The Four Seasons is a hotel chain catering to luxury stays in medium sized hotels. It is one of the best hotel chain in the world and even if have never stayed there, you should check out the hotel and how it has retained its reputation as one of the best hotels in the world. The chain was started by Isadore Sharp who wrote a book called Four Seasons – the story of a Business Philosophy, Penguin Group, Toronto, 2009. Mr. Sharp outlines the maturing of the nature of the hotel business and how his and chains values and principles became the correct business model for the Four Seasons.

For all companies it is easier to manage when the company profits are growing, but the real question is how does it manage when there is a downturn and seeming stable jobs are threatened by slimming the organization – what happens to the people first values. Mr. Sharp acknowledges there were times when the economy went down, but the company was fortunate it had choices. The fist thing the company did was reaffirm product quality. If you are going to be a world leader, you have to keep quality high in good times as well as bad. Since the hotel business was down, it is a great time to renovate and refurbish the hotels and that was done. An add bonus is in a downturn prices tend to fall and you can still keep your suppliers working.  Another area was marketing, even though they are soft dollars, studies show companies which had not cut back their marketing expanded their market share when the economy picked up.

The company went through its operations and determined different method to simplifying reporting methods and access to the files. The recession is a good time to look at or prospective for new developments as land prices have fallen. The reality is sellers will out number buyers and if you can be a buyer, many opportunities are to be found, including those which you never thought you could afford or new partnerships with some creative thinking can be formed.

Four Seasons went through other downturns and putting people first policy meant communication and more communication comes first, because every employee in the business has a reasonable idea of how the business is doing. Four Seasons moved to a 4 day work week and pooling of jobs – which meant in a hotel there is always many things to do, it means the person may not be in the same department, but there is work to be done. If you believe that service is your industry, the element of trust has to be play a significant role – and as everyone in the world knows trust is easily broken or it takes a great deal of effort to maintain and grow it.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, every organization in the world in good times says they are like the Four Seasons, in bad times they are not. If your stocks have been paying a dividend for many years, you know either they are similar to Four Seasons or they have a monopoly or monopoly like conditions which it matters less. If those conditions are maintained, those working for the company will be relatively loyal because it is profitable company. When economies go through downturns it tests the way companies are run because it often times means job cuts. In a service economy the big expense is employees; what does a company do or not do? Ideally it can still pay the bills and look for opportunities because if they do not get them in the downturn they may never get them. If you buy dividend paying stocks that have paid and even raised their dividends over the years, the income will allow you options in the downturn and the up turns in the economy.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.

The Four Seasons is a hotel chain catering to luxury stays in medium sized hotels. It is one of the best hotel chain in the world and even if have never stayed there, you should check out the hotel to see how it has retained its reputation as one of the best hotels in the world. The chain was started by Isadore Sharp who wrote a book called Four Seasons – the story of a Business Philosophy, Penguin Group, Toronto, 2009. Mr. Sharp outlines the maturing of the nature of the hotel business and how his and chains values and principles became the correct business model for the Four Seasons. People travel a great deal more than ever in the past, and there is a wide number of hotels to suit their needs. In the larger cities in the world, the premium market is dominated by Four Season, the Ritz Carlton and a few others. The Four Seasons business model evolved into a builder of hotels (there is great risk and great reward if it is a success) to a management company (running the hotel for a fee). The company takes other investors to own the hotel, puts up some equity putting up no more than hotel fees would pay over the first 5 years, an amount that could be used to borrow from the bank. The model the company went with was to specialize – midsized hotels on exceptional quality, hotels recognized as the best.

Having the model to be the best and actually achieving it would mean greater refinement of the business model. The trick was to give customers want they value the most to meet and surpass their expectations. We are only what we do, not what we say we are. The goal was to have everyone in the company who think for themselves and act on it, who can remedy service failures on the spot. We are asking them to see the company’s interest as their own and to voluntarily take responsibility. Those words are easily said that done because the method of managing people needed to be changed, for does management see lower employees as a cost or an asset? Remember most people are natural boss-watchers – it is not what someone else says or does it is what their immediate boss says and does.

