Yesterday Starbucks said it is going to close 600 stores around the country. There are at least 10 in Richmond. Click here for a map.

The company said it will close relatively new stores that have only been open since the beginning of fiscal 2006. Starbucks identified stores that were either not profitable or not projected to provide strong returns in the future.

Which ones seem slowest when you go in to get your fix? Any guesses which ones in Richmond might close? Plus, is this good for the locally-owned shops or is a harbinger of the coffee biz?

More reading: Starbucks to close 600 U.S. stores, cut 12,000 jobs, MarketWatch.

I saw a construction vehicle from Schwing Concrete on the road.

Things must have gotten tough after Wayne's World.

Someone asked for info on how to use a Myspace page, so here you go:

Myspace is free, so anyone with an email address can create a page. After a local business registers with an email and some contact info, they can reach thousands of potential customers in their area.

But it takes time to manage. People can leave comments, share photo albums, add applications, or write blogs and bulletins – all ways to interact with potential customers/contacts. But that means someone has to write that content.

You can also customize the layout of your page. If you search “Myspace Help” in Google, you can find tons of sites that allow you to make the design and then they generate the HTML code. There are lots of pre-made layouts. All you have to know how to do it copy and paste the code into your profile.

Myspace works for pretty much any business, but the key is finding the right friends. With BizSense, I thought it was important to friend other local businesses who would want to read our site. So I searched for names of businesses I knew. Once I found one business, it was like a domino effect. I clicked through their friends, and found more friends for us.

I’ve noticed much of the businesses also use bulletins to address their network of friends- a message that is available for all your friends to read. Businesses can use them to make people aware of events or sales going on at their stores.

If this is still not enough info, please post another comment and I’ll try to explain more.

Spend $50 on groceries at Ukrop’s Grocery and take 10 cents off the price of a gallon of gas at Uppy’s Convenient Stores, a savings of $2. Spend $500 and save $1 off each gallon (up to a 20-gallon fill-up) for a savings of $20. The new consumer-focused promotion is called Fuelperks!. Consumers need only swipe their customer card at the gas station. (Cool technology, if we’re understanding it correctly).

This is Ukrop’s second foray recently to deal with higher gas prices. Earlier this month the grocer announced that it was converting its cooking oil into fuel for its trucks.

BizSense had a Wikipedia page, then lost a Wikipedia page within two minutes. I’ve always been a fan of the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit. It’s free and always up to date.

To edit on Wikipedia, you need a free account. So I signed up. I tried to keep our Wiki page objective and lay low on the promotional garble.

Wikipedia told me, “Because the article appears to be about web content, but it does not indicate how or why the subject…should be included in an encyclopedia.” Ouch.

So after some minor improvements, I tried to publish RichmondBizSense again.

This time, Wikipedia kicked it up a notch. I got a message saying that my account/ IP address was “blocked indefinitely from editing in accordance with Wikipedia's blocking policy because your account is being used only for vandalism.”

So now I’m a vandal. Sweet.

Apparently, the main thing Wikipedia is looking for is verifiability or a reliable source. I didn’t include those in my first two entries, I only included internal links from other Wikipedia pages.

Hopefully after gathering up my reliable sources and finding a new IP address to create an account from, we’ll have a Wikipedia.

Stay tuned.

On Tuesday posted a story about the rising crime against businesses.

Now the T-D is reporting that two downtown businesses were robbed at gun-point yesterday. “Two men robbed the Limited Edition store at 302 Goshen St., near Virginia Commonwealth University, at about 12:25 p.m.,” writes Michael Martz. At about 4 p.m. yesterday, a man and a woman robbed The Hook Up at 325 W. Broad St."

Also, two suspects in a robbery earlier in the week in Carytown have been apprehended. “Police said today they have charged Corey A. Thomas, 30, of the 1900 block of Bloom Lane, with Monday's robbery and felonious use of a firearm in the robbery of Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream in Carytown.”

Question: should store owners keep a fire arm on the premises?

We got our first friend request today.

It’s my second week working for BizSense.com as a marketing coordinator, and already the online world is helping out.

So far, I’ve been focusing the majority of my time on creating Myspace and Facebook pages. One of my goals is to bring new readers to the website, including business professions in their 20s.

A California business sells T-shirts with the names of Mom and Pop shops from around the country. Destee Nation was featured in a New York Times Magazine article by Rob Walker. Part of the proceeds goes to the business where the shirt originated. I could imagine a C.F. Sauers T-shirt selling well. Maybe with the slogan, "Spicy."

