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» MAY 2016BAYSTATEBANNER.COM/BANNERBIZ

A BUS INESS MAGAZINE FOR URBAN COMMUNIT IES OF NEW ENGLAND

LEGAL ADVICE P6

BUSINESS TRENDS P13

SOCIAL SECURITY P42

FRAMINGHAM’S CHOCOLATE THERAPY OFFERS ‘SWEET REMEDIES’ P36

PLAY STRONG. PLAY HARD.PLAY MORE.

BETTY FRANCISCO AND REIMAGINE PLAY ARE ON

THE FOREFRONT OF FITNESS P28

george foreman iiiWITH HIS FORT POINT GYM, EVERYBODYFIGHTS, THE SON OF THE FORMER HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION IS PUTTING INTO PRACTICE LESSONS LEARNED IN BOXING AND BUSINESS P22

2 | BANNER BIZ | MAY 2016

PHOTO: BYRON EBANKS PHOTOGRAPHY

MAY 2016 | BAYSTATEBANNER.COM/BANNERBIZ | 3

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2016CONTENTS

MAY

cover story

feature

GEORGE FOREMAN III

Boxing and business go hand in hand in this fighting family

PLAY HARD

Betty Francisco and Reimagine Play introduce kids to physical fitness

28This is about health and fitness and a better society. Funding is not likely

to come from angel investors or venture capitalists, because they’re looking for huge returns. This is a vehicle for socially responsible investors ...”

— BETTY FRANCISCO, FOUNDER, REIMAGINE PLAY

“Children take part in partner walking lunges race at Reimagine Play.

PHOTO: BYRON EBANKS PHOTOGRAPHY


PUBLISHERSandra Casagrand

EDITORSYawu Miller

Martin Desmarais

ART DIRECTORDaniel Goodwin

PRODUCTIONCaleb Olson

For advertising opportunitiesPlease contact

Sandra Casagrandat (617) 261-4600 x7797 or [email protected]

Banner Biz is published by Banner Publications, Inc.Volume 3 • Number 2

May 2016

Banner Biz is printed by TC Transcontinental Printing

10807, Mirabeau, Anjou (Québec) H1J 1T7

Printed in Canada

COVER PHOTO: JACK RUMMEL

ROXBURY INNOVATION CENTER A Program of The Venture Café

CALLING ALL ENTREPRENEURS AND INNOVATORS!

We’ve got lots of upcoming events at the Roxbury Innovation Center!

More online at http://bit.ly/ric-banner

#FabLabRoxbury: Vinyl Cutting

MAY3

MAY10

MAY17

MAY24

JUN6

JUN22

JUN15

JUN 21

JUN23

#MakeBREAD: Startup Classroom

#FabLabRoxbury: Microelectronics

Café Night @ RIC

#FabLabRoxbury: CNC Milling

CWE: Is Entrepreneurship Right for You?

CWE: Pricing for Profitability

CWE: Accounting for Non-Accountants

Café Night @ RIC

roxburyinnovationcenter.org

CONTENTS

entrepreneurship

trending

capital

departments

34 Q&A: ERIN MCCORMICK

The entrepreneur brings her startup smarts to UMass Boston

36 CHOCOLATE THERAPY

The Framingham confectioner touts the health benefits of the sweet treat

38 FIT TO SUCCEED

Fittus mobile app pairs gym partners to get the most of workouts

6 LEGAL ADVICE8 DIVERSITY & LEADERSHIP9 NETWORKING

14 SMALL-SCALE MANUFACTURING

16 THE INTERNET OF THINGS

18 RETAIL TRENDS FOR 2016

20 CREATING A MOBILE OFFICE

42 RETIREMENT BENEFITS

Get the most out of your Social Security payout

44 SECURING CAPITAL

Options exist for small business loans


WELCOME TO OUR MAY ISSUE OF BANNER BIZ. The stories that we get to share in each issue never fail to inspire. The entrepre-neurs are as varied as their companies, but they all began by being passionate about something and wanting to turn

their ideas into a business. Living in a city that is supportive of small businesses is critical to their success. In this issue we have stories of three different entrepreneurs who started businesses in the fitness industry, EveryBodyFights, Fittus and Reimagine Play. We also include the story of entrepreneurs who turned their passion for chocolate into a business, Chocolate Therapy.

Our cover story is on George Foreman III who might be best known for his family boxing legacy, but you will soon learn that what’s really impressive about George is his business acumen. I was particu-larly surprised to learn that he moved from Texas to Boston to start his business. That says a lot about the reputation that Boston is gaining nationally as an innovative and inclusive city that has a supportive eco-system for entrepreneurs and small business owners. Whether fitness or chocolate is your thing (or both!) we know you will enjoy reading these stories.

publisher’s note

A PASSION THAT INSPIRES

Sandra Casagrand, Publisher

There are so many aspects of Every BodyFights gym that make it unlike any other gym. One of the first things that stood out to me on my first visit was the incredible mural that took up an entire wall. It sets the unique tone for the rest of the gym. It was produced by a local company, Studio Fresh, that is run by Dana Woulfe and Josh Falk. They have more than two decades of painting and design experience as their foundation. It was a great decision by George to hire them!

behind the scenes

contributors[1] YAWU MILLER began his career in journalism with the Banner, serving as a staff reporter in 1993. He became managing editor in 1996. After leaving the Banner in 2006, he continued with the paper as a freelance writer and photographer. He has also written freelance articles for Commonwealth Magazine, the Baltimore Afro American and the Boston Irish Reporter. Miller graduated from Dartmouth College in 1990 with a bachelor’s degree in English. He lives in Roxbury with his wife, 16-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son.

[2] MARTIN DESMARAIS has more than 14 years of experi-ence in the newspaper industry both print and online, including nine years of experience as editor-in-chief of a national business newspaper, the Indus Business Journal. His areas of expertise include: technology, venture capital, startups and small business, health and medicine, franchise and hospitality, as well as interna-tional business. He has a bachelor’s degree from Stonehill College and a master’s degree from the Pennsylvania State University.

[3] KENNETH COOPER is a Pulitzer Prize winner and has been a journalist for more than 30 years, specializing in govern-ment, politics and social policy, at the Washington Post, Boston Globe, Knight Ridder, St. Louis Post-Dispatch and St. Louis American. He recently co-authored a book with photojournalist Don West, Portraits of Purpose: A Tribute to Leadership.

[4] MARCY MURNINGHAN hails from Lansing, Michigan, but has lived in the Boston area for more than 40 years. She worked on the court side of the Boston school desegregation case (1978-80), picking up a Harvard doctorate in the process (1983). From race and schooling she moved on to “money and morality” issues, especially involving South Africa (1980s), did post-doc work, project and teaching stints at Harvard Divinity School and Babson College (1990s) and has advised numerous companies, institutional investors, and various groups advocating for greater corporate and investor accountability to the public interest (1987-now). She’s also written extensively on these topics.

[5] DEBORAH LEIPZIGER is an author, consultant and educa-tor. She is author of The Corporate Responsibility Code Book, now in its third edition. She has written several books and case studies relating to sustainability and social innovation. Born in Brazil, Leipziger is a Senior Fellow in Social Innovation at the Lewis Institute at Babson. www.deborahleipziger.com

[6] SANDRA LARSON has been writing for the Bay State Banner since 2009 and has contributed more than 100 stories on urban issues, including extensive coverage of foreclosure, affordable housing, minority jobs issues, and the city’s revitalization plans for Dudley Square in Roxbury. For the Banner and for Exhale Magazine, she has interviewed and profiled many prominent women, among them author Isabel Wilkerson, playwright Lydia Diamond, FACE Africa founder Saran Kaba Jones, former EPA administrator Lisa Jackson, and former Massachusetts first lady Diane Patrick. Sandra holds a bachelor’s degree in biological aspects of conservation, a master’s degree in journalism and a master’s degree in urban and regional policy. She lives in Boston with her husband and 12-year-old son.

[7] Boston-based writer and consultant BRIAN O'CONNOR has been a contributor to the Bay State Banner for close to 30 years. His articles and essays on race, social change, war, politics, economics, travel and family have appeared in newspapers, magazines and journals in the U.S. and abroad. He has also written hundreds of profiles for publication. A graduate of Harvard College, O’Connor studied symbolist poetry at the University of Grenoble after spending three years teaching En-glish and coaching soccer at St. Albans School in Washington, D.C. He joined the staff of the Banner as a reporter and served as managing editor until leaving to become Communications Director for U.S. Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II (D-Mass.).

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legal advice

BOB BICEP AND TROY TRICEPS MET ONE DAY AT A LOCAL GYM. Their schedules were similar, and they started to work out to-gether. They compared notes on their different workout routines, including the foods, drinks and supplements

that they consumed before and after exercising. They had fun arguments about which routines and consumables were most effective, and they decided to keep track and measure their results. They also reached out to their other workout friends to find out their exercise routines, diets, supplements and results.

Bob and Troy were obtaining great information for the best workout rou-tines and consumables. But, they found that a recurring problem for them and their friends came when they traveled, which they did fairly often. In motels, friends’ homes or inexpensive alternative housing, there were few or no workout facilities, and food choices typically were limited. How could one maintain an effective workout routine under these circumstances?

That's when Bob came up with the idea of developing a cellphone app for working out on the road. Users would enter into the app the specific workout equipment that was available where they

were staying, the food offerings and the workout goals. The app would respond by telling users what workout routines to use and what foods to eat. When there were no workout facilities, the app would indicate how to take advantage of common room amenities to develop a full-body workout routine, and what to eat from a limited menu.

Bob and Troy needed someone who could write the code for the app, and a friend of Troy's introduced them to Harry Hamstring. Harry was a software engineer who had been writing code for nearly 10 years and had developed several apps. They had lunch together and Harry immediately loved the idea and wanted in.

PRO TIP: DON’T MAKE BUSINESS DEALS ON A PAPER NAPKIN

THE WORKOUT THAT DIDN’T WORK OUT

CASE STUDIES:JAN A. GLASSMAN

legal advice

Bob pulled out a paper napkin and wrote a simple deal. They would be equal partners in the new app, to be called Fit-Tel. Bob would continue to gather data and turn it over to Harry, Troy would provide some initial funding and seek out investors, and Harry would write the code. They each signed and dated the napkin.

Development went more slowly than they had anticipated. Troy put $5,000 into the deal to cover initial costs, and he started looking for some investors. Bob continued to bring data to Harry, but a couple months later, Bob's wife had a baby and Bob couldn't spend any more time on the project. In addition, Harry had a full-time job and he could work only on nights and weekends.

