Lake Forest Chamber – what a great expo!

Today I had the pleasure of speaking on Internet Marketing and SEO at Lake Forest City Hall.  Its so nice how Orange County has such supportative Chambers of Commerce, you should really check yours out :) 

There were a TON of amazing speakers today!!  The chamber organized a business expo and there were a lot of great companies and people in attendance.  I saw Carol Bridges taking professional photos of the booths and businesses, Keith Cowan and LogicIT helping advise businesses on virus protection and managed IT services, Cox, AT&T, and others.   

The best part was the advice and speakers.  Here are my treo notes:

Keynote Speaker Scott Betty, Oakley

First up Scott Betty, from Oakley, who had a mile long bio…lets just keep it short and say he’s a marketing guru and has been a major part of taking Oakley to the next level.  Scott started with a nice video showing us the essence of Oakley. 

Today he focused on the emotional connection between your brand and consumer – here are my humble notes, Scott, thank you for allowing us to share  

Who is Oakley?  They were founded in 1975, selling at motocross races.  Now they have 10 worldwide offices, and 570 patents.  They expanded across the globe and have a good balance now with the various countries…right now Japan and Brazil are huge.  Oakley didn’t start with glasses, they started with handle grips, and now have products from apparel to watches.  Current yearly revenue is almost to 900m. 

Next we talked about the economy and consumer spending.  Do consumers stop spending in a recession?  NO, but they become more selective.  They will spend for need…but what about desire?  What are our needs?  Food, water, transportation, communication, right?

Once a consumer decides they need something, there is another set of decisions and criteria for purchasing:  based on price, convenience, promotion, and availability. 

But what if what YOU and your business offer is just a want?  Not a need with the above criteria?  For the want list there are a different set of criteria…brand, trend, peer pressure, celebrity influence, EMOTION.

So how do we connect that emotion with our product?  How do people justify what they want into a need?

Take starbucks.  Its not coffee.  Its a club…its an atmosphere.  Look how many people buy into it!  Also Air Jordans.  People buy them in advance every year – its an emotional footwear phenom.  Look at iphones – another emotional product and culture. 

Oakley makes an emotional conection by focusing on innovation, and performance, authenticity, and not being scared to take risks.  ie the green reader lens sunglasses for golf.  If you are a golf nut you’re going to drool over this!  If performance is the same – take the Oakley backpack example – then focus on design.  People may not need it but they sure will want it!   Oakley has awesome fabric for racecar drivers that won’t catch you on fire if you’re in a crash.  That’s emotional, saving your life while you play your exterme sports.  Creating products that have emotional connections is the way to go.

Scott says the best watch is the oakley watch.  All a watch does is tell time…so they needed to win the race with design innovation again. 

How else does the company stay front of mind?  Oakley has sports marketing ambassadors who its their job to integrate Oakley into any given sport.  Nascar, golf, surf, football.  Oakley is there building relationships with all of them, and this is what brings them success in sports.  They think of the athletes as family, and ask for opinions all the time.  Each sport becomes a power partner, and an avenue for publicity   Nice!

Another way to market is participation with consumers.  Roll out with the rolling ”O” lab.  This mobile booth allows consumers to literally experience the Oakley difference.  It showcases Oakley technology and shows consumers how oakley has better product performance. You may see the rolling O at your next big sporting event. 

Also online they have diarama contests to help do personality based marketing and connecting.  wooo hooo Oakley!!!  Way to embrace web 2.0.  Seriously, I’m going to take a second for kudos.  Everyone go look at Oakley.com.  NOTICE how they have the website separated into men and women.  Personalization.  Notice how the products say what sport they are good for.  More personalization.  Notice how each time the homepage loads there is a different emotional niche or sport being offered up.  Total personalization.  Notice how you can grab the exact link for any product in the address bar.  Not an accident.   Simple online innovations like this get people to actually interact and BUY from your website.  Go Oakley, thanks for setting a great online example too!

