News-Press from Fort Myers, Florida • Page 93

ft NEWS -PRESS Mom KAMM COLUMN 2 BUSINESS BRIEFCASE 4 THE HOUSING SCENE 12 SUNDAY, MARCH 20, 1983 4 Em wsBits to IhiGlp businosss nisnspe Iittf By STEVE KASKOVICH News-Press Business Writer Recognizing a need to help business help itself, Edison Community College has started an Institute for Management Development designed to educate business owners and keep them out of bankruptcy court The local program is part of a national network of 251 two-year colleges which will offer low-cost business training. It will provide a clearinghouse for local business assistance, a library of information and classes on various management topics for businesses in Lee, Charlotte, Collier, Hendry and Glades counties. Anne Schroeder, ECC's coordinator of human resource development, said the program should help draw businesses and jobs to the area, provide data to help business operators make sound management decisions and reduce the number of business failures. The recession has caused record numbers of business failures nationally. Poor management is the No.

1 who may have the answer. Counseling will be available for the business owner who simply needs some guidance, not a particular course. Staff members from the University of Florida's Small Business Development Center and the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) will be available to provide assistance in financing, management, marketing and the use of computers in business and professional operations. Schroeder said once the program is in place, it can be expanded. Other counties have established programs including executive training courses for three levels of management and one put together a faculty resource guide, outlining each college faculty member and his or her fields of expertise.

A fund-raising program for the institute is planned after a full-time director has been appointed. And after the program gets off the ground, its sponsors hope it can run itself on the fees collected for courses offered. Mike Cochran, director of continuing education at ECC, said the institute has to reach beyond the courses and get into the community. Business operators who are in trouble have to know that the institute exists for it to be effective, he said. "It has to be an information referral service that right now the small business owner doesn't have," Cochran said.

"He may flounder and hot get help until it's too late." To reach the community, college officials have put together a mailing list of businesses. Each will be informed about the institute and asked what kind of courses and seminars it needs for its managers and employees. As part of the American Association of Community and Junior Colleges National Small Business Training Network, ECC must offer at least 20 programs in a calendar year, Cochran said, and will be open to suggestions. The college also will be able to utilize experts in business management in the retirement community, offering referrals from specific businesses to the cause of failure, Schroeder said, and is a problem locally. "About 80 percent of the jobs in Fort Myers are In small business.

We want to see ourselves as a catalyst, drawing the organizations together that are doing this work already," Schroeder said. "It seems there's an awful lot of Mom and Pop businesses in this area, and they all have expanded. They all don't know what to do." College officials recently met with representatives of local chambers of commerce to solicit support ECC president David Robinson said the program will be valuable in helping lure businesses and industries to Southwest Florida, because most inquiring about this area want to know what kind of business education is available. For the small business owner dealing with the forces of growth, the institute will offer courses in a variety of management areas such as employee relations, accounting and writing skills. Opportunity knocks for many in direct, shop-at-home sales COPING SYLVIA PORTER Tall order New WBBH-TV tower rises to challenge expansion By STEVE KASKOVICH News-Press Business Writer In a vacant vegetable field in southern Charlotte County stands the tallest structure in Southwest Florida.

Its tip rises higher than the twin antennae atop the 100-story John Hancock building in Chicago or the spire of New York City's Empire State But this structure has no office space or observatories on high only strobe lights so airplanes don't fly into it at night WBBH-TV, Channel 20, has invested $3.5 million in the structure a new television transmission tower which officials say will improve reception and make the channel accessible to thousands of additional viewers, The structure, held together with 13,597 bolts and battened to the landscape by 21 guy wires, is located off of State Road 31 north of the Lee County Civic Center. When It becomes operational in mid-April, the tower will boost WBBH's signal power 10 times, from 500,000 watts to 5 million watts. For the average viewer who has suffered through baseball games filled with static and snow, that means a clear picture with the aid of only a set of rabbit-ears, said Howard Hoffman, WBBH's general manager. "Basically, it will add approximately 100,000 viewers in the northern coverage area that really can't get us yet," said Hoffman. "In Lee County, it will greatly improve the overall signal throughout a large majority of our audience, particularly around Cape Coral and the beaches.

