Milwaukee Biz Blog

In a recent entry in the Milwaukee Biz Blog, I wrote about how technology solutions can help businesses stay afloat in this new economy. While it's true that companies today evaluate every decision that affects the bottom line, some are also simultaneously concerned about how these decisions impact the environment.

Some companies don't realize that the same solutions can meet both objectives. In many cases, technology can cut costs while also reducing the overall impact on the environment.

Here are a few technology tips that can help you save money and the environment.

Avoid phantom energy
Leaving power cords for devices plugged in can consume energy and result in a higher energy bill. Unplug devices that you're not using to reduce "phantom" energy costs.

Save energy with virtualization
Consolidate your servers virtually to save energy. By reducing the number of physical servers in your office, more energy is saved and less money is spent on power and space.

Sleep at the end of the day
Choose sleep settings for your PC when not in use, allowing your PC to use less energy. Many PCs already have a default setting for sleep mode, but it doesn't hurt to be sure it is on.

Work remotely
Endorse remote working to reduce the effects of travel on the environment and reduce associated costs by as much as 30 percent. Live Meetings, video conferencing and instant messaging can make working remotely as easy as working in your office.

Use energy-efficient hardware
Choose a laptop over a desktop to consume less energy. Laptops consume less than 30 watts at full performance, compared to desktops that can use anywhere from 60-150 watts at full performance.

Build a recycling program
Establish a program to recycle old equipment. Tens-of-millions of functional computers are discarded each year by businesses, organizations and individuals. To find a recycler near you, go to http://green.msn.com/Tools/GreenDirectory/Recycle/Default.aspx.

Use less paper
Use programs like Office OneNote or SharePoint to reduce the amount of paper you use. SharePoint allows coworkers to share information and collaborate on documents without needless printing.

Calculate your savings - cost and energy
Use applications such as the Microsoft Desktop Energy Savings Calculator to conduct a full sustainability assessment to show your cost and energy savings.

Many companies are trying to find solutions to reduce operational costs that don't include employee cutbacks. With these tips, businesses can effectively use technology to reduce company costs and also shrink their carbon footprint.
 
Rob Busch is the Wisconsin enterprise sales manager for Microsoft and serves clients and partners in the company's Waukesha office. For more information, visit www.microsoft.com/environment.

The billable hour has been killed more often than Dracula. Against its countless detractors it marshals few defenders – but it still goes on. Why? Partly, no doubt, because of inertia and partly because many clients feel quite capable of managing uncertainty and building relationships with their lawyers that compensate for the model’s structural defects.

But it should not persist because there aren’t any practical alternatives. There are.

For starters, there’s no shortage of variations that can palliate the most frequently noted problems. Blended rates, for example, offer the client a single hourly rate than a range of rates. This facilitates comparisons and gives firms an incentive to have given tasks performed by  attorneys whose actual rate is below the blended rate – in other words, to manage cases efficiently.

Partially contingent rates offer base rates that are lower than the firm’s standard rates but are subject to increase if settlement or judgment below a specified amount (or some other defined “good” outcome) is achieved.

But I wouldn’t tease about practical alternatives unless I had more to offer than tinkering with variations on the basic billable-hour theme. Let’s take this step by step.

Start with fixed fees. Some firms offer them for high-volume, routinized projects. Uncertainty becomes absolute certainty, and incentives become unambiguously positive. Unfortunately, complex corporate litigation isn’t routinized and had better not be repetitive. A fee high enough to cover the possibility of taking the case through trial will generate an enormous windfall if the case ends by settlement or dispositive motion; and a fixed fee at any other level risks having lawyers think they’re working for free.

An obvious response is fixed fees for each phase of the case: initial pleadings, lay witness discovery, and so on. The client would not become responsible for the fee set for a given phase unless substantial work on that phase begins.

Any surprises will be pleasant ones. The firm now has a strong incentive to minimize inefficiency – but that doesn’t eliminate the windfall problem. If the case settles after two depositions, the amount paid for the fact-discovery phase will translate into a head-grabbing effective hourly rate.  Is there a constructive response to that issue?

Sure. (Swallow hard, colleagues.) Instead of a fixed fee for each phase, make it a capped fee. The firm is solidly compensated if it manages the case competently, but it won’t hit jackpots at the client’s expense.

