The My Own Business Board of Trustees is pleased to announce that Steve Jarvis has been elected President and CEO. Steve is an innovative thinker with a broad spectrum of high level management experience in online and in-classroom training of entrepreneurs. He has a solid record of success in e-business globalization, working with entrepreneurs from idea generation to successful IPO and/or acquisition. Steve holds a BS degree in electrical engineering at State University of NY, an MBA from the Anderson Graduate School of Management at UNM, a certificate in Strategic Management from Harvard Business School and a Certificate in Government Operations from the Brookings Institute.

(Click here for bio and more info)

There will always be a place for the "garage inventor" in the traditional entrepreneurial environment. This grass-roots process of innovation has fueled many products and services that we all now take for granted. Everything from HP and Apple computers to EBay and Google started that way and successfully became competitive in the global marketplace. These businesses had something in common with each other and many of the other past successful entrepreneurial ventures - they all started in Silicon Valley. Well, there's a "new kid on the block" and English is his/her second language. They may have learned that language as a precursor to attending a U.S. university, but they are now pursuing their dreams back in the old neighborhood - and I'm not just talking about the obvious locales of China, Japan, and India. Yes, it's true that most of the venture capital money still emanates from Silicon Valley but VCs and business leaders there, and elsewhere, are casting a wider net these days in search of the next "big idea".

• While VCs and business acquisition managers of established companies tighten their investment criteria to favor start-ups that have demonstrable products/services, customers, and a positive cash flow, they have formed/partnered with early stage investment companies so that they don't miss out on identifying the next "Bill Gates", cash flow or not, where ever it might be!



• Repatriated entrepreneurs are returning to their homeland and assembling a critical mass of Application Service Provider (ASP) expertise, thereby making it easier for even small companies, everywhere in the world, to access high quality business capabilities at more affordable wage rates.



• Continued expansion of high speed internet/communication networks to the far reaches of the globe have leveled the competitive playing field for outsourcing to an ever increasing number of ASPs and entrepreneurs in developing countries.



• Several large companies, notably Cisco Systems, have made it clear that their future growth will depend significantly on emerging markets outside of the U.S. and they are making large brick-and-mortar infrastructure investments in developing countries to nurture entrepreneurial development.



• English may still be the language of choice for commerce around the world but this MOBI website is already available in 3 other languages (French, Spanish and Mongolian) and is in the process of adding 4 more (Hindi, Arabic, German and Russian) in response to increased interest from around the globe.

More working Americans than ever are victims, or about-to-be victims, of downsizing; also known as "reduction in force", "made redundant" or "your job just went overseas." Scary questions begin to arise: Where do I go from here? How am I going to make my mortgage payment?

For a laid-off worker who doesn't have bright prospects of replacing his or her job, there is a possibility not to be overlooked: why not go into business for yourself? For those still in jobs but fearful of losing them (the signs are usually evident) there is the possibility of starting a moonlight business now, while still working. As Harvey McKay has said, "Find something you love to do and you'll never have to work a day in you life."

Here is a list of top ten do's and don'ts for people in transition, provided by www.myownbusiness.org, a 14-session on-line course conducted as a public service to point out the basic do-s and don'ts for start-up businesses.

We welcome your questions to be answered in this Newsletter feature! Here is our Q and A for this edition:

Question:
 
We operate a cosmetology academy and recently have received outrageous CAM charges from the building owner. When we signed our lease the owner only said that all tenants have to pitch in to pay for the common area maintenance expenses, but we were shocked to receive the invoice. The charges are about 21% of our monthly rent. Had we known this, we would have started looking elsewhere to rent. Thank you for reading my mail.
 
Answer:
 
Actually, 21% for CAM charges might not be that outrageous considering it includes real estate taxes, insurance and common area utilities, all which have gotten very expensive. Any reduction of CAM charge should be requested by you and your lawyer when negotiating the lease, but don't expect landlords to be absorbing reasonable, documented charges. See MOBI session 7 Location and Leasing at www.myownbusiness.org for some of the other real estate pointers you should be careful about.