| OCR Text |
Show ‘The Salt Lake Tribune BUSINESS Sunday, March 5, 2000 Duo Builds Clearinghouse for Penny Stock Info It Takes Sharp Recruiting To Lure Good Employees Web site offers details on the small companies that aren’tlisted on the major stock exchanges SMALL BUSINESS BY MATT MOORE ‘THE ASSOCIATED PRESS a plane trip to scout out some ofthe whose RIDGELAND, Miss. — Ensconced in what is nothing more than a series of garage bays and storage two Mississippi men aim to help investors demys- , 89, and Greg Bal- investmentpursuits: penny stocks. Known as small-cap investments, penny stocks are usually worth what their name infers: just more actively seeking people with disabilities? Sometimes the best employees don't look like the ones you already have. 1 Offer creative “perks”: My assistant applied for the job here because we allow in the ofthe “baby bust.” Therejust ‘weren't enough ae born 20“something years to fill all Sica Tes Soles, 8yorend to takb Steps to improve your chances of “getting great applicants: @ Create an ongoing recruit“ment campaign:Just as you ing marketing plan pennies per share. They range anywhere in value from 2 or 3 cents per share to as much $1 or $2 per share. And unlike their biggername counterparts that are traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market or the New York Stock Exchange, their volatility is what often draws investors to them. ofthe best perks is flexibility. An applicant may wantto start workat 10 a.m.to avoid rush hour or leave work at 3:30 p.m. That is why Ramsey and Bal- lard, both of whom had dabbled in penny stock investments, decided in 1998 thatifthey wanted to invest in the stocks, then others probably did, too. But research on such to be home with the childrenafter school. @ Act fast: Good employees don’t stick around long.Ifyou see someone you — to attract customers, you now need an ongoing effort to attract employees. In a small business, that doesn’t mean constant running ads; it means developcing a network ofreferral sourc- companies prepared to decide ‘and make an offer. @ Geta reputationas a great place to work: Good employees knowthey're in demand; they’re going to be very picky. Sure,all es, reminding everyonein your company to be looking for great employees, and being visible in the community. PecBe creative in your ads: When you place a “help-wanted ad,”try to bring as much attention and interest as possible. One phrase I use for administra‘tive assistants is “Duties: sub- look attangible in- centives:salary, stock options, benefits, and the other creative perks you think up. Butin the long run, what encourages current employees to recruit others, reduces turnover, and attracts the best new applicants, is building a business where people feel good aboutgoing to work — a company with ity, respect for all workae and where peoplecan also have fun. ‘way of saying they are going to be meeting celebrities but also ‘running errands. © Wire forattitude, train for ‘skills: Don’t get hung up looking ‘for specific skills, such as knowledge ofa particular computer program.Ifyou find a smart and twilling person, you can send them to a class. Obviously, ifyou ‘need someoneto fly a plane, you neo an experienced pilot, but Sees Opportunity In Utah |W Continued from E-1 stocks climb overnight has its challenges for brokers who steer clients toward safe and sane investments. In December, Edward Jones sent a reprint of a Fortune magazine article to eachofits clients “I “It virtually ‘THE WALL STREET JOURNAL You know the name, but what does the American Cancer Society do? The nonprofit organization, which has headquarters in Atlanta, is spending $10 million onits first paid ad campaign to “let people know what we do and how to get hold of us,” says John Seffrin, the society’s chiefexecutive. The 87-year-old group, which has an annual budgetofabout $600 million, says its missionis to eliminate cancer as a major health figure income. Andthey can climb the corporate ladder and become limited or general partners by growingbusiness at their office. That helps maintain the camaraderie among Edward Jones brokers, Arnold said. “If the broker running the Brigham City office needs help,I'll take off half a day to lend a hand. How wedoindividuallyis also tied into how the firm does overall,” he said. industry for Philadelphia-based cial Services Analytics, said there are still differences in the way the big-name players approach the market. Their offices are typically staffed with veteran brokers who have clients nearby. Edward Jones’ new offices are frequently opened by new brokers whose job it is to build a business and find new clients. If an Edward Jones broker is successful, they can earn a six REAL ESTATE AUCTION Tue investor Warren Buffett reminded people that stock prices are ulti\mately tied to earnings growth and ‘long-term value. | Edward Jones’ success advising {long-term investors in small towns ‘and suburbs can be likened to a \neighborhood hardware store outcompeting the Home