Gary & Liz Kuty are extremely proud to announce the graduation of their daughter, Anne Lizabeth Kuty, from New York University. Anne earned a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts, with Honors. Anne worked extremely hard to graduate in four years, all while spending considerable hours each week working as a Nanny for a New York City couples little girl. Our "City Girl" has decided to remain in New York City to pursue career opportunities in the world of show business. After working the past year as an intern on the movie sets of The Devil Wears Prada starring Merle Streep and Anne Hathaway and The Perfect Stranger starring Bruce Willis and Halle Berry, Anne developed many networking contacts. Upon graduation Anne was offered a position as a Production Assistant on the movie set of I Think I Love My Wife, a film being produced and directed by Chris Rock. It looks like Anne paid attention to her dear old Dad growing up and learned a thing or two about the value and power of networking. Please join us in congratulating Anne on her significant accomplishment from such a prestigious institution of higher learning.

You have a client who's driving you nuts. This may be a very successful closely-held first generation company, an entrepreneur on the cusp of greatness, or even an older company with a nervous new owner. Obviously, they know their business and have shown a willingness to take risks, but you wouldn't know it by the amount of time the owner spends second-guessing your work and that of everyone around him. He's constantly questioning your advice, scrutinizing your work and knit-picking your bills. You're the expert, why won't he leave you alone and let you do your job? I feel your pain. I was your pain - the nervous successful entrepreneur, the founder and CEO of a growing company. And I had clients like this as well - entrepreneurs that drove me crazy - for I was in a service business. What follows, therefore, is not an excuse but an explanation made from both sides of the fence. Maybe it'll keep you out of therapy.

What it's like from the other side of the table.

Take a look at the world from the eyes of the self-made entrepreneur. These are a few experiences you may never have:

• To start his business he probably risked losing everything - EVERYTHING - including his home, car, children's education, retirement, reputation and future ability to buy anything on credit. If he fails he may never find another job in the industry he loves. For most businesses "venture capital" is a fantasy, until he succeeds and doesn't need it.
• Every time a growth opportunity occurs, the risks and what he may lose increase exponentially. And it's not always clear which decision will be the deal breaker.
• He is constantly aware that his decisions can affect many families - their jobs, dreams and futures - not just his own. That knowledge weighs heavy.
• On more than one occasion he has gone without a paycheck so he could pay his employees and/or key suppliers.
• He works longer hours, sleeps less and probably takes fewer days off than the people who work for him... because you can't delegate worry. There's no such thing as a vacation.
• He remembers when he purchased his first desk, chair, computer, copier, phone and lamp... and he can tell you what he paid for them.
• On more than one occasion some "expert" has tried to cheat or seriously mislead him.
• No matter what internal systems he creates, he is always vulnerable to theft by current or past employees; forget the pens and office supplies, his entire financial position and/or customer base may be at risk.
• He used to know every employee and their family by name - even their birthdays. The day he can no longer internalize this information is one of the saddest in his career.
• For no fault of his own, he has lost his most valuable "right hand" employee more than once. Silently, he still grieves the losses.
• He doesn't have many friends outside of the business, and must constantly be on his guard for people purporting to be friends who are only after his money, reputation, expertise or best employee.
• Business, hobbies and family are a two-out-of-three proposition at best.
• For all his flash and bravado, in a quiet moment he just might admit that on more than one occasion his business was one meeting or presentation from closing its doors.
• He is the constant target of scams, aggressive charities and would-be customers who want everything for free.
• He must always exude confidence even when he isn't. Nobody wants to be with a loser; competitors and nervous employees can smell blood in the water... or so he thinks.
• No matter how they act, these entrepreneurs are some of the loneliest people you will ever meet.

So, the next time you're wishing this guy would just chill and let you do your job, think about taking a walk in his shoes. You'll probably find that others don't appreciate his perspective either, but when you do you'll have a leg up on the competition. By putting up with a little institutional insecurity from time to time and doing the best job you can do for your client, you'll earn his respect. Sooner or later he'll recognize you as an asset rather than a threat... and you may just have his growing piece of business for life.

