I bet that got your attention! It’s something that every business owner knows, but it seems to get lost in the shuffle of our day-to-day doing business.

I’m not going to give you a lot of rhetoric on the subject. Instead I’m going to simply give you a list of 10 points on each that will jog your business memory.

Let’s start with some savvy ways to reduce the cost of you doing business:

1. Barter – You should be bartering goods or services with other businesses. Try to trade for something before you buy it.

2. Network – Could you trade leads or mailing lists with another business similar to your? This will cut down on your marketing/advertising costs. If you don’t have a leads list, try bartering your goods/services for their leads.

3. Wholesale/Bulk Buying – You can save money buying your business supplies in bulk quantities. Get a membership at a wholesale warehouse (such as Costco, Sam’s Club, etc.) or buy through a mail order wholesaler. I buy most of my office supplies/paper through mail order vendors which saves me money, and also delivers them to my door. No lugging from store to car to office, and saving money too! What a deal.

4. Free Stuff – Try visiting the thousands of “freebie” sites on the Internet before buying business supplies. You can find free software, graphics, legal forms, online business services, etc.

5. Borrow/Rent – Have you purchased a piece of business equipment and only needed it for a short period of time? You could have borrowed the equipment from someone else or rented it from a rental store.

6. Online/Offline Auctions – You can find office furniture, equipment, and even cars and trucks at online and offline auctions. Pay special attention to those held by law enforcement agencies or IRS that auctions off items seized from offenders. I’m not saying all the time, but before you pay retail for some big ticket items try bidding on them.

7. Plan Ahead – Make a list of supplies or equipment that you’ll need in the future. Watch for stores that have big sales, and purchase your items when they go on sale before you need them.

8. Used but Not Abused – If you equipment and supplies don’t need to be new, buy them used. Cars, desks, file cabinets, etc. can be found at yard and garage sales, used stores, on message boards, and free publications. Some excellent items are sometimes offered when a business decides to relocate or is closing.

9. Negotiate, negotiate, negotiate! This has become a lost art. You should always try to negotiate a lower price for any business equipment or supplies. It doesn’t hurt to try. Pretend you’re talking to a used car salesman.

10. Search – You can always be searching for new suppliers for your needs. Look for suppliers with lower prices and better quality. When you find one, try pointing the difference out to your current supplier. You may get a better deal from him and not have to change. Don’t be satisfied with just a few. You never know when your favorite supplier may decide to go out of business.

If you’re a native Californian, you might find these things I’ve discussed a little hard to swallow. Let me tell you, being a native New Yorker, these are things that you learn from doing business there, and at an early age.

Just remember! Every millionaire didn’t acquire their wealth through inheritance; some were shrewd business dealers.

In next Saturday’s column I’ll give you the other half of the equation. How to anchor down more sales.

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When you are at an interview, you may not be aware of this but your interviewer is observing your body language, very carefully. Your body language says a lot about yourself, so you need to control negative body movements and encourage positive body movements and habits. Humans naturally send and receive nonverbal communication; they have been doing so since the beginning of time. When your girlfriend folds her arms but has a smile on her face, are you not wondering what she upset is about or clammed up for. At an interview, you never want your body language to contradict your words, this makes you appear like a liar. The first impression, or the first few minutes of your interview are the most lasting.

The Handshake: your hands should be clean and well manicured, and free of perspiration. You want to allow the interviewer to initiate the handshake, which should match the interviewer in firmness, do not give a firmer handshake than them. Smile at the interviewer and look them in the eyes. It should last between two to five seconds. When departing the interview, the handshake may last longer, smile and lean forward as you shake.

Here are a few things you will want to avoid at an interview:

Clasping your hands behind your head
Adjusting your tie constantly
Slouching in your chair
Pulling your collar away
Picking at your face or outfit
Tight smiles or tension in face
Little eye contact
Wrinkling your eyebrows
Rapidly nodding your head
Any nervous tics
Crossing your ankles – means withholding information
Crossing your legs away from the interviewer- toward is ok
Crossing one ankle over the other knee
Crossing your interviewers personal space
Avoid grinning idiotically
Gnawing on one’s lips absentmindedly
“Faking” a cough during a tough question
Folding or crossing your arms
Avoid compulsive jabbing the floor or desk with your foot
Loud, obnoxious laughter

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Diversity, diversity, diversity! Some people, political types in particular, are trying to make “diversity” our defining characteristic. Has anyone thought of approaching the topic from the point of “commonality”, a bonding point of view, rather than “diversity”, a dividing point of view? Using the term “diversity” appears to me to mask a hidden and potentially sinister agenda to divide and control us. The parties pursuing this line seem more interested in playing the “blame game” and law suits by using “diversity” to categorize color group rather than individual capability.

