IME Named Official Partner of UNICOM Government, A Division of UNICOM Global.

UNICOM Global has accepted IME of Washington, D.C. as an official partner. The company, IME, has been listed within UNICOM’s U.S. Community Pool.

For Immediate Release:

National. - Investment Management Enterprise (IME), Inc. is a management-consulting firm that specializes in Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness, Management Consulting Services, Life Cycle Acquisition Support, Information Technology (IT) Support Services, Cyber Security & Computer Forensics, and Construction Program Management. The company was recently named an official partner through UNICOM Global for UNICOM U.S.’ Community Pool, which provides turnkey information, products, and services to public agencies.

“I’m excited to have IME named as an official partner. We’ve been moving the company forward in many ways and continue to provide our clients with amazing resources and a caring touch,” said Twyla Garrett, President of IME. “We’re looking to open up shares of IME shortly to a private sector of investors. This partnerships solidifies the growth efforts we’ve been working on.”

IME was officially awarded residence within UNICOM’s U.S. Community Pool in April of 2015. Through the U.S. Communities contract, UNICOM Government (formerly GTSI) is responding to the business challenges of state and local government agencies with solutions that provide a wide breadth of technology products and professional services.

“IME has shown significant growth within the IT services market, as well as Homeland Security, over the past three years. IME operates within a forward-thinking, cost-saving mindset, which has only been possible thanks to Ms. Garrett’s background and dedication to driving her company’s solution towards the right opportunities,” said Helene Vece, Media Manager for IME.

Members of the press are invited to speak with Twyla Garrett about IME’s official partnership with UNICOM Global.

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About IME: Since 2000, IME has worked with government agencies, commercial businesses and private sector organizations nationwide. The company is an award-winning leader that is passionate about delivering its core capabilities to clients and individual communities. IME is a woman- and minority- owned firm that specializes in Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness, Management Consulting Services, Life Cycle Acquisition Support, Information Technology (IT) Support Services, Cyber Security & Computer Forensics, and Construction Program Management.

About Twyla Garrett: Ms. Twyla Garrett is a three-time author, public speaker, serial entrepreneur, award-winning community leader, philanthropist, and – most recently- a featured executive profile for Forbes Business. She has experience speaking alongside performers like Mary J. Blige and Magic Johnson, as well as at White House events and The United Nations. Prior to opening IME, Twyla started off working for the Defense Finance and Accounting Service in downtown Cleveland. Twyla later moved to San Diego, California and held positions of deputy controller NADEP and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) Manager for Space and Naval Warfare System Command (SPAWAR).

About UNICOM U.S. Community Pool: U.S. Communities was founded in 1996 as a partnership between the Association of School Business Officials, the National Association of Counties, the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing, the National League of Cities and the United States Conference of Mayors.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Helene Vece, Media Manager for IME
702-409-1282- Media Calls Only
Office@HeleneVece.com
HireIme.com

Creating Great Customer Service

I talk a lot about customer engagement on this blog. I was asked a great question recently. "How do you keep customers coming back?" It's a good questions because once you offer a product or service, how will you engage that customer to buy more? Well, here is what works for me.

1. Get personal. Stage 5 clinger personal. Follow your customers online. Interact with them. Make follow up phone calls. Always be in a state of reminding them you're around and that you care.

2. Be consistent. Don't do right by your clients some of the time. People love paying $5.00 for a cup of coffee at Starbucks not because it is the best coffee in the world (in fact, it's been proven otherwise), but because the staff makes it their business to be personal and to be consistent.

3. Reward people. Who doesn't love getting rewards. Again, think Starbucks. They have a Gold card system that is awesome. Buy 12 drinks and get anything on the menu for free. There is no minimum, either.

If you buy twelve cups of regular coffee, your free drink can still be a Venti Frap or you can get a chicken salad sandwich- whatever you want. So, think of a way to reward your customers that actually presents value and not percentage discounts.

