X-CUBE 050401v.2.i.4: Insightful Marketing Strategies and Industry Updates for Small, Minority, and Women-Owned A/E/C Firms

X-CUBE 050401v.2.i.4

Fifth Color – the
service bureau of your dreams! Scanning, retouching, prepress, digital
photography and prints, printing, fulfillment services, binding – you name
it, they do it…and what service! This company was founded on the principle
of good service. For a company introduction, contact Giancarlo Lorusso at
(212) 594-9750 or glorusso@fifthcolor.com

Hi All! We
apologize for not sending out an April issue of X-CUBE. Last month was very
active and exciting. We placed lighting designer Leni Schwendinger in
Crain’s New York Business Magazine (look for in the Small Business column in
the May 14th issue). We teamed up two clients to go after larger projects
together. We helped one client get pre-qualified with a major public
construction agency and get an interview at another. We formed an alliance
with Intellitech Consulting Enterprises (Intellitech.net) and we can now
give discounted web design/graphic design/technology consulting at
reasonable rates to our clients. We hired new talent. We acquired more
space…it is all very exciting. To celebrate, we invite you to a networking
party we are co-hosting with another one of our alliance partners,
Specsimple.com, this evening, May 4th, 2001. For party details visit:
http://specsimple.com/party.html.

Marketing Know How: Promise more than quality,
price and schedule

Out and About – What’s Buzzing with A/E/C

Diversity News

Cyber scene – Events and Factoids for the
Digitally Inclined

Industry Events

Non-Industry Events

Marketing Article: follow the web link

 

Marketing Know How: Promise
more than quality, price and schedule

In the design and construction industry, it seems
that every single company brochure says: «We deliver everything with
quality, on time and within budget. We’ve built umpteen thousand square feet
of…yadda, yadda, yadda» What a waste of paper! Let’s ditch the
industry mantra above and start infusing our collateral materials with the
essence of the companies we are representing. The next time you sit down to
write your company brochure, ask yourself the following questions and use
the answers to create a brochure that speaks to the individuality of your
firm. Questions to ask yourself include:

Why was this company created? For two brothers to
carry on the family business? For a woman architect to explore her design
philosophy? For a group of minority architects to pull together and pool
resources? For a husband and wife team to collaborate on
sculpture/architecture projects? What is the story???

What is the background of the founder(s)? Okay, you
graduated from Columbia University with a Masters in Architecture. Great.
Did the experience transform your ideas about design? Did you have a
particular teacher that inspired you about an aspect of design? Did you then
galvanize the surrounding community and do your thesis on Green Architecture
in Harlem? Are you a leader? What are you passionate about?

What is the true mission of the firm? The more
clear you are about this, the more interesting your client base will be.
Give yourself some time to answer this question. Why do you have your own
firm? What are your goals? Think big. Get personal. Refine.

What is your track record? This is the scary part.
Ask your clients what is like to work with your company. Let their comments
shape this description.

We’d love to see what you come up with! If you do
this exercise and feel like getting some feedback, email it to ega@outoftheboxmarketing.net.
Good luck and have fun!

The NYC School Construction Program Continues to
Promote Its Mentor Program for Small Contractors – On
April 25th, the SCA held a marketing forum, showcase, and networking forum
at their headquarters in Long Island City, to further promote their Small
Contractor Mentoring Program. We salute them for touting the necessity of
marketing and for creating a venue where smaller firms can rub shoulders
with larger Contracting and CM companies. Visit their web site to see how
you can do business with the SCA (www.nycsca.org)

Newark Developments Seminar Gives A/E/C consultants
the leg up – On March 22nd, Elizabeth
Geary-Archer of Out of the Box Marketing Strategies, Inc., orchestrated an
event at the NJ Performing Arts Center called «What’s Happening in New
Jersey Part II: Spotlight on Newark». The purpose of the event was to
learn about the development craze in Newark and how A/E/C consultants can
get a piece of the pie. Even though it rained and stormed, there were about
125 people in attendance. The event consisted of a dynamic networking
session followed by a panel discussion by Newark’s movers and shakers. The
panel included: Moderator – Joel Freiser, Deputy Executive
Director, Newark Economic Development Corporation; Jeanette F.
Brummell – Executive Director, University Heights Science
Park; Dale Caldwell – Executive Director, Newark Alliance; Hon.
Gayle H. Chaneyfield-Jenkins – Council Member-At-Large, Newark
Municipal Council; Barbara Kauffman – Executive Vice
President, Regional Business Partnership; Mark Lohbauer, Esq – Director
of Policy & Communications, NJ Economic Development Authority; and Jon
Weston – Asst. Manager, Newark Airport Redevelopment Program
(Port Authority, NY & NJ).

