Tips for Building a Successful Business

The Wake Forest Schools of Business Family Business Center and Business North Carolina magazine presented North Carolina Family Business of the Year Awards on April 28.

This year’s honorees consisted of Prentiss Baker III (’65) of Baker Roofing Co., Russ Stephenson (’60) of Stephenson Millwork, Philip Kelley Sr. (MBA ’77, P ’11) of Salem Printing and Roger Vaughn (’74) of Ruff Housing.

Wake Forest Magazine asked the winners to share tips for building a successful business.

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1.     Employ and retain quality people (who we are).

2.     Customer focus delivering world-class customer service and quality installations.

3.     Truly care for our employees and customers.

~ Prentiss Baker III (’65 ) of Baker Roofing Co. of Raleigh, third largest U.S. roofing company and employing eight family members among the 750-person work force.

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1.     A successful family business needs to regard all employees as part of the family. You demonstrate this with benefit programs that are concerned with the well-being of the employee’s family unit with safe and comfortable working conditions, and a verbalized appreciation for each employee’s specific contributions to the success of the company.

2.     You can’t manage what you can’t measure. Set realistic goals and standards of performance and make sure that process includes input from those who will be responsible for meeting those targets. Then make sure you have a good feedback system.

3.     The founder of our company, my dad, always reminded us that if we concentrated on the quality of our products, sales would always follow.

~ CEO Russ Stephenson (’60) of Stephenson Millwork Co. of Wilson, a third-generation architectural millwork family business, with 120 employees.

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1.     Communicate clearly and frequently to customers and to employees. Most problems can be avoided or minimized if there are open lines of communication. Listen closely. Plan every job. And do it right the first time, with a sense of urgency that exceeds that of your customer.

2.     Surround yourself with great people. I have been lucky to have worked with, simply put, The Best. People who want to be successful, who are treated with respect for the successes they create, always take care of our customers when they are given the proper tools, equipment and working conditions. We surround ourselves with smart, motivated people who quickly become part of our family.

3.     Take care of the customers. Every customer is a privilege. Meeting customers’ escalating demands for better quality, shorter lead times and lower prices in a global economy is an opportunity to improve both the company and the stability of the workforce. Loyal, long term relationships lead to profitability for us and especially for our customers. We work hard and we continually invest in the latest technology to make sure we bring a higher level of efficiency and productivity to our customers.

— Philip Kelley Sr. (MBA ’77), vice president of Winston-Salem-based Salem Printing Co., which has four family members among its 80 employees.

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1.     Focus on the customer (convenience, transparency, safety, value).

2.     Build a staff that shares the vision (recruit carefully, train, reinforce).

3.     Take a long-term view (invest for the future in technology, infrastructure, etc.).

— Roger Vaughn (’74), owner of Ruff Housing of Winston-Salem, specializing in doggie daycare and boarding and with a work force of 40, including three family members.

Touching Lives: Raising Funds for Kids of Childhood Cancer

“To face this cancer world should be enough. However, it’s not.
Many families are dealing with severe financial difficulties that come along with this cancer world.”
~ Charlie DiGerolamo

In the hallways of the Worrell Professional Center, Charlie DiGerolamo always greets students, faculty and staff with a comforting smile. The retired police officer, now a security officer at Wake Forest University, has dedicated his professional life to keeping others safe. However, there was nothing he could do to protect his son Vinny when cancer attacked.

Vinny was four years old when doctors broke the news to Charlie and Sarah DiGerolamo that their little boy had a cancerous tumor. The DiGerolamos began spending countless hours at Brenner’s Children’s Hospital Pediatric Oncology Ward at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. There, their family grew when they met others on the journey of fighting childhood cancer.

“We quickly learned that many families were not as fortunate to have the support system we are blessed with,” Sarah said.

“It’s a 24/7 job when you have a child with cancer. At any given moment, that child might have to go to the hospital for a night, a week, a month, or the rest of their life,” Charlie explained. Job loss is common for parents of children with cancer, he said. “How can you keep your job when you don’t want to leave your child’s side in case he or she passes away when you are at work?”

