Ground has been broken for CG Schmidt’s new corporate offices at 11700 W. Lake Park Dr. on Milwaukee’s far northwest side.
The 17,000-square-foot building will house the construction company’s staff of more than 40 persons and will replace its current home on North Richards Street – a facility constructed in 1963.
The company expects to take occupancy of the new building in November.
In selecting the new location and planning its new building, the company set out to accomplish several goals, said Bill Kissinger, company vice president.
One goal was to stay in the city – a goal realized by the purchase of a site in the Park Place office development from the Milwaukee Economic Development Corp. “The city, especially the Department of City Development, was especially helpful to us in fulfilling our commitment to stay in the city,” Kissinger said.
Another goal was to provide room for continued growth. The firm has seen its revenues grow from $35 million five years ago to $90 million today. That has led to an increased professional staff at the main office as well as a growing field force.
“We anticipate continued growth in the coming years and a moderate increase in office and professional staff to support our construction operations,” said company president Steve Chamberlin. “We are taking every opportunity to make our operation more efficient through automation, but need to provide space for additional people.”
The other goal, said senior project manager Dan Davis, is design and build with “sustainability” in mind. Calling the company a leading proponent of “green” construction principles, Davis said CG Schmidt intends to use the building as a demonstration site for green design principles that can be applied at little or no cost to construction projects.
Green principles that CG Schmidt will take into consideration for its facility are building orientation, mechanical systems, construction materials and landscaping.
May 1998 Small Business Times, Milwaukee

Lakefront Brewery in Milwaukee has moved to its new location along the Milwaukee River just north of downtown.
The brewery, founded in 1985, has set up shop in a facility which once housed the city’s forestry division, at 1872 N. Commerce St. It offers 10 times the floor space of the brewery’s former Chambers Street location in Milwaukee’s Riverwest neighborhood.
“From our first year when we brewed and sold all 60 barrels within rolling distance of the brewery, we’ve learned and grown from the Chambers Street location,” said company president Russell Klisch. When the brewery marked its 10th anniversary in December, Klisch noted that it has produced and sold nearly 3,000 barrels of beer in 1997.
Russell Klisch founded the brewery with his brother Jim.
The brothers are now hoping to attract another business – possibly some soft beverage producer – into their Chambers Street location, Jim Klisch said.
The brewery’s new riverside location is adjacent to the Riverpointe apartment complex which was developed out of the old Gimbels warehouse. The city is eying further residential development along that stretch of Commerce Street.
The Klisches say they are likely to establish an outdoor, riverside beer-tasting garden, and may seek another business owner to establish a tavern at the site.
May 1998 Small Business Times, Milwaukee

Answer of Dale Muehl of Wipfli, Ullrich Bertelson
Running a business successfully is like taking a journey: you need a destination (objectives and goals) and a well-thought-out plan to guide you there. Along the way, you must continually monitor your progress to make sure you’re still on course.
Assuming you’ve determined your company’s destination and have a plan in place, the first step in establishing an effective monitoring system is to identify the key financial and operational indicators for your business.
Once you’ve identified your operation’s most critical indicators, you must set goals for each of them. To set those goals, consider several factors: the company’s past performance, developments that may cause future performance to differ dramatically from historical results, and benchmarking the performance of your company against direct competitors and others in your industry. The relevance and importance of those factors will vary depending on your company’s particular circumstances.
After you’ve determined indicators and set goals, you need to develop an efficient system for monitoring your progress. Some of the information you’ll need to analyze might be available through your existing financial system; a number of the software products currently popular with small businesses do a pretty good job of reporting such data. To obtain information that’s not being captured, custom reports can often be developed. If your system does not support custom reporting, other programs such as Microsoft Excel or Access can be used in conjunction with your software to generate the needed information.
Determining key indicators, setting goals and monitoring progress are meaningless actions if they are not utilized in the daily management of your business. Timely information on actual performance along key indicators compared to goals for those indicators needs to be generated and communicated to the appropriate employees. Those employees also need to understand their individual level of authority and degree of responsibility for monitoring progress and attaining goals. When there is a significant variance in actual performance versus your goal, either positive or negative, the cause should be determined immediately. If the variance is positive, the cause should be incorporated into the company’s plans when possible to enhance future performance.
Answer of Dave Bauer of Virchow, Krause Business Strategy Group
A CEO needs a well developed performance measurement system centered around four main principles.
The benefits to a well-structured performance measurement system are:

hurts morale
Question:
Within the last six months we have doubled the size of our customer service department. We have done this by moving people from other departments into the department and by hiring from the outside. Although we expected a period of settling in, things have been rocky ever since the changes were initiated.
Part of the problem is the customer service manager. He is tough, demanding, and direct. The veterans within the department have learned to accept his approach, but that doesn’t mean they enjoy it.
To make a long story short, morale has been decreasing over the past few months. The CSRs have been struggling to adjust to all of the changes which have taken place. As HR manager, I’m hearing more and more complaints about their manager’s impersonal approach which is along the lines of, “Changes are taking place, live with them.”
Over the years (he’s been with us for eight years), we’ve been pleased with his overall performance, although we have encouraged him to be less critical of his people and “softer” in the way he interacts with them. Given what we are seeing within the department at the present time, we feel he must change his approach if we are to move the department forward. What are your thoughts on how we can help him do this?
Answer:
If I read between the lines, what I am hearing you say is that the manager’s interpersonal expertise does not match his technical expertise. This is common, as many managers are promoted based on their job “know-how.” However, as you move up the chain-of-command, know-how only carries you so far. Skills involving the facilitation of the work of others and helping the team to work well together become increasingly important.