“Many have a vintage look and seem to advertise businesses from a bygone era, or to offer made-up riffs on such advertisements — a faux faded logo for Blue Moon Burgers, the dubious-sounding Tractor Tavern and so on. But each has a tag attached, giving the story of each business, as well as its address. “Then it hits them,” says Matt Morgan, the founder of Destee Nation. “These places are all real.”

This got me thinking about Richmond’s small business landmarks. What local shops already sell T-shirts with their logo or a slogan?

What shops or companies illicit such nostalgia or are such a part of Richmond’s fabric that they oughta be selling T-shirts?

In my travels, I've noticed that diners, hardware stores and general stores often cash in on this trend. One of my favorite read, "If we don't have it, you don't need it."

CarMax Inc.'s quarterly profit fell 55%, hit by a slowing economy and weaker consumer sentiment, and the used-car retailer said Wednesday it would suspend its guidance for the rest of the fiscal year.

Fuel-hungry light trucks and sports utility vehicles brought lower than expected sales, while

Gross profit per car fell 8.5% to $2,564. 

RBC characterized the outlook suspension as CarMax "simply throwing up their hands as they can no longer read the business with any level of certainty."

Read more at MaketWatch.

Ukrop’s continues losing market share in Richmond, according to a story in Friday’s Times-Dispatch. Of course, there’s always a huge untapped potential for Ukrop’s: Stay open on Sunday and sell booze.

We moved into our first office today. It’s a sublet at the edge of the Fan. I’m grateful to the building’s regular tenant for agreeing to such generous (on his part) sublease. As a startup, we're trying to control costs as much as we can.

I've decided I live an altered version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. (or in my case Ms.) Hyde. Last Wednesday I was at work being professional and doing the 9 to 5 thing. As soon as 5:00 rolled around, I turned off my computer and changed from my work clothes to my bike clothes. In a matter of 15 minutes, I left my desk, changed into Spandex and was headed for the mountain biking trails. Did I mention the Spandex.

After a fantastic evening of riding trails, and later drinking beer with friends, I went home a happy person.

At 6:00 the next morning, my alarm clock rang and I was not happy. I hopped in the shower, put on my suit and was sitting in a meeting an hour later. Charts. Figures. Sales.

Sometimes I can't figure out who the real me is.....the suit or the Spandex? Since riding bikes isn't going to pay my bills, I better get used to wearing my suit. Does anybody else feel like they are living two different lives or am I the only one? Or is that the key? Have a work life, and a separate personal life.

Michelle W. is a marketing assistant at BizSense.

There's a great program on TV called "Startup Junkies," which follows a Seattle startup called Earth Class Mail. There are high-fives. There are firings.

You can watch it for free at Hulu.com.

Most of the characters seem like they came out of central casting. I find the blazer-and-no-tie-wearing CEO fascinating -- and by my count he uses every single business cliche by the final episode. He's also really likable.

My favorite character is the PR woman. She gets really mad at a business editor who doesn't fawn over the new business and cattily types out a response. Classic.

Am I the only person in Richmond who has watched it?

I’ve been thinking a lot about the business of minor league ball. A few questions: How much would a local business pay for the naming rights to a new stadium? What businesses might be likely candidates? Does paying for parking illicit some emotional reaction from consumers and turn them off, and would the Diamond get better turnout if parking was free?

Why didn't someone at Corporate think of this:

A new stall at the Super Flea Market on the Southside is trying to unload bunch of high-quality office supplies. This could be a good way for a startup or growing company to snag desks and other merchandise at a steep discount to prices at Staples of Office Max.Ronit Sarr bought a tractor trailer load of stuff, most of which she said is returns from Staples or Office Max.Going to the Super Flea isn’t for everyone, and it’s only opened on the weekends.
Address: 5501 Midlothian Turnpike.
Sarr’s phone #: 282-1105

On the heels of Memorial Day, business folks are probably still talking about the gnarly waves at the Outer Banks or the perfectly grilled T-bone.

Apparently, telling a good vacation yarn can be good for business.

MainStreet.com, a spin-off from financial news site TheStreet.com, has a neat read about how to tell a good tale.

“Storytelling is also an essential business skill, says Chip Heath, co-author of Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die.

They're also a great way of building rapport, says Lea Thau, executive director of The Moth, a New York-based organization that promotes and teaches the craft of storytelling.

"Stories help us to find the connection between us as human beings. You give your audience an opportunity to enter into the story, where their hopes are going to rise and fall with yours -- if you're running a marathon, they're going to be drenched in sweat."

Buck Ward just batted for the PR cycle.

His new Segway of Richmond shop in Shockoe Bottom garnered a full-length story in Style Weekly, one in Brick Weekly, and two stories in the Times-Dispatch. There's also a lengthy plug on the Richmond Region Visitor Center, which promotes the area as a tourist destination. (That would be like a victory lap around the bases – not really a hit, but still a chance to bask in the limelight.)