When Vinny was in remission, the DiGerolamos teamed up with friends to create Kids of Childhood Cancer, a nonprofit that raises money to provide some financial assistance to families of children going through cancer treatment at Brenner’s Children’s Hospital. The foundation provides food vouchers, gas cards, clothes and toys, and helps pay small household and medical bills
to ease the financial burden families are facing.

On April 15, Wake Forest University Schools of Business students, alumni, faculty and staff showed their support for Kids of Childhood Cancer during the annual Student Government Association Charity Auction at Forsyth Country Club. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room when Charlie and Sarah shared the story behind their foundation. That night, more than $20,000 was raised for Kids of Childhood Cancer. The individual item receiving the highest bid of the night at $3,000 was an “East Meets West Texas BBQ” party donated by professors Ram Baliga and Chuck Kennedy. Other top items donated by faculty, staff and students included stays at beach and mountain homes.

“We could not have been happier with the turnout for this very special event,” said Brian Price (MBA ’11), the chairman of the 2011 Charity Auction. “To see months of preparation rewarded by the crowd’s enthusiasm for Kids of Childhood Cancer was an incredible experience.”

In closing, Sarah told the charity auction attendees, “We want to thank Wake Forest University Schools of Business for making a difference in the lives of these families and choosing Kids of Childhood Cancer as your North Carolina charity for 2011.”

Wake Forest Honors Beta Gamma Sigma Inductees

As the leaders of tomorrow, Wake Forest University alumnus Ben Jones (’94) wants all business students to remember one thing—it all boils down to attitude. This important professional mantra was the focus of Jones’ keynote speech at the Spring 2011 Beta Gamma Sigma Induction Ceremony on April 7.

As a Senior Managing Director at Conway, Del Genio, Gries & Co., LLC and member of the Wake Forest University Schools of Business Board of Visitors, his words of wisdom come from many years of providing restructuring services to corporations throughout the nation. Jones noted that, while many companies will blame the economy or various other external factors for financial failures, more often than not, such incidences are self-inflicted. From his experience, many corporate failures are inevitably tied to a dysfunctional corporate culture coupled with, denial, complacency or resistance to change.

Jones implored inductees into the international honor society to live the Wake Forest ideals of Pro Humanitate and remember that, while attitude can determine failure, it can also determine success. He shared that “behavior and attitude will carry you far” and encouraged the audience to adopt the same advice he shares with companies—maintain a clear vision and strategy while remaining open to the possibility of change.

Caroline Reinert (’11), co-president of Beta Gamma Sigma, appreciated the insight. “Knowing you’re accountable for your attitude is both intimidating and empowering because it means you are the only one responsible for the behaviors and motivations that control your life.”

This year, Wake Forest had 89 new inductees at the undergraduate and master’s level.

The Beta Gamma Sigma inductees join an expanding worldwide network of more than 625,000 outstanding business professionals who have earned recognition through lifetime membership in Beta Gamma Sigma. Students ranking in the top 10% of the baccalaureate and top 20% of graduate programs at schools accredited by AACSB International are eligible for this invitation. Election to lifetime membership in Beta Gamma Sigma is the highest honor a business student can receive anywhere in the world in an undergraduate or master’s program at a school accredited by AACSB International.

Good Fellows

Ten undergraduates have been named Wake Forest Fellows and will work in the President’s Office, Information Systems, University Advancement and in other offices for the next year.

This is the third year that a select group of seniors has been selected as Fellows to work in the University administration for a year. They will begin working following graduation next month.