Although we are living and working in an information age, technology by itself is not enough. Technology only helps us stay informed. Strong communication and interpersonal skills are necessary to form appropriate connections with others.
Although communication skills are sometimes viewed as “fluffy” or hard to pin down, a 1990 study funded by the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) and the U.S. Department of Labor identified oral communication as a vital skill and affirmed that job success is indeed linked to effective interpersonal skills. And, given that many organizations are re-examining their job requirements in light of behavioral competencies, it seems apparent that interpersonal skills are being taken more seriously.
Of course, part of the recent emphasis on interpersonal skills stems from general changes which are taking place in the way that work is conducted. In the past, it was employment for life, defined career tracks, hierarchical organizational structures, strict managerial supervision, a focus on performing single tasks, and little emphasis on acquiring new skills or knowledge.
Today, the world of work is one of frequent employment changes, personal responsibility for career development, flattened organizational structures, team work, process improvement and multiple tasks, and increasing emphasis on acquiring new knowledge and skills and lifelong learning.
Implicit in all of this, I believe, is that strong communication skills are necessary for survival in today’s business world. Communication is the process by which people share information about themselves, ideas, things, and tasks. It is the process by which meaning is created – understanding and accepting others and being understood and accepted by others. In essence, communication is like a revolving door because each person involved in the communication is responsible for the outcome.
Clearly, part of being an effective communicator is recognizing who your audience is. Each group of people brings with it a unique set of characteristics with many possible variations. Differences may exist in terms of work style, problem-solving style, education, work experience, personality type, and personal background (e.g., gender, age, ethnicity, lifestyle orientation, etc.). Good communicators use these differences to their advantage and to the advantage of the group.
In terms of your situation, you need to be helping the customer service manager and the CSRs communicate across their differences by encouraging openness, a willingness to share and learn. That needs to take place in an atmosphere of respect and trust, and with a focus on the project goal.
One way to get started is having each group members (including the manager) identify his/her interpersonal style. A number of behavioral inventories are available to assess individuals’ preferences. A typical inventory might focus on these domains:

Construction loan closing entails a host of paperwork
If your business has a simple line of credit with your bank, you probably signed a note, and maybe a security agreement and UCC Financing Statement, and that was the end of the loan closing.
The first time you take out a construction loan to build your company’s new building, you may be surprised to see a sea of documents on the table which must be signed in connection with your construction loan closing. Here is a quick guide to what those documents do and why they are necessary.
Note. Just as with a general commercial loan, the note represents the obligation to repay the borrowed money, and an agreement on the interest rate and how the interest rate may change, the length of the loan, and how and when the loan will be repaid.
Mortgage. In a construction loan, the lender is giving you the money not based on the strength of your business, but on the value of the land you have purchased and the improvements you are constructing. Therefore, the lender takes the property and the future improvements you are creating as collateral for the loan. The mortgage gives the bank a lien on the land and future improvements, explains how you must maintain and insure the property to preserve that collateral, and identifies what the procedure will be if the lender ever has to foreclose.
Affidavit of Liens and Possessions. In Wisconsin, if you buy a piece of property, and a tenant is occupying that property, even if that tenant has no rights recorded in the Register of Deeds’ office, you may take title to that land subject to that tenant’s rights. Part of what the Affidavit of Liens and Possessions does is have the current owner of the property swear that either there are no leases, or has the owner identify exactly who does have lease rights.
The second part of the Affidavit of Liens and Possessions clears a different issue dealing with contractor liens. In Wisconsin, generally speaking, anyone who has either performed work or provided materials for the improvement of your property within the last six months has a right to put a lien against the property.
For example, if your seller had work done on the property the day before he sold the property to you, and the contract was not paid, that contractor might still have the right to put a lien against your property after you purchase it.
In order to clear up such a potential problem, the seller also signs this Affidavit of Liens and Possessions.
The title company can then work forward from that date, to eliminate lien rights for contractors you hire after you purchased the property.
Architect’s and Contractor’s Contracts and Assignment. You probably have already entered into or are in the process of entering into a contract with an architect and/or a general contractor.
One of the construction loan closing documents will be an assignment of those contracts to the lender. Typically, the architect and the contractor contract are made directly with your company and cannot be assigned without the permission of the architect or contractor. However, if you flee in the middle of the project, the lender needs to know that it can use the same architect and the same contractor to finish the project.
A half-built project has very little value, but if a bank can finish the construction of the project, it then has something valuable that it could use as collateral and sell at a foreclosure sale.
Assignment of Permits. Similarly, if you have obtained a building permit or other permits to build your improvements, the lender may also need those same permits to continue the construction project if you stop.
Evidence of Zoning. Either through a letter from your municipality or through a zoning endorsement to your title commitment, the lender often asks for evidence that the building you want to build can be built, and can be occupied for your intended use, in the location and in the manner you want.
Survey. A survey is the only document that provides a link between the paragraph legal description of your property on the deed to you, and the land your eye sees.
The survey usually identifies the boundaries of the property, the correct legal description, the location of any buildings or other improvements that are currently on the property, the location of any easements that are recorded against your property, and any other markings that you have asked the surveyor to perform.
There is no standardized legal definition of “survey” so you need to specify which of these items you want.
In a construction loan closing, the vacant-land survey provides the base point to the lender and title company, showing what is on the land now. Generally, after the foundation and footings have been put in, the loan closing documents may require an “as-built survey” that locates the foundation and footings on the property.
