Florida dealer Don Magruder's 10 ideas don't have anything to do with management or sales, but they could make the difference between survival and failure.
By Don Magruder
Over the last three years, the hostile economic times have taken a major toll on the well-being of employees and businesses, with many coming ever so close to their rope's end. As business people, many of us have been fighting very hard to survive, but we must never forget the folks who bear the heaviest load of those pay cuts, reduced hours, and dwindling benefits: our employees. An encouraging word or clearing of a path in the direction of common sense may be the difference between survival and surrender.
Sensing an increasing burden on many in our management and sales group, I shared with them my thoughts of how they and Ro-Mac Lumber could survive this hostile economic environment. Below are my top 10 tips for surviving these current hostile economic times. Most of you know them already, but it helps us all to refresh our souls. Read more.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
News You Can Use - Trends and Numbers
Survey: Boomers Want Single Level, Energy-Efficient Homes in the Suburbs
A new survey reveals that 55+ Americans would prefer suburban living in single-story homes with amenities, particularly high-speed Internet access, for their later years, and they don't consider "universal" design a priority. These are some of the findings from 55+ Housing: Builders, Buyers, and Beyond, a survey conducted by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the MetLife Mature Market Institute, which asked owners and renters about their current homes and the types of homes, communities and features they prefer as they age. Read more.
Overall Housing Starts Rise 1.5 Percent in August
Privately-owned housing starts in August were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 598,000, 1.5 percent higher than July figures, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Single family starts, however, fell 3 percent to a seasonally adjusted rate of 479,000.
NAHB blamed the pullback in single-family starts on the looming expiration of the $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers. Read more.
A new survey reveals that 55+ Americans would prefer suburban living in single-story homes with amenities, particularly high-speed Internet access, for their later years, and they don't consider "universal" design a priority. These are some of the findings from 55+ Housing: Builders, Buyers, and Beyond, a survey conducted by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the MetLife Mature Market Institute, which asked owners and renters about their current homes and the types of homes, communities and features they prefer as they age. Read more.
Overall Housing Starts Rise 1.5 Percent in August
Privately-owned housing starts in August were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 598,000, 1.5 percent higher than July figures, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Single family starts, however, fell 3 percent to a seasonally adjusted rate of 479,000.
NAHB blamed the pullback in single-family starts on the looming expiration of the $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers. Read more.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Protecting Your Business
By Business and Legal Reports, Inc.
After a Georgia company reduced a vice-president’s bonus, he decided to open his own business. He discussed his departure with his supervisors and thought he had arrived at an amicable parting, only to be sued after he left the company.
What happened. “Fawkes” owned a share of an insurance company named Hamilton, Dorsey & Alston. Wachovia Insurance Services purchased Hamilton on May 1, 2001. Fawkes received cash and Wachovia Insurance stock and was given a four-year contract to work as a senior vice president in Wachovia’s employee benefits area.
In September 2004, Wachovia Insurance’s president asked Fawkes to sign a confidentiality and nonsolicitation agreement that would make Fawkes an at-will employee. Two years later, Wachovia reduced Fawkes’ bonus and commission structure. In April 2007, Fawkes decided to resign and open a competing business. He met with the company president and his supervisor to discuss the plan and to assure them that he intended to honor the nonsolicitation agreement. Fawkes’ supervisor formally informed the department that Fawkes was leaving to start his own firm.
On April 23, with his supervisor’s permission, Fawkes sent a letter to 90 of his business contacts informing them that he was starting his own business. On April 30, his employment with Wachovia Insurance ended. Two months later, Wachovia sued Fawkes and his new business for breach of the nonsolicitation agreement, misappropriation of trade secrets, and computer theft. Fawkes asked the court to dismiss the case.
What the court said. Wachovia alleged that Fawkes had breached his written agreement not to solicit clients. Fawkes countered that the covenant imposed an unreasonable restraint on his ability to do business because it forbade him to solicit clients that had already ended their relationships with Wachovia Insurance. The court agreed with Fawkes; the covenant defined a customer as “any individual or entity that has purchased an insurance contract through the Company,” which the court found to include too many customers that no longer had a relationship with Wachovia. It thus found the nonsolicitation agreement too broad to be enforceable.
Wachovia also complained that Fawkes had breached the agreement by hiring two of its employees for his new company. In fact the employees had approached Fawkes and he had not approached or solicited them, so the court found no breach.