Back on track.  Scott advised the Chamber members to Be bold, take risks, do not be afraid because that is what blows peoples mind.  Ruffle feathers!!!  Consumers appreciate the fact if you don’t alway play it safe.  Embrace failure and don’t be scared of it… or else you are not really pushing the envelope!

Orange County Business Marketing Panel

Next up was the marketing panel.  I was on it, so that would be rude to take furious treo notes :)  Everyone feel free to comment your thoughts, though!!  I thought everyone on the panel had AWESOME advice, I’m always inspired by Michelle with Sandler Sales.  That woman knows her stuff!!!

OC Business Finance Panel

The next panel was a Q & A that went over effective cash management.  I fully admit this is not my strong suit so feel free to clarify these notes with comments!!  Here goes…

What is a good definition of cash flow?  In a nutshell, its what’s going in, what’s coming out, and then what’s left over.  Look at an accurate profit and loss statement.  subtract items or take items off of P&L that take cash but don’t earn revenue, like inventory, debt service, paying down principal, owner draws.  Then add back loan proceeds and depreciation into cash flow to know requirements.

What key metrics should biz owners have?  Balance sheet, liabilities.  Divide cash by liabilities and look for a number greater than 1.  Also keep track of average day sales. 

What are tax advantages of being a corporation?  Ask an attorney and a CPA if you should incorporate…its NOT always the best thing for all companies. 

If we finish the year with a loss.  Is there a way to carry the loss?  Yes, but most tax payers prefer to elect to carry it forward. 

How else can you keep your cash as a business owner?  One way is to make sure your inventory is not cutting into your cash flow.  Don’t buy too much that just sits on the shelf.  Ask yourself do you really need that?  In tight times business owners need to think about every purchase.

Frank suggested to not use your cash all up – keep cash flow with financing.  Be on top of your receivables.  Don’t be afraid to ask for your money.  If you don’t set the standard up front then people will think its ok to pay you last…remember….if they don’t pay…they are not a real client!!!  So simple, Frank, but so true!  Why do small business owners fear calling for the money owed to them?

A question was asked about a line of credit…Masuda suggested don’t wait to get this until you need it…then its too late.  Small businesses should have an LOC to keep them safe – like 25k is a good number for most. 

What if you can’t get an loc?  Frank suggested alternatives – accts receivable financing.  Its not based on your credit, but for your customers credit!  If you own a retail business then you can usually get a merchant acct advance for about a month.  Also consider a sale / leaseback.

Just because you have bad credit doesn’t mean that you can’t get financing.  First off, know your credit and get things current.  Lenders look at the story..is it solved, or is it a pattern?  Fico is your personal credit….Dunn & Bradstreet is your business credit. (d&b)….ooooh, that is what that means! (smack to forehead)

Can you still get financing if you don’t show profit?  You need to show cash flow, ability, or stability.  You’ll be considered on all of the above.

How does a small biz handle collections?  Remember people make a concious decision of who they are writing checks for…be the squeaky wheel.

What if someone can’t pay their bill?  Well, think about all options before settling, make decisions based on the situation.  Is that client going out or coming into financial difficulty?  Should you take what you can while there is still something there?  It may be the best decision..Masuda mentioned the Bad check restitution program is an Orange County service small businesses can use when they get bad checks – thanks!!!

What if WE are the ones in trouble?  What do we do as a biz to survive???  First take a look at where you are spending the money.  If you don’t have money in the bank then don’t write the check.  NSF fees build up big time and they are also a consideration in credit.  Postdate checks or ask for extensions.  See how much you are paying in merchant fees.  (I just did this Michael Durante with Card Services Direct saved me 1200 a year!)  Stay in touch with your people and almost anyone will work with you.  Don’t hide be in constant communication. 

What great info from our financial experts.

Next up was the human resources panel, but DARN I have to go!!!  Its my loss, I’ll fumble with our new hire now next week   I’m sure everyone was excellent, would love comments!!!