Until tomorrow,
Twyla Garrett

Sales Emails -101

BY GEOFFREY JAMES @SALES_SOURCE wrote an amazing piece for Inc.com on the power of closing a sales email. I was going to summarize it today, but why? It is such a great piece that I am repasting it below. I truly believe every entrepreneur needs to learn to write these types of emails. The full article is here: http://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/the-most-important-email-you-ll-ever-send.html

A proposal email is different from the formal sales proposal written in response to an official request for proposal. I discuss formal sales proposals in "How to Write an Executive Summary."

A proposal email is a summary of the discussions and dialogues that you've had with a potential customer and a written, explicit statement of the business arrangements you've discussed.

You write a proposal email after you've come to a basic agreement with the customer about what you're providing and what the prospective customer will pay. The proposal email has the following structure:

Statement of gratitude (one sentence)
Problem definition and financial impact (one or two sentences)
Desired outcome (one or two sentences)
Proposed solution (two to five sentences)
Proposed price (one sentence)
Risk reduction (one or two sentences)
Next step (one sentence)
For example:

John,
First off, I'd like to thank you for the time you've spent helping me understand your needs. (statement of gratitude)
As I understand it, your service technicians are spending several hours a day driving from job to job, which is costing your company $1 million in lost revenue. (problem definition and financial impact)
You would like to reduce driving time so that your staff of technicians can service more customers. (desired outcome)
As we discussed, our OptiRout system will generate a more efficient driving itinerary, resulting in an ability to service 10 to 20 percent more customers. (proposed solution)
As you know, the base price for our product is $10,000, with ongoing support costs of $1,000 a year. This includes customizing the system to match the driving conditions in your geographical area. (proposed price)
Because of the benefits of more efficient routing, you should achieve return on investment within one month of installation. (risk reduction)
We can begin work as soon as I receive your go-ahead via email. (next step)
Mary

For complex business arrangements, you may also need to create a "letter of agreement" that specifies detailed terms. If this is the case, the next step in the proposal email would be the go-ahead for you to create the letter of agreement. I'll discuss those in a future post.

As with all business emails, make every sentence as concise as possible. Avoid jargon and biz-blab. Do not provide additional information or attempt to sell something else that hasn't been discussed. Remember: no surprises.

I'm going to repeat: no surprises. While your sales proposal email is technically a "sales document," it's not where you do the selling. You do that while you're having a dialogue (either by telephone or email interchange) with the potential customer.

I've used this template to close the final deal for dozens of projects. It's simple, straightforward, and most important, gets the job done.

Two of the Worst Employees – Ever

It is costly to replace a bad employee. Thus, many employers try to use corrective tools and training to offset employee issues. Well, this doesn’t always work. There are two types of employees that will not mold into honorable staff members simply because of personality traits.

The first is the social butterfly. This person is the talker in the group. He or she spends 20 minutes stopping by offices to chat when he or she should be working. Next up, lunch and then the walk back from lunch and then a stop in the bathroom to chat up someone else…. Their work hours are minimal even though they are at the office 8 hours a day.

The second is the TMI employee, yes- as in too much information. This person (sometimes often the same as the social butterfly) brings drama into the office and creates distraction for other employees from goals, work and even customer service. This type of employee thrives on sharing intimate details from personal life, the juicier the better. Not only are they unproductive, the information they share can make others uncomfortable and but you at legal risk!

If you have employees like the ones noted above- start with corrective action and speak with your legal team about their exit strategy.

Until Monday,

Twyla N. Garrett

Saying ‘No’ to Clients

There is a time and a place to put customer service on the back burner and say ‘no’ to a client. For many business owners, this is a hard thing to do. It means turning down money, which we never want to do. However, sometimes you have to look the other way and ignore the cash.

If a client is taking advantage of your good nature, and asking for extra services / products- it is time to lay down the law. ‘No’ can be an empowering word and you don’t have to be mean when you say it. There are polite ways to decline a request, such as stating “I am going to have to politely decline this time.”

The reason I bring this up is because most business owners are people pleasers. We tend to take on a lot and figure out a way to work out the overload at a later date… or worse- put ourselves at the point of financial harm.