We are all unique because DNA has billions of variations which make us so, but our opportunities are not. Humans share only a few dozen needs and desires, at best, but we have a history describing how others have solved similar problems. However, today’s use of the term “diversity” tends to make some feel like victims who only use history as an excuse.

Positive self-worth is an important attribute to every person, but it comes from assuming responsibility for tasks and seeing them completed successfully. Without responsibility, we drift in a sea of self-doubt, but many are using “diversity” as a way to avert this responsibility.

“Sensitivity training” is a negative method assuming certain color groups must have special treatments for special needs. Bull! We are all special and should be treated accordingly. Special treat of sensitive groups simply allows them excuses and the escape from responsibility. The basics of Management 101 states – “don’t give responsibility without authority, or authority without responsibility.” That’s the training needed in place of “sensitivity”.

The United States thrives on individuality which has been the sparkplug of our society. When we meld this individuality with teamwork, as in companies and corporations, we have a powerful engine. Combining individual initiative and other talents with organizational management has led us to become a world leader.

Why not stress “Commonality?” Let’s find ways to cooperate and multiply our individual talents to accomplish meaningful tasks. Let’s look at what each can provide to gain the mutual goal? Let’s join together to:

* Define mutual needs/wants, desires.
* Gather resources available.
* Develop, build, execute, and monitor a plan to this end.

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When I saw the January issue of Entrepreneur Magazine I was thrilled. Cover copy had a teaser on it to the effect that entrepreneurs had been surveyed and inside were their answers. I was certain that, finally, someone was paying attention to entrepreneurs who were striving for a successful business. It was time to hear from us little guys!

I can’t tell you how surprised I was as I began to read the article. Their idea of an “entrepreneur” and mine were as different as night and day. I always classified an entrepreneur as someone like the “Mom and Pop” coffee shop around the corner, the family run produce market in town, or the 18 to 24 year old who had come up with a fantastic “gizmo” and was scooped up into a corporation as their newest genius. Let me give you a quote from the article that will clue you into its idea of an “entrepreneur”.

To explain the method used for the survey they state, “Entrepreneur magazine and PricewaterhouseCoopers “Entrepreneurial Challenges Survey” is an annual telephone survey of more than 300 CEOs of privately held, U.S.-based businesses recognized for their sustained, rapid growth. They average $31.5 million in annual revenue with an average of 185 employees, and have an ongoing annual growth rate of more than 23 percent……”

That definitely was not my picture of an entrepreneur. I don’t know too many entrepreneurs who average $31.5 million annually, or employ 185 people. To me, that’s a pretty successful company on its way to being a corporation. We should all be such entrepreneurs!

At any rate, I continued reading and I must say the information was worth the read, and the business of doing business can apply to those of us who aren’t quite making that $31.5 million per year yet. Here’s what the survey discovered.

What were considered their biggest challenges for 2006?

* 73% – Retention of key workers
* 38% – Developing new products/services
* 36% – Expansion to domestic markets
* 35% – Increased productivity
* 28% – Upgrading technology
* 23% – Creating business alliances
* 21% – Better management of cash flow
* 14% – Expansion outside the U.S.
* 13% – Improving risk management
* 11% – Finding new financing
* 11% – Buying another company or launching a spinoff
* 7% – Preparing company for sale
* 2% – Going public

Now when you stop and think about it, that’s pretty much what most entrepreneurs think about each year. Maybe not to the extent of expanding to foreign markets or launching a spinoff, but to keep your business perking along the road of improvement – all the rest are considered.

