A couple of weeks ago, I had the privilege of participating in a Forum on Job Creation in the City of Avondale that was in response to a request directly from the White House. There were about 30 of us in the auditorium-business owners, City officials, educators- who took the time to answer questions and direct thoughtful discussion on the topic of job creation in America. The City of Avondale moderator was excellent and the results of that discussion are encapsulated below. We can only hope that the White House actually listens to the terrific advice given.
1. From what you have seen, or seen reported about the President’s Jobs Forum on December 3,
what seems most relevant to your community?
Because of the timing of our forum and the President’s speech on Tuesday, the attendees responded
more to the three key areas of focus that the President outlined yesterday rather than what was
reported from the December 3 forum.
• Access to capital for small businesses is a barrier to small business creation and
expansion. Existing programs (i.e. Community Express and Patriot Express) have been
instrumental in helping new businesses but need to be expanded and publicized.
• It appears that the three key focus areas are probably relevant to the community/state as
a whole; however, the group in attendance did not feel that the tax incentives for small
business are relevant because small business startups are not making enough profit to be
taxed and see benefits from those incentives.
• Focus on and incentives to micro-businesses and those small businesses with profits less
than a $1 million; creating access to capital is essential
• Fund staff at state and local level to conduct outreach and education for small business
(i.e. encourage formation of entrepreneurs clubs, organize business clusters, assistance
with business plans, accessing capital, networking events, mentorship programs)
• A local banker, unable to attend the Forum provided the following comment:
o National banks are unwilling to disburse funds they received. The national banks
control 95% of Arizona’s deposits and they ARE NOT lending here.
• Business start up groups to help them get started (education, guidance, resources).
Entrepreneurs helping entrepreneurs.
• Investment in energy efficient jobs is essential
• Federal government should give more strategic leadership that provides a coherent
energy policy which would engender public confidence in investments in green jobs and
green technology.
• Increase in funding for housing rehabilitation/weatherization/emergency repair because
those jobs most correlate with those lost in our community and funds can be spent
quickly.
• Energy Efficiency Block grant program is a good model for future funding distribution
because it gets money quicker by distributing directly to cities and it also allows for
administrative costs (staff to get the work done).
• Federal government should pressure the states but also provide incentives to implement
long term energy strategies.
• Federal government should pressure the states but also provide incentives to ensure that
educational systems are addressing the training needs for tomorrow’s industries and jobs.
Workers today need to be trained right now for the energy efficient jobs we are seeking.
• Support programs/projects/incentives that promote bio-energy. The technology is there,
there just needs to be support for and then a mechanism to get it off the ground.
• Infrastructure funds in AZ should focus on public transportation as cities in the Phoenix
metro area are not easily accessible nor linked by a regional transit system
• Additional infrastructure funds should not be distributed in the same manner as they were
with ARRA funds. Only small projects were accomplished. These projects did not expand
capacity or create a large number of jobs.
• ARRA timeframes prohibited major projects that would have created more jobs. As an
example many communities were only able to accomplish small street maintenance-type
projects which did not create a large number of jobs.
• There needs to be recognition at the federal level when establishing funding guidelines
that the infrastructure needs of communities in the western United States are different
from the older, more established communities in the East.
• Encourage leasing of residential and commercial solar and other energy efficient
equipment to keep up with new technology
• Tax cuts are great, but business stimulation has to come first
• Tax breaks to large businesses to help establish and grow small businesses
• Federal government should ensure and relay to the public that there is a strategic
interrelation of programs that are funded which address the three key areas
• A paradigm shift in banking regulations must occur
2. What parts of your local economy are working or thriving? What businesses and sectors are
expanding and hiring?
• Locally, some health related businesses are doing well
• Alternative energy
• Aerospace is doing well in Arizona
• Retail sector has not been impacted as hard locally as other areas
• Very few are expanding or hiring right now
3. What parts of your local economy are not working or thriving? What businesses and sectors
have been hit the hardest? What are people struggling with the most?
• Local government is still losing jobs due to reduction in sales tax revenue while other
sectors may be stabilizing
• Construction industry is still suffering
• Auto dealers
• Real estate
• Hospitality
• Long-term unemployed are unwilling/afraid to learn new skills or make the transition to a
new field where jobs are available
• Home value deterioration is still devastating for Arizona families
• Lack of local capital to business start-up or expansion
4. What are the opportunities for growth in your community? What businesses and sectors seem
poised to rebound? What do you see as the “jobs of the future”?
• Energy-related jobs
5. What are the obstacles to job creation in your community? What could make local businesses
more likely to start hiring?
• Access to capital is lacking for start up and stable existing businesses. It is common for a
business’ line of credit to be cut off irrationally due to “new” arbitrary bank underwriting
requirements. As an example, a local landscaping company does work locally for a
nationally recognized membership retailer that has decided to start paying its bills net-60
rather than net-30 as in the past which has created a hardship for the landscape company
because they could not get a line of credit to address cash flow issues.
o These lines of credit help to even out cash flow issues. Revenues might be
coming in, but it is a timing issue for many small businesses that need to make a
weekly payroll. The clients will pay at the end of the month or every other month,
but the payroll and inventory are due weekly.
o The initial cost of doing tenant improvements, furniture and office equipment
purchases are costs that a small business often needs to borrow funds to provide.
o Others firms need construction financing to expand or open new facilities
These are examples of the capital needs small businesses have and that have dried up.
Firms with good credit and steady business income cannot get these types of funds from the
banks today. No one knows exactly why these normal business transactions with the bank
have been stopped. These needs are of much greater importance than tax credits, because
without this support from the banks the business will fail and the tax credits are meaningless.
• Opportunities for affordable training and education is critical
• Partnerships to make skill retraining more accessible. Local colleges and universities are
a possible resource for this.
• Psychologically, businesses are being more positive although cash flow is not catching up
yet.
• Bartering programs between businesses are growing and should be embraced.
• Tax credits for small businesses.