Title Insurance. The title insurance commitment discloses who is the current owner of the land in the official county records, the exact legal description, any other documents that are recorded against the property in the county Register of Deeds’ office, (such as easements and deed restrictions), special assessments levied against the property, and any documents which must be obtained before the title company will issue the policy.
The insurance policy that goes with the title commitment insures each of the owner and the lender against a number of other title problems, and gives you an insurance policy against which you can claim, if the policy fails to disclose a problem it should have disclosed. Most important, it will pay to defend you if anyone challenges your title to the property because of a covered defect.
Construction Loan Agreement. The construction loan agreement, if you have one, identifies what documents you need to provide and what conditions must be met, for the lender to make each construction draw.
Typically, there is a long list of documents required for the first construction draw, which is essentially your closing checklist, and then a list of documents required for each later construction draw. In addition to the as-built survey referred to above, draw requests usually require at least the following:
Draw Request. A draw request signed by the general contractor for payment for completed items, usually on a spreadsheet showing the total budget for that item and how much remains to be completed for that particular item. The contractor usually must sign some type of affidavit swearing that all of the work requested in the draw request has been completed. The owner usually must also sign the draw request approving the payment of those amounts.
Contractor’s Affidavit. The contractor signs an affidavit to the title company confirming all of the contractors and materialmen who have been hired by the contractor to do work on the property since the beginning of the project. That gives the title company the master list of every party who may have lien rights against the project so that they can start collecting the lien waivers from each of those parties and closing off that risk.
Owner’s Affidavit. Often, the title company will also request the owner to sign an affidavit confirming the list of any contractors that the owner has hired directly for work on the project, again, so that the title company has the master list against which to check off all the lien rights.
Inspection. Many lenders require that an inspector, either an independent inspector or a representative of the lender or the title company, must go to the site of the project and view the project to make certain that the improvements that are claimed to have been built actually have been built. The borrower pays for this fee.
Lien Waivers. The contractor, along with his draw request, must provide the title company with lien waivers from his own company, and any subs the contractor has hired, for all of the work that has been completed under his control. If the owner hired subs directly, the owner must follow the same procedure. There is often discussion whether the general contractor must bring lien waivers for all of the work that is requested in that current draw request, or only for the work that was completed through the prior draw request.
Certificate of Substantial Completion. At the time that the final construction draw is made, in addition to all of these documents, the title company and lender usually require that the architect sign a document certifying that the work has been completed in accordance with the plans and specifications that were approved by the lender and any state or local building inspectors
Permits. Because construction cannot proceed legally without securing both state and local building permits, as a condition to the initial closing, the lenders usually require copies of the local building permits and the state stamps on the plans and specifications for the state approvals.
Utility Availability. Lenders typically require some evidence that all of the utilities that are necessary for the project are in the roadway or adjacent to the property.
Occupancy Permits. An occupancy permit is a permit that is issued at the time construction is complete and the building inspector determines to allow the property to be occupied.
Disbursement Agreement. The title company and the lender may require you to sign a Disbursement Agreement, joined in by the general contractor, so everyone has agreed to the same disbursement procedures. Without it, the construction contract’s disbursement procedures often do not match the lender’s.
Nancy Leary Haggerty is an attorney with the Milwaukee office of Michael Best & Freidrich.
May 1998 Small Business Times, Milwaukee

Internet commerce is real. Are you ready?
Over the course of time, technical innovations and the fundamental changes they bring about have made for interesting debate.
Down through the years, statements were made that, in hindsight, can be considered absurd. See if you can identify the people who made the following remarks. The answers will appear at the end of this article:
1. “This ‘telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.”
2. “I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.”
3. “I have traveled the length and breadth of this country and talked with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a fad that won’t last out the year.”
4. “But what … is it good for?”
5. “There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.”
6. “640K ought to be enough for anybody.”
7. “A “catastrophic collapse” of the Internet will occur in 1996.”
Most of those now-popular statements were more than likely taken out of context, but nonetheless point to a trend where new technology frontiers are emerging: there are myths and realities associated with any trendsetting concept, and each one enjoys its share of early adopters and naysayers.
Enter the concept of electronic commerce over the Internet, or E-commerce.
Myths
“Electronic commerce over the Internet is unsecured.”
“As a company, we may alienate our distribution chain.”
“Internet commerce will never materialize – it will dry up and eventually fade away.”
“Why would anyone want to buy something over the Internet?”
“Isn’t it expensive?”
“It will eliminate personal interaction.”
Reality
Electronic commerce on the Internet is an ever-increasing reality. International Data Corp. expects a significant rise in worldwide Internet commerce, growing from just over $10 billion in 1997 to $123 billion in 2000.
A recent Commerce Department report found that radio existed for 38 years before it had 50 million listeners, and television took 13 years to reach that number of viewers. The Internet hit that milestone in just four years. In addition, more than one third of all current Web users are making online purchases today.
With the continued rapid adoption of the Internet and the potential to create compelling business advantages, the time to implement an Internet commerce strategy would appear to be now.
“Internet commerce” is the buying and selling of goods and services within a secure environment through the Internet. Its potential represents a dramatic extension of current methods of doing business. By leveraging the simplicity, power and global reach of the Internet, businesses can expand market share by serving new customers in geographic and demographic market segments that they have never been able to target or serve before.
Additionally an E-commerce solution like Dealer price enforcement can increase value from suppliers and others in the distribution channel, build stronger relationships with existing customers and partners and help better manage internal resources.
The value proposition is relatively simple: The ability to conduct secure transactions across the Internet gives users instant access to a worldwide market of buyers for products and services.
Companies which implement E-commerce solutions can expand their market reach, increase revenue, lower operating costs and enhance customer satisfaction.