Bits Bytes and Bar – By Far the Best Digital
Networking in Town – «Are you
concerned about the slowing economy?» we asked several
college-age-looking dot com-ers at the last Bits Bytes and Bar event
sponsored by the IT group of the New York Downtown Alliance. They were not
concerned…if anything, they can now find space at lower rents. A financial
guru in the corner, slurping the free beer said, «it could get
worse» non-committedly. «We do Digital Marketing,» says a
young exec from Madison Street a small firm on John Street. «Oh
yeah?» asks a nearby gentleman in wrap-around orange sun glasses who
looks about 22 years old, «Check this out!» He whips out an
impressive looking silver PDA and says that what movie stars are using these
days are high powered PDAs to show people their reels, on the spot. And he
gives us all a demo, showing us clips from the Oscars. «We produce
these. We have an office in mid-town. All our workers live in Montreal where
the labor is cheap. Everything is done over the internet. All our computers
have video cameras on top. Clients come in to have a meeting in front of a
computer so he can have a video conference with a staff guy in Canada.»
We have to ask his age. «23.» You might enjoy their web site:
www.graphicsubstance.com (see the Cyber Scene section for info on the next
BBB event.)

Peter Vallone Gives Props to NYC’s African American
Professional Associations – On Wednesday –
May 2, 2001, The Speaker of The New York City Council and NYC Mayor hopeful,
Peter Vallone, The City Council Members saluted African American
Professional Organizations at City Hall. The Honorees included: The Urban
Financial Services Coalition, The National Alliance of Market Developers,
The KIP Business Report, The Network Journal, Howard University Law Alumni,
Networkz 2000, The Big Black Book, Black Women in Publishing, The
Metropolitan Black Bar Association, and The National Greek Network. Truly an
inspirational event, the ceremony included speeches from Peter Vallone and
select council members and performances by inspirational gospel singers. The
reception following was very interesting. Notable attendees included Dale
Caldwell of the Newark Alliance, Michael Garner of the SCA Mentoring
Program, Kyle Donovan from NV Magazine, representatives from Black
Enterprise and countless others.

Beat competition by diverse hiring
– The economic downturn has provided a remarkable opportunity for companies
smart enough to seize on this employers’ market. Now is the critical time,
recruiters say, to scoop up multiethnic talent and use these employees to
gain market share. Read more at:

An Entrepreneurial Folk
– Our friend, Richard Hernandez of the E-MBE.net Newsletter sent us and
interesting summary of article from The Washington Post titled «Number
of Self-Employed Blacks Up Sharply». The article notes number of
self-employed African American women has surged 50 percent since 1997,
despite a slight national decline of self-employed individuals in the late
1990s. Other highlights from the article are:

* Census figures point to rapid growth among
minority-owned businesses throughout the 1990s, especially those owned by
women, African Americans and Hispanics

* Despite the widespread belief that the late 1990s
was a period of rapid entrepreneurialism, data indicate the number of
self-employed Americans overall remained relatively flat throughout the
decade.

* The number of self-employed whites dropped 2.6
percent, to 9.3 million in 2000 samplings from 9.5 million in 1997, with a
2.2 percent decline for males and 3.6 percent fall for females. During the
same period, the number of self-employed Hispanics increased 7.2 percent to
688,000 in 2000 samplings, with a 6 percent increase for Hispanic men and 10
percent increase for Hispanic women.

A.
NYC Economic Development Corporation

We can’t get enough of EDC’s outreach to the New
Media/High-Tech Industry. If you would like to subscribe to the New York
City Economic Development Corporation’s New Media/High-tech Mailing List,
simply send your name, company, title, phone number and e-mail address to
mailto:info@nycedc.org.

B.
BITS, BYTES & BAR
A Monthly Technology Networking Party by The Downtown Alliance. Location:
Chevy’s Fresh Mex 102 North End Street (in the NYMEX Building) <http://www.chevys.com/>
When: Monday, May 14, 2001 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm. Open Margarita and Draft Beer
Bar plus Nacho Buffet PLEASE RSVP BY E-MAIL ONLY! E-mail first/last name and
e-mail address to: bitsbytesbar@downtownny.com <mailto:bitsbytesbar@downtownny.com>.
If you would like to post to the ITD list, send your message to itdlist@downtownny.com
<mailto:itdlist@downtownny.com>. If you have any questions about
the ITD or any of its programs, please send an e-mail to ahenke@downtownny.com.

