http://www.thepost.mindspring.com
Cfjarlotte ^osit
THURSDAY, AUGUST 7, 1997
8A STRICTLY BUSINESS
Charlotte company gets international gig
SPECIAL TO THE POST
Charlotte-based All-Stars
Communications has crossed the
border into Mexico to become a
satellite uplink truck company
with international experience.
tiarris Broadcast in Florence,
Ky., approached All-Stars
founder and managing general
pirtner Ken Koontz three
njonths ago about sending his
n^w, state-of-the-art satellite
uplink television production
uck to Mexico to cover that
antrYs national elections,
^levisa, a Mexican network, had
dered some satellite equipment
fcm Harris, but it would not be
ady in time for the July 6 vot-
SWe built the All-Stars truck
and knew about the strong and
positive reputation Ken had built
for the company," says Joe Mack,
Sales Manager for Harris
Broadcast.
Koontz says he was initially
very skeptical because of the hor
ror stories he was told about
Mexico and possible threats to
the safety and well-being of his
operator.
“I heard everjrthing from how
armed banditos would comman
deer and take the truck; graffiti
would be marked all over it; we
would never get back across the
border into the U.S. and that aU
our electronic equipment would
be confiscated or ruined by the
jolting from travel on poorly
maintained roads,” he said.
“But none of it was true,” says
truck operator Levi Bisbee,
“except the part about rough
roads. Our equipment was fine
afterwards, but some roads were
rather bumpy.”
Televisa is considered the
largest and most influential tele
vision network in Mexico. Bisbee,
who communicated with his
Mexican news crew through an
interpreter, said it was a smooth
operation from start to finish. At
one stretch of their coverage from
Mexico City, Bisbee was trans
mitting reports to the rest of the
country for 22 consecutive hours,
most of it live from the start of
voting.
Bisbee smd Mexico was the
most rewarding and challenging
uplink assignment of his 13-year
career as a satellite truck opera
tor. In addition to the language
barrier, Bisbee had never done
transmissions on the Mexican
satellites.
“I never doubted Levi’s ability
to use our sophisticated electron
ic equipment to locate the right
satellites and then manage to get
clear signals for broadcast,” says
Koontz.
“Tfelevisa said they were veiy
happy with the job All-Stars did
and they would not hesitate to
use them again,” says Mack.
Koontz flew Bisbee and a sec
ond operator assistant to San
Antonio, Tfexas, and hired a pro
fessional to drive the truck the
1,250 nules from Charlotte to
San Antonio to meet them. From
there, Bisbee drove the remain
ing 950 nules to Mexico City.
Magic for Gotham?
FILE PHOTO
A Magic Theater complex like this one in Atlanta is planned for New York, although negotiations to located one in Harlem broke
down. “We could not agree on the economics, but it has not diluted,Our interest and commitment to Harlem,” said Ken Lombard,
president of Magic Johnson Enterprises. The 3,000-seat theater cpinplex was to have been located at 125th Street in Harlem.
Theatre site hits snag in Harlem
By Frank Eltman
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK - A new site is
being sought for a Magic
Johnson theater complex in
Harlem after talks broke
down with a developer at one
location on 125th Street, an
associate of the basketball
great said.
“We could not agree on the
economics, but it has not
diluted our interest and com
mitment to Harlem,” Ken
Lombard^ president of Magic
Johnson Enterprises, said
last week in a phone inter
view from Los Angeles.
The 3,000-seat theater
complex was to have been
located at 125th Street,
between Second and Third
avenues. Lombard said talks
failed with developer Robert
Seavey on establishing a
“base rent.”
Seavey did not return a call
seeking comment.
“What has taken place in
Harlem takes place a lot in
tenant-developer negotia
tions,” Lombard said. He
declined to discuss financial
details because he still must
negotiate with another devel
oper.
“We’ve got a number of
locations we’re still looking
at,” Lombard said. “Harlem
has always been in our plans
and continues to be. We just
have to find the right loca
tion.”
Magic Johnson theaters are
currently operating in Los
Angeles and Atlanta and a
complex in Houston is under
construction. Lombard said
plans include theaters in
Cleveland in the southern
California city of Carson, and
he is negotiating for locations
in Detroit and Chicago.
Lombard was more opti
mistic about the prospects
for a multi-theater complex
in Jamaica, Queens. “We’re a
lot closer to consummating a
deal with the Jamaica pro
ject,” he said.
Developer Joseph Mattone,
of the Mattone Group Ltd.,
said he expects an October
ground-breaking for a three
story, 240,000-square-foot
building. Retail shops would
be located on the first two
levels, with Johnson's 13-
screen theater with 3,300
seats on the third floor.
“TheYve promised to give
us a very strong preliminary'
indication...,” Mattone said
about talks with Johnson’s
organization. “We’ve given
them every opportunity to
make this thing work.”
The $75 million complex
would be built on what is
now a parking lot at Parsons
Boulevard and Archer
Avenue, near the Long Island
Rail Road’s Jamaica station.
How to increase investments without too much risk
CHARLES ROSS
Your
Personal
Finance
Mutual funds can help
increase your wealth without a
lot of worry. But taking a little
risk can be a thrill to many
investors who enjoy picking
individual stocks. 'The compro
mise is to build a solid portfolio
of mostly funds, with a small
amount of individual stocks.
