Hi Tessa,

Thanks for your question. I’ve always had a rule that if you are under 200 pounds, you have 2 drinks maximum at a work function; over 200 pounds, you can have 3. What is more important here is how you are being perceived. Professionals mistake a work event with alcohol as it being a social event. It may be called a ‘mixer’ or ‘entertaining clients’, but it is a work function. These people aren’t your friends or your pub mates. They are colleagues/clients. The reason they are looking out the corner of their eye at you is they can’t believe that you are leading the charge on drinks. No one comments on how little someone drinks at a business function, but they do comment on how much someone drinks. Don’t be that person. The drinks might be free, but they come at a cost. Trust me. Check it to 2 at the event and then if the spirit drives you, keep going at your local tavern or at home AFTER work is done.

Q: How do I go about raising my prices?  I understand the economy isn’t that strong, but I feel like my pricing for my consulting services is below market rates and I want to get them up.  Samantha Bains, Tacoma, WA

Hi Samantha,

Great question and one we get at the Ghost CEO on a weekly basis. There is a process of looking at your pricing and determining what will work for both you and your market. It is rarely the ‘price’ of something that is questioned, it is the ‘value’.  The real question here is, “how do I show value to my clients for the price that I’m charging them?”

Every service provider in the world either costs a client money or makes a client money. A dry cleaner  costs us money in the view that we have to take our dry-clean only clothes to them when we want cleaned. A good tax accountant can make you money by saving you money you might otherwise pay in taxes to the government, through strategy and information. If you are the type of service provider that can showcase how you make your clients money (through information and service) you can raise your rates to reflect this value. If however, you are in an industry that is a necessary evil (what I mean is that clients are forced to use professionals like you) and if there is a lot of competition, then it is a more challenging task.

Here’s what we know at the Ghost CEO:

1. There is a market at every price point
2. Each market will need to be communicated with differently depending on what ‘value’ you are offering them.
3. If you feel like you are undervaluing your services, that will eat at you and start showing up in other areas (like customer service).
4. You set the prices, not the client, but it is up to you to show the value.
5. Your services will be a ‘deal’ to some clients at any price point and will be ‘too expensive’ to others, not matter how low the price.

A $4 cup of coffee is offensive, yet we all buy 2 or 3 a day at Starbucks because they are delivering more than coffee. They are delivering a place to meet friends, a ‘little treat’ during the day, etc. Bentley Cars are around $200K to buy. Toyotas are $15K. Toyota makes millions of cars a year thorough industrial computers and manufacturing; Bentley makes most of their cars by hand and in limited supply.

Determine first what you want to charge and then justify it through value. Remember that you are in control of your business model, not your clients BUT, you need to figure out how the ‘value’ to them equates to them happily giving you your requested rate.

Business questions are always welcome at questions@ghostceo.com

The USA is an interesting and profitable market for Canadian business owners.  The population is impressive and I’ve found Americans to be very invested and engaged when it comes to business. You are welcomed into the US to do business exploration, but you can’t earn money from a US client, doing the work in the US, without having the proper documentation.  Doing so will not only put you at risk of not being allowed back in the country, but when your US clients find out that you are doing business illegally, your reputation will not survive. Your clients look bad for doing business with someone ‘shady’.

I’ve been working in the US for a number of years under an E-2 Visa. It’s a ‘Treaty Trader/Investor Visa”.  They are difficult to get and are defined as below:

The E2 Investor Visa allows an individual to enter and work inside of the United States based on an investment he or she will be controlling, while inside the United States. This visa must be renewed every other year, but there is no limit to how many times one can renew. Investment must be “substantial.” An investor must “contribute” to the US economy. (Setting up a small shop alone is not enough.) Investor visas are available only to “treaty nations”.

The dollar amount of cash investment normally should exceed $100,000, depending on the type of business (new or existing).  This is an approximated amount and applicants should consult an immigration lawyer prior to making any offers for existing business. The dollar amount should only be money spent on the business. Any expenses not directly spent on the actual business itself will not count toward the required amount.

For new start ups, the investment must be large enough to start and operate the business. The amount of investment varies on the type of business. The $100,000 dollar amount would not be a substantial investment for a business such as the construction and management of a shopping center or office complex. The investment will not be considered substantial if it is not large enough to capitalize the venture. The USCIS will use an ‘Inverted Sliding Scale’ to determine whether the investment is substantial in proportion to the overall cost of the enterprise.

