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November 20th

In This Issue

Economic Snapshot – Three Months FY2006-2007

Economic Notes:

This Weeks Leads:

Grants:
 

Scorecard

Utah’s Largest Cities

  • The percent of residents 25 years and older that have completed high school was highest in Provo at 93.8 percent, and lowest in Ogden at 80.1 percent. The state average was 90.1 percent.
  • The average travel time to get to work was lowest in Provo—15 minutes, and highest in West Jordan—23.9 minutes. The state average was 20.5 minutes.
  • The percentage of workers traveling to work alone in a vehicle was lowest in Provo—69.6 percent, and highest in Sandy—79.7 percent. The state average was 76.5 percent.
  • The percent of workers who worked outside the county in which they resided was lowest in West Jordan— 5.6 percent, and highest in Ogden— 28.4 percent. The state average was 18 percent.
  • The largest household size was in West Jordan— 3.65 persons, and smallest average household size in Salt Lake City—2.43 persons. The state average household size was 3.07 persons.
  • The percent of residents 25 years and older that have completed high school was highest in Provo at 93.8 percent, and lowest in Ogden at 80.1 percent. The state average was 90.1 percent.
  • The percent of residents 25 years and older that have completed a bachelor’s degree was highest in Provo—40.4 percent, and lowest in West Valley City— 10.2 percent. The state average was 27.9 percent.
  • The percent of people below the poverty level was lowest in West Jordan—4.3 percent, and highest in Provo—28.3 percent. The state average was 10.2 percent
  • The percent of married-couple families with both husband and wife in the labor force was highest in West Jordan—65 percent, and lowest in Provo—44.4 percent. The state average was 52.6 percent.
  • The city with the largest minority population was West Valley City— 37.6 percent, and the smallest minority population was Sandy— 10.4 percent. The state average was 16.4 percent.
  • The percentage of residents over the age of one year who lived in a different house one year ago was highest in Provo—32.3 percent, and lowest in Sandy— 12.8 percent. The state average was 19.4 percent
  • The percent of workers who worked outside the county in which they resided was lowest in West Jordan— 5.6 percent, and highest in Ogden— 28.4 percent.
  • The percentage of workers traveling to work alone in a vehicle was lowest in Provo—69.6 percent, and highest in Sandy—79.7 percent.
  • The percent of married-couple families with both husband and wife in the labor force was highest in West Jordan—65 percent, and lowest in Provo—44.4 percent.

    Source: US Bureau of the Census, Workforce Services, State of Utah, 2006

Don't get a business degree, get angry

By Anita Roddick, founder of Body Shop

I never went to business school. I went to the business school of life. And I did so from an early age. I was brought up in an Italian immigrant family with a work ethic that teetered on the verge of slave labour.

We got up each morning at five to make breakfast for the local fishermen in our caf� in Littlehampton and did not close until the last customer wandered home. The other caf�s opened at nine and shut at five. This was a clue to me about what makes some people entrepreneurs and not others. Our caf� was owned by ferociously determined immigrants; the others were not.

This is an important difference and the reason that I do not advise new entrepreneurs to submit themselves first to the rigours of an MBA is that business schools do not understand it. The conventional advice to budding entrepreneurs is that they should groom themselves to be the whizz-kid with a suit and a fascination for spreadsheets that bank managers like.

Actually, potential entrepreneurs are outsiders. They are people who imagine things as they might be, not as they are, and have the drive to change the world. Those are qualities that business schools do not teach. An MBA can give you useful skills that can be applied to a life in business. But they will not teach you the most crucial thing: how to be an entrepreneur. They might also sap what entrepreneurial flair you have as they force you into the template called an MBA pass.

I often get asked to talk about entrepreneurship - even by hallowed institutions such as Harvard and Stanford - but I am not at all convinced it is a subject you can teach. How do you teach obsession - because often it is obsession that drives an entrepreneur's vision? How do you learn to be an outsider if you are not one already?

