Tag Business on Target

Jon Silberman on the State of Houston’s Real Estate Market

0 comments By TRMoore Filed in General Tagged with , , , , October 31st, 2011 @ 11:35 am

Meet NAI Houston's Jon Silberman at the Business on Target workshop on Nov. 3.

Working for more than 25 years in the Houston real estate market, NAI Houston’s Jon Silberman, Co- Managing Partner, combines industry knowledge with his own entrepreneurial experience when working to meet client objectives. Silberman also applies this mindset to his role as an executive advisory board member for the recently established Graduate Real Estate Program at the University of Houston’s C.T. Bauer School of Business. A Business on Target workshop sponsor who will speak at the university on Nov. 3, Silberman explains the state of Houston’s booming real estate industry, its challenges and more:

  1. Tell us what you do for business owners.
    We work with businesses in the Houston and surrounding areas, providing global corporate real estate services based on clients’ needs and objectives. Our clients range from businesses with 20 employees to Fortune 100 companies seeking to  lease, buy, sell, build  or expand their office and industrial facilities.  Services range from single transactions to exclusive global real estate service agreements.
  2. What is currently trending in your industry?
    The Houston market is in somewhat of an upswing since its downturn a couple of years ago, which is being primarily driven by the expanding energy companies. Many growing businesses are in need of more space, whether it’s expanding domestically or internationally. Faster-growing international economies coupled with technology make global growth more feasible for many companies.Another trend is the impact technology has on the use of office space. Employees can just plug in their laptop and work from home or at the client site, resulting in less space being required at the corporate office. This trend has had a positive impact on clients because they can cut office space  costs and be more efficient. However, managing remote employees continues to be a challenge.
  3. What is the best piece of business advice you have ever been given?
    At the end of the day, it’s always about the people. At NAI Houston, we’ve built a culture that’s centered on working hard and having fun. Business owners should always remember that a company’s culture is what allows the organization to grow and attract and retain quality people.
  4. What are some common barriers to success you see with your clients?
    I think right now everyone is dealing with some uncertainty. While the Houston market is doing well, that’s not the case for the rest of the country. So, business owners still raise concerns and are not completely confident about the next few years.
  5. Who would you most like to meet and why?
    I would’ve liked to have met Steve Jobs. He was just such a creative guy, and I’d really like to know where and how he formulated ideas. For instance, what was his vision when creating products that made them so different, easy to use and simple, yet so unique? I’d like to know the answer to that question.

Jon Silberman is Co-Managing Partner at NAI Houston. You can hear him and Principal Griff Bandy speak at the Business on Target workshop on Nov. 3. Read more and register by contacting Melinda Genitempo or Geoff Gallo at 713.789.7077 or via email. Jon can be reached at 713.985.4620 or via email.

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One on One With Integrity Bank’s Charlie Phillips

0 comments By TRMoore Filed in General Tagged with , , , , , October 7th, 2011 @ 5:23 pm

Meet Integrity Bank's Charlie Phillips at the Business on Target workshop on Nov. 3.

As Senior Vice President at Integrity Bank, Charlie Phillips opens the doors for business owners to seize opportunities, while also providing the resources to keep them ahead of the game. With more than 20 years in the banking industry, Phillips applies what he’s learned personally and professionally to help business owners who sometimes get left in the dark.  A Business on Target workshop sponsor, Phillips shares the importance of having trusted advisors and more:

  1. Tell us what you do for business owners.
    We offer commercial and personal banking services, primarily for privately held businesses in Houston. As a small bank, we are able to work with our customers on a one-on-one basis and assist them in making informed business decisions. We can consider a company’s situation, the type of deal they are aiming toward and the owner’s personality. Being a one-bank location, we are still able to offer commercial products, such as resolving lines of credit, real estate loans and treasury management services. Also a main goal is being a resource provider for business owners. If our customers need guidance on the legal, insurance or accounting side, we connect them with those resources.
  2. Tell us about a breakthrough moment you’ve recently had with a client, where you really accomplished something great for the business together.
    We’ve recently gained new clients that were previously with banks that were focused solely on 2010 financials. Although these clients were trending downward in 2010, there was not much consideration given to 2011 numbers, and as a result were asked to “move out.” Fortunately, we’ve been able to pick up great, solid customers who are beginning to experience an upward trend. When we meet with customers seeking a line of credit or terms to buy more equipment for production because they are experiencing increased revenues and receivables, we view this as a positive opportunity for both the client and our bank.
  3. What is the best piece of business advice you have ever been given?
    Try to do it right the first time. This is something I didn’t realize until a couple of years ago when I started my own business on the side. Being a banker, I thought, “I can handle issues myself.”  Six months down the road, I realized that I needed to consult with an accountant and gain legal advice, because I was not making the best business decisions. Therefore, I always advise clients to consult with their advisors first—whether it’s talking to your accountant about tax planning, or your attorney about building the correct company structure. Use your resources when making big business decisions, because to go back and do it correctly will cost more than doing it right the first time.
  4. What are some common barriers to success you see with your clients?
    Right now, many companies are having issues with financing or obtaining loans.  If a business is experiencing growth, they need more financing. Businesses that trended downward and struggled with increasing revenues are having difficulties obtaining loans.  Although we see an upturn in revenues, we also have to consider areas such as income, balance sheets, assets and cash flow before making a decision. As much as we’d love to help, unfortunately, sometimes we have to turn businesses down.
  5. What do you consider your greatest achievement?
    Aside from my family, a great achievement would be the success and growth we’ve had at Integrity Bank. We opened our doors in 2007 and managed to raise $30 million right before the economy collapsed. Even during this downtown, we had no loan issues, remained profitable and continued to grow at a rapid pace. If you look at the larger banks that struggled the past few years, the odds of a bank our size succeeding were very slim, but we managed to stay afloat.  As a team, we hope to continue growing and increasing the value for our shareholders.

Charlie Phillips is a Senior Vice President at Integrity Bank. You can meet him and hear more from the bank at the Business on Target workshop on Nov.3, where Senior Vice President Hazem Ahmed will speak. Read more and register by contacting Melinda Genitempo or Geoff Gallo at 713.789.7077 or via email. Charlie can be reached at 713.335.8706 or via email.

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Jennifer Mailhes Talks Baseball & Accounting Basics

0 comments By TRMoore Filed in General Tagged with , , , , , , September 6th, 2011 @ 11:06 am

Hear more from Jennifer Mailhes at our Boost Your Business Value Boot Camp on May 10

If you’ve met Jennifer Mailhes, you probably recognized quickly that she’s not your typical CPA. From an accounting generalist background to a partner role at TR Moore & Company, Mailhes’ experience has resulted in a unique ability to relate to the business owner and the CFO/controller alike – a strength that has earned the trust of clients who consider her part of their management team. Also a marathon runner and avid sports fan, this Boost Your Business Value Boot Camp series speaker shares her insight on cash flow challenges, how business is like baseball and more:  