Lawyers, of course, are human. If  they find that, say, the dispositive motion phase is approaching its end with $30,000 in cap-room left, will they be tempted to find $28,000 worth of last-minute work to do on that phase? Maybe, but an elegant, win-win response is available.  Providing the firm with a bonus of (say) 25 percent of the difference between billings and the cap for a given phase for completing that phase below the cap-level provides the firm with a practical reason to forego file-churning, to go along with the strong ethical reason to avoid that unsavory practice.

And it cushions the risk of exceeding caplevels for some phases by creating the possibility of compensating bonuses for other phases.

But what if firms determine cap-levels by application of the billable-hour model? Who cares? The key objections to it – uncertainty and perverse incentives – are gone. Clients. Moreover, can take the caps quoted by one firm and shop them around. If no peer firm is willing to match them, that tells the client all it needs to know. If it receives some lower bids, then it has the challenge of deciding whether the price differentials reflect quality differentials. That won’t be easy – but, hey, I can’t do all the work here.

I have yet to have a client who was dissatisfied with the results under a capped-fee-by-phase-of-case-with-efficiency-bonus arrangement.  (I’m still working on a snappy title.) The first time a client agreed to one, in fact, he called me when the case was over with the sincerest possible compliment. He asked me to prepare a template agreement based on the arrangement we had used, so that he could propose it to outside counsel instead of waiting for them to think of it.

Michael Bowen is a partner in the Milwaukee office of Foley & Lardner LLP and is a member of the Distribution & Franchise and Appellate Practices. He concentrates on commercial litigation and arbitration at both the trial and appellate levels.

The root cause of our economic mess is commoditization. If your business can't offer its target market(s) differentiated benefits that matter, recognize that your business is stuck in a quicksand called commoditization.
Endless cost-cutting to survive the recession-magnified price discounting will only push you deeper into the muck, making it even harder to escape competing on price.

You only have three smart options:

• Redefine your business model strategy to become the lowest-cost competitor. You'll earn profits despite market commoditization.
• Redefine your business model strategy to escape commoditization and compete beyond price.
• Exit the business.

Over the last 10 years, our economy's productivity increased dramatically through industry consolidation, value chain and process redesign, outsourcing and IT investments. These changes lowered inflation, but also created pervasive commoditization.
Big banks engaged in these activities and ended up as lumbering copycats of each other, earning their returns by taking enormous risks rather than having a better value promise for business and consumer customers.
Rating agencies, AIG, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's low-interest rate policies, a lack of federal regulation, Congressman Barney Frank's push for affordable housing and Asian foreign currency surpluses enabled the banks to take these risks, much as spouses and friends might enable an alcoholic partner or friend.
The housing bubble and massive credit card consumer debt emerged from the drunken dance. Consumers must bear some of the blame for our mindless enjoyment of the short-term riches.
That's my theory of what went wrong. What's yours? Until bank boards begin to demand strong strategic thinking from bank CEOs and their teams, banks will be right back at taking whatever level of risk new regulations will let them get away with.
Watch what will happen in pharmaceutical markets too. Big pharma is following the bank model, with mergers and acquisitions engaged in solely to cut costs. Pharmaceutical companies also purportedly acquire competitors to improve their new drug product portfolio, which parallels acquiring another financial institution to get better retail locations or stronger investment advisors. But the pharmaceutical mergers, I predict, will do little to improve drug discovery success and may, in the case of Genetech's acquisition by Wyeth, reduce drug discovery success.
Commoditization marches on with generic drug companies (the Walmarts of the drug industry) and inventive biotech start-ups poised to earn attractive profits. Changes in health care policy will whittle away any profits big pharma might have made in the past by bringing other companies' discoveries to market.
Are your actions as a company creating more commoditization? What are you doing to compete beyond price discounts?

Kay Plantes, Ph.D., is an MIT-trained economist, business strategy consultant, columnist and author with expertise in business model innovation, strategic leadership and smart economic policies. She resides in Madison, Wis., and Oslo, Norway. For additional information, visit www.plantescompany.com.

"Throw out the strategic plan! It's no good now that the economy has tanked."

That's a natural reaction to a strategic plan built on assumptions about the future which may no longer hold true. For many businesses, confidence in a company's continued steady growth and profitability probably cannot be sustained, at least for the short term.

