Paladin and Associates is an executive team that creates business strategy to eliminate strategic and operational roadblocks and puts companies on the path towards achieving business success.

Connor’s Kits for Kids

Bill Warner Friday, July 30, 2010

The STEM (Science, Technology, Education and Math) education initiative is certainly gaining momentum throughout North Carolina. Without realizing it, Connor Bernstein started down the same path of being a leader in science education from the time he was in the fourth grade. Now, at fifteen, Bernstein is an emerging entrepreneur with exciting science project kits for kids of all ages; including adults that think like kids.

The mission of Bernstein's company, Kits For Kids, is to show kids just how much fun science can be with simple, focused, teacher and kid friendly science kits and activities. Bernstein says, “It’s important to give all kids the chance to find their place in the world of science. Science can sometimes seem complicated and mysterious, like it’s only for certain kinds of people. That’s definitely not true! I believe we can never have enough experimenters and innovators. Inspiring our next generation of scientists with exciting, hands on experiences at an early age is what I’m all about. I mean, what’s better than having fun while you’re learning?”

 

Bernstein founded Kits for Kids when he was in the fourth grade, because he was frustrated with the science kits he bought in stores. He says, “I’ve been playing with science kits and experiments since I was little. I look at things and wonder, why does that happen or how does that work, so it was frustrating when my teachers couldn’t always answer my questions, or when science kits ran out of materials before I was finished experimenting with them. I finally decided to see what I could do about that, and in third grade I began making science experiments and showing them to friends who thought they were really cool. By fourth grade, my love of teaching and my love of science came together when I started Connor’s Kits for Kids. Today, kids all over the country are using my kits and having fun with science! My allowance friendly kits help kids learn about science with awesome, focused experiments, lots of materials, and easy to follow instructions with clear explanations. In fact, I include such a generous amount of materials it’s like getting two kits for the price of just one!”

 

Bernstein is truly a unique individual. His curiosity is boundless and his energy is seemly unlimited. Bernstein can be found teaching science to school children, as they learn how to make Slime, create Plant Pals and discover Insta-Pets. All of this and more is out of Bernstein’s innovative mind. Remarkably, he has conducted team building sessions for small businesses, having them all make Slime together. Fun stuff!! He says, “I know that inspiring the next generation of scientists starts with positive science experiences at an early age. That’s why I raise funds so I can visit elementary and middle school classrooms at no cost to teachers and lead exciting science activities with students. I also speak to students about the importance of entrepreneurship and the pursuit of life goals.”

But, this is a business. Bernstein has pulled together the marketing program, science project design, packaging, raw material supply, manufacturing and assembly of his innovative science kits. He has sold hundreds of them, and is ramping up to sell thousands with the help of his new website and manufacturing operations.He is running an increasingly complex and rapidly expanding retail business, and has yet to graduate from high school.

 

Bernstein has big dreams of being a successful entrepreneur that brings value to society through science education. As a high school senior (Yes, a 15 year old senior) at Hawbridge Charter High School in Saxapahaw, NC, he plans to go onto college to further pursue his dream. In fact, he is getting a head start on that by already completing college Chemistry, Biology and Launching the Venture.

 

His mom has supported him the whole way. She's helped him develop the skills needed to build his company and stay organized. She's also helped troubleshoot issues, and of course, driven him to meetings and places he needs to be. Thanks to his devoted mom and dad's financial sacrifices, he’s been able to afford the costs associated with building his business.

 

If Connor Bernstein can do all of this himself, with his parent’s devoted help, think what could happen if he got some help from others. He has gotten professional business help and meets with them regularly. Keep an eye on this entrepreneur. He is going to be one of our leading business people in North Carolina.

 

I suggest that the education innovators of North Carolina learn some things from Connor Bernstein about how to bring science to kids in innovative and effective ways.

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We Need More New Companies

Bill Warner Sunday, July 11, 2010

Sometimes I just sit back in my chair and yell at the ceiling. "What the blazes are we doing in this economic recovery?"  We are making no progress and simply growing the government sector that produces nothing that represents lasting economic growth. The administration and Congress are deploying ideas that have not ever worked, both in this country as well as Europe and others.

