want it tomorrow, if not the day after tomorrow. If we can only get
both cities to agree on today, we may have something"
Networking opportunities: With web sites like Door 64, AustinStartup.
com and the many networking opportunities in Austin, it's easy to build a
working relationship with other business leaders who want to corroborate
on projects.
What will bring the two communities together?
A light rail system that connects each other: Even though I-35 provides
mostly three lanes between both communities, a typical drive takes courage,
especially when playing "chicken" with the semi trucks heading north from
Mexico. Building a light rail service that provides dependable and regular
service between both communities will help the growth of business between
both cities.
A larger regional airport: Could San Antonio and Austin benefit from a
larger airport on the scale of DFW? Building a bigger, well planned airport
that is located halfway between both towns with light rail connections could
help close the gap between both communities.
The DCI's job board: When an Austin business needs someone to help
on a project, most of us turn to consultants in San Jose or northern California. With funding from the state of Texas, the DCI has created a job board
where Texas companies can post their opportunities. "I hate it when I have
to turn to someone in California or New York to help me find a solution,"
Foster said. "When I can do business with someone located in Texas, I can
save money and time." This technical solution is slated to go live in early
2009.
As someone who has lived and worked in both towns, I know that San
Antonio and Austin could connect with each other. It will take time and
patience, but the effort is worth it. If more people like me would venture out
of our respective cities, we could build the next technology cluster in the
United States.
BD
tries for growth: convergence technologies, creative media, green industries, corporate/professional headquarters/offices and healthcare and life sciences.
Keeping the talent pool in the water
Opportunity Austin 2.0 second part is a move to keep the region’s talent pool as
intact and growing as possible. “Brainpower is our greatest resource,” Farmer explained. “Our talent pool has been a longstanding competitive advantage.
In order to keep fueling the region’s business growth while building talent long
term, Opportunity Austin 2.0 created a website specifically to attract talent to Austin
– austinhumancapital.com. Through this site the initiative will continue to expand
its presence on the web to increase Austin’s talent pool while looking at other proactive marketing avenues to attract the best people to the area.
In terms of education, Austin’s brain pool is more college-ready; the region scads
of students enrolled in postsecondary schools. But the region’s employers must work
together as a business community to produce the quality of work force needed for
Central Texas.
“To that end, we have worked to increase the secondary school math and science
requirements in order to qualify more students to go on to college,” Farmer said.
“Also, a growing number of school districts now require seniors to apply for college.
As college enrollment continues to increase year after year, Opportunity Austin
2.0 is working to leverage Austin’s two- and four-year colleges for optimal regional
talent benefit. “The goal of our 20,010 by 2010 program – started in 2006 – is to
increase the number of college-ready graduates by 30 percent,” Farmer said. “More
college graduates strengthens Austin’s human capital and gives employers a broader
choice of homegrown talent.”
Weird can also be great when it comes to Austin
As great a place as Austin is to live and work, there’s no denying there are serious issues that the community must address. One increasing problem is transportation.
“We are suggesting several ways of addressing Central Texas’s transportation
crisis,” Farmer said. “We must expand the Chamber’s “Take on Traffic” initiative to
lobby for improved regional mobility and upgrade regional road, air, rail and transit
infrastructure. While keeping the public informed about transportation issues, we
must lobby officials for funding options and multimodal project development.”
Smart growth, through development practices that include proactive planning
and collaborative regionalism, is also a key. This includes efforts to attract cleanenergy research and major diversified energy-related corporations to support continued growth of the clean tech industry and technology.
“And on the issue of Austin’s unique character, sense of place and commitment to
environmental integrity,” Farmer added, “we must support policies that sustain and
protect our air, land and water through smart development of our community.”
Can all this be done in this economy?
Things were tough, but not this tough, in the Austin business world when the original Opportunity Austin elicited support of its initiatives. Can Opportunity Austin
2.0 be a catalyst – and even a jump-start – for stagnant business in this region during
this economic downturn?