There are other visas that allow you to enter the US legally:

The H-1B classification is for professional-level jobs that require a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in a specific academic field. In addition, the employee must have the degree or the equivalence of such a degree through education and experience.

TN (Trade NAFTA) status is a special non-immigrant status in the United States unique to citizens of Canada and Mexico. Professions identified in the Canada – United States Free Trade Agreement which began in 1988 are permitted TN Visas for legal work in the United States and Canada, creating freedom of labor movement. TN status is recognized in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) which began in 1994. It allows U.S., Canadian and Mexican citizens the opportunity to work in each other’s countries in certain professional occupations. It bears a similarity, in some ways, to the H-1B visa, but also has many unique features. Within the TN set of occupations, an American, Canadian or Mexican can work for up to three years (until October 16, 2008, one year) at a time. However, the TN status may be renewed indefinitely in three-year increments, although it is not a ‘permanent’ visa and if US immigration officials suspect it is being used as a de facto green card, they may elect to deny further renewals. The set of occupations permitted to petition for TN status is also quite a bit more limited than for the H-1B visa.

The most common non immigrant visa is the multiple-purpose B-1/B-2 visa, also known as the “visa for temporary visitors for business or pleasure.” Visa applicants sometimes receive either a B-1 (temporary visitor for business) or a B-2 (temporary visitor for pleasure) visa, if their reason for travel is specific enough that the consular officer does not feel they qualify for combined B-1/B-2 status.

The reason you get a Visa is so that the country you are working in has given you permission to work in their country legally.

Let’s say a female professional is  ”saying that she is on a visitor visa – tourist”, but is actually conducting paid business while in the country, in this case training/speaking. While this isn’t a horrible thing in itself, it shows a disrespect for the country that she is ‘sneaking into’ and in fact, shows somewhat the type of business person they are. Rather than doing things along the proper lines, she puts herself at risk at getting a ‘non-entry’ where the US government decides she can no longer enter their country for any means (tourism included).

Although her chances of getting called on this (by the government in question) are probably not high, what happens if she upsets a client in the US who files a complaint against her to their Chamber of Commerce or Small Business Administration. The inquiry begins and when it is found out she has been operating illegally, a non-entry could likely be issued. What happens if she creates some unrest in her own markets (Canadian) and someone tips off the border that she is illegally entering their country. This could be an upset staff member, disgruntled vendor, or even past business partner. It takes one call to the Border Patrol and you’ll be flagged the next time you try to cross their border.

It’s better to err on the side of being safe and legal by following the process and getting the right documentation in place. It will take some time and money, but out of respect, you owe it to yourself to do it right. Whether you have a speaking engagement in California or are seeing a client on the East Coast, the last thing you want is to be blocked from a country because you don’t have the integrity to do what’s right. For more information on Canadians following the right protocol on entering the US, check out: http://www.usimmigrationsupport.org/

Do you believe?

We never claimed to be perfect,
That means we’ve learned to be humble.
We say excuse me and I’m sorry…as well as please and thanks,
Even when its not our fault we apologize.
Sure one arm of the torch didn’t rise,
But when the earthquake struck Haiti, Canadians raised their hands to
say…”We’ll help.”
And yah, there is a fence around the torch,
But you can walk right up and shake hands with our prime minister and most
famous Canadians.
We put Gretzky in the back of a pick up, in the rain, not surrounded by
police…and he was okay,
And by the way… the great one is Canadian…and HE wasn’t complaining!
We do have security at the games, of course, but most people don’t even have
a gun they have to leave at home.
The medals ARE under lock and key, but our doors and our hearts are open to
the world.
It has been pointed out that some buses broke down last week…but let’s not
overlook the fact that our banking system didn’t.
We didn’t get the “green ice maker” right this time…but we will,
eventually,
Just like we did when we invented the zamboni.
Citius altius fortius
If you don’t reach higher how do you get faster and stronger?
Was the first quad jump perfect?
Should we not have given snowboarding to the world “in case” it didn’t take
off?
So big deal…one out of four torch arms didn’t rise. Good thing we had
three more! It’s called contingency planning!
But remember…the Canadarm works every time…in outerspace…and insulin
turned out to be okay.
We couldn’t change the weather, but maybe we can help to stop global
warming.
We don’t have the tax base of the US or the power of the Chinese but, per
capita, we ponied up for some pretty kick-ass venues in the worst global
recession ever.
Sure, some folks couldn’t afford tickets, but our health care is universal.
We have shown the world that we can raise our voices in celebration and
song, but moments later stand in silence to respect a tragic
event…together…

South Beach, Florida is somewhere that feels right for me. I’ve written two books there and as soon as I get of the plane at MIA, it seems that I breath deeper, clarity increases, and I’m ready to create something. When I first started Think Tank Communications, I used to work seven days a week. After a year of that, I was running on empty. We took a week off and it was the best thing I could have done. I had time to clear my head, put things in perspective, and have a breather.

