Sarah's comments

On my desk? Lots of work binders and files, a stand up file holder that is jammed with way too many files- many of which could be put away but havent been... 2 antique chinese bowls that are used for paperclips etc, a custom glass box celebrating a client's recent achievement, 3 empty starbucks cups, a diet coke, a water bottle, tape, stapler, hole punch, pencil holder, desk lamp, phone, office supplies (phone, cell charger etc) and a series of CD's from a client that are supposed to be being reviewed at this moment but instead I am staring at my messy desk and feeling anxious about how fun I am... ANd being glad I have a big big desk to hold all this stuff.

Hi- It completely depends- what are you licensing? Art? Idea? Character? How developed is the property? Does it have commercial value on its own that would increase the value to the licensee? How are you structuring your contract- will you have an initial fee (common in licensing deals) and then a simple monthly royalty or a pay per use deal? Will there be backside points- based on revenue? How are you setting up tracking and accounting for each licensee? There are lots of different ways to do this. You need to figure out the value of the property, the number of potenial licensees, if there are territory issues and then you can set royalty %'s. Hope that helps!

1. Prompt answers and a firm bid
2. No laziness- if the person before you painted over paper border and you see it and dont want to deal with it so you paint over their paint you are NOT helping your client. They should be told and then they can decide what to do- even if it costs more.
3. Random subbing out is bad. We had our interior painted a few years ago, met one guy- he gave us bid, we signed with him. 2 days later a team of totally different guys show up and start painting. When I talked to the crew leader he said they were from a completely different company that had been subbed in by the guy we hired because he was so busy. Should have known when he rolled up to my house in an Escalade but figured he was just a good business man- this is not cool, if you are going to sub another company in for residential work you need to get the okay from the homeowner.
4. Dont make a huge mess. Be respectful of the space and if you take down the doors to spray them outside hang them back on the right doors or none of the guest room doors will close properly and you will have a pissed off client.

Find your niche. Figure out what your target market is and where your expertise, strengths and passion lie and go after those clients. It may be scary because you may think, "oh my, there are not enough of this sort of company. Or, there are already people in my field" but once you start building your reputation and having success your little world of influence will open and people will come to you. It is better to be fabulous at 1 thing than mediocre at 99 things. This was a hard lesson for me- when I first started I would take on clients no matter what- even if I didnt love their business model or if they were not in my area of expertise. Know when to turn someone down- refer them to another consultant, say you are not the best girl for the job. Once I started doing that I found that clients who are in my area came calling because I was directed at them, not all over the place. And then it grows from there.

We were married in Bellingham, at my parents house overlooking Pleasant Bay. It was fun, we were YOUNG (27), everyone had a fabu time, medium sized (170) and the best part was that we had small buses come and go from the reception to the hotel in town every 20 minutes so no one drove at all. Chuckanut is a scary road! This meant lots of merriment and probably too much champagne for most but people still talk about it 6 years later so it must have been the way to go. By the way, I did not love my flowers- my mom picked them all out after I had talked to the florist about what I wanted, and she listened to her, not me. So, when you talk to a bride, dont listen to her mother so much. All in all it was beautiful but it would have been more so with Green Hydrangeas and Sterling roses and not with whatever my mom picked - which I cant remember but do remember it being what not what I wanted. Oh, and our colors were celedon and white. :)

Thanks Jeff! I guess I never actually visit my own profile....

Where is the needs section? I am constantly in need of vendors for various clients and I just end up posting in the main chat area- I thought at one point there was a needs section but when I looked this AM to post for a caterer need I have I could not find it.... Does it have a random name?

Hi Joe- Just wondering- are you going to get one of those cool doors where your puppy wears a sensor on her collar and it only opens when she comes close to it? If you do, will you let me know if it works? We are considering that for our pup - we have racoons and other scary Ballardite inhabitants (giant squirrels) that we would not like to come IN to our house so a regular doggie door is out for us but I have seen these ones (my husband calls them star trek dog doors) and am dying to talk to someone who actually has one... Just wondering. :)

If you are absolutely sure of your travel dates and are not planning on changing them you could use a consolidator. I have heard of people using asaptickets.com with success but you can basically make NO changes once you purchase the tickets so sometimes that does not work for business travel. They are online but I think you have to call to actually buy them once you check out prices online. And, add a couple hundred to prices you see online as it doesnt include taxes or fees, but they still seem SUPER low to me- i was looking just yesterday for an upcoming flight to Moscow but couldnt handle the not being able to make any changes part of it.... I have used consolidators in the past back when I lived in NY though and it worked fine.

