Blondie

Blondie was great. No, not the ultra cool band from the 80s, but Liz Blondie. Liz was an inspiration to just doing it. Maxing out credit cards, having to deal with HR headaches but having no HR staff, and getting things done the old fashion is what stuck out to me about Liz. I was amazed to hear about someone who knew nothing about an industry but just decided to learn and go out and do it, and that’s what she did.

She is a Detroiter for sure and is active on the ground level of getting Detroit into 2.0. Of course there are the Roger Penskes and the Dan Gilberts we are going to have to thank for making Detroit truly 2.0, but I hope we don’t forget the Liz Blondies as that happens. Small business is just as vital to a city as big business.

Cat’s Meow

Our guest speaker on Tuesday was a testament to ground level execution. More than any other speaker he seemed to be one who we could most relate to. He’s still in the struggle of becoming a success and not yet at the point of making 6 figures plus a year, but instead has his eye on the prize of hitting that next level of success.

He used resources such as SCORE, a resource I plan to tap into in the very near future. And once again he spoke on the importance of networking, even mentioning BNI as a group he uses to network through. Having been to many BNI groups myself as a subsitute, I found it interesting that a man in his line of work would even think to use it. Simply another example of how the inches we need are all around us. In a group typically filled with real estate agents, lawyers, insurance salesman and other service based individuals he realized that for a few hundred bucks a year there could be a chance for him to network with someone who could help him. And that’s exactly what happened and helped lead him to securing an important deal for him.

All and all, the Purfect Opener seemed a little strange to me. As it should, since I’m no where near the target demographic. But his visit taught us how using your previous experience, networking and filling a need ultimately helps lead to innovation.

Lisa Toenniges

Lisa Toenniges of Innovative Learning Group was different than most of the speakers we had come in, but different in the best kind of way. First, she didn’t give a speech! She sold me at that. She let us ask her questions and get the most out of the experience. That aside, she spoke in down to earth real world examples and more so than any of the other speakers she didn’t talk as if she had plans to take over the world. Lisa Toenniges spoke about growing her business gradually and profitably. From her talk with us I could tell, she is in a good place making a good salary and giving a great service and is happy with that.

When she spoke about her business, everything was concrete; no spin. She broke down her 8 member team into specific job titles. She ran through her work schedule and gave specific percentages on where her time is spent. She gave one of the specific reasons for her success in the fact that 60-70% of her business is done outside of SE Michigan. With all of that being said I think the greatest thing Ms. Toenniges left me with was the merit in running a good company and that business isn’t all about forcing the competition out of the market, but instead about servicing the customer.

Mike Melfi

The CEO of 6 Degrees magazine Mike Melfi came in and describe to us what it’s like to run a young, hip business at a young age. 6 Degrees magazine is an urban lifestyle based magazine available in Detroit as well as other places such as Miami. Melfi started going from business to business himself and asking if he could leave copies there and grew to a multi-channel magazine that also host a ecommerce site directed at 6 Degrees’ target market.

The major lessons Melfi left us with are:

1. You’re either selling or being sold. So get to selling.

2. You can’t win a championship on your own. Surround yourself with good people and treat them good and it’ll produce a return.

3. Don’t bite off more than you can chew. When asked why he hasn’t gone national, Melfi admitted he didn’t have the infrastructure to do so. It drew back to the when the owner of Small Plates said he could have grown but didn’t because he didn’t have the key people in place to do so.

4. Don’t reinvent the wheel, there is research and practices already out there. Use that, don’t do it on your own.

Dave Bing

“People who are successful in high school basketball, are the same ones successful in college ball and the same ones successful in the NBA”, Dave Bing said. It’s those ones willing to work hard. He said it’s the same thing with business. From working at a bank on his NBA off season to immediately going to work after retirement, Dave Bing serves as his own example for how hard work means all the difference.

How does a man with impaired vision in one eye go on to be a hall of fame athlete? Hard work. How does a man who dribbles a basketball for a living become a leader in the manufacturing industry, and without having any background in it until his mid 30s? Hard work.

Hard work isn’t the only thing Bing brought to the table. Dave Bing has an enormous amount of basic wisdom as well. Many times people come to business wisdom and try to give some outside the box kind of philosophy, but not Bing. He shot straight through and through. With advice like, know your weaknesses and get someone else to cover for them, and just trust your gut when you hire people Dave Bing was a good business 101 reality check.

John Ferchill

Know something. Do a good job at it. Create a reputation for yourself. It seems time and time again this seems to be the formula for many of the entrepreneurs we’ve learned from who have been in the game for years. They learned from working a job in an industry. They do a good job at it and create their own company where they make a reputation for themselves by doing a good job, getting things done and making customers happy.