The next part of the survey was interesting because entrepreneurs were given a list of several “wild-card” factors that could affect business in 2006. When asked which three would be most harmful to their business, here’s what they said:

* 47% – Unstable U.S. economy
* 43% – Rising health-care costs
* 41% – Shortage of qualified workers
* 40% – Weak market demand
* 24% – Rising oil/energy costs
* 24% – Rising interest rates
* 22% – New government regulations
* 18% – Weaker capital spending
* 14% – Weakening world economy
* 12% – Increased global competition
* 11% – Decreased access to capital
* 10% – Sudden drop in U.S. real estate market
* 10% – Tax increases
* 9% – Inflation

So maybe my entrepreneurs and those surveyed are not really that much different in thinking. The outlook of most entrepreneurs is probably optimistic, or will be unless more unforeseen disasters strike.

Even after the huge devastation of 9/11, within two quarters we were back to the same level of optimism as we had before. People get used to dealing with tough circumstances and factor them in, but are not swayed by them. When you really think about it; isn’t that what most entrepreneurs are like?

If they’re not, then they aren’t entrepreneurs by my way of thinking.

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No matter what type of business you’re in or what position you hold, you must be able to sell your ideas to others.

If you’re the owner, then you have to sell your ideas to your employees or your board of directors. If you’re an employee of a business then you must be able to sell your ideas to your boss, your company, or your clients. It seems that in this life, no matter whether it’s in business, relationships, or parenthood you had better be adept at selling your ideas to others.

It isn’t hard to master this procedure but it takes practice. The first and most important rule of thumb is to remember that one’s credibility and power to make the desired changes must be earned. Here are some specific points to remember:

* Be absolutely positive that you understand every aspect related to your proposal. If there are obstacles within your organization to your idea, find a way around them before you make your suggestions. Then when they are raised, you can come up with a solution.

* Know who or what sections of your business may be affected negatively by your idea. Then find a way to modify it so that the organization can get all or most of the benefits without any parties getting hurt.

* Be aware of your own credibility. Often, it’s the presenter more than what is presented that is judged.

* Limit the number of suggestions made. This will increase your credibility if you’ve prioritized your ideas before trying to sell them.

* When you want to be taken seriously, you must use the rules for developing influence. The Four Rs; Role, Respect, Relationships, and Rhetoric.

Make sure your role is that of a clear advocate. Gain the respect you need through hard work and dedication to your responsibilities. Form alliances that are based on mutual respect and hard work. Finally, know exactly what you are proposing and all the implications of your idea.

The ability to sell your ideas to others is a valuable asset to your life and understanding how it’s done is easy. No matter whether you’re dealing with your peers, your business, your children, or your significant other – your ability to sell your idea will be used so hone this tool well.

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Budgets and personal finances are not most people’s favorite topics, and certainly not one of mine. Even bank executives have problems in this area, but if you’re an entrepreneur so do you. You’re concentrating so much time on your business, your personal checkbook takes a back seat. Then one day you are met with the startling fact that you’re not saving enough for lean times and you panic.

Well, just apply your professional talents to the situation and become your own personal CFO. By using your CFO eyes on the situation, it somehow tempers the pain of dealing with your own money. To get started, here are 5 rules for treating your personal finances like a business:

1. Be Your Own Board of Directors. To make good decisions, you must know what you’re trying to achieve. In business, Board of Directors write mission statements to keep the company on track with goals. At home, it’s up to you to define your mission and make sure you’re fulfilling it by writing down your goals. Not just your financial goals either, but your “life” goals.

2. Know Your Operating Costs. Do you know what you spend every month on average? Businesses do because they base their budgets on historic spending patterns. Most people, however, don’t know what it costs to keep their lives running. You can make out detailed budgets, but find out at the end of the month that you haven’t stuck to it. So instead of doing a budget that dictates how much to spend, do a “cash flow statement” that records how much you actually spend each month broken into several categories.

3. Know Your Net Worth. Companies measure progress toward goals through balance sheets which list their assets and liabilities. Your net worth is your balance sheet where you list everything that you own. That means your checking and savings accounts, investments, car, house, etc. minus everything you owe. Track your net worth quarterly to make sure you’re moving toward your personal goals. Without this step, you might not see the impact of your money decisions until it’s too late.

4. Forecast Money Decisions Results. When a business makes important decisions, they use a process called “scenario planning”. They look at the possible outcomes of one choice compare to another. You can use the same process to make smart money decisions. For any choice, pick two options, and then look at what each answer would do to your cash flow and net worth. Remember, there are no “good” or “bad” choices – only choices that put you closer or farther from your goals.

5. Track Progress by Annual Reports. Just as companies assess their progress in their annual reports, you need to review your list of priorities every year. Have you accomplished any goals? Have your spending patterns changed? Did you spend less than you earned? Did you save as much as you planned?

