Todd Hand, Managing Partner at Talent Capital Group and Board Member of Coronado Ventures Forum

Recruiting top-drawer employees doesn’t stop just because hiring slows or freezes. The recession, however bad, isn’t permanent, and forward-looking executives realize that the most ambitious and productive workers — the ones they hope to attract — remain alert to opportunities from companies that market themselves vigorously and confidently no matter what the economic climate.

The following are some trends that will affect hiring as the economy rebounds:

Don’t expect the best candidates to accept a smaller salary in return for additional stock options. Given the stock market’s performance over the past year, most employees would rather have a dependable source of income than gamble on stock options that might prove worthless. They also value their personal time and will likely negotiate for more vacation.

The Internet has made it possible for job seekers to be more connected than ever through social- and professional-networking sites like LinkedIn, Facebook and various blogs. It’s also offered ways for job hunters to dig up all sorts of information about companies that interest them. An employer can use this as a qualifying tool: Given all the information that’s available online and elsewhere about most businesses, a candidate has no excuse for coming ill-prepared to an interview.
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Bruce R. Kohl, Director, New Mexico Securities Division

While billion-dollar swindles like Bernard Madoff’s make the national news, most investment fraud is a local crime committed close to home. In most cases, the victims are friends, business acquaintances and relatives of the perpetrator.

Such was the case with Henry Rivera, a Taos con artist who scammed more than 50 New Mexicans out of millions of dollars before he was indicted on more than two dozen counts of securities fraud in 1994. Rivera fled to Mexico before his trial and lived under an assumed name for nearly a decade before he was recaptured. His 2006 fraud conviction resulted in the longest prison sentence ever handed down for a white-collar crime in New Mexico.

The Rivera case is the subject of Betrayal of Trust, an 18-minute documentary produced by the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department’s Securities Division to raise public awareness of the risk posed by financial predators in our communities. The documentary is being distributed in DVD format at no charge to libraries, churches, senior centers and civic groups statewide. For a free copy of Betrayal of Trust, e-mail InvestorInfo@state.nm.us or call the Securities Division toll-free at 800-704-5533
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Betsy Gillette, Director of Market Research & Planning, TVC

Intelligence gathering isn’t just for international spies and private detectives. It’s also a way to identify one’s business rivals and compile information about them in order to gain a competitive advantage.

In many cases, the information is easy and inexpensive to obtain. Competitors can be found in industry directories, many of which list members online. Articles and advertisements in trade journals offer competitors’ names, as do conversations with business owners in the same industry or even their customers. A public or specialized library can be a source of names beyond what’s available through industry directories on the Internet.

The business researcher can start with some of these resources:

10-K reports: The 10-K report is a publicly traded company’s annual performance report to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Found at  www.sec.gov or any publicly traded company’s Web site, these reports include information about a company’s financial statements, organizational structure, equity, market risks and pending litigation.  A researcher might even discover a rival’s market shares and future plans.
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Sandra Taylor Sawyer, Director, NMSBDC at Clovis Community College

Making money is the reason most people start a business, but when the economy sours, just covering expenses and staying solvent can be challenging enough.

Julianna Barbee, Director, NMSBDC at NNM College

Creating excitement — or “buzz” in marketing lingo — about products or services is a matter of survival in a competitive market — especially when most consumers are spending only on essentials until the economy shows signs of recovery and stability.

Buzz describes the positive word-of-mouth marketing or hype among consumers that often precedes the release of a much-anticipated product. Real-time, portable communications technology facilitates the building of buzz by allowing rapid exchanges of information among large numbers of people.

Even though buzz can spread like a contagion, it needs a point of origin and a carefully crafted plan for dissemination. Creating buzz requires time, energy and innovation.

Social networks

Buying or using a service is part of a social process. Entrepreneurs who understand that customers belong to networks or market niches can efficiently use these links to spread the word about their products or services.

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Julianna Barbee, Director, NMSBDC at Northern NM College

It took a collapsing economy to expose the moral bankruptcy of entrepreneurs like Wall Street investor Bernard Madoff, who was arrested recently on suspicion of defrauding clients of $50 billion in a Ponzi scheme. If such practices were part of the business landscape at a time of relative prosperity, even greater lapses of ethical behavior and judgment may be likely now as many businesses struggle to remain solvent during what is expected to be a protracted and painful recovery.

While hard times drive some people to criminal and amoral extremes, others remain faithful to core principles or values that determine their conduct regardless of external circumstances. These principles, or ethics, are what separate people of integrity from people who disregard any law or agreement or courtesy that interferes with making a buck.