Fellows for 2011-2012 are:

• Hadley Beier-Green, Topeka, Kan.: START Gallery
• Caitlin Brooks, Mechanicsville, Md.: Sustainability Office
• Elizabeth Garrett, Wilmington, NC: Student Life
• Kendall Hack, Hilton Head Island, SC: Provost’s Office
• Evan Leadem, Chapel Hill, NC: President’s Office
• Caroline Naughton, San Francisco, Calif.: Personal and Career Development Office
• Tyler Pruitt, Winston-Salem, NC: Information Systems
• Austin Shrum, Southlake, Texas: University Advancement
• Varian Tunstall, Vienna, Va.: Dean of the College
• Beth Ann Williams, Willow Park, Texas: Humanities Institute

The fellows program was established in 2008. In addition to working in a particular department, the fellows also participate in leadership activities and interact with top administrators and faculty to learn about higher-education administration.

Community Garden Spring Planting Event

Interested in helping Net Impact with its spring garden? Please complete the following survey if you plan to attend. http://survey2.business.wfu.edu/TakeSurvey.aspx?PageNumber=1&SurveyID=m8MK3853&Preview=true

The agenda involves meeting Sat., April 30, at 8 am at Worrell Courtyard for a Chick-Fil-A breakfast. The team will leave at 8:45 am for the garden. Directions can also be found at http://www.foodbankgarden.blogspot.com/

From 9 am – noon there will be fun in the sun, getting our hands dirty in the garden! No previous gardening experience required. Wear clothes you can get dirty in. If you can't stay the entire time, that's OK!

Questions? Contact Julie: almeje0@wfu.edu

The Community Garden grows produce for the Second Harvest Food Bank of NW North Carolina. Your help will be very appreciated.

Marketing for Good: Leveraging Corporate Responsibility to Drive Sales

Julie Almendral (MBA ‘12) attended a recent talk on corporate responsibility at the Wake Forest University Schools of Business. This is her firsthand account of the lecture, conducted by David Robertson.

 

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On Tuesday afternoon, David Robertson led a conversation on leveraging corporate social responsibility to drive sales. Robertson is an adjunct professor in the Wake Forest University Schools of Business and the director of marketing for Hanesbrands Inc.

To start, Robertson pointed out that the word “responsibility” is an odd word to use in “corporate responsibility” because it sounds like a burden. If done right, however, corporate responsibility can truly add value. If companies take a longer term view over immediate gratification, this can be a tool to differentiate them in the marketplace and can provide revenue-growing opportunities.

Robertson illustrated examples of successful initiatives: the cause-marketing efforts of Tide Loads of Hope and Pepsi Refresh, and the sustainability endeavors of Hanes EcoSmart and Clorox GreenWorks.

The most successful, cause-marketing initiatives are built on a brand’s core benefit, such as Tide’s Loads of Hope. That initiative sends out trucks loaded with washers and dryers to disaster-stricken areas, ad has the capacity to wash up to 9,000 loads of laundry every day. Here, Tide leverages what they stand for—clean laundry—to provide an essential service to people in need.

Successful initiatives also tie in a retail component, which not only drives sales, but also gets the consumer involved. Using the Loads of Hope example, Tide sold specially marked Tide containers and donated a $1.00 from each sale to disaster relief.

In addition to linking a cause to your brand purpose and involving retail customers, other key components of a success corporate responsibility initiative are making the cause meaningful to the consumers, transparency, a long-term perspective, and creating something that employees can engage in as well. These key takeaways not only increase your chance of being responsible, but more importantly, create value for your customers and shareholders.

This talk was hosted by the Schools of Business Net Impact Chapter and the Graduate Marketing Association. Net Impact hopes to host more future discussions to supplement the classroom experience. If you have an idea, send it to almeje0@wfu.edu.

More Details from Faculty Gala

The faculty of the Wake Forest University Schools of Business gathered at the Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on Wednesday, April 20th for its annual Faculty Awards Gala.

Charles Iacovou, senior associate dean for faculty, opened the evening and welcomed his colleagues to the gala which recognizes the outstanding achievements of Wake Forest Schools of Business professors. “I am honored to be here tonight to celebrate you and the work that you do to shape the minds and hearts of our students, in our pursuit to help them become leaders of tomorrow.”