I normally take 1-3 months off each year for mini-vacations/time away to think. Last year, I didn’t really take time out and by the end of 2009, I was really needing some time off. With the Olympics coming, there is no better time to escape Vancouver. Long story short, I’m going to take 4-6 weeks off to hit Florida for some quick business meetings, and then on to Barbados. There is nothing like getting out of your regular environment and getting perspective. It’s likely I’m going to sneak back a bit early to do some work in Seattle with a new colleague, but still, time in a hammock does the body good.

I’m curious. Where do you go to take some time off?

C/

Okay. I’m up at 1AM watching Dragon’s Den on PVR. I am dying here. I wasn’t going to blog about this, but it is driving me nuts. Sister’s Secret. The king of restaurants offers them $50,000 for 50% and he will likely put it in every one of his 100+ stores. Every dragon tells them to take the deal. They counter him…at 40%. He pulls the deal. It isn’t all about money folks. They should have given him 50% of the company just for the fucking contacts and distribution he has. Greedy, greedy little piggies.

Next up: Gocky

Like these guys a lot. Cool guy and you can see that the dragon’s are eating this idea up. Valuation is way too high. They have modest orders. Things like this are too hard to get market penetration with. Jim is the hottest Dragon on the panel because of how big his reach is (restaurants), hockey leagues, etc. The ROI is difficult hence them getting the bum rush. Plus, ministers don’t know how to make money.

Next up: The Maggie Dress

Valuation for this company is really good. Excellent idea, especially for women travelling. $130 price point is quite good. She’s done $80K worth of business in a month. I would be ALL OVER THIS deal. She did $43K in one day on the shopping channel. She could see if there is a patent opportunity here for her to license out the design. They could sell multiples (color) to each woman. When Jim offers her 75K for 25%, she says, “I don’t know what to say.” Goes to show that because you are good at doing something doesn’t mean that she is a good business woman. The dragons’ are eating each others lunches on the deal. Arlene tried to scoup it, but the guys are offering more money in hand which has something to say about it. This gal makes the right decision with the guys. Arlene got schooled because she wasn’t vicious enough.

Next up: Himac

Guy’s a retard. $10M valuation. Snake oil salesman. He’s already selling it for $18/bottle. He thinks his company will be worth $100M. Kevin is hilarious. The guy is crazy. Hands them a photocopy (a book) to support his claims. Robert: “I don’t think you are crazy, but you disgust me.” Love it. I was hoping Jim would pull out the cop ass whop and bring it.

Next up: Buy it now button

Dumb.

Next up: CanLets Time Bank

Sucks, but quotation of the night: Kevin: “I’ll give you a hundred grand if you burst into flames.”

Next up: MacKenzie & Marr Guitars

Fair evaluation. Pretty good presentation. Give Kevin a chance to play it. Blindfold is good. People need to play guitars to know why they want to buy it. If they did some type of Zappos.com service guarantee where people could return it if they didn’t like it. It’s a good idea to watch what Arlene (the marketer) does. She is in the business of selling things. Where the magic is, is if Brett (who was dating Sarah McLaughlin) gets her or someone in show business to endorse it. The dragons offer a very good deal. They two guys get  greedy and nearly talk themselves out of a deal over a 3% royalty spead. Everyone is worried about royalties, not realizing that nothing from nothing is nothing and it will take a lot of effort to build that business out.

This show kills me because there are a lot of stupid people out there who blow deals because what they think they have and what they really have are very far away.

I’m looking at scaling up a lot of the projects I have been involved with in the last quarter of 2009. The upcoming launch of Campus CEO – Vancouver, Glass Ceiling Solutions, and the continued building of Simple Bookkeeping, and Lullaby League, To ramp up my interests this year, I’m looking at bringing on a couple of part-time assistants in Seattle. They will handle some of my PR, admin, business development support, et al. I put a post up on Craig’s List and was inundated with resumes. I would guess I got 400+ but was surprised at how many didn’t follow the directions (i.e. Cover letter and salary expectations). Those that didn’t do that were immediately allocated to the “G” file.

