Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
PerfectBusiness LIVE! Event - June 21st
PerfectBusiness LIVE! Web Marketing Workshop – An Educational Event that Gives Back.
Come join some of Los Angeles’ most creative minds as they unveil the secrets to successful, inexpensive internet marketing and public relations strategies. This event is a must-attend for those looking to optimize their online presence.
In addition to working with you, we are honored to announce that PerfectBusiness has teamed up with an amazing organization and cause, Hats for Charity—a division of Matell Children’s Hospital. Determined to make a difference, PerfectBusiness will donate $10.00 to Hats for Charity for every single attendee. For more information or to help a child directly, please visit Hats for Charity at http://www.hatsforcharity.com/. No amount is too little.
In addition, each attendee will receive a DVD that includes an overview of keys to web marketing success as told by some of our prestigious experts.
This event is available only to premium members of PerfectBusiness.com.Premium members have a gold star next to their profile and are granted access to all of our resources—including PB LIVE! Events. To enjoy all the benefits our site has to offer and attend our Web Marketing Workshop on June 7th, http://www.perfectbusiness.com/events/liveEvents.cfm You’re only $20 away from a life-changing experience.
We have another round of high-profile experts that will guide you through the following topics:
-PR on a Shoestring
-Benefits of the Blog
-Brand your Online Identity
-Search Engine Optimization- Finally learn what it is and how to do it!
-Learn how affiliate programs work
-Optimize your Business’ Online Presence
-Enhance your Site’s Aesthetics
RSVP as seating will be extremely limited.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Friday, May 9, 2008
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
UCLA'S PRICE CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP
The Financial Times ranked UCLA’s Entrepreneurship Program as the #1 program in the world four times in the past six years.
Professor Robert Foster is the Director of the Global Access Program (GAP) at the school's Price Center for Entrepreneurship. It’s the international field study and MBA thesis requirement for Anderson's Fully-Employed MBA students. He also teaches High Technology Management, Business Plan Development and management consulting Field Study.
Robert Foster actually got his MBA from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management in 1965.
He is also a member of the Tech Coast Angels and the Pasadena Angeles. (They are angel investing organizations.)
When I interviewed him, there was one comment in particular that really hit home for me. He said that when approaching investors, you have to show that there is a need for your product. Don’t just do market research, but actually talk to people, take a poll and prove that you have customers ready to buy or use your product or service right out of the gate. You don’t have a business until you have your first customer (Steven Mednick, Professor at USC’s Entrepreneur Program told me those wise words). So when you present your business to investors; family, friends, Angels or VCs, be brief, be specific, and prove that there is a need you can fill and a demand you can meet.
Watch the Video
Monday, May 5, 2008
POTENTIAL MERGERS!
Here are some potential mergers someone told me about for 2008 ;)
- Hale Business Systems, Mary Kay Cosmetics, Fuller Brush, and W. R. Grace Co. Will merge and become: Hale, Mary, Fuller, Grace.
- PolyGram Records, Warner Bros., and Zesta Crackers join forces and become: Poly, Warner Cracker.
- 3M will merge with Goodyear and become: MMMGood.
- Zippo Manufacturing, Audi Motors, Dofasco, and Dakota Mining will merge and become: ZipAudiDoDa .
- FedEx is expected to join its competitor, UPS, and become: FedUP.
- Fairchild Electronics and Honeywell Computers will become: Fairwell Honeychild.
- Grey Poupon and Docker Pants are expected to become: PouponPants.
- Knotts Berry Farm and the National Organization of Women will become: Knott NOW!
Happy Monday everyone.
Friday, May 2, 2008
"HOW I MADE IT" - MARK VERGE IN THE LA TIMES!
The co-founder of PerfectBusiness & Westside Rentals was featured in the LA Times today! Check it out - 
By Andrea Chang, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer May 2, 2008
The gig: Founder and owner of Westside Rentals, a listings service for Southern California renters and landlords. Based in Santa Monica, Westside Rentals employs 80 people and lists about 20,000 apartments, houses and rooms for rent.Education: Associate's degree from Santa Monica College; bachelor's in history from UCLA.Personal: Married his high school sweetheart, Lani. They live in Pacific Palisades and have a daughter, 7, and a son, 4. First job: A beach lifeguard when he was 18. "I was definitely not the definition of a lifeguard," he says. "I was a pale, skinny guy. They'd call me the Ghost."Got the idea: Verge, 40, says he was put off by listings services that would post rental ads without the landlords' permission. "All they would do was copy the newspaper," he says. "The business had a really bad name to it." Figuring he could do better, he sold the coin store he owned and started Westside Rentals in 1996.Along the path: Verge rented office space in Santa Monica and attended trade conventions and apartment association meetings, where he would talk to owners and distribute Westside Rentals magnets and key chains. "It was honestly begging owners," he says. "We'd do whatever it took to get that listing."How it works: Owners and landlords get to list their properties free. Renters pay a membership fee of $60 for 60 days of access to the listings, which they can check out online, over the phone or in one of Westside Rentals' seven local offices.First big purchase: Bought a racehorse, named Hide From the Bride, for $50,000.Newest venture: In March, Verge launched a networking website for entrepreneurs called PerfectBusiness.com. He also wrote a book on how to maintain a happy marriage and hopes to get it published. Oddest marketing tool: Rental Man, the firm's mascot and human billboard. He can be found dancing outside Westside Rentals' offices or at sporting events, dressed in a red cape and jester hat and waving a Westside Rentals sign.Daydream jobs: Creating a reality TV show featuring Rental Man, or working as a horse trainer -- "except I'm scared of horses and I don't like waking up early."Advice: "Meet everyone and treat them all the same. Learn from everybody."
