Batavia Business

For the Life of Your Business...and the Business of Your Life © A P R I L , 2 0 1 3

Inside This Issue Help us Redefine the Chamber on page 1.

Join us for the Golf Classic on June 3...see page 4.

Sean Sebold’s interesting Happenings in Springfield are on page 5.

Do you qualify for New Small Business Tax Breaks. See page 6.

Should you Eat During Ne-gotiations? Find out...page 6.

What Kind of Customer Are You? See page 7.

The Latest From the WWW on page 9.

Meet the SBDC’s Marcelo Alvarez on page 11.

I may not be the fastest of learners...after nearly nine years in this job, I am learning two things that could make this or-ganization dramatically better. I am hoping you will join me on the journey. One of the most devastating of

human emotions is loneliness; and because feeling alone is so destructive, finding connection is tremendously constructive and healing. But the connection to which I refer is not typically found at an afterhours, where, with wine in one hand and crack-er in the other we manage to exchange pleasantries, and chat briefly about how our differing skillsets, products and services might profitably intermingle. The connection of which I

speak is that in which two hu-mans see and acknowledge one another; a place of meeting where each feels safe to speak of the difficulties—and resulting pain—they face. I have been witness to this most dramatically when teens at Operation Snow-ball realize they are not the only ones who come from a family of alcoholic parents...or when those who have lost loved ones to suicide see shared, indescribable pain in one another’s eyes. But a place of meeting and sol-

ace, can be found in much less dramatic places. When company owners meet, they realize those in their presence understand the problems and challenges that only an owner knows...and they

Of Connection & Control by Roger Breisch

2013 Premier Partners

feel less alone. Similarly when human resource professionals or plant managers meet, they know they are in a place where others understand the unique, and often lonely, life they face every day. I, myself, belong to the West Sub-urban Chamber of Commerce Executives, a monthly meeting where we find connection around the unique stresses of Chamber management. In a place where it is safe to share with those who understand our hopes, fears and dreams, connec-tion leads to creativity, growth and wisdom. As I learn about the power of

connection, I am also discovering the value of letting go—allowing the Chamber to grow in ways over which the Chamber staff has less control. The successful “Net-Working-It” series created by Tom Wangler (Confident Aire), Rick Mytnik (Illinois Busi-ness Systems) and Brian Basilico (B2b Interactive Marketing) is a perfect example. With all these ideas animating

the neurons of my brain, I found myself in conversation with Steve Matravers (Davey Tree). Steve is always willing and able to help me see the world in new ways. Steve reminded me of a model to consider as a way to allow connection to grow within the Chamber. Over the past 20 years, spiritual congregations have emerged, often with thou-sands of members. Many have found that the best way to en-

gage that many people, is to encourage members to gather groups of like-minded individu-als—young people, single par-ents, wisdom seekers, etc.—to explore their shared journeys. So I end with an invitation. If

you feel alone in your strug-gles—challenged by the life of your business, or the business of your life—it is the law of averag-es that many who read these words are on a similar path. Using tools like meetup.com, we could plant seeds for numerous groups of journeyers with the potential for new connection, creativity and growth. Call me and let’s get started.

Events Not To Be Missed THU, APR 11, 11:30A TO

1:00P--"SPRING INTO ACTION" MULTI-CHAMBER LUNCH. Bart-lett, Batavia, St. Charles, Western DuPage and Wheaton Chambers offer you an opportunity to “Spring into Action”…a progres-sive lunch gives you an opportuni-ty to network with many different Chamber members. Bring lots of business cards and come ready to share. A great opportunity to expand your business! Courtyard Banquets, 3S200 Route 59, War-renville. ($25 for members) WED, APR 17, 4:00P TO

7:00P—NET-WORKING-IT. Join us for an evening to fun and great connections. Free bowling and appetizers (cash bar) as you move to a different lane every three frames to meet a new group of business professionals.

THU, APR 18, 7:30A TO 10:00A--SPRING SEMINAR SE-

RIES: HELPING EMPLOYEES BE THE BEST THEY CAN BE. Ex-plore ways to create an environ-ment in which employees crave success—their own and the or-ganization's. Are you giving them the tools they need to succeed? We'll discuss ways to communi-cate that help the organization be successful—and performance management to keep everyone aligned with the vision. Interiors for Business, Inc., 409 N. River Street. ($25 for members) WED, APR 24, NOON TO

6:00P--"ROLLING DOWN THE RIVER" EXPO. Eight Chambers join forces to present one of the largest Business-to-Business ex-pos in the western suburbs. Over 1500 people will stroll the aisles looking for ways to improve their business. The Pheasant Run Mega Center is the place to exhibit your business, or find that missing piece to help your business. Pheasant Run Mega Center, 4051 E. Main Street, St. Charles.

