A leader’s job often includes changing your people’s attitudes and behavior. Some suggestions to accomplish this:

1. Begin with praise and honest appreciation.
   
2. Call attention to people’s mistakes indirectly.
   
3. Talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the other person.
   
4. Ask questions instead of giving direct orders.
   
5. Let the other person save face.
   
6. Praise the slightest improvement and praise every improvement. Be “hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise.”
   
7. Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to.
   
8. Use encouragement. Make the fault seem easy to correct.
   
9. Make the other person happy about doing the thing you suggest.
   

“The economy has been slip sliding away,” says Witcher, whose 75-man operation also sells and services big rigs and is the Northeast’s largest supplier of Pierce fire trucks. “We decided we wanted another place we could sell.”

As the economy slows, this is a good time to take a closer look at the federal government, the largest buyer of goods and services in the world. The advantages are clear. The budget is set; the government typically lets vendors know where they stand throughout the bidding process; and, best of all, bills are paid on time, typically within 30 days.

Witcher says he has become a government convert. After hiring a consultant to learn how to navigate the complicated process of bidding for federal work, he shifted his inventory control officer to the full-time task of researching potential contracts and has amassed a database that tracks all the bids the company has submitted - won and lost - to learn from its history.

“The federal government is my No. 1 customer now when it comes to parts,” Witcher says. “It has been continually on a growth pattern for us.”

The government buys virtually everything the private sector does, from condoms to coffeemakers to the services of publicists, pest control experts to entertainers. Yet for some, the idea of doing business with the government raises images of can’t win backroom deals. That’s just not the case with contracts in the small business arena, says Malcolm Parvey, a marketing consultant who has coached Witcher’s company and others on how to win federal bids.

Most of the work is awarded electronically, he notes, through a rigorous procurement process that takes time to master. There’s a high level of transparency, too. The government even lets bidders see who their competitors were and how they priced once the job is awarded.

“I know that small businesses have a great interest in this market; they just don’t have the time and they don’t have the expertise to go after it,” says Parvey, co-author of a new book, “Winning Government Contracts,” due out in February from Career Press.

The book is the latest attempt to simplify what can look like an insiders’ game. There are many guides on how to get federal work, including the government’s own tutorials at the Web sites of agencies such as the U.S. Small Business Administration and the U.S. General Services Administration as well as popular sites for searching federal procurement such as FedBizOpps.

“With the Internet what used to take 10 days now takes 10 minutes,” he says. “There are more and more agencies that are allowing competitive bidding to be done over the Internet.”

reuters.com

Trade shows offer inventors and entrepreneurs the opportunity to reach a large number of potential buyers and retailers.

The most important thing you can do before attending a trade show is to make sure you choose the right one. Be sure to make your choice based on the potential returns.

To choose appropriate trade shows, consider the following:

• Ask your best customers (or target customers) which trade shows they attend.
• Consider cost.
• Examine the nature of the attendees.

To find potential trade shows in your industry, visit tsnn.com, where you can search by industry, show name, date or state. You should also visit the website of the industry association related to your product; most sponsor trade shows for members and buyers to come together.

msnbc.com

Ever wished you could be in two places at one time? A Japanese scientist has managed it through making a robot that looks and moves exactly like him.

The Geminoid was created by Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro using a model of his body and hair actually from his head.

When you poke its face, the robot even frowns like a real human, as it has 50 sensors implanted beneath its skin.

The robot also looks like it can breathe because compressed air is pumped around its body!

BBC

reutersvideo - Jan. 4 - US researchers have grown a beating heart in a laboratory from the cells of newborn rats.Researchers hope this will eventually lead to the ability to build organs.

The editors of Entrepreneur.com sifted through hundreds of inventions that became available within the past year to compile a diverse list of innovative, practical and fun products.