Wachovia next argued that Fawkes had misappropriated trade secrets by using a Wachovia Insurance client list from password-protected company computers. To obtain relief under the Georgia Trade Secrets Act (GA Code Sec. 10-1-760), Wachovia needed to show that this information was not commonly known to the public. But Fawkes proved that all of the information was available on a public website (“freeERISA.com”), commonly used by employee benefits companies for prospecting for customers. The court ruled that Fawkes had not misappropriated Wachovia’s trade secrets.
Finally, Wachovia claimed that Fawkes had committed “computer theft” because Wachovia Insurance employees who moved to Fawkes’ new company used Wachovia’s client contact information on their Blackberry® devices in their new employment. GA Code Sec. 16-9-93(a) defines computer theft as “knowingly using a computer network without permission and with the intention of taking someone else’s property.”
But Fawkes’ employees were merely using Blackberry devices that contained information Wachovia Insurance also had; Wachovia could not prove that they were using its own computer network without permission and intending to steal Wachovia’s data. The court agreed that Wachovia had shown no evidence of computer theft. It dismissed all the claims against Fawkes.
Wachovia Insurance Services v. Fallon, Ga. Ct. App., No. A09A0140 (July 14, 2009).
Professional Pointer: This employer filed this lawsuit to send “a message to others,” to communicate to future employees that the company would not tolerate them taking its business. Before trying to send a similar message, make sure you have a solid case with real damages.
Contributed by BLR, Inc. Read plain-English analysis on Employment Contracts in Georgia.
After a Georgia company reduced a vice-president’s bonus, he decided to open his own business. He discussed his departure with his supervisors and thought he had arrived at an amicable parting, only to be sued after he left the company.
What happened. “Fawkes” owned a share of an insurance company named Hamilton, Dorsey & Alston. Wachovia Insurance Services purchased Hamilton on May 1, 2001. Fawkes received cash and Wachovia Insurance stock and was given a four-year contract to work as a senior vice president in Wachovia’s employee benefits area.
In September 2004, Wachovia Insurance’s president asked Fawkes to sign a confidentiality and nonsolicitation agreement that would make Fawkes an at-will employee. Two years later, Wachovia reduced Fawkes’ bonus and commission structure. In April 2007, Fawkes decided to resign and open a competing business. He met with the company president and his supervisor to discuss the plan and to assure them that he intended to honor the nonsolicitation agreement. Fawkes’ supervisor formally informed the department that Fawkes was leaving to start his own firm.
On April 23, with his supervisor’s permission, Fawkes sent a letter to 90 of his business contacts informing them that he was starting his own business. On April 30, his employment with Wachovia Insurance ended. Two months later, Wachovia sued Fawkes and his new business for breach of the nonsolicitation agreement, misappropriation of trade secrets, and computer theft. Fawkes asked the court to dismiss the case.
What the court said. Wachovia alleged that Fawkes had breached his written agreement not to solicit clients. Fawkes countered that the covenant imposed an unreasonable restraint on his ability to do business because it forbade him to solicit clients that had already ended their relationships with Wachovia Insurance. The court agreed with Fawkes; the covenant defined a customer as “any individual or entity that has purchased an insurance contract through the Company,” which the court found to include too many customers that no longer had a relationship with Wachovia. It thus found the nonsolicitation agreement too broad to be enforceable.
Wachovia also complained that Fawkes had breached the agreement by hiring two of its employees for his new company. In fact the employees had approached Fawkes and he had not approached or solicited them, so the court found no breach.
Wachovia next argued that Fawkes had misappropriated trade secrets by using a Wachovia Insurance client list from password-protected company computers. To obtain relief under the Georgia Trade Secrets Act (GA Code Sec. 10-1-760), Wachovia needed to show that this information was not commonly known to the public. But Fawkes proved that all of the information was available on a public website (“freeERISA.com”), commonly used by employee benefits companies for prospecting for customers. The court ruled that Fawkes had not misappropriated Wachovia’s trade secrets.
Finally, Wachovia claimed that Fawkes had committed “computer theft” because Wachovia Insurance employees who moved to Fawkes’ new company used Wachovia’s client contact information on their Blackberry® devices in their new employment. GA Code Sec. 16-9-93(a) defines computer theft as “knowingly using a computer network without permission and with the intention of taking someone else’s property.”
But Fawkes’ employees were merely using Blackberry devices that contained information Wachovia Insurance also had; Wachovia could not prove that they were using its own computer network without permission and intending to steal Wachovia’s data. The court agreed that Wachovia had shown no evidence of computer theft. It dismissed all the claims against Fawkes.