So what's a company to do? Trash the culture of planning, hunker down in a survival mentality and just wait for tomorrow's mail to bring in some orders? No, just the opposite:  difficult times scream out for planning. The benefits of initiating or revisiting a formal planning process in today's economic environment far outweigh the costs.

Take back control
This business is yours to manage now and in the future. A clear, definitive plan based on today's market realities returns control to the company instead of leaving it to the whims of market forces. In tough times, people need, expect and respond to the structure that a well thought out plan provides.
A client recently lost a major customer, representing almost 50 percent of its business.  The management team didn't just throw up their hands in despair. They sat down and developed a plan to recapture the customer while increasing revenue from other markets. The plan involved hiring a specialist in an emerging market and enhancing relationships with the lost customer. Additional customer service offered taking over inventory replenishment with automatic ordering. The customer came back. 

Build confidence
Going through the hard work of preparing a strategic plan develops organizational confidence in the future. When crisis hits a company, the future looks foggy. No one knows where to go or what to do. Planning helps management make the difficult decisions and design ways to implement them. When everyone knows what the end goal is, what their responsibilities are, and what others are expected to do, a sense of camaraderie with a can-do attitude arises. Employees realize they are not alone, and they have the resources and skills needed to succeed.

Enhance communications
Fear drives the current economic downturn. People don't know what to expect, with more negative announcements arriving daily. Employees fear losing their jobs, no matter how reassuring the company leadership may have been.
Having a definitive strategic plan tells the organization what's going to happen and what results to expect. Though the news may not all be good, minimizing uncertainty is a big plus. Reporting progress against the plan develops confidence in leadership and lets people share in both the good and bad news. A sound strategic plan is an excellent communications tool.

Build the team
Working together, discussing alternatives and having input in tough decisions bring people together. Through a successful planning process, barriers between departments fall and old grudges are laid to rest. With equal participation and understanding of all points of view, a stronger team emerges, committed to each other and to making the plan happen.

Improve performance
Planning focuses effort on the organization's principal goals. With quantifiable measures to track progress in achieving the plan, employees know how to spend their time and resources. The knowledge of the plan and its priorities permeates the organization.
In nearly 30 years of helping organizations develop their plans, we have seen hundreds of success stories. Exploiting new markets, enhancing manufacturing efficiencies, reducing costs, superior customer service, offering unique technologies and creating new products are all initiatives that have propelled significant profitable growth. Discussions in a planning environment established priorities, husbanded resources and laid out the program to implement.

The process
The strategic planning process looks where the company is today, where it wants to go and how it's going to get there. This oft-told mantra actually works and works well.
No one knows the business as well as the people running it. However, an outside facilitator has experience in the process and can push gently for greater in-depth analysis and thinking. A facilitator keeps the participants on target, while ensuring the result has the acceptance of company leadership.

And finally
Planning should be an exciting, creative, constructive process that brings out the best in an organization. The process forces managers to face difficult decisions, make commitments and have a sound roadmap for the immediate future. It should be a positive experience with participants eager to contribute, criticize and be criticized, while investigating new approaches for success in today's business environment.  Understanding of and confidence in the future are powerful motivators.
Given the urgency and volatility present today, the resulting plan may not be perfect. However, it will provide direction and work priorities with the ability to make mid-course corrections. It is ever so much better than no plan at all.  

Good luck and please plan your future.

Charles Krause is the president and chief executive officer of Krause Consultants Ltd., a management consulting firm, and owner and managing partner of the Milwaukee Wave professional indoor soccer team. He is the author of "Fastrack Business Management: The Minute MBA."

With the historic signing of the Serve America Act by President Barack Obama, more individual Americans than ever will answer the call to service in the coming months and years. What role can and should the business community play in answering this call?

We know nonprofits need funding; it's no secret that many are struggling to fill the gap between increasing community needs and decreasing cash donations. But corporate donors have another worthy asset to offer: the skills of their workforce. 

Think about it this way. If the conversations between corporate grant makers and nonprofits are limited only to financial support, both parties will leave value on the table.  On the other hand, if corporate philanthropy is expanded to include the prized commodity of workplace talent, that will reap considerably more value - and do far more good -for nonprofits and communities in need.

According to the 2009 Deloitte Volunteer IMPACT Survey, 78 percent of corporate givers agree that their employees' skills would be a valuable contribution to nonprofits facing organizational challenges. And 95 percent of nonprofits say they need more skilled support. Yet, only 50 percent of companies surveyed offer pro bono and only 19 percent say they always look to contribute it, when cash is not an option.