Opportunity Austin 2.0 will not allow Austin to avoid the ill effects of the national
economic slowdown currently underway, Farmer said.
“However, if we can bring the same focus and determination to the program in
the next five years as we have demonstrated in the past five years, I feel confident to
say that we will weather the storm better than most,” Farmer added. “I think we will
be in a position to seize numerous opportunities when the national economy turns
around. And it will turn around at some point.”
The Austin Chamber is being proactive with a lofty goal of raising $21 million to
support economic development efforts via Opportunity Austin 2.0. This initiative
is considered “an investment in Austin’s future,” one that truly forward-think civic
and business leaders will grasp and run with for the long haul. BD
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Mention Business District Magazine.
Department: editiorial
GET MOVING!
with Paul Carrozza
Avoiding Convenience Taxes
We
live in a society that has constant
choices and conveniences. Food is abundant,
transportation is effortless, and we work in
air-conditioned environments. The result is
that we’re not moving, we’re not sweating and
we’re eating lots of processed foods.
I call these convenience taxes, and you’re
paying them over the course of a lifetime
resulting in lower heart rates, higher disease
rates, more food allergies, higher rates of
obesity, and many more unintended consequences that scientists are finding every day.
I’ve identified three main convenience taxes that are being levied on our bodies every
day: processed foods designed for profit and
not for health, inactivity due to workplace
environments where you sit still all day, and
climate control, such as air conditioning that
doesn’t allow your body to sweat out toxins.
Processed Foods
We have to think differently about what we
are putting into our bodies on a regular basis.
Many of the food choices we make on a daily
basis are processed foods, driven by profit
margins as opposed to healthy living. We’re
finding that more and more kids’ bodies are
full of toxic chemicals, even from birth, and
it’s leading to disease. Our diet stays relatively
the same because it’s convenient, leading to
food allergies.
We also cannot use weight to measure our
health because people deal with processed
foods differently. Some store it as they would
excess energy and in others it becomes waste.
Everyone knows people that seem to eat plenty of junk food and never gain weight, and
others can’t do enough to get weight off.
I’ve always been amazed how you can be
cool as big lineman, and then when you’re no
longer on the football team, you’re considered
obese.
Most people think that excess weight comes
from inactivity and overeating, which explains some of it. But there is more and more
science available that says that it is what you
put in your body that makes a difference.
There is also a lot of science around your
particular DNA and what foods are good for
you and which ones aren’t. If I ate like my
wife, I would feel horrible, and vice versa.
Basing your relationship on your diet can be
dangerous!
Inactivity
Being inactive is not a form of laziness—it’s
just a lifestyle that we have chosen as a society.
Life is lived through motion and getting the
body moving creates positive energy, which is
a much happier and healthier place to be. It’s
the same as a stagnant pond verses a flowing
river. Most people know you don’t want to
drink from stagnant water.
I’ve done some math that shows that we’ve
lost about 20,000 heartbeats per day due to
our inactivity, and people have different outcomes to it as well. Some don’t need to ex-
If you need to move
and you’re not moving, you’re creating
negative energy in
your body and in
most people, your
productivity will
suffer.
ercise as much, and some become emotionally depressed after long periods of inactivity,
creating negative energy and resulting in less
productivity.
The question has to be are you healthy and
are you emotionally balanced? Some people,
when they don’t move enough, they become
emotionally depressed. If you need to move
and you’re not moving, you’re creating negative energy in your body and in most people,
your productivity will suffer.
Sweating
Never let them see you sweat, right? Not really. The body gets rid of a lot of toxins when
you sweat. If you’re in air conditioning all day,
the only way to get rid of toxins is through the
mouth (imagine panting like a dog).
Avoid Paying the Convenience Tax
These convenience taxes are simply too high,
but the good news is you can avoid paying
them simply by making better food choices,
working exercise into your daily routine, and
becoming more aware of what goes into your
body.