You need to treat your money like you treat your business. Give it the time it deserves, because in the end the time you spend is really an investment in yourself and your dreams.

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As I said in my last column, like it or not we are all salesmen. Our lives are made up of a series of “sales presentations”, otherwise known as presenting ourself in the best light possible. Whether we’re out for a job interview, trying for a raise, or just convincing our employees that a job must be accomplished – you are making a presentation.

To become masterful at it can be summed up in the acronym IPRESENT! In my last column we covered the steps “I” through “E”:

* I – involve your audience
* P – prepare your audience
* R – research your arsenal
* E – explain “Why?”

Let’s finish the acronym today.

“S” stands for State (mental) Management. The mental state of the successful presenter must be congruent with the message. If you don’t believe that, try giving a pep talk to your sales force when you’re depressed – it won’t work! You must be aware of and manage your own mental state and that of your listeners or communication channels will not be open. I don’t have space to elaborate on methods of doing this, but here are a few key hints. First, “AAI” – act as if. Act the way you want to feel, it’s amazing how this works. Use music to set the mood if necessary, dress the part, and reduce your anxiety by whatever method works for you. Remember that you’re the one in charge, and presentation mastery isn’t about being perfect – it’s about achieving your objective.

“E” is for eliminating the unknowns. Fear of public speaking ranks high on most people’s list of worst fears. You may find you’re unusually nervous, develop poor voice tone or negative body language, and be unable to respond to audience feedback. Managing your anxiety permits you to focus on your audience and their needs. The basic approach to do this is the asking ourselves a list of “what if?” questions. Another way to overcome our fear is to take ownership of the situation. Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. Double check your notes, and prepare yourself.

“N” is fudging a little by using the second letter of the word “know” – as in kNow Your Audience. Whether it is one person or many that you are presenting to you must do three basic things: Meet their needs, reduce tension, and avoid mistakes. A good knowledge of the listeners will give you a chance to tailor your objectives to meet their needs. This also allows you to reduce the “audience-presenter” tension so they will focus on what you’re saying. With a clear knowledge of your audience’s views you’ll be sensitive to potential “hot buttons”.

“T” stands for “Tailor Your Presentation Throughout”. Boring listeners leads to missed objectives or total failure. You must be flexible and responsive to your audience. To do this you need to use techniques that will give you audience feedback; you must diagnose the cause of the problem you’re addressing, and finally you must choose the solution to act upon.

When you’re presenting watch for non-verbal behavior such as clock-watching, foot-tapping, and cat-napping. When any of these are present get some feedback with, “Is it too warm in here?” or “Should I pick up the pace?” That breaks the attention or lack of, of the audience and brings them back to your talk. One important thing to remember is that the mind can absorb no more than the seat can endure. Sometimes a simple thing like taking a short stretch break will solve the problem.

The techniques for achieving your most desired outcomes are at your fingertips, when you remember that life is a series of presentations.

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Electronic bill presentment and payment (EBPP) started showing signs of renewed life in 2003, after its introduction in the late 90s. It took a few years for the idea to take off, and industry experts are considering 2003 a success, but a high rate of adoption by we average Joes and Janes is still a number of years away.

If you examine the electronic bill payment landscape you will note that the current usage surge is largely by the Generation X demographic, in spite of the fact that a single-source option is not yet in place. Forecasters thought that banks would probably be the single-source option, but there is still no solid consolidated infrastructure among those banks that have systems in place. The way it’s working now is very much like the way automated teller machines (ATMs) used to operate, that is providing access only to certain cardholders with specific affiliations.

While banks are taking steps toward consolidating infrastructure, in 2004 we will likely see a continued proliferation of individual organizations, where each has its own presentment and payment strategies and solutions. Consumers will have to go to multiple sites to pay their bills, and for the short term will put up with that system.

For the long-term though, the single-source EBPP system is going to be the process of choice for consumers. Eventually, they’ll want to receive and pay all bills electronically from the single site, but that won’t happen until the above mentioned consolidation.

Many banks will work overtime during 2004 to educate consumers about the benefits of online banking, because it will be a cost saving to them. There is a lot o upfront costs to banks and financial institutions, the ultimate benefits of processing payments through the Fed’s automated clearing house (ACH) instead of through the Postal Service are immense. It all boils down to a cost-saving issue.