The most noticeable difference you'll have is you'll be able to pick us up with a minimum antenna." The tower will raise the station's signal to a strength comparable to that now offered by WINK-TV, Channel 11. Although WINK operates at only 316,000 watts and its tower stands 960 feet tall, its signal currently extends as far as WBBH's signal will go after the new tower is operational. Experts said WINK doesn't need as much juice as WBBH because WINK is on a lower frequency. WBBH officials have been working on the new tower for about five years, Hoffman, said. It replaces the station's present tower in Lehigh Acres, constructed in 1968 when the station was born.

In addition to increasing the strength of the station's signal, the tower will has technological features. One is a directional antenna which allows the See TOWER, page 18G If the long-enduring business downturn has added you to the number of unemployed, how about creating a job perhaps even a career for yourself in direct selling, the venerable method of selling directly to the consumer, primarily in homes? If you're a housewife or retiree looking for ways to supplement the family income, how about using your spare time to join the five million men and women in the $9-biIlion-a-year direct-sales field? Direct selling has been a growth industry since pioneer days. When conditions are good, the direct-selling business is good. When conditions are bad, the unemployed are attracted to the direct-sales field, too, swelling the ranks in the industry. Products sold, usually through visits to a prospect's home or at group home-sales parties, include cosmetics, cleaning products, housewares, vacuum cleaners, natural foods, health aids and brushes to mention only a sampling of the more popular items.

Many carry such familiar brand names as Avon, Mary Kay, Fuller Brush, Amway and Tupper-ware. Encyclopaedia Britannica, founded in 1768 and probably the oldest brand name in existence, is also sold door-to-door (as are other encyclopedias). Direct selling has strong appeals: You can set your own hours, work as long or little as you like. Nearly 90 percent of direct salespeople are part-timers. You can work out of your own home, and build a business with little or no capital or experience and you're your own boss, stresses Peter Norton, president of Britannica.

No special educational background or work experience is generally needed. You do need an ability to communicate with people. Age and sex are no barriers. At the age of 89, Harvey Kohr, who works out of Britannica's Long Island, N.Y., office (one of the company's 125 across the nation), is still out selling Britannlcas almost daily and recently racked up five sales in one week. Dozens of encyclopedia sales representatives are in their 70s.

College students also can be successful salesmen, earning in the five figures by putting in only 10 to 15 hours a week. Women have poured into the field, with 80 percent of the people In direct sales now women, reports the Direct Selling Association (DSA). A physical handicap is not a disqualification, either. More than 400,000 disabled individuals work in direct sales, says the DSA Nor is race or ethnic background a drawback. In fact, direct-sales spokesmen state they are seeking qualified salespeople who can reach the 14.6 million Hispanic Americans, the potentially lucrative Korean market, and other recent immigrants.

Incomes in the six-figure range are not unusual for full-time sales representativess, although the number of such big earners is relatively low and usually in supervisory or managerial positions. Part-timers' earnings depend on hours worked. Avon and Fuller Brush say their sales representatives net an average of $6 to $8 an hour. The earnings estimates of other companies range up to $20 to $25 an hour. Of course, direct selling is not for you if you're easily discouraged by rejection or periodic lagging sales, or if you don't like to call on people "cold." But if you do decide to give it a try: Scan the classified help-wanted newspaper ads.

Look in the telephone Yellow Pages for familiar products you might like to sell. Send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to the Direct Selling Association, 1730 SL, N.W., Washington, D.C 20036 for a list of its member companies and the products they sell. Be on guard if any Investment is required; reputable companies will buy back a $75 to $100 starter kit if you decide against the field. Find out about other out-of-pocket costs: travel, order forms, brochures. Watch out for "pyramid" schemes where your earnings depend on your ability to recruit other salespeople, not your sales of products.