  1. What inspired you to choose your profession?
    My first job out of college was working as an auditor for an accounting firm that also had our department focusing on tax work.  I gained a well-rounded background in that environment, and eventually morphed into the person who took on special projects. After doing that for nearly five years, I felt consulting was the next logical and natural step for me. Today, I enjoy providing clients with more than a hindsight view of their financials; I not only help them put the metrics in place to monitor how the business is tracking, but also understand those results so they can make better decisions about the future.
  2. What are you reading right now?
    I’m actually reading Moneyball by Michael Lewis for the second time. I went to an Astros game with a client who mentioned that a movie was being made based on this book, and now I’m reading it again out of curiosity as to how that can be done.  In reading it again, I’ve noticed that this book is basically about key performance indicators, but in baseball terms. The whole premise is treating baseball like a business by ignoring conventional wisdom and assumptions and instead measuring the right things that  really drive player performance.In the book, the Oakland A’s organization actually tracked and valued alternative characteristics that enabled them to be a competitive team at one-third the payroll of the New York Yankees. Usually, the examples with our clients are not quite this extreme, but the point is that by focusing the indicators of a business on the aspects you have to get right, versus what you think you should track, can create great efficiency and savings.
  3. Tell us about a breakthrough moment you’ve had with a client, where you really accomplished something great for the business together.
    I had a client who owned two companies, but was actively involved in only one business. The other business was run by the controller, who handled the day-to-day functions, including the accounting work. The company purchased an accounting system, but wasn’t satisfied with the seller nor how the system was implemented.  I put on my problem-solving cap, learned the software and helped the controller understand the system and effectively use it to better manage the company’s processes. She was a bit technology adverse, and at the time, would not even keep a computer in her office.  When I noticed that she had finally moved the computer into her office, I knew that we had achieved something big. She mentioned to me how much she enjoyed only working 40 hours a week as opposed to the 50 to 60 hours she worked before we improved her efficiencies.
  4. What is currently trending in your industry?
    I’m seeing a lot of my clients’ businesses picking back up, which is causing their cash flow to be tight. The impact has been both positive and negative, because while businesses are more profitable, they are having trouble figuring out how to fund increased sales.The key to overcoming this challenge is proactive planning. I have a client who has to order more product overseas and in larger quantities to keep his margins up. We conducted cash-flow planning to stagger purchases in a way that doesn’t eat up his cash and worked with him and his banker to increase his line of credit. This helped him reduce his cash requirements, ensure things were being funded correctly, gain terms when possible and really think through the whole cash management cycle (more about this at our Sept. 29 workshop).
  5. Your workshop sponsorship is helping to fund a scholarship for the University of Houston’s Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship. Do you have advice for aspiring business owners?
    At a minimum, review your financials on a monthly basis and review reports with your management team. This will enable you to create plans for action and follow-up, as well as accountability for activities discussed in meetings. Talk to business owners in your desired field, develop an advisory board, attend networking events and, most importantly, plan by function, not by person.

As the Consulting Partner at Doeren Mayhew firm TR Moore & Company, Jennifer Mailhes assists business owners and their management teams in areas such as strategic planning, CFO services and accounting analysis, and business advisory services. Hear more from her at our Boost Your Business Value Boot Camp: The Profitability Factor on May 10. Read more, and register by contacting Melinda Genitempo or Geoff Gallo at 713.789.7077 or info@trmoore.com.

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Chad Bowser on Attracting the Banker’s Eye

1 comment By TRMoore Filed in General Tagged with , , , , , September 2nd, 2011 @ 10:49 am

Hear more from Green Bank's Chad Bowser at the Business on Target workshop on Sept. 29.

Joining Green Bank nearly five years ago, Chad Bowser serves as a Vice President of Commercial Lending, providing financial solutions to Houston-area business owners. A Business on Target workshop speaker and graduate of the University of Houston’s school of business, Bowser attributes his passion as a commercial banker to his ability to work with businesses to fund company growth. His advice for aspiring and experienced entrepreneurs alike? “Surround yourself with trusted advisors.” Bowser explains obstacles some financial institutions are facing, how it affects business owners and more:
  1.  Tell us what you do for business owners?
    I provide business owners with depository, cash management and/or lending solutions to help their businesses operate efficiently and grow.
  2. What is currently trending in your industry?
    Government regulation has increased over the past two years, which has subjected financial institutions to closer scrutiny as well. This can have a negative effect on some companies because it may limit their access to bank funds.
  3. Tell us about a breakthrough moment you’ve recently had with a client, where you really accomplished something great for the business together.
    We recently established a $60 million deposit relationship with a software company, assisting with withholding bankruptcy trustee deposits. This resulted in a new product offering for Green Bank and additional employee capital to meet all of the client’s needs.  And, the bank is still interested in growing its client deposit base.
  4. What are the most common obstacles your clients face?
    Banks consider many variables when prospects and clients are seeking debt, including historical and current financial information, such as balance sheets, income statements, accounts receivables and accounts payables.  In the last few years many businesses were affected by the slowdown in the economy, and even though expense cuts were made, many experienced a negative impact.  Now that the market is picking up, they’re seeking debt assistance to operate and grow, but due to a lack of historical earnings, are having difficulty getting bank approvals.  Therefore, it is really important for business owners to find a financial institution willing to listen to their story.
  5. Who would you most like to meet and why?
    I would have liked to have met the early business leaders of Houston. They were instrumental in bringing the city through the Depression and laid the foundation for the city we have today.