And don’t let the simplicity of the value proposition fool you: a sound commerce strategy should be implemented to plan for and handle the complexities associated with this new and powerful way to do business.
It would appear that members of the supply chain cycle who resist the reality of Internet commerce, both from the business-to-business and business-to-consumer perspectives, will become victims of supply chain piracy. It’s lead, follow, or get out of the way.
Another myth debunker comes in the form of experience.
At a recent E-commerce seminar at the Milwaukee Athletic Club, Sheldon Laube, chief technology officer for USWeb Corp., stated that experience is a critical factor to success in the area of Internet commerce.
“Businesses cannot simply learn from others,” Laube said. “The velocity of change is increasingly so rapidly that ‘been there, done that’ is the only way you can learn. Learning is so valuable at this stage of the cycle.”
Laube also added that time is critical.
“Customer expectations of a Website is such that a static billboard experience is not enough. Users expect some sort of business process to be available to them when they go to a site. People buy insurance, lease a car, order a gift certificate, receive technical support, order brochures, and all kinds of things. These are real tools, being used by real people.”
Viewed as a myth only several years ago, it would appear that electronic commerce via the Web is reality. The promise and potential is simply too vast.
Jim Brophy is senior manager, business solutions, for the Milwaukee practice of USWeb Corp. in New Berlin. Small Business Times readers who have an Internet-related question can e-mail Brophy at jbrophy@usweb.com.
Answers to the remarks above:
1. Western Union Internal Memo, 1876
2. Thomas Watson,
chairman of IBM, 1943
3. The editor in charge of business books, Prentice Hall, in 1957
4. Engineer at the Advanced
Computing Systems Division of IBM, commenting on the microchip
5. Ken Olson, president,
chairman and founder of
Digital Equipment Corp., 1977
6. Bill Gates, 1981
7. Bob Metcalfe,
inventor of Ethernet, 1995.
May 1998 Small Business Times, Milwaukee

Remember that guy in school who everyone referred to as “a brain?”
Sun Tzu Security’s Jim O’Brien is a certified whiz following his performance at a week-long certification process at Technologic, an Atlanta-based maker of computer network security systems.
In early February, the 24-year-old V.P. of information technology aced the Atlanta-based company’s practical test. Technologic makes the Interceptor firewall system, which protects private computer networks from unwanted intrusions.
In the six-year history of Technologic, O’Brien’s feat was a first, says Technologic’s Renee Landers. O’Brien actually scored higher than the engineers who developed the product.
“I don’t think he’d ever seen our product before,” Landers says. “Without being familiar with the interface, that’s pretty amazing.”
The average score on the practical part of the test was 74%. O’Brien proved that he is human, after all, on the written portion, scoring a mere 93%.
Sun Tzu is an authorized reseller of the Interceptor firewall solution.
Revenge of the nerd?
When Microsoft CEO Bill Gates visited here recently, local media coverage focused on his donation of an estimated $150,000 to Milwaukee Area Technical College’s computer lab. What wasn’t mentioned was Gates’ style, or lack thereof. For a man whose fortune has been estimated at $36 billion, Gates looked and acted the part of an understated software engineer in his rumpled blue suit, pinstriped broadcloth shirt and blue tie. The only thing that signaled this was a big-time guy was the small, but visible police presence and the Cadillac Fleetwood limo that whisked him away.
Heavy hitter
Two months ago in Small Business Times we noted that the new Midwest Express Center will weigh about 100,000 tons, according to engineering estimates.
Now, Miller Park officials tell us that the new baseball stadium will weigh about 500,000 tons, which may make it the heaviest structure in Wisconsin, equal in weight to a 50-story office tower. The tallest skyscraper in Wisconsin is the 40-story Firststar building in downtown Milwaukee.
The retractable roof alone at Miller Park will weigh about 10,000 tons, says Michael Morgan, communications manager for the Southeast Wisconsin Professional Baseball District.
Not many other buildings approach the height of the Firstar tower. Miller Park’s height, by comparison, will be equal to a 22-story office building.
We are family
It’s not uncommon for business owners and employees to have pictures of their children on their desks or posted on the walls of their cubicles.
At Whittman-Hart, a national information technology consultancy with offices in Milwaukee, they go a step further.
Each office has a “Whittman-Hart Kid’s Wall,” displaying professionally-photographed pictures of employees’ children, notes Traci Kurtin, marketing director of the Milwaukee office. All employees with children are eligible to have a photo taken.
The Milwaukee wall has about 50 pictures, each shot by photographer Pat Goetzinger.
The pictures, says Robert Landgren, partner in charge of the Milwaukee office, reinforce the firm’s commitment to being family-friendly. Further, he notes, in an ideal world, people work because they like to. In the real world, people work to support their families; the pictures are a reminder of that reality.
“The pictures on the wall are there to remind management that there are lives outside of Whittman-Hart that we’re responsible for – such as college educations, mortgages and other financial needs of our families,” Landgren says.
The practice also gives the families an opportunity to order reprints of the photos and, Kurtin adds, bring an element of pride into the business.

Discord between supervisors hurts morale
Roadblock:
The owner of a small service firm is under considerable stress because of the problems caused by his two supervisors who don’t get along with each other. Both supervisors have some negative attributes, but they each also bring some real strengths to the organization.
One of them, on the down side, has a propensity for lying about small things and places unwarranted blame on the other supervisor. In addition, she undermines the company owner by supporting people’s complaints and siding with them against the policies of the firm. On the upside, she is very knowledgeable about the job and the industry, is well liked by the group she supervises, and she would be difficult to replace.
