Recession Confession: "I Take The Train"

I have to admit that since the economy went sour, I've taken quite a few measures to minimize my business expenses.

For instance, when I'm out of town for business - I try as much as possible to avoid paying for expensive cab fares. Many times I will either walk, or take the local metro train.

Because I travel quite a bit, $40 - $70 cab rides can add up to a couple hundred dollars very quickly.

Fortunately, in most cities that I travel to - like New York, Newark, Atlanta, and DC - you can take the metro from the airport right in to downtown.

In other cities like LA or Miami though, the metro doesn't run to the airport. In those cases, you have to take a cab - but when traveling from your hotel to your meeting or conference, you can take the metro.

Of course, not all cities even have a metro system. In such cases, I just end up walking. I've found that a 1 or 2 mile walk isn't that bad at all.

I haven't resorted to taking the bus yet, but I'm thinking about it. Laugh all you want, but I know I've saved at least a thousand dollars this year already.

I'm not proud to ride the bus. Well, maybe a little.

What is your recession confession?

Be Careful About Online Travel Agencies

Online travel agencies like Orbitz, Expedia and Travelocity can be twofold - helpful and troublesome. Yes, they allow you to see multiple rates at once and may even offer you a discounted price - but be careful because they can also screw up your travel arrangements.

Just recently I bought a one-way ticket for United Airlines from Washington Dulles to Columbus Ohio. The ticket was only $100 bucks on Orbitz.com, but was $380 on United.com. Naturally, I bought the cheaper ticket.

Here's where the problem came: The day I was supposed to leave, I received a text message from Orbitz saying that my flight had been delayed by 2 hours. When I arrived to the airport later that day, it turned out that my flight had never been delayed. Not only did I miss the last flight of the day, I had to pay to stay in a hotel another night - and they couldn't even get me on the first flight the following day. Eventually, I got home on the 2nd flight out.

Of course, I called Orbitz to tell them about what happened. They denied sending me a text message, but did agree to give me a $50 credit. They said they would do more if I faxed them the original text message that I received.

Once I finally figured out how to do that (yes, there is a way to fax a text message - at least from the iPhone), I called them to plead my case for at least a $200 credit. Of course, they denied it.

Their excuse was that United Airlines originally delayed the flight, but change it back to an on-time status. I'm thinking: "Why didn't you idiots send me another text message?"

Moral of the story: Use online travel agencies to find the best deals, but don't buy from them. Buy directly from the airline. However, if you do insist on buying from the agency and you get a text message from them about your flight status, call the actual airline to double-check.

Why Fly Without Wi-Fi?

More and more airlines are offering passengers the ability to connect to the Internet while in-flight. Its a concept that's long overdue, but it has finally arrived.

Southwest and Delta were the first to do so - but Wi-Fi is only installed on some of their planes. Just recently, however, AirTran announced that by the end of July, all of their planes will be Wi-Fi enabled. Virgin America too announced that by May 25th, all of their planes will enabled.

The price to connect via a handheld device or laptop will be $7.95 to $12.95 a flight, depending on the device and the length of the flight.

Jack Blumenstein, CEO of Aircell - the Chicago-based provider of the wireless service of more than 1,000 jets, says that "a typical narrow-body jet can be equipped with the 125 pounds of necessary equipment and fiber-optic cable during an overnight stay at an airport for about $100,000."

$100,000 per plane is a hefty investment, but remember that millions of people fly every day. Imagine an airline getting 50,000 people a day to buy into a $12 internet fee. That's $600,000 a day.

The only catch is that Virgin America is the online domestic airline that provides an electrical outlet to plug your laptop into while in-flight. For other airlines, you just gotta make sure your battery will last long enough.

Those 5 hour coast-to-coast flights will be tough.

Southwest Airlines Adds New Destinations

My favorite airline, which also happens to be the largest one in the country, is the only airline that is currently expanding into new markets. In the past few months, Southwest began offering direct flights into three new cities: Minneapolis, Boston (Logan), and New York City (Laguardia).

This is a big deal for many entrepreneurs because a lot of big business goes down in these cities. Minneapolis is where Best Buy, Target, General Mills, and even 3M are headquartered. Boston is home to Monster.com, Staples, Reebok, IBM, and more. New York, of course, is probably the biggest mecca of small and large businesses.

Flying to these cities via Southwest is your best option because they offer affordable pricing, don't penalize you for changing your ticket, and they have the best airline rewards program available. Just 8 round-trip flights earns you a free ticket.

Even better, you can earn points toward a free plane ticket by joining their Rapid Rewards Dining program (www.rapidrewardsdining.com) - whereas you are rewarded for eating at certain local restaurants.