• Health care reform that does not hurt medical providers,
• Increased funds and expedited funding for SBA lenders.
• Perception that there is a high demand for renewable energy, but only a few renewable
energy sources have been created.
• Federal government should send message to the utility companies to accept alternative
energy on the electric grid system either through mandates or incentivizing the production
of renewable energy to make it more affordable
• Cities need to update codes to accommodate renewable energy
• Federal government should consider adding housing rehabilitation/weatherization to the
infrastructure list for funding. The need for affordable housing is staggering.
6. What other issues and ideas should the President consider?
• Increase WIA funding available as there is a there is a huge demand for training funds –
Local ARRA WIA funds are nearly exhausted ahead of schedule
• Programs to help people who have been out of work get back to work.
• Send more federal money through process such as CDBG
• Establish Small Business Czar who is small business owner to advise the government
• Expedite the approval of foreign trade zone applications
• A resident, unable to attend the Forum, provided the following thoughts:
o Recipients of unemployment benefits should take jobs available and/or offered to
them rather than wait for something that paid what they used to make
o Those who are unemployed should be required to spend one day a week
volunteering in “labor type” jobs such as highway crews
o For the working poor, life insurance should not be included as income
o Business need to create more permanent jobs over 30 hours per week with some
benefits
o Federal government should intervene in the price of rent and food so that they are
more affordable
o More opportunities for networking should be made available
Best always,
Peter J. Burns, III
Founder
Monday, December 21, 2009
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Grand Opening Week of CEO
What a week it's been...
Club Entrepreneur, (affectionately known as Club E to its many members)had their fourth monthly event since it's "rebirth" on Wednesday, December 2nd. Featuring my friend and colleague, Steve Bonenberger, of Angels in Action (www.angelsup.com), Steve's passionate sharing of his mission in creating this country's first microlender was very well received by the audience of around 75 members.
The night before (Tuesday) our monthly meeting, Sonia and Jim Graham, our Club E Office managers, hosted the "Shotgun Speakers" series with 20 would-be future Club E presenters sharing a glimpse of their content and oratory skills in 5 minute increments to our group. We liked the format so well and there are so many excellent speakers and subject matter experts within our community, that Club E will be hosting the "Shotgun Speakers" event every quarter. We estimated a crowd of around 40 members in the audience.
On Thursday, a recent convert to Club E, Chris Lange, gave a very interesting overview of the newly launched "Google Wave." This state-of-the-art technology offers so many benefits to the consumer and business owner that it promises to revolutionize the way we all distribute information. There were around 30 very interested participants in this session and we'll gladly invite Chris back to present again-he's a welcome addition to our band of fearless entrepreneurs.
Last evening (Friday) CEO hosted a ribbon cutting of our new facility by the Executive Director of one of the local Chambers of Commerce and a relaxed happy hour and social interaction with around 25 members of Club E followed. I had met with the Executive Director and staff member of the N. Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce that same morning and believe that I've created a workable model for incorporating Club E benefits into Chambers of Commerce. Based on the reception I received in N. Scottsdale and then again last evening, (when I presented the same concept to the head of the N. Phoenix Chamber)...I believe this innovation can be a powerful tool for Club E and Chambers alike.
En route to our Wednesday monthly event, I took a call from dear friend and supporter, Sue Malone. Sue's the leading SBA lender in the U.S., specializing in the Community Express and Patriot Express loans. She is responsible for funding 240 Club E member requests, representing over $3MM ...even in this counter-productive lending economy. To say that she is a miracle worker for small business interests is a gross understatement.
The reason for Sue's call was nothing less than one of those miracles. About a year ago, Sue had taken Club E's collection of benefits: Start Up Now workshops (www.startupnowworkshops.com) -pioneered by Sonia and Jim Graham, the Club E collaborative community and it's incubator concept of Club Office (www.clubeoffice.com)to a Detroit automaker.
Working with our comprehensive program of putting people back to work in their own businesses, Sue was trying to counter the terrible reversal of fortune of American auto workers. Eventually getting approval to the top decision maker (CEO) of the America's largest auto manufacturer, our plan was derailed when President Obama fired him. Refusing to quit, Sue tenaciously brought our program to other Detroit manufacturers and had just received approval from one of their CEOs who offered to establish Club E chapters in 800 of their top dealerships across the country. "An American manufacturer supporting American entrepreneurs," is a powerful message in our troubling economic times. What a wonderful boost to our already optimistic rally at Club E's meeting that night!
Our weekly video newsletters of updates continues to receive great response and you can see the last few of these 5 minute clips on the link below: http://www.clubeoffice.com/_blog/Club_E_Video
What a week it's been...and a great one at that!
Best regards,
Peter J. Burns, III
Founder
Club Entrepreneur, (affectionately known as Club E to its many members)had their fourth monthly event since it's "rebirth" on Wednesday, December 2nd. Featuring my friend and colleague, Steve Bonenberger, of Angels in Action (www.angelsup.com), Steve's passionate sharing of his mission in creating this country's first microlender was very well received by the audience of around 75 members.
The night before (Tuesday) our monthly meeting, Sonia and Jim Graham, our Club E Office managers, hosted the "Shotgun Speakers" series with 20 would-be future Club E presenters sharing a glimpse of their content and oratory skills in 5 minute increments to our group. We liked the format so well and there are so many excellent speakers and subject matter experts within our community, that Club E will be hosting the "Shotgun Speakers" event every quarter. We estimated a crowd of around 40 members in the audience.
On Thursday, a recent convert to Club E, Chris Lange, gave a very interesting overview of the newly launched "Google Wave." This state-of-the-art technology offers so many benefits to the consumer and business owner that it promises to revolutionize the way we all distribute information. There were around 30 very interested participants in this session and we'll gladly invite Chris back to present again-he's a welcome addition to our band of fearless entrepreneurs.