With the other supervisor there is no question about his commitment to the company. He takes on difficult tasks and works long hours. He has a good working relationship with the owner, but not with the group of people reporting to him. His resentment of the fact that “his” people go to the other supervisor for support is a continued source of conflict.
Morale in the office is down and so is productivity, and far too much of the owner’s time is spent addressing issues raised by the discord between the two supervisors.
Problem:
The owner is not fulfilling his leadership responsibilities. Only he can manage the performance of his supervisors. Failure to do so threatens the stability of the company and diminishes his credibility as a leader with a clear sense of purpose and direction. Tough choices and the need to resolve difficult situations come with the territory.
Solution:
This roadblock presents the owner with two issues to address. The first is the inability of his two supervisors to work together cooperatively. Many times people in the workplace find themselves working with someone with whom they have little in common or perhaps with a team member who has a difficult personality. People have their differences. Yet it must be made clear that professional courtesy and cooperation with others is a requirement of the job, no matter what the position. If someone is unable or unwilling to meet these requirements, then he or she should be replaced.
Has competitiveness between the two supervisors been inadvertently encouraged? Whatever the reasons, every effort should be made to coach the individual to correct the behavior and hold her accountable.
If these solutions don’t bring about the desired changes in the two supervisors, the owner’s only choice is to take steps to replace the offending supervisor – for the good of the company as well as for his own well-being.
Solutions to Roadblocks is provided by The Performance Group inc, a Brookfield training and consulting firm.
May 1998 Small Business Times, Milwaukee

Larry Lauwasser remembers his early days as a CPA at a small Milwaukee firm back in the 1950s. He was working full-time at the firm after a stint with the Army, when a college student joined the firm part-time.
That part-timer was Robert Kolb, a business/accounting student at Marquette University who intended to go to law school. Working at the CPA firm was a means of paying his way through school.
Lauwasser saw something in that young Kolb that impressed him – an impression that’s lasted to this day at the West Allis-based CPA and business advisory firm, Kolb Lauwasser & Co.
“I recognized his talents and abilities right at the outset,” Lauwasser said during a recent interview at the firm’s West Allis offices. “Even as a student in his 20s, he exhibited talents and intelligence that have carried him to this point.”
Kolb Lauwasser is the ninth largest accounting firm in the Milwaukee area, and the largest locally-owned firm. Established in 1960 with three people, including Kolb and Lauwasser, the firm now has 10 other partners and employs about 75 people.
Kolb and Lauwasser realized early on that they couldn’t do it all themselves, so they started to bring partners into the firm.
“We realized we couldn’t grow if we didn’t bring in specialists,” Lauwasser says. “To expand your firm, you have to be willing to let go of a lot of responsibilities and bring in people who can specialize in those areas. You can’t know everything. Our realization of that has been a big factor in our growth.”
Trust built on mutual respect
Lauwasser credits Kolb’s keen analytical sense and vision for helping build the firm.
“He’s able to very early assess a problem, determine the key elements of the situation, and focus on solutions,” said Lauwasser. “He is an outstanding diagnostician.”
That analytical side of Kolb, says Lauwasser, is complemented by honesty, high ideals and a strong moral character grounded in his religious faith.
Add up those attributes and you have not only an outstanding accountant, Lauwasser says, but also an outstanding business partner.
“There’s no one individual I would say I respect more than him,” Lauwasser says. “He’s had a
The executive will have to see change, analyze it and act quickly on it.
– Bob Kolb, Partner Kolb Lauwasser
tremendous influence on my life. Just the way he conducts himself is inspiring.”
Likewise, apparently, for Kolb.
“We came from such different backgrounds,” Kolb said. “But we’ve come to have complete faith in each other. I even told my wife that if anything ever happens to me, she should call Larry.”
What’s kept the two partners together all these years is a respect for each other, Lauwasser says. “At the outset, what got us established and what’s kept us going was a mutual respect for each other’s strengths and weaknesses.”
Kolb’s 40-year career is being recognized this month by the Southeast Wisconsin Chapter of the Wisconsin Institute of CPAs, which is bestowing its 1998 Distinguished Career award upon him. And in April, Marquette University honored him at its Alumni National Awards Dinner with the 1998 Service to Marquette Award.
He’s seen much in his 40 years in the business, including all the economic cycles. But through all that, Kolb says he’s kept a focus on three things that have led to the firm’s success. One is a focus on talent, even when that meant paying higher salaries to attract good people. Another is complete honesty and uncompromising ethics. And hard work backs it all up.
“We don’t apologize for that,” Kolb says of the work-ethic. “We know that hard work will lead us to success. We’re lucky to be where we are, but I know where that luck came from: hard work.”
He realizes, however, that it’s a different world today from when he started in the business, relying on his wife Gerri for tremendous support at home, allowing him to spend endless hours at the office.
Today, with more wives working outside the home, spouses see more demands to tend to family matters rather than spend every evening and weekend at work.
“We’re well aware of the changes that have occurred, of the terrible pressure on professionals; we didn’t have to deal with that in past years,” Kolb says, noting the many 70-hour-plus weeks he’d work.
[One thing that hasn’t changed over the years is the time-demands imposed on the entire staff at tax-time, when 40-hour weeks are far from the norm.]
Kolb grew up in what is now Milwaukee’s central city, and met his wife “and best friend of 37 years” while the two were students at Marquette University. The couple now has four grown children, two who also have attended Marquette, marking a third generation of the family to attend the university – Kolb’s mother was a 1921 MU grad.
When the firm was established in 1960, its motto was “We care,” handling clients’ accounts as though they were the firm’s own books, Kolb says.
