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ECONOMIC GARDENING I Edward Lowe Foundation
<br />A closer look at helping growth comp foes
<br />Inn November 2008 the Edward Lowe
<br />Foundation hosted an economic -gardening
<br />workshop led by Chts Gibbons, director of
<br />business and industay affairs for Littleton, Colo.,
<br />who pioneered the concept of economic gardening
<br />in the late 1980s. Assisting Gibbons was the
<br />JumpStart team (experts in derent economic -
<br />gardening disciplines who work on projects outside
<br />of Littleton). The three-day event focused on
<br />helping second -stage entrepreneurs from diffirent
<br />industries. Below is a quick look at challenges
<br />faced by two participants.
<br />For Victor Santos, CEO of NaturePlex
<br />LLC, strategy was a key issue.
<br />Based in Memphis, Tenn., NaturePlex
<br />produces nutritional supplements,
<br />medicated creams and other health -related
<br />products for dollar discount stores. The
<br />JumpStart team helped Santos realize
<br />that while NaturePlex is in a commodity
<br />market, the company has established a
<br />niche of higher -margin, natural products
<br />that it can expand to bolster growth and
<br />profits.
<br />With that in mind, Santos is launching
<br />a line of all -natural, EPA -approved
<br />Using the Keirsey Temperament
<br />Sorter, Santos and Gibbons determined
<br />the manager was an "artisan" (liking
<br />freedom and movement) while a
<br />"guardian" (who has a preference for
<br />details and deadlines) was better suited to
<br />his assigned responsibilities.
<br />In response, Santos diverted some of
<br />the manager's tasks to others, allowing the
<br />manager to play to his strengths. Santos
<br />also brought in a computer programmer
<br />to design a software application that
<br />improves communications between the
<br />firm's production and sales departments.
<br />With many employees contributing
<br />information, the application makes it easy
<br />to see where NaturePlex is — and where
<br />it needs to be, Santos says. "It contains all
<br />the small details that can get overlooked
<br />when communicating with someone
<br />verbally or even through e-mail." The
<br />payoff: fewer meetings and less confusion.
<br />Since working with Gibbons and the
<br />JumpStart team, things have improved
<br />substantially at NaturePlex. "I didn't
<br />change my core strategy, but I'm refining
<br />it," Santos says.
<br />PlayStation or Xbox console.
<br />McAlindon was initially trying to
<br />find game developers in alpha -stage
<br />development and convince them to
<br />include Switchblade in their products.
<br />The JumpStart team began researching
<br />blogs, portals and other community
<br />sites looking for concentrated groups of
<br />people that influence a market. Instead of
<br />game developers, the team recommended
<br />that McAlindon target end -users by
<br />setting up competitions between garners
<br />who use keyboards and gamers who use
<br />controllers.
<br />"In the gaming world, it appears to
<br />be about bragging rights," Gibbons says,
<br />noting that opinions run hot and heavy
<br />in online blogs — peppered with plenty
<br />of four-letter words — as to whether
<br />a keyboard or controller provides the
<br />superior gaming experience.
<br />In response, Blue Orb has begun
<br />to host local keyboard -controller
<br />competitions and is working on an
<br />"arena" on its website for virtual contests.
<br />McAlindon says the local competitions
<br />are already accelerating visibility for
<br />Blue Orb and expects sales
<br />to increase. 'We can see
<br />momentum building and hear
<br />people say, Wow, Switchblade
<br />Pro is a great way to play
<br />games.' "
<br />McAlindon says the
<br />economic -gardening program
<br />differed from other types of
<br />business assistance he has received —
<br />with speed being a key hallmark. For
<br />example, when McAlindon found a
<br />Web developer to help build Blue Orb's
<br />online arena, he asked the JumpStart
<br />team if there were other firms he should
<br />investigate.
<br />"They got back to me the same day
<br />saying, 'Here are two other companies,
<br />but the one you found appears to be best,
<br />and here's why,' " McAlindon says.
<br />"Could I have done this research?" he
<br />asks. "Perhaps, but it would have taken
<br />me two days or longer. They got back to
<br />me within a few hours, which was a huge
<br />benefit"
<br />"1 like the specificity of the JumpStart team's reports. It's one thing to
<br />suggest viral marketing on Web sites. That's very different than saying:
<br />Here's the Zink, here's what they do, and here's a contact for you. "
<br />— Pete McAlindon
<br />biopesticides. Santos is also using
<br />sampling to increase sales for high -margin
<br />items, such as including trial -size portions
<br />of vitamin E cream with antifungal foot
<br />ointment.
<br />Another concern for Santos: Although
<br />talented and hard-working, one of his
<br />managers was not detail -oriented, which
<br />was causing production problems.
<br />"Temperament is a slotting problem,"
<br />Gibbons explains. "Every job has certain
<br />requirements, and every temperament
<br />has certain strengths and weaknesses,
<br />depending on the situation. The idea is to
<br />match the strengths of your employees to
<br />their job requirements."
<br />Temperament was also an eye-opener,
<br />Santos adds: "I knew something was off,
<br />but I thought it was a matter of me not
<br />communicating, which proved not to be
<br />the case. After meeting with Chris, it was
<br />like a bolt of lightning hit me."
<br />For Pete McAlindon, another program
<br />participant, mining social media provided
<br />new insights into business development.
<br />CEO of Blue Orb in Maitland, Fla.,
<br />McAlindon is targeting the online gaming
<br />industry. His company's Switchblade
<br />software maps the functions of a mouse
<br />and keyboard into a controller (joystick)
<br />that allows people to play online games
<br />on their computers as if they were using a
<br />Cover art by Stephen Ravenscraft
<br />Copyright © 2009 by the Edward Lowe Foundation
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