In the business school model, entrepreneurs are most at home with a balance sheet, a cash-flow forecast and a business plan. They dream of profit forecasts and the day they can take the company public. These are just part of the toolbox of re- imagining the world: they are not the defining characteristics of entrepreneurship. The problem with business schools is that they are controlled by, and obsessed with, the status quo. They encourage you deeper into the world as it is. They transform you into a better example of corporate man. We need good administration and financial flair, after all, but we need people of imagination too.

So here are 10 lessons that entrepreneurs need more than what they teach in business school.

  1. Tell stories. The central tool for imagining the world differently and sharing that vision is not accountancy. It has more to do with the ability to tell a story.Telling stories emphasises what makes you and your company different. Business schools emphasise how to make you toe the line.
  2. Concentrate on creativity. It is critical for any entrepreneur to maximise creativity and to build an atmosphere that encourages people to have ideas. That means open structures, so that accepted thinking can be challenged.
  3. Be an opportunistic collector. When entrepreneurs walk down the street they have their antennae out, evaluating how what they see can relate back to what they are doing. It might be packaging, a word, a poem or something in a different business.
  4. Measure the company according to fun and creativity.Business schools are obsessive about measurement. The result is vast departments of number-crunchers, but often little progress. What is most important in a company - or anything else - is unquantifiable.
  5. Be different, but look safe. If you are different, you will stand out. But do not take risks with people who can make the difference between success and failure, especially if you are a woman trying to borrow money from the bank - which is how I came to be turned down for my original loan.
  6. Be passionate about ideas. Entrepreneurs want to create a livelihood from an idea that has obsessed them; not necessarily a business, but a livelihood. When accumulating money drives out the ideas and the anger behind them, you are no longer an entrepreneur.
  7. Feed your sense of outrage. Discontentment drives you to want to do something about it. There is no point in finding a new vision if you are not angry enough to want it to happen.
  8. Make the most of the female element. Companies as we know them were created by men for men, often influenced by the military model, on complicated and hierarchical lines and are both dominated by authoritarian principles and resistant to change. By setting up their own businesses, women can challenge these models and will be welcomed by customers for doing so.
  9. Believe in yourself and your intuition. There is a fine line between entrepreneurship and insanity. Crazy people see and feel things that others do not. But you have to believe that everything is possible. If you believe it, those around you will believe it too.
  10. Have self-knowledge. You do not need to know how to do everything, butyou must be honest enough with yourself to know what you cannot provide yourself.

    Until they can teach these lessons, business schools will remain the whited sepulchres of the status quo.

    Source: The Financial Times Limited 2006

The $38,500 Closet

To live in New York City is to covet thy neighbor’s closet. Especially if it’s a walk-in.

Since apartment living is by its very nature space-limited, storage or the lack thereof can mean the difference between strolling out the front door in a well-pressed suit and shuffling out while trying to straighten a hopelessly rumpled collar. But the lowly closet is not just a place for shoe boxes and sweaters anymore. It has become a hot commodity — a player in the New York real estate market.

Developers of new buildings tout basement storage units as an amenity almost on a par with a gym or a doorman. Wire-mesh storage cages now routinely sell for $30,000 to $40,000, and enclosed storage rooms can sell for twice as much.

The advantages are clear. Residents get private storage without having to trek to a faraway warehouse. Unused areas of the buildings are transformed into clean, practical and profitable spaces. And building sponsors or boards get a new source of income without raising fees or imposing assessments.

Shaun Osher, the chief executive of Core Group Marketing, said that while developers rarely included storage space in their buildings 10 or 15 years ago, “now it’s expected, and as long as there’s an opportunity to put it in, they’re doing it.”

But, he added, “not all storage space is created equal.”

He said he had seen storage prices ranging from $700 to $2,000 per square foot, with basic wire cages at the low end, and at the high end, sealed and climate-controlled rooms suitable for storing wine or fine art, some selling for as much as $80,000.

