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Winter 2009
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MINDING OVERWHAT MATTERS:
LEVERAGE YOURPUBLIC RELATIONS
HOST OF WCVE’SPERSPECTIVE,
BARBARA BERLINWITH OTHER KEY INDUSTRY PLAYERS
DECIPHER MEDIA PROMOTIONS,SOCIAL NETWORKS
& THE BLOGOSPHERE
TIP MANIANEW IDEAS FOR ABRAND NEW YEAR
WAYSTO CUTCOSTS6
CONCEPTSFOR BETTERBUSINESS8
3SMARTSALESSTRATEGIES JEANNE BOISINEAU
CASTING
HANDCRAFT SERVICES
PEDIATRIC CONNECTIONINCORPORATED
BRASS BEDS OF VIRGINIA
COME TO ORDERPERSONAL ORGANIZING
COBB TECHNOLOGIES
+
VENTURE FORUM’S
2009GREATER RICHMOND
COMPANIES TO WATCH
AHEAD OF THE CURVE: RICHMOND’S DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT IS BOOMING
W O R K M A G A Z I N E 1w w w . w o r k m a g a z i n e . b i zW i n t e r 2 0 0 9
ShopTalk PAGE 4Filtrona Acquires Michigan Foam Product Maker
German Automotive Supplier $5 Million ProductionPlant Creates 50+ New Jobs in Chesterfield County
Smart Investments: Virginia Schools Ranked Among 100 Best Values
Virginia Earns A+ for Academics
VCU Medical Center One ofTop 100 Hospitals
for Cardiovascular CareAfton Chemical Corp. Rich-
mond’s Research and Development Facility
to ExpandCapital One to Buy Chevy Chase Bank
Wunderlich Securities Inc.Acquires Anderson & Strudwick Inc.
Sabra Will Create 260 Jobs in 2010Bass Pro in Hanover County
JetBlue Begins Nonstop Service to Orlando, Florida
RIC’s $800 Million Economic ImpactReynolds Crossing Opens in Henrico County
White Oak Village to Add Hyatt PlaceBusiness First: Tips and Wishes
for a Prosperous New YearSix Ways to Cut Costs
Table of ContentsC a r e e r L i f e i n t h e G r e a t e r R i c h m o n d R e g i o n V o l . 5 / I s s u e 3
From the Partnership .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 ShopTalk .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Momentum ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Innovators .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Leadership .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 Arts / Culture .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 Music / Food .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35 Shopping .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 Sports .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 Movers & Shakers .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 Partnership News ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40Partnership Investor Profile .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41MediaWorks .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 Travel & Leisure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43 See & Do .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
PAGE 16
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WORKMAGAZINE
WORKMAGAZINE PROFILE
Minding Over What MattersLeverage Your Public Relations. Stay Relevant. Stay on Point.And Never Stay Still. In the highly competitive sport of publicrelations there are only two teams: those who create contentand those who create media. Regional firms discuss the lateststrategies for achieving success with savvy PR.
Leadership: Preparing Yourself to be a Leader
Although leadership has been defined many ways, it is still an amorphous term that means different things to differentpeople. Learning from good leaders and how to avoid thosecharacteristics exhibited by the poor or toxic leaders.
The Martin AgencyThe GEICO Caveman. FreeCreditReport.com jingles. “WhatCan Brown Do For You?” These pop culture hits have a fewcommonalities: they are memorable, they are recognizedacross America and they all grew out of ideas born at Richmond’s The Martin Agency.
+PAGE 42 MEDIAWORKS: Trending Mass Marketing
A Million Things That Have to be DoneDr. Linda Powell Pruitt serves as president of LeadershipMetro Richmond, a position she assumed in 2007. She isthe fourth LMR president in the organization’s 27 years.
Greater Richmond’s Companies to Watch 2009 With uncanny accuracy in previous years, Venture Forum hasselected those innovative companies with the most promise of success. Unlike other awards that are based on historicalactivities, Companies to Watch forecasts businesses deemedto have the potential to become national leaders and significant contributors to the area.
