Reno Gazette-Journal from Reno, Nevada • Page 27

Small Business TUESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2003 RENO 5D Avoid a nightmare buying a business that is a loser 'Hi Many business owners decide to purchase a business rather than start one. A potential advantage of purchasing a business is that it is time tested the business provides a desirable product or service to customers and is profitable. One of the keys to a successful business purchase is to do extensive due diligence. Due diligence assists the buyer in avoiding a nightmare. Leonard, a client of our firm, purchased a business that sells specialized products locally and regionally.

Before he purchased the business, he asked for our advice on the business. We assisted Leonard with his due diligence enable it to offer new products with higher profit margins. The analysis showed that the company could increase sales by 14 percent per year for the next three years. Based on the due diligence analysis, Leonard purchased the business. The business has been operating profitably for the past seventeen months.

Scoff T. Wait is a business management consultant and a CPA practicing in Reno. Your comments, questions and business inquiries are welcomed to RS Wait, 6566 S. McCarran Ste Reno, NV89S09, (775) 82S-7337. E-mail Scott at stwwaitbigfoot.com or visit www.rswait.com the business's track record, business agreements, and reliability of the company's financial records, and we assessed the quality of the company's management.

In addition, we interviewed major vendors, checked the company's credit rating, investigated contracts with major customers, and reviewed the company's real estate lease agreement. The business appeared to be managed well, and the financial records seemed to reflect the overall health of the business. The external factors that we investigated included evaluation of the industry. The industry evaluation centered on the competitive environment and the industry's potential growth for the next five years. The competitor analysis involved reviewing major and fwtential competitors in the ocal and regional area.

We interviewed management about its existing competitors and interviewed competitors. We discovered the advantages and disadvantages the company held compared to major competitors. We spoke with management and competitors about potential competitors who may try to enter the industry. The analysis of potential industry growth included interviews with industry experts and industry statistics found in the local library and Internet sources. The analysis showed that there was minimal risk for new competition to enter the industry.

After reviewing the internal and external factors we prepared an analysis of the future for the business. The analysis included interviews with company management and a survey of the business's customers. The survey reported that the business's top brand name provided a significant advantage in the industry. The survey reported that 57 percent of the people recognizee! the business's products and that the business had a good reputation. The company's high quality image would Financial Advice SCOTT T.ft'fliT investigation which involved two areas the business's internal and external environment.

The internal factors in the business included operations investigation. The operations analysis focused on review of What you should know about shipping supplies Downtown Redevelopment 5 B1JB. 111 -I Bar DUSQL HB IH3BU 1 1 shipping and packaging '2 ai ft. a i.im" i 1 I II HI 1 1 1-ill if Alt Ml It AM HI Ail si mi lt(Hisr' Jit tx.ii 6 Marllyp NewtmReno Gazette-Journal SPACE AVAILABLE: While some shops along First Street have closed, other like La Busolla, seen in the reflection, remain open and prosperous. From ID or 13 years, so I've had that luxury" Polley said.

"We would like to have had all of those things downtown with millions of dollars of promotion. But it's realistic to know that the city doesn't necessarily have all of the dough that they would like to spend." He's glad to see the improvements that have been made so far and is willing to wait for the rest. "Redevelopment has a mission that they need to continue to go forward with," he said. "The empty lots need to continue to be developed and built up to bring more folks to downtown." Moving on Lee Reynolds, owner of Rad Betty's Clothing cited several problems that caused her business partner Liz Ganley and her to leave their previous Riverwalk location. "Our problems weren't just with downtown," Reynolds said.

"The building was in disrepair, too. They were both sort of a low grade of awful." Partially owned by VRG Management in Denver and Steve Biagiotti of Reno, the building is a popular spot for new, hip businesses. Misty Thompson of VRG said she was under the impression that they had addressed all of Reynolds' issues. "Some of her issues were just because it was an old building and things happen," Thompson said. She said the company makes quarterly trips to check on their Reno property.

Also moving from downtown is the River Galley owned by Ann Fullerton and Pam Bobay. They plan to close their 125 N. Sierra St. location and reopen around the middle of February on California Avenue. "Our lease was ending and we just have way too much space," Fullerton said.

"California Avenue may be a better fit for us with the museum and lunch crowds from the courthouse and business offices." California Avenue might also benefit from River Gallery, she said. "Not to be biased," Fullerton said. "But having the River Gallery up there will probably attract more retail." New to the neighborhood Jim Bell recently moved his business, Sierra Adventures, to the former Rad Betty's location at 254 W. First St. a supplies in multiple sizes and shapes to get our products safely across the country.

We're even seeing a few overseas orders online, so we need international shipping stuff too. And we want to experiment with different types to see what works best. Lastly we want it cheap. Have I asked too much? Shipping Supply Maniac Dear Maniac: No, you haven't asked too much. Shipping supplies are an overlooked area that can be important to a small business in several ways.