Last evening (Friday) CEO hosted a ribbon cutting of our new facility by the Executive Director of one of the local Chambers of Commerce and a relaxed happy hour and social interaction with around 25 members of Club E followed. I had met with the Executive Director and staff member of the N. Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce that same morning and believe that I've created a workable model for incorporating Club E benefits into Chambers of Commerce. Based on the reception I received in N. Scottsdale and then again last evening, (when I presented the same concept to the head of the N. Phoenix Chamber)...I believe this innovation can be a powerful tool for Club E and Chambers alike.
En route to our Wednesday monthly event, I took a call from dear friend and supporter, Sue Malone. Sue's the leading SBA lender in the U.S., specializing in the Community Express and Patriot Express loans. She is responsible for funding 240 Club E member requests, representing over $3MM ...even in this counter-productive lending economy. To say that she is a miracle worker for small business interests is a gross understatement.
The reason for Sue's call was nothing less than one of those miracles. About a year ago, Sue had taken Club E's collection of benefits: Start Up Now workshops (www.startupnowworkshops.com) -pioneered by Sonia and Jim Graham, the Club E collaborative community and it's incubator concept of Club Office (www.clubeoffice.com)to a Detroit automaker.
Working with our comprehensive program of putting people back to work in their own businesses, Sue was trying to counter the terrible reversal of fortune of American auto workers. Eventually getting approval to the top decision maker (CEO) of the America's largest auto manufacturer, our plan was derailed when President Obama fired him. Refusing to quit, Sue tenaciously brought our program to other Detroit manufacturers and had just received approval from one of their CEOs who offered to establish Club E chapters in 800 of their top dealerships across the country. "An American manufacturer supporting American entrepreneurs," is a powerful message in our troubling economic times. What a wonderful boost to our already optimistic rally at Club E's meeting that night!
Our weekly video newsletters of updates continues to receive great response and you can see the last few of these 5 minute clips on the link below: http://www.clubeoffice.com/_blog/Club_E_Video
What a week it's been...and a great one at that!
Best regards,
Peter J. Burns, III
Founder
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Club Entrepreneur (Phoenix) Update
Contact: Jim Graham FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Telephone: 602-956-3391
Email: JGraham@ClubEOffices.com
CLUB ENTREPRENEUR ANNOUNCES THE GRAND OPENING OF ITS CLUB E OFFICE, TEMPE
Collaborative co-working space for entrepreneurs and small business professionals
Club Entrepreneur Founder Peter J. Burns, III, proudly announces grand opening celebrations scheduled for the week of November 30 at the new Club E Office in Tempe located at 1095 West Rio Salado Parkway, Suite 104.
Club E Office recently announced the exciting news that it is the first and only office space provider to accept 100% barter for all space rentals. This enables cash-strapped business owners to work in a professional work environment with minimal cash outlay.
Mr. Burns explains that Club E Office represents an opportunity for entrepreneurs, small business owners, and business professionals to network, collaborate, and cooperate in a casual yet professional environment, practicing what he calls “open source entrepreneurship.” From drop-in table space with Internet access and free coffee to conference meeting rooms or private offices with exterior entrances, the new Club E Office provides a workplace solution and an alternative to working out of the home or meeting in a noisy coffee shop. The most valuable attribute of the Club E Office is that it is a place where the positive energy of the monthly Club E events is maintained and available every day.
December 1 through December 5, the Club E Office in Tempe will be abuzz with grand opening celebrations. From the fast pace and high energy of Tuesday’s Shotgun Speakers Showcase to cutting-edge finance and technical news with Steve Bonenberger of Angels in Action and the Google Wave introduction with Chris Lang to a relaxed atmosphere with a ribbon cutting and Fridays at Five happy hour and Comedy Night with the Ahwatukee Comedy Club on Saturday, the Club E Office will reflect the versatility and adaptability that entrepreneurs embrace.
The Club E Office grand opening events include:
* Shotgun Speaker Showcase (FREE) Tuesday, December 1, 2009 5:30 PM
* Club E with Steve Bonenberger of Angels in Action (www.AngelsInAction.TV) (FREE) Wednesday, December 2, 2009 at 5:30 PM.
RSVP / Learn More: www.Meetup.com/ClubEChapters
* Google Wave Introduction with Chris Lang (FREE) Thursday, December 3, 2009 5:30 PM
* Extended Happy Hour and North Phoenix Chamber of Commerce Ribbon Cutting (FREE) Friday, December 4, 2009 5:00 PM
* Comedy Night w/ Ahwatukee Comedy Club ($10) Saturday, December 5, 2009 Doors at 7:00 PM; Show at 8:00 PM
RSVP / Learn More: CleanComedyClub.com
###
For more information or to schedule a an interview and tour of the Club E Office in Tempe, contact Jim Graham at 602-956-3391 or JGraham@ClubEOffices.com
Telephone: 602-956-3391
Email: JGraham@ClubEOffices.com
CLUB ENTREPRENEUR ANNOUNCES THE GRAND OPENING OF ITS CLUB E OFFICE, TEMPE
Collaborative co-working space for entrepreneurs and small business professionals
Club Entrepreneur Founder Peter J. Burns, III, proudly announces grand opening celebrations scheduled for the week of November 30 at the new Club E Office in Tempe located at 1095 West Rio Salado Parkway, Suite 104.
Club E Office recently announced the exciting news that it is the first and only office space provider to accept 100% barter for all space rentals. This enables cash-strapped business owners to work in a professional work environment with minimal cash outlay.
Mr. Burns explains that Club E Office represents an opportunity for entrepreneurs, small business owners, and business professionals to network, collaborate, and cooperate in a casual yet professional environment, practicing what he calls “open source entrepreneurship.” From drop-in table space with Internet access and free coffee to conference meeting rooms or private offices with exterior entrances, the new Club E Office provides a workplace solution and an alternative to working out of the home or meeting in a noisy coffee shop. The most valuable attribute of the Club E Office is that it is a place where the positive energy of the monthly Club E events is maintained and available every day.
