Vintage Filings Business Blog

Stories of Service and Savings

By Benjamin Blascoe

As 2009 winds down it is more important than ever to make sure that your budget is meeting your needs. I have talked with countless CFOs and COOs about their companies this year and each one of them has mentioned something about budget cuts and reducing overhead. And it is no surprise…

With the most recent downturn of the American economy, many companies, organizations and non-profits have called Vintage Filings looking for a service that delivers with a team that treats them with the respect – not just a client but a colleague and a friend. I would be lying to you if I said our pricing isn’t what had led them in door – but as we acquire more and more public companies who used to file with our huge conglomerated competitors, the gratitude and compliments have been rolling in! I thought I would share some of these great comments with you…

Whether you file with Vintage Filings or not, these little anecdotes are sure to make you think:

“I hope you and your family are doing well. Congratulations on your progress at Vintage. You’ve really built a good brand nationwide.”
- Anonymous

“Thanks for the quick filing folks! This was our first filing with you thus far and I must say – we are very impressed. We’ll give you a call next quarter.”
- Anonymous

“Great job guys and to all your staff at Vintage Filings! It was an excellent job in a very compressed time frame. We look forward to using you again in the near future. Please extend my thanks to Shai as well!”
- Hany Francis
BreitBurn Management LLC

“You guys are so flippin’ fast…it’s scary!”
- Michelle Evans
Napster, Inc.

“Thank you very much for all your help in the filing of our 20-F, particularly your quick and accurate response to our comments. You and your staff made the process far simpler than ever before.”
- Lauren Sobel, Adv.
Jerualem, Israel

“I wanted to say thank you to all of you for getting Alteon’s Proxy done so quickly! I really appreciate the fact that in a pinch that you all were able to help me get this document together and printed so quickly! I have already received my copies as has Broadridge, AST and the Altman Group!”Again, great job and thank you!”
- Wendy Milici
Finance & Administration Manager
Alteon Inc.

“Vintage’s integrity, responsivness, quality and price are worth times over if I was referring anyone looking for edgarization and printing work.”
- Ramnarain Joseph Jaigobind
Managing Director-Global Equity Capital Markets
Maxim Group LLC.

“Vintage got our filings done in half the time at half the cost.”
- Bill Growney
Napster

“I just wanted to thank you again for the extra-quick and professional service yesterday. We had a tight schedule and you handled it just perfectly.”
- Vered Raviv
Radware

“Exceptional service, unmatchable value, real time response to filing request, and meticulous attention to detail.”
- Elliot Shirwo
Peerless Systems Corporation

“Vintage has consistently impressed us with their speed of execution, reliability and quality service.”
- Denis Gagnon
Chief Financial Officer
MMC Energy, Inc.

“Vintage Filings was able to provide staffing and accurate turnaround on a project involving changes received from a dual time zone working group based in the PRC, Hong Kong and NY which enabled our client to file with the SEC and print red herrings during a holiday weekend. Management was very accessible and in contact frequently to make sure the job was on track in light of the tight timing for the offering.”
- Norwood Beveridge
Partner, Loeb & Loeb, LLP

By Benjamin Blascoe

We are all aware of unemployment’s cold, dark hand lingering about the television, newspapers and web. It is a debacle that America wasn’t really ready for and aren’t really equipped to resolve.

But  like a phoenix rising out of blood sodden ashes, America’s troubles are also fostering entrepreneurs out of just about anybody with an idea. From a cupcake wheeler-dealer in New York City to an ex-clothing designer turned bicycle-bag aficionado, there are new businesses everyday in these turbulent times.

However, here are a few pointers from Vintage Filings for entrepreneurs. While it may be a good time to start a new business, not all industries are booming.

Taken from an article in Yahoo Small Business

By Kelly K. Spors and Kevin Salwen

Troublesome Businesses

1. Food Service Industry
   1. Restaurants are a very fickle business to run. The profit/loss margin is so fragile, a few too many teenage emplyees’ friends free sodas could make-or-break your monthly earnings. Roughly 65% of restaurants close within the first three years…
2. Sales – Direct Sales/Cold Calling
   1. A one-time limitless bounty of earnings is now reduced to nothing. While cold-calls and other direct sales platforms sometimes work – NO BODY is buying right now. Sorry Avon lady…
3. Online Retail
   1. While it is one of the easiest ways to earn money for yourself, online retail has been surpassed by retailers who hopped on the trend and proves rather difficult to get your information in front of these huge companies. i.e. Zappos, ebay, Overstock…
4. High End Retail
   1. Fortunately or not, it is hip to be ‘cheap’. High-end retail is on its way out, until that economic rainbow comes back for round two.
5. Traffic-based Web sites
   1. Sites rooted in advertising have to worry about how many people see their web site everyday because the amount of people who visit equals the amount of advertising.