1. iPhone - which consumers camped out for prior to its June debut, is the obvious choice for any “Best of 2007″ list. Much more than a phone, it also features an iPod, a camera and the internet, all in one. The multi-touch display allows you to control everything with your fingertips. Zoom in and zoom out on maps to determine your driving route and use the Visual Voicemail to listen to your messages in any order you choose.
2. Kindle - Since it became available in November, Amazon.com has struggled to keep this new electronic reading device in stock. The revolutionary portable reader downloads books, blogs, magazines and newspapers. The Kindle features a high-resolution electronic paper display that looks like real paper. Readers can choose from more than 90,000 books available in the Kindle store, including new releases and New York Times bestsellers. Aside from the cost of books, which run around $9.99, there are no monthly wireless bills or service commitments.
3. ZPrinter 450 - This device can transform electronic 3D data into colorful, handheld physical models. It can be used to create architectural concepts, landscapes, engineering product designs, electronic entertainment objects and medical information. The ZPrinter 450 is the third 3D printer made by Z Corp. and is touted as the most compatible with contemporary office environments. The ZPrinter 450 breaks down 3D printing into seven easy steps. It also includes automatic setup, power loading and self-monitoring of materials and print status.
4. iRobot Looj Gutter Cleaning Robot - iRobot, maker of the Roomba, says it’s the first product designed to make gutter cleaning faster, easier and safer. The robot is controlled by a wireless remote that’s also a detachable handle. The Looj can clean a 60-foot section of gutter in just 10 minutes. It drives under gutter straps while dislodging and eliminating dirt, leaves and debris. The robot works with standard K-style, aluminum, copper, metal or vinyl gutters.
5. QwikGrip - After eight years of development, inventor Leonard Duffy has created the Velcro of the future–a fastening technology that snaps into place and slides into full engagement. His “slidingly engaging” systems are applicable to many industries, including apparel, sports, health care, safety and military. Duffy says his invention can bind a new plastic cast or even take the place of shoe laces. Right now, the fastening technology is on the market as a business-to-business licensing opportunity, though it’ll be available for consumer purchase in 2008.
6. GreenSwitch - Originally, the GreenSwitch system was designed for controlling energy use in hospitals and hotels. After reducing energy costs by 25 to 45 percent in those industries, the technology has now entered the consumer market. The wireless system can reduce home energy consumption by turning off all designated light switches, wall plugs and air conditioning with the flip of a switch. After flipping the switch back on, all plugs and systems return to normal modes. The system can be retrofitted in an existing home or added to a new home during construction.

Entrepreneur Dot Com

Grocery shopping for Rene Lopez became magical after he moved Downtown. Lopez merely has to make up a shopping list, and the next day, his groceries are waiting at home for him after work, with the perishables in the fridge and freezer.

Michelle Harvey formed the Pittsburgh Town Shopper delivery service in September and works almost exclusively as a personal shopper and courier for Downtown residents who don’t yet have a neighborhood grocery store.

“There’s nothing here,” said Lopez, who moved here from Los Angeles last summer. “At one point, I didn’t even have a car, so that (Pittsburgh Town Shopper) was extremely convenient for me. I didn’t have to find a way to go out and get food or order from Dominos.”

Pittsburgh Town Shopper is hardly the first Web-based grocery delivery service, but there are few, if any, in the Pittsburgh area.

“I think I have a niche,” said Harvey, who declined to disclose sales figures or the number of customers she has. She said her services, which cost $39 for an average delivery, are in demand and she hopes business will grow to the point where she has employees to shop as well.

Pittsburgh Live

“We’re one of the country’s biggest exporters of marshmallows. We also sell our own lines of gourmet pretzels and popcorn to 41 countries. This means that we have to be pretty creative at tapping into international markets.

“Before I became a marshmallow king, I spent several years in the early 1990s as a banker in Hamburg. I was struck by how much my wife missed American junk food. She’d drive eight hours to Belgium and spend $12 for a $3 box of Oreos. It got me thinking that there might be a demand for American-branded products, not only among expats but among the locals.

