http://www.thepost.mindspring.com
8A
CJjarlotte
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1997’
STRICTLY BUSINESS
Christmas shopping season favors employees
By Cheris Hodges
THE CHARLOTTE POST
The chill in the air means more
than December. It’s also the apex
of the Christmas shopping sea
son.
For most students, Christmas
break is a welcome event. The
rush of finals is over. Now it is
What’s in a
name? Your
reputation
By Pierre A. Clark
NATIONAL NEWSPAPER
PUBUSHERS ASSOCIATION
“Branding” - creating a dis
tinctive business name or trade
mark - is the buzzword of the
1990s.
Every entrepreneur knows
the power and profitabihty of a
well-known, well-respected
brand name. The Internet,
where you are known by your
domain name, has focused even
more attention on the value and
power of brand names.
Who doesn’t, for example,
immediately know or recognize
Playboy, Apple Computer,
General Mills, Avis, Hertz, or any
of a hundred other distinctive
brand names? 'These brand
names have established such a
singular presence in their respec
tive industries that companies
trying to compete with them
have an almost impossible task.
'The brand name you establish
defines your business as no other
single asset can. That’s why it’s
important to spend a great deal
of time developing and promot
ing your business name, and
once you’ve created a tradename
or service mark, to protect it
through registering it as a trade
mark, tradename or service
name. 'IVademarks are extreme
ly important, often the most
important intangible asset you
have or will develop in your busi
ness.
How much can a name be
worth? In some cases, millions of
dollars. ’Trademarks establish
your unique idea and protect it
and encapsulate an idea or con
cept that can make you millions
of dollars. Take for example, the
word “three-peat,” which made
former Los Angeles Lakers and
current Miami Heat basketball
coach Pat Riley millions of dol
lars when the Chicago Bulls won
their third straight NBA basket
ball championship in 1993.
How can you create a distinc
tive trade name? In developing a
trade name, there are two strate
gies: (1) Focus on a name that
describes either the major prod
uct or service offered by your
firm and (2) create a name that is
easy to remember.
If your mqjor service is auto
repair, for example, you may
want to design a tradename that
describes your profession and
attitude - the Wrench Master,
the Grease Jockey, or a similar
name. The most memorable
tradenames are usually a maxi
mum of three words long.
Tb solidify your tradename
and maximize its visibility and
impact, you should complete
these additional steps:
1. Registration: What steps
should you take to register a
trade name? Complete an appli
cation to register your trade
mark-tradename with your state
($10 to $25) and federal trade
mark ($100 with the Library of
Congress through the
Department of Commerce).
2. Marketing: What are the
best ways to market your busi
ness using a trade name? Lend it
to sponsorships. Display it
prominently in your advertising,
particularly in your Yellow Pages
ads.
3. Recognizability. How can
you enhance the recognizability
of your trade name? Strategies to
increasing the visibility of your
trade name includes having it
printed on T-Shirts, hats, pens
and pencils. Lend it to sponsor
ships.
time to rush to the mall and pick
up gifts for special fnends and
family members. How are stu
dents supposed to buy these gifts
without asking mom, dad, and
the grandparents for the money?
Simple. Get a job.
With unemployment in
Mecklenburg County at 3.6 and a
booming economy, many more
retailers are desperate to hire
more seasonal employees. This
puts more individuals, especially
students, in position to make
some quick cash.
“About a week ago, I was des
perate for some help,” Cooper’s
Watchworks manager Alicia
Laumark said. “But just this
week, I hired one high school and
one college student.”
One look arovmd Eastland Mall
shows that many other retailers
are hiring college and high school
students for the holidays. West
Mecklenburg High School senior
Robinn Mitchell cashed in on the
job rush by working at Lynn’s
Hallmark store.
“This job is for Christmas
(money),” she said. Mitchell, who
has worked in the store for almost
a month, said a job was easy to
find and she has the freedom to
set her own hours.
Starting wages are better in
Mecklenburg than nationally, sta
tistics show. The average starting
salary for entry-level jobs locally
is $6.50 an hour, $1.35 better than
PHOTOWICTOR POWELL
Actor-director Bill Duke, Donzell and Alisa Starks and “Amistad” producer Debbie Allen and actor Djimon Hounsou gathered In
Chicago for the grand opening of ICE Theatres’ Chicago multiplex. ICE wants to open a theatre in Charlotte
Inner city theatre?