Just a few words of advice from Vintage Filings….

If you are planning on starting a new business, these seem to be the cheapest around and they have 24/7 Customer Service. Vcorp Services

By Benjamin Blascoe

I think we were all pretty mesmerized by the movie Minority Report’s depiction of ‘space-age’ computer software – watching the actors move documents by touching the screen and sliding as opposed to an external tool like a mouse and keyboard. Then a few years later, lo-and-behold, the tech gurus of our time made it happen with touch software. Apple hit it big with the iPod and iPhone marketing campaigns and ever since, they have had a seemingly firm grasp on the ‘touch’ realm of technology (although HP and Dell have also developed).

But now that touch software is everywhere we look via our personal devices like phones, mp3 players and now computers, what is next?

According to an article in BusinessWeek by Olga Kharif, tablets are the next step. Basically, a tablet will act much like a laptop computer except with much more versatility and portability. It is the ultimate in personal computing. A one-unit extremely portable device that can do everything but make phone calls – for now…

In the article Kharif says, “There’s no hotter topic [than tablets] in Asia right now,” says Richard Doherty, a director at market researcher Envisioneering Group, who says Apple has developed prototypes of two different tablet machines—one that resembles a large-sized iPod and boasts a 6-inch screen, and another that features a larger display.” Forget the billboards with childish games for the iPod Touch, Apple is going to launch a laptop that looks, acts and thinks with the touch software!

This is going to be larger than Tickle me Elmo!

But Apple is not the only company planning to launch a tablet. Nokia, the world largest manufacturer of cellular telephones is planning to drop a tablet, as well as TechCrunch.

I know what most of you are thinking… Tablets? Those are not new…

History does repeat itself and the tablet is no exception. Microsoft as well as some other tech aficionados have all put out tablets in the past only to be pulled from the shelves. However, never before in history has anyone been as synonymous with style, luxury and comfort as Apple and henceforth, their debut of the tablet will streamline other companies to follow suit.  Kharif says “The addition of new players such as Apple, however, could help make these machines as popular as netbooks, the small and inexpensive laptop computers whose sales are expected to almost double this year, despite the recession.”

As for the price, I am sure we will have to wait and see what the market deems worthy. Assumptions say anywhere from $700 to $2000. But as a business tool, these devices are priceless. Given that Apps for Blackberry and the iPhone are starting to cater to the business realm and that the tablet will be able to use these, the tablet will act much like a portable office giving the user access to anything and everything one could ever need. Apple still has a stranglehold on the creative realm while others tend to lean towards business however, the inception of the tablet could change things… once and for all.

I am excited to see how other companies such as Dell, HP, Compaq and Microsoft respond. What do you think, will the tablet revolutionize or flop? Join the discussion…

By Benjamin Blascoe

I don’t think there is a more iconic American meal than a burger. It calls to all walks of life ranging from the classic American Beef burger to buffalo burgers, tuna burgers, edamame burgers, vegetable burgers, vegan burgers or pretty much any other substance one can mold into a ball. And for that particular reason, the burger has existed in the hearts and minds of Americans since its debated inception in the 19^th century.

So what better icon for the food service industry to bank on than the burger. And all over the United States, restaurant owners and chefs are stepping their burgers up a notch – creating heated rivalries and very lucrative viral marketing plans.

A few days back, I was ironically eating a delicious cheeseburger and reading an article in the LA Weekly titled Burger Wars in LA. It all started with Chef Eric Greenspan of The Foundry literally hammering a challenge on the door of Father’s Office – the undisputed best burger in Los Angeles. Greenspan issued a challenge, burger-against-burger, and the buzz has been crazy ever since. Although the battle does not have a set date, Greenspan is in a battle every night with hungry Angelinos trying to get a crack at the burger that could take down an empire.

