Scene Magazine Columns – Page 2 – The Business of Creativity

Scene Magazine – June 2007 – Young Family Wills

Young Family Wills
© 2007 Kevin E. Houchin, Esq.

When I get asked the same question 5 or six times in the same week, I know it’s the topic of my next column. This week’s question has been, “what information do I need to give you to do my will.” It’s come from folks in my circle of friends, and since I have young kids, most of my friends are in the same situation. If you have kids under 18, and you’re not worth several million bucks, then this article is for you. If you don’t have kids, it gets easier. If you have several million bucks, call me!

So, there are 4 main questions that need to be answered:

1.   Who will clean out your garage?
2.   Who will raise your kids?
3.   Who will handle the money for your kids?
4.   When can the kids handle the money for themselves?

Most of my friends are married, and in Colorado everything goes to your spouse anyway, so the real issue is what happens if BOTH of you pass at the same time. Hey, we live next to I-25 and we get on airplanes. Stuff happens. Accordingly, the default answer to all the questions above is your spouse is something happens to you, and then we name an alternate or two in case your spouse is not available to handle the tasks.

One thing to keep in mind is that these roles can all be delegated to the same person, or they can be assigned to different people. The choice is yours.

Who will clean out your garage?

The person that has to take care of handling all you stuff is called the “Personal Representative.” This person should be local so they can show up at the courthouse, work with the lawyer to transfer your assets to their appropriate destinations, and yes, clean out your garage. It’s an gig that lasts around a year or two.

Who will raise your kids?

If your kids are under 18 when you and your spouse pass on, your kids need to live with someone. If YOU don’t make the choice, the Court will make the choice for you, and you might not be happy with the decision. You should designate one person as the first choice, and one as the second. Don’t name couples, because they might split up – you never know. This person will have your kids until they’re 18, so choose someone that you believe to be a good stand-in parent.

Who will handle the money?

Assuming you have some assets and maybe some life insurance, you might be dropping some serious money on some young kids. I know I don’t want to hand my life insurance benefits to a 12 year old, so the assets need to go into a “trust” for the “benefit” of my kids until such a time as I think they can handle the money themselves. The person that handles the money is called the “Trustee” and is on the hook until the terms of the arrangement are satisfied. This person generally has very broad discretion to use the money for the benefit of your kids, so pick someone financially responsible and that you, well – TRUST.

When do the kids get the money?

It depends on how much you think they’ll get. If they’ll only end up with a few grand, then it’s not worth the effort to make someone be the trustee. If you’ve got a couple million in life insurance, then it’s a different story. I like to “distribute” principal funds from the trust as follows: 1/3 at age 21, ½ of what’s left at age 25, and the full balance, which terminates the trust and lets the trustee off the hook for keeping the checkbook, at age 30. Some other attorneys like to do the same at 25, 30, and 35. There are no “rules” for this. I like 21 because it would make a great college graduation gift, 25 because there might be graduate school, a house down payment, or kids coming along, and 30 because by that age the trustee should be off the hook, and my kids should know how to manage money. Along those lines, it’s good to set an amount of the trust balance, say $50,000 below which the trust is simply terminated and the funds distributed to the kid(s).

Those are the major questions relating to wills for young family’s. Of course you’ll need to give your lawyer full names, birthdates, etc for the family too. You do NOT have to give them a full accounting of your assets. Most wills are written to basically throw your assets into a “bucket” and then discuss how to divide the bucket. The will document should also make reference to an outside document that you keep with the will that acts as a running list of who gets the silverware and other tangible personal property. These things CAN be added in the will document itself, but generally aren’t – doing so just adds to the legal fees now and later.

Please be aware that for a will to be worth the paper it’s printed on, there are certain formalities that need to be followed in the signing process, such as the signor needs to make certain declarations, with the witnesses present, etc. This ceremony is why you hire a lawyer to help and coordinate the process.

While your at it, you should also complete 3 other documents. A General Durable Power of Attorney lets your spouse sell your stuff to pay bills if needed. A Durable Healthcare Power of Attorney that lets your agent make healthcare decisions for you if you’re unable. And a “living will” that lets everyone, especially your doctors, know your wishes if you are terminally ill and unable to make decisions for yourself.

These can be difficult questions to answer – practically and emotionally. However, when you think about a Court making the decisions for you, it’s a real motivator to get these documents completed.

Kevin E. Houchin is principal of Houchin & Associates, PLLC – a copyright, trademark, arts & entertainment, business development, and branding firm located in Fort Collins, Colorado. To contact Kevin, call 970-493-1070 or email kevin@houchinassociates.com. Yes, he does wills for young families too.

