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LORRAINE SPURGE

QUESTION: I recently started my own business after working for a Fortune 500 company for 20 years. I love working for myself, but I really miss the staffing help. Do you have any tips to cut the time I have to spend on chores like travel plans?

Answer: I just got back from a trip to the U.K. and the best part about spending 11 hours on an airplane is the ability to catch up on my reading. One of the articles talked about smart cards and how they need individuals to test a pilot program.

A smart card is a souped-up credit card. What’s being tested right now (in a partnership between Continental Airlines, Hilton Hotels and American Express) is a computer chip embedded in an Amex card.

The chip would contain information about the cardholder. For example, it would include all of your preferences (like airplane seating and hotel rooms) as well as your frequent flyer numbers. The card is also programmed to solve your worst travel nightmares, like bypassing check-in lines by inserting your smart card into an electronic kiosk and receiving an e-ticket. The kiosk will allow you to select your own seating, change a flight, upgrade to first class, check your baggage, and get your boarding pass.

This smart card will save you time by upgrading your travel profile and providing the convenience of a card that contains a database of pertinent information to service your needs. This is like having a personal assistant with a memory!

You might be a good candidate to try out this type of service. For more information on smart-card pilot programs, check out Smart Card Forum (www.smartcrd.com) on the Internet.

Q: My business is growing faster than I can keep up. Projected annual revenues are about $28 million, four times more than the year before. We recently moved from a broken-down warehouse in Culver City to a Class A building on Wilshire Boulevard. Now we’ve been approached by a large company that wants to buy us. They tell us we’ll remain “independent,” and that our entrepreneurial management style will remain intact, but I’m skeptical. I love the independence of my company, but I’m afraid that our growth is maxed out unless we go public or sell out to a large corporation. Any recommendations?

A: This is a tough question to answer in the generic. There are so many variables, with so much at stake, that I’m a little bit reluctant to advise you one way or another. But I’ll try and break the issues down for you to help you analyze your predicament.

Going public is not all it’s cracked up to be. Obviously, with Wall Street breaking records daily, an entrepreneur must consider taking advantage of this explosive market. You could probably sell 25 to 50 percent of your company at very high multiples (depending upon the industry you’re in). I would definitely recommend retaining 51 percent of the company so you can keep control. But the headaches that come with being a public company can be intense. Just the act of filing a prospectus, hiring an investment banker, working with lawyers, accountants, and the SEC will be distracting. Then there’s the road show (meeting with potential institutional investors).

Educate yourself about the compliance issues (the documents you’ll have to file and the rules you’ll have to follow) before you even begin the process of going public. No sense incurring the enormous investment banking fees if you’ll be uncomfortable with the end results.

You mentioned that a large company is interested in buying your business. That’s another alternative. But like any long-term relationship, why not date before you get married? Suggest a joint venture first to see how the two management teams get along. That’s exactly what MCI and British Telecom did before they agreed to merge. And even after a few years of partnering together, when MCI took an anticipated loss to launch a local phone service, BT’s shareholders caused an uproar forcing the company to renegotiate its bid. (Now we all know that WorldCom stepped in and rescued MCI from this disaster.) But that’s a classic example of what might happen if things don’t go as anticipated which is more likely to happen than not.

There is no boilerplate solution to your problem. It is the price a young, growing company pays for success. (Of course, the alternative is much worse.) Only you can decide which choice makes the most sense for you. The good news is that you can factor in a certain amount of flexibility into your choice that could give you a way out going forward.

Q: I work for a small company. Our CEO/entrepreneur is always talking about “team work.” But how do I get compensated as an individual when working as part of a team?

A: Great question! It’s very easy for the owner of a company to preach “team work,” since she is the beneficiary of people learning to work as one. But most companies pay people for their individual efforts. So here are some suggestions:

Cut a profit-participation deal. If your “team” reaches its goals for the company, each individual should be paid a bonus based on the success of the team. That way there is a win-win the company makes money on the team work and you as an individual get a fair share of the profits.

Make a cost-cutting deal. On the flip side, what if your team saves the company money? You could have individual bonuses linked to money saved as well as money earned. (Note: Some companies like to use a reward system based on gifts a TV, a watch, etc. So you might want to determine dollar values of various gifts and recommend an item that each individual would value receiving in lieu of cash.)

Most importantly, even though you want to ensure your individual success, don’t lose sight of the value of team work. If you think only of yourself when working for any company, large or small, you’re not only shortchanging your company, you’re shortchanging yourself. No individual can succeed without some support. Just working towards a common goal will help you build the skills necessary for a successful career, whether at your current job or another down the line.

Lorraine Spurge is a personal finance advisor, author and business news commentator. She can be reached at [email protected].

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