Image, for example. If your products arrive looking like secondhand store rejects, customers will notice. The outer package of whatever you send is a chance to make a good first impression. Inappropriate box sizes, haphazard wrapping and the like can signal a lack of professionalism. But even a home-based biz can display a slick image with a smalt investment in the right materials.

Cost is another reason shipping supplies count. Many small businesses overspend on shipping supplies because they simply are not paying attention. Buying the right sizes in the right quantities from a shipping supply specialist can save you money and make you look good. But finding the bags, boxes and other materials that work best for you might require a little experimentation. Try ordering small quantities to test.

If they don't look or work like you hoped, some suppliers will take them back. Shipping supply specialists also offer a far greater selection than do general office supply outlets such as Staples or Office Depot. Here are some resources that can satisfy just about any packaging need or issue your business may have: Uline is just plain stunning for its completeness BizBest DRHIEI KEHBEB and efficiency in the shipping supply business. This family-owned and operated company was started by Liz and Dick Uihlein from the basement of their home in 1980. Today they are tops in the country.

Their selection includes thousands of items over 1,000 sizes of shipping boxes alone. Uline has distribution centers near Chicago, Minneapolis, Newark (NJ), Los Angeles, Atlanta and Dallas, so your supplies get to you fast and at a low cost. Dick and Liz say they won't carry anything they wouldn't use themselves. Ordering is easy by fax, phone or Internet. You can talk to a live person 247 to place an order.

And 99.5 percent of orders placed by 6 p.m. are shipped the same day. They'll let you try any product for 30 days. If you're not satisfied, return it for a full refund. Free sport-themed hat or clothing item with orders over $300.

BizBest ActionGuide: Call (800) 958-5463 or visit www.uline.com. Need temperature controlled materials? TCPReliable Inc. is a specialist in this area. Visit www.tcpreliable.com or call (888) TCP-3393. Daniel Kehrer whose column runs every Tuesday on the Small Business page is the editor of BizBest (www.bizbest.com), which rates and analyzes small business resources and publishes ad-free solutions directories.

E-mail your questions to aanbizbest.com. "We knew we would have to move eventually," Hall said. "The shop was really small and we have better foot traffic here." Businesses have to stay awhile to develop when it comes to a First Street location, he said. "It seems like this area was going to take off," Hall said. "The Bugilee Bistro and the outdoor adventure place, it's a perfect fit." The future Reno Redevelopment Association administrator Peter Gillon said redevelopment plans are in the works and looking up.

"For the southwest corner (of First and Sierra streets), we intend on taking a disposition and development agreement to the board in January for a retail development which would include three or more retail food establishments," Gillon said. "It's 5,000 square feet of retail space." Also on the agenda are proposals for the "midblock" project on the southeast corner of First and Sierra. Gillon hopes to complete a deal for 87 condo units and another 20,000 square feet of retail space. Since Dharma Books relies to a certain extent on Web-based sales, Hall's concerns over bringing in traffic through redevelopment aren't as pointed as others. But that doesn't mean he's sure the venture will work out.

"In the long term, redevelopment is important," he said. "If the city really wants to see (businesses) stay, they have to work with them." "The landlords were happy to have me open, they had several people looking at this spot," Bell said. "They picked me to come in here." He had been looking for a better location for awhile. "Coming into this was a hard decision for me," Bell said. "I'm risking a lot moving down here and I knew going in that within 30 days it would be my slow season." He moved to West First in the fall from a site on Center Street near the freeway.

He is counting on snow seekers to keep him going until he can take advantage of the available summer activities in the region. Bell rents and sells outdoor equipment at his store. He also plans, books and guides outdoor adventures for clients. "The other location cost a little more than one-third of what it is here," he said. "It was in a pretty bad area and I wanted to be close to river access for the foot traffic." The business he expected from curious passersby hasn't materialized yet and with $2,000 due every month for rent and his life savings going fast, he said he has to book some adventurers.

Still, he said he is excited about the possibilities available in the region for thrill-seekers and adventurers and hopes he can hold out until the public catches on. "Ballooning, river rafting, mountain biking, soaring It's all within an hour of here," he said. Optimism is also key for Dharma Books ownersjHall and Cheron Taylor. They moved to a Century Riverside shop in June from a spot at Victorian Square in Sparks. WilliamsSilver Legacy's Carano spent time under her tutelage past chairman of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Foundation Board of Trustees.

Along with Harrah's Las Vegas, Williams is still chairwoman of Nevada Commerce Bank, and has been on the boards of the American Bank of Commerce and the First Security Bank of Nevada. She was on the board of Reno-based International Game Technology for a dozen years, and was a commissioner for the Nevada Commission on Tourism for almost 15 (until just last year), among many, many other organizations. Her charitable contributions to education, children's causes, health associations, community groups, travel boards and arts groups are simply too numerous to list in this space. Although she's happy to recount the old days, she'll have none of the talk of old-timers who say casinos just aren't what "She made all of us men love her and respect her," said Satre, 30 years her junior. "We knew we nadto respect her because she ran the business so well, and she really taught us what customers expected from us as executives." It's not just the gaming industry that she has lent her business acumen to.

