There is something about knowing the place you attended to obtain a degree has respect in football and of course academics. Somehow the two are more connected than we realize. A college with great athletic programs is popular, which means potential students know about it and want to attend it. Popularity of a college/university also increases the value of their degree in the market place. It is a smart business decision for a college or university to build up their athletic departments.

What garners more attention in college athletics than any thing else? Bowl games! Bowl games bring in millions of dollars to universities that are fortunate enough to make it to them. Bowl games also hold the best kept secret in college football. Number one is not always number one. Number one is often the number one draw for financial purposes. There are many teams that have achieved undefeated seasons in years when a one lost team played for the national championship.

Why isn’t there a college playoffs much like the nfl? It doesn’t make financial sense. Bowl games create hype, hype creates anticipation and anticipation creates greater demand. This demand drives the ability of millions of viewers to watch the games around the holidays. This demand makes number one and number two of greater importance than who is the best team right?

Sometimes they get it right, or do they? We will never know until there is actually a college playoff system, but there will never be a college playoff system as long as it is more lucrative to place a one and two that will draw the biggest crowd on game day. Personally, I do not believe the University of Texas is any better than Boise State whose record of 14-0 is impressive. From a financial standpoint though Boise State vs. Alabama just doesn’t sound as good as Texas vs. Alabama. What is better than two states going at it!

Disclaimer: I am a proud Aggie and I will never believe that T.U. deserves to be in any bowl game especially since we almost embarrassed them in Kyle Field this year!

Here are Liberate Magazine’s suggestions concerning holiday parties…

1. Plan strategically which ones you are going to attend and why

Often times you can get closer to a potential customer in a relaxed setting. Plan your party schedule based on the potential customers you would like to gain.

2. Stay focused at the party.

Do not go to a holiday party and forget your reason for being there. Consuming too much alcohol or acting “out of character” can result in lost business instead of more business. Stay focused and make contact with all of the individuals you would like to meet.

3. Consider throwing a “thank you” end of the year party for your customers.

What better way to use the holidays as a way to retain clients than to do a special event for all of your clients at the end of the year.

4. Relationship sell.

Do not try and close a deal at the party! Your goal is to meet the individuals you would like to network with and start building a relationship to sell to them. This may take days, but it also may take months.

Providing new services to customers is important, but when those services infringe upon the current services I have a problem with that. I know you are wondering, “Where is all of this angst coming from?” My mobile phone company, in an effort to provide a new service, took away an important feature on my plan without informing me. They said it was a “gliche” in the system that they only seemed to discover six months into my use of the plan.

Basically, I use my blackberry as a modem in addition to all the other things you can do with a blackberry. The irony of this situation is I have an “everything plan” that seems to include everything but my mobile broadband access. The technical question here is how does an everything plan, on a blackberry, include unlimited email, internet, texting and phone but somehow exclude unlimited mobile broadband “phone-as-modem access. The mobile broadband phone-as-modem uses the “unlimited” phone line! If you are familiar with how blackberrys function this argument will make complete sense.

This company’s “Simply Everything” plan should be changed to the “Excludes Something” plan or the “Simply Everything but Broadband” plan. Apparently when this company added the “call to any mobile phone” upgrade they took away the service I valued the most! Although I will not mention the company, I will say that I am going to sprint to their competitors and maybe next I will tell you if they have a better plan!

The City of Austin has taken additional steps to reward local business owners with city construction contracts. The city will give preference to local bidders for city construction contracts. Austin mayor Lee Leffingwell led the charge. According to Statesman.com,

“Leffingwell, joined by City Council Members Mike Martinez and Randi Shade, said in a news conference that when the city needs to build something large enough to hire a private contractor, “companies with a local presence will get the contract … in cases where everything else is equal,” or nearly so.

Final details have yet to be worked out. But under the proposal, a local firm’s bid could be perhaps 5 to 10 percent higher than out-of-town bids and still be competitive, Leffingwell and Martinez said. “

This is a step in the right direction for the City of Austin. Hopefully the trend will continue and begin to include other industries.