APRIL 2013 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 BWIB Council (Chamber) 11:30a City Council 7:30p

2 3 4 5 6 Boombah Grand Opening (345 N. Randall Road) Noon to 2:00p

7 8 Legislative Affairs Committee (Panera Bread) 7:30a

9 Networking (Holmstad Town Center) 8:00a BWIB Lunch (Eagle Brook) 11:30a

10 11 Multi-Chamber Lunch (Courtyard Banquets, Warrenville) 11:30a to 1:00p

12 13

14 15

City Council 7:30p

16 17 Net-Working-It (Funway) 4:00p to 7:00p

18 Spring Seminar (Interiors for Busi-ness) 7:30a

19 20

21 22 Earth Day 23 Networking (Holmstad Town Center) 8:00a

24 Chamber Board (School District) 7:30a B2B Expo (Pheasant Run) Noon to 6:00p

25 26 27

28 29 30

Monthly Thought “...in the words of another patient, ‘When you are walking on thin ice, you might as well dance.’” Rachel Naomi Remen Kitchen Table Wisdom

Batavia Business - Page 2

SAT, APR 6, NOON TO 2:00P—BOOMBAH RETAIL GRAND OPENING. Witness history: the first Boombah retail store right here in Batavia...meet Chicago Bear Corey Wootton! The store is chock full of sports-wear for the entire family. Get your Bulldogs spirit-wear while you are there. 345 N. Randall Road. TUE, APR 9, 11:30A—BWIB

LUNCHEON: DIVERSITY AND THE SMALL TO MID-SIZED OR-

GANIZATION. Scott Hoesman is a sought-after speaker, executive facilitator, author and senior or-ganizational strategy consultant with deep expertise in Diversity & Inclusion, Employee Engage-ment and Innovation. He will discuss measureable, results-focused business strategies that leverage organizations' best as-set—their people. Eagle Brook Country Club, 2288 Fargo Blvd., Geneva. ($25 for members)

Scan here to register for an event through

your smartphone

Tax Day!

Batavia Business - Page 3

New Members Morgenroth's Home Inspections, LLC Mr. Dave Morgenroth PO Box 912 Batavia, IL 60510 Phone: (630) 926-3262 Fax: (630) 879-0592 e-mail: dave@mhinspect.com Web Site: www.mhinspect.com Home Inspection Radco Mr. Michael Damiani 39W930 Midan Drive LaFox, IL 60147 Phone: (630) 232-7966 Fax: (630) 232-7968 Web Site: www.radcoind.com Manufacturing

T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

1 OF CONNECTION & CONTROL

2 APRIL CALENDAR & EVENTS

3 NEW CHAMBER MEMBERS

4 2013 GOLF CLASSIC—JUNE 3

5 LEGISLATIVE UPDATES

6-9 BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE REPORT

7 UNDERSTANDING THE 4 TYPES OF CUSTOMERS

9 THE LATEST FROM THE WWW

10 EVENTS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED

11 WAUBONSEE SBDC OFFERS TOOLS & EXPERTISE

12 PREMIER MEMBERS

11 BOOKS TO KNOW & LOVE… SORT OF?

4 FOCUS ON PREMIER PARTNERS: KANE COUNTY COUGARS

O F F I C E R S : Thomas Wangler, Jr., Confident Aire, Inc.,

President Chris Nyborg, Nyborg & Company, Ltd.,

Immediate Past President Jack Zaruba, BBC Construction & Remodeling,

President Elect Brian Basilico, B2b Interactive Marketing

Treasurer Joe King, Physical Therapy Advantage, Secretary D I R E C T O R S : Dr. Jack Barshinger, School District 101 Jeff Clark, Batavia Park District Gerry Dempsey, Batavia Enterprises, Inc. Kevin Drendel, Drendel & Jansons Law Group Rob Hollis, K.Hollis Jewelers Kim Keating, Alarm Detection Systems Bill McGrath, City of Batavia Richard Mytnik, Illinois Business Systems, Inc. Harriet Parker, Waubonsee Community College

Small Business Development Center Debra Reiter, CMIT Solutions of the Tri-Cities Roger E. Breisch, Executive Director Lynn Tegtman, Administrative Assistant

Batavia Business is published monthly by the Batavia Chamber of Commerce. All rights are re-served. To submit articles for publication contact: Roger Breisch Executive Director Batavia Chamber of Commerce 106 W. Wilson Street Batavia, IL 60510 630-879-7134 info@bataviachamber.org

RWB Consulting, LLC Mr. Richard W. Bryan 326 W. Fayette Sandwich, IL 60548 Phone: (815) 786-6281 e-mail: R.W.Bryan@comcast.net Consultants

facebook.com/BataviaChamber

Here is another resource for you to communicate with fellow Chamber members and the broader community.