The Elevator
The Elevator «Soiree» for this month will be a Silicon Alley
Entrepreneurs Club «Mega-Event,» scheduled for next Tuesday, May
8, 6:30 – 9:30 p.m., at the Carnegie Hill Brewery, 1600 Third Avenue.
Admission is free, cash bar and light buffet from 6:30 to 7:30. Registration
is online at the following address: http://www.vadim.com/SAEClub/
<http://www.vadim.com/SAEClub/>This is SAEC’s first big Mega-Event
and promises to be a memorable one. Complete details are listed below:
Details: At this event, SAEC will discuss its upcoming plans; for future
networking opportunities. Among these plans; include its Bull’s Eye
Networking, Speak As You See; It, Entrepreneur’s Advisory Board (EAB), and
Green; Leaf programs. Those interested in attending must register by May 3.
Registration is available at <http://www.vadim.com/SAEClub/> or
by contacting Gyan Parida at gparida@hotmail.com. Press registrations are
available through The Devon Group (732) 542-2000 or info@devonpr.com <mailto:info@devonpr.com>.
Attendance is limited to 400. There will be a cash bar, and a light
buffet will be served between 6:30 and 7:30. The Silicon Alley
Entrepreneurs Club (SAEC) was created in September 1999 as an online
discussion forum and networking group for entrepreneurs.

DMA Releases «2000 Economic Impact: U.S.
Direct & Interactive Marketing Today» Report
– If you are interested in the numbers on convergence that will be released
as part of the DMA’s 2001 «State of the Catalog & Interactive
Industry» report (which will not be released until June) then AIM is
offering you a month’s jump on the rest of the competition! At AIM Annual we
will exclusively share the top-line data from the report’s convergence
section with all the participants. The measurement of the convergence
between online and offline efforts is important information that we can get
to you – almost a month before anyone else sees it! Contact editor@interactivehq.org
with any questions.

E-Commerce Education for Minority-Owned Businesses
– We strongly recommend that you email
Richard Hernandez at e_mbe@hotmail.com and ask him to send you his
April 2001 newsletter on web marketing. It is very useful.

Black Dot Com-ers Band Together During Rough
Economic Times – Failure is not in the
cards for nubianroots.com, EverythingBlack.com, Blacknetwork.com and
Africansisters.com as they join together to strengthen and support each
other before the digital divide leaves them behind. Large ISP companies such
a Net Zero, AOL, EARTHLINK, JUNO, and others are having difficulty staying
in business. History is being made as these black technology companies come
together to support each other and provide for African Americans worldwide a
total WEB opportunity and experience. Together, they reasoned, we can offer
anyone interested in the Black experience, everything they need to reach the
WEB, surf the Web and learn and interact with each other culturally on the
Web.

The African-American Real Estate Professionals of
New York, Inc. (“AAREPNY”) – presents a
panel discussion on the The Commercial Renaissance of Harlem. Date:
Wednesday, May 9, 2001; Time: 6:00 PM to 6:45 PM – Reception, 6:45 PM to
8:30 PM – Panel Discussion; Place: 222 Broadway (at Fulton Street), 22^{nd
Floor at Merrill Lynch, New York; Admission: No Charge – Light refreshments.
You are invited to attend an exciting panel discussion focusing on the
commercial development of Harlem’s premier commercial corridors.
Developers, owners, investors, community development partners, and public
sector officials will present new development proposals for the northwest
and southwest corners of 125th Street and Lenox Ave. as well as 55 West
125th Street (Bill Clinton’s designated office). Guest Speakers: Forest
City Ratner – Robert Rediker, Senior Vice President; Abyssinian Development
Corporation- Darren Walker, Chief Operating Officer; Juneglory, Inc. –
Joseph Cuneo, Owner/Developer}

City Planning Commissioner – Angela Cavaluzzi*;
Cogswell Realty – Ross Jacobs, Senior Managing Director*; Upper Manhattan
Empowerment Zone – Terry Lane, CEO (moderator); *Invited. Sponsored by
Merrill Lynch. Please RSVP to (212) 946-5611

Outcomes” – Are
high tech housing markets really different? Has the global economy changed
critical aspects of housing demand? What has been the impact of high-tech
tools for the lending industry on housing outcomes? What are the key housing
policy issues in the New Economy? The Fannie Mae Foundation, Berkeley
Program on Housing & Urban Policy & others are sponsoring this
special one day conference Washington, DC conference in conjunction
with the May 29-30 mid-year meeting of the American Real Estate & Urban
Economics Association. That event offers workshops on housing market
dynamics; government securities; residential development subsidies &
regulations; home ownership + community lending. Both are free but
require registration by 5/25. For details, e-mail Vicki Elmer <velmer@uclink4.berkeley.edu>;
to register, see < www.areuea.org
>. see also 7/9-13 below & TALKS – 5/2 & 5/24

“Glass, Steel & Solar Panels: What’s on the
Horizon for Green Buildings?” –
Developers are interested in eco-friendly technology but say the risks are
too great. Can tax credits or other incentives make a real difference? Are
there other techniques to permanently incorporate conservation measures in
to future designs? Architect & Fordham U prof Colin Cathcart moderates a
free NYC Conservation Challenge (NYC3) panel discussion, with
developer Russell Albanese, BPC Authority president & CEO Timothy Carey,
architect Randolph Croxton & senior housing specialist FL Andrew Padian,
May 8th 7:00-9:00PM @ Columbia University’s School of International
& Public Affairs ’Kellogg Conference Center, 15th Floor , 420 West
118th Street @ Amsterdam Avenue, Morningside Heights (IRT 1/9 – 116th Street
station). Q? 212 361-6350 ext 202.