COVER STORY
2 W O R K M A G A Z I N E w w w . w o r k m a g a z i n e . b i z 2 0 0 9 W i n t e r
InnovatorsPAGE 21
Jeanne Boisineau Casting
HandCraft Services
Pediatric Connection Incorporated
Brass Beds of Virginia
Come to Order Personal Organizing
Cobb Technologies
MOMENTUMCONCEPTS • TRENDS • TRAILBLAZERS
CREATIVE WORK SPACEVENTURE RICHMOND
SPECIAL SECTION AFTER PAGE 30
business innovation / career strategy / creative living
PAGE 9
PAGE 10
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PAGE 15
Bringing Up Baby (and Business)For working women across the nation, a newbaby no longer means exiting the workplace.
Learning By DoingThe coaching industry has capitalized onthe demand for greater job satisfaction.
Legal BriefHow Other People’s Blogs Can Land You in Court
WebChatterAmuse thyself.
Career, Take TwoThink you’re too old for a new career? Think again.
Trade Secrets: Text & TechJob Search Bloopers by Laura DeCarlo andSusan Guarneri ALSO: I have antivirus installed,but I’m still getting infected.
Strategic Alliances vs Cold CallsInside contemporary salesmanship
Palari Publishing LLP was establishedin 1998 in Richmond, Virginia. Palari is aforward-thinking, independent, royalty-based publisher committed to producinginnovative periodicals, fiction and nonfic-tion books. Through our hardcover andtrade paperback originals, Palari provides
authoritative, well-writtennonfiction that addressestopical consumer needs andfiction with an emphasis onintelligence and quality.
Advertise in WORKMAGAZINE
WORKMAGAZINE is published in the months ofJULY, OCTOBER, JANUARY & APRILwww.palaribooks.com
www.workmagazine.biz
RICHMOND’SDOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT UPDATE 2009
Contact: Sales8 0 4 - 3 5 5 - 1 0 3 5 [email protected]
WINTER2 0 0 9
PAGE 12
For Your DeskWhen it comes to internet radio—I amstymied with indecision. Or perhaps I’mhopelessly in a rut. I haven’t decided yet.
WORKMAGAZINE
WORKMAGAZINE: Career Life in the GreaterRichmond Region is a quarterly publicationowned and operated by Palari PublishingLLP (The Work Factory, 1113 West MainStreet, Richmond, VA, 23220 Toll-free:866-570-6724) in association with theGreater Richmond Partnership Inc. Allrights reserved. Reproduction in whole orin part of any text, photograph or illustra-tion without written permission from thepublisher is prohibited.
General comments, story suggestions andletters to the editor for publication consid-eration should be directed to Ted Randlerat [email protected].
Publisher/Executive EditorTed Randler
Publisher/Senior EditorDavid Smitherman
VP of Marketing/AdvertisingDave Perry
Managing EditorRebecca Jones
Senior WritersChristina Couch
Donna C. Gregory
Department EditorsDevorah Ben-David
Jan DanielShannon O’Neill
Paul Spicer
Contributing WritersDana Callahan
Gina Cavallo CollinsMike Fonseca
Chris GatewoodMark MatthewsJulie McGuireJoan Tupponce
Mike WardJennifer Yeager
PhotographyGriffin Davis
Stephanie GarrChris Owens
InternsAtosa Dabney
Rachel Gregory
The Greater Richmond Partnership Inc. is anot-for-profit economic development teamrepresenting the City of Richmond and thecounties of Chesterfield, Hanover andHenrico. The Partnership’s office is located at
901 E. Byrd St., Suite 801 Richmond, VA 23219-4070 phone 804-643-3227 or toll-free at 1-800-229-6332 fax 804-343-7167
Marketing MavenNetwork much? Or network too much?