Send us your announcements and news and we will post them to the page...let people know how vibrant the Batavia business community is.

Be sure to Like us!!

Batavia Business - Page 4

2013 Golf Classic—Coming June 3!

This is one GREAT Value! Join us for golf at a great private club for

an affordable price. It normally costs $110 to play a round with an Eagle Brook member...for $145 you get: A round of golf at this newly reno-

vated club—nearly $1 million dollars of investment this year!

Drink Tickets, Dinner and a Goodie Bag.

$20 gift card from the PGA Super-store

A chance to win a new Nissan and $1000 at the PGA Superstore.

Bring friends, customers and suppliers. ALL skill levels are welcome… it’s a shotgun start and best ball. The Golf Classic enables the Cham-

ber to reinvest in our members. If you value the things we bring to the local economic community—Batavia Business, seminars, lunch topics, Batavia Women in Business, multi-chamber events, Net-Working-It and so many others—then you know that participating in the Golf Classic not only helps you build relationships for your business or organization, it brings value to the broader economy.

Sponsorships Available

Cart Sponsor $500 Beverage Cart Sponsor $350 Dinner Sponsor $300 Hole Sponsor $225 Game Sponsor $225 Putting Green Sponsor $225

The Batavia Chamber of Commerce is delighted to welcome the Kane County Cougars to our list of Premier Partners. It was 1991 and the baseball season

was approaching when the Kane County Cougars shocked the Minor League community by moving their franchise from quiet Wausau, Wiscon-sin into the shadow of two Major League teams in Chicago. Could a struggling franchise revive itself by operating within shouting distance of the Cubs and White Sox? Would Cou-gar fans display support in this new environment? Throughout the years, the statistics have spoken a truth,

which reveals a team revived, with their loyal fans ever present. As an affiliate of the Chicago Cubs,

the Cougars continue to set a standard of excellence, both on and off the field. In 2013, the Cougars are expecting to welcome their 10 millionth fan in fran-chise history, and have routinely been one of the top draws throughout Mi-nor League Baseball, while providing the best in affordable and family-friendly fun throughout Chicagoland. Did you know that the Cougars have

sent more than 100 players to the Major Leagues? The list includes Rook-ie of the Year award winners, World Series champions and even Olympians! Get your tickets now to see the future stars of the big leagues today! Cougars Affiliates Baltimore Orioles (1991-92) 129 Wins 143 Losses 1 Tie (.473) Florida Marlins (1993-2002) 723 Wins 655 Losses (.525) Oakland Athletics (2003-2010) 591 Wins 520 Losses (.532) Kansas City Royals (2011 - 2012) 133 Wins 146 Losses (.477) Chicago Cubs (2013 - )

Kane County Cougars 34W002 Cherry Lane

Geneva, IL 60134 630-232-8811

630-232-8815 fax www.kccougars.com

Focus on Premier Partners Kane County Cougars

Save the Date!

The Batavia Chamber turns 60 in 2013 We

will celebrate in style on August 20.

The Cougars have given us the Supersuite over-looking home plate and 100 tickets. Stay tuned for how you can win

tickets for this once-in-a-lifetime event!

Class A Affiliate

Join us June 3...it’s good for you...and an investment in the future!

City Updates—Licenses for Outdoor Seating in City ROW

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Batavia Chamber Legislative Updates

As expected, Springfield contin-ues to rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic while the boat continues to tilt towards the ocean. The focus this session seems to be centered on all is-sues non-related to the budget. Gun control is front and center with legislation being presented, and then shot down. (Sorry, couldn’t resist.) Items of note in various bills are requirements to report private gun sales, require-ments to carry liability insurance up to $1 million, restrictions on “knowingly” carrying a gun into an establishment that serves alco-hol, and objections to concealed carry permits if someone had been arrested (not convicted) 5 times or more. Whilst gun con-trol issues may be extremely

important, people still have to live in the state if the law is to have any effect. Springfield is doing little to les-