At this time last year, when BizSense was just a bunch of ideas scrawled on yellow legal pads, we were unsure if local businesses would let us interview their CEOs, presidents or owners. It was a big worry. Without access to business professionals we wouldn't be able to produce much content. Obviously no content means no business.

Have you heard the one about the startup that was so pathetic, it couldn't even hire an intern?

An ad for the Chamber's event last week is still up on the T-D website. Are they trying to build brand awareness for next year?

Josh Leventhal, a blogger for baseballamerica.com, has a nice response to the weekend’s T-D coverage of the ongoing baseball saga.

He writes, “Discounting the importance of a ballpark and fan experience is what got Richmond into this mess.

Triple-A baseball is not coming back to Richmond, certainly not anytime soon. If Richmond focuses its attention on what level of play it "deserves" rather than the more pressing problem of building a new ballpark, it might find itself without any baseball players to watch for quite awhile.”

Look for a BizSense story on how a new ball club can run a better business than the Richmond Braves, and what it might mean for other businesses in town.

In the news business, there’s no time to stop and catch your breath. Yet, slowly but surely we’re expanding coverage.

Two weeks ago we added a weekly commercial real estate roundup feature, where we list the businesses that are moving or taking new space. We’re still perfecting the format, and still waiting for some commercial realtors to get on board by sending us weekly updates or press releases. One firm’s marketing lady said the site was, “bloggy.” She definitely meant it as a criticism.

Ohh the irony: Snagajob and its posse of hip .coms have slaughtered the cash cow formerly known as newspaper help wanted ads. Yet, the company has relied on the mainstream media to promote the brand. The company needs jobs seekers to use the site, after all.

This ad scores where most fail: it draws our attention. But do the ad’s creators, the local firm Becker and Calliott, rely a little too heavily on sex appeal?

Apparently BizSense isn’t alone in thinking that Richmond needs more business news. This morning Richmond.com launched a business blog by James Bacon, of the Bacon’s Rebellion blog.

Today is the first day of operation, and so far the blog seems to be examining the big companies around Richmond with a more opinionated take on press releases. BizSense caters more to the small business owners and other business professionals, but still, I swallowed hard when I saw it this morning.

In theory, journalism is one of those businesses where competition is supposed to strengthen everyone. Newspapers were traditionally stronger when they had cross-town competition. Charlottesville has two thriving alternative weeklies (like Style Weekly).

But that’s in theory.

Please email strategy tips about how competition can help both parties involved.

If you have an anecdote about how your business dealt with a new competitor, please share.

Yikes.

BizSense is looking to hire a reporting intern for the summer. Turns out, it's harder than we though it'd be. We’ve emailed all the journalism schools around Virginia and D.C., and emailed editors at the all the college papers we could think of. No dice.

Whenever I’m interviewing a new business, I try to translate corporate lingo into language non-business people understand. Some musician might want to start a company or have an idea, after all, and he or she likely has no idea what "implementing strategic solutions" means. Nor do I, for that matter.

The local satire blog Tobacco Avenue shows how ridiculous corporate-speak sounds in normal settings in a very funny post.

Sometimes when I do interviews, business owners think I’m watering down what they do by asking them to rephrase an answer. And then when I write the piece, sometimes they’re disappointed when I don’t describe their product or services in the exact manner that they do. But I can’t write accurately about what I don’t understand.

So like most business publications, including Business Week and the Wall Street Journal, BizSense prefers not to use words like “turn-key solutions.” Or really every and any word involving solutions. Same for “value-added.” Or “synergy.” That’s not to say we shy away from economic words with specific definitions, like “economies of scale.” But if I use that one I try to define soon thereafter.

Some of the brightest in business, including Jack Welch, say it’s best to avoid corporate mumbo-jumbo at all times. Then again, that might just be a verbal synergistic solution to bring about a targeted alignment of core competencies.

For another fun read, click here.

Or watch a funny video about some of these words.

That's a painful spoonful of medicine for the small business owners who’ve seen their health insurance premiums rise 20% in the last year or two.

Virginia’s college savings plans ranked as some of the best in the nation by Morningstar, which examines diversification, fees, flexibility, and the underlying funds of the plans.

According to the research firm’s recent report, the Virginia Education Savings Trust and Virginia College America funds have low costs and some of the best returns.

“We also consider the direct-sold Virginia Education Savings Trust and Virginia's advisor-sold CollegeAmerica best in class. The Education Savings Trust offers an appealing collection of stellar active managers and proven index offerings in its age-based option, including Vanguard, Templeton, and Capital Research and Management (aka, the American Funds). It also boasts a collection of single-fund choices that investors can pull together for ample diversification, such as a REIT index, an inflation-protected securities fund, and an international fund.”