My advice for you this Friday is to know when to say ‘no’ and then to be strong when saying it. If a client cuts off your services because you aren’t willing to 1) work for free 2) be overloaded or 3) can’t break an ethical position – that client isn’t worth having.

Until Monday,

Twyla N. Garrett

Marketing, Are You At A Standstill?

I often watch new business owners put aside 5k for a marketing budget (based on a year) and then spend most of it during the first three months. They wait, wait and wait some more and still- there is no engagement. What happened?

Well, nothing. To be blunt, marketing isn’t a magic wand and it doesn’t reap rewards quickly. There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes of many marketing campaigns. Months of A/B split testing, checking out editorial calendars, etc. So, you need to open your budget more, target the right audience, and use multiple venues / avenues to get your message across.

Repetition is key. Three months of advertising o the same channel isn’t going to launch your business. You will find yourself at a standstill. My best advice is to have a realistic budget and then expectations (time wise) for your layered marketing campaign.

Until next time,

Twyla N. Garrett

Marketing – Revisit Your Department

Are you in the middle of a marketing slump? Summer tends to be a slow time for marketing and public relations efforts. This is why I tell all my business owner friends to re-evaluate marketing strategies during the summer. It is a slow time and there is plenty of space to review, plan and strategize.

Facebook and social media marketing efforts during this time are easy to A/B split test. You can review what times of day and what types of posts actually work and don’t work. You can also see what posts work on certain social media mediums vs. what doesn’t work.

Reviewing customer research is important during this time, too. When you launch your company, reviewing and studying your customers seems to be pretty important. Once customers start to roll in, revisiting your customer demographic, their buying trends, etc. seems to fall by the wayside. Don’t let this happen!

If there are two things to take away this weekend, understanding your social media efforts and who your customers are is essential and should be the main thing to revisit when it comes to marketing.

Until Monday,

Twyla N. Garrett

Bad People: Homeland Security

We all have to work with one another when it comes to business. Even the Homeland Security industry, which it now is an industry, collaboration is key! Poor leadership or internal employee and sub-contractor issues can mean serious consequences when it comes to business of any kind, but especially with Homeland Security matters.

I recently read, “Bad managers are manipulative and might take advantage of situations to advance their own profile. For example, a manager could use the results of high-performing employees in his department to set himself up for a promotion.” This was in an article on how bosses use their employees to advance their own careers. Well, this is a perfect example of poor human behavior on any level.

How do you combat this from happening around you? Simple, communication and a zero tolerance policy. Now, there is hard work here. You can’t promote communication from an open door open down the hall or on another floor. You have to be in the mix of everything going on in order to be effective with your communication efforts.

I have noticed the offices with the most politics, back biting, and worst in human behavior tend to be the offices that look like cube farms or have many open doors located away from the bull pin. Improve your communication and overall performance with people better by designing an office that promotes connection and communication.

Until tomorrow,

Twyla N. Garrett

3 Reasons Why You Need To Be Cheap

Financial mistakes and misspending can kill a business. It is important that you are a cheap CEO or business owners for the first three years of your company. Now, don’t scale back your advertising budget or your PR budget. You will need it. There are ways to scale back costs and I’m listing them below.

First, you don’t need a fancy office. Be cheap with your office space. Rent virtual offices or work from home. You should get an office you can afford now and find a better one later when your business is actually bringing in money. Cut a major expense out by only obtaining the office rental you need, no the one you want.

Next, don’t travel like a king or a queen. Keep your business expenses down by staying at the Holiday Inn. Yes, traveling on the company’s dime when you own the company still isn’t a reason to go all out. So, make sure you travel right by spending as little as possible and flying, driving and staying in economy-class. This small change can save you up to 60% on travel expenses yearly. A bed is a bed, right? Right!

Finally, don’t call your lawyer for every hiccup. Legal fees run an average of $500 an hour. Why! You do need your lawyer for specific items. However, setting up the legal structure of your company can be done for a lesser expense on LegalZOOM.com or alike websites.

Until next time,
Twyla N. Garrett

The secret to productivity!