Chicago comany wants to open facility in West Charlotte
By John Minter
THE CHARLOTTE POST
A black-owned theater chain
wants to put a multi-screen
facility off Freedom Drive,
adjacent to the Cityview
Shopping Center.
The multiplex theater would
be built on 27.5 acres of vacant
land, according to Scott Hirsch
of Norcom Development, which
is handling the land sale for
owner Cityview Development.
Hirsch referred questions
about the deal to InnerCity
Entertainment of Chicago.
ICE, owned by Alisa and
Donzell Starks, claims to be the
first black owned theater chain
in the country. Former pro bas
ketball player Magic Johnson
has also developed a chain of
inner city theaters and is
reportedly interested in
expanding into the Charlotte
market.
’The Starks company is part
nered with Canadian-owned
Cineplex Odeon ’Theatres in
three $40 million multiplexes
in Chicago, which opened last
week.
'They want to open similar
centers in Charlotte, Gary,
Ind., Baltimore, and Cleveland.
All those centers would open in
the late 1998.
Starks, a former investment
banker, presented his plan to
the Charlotte City Council
Monday.
ICE was founded in 1993
with the aim of building state-
of-the-art theaters and enter
tainment centers showing first-
run feature films in urban com
munities. Creating job opportu
nities for minorities and fami
ly-oriented entertainment
options were also goals.
'The Chicago theaters opened
with the premiere of the Debbie
Allen-produced “Amistad,”
which is based on a true stoiy
of 55 AfHcan slaves who led a
rebellion on board a Spanish
slave ship.'The movie opens
nationwide this weekend.
Chicago Mayor Richard
Daley praised the Starks pro
ject for generating “much need
ed” economic growth in
Chicago’s Lawndale, Chicago
Lawn and Chatham neighbor
hoods, as well as providing a
job training program for area
youth.
Freedom Drive area resi
dents and businesses were
happy about the possibility of
new development in the area,
where several major companies
have closed businesses in
recent years.
Mary Hopper, who is spear
heading an effort to change the
area’s image, said, “We need
those jobs for our young peo
ple.” She noted that none of the
multiplex theaters in Charlotte
are located on the westside.
Donzell Starks, ICE’s presi
dent and CEO, said, “Part of
our goal is to own and operate
over 100 screens by the year
2000. We have an excellent
model here in Chicago and
want to use ICE 'Theatres as a
vehicle to revitalize communi
ties elsewhere in the U.S. ICE
will provide both entertain
ment and jobs for the commu
nity.”
Ahsa Starks, ICE’s executive
vice president for marketing,
said that going to movies is the
No. 1 entertainment activity
for AfHcan Americans.
“African Americans are not
monolithic moviegoers,” she
said. “We want to see a variety
of films and it is important that
we have ICE 'Theatres and
access to films such as
‘Amistad’ and “Eve’s Bayou’ to
share our history with all cul
tures.”
Other films showing at the
Chicago openings were
“Flubber,” “Alien
Resurrection,” “The Jackal,”
“Anastasia,” “Mortal Kombat:
Annihilation,” “Soul Food” and
“Starship Trooper.”
Gallery showing should include pizazz
REGINA LYNCH-HUDSON
Q. Dear Regina:
I am an artist who is joining
together with three other artists
to host a gallery type showing in
the spring. We’ve never done
anything like this before. Where
do we start? How do we pull the
right crowd who will buy our
work? Our budget is limited.
A. Set aside a minimum of
three months for advance plan
ning. ’Ib some extent, the audi
ence you draw will be influenced
by the location you select If the
showing is to be held in a home or
residential community - select a
home-owner or country club
within an exclusive development
who will allow you to utihze their
space in exchange for original
framed pieces. The win-win
barter will save you rental fees.
'The same deal may be struck
with an elegant bed and break
fast, or a unique and spacious art
boutique. After all, if the showing
is properly plaimed it will bring
exposure to their place of busi
ness.