son the financial issues that are plaguing the State. The damage is also flowing into our University Systems as well. You heard that the State had its credit rating lowered a few months ago. This month, they have lowered the ratings on several of the state’s universities. NIU, Northeastern, Eastern and Governors State all had their ratings lowered. They also changed the outlook on Illi-nois State, Southern Illinois and Western to “negative.” This nega-tive review was based on the reliance of these universities on the state for funding. Operating revenues of these institutions

depend on State Funding ranging from 31-46%. This will impact current outstanding debt of ap-proximately $2.5 billion. Let’s look to the positive news

coming out of the Governor’s office. According to the press release: “Governor Quinn An-nounces Best Contract for Tax-payers in Illinois History.” How could any citizen of the State not feel good about this one? This release was in response to the AFSCME Council approving the new union contract covering 35,000 state employees. This contract had been in negotiation for 15 months. As a taxpayer in the State of Illinois we should all feel good about this one, should-n’t we?

Happenings in Springfield by Sean Sebold, Sebold Capital Management

The City Council recently ap-proved licenses for use of City Right-of-Way for outdoor seating. Major components of the plan include: • An annual fee of $50.00 plus $0.50 per square foot used for outdoor seating.

• A Personal Bond of $1,000.00 required for site cleanup/restoration if the applicant fails to do so.

• Agreements to start on January 1 and end on December 31 of each year. Use of the Licensed Area to start of May 1 and end on November 15. The City would be able to extend these start and end dates for 2 weeks on either end. There is also the provision to grant use of the area for special occasions such as St. Patrick’s Day or Mardi

Gras outside of these dates. • Requires a clear zone of 48” for all exiting areas as well as public sidewalks.

• Cannot be within 15 feet of an intersection and cannot inter-fere with pedestrian access.

• Requires the Licensee to clean the area regularly including bussing of tables. No trash containers (other than smoking material receptacles) are per-mitted to discourage bugs, bees and odors.

• Furniture or perimeter fencing cannot be mounted to the sidewalk or pavement surface.

• Licensee is required to clean Licensed Area or City can re-voke Agreement.

• Snow is required to be re-moved within 6 hours of a snow event if they keep seating

areas intact. • Requires Licensee to maintain insurance with City listed as additional insured.

• Music is permitted until 10:00 PM Sunday through Thursday, and 11:30 PM Friday and Satur-day. (This assumes the same hours as the Outdoor Live Entertainment discussions to date)

• Licensee is required to remove all furniture and other im-provements at termination of Agreement or City can take enforcement action to correct the issue.

BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE REPORT

Business Intelligence Report (ISSN 1091-9597) is published 12 times a year by DBH Communications, Inc. The intent of this publication is to provide business professionals with informative and inter-esting articles and news. These articles, and any opinions expressed in them, are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual or business. Appropriate legal, accounting, financial or medical advice or other ex-pert assistance should always be sought from a competent professional. Copyright, 2011, DBH Communications, Inc. All rights reserved in all countries. Reproduction or use, without written permission, of editorial or graphic content in any manner is prohibited.

IDEAwatch...Tips for Growing Your Business Always eat during a negotiation. That’s

the conclusion drawn by Lakshmi Balachandra, Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship at Babson College. The researcher conducted a series of experiments where people negotiat-ed at a restaurant and in a confer-ence room with and without food. Negotiations conducted in the restaurant pro-duced 12% great-er profits for both parties than negotiations without a meal. Negotiations in a conference room with a meal produced 11% greater prof-its. It’s not known yet why food has a positive effect, but one proposed reason is that an increase of glucose enhances complex brain activities, bolstering self-control and regulating prejudice and aggressive behaviors. Source: www.harvardbusinessreview.org If you want to get constructive feed-

back on a project, avoid merely asking peo-ple what they think of it, according to author and blogger Ben Casocha. Doing so will prob-

ably only warrant some variant of “it’s good,” since most people feel awkward giving nega-tive feedback. Instead, ask for one or two specific ideas on how it can be improved. This eliminates the stress and focuses their mind exclusively on practical, specific changes that they think would lead to improvement. Source: www.inc.com Take advantage of the first 90 days

after getting a new customer. Studies show this is the period when you’ll most likely get strong referrals. Are you currently asking for referrals or sending offers clients can give to friends? This is also the period when a client is most likely to buy from you again. Have you offered them an incentive to come back? Do you let them know about new prod-ucts or services? Of course, before trying to benefit from the 90-day window, don’t forget to thank your clients and make sure they’re happy with the initial purchase. Source: www.chiefmarketer.com Cold working environments are harm-

ful to productivity, according to research at Cornell. After testing different office tempera-tures, researchers found that “when tempera-

tures were low (68º F or 20º C), employees made 44% more mistakes than at optimal room temperature (77º F or 25º C).” Chilliness keeps you distracted. Feel-ing cold means you’ll be using a substantial amount of energy to keep warm, rather than spending it on something more useful. Source: www.fastcompany.com Strengthen your sales arsenal with an

assortment of customer-satisfaction stories. Always be ready to share at least 10 different stories of how your product helped others. Try to include one example that is similar to your prospect’s situation. Source: www.ithinkbigger.com Boost motivation at your company by

putting employees in contact with those who benefit from their work. A study by Wharton professor Adam Grant found that employees who were introduced to someone who bene-fits from their work, in combination with inspirational comments from the CEO about