Troy picked up the slack of providing the data to Harry, and Harry continued to work on Fit-Tel. Finally, about a year after they signed the napkin, Harry completed it. He sent out a beta version to Bob and Troy. Troy thought it was perfect, but Bob could not be bothered to even look at it; he was swamped with work and parent responsibilities.

Troy showed Fit-Tel to Maggie Money, an angel investor and workout enthusiast, and Maggie loved it. She wanted to invest $1 million for a 55 percent interest in the app. The money would be used for final development of the app, copyright/trademark/patent protection, and marketing. Maggie also wanted Bob, Troy and Harry to agree to reduce their interests to 15 percent each, spend 50 percent of their time toward final development and marketing and sign non-competition, non-solicitation and confidentiality agreements.

Troy was excited with the deal! He brought it to Harry, but Harry thought that 15 percent was too small for all of the time that he had put into Fit-Tel. He also couldn't spend 50 percent of his time on it going forward, and he didn't think that Bob, who had deserted them, should get 15 percent. Lastly, Harry had already started working on another fit-ness app that he had conceived a couple months earlier, and he didn't want to sign a non-compete agreement.

Troy then went to Bob, who said that he was not willing to accept less than 25 percent ownership for his initial idea


that led to Fit-Tel and he did not think that the founders should give up majori-ty control. He also said that there was no way that he could spend 50 percent of his time on its further development.

Troy decided to go see his friend, Linda Lawyer, to see if she could help. He knew that she worked with lots of startups. Linda explained to Harry that when people get together to develop a new product or service, they need more than just a napkin deal. They need a formal document that addresses job responsibilities during development, ownership division, cost sharing, dilution for investors, noncompetition, confidentiality and many other matters. It's not an expensive agreement, but it takes care of issues that can develop lat-er. While many of these matters may not seem important in the beginning stages of development, once the product or service is marketable, founders react dif-ferently to these issues, as was the case with Bob and Harry. Linda's best advice to Troy was for him to try to negotiate a deal among Bob, Harry and Maggie, and she would write it up.

Troy went back to Bob, Harry and Maggie to find acceptable middle grounds on monetary investment, own-ership interests and future work respon-sibilities. Unfortunately, he couldn’t get them to agree. Maggie pulled out, the concept never was developed, and Troy lost his money. But Troy learned a lesson. The next time he wants to work on a deal with a partner, he will start off with a for-mal written agreement that clearly states what will happen as they pursue and de-velop their concept. That way, it will have a far better chance of succeeding.

JAN GLASSMAN is the founder of Daily General Counsel™, www.DailyGeneralCounsel.com, a Boston-based startup that provides very affordable legal services to small businesses and startups that otherwise could not afford a highly experienced business lawyer and would “go it alone.” DailyGC™ lawyers spend a full business day at their clients’ places of business, working directly with owners to resolve their most pressing sales, operations, employment and other legal/business problems. Prior to founding DailyGC™, Jan was General Counsel for a national management consulting firm that served small businesses throughout the United States. Follow Jan Glassman on Twitter @DailyGC

ILLUSTRATION: CALEB OLSON


diversity

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION ARE NOT DO-GOODER CAUSES. There is growing evidence that having a diverse workforce drives business results, and the vast majority of global companies know there is good reason to understand

and build inclusive culture.

According to a 2014 Deloitte survey, 71 percent of companies, most of them global or multi-national, aspired to create an inclusive culture within three years because they believed it can create busi-ness value. Only 11 percent of companies surveyed reported that they currently had an inclusive culture. The report indicated that investments are not commensurate with what the companies wanted to achieve. Clearly, there is work to do to translate aspirations into action.

Historically, the reasons companies invest in diversity and inclusion have evolved. Diana Solash, global director of diversity and inclusion at Ernst & Young, described scenarios at the Conference

Board’s 2015 Corporate Diversity & Inclu-sion Conference.

Early on, diversity and inclusion was compliance-driven, almost a “check-the-box” kind of priority. Later, it was about the felt need to project a positive quality of character: there were “good guys and bad guys,” and companies wanted to prove they were among the good guys. In more austere times, after the negative business cycles following Sept. 11, 2001 and the financial crisis of 2008, compa-nies were demanding a better rationale for investment. All these speak to the way motivations of management evolve as they view changing business imperatives.

At Ernst & Young, they made a

A DIVERSIFIED WORKFORCE GETS RESULTS

THE BUSINESS CASE FOR DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

LEADERSHIP:SUZANNE BATES

convincing case through engagement sur-veys. They were able to show that compa-ny units with the highest level of engage-ment were more diverse and performed better than others. Those who scored lower showed more insider-outsider dynamics. In this way, Ernst & Young was able to demonstrate a link between inclusion and business performance.

EMC, a global IT company based in Boston, also made this case. Its global diversity officer, Jackie Glenn, noted in an interview last year that diversity promotes innovation: heterogeneous teams generate more creative solutions. EMC has a global footprint and relies on human capital. Glenn observed that the major obstacle to further progress is the “frozen middle” — middle managers’ understanding of why diversity and inclusion are a business imperative. But the case is clear. As Glenn puts it, “Inclusion isn’t a social nicety.”

Investment in diversity and inclusion by progressive global firms like EMC and Ernst & Young may even impact capital markets. A study based on 100 firms drawn from Fortune magazine’s best companies for minorities found a positive relationship between diversity reputation and book-to-market equity.

To sum it up, perceptions about an organization’s reputation for promoting diverse leadership drive value. According to the researchers, the study suggests that “there is some value in effort and expen-ditures devoted to attaining best-compa-ny designation for diversity and diversity management [as it may] … signal … a firm’s earning prospects, thereby enhanc-ing … perceived value among investors.”

So there is good reason for organiza-tions to recommit to diversity, and keep working at it. We have to invest in the right places and measure progress, and we have to recognize more quickly oppor-tunities to support diverse leaders.

SUZANNE BATES is CEO of Bates Communications, Inc., a top CEO Coach, former award-winning television news anchor, and author of Speak Like a CEO, Motivate Like a CEO, and Discover Your CEO Brand. Her latest book, All the Leader You Can Be, was published by McGraw Hill in March 2016. The book is geared towards executives and experts in lead-ership development who want a research-based framework for leading and influencing in today’s global marketplace. For more info, see www.bates-communications.com


NETWORKING:KATY TYNAN

THE SCIENCE OF GOAL PLANNING

the changing workplace

WHY DO WE SPEND SO MUCH TIME TALKING ABOUT GOALS AS PART OF PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT? Every book, every blog, and every training about improving employee per-formance starts with a conversation about goals. It’s

become the most important tool for organizational and indi-vidual management — but why? What’s so great about a goal?

It turns out our brains are hardwired to focus on near-term objectives. Tony Hsieh, CEO and Chief Happiness Officer at Zappos, found that offering small promotions and title changes every three to six months had a huge impact on pro-ductivity in his organization compared to larger promotions every 12 to 18 months.

But it’s not enough to just have a goal. The process — how we go about setting goals — is just as important. There was a lot of talk about a Yale study in 1953 that claimed that the 3 percent of graduates that had written goals accumulated more

OUR BRAINS RESPOND TO NEAR-TERM OBJECTIVES

personal wealth than the 97 percent of their class that didn’t. The study turned out to be total fiction, but the underlying premise was so interesting that scientists did an actual study of the effect of writ-ing down goals, and found the impact to be substantial

So we know that setting goals is a valuable exercise, and that making them incremental and writing them down will make them more achievable. What else can science tell us about improving our goal planning process?

In 2011, a group of scientists pulled together the results of a variety of smaller studies conducted over the years and found several other important factors related to goal success.

n Specific goals are far more effective than vague goals. For anyone who has ever been on a diet, this one is pretty obvious. If I say I want to lose weight, I’m much more likely to actually do it if I have a specific number-of-pounds target to hit.

n “Stretch” or difficult goals result in higher performance. When faced with a challenge, people tend to rise to it. Pushing yourself to do something hard means you’ll blow right past those easy goals; when you hit a stretch goal you feel like you’ve really accomplished something.

n Group goals are better for team perfor-mance than individually beneficial goals. Hav-ing a goal that benefits the group helps the whole group perform better than having goals benefitting only individuals. The message for managers here is to be careful that goals within your team are aligned. Having two people working at cross-purposes can make the whole team perform worse.

Sometimes science tells us things we don’t expect, but in this case it looks like what we suspected all along is true — specific goals and hard goals are good things, and writing them down makes it even more likely that they will be achieved!

KATY TYNAN is an expert on how work is changing. She is the author of the new book Free Agent: The Independent Professional’s Guide to Self-Employment Success, from Productivity Press. She is a founding partner of Liteskip Consulting Group and MindBridge Partners. Visit Tynan’s website at www.katytynan.com, her Amazon page, or connect with her on LinkedIn @KatyTynan

When faced with a challenge, people tend to rise to it. Pushing yourself to do some-thing hard means you’ll blow right past those easy goals ... you feel like you’ve really accomplished something.


special advertising content: cambridge college

THE STATISTICS ARE SOBERING. ACCORDING TO THE LATEST NUMBERS FROM MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, the number of opioid overdose deaths in

2014 rose to 1,173 — the highest they have been since 2000.

And the crisis does not show any signs of abat-ing. Indeed, if it follows trends predicted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the numbers will only continue to grow. Opioids, which include heroin as well as prescription drugs such as oxycodone, are known to be highly addic-tive and very difficult to quit.

Cambridge College School of Education is poised to respond and play a key role in helping prevent opioid addiction by offering initial and professional licensure programs to train teachers in providing skills-based health education in PreK-Grade 12 school systems.

“I think it is really important to state that people don’t start off as heroin addicts,” says Mary Con-nolly, C.A.G.S, Chair of Cambridge College School of Education’s Health and Family & Consumer Education Program. “The road to addiction is a very gradual progression that often starts very early — for most, it starts when they are young, by experimenting with alcohol or tobacco. It’s critical that our prevention starts in schools so that it will be most effective. That’s why it is so important to make sure health education teachers are able to get the skills-based education they need to help

prevent this epidemic at the PreK-12 levels“The solution to the opioid problem must be

comprehensive,” says Connolly. “This is where what Cambridge College School of Education is offering is really unique in terms of training health education teachers and ensuring they have the knowledge and the tools to teach school-age students how to reduce risky behavior, improve personal health, and increase academic performance learning skills — rather than just hearing information about drugs. Also, the teachers we train become leaders in the fight against substance abuse in their own school systems.”

