Russ: Good morning. This is the BusinessMakers Show heard here and seen online at the BusinessMakers.com. This is that show that champions entrepreneurship and we're not gonna let up.

John: No. That's right. Why give up when you're not ahead anyway -

Russ: That's right.

John: -- especially with the administration we got going.

Russ: Right. Here's our lineup for this morning. First up for our flashback we're gonna revisit the interviews with two former guests on the show who are very successful business executives and who both started their careers as secretaries.

John: Mhmm.

Russ: That's Colleen Behr, president of Southwest Airlines and Carly Fiorina, candidate for the U.S. Senate in California and former CEO of HP.

John: That's right.

Russ: Then for our featured guest I'm gonna interview Janine Iannarelli and I'm gonna do this in an airplane, a cool Hawker 850 because Janine is the founder and CEO of Par Avion, but first. That's right. It's time for the BusinessMakers School of Business powered by Champion Energy Systems.

John: That's right.

Russ: That's the second week and -

John: Oh man, we're lovin' it.

Russ: And we're usin' their electricity and it's just workin' great.

John: I know. I'm so energized.

Russ: There ya' go. For our listeners, Champion Energy Systems is the kind of electricity company that you would all like because they're real transparent and authentic. They get right out there and show you how much your kilowatt hour costs. Maybe I'll check it out --

John: That's right. You can see through the electricity they're so transparent.

Russ: That's right; absolutely.

John: It's almost invisible.

Russ: So if you go there and sign up make sure you put BusinessMakers in the referral code.

John: That's right; 'cause we get extra credit for that.

Russ: Absolutely. Alright. We kick off the School of Business each Saturday morning with the quote of the day.

John: Quote of the day.

Russ: Yes. And the quote this morning comes from none other than George Burns.

John: He was kinda' like a straight man for many, many years until he got real old and then he started to be the wise crackin' guy.

Russ: That's right. And he got real old and stayed real old a long time, too.

John: I know. He was pretty old, yes.

Russ: Right; he was; yeah. His quote that we're gonna use this morning is kinda' relative to the times we live in 'cause here it goes. Retirement at 65 is ridiculous. When I was 65 I still had pimples.

John: There ya' go. That's right. He aged gracefully to say the least -

Russ: That's right. And the major part of the population is not gonna be able to retire at 65 anymore. I don't think.

John: No; their 401(k)'s have turned into 101(k)s or 101(L)s or something.

Russ: Something like that.

John: Yeah; right.

Russ: Alright. That brings us to this week in business history. What happened right at the beginning of August in business history?

John: This is very interesting. This week in business history, 1693 Don Perignon invention of champagne.

Russ: My goodness. So that's 317 years ago we've been drinking champagne? I'll drink to that.

John: I'll - well I'll watch you drink to that.

Russ: Okay.

John: This week in business history, in 1790 the first census of the United States and there was also a big uptick in the employment ranks. So all those census takers -

Russ: Yeah; it helps.

John: I think if we had a census every year I think the employment problem would be solved.

Russ: An ongoing one might be a good idea.

John: Yeah; perpetual census -

Russ: Just everybody turns in their number and then starts counting again.

John: Start all over again. Okay. This week in business history, in 1794 the whiskey rebellion begins in western Pennsylvania where I grew up, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the Monongahela Valley and actually it got started on a guy's farm. That person is none other than the Oliver Miller homestead, which in present day is in present day South Park Township and that's not too far from where I grew up.

Russ: So what were they rebelling against?

John: A tax; they used to not paying taxes.

[Music: "Whiskey River"]

John: The real remarkable thing about the whiskey rebellion was it was put down by George Washington. He actually led troops and it's the only time in American history that an American president led combat troops into a potential combat situation. This week in business history, 1831, the London Bridge opens to traffic.

Russ: Well, and you recently went over there and visited -

John: That's right. The London Bridge is actually in the same spot where the original bridge was when the Romans settled and called it Londinium or whatever. This week in business history in 1873, it's a test drive for the world's first cable car.

Russ: Whoa.

John: And the cable car's still running under the same technology. It's a cable -

Russ: Where was this?

John: In San Francisco.

Russ: Wow.

John: This week in business history, in 1875 the first roller skating rink opens in London.

Russ: My goodness.

John: Right about the same time the cable cars started.

Russ: Wow.

John: How 'bout that? That's cool. This week in business history, in 1900 the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company was founded by Harvey Firestone.

Russ: Whoa.

John: They supplied these pneumatic tires for wagons, buggies and other forms of wheel transportation. He recognized the huge potential for marketing tiers to automobiles, pioneered the mass production of tires, which brought the cost down. He became one of the original equipment suppliers for the Ford Motor Company.

Russ: Cool.

John: This week in business history, in 1941 the first jeep is produced.

Russ: Whoa; okay.

John: It's actually the oldest off road vehicle or SUV or whatever you wanna call it. Became a primary light four wheel drive vehicle the U.S. Army and the allies during World War II. It was kinda' like the Hummer. Everybody liked the look of it -

Russ: The Hummer of the time.

