CONTROL = APPLICATION OF INFORMATION: Getting the Talent That Your Company Needs

CONTROL = APPLICATION OF INFORMATION:
Getting The Talent That Your Company Needs.
-- Douglas Castle, CEO, TNNWC Group, LLC

There is no denying it. People are searching for careers, security, opportunity and appreciation.

As to security in the most traditional sense, most traditional career-path, ladder-climbing adherents are feeling queasy, disillusioned and displaced -- they have grown accustomed to receiving a guaranteed salary without direct performance requirements -- they are like de-clawed cats in the jungle. They would love large corporate salaries, perhaps with (dare they ask?!), written employment contracts. Part Two of the security actually translates to any mixture of the following special "extras" in terms of potential compensation:

1. A share of gross or net revenues from a product or a service that will be of great quality, supported with advertising, branding and buzzing, and which will be well-received by marketplace (i.e., which will sell in high volume);

2. A share of profit, if profit is generously-defined and the cost of delivering the product or service is minimal and the departmental overhead is very, very low (i.e., efficient);

3. A stake in ownership. If the company is private (closely-held, a GICBC, or largely owned by management and employees), there may be a flow-through of profits directly to each stakeholder in proportion to his or her share of equity. If the company is public, the hope is that the price per share will be nice and high when the stakeholder is ready sell all or part of it (i.e., a capital gain), and (optimally) that the shares, units or interests may even pay dividends over time, to provide some passive income to supplement his or her direct earnings.

Of course there are other issues, such as healthcare insurance, a good working environment, and the likes.

Your new, undercapitalized but promising company needs these talented, capable individuals, but you cannot afford to offer them cash compensation. What do you have? You have the sole prospect of offering Part Two incentives and security.

Translated: You will have to persuade very gifted people (many of them have recently lost jobs due to the miserable economy, and some of them have been out and alone for awhile and have begun establishing consulting or contracting practices to cobble together an income, which can be difficult).

Your Mission: You must be able to demonstrate to these great people (only available because of these troubled times) that they would do far better if they partnered with your organization, than if they continued to to fly solo. You must be very convincing. Every single one of these people is hurting, although very few will admit it. If you are to get them to commit their efforts (in an "unconventional employment" scenario), you must show them that you are equally committed to helping them succeed in building rewarding, profitable careers. You must accept the notion of partnership. Your must get these prize persons to also accept the notion of partnership in a typically paycheck-papered, non-entrepreneurial world.

Your Tools: A powerful business plan; personal belief in the plan; charisma is presenting the plan; a knowledge of what your quarry truly needs, so that you can address those needs and help to solve the problem and ease the pain; imagination; creativity; flexibility; a willingness to listen; and, of course, your generosity.

Don't even think about being greedy, and don't be a desperate beggar looking for a "favor" either. You must be prepared to discount (sell off or give away today) some of your future revenues, profits and/or ownership to some of the right people. Yes...(sigh)...this means carving up "the pie."

Think About This: Would you rather own a smaller percentage slice of a much larger pie, or would you rather own 100% of the legendary "pie in the sky?" [No answer is required. The question is rhetorical. The answer is supposed to be glaringly obvious. If you chose the "pie in sky" option for yourself, you are selfish, control-obsessed, greedy and should be prepared to fail miserably -- this is a hint.]

Final Analysis and Comment: You must pay to receive. If you do not have a war chest of capital to pay for people's talents, you must offer them a piece of your company's future that they can call their own.

The less capital that you have available, the more intelligent and creative you must become to be successful. But fear not! Intelligence and creativity (with the spirit of generosity) can be converted to material wealth. If you want to win, you must do 1) a great deal of convincing, and 2) a great deal of intelligent giving. Also, intelligent giving (making the right partnership deal with the right individual) is actually smart investing.

Douglas Castle
http://aboutDouglasCastle.blogspot.com
http://lifelinksiep.blogspot.com
http://TheGlobalFuturist.blogspot.com
http://TheInternationalistPage.blogspot.com
http://TheNationalNetworkerWeblog.blogspot.com

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

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CONTROL = APPLICATION OF INFORMATION: Getting the Talent That Your Company Needs

LIVING OUTSIDE THE BOX: Business to Business - Bartering Business Survival in a Cashless Recession

Living Outside The Box with Joe Wallace

When the going gets tough and the banks slam the vaults shut, the innovative business owners among us look for ways to sell their goods and services to other business owners that do not necessarily involve the exchange of money. In the absence of available cash and credit more and more entrepreneurial business owners are resorting to the age old custom of bartering to get what they need for what they provide.

Barter is not a new idea. It has been around forever and actually predates currency. There is a good reason for that. The act of bartering or exchanging goods and services for goods and/or services is generally beneficial to both parties. Why go out of business when bartering can provide access to inventory, travel, services, and many other things that are required to operate a business. About the only thing that can’t be bartered for in some way are utilities, government services, big company offerings, and of course...taxes.

Will Work for Stock:

In my own business of providing practical business advice to all stages of SME’s (small and medium enterprises), the recession has provided me with a fantastic opportunity to trade my business planning and advice for equity stakes in promising businesses. These are businesses that need my services that do not have the cash resources to pay, yet are willing to grant stock, stock options, or future profits in their business in exchange for my services right now. I like to think of this segment of my practice as Equity Based Venture Capital.

During the course of the past year my portfolio includes equity positions in Smart Grid, Battery Electric Vehicles, Recycled Plastics, Internet Publishing, and College Textbook Rental businesses. What is the value of this portfolio? If one were to have a fire sale today on any of these holdings the value is probably near zero. Several of these entities have however gotten through the prototype stage, gained national attention and are poised to attract real outside capital investment. The long term gains from such efforts are sure to be worth way more that my hourly rate if they culminate in an IPO (initial public offering) or are acquired. Of course they may not succeed, in which case I get zero for my work, but I have made some good friends, kept my skills razor sharp, and created a potential for Silicon Valley type returns during the worst recession of my life.

Will Work for Stuff:

In addition to providing services for stock, I am aware and have at times been involved in barter transactions where trips, lodging, books, home improvements, automobiles, stained glass, furnishings, collectables, gold, landscaping, art, and even partial interests in income properties have been exchanged. Many years ago I repaired a porch in exchange for a non running BMW then turned around and sold the BMW for cash. If I would have been unwilling to do this, the porch would have not been repaired. I made a good friend in the process.

Will Work for Promissory Notes: Be the Bank When the Bank Won’t

Just because a bank will not make a loan to a business that desires to purchase goods and services from your business, it is not necessary to forego that opportunity. See the bank, be the bank. You may create a trade note with whatever payment terms that you and your customer are agreeable to. I have on three occasions financed automobiles that I wanted to sell for new college graduates that a bank would not make a loan too. These kids got transportation at a fair price and terms and I got an income stream and a much better price than a used car dealer or a trade would have offered me. These kids all paid their notes too. Promissory notes can be win-win scenarios and are easy to write and manage with a simple program that is available commercially.

In times when the economy is not supportive of available cash, SME’s are well advised to consider barter to keep the business churning along through these rough waters. After all is it just as effective to barter for what you need as it is to write a check for it. Open minded business people skilled in the arts of negotiation and barter will be surprised just how little cash is needed when you can get what you want without it. After all, what would you rather have for dinner tonight, a steak and a fine wine or a pile of dollar bills. Money is simply a medium of convenience. The things we really need are tangible.


For more information, please visit Joe's TNNWC Bio.

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

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LIVING OUTSIDE THE BOX: Business to Business - Bartering Business Survival in a Cashless Recession