Although he didn’t mean for this to happen, what Greenspan did was create a wonderful viral marketing ploy for his restaurant. Using the iconic staple of American gluttony, he did what every marketer in the entire world tries to achieve – enough underground buzz that word-of-mouth drives business through the roof. Accidental, yes, but also genius.

And Greenspan is not the only one trying to coral this recent downturn in the Food Service industry…

BusinessWeek.com also recently posted an article about the revolution of the hamburger. Highlighting last season’s Top Chef finalist and chef-owner of Flip in Atlanta, Richard Blais, this article shows how Blais used the American staple to essentially launch a burger rampage throughout the south. By offering a great burger at a small price, he has been able to entertain people and wallets during these times of recession.

Even celebrity-chef Bobby Flay of the Food Network is launching a chain of burger-restaurants!

So what does this mean for hamburgers? Basically nothing, besides the fact that they are delicious. But on a marketing note, the way these chefs are using such a classic staple of American cuisine – reformatted for the times – is definitely a case study for marketing geniuses to consider. I do not believe that Greenspan or Flay are sitting in a board room discussing the potential of the burger, but what I do think is that they thought long and hard about keeping culture and American cuisine in the forefront, despite economic shortcomings.

From a business perspective, marketers need to consider the priorities of their clients and then fuel and model their various campaigns that way. These chefs are taking something that they know will sell and making it eligible for every socio-economic class and cultural flavoring. From the business end, we need to consider not only continuing old business but also driving new business. So the burger, with its heritage rooted in us all has the ability to be reformatted in new and exciting ways. And as history has proven, so does business.

What are you doing that is new and exciting? How is your company grappling the times? What’s your burger?

By Benjamin Blascoe

I was in San Francisco this past Wednesday at a social media conference put on by Dealmaker Media. The conference was dubbed Strategy Series: Mobile Apps and Twitter, Killer Channels or Just Time Killers – and with good reason. As more and more social media tools become active in digital land, there are more and more distractions. But only if you allow yourself to be distracted….

One of the main talking points of this conference was considering these ‘distractions’ to be beneficial. Social media is like a sporting event where everyone plays, so everything people say, blog, tweet, update, etc. all has a purpose or condition. So why not join the conversation and actively listen, respond and become involved in the various streams that suit your purpose. This way, social media moves away from information and becomes conversation.

Social media has the revolutionary ability to level the playing field – give ‘Joe the Plummer’ as much credibility as a CNN reporter. In the past, the news and information have always been handed down but social media is the first tool that the audience essentially writes for itself. And for that particular reason it is changing the game.

At the conference, Robert Gelick, VP of CBS Mobile, alluded to the fact that he often listens to what people are saying about his competitors as well as his own company. From the ‘life guard chair’ approach Gelick and his team are truly able to best assess the climate around their community using comments made on blogs, tweets and discussions on their various forums.

You may have heard about how Comcast has literally revolutionized their customer service through this methodology…

Even Richard Jalichandra, President and CEO of Technorati, agrees in full. He spoke of the countless individuals who use social media to strictly advertise and promote to the fullest – which in the end only gets them ignored.

And that is what makes social media extremely exciting, because it is changing the game on multiple levels. Although the days of big-billboard advertising are still alive and well, social media has created an environment where flash, smoke and mirrors are not effective. People want to be able to touch the people that affect their lives so being one tweet away from @shaizstern or @richardbranson is a good feeling.

How does your company use social media? How do you use it personally?

By Benjamin Blascoe

As with everyone adversely affected by the economy, boutique banks and smaller credit unions have been forced to adapt in new and interesting ways to still keep food on the table. As history proves, the greatest innovations are forged out of dire need and this latest economic downturn is no exception. DirectFed has created a product that literally puts these smaller financial institutions a click away from the Federal Reserve.

In the past, there has always been a middle person grappling all of the interest and floating for profit – hence why it takes so long to clear checks. With this system, it is fast, easy and simple resulting in the happiest clientele with lowest overhead. The checks get verified, whenever the institution submits them – at their own pace with their own system.

Besides being extremely cost effective as well as timely, it is reliable and essentially fail-proof. DirectFed runs image quality checks on every document (check) and allows the staff to balance each batch before it is deposited into the Federal Bank. And apparently, the reports can be generated and tailored as to the client’s wishes.