John: The Hummer of the time and it became popular, the popular icon. So they decided to mass produce them to do a pedestrian version. They're still makin' 'em.

Russ: Yeah.

John: This week in business history, in 1956 Elvis Presley releases the song Hound Dog.

[Music: "Hound Dog"]

John: What a ride he had.

Russ: Boy, and he sort of changed the - I remember I was like seven years old. I remember when he was on Ed Sullivan singing that song.

John: Ed Sullivan; that's right.

Russ: And singing that song and it was like man, this is unlike anything we've ever seen.

John: I know.

Russ: And we all seemed to kinda' like it.

John: This week in business history, in 1957 American Bandstand begins with - remember Dick Clark?

Russ: I watched that all the time - television.

John: I know.

Russ: People from Philadelphia dancin' out there doin' the jitterbug and we just got to watch 'em on TV.

John: I know and he had Bobby Rydell and Frankie Avalon and the Cordetts. Long running show. Dick Clark was usually referred to over time as the world's oldest living teenager. Now he had a stroke and you gotta hand it to him. The guy's a trooper.

Russ: Yeah; he is.

John: This week in business history, in 1960 Chubby Checker sparks a new worldwide dance craze called the Twist.

[Music: "The Twist"]

John: Talkin' about somethin' that just took off.

Russ: Yeah; what a music week this is.

John: People were twistin' all over the place, even without the music. Twistin' down the halls when we were changin' class in junior high.

Russ: Hound Dog, the Twist, American Bandstand all happened this week; gees.

John: This week in business history in 1963 Britain, U.S. and Russia, back then called the UUSR, signed a nuclear test ban treaty. That's when Kennedy was present.

Russ: Well at least they signed it. It was sort of the first indication that they realized hm, there might not be any winter if we start shootin' these -

John: Well it's called mutually assured destruction because as brutal as the Russians were, they didn't have a suicide complex. They didn't have a martyr complex.

Russ: Right; thank goodness.

John: So this mutually assured destruction, the Russians didn't wanna get themselves blown up and they knew if they sent missiles over our way we'd send ours over their way and ya' know.

Russ: Mutually assured destruction.

John: Mutually assured destruction.

Russ: MAD, M-A-D.

John: MAD. Alright. This week in business history, in 1965 on this day J. K. Rowling, the author and creator of Harry Potter book series is born near Bristol, England.

Russ: So she's only 45 years old, man.

John: I guess so.

Russ: Yeah; God.

John: I know. Well '65, right.

Russ: Yeah; she's 45 years old.

John: Man. And she was destitute there for awhile. She came up with the first Harry Potter book.

Russ: And the world changed.

John: That's right. She couldn't find a book publisher. They thought why are you botherin' us with this crap.

Russ: Yeah; I know.

John: That's right. Okay. In this week in business history, in 1972 the first article exposing the Watergate scandal - you know about that -

Russ: Oh yeah; sure -

John: Richard Nixon and the plumbers and Watergate and all that. The first article exposing that mess was written by Carl Bernstein and Robert Redford. I mean Bob Woodward, played by Robert Redford in that great movie. This week in business history, in 1981, MTV, ya' ever heard of them?

Russ: Boy -

John: Makes its maiden broadcast and the New York Times business columnist, and I quote, 'If advertisers make the video disco channel a success, the implications for cable television and the recording industry could be far-reaching.'

Russ: Well yeah. So 29 years ago. It was probably out a couple of weeks before I stumbled on it. I was out at some IBM training session and somebody had cable on and went wow, look at these guys. It's just these rock videos one after another.

John: I know. The problem is MTV isn't -

Russ: No; they don't do it anymore.

John: They don't do it. They've got all kinds of crappy things on there -

Russ: No; I know and there were some people like I still claim that that's what kept ZZ Top alive all those years -

John: It resurrected their career -

Russ: Yeah; 'cause they said well we can do this. They started doin' those funny things and those hot cars and long legged women.

John: Yeah; got legs and she knows how to use 'em.

Russ: Yeah; and boom... some MTV. Wow; this week. So 29 years ago. Cool.

John: This week in business history, in 1996 one of the most worthless, insidious, insipid dances ever invented - ya' know we talked about the Twist, well the Macarena.

Russ: Oh. This is the birth week of the Macarena?

John: The Macarena; yeah, right.

Russ: Well did you ever see somebody that really could do it that looked good and could do it?

John: No.

Russ: I did and I tell ya' -

John: Oh, did ya'?

Russ: Yeah. Put it on, John. Let's do a little Macarena right now. And that wraps up this morning's history lesson. Good history lesson -

John: I tell ya', I'm ready for a nap.

Russ: Macarena, MTV.

John: The Twist, the King, Elvis Presley, the whiskey rebellion.

Russ: The whiskey rebellion. That's right.

John: This is one heck of a week in business history.

Russ: Woodward and Bernstein.

John: And Redford.