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
DONALD TRUMP'S APPRENTICE, TAMMY TRENTA
Monday, April 28, 2008
NBC - isee
KNBC has partnered with Veeker to create 'isee'. You can take pictures with your cell phone and sumbit them to KNBC via isee@knbc.com and they will post it on NBC's website and possibly use it on-air as well. It's a free service provided through Veeker. It will be interesting to see how this new relationship develops...
Friday, April 25, 2008
Thursday, April 24, 2008
MR. TRADER JOE
Trader Joe was one of the most interesting interviews I have had the privilege to do. "Trader Joe's" actual name is Joe Coulombe and he still lives near the very first Trader Joe's in Pasadena, California. He originally ran a chain of Pronto Markets, selling primarily dairy-based consumer products. But when 7-Eleven bought out his dairy provider, Joe Coulombe had to find a new angle and that was the birth of the Trader Joe's grocery store chain. He sold the chain to a German family in 1988 and now serves on the board for World Maket Cost Plus and for True Religion Apparel. We interviewed Joe Coulombe at his house in Pasadena. He has taken up painting and his fantastic art was all over the house, including the painting behind him in the interview...
Watch the Video
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
LADIES WHO LAUNCH
Ladies Who Launch is an organization geared toward helping women launch their businesses. It was started by Victoria Colligan and Beth Schoenfeldt and connects female entrepreneurs online and in person. I'm currently doing the Ladies Who Launch incubator program in Los Angeles. It's a four week intensive where you basically 'incubate' your idea or business. It's a wonderful organization that really celebrates women and the feminine approach to entrepreneurship. Amy Swift is the Editor-In-Chief for Ladies Who Launch and heads the Los Angeles incubator programs. She also contributes to one of my favorite websites, The Huffington Post. I interviewed Amy about Ladies Who Launch and her work there and asked her what advice she would give female entrepreneurs.
Watch The Video
Monday, April 21, 2008
PERFECTBUSINESS LIVE!
PerfectBusiness had its first LIVE! event this Saturday, April 19th in Los Angeles. It was a wonderful event where entrepreneurs sat down with experts and had their questions answered and had help with issues they were having with their businesses.
Our experts at the event were:
- Mark Verge and Dan Bliss, the PerfectBusiness co-founders. (Mark Verge also founded WestsideRentals.com.)
- Amy Swift, Editor-In-Chief of Ladies Who Launch.
- Viviana Rueda, an image consultant and CEO of Vivendi Fashionista.
- Kevin Trosian, a finance and investment consultant and CEO of Tower 12 Consulting.
- Carl Bressler, the founder of Montana Artists Agency and a member of WPO.
Our next event is scheduled for June and there should be many more to come. To find out when and where the next PerfectBusiness LIVE! event will be, just check out the Events Page.
Friday, April 18, 2008
PERFECTBUSINESS ON ABC!
This is a story on PerfectBusiness' initiative to remove the 9's and 5's on work clocks...
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
A PATCH OF BLUE
In addition to journalism, I am also a playwright, theatre producer and actor. I suppose my first experience as an 'entrepreneur' was when I started my own theatre company in London, Lost Luggage Productions. Running a theatre company and producing is like running any business - you become the last man, or woman, standing. Whenever anything goes wrong or anyone has a question, it always comes back to you and it took me some time to get comfortable with that pressure. The play that stands out the most for me from my time in London is one I wrote, produced and acted in called A Patch of Blue.
A Patch of Blue had its World Stage Premiere at the King’s Head Theatre in London. The play was Time Out’s Critics Choice for two weeks running and there are now talks of the play having its U.S. Premiere in Los Angeles.