Nonprofits face real business issues; 40 percent of those surveyed plan to spend upwards of $50,000 this year to help resolve them. While cash donations will continue to be very important, if those organizations could make greater use of pro bono, they could free up capital for other uses -and offset some of the need to fundraise. 

One example of the positive impact skilled volunteers can have is the work Deloitte has done for Repairers of the Breach, a local nonprofit offering solutions to homelessness.  For over two years, Deloitte has helped the organization address business challenges on a pro bono basis, including the development of an information technology system to help Repairers replace outdated administrative processes and increase efficiency. MacCanon Brown, executive director of Repairers, says the support is critical to helping the organization achieve its mission.

Another example is Deloitte's IMPACT Day. Today, Deloitte employees will set aside their work for the day and volunteer support to area organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, The Park People and the Boys & Girls Club. Volunteers also will provide their intellectual capital and business knowledge to the Down Syndrome Association of Wisconsin and the Autism Society of Southeast Wisconsin in order to help their members develop personal financial management, basic computer and job interviewing skills. 

So, why the slow adoption of pro bono, as part of a regular giving strategy? Both sides cite significant barriers to giving and getting skilled support, but they're not insurmountable. Consider these tips to foster pro bono in your organization:

Suggestions for corporate donors include:  

• Offer a signed commitment, as 88 percent of nonprofits see the lack of one as problematic.
  Be transparent. Let nonprofits know what type of pro bono and skilled volunteer support is available, as 95 percent said they didn't know which companies to approach.
• Advise nonprofit partners who at your company can help them secure pro bono support, as 97 percent said they didn't know whom to contact.  

Suggestions for nonprofits include:

• Be ready and available to accept skilled support. Pro bono is a generally more sophisticated contribution than traditional volunteerism, so assign staff or board members to solicit and oversee pro bono engagements in their area of expertise.
• Meet with corporate funders to discuss the top three business issues outlined in your strategic plan; ask your funders if they can identify expertise within their organizations to help address these needs.
• When negotiating sponsorship contracts, think beyond the cash mentality and recognize pro bono as a currency that can garner recognition and benefits. This will underscore its value and encourage more of it.

Corporate America has a powerful role to play in answering the call to service. At a time when the need for nonprofit services is on the rise and giving is on the decline, our goal in commissioning the survey was to spark a dialogue about how the full array of corporate assets can be better leveraged to maximize their impact on society.

Scott Wrobbel is the managing partner of Deloitte Services LP in Milwaukee.

The concerned middle-aged husband and wife, who were being audited by the Internal Revenue Service, nervously sat across of a retired tax professional representing the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC).

They were confused about what was expected of them, but were soon relieved as they listened to his explanations and advice. His suggestions would eventually get them out of the jam they were experiencing. We're proud to say that this scenario has been repeated hundreds of times here over much of the past decade.

Milwaukeeans can be proud of the LITC. It's a program sponsored by a grant from the IRS; funds from UWM; and an in-kind match from Time Warner; Reinhart, Boerner & Van Deuren SC Attorneys at Law and other community organizations.

We're convinced that it vividly demonstrates UWM's commitment to the Milwaukee community. Next year, the LITC will celebrate the ninth year of reaching out to and providing free tax advice for low income taxpayers in the area who find themselves being audited by the IRS.

The main focus of the clinic is to resolve the tax problems of individual taxpayers who can't afford the help of tax professionals. Although they are unable to answer any tax questions over the phone, they do encourage an in-person appointment at one of our sites for qualified individuals to get the help that will solve their tax problems. The program reaches out to all low-income taxpayers, including those for whom English is a second language. Interpreters assist them at most of our locations.

Representatives of the clinic include a practicing tax attorney, two CPAs, several former IRS officers and UWM graduate tax students. These tax experts help taxpayers to respond to IRS audit notices. They assist them in supporting claims for earned income tax credits, IRS collection matters and help in identifying theft cases. If required, the LITC represents before the Appeals Office of the Internal Revenue Service, and finally, when all of the administrative avenues of dispute resolution have been unsuccessful, the LITC will also appear on their behalf before the U.S. Tax Court.