As more and more states such as Massachusetts recognize opioid addiction, officials are acknowl-edging that it is a serious health issue — one that has to be addressed on many different levels. “There are community intervention and treatment programs out there,” says Connolly. “But what Cam-bridge College School of Education is offering fills a very vital need in terms of teaching health educa-tion teachers the skills they need to talk to students about the dangers of addiction.”

This innovative program is just one of the programs offered by Cambridge College School of Education. The school has a proven track record of success with more than 20,000 alumni working in the field of education in the areas of early childhood and elementary education, math, general science, English as Second Language, moderate disabilities, applied behavior analysis, interdisciplinary studies, school nurse education, and educational leadership.

AS OPIOID EPIDEMIC GROWS IN MASSACHUSETTS, INNOVATIVE CAMBRIDGE COLLEGE PROGRAM FOCUSES ON PREPARING TEACHERS TO HELP FIND SCHOOL-BASED SOLUTIONS

ON THE FOREFRONT OF PREVENTION

A CLOSER LOOKLearn more about the exciting opportunities in education by attending the Cambridge College School of Educa-tion’s upcoming Open House on May 19th at 6pm in Cambridge.

ON THE WEBTo learn more, please visit www.cambridgecollege.edu or call (800) 829-4723 today.


YOU’VE SURVIVED A FEW PHONE SCREENINGS, AND NOW THE HIRING

MANAGER IS READY TO SEE YOU IN PERSON. You’ve done thorough research on the company, practiced answering the most common interview questions and figured out some great questions to ask face-to-face. There’s really only one thing left to figure out: What will you wear?

You think the answer is pretty simple: A dark, perfectly pressed and tailored suit. It’s what everyone wears to a job interview. Right?

Don’t bet on it.Where desk employees in the pre-2000s would

almost always show up to work in ties, khakis, blouses and heels, you might see employees in those same roles today heading to work in jeans, sneakers and hooded sweatshirts. And with so many employees (and employers) taking the casu-al approach to workplace attire, the recommended attire in the interview room is changing, too.

“I don’t believe the suit is completely dead — but it is dying, and it’s not a slow death,” says Kalei Carr, who runs a consulting firm in Atlanta that specializes in image and personal branding for women.

THE OLD UNIFORM: Carr, who hosts a podcast titled “Beyond the Business

Suit,” notes that the standard “interview uniform” for both men and women — a conservative dark business suit with dress shoes or heels — began to lose favor somewhere between 2008 and 2010.

She pegs the change to the rise of the tech industry. This sector has made a mantra out of being anti-corporate, right down to a culture that encourages jeans and T-shirts. In tech, even the offices aren’t really offices anymore. They’re lofts or other open floor plans, which combine commercial and industrial at least aesthetically.

The idea is to foster a culture of collaboration and camaraderie — and theoretically, comfortable dress will support these notions.

Thanks to tech’s influence, most other indus-tries have been going more casual, and so the idea of a job candidate arriving for an interview in formal attire can seem like kind of a disconnect.

THE NEW UNIFORM: “I’m seeing women opt for things like a dress and blazer, or

a pencil skirt, blouse and blazer (instead of) the traditional matching business suit now,” Carr says.

Men, she says, are now more commonly wearing blazers and button-down shirts to inter-views and sometimes — gasp — they’re entering interview rooms without ties!

But what you should wear to your job interview really depends on the job you’re applying for, the company culture and the industry at large.

Kim Zoller, CEO of Image Dynamics, a Dallas-based company that coaches executives on image, tells a story of working with Vans, a shoe and clothing company made popular by skate-boarding culture of the 1990s. Zoller said she was told in advance of a meeting with Vans bosses — a de facto job interview — not to wear a suit.

“You have to know your audience,” Zoller says. “We were told, ‘If you come in wearing a suit, they’re going to think you don’t know who they are.’”

Zoller and Carr agree that the best policy is to dress for the interview at least one notch more formally than the people who already work for the company. Once you get the job, you can let your hair down, Carr says. If you’re unsure how people at the company dress, ask the recruiter or man-ager you’ve been in touch with. They’ll probably appreciate your initiative.

— Bret Silverberg, Monster.com

WHAT TO WEAR NOW: NEW RULES FOR INTERVIEW ATTIRE

Biz Bits is used by permission of More Content Now

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SMALL-SCALE MANUFACTURING

TECHNOLOGY ADVANCES AND INCREASED MANUFACTURING EFFICIENCY HAVE OPENED THE DOOR FOR A SMALL-SCALE MANUFACTURING SECTOR IN THE UNITED STATES. Small manufacturers also have benefitted from the rise of e-commerce and the ability of retail businesses everywhere to do more custom sales without investment in large-scale inventory.

The American Small Manufacturing Coalition, which defines small manu-facturers as those with fewer than 500 employees, estimated that there were 270,000 of these in the U.S. in 2015. But small-scale manufacturing businesses are often significantly smaller than that.

Unlike their larger brethren, true small-scale manufacturers often have 20 or fewer employees and operate in production space of less than 5,000 square feet. The small facility size could aid this industry sector’s growth prospects, as it lowers real estate costs.

In many areas, small manufacturing businesses are choosing locations removed from the most expensive retail markets, finding unused spaces on the outskirts of cities or even in suburbs. Bringing activity and jobs to often-va-cant real estate, these companies have gotten support from state and local governments that relish the economic development potential.

Traditional large manufacturing com-panies are facing increased pressures with evolving consumer demand, the changing nature of products and shifting

production and distribution economics. They have to rethink business models, and are often forced to refocus business on core products. This can yield oppor-tunities for small-scale manufacturers to step in and pick up the scraps or out-perform the big boys in areas that larger manufacturers are shifting away from.

This is good news, because manu-facturing is still very big business in the U.S., consistently making up more than half of all exports and about 12 to 13 per-cent of the gross domestic product. The inherently different approach of small-scale manufacturers creates potential to branch off from large manufacturing’s future path to some extent.

Let’s take a look at some of the major trends for small-scale manufacturing. »

BY MARTIN DESMARAIS

CHANGING NATURE OF PRODUCTS

« New advanced robotics are becoming more cost effective for small-scale manufacturing.


PHOTOS: COURTESY OF 3D SYSTEMS

MADE-TO-ORDERTo keep costs down, small manufactur-

ers do not keep inventory, but instead make prod-ucts on demand. This allows for custom-made products and no overstocking. Combine that with skyrocketing e-commerce transactions often tied to customized orders, there is a large demand for made-to-order production.

AGILE PRODUCT DESIGNAdvanced design tools and decreasing

costs to buy or license them allow small man-ufacturers to be very responsive to customer needs and to test products and designs at very low cost. Rapid prototyping, multivariate simu-lations and virtual reality are helping creators design and test various options in hours and see which is best.

EVOLVING ROBOTICSWhile robots have been used in

manufacturing for decades, as they become cheaper, smaller and more energy-efficient, small manufacturers are able to get into the robot game. “Cobots” or “soft robots” that work alongside human employees could be a game-changer in terms of efficiency for small batch production.

IMPROVED QUALITY CONTROL

With compact facilities and fewer employees, small manufacturers are able to set high levels of quality control, reducing costly production problems and defects and enabling them to meet budgets accurately.

ADDITIVE MANUFACTURINGAdditive manufacturing — a well-

known example being 3D printing — is a process that creates objects by addition rather than subtraction (think milling). Tooling, or making molds and patterns for production, has traditionally been a costly part of manufac-turing. Now, a 3D printer can handle tooling for substantially less in some cases. As this technology is increasingly used in manufactur-ing and not just in prototyping, its low upfront investment cost provides great opportunity for small operations.

AT A GLANCETwenty great small-scale manufacturing business ideas:

1. Kitchen utensils 2. Cutleries3. Plastic bottles4. Fertilizer5. Rugs and rubber carpets6. Hand tools7. Ceramic tiles

8. Handbags9. Musical equipment10. Watches and clocks11. Stationeries12. Furniture13. Jewelry14. Soaps and detergent

15. Air freshener products16. Shoes17. Textiles18. Inks and cartridges19. Bulbs and lighting20. Wine and spirits

3D printers, such as Cubepro (above) and ProJet 1200 (below) are helping many small-scale manufacturers save time, money and cost on prototyping and also the making of molds and patterns for production. Other types of printer and prototype machines (top left) can print out metal and plastic quicker and cheaper than older methods of manufacturing.


THE INTERNET OF THINGS

THE INTERNET OF THINGS, COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS IOT, IS ONE OF THOSE NEW TECHNOL-OGY TRENDS, LIKE “BIG DATA,” that small business owners might shrug off as a

big-money concept only for the Fortune 500. But from day-to-day operations to future business opportunities, IoT has implications for even the smallest enterprise.

In simple terms, IoT refers to the capacity of devices to connect to the Internet and to other devices for control and access. Familiar consumer examples are cell phones and smart TVs, but IoT also touches a growing array of devices from ovens and lights to watches and door locks. Commercially, IoT is used widely in jet engines, hospital equipment and shipping management. City governments are harnessing IoT, too — for example, New York City’s smart trashcans that alert the city when they are full.

Soon there will be little that isn’t influenced in some way by IoT connectivity.

In a forecast released late last year, IT research firm Gartner predicted there will be 6.4 billion connected things in use worldwide in 2016, an increase of 30 percent over last year. The number is predicted to reach 20.8 billion by 2020.

Spending on IoT devices topped $1 billion dollars in 2015 for the first time and is expected to hit $1.4 billion this year and $3 billion by 2020. These numbers are split just about down the middle between spending by consumers and spending by businesses using IoT to im-prove operations or provide services.

“Part of this transformation for businesses is moving from the general to the specific,” says Kevin Miller, a principal program manager at Microsoft, who specializes in the company’s IoT related services. “If you think about something like health care or maintenance, where there is a generalization applied to making decisions it is less powerful than if it is specific.”

BY MARTIN DESMARAIS

trending: connectivity

BUSINESS & CONSUMER

IMPACT

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A CLOSER LOOK: IoTThe impact of IoT is really twofold, affect-ing both how companies do business and what consumers want.

OPERATIONAL IMPACTOn the operational side here is what small businesses need to know about IoT:n It is more efficient. Along with other IT strategies, including big data and cloud computing, IoT allows businesses to use re-sources more effectively from office energy usage to security to remote connectivity.n Security is critical. With more data through increased connectivity there is an increased risk to security breaches. As a result, more security technologies and prevention strategies are required.n It is not an overnight phenomenon. The development of IoT has been gradual and most businesses are already adapting even if they don’t know it. The addition of wireless Internet, mobile devices and cloud computing is commonplace at many small businesses and has laid the groundwork for IoT adoption.

CONSUMER IMPACTOn the consumer front, the evolving IoT promises to be nothing short of revolu-tionary. Here are some key consumer considerations for small businesses:n IoT devices are soon to be com-monplace. Consumers are connected in so many ways already that the IoT is becoming invisible yet pervasive. Its convenience and efficiency will lead to continual demand for all business services to be within the IoT realm.n Sensor technology is the game changer. The promise of IoT is truly fulfilled with the use of sensors that can detect and share information. No matter the sector, small businesses must understand how sensors can be used in conjunction with new technology to provide data pertinent to services.n The opportunities are endless. Con-stantly evolving IoT technology opens the door for new ways to use it for improving current business services or creating entirely new ones. From customer service to personalization to forecasting.

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THE YEAR AHEAD LOOKS TO BE A SOLID ONE FOR RETAIL — but some chang-ing practices within the industry will force retailers to adjust in

order to keep up with how consumers are buying.

According to the National Retail Federation’s 2016 economic forecast, projected retail sales growth is expected to hold steady this year at 3.1 percent. This is higher than the 10-year growth average of 2.7 percent, but is in keep-ing with a trend of between 3 and 3.7 percent growth in the last five years. Over the last decade, this has been a fairly typical growth rate with the pattern broken only in 2006 and 2011, with 5 percent growth or more, and the disastrous years of 2008 and 2009 with growth rates of 0.6 percent and -3.6 percent, respectively.

While the predicted growth for 2016 indicates a plateau, federation leaders emphasize this is still a positive sign for the retail economy.

“Wage stagnation is easing, jobs are being created and consumer confidence remains steady, so despite the headwinds our economy faces from international developments — particularly in Chi-na — we think 2016 will be favorable for growth in the retail industry,” said National Retail Federation President and CEO Matthew Shay. “All of the experts agree that the consumer is in the driver’s

seat and steering our economic recovery.”National Retail Federation Chief

Economist Jack Kleinhenz said 2016 retail will also benefit from the increase of Gross Domestic Product in 2015, as well as significant impact from smaller factors such as lower gas prices.

“Lower gas prices are creating more discretionary income to save, pay down debt and spend on travel, eating out and personal services. Retailers have benefit-ted as well, and continue to find ways to compete and succeed in a very cost-con-scious environment,” Kleinhenz said.

One of the biggest factors retail-ers have to consider in the current consumer climate is how to connect with what is fast becoming the most important customer — the “omni-chan-nel” shopper. Omni-channel shoppers exhibit a pattern of both e-commerce and in-store purchases and are showing retailers that the digital experience isn’t just about online sales — it can also drive consumers to stores.

Most notably, studies have suggested that more than 70 percent of today’s shoppers use smartphones, tablets or other devices for research in stores, sug-gesting that the digital experience is sig-nificantly tied in with brick-and-mortar. And it doesn’t look to be slowing down. The research group Forrester predicts that cross-channel retail sales will reach $1.8 trillion in the U.S. by 2017.

RETAIL TRENDS TO WATCH IN 2016BY MARTIN DESMARAIS

trending: sales

CONSUMERS LEADING THE WAY

Lower gas prices are creating more

discretionary income to save, pay down debt and spend on travel, eating out and personal services. Retailers have bene-fitted as well, and continue to find ways to compete and suc-ceed in a very cost-conscious environment.” — JACK KLEINHENZ, NATIONAL RETAIL FEDERATION CHIEF ECONOMIST

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AT A GLANCEThe National Retail Federation notes important economic factors in making its 2016 forecast:n Economic growth should be more of the same and uneven. It is likely to be in the range of 1.9 to 2.4 percent in 2016.n Employment gains of approximately 190,000 on an average monthly basis are expected. While that pace is down from 2015, it is consistent with continued strong labor market growth. By year-end, unemployment should drop to 4.6 percent.n Prospects for consumer spending are straight-forward — more jobs equals more income, which equals more spending.

Cloud-based retail management platform Vend’s 2016 Retail Trends and Predictions Report details some of the top predictions for the retail industry in 2016 that will be crucial for retailers to incorporate:n Retailers will give consumers more payment

options, including mobile payments and EMV chip payments.

n Mobile will play a bigger role in click-and-collect initiatives, encouraging more consumers to buy online and pick up in stores.

n Retailers will unify their online and offline data collection, looking for greater efficiency in mea-surement of consumer purchasing patterns.

n Retailers will continue to remove “friction” from shopping, making it even easier for consumers to buy with just the push of a button.

n Merchants will adopt in-store mobile devices such as mobile point-of-sale systems and tablets.

n Old-school loyalty programs, such as rewards for buying, are on the way out.

n Retail through just one channel — online only or brick-and mortar-only — will continue to dis-appear as companies bridge different channels for sales.

n More retailers will choose cloud-based retail management systems that combine in-store and online sales.

n “Less is more” when it comes to merchandise, as consumers are overwhelmed with too many choic-es; retailers are increasingly providing subscription services that curate products for customers

n The Internet of Things will be used to enhance the shopping experience, with connected devices to automatically ring up customers, track shopping behavior and send tailored offers to customers.

Cloud-based point-of-sale systems using tablets (above) are

becoming increasingly popular in the retail

industry, including an op-tion from Revel Systems.

Retailers will continue to offer more ways

for customers to pay, including chip credit

cards, mobile payments and connected devices

such as keychain fobs or smartwatches (below).


CREATING A MOBILE OFFICE

Small businesses in all sectors are catching on. According to data from SMB Group, 60 percent of small- and medium-sized businesses say mobile technology is critical to their business. As a result, small business spending on mobile technology continues to increase. A recent SMB Group survey found that small busi-nesses spend 16 percent of their budget on mobile tech, from mobile services and devices to security to mobile management.

The mobile mindset has resulted also in a new small business attitude that you don’t just wait around for customers to walk through the door. Today’s small business owners and sales forces need to be on the go, where the customers are. A mobile business team can provide products and services exactly where they are needed.

It’s a mobile office world.Creating a mobile office can stream-

line operations and decrease the cost of doing business; it can increase produc-tivity through the use of mobile devices accessible anytime and anywhere; and through a more widespread presence and easier access to services and employees, it can help add customers and clients.

So what are the key technology com-ponents needed to create a mobile office for any small business?

In the ever-changing technology spec-trum, there are numerous and evolving devices, software and services that make a mobile office possible and effective. A small business entrepreneur can choose from many options for each mobile business pro-cess, but here are some key areas to address:

SMARTPHONESFor some small businesses, a smart-phone may be enough to complete most business tasks on the road. Al-most all enterprise software has an app version that can be used on a smartphone. For any company looking to be more mobile, purchasing compatible smartphones for employees and having a company phone and data service plan is step one. Apple’s iPhone continues to be the most popular smart-phone choice for small business, but Samsung’s Android is another big name commonly in use.

LAPTOPS AND TABLETSAnother important mobile office device is a laptop and/or tablet. More often than not, if employees have only one, it is a laptop. Tablets, however, have increasing functionality; many, such as the Microsoft Surface, walk the middle ground between laptop and tab-let, with detachable keyboard and USB connectivity, at significantly lower cost.

CLOUD STORAGE AND DATA BACKUPPerhaps nothing has made it easier to create a mobile office than the rise of cloud computing, because it fulfills the promise of business on the go — company data accessible anywhere at any time and

THE RISE OF THE TERM “BRICK-AND-MORTAR” IN THE BUSINESS WORLD — referring to an actual physical office location — signified the growing dominance of virtual business and reliance on the web. Now the assumption is that businesses exist online first and foremost. Additionally, with the growth of mobile technology, most consumers

experience businesses and business services in the palm of their hand.

trending: mobility

BY MARTIN DESMARAIS

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in collaboration with other employees. Google Drive and Dropbox for Business are the well-known names, but others include Sync, Box and SugarSync. They all can help keep employees connected and accessing company data. Loss of data is an important concern with a mobile office environment, but businesses can add extra data security with companies such as Backupify, Carbonite and SpiderOak.

WI-FI HOTSPOTIt’s assumed nowadays that you can connect to the Internet everywhere, but there are still locales where online access might be limited or not secure. Partic-ularly to address security concerns, a Wi-Fi hotspot is another mobile business must. Most major telecomm carriers have hardware options for Wi-Fi hotspots and also options to turn a smartphone into a hotspot. Some good options: AT&T Unite Pro, Verizon Jetpack, Sprint Netgear Zing Mobile Hotspot and XCom Global International MiFi Hotspot.

MOBILE BANKING, PAYMENT AND ACCOUNTINGBefore launching a mobile office, a small business should check with its bank to make sure mobile services are available. The most important services are remote payment capture and access to move business cash between accounts. Once again, the smartphone can be a key tool with its capacity to take payment trans-actions using credit card readers from companies such as Square, PayPal and QuickBooks. Importantly, businesses also need a way to track payments and mobile costs. Luckily, there are some apps that do just this, including good options from Expensify, inDinero and FreshBooks.

...AND A FEW MOREWhile not critical to the mobile office environment, some useful and simple gear can make on-the-go business life easier. For example, a portable battery pack can help keep all those critical devices charged or hooked up at once; durable luggage helps keep devices stored and safe; simple headphones are extremely handy in loud environments; and a small portable pro-jector can be key for giving presentations or displaying media anywhere.

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george foreman iii

is putting into practice

lessons learned in boxing and business

With a boxing career

of his own under his

belt, the success of

his fort point gym,

everybodyfights, and the entrepreneurial

spirit of his famous father,

by martin desmarais

photos by jack rummel

You might not be surprised to hear that

the son of one of the most famous boxers

to ever live has opened up a gym. It’s a

path you could expect from a guy whose

father is world heavyweight champion

George Foreman. But when you talk to

George Foreman III about his Boston fitness

club venture EveryBodyFights — and his

life growing up with a boxing legend — you

realize that perhaps the biggest legacy

his dad gave him is entrepreneurial prowess.

Yes, the 33-year-old Foreman III spent his childhood

and teen years around boxing and training with his

father while growing up in Humble, Texas. Yes, when

his father opened the George Foreman Youth and Com-

munity Center in Houston, Foreman III spent most of his

out-of-school time there. Yes, EveryBodyFights uses a

training philosophy largely drawn from what the son

learned from the father’s professional boxing training

routines. And, yes, he even got into professional boxing

and had a successful four-year career, racking up a

16–0 record. »


But he came to professional boxing on his own, later

in life — his career spanned his late 20s — and began

the path to boxing without even telling his dad, though

the elder Foreman would later help him train. To hear

Foreman tell it, what he remembers the most from

his early days was involvement with boxing as a busi-

ness — from supporting his dad’s training routine and

schedule, to helping run his gyms, to promoting the

wildly successful George Foreman Grill.

“Boxing was always part of my lifestyle, but I never boxed myself at all,” Foreman says. “With my dad there was no playing around, going over to friends’ houses and all that. When you weren’t in class you were contributing to the family business, and our business was whatever dad was doing. If he was training, that is what we were doing. If he was traveling to promote the grill, we would have to put on a suit and carry his bag and go with him and listen during interviews. That is how I grew up.”

The young Foreman learned some-thing about professional sports that many kids miss when they see only the fame and money and glamour — he learned it was a business above all else.

He carried this lesson forward into his later schooling, attending the Fay School and Governor Dummer Academy in Massachusetts, as well as high school in Texas, then Pepperdine University in California, where he studied business for two years before finishing up with a bachelor’s degree from Rice University in Texas in 2005. His academics encom-passed business administration, sports management and kinesiology.

Throughout his college years and after graduation he became increasingly involved in his father’s business and eventually served as his business manag-er for eight years.

This period also included his foray into professional boxing from 2009 to 2012. The boxing training from his father would be the final lesson to serve him in creating the training programs behind Every-BodyFights, but Foreman also emerged

with some strong thoughts on the kind of businessman he wanted to become.

“My dream was always to own not just a large business, but a large business whose business was small business,” Foreman explains. “So I wanted, for instance, 1,000 gas stations or 800 sa-lons — where it is a small business, you see your customers every day and it is a high-touch business.”

The small business aspect of this dream has become a reality with Ev-eryBodyFights. Now he has his mind set on fulfilling the rest of his dream by expanding the brand in the future into a business empire throughout the country.

AN EARLY-ROUND KNOCKOUTEveryBodyFights opened in January 2014, and if the early scorecard is any sign, Foreman may very well be on his way to the business empire he envisions.

The gym’s 15,000-square-foot space in Boston’s Seaport District has 1,400 members that pay a monthly fee of $150 for access to the training facilities and classes. Another 800 active users pay on a per-class model of $35 a class or 10 classes for $275.

Foreman says the gym is essentially at capacity.

EveryBodyFights runs 150 class-es a week, and the facility includes two boxing rings, free weights, cardio equipment, rowers, a room full of boxing bags and space for yoga and other cardio classes. The gym’s approach is a combi-nation of all the ways Foreman saw his father and other pro boxers train while he was growing up.

“With my dad

there was no

playing around,

going over to

friends’ houses

and all that.

When you weren’t

in class you were

contributing

to the family

business, and

our business was

whatever dad was

doing. If he was

training, that is

what we were

doing. If he was

traveling to

promote the grill,

we would have to

put on a suit and

carry his bag and

go with him and

listen during

interviews. That

is how I grew up.”— george

foreman iii


George Foreman III stands by as a boxing match takes place at the EveryBodyFights fitness club in Boston's Seaport District. »


Tabbed as “Boxfiit,” the EveryBodyFights training program focuses on road (cycling and running), bag (punching and kick-ing), train (strength and cardio) and body (stretching and core).

“The concept was everything in one place for the perfect training camp. All this is legit-imate to boxing, to true boxers, and the way they train,” Foreman says.

BRINGING OUT THE INNER FIGHTERAt EveryBodyFights, not all members are actually training to be boxers; they are using boxing training methods and mentality to accomplish their fitness goals.

“That means you let go of everything and just give a 100 percent,” Foreman says.

Foreman is giving his 100 percent to the future of his brand as well. EveryBodyFights is fully staffed with about 70 trainers, eight front desk staff and a half-dozen office staff, including himself and business partner Anthony J. Rich.

He plans to grow a chain of corporate locations, and is already working on fran-chising. Recently, a licensed location opened in Watertown — a 1,500-square-foot studio offering the Boxfiit training program inside another gym.

Foreman’s aim is to open a second Ev-eryBodyFights corporate location in Boston this year and one in New York in 2017. As for the franchise model, he believes it will work well by partnering with others in places like Houston, Miami and Los Angeles.

Expansion means risk, but Foreman does not shy away from it.

“The goal is to get everybody boxing. If I play scared, then that will never happen,” he says. “It wouldn’t fit our ‘everybody fights’ atti-tude. I think you have to put yourself out there, that is all there is to it.”

IN HIS CORNERAlthough most of Foreman’s life seemed to lead up to starting EveryBodyFights, he is quick to credit business partner Rich for the gym’s success so far and for giving him the final push to get it going.

Foreman and Rich, who is also 33, met at the Fay School and stayed in touch after-ward. While Foreman was off with his dad and attending college and sharpening his business and training acumen, Rich was

honing his business skills as well. Rich grad-uated from Boston University in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in advertising and then blazed a trail of startups around Boston. He opened a sunglass and apparel shop on New-bury St., ran it for four years and then sold it. In 2007, he started the Boston Collegiate Consulting Group, which provides services to international students coming to Boston, and eventually sold his part of the business to a partner. Around the same time, he start-ed the real estate brokerage firm FlatsBos-ton, with which he is still involved, though someone else now runs the business.

In 2012, Foreman was visiting Rich in Boston. He was looking to wind down his pro boxing career. Rich is also a boxing enthusiast, and their talk came around to the potential of boxing training for a fitness-cen-ter-type enterprise. Boxing gyms had been done to death and there were plenty of lux-ury fitness centers — but there was nothing that combined the two.

It was a business opportunity too good to pass up. Rich, with his real estate experience, even told Foreman where he should open it — in the Seaport District.

They did some research, hashed out a business plan and crunched numbers to see what it would take to get going.

Foreman never really went home. He stayed with Rich to work on the new ven-ture, and 15 months later, EveryBodyFights opened. In between, Foreman did one more pro fight to earn some money, and pitched some private investors to fund the startup. It came down to the wire on the money end, but they were able to get $1.3 million to launch.

Foreman and Rich run the show together, with Foreman as brand ambassador focusing on the training programs, and Rich as operations director handling marketing.

Rich sees Foreman as a great business partner and as a fighter who will do what it takes to succeed.

“I think you want to find someone who wants to fight with you, who wants to be at your side,” Rich says. “When you have two people that are equally as passionate and equally as willing to sacrifice to make it work, you do well. We both have the same goals — we want to become the best boxing fitness concept in the country.”

“ I think

you want to

find someone

who wants

to fight with

you, who

wants to be

at your side.

When you

have two peo-

ple that are

equally as

passionate

and equally

as willing to

sacrifice to

make it work,

you do well.

We both have

the same

goals — we

want to be-

come the best

boxing fitness

concept in the

country.”— anthony

rich

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« Reimagine Play founder Betty Francisco demonstrates the proper

standing broad jump form to an eager member of her fitness clinic. PH

OTO:

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'CON

NOR


BETTY FRANCISCO, STANDING ON THE SCUFFED FLOOR OF A DORCHESTER GYM, BENDS HER KNEES, SWINGS BACK HER ARMS AND URGES THE 6-YEAR-OLD MIMICKING HER FORM TO LEAP AS FAR AHEAD AS POSSIBLE.The eager tyke takes off, his sneak-ered feet landing beyond the third rung of a rope ladder lying on the floor — a new record for the boy.

Francisco, an ex-corporate lawyer turned fitness entrepreneur, smiles in approval. The lad’s standing broad jump is part of her own leap forward — the launch of Reimagine Play, a fledgling business aimed at getting kids to exercise with joy and purpose.

Growing up in Puerto Rico and New York City as Betty Lo Cualio, “I was not a fitness person,” says Fran-cisco, tall and trim with long black hair and striking looks reflecting her mixed Chinese and Latin heritage. “I grew up in a family where fitness was not part of the repertoire.” That changed in college, when her brother gave her a Reebok step for Christmas.

“I dropped all this extra weight, cut out the sugar,” she says. “It was incredible to see how exercise trans-formed my life.”

Reimagine Play currently runs two programs consisting of five-week ses-sions with about 10 kids each and four licensed instructors. Both operate out of converted churches — the Villa Vic-toria Center for the Arts in the South End and the Little House in Dorches-ter. Once better weather rolls around, the programs will move outdoors. »

‘Play strong. Play hard. Play more.’

THE MOTTO of BOSTON’S REIMAGINE PLAY URGES CHILDREN — and ITS FOUNDER, EX-CORPORATE LAWYER turned FITNESS ENTREPRENEUR, BETTY FRANCISCO

to take a

GIANT

LEAP

By brian o’connor

FORWARD


Using low hurdles, rope lad-ders, hula hoops, tires with ropes, exercise balls and

other equipment as fitness aids and obstacles, the sessions build agility, conditioning and stamina and spark a passion for play, too often lost in an era of video distractions and childhood obesity. More than 30 percent of Bay State children are overweight, and many schools, obsessed with keeping up with test-ing regimes, have severely slashed recess and play time.

Francisco, the parent of two young girls attending Boston Public Schools, is married to Paul Fran-cisco, a native of Honduras and an ex-New England Patriots player now helping to guide State Street Corporation’s diversity, inclusion and workforce development efforts. Both were concerned about their own children’s access to fitness.

“Once our girls reached school age,” she says, “they weren’t learn-ing the basics — catching, skipping rope, running — and the skills and activities once taken for granted.”

Having gone from practicing corporate law at Palmer & Dodge in Boston to general counsel of the national Sports Club/LA franchise,

she recognized a need — and an opportunity — to spread the fitness bug beyond an elite clientele. She launched Reimagine Play out of her South End home after the sale of Sports Club/LA left her free to pur-sue her own business. The business has had a modest start, beginning with free pilot programs in Black-stone Park last summer and expand-ing to fee-based weekly sessions this year at a cost of $75 per student. In-structors wear black Reimagine Play shirts emblazoned with the motto “Play strong. Play hard. Play more.” They quickly move kids through stretching and warm-up exercises, perform periodic assessment tests, and find a thousand ways to make them leap and laugh and romp. It’s like boot camp with giggles.

FRANCHISE POTENTIALFrancisco’s vision is to grow Reimag-ine Play as a franchise over multi-ple cities and to secure dedicated spaces with climbing equipment and obstacle courses. The facilities would allow kids and adults to pursue her “On the MOVE” framework of movement, obstacles, velocity and endurance to achieve better health and love of play.

WOMEN’S BUSINESS SUPPORTThere are numerous programs in the Boston area to support women entrepreneurs — some run by government agencies, others by private non-profits or universities.

Below is a sampling of initiatives designed to help bud-ding women entrepreneurs gain a foothold on the ladder of business success.

THE BOSTON CLUBn An association of professional women formed to

recognize and nurture women’s leadership in business and the community.

n The Boston Club runs programs connecting members and providing professional and personal support, includ-ing speaker series, networking discussions, workshops and webinars, social gatherings and peer counseling.

n For more information: www.thebostonclub.com

CENTER FOR WOMEN’S ENTREPRENEURIAL LEADERSHIPn Run out of Babson College, the center sponsors research,

education programs and events aimed at highlighting and cultivating the contributions of women to business.

n Among its programs is the award-winning Women Innovating Now (WIN), a nine-month training program for women entrepreneurs that provides education, resources, and counseling to help women grow early-stage businesses.

n For more information: www3.babson.edu/Academ-ics/centers/cwel

CENTER FOR WOMEN & ENTERPRISEn The Center for Women & Enterprise is a ground-break-

ing nonprofit that has worked with more than 30,000 Massachusetts and Rhode Island women entrepreneurs since its founding in 1995.

n The center provides women entrepreneurs and women in business with education, training, technical assistance and business enterprise certification to help increase their professional success, personal growth and financial independence.

n For more information: www.cweonline.org

WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS BOSTONn Launched by the City of Boston in 2015, Women

Entrepreneurs Boston (WE BOS) offers skills training, technical assistance and networking to women interest-ed in launching and growing their own business.

n WE BOS aims at supporting all women entrepreneurs, including start-ups, home-based businesses and brick-and-mortar enterprises in all of Boston’s diverse neighborhoods through speaking events, workshops, discussions, and networking opportunities.

n For more information: www.we-bos.comChildren take part in a three-legged race at Reimagine Play.

PHOT

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EBA

NKS

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Building out fitness facilities at a cost of $750,000 to $1 million each requires access to capital, a daunting prospect for women entrepreneurs. While women-owned firms in the U.S. have increased at a rate of 150 percent of the national average for all firms since 1997, female-owned enterprises employ only 6 percent of the national workforce and contribute less than 4 percent of business revenues, accord-ing to a 2015 study commissioned by American Express. Women of color owned 17 percent of those firms. The appetite for women to launch business-es is proven — it’s the revenue growth, hampered in part by access to finance, that lags behind.

Francisco is not your average boot-strap entrepreneur. Raised by a single mother in rural Puerto Rico and in a Manhattan housing project, she stud-ied art and design at the High School of Music and Arts – the “Fame” school, where Jennifer Aniston was one of her classmates. She earned an undergrad-uate degree at Bard College and a com-

bined J.D. and M.B.A. at Northeastern and worked in the Manhattan District Attorney’s office. She has taken courses in entrepreneurship and is active in programs aimed at growing the ranks of successful businesswomen.

“After I went to law school, I knew I wanted to go into business. It’s taken a while, but I really have the itch of wanting to build something on my own. I want to leave a legacy — I want to create jobs and I want to see other women succeed,” she says.

“Part of that,” she adds, “is thinking big, not getting consumed by the fears that prevent you from seeing the bigger vision. And that includes raising money.

I know I have to raise money. I don’t fool myself into thinking it’s going to be easy. It’s going to be hard.”

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITYTurning Reimagine Play into the next women-owned franchise sensation, like SoulCycle, is based on a business model, but has a social component. “This is about health and fitness and a better society,” says Francisco. “Funding is not likely to come from angel investors or venture capitalists, because they’re look-ing for huge returns. This is a vehicle for socially responsible investors — a family fund, a successful private equity fund or personal investor. In urban areas, there’s nothing like this. The challenge is finding the space where we can build our first facility and expand.”

Back in the gym, the footfalls of happy children echo off the gym walls pierced by gothic-arched windows. It’s a place of both fitness and faith. With financing and expansion falling into place, Reimagine Play could re-shape the way America embraces exercise.

“… I WANT TO CREATE JOBS AND I WANT TO SEE OTHER WOMEN SUCCEED.”

— BETTY FRANCISCO


That is our niche. You will come in here and get not just

a bonbon or a milk chocolate or white chocolate truffle, you will get some oth-er ingredient with a therapeutic value that is infused into the chocolate.” — PAMELA GRIFFIN, CO-FOUNDER, CHOCOLATE THERAPY

36

“EDUCATIONErin McCormick on teaching the possibility mindset

34

RETAILFramingham’s Chocolate Therapy offers sweet remedies

36

MOBILE APPSThe Fittus app can help you find a workout buddy

38

» GET UP. GET GOING. GET BUSY. STARTUPS AND SMALL BUSINESS.entrepreneurship

MAY 2016

An assorted box from Chocolate Therapy in Framingham. PHOTO: COURTESY OF CHOCOLATE THERAPY


ENTREPRENEURSHIP | LEARNING

PHOTO: COURTESY OF UMASS BOSTON

ERIN MCCORMICK IS THE NEW DIRECTOR OF THE ENTREPRENEURSHIP CENTER AT UMASS BOSTON. The Center believes that entre-preneurship is about learning how to see

opportunity and create value. She is working to promote entrepreneurs of all kinds, including “intrapreneurs,” or entrepreneurs who bring an innovative mindset to companies. The Center is running a Business Boot Camp for Women.

Q How did you get interested in entrepreneurship?

A I was an art and psychology major at Smith. I love to create and bring visions to life and I have a talent for

executing a vision. I fell into computer and software design by accident. It was a kind of baptism by fire. The computer company I worked for got a huge order for computer games. I worked with an MIT graduate who did not know design, and I knew design but knew very little about computers. This experience taught me what it was like to explain complicated things in simple terms. I learned how to speak “geek” and “CEO.” Since then, I have made a career of being a translator. After that, I became CIO of two companies and started three companies. I also worked at Babson helping them to develop a new way of teaching for the new economy.

Q Tell me about your approach to teaching entrepreneurship.

A When I turned 50, I wrote a book called “Year of Action.” I had been blogging for years, and people had

asked me when I would write a book. When I was on my book tour, women would scribble down my advice on how to start a business, and I realized that women weren’t getting this kind of information. So I experimented with a five-week pilot

THE AUTHOR AND TEACHER BRINGS HER STARTUP SMARTS TO UMASS BOSTON

ERIN McCORMICK: TEACHING THE POSSIBILITY MINDSET

Q&ABY DEBORAH

LEIPZIGER

program. I called it “The Girlfriend MBA” as a way to take the intimidation out of learning about technology and business and make it more like having coffee with girlfriends. From there, my work grew. I began working with entrepreneurs from several countries, including high school students, college students, MBAs and business owners. I even taught a program in Brazil to young people inside the favelas, or slums, in Sao Paulo.

I call this model of teaching E2B, which stands for Entre-preneurs to Business. We flip the model of teaching. Typically, entrepreneurs come up with ideas, search for funding to devel-op their idea — and then search for customers. We decided to turn this around. Rather than start with an idea, we begin with customers who have a problem and search for a solution. Mentors provide advice and support.

It’s like a middle school dance, where you have boys on one side of the room and girls on the other. You need to bring both sides together. It’s the same with the business communi-ty and entrepreneurs. The business community has problems that need to be solved, and they rarely can find solutions sitting in their cubicles; entrepreneurs have great ideas, but limited cash and customers. They need to connect with each other. Our students talk with CEOs, they learn the business model and then they come up with innovative solutions. Be-fore we start a company, we make sure there are customers.

Q Is it possible to teach entrepreneurship?

A Yes! The key thing is to teach a possibility mindset — you don’t have to have all the answers; you start by thinking

of what would be a possible solution. This is how disruptive innovation happens. One of the ways we teach is to have students help solve real problems in the business world, with mentoring from professors. For example, we had a real business issue that was causing a large farm to lose more than a million dollars a year. The farmer had a problem with sick cows, and did not know how to prevent the sick cows from contaminating other cows. As a result, the cows were dying. The students came up with some brilliant ideas, including using technology to address the problem. For example, they thought to implant a chip in the cows that would measure their temperature. All the cows would have “day-glow” collars, and the chip would light up the collars on the ones that were sick so they could be easily identified and separated from the healthy cows.

Q What are your plans for promoting entrepreneurs at UMass Boston?

A I am loving the UMass Boston students! They have a natural entrepreneurial spirit. So many of them are

working full-time and going to school. They make it happen, despite obstacles that may come their way. We are putting that spirit to practical use. I have them out in the community talking to business owners, making presentations, coming up with solutions for real problems in Boston.

I think of it as a new kind of MBA: M is Mindset for success, B is Boosting business skills and confidence, and A is Action for results.


PHOTO: COURTESY OF UMASS BOSTON

Q What advice do you have for entrepreneurs?

A Entrepreneurs need a new mindset. It’s not enough to have a great idea. People think that if they have a

great idea and $10,000 in venture capital, it’s enough to run a business. Yet, so few people get funding — you really need to think differently. I am reminded of a young woman who wanted to start a bakery, but didn’t have enough money to rent and renovate an expensive space. Her idea was to help mothers in low-income housing who didn’t have time to make breakfast for their kids. We helped her think differently. She talked to the landlord of the apartment complex, where there was empty space in the lobby — and she started there in the lobby selling healthy, pre-made items without getting bogged down with a lease. It’s about thinking of what you have and what you can do, without having to spend a lot of money upfront. How can you start with a customer first?

The other advice I have is, don’t be afraid to ask questions or ask for help. Take small steps each day to get you towards your goal. Know that the roadblocks are temporary. There is plenty of work to be done in the world — figure out what problems people are looking to solve and what YOU can do to solve it for them. The more you help people, the more success-ful you will be.

I learned the hard way that life is short; on the same day that my father died, I was diagnosed with cancer. We cannot wait to do what we love.

It’s like a middle school dance, where you have boys on one side of the room and girls on the oth-

er. You need to bring both sides together. It’s the same with the business community and entrepreneurs. The business community has problems that need to be solved, and they rarely can find solutions sitting in their cubicles; entrepre-neurs have great ideas, but limited cash and customers.”

— ERIN McCORMICK

“

ON THE WEBTo contact Erin and find out more about her pro-grams, visit her website at www.YearofAction.com or email her at erin@ yearofaction.com

:

“If you want to go fast, go alone.

If you want to go far, go together."

-African Proverb

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ENTREPRENEURSHIP | RETAIL

PHOT

O: M

ARTI

N DE

SMAR

AIS

WHEN YOU TALK TO PAMELA AND DAVID GRIFFIN ABOUT CHOCOLATE THERAPY, the savvy entrepreneurs give a great pitch about how the choc-

olate-making business is the perfect use of their backgrounds and experience in retail and manufacturing.

But the couple can’t hide their enthusiasm for chocolate.

The two have found their own recipe for success, focusing on small-batch, handmade chocolate products and pushing the health benefits of dark chocolate and their way of crafting it. Operat-ing out of a retail and manufacturing facility in Framingham, Chocolate Therapy’s tagline is “Sweet Remedies,” reflecting the therapeutic ingredients they use, including bee pollen, coconut oil, ginseng, lavender and green tea, along with more typical items such as caramel, nuts and peanut butter.

The Griffins’ philosophy is to get creative in combining ingredients for delicious but also health-conscious products — and to invite the customer along for the ride.

“People enjoy the fact that they can look and see what the benefits are of those ingredients,” says Pamela Griffin, who held managerial and executive positions for 17 years at Starbucks. “That is our niche. You will come in here and get not just a bon-bon or a milk chocolate or white chocolate truffle, you will get some other ingredient with a therapeu-tic value that is infused into the chocolate.”

She adds, “It is not going to cure you, but it is going to make you happy, and it is very different than walking into just a local chocolate retailer.”

A quick glance at the shop’s tempting array

A HEALTHY LOVE OF CHOCOLATE

reveals not only Milk Chocolate Truffles and Sea Salt Caramels, but also Sweet Potato Pie Truffle, Strawberry Balsamic Chocolates and a Blueberry Lemon Basil Truffle.

“We push the envelope as far as we can,” Pamela says.

BUSINESS WISDOMThe Griffins are not relying solely on customers walking in and buying chocolates over the count-er; they have diversified Chocolate Therapy with many different ways to bring in revenue.

Business is something the couple, married for 30 years, knows well. While Pamela’s experi-ence at Starbucks exposed her to the retail world during the height of the coffee chain’s explosion onto the scene, David spent much of his profes-sional career in manufacturing, seeing firsthand the back-end infrastructure needed for produc-tion and the ways to get inventory out the door to as many different consumer outlets as possible.

From the 1980s to the early 90s, the Griffins owned several small coffee shops in Chicago, where they are both from, giving them exposure to storefront retail.

Their Chocolate Therapy store in Framingham is host to birthday parties, public and private wine and chocolate events, chocolate-making classes, team-building programs and even events for Girl Scouts, through which the scouts can earn a chocolatier badge. Chocolate Therapy offers some

Above, Pamela and David Griffin owners of Chocolate Therapy at the store in Framingham.

CHOCOLATE THERAPY FOUNDERS’ EXPERIENCE COMBINES FOR A RECIPE FOR SUCCESS

PROFILEBY MARTIN DESMARAIS


PHOTO: COURTESY OF CHOCOLATE THERAPY

of these events offsite as well.In addition, Chocolate Therapy operates a

wholesale and corporate business making choco-lates for guest rooms in Boston hotels, including Boston Intercontinental, Seaport Boston Hotel and Lenox Hotel. The company also makes chocolates for other retail brands, including Winston Flowers, Taza Chocolate, Beakman 1802 and HomeGoods.

The couple believes that diversifying their brand is key to growing the business.

“It makes us much more flexible and gives us several income streams,” David says.

“When you own a small business, 80 percent of what you do is risk,” adds Pamela. “You have to just take a risk, and if it doesn’t work you have to go to the next thing, and the next thing, and you find things that work — and then you keep them. I think we are at a good place of where we have enough things to sustain us.”

The goal right now is to crack $500,000 in revenue for the year and the couple says Choco-late Therapy is close to doing that. They credit the move into wholesale for this.

“The fourth quarter last year and the first quarter this year have been just outstanding,” says David.

EARLY CHALLENGESSuccess has not come overnight for the couple, who moved to Boston in 2005 when David took a job at manufacturing company Ark-Les Corp. in Stough-ton, and opened Chocolate Therapy in May 2011.

There have been challenges.Chocolate Therapy originally opened in Ded-

ham at then-brand-new retail hotspot Legacy Place. It was a shiny, high-end, high-traffic location in the early days, and it seemed just the place for a new specialty chocolate shop. But while they had lines out the door at marquee holidays like Valen-tine’s Day and Christmas, at other times sales were slow. The rent was high, the store location was too small for anything but selling chocolate and a few complementary items — at that time all the choco-late was made offsite — and they reached a limit to what they could do there.

“After a year-and-a-half, we realized that store by itself was not going to get it done,” David says. “There just wasn’t enough foot traffic. There wasn’t enough revenue generated by doing chocolate and drinks. We knew we had to find other income streams.”

They opened the Framingham location in De-cember 2012. The new, much-larger store allowed them to set up equipment to make the chocolate in the back of the store, and to host events.

They also hired a chocolatier, Rick Gemme, who takes the recipes and concepts the couple dreams up and turns them into reality.

For a time, both Chocolate Therapy locations continued to operate, but eventually the onsite manufacturing model of the Framingham store proved to be the successful way to do it, so the Grif-fins closed the Dedham store in August 2015.

Closing a retail store is often viewed as a bad turn of events, but it was a wise move for Chocolate Therapy, putting the business on track for what David and Pamela believe will be its best year yet. Both have left their prior careers to focus fulltime on Chocolate Therapy.

SWEET DREAMSPamela’s ultimate desire is to see the brand grow in distribution and reputation.

“I would love to see us in more high-end retail-ers or high-end hotels,” she says. “I have a dream of someone being able to order our truffles at a restaurant for dessert with wine pairings, or on a first-class flight.”

David says franchising is something to consider, as well as additional small retail shops in airports or high-end plazas. He also would love to sell their chocolates in a shop in New York, he says. If the wholesale side really takes off, he could also see opening a larger manufacturing-only facility.

“It will evolve. It will develop. We will see,” he says. “Right now, the focus is to get this thing up and make this a very strong business model, and then see where we want to go.”

When you own a small business 80 percent of what you do is risk. You have to just take a risk and if it doesn’t work you have to go to the next thing and the next thing and then you find things that work and then you keep them. I think we are at a good place of where we have enough things to sustain us.”

— PAMELA GRIFFIN

“

Above, the Blueberry Lemon Basil Truffle available at Choco-late Therapy.


ENTREPRENEURSHIP | MOBILE APPS

IT’S A COMMON STORY. YOU SIGN UP FOR A GYM MEMBERSHIP — as a New Year’s resolution, after a nervous look ahead to swimsuit season, maybe on your spouse’s hint to

shed a few pounds — and then rarely make an appearance.

Industry data from the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association indicates that while 52.9 million Americans were health club members in 2015, less than half were “core users” averaging twice-weekly visits, and a mere 13.5 percent used personal trainers. The per-sonal finance site CreditDonkey says 80 percent of January gym joiners quit within five months.

“Gyms don’t keep people. They’re just not good at it,” says Joel Edwards, founder and CEO of Boston-based Fittus. “I’ve quit gym memberships myself — it’s hard to stay motivated.”

To tackle the problem, the 32-year-old Dorches-ter native created the Fittus mobile application to connect gym members and link personal trainers with clients.

INCUBATOR TIMEEdwards was part of Smarter in the City’s 2015 entrepreneur cohort. The Roxbury-based ear-ly-stage incubator provides promising startups with a five-month program of expert mentoring, a stipend and office space, and plenty of opportuni-ties to network and pitch their ideas.

During their time at SiTC, Edwards and partner Jefferson Meyer, now Fittus’ chief of sales, simplified their app design to make it easier to build. One critical decision was whether to hire

SEEKING LIKE- MINDED GYM PARTNERS? THERE’S AN APP FOR THAT

FIT TO SUCCEED

PROFILEBY SANDRA

LARSON

an internal software developer or contract out. They opted for the latter, and found a Hungarian firm to develop a prototype.

With the prototype nearly ready to submit to Apple and some funding in hand from Suffolk and private investors, Edwards talked with Banner Biz recently about his startup path.

THE IDEA PHASEThe light bulb moment came in 2013, while Ed-wards was pursuing an entrepreneurship degree at Suffolk University.

“I knew I wanted to start a business,” he says. “I was at the gym one day, and someone offered me assistance, and I thought, ‘Wouldn’t that be cool, to have that every time I went?’” It sparked an idea. He mentioned it to a professor. The professor hap-pened to know a gym owner, and the Fittus wheels were rolling.

Over the next year, while working his day job managing a UPS store, Edwards tinkered with the idea. He surveyed gym members and gym owners. “I asked, ‘When do you come? What do you like to do?’ And then, ‘Would you do it more often if your friends were here?’ They said, ‘You know, I proba-bly would.’ So there’s a cry for networking, making the gym a warmer environment,” he says. “On the flipside, I heard owners and trainers say they’re having a hard time connecting with people.”

UNFAMILIAR TERRITORYEdwards is the first in his family to venture into a business startup.

“I know in the black community, entrepre-


neurship was really huge in the past, but not in my family per se, ” he says. “So the milestones I’ll talk about may seem like a big deal to me, but my family will ask, ‘Are you rich yet?’ This is the first time someone’s jumped off this ledge.”

In conversation, Edwards exhibits an engaging enthusiasm and fluent idea flow. Readiness to talk has long been a key trait, he says.

“I was a class clown in school. I talked a lot,” he says, a little sheepishly. He attended Boston Latin School before his family moved to Minnesota, where he spent his senior year. “My teachers knew I was able to do work — it was just a matter of shut-ting up and trying not to make my friends laugh.”

In the 1990s, he had a stint as a junior broad-caster on “Kid Company’s SportsWorld,” a live

sports talk show on New England Cable News.

“My family thought I would go

into broadcast-ing,” he recalls. “And it’s funny because, in what I’m doing now, I’d say my biggest strength is still talking — present-ing it, pitching it,

formulating ideas in front of a group

of people.”

SiTC Founder and Executive Director Gilad Rosenzweig has watched Edwards grow, develop and pitch the Fittus concept.

“We were convinced, and still are, that it’s a good idea,” says Rosenzweig. “Joel has a business background and understands the problem. He’s definitely forward-thinking. He’s a go-getter. And he knows how to sell his idea.”

Edwards spent most of last summer pitching and networking. He credits SiTC’s “Pitch on the Deck” event and Banner Media’s “Pitch in the City” for providing invaluable feedback and contacts.

MOVING FORWARDAssessing the competition, Edwards says Fittus fills an unmet need.

“There are fitness apps for networking, but we’re finding that most apps are not about being in a gym,” he explains. “What we’re trying to do is match up people with similar struggles and similar schedules who want the same things from the gym.”

Edwards and Meyer plan to do a “controlled release” of the app soon to test it on real users in about 10 gyms. Then they’ll need to work for about a year, Edwards estimates, to build user

numbers and a monetizing strategy. The app will be free for gym users, so revenue will

likely come from fee-based features for gym owners and trainers.

Edwards took a new job recently as customer success coordinator with Sky-word, a content marketing software and services company. His plan is to keep learning the business ropes and keep a steady income while the Fittus app comes to life.

“I’m not going to just pray that I land on a big pile of money!” he says. “I try to be as realistic

as possible.”If all goes well, next spring when

your New Year’s motivation start to fade, Fittus will be there to help find your fitness tribe.

I knew I wanted to start a busi-ness. I was at the gym one day, and someone offered me assistance, and I thought, ‘Wouldn’t that be cool, to have that every time I went?’”

— JOEL EDWARDS

“« Below, Fittus founder and CEO Joel Edwards. Fac-ing page, sample screens of the Fittus mobile app.

ON THE WEBFittus: www.fittus.comSmarter in the City: www.smarterinthecity.com

:

PHOTOS: COURTESY FITTUS


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» MONEY MATTERS — INVESTING AND FINANCES

There are many sources for debt financing: banks, savings and loans, com-mercial finance companies, and the Small Business Administration are the most common. ... Family members, friends and former associates are all potential sources, especially when capital requirements are smaller.

44

RETIREMENTWhen should you get Social Security benefits?

42

FINANCINGOptions exist for securing capital for your small business

44

capitalMAY

2016

PHOTO: THINKSTOCKPHOTOS.COM/ AID/A.COLLECTIONRF


CAPITAL | PERSONAL FINANCE

SOCIAL SECURITY OFTEN UNDER ATTACK

62 VS. 66: WHEN SHOULD YOU RECEIVE BENEFITS?

Employers have to deduct 6.2 percent from workers’ salaries and add 6.2 percent for the so-called FICA payment to comply with the law. From the time Social Security was established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935, conservatives have objected. Their complaint was the imposition of a FICA tax on the salaries they paid their employees. Even now after 81 years, they protest that individuals should be responsible for arranging financing for their own retirement.

At one time companies did establish retirement plans for long-term employ-ees, but that system was sporadic and undependable. Roosevelt established the Social Security system to mitigate poverty among Americans too old to work. Payroll deductions and FICA payments are now made on salaries up

to $118,500. CEOs with multimillion dollar salaries are able to complete all of their annual Social Security payments in the first month.

The size of the Social Security check depends upon how much money the worker has paid into the system when he or she elects to begin receiving payments. If the worker born in 1954 opts for early retirement, the monthly stipend would be smaller than if he or she had waited until a later age, and the lower amount would remain the same forever.

For example, those otherwise eligible to receive $1,000 per month at age 66 might receive only $750 per month with early retirement at age 62. In the four years before the 66th birthday you would receive a total of $36,000. So an important investment decision everyone must make is whether it is financially

better to wait the additional four years.If you choose to wait until age 66 to

receive the full benefits of $1,000 per month, it would actually take 12 years at $1,000 per month to receive the same amount you would have collected if you were on early retirement at $750 per month all those years. Do the math. Divide the extra $250 per month into $36,000. That comes to 144 months or 12 years. You begin to beat the odds at age 79.

This is no accident. The rate of bene-fits is actuarially calculated. The amount of the benefits to be paid over an adult’s remaining years is determined, and the period of payments can be shorter or longer; however, the amount paid is estimated to be substantially the same.

Of course, those who wait until 66 and live to be 100 are the big winners. But a lack of confidence in longevity induces about 58 percent of men and 64 percent of women to take early Social Security benefits. While most people probably take early retirement benefits because they need the income, undoubt-edly some are concerned about future changes affecting qualifications. The age for full retirement benefits was raised from 65 to 66, and there has been much talk about raising it even higher.

However, efforts to reduce Social Security benefits are politically unpop-ular. It has been called the third rail of politics because popular support is so intense that politicians who oppose benefits are often voted out of office. It is currently estimated that income from Social Security keeps 20 percent of all Americans who are 65 years of age or older above the federal level for pover-ty. The economic significance of Social Security is substantial.

Nonetheless, conservatives will continue their attacks on Social Security which to them is little more than a tax of 6.2 percent on their payrolls. For many small businesses, income from Social Security benefits enables their friends and neighbors to become customers. Businessmen should be ready to re-spond politically to any future attacks on the Social Security system.

YOUR MONEY is a personal finance column written by Banner Biz staff.

YOUR MONEY:RETIREMENT

THOSE BORN IN 1954 WILL REACH A FINANCIALLY SIGNIFICANT DATE IN 2016. After their 62nd birthday, they will become qualified to receive monthly Social Security payments. While the official age for the full retirement payment

is now 66 for those born between 1943 and 1954, at the age of 62 and older, they will become eligible for a so-called early retirement benefit. Social Security has become such a reliable source of retirement funds that people now take it for grant-ed, but it is good for those in the business world to have a clear understanding of what is involved.


MULTIPLE FINANCING OPTIONS AVAILABLE

SECURING CAPITAL FOR YOUR BUSINESS

There are two general types of financing: equity and debt financing. The more money, or equity, you have invested in your business, the easier it is to attract financing. If your firm has a high ratio of equity to debt, you should probably seek debt financing. However, if your company has a high proportion of debt to equity, you should increase your equity before you borrow additional money. That way you won’t be over-leveraged to the point of jeopar-dizing your company’s survival.

There are many sources for debt financ-ing: banks, savings and loans, commercial finance companies, and the Small Business Administration are the most common. Many state and local governments have small business lending programs. Family members, friends and former associates are all potential sources, especially when capital requirements are smaller.

Traditionally, banks have been the major source of small business funding. Their princi-pal role has been as a short-term lender offer-ing demand loans, seasonal lines of credit and single-purpose loans for machinery and equip-ment. Banks generally have been reluctant to offer long-term loans to small firms. The SBA guaranteed lending program encourages banks and non-bank lenders to make long-term loans

to small firms by reducing their risk and lever-aging the funds they have available.

Additional equity can be sought from non-professional investors such as friends, relatives, employees, customers, or industry colleagues, although venture capitalists are the most common source. Most specialize in one or a few closely related industries. Most venture capitalists prefer three- to five-year-old companies that have the potential to become major regional or national businesses and return higher-than-average profits.

You may contact these investors directly, although they typically make their invest-ments through referrals. The SBA licenses Small Business Investment Companies, which make venture capital investments in small businesses.

NADINE BOONE has been with the U.S. Small Business Administration for over 16 years. She has 10 years of experience as a Loan Specialist, reviewing and analyzing guaranty purchases to identify and resolve compliance deficiencies for the purchase of 7(a) loans in the Office of Financial Assistance – National Guaranty Purchase Center in Herndon, Virginia. Boone earned a certificate of completion from Omega Performance in Commercial Loans for Small Business in March 2013 and graduated from Christopher Newport University in Newport News, VA, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and Marketing.

WHILE POOR MANAGEMENT IS CITED MOST FREQUENTLY AS THE REASON BUSINESSES FAIL, inadequate or ill-timed financing is a close second. Whether you’re starting a business or expanding one, sufficient ready capital is essential.

FINANCING:NADINE BOONE

CAPITAL | SMALL BUSINESS LOANS

A CLOSER LOOKBefore inquiring about financing, ask yourself the following:

n Do you need more capital or can you manage existing cash flow more effectively?

n How do you define your need? Do you need money to expand or as a cushion against risk?

n How urgent is your need? You can obtain the best terms when you antic-ipate your needs rather than looking for money under pressure.

n How great are your risks? All businesses carry risks, and the degree of risk will affect cost and available financing alternatives.

n In what state of development is the business? Needs are most critical during transitional stages.

n For what purposes will the capital be used? Any lender will require that capital be requested for very specific needs.

n What is the state of your industry? Depressed, stable, or growth conditions require different approaches to money needs and sources. Businesses that prosper while others are in decline will often receive better funding terms.

n Is your business seasonal or cyclical? Seasonal needs for financing generally are short term. Loans advanced for cyclical industries such as construction are designed to support a business through depressed periods.

n How strong is your management team? Management is the most import-ant element assessed by money sources.

n Perhaps most importantly, how does your need for financing mesh with your business plan? If you don't have a business plan, write one. Lenders will want to see your plan for the start-up and growth of your business before they finance it.

ON THE WEBFor more information on SBA loan programs, visit www.sba.gov/financing/index.html

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CERTIFY. DEVELOP. CONNECT. ADVOCATE.

Save the Dates!

GNEMSDC 41st ANNIVERSARY

AWARDS GALASave the dates for our upcoming 2016 signature events which give minority business enterprises (MBEs) the chance to connect and secure contracts with major cor-porations, public agencies and non-profit organizations.

Qualified MBEs now receive a dual certification from

GNEMSDC and the Commonwealth. Certification connects you to more opportunities.

For details on dual certification, please contact Jennifer Little Greer at [email protected] or call 203-288-9744.

In March, some 400 people gathered at the Aqua Turf Country Club in Plantsville, Connecticut, to celebrate entrepreneurs of color and their corporate partners. The gala fundraiser marked the 41st

anniversary of the Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council (GNEMSDC).

WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 7-8

Business Opportunity Conference & Expo

Mohegan Sun, Uncasville, CT

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 9Supplier Diversity

Golf ClassicMohegan Sun Golf Club

Baltic, CT

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16

8th Annual Supplier Diversity Best Practices Forum

Fenway Park, Boston, MA

GREATER NEW ENGLAND MINORITY SUPPLIER DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL, INC.

Massachusetts 101 Huntington Avenue,

17th FloorBoston, MA 02199

617-578-8900

Connecticut 333 State Street,

1st Floor,Bridgeport, CT 06604

203-288-9744

To sponsor or register, go to: www.gnemsdc.orgCelebrating 41 Years!

1. From left, Darren Haynes, ESPN sports anchor, JoAnn Price, Managing Partner of Fairview Capital Partners, Darryl Settles, developer and owner of Darryl’s Corner Bar & Kitchen, and Peter Hurst, President & CEO of GNEMSDC. 2. Attorney Julian T. Tynes (left), Assistant Secretary, Office of Diversity and Civil Rights, MassDOT/MBTA, accepts the President’s Award on behalf of Governor Charlie Baker. Presenting the award is Peter Hurst, President & CEO of GNEMSDC.

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PHOTOS: DON WEST

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