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Even though the economy has been dismal and unemployment has been on the rise, a fascinating phenomenon suggests that small businesses and boutique firms stand to gain customers in these trying times.  Let’s face it, whether times are good or bad small businesses have never been able to afford the luxury of being wasteful, inefficient, or careless with money.  Large corporations, on the other hand, which are bureaucratic by their very nature, have a tendency to become highly inefficient and wasteful when times are good.  When faced with an economic downturn, the inevitable occurs in a large corporation—mass downsizing resulting in a loss of valuable talent and customer service.  Consequently, the large name brand company that customers were paying for tends to lose its luster in the face of lost relationships and customer support.

Peter Bregman, CEO of Bregman Partners, Inc., a global management consulting firm, also believes that small companies will win in this economy.  He states that “Small is the new big.  Sustainable is the new growth.  Trust is the new competitive advantage.”  He says that “small companies with low overhead, reliable owners, a small number of committed employees, personal client relationships, and sustainable business models that drive a reasonable profit are the great opportunity of our time.”  To read more about Bregman’s point of view on this topic visit his article Why Small Companies Will Win in This Economy.

The tenants of the Brentwood Business Center, the Sand Creek Business Center, and the Sand Creek Plaza are all too familiar with this mantra.  The majority of the tenants renting space in these Brentwood business centers are small local vendors with a particular focus on sustaining clients through relationships and keen customer service.  In fact, KMB Management, the managing firm over these properties, has developed a philosophy that embodies the spirit of Bregman’s slogan:  “Small is the new big. Sustainable is the new growth.  Trust is the new competitive advantage.”  Each new customer and/or potential customer at KMB Management is treated with respect, professionalism, kindness, and commitment. 

In closing, if you are a small business in this trying time don’t lose heart.  This is your golden opportunity to take advantage of the niche opportunities that are out there.  Just remember that small is the new big and the power of the personal relationship can never be underestimated.  Creativity may also be your number one asset in attracting new business and retaining loyal customers.  The business expert Peter Drucker once said that, “Business has only two basic functions—marketing and innovation.”  Therefore, turn your creativity into innovative marketing endeavors! 

Small, large, existing and start-up businesses alike can all benefit from building a community on Twitter.  If you are not familiar with Twitter, it is a social networking site designed to help people connect and share information.  Flyte, a web design and internet marketing company located in Portland, Maine, defines how Twitter works as follows:

“Twitter users—often called Tweeple (or worse)—have 140 characters to answer the question, “What are you doing?” If you join Twitter you can “follow” other tweeple, which causes their updates to appear on your home page. In turn, they can follow you, a form of permission-based marketing. You can also direct message them, but always in 140 characters or less.”

As of August, 2009, Twitter provides access to 23.6 million people according to Web-analytics firm Compete Inc.  It is apparent that Twitter has created a wonderful platform for business people to gain the attention of millions of people.  Therefore, the only question that remains is how does one use Twitter for Business?

Start by Building a Community

First you need to find the right people on Twitter.  One way to do this is by utilizing the Twitter search box which will find keyword matches in others’ profiles.  There are also several third party tools that allow for more advanced searches such as Who Should I Follow and Summize.  Who Should I Follow finds and suggests like-minded people based on your tweets.  Summize allows you to search tweets for keywords.  

In essence, you want to seek out industry leaders who post links to important resources and influence conversations.  Once you have discovered these people, you should do the following:   

• Post questions for quick answers and answer others’ questions to establish your credibility and expertise.
• Create links to your Web site or blog.
• Keep up on the buzz in your industry.

Get People to Follow You

According to Flyte, this is the way to get people to follow you on Twitter:

• Follow them. There’s an almost kneejerk reaction to follow people who follow you. However, there’s a backlash against people who follow just about everyone for the sole purpose of gaining followers. In short, be discriminating with whom you follow.
• Post some good tweets right before following someone else. I find that if someone follows me and they only tweet about how hungry or tired they are, I don’t follow them back. The same goes for people who haven’t tweeted in a while.
• Complete your bio. People rarely follow strangers, so complete your one-line bio and include a URL in the More Info URL section of your profile.
• Add your Twitter feed to your blog or to other social media profiles. If you have a following at your blog or a lot of connections at Facebook or LinkedIn, you can leverage this audience to increase your followers at Twitter.
• Reply to people you are following, especially if they’re not yet following you. That’s a good way to engage someone and get them to follow you, even if they didn’t follow you immediately.