It is the story of two strangers who meet and fall in love among the most unlikely of circumstances. Selina is a blind girl who knows nothing of the world except the impoverished life she shares with an abusive mother and a drunken grandfather. Gordon is a black man trying to make his way in a world of prejudice and racism in 1960 America. But together they discover love and the desire for freedom.
The play is based on Elizabeth Kata’s 1961 novel Be Ready with Bells And Drums. British director Guy Green adapted the book for the screen in 1965 and re-titled it A Patch of Blue. The new title came from a sailor expression - 'a patch of blue' was sign of safety in stormy skies. The film starred Sidney Poitier and Shelly Winters and garnered six Golden Globe nominations including a win for Best Actress and five Oscar nominations, including a win for Best Supporting Actress.
I was awarded exclusive rights to write the play adaptation of Elizabeth Kata’s novel. The biggest challenge I faced when writing the play was figuring out what I wanted to say and what I wanted to bring to the story. I loved the book so much it was hard to allow myself to bring my voice and my interpretation into the story. But once I let go of these mental limitations, it was an amazing experience writing about these fierce and rich characters. A Patch of Blue is a thought provoking play that exposes the deep-seated reality that we see in today’s headlines of racism and prejudice that can lead to political and social explosion.
THE TIMES REVIEW
THE EVENING STANDARD REVIEW
MUSIC OMH REVIEW
Monday, April 14, 2008
AUTISIM AWARENESS MONTH
April is Autism Awareness month. One of my relatives has slight autism and I have learned a great deal about the disease from knowing him and his mother. Scientists cannot pinpoint exactly why some children have or develop autism, but one theory is that the thimerosal found in childhood vaccines is a cause. Basically the idea is that children who get too many vaccines within their first few months of life then suffer from mercury or lead poisoning. Thimerosal has been removed from most vaccines, but not all of them. The CDC is doing a lot of research into the potential correlation, but results are still inconclusive. It is a very emotional issue for both the parents and the doctors involved because there remain so many unanwered questions. After having worked on a story for KNBC about the possible link between vaccines and autism, I still don't know what the answer is, but I was glad to help raise awareness about the issue.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
ENTREPENEUR.COM
Here the test newscast pilot we filmed for Entrepreneur Magazine -
Entrepreneur.comNews
INSIDE THE INSIDER HEADLINES
The news director for PerfectBusiness Insider Headlines is Scott Plesha and the cinematographer and editor for the show is David Wakeling. Scott is a fantastic writer and he and I decide the headlines and order of the show. We always put one piece of quirky, fun news into the line up. It's amazing what bizarre news is floating around out there and the shenanigans people get up to! We also try and start the newscast off on a positive note, but with the doom and gloom of the current economic situation in the United States this has become quite a challenging task. The other challenge is providing small business news that applies to a national audience. We have to make sure we have small business news that is as helpful and informative to someone in Pennsylvania as it is for someone in Oregon. One of my favorite parts of the show is featuring one of the amazing entrepreneurs we have interviewed. A seasoned CEO, or a first-time entrepreneur, every one has a great story or a pearl of wisdom to pass on. Being an entrepreneur is such a brave life-choice and the more entrepreneurs I interview, the more impressed I become with their tenacity and perseverance to achieve their goals and risk everything in the process.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
"THE COOLEST CEO ON THE PLANET"
I once heard Wing Lam introduced as the "coolest CEO on the planet" and having met him, I have to agree. The CEO and co-founder of Wahoo's Fish Taco truly represents the essence of The Entrepreneur. Wing and his brothers Ed and Mingo came up with the idea for the restaurant while on a surfing trip in Mexico. Borrowing $30,000 from their parents, they opened the first Wahoo's in 1988. The brothers combined the influence of their Chinese parents (also restauranteurs) their childhood in Brazil and their surfing lifestyle into the atmosphere and the food of their first Wahoo's. They now have restaurants all over the U.S. serving Baja fresh taco's in a fun, funky surfer/snowboarder-esque environment. David (the cinematographer and my partner in PerfectBusiness crime) and I interviewed Wing Lam at their newest Wahoo location. He arrived after a morning of surfing in shorts, flip flops and orange Oakley sunglasses. After the interview he bought us lunch at the restaurant and talked about how making personal connections, giving without demanding anything in return and being genuine are the best ways to succeed in business. With a full belly and a new friend, I had to agree.