PAGE 14
��
Everybody Loves Pop MusicW
IN
GF
IE
LD
You’re going through your day and you’ve got that tune stuck in your head. It can be anysong, a favorite chorus or maybe it was used in the soundtrack of a film. Surprisingly,sometimes it’s a song that you actually don’t like. But it’s there, wafting between yourthoughts and interactions with others. As consumers of media, we are highly susceptibleto smartly-packaged experiences, and pop songs are the epitome of products created tobe memorable and meaningful to the masses.
Think about it. They are targeted demographically, designed for quick emotionalassessment and engineered to tantalize whether through a musical hook or clever catch-phrase that has some type of relevant meaning.
In this issue we take a look at the current state of public relations and note howmuch successful PR shares similar characteristics to the well-designed media nugget of apop song. Like top-forty hits, smart public relations entails knowing youraudience—designing your message to be readily assessable and relevant.
But here’s the interesting part, pop songs are designed for repetition and viral promo-tion. Without these two elements, pop songs wouldn’t be able to stick in your head. Themedia experience requires that you hear the song several times so it becomes familiar.And, as usually happens, if you like the song you will share the experience with anotherfriend or associate—thus the growth of a pop singer’s fan-base.
The same is true for the savvy execution of a PR strategy. It’s not enough to simplywrite a press release, blast it to media outlets and then expect to receive interest. Wediscovered competition for media portals is as fierce as, well, pop music hits. You musttarget your ongoing efforts to the appropriate media channels and also try to create a viralbuzz, such that other media picks up the message. This means a strategy of tapping intoconventional event marketing, print and television outlets as well as creating a presenceon the web through social networks, blogs and portals.
Whether you are comfortable with media attention or not, chances are, your compe-tition is developing all available means to communicate their story and promote theirbrand. Who and how become the key. For, as all things media these days, the PR modelhas evolved into a highly-fragmented sphere of specialized outlets, delivery devices andsocial networks that didn’t exist five years ago.
Fortunately, just as there are many new ways to promote your message, creativeideas for connecting your brand to relevant consumers are being developed by the bevyof talent in Greater Richmond. From capitalizing on new media to smart maneuvering oftraditional publicity venues, the high caliber of PR strategy created in the region isimpressive and readily accessible to most companies that need a clever campaign.
Greg WingfieldPresident, CEO
Greater Richmond Partnership Inc.Whether you are comfortable with media attention or not, chances are, your competition
is developing all available means to communicate their story to promote their brand.
W O R K M A G A Z I N E 3w w w . w o r k m a g a z i n e . b i zW i n t e r 2 0 0 9
4 W O R K M A G A Z I N E w w w . w o r k m a g a z i n e . b i z 2 0 0 9 W i n t e r
VCU Medical Center One of Top 100 Hospitals for Cardiovascular CareThe Virginia Commonwealth University
Medical Center has been identified as
one of the top 100 U.S. hospitals that set
the nation’s benchmarks for cardiovas-
cular care, according to a Thomson
Reuters study. It is one of only two
Virginia hospitals named in the study.
The annual study, the 2008
Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospitals:
Cardiovascular Benchmarks for
Success, examined the performance of
nearly 1,000 hospitals by analyzing clin-
ical outcomes for patients diagnosed
with heart failure and heart attacks and
for those who received coronary bypass
surgery and angioplasties.
“This recognition reaffirms our
position as a national leader in
advanced cardiac care,” said Eugene P.
Trani, VCU president and president
and chair of the VCU Health System,
who underwent quintuple bypass
surgery at the VCU Medical Center this
past summer.
Filtrona Acquires MichiganFoam Product MakerRichmond-based Filtrona has agreed to
acquire the business and assets of St. Charles,
Mich.-based Lendell Manufacturing, Inc., a
developer and manufacturer of specialized
hydrophilic foam products.
Filtrona’s bonded
fiber components division
will be renamed and
launched as Filtrona Porous
Technologies, comprised
of both Filtrona Fibertec
and Lendell. Filtrona
Porous Technologies, head-
quartered in Richmond,
will operate as a developer
and manufacturer of
liquid handling and other
specialty, porous compo-
nents for use in consumer
and professional end-use
devices.