Doing it Right

If you are still struggling with how to best utilize Twitter for your business, here are a few examples of how community based businesses might start implementing this powerful tool.  The Brentwood Business Center, for instance, is home to many local businesses such as general contractors, auto mechanics, heating and air contractors, a cheerleading and gymnastics school, and many more.  These businesses would us Twitter as follows:

• The general contractor tweets about current remodeling projects or new construction techniques. 
• The auto mechanic tweets about car repair promotions or car ownership advice for continued maintenance.
•  The heating and air contractors tweet about the latest innovations with energy efficiency.
•  And the cheerleading and gymnastics school tweets about local cheer events and gymnastics competitions.     

In addition, there was a great article in the Wall Street Journal yesterday entitled A Start-Up’s Tale, Tweet by Tweet.  This article describes how a start-up company propelled itself off the ground by using Twitter as a tool.    

If you appreciate the fine art of traditional hot rods, custom cars, and motorcycles, you will not want to miss the Billetproof Norcal show.  This year Billetproof Norcal will be held at the Antioch Fairgrounds on September 19^ththrough the 20^th.  The event promises to be spectacular with live bands, unique events, great vendors, and an amazing car show.

Rules for registered rods, cars, and motorcycles are as follows:

• 1964 and prior traditional style rods and customs ONLY
• No visible billet anything! Especially wheels!
• No digital gauges
• No IFS on fenderless cars
• No trailered cars
• No mag wheels made after the 60’s
• Traditional looking choppers and bobbers ONLY! (No modern West Coast Choppers, OCC style bikes)

For detailed information on registration and tickets for this event visit Billetproof Norcal.

Billetproof Norcal is the perfect event for East Bay Muscle Cars (EBMC), a local Brentwod company specializing in the highest quality custom builds, modifications, and repairs.  If you are interested in visiting EBMC, they are located in the Brentwood Business Center at 560 Valdry Court, Unit 4B.  EBMC has won numerous awards for their gorgeous custom designs and work.  In 2008, they were highly recognized by their 1970 Mustang which won every contest entered that year. 

On October 8^th, East Bay Muscle Cars will be displaying several custom cars at “The Fall Mixer at Sand Creek Business Center.”  KMB Management will be hosting this fun fall event, so come by if you want to view some amazing automobiles.  The Fall Mixer at Sand Creek Business Center will be held outside between 141 and 191 Sand Creek Road in Brentwood.  The event will start at 5:00pm and there will be local wine, food, and much more!    

In recent years, green living and design have become popular subjects and business practices in California.  In fact, it is hard to go anywhere without seeing a new advertisement for a natural or eco-friendly product.  It makes one wonder if this green craze is just a passing fad or if it is truly here to stay.  One thing is for certain, Americans are demanding a healthier lifestyle and the market seems to be responding to this shift in consumer demand.

For entrepreneurs and savvy business owners, this shift in demand can be equated with opportunity—the opportunity to gain market share in the ever emerging fields of sustainable products, design, and business practices. 

Green building and design is one facet of the emerging green market that presents opportunity to developers, general contractors, and subcontractors.  A great example of green building in the Bay Area is Oakland’s Margarido house.  According to the Contra Costa Times, the “Margarido House is the first home in Northern California to be both Greenpoint rated and to earn platinum certification — the highest — from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, green building rating system.”  In the design and construction of this sustainable home, many local architects, engineers, and contractors had the opportunity to expand both their knowledge base and resume of green building by participating in this project.  If you are interested in viewing the Margarido house, sign up for tickets prior to September 20 at www.rockridge.org.

Many of the tenants leasing space at the Brentwood Business Center, such as Easton Construction, Devcon Construction, Pacific Crest Landscape and Maintenance, and A Quality Heating and Air, have the same unique opportunity to break into the field of green building and design right now.  Features such as green roofs, rainwater catchment systems, low or nontoxic materials, energy efficient lighting, and heating, solar energy and green landscape design are becoming more popular and in some cases even subsidized by the government. 

I say “green” is here to stay.  So , if you have the opportunity to expand into this market take it and make your little piece of the world more sustainable in the process.                   

For all of you water sports enthusiasts, Brentwood is hosting the 2009 Diablo ShoresPro Am Tournament on September 11, 12, 13.  According to Simon King, a writer for the Brentwood Grove, "Past event highlights are said to be blown out of the water by the talent coming together for the 2009 event. With such big celeb names as Will Asher, Chris Parrish, and Jamie Beauchesne Brentwood is sure to see some spectacular action."  To read more about this exciting event, visit the Brentwood Grove's article entitled Brentwood's Diablo Shores Pro Am Tournament.