Due to the great transportation system downtown, you rarely have to drive if you book a hotel downtown.  Some of the other attractions include the Market Square, concerts and a host of festivals offered throughout the year.  There are many special rates for hotels on the Riverwalk if you book during non-peak times.  One key to getting good hotel rates in San Antonio is to visit during the week days. Here are some links to some of San Antonio’s attractions:

The Riverwalk

Sea World San Antonio

Six Flags Fiesta Texas

“The first way to identify your business correctly is by filing a D.B.A. Basically a D.B.A., also known as “Doing Business As” is paper work that is filed with your local county court that gives you exclusive access to that name for a period of ten years. This may vary based on the state you are in. (the majority of the information in this book is based on Texas State laws and procedures, but the general information is universal and applicable in all states) This is the first legal means of identifying your business. You can file as a sole proprietorship (one individual owner), a general partnership (two or more owners), or typically a joint venture (several individuals working together). Before you can file the name, you must perform a county name search. Your preferred name may not be available–this is why it is important to have back up name choices. In addition, there may be additional steps to secure your business, which we will discuss later. In most states, you can download the D.B.A. form from your local county’s web site. In the State of Texas, the cost for filing the paperwork ranges from $10.00 to $20.00 depending on the county. A D.B.A. only secures your name in the county where it was filed. This is important because to protect your business name in every county in your state you must file with your local Secretary of State’s Office. To protect your name nationally, you must file federal paperwork. Someone in another county may already be operating under the same business name if you do not file with the state offices. “

The tips contained in the training series are designed to help aspiring entrepreneurs to get started and veteran entrepreneurs to keep going. Please continue to read this section for more free training from some of the nation’s best entrepreneurs and small business owners.

This month’s book is more of a motivational book that highlights the lives of many successful people. The book asks the simple question, “What makes the Great, Great.” This is a compelling inspirational book written by Dr. Dennis P. Kimbro. Here is an excerpt from the book,

“Are you read to take that first step towards a better life? If you are, this “gift” should hold special meaning. No one else can live your life for you. No one else can progress toward greatness for you. This is not an easy world to live in. It is not an easy world to be decent in. It is not an easy world to understand oneself in, or to like oneself in. But it must be lived in, and in the living there is one person you must absolutely believe in. The business you are in, the business we are all in, is the business of living—and the sooner you learn who you are and how you became the person you are, the sooner you will be able to deal with the challenges that may have frustrated you in the past.”

To order a copy of Dr. Kimbro’s book, please visit his website storefront at http://www.denniskimbro.com/motivational-books.html.

The second type of quitter is the one that gets in the game and quits at the first sign of adversity. This type of quitter runs away from the prospect of losing even though the game is not over. Even if you are in the third quarter in football and you are down by 30, there is still another quarter to play. (Sorry for all the football analogies, but this is my favorite sports season!)

Now the loser is the must underrated individual. Here is a person that tried and as a result of not being successful the first time is deemed a loser. The problem with this ideology is it teaches people losing is an end result instead of a pathway. After all, some of the most successful individuals in the world were “losers.” The average millionaire has had seven failed business before they created the profitable one. Many major sports athletes were cut from teams and as a result refined their skills and reached the top of their sport.

Many lawyers, doctors, and teachers had poor grades in high school and as a result focused in college and went on to graduate school. And finally many people were working jobs that told them they were not doing a good job or they didn’t need them anymore and as a result let them go. In the process of evaluating this life changing event, many of these people created successful businesses. Quitting is not trying, losing is learning. Losing is opportunity. Losing is learning what you can win!

We are looking for experts in all respective industries.

“Agreement among competitors to (1) sell a good or commodity at the same price, (2) use the same formulas for computing selling prices, (3) offer the same discounts, (4) keep the same price differentials between different order quantities, qualities, or types, and (5) not lower the prices without notifying other competitors.”

Price fixing deprives the consumer of freedom of choice when searching for the best prices on goods and services. It was typically considered a criminal offense until 2007. A Supreme Court ruling two years ago allowed for some lose interpretation of price fixing by blurring the lines. The nations highest court, in 5-4 decision in June of 2007, ruled it was ,”no longer automatically unlawful for manufacturers and distributors to agree on setting minimum retail prices,” according to a New York Times report on the ruling. This ruling in some ways opened the door for price fixing.

As with any Supreme Court decision, this ruling set a precedent that threatened to change the 96 year old ban on price floors. From a consumer standpoint, it seems like price fixing puts them at a disadvantage. From an entrepreneurship standpoint, agreements between manufacturers and retailers could possibly be beneficial. This would allow an entrepreneur to get an equal return across the board on their product/service.

This was the logic behind the Supreme Court ruling. New products that come to market are a risk for retailers, but if the retailers have an agreement on a desired price for a new product, they will be more willing to sell it. In this manner, competition is encouraged because new entrepreneurs are given a chance to compete for spots in retail stores with out the store bearing the burden for the investment. This burden is handed to the consumer.

There is a new Maryland law that will take effect on October that seeks to indirectly challenge the ruling of the Supreme Court from two years ago. The Maryland law “will make it illegal for any manufacturer to tell any retailer what price to charge a customer,” according to ClarkHoward.com. Other states are sure to follow and challenge the Supreme Court decision as well.

It is going to be interesting to see how the Maryland law effects price fixing nation wide.