“The storage space generally reflects what’s happening upstairs,” he said. “And it doesn’t matter if you have a small or big apartment, space is at such a premium in the city, everyone finds this additional space valuable.”

Michael Chapman, an executive vice president of Stribling, said storage was often one of the first things that prospective buyers asked about when shopping for an apartment. “Closet space within units is becoming more and more minimal,” he said, “so extra storage is becoming so important to people. If you asked New Yorkers what they would rather have, parking or storage, I think most would say storage.”

Kenneth Horn, the president of Alchemy Properties, said that this reality led his company to incorporate storage into all of its latest projects. Three buildings under construction will offer storage cages for sale, with prices ranging from $28,000 to $36,000 in Brooklyn, and slightly more in Manhattan.

But in three other projects that Alchemy completed in the last two years, storage units have been provided with every apartment at no extra charge. Like other developers, Mr. Horn said, Alchemy sells storage units only when there are not enough units to assign one to each apartment, and so they must be allocated on a first-come-first- served basis.

In new construction, when storage is provided with an apartment, the square footage is generally tacked onto an apartment’s square footage, which means that it will figure into maintenance costs and property taxes.

Developers lavished space on storage because they were trying to coax wealthy people out of town houses and into their new apartment buildings - Buildings are going back to that focus on luxury, and they’re allocating the space for storage again.

Source: New York Times, November 16, 2006

Greetings!

Don't get an MBA! Get Angry!

Grants

Economic notes

This weeks leads


  • Economic Snapshot – Three Months FY2006-2007
    		•

    • Sales and Use Taxes +3.9%
    • Corporate Franchise Taxes +40.4%
    • Individual Income Taxes +10.7%
    • Individual Income Taxes: Withholding +14.4%
    • Severance Taxes +33.3%
    • Mineral Taxes: Withholding +29.7%
    • Uniform School Total +9.5%
    • Motor Fuel Taxes +.4%

    Source: Utah State Tax Commission, 11/16/06

  • Economic Notes:
    		•

    • Risk of Recession

    • The Moody’s Economy.com probability of recession fell in October to 14%, from September’s downwardly revised 20%. Most components of the indicator were unchanged in October, but the sharp increase in the S&P 500 index for the month helped put downward pressure on recession risks. The chance of the economy being in recession in six months remains modest.
    • Global Survey of Business Confidence

    • Global businesses remain tentative. Confidence is holding steady, as it has since late summer, but its level is consistent with global growth that is below potential. Vehicle and transportation companies are notably dour, with confidence among residential real estate and manufacturing firms particularly fragile. European firms are the most downbeat, while South American firms are the most optimistic. North American and Asian confidence is stable, but off sharply since peaking nearly a year ago. Firms continue to invest strongly in equipment and structures, but notably less so than in the summer, and are liquidating inventories. The best news is on pricing, with price pressures back to where they were in early 2005.
    • Consumer Price Index

    • The seasonally adjusted consumer price index fell 0.5% in October, after a 0.5% decline in September. For the second straight month, a big drop in energy prices pushed the overall index lower. The core index, excluding food and energy prices, rose 0.1%, in October; this followed three straight months of 0.2% monthly increases in the core CPI. Over the past year, core CPI inflation has run at a 2.8% pace on a seasonally-adjusted basis. The drop in top line inflation was larger than expected, and the increase in the core CPI was smaller than expected. This is very good news on the inflation front.
    • US Federal Budget

    • The unified deficit for October was $49.3 billion, online with the CBO’s preliminary estimate. This was 4% greater than the unified deficit in October 2005.
    • Retail Sales (MARTS)

    • Total retail sales fell 0.2% in October, below September’s downwardly revised 0.8% decline. Auto sales rose despite the decline in unit auto sales. Non- auto sales fell 0.4%. Gas station sales tumbled again and accounted for the decline in sales. Year-over- year growth fell to 4.5% in total and 3.1% excluding autos.
    • PPI