In my opinion, Southwest Airlines has one of the best public relations images ever. People love them no matter what, and always have good things to say. Their reputation is solid, and I recommend them highly when traveling for business.

And no, they did not pay me to say all this.

Use FareCast To Find Best Travel Deals

For those of you like me who travel a lot for business, there's a fairly new web site powered by Microsoft called FareCast.com.

The site allows you to search for airplane tickets from all the major airlines, and find hotel rooms at all the major hotels. No big deal right? You can do this on Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity, and others.

FareCast, however, has a feature called "Low Fare Prediction" that will predict whether or not the ticket prices shown will rise or drop. For instance, you may get a message saying: "Wait: There's an 80% chance that the price for this ticket will drop" or "Buy Now: This ticket price will rise soon."

The web site also indicates whether or not today's rate for a specific hotel is a deal. It compares an individual hotel's current rate found to its observed historical rates. For instance, you may get a message saying "No deal" or "Deal".

Apparently, Farecast is the 2008 Webby Award winner in the travel category and is recognized as one of Web 2.0's "Best Travel Sites" - amongst other notable accolades.

I just started using it, and it's a really neat tool. Give it a try.

2009 Blogging While Brown Conference

The annual Blogging While Brown Conference will be held in Chicago, Illinois on June 19-20, 2009.

This is the only international conference for bloggers of color, and its their 2nd annual event. Last year's conference was extremely successful.

Hosted at the high-tech University Center, the 2009 conference promises to bring the best of the 2008 conference with more opportunities to network and learn about the issues and concerns that face new media content creators.

Blogging While Brown was created in response to widespread dissatisfaction with the level of diversity in some of the largest blogging conferences.

One of the new features of the 2009 conference is the Beginning Blogger’s Boot Camp. This session is geared towards new bloggers or those interesting in starting a blog, providing training on the technical aspects of blogging.

More information about registration, housing, scheduling, sponsorships, and the conference location is available at www.BloggingWhileBrown.com. They also have plenty of photos and video from last year, including the official conference video.

I will personally be there, and hope to see you there as well.

Southwest Comes To NYC - Finally!

For those of you who love to fly Southwest Airlines, but also travel to New York City frequently - your day has finally come.

Currently, the airline only flies to Long Island - which is quite a distance from the city. However, they are planing to start operations at LaGuardia Airport, a move that surprised some in the commercial aviation industry.

Southwest said in an announcement that it will buy assets from bankrupt ATA Airlines Inc. for $7.5 million. ATA ceased operations in April after filing for Chapter 11 protection.

That purchase is to include ATA's 14 flight slots at LaGuardia, plus ATA's operating certificate. With those slots, Southwest will be able to operate seven round-trip flights a day. They did not name any destinations and did not announce a time to start service.

Before that happens though, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court must approve Southwest's bid and ATA's reorganization plan. If the approval goes through, flights should start sometime in 2009.

Then, the only major market that they don't fly to will be Atlanta.

Best Airline and Hotel: My Top Picks For Late 2008

Business travel nowadays can be very stressful, and very expensive. I'm not sure how 2009 will be, but here is my opinion of the best airline and hotel to use when traveling for the rest of 2008:

Southwest Airlines

In most cases, they will have the lowest prices for airfare. They do not penalize you for changing your ticket like all other airlines do. This way if your business plans change, as they often do, you can stay another day without paying an extra $100 fee.

Southwest also won't charge you extra fees to check boxes or bags, and they don't charge you extra to sit in a comfortable seat - like the aisle seat or in an emergency exit row.

Even more valuable is the fact that Southwest does not charge you a fee to utilize your Rapid Rewards points. Almost all other airlines charge you $50-$75 to use your frequent flyer points.

The bad thing about Southwest is that they don't fly to Atlanta or New York - two very common destinations for business travelers. Also, you have to remember to go to Southwest.com to see their fares. You won't find them on Expedia or Orbitz.

Hyatt Hotels

Hyatt is running a "Stay Two Nights, Get One Night Free" special until the end of the year. All you have to do is join their Gold Passport program, and you can participate.

While the requirement of logging two stays before earning the free night may seem like a high hurdle to infrequent travelers, it's a goal that can sometimes be achieved even on a single trip to a single city.

Your free nights can be redeemed at Hyatt hotels in 45 countries. So you can use the free nights for more business travel, or for that vacation you've been wanting to take. I personally have already earned 4 free nights.

The bad thing is that you have to use up your free nights by February 28, 2009. That's a very narrow window of opportunity, but still worth it.