I am no economist or expert in government, but a key part of the solution seems so apparent to me. We need to foster new business growth by taking the actions necessary to create new businesses through a revitalization of entrepreneurship in America. At the heart of American jobs and economic success is the small business. We need to be doing the things that create lasting viability of small businesses and enable them to prosper.

There's a good article on this in Inc. called Revitalizing the American Dream. Take a look at it each of the sixteen steps for revitalization and see if you agree. The ideas are quite doable but don't go far enough:

  • Entrepreneurship should be taught in our high schools, community colleges and universities. We need a new mindset that reflects that going into business for yourself is a fine undertaking, but we need to teach our young people how to do it for real. This would be a monumental undertaking by our school systems, requiring leadership that can make it happen.

  • Incubators are fine, but they have to be staffed by real business people that can tap into the entrepreneur's local community. We need to go beyond the limits of incubators and provide pervasive mentoring for entrepreneurs. We need to tap into the wealth of business knowledge that resides with senior business people. Thanks to medical science, we live well into our 70's, leaving many years for retired business people to coach and mentor entrepreneurs. We have a wealth of knowledge that can be put to work to mentor aspiring entrepreneurs. Take a look at EntreDot, an organization that is trying to foster mentorship.

  • Government needs to get out of the way, but also enable the way. A partial list of what is needed  is as follows:

    • Provide tax credits for business investment.

    • Reduce the capital gains tax, if not eliminate it all together.

    • Reduce taxation on business. We are the second most highly taxed nation in the world, and people wonder why businesses leave the US. Watch the economy flourish at a 15% tax rate on businesses.

    • Reduce and eliminate non-productive regulation; including Sarbanes Oxley, OSHA, FDA, healthcare, banking and environmental to name a few that add tremendous cost to business operations.

    • Free up angel investor organizations and micro-angel funds from caps on their returns and fees. In addition to grants, this is where the seed money for businesses comes from.

    • Government backed education loans for small business programs, but phased out once the private sector can finance this.

    • In addition to grant programs provide equity investment in early stage companies

All tax reduction actions have to be coupled with government spending reductions. A task that should be quite easy by laying a copy of the Constitution next to the budget and start making cuts to all those things that government should not be involved in.

A tremendous economic boost would come from effective action to become energy independent by aggressively exploiting our own oil and gas capacity nationwide. Watch the price of energy drop if we did that; further accelerating company profits.

Basically, we have to let Americans do what they do best. Innovate. Our uniqueness lies in our freedom and an economy based on capitalism. Sure, we make lots of mistakes and the going is rough, but it sure beats any other alternative I have seen from any other country or society ever.

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John Draper - Champion of the Entrepreneur

Bill Warner Sunday, July 11, 2010

Every day of his life, John Draper had time for an entrepreneur who needed help. Now we have lost John to an untimely death, but his influence on the world of entrepreneurs will long be felt.

I am proud to have known John from the time he started the rejuvenation of the First Flight Venture Center in Research Triangle Park. From the first day I met him he always wanted to know how he could make First Flight a success. He wanted to know how to approach state government with a positive message about the future of First Flight. He wanted to meet the movers and shakers in the area. He had a flood of new ideas coming out of his head on how to help entrepreneurs create successful businesses. To say that John had energy is an understatement. He was a gusher of compassion, advocacy and innovation when it came to finding ways to help entrepreneurs.

My closest relationship with John was on the board of the Triangle Accredited Capital Forum, a local angel investor network. John was one of the original board members who helped us establish our founding principles and was a day-to-day critic of where we needed to focus. He was always available to coach the entrepreneurs through their business plan presentations and would go the extra mile or two to help them meet people they needed to meet. We had some heated debates about the viability of businesses that approached us, and in every case John spoke from his love for the entrepreneur and his sincere interest in helping them be successful.

Our hearts and prayers go out to John's family as they deal with John's passing. John will be greatly missed in our community.