Several community partners assist in the work of the clinic. They include the Social Development Commission (SDC), Silver Spring Neighborhood Center (SSNC) and United Migrant Opportunity Services (UMOS). Time Warner Cable donates TV time to advertise our services, and the others donate meeting rooms at their respective locations for taxpayers who are being served by LITC representatives.

The clinic primarily targets southeastern Wisconsin low-income taxpayers, including those whose first language is Spanish. A toll-free phone number (866-896-5482) was created to ensure that taxpayers from outlying areas are able to contact the clinic without additional financial burden.

LITC representatives are available Monday through Saturday to meet with taxpayers. If you know of anyone needing to make an appointment, or you would like more information about the clinic's services, call (414) 229-3232.

Robert Meldman is the executive director of the Low Income Taxpayers Clinic (LITC) at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Mary Rozek, managing director of the LITC, also contributed to this blog.

Recent news reports about the Justice Louis Butler/Michael Gabelman race referenced the last election in which an incumbent Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice was defeated. The winner in that race was my father, Justice Robert W. Hansen.

I remember the 1967 election vividly, and the only similarity between the two elections is the outcome.

As someone who believed in grassroots connections and an independent judiciary, my father would have been appalled at the recent campaign. My father loved a good, hard-fought political campaign, but he always approached being a judge and campaigning for election with a commitment to open, honest debate.

He possessed an inherent sense of integrity in his campaign and as a judge. 

As a lawyer who shares those values, I am appalled at the recent evidence that a seat on our state Supreme Court can be bought.

I have practiced for over 25 years and been active in many judicial campaigns, and I have been an unwavering supporter of an elected judiciary. At this point, serious changes need to occur if we are going to maintain public respect for and a belief in the integrity in our courts.

The concept that judges can only run on a platform of monied political agendas or a race to convince the public they will lock up the most defendants for the longest time is an embarrassment to the judiciary and my profession.

We currently have many fine judges who come from various legal backgrounds - prosecutors, defense attorneys and private practitioners. This balance contributes to the diversity and quality of our courts.
If the recent Supreme Court election is any indication, however, any defense attorney who does his or her job well may now be eliminated from the possibility of being a judge, based on attacks such as those levied against Justice Butler.

How can we expect to have competent and impartial judges who apply the law fairly and impartially if the only litmus test becomes having been a prosecutor or catering to interests that can fund exorbitantly expensive campaigns?

In my view, that is a judiciary for sale. The only question is who will be the next target.  If he were still alive, my father would share my sense of outrage at what judicial campaigns have become. The time for change is now.

Susan Hansen is a principal at Hansen & Hildebrand S.C., a Milwaukee law firm.

Wisconsin's small businesses and nonprofits deserve laws that will help them to get started, thrive and grow.

We're fortunate to have so many successful small firms - around 115,300 that employ about 54 percent of non-farm workers and represent 98 percent of all employers in our state, according to the most recent estimates of the U.S. Small Business Administration.

As a former owner of a small business, I often ponder how our government can work for small firms, not against them. As we review new regulations, we need to consider their effect on our states' employers. When President Ronald Reagan said, "The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help," he articulated the sentiment of employers in America who think regulations are a hindrance, not a help. 

Government can help the employers in our state by passing progressive legislation that will benefit both the employers and their workers. That's why I've authored Assembly Bill 760. This bill will help small firms and their workers by providing sound regulation of a growing new industry - professional employer organizations, or PEOs. The bill has broad bipartisan support from legislators in nearly every part of the state, including Sen. Bob Wirch (D-Pleasant Prairie), who is authoring this legislation in the State Senate as Senate Bill 440.
AB 760 will require PEOs serving business clients in Wisconsin to register each year with the Department of Regulation and Licensing (DORL) and meet certain requirements to operate in our state. It's revenue neutral; the fees paid by PEOs will offset the administrative costs. The bill is supported by the PEOs already operating in our state and by the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (NAPEO). 

The PEO industry wants to be regulated - can you imagine that? What other industry goes to state legislatures and asks for regulation? They recognize the importance of their service offering being delivered in a manner that ensures professionalism and compliance.

In fact, the NAPEO and its members want PEO registration or licensing bills in every state; 29 states currently have such laws. So why not Wisconsin, too?

PEOs provide valuable services that I've experienced first-hand. My small business benefited from working with one for several years. I outsourced the time-consuming human resource operations, such as paying and filing the taxes of workers and managing their benefits, to the PEO so I could focus on running my business.

