Russ: This is The BusinessMakers Show heard here and online at thebusinessmakers.com. And now it's time for the Aflac BusinessMakers Flashback, brought to you by Aflac, ask about it at work. And this morning for our flashback we are going to share with you three stories about the precise point where our entrepreneur's guests got the idea that lead to their endeavor. First up will be Bill Groux, founder and CEO of Retention Education, the company effectively leading the charge of teaching English to Hispanic restaurant workers. Then, Lawrence Kersten, founder and CEO of Despair Inc, the leading demotivation company on the planet. And lastly, Catherine Rohr, the founder and CEO of the prison entrepreneurship program. So let's home in on that discussion that John and I had with Bill Groux, the founder and CEO of Retention Education. And listen to Bill describe when he realized that he had found the perfect tool that would accomplish his passion of teaching English to Spanish speaking restaurant employees.

Bill: Ironically or coincidence. I had kinda been banging my head against the wall, looking for a product, and I just couldn't find that one that was right. Until about three years ago, I was sitting on my, then, 5 year old daughter's bed and I was watching her play with this Leapfrog Leap pad. And it was self paced and it was take home, and was very intuitive, and it was interactive, and she was learning. And I thought man, what if we created a kind of adult version of this technology, which is tremendous. And kinda make it look like a laptop if you will. And they have a product called a quantum pad, which what we use. And then the created a curriculum that spoke specifically to this target. And so, that's what we started doing for about three years ago. We formed a partnership with Leap Frog Enterprises and spent about 2 years developing what we think is a great curriculum.

Russ: And the rest is, I guess is history. That is so cool, so

Bill: Yes it is.

Russ: So you can credit your 5 year old daughter for finding the right solution.

Bill: She is far and away the inspiration, absolutely.

Russ: Okay, so the inspiration was the learning toy that his 5 year old daughter used. And today, man, Retention Education is just humming. They have multiple restaurant chains using this great product that Bill Groux and his company created.

John: Yeah, using existing technology to solve another problem.

Russ: Absolutely

John: Okay

Russ: Okay, up next we have Lawrence Kersten, the founder and CEO of Despair Inc. One of our favorite businesses. I mean this is so crazy that this guy has become very successful with this whole, motivation or demotivation parody.

John: Yeah, he turns all the motivational experts and slogans and posters and coffee mugs on their ear.

Russ: Yes

John: And he gets away with it.

Russ: Yeah and he

John: That's the best part

Russ: And a successful business

John: And let's listen right now as Lawrence tells us how he got this started.

Lawrence: Well I and the other two co-founder were all working for a Internet Service Provider in Dallas in the mid 90's. And one of the reasons we were there is that we had been promised some options as part of our compensation package. And what we realized is that the president of the company had over promised what he was actually able to deliver. And we had been working quite a while and kept pressuring him to rollout his stock option plan. And when he finally did, two things happened. One, we didn't get as many stock options as he had promised. And he said kinda said well sorry, I ran out. And two, because of his delays, which I don't believe that were malicious. But I think just because he didn't know what he was doing; he essentially eroded all of the upside potential. Because when I joined the company, he was selling shares at 30 cents a share. And when he rolled out the stock options plan, they were priced at 63 dollars, so due to his delays, his procrastination.

Russ: 30 cents to 63 Dollars?

Lawrence: He evaporated the upside between 30 cents and 63 dollars. So the day we got our options plan, I mean, I got mine and read it and realized, you know, this is not what I expected it to be, and obviously it's a bad day. And I went and saw the other two guy who were sharing a office. And to see if they have had the same experience, or if I was the "Lucky Guy" and they had the same experiences. And it was at this point we were reeling with the realization that we had wasted a good portion of our lives and weren't going to get compensated for it. And one of the guys had received this accessories catalog for because the president of this company liked their motivational products. And there was a big success poster right on the cover of the catalog and we picked it up and just began to make fun of it. And came up with things, you know, we had one that says, "Mediocrity: takes a lot less time and most people don't notice the difference until it's too late" or failure. The other guy said, you know, outta start a business that sales those and so when that company we were working for was finally sold. We took the little bit of money that we did make from our stock options and started Despair incorporated.

Russ: Okay, Necessity is the mother of invention there boy. They were just bummed out and hacked for what had happened to them. And they started making fun of. And that fun turned into a very successful company.

John: Yeah that is built on acrimony and you know, negative thought and feelings. What other way to build a company than through crappy things happening to you.

