My Favorite Color: Navy Blue 

Ever since I was a little kid at Canisius Day Camp, I was captivated by the Blue and Gold.  The Canisius school colors stood for everything Canisius meant to me.  The blue and gold still fill me with pride for my school.  Even to this day, I prefer teams in the blue and gold [with Notre Dame being the obvious exception – especially since they took down my UConn Huskies in the Women’s NCAA Basketball Championships].  And when Michigan would roll on to the field in their Maize and Gold [led by Bo Schembechler], I felt like a Wolverine.

I never wore my Boston College maroon and gold because it never felt right.  Navy blue has always been my favorite color, and maroon just didn’t work.  Anyone who has worked with me in design over the past forty years knows that Pantone 289 is the starter color of choice in all that we do [but I have made an exception now and again for Carolina Blue – and Dean Smith gets the credit for that].

In high school, we use to wear a tie to school every day.  Frank taught me how to tie a half-Windsor knot, and I remember teaching Anthony the same way.  Just as I came to prefer the blue and gold, I still feel the same way about a half-Windsor knot.  I just don’t like the sight of a bloated full Windsor.  Over my high school years, I inevitably gravitated to navy blue and yellow ties.  I always had one I liked more than others, and when it would wear out, I would head to Campus Corner to replace it.  Seldom could I find the exact same one, but it was always a combination of yellow with blue and white stripes.

Recently, I found my favorite tie online at Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GUZLNVI/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
It’s a Mr. Zhang tie, and you won’t believe how much it cost until you hit the link.

I started wearing a suit and tie to work again a few months ago.  At Capax Discovery, we pride ourselves as being the adults in the technology room with our enterprise archiving solutions, and being in a sports shirt, especially since I am generally Skyping from Naples, just didn’t seem appropriate.  Hence the coat and tie [which I have come to enjoy wearing].  It makes me feel more engaged, and it lets whomever I am meeting with know that I am not down here waiting to get in a round of golf – I am here to build, and I am hard at work doing just that.

Some of the staff at Capax Discovery HQ at the Walker Center have followed suit.  The women at Capax Discovery [more often than not] are dressed more professionally than the men, but I think some of the guys are finally closing the gap.  From what I can see in business today, this is generally the case.  Certainly, at the Walker Center, the women running things are usually better dressed [professionally] than the men.

But what amazed me most when I started wearing a suit and tie again was how many ties were available on Amazon, how little they cost, and how easy it was to order a nice 100% cotton spread collar white dress shirt.  An Isaac Mizrahi Men’s Slim Fit Long Sleeve Solid 100% Cotton Dress Shirt is only $19.99, and it’s a great shirt.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01G2LPL5O/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

What Amazon has done to retail is truly remarkable.  But, what is often lost, is the fact that Amazon has driven everyone to up their game.  Retailers, as a whole, must get better at what they deliver or they will simply become a distant memory.  At Tony Walker & Co, we have changed dramatically over the past several years.  The environment we have created [and continue to innovate with] is remarkable.  Simply having the newest fashionable product in the store for our customers is now just a small portion of the Tony Walker experience.  From the Giancarlo’s Cafe’ to our Needles & Threads tailoring, to iWorldFundraising.org events, we have expanded what ‘shopping’ at the Walker Center is all about.

I’ll be back up north in a couple of weeks, and I can’t wait to see what’s new at the Walker Center for the Summer of 2018.  I’ll see you at Giancarlo’s.

The [Amazon Under $10] Tie Collection

From:  Venice, Italy
To: Advantage Co Staff

Hello from Venice, Italy

I am taking a break today from looking at a tired old bankrupt ruin of a city [that only Airbnb seems to be growing in] to work on my agenda for this summer in Williamsville, NY.  Nevertheless, and in spite of its decay, Venice has been enjoyable, and I’m certain that if I had been here between 800 AD and 1800 AD, I would have marveled at what was undoubtedly the most vibrant global trading center in the world.  

Everywhere you turn there are two poignant reminders: First, Venice was unquestionably the very best at international trade for a remarkably long period of time, and, second, nothing is forever.  Maybe they can make Venice into a hologram or great virtual experience before it sinks? That surely would save a lot of time, travel, aggravation, and money while thankfully eliminating exposure to all of the various colds, coughing, and criminals.  Witnessing the remnants of past glories definitely puts the Stereo Advantage’s brief 20-year run [1978-1998] as the top retail spot in WNY into proper perspective. Antiquity tends to do that to you [and that’s why China and the Mideast both scoff at Europe’s brief ascendancy for a mere 600 years and America’s current 70-year reign].  It’s all but a mere blip on the screen [and so are we].  So it goes.