Mary G. Morris, executive director of the Virginia College Savings Plan (an independent state agency that manages it), told the Times-Dispatch, “"We have relatively low fees. Our programs have already been marked by flexibility, and then the underlying fund. We had excellent performance. We have some wonderful funds and excellent options across all that range."

So Blockbuster wants to buy Circuit City. What sort of movie would this be. A horror film? Maybe a romantic comedy? Blockbuster has been trying to swoon Circuit City with love letters, and now the movie rental company has gone public with its affection, saying it will pay $6 to $8 a share for the Richmond-based electronics retailer. Blockbuster CEO James Keyes said Monday that combining the companies would create a 9,300-store chain that could sell portable devices and the entertainment for those devices (more on that idea later).

That’s not working so well. Continued lousy performance could result in more buyouts and or layoffs. Lately the hometown management has been battling a hedge fund shareholder who wants fresh faces on the board. That’s led to an entertaining exchange of snarky press releases and proxy statements.

For an objective story, check out the Tampa Bay Business Journal story.

For fun, read the press releases.

Harbinger Capital Management writes, "Instead of providing a financial and operational analysis and a clear strategic plan to rebuild shareholder value, the company chose to defend its failures by offering stockholders a collection of scattered, unsubstantiated points and unwarranted attacks on our experienced nominees that serve only to distract from the core issues."We are confident that stockholders who have suffered through Media General's extremely poor stock and operational performance will see through this misguided, desperate ploy and will support our qualified nominees. Our nominees bring experience, judgment, independence and accountability to Media General and will work with the other directors to address the challenges the company is facing. As stockholders, we deserve better -- and it's time for change."

Gulp.

The Times-Dispatch story also fails to discuss the company’s earnings. Revenue in February dipped 11 percent from the year before to $63.4 million. And last year was not a good year.

In 2007, Media General earned profits of $10.7 million, or 47 cents a share compared to $79 million or $3.32 a share the year before. That’s a decrease of 86% in one year.

Virginia Business Magazine goes green for the April issue. (No, the paper doesn’t feel recycled, but the stories are all about the greening of businesses around the Commonwealth.)

Like every piece ever written about the subject, there’s a ubiquitous “Not-easy-being green,” Kermit-the-Frog reference (p.25).

The thing is, it’s not that hard to go green. Virginia Business Magazine failed to mention that recycling is cheaper now for most companies in Richmond than throwing away refuse, especially for offices that consume mostly paper. That’s a big change, and BizSense broke it here. But is also demonstrates the power of incentives.

Companies go green when they perceive it to be in their financial interest or in the interests of the decision maker. In most cases, doing so will cut costs, improve workplace culture or help sell products by improving a company’s image. Want more employees to walk to work? Give them a $25 gift certificate each month to Starbucks.

But with all the PR/marketing huzzah about going green, separating fact from spin is tricky. CarMax, for example, claims its Goochland HQ building is green. It even has a special designation from some fancy certification board. But the building is at the edge of the metro area, far away from public transportation and population centers. That means most employees have to drive out to Goochland – which isn’t very green even if you call it so. Nice try.

But nothing stimulates conservation like $3.50 per gallon gasoline. Wait till it hits $4. Then we’ll see CEOs biking to work. And there’s nothing greener than peddling the old Huffy to the office.

Of course, we’ll probably have to read about how the company is going green, and how Kermit the Frog is the CEO's favorite Muppet.

Send your favorite green marketing ploys to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

The VCU Business School now has a new website to go with its new digs.

The new site is much easier to use and has clearer descriptions of the classes and programs geared toward Richmond small businesses. BizSense will run a detailed story on Thursday about how to capitalize on the local business school, which will launch a program dedicated to small biz in 2009.

Also on the new website – Dean Michael Sesnowitz’s blog. “Because the world of business changes rapidly, specific knowledge is likely to have a very short half life. As a result, after graduating, students will need to continue to learn and adapt rapidly to a constantly changing environment,” he writes.

He’s not the first to muse on the web. UVA Business School’s Dean Bruner blogs and has been for two-odd years.

Does it include water breaks or web surfing? Do contractors take time off to visit the bathroom or take a quick napsky and keep the clock running?

I guess my question is – how much toggle is an acceptable part of doing business? Do most businesses fudge their numbers? Is there room for wiggle? Should you round up or down? Actually, I think I can guess the answer to that last one.

Generally I prefer to pay for the job. Less surprises. It also allows me to negotiate a rate. Haggling over hourly pay is pointless. A contractor/consultant could just take longer to do the job.