When Four Seasons started down the road, all the systems had to changed so everyone would act that way. It took time, personnel changed and how people were hired was changed. The result has been rates of retention and productivity increased. Besides the internal change, communication needed to be opened up.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, all companies have to go through the process the Four Seasons did with defining who they are and equally who they are not. As long as they execute on who they are, as they expand to other avenues, that has to remain a constant. When companies expand as opportunities arise, who and what they are tend to get blurred and less money is earned. It is difficult to stay in the space because there is a tendency to look around and say if we allocated our people and resources to that problem we could solve it and make money. The Four Seasons changed their way they operate the company from the insides, it took time but they are still one of the best at what they do. The companies shares that you own, are they the best? have they been consistently good? or is a different management moving them in different directions? Learn the process from the Four Seasons, they have been very consistent and profitable to.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions

If you watch TV, you may have come across a show called Shark Tank, on the show people pitch their ideas of how to expand their business to 4 investors who listen to them, to see if they would invest in the business. One of the investors is Lori Greiner who specializes in products that have a mass appeal and help people’s lives, much of what is changing the attitude from why would I want it to I can not live without it. The process to have an idea and go all the way to selling it is what the book Invent It, Sell It, Bank It! by Lori Greiner, Random House, NY, 2014.

In the old days, of not so long ago marketing meant radio, TV and newspapers and all still have a very valid aspect for companies. With the advent of social media and people using it, there are other options to use or in combination with TV, radio and newspapers. Remember try for consistency on all channels. Your company has to go where the people are and social member is expected. Whether it is Facebook, twitter, or many other names. You need to figure out for your product which is the best one. The key is to update the sites once they have are up and running in order to attract even more readers. It is great if you can find a celebrity to endorse your product, and it should be a celebrity which will help sales of your product; not a celebrity whom you happen to like.

Your product is selling, your great idea has become a successful product and you have learned many new things. This is really just the beginning, you need to come up with more products and some will be natural add-ons or extension of the product. You had one idea of what your product will be used for, consumers often have a different idea. Your contact through social media will tell you what uses your customers use the product for. Remember all products go through the same process, it should be easier for you the second and third and fourth and fifth time around. Use common sense to create add-ons and extensions because there is a need and you are supply a solution to it. You should feel good about going from idea to production to sales.

Linking to dividend paying stocks,it is possible to learn how to do the whole process by doing it and growing a business. It is much easier to concentrate on one part of the business and invest in companies who have good people doing the whole process. The elements of business do not change – there still needs a product or service that is valued by customers, who are willing to pay at margins to be profitable. When the context of business there are many ways to have an edge over your competition, the greater the edge the more the profit, the more profit the more willing investors who will be patient to accept their dividends and capital gains. Use Ms. Grenier’s book as a helpful tool to understand, because the more knowledge you have the less you should lose.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions

If you watch TV, you may have come across a show called Shark Tank, on the show people pitch their ideas of how to expand their business to 4 investors who listen to them, to see if they would invest in the business. One of the investors is Lori Greiner who specializes in products that have a mass appeal and help people’s lives, much of what is changing the attitude from why would I want it to I can not live without it. The process to have an idea and go all the way to selling it is what the book Invent It, Sell It, Bank It! by Lori Greiner, Random House, NY, 2014.

Ultimately, it is people who will make it all work. You have a great idea or invented something, as you go through the processes, people will judge you whether they want to work with and for you. If you come across as someone they do not, but do anyways when it comes to the pressure points of the business, will they go the extra mile? not usually. They will tell you the reasons why it can not be done in the time frame you are thinking of. If you had come across a person they want to do business with, when problems occur and they will occur, they will try to ensure there are no NOs, just How Can I? meet your deadlines. The time to build the relationships is before disaster happens and when disaster happens – people will work together to fit a solution to the problem. Part of the relationship building is make the people you work with feel valued and part of the team; show your appreciation for what they do and explain why something is a special request or a rush for you – understanding is a key.

Lori Greiner specializes in products that are made for the mass of people and are easily demonstrable she has great knowledge of how home shopping channels work and types of items that work better on them. You have your product made and it would work at the QVC what do you do? The selling part is the visuals – the consumer can see the physical proof it is better than the other options. The questions of its uniqueness, the need for it, good price point, market want it, affordable and manageable come into factor for those are which you will show on TV, The TV offers tremendous reach, instant sales, free marketing and advertising, free market research and instant customer feedback. There is a process to get on the air – the good news is the shopping networks need the next big thing and a good product is a good product. There is a difference between retail stores and home shopping – in retail sales packaging is going to help you sell; in home shopping packaging does little for you. When you pitch to home shopping – be passionate, show your product come to life and be appealing as hope your product will be. TV is visual which means people need to fall in love with you and your product. TV also shows if you are not sincere or you have to be genuine. The emphasis is always the product’s features and benefits. All the things you product does and why the consumer needs to have it.

