The case study guide for "Job Creation is Job One" with Linda Brewer and John Rohovec, the founders of Blue Dome Gallery in Silver City. Terri Menges and Joe Burgess, the founders of Zia Publishing in Silver City Leroy Gomez, Chris Ham & Troy Scoughton, the founders of TMC Design in Las Cruces Kevin McGinley, the founder of McGinley Construction in Las Cruces Joseph Semprevivo, the founder of Joseph's Lite Cookies in Deming as seen on Small Business School, the series on PBS member stations.

The Case Study Guide

last update: 02/26/2005

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who you know matters

Recruit An Insider

TMC Design has been successful very fast because the founders recruited a customer. They have bid on 63 projects and won 61. Yes they target and yes they have a niche but getting the foot in the door is easier if the person going in knows the lay of the land. In 1997, Leroy Gomez retired from working for the government as an electrical engineer. He was one of the people who would buy what TMC now sells. Perfect. He knows the people, the buzz language and even what the competitor's bids look like. Chris and Troy offered Leroy ownership in the company and Leroy's wife told him he was too young to sit around the house. Today the trio of owners see growth on the horizon.

Topic for Discussion: What are the pitfalls of giving ownership as a recruiting strategy?

Answer: There are horror stories but this one is happy so far. Partnerships are like marriages.

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Key Ideas of this episode


1.		Offer One-of-a-kind Products And Services

2.		Work Hard For The People Who Work For You

3.		Flaunt What You've Got

4.		Find The Talent Under Your Nose

5.		Recruit An Insider

6.		Embrace A Long-range HR Strategy

7.		Form Informal Partnerships

8.		Get Word-of-mouth Marketing

9.		Be Generous

10.		Give People A Job For Life

11.		Set High Standards

12.		Do What You Promise To Do

You can have a stack of legal documents explaining the nature of the relationship that spells out all the details and even lays out an exit strategy. But, we all know that a happy marriage is not about the marriage license.

It is about respect and trust. Troy and Chris like and trust Leroy. They had done business together in the past. They all graduated from New Mexico State's School of Engineering They had the same teachers, learned the same things, cheered for the same football team. In addition, Troy and Chris are humble men who know what they don't know.

You think about it: Do you have a customer you can hire? Do you have someone inside an organization you can steal away? Remember that big companies can't offer what you can offer. And, remember that retired people today are too young to sit at home.

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