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NEWSwatch...News & Trends Affecting Today’s Business New small business tax breaks. With all of the political grandstanding during the fiscal cliff negotia-

tions, you may have missed that the new legislation includes many valuable small business tax breaks. Here’s a summary of some of the most important changes: For assets qualifying for the Section 179 deduction and placed in service in tax years beginning in 2013,

the fiscal cliff legislation set the maximum deduction at $500,000 (same as for 2010-2012). Without this change, the Section 179 maximum deduction for 2013 would have been only $25,000. Somewhat surprisingly, the new law also extended a temporary provision that allows up to $250,000 of Section 179 deductions for the cost of qualifying real property placed in service during tax years beginning in 2013. In addition, the new law extended 50% first-year bonus depre-

ciation for an additional year to cover qualifying new (not used) business assets that are placed in service during calendar year 2013. The 50% bonus-depreciation write-off is on top of the first-year depreciation deduction allowed under the “regular” rules. For many small businesses, the single most important element of the 50% bonus-depreciation deal is an $8,000 increase in the maximum allowa-ble first-year depreciation deduction for cars, light trucks and light vans. And unlike Section 179 deduc-tions, your business can claim 50% bonus depreciation deductions even if it has little or no taxable income for the year. The law also allows your company to provide employees with up to $245 per month in tax-free transit

passes and up to $245 per month tax-free for parking. Alternatively, you can reduce employee salaries and directly pay for their transit and parking fees with tax-free dollars. Other small business tax breaks are available and each, including those above, comes with a list of re-

strictions, so be sure to talk with your accountant or tax attorney for more information. Source: Mar-ketwatch.com, Feb. 6, 2013 SMBs rate TV most effective ad channel. TV ads might get only a small share of the marketing

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they take an ownership position in anything they do. The easiest way to sell to this personality type is to simply ask them, “What is your opinion of this product and do you think we should carry it?” Their response might be something like, “I think it looks good and I think you should carry it. I might like something like that. Let me see it.” The bottom line is to include them in any way you can, because they want to feel a part of the decision-making process. Relators are wonderful customers to

have and a sensational source of never-ending referrals.

4. The Socializer. Socializers are exactly as the name implies. They are outgoing, love to talk and love to make new friends. The Socializer wants to build a relationship with em-ployees. This personality type places

likeability as one of the most im-portant buying criteria. If they don’t like you, they are not going to do business with you. Socializers want to build friendships. If you talk to them like an Analytical, with facts and fig-ures, they will shut right down. As similar as they might be to the

Relater, loyalty isn’t as important to the Socializer. If they can develop

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Understanding the 4 Types of Customers by Rick Segel 2. The Analytical. These types

usually have professions that require accuracy and analysis, such as account-ants, engineers or scientists. Jobs like these require professionals to conduct research and analyze all the possibili-ties before making a decision. What motivates this type of person-

ality? Facts, details, product descrip-tions, Consumer Reports information, etc. They want data. Analyticals read manuals, directions and the fine print. Like the Director type, they are unaf-fected by small talk or other niceties. How to Deal with an Analytical:

Give them facts and data. Do not

make a statement unless you can back it up with pertinent information. If the product has detailed labeling, give it to them. There is one major advantage when it comes to dealing with the analytical personality: They have done their homework and comparative research. In many cases, they will actu-ally know more than a salesperson or owner, which makes them a valuable source of information. Don’t be afraid to ask them why they

came to see you, because there is a reason. The biggest asset they have is all the research they have done about the product you are selling. And they have it neatly filed away in their iPad or smartphone so it can be easily ref-erenced in seconds. 3. The Relater. The Relater (or