Their professionals advised me on how to comply with local, state and federal employment regulations. And my workers had good health benefits that the PEO secured from major carriers.

As good as PEOs can be for a small firm, it's important to give all concerned - the PEOs, their clients and the workers, as well as the state of Wisconsin - the legal framework for PEOs operating in Wisconsin. We do want to make sure their important functions are delivered responsibly to workers and the state's businesses while providing the state essential employment compliance. There have been only a handful of PEO problems since this young industry's inception in the 1980s - none of those in Wisconsin - and we want to keep it this way.

Compliance with the PEO registration bill is simple and straightforward, requiring annual registration, a minimum amount of working capital or security guarantee and annual audited statements. The bill also will give DORL the ability to effectively and efficiently administer the legislation. 

This bill is a good example of sensible government regulation. This legislation makes sense for all concerned - Wisconsin companies, their workers and their PEOs.

State Rep. Scott Newcomer (R-Hartland) represents Wisconsin's 33rd District.

It's that time of year again when we make resolutions in our personal lives that help guide us into the New Year.

Hopefully, for most of us, we'll follow through and achieve all of our resolutions - even if we do fall off the wagon once or twice. 

As a small business owner, this is also the perfect time of year to make a list of resolutions of things you can do to help grow your business in the coming year. Think of it as reinforcing your business plan - or in some cases, rewriting your business plan to take advantage of new opportunities.

Let's take a look at five resolutions that you can make for 2008 to grow and solidify your business.

Resolution #1: Backup your data.
Backup, Backup, Backup.  What would happen to your business come tomorrow if you woke up and found out that your computer with all your finances, customer information and invoices had died? All too often small businesses don't back up their data and as a result their computer turns into a ticking time bomb. In 2008 resolve to make better use of backup software and other technology that helps keep you protected from the failure that will happen sooner or later. Take advantage of new technology that allows for automatic, off-site backups that protect you even further by storing your critical data at another location. Most of these packages are available for a nominal fee and are worth their weight in gold when disaster strikes.

Resolution #2: Invest in customer relationship software.
Turn your customer data into something you can use to help you grow your business. So many companies store their customer data in spreadsheets or in files scattered across the office. Customer Relationship Management software (CRM is the industry slang) helps you manage your customer relationships and track not only their orders but also their interaction with you via phone, e-mail or other means. With a few clicks you can find out who your most valuable customers are, which ones are consuming large amounts of your time and which ones are prospects for growth in the upcoming year. There are many packages on the market that can help you with this, ranging from off-the-shelf varieties that can suit most business needs and are available at your local office supply store to fully customizable one from big vendors such as Microsoft and Oracle. Take some time this New Year to read up more on CRM software and learn how it can be a valuable tool in managing your customers and your business.

Resolution #3: Procure a good accounting package.
Make 2008 the year you stop using spreadsheets to track your finances and invest in a good accounting package. Spreadsheets are good for very small businesses, but the moment when you start growing you will find that you are being held back by their lack of ability to manage complex financial transactions. Another benefit you will receive from investing in a good accounting package is that tax time will be a breeze - many accounting packages on the market today have modules that let you literally point, click and print your tax returns for your business! A good accounting package can pay for itself within weeks and in many cases even sooner. Think how much more effectively you could run your business when you can get up in the morning and see, at-a-glance, how well your business is doing.

Resolution #4: Become a marketing pro.
Learn how to effectively market yourself and your business. You don't need an MBA in marketing to be an effective marketer thanks to the wealth of information online and in stores nowadays about how to market almost any type of business. Perhaps 2008 is the year you decide to take a class or two at your local college to brush up on your marketing skills. Many businesspeople are heading back to the classroom to learn about more effective business management and marketing - plus it is a terrific way to network. Take a few moments when you turn the calendar to put together a list of marketing resources available online and locally and then resolve to take action on one or more of them. After all, nobody is going to buy from your company if they don't know who you are to begin with!

Resolution #5: Outsource!
Take inventory in your business of how you can offload some of the more repetitive, routine tasks to others to allow you more time to grow the business. We often get loaded down with routine tasks that must be done, but end up stealing away our precious time we could be investing in the business to make it grow. Whether it be by hiring an administrative assistant to do some of these tasks or outsourcing some of the work to specialty companies or individuals, you may be surprised to find out that the additional cost of doing so is more than made up for by the "brain power" you are able to put back into your business. An added benefit is that by adding personnel to do such tasks they may be able to find even more efficiencies since they are often skilled in these areas - because, let's face it, not all of us can be an expert on every aspect of running a business!

