Archive | September 2011
September 20, 2011  

Retailers with Sales in CA at Risk of Penalties Following State Court Decision

A recent decision by the California Supreme Court has placed retailers and other businesses that obtain and record personally identifiable customer information during point-of-sale transactions in the state at risk of significant penalties.

Retailers with transactions in California are being named in class-action lawsuits following a February 2011 California Supreme Court decision, Pineda v. Williams Sonoma Stores, Inc. The decision found that the state’s Song-Beverly Credit Card Act of 1971 prohibits retailers and other businesses engaged in credit card transactions from collecting and recording customer information such as zip codes or any other personally identifiable information not provided by the credit card itself during point-of-sale transactions.

The statute authorizes penalties of up to $1,000 for each transaction that violates the statute. While coverage will depend upon the claimant’s allegations, the loss is likely not covered by a business’ general liability insurance policy.

A retailer may be headquartered anywhere in the country, but only the transactions conducted in the state of California are subject to the statute and its penalties.

Retailers with California transactions, consider the following tips:

  • Do not ask for customer zip codes, even if only for marketing or security purposes. Asking for this information is risky.
  • If retailers use zip codes for security measures, instead ask to see customers’ driver’s license or other forms of identification, but don’t record the information.
  • If a retailer has been recording zip code information, even if only for marketing purposes, seek legal counsel.

Source: The Hartford

September 16, 2011  

Can Your Business Survive a Natural Disaster?

I am happy to share this article from Inc. Magazine which I was interviewed for and quoted on. The basis of the article is – Don’t let a natural disaster spell ruin for your business.  Make sure you’re protected against natural disasters such as earthquakes, flood, hurricanes, tornadoes and recoup on your financial loss.

Read the article HERE

Thanks!

–JK

September 7, 2011  

Invitation To Business Networking Event, Wednesday September 14th, 2011

Do you own a business? Work in a position of sales or marketing? Just like to get out and meet new people?

I would like to invite those of you in the local area to a special Visitor’s Day Meeting of the Peninsula Referral Partners BNI Chapter of Business Network International. This is a networking group that I am part of which meets weekly in the Palos Verdes area at Rolling Hills Country Club.

BNI is a business and professional organization whose primary purpose is to exchange qualified business referrals. People who GIVE business referrals, GET business referrals. At BNI, we invite only one qualified person from each profession to join a chapter and our chapter is currently looking for various professions to pass business referrals to.

If you are interested in joining me next week, please send me a message and I would be happy to include you. I look forward to seeing you on September 14th, 2011 at 7:00am!

On the topic of networking, here are some words on building a network from from Harvey Mackay, a motivational author and speaker who focuses on business issues. These are from his book, Dig Your Well Before You’re Thirsty

  • People aren’t strangers if you’ve already met them. The trick is to meet them before you need their help.
  • If everyone in your network is the same as you, it’s not a network, it’s an anthill.
  • In networking, you’re only as good as what you give away.
  • Cream doesn’t rise to the top, it works its way up.
  • 2am is a lousy time to try to make new friends.
  • Your network is the best, most empathic, and most credible reflection of your success and your talents.
  • If you network hard for thirty-five years and build pivotal contacts in strategic areas of business, you can become an overnight success.
  • Most people think they can get by on charm alone. I wouldn’t advise it.
  • Networking is not a numbers game. The idea is not to see how many people you can meet. The idea is to compile a list of people you can count on.
  • The wise person isn’t the one who makes the fewest mistakes. It’s the one who learns the most from them.
  • When God closes a door, somewhere God always opens a window.
  • You can’t always be an expert. You can’t always know an expert. But you can always hire an expert.
  • Your best network will develop from what you do best.
  • Prepare to win — Then prepare to dazzle.

–JK