X
SMPS Honors Gala

Join SMPS New York as we honor David Chartock of
New York Construction News, Robert Davidson of The Port Authority, Karen
Phillips of The Abbysinian Development Corporation. June 19th, 6 PM – 8 PM.
For more information, call Susi Brooks at 212-765-4144.

Crain’s New York Business Arts & Culture
Breakfast Forum – Find out: How the economy
is affecting the arts in NY; How the city’s cultural centers influence the
economy; What the future will bring. Panelists: Eliot Feld, Artistic
Director, Ballet Tech; Linda LeRoy Janklow, Chairman, Lincoln
Center Theater; Virginia Louloudes, Executive Director, A.R.T. / New
York; David McKinney, President, Metropolitan Museum of New York

Moderator: Greg
David, Editor, Crain’s New York Business. Date: Tuesday, May 22,
2001; Place: Marriott Marquis, Times Square; Time: Registration and
Networking Breakfast 8:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.; Program 8:30 a.m.to 9:30 a.m.;
Cost to Attend: $35 for those pre-registered by May 18, or $40 at the door
(cash or check only.) To Register fax your business cards to Arts &
Culture Forum at 212 210 0499 or call the events hotline at 212 210 0739.
Sponsored by American Airlines.

***Out of the Box Marketing Strategies, Inc.
clients go free!!! Call us!***

PSMJ’s BootCamps
– PSMJ Resources is hosting its 2-day Associates BootCamp in the Washington,
D.C. area-at the Marriott Crystal City in Arlington, VA-on June 14-15. This
will be an extraordinary chance to network and learn more about the outlook
and trends in A/E/C for Associates, Project Managers, and other
professionals in 2001 as well as a host of other subjects. Learn how to
target your career toward becoming a Principal in your firm. Reservations
have been booking strongly, but they still have a limited amount of
openings. Bring one colleague along for half-price. If you would like
to bring ore than one person, please contact me for special rates. PSMJ’s
BootCamps have been such a resounding success, that many of those in
participating have attended previous BootCamps. The information made
available there will help you long after you return to work. Review the
Associates BootCamp Brochure available at: <http://4.36.81.154/website/assets/pdf/associates_bootcamp.pdf>

Contact: Linda Wells, PSMJ Resources, Inc., lwells@psmj.com
<mailto:lwells@psmj.com>, 1.800.537.7765 Ext. 23

Business Fun & Games II (2nd of Series)
– WHEN – May 9th, 6:30pm – 8:30pm; THE SCOOP: Come network! We have members
to help you ease your way in and interactive games planned to exercise your
networking skills in a relaxed atmosphere. This is your opportunity to meet
Fast Company readers over some refreshments and conversation. Get to know
each other face-to-face. Then, the fun really begins with a different
«challenge» that will test and teach, amuse and entertain. Think
of it as a series of adventure challenges for the citizens of this new Fast
Company society. This is where all different kinds of agents can come
together on neutral ground and mix it up! COST – $10; RSVP – <http://www.ersvp.com/reply/event8153>.
Note: upon completed registration a confirmation message will appear on
screen and eRSVP will email a confirmation notice to you; WHERE – Kick
Start, 535 W 34th Street, between 10th/11th Avenues. A great venue here in
the city, Kick Start is generously providing their space to us. For more
information about Kick Start, go to <http://www.kickstartusa.com>.;
TRANSPORTATION – Take the A/C/E train to 34th Street and walk 3 blocks west
on 34th Street toward Javits Center or take the M34 bus across 34th Street.
Building is clearly marked. Please remember to enter building through the
courtyard entrance. FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT – Jacqueline Edwards (pure_artistry@yahoo.com
<mailto:pure_artistry@yahoo.com>)

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Marketing Article: Ten Marketing Mistakes Small
Businesses Make. Click on this link (or
paste the address into your browser) to read the article.

http://flashcommerce.com/articles/01/05/02/150004.html

If you have any comments, suggestions, or if you
have an event that you would like us to include in X-CUBE, please email
Elizabeth Geary-Archer at ega@outoftheboxmarketing.net