Ask if you will be trained and earn as you train. Most reputable companies offer free training Try it out and see. w.m i- jpwi mi imp Jut, hW, 4r m- 1 News-PressKim Smith News-PressKim Smith WBBH TV-TOWER'S ANTENNA BEFORE INSTALLATION tower will boost station's signal power by 10 times 13,597 BOLTS HOLD TOGETHER TOWER Is north of the Lee County Civic Center, off State Road 31 YOUR A MONEY YOUR HOME the sun that it has a clearer and less green-colored appearance at the edges than conventional glass and that it transmits up to 90 percent of total solar energy. The glass is made by General Glass, 542 Main St, New Rochelle, N.Y. 10801.

WATER SAVER: A gadget that helps limit the. flow of water from a faucet Manufacturer's claim That this device aerates the flow of water so that washing and rinsing force is maintained, yet does not allow the flow to exceed 2.75 gallons per minute that a lever on the deluxe model has an on-off lever that allows the water to be shut off during dishwasher operations, shaving or toothbrush-ing, then returned to full force at the same temperature without readjusting the knobs and that the gadget is made of solid brass and dual-threaded to fit either kitchen or bathroom faucets. The water saver is made by by Resources Conservation, P.O. Box 71 Greenwich, Conn. 06836.

DRIFTWOOD DECORATING: If you find a piece of driftwood you'd like to make into a decorative piece, here's some advice. The beauty of driftwood is its coloring; any coating would change this. Generally, driftwood has lost its bark, which is where most Insects hide, and it can easily be inspected for insect holes. If there are many, immerse the piece completely in water for a week or longer. handle their overhead and rof it.

INSURANCE ADVICE: You may have special insurance needs if you sell products from your home. Your regular homeowner's policy probably doesn't include loss of product samples or liability in an accident. St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Co. now underwrites insurance against such occurrences.

No other company offers such a policy, says the Insurance Information Institute in New York. It's called distributor's insurance and rates begin at $90 a year for $100,000 liability coverage and $30 for $1,000 property coverage ($50 deductible). You can deduct the premium as a business expense. Only one agent sells the policy, but it can be filed for any state. You can contact: Terrance Espe-land, P.O.

Box 5789, San Jose, 95150. DOUBLE BENEFITS: You can reap a double reward with your spring cleaning: emptying your closets or attic as well as getting a tax deduction you may otherwise overlook. Collect old clothes, books and furniture and donate them to a thrift shop affiliated with a recognized charity. You can't donate your property to someone's garage sale and take a deduction, even if they give the proceeds to charity. A thrift shop will appraise the items and give you a receipt for the replacement value.

Many shops will ask you to specify that value yourself. Facts on factory-made homes A book written in 1979 by A. M. Watkins and published by Dutton has been published in paperback form by the Building Institute. It is called "The Com- plete Guide to Factory-Made Houses." A recent rereading showed it still holds up, although it must be considered that all dollar figures used were those of that year.

The Building Institute's address is 855 River Road, Piermont, N.Y. 10968. NEW ON THE MARKET: CLEAR GLASS: A clear glass that makes windows, skylights, residential solar greenhouses and south wall windows and glazings more energy-efficient Manufacturer's claim That the glass reduces the amount of sunlight absorbed within the glass by iron oxides and other impurities that its low-iron content lets in 16 percent more sunlight than ordinary glass and collects at least 25 percent more BTU's from Timeless tips on antique auctions If you're planning to buy antiques at an auction, here are some pointers from Bottom Line Information Scrutinize items carefully at the pre-sale exhibition. Bring along a tape measure and flashlight If wooden furniture has legs made of different wood than the rest of the piece, it may mean that It has been put together from a few items. The best months for bargains are June, July, August and December, typically the slowest months at auction houses.

Don't open the bidding or be overeager. Don't make rash bids. Auctioneers won't allow you to return items. You are responsible for your mistakes. Bring an expert along if you are unsure.

Don't be discouraged about bidding against dealers. Remember they have to buy low enough to Cheap air fares may fly out the window of deep discounts under the plan, consumers would end up paying higher fares in some major markets. The one-way fare between New York and Los Angeles, for example, would go to $423 from $399. On the New York-Nashville route, however, the one-way fare would drop from $223 to $205. 1 4 Inside G- -jg A plan by American Airlines to tie fares to distance traveled has won support of most of the nation's airlines.

While the airlines could benefit from the end 4 It 'I.