“The addition of
Lendell will conform well
with Filtrona’s strategy of
becoming the premier
global supplier of specialty
solutions and components
to consumer and profes-
sional product applica-
tions,” said Mark Harper, Filtrona’s chief exec-
utive of the $35 million deal. Lendell special-
izes in products for medical wound care, agri-
cultural, industrial and consumer uses.
Smart Investments:Virginia Schools RankedAmong 100 Best ValuesKiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine’sDecember issue listed six Virginia schools
among the 100 best values in public colleges.
Schools making the lists combine “outstanding
economic value with top-notch education,”
according to Kiplinger. The College of
William and Mary is ranked fifth among public
schools. The top 100 list include Virginia Tech
(15th), the University of Mary Washington
(23rd), James Madison University (28th) and
George Mason University (46th). The University
of Richmond was also cited as 22nd among
best bargains in private schools.
The American Federa-
tion of Teachers’ report,
which examine states’
academic standards as
required by the federal
No Child Left Behind
law, gave Virginia a
perfect score. The
commonwealth was
the only state to earn
an A+. States’ stan-
dards are evaluated for
clarity, specificity and
content. Virginia met
100 percent of the
criteria for its Stan-
dards of Learning in English, math, science
and history at all grade levels and in all
subject areas.
Lendellspecializes
in products
for medicalwound care,
agricultural,industrial
andconsumer
uses.
Virginia Earns A+ for Academics
Ept automotive has leased 46,300 square feet ofmanufacturing space in River’s Bend in Chester-field County for a new facility to produce elec-trical connectors for the automotive industry.
The facility, involving an estimated $5 million ininvestment, opened in October and is expectedto create more than 50 jobs during the nextthree years.
Ept (Electronic Precision Technology) automotiveis a subsidiary of ept GmbH & KG, Peiting,Germany, located about 60 miles southwest ofMunich. A global supplier to the automotiveindustry for integrated solutions for electricalconnection technology, the firm has more than700 employees.
Willy Rau, president of ept america, was selectedin February to establish the new productionfacility.
Thomas Guglhör, president of ept automotive,said “We are very excited about our new produc-tion facility to be established in ChesterfieldCounty. Virginia is perfectly located as a bridgebetween our parent company in Germany and ourmany automotive customers in North America.The support we received from state, regional andlocal economic development officials goes backseveral years and helped make our decision aconfident one.”
Mr. Rau added, “The Greater Richmond areaoffers a pool of experienced, skilled workers andmanagers that will contribute quickly to ourmission. Having operated another business in thearea for many years, I have great respect forVirginia’s business climate and the productivity ofthe local workforce.”
German Automotive Supplier$5 Million Production Plant Creates 50+ New Jobsin Chesterfield County
W O R K M A G A Z I N E 5w w w . w o r k m a g a z i n e . b i zW i n t e r 2 0 0 9
Afton Chemical Corp. Richmond’s Research and Development Facility to Expand When completed, the new two-story
building will add approximately 30,600 sq ft
to the existing 250,000 sq ft research center.
The new addition will provide office,
laboratory and mechanical test spaces in
order to meet the needs of OEMs and
customers in the driveline market. Construc-
tion on the new building is expected to be
complete by the third quarter of 2009.
Afton Chemical Corporation is a
wholly owned subsidiary of NewMarket
Corporation. Afton Chemical develops
and manufactures petroleum additives
that heighten the effectiveness of lubri-
cating oils and fuels to enhance their
performance in machinery, vehicles and
other equipment.
Afton’s chemical technology helps
fuels burn cleaner, engines run smoother
and machines last longer in custom-formu-
lated chemical blends to market-general
additive components.
The Richmond-based brokerage and invest-
ment banking firm Anderson & Strudwick
Inc. will add more than 130 employees to
the Memphis-based Wunderlich. Anderson
& Strudwick will operate as a
division of Wunderlich.