But, on to tomorrow.  The good news is that tomorrow belongs to us and certainly not Venice – as it inexorably sinks into the Adriatic as a musty old museum.  Of course, our only right to tomorrow comes from what we build today – as tomorrow is promised to no one. That said, below is what I would like to work on building over the summer during my three months at the Walker Center.

Before I begin, let me briefly recap who we are.  Gnothi Seauton [Know Thyself] is inscribed in gold letters over the portico of the temple at Delphi.  Its authorship has been ascribed to both Pythagoras and Socrates. It is prudently at the beginning of every journey.

We are, at our core, business developers.  Today, the Advantage is an eclectic mix of successful business ventures that range from fashion retail to premium brand development to enterprise archiving solutions to restaurateur to product service to staffing to accounting to zero-fee fundraising to e-commerce to just about anything you can imagine building.

My personal mission is to provide the vision, resources, and confidence necessary to enable the ongoing development of the Advantage Co as a rewarding business experience for those willing to take the full measure of the challenge.  By joining the Advantage Co as an employee or partner, I recognize that you are looking to maximize your capabilities in the most productive and beneficial environment possible.  Therefore, I am hopeful that this is the right environment for you, as well as a challenge you will embrace and enjoy.

In order to bring our ideas and concepts to life and to continue their ever-changing and dynamic growth, it is my job to help build and support a flexible matrix for each business that enables, encourages, and ensures evolving paradigm shifts through the simple restructuring of elements providing maximum speed to benefit and cross-platform recognition.  

At the Advantage, we learn from the past, live in the present, and build for the future.  The past provides us with wonderful memories, experiences, resources, and data – but, most importantly, the past is a building block for the future.  The present is here to both challenge us and provide enjoyment [and neither meeting the challenge nor enjoying the moment should ever be delayed until tomorrow], while the future provides us with the promise of what can be.  Fortunately, the future of the Advantage provides us more promise than ever before. We can not, however, fulfill the promise of the future without your help. It is our shared responsibility as leaders to create an environment where people are motivated to give a thoughtful, enthusiastic, and effective effort toward our desired results [while making certain that our desired results are recognizable, achievable, and beneficial to all participants].

Be big, be a builder.

My Summer Vacation List of Things to Do

I will be back around Memorial Day [weather permitting] and I will be around until Labor Day.  I am looking forward to a great summer.  Here’s a short list of what I will be working on and what I would like to accomplish while I am in Williamsville:  

1. Walker Center Renovation
   The nicest compliment I received last summer was when someone asked me if the Walker Center was brand new.  Even though we opened the doors 24 years ago, we still keep on renovating – and it will be forever new if we relentlessly improve it every day.
   
   • New TW&Co Warehouse [and Offices?]
     The TW&Co Men’s department will be reorganized and TW&Co Women’s Fashion Footwear will go down into the main TW&Co Women’s department.  This will make room for an expanded warehouse and possibly the TW&Co administration, buying, and design offices.
   • New AGR Office
     Frankly, there are a couple of options.  By moving TW&Co and design downstairs into part of the new space in the TW&Co Men’s shop [that is currently being earmarked for warehousing], we can move all of Advantage Global Resources into their vacated space.  Or, we can move Advantage Global Resources into the TW&Co upstairs warehouse at the top of the south stairs. This was the original AP office, and it is a great spot with an opening into the front staircase.
   • Expand the Capax Discovery Office
     Once Advantage Global Resources moves into their new offices, Capax Discovery can take over the entire front office space.
   • Renovate 5109 Main St. [The Sugar Shack]
     Although this property has been disregarded since we purchased it, it is, nonetheless, a valuable location.  We will either turn it into two guest suites, two apartments, or two offices. I will decide once I look it over in person this June.
     space
2. iWorldFundraising.org
   Never have we had such a well-accepted and laudable program.  It is time to give this the love and effort it deserves. With Children’s Hospital and several major brands like Roberto Coin on board, 2019 should be a year of breakout success internationally.
   space
3. Win the Alta Lawsuit
   For a company that really hasn’t litigated anything since our Prodigy lawsuit in 2000 [which, as plaintiff, we won decisively], we now find ourselves as plaintiffs again in a necessary lawsuit.  It is strange being engaged like this without Frank, but Dave Pfalzgraf and Ben Burge are doing a great job.
   
