IN THIS ISSUE (June 16):

• Join Us for Baseball Barons Style
• High-Speed Rail Could Spur Growth in Region
• Cool School Highlights How to Use What's IN Birmingham to Hire YPs
• Give Extra Benefits Without Extra Costs
• Making Your Website Work for Your Business
• June Small Business of the Month: Alabama Air Shuttle, Inc.
• Guest Column: How Much is My Business Worth?

Business After Hours with the Birmingham Barons
5 p.m.–7 p.m. June 30
$5 in advance and $10 at the door for investors;
$15 in advance and $20 at the door non-investors

Join fellow Chamber investors June 30 starting at 5 p.m. for an evening of baseball … Birmingham Barons style! The event will be at Regions Park in the Michael Jordan Banquet Hall.

The game starts at 7:05 p.m. against the Mobile BayBears (Arizona Diamondbacks) and as a benefit to Chamber investors, you can enjoy the game from the air conditioned comfort of the Michael Jordan Banquet Hall or claim your complimentary ticket for entrance to Regions Park.

There will be a cash bar with free hot dogs and hamburgers. REMEMBER: bring plenty of business cards for the valuable contacts you and your team will make … batter-up! PLEASE NOTE: Since this is a networking event with alcoholic beverages, this event is restricted to business people.

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The Chamber has been busy meeting with high-speed rail proponents in recent weeks. Birmingham sits at the cross-section of two high-speed rail corridors - the Houston to Atlanta corridor, backed by the Southern High Speed Rail Commission, and the Birmingham to Washington D.C. corridor, backed by the Southern Economic Alliance. Chamber staff recently attended a meeting with Southern High Speed Rail Commission chairman and Birmingham resident Richard Finley, Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs director Bill Johnson and other stakeholders to chart a course for the development of high-speed rail in Alabama. In the near term Alabama officials and the Chamber plan to meet with Georgia transportation officials to begin planning for high-speed rail service that would achieve speeds of up to 110 mph between Birmingham and Atlanta when fully implemented.

High-speed rail gained significant momentum earlier this year with the inclusion of $8 billion for high-speed rail and inter-city passenger rail in the federal economic stimulus bill, also known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. President Barack Obama has also committed to providing $1 billion a year for the next five years in order to further develop high-speed rail infrastructure. The Chamber believes high-speed passenger rail has the potential to spur tremendous economic growth in the region.

For more information regarding the Chamber’s involvement with high-speed passenger rail service, contact Pascal Caputo or Alison Howell.

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The Birmingham Society for Human Resource Management and the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce partnered to present “Cool School IV: What’s IN BirmINgham” on June 10 at the McWane Center. The featured speakers were John Montgomery and Ford Wiles of Big Communications. Those attending learned about the IN Campaign and how HR professionals in the Birmingham region could use the IN Guides to recruit and retain young people in the Birmingham Region.

For more information about Cool School, contact Meredith Davidson at 241-8115 or mdavidson@birminghamchamber.com.

To learn more about the Birmingham Society for Human Resource Management, visit www.bshrm.org.

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Want to give your employees extra benefits without it costing your company any additional expense?

Your employees can take advantage of the Chamber's Member-2-Member Discounts. Discounts include any day passes for Alabama Adventure at a savings of $10 on admission. Office Depot is offering all employees of Chamber investors the same discount the company receives, up to 75 percent off on core items most often used. It’s a great way to save on back to school items. Church and Stagg, ADT security, and many others are offering significant discounts. To see the latest list of offers exclusive to Chamber companies and their employees, just log on to the Chamber website at www.birminghamchamber.com and click on Member’s only at the top. Once you’re signed on, click on View Coupons on the right. While you’re there, don’t forget to check the list to see how your company can save big dollars as well. If you have a discount you’d like to offer, you too can be listed. Just click on the “add a coupon” link. It’s a great way to gain additional exposure. Check often. Discounts are added on a regular basis.

This is just one more way your Chamber is working to improve your bottom line.