December 1 through December 5, the Club E Office in Tempe will be abuzz with grand opening celebrations. From the fast pace and high energy of Tuesday’s Shotgun Speakers Showcase to cutting-edge finance and technical news with Steve Bonenberger of Angels in Action and the Google Wave introduction with Chris Lang to a relaxed atmosphere with a ribbon cutting and Fridays at Five happy hour and Comedy Night with the Ahwatukee Comedy Club on Saturday, the Club E Office will reflect the versatility and adaptability that entrepreneurs embrace.
The Club E Office grand opening events include:
* Shotgun Speaker Showcase (FREE) Tuesday, December 1, 2009 5:30 PM
* Club E with Steve Bonenberger of Angels in Action (www.AngelsInAction.TV) (FREE) Wednesday, December 2, 2009 at 5:30 PM.
RSVP / Learn More: www.Meetup.com/ClubEChapters
* Google Wave Introduction with Chris Lang (FREE) Thursday, December 3, 2009 5:30 PM
* Extended Happy Hour and North Phoenix Chamber of Commerce Ribbon Cutting (FREE) Friday, December 4, 2009 5:00 PM
* Comedy Night w/ Ahwatukee Comedy Club ($10) Saturday, December 5, 2009 Doors at 7:00 PM; Show at 8:00 PM
RSVP / Learn More: CleanComedyClub.com
###
For more information or to schedule a an interview and tour of the Club E Office in Tempe, contact Jim Graham at 602-956-3391 or JGraham@ClubEOffices.com
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Club E update...check out the video...it's so "Club E!"
Hello Everyone,
We hope that you and your businesses have enjoyed a productive week!
Please click/copy and paste the following link to watch our latest
video update- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87Z5VSxqAQw
Club E will be releasing these videos once per week in order to keep
all of you well informed and connected! Don't forget to RSVP for our
next event which will be held on December 2nd, 2009 at 5:30 PM. The
event will be located at 1095 W Rio Salado Pkwy, Suite 104 Tempe, AZ
85281 Tele: 602-956-3391. Steve Bonenberger is going to share with all
of you an incredible opportunity to receive funding for your venture
through his new company! If you are doubting the hype from the
previous sentence, then go to www.angelsinaction.tv and investigate
this opportunity for yourself. Steve and Angels in Action will bring
value to your company and our economy!
We also have our informational Barter sessions every Friday, followed
by the Fridays at 5 events, which are also held at the Rio Salado
building. These events are a great one-two punch to finish off the
traditional work week and gear up for the extra entrepreneurial
weekend work hours. Learn from Karen Waer how to strategically grow
your business through barter, and then relax and socialize while
having a drink with Jim and Sonia.
Thank-you all once again for being members of Club Entrepreneur,
because without you we would just be a group of people with an orange
van (you'll have to watch the video to get that one).
Blessings and Success,
The Club E Team
We hope that you and your businesses have enjoyed a productive week!
Please click/copy and paste the following link to watch our latest
video update- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87Z5VSxqAQw
Club E will be releasing these videos once per week in order to keep
all of you well informed and connected! Don't forget to RSVP for our
next event which will be held on December 2nd, 2009 at 5:30 PM. The
event will be located at 1095 W Rio Salado Pkwy, Suite 104 Tempe, AZ
85281 Tele: 602-956-3391. Steve Bonenberger is going to share with all
of you an incredible opportunity to receive funding for your venture
through his new company! If you are doubting the hype from the
previous sentence, then go to www.angelsinaction.tv and investigate
this opportunity for yourself. Steve and Angels in Action will bring
value to your company and our economy!
We also have our informational Barter sessions every Friday, followed
by the Fridays at 5 events, which are also held at the Rio Salado
building. These events are a great one-two punch to finish off the
traditional work week and gear up for the extra entrepreneurial
weekend work hours. Learn from Karen Waer how to strategically grow
your business through barter, and then relax and socialize while
having a drink with Jim and Sonia.
Thank-you all once again for being members of Club Entrepreneur,
because without you we would just be a group of people with an orange
van (you'll have to watch the video to get that one).
Blessings and Success,
The Club E Team
Sunday, November 8, 2009
It pays to be persistent...
On November 4th, Club E staged it's third event since it's "rebirth" and I cannot tell you how gratifying it was to hold this "standing room only crowd" in the newly opened Club E Office (CEO) at it's Tempe headquarters. Ingrid Vanderveldt was the speaker, and I had met Ingrid over 2 years ago, when she spoke at one of our first Club Entrepreneur events. We quickly became great friends and partnered up on the online version of our organization at the Club E Network (www.clubenetwork.com).
Our big dreams together for a sweeping social network and web resource with the Club E Network never quite got out of the starting gate but our friendship thrived and when the opportunity came to bring her into a project that had her name all over it...I eagerly brought her to my friends' "green energy" business..which was started through an introduction facilitated by Club Entrepreneur a couple of years ago. Ingrid has thrived as the "Synergy Officer" for Advanced Green Innovations and we are now working alongside each other as I do my best to bring money, strategic alliances and high level introductions to that amazing enterprise.
Last January, I took a hiatus of holding Club E monthly meetings and focused on developing my eFactory concept for around 6 months. Try as I might, with a talented group of folks doing their best to help...that original concept never quite took off. We had a lot of false starts with landlords who just didn't "get it" and ended up going bankrupt, with their properties seized by banks that even managed to go under themselves. It wasn't a pretty picture..but still I persisted with the thought that the idea had merit....eventually.
So, I went back to our roots and brought back the monthly meetings for Club E in September and since then, we've had three sell-out events with many new members in our midst (thanks to the tireless marketing by Toby Lindemann) and a whole lot of excitement that has been generated from our return. We even managed to resurrect the once "dead" eFactory concept and decided to jumpstart that concept over too, re-naming it Club E Offices (www.clubeoffices.com)
Under the skillful management of Jim and Sonia Graham, the founders of the Start Up Now workshops (www.startupnowworkshops.com), the first CEO (Club E Office) was unveiled to the public at our November 4th event with Ingrid. There is a lot of interest in our new facility and I predict great success with this model. Steve Bonenberger (December's speaker) interviewed me on his National radio station about CEO just yesterday.