Linking to dividend producing stocks,

If you watch TV, you may have come across a show called Shark Tank, on the show people pitch their ideas of how to expand their business to 4 investors who listen to them, to see if they would invest in the business. One of the investors is Lori Greiner who specializes in products that have a mass appeal and help people’s lives, much of what is changing the attitude from why would I want it to I can not live without it. The process to have an idea and go all the way to selling it is what the book Invent It, Sell It, Bank It! by Lori Greiner, Random House, NY, 2014.

After inventing something, you will likely explore getting it patented. The reasons are most business copy someone else, they sell it better or cheaper because they copy. If you have a patent it is possible to sue and collect money from the copycats. The patent laws were changed and it is worthwhile to patent sooner than later. When you get time to sell to retailers – sue the copycats and many retailers will go with you because you have the patent. Another reason to have a patent is the patent has value, you may not be the one to take something to market – you can licence it or sell to someone else and receive a royalty on each sale.

Pitching your idea to investors and retailers will be something you need to get good at. The perfect pitch means its is precise, concise and enthusiastic.

1. The first sentence should be short as possible but highlighting 3 top selling features.

2. Buyers hear many pitches and since they are still in business they are smart, savvy and expert at summing up a product’s potential at a quick glance. Use humour to engage the buyer. Your body language will be read, the person wants to do business with you for your product and with you the person – they want to know you know what you are doing.

3. Lori is big on enthusiasm. When you love your product, people see that and then they wonder why you love it so much, and start to see what you see.

4. You will be asked questions – answer them. You cannot over prepare for pitch. You will need to know your numbers down pat. If you do not know, do not lie, tell them you will get back to them. Attitude will be what the pitchers are looking at, as well as how well you know your business and what could change. Part of what you are pitching is yourself, a buyer may love the product, but not you and since you are the one who has to work with the buyer, you need to show you can work with and for the buyer. Remember most of the time, he/she has other options try to make it easy for both them and you to say yes to working together.

If you decide you want to manufacturer the idea, there are more hurdles to cross and it means you decided not to allow someone else to do it. Your early editions maybe local, but in today’s world some of it will be away from the local area, it will depend on what items your product is made from. The biggest driver is upholding your standards of quality and safety while keeping your price point to a level consumer will buy it.

The first thing will be to look to companies which manufacturer something similar to yours. They have experience, the machines and likely produce a variety of product lines. It would wonderful for you to tour the factories, but hiring a representative also works well. Manufacturers typically ask for 20-30% down with the rest due upon shipping. Once it is shipped it is yours, it needs to be inspected to accept, fix or reject before shipping.

Once the product is made it needs to be packaged – more decisions to be made. If it going to be on a retail shelf, it will have to “sell” itself or stand out. If this is not your strength, ensure you have good designers otherwise it will show. A good idea is for you to have a finalized sample, your supplier to have one and that is the standard the rest of the production has to make. Similar to every industry once the item goes into production, there will be hiccups along the way. The packaging has to meet government regulations as well as your shippers expectations.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, Lori Grenier’s book outlines many of the processes involved for companies. In today’s column financing and manufacturing, there are many moving parts and all of them are presales or no revenues coming in. You need to access money to manufacturer to sell, which is why there is many things that can go wrong or go right and make everything worthwhile. By buying shares in a company which already makes a profit in consumer goods, it is easier. The companies go through the processes and part of the reason they can make profits is the systems they have in place which were built up and tried over the years. Understanding the process allows you to pick the best company.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions

If you watch TV, you may have come across a show called Shark Tank, on the show people pitch their ideas of how to expand their business to 4 investors who listen to them, to see if they would invest in the business. One of the investors is Lori Greiner who specializes in products that have a mass appeal and help people’s lives, much of what is changing the attitude from why would I want it to I can not live without it. The process to have an idea and go all the way to selling it is what the book Invent It, Sell It, Bank It! by Lori Greiner, Random House, NY, 2014.

In part one, you have a great idea or an invention, the next step is what will you do with it? If the idea is something that can be sold at a store, you will begin the process of making the item. The good news is every year the process becomes easier for new inventors, however there is vast difference between a little knowledge and professionals. The world of 3D Printers, CAD design, inventors workshops, are all available to help. Take your time because the idea is in your head and you will be asked many questions. Along the way take the proper legal measures as well as learn from the professionals you are dealing with.