This was the case for John Ferchill. He went to college and then eventually got a job with a Midwestern development company. Eventually opening his own company with his own money. In his own words he stated, “We are relentless for completing projects on time and on budget.” He’s created a strong reputation to back up his strong personality. He stated that people love him and some hate him, but they all respect the work he does and they know he’s the best.

With all that being said one of the greatest lessons I learned form Ferchill was not a direct one, but a lesson that we all picked up on. Be yourself. He wasn’t politically correct, but I believe people respect that. People respect a man who will shoot from the hip and not feel like he has to pretense himself in order to do so. I think of people in my own sphere who I don’t have a great deal of respect for. Those are people who feel as though they need to say the right things and do the right things, rather than being the right thing. All and all, I guess the lesson learned form John is to let who you are speak for itself. People can love you or hate you, but if ingrained in you is the propensity to do the right thing, it will show in all the work that you do.

Big Business; Small Results

According to Crain’s Detroit, there was an announcement of financing a 1.6 million square foot sports entertainment center by Metro Sports LLC. The problem is they don’t have a piece of land yet. According to Crain’s even though there is pretty of land out there and this is a buyers market, once a plan is financed there can be a lot of tugging in different directions as to where the project should be built. The development would include a 12,000-seat arena, three basketball courts, four hockey rinks, a running track, indoor lacrosse, physical rehabilitation center and two IMAX theaters.

Although it sounds like good intention, the whole thing sounds like a debacle to me. First, the developer is a first time developer, formerly CEO of what Crain’s called a “now-defunct” computer company. Second, the initial marketing information for the project was announced for a piece of land in Romulus, when asked the owner of the parcel said there is no such purchase agreement for the property. When the development was announced the invitations said Granholm and Wayne County Executive Ficano would be there, neither of them were. And all this for a $167 million development. I think Jordan will show them up with $500,000, but we’ll see.

http://crainsdetroit.com/assets/PDF/CD25004812.PDF

Power Up

As Michigan strides forward in its quest to become a leader in alternative energy, an old cat has come scratching at its door. According to the Detroit News, Marathon Petroleum has Detroit in its cross hairs for a $1 billion upgrade. According to the News, this advance would create approx. 135 jobs and allow Detroit to process Canadian crude oil.

This would bring over 1,000 construction jobs to the area and should be finished by 2010 if Marathon chooses to move forward. The improvements would bring an additional 15,000 barrels of oil into the facility and would increase Detroit’s oil supply. Marathon is in talks with the City of Detroit in order to get tax breaks and plans on making a decision within a year.

Bottom line this sounds like good news for Detroit. More jobs and more fuel. What more could a city ask for? As alternative energy grows, it’ll be useful to have skilled energy workers who may more easily be able to fill those jobs.

http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070810/BIZ/708100383&theme=Autos-Gas-prices

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/assets/PDF/CD23965729.PDF

According to Crain’s Detroit, Wal-Mart is planning to open 19 new stores throughout Metro Detroit. Sadly, no plans are in motion to put one within city limits. According to the article this move is going to mean a lot more competition for mid-west based Meijer, Kroger as well as smaller grocers in the area. The article states, this will not be the end of the local grocery stores, but it will definately take a small percent of their market share.

Back to the no Wal-Mart in Detroit issue, aka the important stuff. According to an adjacent article in Crain’s, Wal-Mart claims they are looking at the opportunity but they are in the early stages. Surprisingly, Wal-Mart is not completely heartless, they set up a Jobs and Opportunity
Zones Initiative. Sadly, they are somewhat heartless though, although they set up this program Detroit is no where to be seen in it, even though the city has expressed interest in the initiative. Cities like Chicago, and Cleveland are on this list, but no Detroit. According to the initiative the program is for cities with high unemployment and high crime…but no Detroit?

Chysler on Crack

Everyone thought Hyundai was crazy. A 100,000 mile powertrain warranty was completely unprecedented. That crazy marketing scheme combined with a confidence in the quality of their vehicles (as well as actually creating a quality vehicle), helped push an obscure Korean car company into a legitimate player in the automotive industry that years later other car companies had no choice but to follow.

Now the slightly less obscure American car company, Chrysler, has upped the ante. A lifetime powertrain warranty. According to the Detroit News, this will take place on their 2007 and 2008 gas powered cars. The only catch is the warranty is only available to original owner or leases of the vehicle. According to Chrysler the car has to be inspected every 5 years and the average car owner gets a different car every 5 years, which would void the warranty.

My opinion: Bad Move. Penny pinchers and cheapos the world over will be grabbing up these cars in hopes of purchasing their final car. I think that 5 year trade up will change with this warranty. Maybe this is a good move though. Cerberus is in this to make money, not neccesarily cars. This crazy move could boost sales for the next 5 years making Chrysler an industry leader. They sell and dump the problem on an over zealous new buyer to inherit the unsuspecting years of what I can only imagine as debt.