May Scene Magazine Article based on Kissing Toads Ebook

Kissing Toads
© 2007 Kevin E. Houchin, Esq.

It happened to me again the other day. I was at a presentation and this wonderful little start-up company was a featured presenter. They had cool technology and a great business plan. The team is obviously a brilliant group of engineers. They have sound financial advisors.

They were however, visual toads–princes of innovation wrapped in a very ugly package. I’ve kissed many toads. Unlike the fairy-tale princes, it’s not hard to spot the prince-in-disguise when it comes to technology firms. I love and respect engineers and scientist. I often make fun of engineers the way most people make fun of lawyers – with respect and at least a nugget of truth.

Engineers are SMART people. Their brains just didn’t notice some things, as with the presenter I talked about above. For example:

•   Their slides sucked; they were completely unreadable,
•   The screen shot of their Web site sucked–again, completely unreadable,
•   Horrible use of space and color, and most importantly
•   They made no emotional connection with the audience.

Honestly, it was embarrassing–at least to me.

The interesting thing about this group, as opposed to most technology groups I’ve worked with, is that they had a good company name, and had obviously thought of a good metaphor to bring their different brands and projects together. They had simply delivered it poorly. Engineers usually do not make good artists – with a few notable exceptions like Buckminster Fuller.

Love that name… “Buckminster.”

They needed help, but they didn’t know it because they had not entered the consumer market space yet. They had only been selling to people just like themselves–folks who focused only on engineering, and didn’t care about the packaging. There’s nothing wrong with that, until you want to move into the consumer market. The consumer market is a place where non-engineers go about their lives and even buy technology.

I’ve designed dozens of logos and branding systems and supervised the design and implementation of dozens more. I work with smart people, and most entrepreneurs are very smart people.

My Approach to “selling” anything starts with an EMOTIONAL THEME. The foundation of any communication strategy is the emotional state of the person to whom you’re trying to make your case.

•   How do they feel?
•   How SHOULD they feel?
•   How do you WANT them to feel?

To create the emotional theme, you have to understand what motivates your buyers.

•   Are they buying because they have to, or because they want to?
•   Are they buying from you because you have the best product?
•   Are they buying from you because you have the lowest price?
•   Are they buying from you because you give the best value?
•   Are they buying from you because your sales executive had them on a chartered sailboat in Vancouver Bay last month?
•   Are they buying from you because your product will make them feel sexy, powerful, masculine, feminine, free, secure, or innovative?

Everyone can give value and put out a good product. Everyone can hire great salespeople. Not everyone can evoke the emotions of power, freedom, security, style, or intelligence. That’s your challenge.

Identify the emotions you want to project onto your product, and then deliver those emotional experiences. Odds are if you communicate the right feelings in your communications, those feelings will manifest in your customer experiences.

This column is based on an ebook of the same title by Kevin E. Houchin, Principal of Houchin & Associates, PLLC–a copyright, trademark, arts & entertainment, business development, and branding firm located in Fort Collins, Colorado. To contact Kevin, visit www.guidingvalue.com, call 970-493-1070, or email kevin@houchinassociates.com.

April Scene Magazine Article

Burning Desire
© 2007 Kevin E. Houchin, Esq.

Have you ever wanted something so badly that you were willing to do whatever it took to get it? Have you ever known, worked with, or worked for someone “on a mission?” These people can be intimidating, but usually, they’re simply inspiring. They are filled with fire. They have a burning desire.

The term “burning desire” creates an image in my mind of the ships of the Greeks burning behind them on the shores outside Troy–removing their escape route and fully committing the Greek forces to victory in The Iliad. In a little more modern context, it’s the feeling Eminem sings about in the line “Success is my only M—– F—— option, failure’s not.”

My law practice focuses on helping creative people launch new businesses or companies launch new products or services. I can tell immediately which people or companies are likely to succeed because a burning desire is impossible to miss. These people will succeed, no matter what I tell them, because no obstacle will stand between them and their goal. My job in that case is just to help remove as many of those obstacles as possible or put the systems in place to maximize the success coming around the corner.

Unfortunately, I also talk with many people who are not 100% committed to their own success. It’s sad. They may have a great idea, but they are scared to do what it takes. They’re not “all in,” because they have no burning desire. The signs that tell me these ventures aren’t going to make it come down to two traits: fear and laziness.