Technological change
While that caring attitude and an outstanding integrity have remained constant through the years, Kolb has seen tremendous change in how business is handled, especially within the past five years.
“It didn’t used to be a capital-intensive business,” he recalls. “You basically needed pencils and erasers.” Now, computers are the tools of the trade. “I used to come into the office, take my handwritten messages, and turn on the adding machine. Now I flip on the computer, check for voice mail, check my schedule on the computer, and engage in video conferencing. It’s mind-boggling what’s happened in the last five years.”
He’s embraced that change, and says it’s incumbent for other business owners to do the same.
“The executive will have to see change, analyze it and act quickly on it,” he says, noting his definition of the acronym CEO as “change equals opportunity.”
Lauwasser notes that the firm embraced computerization early-on, using a system developed by Singer – the sewing machine manufacturer.
“Putting the practice on computers was a real hallmark for this firm,” Lauwasser says. “It gave us a lot of confidence to provide services that might not have been feasible to do by hand.”
The firm’s growth over the years has come solely from such moves and its marketing efforts. It never merged with or acquired another firm, nor has it ever bought another firm’s accounts. “We’ve always had the philosophy that we could expand the company on our own,” Kolb says.
The stature and reputation the firm enjoys today, he says, is a great satisfaction. “It shows we’ve done something right.”
And what is his secret to finding out what that “something right” is?
“All you have to do is talk to your clients,” Kolb says. “They start talking, and pretty soon they’re telling you what you should be doing.”
Position: Founding and managing partner in CPA and business advisory firm Kolb Lowausser & Co., 2400 S. 102nd St., West Allis.
Firm founded 1960.
First job: Milwaukee CPA firm
Most satisfying career-related accomplishment: Earning a reputation of trustworthiness, and seeing company grow from 3-person to 73-person firm.
Most admired persons: Wife Gerri and four children; college professors, particularly Charles Horngren; and business partner Larry Lauwasser.
Family: Wife Gerri and four children.
Education: Pius XI High School, Milwaukee; Marquette University (1958).
Currently reading: Los Alamos, a mystery novel by Joseph Kanon, published by Broadway Books.
Interests/hobbies: Golf, music
Supported organizations: Divine Savior Holy Angels High School Foundation, Marquette University, Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce/ Council of Small Business Executives (current chairman), Council of Growing Companies, International Group of Accounting Firms.
Words of wisdom: “Don’t be afraid of change; look at it, analyze it and act on your analysis. Opportunity awaits you if you apply hard work in responding to that change.”
May 1998 Small Business Times, Milwaukee

Falls printer is on the digital edge
When George Fiel set out on his own after more than 20 years in the pre-press industry, he knew his survival in the crowded field depended on his firm being different.
And that suited him just fine.
“I always wanted to do things differently and outside the box,” said Fiel, who, with his wife Erika, founded Image Systems in the basement of the family home in 1987. “I’ve always been excited about opportunity and about new technology.”
Opportunity has certainly presented itself in technology over the course of the firm’s 10 years in business. And Fiel has taken advantage of it, building a company that did $10 million in business last year and which now has 85 employees.
His visionary approach to technology in the printing business has paid off in another way: Consolidated Graphics, a publicly-traded giant in the industry, has agreed to purchase Image Systems for an undisclosed sum.
Fiel, who will remain as president of the Menomonee Falls firm, sees the acquisition as just one more proactive measure for his operation.
“With Consolidated Graphics, we join the most successful group of commercial printing companies in the United States,” Fiel said. “They share our long-standing commitment to advanced printing technologies, a commitment that has created for us a competitive advantage in our market.”
Upon completion of pending acquisitions, the Houston-based Consolidated Graphics will have 35 companies with annualized revenues in excess of $360 million. Consolidated Graphics has a policy of keeping management of acquired companies in charge, figuring that those persons are largely responsible for making the companies successful, says Consolidated chairman and CEO Joe R. Davis.
Davis calls Fiel an example of that expertise.
“George Fiel and his staff have dedicated themselves to providing their customers a superior product through hard work and exemplary customer service, as well as being a nationally recognized leader in the digital technology revolution.”
Fiel and Image Systems certainly are nationally recognized. Fiel is regularly quoted in printing industry trade journals, with such publications as Graphic Arts Monthly calling him a “pioneer in digital imaging systems.”
Fiel saw it all coming. The Pittsburgh native spent 20 years with Kodak – experience that not only steeped him in the ways of the industry but also gave him insight into where it was headed. Kodak’s own early predictions were that graphic arts film would be a thing of the past by 1998.
Film is still used in the graphic arts industry but, more and more, that part of the printing process is going digital.
And George Fiel has led the way since he began his business as a pre-press shop 10 years ago.
“Knowing that film would be phased out, how you got to that point would be different,” Fiel said. “So I knew I had to get into printing.”
Through an association with Heidelberg, a printing press manufacturer, in 1991 Fiel was able to have Image Systems become the first site in the United States to install a direct-imaging press. He continued to latch onto new technologies, adding a computer-to-plate system and becoming somewhat of a test site for various printing technologies.
Acquisition of a direct-imaging press prompted Fiel to move out of his Appleton Avenue facility into the present 55,000-square-foot facility in an industrial park just off Highway 41.
Fiel’s wife Erika, vice president of the firm, designed the plant with an open concept, allowing a visual connection between all steps of the printing process.
And while the Fiels have made sure the facility can accommodate the latest in printing technology, they’ve also made sure it speaks to the human element, too. The employee lunchroom, for example, not only has tables for eating, but also a pool table and a ping-pong table. Elsewhere in the facility they’ve installed exercise machines for employees to use. And, harking to Erika’s German birth, the facility also includes a German-themed lounge.
