Business Briefs
1 ?
Private Eye Uses Experience Tp Start Business
By-LORI MCELRATH
Advertising Executive
Thaddeus Cook is helping to
take a bite out of crime in more
ways than one. With nearly twenty
years of experience in the North
Carolina Criminal Justice System
under his belt. Cook has established
his own private investigative busi
ness and has seized a^olden oppor
tunity to give back to his commu
nity.
Diversified Investigative Ser
^ vices Inc. is^he name of Cook's
business. "We provide loss preven
' ^jtion services for businesses to mini
njk^Tinancial losesc4n the work
he said. Cook organized the
business in 1990 after ending a
rewarding nine year career as a law
enforcement officer with the Win-/
ston-Salem Police Departm<?rif.
Cook prepared himself for his pro
fessional career by earning a Bache
lor of Arts degree in Criminal Jus
tice from North Carolina'Central
University. "We furthered his studies
at the University of North Carolina
at Greensboro where he received a
master of public affairs degree. For
- tunately. there is substantial evi- -
dence that Cook's services are badly 4
needed. He explained that the U.S.
Chamber of Commerce has docu
mented that American businesses
lose an estimated 40 to 60 billion
dollars a year because of employee
theft, improprieties and insurance
fraud. "My business helps, other
businesses to address those issues
internally by providing services such
as investigations, interviews, interro
^gations. surveillances, crime scene
"red'dhstructions, and public records
research." explained Cook.
Cook's business is destined for
FOfOT COW
DETEHTIOH CM?
ROSSER FABRAP INTERNATIONAL
-WALTER ROBBS CALLAHAN i, PIERCE
ARCHITECTS. P A.
* ? CNoiNU^S"
SUTTON-KENNERLY & ASSOCIATES
t f K S
Thaddeus Cook - Diversified Investigative Services, stands outside the new jdUfariUty bemg built inthe city
success. He's already obtained a
great deal of work from national
vendors and major insurance compa
nies, and has done major case work
with various attorneys. Marked with
a high lev el of professionalism
Cook's business is a viable alterna
tive to other services that have been
offered in the past.
Althougfi Cook began his busi
ness three years ago. it wasn't until
recently that he began running it full
time. While operating his business
on a part-time basis. Cook was an
instructor at Central Piedmont
Community College in Gjftf lotte.
where he worked in the Corrections
and Juvenile System. While in Char
lotte. Cook developed comprehen
sive treatment after care prograrh*
for inmates and ex-offenders who
have been released fronvthe North
Carolina Dept. ofCjvreC fTons to the
Mecklenbun^06unty area, of N.C.
Cook hay also done in-depth
research J nd investigative work at
the Childitfs Law Center of Char
lotte. His haKi work and dedication
has definitely not gone unnoticed. In
gious Governor's Award for Out
standing Volunteerism for Mecklen
burg Co. and has also been featured
on radio and television talk shows in
the Charlotte/Mecklenburg Commu
nity.
As if he hasn't alifcady done
enough. Cook has embarked on
another venture.
He is in the process of imple
mented the Youthful Offenders
School Retention Program in
Forsyth Co. Cook is trying to change
the direction of youth who have
started down the wrong path. Cook
considers this program an advocacy
program for youths in the criminal
justice system. "We have to make
sure that we provide st>me type of
voice for people who can't articulate
those different processes that might
be associated with the Criminal Jus/
tice System, and the school exclu
sionary system. That's what the ser
vices are for, "said Cook. "What
we're looking for are kids who
might be experiencing some type of
crisis either at home or in the crimi
nal justice, or school systems,, that
they or their parents are unable to
resolve, We want to become an
alternative to what's already offered
in the community," explained Cook.
"I hope to implement the programs
in at least three communities in the
triad."
SBA Overhaul Of Small Business Standards
WASHINGTON. D C - More
than 47,000 businesses will become
eligible for U.S. Small Business
^Administration (SB A) loan and pro
curement program* under a major
overhauLoi^SBA rules for assis
tance, SBA Administrator Patricia
Saiki announced today.
Besides expanding eligibility
and streamlining the process, the
changes reduce the number of dif
ferent standards from 30 to nine,
account for eight years of inflation
and. for financial assistance, estab
lish a two-tier eligibility test under
which a company can qualify as a
small business if it meets test condi
tions. The new rules have been pub
lished in the Federal Register.
"This is the most far-reaching
overhaul of SBA size standards
since the agency was founded,"
Saiki said. "It means that more than
47,000 small businesses that had
been unable to qualify for SBA
credit and federal contracting pro
grams wilt become eligible for
assistance.
"As a result, the process is sim
change," Saiki said, "eligibility will
be expanded at a time when small
businesses are hungry for credit to
expand their operations and create
new jobs," Saiki said.
The most significant change ?
establishing an "alternate stanJj.d"
for 7 (a) loan program eligibility
based on net income and net worth
- was published as an interim fn. l
rule and takes effect immediately.
The rule was already in place for
SBA's 504 Development Company
loan program and the Small Busi
ness Investment Company (SBIC)
program. Extending it to the busi
ness loan program will expand eligi
bility to an estimated 47,000 small
11 1 1 1 i
a1st uv/v
CORPORATION
COME J
BORROW, BUY
of |u*t
1 BROWSE 1
? Easy Caah Loan * J*w?try Repair
? Bargain lfa?n?
723-1 234
1'W* art changtna ffca may Aim fit* thop* m
2828 UniwrtHy Parkway ]
r?> NCaky <"?/? Vmco"? ar -*<?-?? J
I? ?"??? rmt vn?n i ? "? ' * '
m / lw<n i i -a
111 111
business.