Source: StraightUpSearch

We are pleased announce that we have entered into a strategic alliance agreement with Ms. Emily Michaels, owner of Severn Publications. Ms. Michaels specializes in assisting companies pursuing federal contracting opportunities and in the technical writing aspects of the proposal process. An accomplished veteran of government contracting Ms. Michaels brings a wealth of experience to companies desiring to enter into and compete in the federal contracting arena. With the addition of Ms. Michaels to our team of partners we now can offer assistance to our clients in reviewing and preparing RFP’s to federal and/or any governmental level bid. To learn more about how we can assist you in this area please contact Gary Kuty at gary@kutyassociates.com. Following this announcement is a brief article authored by Ms. Michaels regarding information she thought would be important for our readers doing business with the government. We hope you find the information beneficial.

by Emily Michaels

The Washington Post recently reported that the federal government has halted processing of 3,000 contractor clearances due to a budget shortfall. (See "Pentagon Halts Contractor Clearances," 29 April 2006.) At the same time, the demand for cleared contractor employees is increasing. This situation represents some potential opportunities for the contract security community. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is responsible for conducting background investigations on those individuals requesting personnel security clearances. OPM usually does this through contract investigators. CACI, ManTech, and USIS hold large contracts to perform this function. Because of its critical nature, the current budget shortfall will likely be remedied soon and then OPM will need to add additional investigators to handle the increased workload. Keep an eye out for opportunities to put your investigators to work, either as a prime or a subcontractor. If you have cleared employees, you can take advantage of this opportunity now by subcontracting your personnel to fill the critical the needs of other companies, such as those companies providing guard services to federal agencies, particularly to members of the US intelligence community. As a side note, because personnel clearances have become such a valuable "skill set," some companies are offering to sponsor security clearances as a benefit, much like medical and dental. Other companies are offering monetary incentives to those employees who pass their polygraphs. Nortel Government Solutions is one such company. Personnel with security clearances have been in increasing demand since the terror attacks of September 2001. This shortage can represent a business opportunity for companies that provide investigative services or already have cleared employees. Emily Michaels is the author of Small Business Guide to Doing Business with the Department of Defense, and provides proposal services for federal contractors. Email her at eamichaels@severnapublications.com.

The trade show circuit for Kuty & Associates remained very busy in May. The last two weeks of May we spent the day at the Javits Center in New York City walking the floor, saying hello to old friends, meeting new ones and generally networking. We picked up a lot of valuable information and the show was a great success. Our hats are off to the NYC Chapter of ASIS International on their efforts in presenting such a top notch seminar and exhibits. In Detroit, we spent two days exhibiting and sponsoring the 2006 Detroit Update 2006. Sharing in our booth this year was Frank Lebedz, owner of TEAM Financial. Dennis Hamilton, our web designer extraordinaire (see accompanying article that follows) was also on hand explaining how companies can redevelop their web sites to work for them, adding such features as film clips, on-line employment applications and logo branded graphics. Pictured here is Gary and Frank Lebedz, owner of TEAM Financial working the booth in Detroit.

Kuty and Associates was recently awarded the web site redevelopment project for the Anderson Security Agency, LLC of Phoenix, Arizona. Our Web designer, Dennis Hamilton worked closely with several members of Mrs. Kimberly Matich’s staff to collect all the data needed for the upgrade and to transition form the old site to the new. Everyone involved in the process believes that the newly developed site is much more user friendly, provides excellent text and graphics and a highly professional look and feel and even includes an on-line employment application. To view the new site, visit the Anderson Agency web site at www.andersonsecurity.com. This month we will be completing work on a sister web site for the agencies Las Vegas, Nevada office as well. Anderson is another security agency that we are proud to add to our list of successful web site designs.

Travel Tips For Dads Who Travel: When you call home be sure to talk to everybody, even the littlest ones who can understand far more than they can speak. Do plenty of listening, but also tell them about your day. With older children e-mail is terrific. If there's a fax machine at home, ask your kids to fax you their journal entry for the day or a drawing they did at preschool. You can fax them back a drawing of your own or even the menu from a restaurant you took a client to. Send postcards, too. Every kid likes getting mail.

Gary Kuty, CEO of Kuty & Associates, LLC is proud to announce that the agency has recently joined the ranks of the Associated Security Services & Investigators of the State of Texas, (ASSIST) as a Vendor Member. We look forward to becoming actively involved and supporting one of the largest state associations in the United States. Their annual trade show is always a huge success and they provide a myriad of benefits and networking opportunities to there membership. To learn more about the association visit their web site at www.assisttexas.org.

Quote of the month:
We find no real satisfaction or happiness in life without obstacles to conquer and goals to achieve.
-Maxwell Maltz, June 2004