And it even installs on any computer using Windows! I see this product absolutely skyrocketing. With today’s uncertain corporate climate, using a functional, low-cost system to deliver and receive checks from the Federal Reserve Bank provides the most “bang for the buck” and is essentially the BEST choice.

It will take some tactful maneuvering to slide by these long-established mores of the corporate credit unions but at least on my end – DirectFed seems it is a sure thing.

Check then out!

By Benjamin Blascoe

Imagine crossing the treacherous Atlantic on a wooden boat with blistering cold winds and salty chapped air. Off in the distance you see the faint glow of New York City and to your right the infamous Lady Liberty. Adorned on her bronze pedestal is the renowned vernacular of American freedom “The New Colossus,” by Emma Lazarus. The many faces that have come through Ellis Island, my family included, have all read and relied on the phrase:

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

And this is what our country was founded upon. It doesn’t matter your faith, your culture, the color of your skin or the ideas in your head – America is a place for human beings to actualize their experience and achieve dreams. And this is our calling card, the willingness to harbor anyone who accepts allegiance to the United States flag. Of course there is quite the bureaucratic process to establish citizenship but the foundations remain the same.

However, yesterday while dining at a local eatery I began a discussion with a man from Yemen, anxiously awaiting his green card through something called an EB-5 program. I was intrigued because he claimed that all he had to do was invest in the American market and POOF, WHAM – citizenship.

What?

After a little research, I realized that there are a varietal of ways to become a citizen of the United States and fortunately or not, it can sometimes be based on socio-economic status – such is the case for the EB-5 program. The EB-5 visa is designed to attract foreign investors interested in United States citizenship. Written into the Immigration Act of 1990, the EB-5 visa offers a green card for anyone willing to invest $1,000,000.00 USD creating at least 10 jobs. And if the applicant invests in ‘certain regional centers with high unemployment rates’ the required investment drops to $500,000.00.

In almost every state there are EB-5 centers to utilize the program – a vast majority of them in California. Essentially, for well-off foreign business professionals or investors this is the fast-lane to citizenship. The majority of individuals who have used the EB-5 have come from Britain and Ireland but as the world’s economic prowess shifts, America is seeing a different pattern of EB-5 applicants.

Just think about the rapid growth in Dubai in the past 10 years. If growth like that continues, which it will, more and more individuals may flock to the United States because of our lower cost of living. Even after taking account of specific items such as healthcare and insurance, many immigrants will discover significant financial advantages living in the United States. It’s kind of like the ‘brain gain’.

By Benjamin Blascoe

Remember the 1994 blockbuster movie Dumb and Dumber starring Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels? It was a heroic and ‘debacling’ tale of love, thievery and the eventual return of the infamous cash-friendly suitcase to its proper owner Mary Swanson. Cleverly titled, the pair of Carrey and Daniels realize that the suitcase is chalk full of $100 c-notes. The boys, strapped for cash and work, borrow all the money and in its place store receipts marked with the notorious IOU.

The IOU was a long standing joke between my friends and I when one of us forgot our wallet, purse or simply couldn’t afford whatever commodity we were after at the time. But the joke is all over. Now residing in Los Angeles, I live in a state that has literally been handing out IOUs to business owners and residents since July 2^nd of this year – because like Lloyd Christmas (Jim Carrey) and Harry Dunne (Jeff Daniels), California is broke.

Since the state Controller’s Office started handing out IOUs earlier this month, there have been 220,000 issued and isn’t likely to stop until the middle to end of next week. These IOUs will be redeemable for cash but the exchange date is still up in the air. The IOUs are simply the last leg of California’s epic budget crisis. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has been working day-in and day-out to get the increasing deficit under control. And so far, it seems he and his staff are doing the best they can but according to controller John Chiang “we start a fiscal year with a massively unbalanced spending plan and a cash shortfall not seen since the Great Depression.”

What does than mean for people in California? The rest of the United States?

In California, these IOUs will hopefully be redeemable in the near future. People from government agencies, business owners and even residents are all anxiously awaiting the date he or she can cash the thing. In other states where budgets are becoming a cumbersome burden, a similar scenario may unfold. According to Evan Newmark of the Wall Street Journal, the Midwest may have to follow suite given that unemployment is sky high and so are taxes. He claims that Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan are all drafting some form of IOU to effectively budget itself this year.