Wachovia Insurance Services v. Fallon, Ga. Ct. App., No. A09A0140 (July 14, 2009).
Professional Pointer: This employer filed this lawsuit to send “a message to others,” to communicate to future employees that the company would not tolerate them taking its business. Before trying to send a similar message, make sure you have a solid case with real damages.
Contributed by BLR, Inc. Read plain-English analysis on Employment Contracts in Georgia.
NLBMDA News - Government Released Guildes on H1N1
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have released guidance for employers of all sizes to prepare for the possibility of the H1N1 flu in the workplace over the coming months. An "H1N1 Preparedness Guide for Small Businesses" was a also recently released. For more information and to download the guide, visit www.flu.gov. Source.
NLBMDA News - Builder Confidence Edges Up in September
Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes edged higher for a third consecutive month in September, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), released last week. The HMI rose one point to 19 this month, its highest level since May of 2008.
"Today's report indicates that builders are starting to see some glimmers of light at the end of the tunnel in terms of improving sales activity," said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. "However, the fact that the HMI component gauging sales expectations for the next six months slipped backward this month is a sign of their awareness that this is a very fragile recovery period and several major hurdles remain that could stifle the positive momentum. Those hurdles include the impending expiration of the $8,000 tax credit as well as the critical lack of credit for housing production loans and continuing problems with low appraisals that are sinking one quarter of all new-home sales. These concerns need to be addressed if we are to embark on a sustained housing recovery that will help bolster economic growth." Read more.
"Today's report indicates that builders are starting to see some glimmers of light at the end of the tunnel in terms of improving sales activity," said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. "However, the fact that the HMI component gauging sales expectations for the next six months slipped backward this month is a sign of their awareness that this is a very fragile recovery period and several major hurdles remain that could stifle the positive momentum. Those hurdles include the impending expiration of the $8,000 tax credit as well as the critical lack of credit for housing production loans and continuing problems with low appraisals that are sinking one quarter of all new-home sales. These concerns need to be addressed if we are to embark on a sustained housing recovery that will help bolster economic growth." Read more.
NLBMDA News - IRS Highlights Taxability of Personal Use of Employer-Provided Cell Phones
A recent issue has been highlighted by the IRS in the personal use of employer-provided cell phones. A little-known rule currently requires that where an employee uses the employer-provided cell phone for personal purposes (i.e., only a portion can be substantiated as business use), the fair market value of such personal use is includable in the employee's gross income. Read more.
NLBMDA News - EPA to Require Contractor Certification for Lead Removal Projects
Legislation was recently introduced by Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Mike Crapo (R-ID) to establish a national standard for product emission ceilings and to direct the EPA to promulgate a national formaldehyde rule for composite wood products by 2011. The legislation is based on the California Air Resources Board (CARB) regulation enacted last year and appears to be an effort to impose California's standard on the rest of the country rather than go through a lengthy rulemaking process at the EPA. The legislation, S. 1660, has been referred to the Environment and Public Works Committee. Source.
NLBMDA News - Rumors Continue to Fly on Card Check
Senators speaking to union conferences last week continued to assert that support is building for a so-called "compromise" that may remove the card check component of the "Employee Free Choice Act" but still make it easier for employees to form a union by limiting the time for employers to respond and still including dangerous binding arbitration requirements. Read more.
NLBMDA News - Baucus Health Care Plan Includes Onerous 1099 Reporting Provision
As anticipated, the Baucus health care plan also includes a corporate reporting requirement as one of the revenue raising provisions to pay for healh care reform. The plan, as we've reported previously, would require all businesses to issue 1099s to all corporations from whom they purchase goods or services. As introduced in the Senate bill, there would be a $600 threshold for each vendor, posing a further administrative burden as companies would have to track spending for each vendor to determine when the threshold was reached.
NLBMDA is working with its small business alllies on this issue and will be vigorously opposing this measure. Source.
NLBMDA is working with its small business alllies on this issue and will be vigorously opposing this measure. Source.
NLBMDA News - Health Care Reform Bill Takes Shape in Senate
Tomorrow the Senate Finance Committee will begin to mark up the draft health care legislation, "America's Healthy Future Act," introduced last week by Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT). Affordability has become the major focal point, with some in the Senate seeking to increase the tax credit for individuals who will be forced to purchase insurance under the Baucus plan. Affordability is also a concern for the business community, where the Baucus small business tax credit is so narrow few businesses will be able to qualify. Read more.
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