Take It And Run! Think your idea is already spoken for? Maybe not . . .

Mark Terao, 38, and a friend were brainstorming business ideaswhen they thought of making college football calendars--an ideathey concluded was so great, someone else must surely be doing it.But rather than just forget it, Terao, of Seattle, decided to do alittle research. Checking with both the University of Washington inSeattle and Washington State University in Pullman, he found outthat not only was no one making football calendars, but the schoolswere hungry for such a product. "That opened the door,"he says.

Terao formed Pure Image Inc. in 1997 (of which his friend owns asmall part), producing a 16-month wall calendar for bothuniversities, including a photo of the stadiums, pictures of formerplayers, statistics and a game schedule. The next year, he expandedto 10 schools. "This year, we're doing 23 schools,"Terao says. "Next year, we're set to do 30 to 35." Inaddition to football, he also does basketball calendars for someschools.

The college calendar has sparked a number of other products,including promotional calendars for private companies andprofessional sports teams--and even a computer screensaver thatplays schools' fight songs. Terao expects sales to top $500,000this year--and to double in 2000. Not bad for an opportunity thatseemed too obvious to be true.

For Love Or Money

Balancing the work you love with the nuts and bolts ofrunning your business

Considering the driving force behind most new businesses is theentrepreneur's passion for his or her product or service, manynew owners are taken by surprise when they realize just how littletime they get to spend doing the work they love.

That's what happened to Joan Eisenstodt, 52, when shestarted her meetings management and consulting firm, EisenstodtAssociates, in Washington, DC, in 1981. Although she comes from anentrepreneurial family, Eisenstodt didn't realize how much timeshe would have to spend running the nuts and bolts of her companyuntil she was actually in business.

No matter what industry you're in, being the owner means youmust pay attention to a variety of administrative and managementdetails, not to mention marketing and selling. So what can you doto maximize the amount of time you're doing what you love andstill effectively run your business? Eisenstodt shares hertips:

• Know your strengths and weaknesses. Understand whichparts of the management and marketing processes you can and want todo, and which parts you need help with.

• Set up a support team. Outsource the mundane tasksyou'd prefer not to do, such as record-keeping, databasemanagement and other administrative chores. But avoid an "outof sight, out of mind" attitude, Eisenstodt cautions. It'sstill your business, and you need to pay attention to what'sgoing on.

• Have the right tools. Eisenstodt started her businesswith an electric typewriter, but that was nearly two decades ago.Today, she says, it's essential to have the necessarytechnology, particularly in terms of computers and communications,and to know how to use it. Having the right tools lets you use yourtime efficiently.

'Tis The Season

Should you start your new business during theholidays?

A popular holiday song calls this "the most wonderful timeof the year," but does that apply to starting a business?While it obviously depends on the type of business, starting upduring the holidays usually involves considerations that don'tapply at other times of the year. "If you're planning abusiness, retail or otherwise, you must know the seasonality ofyour product or service, be realistic about how much business youcan expect to capture in the first [few] months and not have[unreasonable] expectations," says Ed Crow, president of E.L.Crow Inc., a market development consulting firm in Lafayette Hill,Pennsylvania.

Some issues to consider:

• Seasonal sales. Although many retail operations can takeadvantage of the holiday season to kick-start their businesses, berealistic about those sales and what they mean for the future.Don't let seasonal buying patterns mislead your revenueprojections. If your business is subject to seasonal salesfluctuations, be sure your plan realistically reflects both earlyand long-term sales projections.

• Customer contact. Business-to-business operations mayfind it difficult to reach customers during the holiday season,especially during the last two weeks of the year. "It's atotally different world between December 15 and January 15,"Crow says.

• Holiday distractions. You'll have to deal withdistractions both on a personal level and with your employees. Anew business requires tremendous energy and focus; be prepared tosacrifice some of your personal holiday fun. And plan toaccommodate your employees' personal needs during this time ofyear.

• Weather. Winter storms can devastate even the beststart-up plans. A severe snowstorm can take the "grand"out of your grand opening. Downed power and phone lines can haltregular operations, keep customers away and prevent suppliers frommaking deliveries. Have a weather contingency plan in place beforeyou need it.

• Year-end issues. While you're dealing with start-uptasks, your customers and suppliers are dealing with year-endchores such as inventory, taxes, and a range of other internal andexternal issues with a December 31 deadline. Realize this canaffect your operation in ways you may not have anticipated.

The Borrowers

Using other people's money will lessen your chances offailure.

Timing Is Everything

If the business you're planning is specific to the seasonand you want to capture your share of holiday consumer sales, theclock is ticking. Don't wait until the Christmas shoppingseason is in full swing to open. "Traditional retail storessay you should open in [the fall] and do a shakedown, so you'reready for the Christmas season," says Ed Crow, president ofLafayette Hill, Pennsylvania, market development consulting firmE.L. Crow Inc.

Crow adds that smaller retailers, particularly those offeringgift and other impulse-buy items, may be able to open in Novemberand enjoy respectable revenues. However, if your store is one thatneeds time to establish a clientele--such as an art gallery or ahigh-end retailer--don't expect much from your first Christmasseason; instead, use this time to build for the future.

The Winter Of Their Discontent

When Lynnette Stroebele, 33, and Loretta Bromlow, 29, ofOklahoma City decided to start a company that trains certifiednursing assistants, they didn't really consider what time ofyear it was. They incorporated CNA PRO 2000 Inc. in November 1995,and immediately began offering classes. "We ran an ad inNovember for December classes, and I think we had two calls,"Stroebele recalls.

So the partners delayed classes until January and instead spentthose first two months concentrating on other start-up activities.They painted and furnished their building, purchased equipment,obtained all the necessary licenses and certifications, startedmarketing . . . and were able to hit the groundrunning when the holidays were over.

Beyond the lack of prospective students, Stroebele says one oftheir biggest seasonal problems was the weather. "It was socold, we had to run the heat full-blast for an entire weekend so wecould paint, because the paint wouldn't stick to the coldwalls," she says. An ice storm shut down many localbusinesses, including their suppliers; for Stroebele and Bromlow,the storm also meant bursting water pipes, dead phones and evenbroken windows. "It was difficult," Stroebele says oftheir first holiday season.

On the plus side, Stroebele and Bromlow were able to buyequipment at very competitive prices because their suppliers weretrying to clear out their inventories before the end of the year.And they were soon able to take the tax write-off for theirstart-up expenses.

But if she could do it again, Stroeble would start her companyearlier in the year or wait until the holidays were over."It's really best to start when the weather is good,"she says. "That gives you the chance to deal with basicstart-up issues before you have to deal with winter weather andholidays."

Contact Sources

CNA Pro 2000 Inc., 330 S.W. 25th St., Oklahoma City, OK73109, (405) 632-8262

E.L. Crow Inc., (215) 233-0762, edcrow@compuserve.com

Pure Image Inc., (800) 337-6057, http://www.pureimageinc.com