Watkins Appointed District 7770 Rotary Friendship Exchange Chair

We've working for the world here at POSITUS. Andra L. Watkins has been appointed District 7770 Friendship Exchange Chair for Rotary International. District Governor Anne Walker confirmed her appointment today.

Friendship Exchange is a Rotary program that enables Rotarians to visit other countries and learn about culture and business practices. Rotarians host visitors and then participate in a reciprocal exchange. Because Rotary is an international organization, exchange possibilities exist for almost every country in the world.

In her capacity as District Friendship Exchange Chair, Watkins will firmly establish the program. She will define its parameters and will coordinate both incoming and outgoing exchanges. An exchange is already scheduled to visit South Africa in the fall. Rotarians from Conway will visit AIDS orphanges in South Africa with an eye toward improving conditions for the residents.

POSITUS Points August 2008 e-news

HOW TO HANDLE THOSE PESKY BUSINESS IMITATORS

Hummingbirds are cute and amazing little creatures. They fly backwards and sideways and make chirping noises with their tail feathers. With heart rates of up to 1,280 beats per minute, they also need to eat. A lot.

Recently, I had the opportunity to watch hummingbirds in action at a feeder. What started as one lone little bird turned into a feeding frenzy of fourteen or so. It was incredible to watch them interact, fighting and sharing and vying for space and food.

In business, people are no different. An innovative business idea or proactive operating structure can be quickly copied, causing competition for customers and loss of market share that, over time, takes money away from your business. While imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, here are some tips to protect your business as your good ideas and practices make you successful.

Provide a better product/service than anyone else. Many imitators short-cut quality or service in an effort to streamline and make money. Once a quarter, evaluate your offerings to ensure that you have the best thing of its kind out there. You'll be forced to face those imitators head on and can stay a few steps ahead of them.

Play to your strengths. Imitators often do some part of the business better than you. Focus on what you do best. You can use an imitator as a mirror to shore up any obvious weaknesses in your product, service or business model, but your strengths got you where you are.

Protect your turf (or, watch your back.) In a softer economy, it is even more important to shore up relationships. By constantly working your network and expanding it strategically, you can protect the business you've built from invasive imitators.

Use the attention an imitator gets to your advantage. Rather than focusing on how many mentions a competitor may be getting around town, spin that into a publicity coup for your business within your own circle of influence. Overall mentions of your business niche can further validate what you do and can generate interest from the marketplace overall.

Be flexible and seize those openings. Sometimes, we focus so much of our business energies on things we desperately want to work, while an incredible opportunity is somewhere in our peripheral vision. Always be on the lookout for a new opening, be it a business relationship, a new customer, or a different approach to what your business does.

Don't worry. Worrying is akin to feeding your business imitators. It is a waste of time, and there are far too many other productive things on this list that deserve focus. Use these strategies to make your business "imitation-proof," regardless of how many people are copying you.

POSITUS Client EnviroSep Wins Award

POSITUS client Tim Tilley, President of EnviroSep, was awarded Small Business Person of the Year by the Georgetown County Chamber of Commerce at their annual meeting. EnviroSep is a fully engineered fluids handling and heat transfer pump manufacturing facility in Georgetown, SC. They have been in business for more than 10 years and provide close to 40 highly technical jobs in Georgetown County. Their industrial pumps have been installed in manufacturing, commercial and multi-family residential facilities all over the world and are entirely designed and produced from their facility in Georgetown.

POSITUS worked with EnviroSep to develop a three-year strategic growth plan. We also helped them to identify ideal customers and markets for expansion, as well as to target current business that may be no longer desirable. With our assistance, the Company also hired its first Chief Financial Officer. We are certainly proud of Tim and his team at EnviroSep!

www.envirosep.com

Watkins Elected to Biltmore's Who's Who

Andra L. Watkins CPA, principal of POSITUS consulting llc, a business advisory services firm in Charleston, SC, was elected to Biltmore Who's Who in Business. This distinction is awarded to individuals who have proven track records and extensive business success. An in depth interview and panel approval is part of the acceptance process. We are excited to be able to announce that Watkins received this accolade.

POSITUS New Project Sampling

We're smokin' here at POSITUS! Here is a sampling of our newest work.
Better Image Group LLC, a clothing screenprinting company located on Johns Island, contacted POSITUS to assist them with completing required paperwork for collegiate licensing. We helped them set wholesale and retail prices for screenprinted merchandise, target trade shows, estimate reasonable sales targets, organize their client and potential client list, and complete all paperwork required by the collegiate licensing agency.
Cupcake LLC, Charleston's first cupcakery, has tapped POSITUS to follow up on the strategic plan we prepared last year. Cupcake first worked with us to prepare a strategic plan for growth, and things are going so well that we are now going to help the client accelerate that plan. We'll keep you posted on its progress and the additional locations where you may be able to get yummy Cupcake cupcakes very soon! (We will omit our own weight gain on this project......)