Clark Blackwell

. . . is a great read for anyone who could benefit from establishing or broadening their sphere of influence. Having often been disappointed by the generic, one-size-fits-all theme of most business books I've read, Influencer was a pleasant surprise. Great ideas abound.

Don't try to enjoy a sandwich while reading the part about how activists have succeeded in almost totally halting the spread of the Guinea Worm.

I just returned from a weekly Optimist Club meeting. Continuing on a positive, optimistic note, I'm spotlighting three of my customers representing three vastly different industries who are continuing to succeed in spite of the present economic conditions. To use Dave Ramsey's phrase, these entrepreneurs are choosing not to participate in the recession.

Entrepreneur A has owned and operated a hydroponic greenhouse operation in our town for the past 4 years. Through hard work, diligence, and innovation, he and his family have cultivated a specific niche in the hydroponic greenhouse industry. Two years ago they developed a new product which has allowed them to diversify their customer base and to stabilize cash flow. They have effectively removed seasonality risk in a notoriously seasonal industry. "A" has recently negotiated a deal to supply 275 locations of a nationally-known grocer, which creates the need for additional funding. We've discussed the specifics of the company's funding needs. It is likely that Crescent Bank will find a way to help.

Entrepreneur B is a low-volume residential construction contractor. He built approximately the same number of homes in 2008 that he built in 2005, 2006, and 2007, and he's on track to continue to do so in 2009. I attribute a significant portion of his success to two factors: 1) Superior Quality. DM provides a Cadillac product at a VW price. He is able to do so in part because of his background as a trim carpenter. A larger reason he is able to do so is that he personally supervises all subcontractors. 2) Manageable volume. B always has a contingency plan. He has never taken on a greater amount of construction debt than he can find a way to repay. We closed a pre-sale construction loan for him this week, and he has two prospective homeowners willing to sign presale contracts on two additional homes as soon as they decide which lots to buy.

Entrepreneur C owns a disaster recovery company which is experiencing tremendous revenue growth. The company has been in business four years. Growth has been driven by providing superior customer service to P&C insurance agents who are the most profitable source of referrals. One of the ways he says "thank you" to his agent customers is by providing a tasty BBQ meal to each insurance office once per quarter. The company owns a custom-built, towed smoker and "C" is an accomplished cook.

The best news of all? Each of these smart, honest, capable, hard-driving American entrepreneurs owns either commercial or residential real estate and each is contemplating business expansion in 2009 and beyond. The USA's peculiar and enduring brand of capitalism will prevail over all naysayers.

I stand corrected. In replying to a response to my most recent post about the industries that seem to be succeeding in today's economy, I cited Warren Buffett's often-quoted advice about being greedy when everyone else is afraid. In the context of Mr. Buffett's statement, "greed" represents a willingness to take risk or a propensity to invest. My AR colleague interpreted my response as attirbuting "greed" to investors as a whole. That was not my purpose, and I apologize.

In life, abundance and greed are not synonyms.

The first is a life choice. The other? It's grim.

Greed is the miser refusing the beggar the crumb,

The on-the-take politician, his conscience long numb.

The doctrine of abundance is virtuous and clean,

While the doctrine of scarcity's divisive and mean.

The root of all evil isn't money or wealth.

The root is in loving a dollar to the detriment of all else.

Ponzi, then Madoff, now Stanford showed greed,

And, yes, greedy were all those who followed their lead.

Touting something for nothing, wealth without labor,

Everyone loses when the scheme falls out of favor.

No, greed and abundance aren't one and the same.

Adbundance is inclusive, greed's just a game.

Bill Gates and Truett Cathy have each feathered a nest,

Yet through generosity, not greed, countless thousands they've blessed.

While it's not the greatest time to be a real estate lender, I'm encountering bright spots during my "non-virtual" (face-to-face) social networking, Last Monday was the monthly meeting of the Woodstock Community Business Association. The chiropractor who started the group made numerous comments about how busy his practice has become. While it's entirely possible that the bone doc was simply being positive for the benefit of the rest of us who were there because our fiscal survival depends on cultivating referrals, I got the impression that he really is as busy as a one-armed paper hanger.

Another social networking group has given me the chance to befriend a guy who left "corporate America" in late 2007 to buy into a franchise that recycles printer cartridges. He told me 2 weeks ago that his YE 2008 gross sales are up 110% over YE 2007. Though the cynical (pragmatic) banker in me growls & whispers, "That's great, my friend, but a dollar + a dollar = 100% revenue growth", I'll take good news wherever I can get it, and by golly I'm also gonna pass it on!

The third bright spot in our local north Metro Atlanta economy is Disaster Recovery. These are the folks who are hired by a Property & Casualty insurance company when an insured home or business suffers fire, water, storm, or crime scene damage. The industry is relatively young and is still developing such standards as preventing conflicts of interest by requiring iniitial assessment & mitigation to be performed by a company that doesn't generate cash flow from re-construction. In any case, business is booming.

Did I mention that Social Networking's getting really popular?

My wife and I are blessed with a son & a daughter, born eighteen months apart. I've been active in baseball, Boy Scouting & music lessons with our son, while my wife has played an active role in our daughter's activities such as Girl Scouting and dance. While I've never missed a recital or an Honor's Day at school and have always tried to go out of my way to encourage our daughter, Scouting is causing some "dad guilt" this year because the time I'm spending with our son vs. the time I'm spending with his sister is out-of-balance.

We boys are going on a 2-week hiking trip this summer. Besides the fact that I'll be left with only a little under one week of vacation to spend with my wife & daughter, the "train-up" for this trip is substantial. Though my little girl has made no mention of getting the short end of my time, my wife tells me she probably feels slighted.

For that reason, yesterday I jumped at the chance to spend a chunk of time with my daughter, and it seemed one of those oh-so-rare days when you feel as if you're taking part in building a positive memory.

We started the day at Dunkin' Donuts (her preference). I'd thought a little ahead & brought along a couple of books & a mancala set.

We made small talk while she sipped her hot chocolate & I drank my coffee. Then we started the first of three mancala matches. When she'd moved all her marbles to my side of the board for the third time in a row (winning fair & square), I suggested that we read for a while. She's reading "Inkspell", the sequel to "Inkheart", and I'm finishing a leadership book called "Influencer".

It turned out that the background noise at the donut shop means it's not the greatest place to read, so she suggested fairly quickly that we hit the road. On the way to the car we laughed out loud about anything & everything. On the way home we sang along with the Muppets, "The Sound That's Made By Worms" & replayed it several times. Later we took Fritz for a long walk in the woods and laughed as his short chihuahua legs never slowed him down as he vaulted over logs twice his height.

I hope yesterday was as much of a blessing for my daughter as it was for me. I know it doesn't put everything back in balance but hopefully it's a decent first installment toward doing just that.