You should limit your individ
ual stock holdings to 10 percent
of your overall portfolio, and no
more than 20 percent of the
equity portion. By limiting your
direct stocks, you lower the
chances that a couple of bad
choices will crack your nest egg.
You should invest in not more
than five different companies,
and good leads can come from
anywhere, friends, a stockbro
ker or the news media.
Barriers to your mortgage
Mortgage rates are low, so
why haven’t you bought a home
or refinanced your present one?
Many consumers feel they can
not come up with enough cash
for the down payment. But,
many banks will accept down
payments as low as 5 percent or
less.
With a lower down payment,
you increase the size of the
loan, so you’ll need more
income to meet a common lend
ing guideline: all your monthly
PHOTO/KEN KOONTZ
Charlotte-based All-Stars Communications helped cover the
Mexican elections.
Mooney Management
Entrepreneurs are
trained to succeed
at business deals
By Amanda Danchi
SPECIAL TO THE POST
Entrepreneurs aren’t bom. TheYre trained for success. The N.C.'.
Association of CPAs says that while, in general successful entreprep
neurs tend to be creative individuals who are adept at problem solving,
there are other characteristics that can be learned. From tile vantage
point of CPAs, who consult with thousands of companies on running
their businesses, here are the 10 key traits of tile successful entrepre-
neiu:
1) Goal-driven. Staying focused on a clear goal - and keeping employ-:
ees focused on that goal - is often one of the most difficult tasks of the
entrepreneur. In fact, one of the most important lessons business own
ers leam early on is that their company can't be all things to all people.
The more focused the company is on producing what it makes best, the
more likely it will succeed.
2) Customer-focused. Without customers, you can't build a business.
'The successful entreprenem spends time imderstanding the interests
and buying trends of potential customers and views tile company's
products or services through tile consumer's eyes.
3) Tfeam-oriented. Most successful entrepreneurs recognize that they
can’t build or run their business alone. Delegating responsibilities to
teams of employees or even outside consultants will not only allow the
company to focus on its core competencies, but also will improve the
efficiency of its operations and provide avenues for creative ideas to fil
ter their way up to management.
4) Skills-oriented. Each member of the team must have demonstra
ble able skills that can contribute to the company's overall perfor
mance. The astute entreprenem makes sme that his team possesses a
diverse skill base - one that complements his or her own skflls and can
create synergism in a team environment And tile entreprenem is, com
mitted to employees' maintaining their skills by providing ongoing edu
cational opportmiities
5 ) Tfechno-knowledgeable. Virtually every aspect of a business, from
manufacturing to financial management to marketing, requires tech-
See TRAINED on page 9A
NASCAR team speeds by
gender and ethnic barriers
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
debt payments cannot exceed
36 percent of yom gross month
ly income. However lenders are
easing their standards, and
through the Federal National
Mortgage Association (Fannie
Mae), which now has no income
cap, your debt-to-income ratio
can be approved up to 40 per
cent.
Up-front fees
Up-front fees, points, mort
gage insurance - are they dis-
See INVEST on page 9A
LEXINGTON, N.C. - As the
preponderance of family blood
lines in stock car racing attests,
breaking into the NASCAR com
munity can be a difficult road to
travel.
For Kathy Thompson, it was
triple tough.
“I was a woman, I was a Yankee,
and I was Italian," says
Thompson, a Greensboro resident
for the past 30 years. “I had three
strikes against me.
“It’s just like Emything else,
though. You gain acceptance by
proving yourself The majority of
people Tve dealt with in NASCAR
are class acts. If I was just stand
ing around starry-eyed and gawk
ing, it might have been different,
but I went to work learning this
business.”
'Thompson, the owner of Fom
Seasons Marketing, got into the
sport 12 years ago, handling the
relationship between Richard
Petty and Pepsi.
Now she’s breaking ground as
president of racing operations for
Washington Erving MotorSports,
the new team jointly owned by
former NFL star Joe Washington,
former NBA star Julius Erving,
Thompson and Raleigh business
man Fields Jackson.
While other women, particular
ly the wives of some drivers, have
been involved in the business
aspects of racing, 'Thompson is
the first female to hold such a
lofty official title. It’s an intriguing
pairing — a female president and
the first significant minority-
owned NASCAR team since dri
ver Wendell Scott owned his own
team a quarter-centmy ago.
“We’re very interested to see
how this team does,” says
NASCAR spokesman Kevin
'Triplett. “It could give us a boost
in opening up different markets.”
'Thompson and Washington
were in Lexington recently look
ing over the site they plan to use
to laimch their team next season.
“I can’t believe I’m here doing
this,” says Washington. “We first
started talking about putting a
team together in November. Now,,
everything is starting to fall into,
place.” ;
“Before I got involved with it, I
thought it was a redneck sport. I ,
thought it was tacky,” Thompson ,
says. “But when you get to the^
track and see those CEOs of big
companies going crazy in their
luxury boxes, you realize, this
sport is bigger than you think.”
A decade of involvement with
the sport was more than enough
to hook Thompson. She knew
Washington, who owns his own
marketing firm in the Baltimore
area, and decided to approach
him about starting a NASCAR
team.