Two other terrific Club E innovations, including the launch of the Club E Exchange, under the enthusiastic leadership of Karen Waer and the strategic partnership with Mojo Marketing occurred at this meeting...and I'll share about that on another blog.
In the meantime, check out our new Club E video newsletters here...http://clubeoffice.com/_blog/Club_E_Video
Best always,
Peter J. Burns, III
Founder
Our big dreams together for a sweeping social network and web resource with the Club E Network never quite got out of the starting gate but our friendship thrived and when the opportunity came to bring her into a project that had her name all over it...I eagerly brought her to my friends' "green energy" business..which was started through an introduction facilitated by Club Entrepreneur a couple of years ago. Ingrid has thrived as the "Synergy Officer" for Advanced Green Innovations and we are now working alongside each other as I do my best to bring money, strategic alliances and high level introductions to that amazing enterprise.
Last January, I took a hiatus of holding Club E monthly meetings and focused on developing my eFactory concept for around 6 months. Try as I might, with a talented group of folks doing their best to help...that original concept never quite took off. We had a lot of false starts with landlords who just didn't "get it" and ended up going bankrupt, with their properties seized by banks that even managed to go under themselves. It wasn't a pretty picture..but still I persisted with the thought that the idea had merit....eventually.
So, I went back to our roots and brought back the monthly meetings for Club E in September and since then, we've had three sell-out events with many new members in our midst (thanks to the tireless marketing by Toby Lindemann) and a whole lot of excitement that has been generated from our return. We even managed to resurrect the once "dead" eFactory concept and decided to jumpstart that concept over too, re-naming it Club E Offices (www.clubeoffices.com)
Under the skillful management of Jim and Sonia Graham, the founders of the Start Up Now workshops (www.startupnowworkshops.com), the first CEO (Club E Office) was unveiled to the public at our November 4th event with Ingrid. There is a lot of interest in our new facility and I predict great success with this model. Steve Bonenberger (December's speaker) interviewed me on his National radio station about CEO just yesterday.
Two other terrific Club E innovations, including the launch of the Club E Exchange, under the enthusiastic leadership of Karen Waer and the strategic partnership with Mojo Marketing occurred at this meeting...and I'll share about that on another blog.
In the meantime, check out our new Club E video newsletters here...http://clubeoffice.com/_blog/Club_E_Video
Best always,
Peter J. Burns, III
Founder
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Club E is hitting full stride....
Last night marked the second monthly meeting at Club E's "rebirth" and it was outstanding. After an hour of networking among the 100 or so guests, we moved into the amphitheater and covered a number of new innovations for Club E. We were very fortunate to have caught the eye of the local ABC Television affiliate, Channel 15 here in Phoenix, who filmed and interviewed Club E members throughout the night. The link below is that coverage...
http://www.abc15.com/content/financialsurvival/azstories/story/Valley-club-helps-entrepreneurs-grow-and-develop/zsf4xhy2b0yvHXdvD40D7A.cspx
The meeting began with outlining some of the numerous developments that resulted directly from Club E members' help with last month's presenter and his "green energy" company. Over 100 Club E members and their associates have met privately with the principals since last month and the results are nothing less than extraordinary. To wit:
One Club E member has located a multi-billion dollar manufacturer to ramp up productions of the "green energy" company's injectors.
Another Club E member has landed a $50MM commitment to build out a new facility for the company.
Yet another Club E member has produced a funding commitment for a $100MM line of credit with a "green energy fund," which will literally provide all of the capital resources that our presenter's company needs to ramp up it's amazing technologies and bring them to market.
One Club E member has brought the technical solutions for the "green energy" company's lab and workspace needs.
Finally, (for now) there have been numerous offers to invest in the company's upcoming financial offering, strategic alliance proposals and even licensing deals...all resulting from just one Club E meeting of interested entrepreneurs.
The principal of the "green energy" company was there last night to sing the praises of Club E...which actually created the opportunity for this company to exist, from a Club E meeting over 2 years ago. With testimonials like this, Club Entrepreneur has truly found its place as the premier supporter of entrepreneurship in America and I am so proud!
The rest of the meeting consisted of further updates with the announcement of the opening of our first Club E Offices (CEO) facility (fka eFactory) at our Tempe location. We introduced the new GMs, Sonia and Jim Graham, who will also bring their very successful "Start Up Now" workshops (www.startupnowworkshops.com)to that location.
Finally, it was announced that Club E would formally enter into the world of bater, in a big way, by forming Club E Exchange, in conjunction with Arizona's largest and most established (23 years) trade company, Tradesource. We will be bringing in literally all 3500 local Club E members to transact barter exchanges between themselves and the thousand add'l members of Tradesource in a seamless and profitable manner to us all. Look for further information on this incredible development in future blogs.
We also came to the conclusion that Club E had quickly outstripped the ability to handle our ever-growing membership at our current location at Air Marketing, so we are spending the next couple of weeks securing a much larger facility that we can grow into.
The "Time of the Entrepreneur" is here and Club E is leading the way!
Best to all,
Peter J. Burns, III
Founder
http://www.abc15.com/content/financialsurvival/azstories/story/Valley-club-helps-entrepreneurs-grow-and-develop/zsf4xhy2b0yvHXdvD40D7A.cspx
The meeting began with outlining some of the numerous developments that resulted directly from Club E members' help with last month's presenter and his "green energy" company. Over 100 Club E members and their associates have met privately with the principals since last month and the results are nothing less than extraordinary. To wit:
One Club E member has located a multi-billion dollar manufacturer to ramp up productions of the "green energy" company's injectors.
