A NOTE FROM THE FOUNDER: The Great Divide (or "Of Business and Fish")

The Great Divide (or "Of Business and Fish")

by Adam J. Kovitz

The other day, I had the pleasure of speaking with the former Global Head of Operations Consulting of a well-known International Organization over the phone - man to man.  I wasn't exactly sure how this conversation would go as it was the clash of two worlds:  one of us had experience working with Fortune 100 companies and solving their major problems...the other was me.  Don't get me wrong...I've solved many business problems, but those of small to mid-size enterprises (or "SME's as he called them) - how could I possibly get this person to understand the trials and tribulations of the "little people".


This gentleman admitted to me that Fortune 100 companies had their own way of getting funding that was totally different from that of SMEs and that large business really doesn't understand what SMEs go through.  I proceeded to tell him about the entrepreneurial spirit and what drives most that I have known;  the desire to want to work for one's self, the freedom of not being a number in a large megalithic corporation, and the potential for making large amounts of money (and, perhaps history as well).  I also described the downside as well - working weekends, staying up nights wondering how to put food on the family's table, feeling small, alone and oft times, misunderstood.


I asked him why he left the "Ivory Tower" of such a well-established company.  He responded that it was for many of the reasons I had stated - mainly, to be his own boss.  I told him that I could relate - I've always had a hard time taking direction from someone for whom I had little to no respect.  We had achieved a common ground!


He asked why I do what I do with TNNWC and I responded to him that I respect the fact that he swam with the "big fish" of the sea, but I prefer the "smaller fish".  The reason why is that in a healthy ecosystem, big fish survive be eating smaller ones.


But here's the problem...


Due to an unhealthy ecosystem, the smaller fish are threatened and need help to survive and few have come forward as steward to help;  although some have claimed to help, there are little results to back up their rhetoric.  The smaller fish need a champion and a place where they can congregate and grow.  I told him that TNNWC was on a mission to play the role of steward to such fish.  The allegory helped, and we decided to continue our conversation at another time as we were both subject to time constraints.


While I certainly look forward to speaking with him again - he may have some contacts that would prove helpful to the TNNWC cause (and vice versa), I believe that we both walked away from the conversation with the following in mind:  the more we can encourage such conversation across the divide between large companies and SMEs, the sooner we can change the international business landscape such that we can foster growth, innovation and job creation.

All my best,

Adam

www.TNNWC.com
http://adamjkovitz.blogspot.com

---

Capital, Traffic Building, International Customers and unique SERVICES.
The National Networker Publications™ produced by TNNWC Group, LLC
Resources for Business Planning, Development, Capital and Growth

Forward/Share This Article With Colleagues And Social Media:

A NOTE FROM THE FOUNDER: The Great Divide (or "Of Business and Fish")

A NOTE FROM THE FOUNDER: Money...and why Entrepreneurs aren't getting enough of it

Money...and why Entrepreneurs aren't getting enough of it

by Adam J. Kovitz

Money...capital...it is the life line of all entrepreneurs and emerging enterprises and of utmost concern to any CEO as it determines the health of their organization.

In these turbulent times, it is becoming increasingly harder for companies to raise capital when banks are tightening up their lending practices.  Why?

Because the supply of money is shrinking.

A good friend and supporter of TNNWC recently brought to my attention a rather eye-opening documentary by journalist/filmmaker, Bill Still called The Secret of Oz.

The film addresses our current economic climate and explains why we face the economic hardships of today.  It also explains why our current troubles are nothing new and that the root cause has been around for ages.

In fact, such troubles played out in front of a young,  impressionable L. Frank Baum, inspiring him to write one of the most beloved children's books of all time:  The Wizard of Oz.  Unbeknownst to many, however, the story is an allegory, filled with symbolism of economic turmoil and what might be done about it - here in the U.S. as well as the rest of the world.

Mr. Still takes the audience on a trip through the evolution of money, how it came to both liberate and enslave generations, why it happened then, why it's happening now and what real solutions we, as entrepreneurs, can do to change it.

I believe that Mr. Still's work is important and and a must-see for all - it is a necessary education for all entrepreneurs and emerging enterprises - you won't find this an any university.  And while the movie is free, Mr. Still does ask for donations of any amount or by purchasing the DVD (TNNWC is in no way compensated for this) by visiting his website:  http://www.secretofoz.com/

I applaud Mr. Still's work and I strongly recommend taking the time to view this movie.

It is included below.  If you can't view it, then simply click here.

All my best,

Adam

www.TheNationalNetworker.com
http://adamjkovitz.blogspot.com

---

Capital, Traffic Building, International Customers and unique SERVICES.
The National Networker Publications™ produced by TNNWC Group, LLC
“Empowering Emerging Enterprises”

Forward/Share This Article With Colleagues And Social Media:

A NOTE FROM THE FOUNDER: Money...and why Entrepreneurs aren't getting enough of it

A NOTE FROM THE CHAIRMAN: Fools and Their Money

Fools and Their Money

by Adam J. Kovitz


"Who's the bigger fool...the fool or the one who follows him?"

