You wear your business lunches well-or, at least, now you can.In an innovative twist destined to keep messy eaters from tyingthemselves into knots of worry, the Dallas-based wholesaler andproduct manufacturing company Venture Initiatives Inc. is selling aline of "pre-stained" neckties.
Pre-stained neckties? We kid you not. Thankfully, the foodstains on these quirky silk ties aren't real-they just appearto be. And with anything from chicken wings and tossed salad towine and a sampling of desserts adorning your tie of choice,you'll never again need fear the dreaded food slippage.
Retailing for $30 apiece, the Tie Cuisine line (complete with anaccompanying recipe packet) is carried by a select number ofrestaurant chains and hotels nationwide. Tie connoisseurs can alsofill up their plates-er, make that closets-by calling VentureInitiatives at (800) 767-3254. Lest you're wondering,these colorful ties can be cleaned. We don't, however,recommend tasting them.-Debra Phillips
All In The Family
Long-lost brothers join forces in business.
Sometimes it's hard to find the right business partner. Ittook Bob Staneart and Jimmy Niles 28 years to find each other-andthey're brothers.
Staneart and Niles are co-founders of computer services companyO'Brother Software Inc. in Richmond, Virginia. They're alsothe youngest boys of eight children in a family that split up in1963, when Bob was 4 and Jimmy was 2. After their alcoholic parentsabandoned them, Bob and Jimmy spent time in children's homesand were eventually adopted into separate families. But they wereunaware of each other's existence until their older sister JudyMarcum, who had stayed with their father, helped reunite the family25 years later.
When they got to talking, the brothers discovered they had a lotin common, including a love of computers. Since both had previouslyowned software development companies, they decided to start acomputer services business together. In 1994, Jimmy moved fromLexington, Kentucky, to Richmond, and O'Brother Software wasborn.
Does this separated-soon-after-birth tale suggestentrepreneurship runs in families? These brothers think so-andthey're not just basing that belief on their ownentrepreneurial tale. Five of the eight children in their familyown their own businesses.
To what else do the brothers attribute their BIZ Experiencesialtendencies? Bob has a theory: "It could be that because of thehardships, we were forced to be [independent] at an earlyage."
Maybe. Or perhaps it's in the genes. -LynnBeresford
Read All About It
What are business owners reading these days? The top 10 businessbooks at press time (based on net sales) were:
1. Success Is a Choice, by Rick Pitino, $25 (BantamPublishing)
2. Dilbert Future: Thriving on Stupidity in the 21stCentury, by Scott Adams, $25 (Harper Business)
3. Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Truth AboutWealth in America, by Thomas J. Stanley & William Danko, $22(Longstreet Press)
4. Stock Market Miracles, by Wade Cook, $24.95 (TheLighthouse Publishing Group)
5. Wall Street Money Machine, by Wade Cook, $24.95(Midpoint Books)
6. Dig Your Well Before You're Thirsty: The OnlyNetworking Book You'll Ever Need, by Harvey Mackay, $24.95(Currency)
7. The Dilbert Principle, by Scott Adams, $20 (HarperCollins)
8. What Color Is Your Parachute-1996, by Richard NelsonBolles, $14.95 (Ten Speed Press)
9. Financial Accounting: An Introduction to Concepts,Methods & Uses, by Clyde Stickney, $81.25 (Harcourt Brace &Co.)
10. How to Succeed in Business Without Being White:Straight Talk on Making It in America, by Earl G. Graves, $25(Harper Business)
Good Neighbor Policy
Community banks become friends indeed to neighbors inneed.
While community banks are often first to say yes toentrepreneurs in need, these local institutions face an imageproblem because they are typically the last place business ownerslook for a loan.
"People look at us as less capable and financially viablethan mainstream banks. One reason is we don't have theresources to tell our story,' says Carlton Jenkins, CEO ofLos Angeles-based Founders National Bank.
The three BIZ Experiencess profiled below found that, contrary totheir previous beliefs, local banks can provide a financiallifeline.
A Welcome Visitor
In Lodi, New Jersey, Alan Kessinger, owner of Rennie MetalFinishing Inc., discovered that when it comes to banking, bigger isdefinitely not better. After a major bank bought his local NationalCommunity Bank, Kessinger racked up some $4,000 in nonsufficientfunds charges.
"We've always had a cash flow problem,' saysKessinger of his 16-year-old company. "National Community knewchecks from other companies were valid because we've dealt withthe same customers for 15 years." But when the new bank camein, it began holding checks for funds verification.
"Suddenly, [we were] hit with nonsufficient funds charges,even though the money was in the account," says Kessinger.Despite his efforts to work out a solution, nothing changed. ThenFrank Cardone walked in.
"We cold-call on small businesses in the area,'explains Cardone, branch manager of Saddle Brook, New Jersey-basedInterchange State Bank.
At their initial meeting, Cardone and Kessinger talked about thepossibility of making a loan to the company. The result was a$25,000 credit line for Rennie Metal Finishing-and a new customerfor Interchange Bank.
Pride And Joy
Rossville Bank's decision to lend $120,000 to Roy'sGrill and Restaurant was more than a business consideration; it wasa matter of civic pride. The Rossville, Georgia, community of 3,600has been home to the landmark '50s-style diner for fivedecades. The eatery changed hands numerous times and finally closedbefore Harold and Brenda Petty bought it in 1992.
"If we hadn't made the loan, they'd [have] shutdown again, and that would have impacted the local economy,"explains Rossville Bank's president, Charles Lusk, who says hisknowledge of the Pettys' background and their willingness towork hard influenced the loan decision.
"We had a relationship with Rossville Bank through achecking account and knew people [there]," says Harold Petty.Several failed attempts to get a loan from large banks in nearbyChattanooga, Tennessee, led the Pettys to Rossville Bank, which sawthe loan as a good deal and put up its money. Now the future looksas bright as the diner's neon sign.
In Character
Los Angeles franchisee Leighton Hull had built a relationshipwith Founders National Bank, but when he needed $1.5 million topurchase five Denny's restaurants, Hull thought bigger."[Community banks] aren't known for doing big businessdeals and aren't the banks franchisors typicallyrecommend," says Hull.
Legal wranglings with another franchise Hull had owned had lefthim with less than pristine credit, but Founders National Banklooked beyond this when considering the loan.
"Notwithstanding regulatory issues," says Jenkins,"banks have more latitude than people know. We simplyexercised it.'
Hull's character was also a mitigating factor in thebank's decision. "Leighton had demonstrated skill andcommitment," says Jenkins. "We said 'Here's a guywho's going to be here at the end of the day both for us andother people.' '
And that's what community banking is all about, say thebankers-helping BIZ Experiencess serve people. Cynthia E.Griffin