Belonging) personality type has a strong need to feel part of a group. I like to use the “my” test on this per-sonality type. This means when a cus-tomer refers to “my accountant,” “my doctor,” “my garage,” “my electrician,” “my lawyer” or “my store,” your busi-ness becomes part of their network. These people are usually three calls away from getting anything they want. They always know someone who knows someone who knows someone — the classic example of “three de-grees of separation.” How to Deal with a Relater: The

reason we refer to the Relater shop-per as a “Belonging Type” is because

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As business owners, we deal with many different personality types on a daily basis. Of course, each customer is unique, but there are four basic customer personality types. Master how to deal with each one and watch your sales rise. 1. The Director. As the name im-

plies, this personality is generally asso-ciated with demanding people. They are the take-charge types. They want

what they want when they want it—and they want it now! In extreme cases, they can be intimidating know-it-alls. Directors are generally not into small talk; they want the facts in order to make a decision as quickly as possi-ble. If you try to get in the way of their

goal, they will plow through you and, as the expression goes, “take no pris-oners.” They don’t care about any-one’s interest other than their own. Their goals are very clear. They want the best possible product at the low-est possible price delivered when they want it—which is usually immediately. How to Deal with a Director: Elim-

inate as much small talk as possible, lay out the facts, give your reasons why they should purchase something and make it brief and to the point. One of the most valuable tools you

can use here is to compliment their direct style and decisiveness. The one thing you never want to do is to tell this personality type they are wrong or they are not listening to you. You must let them make their own deci-sions. You can try to make sugges-tions, but make sure they are short and to the point. Remember, the Di-rector gets turned off when you pre-sent yourself in any way as a roadblock to their goal.

Increase sales by sizing up what type of personality your customer has and matching your approach to it.

Batavia Business - Page 8

NEWSwatch (continued)

budget of small and medium-size businesses (SMBs), but they’re perceived as extremely effective, according to a new Vocus survey. TV was rated the most effective advertising channel and the second most effective marketing channel, second only to person-to-person contact. The study found that 53% of respondents rated TV ads a 9 or 10 on a 10-

point scale of effectiveness. TV ads were rated as more effective than radio (43%), outdoor (43%), online display (42%) and print (31%) ads, and also beat out popular marketing channels such as search engine marketing (42%), social (40%) and email (39%). It’s not too surprising to see TV at the top of the list in terms of advertising channel effectiveness. Con-

sumers consistently rank TV ads as having the most influence on their purchase decisions, so it stands to reason that marketers are finding them to be effective. Source: Marketingcharts.com, Feb. 21, 2013

(Continued from page 6)

IDEAwatch (continued) purpose and meaning, had a 20% improvement in revenue per shift compared to employees who only re-ceived rhetoric from the boss. Make sure that your employees can see how the company’s mission and their role in it contributes to meaningful consequences for other people. Source: Academy of Management Journal www.aom.org/amj/ Want to be more memorable to people you meet while networking?

When someone asks you what you do, don’t waste the opportunity by being boring and sounding like everyone else. Instead, share something unique and memorable about yourself. Maybe you skydive on the weekends. Or maybe you’re an advocate for a particular cause. Share something that will not only help the other person remember you, but to learn more about who you really are. The more you reveal about yourself, the better the relationships you’ll create. Source: www.smallbiztrends.com

(Continued from page 6)

Understanding the 4 Types of Customers (continued)

friendships in several different businesses, then they will go to several different places. Socializers love to receive and give compliments. However, they tend to be self-centered. They want to go

to a store where they are made to feel important. This is the one group that retailers, owners, managers and salespeople relate to the most, because the majority of them will fit in this category. How to Deal with a Socializer: The most important thing to remember is that it’s not all about the mer-

chandise; it is about the relationship. Always remember that the first thing you are selling is yourself. You can be giving merchandise away, but the Socializer won’t care if they don’t like you. Use compliments liber-ally. Do whatever you have to do to remember the names of these people. Keep the Socializer focused, yet be light enough to make their buying experience fun and entertaining. The next time a new customer walks in, size them up and put them into one of these four personality

categories. You will then be better prepared to interact with each customer on a higher level, and increase your sales drastically.

Rick Segel is a retail expert, author of 13 books and a Certified Speaking Professional. He has spoken in 49 states, on five continents, with more than 2,100 professional presentations. His approach integrates fun, humor and playful behavior into today’s highly stressful business environment. Visit RickSegel.com.

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Small biz says LinkedIn leads and Twitter lags. Which social net-working site is most effective for small businesses? While a social media site might fit well with one business and not another, according to a survey conducted by The Wall Street Journal and Vistage International, LinkedIn works best overall. Six out of 10 small business owners

say they believe social media tools are valuable to their company’s growth, according to the study. LinkedIn topped the survey with 41% of re-spondents singling it out as potentially beneficial to their company. Sixteen percent picked YouTube and 14% chose Facebook. Only 3% picked Twit-ter. It’s not that Twitter isn’t being used.