Steve Reinemund, Wake Forest Dean of Business, noted the accomplishments of the Schools, including the undergraduate program’s #1 ranking in Academic Quality for three straight years in BusinessWeek, the World Championship title in the KPMG Global Case Competition brought home by our undergraduate student team earlier this month, and the significant increases in business program rankings, including being recognized among the top 5% in the nation for results in helping students secure jobs.

“None of these achievements would have been possible without your leadership and support,” Reinemund said as he addressed the faculty. “You are the key driver in the success of our school and in the education the students receive here. What I hear most in my interactions with students and alumni is how much the special relationships you have with them enrich their lives. Not only do you teach them in the classroom, but you serve as mentors as they navigate through their collegiate and life journey. I thank you for everything you do and am proud to work alongside you.”

Jill Tiefenthaler, Wake Forest University Provost shared the University’s strategy to build the best group of teacher scholars in the world with a mission to educate students and produce knowledge that will make a difference to our global society. “I celebrate this faculty who has accomplished so much, both individually and collectively. You have improved your game in both teaching and research and you continue to raise the bar by challenging our students, the administration and each other,” she said.

The full list of faculty awards was as follows:

Teaching Awards:
Ajay Patel received the Full-time Master of Business Administration (MBA) Teaching Award which recognizes a member of the faculty for outstanding contribution to the education and personal development of our Full-time MBA students and is based on a ballot of the graduating Full-time MBA students.

George Aldhizer received the MSA Graduate Class Teaching Award which recognizes a member of the faculty for outstanding contribution to the education of our Master of Science in Accountancy students and is based on a ballot of the graduating MSA students.

Melenie Lankau received the Master of Arts in Management (MA) Program Teaching Award which recognizes a member of the faculty for outstanding contribution to the education and personal development of our MA students and is based on a ballot of the graduating fulltime MA students.

Arun Dewasthali received the Senior Class Teaching Award which recognizes a member of the faculty for outstanding contribution to the education and personal development of our undergraduate students and is based on a ballot of all graduating seniors across our undergraduate degree programs.

Pat Dickson received the T.B. Rose Fellowship in Business Award which recognizes a notable innovation or initiative related to instruction in undergraduate or graduate programs. This honor is chosen by a committee of past year’s winners and senior associate dean of faculty. This award is funded by David Cameron Rose.

Sheri Bridges and Clay Hipp received the Horace Kelly Alumni Teaching Award which recognizes faculty for outstanding contribution to the education and personal development of our undergraduate / Master of Science in Accountancy (MSA) students who graduated 10 years ago and is based on nominations from alumni from the tenth anniversary class.

Jonathan Pinder received the Kienzle Alumni Teaching Award for outstanding contribution to the education and personal development of our MBA / MA students which is based on a vote of alumni three years after graduation.

Derrick Boone, Dan Fogel, Charles Iacovou, Patrick McMullen and Chet Miller were acknowledged for receiving Working Professional Program Teaching Awards earlier in the year. The honor recognizes outstanding contributions to the education and personal development of students in our Winston-Salem and Charlotte Working Professional MBA programs and is based on ballots from the graduating students of the fall 2010 and winter 2011 classes.

Research Awards:

Holly Brower and Jack Meredith received the Cowan Faculty Research Award which recognizes faculty members who represent the highest standards of scholarship. This honor is chosen by the Schools of Business Research Committee.

Jim Narus received the High Impact Scholarship Award which recognizes a faculty member for his/her significant influence on business practice or pedagogy. This honor is chosen by the Schools of Business Research Committee.

Service Awards:

Ken Middaugh received the Service MVP Award which recognizes outstanding service to the school, above and beyond administrative duties. This honor is based on nominations from the Schools of Business faculty and chosen by the executive team.

Sheri Bridges received the Spirit Award which recognizes a faculty member who displays good citizenship and positive attitude, and inspires other faculty to strive for high achievement. This honor is chosen by a ballot of the Schools of Business faculty.

In his closing remarks, Reinemund congratulated all the award recipients, noting the honor and privilege that comes from working with such a dedicated group of remarkable people, and recognized the entire group for its tremendous accomplishments in driving the positive momentum of the Schools of Business.