-Obi Wan Kenobi (Star Wars)

A recent article on CNN.com, "Unemployment benefits extension nixed for nearly 1 million" got me incensed as impotent U.S. politicians (that we voted for) failed to do (for the third time) what we put them there to do: protect the interest of our country.

While I'm not in favor of a welfare state, we are faced with real people who cannot find employment in one of the worst economic, jobs and real estate markets in U.S. history. Has government turned their back on its own people? Not only have they taken away their fish, they've taken away their fishing poles as well. Do they really think us fools to just stand by and watch this continue to happen?

As the Chairman and Founder of my own emerging enterprise, I am working with a growing number of others (both internally and externally) to change this situation.


Why?


Entrepreneurs and emerging enterprises were once the primary source of job creation, innovation, tax base and economic stability - the "American Dream" was ours and was, indeed, obtainable. In recent years, however, government has radically shifted their standpoint towards us, taking a stand with larger corporate monolithic entities whose only goal is to grow bigger and more powerful despite the cost to individual freedom, moral responsibility and the environment.

As a result, government views us as fools, using the classic "divide and conquer" method to separate us from our money until we have none to support our families and our future. Once we have nothing, we're worth nothing to them - look to the aforementioned article as evidence of this fact.

At TNNWC, we have been growing our own organization as well as partnering with our member companies to right these wrongs, not just here in the U.S., but worldwide. We have decided that we prefer to "unite and dominate" versus be "divided and conquered" and have made the following moves:

1. We have made Douglas Castle the CEO of TNNWC Group. His ability to combine his vision with mine, work collaboratively with others, negotiate and lead effective teams is unparalleled.
2. We continue to open our doors to all entrepreneurs and emerging enterprises worldwide with free membership as well as free publications and informational products.
3. We are rolling out proprietary services that are crucial to all entrepreneurs and emerging enterprises to compete on a level playing field with the "big boys".
4. Additionally, we are making selected services of our members available as well. In this regard, our members will know that they are being part of the solution when they make their purchase and support the growth of our own stable economy.
5. We are forming a union of organizations of influence: the Cooperative Business Committee (CBC) to be Chaired by Bonnie Ross-Parker, Founder of The Joy of Connecting and long-time supporter. The CBC will work to preserve entrepreneurship and innovation, as they join with us in collaboration to provide a much louder voice. For more on the CBC, please check out this week's UPDATE BULLETIN.

My fellow entrepreneurs, I ask you to join us, partner with us and become part of the solution. I know that it is not easy to feel in control or of significance in a time such as these, but as my blood-brother-in-arms, Douglas Castle says in his own article this week, Break Big Issues Down into Little Components.

By joining with us, lending your own service to our offerings, lending your voice to our CBC and purchasing a service from your fellow member, you can master your own situation before it masters you.

Together, let us choose to be founders of a new economy and not fools of a failed one. Let the fools stand alone...we know better.


All my best,

Adam

www.TheNationalNetworker.com
http://adamjkovitz.blogspot.com

---

The National Networker Companies™ and TNNWC Group, LLC

“Empowering Emerging Enterprises”

Membership in TNNWC’s Global Interactive Cooperative Business Community is free of charge and entitles you to receive both The National Networker Newsletter and The BLUE TUESDAY Report, as well as access to our unparalleled Suite of Business Services.

Join Us! Simply click on http://bit.ly/JoinTNNWC

Visit our website at http://www.TheNationalNetworker.com
Forward/Share This Article With Colleagues And Social Media:

A NOTE FROM THE CHAIRMAN: Fools and Their Money

A NOTE FROM THE CHAIRMAN: The National Networker™ Welcomes Phil Lawson

The National Networker™ Welcomes Phil Lawson

by Adam J. Kovitz


Last week we launched our brand new website to debut our new look, new direction and re-commitment to getting entrepreneurs and emerging enterprises:

1. Access to the same level of intelligence, data and research that large corporations pay millions of dollars for every year
2. The ability to be seen and heard in ways that they simply cannot do on their own through the leverage provided them by simply being a member of our Global Interworked Cooperative Business Community (GICBC)
3. Unique and innovative access to financing through our merchant payment processing services as well as our upcoming TNNWC Emerging Enterprises Venture Capital Program to be launched July 1st, 2010
4. The ability to join and become involved in our community, thereby determining their own destiny, building their own future, championing innovation and deriving income through multiple streams of revenue.

Read more about the "GICBC Movement" in this week's UPDATE.

Moving on...