Because you are selling a visu
al product it is important that
yoiir invitations are top quality-
Ideally, the invitations should
feature the work of one or all of
the artists or represent a graphi
cally appealing theme for the art
show. ’The country club or bou
tique may have a mailing list to
incorporate with the client list
you already have. Customers
more readily participate in
events that are tied in with the
community or a good cause. If
your date is not set in stone, coor
dinate the show’s date with a
charity and be prepared to
donate a percentage of the pro
ceeds. Advertising is a plus even
if it means pooling your funds to
buy one small ad. Place it two
weeks before the show.
Promotional materials that
should be present at the show
include: A description/price sheet
of all of the works, and a profes
sionally written bio on each
artist. At the show, have guests
sign up for a “giveaway” of a
small art print thus, you have
added to your mailing list. Don’t
forget the refreshments!
Q. Dear Regina:
As a young attorney who would
like to get into the field of enter
tainment law, I have handled a
few music and entertainment
business clients but would like to
handle more. How might I pro
mote myself to that market?
A. It’s not how many entertain
ment clients you’ve handled that
matters, but how you handle the
promotion of your abilities. For
starters, develop a slick brochure
that details what services you
can offer a record label, perform
ers or local entertainment. Mass
mail these brochures to enter
tainment trade industry organi
zations.
Rub shoulders with key players
in the industry - attend MOBE
(Marketing Opportunities in
Black Entertainment) when it
comes to your area or a nearby
city, and Atlanta’s aimual Jack
'The Rapper convention.
Subscribe to entertainment trade
industry publications such as
BRE, and VIBE. BRE also pub
lishes an aimual BRE Black Book
detailing events and dates of
See PROMOTE on page 9A
the federal minimum. Even with
better pay and employee benefits,
businesses can’t keep up with the
demand for labor.
Stanley Norfleet, a junior at
Vance High School, said he took ,
his job at Foot Locker in Eastland ,
“just to have money.” ‘
“I can’t be broke,” he said.
See JOBS on page 9A
Consider :
investment ■
cost to you i;
Professional !
advice is a
.'I
rarely free ;;
OMAR DILLARD
Suppose you needed a major ,
operation. Would you shop/,
around for the physician with the.
lowest cost? Would you solicit’
bids from hospitals? Probably,
not. Your main concern would be.^
the quality of yow results.
Most of us wouldn’t put a price
tag on maintaining good health ^
and quality of life, but attention .
to our financial health is often /
compromised by cost. Investors j
win risk large smns of moneyj,,
simply because an investment j
doesn’t appear to cost anything.
Others pay an aimual percentage ,
of their assets to fee-based advis- •
ers or institutions touting no-load
mutual funds that investors
believe don’t cost anything.
Professional advice, whether
from a physician, attorney or
financial professional, is rarely
free. It's important to understand
what your costs are and what ser
vices to expect in return.
When selecting mutual funds, a
financial professional - whether
commissioned or fee-based —
should direct you to a mutual
fund that’s right for you. ’This
means helping you develop a
good financial plan with realistic
expectations to meet your goals.
’The key words are plan, expecta
tions and goals. Meet these, and
costs are inconsequential.
Another important service of a
financial professional is to be
there for the long term - even
through those inevitable market
declines. For example, after the
severe market crash of 1987,
many financial professionals sim
ply disappeared. At the same
time. The Wall Street Journal
discovered that investors were
pressing for more reliable guid
ance. One large mutual fund
group offered a worksheet to help
investors set goals. ’There were
40,000 immediate replies.
Another mutual fund group
received several thousand
requests in response to an adver
tisement offering a free brochure
explaining how to be your own
portfolio manager.
You’re also paying your profes
sional to help fine-tune your plan
as your life changes. For exam
ple, the family whose plan focus
es on children’s education may
look to retirement after the chil
dren are grown. 'The retiree may
shift focus from growth to
income. 'These are life events that
call for adjusting an investment
plan, and your representative
should be there to give you direc
tion.
Finally, your professional
should be open and honest about
costs and expenses. Financial
experts suggest that, when con
sidering costs, you should view
commissions in the context of aU
expenses. 'The longer you plan to
be in an investment, the less you
should be concerned about the
sales charge.
OMAR DILLARD is a financial
consultant at Edward Jones
investments in Charlotte.