To sign up free for the program, visit:
www.hyatt.com/hyatt/profile/registration/index.jsp

Make Plans To Attend The Black Millionaires Summit

I won't be able to make the event due to schedule conflicts, but I highly recommend that you make plans to attend. The first annual Black Millionaires Summit is the nation's premier business and wealth building conference for African Americans.

It will be held in Dallas, Texas on the weekend of November 7-9, 2008. Co-founders WNBA Champion, Fran Harris, Ph.D. and bestselling author, Myron Golden conceived the idea after brainstorming about the kind of legacies they wanted to leave their families.

Megapreneur and philanthropist, Russell Simmons is among the millionaire entrepreneurs who will speak. Simmons sold his company Phat Farm for $140 million a few years ago and recently worked with Harris on a fundraiser for his charities. In addition to Simmons, the Summit's All-Star speaker lineup includes Internet marketing expert, Stephen Pierce, network marketing titan Jerry Clark, financial whiz Cheryl Broussard, and short sale real estate pro, Wahid Shakur.

The Black Millionaires Summit targets new and veteran entrepreneurs across all industries, as well as anyone who's interested in learning next-level business, success and wealth strategies. Harris urges people not to fall prey to the negativity in the press.

"If you listen to the media, they'll have you believing that the economy's bad. We disagree. This is the perfect time to make bold moves as an entrepreneur," said Harris, who recently started two more companies with billion-dollar potential. "This is not the time to give in to fear. On one magical weekend -- for the price of a monthly cable bill -- attendees will have an experience that will not only transform their lives but also their bank accounts."

The early bird, basic admission pass for the three-day conference is only $97. For more details and/or to register, click here...

Are You Going To FraserNet?

FraserNet is a global leadership network committed to economic development through education, training and empowerment for African American entrepreneurs.

Led by George Fraser (author of Click: Ten Truths For Building Extraordinary Relationships), their focus is to train, educate and equip Black people with new skills, new thinking, and new approaches for personal, professional and financial success in the 21st century.

The annual FraserNet conference will be held June 18-21 in Atlanta at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. Featured speakers include Les Brown, Janice Howroyd, Bob Johnson (BET), Dennis Kimbro, Susan Taylor (ESSENCE), and more.

I have personally attended this conference, and I highly recommend it to everyone I know. You will meet a lot of good contacts, and will learn a lot.

Topics to be covered include:

+ How Your Personality Provides The Keys To Entrepreneurial Success
+ Tools You Need To Take Your Company To The Next Level
+ Magnetic Marketing: Key To Getting Business To Come To You
+ Keys To Writing A Winning Proposal: Turn Your Concepts Into Cash
+ Keys To Success That Every Beginning Speaker Must Know


For more information about the event, visit:
www.frasernet.com

You Don't Have To Be A Pilot To Start An Airline

You may respond to this by saying "I'm not interested in starting an airline." Well, neither am I. The point of this blog is to emphasize that you do not have to possess industry skills, to start a company in the industry.

In other words, if you want to start an airline - you do not need to learn how to fly. If you want to start a software company, you don't have to be a programmer. If you want to start a catering company, you don't have to be a chef.

The only thing you need to know in these scenarios, is how to find and manage a pilot, a programmer, and a chef. And of course, it would be good to at least understand how these different industries work.

Too often though, entrepreneurs will come up with a great idea for a business, but dismiss that idea after they realize that they don't have the needed skills. Well, with the exception of certain cases like Bill Gates who was a programmer who started a software company - most scenarios are quite the opposite.

For instance, Collett E. Woolman, founder of Delta Airlines was not a pilot. Also, Pierre Bellon, founder of Sodexho (a large catering and food services company), is not a cook - and has never been one.

Broaden your sense of thinking when it comes to business. While you should pursue business endeavors that interest you, don't just stick to ideas that encompass your skill level.

Running a successful business is about management and marketing. Manage the people who have the skills, market those skills to potential customers, and go down in history as a successful businessman or businesswoman.

How To Work A Trade Show

Hopefully you're planning to attend some trade shows and conferences this year. If not, you should re-think that. Trade shows are a great way to promote your company, and recruit new customers. Two great ones that are coming up are the Black Enterprise Conference in Charlotte and FraserNet in Atlanta.

A recent article by Jane Applegate in Entrepreneur Magazine has the following suggestions when attending trade shows:

* No matter how tired you are, attend a few seminars and all the group meals. Target industry leaders and contacts you want to meet. Spend some time each day circulating and schmoozing.