Watch the Video
Monday, April 7, 2008
PINKBERRY VS. RED MANGO
As a frozen yogurt connoisseur, I make sure to stay abreast of all the latest creations and trends. Most recently we saw the "frozen yogurt wars" between Pinkberry and Red Mango. Starbucks founder Howard Schultz's recently invested $27.5 million into Pinkberry, giving the rapidly expanding frozen yogurt chain a very big boost. But around the corner has emerged Red Mango! What many don't know is that Red Mango started in South Korea in 2002 selling the famed all natural, tart-in-flavor frozen yogurt. Pinkberry took the idea to the U.S. and first opened it's doors in 2005. Dan Kim, Red Mango's President and CEO, opened his company's first US location in Los Angeles in late 2007. I interviewed him at this premiere location just a few weeks after it opened. As opposed to it's South Korean counterpart which has a more "Hello Kitty" ambiance to it, Red Mango has created a coffee shop feel to their U.S. branches. Although a fan of Pinkberry, I have to say I quite enjoyed Red Mango's creamy taste. Their yogurt is certified by the National Yogurt Association - most frozen yogurts do not have this certification because they do not have enough live active cultures. And they always have fresh fruit.
Friday, April 4, 2008
Thursday, April 3, 2008
INSIDER HEADLINES
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
HOW TO START AN ONLINE BUSINESS
Online web-based businesses are one of the fastest growing trends in the United States, which means that there is a lot of competition out there. So before you begin, make sure there is a demand for your idea in the marketplace and make sure there isn’t already someone out there doing the exact same thing. If there is, it might be worth trying to align yourself with that person or company and add your talents to an existing and successful business.
But if there is a need for your idea and you have the passion to make it happen, then the first and most important step is, just do it. There are a lot of steps between having an idea and making it a business reality, but if you stay focused, it will happen.
The first step is to buy a domain name. There are many hosting companies to choose from. I have used Go Daddy and find them to be very reliable. Domain names are not that expensive, usually $20 or less. At this point you have a few options open to you; you can hire a programmer and/or a designer to create a website for your business, you can access your network of friends to see if you know someone with web experience who can help you design your website or you can use an online program to build it yourself. Depending on your level of confidence, these are all viable options. It really just depends on how much money or time you want to spend on your site.
Once you have your website created, the next step is to get the word out that your business exists. Viral Marketing is becoming one of the most effective ways of advertising out there, and also one of the cheapest. Search Engine Optimization is key to your site's overall success. It’s the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a website from search engines via "natural" or "algorithmic" search results for targeted keywords. You can sign up for SEO submission services or take SEO classes to improve the amount of traffic to your site. Google is a great resource for this.
Blogging is a great way to create buzz about your online business. And the more external links you have to your website, the higher your search engine ranking will be. Blogger, MySpace, Facebook, Xanga and YouTube are all easy ways to promote your new website. StumbleUpon is another great way to get traffic to your website. And Dosh Dosh is a wonderful website to use for tips on blogging. You can also create partnerships with other businesses, bloggers or websites to increase traffic to your site and attract the people who would be interested in your product or service to your business.
Now that we’ve got the website down, let’s talk about the actual business... As I mentioned above, the first step in launching your business is to take a look at the competition and the industry you are entering and make sure you are prepared to enter the playing field.
The second step is to make a list of short and long term goals for your business. What are your expectations for the first month of your business? Your first year? Where do you want your business to be in five years?
The third step and arguably the most arduous and most important is the business plan. This is what will guide you through the development of your company and it will also be the tool you use to approach investors. There are varying opinions on what the best format and length is for a business plan and ultimately you have to decide what works best for you. However, most of the Venture Capitalists, Consultants and MBA Professors I have spoken to say that especially for a small business, brevity is key. Five to ten pages is a good amount and for presenting your plan to Angel Groups or potential investors, Power Point presentations are always effective. Most investors get hundreds of Business Plans on their desk a day. Ask yourself how will yours stand out from the crowd?
If you have never written a business plan before, it can be daunting trying to figure out where to start. Look for sample plans online and use your local resources and websites. PerfectBusiness has great resources for creating a business plan and networking with other entrepreneurs. The SBA, Small Business Administration, is a fantastic free service offered by the government to help small business owners start and grow their businesses.
The next step is to decide how you want to register your business. Are you an Inc? an LLC? At this point you are going to want to talk to a lawyer or use an online resource like LegalZoom to make sure all of your ducks are in a row. You also have to create your DBA or your “doing business as” name. And finally, it’s time to launch your business!
As you go through this process there are many more steps and processes that you will need to do in order to get your business up and running, but this is a helpful overall guide. Each business is different and will require different things. Starting a business, online or otherwise, can be a time-consuming task and if it’s your first time as an entrepreneur, the process can be overwhelming because you are learning a second before you have to do it. But the end result is that you are your own boss and you are doing something that you are passionate about. And so as I said before, just do it. Be willing to take the risk, keep your eye on the prize, accept that there might be a few sleepless nights along the way, and enjoy the process. Bon voyage.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
NBC - BLACKWATER
Here's the link to the story: NBC - BLACKWATER