This week we are proud to welcome Phil Lawson, Founder/CEO of Spherit Inc.  Spherit is an organization that engages its clients (like the U.S. Army, State Departments of Labor and Employment, Colleges and Universities, etc.) in both collaboration and innovation.  Phil will be bringing his own insight (as well as interesting obsession with spheres) to TNNW™ as a former executive of several private and publicly-traded companies in his new column Connecting the Dots.  WELCOME PHIL!!!

Once again, we honor and respect your thoughts on what we're becoming and where we're going, please let us know your thoughts about this and our website (we just might include your response in an upcoming BACKTALK™) by clicking here.



All my best,

Adam

www.TheNationalNetworker.com
http://adamjkovitz.blogspot.com

---

 

The National Networker Companies™ and TNNWC Group, LLC

“Empowering Emerging Enterprises”

Membership in TNNWC’s Global Interactive Cooperative Business Community is free of charge and entitles you to receive both The National Networker Newsletter and The BLUE TUESDAY Report, as well as access to our unparalleled Suite of Business Services.

Join Us! Simply click on http://bit.ly/JoinTNNWC  

Visit our website at http://www.TheNationalNetworker.com
Forward/Share This Article With Colleagues And Social Media:

A NOTE FROM THE CHAIRMAN: The National Networker™ Welcomes Phil Lawson

A NOTE FROM THE CHAIRMAN: New Website, New Philosophy, New TNNNWC™

New Website, New Philosophy, New TNNWC™

by Adam J. Kovitz


This week we launch our new website and we couldn't be happier. This is not about us getting tired of old looks and wanting to change color schemes...there is something much bigger that is driving this. I thought it best to share with you just exactly why the change.

The most important reason is that we have a new philosophy about our fellow members, who are predominantly entrepreneurs and emerging enterprises from across the globe. To sum it up, we are under attack.


Why, Adam, are we "under attack"?

Several reasons:

1. We are the lifeblood of any healthy, functioning economy, providing the largest source of jobs and innovation
2. We are now at the mercy of governments run by the irresponsible, spending more money than they have on opulent lifestyles and companies deemed as "too big to fail" - all at our expense
3. This neglect is slowly, yet surely corralling us towards the unwanted label of "too small to succeed"
4. This, in turn, is making it harder for us to be taken seriously, get financing as well as support our lifestyles of choice
5. Should this continue, increasing numbers of us will be forced to close shop, give up our dreams, find jobs (if there are any left out there), find other "creative" ways to put food on our families' tables or just wither and fade away into 3rd world oblivion.

In short, it is time to band together and use the power of the many as leverage to get ourselves back on track before it's too late. My business partner, Douglas Castle, and I have worked to re-form TNNWC™ into the world's first GICBC™ a sovereign nation unto itself in which all Members are citizens, customers, providers and stakeholders."


As you review our website, you will find it divided into three major areas:

1. Publications & Information: TNNWC™ provides free publications and informational products to its members (this publication is just one of them)
2. Services: TNNWC™ provides an unparalleled suite of services (often through our own members) for our members which include publicity, marketing, global outreach and financing.
3. Community: TNNWC™ provides a supportive community for our members through our GICBC™, in which they will be empowered to actively take part in our future.

Supporting our new philosophy, we are in the process of growing our management team. Our latest addition is Michael Phillips as our Chief Innovation Officer. Michael will be working to manage the continuing evolution of our website, oversee our growing group of selected service providers, as well as launch our Institute of Innovation (IoI)™. Stay tuned for more announcements on our new and exciting direction in the weeks to come.

In the meantime, we honor and respect your thoughts on what we're becoming and where we're going, please let us know your thoughts about this and our website (we just might include your response in an upcoming BACKTALK™) by clicking here.



All my best,

Adam

www.TheNationalNetworker.com
http://adamjkovitz.blogspot.com

---

The National Networker Companies™ and TNNWC Group, LLC

“Empowering Emerging Enterprises”

Membership in TNNWC’s Global Interactive Cooperative Business Community is free of charge and entitles you to receive both The National Networker Newsletter and The BLUE TUESDAY Report, as well as access to our unparalleled Suite of Business Services.

Join Us! Simply click on http://bit.ly/JoinTNNWC

Visit our website at http://www.TheNationalNetworker.com
Forward/Share This Article With Colleagues And Social Media:

A NOTE FROM THE CHAIRMAN: New Website, New Philosophy, New TNNNWC™

A NOTE FROM THE CHAIRMAN: Will the $134 Billion Jobs and Tax Bill Really Help Emerging Enterprises?

Will the $134 Billion Jobs and Tax Bill Really Help Emerging Enterprises?

by Adam J. Kovitz


There is current talk of a Jobs and Tax Bill in Congress right now that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is estimating will bring in $40 Billion in revenue. While this sounds great, the CBO also estimates that it will cost $174 Billion. Of particular importance to me (and to our readers) is a portion of the Bill that will make it easier for "small businesses" to get "lending incentives" extended as the current provisions have allowed "small firms borrow more than $7 billion this year alone in an otherwise grim lending climate".