“It took me 2-and-a-half years to land my first sale, to a German catalog company. Unfortunately it wanted small quantities of a lot of different items. Soon I was exporting almost 2,000 different American food products- Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Bisquick, cake mixes. “This wasn’t the most profitable way to do business- the margins were too thin, and we depended on the cooperation of major brands. It made more sense to develop our own versions of American food that wasn’t available overseas, selling the product instead of the brand.

“We started with marshmallows. My manufacturer offered to develop a private label for me, and Rocky Mountain Marshmallows was born in 1996. We launched our pretzel and popcorn brands shortly after. Our marshmallow-exporting business grew so well - doubling in sales every year from 1996 to 2004 - that my co-packer, Doumak, purchased the Rocky Mountain brand from me on the condition that we continued to export it. In the past two years we have nearly tripled marshmallow sales.

“Politically the U.S. is unpopular abroad. But we see an almost unlimited opportunity for growth for our products. We recently shipped marshmallows, popcorn, and pretzels to new clients in Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. American culture, at least as it’s manifested in food, is pretty bulletproof.” –as told to Alessandra Bianchi.

CNN Money

Who hasn’t fantasized about quitting their job and striking out on their own? Before doing anything, you should check out these excellent six myths about owning a business:

1. Your family & friends will always understand the time commitment, even when no money is coming in.
2. Your friends’ constructive criticism is never out of jealousy
3. Your college degree is all you need to secure the knowledge entrepreneurship requires
4. Your lack of a college degree will ensure your business fails
5. Anyone that has tried and failed automatically must be trusted because “they’ve done it”.
6. If the majority of your peers call the idea silly, it probably is.
7. You have to spend money to make money (this one is borderline, but a lot can be earned by charging people for your knowledge on something)

Personal Finance Advice

Donna Gonzalez recently posted her resume on websites like Career Builder.Com and quickly got a reply, “They just need people who already had bank accounts set up, so we could cash the checks for them.”

According to Donna, a company called Global Healthcare Inc.,out of London, sent her a contract asking her to cash checks and wire them the money. It was supposedly quicker than doing it overseas. Donna was promised 10-percent of the money cashed, “It looked legitimate I mean I went to paralegal school and I knew some contractual law and so the contract looked legitimate, but it wasn’t evidentially.”

After Donna cashed a check from a “so called” customer and wired the company more than 25-hundred dollars, she later found out the check was fake and she was the one who was stuck paying, “I was so devastated I cried so hard.”

Sgt. Kevin Smith of the St. Petersburg Police Department says, he gets calls like this one at least two times a week, “It’s heartbreaking because you really hate to see people out there trying to work, trying to sell something to be taken advantage of.”

Sgt. Kevin Smith says websites like Career Builder.Com are safe, but people need to be more aware of who they’re dealing with, “Unfortunately anybody has a right to log in and look at those resumes so you really don’t know who’s actually offering you a job.”

He says thieves are also targeting victims through the mail and even fax machines. . Sgt. Smith says it’s difficult to catch the thieves because of trying to coordinate with other countries. He says banks don’t take responsibility for these incidents, because it’s the account holder who’s cashing the checks, even though they’re not aware they’re fake.

Donna now believes if something sounds too good to be true, it usually is, “I’m really afraid to go on line anymore and even answer emails from companies.” While she paid an expensive price, she hopes others learn from her experience

First Coast News

A slew of businesses have popped up to help match students with internships, charging hundreds to thousands of dollars to help them write résumés, identify potential employers and find summer housing.

University of Dreams uses its staff’s personal contacts at 500 companies to get students internships with employers they couldn’t otherwise get into, said CEO Eric Lochtefeld. For interns, that’s better than sending in a résumé and hoping, he said.

“Does any college student really, sincerely believe that their résumé will stand out or get better consideration than an actual introduction would provide?” Lochtefeld said.