Anderson & Strudwick
has offices in Richmond, Fred-
ericksburg, Charlottesvile and
Norfolk, Va.; Charlotte;
Columbia and Charleston,
S.C.; Knoxville, Tenn.; and
Bethlehem and Canonsburg,
Pa. The acquisition will give
Wunderlich 250 financial
advisers and 60 capital
markets professionals.
Wunderlich has five primary business
lines: private client wealth management;
asset management; investment banking;
equity capital markets and institutional
fixed-income trading. Anderson & Strud-
wick provides asset management, securities
brokerage, investment banking, insurance
products and related financial services.
Wunderlich Securities Inc.Acquires Anderson & Strudwick Inc.
Creating an estimated 260 jobs, Sabra
Dipping Co. plans to launch operations in the
110,000-square-foot plant by mid-2010. The
company manufactures kosher, vegetarian
food and plans to invest $59.3 million to
build a food-processing plant at the Ruffin
Mill Industrial Park in Chesterfield County.
“Sabra has emerged as a top brand in
the growing dips category," Sabra Dipping Co.
Chief Executive Ronen Zohar said. ‘We are
projecting growth and planning exciting
innovation.”
Based in Astoria, N.Y., Sabra is a joint
venture between PepsiCo and Strauss Group,
which is Israel's second-largest food and
beverage company and employs more than
11,000 people in 19 countries.
Sabra Will Create 260 Jobs in 2010
Capital One to Buy Chevy Chase BankCapital One Financial Corp. announced inDecember its plans to buy Chevy Chase Bank,a privately owned company that would put thecredit-card giant into Virginia's banking busi-ness with branches as far south as Char-lottesville and Fredericksburg. Currently, thecompany's state banking presence is limited
to branches at its corporate headquarters inMcLean and operations center in GoochlandCounty. The $520 million deal would add theWashington region to a banking business withalmost 1,000 branches in key markets,including New York, New Jersey, Louisianaand Texas.
Bass Pro Shops, recently voted the #1
outdoor retailer in America by SportingGoods Business Magazine, celebrated its
52nd store’s grand opening in October. The
new Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World is the
signature tenant for the 186-acre Winding
Brook development project located at the
intersection of I-95 and Lewistown Road in
Hanover County.
The grand opening celebration was
preceded by a special evening event where
area conservation groups
set up display booths to
educate customers on
their efforts and projects.
Bass Pro Shops Outdoor
World donated a portion
of the night’s sales to
benefit the National
Fish Initiative’s “More
Fish” campaign.
Grand opening fest-
ivities included special
exhibits, celebrity guests,
store-wide savings and
fantastic giveaways. Bass-
master Classic champ Woo Daves and Bass
Pro Shops Pro Staffer Chris Daves, along
with legendary fly fishing icon Lefty Kreh,
were in attendance to share some fly
fishing secrets.
A major catalog and Internet retailer,
Bass Pro Shops, headquartered in Spring-
field, MO, currently has 51 retail locations
across the United States and Canada. The
stores attract more than 100 million visitors
a year.
Bass Pro in Hanover County
Anderson &
Strudwick Inc. will add
more than130
employees to the
Memphis-based
Wunderlich.
Woo Daves and Bass Pro Shops
Pro Staffer Chris Daves, along with legendary
fly fishing icon Lefty Kreh were in attendance to
share some of flyfishing secrets.
6 W O R K M A G A Z I N E w w w . w o r k m a g a z i n e . b i z 2 0 0 9 W i n t e r
Hyatt Place, a design-forward hotel with the
emphasis on “style, innovation, and The Hyatt
Touch® within your reach,” is slated to open at
The Shops at White Oak Village in the spring
of 2009.
The hotel will offer spacious guestrooms with
a 42" flat-panel HDTV, Hyatt’s signature Grand
Bed,™ a plush Cozy Corner oversized sofa-
sleeper that is separated from the sleeping
area, and complimentary high-speed Wi-Fi
Internet access throughout the hotel.