I was introduced to an amazing tool that helps me increase productivity and get to know my clients better. In fact, it has boosted my productivity and my profits. What is it? A recording device.

Yes, in the day of the app, I am relying on a basic digital recorder to move my business forward. I highly recommend this tactic to anyone and everyone- employee or business owner a like. You see, as a business owner I have to deal with many people, many problems, and many prospects daily.

Using a recorder allows me to record conversation highlights to review at a later date or time. When I am done pitching a client, I record my key thoughts about the client’s project and personal items he or she may have said to me right after the conversation and while it is fresh in my mind. Then when myself or my team is working on the proposal we can easily recall key information to include into the proposal. Even something as simply as a client mentioning they like Chiptole is useful. I will often record preferences noted by the client during a meeting so I can send a tailored ‘Thank You’ gift at a later date or as a follow up push.

So, simply taking a few minutes to recall important events into a record can truly help your productivity and your profit margin. Until next time, Twyla N. Garrett

Who Has Your Money?

I love when people turn their money over to their accountant and walk away. Why? Would you turn over all your money to a stranger on the street and tell him or her to take great care of it? Nope! So, just because someone is a licensed accountant doesn’t mean they have your best interest in mind or are incapable of making mistakes. You need to be in charge of your money regardless if you have an accountant or not!

Here are 5 questions to ask any accountant you are considering to hire and, again, make sure you audit him or her regularly.

1. What are a few considerations, financially speaking, that I should be touching base with you on and why?

2. Can you help me grow my business? How?

3. What should be my break-even point?

4. What are common mistakes I should avoid when working with you?

5. Can I have a few past clients as references and the reason why they are past clients?

If you start with these questions then you are on your way to being move involved with your own finances. Until tomorrow,

Twyla N. Garrett

Color and Your Website

People tend to use blues, black and shades of red when designing corporate-based websites. While this may be a nice way to design a website, research shows the use of color is changing when it comes to ROI.

In a peer reviewed journal article, Satyendra Singh determined that it takes a mere 90 seconds for a customer to form an opinion about a product. And, 62-90% of that interaction is determined by the color of the product alone. So, boring and corporate based websites that all look alike will not stand out!

This doesn’t mean you go out and start throwing wild colors on your website. There has to be a right way, the right time, and color catered to the right audience. Yellow is associated as a kids’ color. Unless you sell services or products aimed at kids and their parents, yellow would be a wrong choice of color. Orange is associated with discounting products and services. Does this fit your demographic. There is something to be said about the color of psychology. So, it isn’t just about using color but what colors you use and how you use it!

Targeting women? In a survey on color and gender via Inc.com, 35% of women said blue was their favorite color, followed by purple (23%) and green (14%). 33% of women confessed that orange was their least favorite color, followed by brown (33%) and gray (17%).

My suggestion if you are getting ready to spring clean your website, consider color use. Do a web search on the phrase ‘psychology of color’ and really think about who your website sells to and what colors you should incorporate. For some companies the use of color is a bad thing, even with the popularity of color and social media being high. Risk management companies shouldn’t ever use color. It defeats their purpose.

Still have questions? Connect with me on Twitter!

Twyla N. Garrett

The Save Time Cure

Someone recently asked me how they can cure themselves of being stretched too thin. Easy! Stop multi-tasking. There isn’t a single shred of evidence that shows this is productive. In fact, multi-tasking is based on the sole concept of spreading yourself thin over a variety of tasks. Why do this to yourself? You will only become frustrated when you are producing a bunch of mediocre products / services!

The key to curing yourself of over extensions is to realistically schedule time for certain products and then refrain from checking your phone or answering the phone when you are working on them.

As you head into the weekend try to stop overcommitting or multi-tasking. I promise you will find the quality of your work goes up.

Until Monday,

Twyla Garrett

Your Body Is A Champion – At Least It Should Communicate This!

There is a lot to be said for body language. We are constantly judging people by their appearances and how they act. Don’t be fooled into thinking this doesn’t occur, it does! Now is a great time to decide how your body behaves on purpose to communicate the message of a champion to others.