Fear manifests in several aspects. First, there is a fear to take out a line of credit to fund the venture if they don’t have the capital themselves. Sometimes there’s even a fear to invest the money the DO have. Ask yourself, “if I’m not willing to take on any risk in my own venture, why should anyone else?” Banks are in the business of loaning money to people and businesses with bigger ideas than bank accounts. People with a burning desire are recognizable to investors too. People without burning desire are afraid to ask for investment capital when the banks have stopped lending or wouldn’t take the risk. Finally, I see fear in people to leave a “secure” job and devote themselves to their dream full-time. Again, if you are not all-in, why would someone want to invest in your venture?

People with burning desire are never labeled “lazy.” These people consider a refusal to loan, invest, or purchase as a learning opportunity. These refusals are insights into ways to improve the value proposition, creative product, or business plan. “No” is a momentary set-back for people with burning desire.

Perhaps the biggest difference between people with a burning desire (those who will succeed) and those destined to fail is that people with a burning desire have a plan. Honestly, it doesn’t matter if the plan is on paper or just in their head. People with burning desire can recite a great business plan from memory. I watch them simply describing the mental image of their success – sometimes it looks like they are literally reading the plan from the inside of their eyelids. In contrast, the people without a burning desire may have a written plan, but it’s usually lame, and might even be one of those download-and-fill-in-the-blank business plans. Ugh! No document can replace passion. No document can outsell burning desire.

The best way to develop a plan is to clearly communicate what your success will look like, feel like, taste like, sound like, and maybe even smell like. Once you’ve described the successful result, give it a deadline. Then start breaking it down into component parts – baby steps, each with its own deadline and budget. If you do these things, the burning desire for the result you seek (if indeed you have such a desire in the first place) will manifest, you won’t be able to stop it if you try.

Sure, this takes EFFORT, but if you have a burning desire it won’t feel like WORK. If you can articulate your vision, you can achieve your vision. The fuel of that achievement is your burning desire to make it happen. I believe that humans have a spark of divinity within them and that spark is fueled when we are creating. It’s what we’re here to do. It’s what makes us alive. Burning desire is a sign of someone who is truly alive. It shows. Find yours.

Kevin E. Houchin principal of Houchin & Associates, PLLC – a copyright, trademark, arts & entertainment, business development, and branding firm located in Fort Collins, Colorado. To contact Kevin, call 970-493-1070 or email kevin@houchinassociates.com.

Scene Magazine – February 2007

I’m a fiercely independent guy. For the longest time I thought there was great honor in doing everything on my own, and I was right. However, I finally realized that my goals are bigger than the results I can achieve by myself. There is simply no way I can reach my goals without the help of a team. Sure, many of you are probably saying “duh!” – I guess I’m just a little slower than most.

How should one go about building a team? For me it made sense to list all the tasks that are required of me in a day, week, month, and year. Then I categorized those tasks into those I enjoy doing and those I don’t enjoy. Finally, within the list of tasks I don’t enjoy, I ranked the tasks according to which “rung of hell” I find myself in while doing the work. For instance, itemizing my credit card charges is the very lowest, deepest rung of hell. One step up is filing. I HATE those things. Amazingly enough, there are people that find this work fun! Yes, they walk among us. I love finding and advising passionate clients, planning creative business ventures, creating branding campaigns, and networking. I needed to focus on the things that fuel my passion and make me actually want to come to work every day.

Logically, my first team member was a bookkeeper that would itemize all the credit card statements and file all the invoices and even make sure my health-insurance premiums get paid on time. It’s a simple hourly contract, no overhead, no tax liability, and no fuss. My bookkeeper is self-employed and simply comes into my office once or twice a week to keep me out of that lowest rung of hell. It’s easily the best money I ever spent because she can do the work twice as well in half the time while I focus on building my business and actually doing the work I love. And, most amazingly to me, she actually enjoys the work.

As business really started taking off last fall, it was painfully apparent that I was spending too much time managing the clerical tasks of my office. I needed an assistant. I put a couple ads online and got a huge response. I ended up hiring two part-time employees on an hourly basis. These two happen to be qualified to handle several different levels of tasks, so we simply worked out a scaled hourly wage based on the actual work. For instance clerical work is paid at a lower hourly rate than paralegal or legal work.

I had thought when I placed the ad that I would just have them be independent contractors, but as the job description evolved, it made sense to actually do tax withholding as “employees.” It’s important when building your team that you deal with independent contractors as such and employees as such. My two new people would be considered “employees” because they would be working here in my office, using my computers, and under my direction, unlike my book-keeper who brings in her own laptop and does as much work at her office as she does at mine.

I don’t need to go out and hire a business lawyer – because that’s what I do, but if you’re not a lawyer, it makes sense to invest in at least a little advice relative to your formation. Sure, the Secretary of state only charges a $25 filing fee, and it’s a simple on-line form, but that’s just the first step in getting a company set up – which is where a lawyer can help.