    • Producer prices for finished goods fell by 1.6% in October due to price declines across a wide range of goods. Prices for finished energy products continued their decline, falling by 5.0%. Excluding food and energy products, core prices for finished goods fell by 0.9%, the largest monthly decline in more than a year.
    • Business Inventories

    • Total business inventories increased 0.4% for September, below both our and consensus expectations. Inventories at retailers fell 0.1%. Total business sales decreased by 2%. The total I/S ratio moved up to 1.3.
    • Chain Store Sales

    • Chain store sales fell 0.8% in the week ending November 11, reversing a large part of the prior week’s gain and continuing a recent pattern of erratic growth, according to the ICSC. Year-over- year growth slipped to 2.1%, the lowest since late July.
    • MBA Mortgage Applications Survey

    • Mortgage demand increased 4.3% in the week ending November 10. Purchase applications increased 2.7% and refinance applications increased 6.5%.
    • Oil and Gas Inventories

    • Crude oil inventories rose 1.3 million barrels for the week ending November 10, according to the Energy Information Administration, well above expectations of a 0.3 million barrel build. Distillate inventories fell by a whopping 3.6 million barrels, well above expectations of a 0.4 million barrel draw. Gasoline stocks fell 3.7 million barrels, also sharply above expectations of flat inventories. A drop in refinery activity was to blame. This is another moderately bullish report, due mostly to the surprisingly large drop in product inventories.
    • Natural Gas Storage

    • Underground storage of natural gas increased by five billion cubic feet during the week ending November 10. This was slightly less than the expected injection of 7.8 Bcf into storage. Inventories are now 7.4% above the five-year average. This report is likely to have minimal impact on prices.
    • International Capital Flows

    • The overall net inflow to U.S. securities was $65.1 billion in September, following a net inflow of $114.1 billion in August.
    • NAHB Housing Market Index

    • Homebuilder optimism increased 2 points to 33 in November, its second consecutive monthly increase, after eight consecutive months of declines.