Just like Lloyd and Harry, I hope we don’t get in over our heads. Wait… too late.

By Ben Blascoe

Sixteen months after Microsoft’s first attempt to buy Yahoo failed miserably, the two technological giants finally worked out a 10-year deal that if applied correctly could put search and advertising leader Google.com in the ‘hot seat’.

Microsoft has generated a lot of e-buzz over the last couple months concerning the launch of its new search engine Bing.com, that the Washington-based company claims is just as “good, if not better than Google’s search engine.” The hatched deal between Microsoft and Yahoo is centered around Microsoft taking over the search responsibilities of Yahoo (via Bing) and hopefully creating enough worthy traffic to convert Googlers into users of Microsoft’s new platform.

Basically, the deal is as follows:

• Microsoft acquired a 10-year license to Yahoo’s search technologies to integrate with Microsoft’s Bing.
• While Yahoo will still be very much active in the process, all Yahoo sites will now be run through Bing.com
• Microsoft will pay Yahoo through shared Revenue based on traffic through their specified network.
• Yahoo’s operating income will be boosted by roughly $500m

According to ComputerWeekly.com who followed a press conference with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz, this 10-year merge will be a “game-changer”.  Both parties are very excited and agree that it will enable Microsoft to innovate in search while providing web-users with better options, transparency and choice.

But will this deal actually be able to undercut Google?

Taken from Reuters.com, Google spokesman Adam Kovakovich says “There has traditionally been a lot of competition online, and our experience is that competition brings about great things for users.” Google Inc later stated that it is very “interested” in the 10-year deal – not surprising considering that Yahoo is Google’s largest competitor.

As with any new innovation in technology, the bar will be raised and will prove to be an interesting couple of months as users watch the ‘merge’ take flight right before their eyes. We are sure to see the next level of search application and judging by the illustrious history of Google it should be quite a footrace.

By Benjamin Blascoe

Social media and networking websites have taken the world by storm. Neo-philosophers talked of the bourgeoning internet as the ‘Great Equalizer’ of humanity, but now more than ever it is actually true! From the streets of Iran to a penthouse suite in Manhattan, people are turning to social media and networking sites at an unprecedented rate. Entertainment was the original intention but many are starting to realize the enormous potential these sites have in the business world. However, the rise to unprecedented popularity has been coupled with its downfall – bush-league social media marketers flooding these sites with spam, trash and anything else that will hopefully grab people’s attention.

For companies attempting to market utilizing these sites or the internet in general, this can be an easy trap to fall into given that the internet is so straightforward and accessible. However, much like junk snail mail, NOBODY likes this substance. And when bombarded every second of every day, it becomes terribly maddening and can even distort a company’s image. From a branding perspective, social media marketers responsible for such tactless advertising in cyberspace instill a sense of angst whenever that particular company is mentioned. It shows me that whoever was in charge took little care in tailoring our digital relationship – meaning he or she could care less whether I bite or not. I always choose not….

If you don’t cater your social media to a specific audience then it is like fishing in a toxic pond full of nothing but rusty cans and old tires.

There isn’t a rigid platform or set of instructions to follow because every company is going to use these sites differently. All I know is that it is painfully annoying to read spam day-in and day-out. I understand I could simply remove these abusers from my network but that defeats the point. I could go on down the line of sites such as Myspace, Facebook, LinkedIn, AOL Propeller, FriendFeed, Biznik and many more but the end of the story is always the same. If throwing as many apples in a basket as humanly possible is your system of networking instead of carefully selecting ripe apples, who am I to tell you differently. All I can tell you is that mass-produced spam and trash does not work for me or the copious others I have spoken with about this issue.

A social media strategy needs some pondering, needs tweaking. To best assess which social media outlet (or all of them) would be best for your company, you must first decide how you would like to use these social media sites. Then decide who you would like to find on these sites. Then and only then will you generate the buzz and popularity that these sites can offer. Because when applied correctly, sites liked LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Marc Andreessen’s new social networking site ning.com can truly generate new business or reaffirm standing partnerships. However, if used improperly these sites can be an utter waste for your company and devastating to your image.

So for all of those individuals looking to social media marketing for a face-lift or maybe just some networking, here are a couple sites that will put you on the right track.

Mashable

Social Media Today