I have a tax advisor, a few investment advisors, insurance advisors, and even a “coach” (if you don’t work with a coach, you should really consider finding someone). The next thing for me is to build peer mentoring relationships with guys that are facing some of the same issues as I, and individual mentoring relationships with older more experienced men that I respect and want to emulate. I’m working on those and I’ll share how these evolve in future columns.

What’s all this have to do with a legal column in a lifestyle magazine? Just that most of us can’t reach our goals on our own, we need help. Every business development book will tell you to build a team that includes an accountant and a lawyer, because most people simply lack the knowledge or qualifications to handle those critical matters. Those sources generally fall short of telling you how to assess your own needs for help and approach filling those voids. Additionally, if you are hiring someone on a part time or contract basis, you need to have a written understanding of who owns any creative product, such as copy for a brochure, a logo design, or anything copyrightable. If you’re hiring people as employees, you need to address income tax withholding and other employment law issues.

What’s your lowest rung of hell? What’s your favorite thing to do? If you can answer these questions, you’ll be well on your way to building a successful team.
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Kevin E. Houchin principal of Houchin & Associates, PLLC – a copyright, trademark, arts & entertainment, and business development and branding law firm located in Fort Collins, Colorado. To contact Kevin Houchin, call 970-493-1070 or email him at kevin.houchin@houchinlaw.com.

Scene Magazine – March 2007

Lots of folks, including many lawyers, dread confrontation and negotiation. Others relish the process. I choose to redefine “negotiation” as “problem-solving.” It makes a huge difference in my attitude, my clients’ attitudes, and the attitudes of the parties on the other side of the issue.

If you do an Internet search on “negotiation” you’ll find out it’s not just a process, it’s an entire industry. Many approaches to the process can be described as “classic” or “positional bargaining” and focus on the gamesmanship of a chess match when one party is trying to squeeze every ounce of concession from the other. This approach gives rise to all the anxiety or pleasure associated with competition. I’ve found that the only “winners” in this approach are the lawyers or the people being paid for writing the books and giving the seminars.

If you’re looking for a winning negotiation strategy, take an “Interest-based” approach to negotiation as outlined in Roger Fisher and William Ury’s “Getting To Yes.” This is a small, but very valuable book that everyone – not just business-people should own. Really, order it now. Interest-based negotiation is founded on 4 mental methods:
1. People: You must separate the people from the problem.
2. Interests: Positions are just cosmetic; you need to find the real interests underlying the negotiation position.
3. Options: Don’t be stuck with one “deal-breaker” answer – generate real (hopefully win-win) options.
4. Criteria: Work toward an objective (as such, probably more mutually agreeable) standard for a successful solution.

There is NEVER only one correct solution. It doesn’t matter if you are friends trying to work out partnership interests in a new business or a couple trying to work out if the toilet seat should be left up or down (guys – you’ll always lose this one – it’s in your best INTEREST to give up and put the seat down, even though it’s completely illogical that you are always the one…–but I digress…). The interest-based negotiation process works even if you’ve decided to hate each other.

I don’t have space here to discuss the entire system; it’s the subject of a whole book after all, but I’ll let you in on the biggest benefit. You have to honestly look at the situation from the other person’s point of view, especially if there are more than two parties in the negotiation. What are THEIR interests? As the book says, “If you want to influence them, you also need to understand empathetically the power of their point of view and to feel the emotional force with which they believe in it. It is not enough to study them like beetles under a microscope; you need to now what it feels like to be a beetle.”

To effectively negotiate, you need to understand the problem you are trying to solve is as much emotional as it is practical. Objective criteria help remove the emotional attachment to positions, but sometimes you just need to understand that one of their interests is an opportunity to vent. Sometimes it’s simply an apology. These “concessions” cost little or nothing. You need to make your proposals consistent with their emotional involvement and values. You need to give them a solution that allows them to save face, but still satisfies your interests.

I don’t write Chinese, but I’ve heard the Chinese character for opportunity and crisis is the same. Interest-based negotiation can really turn a crisis into an opportunity. I’ve had many intellectual property infringement situations turn into mutually beneficial licenses. I’ve had arguments that had gotten out of hand resolve into closer friendships and more efficient businesses.

Next time you’re faced with a confrontational “negotiation” situation, adjust your attitude to an interest base “problem-solving” situation. You’ll be glad you did.

Kevin E. Houchin principal of Houchin & Associates, PLLC – a copyright, trademark, arts & entertainment, and business development and branding firm located in Fort Collins, Colorado. To contact Kevin Houchin, call 970-493-1070 or email him at kevin.houchin@houchinlaw.com.