Hi Rebecca- Your bank can provide you with a signature stamp. This can be used for letters, checks etc. You just need to make sure you keep it in a safe place because it is considered a legal signature! It also allows others to stamp your name for you- which is great when you are sending out thousands of letters.

sure, keep me posted. Thanks!

Hi-

Another option if you need private space is ActivSpace. I am not sure if you are familiar with their buildings but it is pretty cool - lots of offices at low prices. I am in the building near the Zoo and really like it. I am on the non-Aurora side of the building and have a pretty tree, lots of shade and primarily all service professionals on my side of the building (no loud scary noises from machines). My office is pretty small - 11' x 10' but it is only $225/mo and that is a pretty good deal in this 'hood. They have larger and smaller spaces available as well. If you decide to look at the building and want to see a space actually in use feel free to stop by - I am in the directory there.

Hi-

No idea if it is too late to post this but I just saw it. I met a nice lady at a Seattle Chamber event whose company does just this-- which was a totally new business idea to me (at least) and I thought it was cool so kept her card.

The Plant Connection, Interior Plantscapes, Beth Dewey, 206.938.3384

Hi-

I would be interested. Many of my client companies cater to this market and I have been 'round the block with this particular set a time or two.. Would love to hear others input on the market. Let me know what would work for you and we can set something up. I am not sure of the protocol for setting an event but I am sure we can figure it out! :)

Hi-

I am not sure if this will help or if you have already tried this but I just finished a big project with Seattle Central Community College and got to know a lot about their culinary program during the course of the work. They have a pastry speciality and they seem to make a lot of chocolate within that program.... So, what I was thinking is you could use them as a recruiting source- either someone looking for PT now or who just graduated. Many of the students are 'returning' students so are more mature than your regular college kid and so may be better at the job stability aspect of things. Just an idea. Good Luck!

I use Dave Liatos as well and like him.

yes, breakfast is a great time to hold an event if you ask me.

Hi Tony-

I agree that you first need to identify your niche. Then you need to develop a business development plan on how you would like to attack that niche- do you have a marketing plan/budget? Are you bricks and mortar or web based? Do you have in-stock or virtual inventory? Are you planning to sell through several verticals or are you just direct to consumer? There are a million more details and questions you need to ask yourself and figure out in order to have a successful product launch but it sounds as if your heart is in it and I think that half the battle is knowing your product and that you have something unique to offer- now you need to channel that energy.

If you want to talk about ways to develop a plan etc please feel free to email or call me as I am always happy to work with other bizniks.

Thanks! Sarah Brand

Hi-

who is your gas provider? When we moved into our new house it had gas and a week or so after we moved Puget Sound Energy called us to welcome us home and say they had been the previous provider and would love to continue. After getting over the shock of them knowing who I was, what my phone number was etc after living in the house for 4 days I figured, why not. They are a great provider but they do not seem to do actual 'work' on the hard goods. When we wanted to add gas to our kitchen we called them and they recommended a contractor. We never went through with it (still waiting for the right time to go out and buy that gazillion dollar viking range i have my eye on) but they gave us 3 names to call of companies they had worked with in the past. You may just want to call them for a reference- esp. if you use them already..

Hi-

If you find one you like (either the one referred by Jan or someone else) could you ask them to join Biznik or refer them to me too. I am not quite ready to deal with all of that (but need to) and I am not totally into my current corporate lawyer and am not sure I want him to do this work for me. Thanks!!

If you are looking to license your product I may be able to help you. I consult with small to medium size companies for a variety of reasons, but one of my specialties is developing and negotiating licensing agreements. I am happy to offer you an hour of time at no cost to listen to you about what you are looking for, hoping for etc.