Another Club E member has landed a $50MM commitment to build out a new facility for the company.
Yet another Club E member has produced a funding commitment for a $100MM line of credit with a "green energy fund," which will literally provide all of the capital resources that our presenter's company needs to ramp up it's amazing technologies and bring them to market.
One Club E member has brought the technical solutions for the "green energy" company's lab and workspace needs.
Finally, (for now) there have been numerous offers to invest in the company's upcoming financial offering, strategic alliance proposals and even licensing deals...all resulting from just one Club E meeting of interested entrepreneurs.
The principal of the "green energy" company was there last night to sing the praises of Club E...which actually created the opportunity for this company to exist, from a Club E meeting over 2 years ago. With testimonials like this, Club Entrepreneur has truly found its place as the premier supporter of entrepreneurship in America and I am so proud!
The rest of the meeting consisted of further updates with the announcement of the opening of our first Club E Offices (CEO) facility (fka eFactory) at our Tempe location. We introduced the new GMs, Sonia and Jim Graham, who will also bring their very successful "Start Up Now" workshops (www.startupnowworkshops.com)to that location.
Finally, it was announced that Club E would formally enter into the world of bater, in a big way, by forming Club E Exchange, in conjunction with Arizona's largest and most established (23 years) trade company, Tradesource. We will be bringing in literally all 3500 local Club E members to transact barter exchanges between themselves and the thousand add'l members of Tradesource in a seamless and profitable manner to us all. Look for further information on this incredible development in future blogs.
We also came to the conclusion that Club E had quickly outstripped the ability to handle our ever-growing membership at our current location at Air Marketing, so we are spending the next couple of weeks securing a much larger facility that we can grow into.
The "Time of the Entrepreneur" is here and Club E is leading the way!
Best to all,
Peter J. Burns, III
Founder
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Never, ever quit! Club E's comeback revealed...
On September 2nd, 2009, Club Entrepreneur rose out of it's ashes like the mythical Phoenix and was reborn. It is only fitting that this occurred in the City of Phoenix, at the beautiful Air Marketing facility on University Drive. Club E started in February of 2007, with it's first meeting at the now defunct Grilled Expeditions restaurant in Tempe. Before that date, Club E has been an ASU student-based organization that was given birth at my original entrepreneurship class at Barrett Honors College the year before.
Like all start-ups, Club Entrepreneur had it's ups and downs, the victories and defeats. Through it all, our mission has been clear... even if it's seamless execution may not have been. We were an organization that practiced "open source entrepreneurship," for all those involved or interested in the self-reliance and camaraderie of entrepreneurship.
Starting with the original students from "Ready, Fire, Aim," our fledgling organization has grown to over 7,000 members from Arizona to California, Texas and Colorado. Beginning with monthly meetings of the first ground chapter in Tempe, Club E quickly spread to 7 more ground chapters here in Arizona alone. Our numbers peaked at an estimated 3500 and then I finally thought of a way to monetize my erstwhile altruistic effort with the eFactory model.
First, I brought the concept to the owner of a nearly empty commercial building in which temporarily housed my little group of original Club E advocates, all working as volunteers, until the day came that we figured out how to monetize our efforts. We pitched the landlord to help build out his Class B or C structure to entice tenants into reconfigured smaller spaces from the ranks of our Club E membership. He was all for filling up his building through our efforts but refused to put a single dime into refurbishing his structure. We decided to move on and I heard through the grapevine not too much later that the building was lost to foreclosure and that our foolish former landlord had to file for bankruptcy.
Through one of our Club E contacts, we moved lock, stock and barrel into a building that epitomized the dream of the eFactory model. Build out for the owner's many web-based enterprises, this 10,000' structure boasted the state-of-the-art furnishings and amenities, with workstations and private offices. There was even a fully equipped workout room and a cigar lounge to boot. I quickly made a deal with the landlord to inhabit the space with my own band of mighty Club E staffers and to fill up the existing space on the first floor with my Club E members as eFactory tenants. Then, the agreement was made for the landlord to build out the remaining space on the first floor so that we could benefit financially from the arrangement. You see, we agreed to remit 100% of the rents earned on the first Phase, before he agreed to build-out the second side, so we could actually make some money out of the deal.
We did our part and by hosting Club E events and workshops in the beautiful multi-million dollar building, we quickly filled up the first side with our members. Our landlord gladly took our pass through rent payments but neither honored his agreement to expand the space or even executed a lease with us, despite our continuing requests. Still, the model for the eFactory was proven now (if not profitable to us yet) and after our last Club E meeting there in January 2009, we decided to uproot once again and find a space that worked for us where the landlord "got it" and we could make an actual profit for our innovative ways.
The challenge was that we were still a start-up, with nothing but a several month run of proving our model and not making any money at it to boot. Club E's membership with it's monthly meetings and social network and web service at www.clubenetwork.com was to remain free (at my insistence) so prospective landlords remained skeptical. However, our efforts with Club E and the eFactory had caught some press and increasingly desperate landlords started to reach out to me to talk.
I started to visit with one commercial broker after another representing commercial building owners with ever increasing vacancies and kept running into the same roadblocks: 1) what is the eFactory's track record? 2) what security do you have to guarantee the lease?
What became increasingly ludicrous to these landlord demands was that while we actually offered a possible solution to some 10,000' of their ever increasing vacancies, these same landlords were scrambling to cover their own quickly escalating financial obligations to their own lenders and indeed faced insolvency themselves.
I remember one instance in which I was presented a Class B space in a building that had obviously seen better days (maybe in the 70s) and whose owner, a wealthy Northeastern family (purported to be a major stakeholder in the Mets baseball team)
insisted on lease guarantees from our little start-up before they would even begin to consider us as a tenant. I left them to their vacant building and wasn't surprised to read much later that this family lost over $100MM in "investments" with Bernie Madoff in his pyramid scam. I wonder what "guarantees" this family had with their friend, good old Bernie?