So now it's time for you to act. What will you do this New Year to help your small business grow? What action plans can you put in place now to guide you through the upcoming year? 

Consultant David Bohl of Hartland is a contributing author at Small Business Trends.

Firestone and the Asphalt Paving Alliance might not come to mind when you think "green." But the significant presence of the two organizations at the recent Greenbuild International Conference and Expo in Chicago points out just how mainstream "green" is becoming.

Your probable disassociation of those two names with green also reflects a widespread challenge for those who want a greener world and more healthy living spaces.

That challenge involves the definition of green. More specifically, it involves a definition that consumers can relate to and easily understand. There are plenty of industry specification guidelines that architects, engineers, builders and developers are familiar with. But the homeowner pretty much has been left on his or her own when it comes to trying to figure out what building or home improvement products are green and to what degree of green.

For the record, Firestone Building Products Co. launched a green roofing initiative this year. (Yes, its parent corporation is the one that makes tires.) And the Asphalt Paving Alliance likes to note that asphalt is the most widely recycled product in America. That counts as green. Most of the people who attended Greenbuild this year understand that, even if not all of them are willing to live with such a broad definition.

Many of the products displayed by the 850 exhibitors at Greenbuild, however, were consumer oriented, including flooring, paint, toilets, windows and a myriad of other products. By and large, those products are purchased through retailers who have face-to-face contact with homeowners.

Those homeowners are confused, and many of the retailers that serve them have been frustrated by that confusion. We've heard that time and again from the many green retailers we deal with through the distribution side of our business, and from consumers we work with through our retail outlet. They want green definitions and guidelines to help them make informed decisions.

Our response has been Degree of Green - a program that helps retailers educate consumers and contractors on the green and healthy characteristics of home building and home improvement products. The program, which will officially be launched in January, received enthusiastic response from retailers who attended Greenbuild.

At the heart of Degree of Green is a product rating system. The judging panel, which includes Thiensville's Lyn Falk, a nationally recognized expert on green and healthy living spaces, reviews products from three perspectives: 1) the least adverse effects on human health; 2) the highest level of environmental sustainability; and 3) the least adverse effects on the environment.

That will not only help retailers educate consumers, but also allow consumers to make choices based on factors that are most important to them. Just as green building products come in varying degrees of green, consumers have varying desires and needs when it comes to green products. Some are more concerned about environmentalism while others are more concerned about personal health or the health of their families. (Products in the "green" world are most often less toxic than traditional building products. For example, "green" cabinetry, carpeting and paint do not out-gas the way traditional products do.) For others, the concern involves materials sourcing.

Each Degree of Green report describes a product, its composition, advantages and raw materials sourcing, and offers comparative data.

Retailers who participate in the Degree of Green program will not only receive an ongoing flow of rating sheets but also a full merchandising support program, including a web site that was just launched at www.degreeofgreen.com.

Industry thought leader Joel Makower asked this in a recent blog: "What will it take to bring honesty, accuracy, accountability, and transparency to the marketplace?" We believe Degree of Green is an answer to that question.

As recent national studies and the recent Greenbuild expo have shown, green is growing. Last year's expo in Denver drew 14,000 people. This year, more than 20,000 went to Chicago for the expo. Plenty of those people were from Wisconsin, as were many of the exhibitors, including Johnson Controls Inc., Johnson Diversey Inc., Marshfield Door, Super Sky Products, InPro, Kohler, Wausau Paper, Wausau Tile, Trane, Cooper Industries, FJA Christiansen Roofing (through Tecta America) and the Energy Center of Wisconsin.

Those are all established, mainstream companies that have solid green products or services.
And like those mainstream companies, the crowds at Greenbuild were pretty mainstream too. Sure, the "Birkenstock" crowd was represented at the expo. But based on the number of people with suits and ties or in corporately accepted business casual, green has certainly come of age in American business.

Andy Pace, CSI, is founder and president of Safe Building Solutions in Waukesha. Pace has served on the board of the Wisconsin Green Building Alliance and is a two-time president of the Construction Specifications Institute-Milwaukee Chapter. He can be reached at andy@safebuildingsolutions.com or by calling 800-697-5371.