I wonder how long it will take the average entrepreneur to embrace this new EBPP? Will you and I be comfortable maintaining a web site or some type of electronic presence so that we can electronically bill our customers/clients for goods or services? Perhaps this is how our forefathers felt when Henry Ford tried to replace the horse and buggy with his auto machine, but I must say I find a certain comfort in the good, old-fashioned “paper trail”.

I must confess that I do use the electronic trail on occasion, especially when I know the mail won’t beat the due date on my supplier’s invoice, but to transact all commerce via EBPP is another matter. One must admit however, that at least 1/3 of our office space these days is dedicated to files filled with paper.

Still, that old “paper trail” is comforting – much like the cookie crumbs dropped while walking in the woods that assure us we’ll find our way home again.

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Do you have long-term projects with short-term expectations? If you do, that is a sure path to frustration and failure.

Lifestyle goals such as exercise and healthy diet have to become habits in order to be effective. Career change also takes time and planning, and it doesn’t happen overnight.

Your world has shifted. There’s voice mail, e-mail, pagers, and faxes that have made a “waiting” period unacceptable and almost obsolete. With information immediately available, we expect relationships and goal achievement to be done the same. As you read this you know that it is unreasonable to expect that, don’t you? We’ve been led by advertisers to believe that we deserve immediate gratification, and that it is readily and effortlessly available!

When you want to train a puppy, you know that it’s going to take time and consistent reinforcement. You’re ready for that, because you want your puppy to behave in an acceptable way. Why then, are you so patient with the puppy and so hard on yourself?

When you plant seeds in the garden, you tend them, water them, hope for sunlight and nurture them. Are you nurturing yourself?

The best way to move gently and effectively towards your goals is to take a reasonable approach. Break your long-term project goal into sub-goals. Break it into doable, short-term chunks. Today prepare the soil; tomorrow plant the seeds.

Each action you take and each step is satisfying because you know that it is contributing to the completion of your goal. You cannot rush Mother Nature with your garden, and the same is true for your goals.

This process is much more than “bloom where you’re planted”, because when you’re the gardener you choose what to plant and how to nurture it. Do the same for yourself, and grow yourself beautifully. Your goals will be accomplished in due time, and you won’t end up up-tight and frazzled.

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A growing number of us can now expect to live close to or past 100 years, so 50 has become midlife. Today instead of approaching midlife with the obligations of work and family, baby boomers are looking to a second half they pretty much design as they wish. For many of them, the results don’t look much like what their parents and grandparents called retirement.

Whether because of layoffs or because they’re weary of their jobs, many are considering new possibilities for their post-50 years and that includes starting a business of their own. Many of these business endeavors combine their passions and talents into a revenue-producing career. This marriage fits their goals in ways a salaried job rarely could. Some work full-time, but some work part of a day, week, month, or year. Many are pursuing work similar to what they did when employed, while others are staking out entirely new careers.

The obstacles that post-50s face in starting a business are not substantially different from those anyone else faces when becoming self-employed. Without exception, most consider their age as an advantage in communicating credibility to clients and customers.

What a difference from the ageism experienced by so many on the job! No wonder the U.S. Small Business Administration is finding the ages of start-up entrepreneurs is trending older.

I know of a friend who after a 30-year career as a journalist found his work shifting from working on articles to working with administrators. The bureaucratic and political hassles that came with the job of editor of a consumer magazine were no longer what he wanted.

Figuring there was a good chance he’d live to 90 or beyond, he started thinking about what he wanted to do with the next third of his life. Luckily he’d developed a passion for pottery in his 40′s and the more he did it, the more he liked it. So when offered a chance to retire early at 63, he jumped at the chance to turn his hobby into a second career.

His biggest challenge was to find ways to market his work, and he found doing studio sales several times a year worked for him. He and his wife purchased a 20-acre home in Virginia, and remodeled a four-stall barn into a studio workshop and living quarters. Three years later, between the studio sales, galleries that carry his work, annual crafts shows, his Web site and some great publicity his business is growing well.

Best of all he loves what he does and envisions doing it until they carry him out. He sees no reason for not having another 30-year career after his first. More and more “old gray mares” are following the same path. So if you’re nearing or are 50, you are coming up to bat in the second inning of your life. Why not hit it out of the park!

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