Henrico County’s newest shopping mall
opened on October 13th. Located at the inter-
section of I-64 and Laburnum Avenue, The
Shops at White Oak Village offers 800,000
square feet of shopping and leisure space.
White Oak Villageto Add Hyatt Place
Reynolds Crossing Opens in Henrico County Reynolds Crossing, a 90-acre development
across from Altria Group’s headquarters near
West Broad Street and Interstate 64, includes
a 100,000-square-foot medical building and a
200,000-square-foot office building which
opened this year, plus the region’s first Westin
hotel which will open January 2009. Bon
Secours is the anchor tenant in the four-story
medical building. Other tenants include
Commonwealth Dermatology, Cardiovascular
Associates of Virginia and Partner MD, a
concierge primary medical care practice. The
seven-story office building is 75 percent
leased. Alcoa took two floors. Other tenants
include the Reynolds Packaging Group, which
is part of a private-equity group, James River
Insurance and The McCammon Group, a media-
tion and arbitration firm.
RIC NEWS $800 MillionEconomic ImpactAccording to a report for the Capital
Region Airport Commission by Chmura
Economics & Analytics of Richmond, in
the past year Richmond International
Airport and its tenants contributed annual
sales of more than $800 million to the
local economy based on
the measurable benefits of
airport operations, busi-
ness efficiencies, visitor
spending and their associ-
ated ripple effects.
The report also indi-
cated that in 2007,
“these businesses directly
employed an estimated
2,526 workers with a total
economic output of $196.1
million. Tenants at the airport spent an
estimated $88.3 million in wages and
salaries and about $104.3 million per year
on materials, supplies and equipment—
with close to half (48 percent) of these
products and services purchasedfrom
firms located in the Richmond region.”
Tenants at the airport
spent an estimated$88.3 million
in wages and
salaries.JetBlue Airways has expanded its service
from Richmond International Airport with
the launch of the daily nonstop service to
Orlando, Florida. Fares between Richmond
and Orlando start at $69 each way for off-
peak travel. Orlando is JetBlue’s fourth low-
fare route from Richmond. The airline also
jets daily to Boston, Fort Lauderdale and
New York (JFK).
JetBlue Begins NonstopService to Orlando, Florida
Hyatt Place is a design-forward hotel with the emphasis on “style, innovation.”
The Shops at White Oak Village offers 800,000square feet of shopping and leisure space.
8 W O R K M A G A Z I N E w w w . w o r k m a g a z i n e . b i z 2 0 0 9 W i n t e r
Business First Greater Richmond is a collaborativeeffort that includes Chesterfield County, HenricoCounty, Hanover County and the City of Richmond.It is supported by the Greater Richmond Partner-ship, Inc. and the Greater Richmond Chamber.
www.businessfirstrichmond.com
As the economy slows and business costs
grow, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to
rely on earnings growth to improve the
bottom line. Astute managers are looking to
unlock the profit opportunities that lie hidden
within their businesses costs. They know the
impact of a 1 percent decrease in costs can equal
a 2 percent increase in profits—or 10 percent
more in top-line sales on typical margins.
Here are six simple ways you can start to
reduce your company’s expenses and find
extra profit:
1. Centralize purchasing. You may be
buying the same goods from different
suppliers, particularly if each department
seems to have its favorite suppliers. Centralize
purchasing to maximize discounts through
bulk purchasing power.
2. Get a second opinion. Obtain alterna-
tive quotes on everything. Advise existing
suppliers that you are going out to bid and
give them a chance to reduce their prices.
3. Call in a bad guy. Don’t allow the
person in daily contact with a supplier to
negotiate price. Use the good cop/bad cop
approach. The “bad cop” removes emotion
from the process and the “good cop” can
preserve the established, day-to-day relation-
ship with the vendor.
