Chula Vista gives expert insights to small businesses

By NATALIE WARDEL, The Daily Transcript Wednesday, August 6, 2008

In an effort to help Chula Vista's small businesses with big ideas, the city's Chamber of Commerce is hosting a series titled "Expert Insights," where local business leaders offer advice on management.

"The city is concerned about the health and well-being of all of its citizens, especially its corporate citizens," said Chula Vista City Manager David Garcia.

The city sponsors the series, the second of which was held July 23. The three panel speakers focused on banking, insurance and marketing.

Scott Parker, the CEO and president of the new Vibra Bank in Chula Vista , spoke about returning to Earth in regard to financing. Banks are under tighter regulations when it comes to giving financing and they are looking at the "Five C's" -- capacity, credit, conditions, collateral and character.

Vibra Bank opened its doors last month. It is San Diego County 's only locally-owned community bank to focus on the Hispanic market.

As for insurance, one sticky issue that causes small businesses a lot of problems is not having workers' compensation. Pongee Kennedy, vice president of Kettering Rose Insurance Agents and Brokers said any company who hires an employee -- even through a 1099 contract -- needs workers' compensation.

"I don't care how you pay him," she said. "It's the Department of Labor that decides if you employ him, not the IRS."

Because small business owners often depend on their day-to-day income, Kennedy told the attendees to get business interruption insurance, in case of a fire or a mandatory evacuation due to a fire.
No matter what, however, insurance does not totally protect a business. "Just keep in mind that all insurance policies have exclusions on them," Kennedy said. "I always tell people to read a policy from back to front."

In a sluggish economy, companies should review their policies to decide if they are over-covered -- i.e. maybe a company has sold a vehicle, or cutback the number of employees it has, but never called the change into the insurance agent.

If a company is over-insured, then it can cut back because Kennedy said there was no reason to overpay.

Once a small business is financed and insured, it is ready to market itself. Ursula Mentjes, the CEO and Owner of Potential Quest, said small businesses are in a perfect place for that. After all, in a time when there is a lot of bad news published about the economy, 70 percent of small businesses reported that they expect to grow, Mentjes said. So what happens to the larger businesses that are reporting layoffs and declining numbers?

"What happens is we start to close our mind," Mentjes said. "We stop ourselves before we even get started."

Success is all about setting big goals -- and then setting even bigger ones to increase revenue, Mentjes told business owners, to whom the CEO recommends deciding what is unique about their business, and selling it.

Submitted by Ursula Mentjes, Potential Quest, Inc