Depot and Eagle Hardware chains. Its strategy peeegone unnoticed by its April 11, cok investors who wanted to glean more information about possible investments. But as the Internet rapidly became a more credible source for information, the men decided to make their company a Web-based business, gathering as muchinformation about penny stocks as possible and putting it in one central location: pennyPI.com. PennyPI now has 10 employees and provides detailed listings of 6,500 companies whose shares are traded over the counter. Subscribers pay $20 a month to gain full access to the site, which includes company profiles, histories and chat rooms to talk with other pennystock investors. “That was part of our business plan . . . to create the first electronic database of these firms,” Ballard said. “The problem is you can’t find anything on these companies and that’s why we're here. Weintendto coverall of them.” The company does not endorse any particular stock, nor does it Rogelio Solis/The Associated Press Panyetis Sounders Ker’ Ranney, left, and Greg Ballard speak about their information service from their offices in Ridgeland, Miss. offer tips or recommendations on which ones to buy. “We wanted to be completely arms-length, third party source and have complete independence,” Ramsey said. “We present the facts.” “Unfortunately, people want to get stock picks whereas what they really need is the truth,” Ballard said. “If they know andtrust us, which is what we're trying to fosteris trust, they know that we went to [a company’s] offices” and re- searched it. Now that they’ve established themselves, the next goal is to try Cancer Society Launches Ad Campaign Rhonda Abrams writes on small Sefor USA Today. Readers can her at rhondatrhondaonlin.comoor write to 555 Bryant St., (NU)180, Palo Alto, CA 94301. Edward Jones was nonexistent. “We noticed that numerous people couldn't find the basic information on their stocks like telephone numbers, addresses, that sort of thing,” said Ramsey. The pair had planned ontaking oe was going to serve as a of clearinghouse for penny- work, its expanded 24-hour-a-day formation,”Ballard said. Or, as is increasingly common, Ramsey said, investors going it alone through an online brokerage will have the site’s research for support. “Tt’s vital at this point that with online trading growing the way it is, there be a source for that information,” Ramseysaid. Hinckley Fleet Services is Pee omc (eel eee problem — through prevention, cure, research and alleviation of suffering. Yet the public isn’t as familiar with its programs as the society would like. No wonder people get confused. Seffrin says there are now more than 1,000 nonprofits with “cancer” in their names. The print and television ads promote the cancer society's community-based national net- to sell pennyPI's information to institutions, including securities dealers, stock brokers and others. “That way when you go to your local broker and tell him you've got a hot tip from your brother-in-law, he'll have a reliable source of in- Steve Hinckley to our Commercial Sales Division, Steve brings with him ‘company up BusinessLink program. Hinckleys isvacaexclusive BusinessLink dealer in Utah. call center and electronic mail — all ways of getting information to people with cancer, those in recovery, their families, volunteers and others. ‘SPECIAL RECEPTION! We would like to invite all of Steve’s Customers to a special welcome ‘on our showroom @ 2309 South State, Thurs. March 9th from 3:00-5:00. HINCKLEY FLEET SERVICES 801-484-8755 A Division of Hinckley Dodge Where UtahBi forfor inter, jet Solutions! be it 11 AMon Site 200 3539 S. Main, Salt Lake City, Utah ° ° © ° ° User and Investor Opportunity—Seller May Finance’ Compareto Office Condo Prices Corner Property—Good Visibility and Access 2-Story, 9927 Sq. Ft. Frame and Masonry Building Zoned C-2, on .42 Acres Call Agent or Auctioneer for Details Preview Mar. 30, 4-6 PM or April 4, 4-6 PM, or 1 Hour Before Auction, or By Appointment Brokerages including Morgan \Stanley Dean Witter and Merrill Lynch in recent years have opened smaller satellite offices closer to \their customers in some commuacross the country. | But Michael Flanagan, an anailyst who follows the brokerage | See our handy work at | as ~~ | Lee $559 x a | The Salt Lake Tribune at www.sitrib.com has established itself as one of “Utah’s most popular Web The e,rpleriees pernuit of sites.” Building on that reputation, NAC’s New Media ection continues Department is here to help your business succeed online. | | After all.. .you know this guy. LARRY H. MILLER qi ee— >. & 701 | % ( San aL State e 264 Rata w Media By developing online brochures, e-commerce enterprises and solutions, and dynamic Web sites, along with an aggressive marketing campaign, your business can take advantage of Utah’s huge online market and be able to expand nationally and internationally. Let the experience of NAC’s New Media Department take your business to new frontiers. shibial | |