4. Ask for ideas. Take advantage of your
suppliers’ expertise and their suggestions on
how to improve the way you work together.
Would ordering weekly instead of daily
reduce their administrative costs? Would
they split the savings with you? Ask you
employees for ideas and incentivize them for
doing so.
5. Review product specifications. Ensure
that products being used do not exceed
requirements. Can you use second-hand
pallets for transportation? Recycled toner
cartridges?
6. Clean up. Are factory items such as
mats being cleaned more often than neces-
sary? You may be able to reduce the
frequency of cleaning while still maintaining
safety standards.
Six Ways to Cut CostsBusiness First Greater Richmond is a
regional economic development program
aimed at supporting the growth and
success of businesses who call the Rich-
mond region home. Since 2006, we’ve inter-
viewed more than 1,100 business leaders
who have shared their stories and opinions
on doing business in this market. The team
has responded to more than 250 specific
requests for assistance and supported
more than $42 million in new business
investment in the region.
The good news is that Richmond rates
highly as a place to do business and we’re
committed to working even harder to
support businesses large and small through
these challenging economic times.
Here are a few things to think about as
you embark on a new year.
Reflect: Take time to reflect on what
worked and what didn’t with your business
last year. Include your team and devote the
necessary time to seek the information and
resources you need to get to the root cause
of your successes or failures in any key
areas. Take a deep breath and move on.
Focus: Make sure you’re focused on
what’s happening with your customers AND
key suppliers and partners. Frequent
communication can help you avoid any
surprises and may open doors to new busi-
ness opportunities you didn’t know existed.
Remember the 80/20 rule. Ask key
customers for referrals; look for new ways to
work with suppliers and vendors. These are
the relationships that sustain your business.
Plan: Dust off (or write!) a business
plan. It doesn’t have to be extravagant. In
fact, a single page with key objectives and
benchmarks can serve as a guiding
beacon. There are tools and resources to
help you write a more comprehensive plan.
The Small Business Development Center at
the Greater Richmond Chamber is one
example. On-line resources like
www.sba.gov have a variety of templates
and tutorials to walk you through the
process. It’s not easy, but remember that
businesses don’t plan to fail, they fail to
plan. A current business plan is also a
necessity when seeking financing.
Manage: Manage your cash and
monitor expenses. Make sure your financial
information is in good order, manage your
receivables closely and stay in touch with
your creditors. There are savings opportuni-
ties everywhere, so be sure to look for
opportunities to renegotiate terms and get
new quotes from outside vendors. The
sidebar to the right has more details about
ways almost any business can reduce its
expenses in a variety of categories.
Lead: Often overlooked, but vital to
any business is leadership. We’re not
talking dictatorship here, but an organiza-
tion with a clear vision and direction and a
culture of open communication and
continuous improvement. Recognize
people making a difference.
Learn: Now is the perfect time to
increase your business knowledge or that
of key employees in your organization. Not
only can you take advantage of some time
you didn’t have available for educational
endeavors, it can be a real morale booster
for your top producers. Are there certifica-
tions specific to your industry? Is there
new technology to consider? Look to area
trade associations and local training
providers for customized training and
avoid travel expenses. Local community
colleges and universities offer many
options—including on-line course work to
keep those brain cells pumping.
Listen: If you don’t have a group of
trusted advisors, consider getting one. Even
the smallest business can benefit from an
informal outside advisory group. Look for
people who share your business philos-
ophy, but bring a new discipline or
expertise into the mix. Share your business
strategy and get their feedback.
Reach Out: The Richmond region has
a rich network of organizations and indi-
viduals committed to your business
success. A great place to start is the Busi-
ness First website at www.business-
firstrichmond.com to review a list of busi-
ness resources and request a visit from a
business advocate in your area.
Business Tips and Wishes for a Prosperous New Year
Lycia Rettig is a Director in the Richmond area forExpense Reduction Analysts, a worldwide consultingcompany that specializes in reducing overheadexpense with fees coming from the derived savings.
by Lycia Rettig