As an owner of a consulting firm to law firms explained, “We will tweet 10-plus times a day, and we will put roughly the same number of posts on LinkedIn per day, yet we get dramati-cally different results.” He says Twitter brings in little traffic compared to LinkedIn. Richard Alfonsi, Twitter’s vice presi-

dent of global online sales, says Twit-ter needs to do more to educate small businesses on the benefits of using its service to reach potential customers and on the most effective ways to use the service. The survey also indicates that just

four in 10 business owners said they have employees dedicated to social media campaigns. Nearly half of them spend between one and five hours weekly on social media, and one-third spend no time at all. Source: The Wall Street Journal, Jan. 31, 2013 Mobile is now most used meth-

od for email. If you run email mar-keting campaigns or send email news-letters and aren’t optimized for mobile devices, new research suggests that you may be frustrating four in 10 cus-tomers. In fact, in the past two years, emails opened on a mobile device

jumped 300%. According to Return Path’s latest

mobile study, 38% of email in the Unit-ed States was opened on a mobile phone, compared to 31% opened on a desktop email client such as Outlook or Thunderbird, or a webmail account within a browser (31%) such as Ya-hoo! or Gmail. The latest analysis also found that

emails opened on mobile devices var-ied by industry. Perhaps due to mis-

trust from phishing or simply the con-venience of online banking during working hours, people overwhelmingly opened banking emails on their desk-top. On the other hand, consumers opened 40% of retail marketing emails on a mobile device, indicating a shift away from desktops and laptops. While the best mobile strategy de-

pends largely on your own data, indus-try and region, your email marketing efforts should be optimized for both mobile and the desktop to ensure maximum campaign ROI. Source: Re-turnpath.com, January 2013. Is your mobile website opti-

mized for mobile? You might as-sume the same keywords used to find your desktop website will be used to

find your mobile website. However, mobile does, in some cases, lead to new types of search behavior. Start by looking at your analytics reports to see if new patterns are emerging for mobile visitors. Some common mobile keywords to optimize for include “apps,” “nearby,” “phone number” and “hours.” Source: www.searchengineland.com. Google is analyzing your re-

views. The search engine recently announced that it has made improve-ments to its detection of fake business reviews on its site. Along with not allowing your employees to make reviews, Google recommends that you not set up a computer or tablet device in your place of business for custom-ers to leave reviews. Also, be wary of SEO and reputation management firms that promise to generate reviews. Google says it will remove suspicious reviews, which could lower rankings and click-through rates. More on their announcement is available at: http://dbhc.us/8. Source: www.marketingvox.com Are you blogging too much?

Companies assume they need to feed Google’s desire for a constant stream of information, so they churn out con-tent on a regular basis. However, ac-cording to social media expert Jeff Molander, Google also demands origi-nal and thought-provoking content that attracts readers. Therefore, if you don’t have anything truly interesting to say, there’s not much benefit to push-ing out yet another mediocre blog post. A compelling article, on the oth-er hand, will not only make your web-site look more authoritative to Google, but when prospects experi-ence the quality of your posts, they’ll be more likely to become regular readers, and maybe even regular cus-tomers. Source: www.targetmarketingmag.com

The Latest from the WWW as reported in the Business Intelligence Report

Batavia Business - Page 10

Events You Might Have Missed!

(Above) A great workshop on Energy Star and LEAD architecture was presented by Kluber, Inc.

Congratulations to Mike Kluber on the 25th anniversary of his firm.

(Below) The Holmstad officially opened their beautiful new Commons with a library, multipurpose room and fully equipped auditorium. Josh

Anderson, Executive Director, is looking forward to hosting many community organizations and events.

(Above) Special Thanks to Gibby’s Wine Den for hosting the most recent Net-Working-It event and giving back 10% of all purchases to Batavia

Women in Business. Join us on April 17 at Funway for the next Net-Working-It event.

(Below) The Chamber hosted a forum for the candidates for seats on the Batavia City Council. Nearly 100 citizens showed up at City Hall and

many more watched the live broadcast on BATV

Net-Working-It

Can’t believe I’ve been at this for 25 years!!

Candidate Forum photos courtesy of Kevin Botterman

Batavia Business - Page 11

One of the most valuable resources for small businesses and entrepreneurs is the Small Business Development Center at Waubonsee Community College. Small business owners, both prospective and existing, can obtain essential management, marketing and financial counseling. They offer free, one-on-one counseling and a wide variety of events and workshops to help make your business a success. If you are thinking about starting a

business, their Business Plan Start-Up Guide can help you answer basic ques-tions and get a feel for what's involved in creating a business plan.