There will be a memorial service and celebration of John's life on Tuesday, July 13th, from 3:00 to 6:00 pm, at the First Flight Venture Center at 2 Davis Drive in RTP.

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The Alternative Board

Bill Warner Friday, April 23, 2010

I recently had the opportunity to sit in on a meeting of The Alternative Board (TAB) in Research Triangle Park. We have all been to all sorts of networking meeting and events as well as executive round-tables. All of them are "nice to meet you" and "want to get to know you" kind of encounters. But, TAB is different.

TAB is not a "soft drink"

TAB groups are invitation-only organizations of peer business owners who want to have a serious conversation about how to grow their businesses. Business owners and executives are led by an experienced facilitator who has extensive experience in executive coaching. During a half-day meeting every month, the group of peer business executives conducts well structured discussions about specific business issues that each of them have.

OK, that's the easy part. These discussions have a serious intent. The peers act as they would if they were the board of directors of the company who has an issue under discussion. The business owner is given time to explain their business issue and its significance to the company. The peers then ask questions for further clarification, without making judgments. Once the issue is clarified, the board then gives advice. Quite frankly, the business owner needs to fasten their seat belt, because this part of the agenda is characterized by highly focused straight talk without any sugar coating.

The business owners get some very valuable and unfiltered feedback that they will often not likely hear even in their own management and board meetings. The reason is that none of the peers are wrapped into the business owner's strategy or their company politics, giving them the opportunity of being brutally honest.

Accountability and trust is at the heart of it all

What makes this work is that the members of the TAB group have built a high level of trust with each other and as a result command a high level of accountability. After the business owners get feedback on their issues, the business owners are required to summarize what they heard and say what they are going to do next.

This is where the accountability appears. The business owner has committed a course of action and will have to report results to the TAB group at the next meeting. Of course, all of these discussions are kept confidential.

But, there's homework

Business owners also receive monthly private executive coaching services from their board facilitator using TAB’s small business consulting tools. These skilled business consultants help solve particularly sensitive issues and teach management and leadership techniques that can be immediately put into practice. Each facilitator/coach has extensive top-level business management experience to further enhance the executive coaching sessions.

Take a look for yourself

Being the owner of a business or a top executive is a lonely job sometimes. It is often good to get out of the office and be able to talk with some people who are truly interested in helping you and can be relied upon to give you good advice.

Go to the TAB website to learn more. If you are in the Research Triangle Park area, contact Keith Weaver (keith@smart-state.com) or Jack Ford (jack.ford@balfoursales.com) to learn more.

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Business Mentoring for Entrepreneurs

Bill Warner Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Approximately 26,000 new companies are formed each year in North Carolina. In that same year, over 23,000 companies fail due to poor management and operational mistakes. The statistics are worse in rural and minority populations. This means that good ideas go to waste along with the grant and investor funds that helped get these companies started. As a result, the potential growth of revenue and new jobs is lost also.

 

If we had assistance for entrepreneurs who are struggling to create successful businesses, the failures should decline considerably. Entrepreneurs should be seeking out business mentors that can help them through the early years of their business.

 

EntreDot™ Connects the Dots for Entrepreneurs

 

For the majority of the companies that fail, the missing ingredient that could have ensured their success is basic business-operations “know-how.” This is the void that EntreDot™ fills. At no cost to them, EntreDot™ provides business mentoring to entrepreneurs and helps them make the right decisions as they start and operate new companies.

 

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Paladin and Associates responds to client needs for a business plan, strategic planning, executive coaching and writing a business plan. A common question that Paladin and Associates answers is how to write a business plan or how to do financial management and planning. Paladin and Associates' clients ask for help finding angel investors, business consultants, executive coaching services, and business consulting services. We also do strategic business planning, business process consulting, business mentoring, sales consulting, and executive mentoring. Business management consulting and sales process consulting are common services. We have over 30 years experience in the role of executive coach and business coach and are among the best business coaches in the area. We are often called upon for writing a business plan and the strategic planning process.