    Source: Economy.com

  • This Weeks Leads:
    		•

    • Tradehome Shoes.
    • Tradehome Shoe Stores, Inc. trades as Tradehome Shoes. The 97-unit chain operates locations throughout AR, CO, IA, IN, IL, KS, MI, MN, MO, MT, ND, NE, OK, SD, WI and WY.
    • The family shoe stores occupy spaces of 1,600 sq.ft. to 2,200 sq.ft. in malls.
    • Plans call for 12 openings throughout AR, CO, IA, ID, IN, IL, KS, MI, MN, MO, ND, NE, OH, OK, SD,UT, WI and WY during the coming 18 months.
    • Typical leases run 10 years. A vanilla shell and specific improvements are required.
    • For details, contact
      • Patrick Teal
      • Tradehome Shoe Stores, Inc.
      • 8300 97th Street South
      • Cottage Grove, MN 55016
      • 651-459-8600 Ext. 109, Fax 651-459- 8611
    • Select Comfort Creator of the Sleep Number Bed
    • Select Comfort Retail Corp. trades as Select Comfort Creator of the Sleep Number Bed at 423 locations nationwide.
    • The home furnishings stores occupy spaces of 1,200 sq.ft. to 2,500 sq.ft. in malls, entertainment, lifestyle and specialty centers.
    • Plans call for 60 to 70 openings nationwide during the coming 18 months.
    • Typical leases run seven years.
    • Preferred cotenants include Banana Republic, Brookstone, Cheesecake Factory, Coach, Eddie Bauer, J. Crew, Limited Too, P.F. Changs, Pottery Barn and Williams- Sonoma.
    • Preferred demographics include a population of 100,000 within five miles earning $50,000 as the average household income.
    • For more information, contact Gary Cary, vice president of real estate, John Stange regarding the western region or John Key regarding the eastern region, Select Comfort Retail Corp., 6105 Trenton Lane North, Minneapolis, MN 55442; 763-551-7174, Fax 763-694-3386; Emails: [email protected] or [email protected]; Web site: www.selectcomfort.com.
    • Entertainment Cinemas
    • Entertainment Cinemas operates nine locations throughout CT, MA and RI.
    • The movie theaters occupy second-generation spaces of 20,000 sq.ft. to 50,000 sq.ft. in freestanding locations and malls.
    • Growth opportunities are sought throughout its existing markets and an entry to ME, NH and VT during the coming 18 months, with representation by National Commercial Brokers.
    • Preferred demographics include a population of 100,000 within seven miles earning $35,000 as the average household income.
    • The company prefers site submittals by mail or email.
    • For more information, contact Ed Gerwig or Brian Nadler, National Commercial Brokers, 75 Second Avenue, Suite 315, Needham, MA 02494; Email: [email protected]; Website: www.nationalcommercial.com.
    • Kerasotes Theatres
    • Kerasotes Theatres operates over 75 locations throughout IA, IL, IN, MN, MO and OH.
    • The movie theaters occupy spaces of 40,000 sq.ft. in freestanding locations, malls, entertainment and power centers.
    • Growth opportunities are sough throughout the existing markets during the coming 18 months, with representation by Mid-America Real Estate.
    • For more information, contact Steve Frishman, Mid-America Real Estate, 2 Mid America Plaza, Suite 330, Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181; 630-954-7300, Fax 630-954-7304; Email: [email protected].
    • Il Fornaio
    • Sequoia Restaurant & Entertainment Group trades as Il Fornaio at 26 locations throughout CA and NV.
    • The restaurants occupy spaces of 8,000 sq.ft. in mixed-use centers.
    • Growth opportunities are sought nationwide during the coming 18 months.
    • For more information, contact:
      • Brian Kjos
      • Sequoia Restaurant & Entertainment Group
      • 610 Newport Center Drive, Suite 500
      • Newport Beach, CA 92660
      • Web site: www.sequoiacompany.com.
  • Grants:
    		•

    Improve Communications Tech for Public Safety!

    • Communications Technology
    • POSTED: 10/27/2006
    • FUNDING SOURCE: Dept. of Justice
    • ELIGIBILITY: Nonprofits, public agencies, and IHEs
    • $ AVAILABLE: $500,000 GRANTS AVAILABLE: N.A.
    • MAX GRANT SIZE: N.A.
    • DEADLINE: 11/27/06
    • CONTACT INFORMATION: Joseph Heaps, 202-305- 1554
    • DESCRIPTION: Funds to research, develop, and evaluate emerging communication technology solutions for public safety agencies.

    Return Prisoners to Society!

    • Prisoner Reentry Initiative
    • POSTED: 10/30/2006
    • FUNDING SOURCE: Dept. of Justice
    • ELIGIBILITY: States and Indian Tribes
    • $ AVAILABLE: N.A.
    • GRANTS AVAILABLE: 20
    • MAX GRANT SIZE: $450,000
    • DEADLINE: 1/11/07
    • CONTACT INFORMATION: Julius Dupree, 202-514- 1928
    • DESCRIPTION: Reduce criminal recidivism by helping returning offenders find work and access other critical services in their communities.

    Improve Health Literacy!

    • Understanding and Promoting Health Literacy
    • POSTED: 10/30/2006
    • FUNDING SOURCE: DHHS
    • ELIGIBILITY: Nonprofit and public agencies
    • $ AVAILABLE: N.A.
    • GRANTS AVAILABLE: N.A.
    • MAX GRANT SIZE: $200,000
    • DEADLINE: 4/27/07 (LOI); 5/24/07 (Final)
    • CONTACT INFORMATION: Marge Keyes, 301-427- 1333 DESCRIPTION: Funds to encourage empirical research on health literacy
    • concepts, theory and interventions.