Start by evaluating if you act confident or defensive in any and all situations. It seems simple but we often fail to check this within ourselves. If you are speaking at a coffee shop, giving an order or talking with passers by, chances are you aren’t standing with your arms crossed. Chances are you are also not standing in an engaging position. Change this about yourself.

Each day you should make a conscious decision to act confident, even in casual situations. Stand with your arms to your side , excellent posture and smile when you speak. Don’t say ‘hi’ to strangers, engage them. Reach out your hand, shake theirs, introduce yourself by name and ask for theirs. Be bold. Even if you are not that confident, these tricks will work.

Communication is everything. Remember this on your road to success.

Twyla N. Garrett

Assistants Slow You Down

Everyone knows by reading my blog that I am a huge promoter of delegation. This said, I do want to address what happens when you hire your first assistant. There is a sense of relief and almost a feeling of less responsibility on the business owner or director. Don’t let hiring an assistant provoke a sense of “freedom” from work or responsibility. In fact, with an assistant you should be taking more on!

For example, controlling your own calendar is crucial. Many people let their assistants set up their appointments. Well, this is great if you want to be in hour long meetings or phone calls all day long. You need to control your calendar, period! Your productivity will go down when your assistant starts making meeting after meeting after meeting. Don’t delegate this task- ever!

Do you really need an assistant to book your travel plans? Is this cost-effective? No! Technology has made it so much easier to book your own flights, travel plants, etc. that paying someone to do this for you almost feels sacrilegious. You can mind five minutes in the day to book your own travel plans or dinner reservations. You don’t need to pay someone to do this for you.

You see, assistants can provide some benefit for you as far as performing actual work towards a goal. However, when it comes to booking meetings or travel for you personally – they are not needed. In fact, they hinder you.

Until next time,

Twyla N. Garrett

Persuasion , Are You Capable?

In business, as in life, sometimes a little persuasion is needed. This is a time to ask yourself if you are capable of pushing others to help you or accomplish something. In business, you need to be!

On this Monday morning I’ve decided to offer you two powerful tools for persuasion. In the Homeland Security business, we often have to use these tools at my company.

First, you have to be concise. People who go on and on and on tend to lose their audience, bore their audience and then tangle themselves up in details an investor or client shouldn’t ever hear about. So, if you want to be persuasive, be brief.

Next, you have to understand that visuals are key. People associated certain colors with certain emotions. Do your homework on the color of psychology and then create killer visuals that enforce what it is you are pitching. Again, keep your visuals concise.

You don’t have to be a marketing or sales genius to get your way, you only have to be short, sweet and to the point!

Until tomorrow,

Twyla N. Garrett

Is Your Boss Terrible?

I own a business. I am a boss. So why am I writing about terrible bosses? Well, we all have room to grow but being many of my readers are soon-to-be entrepreneurs, many of you are still working for someone right now! Thus, this post if for you!

If your boss is a micromanager, I’m sorry. Your boss’ company will not grow unless he or she lets go of the harness. If you are in this situation, try sending your boss an action plan once a task is assigned to you. Note “check in” dates of when you will provide updates on certain milestones. If you take the initiative first, chances are your boss will not micromanage so much down the road.

If your boss changes direction often, I’m sorry. I understand going where the money is but sometimes boss’ are spread too thin and then start to panic. Try to offer data as to why you and your boss should stay the course. Chances are your thinking will be more level-headed than that of a business owner who has money on the line. You can be the voice of reason in this scenario.

Most of the time the boss doesn’t intend on being a terrible leader. It happens for a variety of reasons. Key employees gently point this out and help better the company. You can be this person.

Until Monday,

Twyla N. Garrett

Monday is S-Corp Time.

Business taxes are normally due on March 15th. Since this date falls on a Saturday, the IRS extended the filing deadline to Monday, March 17th! Here are a few tax tips if it is crunch time for your business taxes. I’m not a professional so make sure to check my tips against your personal situation with your CPA.

TIPS:

1. S corporations generally don't pay taxes. Their owners pay taxes on their share of the corporations’ net income. To enable owners to figure their personal taxes, S corporations must issue these schedules to shareholders. Schedule K-1 tells shareholders their share of income, deductions, credits, and other items.