Once the working model is up, before taking the next big step, ensure there are willing people to pay for what you have invented or do market research. Your research will focus on 3 aspects:

1. who is the competition? what is similar? who makes them? who buys them? and how well do they sell?

2.If you have a product based on the consumer market how is it doing? what are the trends? how are consumers pocket books?

3. You have to test your invention. Do people like it, recognize the usefulness and are willing to buy?

To get the feedback necessary – the research needs to ask people you do not know. If you ask your friends – they want to support you. If you ask strangers they give better answers.

The willingness to buy is a key and at what price? how do people value your product? If you ask a large cross section of people, you will see trends emerging.

Once again there more ways to do the research from Social Media or Facebook. Part of the appeal of Facebook is people talking to people, but all the data is captured which enables you to check out the information. For example Graph Search will tell you where people live that have indicated an interest in your product. You can then refine your searches to what else in general those people like.  In terms of survey SurveyMonkey is a useful service and can easily be targeted for information.

Depending on where you live – many neighbourhoods have festivals and you can buy a table for relatively low cost and test your ideas. Pop up stores is an idea as you continue to move along. From all your research – you should have a reasonable idea of the people who would pay for it and at what price. Those are tough questions and you will need to take advice and ensure you make a reasonable profit.

To get funding to make the product – some will come from your pocketbook or line of credit. As friends and family will be interested in what you are doing, they are a source. After that – you will need a Business Plan – it explains to somebody who does not know you or your product – what is your product? how and where you are going to make it? how you are going to sell it? your assessment of the competition? why yours is better? how much money you are going to need to start and run it in the near and long term?

In your business plan – remember there will be addition costs. if you do not mention them or talk about them; experienced people will think you are too naïve. If you are reasonably successful, you will have to move from the basement or den, that adds costs? Addition costs brings risks of being stuck with overhead, it needs to be stored and someone needs to pay for it. What are the new ideas you are working on?

Financing or raising capital – first it will be yours and your family, then the circle will get wider. If you raise from friends, try to keep it relatively small and under the assumption there will be a long payback. Otherwise you will lose the connection. Banks are a source of funding; government small business loans; many towns and cities have economic development office try them; contests like Shark Tank or local Shark Tank – if some communities where people had success they operate a venture fund for local people and they are able to try to gain funding.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, those familiar with buying companies will be familiar with companies issuing shares – each time a business plan is filed and sent out to all the shareholders – both perspective and existing shareholders. Business plans in general do not change but the wording often does. If the business plans says we will be ethical, it means you will be judge harshly if you are not. All business plans contain a SWOT (strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats) analysis. This is where people can agree or disagree with the company. For example many companies say their strength is their people, but they seem to have a revolving door of personnel, it is really a strength? The longer you hold your shares, the more exposed to financing you will become.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions

you watch TV, you may have come across a show called Shark Tank, on the show people pitch their ideas of how to expand their business to 4 investors who listen to them, to see if they would invest in the business. One of the investors is Lori Greiner who specializes in products that have a mass appeal and help people’s lives, much of what is changing the attitude from why would I want it to I can not live without it. The process to have an idea and go all the way to selling it is what the book Invent It, Sell It, Bank It! by Lori Greiner, Random House, NY, 2014. The book is helpful as a consumer and wherever you are in the chain of transactions – most of us work in one sector or the other. If nothing else, there are different skill sets or focuses needed as you move from inventor to selling the items, although anyone can learn them. Ms. Greiner’s book has a number of chapter and the first one deals with people who invent.

If you are curious, you can be an inventor. The 6 essential characteristics are passion, confidence, drive and determination, organizational skills, self-sufficiency and independence; charisma and showmanship and some money to do. Each of the characteristics are necessary, but also will need balance to work and share with others. Remember while invention is wonderful, you should remember to enjoy yourself and have fun because this will help you concentrate on your strengths and get help with your weaknesses.

You have an idea that you wish to make money from, it is good you have an idea, next you will want to have some idea from a financial point of view is a hero or zero. Hero meaning has the possibility of making lots of money, zero because it may only appeal to 10 people on the planet and you have to find those 10 people. The guideline to know where the product is include 9 questions.

1, What is my Product?  Need 2 sentences to describe it. That will help in the naming.

2. Does it Solve a Problem?  what solution and who experiences the problem?

3. Is It Unique? with the internet it should not be hard to figure out. Remember better is not unique, will people pay extra to buy better? if yes who? if not – what price are they willing to pay?