The second test. pubJished for
comment as a proposed rule,
indexes the standards for inflation
since 1984 and compresses 30
industry-by-industry size standards
into nine. It applies to all SBA loan
programs except those elements of
the disaster loan program that are'
not subject to size tests, and to the
procurement and 8 (a) Business
Development programs. Saiki esti
mated that, about f"0.400 businesses
would gain small business eligibil
ity for SBA s federal contract pro
curement programs as a result of the
chanfges to the industry-by-industry
standards, the vast majority of them
operating in the service sector. Al!
but a few hundred are included in
the estimated 47.000 that gain eligi
bility urrd'er the net worth/net
income test.
Saiki said that no small busi
ness "that was eligible under the old
rules will be made ineligible by the
new standards.
The alternate standard will
allow a company to qualify as a
small business if its net worth is less
than S6 million and it has fiad an
average annual after-tax net income
of less than S2 million over the past
two years.
The vast majority of the esti
mated 47,000 small businesses that
will become eligible for 7 (a) gen
eral business loan guarantees as a
result of this change are in the retail
and service industries. ^ ^
ENJOY LIFESTYLE FREEDOM
You can cnjov the4v?t?style freedoms you've
dreamed of. ..and improve yoiyt^ealth at the
same time. Matol Botanj^l provides the
most healthful products on the markef today
and an incredible financial opportunity.
hm urn! tn r-iih ratlin ( \l !
788-0758
offers
The Only Lunch Buffet Downtown!
11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Week Days
All You Can Eat!
Ample Free Parking! , _
i SUNDAY BRUNCH
>
11-3 p.m.
only $5.25
Located in Best Western Regency Inn
128 North Cherry Street ? Winston-Salem, NC 27101
(919) 723-1150
....
Unemployment Claims Drop
WASHINGTON (AP) ? The number of Americans filing new
claims for unemployment insurance during Christmas week dropped
sharply to the lowest level in nearly tour years, the government said
Thursday.
An unexpectedly large decline ot 40.000 claims brought the level
for the week fended Dec 26 to 291.000, the lowest since April 1989. It
followed ^decrease of 29.000 the previous week and was the 10th drop
in 14 weeks. ]
Meanwhile, large retailing chains released figures in New York
showing Christmas sales were even stronger than some anticipated. '
' ? Christmas 1992 was the best in four years for retailers.
However, since the spending outburst seemed largely financed by
credit cards, some store own^s"are worried that consumers will revert to
their frugal recessionary spending habits as the winter wears on.
Nevertheless, the surge in consumer spending and. confident*
since the election apparently has been strong enough to provoke a i
response from mtfny employers.
"It's very' clear businesses have become much more' confident
about the economic landscape and that fact is making them go out and j
hire," said economist Mark Zandi of Regional Financial Associates in i
West Chester. Pa.
The average wiis 332.500 during the latest period, down from
341,000 for the four weeks ended Dec. 19. ? ;.-j
The Labor Department is scheduled Friday to report the unem- j
ployment rate for December and total employment as measured by com*
panies' payrolls. In advance, most economists were expecting payroll
| employment to climb between 75,000 and 100,000 jobs.
. , They expected the unemployment rate to sticlc^at 7.2 percent,
where it was in November after hitting an eight-year high of 7.8;percent
in June. By the end of this year, many economists believe the rate will be ?
approaching 6.5 percent, but they said the confidence of business execu
tives will be a critical factor.
? t ? - Two previous attempts by the economy to shake off its sluggish
ness, in 1991 and 1992, stalled becau<^T5usinesses were not sufficiently
encouraged to begin hiring again and tnus did not give consumers the
wherewithal, in the form of job and income growth, to sustain the eco
nomic acceleration.
"This is the moment of truth. Is business going to respond or is it
not? If it doesn't, then the consumer is going to run out of spending j
power," said economist Robert G. Dederick of Northern Trust Co. in
Chicago.
During the latest week, nine states showed a decrease of 1,000 or
more claims, led by California* with a decline ot 1 1,930. The drop was
attributed to the holiday-shortened week and j# fewer layoffs. ~ \
Niflp fates reported an ;nrs> j of 1 .000 ? -r ?> w?. led hy Wiscon
sin with 6,355. It repotted layolis m construction, transportation and
manufacturing.
The national claims figures arc adjusted to remove distortions
from normal seasonal variations. The state numbers are not.
Meanwhile, the number of claims filed under a special emergency
program enacted by Congress last summer totaled 27,430 in the week
ended Dec. 26, up ffc>m 25,209 the week before.
1
BUILDING TOMORROW TOGETHER: INVESTMENT
"My philosophy
is simple:
The customer!
Th? customer!
The customer!"
Matthew Brown
Owner
Big Apple Tire & Auto
Service Center
Brooklyn, N.Y.
"On a daily basis, that
means service, service, ser
vice! My people are trained
to listen and then follow
through with the best possi
ble work.
But there's more. I believe
I have a responsibility to pro
vide employment, be a role
model and simply be involved.
I believe that the success of
any business is bound up in
the well-being of the com
munity. By providing seed
capital to me through their
Specialized Small Business
Investment Company
(SSBIC) GM has shown that
they share that philosophy"
At General Motors, we
are committed to building
world class<?ars and trucks
and working with the com
munity to build a healthier
econortiic environment in
which to market them.
Helping entrepreneurs like
Matthew Brown start their
, own business through our
Specialized Small Business
Investment Company (SSBIC)
helps us build both our
futures.
Chevrolet Pontine
Oldsmobile Biuck
Cadillac CMC Truck
GENERAL MOTORS
We never forget
B who's driving.