I am always amazed at the recurring pattern I see in Washington, DC when it comes to the way they view "small businesses" (by the way, I hate that term - it's derogatory). As one who believes that entrepreneurs and emerging enterprises are the life blood of any sane, rational and healthy economy, I fail to see how government's answer to their hardships is getting further and further into debt.

Now I don't consider myself either a liberal or conservative, just one of the problem solver's of the human equation. Furthermore, this isn't just about my own country, the United States...this is an international issue. I question whether recent troubled economic hotspots like Greece, Spain, Portugal and even Iceland are caught in a similar maelstrom of bailouts that lead further down the path to eternal debt.

The problem (as I see it) is that the further we become in debt:

1. The harder it is to get ahead in business.
2. The organizations that are least least in debt seem to be the relative winners in a game of losers.
3. It is passed on to our kids and their kids, leaving behind a legacy of "fiscal sin".
4. The more we are making a select group of people very, very wealthy.
5. It becomes incrementally and increasingly harder to do anything about it.

So what do we do about it? For us at The National Networker Companies, we are forming a Global Interworked Cooperative Business Community (GICBC) before the situation escalates and ask that those who are reading this join us sooner rather than later. What exactly is a GICBC? Douglas Castle, my business partner and blood-brother-in-arms describes a GICBC in this article that you simply can't afford not to read.

If you're already reading this in the email form because you are a subscriber, you are already a member of TNNWC's GICBC and part of the solution. It doesn't, however, end there...there is more to do as our members learn more about what it takes to get the most out of a GICBC and even take part in its building. For more on this, please continue to regularly check out our website as we're adding more all the time.

As a sneak peak, we will introducing a means within the next month for entrepreneurs and emerging enterprises within our GICBC to receive funding without:

1. Going any further into debt, and
2. Giving up equity.

More to follow...please stay tuned. Of course, if you wish to be one of the first to find out more about TNNWC's unique approach to financing your business, please click here.


As The NATIONAL NETWORKER WEEKLY NEWSLETTER (TNNW) comes out four Sundays a month (as does its sister publication The BLUE TUESDAY Report) and next week is the fifth Sunday, our hard-working staff will be having the week off for the Memorial Holiday Weekend. TNNW will resume in June on the 6th.



All my best,

Adam

www.TheNationalNetworker.com
http://adamjkovitz.blogspot.com

---

The National Networker Companies™

“Empowering Emerging Enterprises”

Membership in TNNWC’s Global Interactive Cooperative Business Community is free of charge and entitles you to receive both The National Networker Newsletter and The BLUE TUESDAY Report, as well as access to our unparalleled Suite of Business Services.

Join Us! Simply click on http://bit.ly/JoinTNNWC

Visit our website at http://www.TheNationalNetworker.com
Forward/Share This Article With Colleagues And Social Media:

A NOTE FROM THE CHAIRMAN: Will the $134 Billion Jobs and Tax Bill Really Help Emerging Enterprises?

A NOTE FROM THE CHAIRMAN: What's Your Message and Why Should I Care?

What's Your Message and Why Should I Care?

by Adam J. Kovitz


The problem: Today's world of the internet makes it difficult for emerging enterprises to be seen and heard amongst the decreased signal to noise ratio.

The solution: Finding better ways to become known quickly by a proper positioning statement that answers the time-honored questions, "Who are you and why should I care?" and "What makes you different from everyone else?"

At TNNWC, we are delighted to introduce you to the latest member of TNNWC's Global Interworked Cooperative Business Community (GICBC), Rhonda L. Sher of the Two Minute Networker.

Rhonda is the author of "The 2 Minute Networker" and "The ABC's of LinkedIn: Get LinkedIn or Get Left Out", and affectionately known around here as "The Sloganator".

This week, we proudly debut Rhonda's new pavilion/column with us The Sloganator to offer you her own insights on ways to make your own enterprise stand out above your competition.

In other news, we invite you to check out the progress on our website as we continue to roll out new publications and informational products as well as an unparalleled suite of services for entrepreneurs and emerging enterprises.


All my best,

Adam

www.TheNationalNetworker.com
http://adamjkovitz.blogspot.com

---

The National Networker Companies™

“Empowering Emerging Enterprises”

Membership in TNNWC’s Global Interactive Cooperative Business Community is free of charge and entitles you to receive both The National Networker Newsletter and The BLUE TUESDAY Report, as well as access to our unparalleled Suite of Business Services.

Join Us! Simply click on http://bit.ly/JoinTNNWC

Visit our website at http://www.TheNationalNetworker.com
Forward/Share This Article With Colleagues And Social Media:

A NOTE FROM THE CHAIRMAN: What's Your Message and Why Should I Care?