In addition to this article, The Brentwood Grove features great stories each week on Arts & Entertainment, Brentwood Tv, Business, Cartoons & Humor, Crime Beat, Education, Health, History, Opinion, Politics, Real Estate, Science, Sports, and Style. Upon visiting the Brentwood Grove site, one will discover that it is the premier online source for local news.  

In the month of August, auto sales were up thanks to the U.S. government Cash for Clunkers program.  Ford reported increases in August with U.S. sales up 17.2 percent from last year.  The Ford Focus and the Escape were Ford’s top selling cars with increases of 56 percent for the Focus and 49 percent for the Escape. 

Hyundai also lead the pack with increased automobile sales in August.  Since the beginning of the year, Hyundai has been aggressively marketing to fearful buyers.  In fact, Hyundai was one of the first car makers to offer a payment protection plan to customers who lost their jobs after buying a new car. 

According to Stephen Spivey, senior auto industry analyst with Frost & Sullivan, “…about 700,000 vehicles sold through Cash for Clunkers and of those, he estimates that half would have been purchased without the program. The others might have been thinking about buying a car later in the year but sped up their schedule.”  To read more about this article visit ABC News.

The graph below from the Wall Street Journal illusstrates the recent increase in U.S. automobile sales:

J.D. Power and Associates, a leading automotive research company, actually predicted the boost in auto sales for August.  Gary Dilts, J.D. Power’s senior vice president of global automotive operations, commented by saying that “Improved consumer confidence and credit availability during the past six months have combined with the CARS program to lift industry sales out of their slumping year-to-date levels, which have been down approximately 35 percent year-over-year.  These factors set the foundation for a gradual recovery in the months ahead.” 

The word synergy was derived from the Greek word pronounced “syn-ergos” which means working together.  Synergy can also be described as a situation where different entities cooperate advantageously for a final outcome.  The Brentwood Business Center has created a healthy business synergy in that many different companies have come together to accomplish a common goal.  For example, Easton Construction, a general contractor located in Brentwood Business Center, works with Donnelly’s Flooring Service who is also located in Brentwood Business Center in an effort to better service their customers. 

The Brentwood Business Center is also home to several automotive businesses that have created advantageous working relationships. Some of these businesses include Brake Stop Auto Services, Brentwood Auto Plaza, Got U Covered Custom Upholstery, and Performance Motors Inc.

The synergy that has been created at Brentwood Business Center has helped these businesses to expand their customer base and to better service their clients through heightened convenience.  In a challenging economic environment, these business alliances and relationships are key components to continued growth and survival.                

For the first time in almost 3 ½ years, new construction of single-family homes is on the rise.  According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the confidence level in the industry this month is the highest in more than a year.  In addition, the pace of single-family home construction went up nearly 2 percent and building permit starts climbed nearly to 6 percent.  Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors, wrote, “It’s the general trend that matters and with housing, the direction is up.” 

The cause of this shift is uncertain; however, some speculate that housing incentives have contributed to the rise in new construction.  NAR believes that housing incentives have helped to grow single-family home building as well as small businesses.  For instance, NAR recognized the Small Business Administration loan program that provides fee waivers for some of its SBA programs and new loan programs and raised guarantees.  Visit http://www.sba.gov/ to learn more about the new SBA programs that may be available to you.

It is still unclear if this positive trend will continue.  Unfortunately, July was the last month that builders could start new homes and have first-time home buyers qualify for the tax credit.  New buyers can save 10 percent on the price of the home, up to $8,000 in taxes, if they complete the purchase by the end of November.  Nevertheless, real estate agents and builders are pressing Congress to extend the credit.

In closing, numerous signs have surfaced in the United States housing market signaling market stabilization after the worst housing recession since the Great Depression.  With unemployment still on the rise and foreclosures at record-high levels, the road to recovery may have a few more twists and turns.  Thankfully, the worst of it seems to be over.    

It's time for Cornfest! So strap on your cowboy boots and join the fun. The Brentwood Chamber of Commerce will be hosting its annual festival on July 7th from 5:00pm to 10:00pm, July 8th from 10:30am to 9:00pm, and July 9th from 10:30am to 6:00pm. The event will be held at Brentwood City Park, surrounded by Second Street from Liberty High School to Oak Street. General Admission is ten dollars for adults and five dollars for students and seniors who are 65 or older. Children under the age of five will get in free!