Russ: And Robert Redford. Alright. That brings us to the jargon challenge round. This is our vocabulary lesson and this is that part of the show where I get to go out and find a new word that's happening.

John: Oh yeah; happening, baby; happening. It's gotta be happening.

Russ: Yeah; and I keep it private. John doesn't know what it is.

John: I don't. This is not some shtick. I don't -

Russ: He doesn't; yeah.

John: I literally do not know what he's gonna come up with.

Russ: And I bring it in here and then I say the word and John guesses the meaning.

John: And I've been doin' pretty good this year.

Russ: You have; you have. Are you ready?

John: Yeah; go ahead.

Russ: Carbage.

John: Carbage.

Russ: Yeah.

John: Garbage is stuff you throw you out in the garbage can and take it out to the street and the garbage men. Carbage, whenever you get in somebody's car sometimes it's just filthy. It's just a mess -

Russ: Ladies and gentlemen, hold your calls. We got a winner.

John: That's right.

Russ: The garbage that accumulates in some cars, particularly in the back seat. Carbage.

John: Or the front seat or the cup -

Russ: Yeah; --

John: You ever see some of these cup holders? There's usually like a syrupy sticky service there. Some people with their bubble gum wrappers.

Russ: It's terrible; yeah. Carbage.

John: There we go.

Russ: That brings us to dumb business moments. Do you have one to share with us?

John: Oh, this is a doozy. You remember that fat guy that Southwest Airlines threw off their airplane. He turned out to be a movie producer. Well Southwest is at it again. This time they kick a thin woman off a flight.

Russ: Wait a minute. We're gonna feature somebody from Southwest Airlines in our flashback. Is this gonna be okay?

John: For us it is 'cause it's a good -

Russ: No; let's do it for them.

John: CEO of Southwest Airlines or whatever she is.

Russ: Yeah; well let's do it.

John: This may not be a nice episode for her.

Russ: Well what happened?

John: Okay; alright. They threw off a passenger. Southwest Airlines had to throw off a passenger off the airline who weighed just 110 pounds.

Russ: Too skinny?

John: Five foot four inch. According to the Sacramento Bee this woman had just settled in the last available seat. She was flying standby from Las Vegas to Sacramento. She gets on the - finally gets on the airplane. Ya' know how you get excited?

Russ: Real excited. Hey, I get to go.

John: I get to go. Yeah, man, this is great. Only to be told she'd have to get off the plane because of an overweight passenger who needed two seats, had just arrived late.

Russ: Wait a minute. So did the overweight passenger buy two tickets?

John: No. When the standby passenger began to complain that she was berated by the crew and the -

Russ: For bein' too skinny.

John: Yeah; and the overweight passenger only paid for one seat -

Russ: Oh my goodness.

John: But the overweight passenger was only 14 years old. So somebody's got a big problem there. So much for parental control of your diet.

Russ: Put on some pounds young lady and then you, too, can fly on Southwest Airlines.

John: That's right. Why don't we just all be fat.

Russ: I think that's where we're headed. That's right.

John: Don't even have to worry about it. We'll take two seats -

Russ: That's right.

John: -- have a bag full of Tootsie Roll pops.

Russ: That sounds like a winner to me. Alright. Before we wrap up this morning's school of business it's time for the very popular PKF Texas entrepreneur's playbook.

John: Here's a guy that we all know and love 'cause he shows up on time and -

Russ: And has a good message.

John: Yeah; he's got some interesting stuff to talk about and then this week is no different and here he is. A one and a two and a -

Greg: This is Greg Price with PKF Texas' Entrepreneur's Playbook.

In today's fast-paced economy, you can't afford to lose touch with your clients and prospects. Are you effectively marketing to them over email?

Having a solid, well thought-out email marketing plan is an easy, cost effective way to reach your target audience.

The main thing to keep in mind when reaching out via email is to ask "Is what I am providing of value to the target's business?" Providing valuable content like articles, white papers, industry updates, etc. rather than self-promotional fluff, will help your open and click-through rates. Your emails won't be effective if they don't get read!

Believe it or not, a good open rate for a non-targeted blast with a large list is about 25%. Of course this varies depending on the content and size of your list.

There are several online resources, Constant Contact, Exact Target and Mail Chimp for example, that offer email blast services for a monthly fee based on the size of your list.

Taking the time to build an effective email marketing program will keep you top of mind with your audience and build your brand in the marketplace.

To read and comment on the PKF Texas' Entrepreneur's Playbook, visit my blog, fromgregshead.com. And be sure to check out the new mobile ready website at PKF Texas.com - PKF Texas, The Fit That's Right!

Russ: A one and a two and a. Alright. That wraps up this morning's School of Business. Stay tuned in for our flashback where we're gonna feature two very successful executives who started off their business careers as secretaries. That would be Colleen Barrett, president of Southwest Airlines and Carly Fiorina, former CEO of HP. That's gonna be followed by our on-site interview out at the airport where I sit down with Janine Iannarelli, founder and CEO of Par Avion. You're listening to the BusinessMakers Show heard here and seen online at the BusinessMakers.com.