Out of the ever increasing press our Club E and eFactory efforts enjoyed, came an approach by one of America's largest commercial developers with over 70 shopping center complexes in the West. They courted us to install our eFactorys within their high traffic shopping centers and we structured a sweeping deal that would install 5 10,000' eFactory facilities with them over a two year period. This huge national company offered us rent concessions and tenant improvement dollars but their lenders insisted on us obtaining some kind of lease guarantees.
Well, a funny thing happened while I was searching for appropriate "lease guarantees" to satisfy the requirements of this offering company's lenders...
What occurred was the general meltdown of the American economy and in turn, the actual FDIC seizing of one of more of my prospective landlord's own lenders and the
eventual collapse of this landlord's own commercial empire. Looking back...I am so thankful that I didn't "qualify" for tenancies with these potential eFactory landlords and now, quite frankly, the shoe is on the other foot.
After about 6 months of shelving my ground chapter monthly meetings of Club E to commit my efforts to jump starting the eFactory efforts, Club E is back. We have a very strong eFactory location in Tempe, opening on October 1st. With the capable supervision of Sonia and Jim Graham, that and additional eFactory facilities will start and thrive, I am very sure. Sonia and Jim will continue their amazing efforts with Start Up Now workshops (www.startupnowworkshops.com), which will continue to be held at our eFactory locales. There are several other eFactory locations in various stages of launch and for once, we are dictating the terms that we will accept from the landlords...as the commercial markets continue to spiral downward...much like the residential market did (and is doing) here in Phoenix.
By relaunching Club E's chapter meetings, first at our Phoenix location at Air Marketing and then across the Valley and beyond, we are literally going back to our roots and will grow back bigger and stronger than we were before.
Along the alliterations of Club E, we've shed several entire teams of people that have (or purported to have) helped in our efforts. From original team of five students from "Ready, Fire, Aim," only one remains-who has steadfastly remained loyal despite the reversals of fortune and downright barbed attacks I've suffered through this process. Of the other four original Club E student staff members, I was gladdened to see one show up to September's event and coincidentally he is now employed by the same Club E-inspired enterprise, whose principal was our speaker at the same event. Small world, eh?
One former so-called Club E team member, disenchanted by the set-backs and delays to being able to be compensated for his efforts, happened to be our former webmaster. Well, when he abruptly departed without notice a couple of months ago, he maliciously took down and hijacked all of our web sites and domain names, even canceling our email accounts, losing over 17,000 saved emails in my own account. He would not release any of our content or sites until I paid a ridiculous $30,000 fee to get it back-something that was never agreed upon between us at any point btw. Obviously, I was in no position to pay this "ransom" and indeed, I had been personally financially weakened by the $500,000 plus I had put into Club E since started. Likewise, I would NEVER submit to outright blackmail, so we've been toughing it out and only now are creating our own new web site, with lessons learned from the actions of the dirt bag former webmaster. I am now seeking legal compensation against him through the efforts of one of Club E's new members, one of the top litigation experts in the area.
Anyway, the lessons learned (and still coming) from my absolute dedication to the mission of making Club Entrepreneur the powerhouse and resource to America's entrepreneurs, remains my focus. By way of this blog, I reach out to all of you out there to join our ranks and support our mission.
While our new state-of-the-art site is being created, please visit our web resource and social network at www.clubenetwork.com (which was out of reach by the malicious dirt bag designer) and if you are in the Phoenix area, please join up at http://www.meetup.com/clubechapters/...it's all free and will remain so.
September 2nd's event was so powerful a rebirth of Club E's vision and you can see attendee comments and even some pictures from that event at http://www.meetup.com/clubechapters/. Also, if you do sign up at our site on Meetup.com with the hundreds of members that already have, we can invite you to our upcoming monthly events that will be held each first Wednesday going forward.
Club E is only as strong as it's membership of like-minded entrepreneurs. We are proud of our diversity but the one thing we all have in common is that we will, never, ever quit!
Come join the ranks of the greatest group of entrepreneurs on the planet...CLUB ENTREPRENEUR.
Best regards,
Peter J. Burns, III
Founder
peterjburns3@gmail.com
Like all start-ups, Club Entrepreneur had it's ups and downs, the victories and defeats. Through it all, our mission has been clear... even if it's seamless execution may not have been. We were an organization that practiced "open source entrepreneurship," for all those involved or interested in the self-reliance and camaraderie of entrepreneurship.
Starting with the original students from "Ready, Fire, Aim," our fledgling organization has grown to over 7,000 members from Arizona to California, Texas and Colorado. Beginning with monthly meetings of the first ground chapter in Tempe, Club E quickly spread to 7 more ground chapters here in Arizona alone. Our numbers peaked at an estimated 3500 and then I finally thought of a way to monetize my erstwhile altruistic effort with the eFactory model.
First, I brought the concept to the owner of a nearly empty commercial building in which temporarily housed my little group of original Club E advocates, all working as volunteers, until the day came that we figured out how to monetize our efforts. We pitched the landlord to help build out his Class B or C structure to entice tenants into reconfigured smaller spaces from the ranks of our Club E membership. He was all for filling up his building through our efforts but refused to put a single dime into refurbishing his structure. We decided to move on and I heard through the grapevine not too much later that the building was lost to foreclosure and that our foolish former landlord had to file for bankruptcy.
Through one of our Club E contacts, we moved lock, stock and barrel into a building that epitomized the dream of the eFactory model. Build out for the owner's many web-based enterprises, this 10,000' structure boasted the state-of-the-art furnishings and amenities, with workstations and private offices. There was even a fully equipped workout room and a cigar lounge to boot. I quickly made a deal with the landlord to inhabit the space with my own band of mighty Club E staffers and to fill up the existing space on the first floor with my Club E members as eFactory tenants. Then, the agreement was made for the landlord to build out the remaining space on the first floor so that we could benefit financially from the arrangement. You see, we agreed to remit 100% of the rents earned on the first Phase, before he agreed to build-out the second side, so we could actually make some money out of the deal.