“We’ve striven to be a unique printer,” Fiel says, adding that if there hadn’t been a way to differentiate the firm, he never would have gone into the business. “Our goal has always been to be a leader in the digital arena. It gives us an edge.”
Fiel also early on saw the advantages of Internet connectivity; more than half of Image System’s work comes into the plant via modem rather than on some sort of disk or paper.
Image Systems continues on the cutting edge, now working with a 6-color printing process rather than the traditional 4-color. The process, which Image Systems is using for some Fortune 100 clients, produces more brilliant, true-to-life colors on product packaging and catalogs, and on other printed items.
“Almost anything that comes out, we’re in the forefront,” said Fiel, who estimates the company spends about 2% of its budget on R&D each year. “We’ve become known as the company that’s willing to take risks.”
He sees an industry taking greater advantage of information technologies, calling it a new paradigm of communications. In that paradigm, the old “print and distribute” methods are being switched to “distribute and print,” whereby the information is distributed digitally and whereby printing is done where it’s most efficient.
It will also mean a greater targeting of printed material such as catalogs, to the point of such items being individualized for the recipient.
To take part in the new world of printing will require more resources that an individual printer can muster, Fiel believes.
“You need to be part of something bigger than yourself. If I hadn’t joined Consolidated Graphics, I would have become an unnetworked island,” he says. “So joining them is a strategic move for Image Systems for the year 2000 and beyond.”
May 1998 Small Business Times, Milwaukee

How to overcome the anxiety of public speaking
If you were asked to list the things in life you fear the most, I dare say that the fear of speaking in public would be at or close to the top of your list.
You’re not alone. According to statistics, it’s stronger than the fear of dying, followed by financial ruin, spiders and snakes.
The dictionary describes fear as a “feeling of alarm or dread caused by the expectation of danger, pain, or disaster.”
Fear is a natural emotion that we all experience from time to time. It warns us when we’re in danger. Without it, we would probably not survive. Irrational fear, on the other hand, is a destructive, self-defeating emotion that prevents us from achieving our fullest potential. It represents lost opportunities as it robs us of our self-confidence and limits our personal growth. The fear of not measuring up to expectations can be overwhelming.
If you’re a non-professional speaker, being asked to speak in public can easily throw you into a panic. The thought of all those eyes looking at you is like an alarm bell setting off butterflies, weak knees, tight throat, shortness of breath and a trembling voice. What to do?
To reduce your anxiety and put the problem in perspective, you need to identify the cause of your fears.
The fears most commonly voiced by my clients in my coaching and workshops are:
Making mistakes – It’s not the mistakes you make that are the problem. It’s how you handle them. Everyone makes mistakes. If it’s a small one, ignore it and move on. The audience probably will never notice it unless you visibly or verbally react to it. If it’s one you can’t ignore, don’t apologize.
Acknowledge it and, if possible, treat it with humor. The audience will appreciate the ease with which you handled it.
Being boring – If you expect to be boring, you will be. Know your subject thoroughly and speak from the heart. Be sincere and let your audience know you’re enjoying yourself. (If you’re not, pretend you are. Public speaking is acting in disguise.) Use inflection, phrasing, pauses and word stress to give vitality and nuance to your words. If you sound interested, you’ll be interesting.
Freezing or forgetting – Avoid memorizing your speech. If you’re the least bit nervous, you’re sure to freeze – and forget. Memorize your opening to help you settle down and get past the nervousness of the first few minutes. Memorize your closing to enable you to finish with direct eye contact. If you use notes or a script, use large print with plenty of white space for easy reading. Avoid being glued to the text by making frequent eye contact with the audience; they’re not interested in seeing the top of your head. The audience wants to see your eyes and the expression on your face.
To bring your fear until control, prepare yourself thoroughly. The more you know about your subject, the less stress you’ll feel. It’s difficult to communicate effectively when you’re afraid, nervous or under stress. Think positively and visualize yourself speaking like a pro.
Turn off all negative thoughts and follow these few suggestions:
Practice – There’s no substitute. Practice may not make you perfect but it will certainly make you more comfortable and relaxed. Zig Ziglar practices before every speech. If Ziglar, one of the top speakers in the country, considers it important, so should you.
Practice often and out loud, preferably as you stand – Use a tape recorder and/or video camera to become familiar with the sound of your voice, style of delivery and body language. Invite friends and family to listen to you and ask for comments and suggestions.
Relax and be yourself – Before beginning your speech, inhale deeply several times to help you relax. Using your full lung capacity rather than breathing high in the chest will help you stay relaxed. Talk to your audience, not at them. Be warm in your delivery and use a comfortable conversational style to allow your personality to come through. Audiences relate to the “likable” speaker. And don’t be afraid of moments of silence. The audience will never notice what can seem like an eternity to you.
Use humor – Humor in your opening will relax you and warm up the audience. Wherever possible, pepper your speech with pertinent stories and incidents that are humorous, even though your topic may be serious. It establishes a connection with the audience.
Advance preparation – Success is in the details. Avoid problems by checking the details well in advance – the type and theme of the meeting, the number and gender of attendees, special interests of the audience, other speakers who have been scheduled and where in the program you will be appearing. Request any equipment you plan to use well in advance. If possible, arrange an on-site rehearsal to determine that everything is operating properly.