Russ: right, well he's a great speaker too. It's funny but he's also…

John: He's a very good speaker.

Russ: a very very serious business guy but Despair Inc. I think do over between 5 and 10 million dollars a year and just some guys.

John: At least they did when we talked to them.

Russ: That's right, yep; they might be doing better, who knows. And I think it's the same guys that felt like they really been taken to the cleaners, that experience they turned into success. Great, Great deal.

John: Right

Russ: Okay, so up next we have Catherine Rohr, the founder and CEO of the prison entrepreneurship program, just an incredible program, great interview, we've had her on twice now. And listen as Catherine tells us what inspired her to start the prison entrepreneur program.

Catherine: I was invited on a prison tour. I had no personal connection to anything prison related but when I was still working in private equity. My background is in venture capital and private equity. And I was invited by a JP Morgan executive on a prison tour out in Texas with Chuck Kolson and the prison fellowship. And was intrigued that a woman who didn't look all that different than I do. She would be involved in anything prison related. I started to ask her many questions and she challenged me to come to the prison. I accepted the challenge and when I was touring the prison. It was not at all what I expected. I thought I was going be going on a zoo tour to see these wild caged up animals.

Russ: uhuh

Catherine: And to the contrary, I guess I felt ashamed of the perception I had carried of inmates, the way I had written them off. And I saw a lot of creativity, a lot of entrepreneurial ideas, very charming salesmen. And the opportunity to equip these guys to go out and make a difference. So today people ask me what was it like leaving venture capital and doing PEP now. And I think I still basically do venture capital, just with a slightly higher risk demographic.

Russ: Great Success story from Catherine Rohr, from the prison entrepreneur program, it a amazing how certainly that tour changed her life.

John: That's Right

Russ: Having spent some time out there with them. Boy it looks to me like it's very effective. So I would encourage you to go check out all three of those. The Bill Groux interview, G-R-O-U-X. You can search, just put that Groux name up in the top right corner in the search box at the BusinessMakers.com. And the Lawrence Kersten, the founder of Despair Inc., and last but not least. Catherine Rohr, The founder and CEO of the prison entrepreneur program, that's R-O-H-R. And that raps it up for the Aflac BusinessMakers Flashback brought to you by Aflac, Ask about it at work. And now it's time for another Advantage Point so let's welcome Katie Laird

Katie: This is Katie Laird with another Advantage Point, providing ungraded advice for turning your small business into a not so small business. In any size business, communication is key. And now thanks to the advent of laptops and blackberries, one of the quickest and easiest ways to communicate, even on the go is through email. So let's dive into ways you can manage your email correspondence and survive the insanity that just might be you email in box.

First things first, if you're not writing a descriptive and relevant subject line in your emails. You're doing your email readers a great disservice. Be concise in your email body copy using number list and short sentences separated into smaller paragraphs to help keep your message crystal clear.

If your leaving the office everyday with over 30 emails in your inbox, chances are, your brain is still thinking about them. Help organize your workflow by moving actionable emails into task or project specific folders. And filing and deleting them as many as possible to give you a fresh start to the following workday. If a email requires only minimal work to follow up on, do these tasks as quickly as possible. Perhaps allotting 20 minutes a day to cherry pick or delegate. You inbox will empty quickly and you will feel like you really accomplishing a lot. Simple is good.

If you feel like your inbox is overwhelmed by newsletters, site updates, and other email lists you signed up for. It's time to start hitting those unsubscribe buttons like it's going out of style. A good rule of thumb is this, if you deleted a newsletter without reading it for over 3 weeks, they most likely go. However if you're feeling a little newsletter separation anxiety, setup a rule in your email client that will automatically place incoming email from a particular sender into a folder you can check at your leisure.

Also be aware what kind of email traffic is coming into your work email address. Many businesses today realize the blur between personal and work life. So reading your personal email at the office may not be a issue, but it just might be a issue to your productivity. So consider redirecting some email subscriptions to a personal email address that you don't check frequently at the office. This will keep you happily employed and hopefully minimize some stress.

And never forget that your blackberry does have a mute and off setting. Sometimes the best way to cope with email stress is to take a little break from it. Your offline world will thank you.

To read and comment on this Advantage Point, visit us online at TheBusinessMakers.com website.

Russ: Your listening to The BusinessMakers show, heard here and online at theBusinessMakers.com. Stay tuned for Bill Pickard.