We did our part and by hosting Club E events and workshops in the beautiful multi-million dollar building, we quickly filled up the first side with our members. Our landlord gladly took our pass through rent payments but neither honored his agreement to expand the space or even executed a lease with us, despite our continuing requests. Still, the model for the eFactory was proven now (if not profitable to us yet) and after our last Club E meeting there in January 2009, we decided to uproot once again and find a space that worked for us where the landlord "got it" and we could make an actual profit for our innovative ways.
The challenge was that we were still a start-up, with nothing but a several month run of proving our model and not making any money at it to boot. Club E's membership with it's monthly meetings and social network and web service at www.clubenetwork.com was to remain free (at my insistence) so prospective landlords remained skeptical. However, our efforts with Club E and the eFactory had caught some press and increasingly desperate landlords started to reach out to me to talk.
I started to visit with one commercial broker after another representing commercial building owners with ever increasing vacancies and kept running into the same roadblocks: 1) what is the eFactory's track record? 2) what security do you have to guarantee the lease?
What became increasingly ludicrous to these landlord demands was that while we actually offered a possible solution to some 10,000' of their ever increasing vacancies, these same landlords were scrambling to cover their own quickly escalating financial obligations to their own lenders and indeed faced insolvency themselves.
I remember one instance in which I was presented a Class B space in a building that had obviously seen better days (maybe in the 70s) and whose owner, a wealthy Northeastern family (purported to be a major stakeholder in the Mets baseball team)
insisted on lease guarantees from our little start-up before they would even begin to consider us as a tenant. I left them to their vacant building and wasn't surprised to read much later that this family lost over $100MM in "investments" with Bernie Madoff in his pyramid scam. I wonder what "guarantees" this family had with their friend, good old Bernie?
Out of the ever increasing press our Club E and eFactory efforts enjoyed, came an approach by one of America's largest commercial developers with over 70 shopping center complexes in the West. They courted us to install our eFactorys within their high traffic shopping centers and we structured a sweeping deal that would install 5 10,000' eFactory facilities with them over a two year period. This huge national company offered us rent concessions and tenant improvement dollars but their lenders insisted on us obtaining some kind of lease guarantees.
Well, a funny thing happened while I was searching for appropriate "lease guarantees" to satisfy the requirements of this offering company's lenders...
What occurred was the general meltdown of the American economy and in turn, the actual FDIC seizing of one of more of my prospective landlord's own lenders and the
eventual collapse of this landlord's own commercial empire. Looking back...I am so thankful that I didn't "qualify" for tenancies with these potential eFactory landlords and now, quite frankly, the shoe is on the other foot.
After about 6 months of shelving my ground chapter monthly meetings of Club E to commit my efforts to jump starting the eFactory efforts, Club E is back. We have a very strong eFactory location in Tempe, opening on October 1st. With the capable supervision of Sonia and Jim Graham, that and additional eFactory facilities will start and thrive, I am very sure. Sonia and Jim will continue their amazing efforts with Start Up Now workshops (www.startupnowworkshops.com), which will continue to be held at our eFactory locales. There are several other eFactory locations in various stages of launch and for once, we are dictating the terms that we will accept from the landlords...as the commercial markets continue to spiral downward...much like the residential market did (and is doing) here in Phoenix.
By relaunching Club E's chapter meetings, first at our Phoenix location at Air Marketing and then across the Valley and beyond, we are literally going back to our roots and will grow back bigger and stronger than we were before.
Along the alliterations of Club E, we've shed several entire teams of people that have (or purported to have) helped in our efforts. From original team of five students from "Ready, Fire, Aim," only one remains-who has steadfastly remained loyal despite the reversals of fortune and downright barbed attacks I've suffered through this process. Of the other four original Club E student staff members, I was gladdened to see one show up to September's event and coincidentally he is now employed by the same Club E-inspired enterprise, whose principal was our speaker at the same event. Small world, eh?
One former so-called Club E team member, disenchanted by the set-backs and delays to being able to be compensated for his efforts, happened to be our former webmaster. Well, when he abruptly departed without notice a couple of months ago, he maliciously took down and hijacked all of our web sites and domain names, even canceling our email accounts, losing over 17,000 saved emails in my own account. He would not release any of our content or sites until I paid a ridiculous $30,000 fee to get it back-something that was never agreed upon between us at any point btw. Obviously, I was in no position to pay this "ransom" and indeed, I had been personally financially weakened by the $500,000 plus I had put into Club E since started. Likewise, I would NEVER submit to outright blackmail, so we've been toughing it out and only now are creating our own new web site, with lessons learned from the actions of the dirt bag former webmaster. I am now seeking legal compensation against him through the efforts of one of Club E's new members, one of the top litigation experts in the area.
Anyway, the lessons learned (and still coming) from my absolute dedication to the mission of making Club Entrepreneur the powerhouse and resource to America's entrepreneurs, remains my focus. By way of this blog, I reach out to all of you out there to join our ranks and support our mission.
While our new state-of-the-art site is being created, please visit our web resource and social network at www.clubenetwork.com (which was out of reach by the malicious dirt bag designer) and if you are in the Phoenix area, please join up at http://www.meetup.com/clubechapters/...it's all free and will remain so.
September 2nd's event was so powerful a rebirth of Club E's vision and you can see attendee comments and even some pictures from that event at http://www.meetup.com/clubechapters/. Also, if you do sign up at our site on Meetup.com with the hundreds of members that already have, we can invite you to our upcoming monthly events that will be held each first Wednesday going forward.
Club E is only as strong as it's membership of like-minded entrepreneurs. We are proud of our diversity but the one thing we all have in common is that we will, never, ever quit!
Come join the ranks of the greatest group of entrepreneurs on the planet...CLUB ENTREPRENEUR.
Best regards,
Peter J. Burns, III
Founder
peterjburns3@gmail.com
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