   Simply put, we are trying to get Alta to pay up on the liabilities they failed to reveal to us when Capax Discovery bought Zovy from them in the Fall of 2016.  It’s a couple of million dollars, so it is significant enough to litigate.  I expect this to go to trial in Q4, so Dave and Ben will be kept busy.  We are in good hands, and I am confident we will prevail.
   space
4. Corporate Reorganization 
   This summer, Rob Cavallari [our new Senior Vice-President of Financial Operations] and I will complete the reorganization of all our corporate entities.  Basically, we want all of the companies that we operate to be LLC’s owned by shareholders that are C-corporations.  That is the most flexible and tax advantageous setup.  Additionally, multiple LLC’s whose shares are owned by the same members [with identical amounts of shares] can be combined into one tax filing – and that would save a ton of work.
   
   This corporate restructuring will benefit from three changes that we are working on:
   • Advantage Global Resources
     By combining all of our backend resources, especially accounting, tax, and HR, we will able to streamline our administrative protocol and reporting. 
   • Quickbooks Conversion
     By combining all of our accounting in 2019 onto one platform, we will eliminate much of the possible confusion and duplication of effort.
   • Advantage Global Resources PEO
     By having all of our employees in one organization by 2019, we will be able to better onboard and enable everyone we employee around the world.
     space
5. Advantage Global Resources PEO [Professional Employer Organization]
   If a company already has employees but wants someone else to take care of the headaches of payroll, the hassles of workers’ comp insurance, the difficulties of large group health plans, the perennial fear of increased unemployment tax rates or even just remove the fear of an employee lawsuit by getting professional HR assistance, they would consider entering into an agreement with a PEO.  Frankly, in a disjointed way, this is what Advantage Global Resources already does for all of our partnerships.
   
   A PEO [Professional Employer Organization] is a firm that provides a service under which an employer can outsource employee management tasks, such as employee benefits, payroll and workers’ compensation, recruiting, risk/safety management, and training and development.  The PEO does this by hiring a client company’s employees, thus becoming their employer of record for tax purposes and insurance purposes.  This practice is known as co-employment.  The PEO and the client are considered employers of record, but the duties and responsibilities of each or both are defined in the contract between the client and the PEO, called the Client Service Agreement [or CSA].  
   
   And this is what our AGR PEO will be doing for all our Advantage Co businesses and partnerships in 2019.
   space
6. Tuesday Morning Breakfast Seminars
   Starting on Tuesday, June 5th, we will begin our Tuesday morning seminar and breakfast series.  This will become an uninterrupted weekly event [other than this Christmas and New Year’s which both fall on a Tuesday].  It will all be coordinated, prepared, managed, and vlogged by Shauna.
   
   The series will begin each Tuesday morning with an introduction by Shauna at 8:00AM.  The presentation will go from 8:05 AM to 8:20 AM, followed by a 15-minute question, answer, and discussion period until 8:35 AM.  Presenters will need to be there no later than 7:45AM.
   
   The initial price of admission will be $8 for an Advantage business or partnership employee and $20 for an invited guest.  Eventually, we would like to sell series memberships, etc. The series will include a presentation and a complimentary breakfast.  The complimentary buffet breakfast will be provided by Giancarlo’s Cafe’, while $3/$7.50 per person will go to Shauna and the remaining $5/$12.50 person will go to the presenter.  I am hopeful that, in time, better presentations [and presenters] will draw bigger crowds. I am confident we can start out with at least 40 participants the first few weeks. At the very least, $8 for coffee and breakfast with your friends once a week is a good deal.
   
   We will also have the presentations online for $5 per login for an Advantage business or partnership employee and $20 for invited non-employees.  $3/$12 will go to Shauna and the remaining $2/$8 per login will go to the presenter.  Once again, I am hopeful that, in time, better presentations [and presenters] will draw bigger crowds online as well.
   
   I am certain some of the details will change once I discuss this at length with Shauna.  Live-streaming and webinars will have to be discussed.  Also, prices may vary if we have an outside presenter.  In some cases, we may actually charge them to present.
   space
7. The Magic Gift Card
   While there is an almost endless list of things I want to jumpstart this summer, nothing brings our customers back to us like the Magic Gift Card [or Reservations, or Gift Giving Registry, or custom blended coffee, or the Premcloud, or …].  To say the Magic Gift Card Program is misunderstood and underutilized would be quite the understatement.  Nevertheless, it invariably gains in value as we continue to grow our services, offerings, and products.
   
   Remember, we want to accomplish two things with our customers at every juncture:
   • We want them recommending us enthusiastically.
   • We want them to come back repeatedly.