Fear can make you nervous but nerves need not make you fearful. While fear is difficult to channel, nerves, when channeled into energy, can be a positive force bringing vitality and enthusiasm into your speech. Musicians, actors, speakers and performers rely on nervous energy to enhance their performance. You can, too. Control your fear rather than allowing it to control you.
Your goal is to be comfortable and enjoy speaking before an audience. Create as many opportunities for speaking in public as possible. Join Toastmasters, a community theater group, or take coaching or a class in public speaking or dramatics. Speaking in front of others doesn’t need to be dreaded. It can be fun!
Speech coach June Johnson is president of Voice Power of Milwaukee. She can be reached at 332-0926 or via e-mail at voicepwrl@aol.com.
May 1998 Small Business Times, Milwaukee

Know what you’r edoing before you negotiate the lease for your business
For those seeking office or industrial space, representation by an experienced broker will save the user considerable time and money in his search, maintains Jack Quinlevan, a vice president with Trammell Crow’s Milwaukee office.
The commission paid by the building owner to the broker is typically three percent of the annual gross rent on a five-year lease and will be more than made up for in properly negotiated terms and conditions, Quinlevan says.
However, for those who want to go it alone in their search for office or industrial space, it pays to keep a few things in mind.
First, ask yourself how much space your firm requires, and how much space you will need two to four years from now, Quinlevan says.
Also, let’s say you’ve got a sales force of 10 people. Do you want them working in enclosed spaces? Or, do you place them out on a main floor separated by dividers. The enclosed option will cost more every time, Quinlevan says.
You also have to have a firm grasp of how long the process takes. Each step takes time: the search, the building walk-through, the space planning, requesting proposals, counter-proposals, negotiating the lease points, completing the construction documents, and the actual build-out of the space.
Remember, the listing broker can be overly optimistic in terms of the time it takes to complete the deal and get the prospective tenant into the building. Build more time into the equation.
Here are some other key points to remember, Quinlevan says:
Timing is critical – When does your lease expire, and what is the lease holdover language? If you don’t leave on time – say your lease expires May 31 and you have to stay longer – some lease documents say the landlord can automatically hold you over for another year. “It’s very contentious,” Quinlevan says. “Some guys find this out and they start screaming.”
Image – Do you want to be in the Firstar Center or a lower profile single-story office/industrial-type building? “Some people have told me that they don’t want to be in Class A high-rise space because their clients will think that they are charging more so they can pay their rent,” Quinlevan says.
Signage – If you don’t ask for it, you don’t get it. There is pylon signage on a totem-pole-like stack out front, or there is building signage. “If you don’t ask for it, you don’t get it,” Quinlevan says. Or, is it reserved for the largest tenant in the building? Don’t forget to ask about being included in directory signage and suite signage, both of which are considered standard.
Tenant mix – Be aware of who is in the building. You want to be sure you know who your neighbors are, and that they provide a good complement to your own business.
Negotiation points: unless you are experienced, it is hard to know the landlord’s asking rate and the deal rate. Some building owners may ask $20 per square foot, but the deal range is $18.50 to $19 in the actual deals as they are made.
Rentable vs. usable square feet – When comparing buildings, know the difference between rentable square feet and usable square feet. Usable square feet is the amount in between the walls. Rentable square feet incorporates common space such as halls, and bathrooms and lobbies. This can add 10 to 15 percent to the overall cost, Quinlevan says.
Tenant improvements – Understand what landlords are willing to provide in terms of tenant improvements. Keep in mind that landlords love to deal with tenants that are willing to take the space as is. However, in some cases, landlords are willing to pay up to $15 per square foot for improvements. “Often, people walk into an office, and they say it looks fine,” Quinlevan says. “What they don’t realize is that the landlord is willing to knock down walls and redo the space.”
Lease terms – Typical lease duration terms are five years, although some landlords will go three years. In some cases, landlords will offer 10-year terms with exit points negotiated at five years. There is a decided cost savings for locking in at 10 years, and you have the ability to get out and renegotiate if the market takes a turn, Quinlevan says.
Expansion options – If you are in a growth company and you need a defined amount of square feet, you’ll want to negotiate the option to expand into additional square feet. If you don’t negotiate it, the landlord could easily lease it out from under you. That could mean you have to sit packed into your space for the next five years when it’s too small for you.
Parking – Parking is scarcer in parts of downtowns than in the suburbs. If you don’t ask for it, you don’t get it. So you
“People will walk into an office space and say it looks fine. What they don’t realize is that the landlord is willing to knock down walls and redo the space.”
– Jack Quinlevan, Trammel Crow
need to ask and negotiate this up front. “In one deal we negotiated, we saw that there was a vacant space in the lot with four parking spots, so we grabbed those,” Quinlevan says. “If you don’t ask, you don’t get it, and it’s never volunteered.”
Lease language – Some leases are strongly slanted toward the landlord. You need to take a careful look at this, or, have an attorney review the lease on your behalf.
When performing your search, don’t forget to ask around, Quinlevan says.
“Somebody who is looking may want to talk to other tenants and ask them what the heating and cooling systems are like, whether building management is responsive, and whether tenancy is stable.” Also find out how many times the building has been bought and sold in recent years, Quinlevan says.
Finally, be prepared for escalations in rent, operating expense, and taxes.
The real estate investment trusts (REITS) have come into the Milwaukee area marketplace, and they need to show growth to their investors. So they are raising the rent. A typical increase would be two percent, Quinlevan says.
In most negotiated leases, the owner tends to pay the tenant’s portion of the operating expenses and real estate taxes for the first year of the lease. After that, the tenant will be responsible for any increases on a pro rata basis, with the tenant paying above a certain fixed amount.
May 1998 Small Business Times, Milwaukee