Having the right people is the foundation of any big business push. We had an amazing year at the Ghost CEO in 2009 and now with the other companies, I see how everything is nicely gelling together and it’s time to build up. It’s my belief that there are two types of people in a business: those that cost a company money (researchers, administrators, accountants) and those that make a company money (sales people, marketing professionals, publicists, etc.) I like keeping salaries modest and ‘stars’ get bonused out (i.e. and assistant that refers some business to the company gets some ‘love’ in return).

From the resumes I received in the Seattle market, I saw my first glimpse of the difference on either side of the border. In Canada, I have young interns wanting $36-$45K to start as an assistant. I have ex-VP’s of marketing for known companies asking for $12-$15/hour and willing to start at $12 to show their value. For Canadian companies doing business in the US and with technology at the level it is at (Skype, Blackberry, cloud computing, etc), you can have employees/contractors anywhere and everywhere. I’ll be hosting interviews the week of January 11th when I’m in Seattle and hope to find one or two, or even three stars to try out for three months and see who can make money, rather than being an expense. Have a read through my listing on Craig’s List so you can see what I am asking for.

NOTE: I’m going to shift this blog a bit in 2010. What was once my ‘rant’ spot will now also house my building of these new companies (plus more I’m sure) and talking about how I’m doing it. People who want to grow business don’t know where to go to see how people do it; those that do it hide how they do it (thinking that it offers them protection.) This will be my professional journal outlining what I’m working on, how I’m doing it, what I’m hitting and what I’m shitting. In any business, there is a hockey stick moment. Think of the shape in your head. It is a flat blade that then takes a serious jet upwards and continues up. That’s where I am with these companies. I have foundation all laid out and now it’s time to ‘hockey stick’ up revenues for 2010. My goal is to take an already impressive cashflow and quadruple revenues in the next 12 months. Easy to do for the new companies (nothing from nothing is…nothing), but a little more difficult for the companies like 2020 Communications, Ghost CEO, and others already on a serious revenue path. Hell, I’m even considering getting into the ‘internship”, “fashion”, and “tea” businesses. It will prove to be a bumpy, but entertaining year. Oh, did I mention I’m working on a new book and spending over half the year outside the country?

If you have questions, please post them on this blog rather than by email. If we are going to do this together, we are going to learn together.

To you and yours…a profitable and sustainable 2010.

C/

I had breakfast with a colleague yesterday and she shared a saying her dad had. “You don’t just have to have a head for business. You have to have a stomach for business too.”

Isn’t this true? It’s one thing to keep your head in the game when you get thrown a curve ball, but it’s another to have the constitution to do what it takes to manage it when it happens. Too often, owners stick their heads in the sand and pretend that the problem is going to go away. It rarely does. It’s like wishing away cancer. You need to dig down deep and find the personal fortitude to march forward, through the shit, and make magic happen. When clients need to make a tough call, I hear them say, “Oh…this makes me feel sick.” That’s an emotional response, not a physical one. You feel sick because you are psyching yourself up, worrying about the outcome. People, business isn’t personal. It is a a simple transaction that gets screwed up by people creating personal relationships out of professional connections.

In a soon to be published rant about tardiness, I will talk about setting rules and boundaries for those you work with. When people feel sick about a decision, it’s because they have allowed someone to overstep a boundary that likely wasn’t identified. When rules and boundaries are in place, if someone oversteps your boundary, to take the agreed upon course of action. If you are late for me, I leave. I don’t feel bad about it because I’ve likely told you that I will leave if you are late. It is cause and effect. Here are some of the more common reasons why clients/colleagues feel ‘sick’ and my advice to them:

-

“I don’t have any prospects in my funnel and I’m sick to the stomach” ME: “Go get some prospects you dough-hole!”

-

“I have to fire that employee because they are stealing from me”. ME: “You should call the police and throw them in jail. Just firing is letting them off easy.”

-

“I’m really worrying about the upcoming presentation.” ME: “Worst case scenario, you won’t get the work which is what you have right now. Don’t freak yourself out.”

-

If you don’t want to make the tough decisions, then put clear boundaries in place. When people overstep their boundaries, you simply follow the course of action. We have 12 rules clients agree to when they work with a Ghost CEO. If they break any one of the rules, they are fired. Not a hard decision as it is cause and effect. Look at the rules you have for others and determine if your feeling sick is really from you not taking the time to ensure everyone understands how to engage with you.