I am certain I will update this posting from time to time over the next few weeks, but, for now, this is how my summer is shaping up.  In the meantime, when I get back to Naples [Florida], I will be working on our Unified Global Archiving presentation, our Capax Discovery website, and theAdvantage.com website [which needs to be moved to and hosted by iWorldShoppingCenter.com].

Increasingly, the inherent value in our various businesses is our intellectual property.  While we do not necessarily pursue patents or trademarks, we do work tirelessly to protect our confidential information.  In particular, our Trade Secrets and Software Development represent the essential value of TW&Co and Capax Discovery respectively.

This morning I was also reviewing the proper use of a comma.  I was reading over some weekly reports, and it is unfortunate how little understood [and applied] the rules of grammar have become. Here is what Grammarly has to say about commas.  And, by the way, everyone should download and use Grammarly.  It’s a great resource.

https://app.grammarly.com/?utm_campaign=Blog_Footer_B&utm_medium=content&utm_source=chCTA

When Do You Need a Comma Before But?

[The comma rules for but apply to all conjunctions, including and, or, and so.]

You should put a comma before but only when but is connecting two independent clauses.

Correct  I would go for a walk, but it’s raining outside.

How do you know you have two independent clauses?  First, look at the words before but: I would go for a walk.  Then look at the words after: it’s raining outside.  Both of those phrases could stand alone as complete sentences.  That means they’re independent clauses, so you need to use a comma before but.  

When you don’t have two independent clauses, leave the comma out.

Incorrect  I would go for a walk, but for the rain.

This time, but is connecting an independent clause to a dependent clause.  How do you know?  Look at the words after but: for the rain.  That phrase can’t stand by itself as a complete sentence, which means it’s a dependent clause.  Therefore, you shouldn’t use a comma before but.

Correct  I would go for a walk but for the rain.

Here are a few more examples of when you should and shouldn’t use a comma before but in a sentence:

Incorrect  The dog is young, but well trained.
Correct  The dog is young but well trained.

Incorrect  Grammar is boring, but necessary.
Correct  Grammar is boring but necessary.

Incorrect  The dog is young but he’s well trained
Correct  The dog is young, but he’s well trained.

Incorrect  Grammar is boring but it’s necessary
Correct  Grammar is boring, but it’s necessary.

If you’re wondering whether you need a comma after but, the answer is that you probably don’t.

The only time you need a comma after but is when it is immediately followed by an interrupter.  An interrupter is a little word or phrase that interrupts a sentence to show emotion, tone, or emphasis.  You should always use a comma before and after an interrupter.

Correct  But, of course, it’s not safe for Spot to go outside on his own.

In the sentence above, of course is an interrupter.  You could take it out of the sentence without losing any meaning.  The only reason it’s there is to emphasize the obviousness of the statement.  If your sentence happens to place an interrupter directly after but, then go ahead and use a comma.  Otherwise, you don’t need a comma after but. 

The summer of 2017 came to a close with Hurricane Irma ripping through Naples, and along with the catastrophic damage it left in its wake, it also took its toll on our house.  Fortunately, we had our generator keeping the power on.  The house became a safe haven for several friends, and they were a big help in piecing it back together.  We’ll be heading down south next week, and we’ll see how far along the remediation has progressed.  Amanda has done a remarkable job having everyone engaged, so I’m pretty confident that we’ll be all set.

Other than that, it was a great summer with the highlight being Gabriela and Brendan’s wedding.  Giancarlo’s did an incredible job transforming the house and tennis court into a magical wedding venue, and it was a perfect summer night to spend with friends and family.

Over at the Walker Center, we have had quite a bit going on since Memorial Day.  We started things off with the opening of our new Grivani Cafe’ & Bakery [a solid contributor to the pounds I put on].  And we hit our high note with Bogavia and Pure+Fresh being featured at the grand opening of the newest Whole Foods Market.

The Walker Center also become the international headquarters for Capax Discovery.  Peter Mellett [and his whole family] moved from South Africa to take over Capax Discovery Development & Support, JJ Contessa moved from Connecticut to take over Capax International Marketing & Sales, and Mike McGrath moved emotionally from being the Advantage Co CFO to taking over Capax Resources HQ as our Chief Performance Officer.  Capax Discovery has become our main business, and it is certainly what I spend the majority of my time on.

This summer we also launched Inspired Global Resources with Jason Bird and Jeff Wynn.  http://inspiredglobalresources.org/

All in all, it was another great summer in Williamsville.  It went fast, and as much as I am going to miss Monday night dinners with the kids and earning a few bucks every Thursday at Brookfield, I can’t wait to get back to Naples.  I hope you get a chance to come and visit us this winter.  We’ll be looking forward to it.