Ethical business practices bring their own rewards by raising the performance and reputation of those who practice them. Businesses that set ethical guidelines and promote ethical behavior are demonstrating that honesty, respect and safety aren’t expendable when times are tough. Businesses that are willing to go beyond the minimum legal requirements of the market and to hold themselves and their employees to a high standard of moral behavior are bright spots in a gloomy economy.

Here’s how a business can start building an ethical foundation:

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Roberta Scott, Director, NM Small Business Development Center at UNM-Valencia

Frequent reports of massive nationwide layoffs and ongoing anxiety about the economy are making more people wonder if this is the year to start controlling their own financial destinies by starting a business that’s compact enough to run from home, especially since cell phones, computers, the Internet and faxes make it easy to conduct business with potential clients and suppliers.

Advances in communications and office technology and the ongoing shift from a manufacturing to a service economy are among the many forces remaking Americans’ assumptions about work. Many workers are weary of the congestion, road rage, weather-related dangers and time loss that make commuting such a grind. Working parents often want more time with their children than they have when employed outside the home for someone else.

And while many workers are grateful just to have a job in a time of growing unemployment, others want more from work than just a steady paycheck and benefits — especially those who have lived through past downturns and are tired of forgoing raises and watching benefits erode as their employers struggle to survive. They want work that is challenging, interesting and fulfilling, and they want control over their time, their work and their health.

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Pat McNamara, Marketing Consultant

Failure to listen to potential customers or clients has sabotaged many a great idea or product, especially among entrepreneurs who lack empathy and act as if they know all the answers. Such a self-centered approach to doing business is bad enough when the economy is booming, but it’s fatal during a recession, when thinking about the other guy is essential.

Self-centered assumptions lead some entrepreneurs to commit one or all of these seven deadly sins of marketing and sales:

It’s all about me. “I may not be much, but I’m all I think about.” That slogan on a young man’s T-shirt caught my eye on a recent business trip, as did a similar pronouncement on the T-shirt of a woman in my hotel lobby: “It’s all about me.” Extreme self-consciousness underlies stage fright and is a barrier to successful sales. When a speaker or salesperson genuinely wants an audience or individual to understand a concept or make the right purchase, self-consciousness vanishes.

We are so much alike. In truth, we are all very different — in the things we value, how we think and make decisions, the speed with which we walk and talk. Some of us value relationships and strive for collaboration. Others focus on results. Some people make instant decisions, while others ponder for weeks. Appreciating diversity is critical to tailoring a sales pitch.

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Julianna Barbee, Director, NM Small Business Development Center at NNMC

Few things are as effective as a global economic crisis for identifying the qualities of leadership most likely to inspire optimism and involvement. Whether it’s in the world of politics or business, the most effective leaders exude both confidence and pragmatism and are inclusive and decisive.

Leadership in business means creating an environment in which people’s strengths are reinforced and their weaknesses offset, which is why the most effective leaders surround themselves with other leaders, not just experts in their chosen field.

Studies show that when something negative happens within the workplace, blaming the individual or individuals involved can often hinder our ability to see the larger context in which it happened.  Recognizing the fallibilities and possibilities of being human allows business leaders to unlock the energies of every team member and increase collective excellence and performance. A united team can focus on all areas at once rather than succumbing to the natural tendency to pay attention to one problem or opportunity at a time and get lost in the details.

Whether you are a business owner or an employee of a large or small organization, these leadership traits can help you and your business become more efficient and more productive.

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Gena Wilimitis, PR Coordinator, Securities Division, New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department

The Securities Division of the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department is cautioning investors to avoid making impulsive and uninformed decisions about their long-term financial holdings in response to the unprecedented volatility on Wall Street.

“Investors should resist the temptation to make hasty decisions about their investments or finances,” division director Bruce Kohl said. “And now is the time to be especially wary of unsolicited financial advice offering new investment opportunities. We know from past experience that con artists follow the headlines to exploit the worries of everyday investors. In times of confusion and uncertainty, there are always those who will try to prey on the investing public.”

Turmoil in the home-mortgage market creates opportunities for crooks to peddle phony real-estate investments that promise enormous returns, Kohl said, and soaring energy costs have inspired scams disguised as oil and gas partnerships and alternative-energy projects. The Internet has given a global grasp to con artists who disguise themselves as online “friends” eager for your partnership in money-making ventures.
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