Stay away from processed foods whenever
possible. Investigate what foods have what effect on your body. Be careful of the water you
drink—especially those that come in plastics.
Your body is much stronger when you use
it. When you move your brain releases serotonin, which regulates your feeling of wellbeing. So it’s really important that physical
activity is part of your routine to create positive energy and create higher productivity.
And don’t avoid sweating. If you have
access to a sauna (or just go outside nine
months out of the year in Austin) that’s a
great way to detoxify your body.
Your fitness is your own responsibility—
but that is good news because you get to
choose how you want to move and what you
want to eat!
BUSINESS DISTRICT
Winter 2009 37
Department: editiorial
I GOTTA TELL YA!
with Marc Katz
Growing your business in a down
economy has everything to do with
attitude
During periods of economic
difficulty, a critical challenge
that small business owners
face is to foster positive, upbeat attitudes about the future
prospects of their businesses.
The tendency to give in to
doom and gloom scenarios
broadcast through the media,
for example, or overheard in
conversations, is a pitfall that
business operators too often
fall prey to, and that serves no
other purpose than to undermine business success.
38
BUSINESS DISTRICT
Winter 2009
Having operated businesses through
good times and bad, I am continually
reminded, if not amazed, that running a
business often has as much to do with ones
attitude or mental approach towards it as to
the actions, details and logistics of actually
managing it.
With this in mind, I recently reviewed
websites offering advice to small businesses about surviving or prospering in
today’s economy. To my surprise, nothing I
found directly mentioned the importance
of maintaining optimism in the face of the
stresses and strains of tough times. On the
other hand, all the tips and suggestions I did
find really only make sense, to my way of
thinking, if one follows them with a positive
attitude, enthusiasm and faith in ones ability
to navigate ones business in challenging
circumstances.
The best advice I found in my search was,
simply, don’t panic, which is a corollary to
staying positive. Other good advice included:
protect your credit; don’t stop marketing;
continually improve services; get lean and
cut costs; intensify focus on customers;
invest in yourself; show your employees how
much you appreciate their efforts; go green;
and study current business news in your
marketplace, to gauge the direction your local economy is taking.
As our economic predicament unfolds,
two experiences have shaped my own view
of local prospects, at least, for small business.
First, for nearly a year I’ve observed in my
customers, among others, a remarkable determination, unlike what I’ve noticed in past
recessions, to make the best of our economic
situation, without complaint, and to carry on
normal activity despite economic concerns.
The level of maturity of my customers’
response to the economy is a good if microcosmic indication, I think, that we’re on track
to resolve the issues we face.
“Giving in to
doom and gloom
scenarios broadcast through the
media is a pitfall
that business operators too often
fall prey to.”
The second experience influencing my
economic perspective comes directly from
marketing my business.
Several months back I began selling deli
food products to a couple of local convenience stores. My competition, I determined,
was a company in Chicago whose products
were widely distributed but of low quality.
To effectively compete, I found a way to beat
this company on quality and match or better
its pricing.
The stores I initially sold to were part of
a chain of about 30 stores. As my products
sold, management of these stores became
familiar with my business and we discussed
the prospect of suppling deli products to
more of their outlets.
As I inquired about their marketing plans
for products such as mine, I learned that
management had been working to adapt
sales efforts to an expected economic downturn. Their strategy was to market beer and
other products related to social and leisure
activities at prices considerably lower then
one finds in clubs, restaurants and at athletic
or entertainment events, for example. As it
turns out, my products, based on quality and
price, exactly fit their need for complementary or supplemental items to sell alongside
the principal products in their marketing
plan. As a result, my deli product business
with this chain is expanding far beyond my
original expectations.
Through this experience, I learned an
invaluable lesson about small business survival, which is simply to fit, in whatever way
possible, ones products and services into the
plans of clients and customers for their own
survival and success in difficult times.
Being part of the fulfillment of customer
and client goals and challenges will almost
always increase your prospects for success,
no matter what economic conditions you
find yourself in.
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