There are two shows that every business owner and would-be investor needs to watch. Dragon’s Den and Shark Tank. Watch them, record them, and study them. In the meantime, here’s the highlights.

Pitch #1: Balmshell

Burn rate: the rate at which a company goes through money. This is different from cash flow. Burn rate adds up all the cost of doing business and in this case, they are at $30,000 per month. That means with the $250,000 they are asking for, if no new sales came in, they would survive for 8 months.

Non-diluted preference share: means that no matter who else comes into the deal, the ownership percentage doesn’t change. This is a power move for a capitalist because it is a ‘fuck or walk’ deal. You either perform or you lose the company to your investor(s).

Best quote by Kevin: “Poo-poo happens, but it doesn’t happen to me.”

Flett Commentary: Their counter offer was really crazy to ask for. Too many big players already in this space. Tough business to get into. Plus, identical twins spook me.

—–

Pitch #2: Land of Anne

Nothing to be learned other than gimmicks are tough to build sustainable models around.

Best quote by Kevin: “Let’s get together in 20 years when this land is worth something.”

Flett Commentary: 50% equity for $85,000; this guy is like every maritimer I’ve ever met. The deed thing is interesting. The $9.95 is a good price point. He needs to partner with tour companies, the local economic development agencies, have hotels. motels, B&Bs and other groups either sell or include in their packages. Other than that, too tough.

—–

Pitch #2: Soccer Tactics World

How the hell does a guy with duct tape over his eyes design games? He’s in the dark.

Best quotes by Kevin: “Your worst investments are in your family.” TRUE “Go home and get a bottle of wine, look at the game, set the game on fire, drink the bottle of wine.”

Flett Commentary: He’s invested $150,000, he has made $200,000 over three years. Basically $16,000 per year. Arlene schooled him. Me likey. Dude calls Kevin a liar. Then the dragons turn on him. The guy was a sore loser, with a special focus on loser.

—-

Pitch #3: Freeze & Snip

The dad was too nervous. He developed a tool that opens freezies. That’s because there is nothing else to open them with (except every frigging sharp thing in your kitchen). He quit his job for a one-product company. Bad, bad idea. $4,000 in sales (barf). He’s into it for $250,000.00 They think the company is worth $500,000.00 The guy leveraged his house, line of credit, and savings to get the company going without orders. BAD IDEA. His poor wife knows she’s in the shit. You can see it on her face.

Flett Commentary: Arlene had a great idea. License the mold to a freezie company. That makes sense. The guy is going out wondering how to sell it. The wife is wondering how easy it is to get a divorce.

—-

Pitch #4: The doubler

He brought a stuffed animal to demo his bike seat. Very weird. Not much to say other than it amused Arlene.

Flett Commentary: Strange how there aren’t a lot of big ideas coming out of the Pas, Manitoba? Eh?

—-

Pitch #5: Permanent Canadian Flag

A tin flag that lasts forever.

Best quotes by Kevin: “How many have you sold?” Woman: “Can I finish first?” Kevin: “No…”

Flett Commentary: She had a nice customized pitch, but the idea sucks.

—

Pitch #6: Hot Sauce

Hot sauces are big market that people underestimate. Could be a good business, but again, high entry point and lots of marketing dollars required.

Flett Commentary: Didn’t see enough to comment.

—

Pitch #7: Modrobes (Vancouver company)

Best quotes by Kevin: “How did you take ten million to zero?You’re starting at zero, you are worth nothing right now. Zero revenue is zero revenue.”

Flett Commentary: Bad presenter. If you have to start over, just walk out. As soon as the guy brings up that he went bankrupt, he falters. If you go bankrupt, own it. It happens in business. The guy is saying the right things (“I want to spend your money like it is my money…tight.) He was a bit flippant about turning Jim down. He is passionate, but I don’t think I would put money his way. One good thing that Robert said that capitalists look at is “if the company goes on the rocks, I couldn’t step in and take the reigns.” Bret gives him $100K cash, $100K operating loan for 25%

Here’s the catch. By him offering an operating line, the company is guaranteeing repayment. If the owner doesn’t meet the repayment schedule, Bret can step in and take the whole company. Dangerous move for the existing owner. He better do his thing or Bret will eat his lunch.