In four years, the company has placed 1,800 students in companies such as Paramount Pictures or MTV Networks, both divisions of Viacom Inc. It has slots this summer for 850 students, he said.

Students pay from $6,499 to $8,999 to have the company find them an eight-week summer internship, plus housing in dorms at universities, some meals, transportation to work and activities for a summer. Financial assistance, including loans, grants and full scholarships, is available.

An admissions team reviews applications and makes an offer. Students who are accepted pay a deposit of $500 to $1,000. Then they work with a placement agent, who finds a matching company.

They’re guaranteed an internship in the field of their choice or their money back. Most of the internships are unpaid, but University of Dreams arranges for college credit through universities.

rockymountainnews.com

Designer Adam Ellis has reinvented the ice cream truck. In doing so, he’s reinvented a street vending business. Boutique flavors, a chandelier on the inside, and a truck that customers can write on, this is the ice cream truck overhauled, inside and out. An awesomely unique truck begs to be explored, and clearly has something different to offer.

Adam’s truck reminds adults of their childhood - but with a twist. Ice Cream trucks have pretty much disappeared from the suburban landscape. What Adam has done is taken a good idea that’s expired - and reinvented the concept for a different time.

How does this relate to your business? You’re probably looking at something within your environment that you take for granted. That blends into the background. That has long been forgotten, or no longer useful. Examine your business - your marketplace, and your environment, and ask, what could we reinvent? What could we do differently than anyone else in our business?

Being different allows you to capture the interest of potential customers, retain the love of your evangelists, and stand out in your marketplace. And sometimes it’s as simple as reinventing the ordinary things right in front of you.

Smart Biz Blog

It’s not impossible to get your business out of debt and heading towards profitability. Others have done it and you can too.

Facing bankruptcy can be a terrifying experience for a franchisee or small business owner. But it’s not uncommon - and it’s not hopeless either. Not everyone comes back from the brink, but Jeff McKeown is one entrepreneur who did. After four years in the staffing industry, he decided to open his own Express Personnel franchise in Racine, Wis. in 2000 at the age of 26.

In order to put the required $28,000 down, McKeown and his wife borrowed $15,000 and cashed out their 401(k)s and combined savings accounts to come up with the difference. Eager to get his business off the ground, McKeown said he accepted any and all clients, even those with bad credit and iffy documentation. He also felt that to compete, he needed to have the lowest price in town so he kept very small margins.

“Many clients did not pay their bills and several declared bankruptcy with huge payments to me outstanding,” McKeown explained.

By 2003 he owed the franchisor $120,000 and had maxed out all of his credit cards. Express Personnel’s corporate office even sent McKeown a 10-day letter that said the company planned take back the franchise.

That’s when he realized he was in trouble, McKeown said. So with the help of a consultant, he fired 30 percent of his customers, raised prices, and established minimum gross margins and strict credit terms. The business began to grow and by July 2006 he had paid off the majority of his debt. Last year, McKeown says he earned about $160,000 to $170,000 and is expecting to net $400,000 to $500,000 in 2007.

Climbing out of debt

If a franchisee or small business owner is nearing bankruptcy then “either their revenue is short or their expenses are too darn high, but usually it’s both,” according to Jeff Elgin, CEO of Minn.-based FranChoice, a franchise consulting firm.

Elgin suggests taking a good hard look at the expenses for starters, and making sure that all of them are absolutely necessary. “Take away the credit cards,” he said.

For franchisees, “usually, the fundamental issue is that they’re not executing the system,” Elgin said. And if it’s a good franchise company, then it has a proven and reliable system. “If you execute it, you will succeed,” he says. People just need to get “back to the basics of blocking and tackling.”

Indeed, many franchisors have consultants on staff tasked with helping franchisees grow their businesses.

“I thought I knew it all,” McKeown said. He now advises other young entrepreneurs to find a mentor or expert who can offer support and business advice.

By Jessica Dickler, CNNMoney.com staff writer