4. Is it something People will Need or Want? If you create to people’s needs, when the economy goes through its cycles, you will be better protected – they need it for their living or it is consider a necessity.

5. Is it Demonstrable? Your customers will have to get or understand your product as soon as they see it. If they need to read the instructions ask yourself when was the last time you read the manual for something you bought?

6. How Do I Make it? Your invention needs to be put together with what materials? from where? what is the size of the product that somebody needs to display to sell?

7. Who is Your Target Market? Whenever possible invent for the masses. The broader the audience, the better chance of making sales. You can always target niche markets.

8. Is it Safe? if it is not, safety regulations will stop you.

9. Is it a Consumable? Does the product need to be replaced on a continuing basis – if you gain sales, you should have repeat sales to build from.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, all products in all sized companies go through the same checklists. Generally we believe the larger companies will tend to get it right, but that is the reason for Movies having part 2, part 3, part 4, etc.  If you take your product or idea through the lists, you will see there are many moving parts, many questions that need answers, many directions to go it for there is more than one answer to the questions. If you buy a dividend paying stock, they get it right more than wrong on a regular basis. The companies develop systems in place which can get the idea to a product and onto a shelf for the consumer to buy. If you are still working on your invention you want to profit from the dividend producing companies until you reach the stage where you can show the world.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions

On the way to work last week, one of the sidewalks of a building was being washed. There is construction both on the road and down the street on new buildings, which means the sidewalk gets dirty. The person had hosed down the sidewalk and now the water was travelling to its lowest point or following the rules of gravity. Sidewalks when they are built have a cut between the two pieces of concrete to allow the water to flow to the cuts and onto the street. After a time of use the sidewalk will not drain perfectly and water will collect in small pools waiting for the shoe of a pedestrian to move it along the way. The impact of the shoe will exploded the small pools and the water will move along to be drained or may even come back to wait for the next shoe. Often times there is concrete on one side or a building abutting against the sidewalk and occasionally there is grass to help absorb the water to lessen the volume of water going down the drains into the underground pipes which take the water to be cleaned and end up into the river or bay.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, a little thing is linked to something else which is linked to something else which keeps up alive. Relating the example to stocks, by buying a dividend paying stocks because it makes a profit and can afford to pay a dividend, that is linked to either a monopoly or maintaining a large enough market share to be profitable in all types of economies. If you own one of the these types of stocks, whether the price of the shares goes up or down, does not matter as much, as long as the company earns a profit and can pay its dividend. Your idea is to buy and hold the shares for a few years or longer, for the longer you own them the greater their value. Profitable stocks tend to trade a higher multiples than non profitable stocks.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions

The book A Hole in the Bottom of the Sea by Joel Achenbach, Simon & Schuster, NY, 2011 is the engineers side of the story of the BP Oil Gusher in the Gulf Coast. There were many things to learn, some of the lessons were very expensive, but lessons are to be learned. One of the lessons is in most accidents there is usually not one smoking gun. Generally the people are well paid; the crew will be a blend of experienced people who have been through the ringer or many different situations. Also there will be eager, newer people who depend more on technology for the perfect answer but all are just trying to do their jobs. In the case of the BP Oil Gusher, the well exploded and a variety of things that were expected to happen did not happen. It was expected some fail safe procedures would allow for any disaster to happen but the systems would be able to control it. In this this case, since the normal things did not work, engineering solutions had to be figured out which meant working on the bottom of the sea with mechanical devices. The engineers tried many different ideas, through the government – many of the best scientists working for the government were working on possible solutions. In the end, after months of ideas and tries, the well was capped.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, one thing that quickly becomes noticeable is even though the science can be worked on by many, those that have the solution implemented are those that have developed relationships before the disaster happened. When disasters happen both the company and government must reach out to contain and bring things back under control. It is entirely possible to get to know other people in the community through the many conferences and conventions – people need to attend to meet and see if they could work with the person in government or the private sector. Relationships and trust are keys to solving the normal problems which happen. In the case of BP there was for many months an us and them way of thinking. The President of the US put some of the best scientists of the government on the problem, however few had relationships with BP people which meant an us and them situation. Bridges need to be part of the solution before the disasters happen even if it is to understand what policies and procedures the government tends to follow. It is better to work with than against the government.

Working against the government will send the price of shares on a roller coaster because the senior members of government  will comment on what was happening. With the comments, he rest of the world would try to breakdown what is said, to see what that means if there could be money made. If a relationship has been made, the comments can be more helpful.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions