Weekly Economic Report | LAEDC

THIS WEEK’S HEADLINES:

• California’s Budget Position in May
• Median Home Price in SoCal Hits Five-Year High
• Retail Sales in May
• Events of Interest
  • July 17, 2013: LAEDC Mid-year Economic Forecast: The Future of Energy in the Southland

Dr. Richard Sudek Interview | Peter Mehit

Below is the transcript of the full interview I conducted with Dr. Richard Sudek, Director of Chapman University’s Leatherby Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Ethics. The center is nationally recognized as a leader in the field and Chapman has produced a number of notable entrepreneurs, including our client, Frank Delgadillo, creator of the Ambiguous and Comune action wear lines.

Excerpts from this interview appeared in Impact (formerly Caypen) magazine in both their online and print editions.

Q: Can you give us some background on the Leatherby Center and what you do here?

Sudek: I’m the Director of the Leatherby Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Ethics.

PM: What is your background?

Sudek: I had my own computer company, built starting with $250 and sold it, so I’m not your typical academic. What I’m really trying to do is change the entrepreneurial ecosystem here in OrangeCounty. The entrepreneurial ecosystem is poorly connected from my perception. We’d like Chapman to be involved in helping connect it. We’d like Chapman to be the place where entrepreneurs, inventors and investors meet and collaborate.

Most of our energy is outward facing rather inward facing.

One of the things to point out is that Chapman one of the best kept secrets here in OrangeCounty. We’re a top 50 business school. We have a Nobel prize winner in economics. Our entrepreneurship program is ranked 13^th by BusinessWeek. Because I wanted to cross connect the university, we built this thing called ESUN, Entrepreneur Student University Network. Originally it was designed to be small, so we started with the local schools; Cal Tech. USC, UCLA, Loyola, Pepperdyne, UCI, Fullerton and Claremont McKenna to try to cross connect our centers which we’re starting to do.

The thing that really launched this is we created this competition called California Dreaming. And we brought in other schools such as Oklahoma, BYU, Berkeley and Hawaii, etc and created a $100,000 business plan competition that we have in April. Next year it will be a $200,000. It’s going actually be two different competitions a business plan competition and fast pitch competition. Microsemi will be the anchor sponsor, as they were last year. The idea is to get students in front of investors, not just to win cash. I brought in VCs and angels from the bay area and local VCs and angels.

One of the teams, BYU, who won the competition, got some equity funding from this in late April. So that’s the idea is to get students connected to that.

PM: So you’re trying to build the hub for this kind of activity here?

Sudek: Yes. Now this reaches outward across different states so the idea is the help students in general although focused on Chapman, OrangeCounty, Southern California, going out from there.

Cookie Marketing Fail | Peter Mehit

One of the current web best practices is for advertisers to plant a cookie on your machine when you visit a website. They tell you it’s to track your preferences so you don’t have to re-enter data and it also allows them to tailor your experience so the products or services that you’re likely to want will be presented to you. But something else happens, something that is intended to quickly build the number of times you see a product. It’s meant to build recognition, but instead it’s incredibly annoying.

I have used Zoho CRM for about 18 months. I’ve used both the free and paid versions and have gone back and forth depending on how much their customer service policies piss me off (the subject of another article).  I log into Zoho every day.

As I go on about my work using the internet, I notice pay per click ads for Zoho CRM pop up at nearly every site I go to. This goes on all day. I’m being encouraged to use a site that I use everyday. The annoyance factor is so high I’m severely tempted to click through and run up their bill, but that would likely result in pop up ads being placed in my cranium.

Tasos Projects for Kids

Our client Steve Tsirtsis, the owner of the Citrus City Grille restaurants in Orange and Corona, lost his son to cancer this year. Wanting to make his son’s passing meaningful, he and his wife Agatha established Tasos Projects for Kids, a non-profit foundation that,

“…is dedicated to helping kids who have lost a parent to cancer. From counseling services to music, athletic and educational scholarships and monetary support, Tasos Project is a resource center for kids 0-18 years old.”

Tasos Projects for Kids is having its inaugural fundraiser at the Citrus City Grille on Sunday, June 23, 2013 starting at 5:00pm. The event includes wonderful food, two drinks and a great time. Also will be a silent auction featuring including signed Fender guitars, (1) night stay in a bungalow at Rancho Las Lomas in Silverado Canyon, Dodger Tickets, Private Flight to Catalina with Lunch, Heidi Burkhardt artwork, Teeth Whitening/Sonicare Basket, Wedding Dress, Jewelry, Starr Motorcycle School Class Gift Certificate, Stila MakeUp GIft Basket, Mini Grand Piano and much, much more!

Tickets are available at Citrus City Grille in Corona and Orange, Blush Bridal Couture in Tustin.

A Letter to Verizon Customers | Andy Borowitz

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—Today, President Obama issued the following letter to all Verizon customers:

Dear Verizon Customers,

Yesterday it came to light that the National Security Agency has been collecting millions of phone records from you each and every day. Since that news was released, many of you have called the White House with questions and concerns about this new program. To save my time and yours, here are answers to three of the F.A.Q.s (Frequently Asked Questions) we’ve been hearing from you:

Read Article

El Reno was a Killing Field | YouTube Videos

The El Reno EF-5 Tornado that killed three storm chasers surprised them by changing from the typical northeast track to a southerly track, trapping them.

There are literally dozens of videos of this tornado, but I’ve posted the ones that communicate the instantaneous threat those following these storms found themselves in.

Adding to the mix were scores of amateur chasers and hundreds of regular citizens, who left the relative safety of their homes because they mistook the advice of a weatherman who advised a portion of the viewers to head south. Hundreds clogged the roads, making retreat impossible for those at the front of the line.

Weekly Economic Forecast | LADEC

THIS WEEK’S HEADLINES:

• March S&P / Case-Shiller Home Price Indices
• April Personal Income and Consumption
• Events of Interest
  • June 14, 2013: Think Asia, Think Hong Kong
  • July 17, 2013: LAEDC Mid-year Economic Forecast: The Future of Energy in the Southland

Speaking With Russian Entrepreneurs | Peter Mehit

Last Friday, we had the honor to speak with a room full of entrepreneurs in Surgut, Siberia via teleconference. The conference was set up by Michelle Skiljian of the Inland Empire Women’s Center and Dr. Tapie Rhom, an IT professor at CSUSB along with the help of many others. We filed into  the tele-learning center at Cal State San Bernardino for a 7:00pm start. The tele bridge started late because the participants on the Russian end had to fight a snow storm to get to the venue. The crowd was slow to build but after about twenty minutes there were fifty or so participants involved in the conversation with about 15 Southern California business owners.

They aren’t all that different than us, except they have higher expectations for what America does for it’s start up nation. Most of their questions centered on sources of capital (with an interesting sidebar about support for parolees), the kinds of businesses we start here and, in particular, the kinds of businesses women are getting into. The Russian audience was majority women and the only three business owners that spoke were women. They explained the split of business owners in Russia 85-15% male, with the majority of women owning care giving or service businesses.

Big Brother – Facebook Style

My friend Ben Hillman is an animator and graphic artist who has his own firm in New York. He possesses an acerbic wit and very definite political opinions. When he learned that Facebook’s Mark Zuckerman was a proponent of (and investor in) the Keystone Pipeline and drilling in the Arctic Wildlife Reserve, he developed a little graphic to display his ire:

Ben posted this on his wall on Facebook. Shortly thereafter (less than a minute) I saw the post and shared it on my wall. It appeared on my wall for less than one minute. There was a page refresh and then it was gone. It was also removed from Ben’s wall as well. 

The take away is this: Everything you post is being monitored by Facebook in real time. You have no privacy. They will censor your political and social opinions.

Finally, Mark Zuckerberg is a thin skinned douchebag.

For some interesting reading on the same subject, click here.

The censor of the graphic is mine. We’re trying to run a relatively PG blog here. For the actual, uncensored NSFW graphic, click here - Ed.

Crutch Phrase | Urban Dictionary

April 29: Crutch phrase

An overworked figure of speech, such as, inter alia, “at the end of the day,” or “it is what is,” or “thinking outside the box,” or “leverage our resources.” Crutchphrases are a common refuge of speakers who have difficulty articulating ideas or concepts without reflexively using jargon and cliché. Often relied upon by powerpoint-user speakers who simply repeat what is already printed on the Powerpoint slide.

The use of a crutchphrase is often an open admission of an unwillingness or inability to think, let alone use language effectively.

“At the end of the day,” the speaker droned, “we have to think out of the box if we are to successfully leverage our resources.” Note the split infinitive.

“But,” protested a listener, “you’re not making any sense at all, you’re just babbling a bunch of crutch phrases!”

“It is what it is,” replied the speaker, retreating to the safe territory of a crutch phrase. 

Every presentation I pray I don’t fall prey to these, easy, useless words. It’s  so hard to stay fresh – Ed.

Weekly Economic Update | LAEDC

THIS WEEK’S HEADLINES:

• First Quarter GDP: Moderate Growth
• California Housing Market: Inventory Dips Below 3-Month Supply
• Global Economy
• Events of Interest
  • May 15, 2013: LAEDC International Trade Outlook

Weekly Economic Update | LAEDC

THIS WEEk:

California’s Budget Position in March

HEADLINES:

• Retail Sales Weaken in March
• Wholesale Prices Retreat by 0.6% in March
• Events of Interest
  • April 23, 2013: Economic Outlook for the San Gabriel Valley
  • May 15, 2013: LAEDC International Trade Outlook

3 Ways to Survive the Coming Social Bust | SmallBusinessNewz

Compared to the last boom/bust technology cycle that culminated with the dot com crash of 2000, the social-era combatants are in an even more precarious position. Back then, the engine of the expansion was e-commerce, which at least generated revenue (although clearly not at ROI sufficient to save Pets.com, Webvan.com, Boo.com and legions of other online ghosts). Last time, success and failure was driven as much by expense control as revenue generation, and the huge influx of public market financing through IPOs allowed start-up companies to essentially trade dollars back and forth in a giant shell game.

Read Article.

You’re Not Doing It Right – Indulge in Cheap Insurance!

 

What are the advertisers trying to say here? You’ll be happy while your house is burning because you have cheap insurance? That’s some good insurance, right there. Either that or the garage was full of marijuana and it took them a while to escape.

I mean, nothing says ‘photo opportunity’ like all of your worldly possessions going up in a house fire.

Five Qualities That Erase Fear | Peter Mehit

People like to focus on the company creating the next killer app or designing the next cool product, but when speaking of entrepreneurs as a class, the field is much bigger than the tiny number trying to create the next Facebook. Entrepreneurs are also the people starting the new coffee shop, the bicycle store and the java kiosk. Entrepreneurs are guys working a backhoe as a second job, welders who buy their own rigs and book their own business. They’re the people who have decided to fly their own flag instead of working for someone else.

Admittedly, there is a big gap between someone working in a 1099 world and founders raising equity investment. But there are a few things in common for everyone stepping into the world of entrepreneurship. They are motivation, desire, ability, courage and an idea. All of these qualities play out in an arena of risk. Risk, when not understood and managed, will become fear. Fear is the primary reason why people don’t get into business. So an understanding of these five qualities is critical for any entrepreneur.