2. There are some changes related to Form 1120S to consider. S corporations may need to complete a new Schedule B accompanying their Form 1120S.

3.New on this year’s Schedule K-1 is code U of box 17 for reporting information related to the net investment income, or NII, tax. This is an additional Medicare tax of 3.8 percent on the lesser of net investment income or the shareholder’s modified adjusted gross income over his or her threshold amount that depends on tax-filing status.

Happy tax filing,

Twyla N. Garrett

Homeland Security Expert Available to Talk Missing Boeing 777 Plane and Russia / Ukraine Crisis.

Homeland Security expert and author, Twyla Garrett, is well-versed in the areas of national security and international safety. Ms. Garrett is available to speak with all media outlets on the subjects of the Missing 777 Plane and/or the Russia / Ukraine crisis and what it means for the USA.

Twyla N. Garrett is the author of ‘Homeland Security ; A Comprehensive Guide for All’ and owns IME, a homeland securities firm. Ms. Garrett is reaching out to the national media as a valuable resource on the topics of homeland security, the missing Boeing 777 (Flight 370) plane and the stolen passports, as well as the Russia / Ukraine crisis and how it can impact USA relations with both countries and the world.

“There are some real concerns directly related to flight 370. If terrorism is suspected, and we have grounds to believe it is, then the flight being held at another location isn’t likely. Whomever took the plan, if this is what happened, didn’t care about their fingerprints being scanned. What is even more concerning is the process of the fingerprints being scanned but the rest of the security technologies not being up to par,” said Ms. Garrett.

Ms. Garrett has been interviewed by several media resources in the past and was featured by Dell for the securities and technological work being accomplished by IME using the Dell product. Additionally, Ms. Garrett pens a daily blog on the topic of business with Homeland Security being the featured topic each and every Wednesday. “I think I can offer a different perspective to the media when it comes to these topics because I am not an elected official. I don’t have to protect my job come next election. What I say and how I say is informative, honest and not influenced by special interests or an intent to run, or rerun, for office,” finished Garrett.

Twyla Garrett is an extraordinary entrepreneur, corporate speaker, and compelling author who has been personally invited to speak at The Whitehouse on the issues of creating jobs, economic growth and the controversial fiscal cliff of 2012. Garrett is known for her notable (sometimes 100% self-funded) business deals as much as she is known for providing excellent opportunities to individuals facing immense challenges. Twyla’s memoir will be published in 2013 and it will be followed by a series of “how-to” business books, starting with one based on Homeland Security. Currently, Twyla’s business blog and social media accounts furnish motivational quotes and an over-the-shoulder view of her unique perspective on profiting in business while helping others.

https://twitter.com/TwylaGarrett

Breaking Up with Your Bank 101

There are some occasions where I tell business owners to break up with their banks. Yes, like all things related to business, if your bank doesn’t appreciate your commitment as a customer- break up with it. Inspired by a friend’s recent experience, I’m listing three signs that may help you decide if it is time to ditch your bank for another one.

1. Your bank’s representative never has an answer. If you don’t have a personal relationship with your bank’s staff as a business owner, it is a bad thing. If your point of contact at the bank can’t answer questions and has to check with someone higher at another brand, it is a bad thing. Why? Well, business owners often have “grey areas” and personal relationships can help push people through these areas and get things accomplished. A yes or no, black or white answer from a representative who doesn’t know you means your business truly doesn’t matter to the bank.

2. Understand your representative hasn’t ever signed a paycheck for someone else. Thus, he isn’t going to be as invested in your business as you. However, he or she should care. They are there to help you and they’re not the IRS – thus they are paid to guide and consult on what works for your business. If the bank isn’t helping guide you when needed, it is break up time.

3. The bank is connected with the right people. Your bank / banker should have a list of recommendations from CPAs, attorneys and more. They act as the hub of all things financial and business. If the banker doesn’t have recommendations then how involved in your business – or business in general- can he or she be?

Until Monday,

Twyla Garrett