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Entrepreneurial Training Series
11:45 a.m.–1 p.m. July 8
Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce

Is your website truly helping your business? Are you missing any easy opportunities to make sure your website is doing all it can for you? Learn what easy steps you can take to make sure your website is optimized for today’s web-centric world. Learn about balancing social media, e-mail and all of the other options available to make sure you are on track with the correct strategy for your company.

David Gibson, CEO, Zeekee Interactive, is the presenter. Zeekee Interactive was begun by Gibson in 2003. He wanted to create an Internet consulting firm dedicated to helping its customers understand the marketing power of the Internet. Since then, ZI has grown into a full-fledged Internet marketing firm with services including but not limited to website design, e-commerce, e-mail marketing, application development and more.

Its nation-wide client base includes businesses of all shapes and sizes, from small startups to Fortune 500 companies.

Public parking is available to this event. Enter the Chamber, located on 505 20th Street North in the Financial Center, from Fifth Avenue North between 20th and 21st Street North.

Cost: $20 (Includes lunch)

Contact: Noelle Gaspard at (205) 453-0249 or Noelle@cawbc.org

This series is sponsored by:

• Advanced Planning Services, LLC
• The Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce African-American Business Council
• The Central Alabama Women's Business Center
• Alabama District Office of the Small Business Administration
• Office of Economic Development – The City of Birmingham

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Alabama Air Shuttle, Inc. is an FFA certified on-demand commercial air carrier serving central and northern Alabama and is the Chamber's Small Business of the Month for June.

The company has two five-passenger, twin-engine planes and can provide larger aircraft through its associates. Alabama Air Shuttle has been in business for four years, and during that time has been very active in the community.

Alabama Air Shuttle president David Gentry said the company hosted an auction for the Southern Museum of Flight in 2007, raising more than $10,000. For two years the company also sponsored public service announcements on the radio promoting child safety in automobiles. Alabama Air Shuttle was key in securing a sponsor for a golf tournament benefitting autistic children in 2007, as well.

Gentry said he's been fortunate to have the success he has had in the air carrier industry. "We have been in business four years in an industry - air charter - in which very, very few companies survive that long," he said. Alabama Air Shuttle has been featured in The Birmingham News, The Huntsville Times and The Birmingham Business Journal.

Last month, Gentry started another small business, Good Things - Small Packages, that offers affordable websites for businesses that they can edit and create themselves.

For information on Alabama Air Shuttle, Inc. visit alabamaairshuttle.com.

Each month, the Chamber recognizes a small business for its community involvement and success. To nominate your business, click here to download an application or contact Patricia Mattison for more information.

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We often hear the question, “How much is my business worth?” Today business owners, bankers, attorneys and judges are realizing that businesses have value in excess of their tangible assets.

The application for business valuations are numerous including mergers, acquisitions, initial public offerings, litigation, buy-sell agreements and estate and gift tax.

For all-too-many business owners who aren’t looking to sell or raise new equity, valuation questions tend to come in three instances:

1. A partner leaves or demands a fair-market buy-out or invokes a buy-sell clause.
2. A principal is going through a divorce.
3. Death or estate planning.

Proactive knowledge can prevent headaches. And when it’s time to sell, it yields money. Each business has its own blueprint for success, but one key to a high valuation is minimizing risk. To an outside buyer, more risk carries expectations of a higher return – and thus a lower price.

Concentrate on the underlying aspects of value. The actual number is less important than employing it to improve your business.

It is vital to work with someone certified when determining the value of your business. At Barfield, Murphy, Shank & Smith, we are blessed to have three Certified Valuation Analysts. They have the expertise and training to serve clients in business valuation consultation and in performing business valuations.

Jack Knight is a CPA, CVA and Shareholder at Barfield, Murphy, Shank & Smith

EDITOR'S NOTE: This column is written by Chamber investors for Chamber investors. For guidelines on writing a guest column click here or e-mail Laura McAlister

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