* When you finally catch up with a person you wanted to meet, ask them to join you outside the hall where it's quieter. If it's an industry leader, you will only have a few minutes to make an impression before they are distracted or led away.

* Speak to as many people as you can while waiting in buffet or bathroom lines. You never know who will turn out to be a great contact.

* If a reporter or producer approaches you, give them a good quote for their story.

* Rather than carrying around heavy brochures, collect the cards of serious prospects. Say, "So many people were interested in my products, I've already given all my brochures away. But, I'd love to send you one as soon as I get back to the office."

* Distribute postcards. Unlike a heavy brochure, postcards are light and easy to carry. They are also very inexpensive to print. For about $500, you can get 5,000 postcards made by 1-800-POSTCARDS.

* Bring three times as many business cards as you think you will need.

* Wear comfortable clothes and a jacket with pockets. I keep my cards in one pocket to hand out. I store cards given to me in the other pocket.

* If you don't have a stylish, comfortable outfit to make a good impression, go shopping before the show.

* If money is tight, contact the organizers and volunteer to help in exchange for free admission. Gwedolyn Meeks, who owns and operates Gwen's Bread Pudding Crunch in Chicago, attended a show for free in exchange for helping out at the registration desk. As a new business owner, Meeks said she learned a lot by watching the thousands of women "working" the show. "The most important thing you can do at a trade show is to show up," she said. "Just being here is the most important thing."

For the full article, visit http://www.entrepreneur.com/marketing/marketingbasics

Columbus, Ohio - A Great Place To Do Business

I must take the time to tell you about Columbus, Ohio - the fastest growing city in the midwest and the 15th largest city in the country. Columbus, the capital of Ohio and the state's largest city, is a very business-friendly town.

In fact, several well-known Fortune 1000 companies are headquarted in Columbus including: Nationwide Insurance, Bob Evans, Wendy's, Abercrombie, Value City Furniture, Schottenstein's, Big Lots, White Castle, Victoria Secret, Battelle, and the new Skybus Airlines - which has revolutionized the airline industry.

There are also several well-known Black companies based in Columbus including:

Glory Foods - the #1 seller of soulfood groceries
Triple Crown Publications - the #1 seller of urban novels
HBCU Connect - the largest web site for HBCU students and alumni
Who's Who Publishing - publisher of the Who's Who In Black (...) Books
Diversity City Media - producer of BlackNews.com and BlackPR.com
Izania.com - national online resource for Black businesses
Monarch Magazine - Lifestyle magazine for affluent Blacks

As you can see, entrepreneurs running their businesses in Columbus are surrounded by many other successful companies. Let's not forget too that Columbus is home to Ohio State University (OSU) - the largest university in the country with over 52,000 students.

Another great benefit about Columbus is it's geographic location, making it centrally-located to many other cities. For instance:

Cincinnati, OH - just 1.5 hours away
Cleveland, OH - just two hours away
Indianapolis, IN - just 3 hours away
Detroit, MI - just 3 hours away
Louisville, KY - just 3 hours away
Charleston, WV - just 3.5 hours away
Chicago, IL - just 5 hours away
DC/Baltimore - just 6 hours away
St. Louis, MO - just 6 hours away

Columbus also has a Black mayor, who has fought long and hard for affordable housing in the area. What does this mean for a business? Well, generally an area with affordable homes to live in, also has affordable office space for entrepreneurs to work out of. In many cities like New York or Los Angeles, this is non-existent.

Yes, in more ways than one, Columbus makes it easy for entrepreneurs to get started and to survive.

For more information about the city, visit: http://ci.columbus.oh.us or www.experiencecolumbus.com

California, New Jersey, and Washington DC Named The Worst States For Small Businesses

If you are running a company in these areas, be careful because your state government has been highlighted by Fortune Magazine as having the worst tax and regulatory climate for small businesses. Others in the top 10 worst states included Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York.

According to the same article, the best three states for small businesses are South Dakota, Nevada, and Wyoming.

What does this mean you should do? Should you move your business to South Dakota? Well, not necessarily. However, you may strongly consider moving to a state that is more business-friendly than the one you are in. For instance, Florida and Texas - which both are amongst the top 10 best states.

In 2006, I made the decision to move my company from California to Ohio - and I have seen a very significant difference. California was not a very business-friendly place at all. Ohio, although not in the top ten, has turned out to be a great place for my company.

Not only do I pay less business taxes now, but I also was able to find affordable office space (non-existent in California) and good employees willing to work for reasonable salaries (very sparse in California).

I guess it really comes down to how much your company means to you. Moving your company to a business-friendly state can mean the difference between you staying afloat or becoming another statistic.