Chad Bowser is the Vice President of Commercial Lending at Green Bank, where he assists business owners in obtaining funds for company growth. You can hear more from him at the Business on Target workshop on Sept. 29. Read more and register by contacting Melinda Genitempo or Geoff Gallo at 713.789.7077 or info@trmoore.com.  Chad can be reached at 713.275.8247 or via email.

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On Target With Seyfarth Shaw’s Anthony Newton

0 comments By TRMoore Filed in General Tagged with , , , , , August 26th, 2011 @ 5:38 pm

Meet Anthony Newton at the Business on Target workshop on Sept. 29.

As Partner at law firm Seyfarth Shaw, Tony Newton advises mid-sized businesses in the mergers and acquisitions process, helping entrepreneurs exit with minimal liability and maximum value.  His motive?  Helping business owners (like his parents) make informed decisions, start in the right direction and stay on track.  A Business on Target workshop sponsor, Newton provides insight on current M&A activity and more:

  1. What is currently trending in your industry? Has it made a positive or negative impact on your clients?
    The M&A cycle has been up and down for about three years, and what we’re seeing is a lot of earnouts, which means the seller is paid a certain amount of money now, and if the company achieves what the business owner has projected in the near term, additional purchase price is paid.There can be both a positive and negative impact based on the state of your business at the end of the transaction.  For example, if you believe your company is worth $10 million, but a buyer is only willing to give you $7 million now, you may consider it negative that you’re not receiving what you think it’s worth up front.  At the same time, the business still has an opportunity to command full value if the anticipated projections are met at the end of the transaction.
  2. What inspired you to choose your profession?
    It gives me the opportunity to help people.  A common statement I hear from clients is, “If I’d had known this, I would have made other decisions and run my business in the marketplace differently.”  So, whether it’s working with a business owner to liquidate his life’s work or assisting with an acquisition, helping the business owner exit on his terms is what I enjoy most.
  3. What are you reading now? Do you have any recommended reading for business owners?
    Right now, I’m reading Dr. Seuss with my 5-year-old son, but an interesting book I’ve read is Liar’s Poker: Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street by Michael Lewis.  The book considers four perspectives on the recent real estate market and how they were able to make a lot of money through the Wall Street crash in 2008.  These characters anticipated the real estate bubble to burst and it was very interesting to read their perspectives on how they figured out it.  I learned that if you walk with your eyes open, are able to spot the bubble and react properly, you may actually gain from it.
  4. What is the best piece of business advice you have ever been given?
    “There is no such thing as luck.”  Practicing law is like having my own business, so I have to treat my profession as a mini-business within a bigger business.  As a business owner, when you hit the intersection between hard work and opportunity, make sure you’re being responsive, focusing on growth and taking care of your customers.  In the end, opportunities will come your way, and your business will be in a position to take advantage of them.
  5. Your workshop sponsorship is helping to fund a scholarship for the University of Houston’s Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship. Do you have advice for aspiring business owners?
    Conduct market research and study your demographics so you can make an informed decision on what you’re going to do with your business, where you’re going to put it and who you’re going to target.  The key to business success is being as prepared as possible.

Anthony Newton is a Partner at Seyfarth Shaw, where he specializes in mergers and acquisitions and taxation. You can meet him at the Business on Target workshop on Sept. 29. Read more and register by contacting Melinda Genitempo or Geoff Gallo at info@trmoore.com or 713.789.7077.  Anthony can be reached at 713.238.1812 or via email.

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