    Improve Americans' Understanding of Foreign Language!

    • Intensive Summer Language Institutes
    • POSTED: 10/31/2006
    • FUNDING SOURCE: Dept. of State
    • ELIGIBILITY: Nonprofit and public agencies
    • $ AVAILABLE: $6,000,000 GRANTS AVAILABLE: 1 MAX GRANT SIZE: $6,000,000
    • DEADLINE: 1/5/07
    • CONTACT INFORMATION: Heidi Manley, 202-453- 8135
    • DESCRIPTION: One grant to provide foreign language instruction for American undergraduate and graduate students.

    Reduce Youth Violence!

    • Maximizing Protective Factors for Youth Violence
    • POSTED: 10/31/2006
    • FUNDING SOURCE: DHHS
    • ELIGIBILITY: Nonprofit and public agencies
    • $ AVAILABLE: $400,000
    • GRANTS AVAILABLE: 2 MAX GRANT SIZE: $200,000
    • DEADLINE: 1/26/07 (LOI); 2/28/06 (Final)
    • CONTACT INFORMATION: Rebecca Leeb, 770-488- 1156
    • DESCRIPTION: Funding to conduct secondary analysis of existing data to identify potentially modifiable protective factors for youth violence.

    Improve Teacher Understanding of Technology!

    • Information Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers
    • POSTED: 11/1/2006
    • FUNDING SOURCE: NSF
    • ELIGIBILITY: Nonprofit and public agencies
    • $ AVAILABLE: $20,000,000
    • GRANTS AVAILABLE: 17 MAX GRANT SIZE: $900,000
    • DEADLINE: 1/5/07 (Preliminary); 5/10/07 (Final)
    • CONTACT
    • INFORMATION: Sylvia James, 703- 292-9044
    • DESCRIPTION: Funding for a wide array of activities to assist teachers and their students understand information technology.

    Treat Alcoholism!

    • Mechanisms of Behavior Change in the Treatment of Alcohol Use Disorders
    • POSTED: 11/1/2006
    • FUNDING SOURCE: DHHS
    • ELIGIBILITY: Nonprofit and public agencies
    • $ AVAILABLE: N.A.
    • GRANTS AVAILABLE: N.A.
    • MAX GRANT SIZE: $275,000
    • DEADLINE: 12/19/06 (LOI); 1/19/07 (Final)
    • CONTACT INFORMATION: Robert B. Huebner, 301- 443-1206
    • DESCRIPTION: Grants to investigate the underlying mechanisms that drive behavior change within the context of behavioral treatments for alcohol dependence.
  • BONNEVILLE RESEARCH
    		•
    "Problem-solving" is not planning, and "Planning" is not the same as "problem- solving"

    Effective planning can not be done without addressing the problems that are critical.

    Not all problems deserve attention.

    Some just go away.

    BONNEVILLE RESEARCH

    Bonneville Research is a Utah-based consulting firm providing economic, financial, market and policy research to public and private sector clients throughout the intermountain west.

    Our services include:

    • Financial Analysis
    • Urban Renewal & Redevelopment Analysis and Budgets
    • Strategy and Policy Analysis
    • Economic and Fiscal Impact Analysis
    • Statistical and Survey Research

    Each of our studies is tailored to address the unique needs of our clients and their communities.

    My uncles who were road contractors, would always try to get jobs in Zion, St. George, Las Vegas or Arizona for the winter. I've never been that lucky or smart!

    We currently have assignments in Arizona and New Mexico, but they are more than balanced by one in West Yellowstone.

    Yes, we do work on a regional basis and if you have something we can help with in "Sun Country", Jon or I would love to load up our bicycles and explore the opportunity.

    Bob Springmeyer

    Bonneville Research

    If we can help, please call or email us at

    • Bob
      • 801-364-5300
      • [email protected]
    • Jon
      • 801-746-5706
      • [email protected]

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