Williams is on or has been on so many different boards of directors that her biography reads like a listing of the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce (where she has served on the government affairs committee and its board of advisers). "She loves Nevada and she loves Las Vegas," Satre said. "They've been good to her and she's been good to them." Williams was the first woman elected chairman of the board of a bank in the state of Nevada and the firstwoman inducted into the national Gaming Hall of Fame. She's a founding member and they used to be, that operators used to really take care of their customers and that Wall Street has made the Strip in to an overblown amusement park. "Listen, these are the good old days," Williams corrected a newcomer to the business recently.

"These are the wonderful days. I think we have the best hotels in the world in this state. Each customer when you entei; you're the king." It sounds like tough talk, but it was uttered in a mild, rellxed drawl that recalled her Louisiana roots. Her personality is anything but a seen-it-all, hard-as-nails type, those who know her say. "She is just the picture of elegance," said Chris Chrystal, media relations manager for the Nevada Commission on Tourism.

"She's something else, I tell ya. She walks into a room, and boy, you just want to know her." country after federal anti-gambling laws started to be enforced. Perhaps unwittingly at first, Williams and her husband played a large part in getting the ball rolling toward a Las Vegas where banks started giving legitimate loans and, eventually, gained the attention of Wall Street investors. The sale to billionaire Hughes, for instance, was more than just a nifty historical footnote. The thinking is that Hughes, for all his legendary eccentricity, had no need for the mob because of his virtually bottomless bathrobe pockets.

Williams herself, though, was business savvy from an early age, opening the Bonita Club Galveston, Texas just after World War II. She married Shelby in 1950. In the early '60s, Williams said federal officials made her business almost impossible to run, prompting the couple's move to Las Vegas. "I don't think the true story of Las Vegas was ever written," Williams told the Las Vegas Review-Journal earlier this year. "A lot of bad things did happen back in those days (with the mob), but they were so glad to be operating legally, they did great things for this town." Surviving and thriving in a Wild West atmosphere like that, it's no wonder Williams shrugs off references to her breaking through what is still often referred to as an "old boys' club" within the gaming no all the departments including the accounting department." In 1983, after Shelby Williams' death, the resort was sold and eventually became Har-rah's Las Vegas, which to this day maintains one of the highest levels of slot machine revenues in town, long after much larger mega-resorts have been erected along the Strip.

"Claudine, like us, believed in the slot player," said Phil Satre, chairman of the board at Har-rah's Entertainment Inc. Satre, like many before him and many after, learned much of the gaming business from Williams. Well into her 80s, she still maintains a key role as a Las Vegas power broker through longstanding friendships at every level of the business. Satre pointed out, for instance, that she was instrumental this year in helping facilitate a planned $1.45 billion deal for the acquisition of Horseshoe Gaming Holding Corp. by Harrah's.

"Jack Binion (the 66-year-old owner of Horseshoe) always introduces me as the woman he's known since he was eight years old," Williams said, laughing. "I tell him I don't appreciate that very much." But anyone with any knowledge of Las Vegas history knows Williams has seen it all or at least most of it. She and her husband came into town when it was largely controlled by mobsters who had relocated from other parts of the FromID the 24-hour, seven days a week buffet. Williams recalled that back in the '60s, a tapped-out gambler could still score a big breakfast for 49 cents, lunch for 79 cents and dinner for $1.17. "That really brought them in," she said, in characteristic understatement.

In the early '70s, the couple opened the Holiday Casino, a hangout for politicians, casino executives and celebrities. The casinowasattachedtowhatwas, for years, the largest Holiday Inn in the world, Williams said. "They had in those days one of the most fun and most high-energy casinos on the Las Vegas Strip," said Gary Carano, general manager of the Silver Legacy Resort Casino in downtown Reno. "They ran a true gambling casino, and they ran an operation that demanded quality of guest service for the players, and they had the best odds on the Strip for the gamblers. They had the best drinks and great food.

They had the original hasics that made one helluva gambling joint." Carano was sent to Vegas by his father, Don Carano, in the late '70s to learn the casino business inside and out. The elder Carano's law partner, Bob McDonald, was once a partner in the Holiday Casino with (now Reno Mayor) Bob Cashell, among other notables. "They treated me like their own son," Gary Carano said. "They put me through a training program through the entire casi- Gilbert By Scott Adams THESE DAYS YOU CAN'T SHAKE A TREE WITHOUT THREE OR FOUR ENGINEERS FALLING OUT. THE WOODS ARE FULL OF PEOPLE WHO WANT YOUR JOB.

I LOVE TO STAY AND CHAT BUT I NEED TO GO MOTIVATE THE OTHER HEADCOUNTS..