Now, if you decide to stay in a state that does not cater to small businesses, it doesn't mean that you are doomed. Just fully understand what you're up against, and work hard to stay ahead of the game. At the same time though, blame no one but yourself if your business topples because you weren't willing to make the sacrifice of moving to a different state.

Here's the article link for your personal reference:
http://money.cnn.com/2007/11/16/smbusiness/SBE_states_lists.fsb/index.htm

Top 10 Conferences That Black Entrepreneurs Should Attend

Every year, tons of conferences take place in various cities across the country. These business conferences can be very useful avenues to network, and grow your business. I have tons of favorites, but here are my top 10 conferences that I think every Black entrepreneur should attend in 2008 (in alphabetical order):

1) Ad Tech:
An interactive advertising and technology conference dedicated to connecting all sides of today's brand marketing landscape. For more info, visit: www.ad-tech.com

2) Affiliate Summit:
This conference addresses the latest developments and news in the affiliate marketing industry. Any company with a high-traffic web site should attend. For more info, visit: www.affiliatesummit.com/08w_conference.php

3) African American Business Summit/Turning Point Urban Business Expo:
Delivers resources, information and empowerment to the small businesses that are the growth engine for America's economy. For more info, email turningp@aol.com

4) ANA Multicultural Marketing Conference:
This conference goes well beyond the basics to delve into the current role of multicultural marketing as well as where it may be headed in the future. For more info, visit: www.ana.net/events/content/anaevents

5) Black Consumer Research and Advertising Summit:
This is the only industry conference devoted exclusively to African-American marketing, media and consumer research. For more details, visit: www.targetmarketnews.com

6) Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference:
Features four days of business, motivational, and leadership seminars designed to empower and profit emerging and established minority businesses. For more info, visit: www.blackenterprise.com/events/beec.asp

7) Black Enterprise Women of Power Summit:
This four-day career enhancement conference creates an environment that promotes fellowship and encourages attendees to network, bond, share strategies, and learn from each other’s experience. For more info, visit: www.blackenterprise.com/events/wps/wps.asp

8) FraserNet Conference:
This conference founded by George Fraser encourages global leadership network committed to economic development through education, training and empowerment for Black people. For more info, visit: www.frasernet.com

9) NAMD Conference:
This conference from the National Association of Market Developers communicates resources of consumer information, industry skill and expertise in the African-American consumer market. For more info, visit: www.namdntl.org/conference.htm

10) NBPRS National Conference:
This national conference hosted by the National Society of Black Public Relations is a great resource for those in the PR industry. It's also a great event for those looking to better understand public relations. For more info, visit: www.nbprs.org

Business Travel 101: Save Time and Money

I recently became aware of two web sites that can save you tons of time (and money) when planning for business travel. And no, I'm not talking about Orbitz.com or Expedia.com or Priceline.com. Such sites are helpful, but very limited. They only tell you the rate that THEY can offer you.

If you really want to find the best deal fast, use www.Kayak.com or www.Sidestep.com. These sites are extremely powerful travel search engines that will crawl EVERY airline and travel agency's web site (including Orbitz, Expedia, and Priceline) for the cheapest deal in about 15 seconds.

Using these two mega-sites to book airline tickets, hotels, and rental cars will save you time because you get to look at everything all at once. You don't have to visit several web sites to get quotes.

You don't have to wonder if Expedia has a better deal than Priceline, or if JetBlue has a better deal than American Airlines. You will know because its all there in one place.

Plus, its 100% free to use. Give it a shot, and be sure to sign up to their free email lists that will alert you about travel deals from your local airport.

There Is An Easier Way To Earn Those Points

You don't have to be that frequent of a flyer to earn frequent flyer miles. In fact, nowadays you don't have to fly at all to earn frequent flyer miles.

You already know about the credit cards that you can use to earn points, but now they have debit cards that earn points too. I personally recommend using the debit card, over the credit card - because you will use the debit card more often, and will earn more points faster.

Unfortunately, I only know of one check/debit card that allows you to earn airline points on your everyday purchases: It's the Chase Continental Airlines Business Banking Card.

To get the card, you have to bank with Chase and (of course) they have to be in your local area. So, not everyone can benefit right now - but I'm sure other banks will soon jump on the bandwagon.

Anyhow, for every dollar you spend, you earn one mile towards a Delta, Continental or Northwest Airlines flight. So if you use the card for all your business purposes, you should be able to earn at least one free airline ticket every month.

If Chase banks are in your area, I would give it a shot. If not, I would ask your bank if they have a debit card that can earn you some airline points. If they don't, be patient because eventually they will.