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You can download the PDF of the PALMS report here:

BNI PALMS Report for Term 040108 to 080108

President: Heather Stoneman

Vice President: Todd Wooldridge

Secretary: Kate Antonini

Treasurer: Jerry Becerra

Visitor Hosts: Carlos Ramirez (Chair), Pat Miller, Sergio Rosales, Tom Redmond, Seth Tajbakhsh

Membership: Dan Chomko (Chair/Current Members), Gil Zeimer (Co-Chair, New Members), Sharon Schanzer

Mentor Coordinators: Kay Heatherly (New Members), Kathy Olberts (Current Members)

Social Committee: Cathy Cohn (Chair), Katherine Bernitt, Dan Joraanstad

Technical Facilities Manager: TBD

Education: Dennis Nix

Timekeeper: Brian Pensack

Go For The Gold: Mike Hack

Newsletter: Bradley Charbonneau, Gil Zeimer
Card Boxes: Kevin Casey

Power Teams: Richard Reinholdt

Webmaster:  Bradley Charbonneau

• Absences - In any given six-month BNI term (current term is April 1 through September 30), a member is entitled to three absences without a substitute. Arriving late or leaving early counts as a half absence. When a member reaches 3.5 absences, they will be placed on probation for the remainder of the term, unless they reach 4.5 absences, at which point they will be asked to leave our Chapter. If a member is placed on Probation, we will accept applicants in their niche and the member on probation could potentially lose their niche to a new member.
• Substitutes and Guests - Per BNI policy, a non-member of our Chapter may attend as a substitute only two times EVER in their lifetime. Additionally, a non-member may attend twice in their lifetime as a guest. The purpose of this policy is to encourage visitors and subs to become members.

• Dues — Our Chapter dues (currently $55 per month) are due the first of the month (in our example, call it Month 1). If the Treasurer has not received the dues by the 1^st of the following month, i.e., Month 2, he/she will call the member to remind them of this situation. If, by the beginning of Month 3, the Treasurer still has not received the member’s dues, that member will be asked to leave our Chapter.
• Late Fees — In addition, we have repealed the $10 per month late fees, moving forward, as they have not been shown to be a deterrent to paying dues late. As a courtesy to members and to increase timely dues payment, our current Treasurer has agreed to send out an invoice the last week of the month on the everyone [ a t ] bniembarcadero [d o t ] com email address.

Boomers, which I refer to as the 50+ crowd, are starting businesses faster than any other swathe of our population.

If you are a part of this trend, check out the StartupNation’s Home-Based 100, which ranks the most outstanding Boomers Back in Business. Maybe you’ll decide to throw your hat in the ring and enter the competition!

You can read the full article here: Boom(-er) Times

If you need help with your second career, drop me a line.

But Murphy adds: “Now you would think, after this litany of issues, I might be a little negative about things, but I actually am quite positive over the long-term. I think we are experiencing a periodic ‘cleaning-out.’ As long as the government doesn’t over-react, the economy will find its bottom and grow from there. In all this activity or ‘right-sizing,’ a lot of wealth will be created, which, at the end of the day, will more than offset the amount of wealth destruction we have seen to date.”

“For commercial real estate holders, the impact differs by property type where countervailing developments are either offsetting or exacerbating results,” Murphy said.

Here is Murphy’s take on how different property types are faring in current market conditions:

• Retail. Higher food and gas prices are stripping out a high degree of discretionary income impacting sales. Energy costs are driving more sales to the internet, which is lowering foot traffic. Storefront mortgage operations have disappeared and the result is higher retail vacancy. Coupled with higher operating costs, retail net operating incomes (NOI) are falling and with them values.
• Office. Generally slower economic growth is having it’ typical impact on office occupancy. Coupled with higher operating costs, office NOIs are stagnant at best. Credit market issues have made investment sales of offices difficult to secure even though the real interest rate remains negative.
• Multifamily. Continued Federal Housing Administration financing has buoyed up new construction in this asset subclass. Rising unemployment and deteriorating tenant credit along with increasing property operating costs have yet to seriously impact valuations.
• Industrial. The weak dollar is driving export growth and transportation costs are causing a rethinking of distribution networks keeping the industrial property market reasonably healthy. Less competition from residential land buyers has made land cheaper and a greater supply of construction trades has made not only industrial construction a bit cheaper but is impacting all new construction positively.
• Mixed-Use. One aspect of new urbanism - light rail, when coupled with the higher gas prices - is prompting more multi-use construction along the rail corridors.

Our newest members:
July 23: Stephanie Weissberg, The Arc of San Francisco & JC Avakian, Business Capital.

These members were due to renew by August 1:
Karen Saghi, Julia TenEyck, Seth Tajbakhsh, Katherine Bernitt, Sharon Schanzer, Mario Martinez, Betty Burr and Rachel Walls.

These members are due to renew by September 1:
Jerry Becerra and Heather Stoneman.

These members did not renew or have dropped:
Roselyn Calangian, Anita Hubbard and Andreas Schwerte.

Jeff’s company is Direct Mail By Hand (www.DirectMailByHand.com). They specialize in high-response direct mail through handwritten letters and envelopes to make sure your mail gets opened and read. And, because it’s so personal, it shows your clients and prospects that they’re a real person to you – increasing customer loyalty. They can even personalize your preprinted material by attaching a post-it note. And they do jobs of 1000 to 100,000+.

How did I accomplish this? What’s my “secret sauce?” What’s the recipe for the Kool-Aid I’m drinking?

Four words: “Givers Gain” and “Showing up.”

First, for January through June, I’ve given 80 referrals and received 33, among the tops in our chapter. I also had perfect attendance (only needed a sub once).

Second, of those 33 referrals I’ve received, 11 resulted in closed business in June alone:

• 5 were from members of my BNI Embarcadero chapter for their own writing/editing projects.
• 3 were from members of our chapter who referred me to their clients.
• And another 3 were from members of other BNI chapters for writing projects with their clients.

Third, the bottom line is to be more active. Network more. Have more one-on-one dance cards. Strive to show up every week. Make BNI a priority in your life. Pay attention at the meetings for trigger points in other members’ infomercials. And try to visit other chapters – I visit/sub at a minimum of one other chapter per month, schedule permitting. This all results in giving and getting more referrals, resulting in more closed business!