Waubonsee SBDC Offers Tools & Expertise

If you are a small business owner, the SBDC offers counseling and resources to help you: • Perform a financial checkup • Troubleshoot management issues • Develop marketing strategies • Evaluate technology options • Identify funding opportunities • Plan growth strategies Supporting SBDC Director Harriett

Parker, meet Small Business Specialist Marcelo Alvarez. He facilitates regular-ly scheduled Entrepreneur Quick Start Sessions which help pre-entrepreneurs understand the process of starting a business. He also provides one-on-one

counseling, coaching and mentoring (in English or Spanish) to small business owners on ways to better manage and grow their business. When he is not assisting SBDC cli-

ents, Marcelo owns his own business helping entrepreneurs pursue fran-chise opportunities. His background in marketing and finance, coupled with his experience as a small business owner, make Marcelo well qualified to provide local small business owners with insights and strategies in running a successful business. Marcelo also teaches workshops for the SBDC on Starting a Business and Franchising.

Books to Know & Love...Sort Of? by Roger Breisch Leadership and Self-Deception by

the Arbinger Institute, and Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman These books entered my life simulta-

neously. Both comment on how our mind turns sensory data into neuronal activity, information and decisions. One is fiction, useful and straightfor-ward...the other, research-based, pro-found and thought-provoking. Both note how the mind, left to its own devices, is a fickle friend indeed. Leadership and Self-Deception sold

millions of copies, was translated into many languages and is used in graduate business schools. It’s interesting, easy-to-read and has a worthy message: we often misread the actions and motiva-tions of others, and, to protect our oft fragile egos, build those misinterpreta-tions into a story where others are far different, and much worse, than we are in our own story. If you want people in your organiza-

tion, or your life, to slow down and think before they judge others, this is an easy-to-read account of what hap-pens everyday...at home and at work. I recommend it for its simple, laser focus on a pernicious aspect of human relationships. My only hesitation is that, while it has a good message, it’s not good fiction! Unlike magnificent stories of human angst and vulnerabil-ity, in which resolution of the human condition emerges as the final words escape from the last chapter, business fiction is often so contrived the con-

clusions and learning are obvious on page 2. The protagonist will triumph in the end; not tragically die in deep angst over having lived a life of lost love or dreams unfulfilled. Sorry if I spoiled the ending. Let’s move from useful and straight-

forward to profound and thought-provoking. A simple question; trust your immediate intuition. A bat and a ball cost $1.10 and the bat costs one dollar more than the ball. How much does the ball cost? If you are like me, your mind immedi-

ately concluded the ball cost ten cents. However, if the ball cost ten cents, the bat cost a dollar and the difference is only ninety cents. Wrong answer! No big deal...it’s a bat and ball. Who

cares? You should. We make similar mistakes in every aspect of life, from raising children to making game-changing business decisions. One premise of Kahneman’s best-

selling work, Thinking, Fast and Slow, is that the mind operates as if it relies on two separate systems. “System 1” refers to our ability to look out into the world and draw an immediately coherent picture based on the data we take in. “System 2” is the cognitive, thoughtful ability we call into play when we realize System 1 is beyond its ability to conjure an answer. 2X2 is no problem for System 1, but 17X54 requires the aid of System 2. Here is what gives me pause. System

2 is lazy; delighted to accept nearly any

coherent picture System 1 conjures. We prefer not to think because think-ing requires energy. You come home tired and the kids are fighting. System 1 will scan for immediately available data, take no more than a nanosecond to compare it to preconceived thoughts about your children and de-velop a picture of what happened: who did what to whom and their motiva-tions for doing so. My father had a phrase to describe those moments… often wrong but never in doubt! Throughout this work, the author

illustrates myriad ways our brain chos-es not to make decisions based on System 2’s careful consideration of relevant data. The stories we tell about how the world operates are limited at best. Kahneman says “our comforting conviction that the world makes sense rests on a secure founda-tion: our almost unlimited ability to ignore our ignorance.” If you are a fan of, Built to Last, for

example, the ability to assemble data and create a coherent picture of suc-cess is smoke and mirrors. Author of The Halo Effect, Phil Rozenzweig, con-cludes “stories of success and failure consistently exaggerate the impact of leadership style and management prac-tices on firm outcomes, and thus their message is rarely useful.” If you choose to read either of these

works, be prepared. It is the fickle mind struggling to understand itself. You have to love the irony!

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