Each year, Cornfest draws thousands of people from the local and surrounding communities. If you are new to Brentwood or the local community, this is a great opportunity to meet wonderful families, new friends, and business owners. The festival will also be packed with attractions and activities for the whole family. There will be live music, a carnival, a car show, pony rides, arts and crafts, great food, local wines and microbrews, a kid's zone, Friday night fireworks, info alley, and plenty of corn!

This event showcases the City of Brentwood as one of the fastest growing communities in Contra Costa County. In fact, Brentwood has experienced population growth of 104.05 percent since 2000. As of 2009, Brentwood boasts a population of 48,448 people making it an excellent location for new businesses and families. Without the help of new local businesses like Fremont Bank, Cornfest would not be the successful event that it is. The Brentwood branch of Fremont Bank which is located in the Sand Creek Plaza across from the Sand Creek Business Center, Brentwood's office and retail hub!  These properties are affiliated with the Brentwood Business Center.

Other event sponsors include the City of Brentwood, Coca Cola, Bud Light, The Monthly Grapevine, Brentwood Press and Publishing, Mike's Auto Body, Black Bear Diner, Kohl's, and many more. If you are interested in sponsorship opportunities for your business contact the Brentwood Chamber of Commerce.

You will not want to miss out on this wonderful event, the opportunity to meet your neighbors, and learn more about your local community!

Much has been recently written on the closings of a number of automobile dealerships throughout the United States, and in particular in the San Francisco Bay Area. With the closings has come much pain for all those associated with them, including customers, employees, owners, suppliers, and the like.

Having said this, a question that can be asked is whether or not there is any "silver lining" in this situation. At first blush, one might say what a ridiculous question. With customers having to relocate to different dealerships or find other places for service opportunities, with confusion as to warranty and other maintenance concerns, with traditional and ongoing relationships being severed, as well as a myriad of other related issues, it could be said that the thought of any sliver lining with these dealership closings is thoroughly ridiculous.

In general, a key element of any dealer-customer relationship is trust. This is particularly true when such a relationship relates to service aspect of a vehicle. The superiority of the servicing of vehicles can vary from dealership to dealership, and in those dealerships that have been closed that had superior trust relationships, such closings can be devastating to the customer.

But once again we return to the question of do these closings have any "silver linings." It can be argued that such closing may have the opportunity of unintended consequences of enhancing increased service capacity at a lower cost than was available prior to such closings. For example, dealer service labor rates are quite high in general. If a dealership closes and its service department closes as well, which is usually the case, where will their former customers service their vehicles?

We believe that as choice becomes a more prevalent issue for customers in a variety of industries, the same can hold true for vehicle service.  In this regard, we can see a whole new entrepreneurial output of service shops being spawned out of these recent dealership closings.  Such shops may well provide superior service and a lesser cost. In his book "The Long Tail," Chris Anderson asserts that the "future of business is selling less of more."  In this respect, what we might see is a number of very specialized vehicle service firms locating near one another and enhancing one another, thereby not trying to have a one-size-fits-all model when it comes to auto service.


For many, the American Dream is to be in business for oneself.  For those mechanics and service technicians that have been laid off as a consequence of dealership closings, some will certainly find work with other entities.  However, for those with high skills and training that they have gained at these dealerships, and for those with a desire to have their own business, it can be asserted that there has never been a better time to start their own business since such closings open the possibility to start a business in a growth field, in that Americans appear to be servicing their cars and owning them longer, rather than buying a new car every few years.

In the Oakland Tribune, Gilbert Zamora was quoted as saying that "GMAC is forcing a lot of dealers out of business."  The Wall Street Journal reported that the "National Automobile Dealer Association estimates the closings will add 6,800 people to unemployment." Or, for those who are trained mechanics, is this a time for a new entrepreneurial explosion?  For example, many dealerships are auctioning off equipment such as car lifts and other valuable and specialized repair tools at a fraction of their original value.  Accordingly, it is possible that those who have dreamed of opening their own business could do so now, particularly in the automotive service area.

One area where the closing of dealerships has proven to be helpful is at the Brentwood Business Center in the Northern California City of Brentwood.  This community is characterized by synergy among the many new automotive uses that are able to promote one another.  In one location, one finds a tune-up shop, a transmission shop, a car stereo facility, an accessories store, as well as a number of classic car restoration firms.  Each of these facilities feeds off of one another, and each is able to provide superior service at generally less than what would have been the case in a higher cost dealership situation.