Strictly Business on KSVY

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Strictly Business engages the people and issues of business and management history, corporate growth and profitability, entrepreneurial breakthroughs, operating successes and failures. Covering all factors contributing to Sonoma County’s economic growth and development. Kip Altman: Raised in Boston, graduated from Georgetown and the Un-O-Chicago Graduate School of Business. Worked on Wall Street and lived in New York City for many years, moved to S.F. in 2003, Glen Ellen in 2013. An active trader of stocks, author, and creator of the largest existing business history site businesshistory.com.

  1. 7h ago

    Strictly Business KSVY - Author of The Glory of Giving Everything: The Taylor Swift Business Model - Crystal Haryanto

    We will talk about: 1. This is essentially the 20th anniversary of the emergence of Taylor Swift into the music world (with the 2006 release of her first album called Taylor Swift). Is this why you undertook the book?, 2. In this book, you say that you've translated the specifics of Taylor's career into generalized patterns of thinking, strategy, and impact. How did you do that - what were you looking at or for?, 3. Market adaptability and personal branding - staying relevant through economic and cultural shifts – how translate that to music: lyrics, sound, targeted marketing?, 4. Treats her massive customer/fan base as engaged stakeholder model in her overall business ecosystem – how does that look, act?...they are customers of her creative products?, 5. Swift’s "woman of the people" persona – how different from Rihanna, Madonna, Beyonce, Celine Dion, Dolly Parton?, 6. Study of craft, talent, skill, and sharp business instincts – learned how, from whom?, Any business advisors/marketing advisors for her?, 7. Intense work ethic behind Swift's empire - shows how "giving everything" to her community generates immense corporate and personal value – can you define ‘giving everything’, 8. Modern personal branding, viral merchandising, and community-driven business scaling – how many products carry her brand name?, Any products that did not work?, Can you define ‘community’ in community-driven?, 9. Book explores how to adapt personal branding to different markets without losing your core identity. How would you define her "core identity"?, 10. Reclaiming/owning the Supply Chain, Creative Control of her reputation narrative, strategic networking, mitigating the risk of relying on legacy middle-men… Would you consider her to be a vertically integrated conglomerate?, 11. Viral marketing and merchandising - behavioral economics: keeping Output Cycle Perfection & Viral Scarcity. What is her output cycle, and how does she combine that with an attempt at scarcity to drive up the value of her products?, 12. Keeps engagement constantly high, creates natural scarcity and viral word-of-mouth momentum without relying on heavy traditional advertising. What is the definition of ‘natural scarcity’, and whose word of mouth creates momentum for consumer demand of her songs?, 13. You said that with this book, you enjoyed unearthing more facets of yourself and your writing style. What did you learn about yourself? 14. Regarding "Multiplier effect" of Taylor Swift's 'lucrative impact on local markets and global economies' (P. 108-109), is she alone in this category, or are there other performers who have achieved similar results (as mentioned above)?, 15. For those who disparage Taylor Swift - is it primarily because of her music (playing the victim, only writes about ex-boyfriends), her politics, her wealth, her business decisions - that she's a greedy businesswoman, an exploitative capitalist or all she cares about is marketing? 16. For Taylor Swift, are philanthropy and advocacy the same? 17. On September 29, Spencer Kornhaber wrote in an Atlantic article titled "Taylor Swift’s Audience Is Growing Up. Her Music Is Devolving" – ‘The singer’s music once put a clever twist on ideas about aging and adulthood. Now she just seems to be going backwards/. How do you feel about this contention? 18. In your breakdown of Taylor Swift's wealth (p. 96) - the first billionaire to make her fortune primarily from songwriting and performing - almost 80% of her net earnings come from her music catalog, concert tickets, and merchandise sales. Only 8% from record sales. Were you surprised by those numbers?, Have those numbers for her changed over the past 20 years? Guest URL: https://www.wiley.com/en-us/shop/general-introductory-business-management/the-glory-of-giving-everything-the-taylor-swift-business-model-p-9781394331451

  2. Oct 23

    Strictly Business KSVY - Owner, King's Nursery - Fred King

    We will talk about: 1. On this radio program, we love business history. King's Nursery is a 130-year-old, fourth-generation, family-owned retail plant business, the oldest continuing operating nursery in Sonoma County. You've worked there for 75 years, you've managed it for 55 years - Always a labor of love? 2. Once - more than 150 nurseries in the North Bay, especially after the war? Now there are about 15 in Sonoma County, only two in Santa Rosa? What happened? Why such a huge decrease? 3. Did you do things differently from your father after you took over management, especially as the competitive landscape in the nursery business has changed over the decades? How have your management methods changed over the years? 4. As your competition has lessened, have you expanded your inventory? Has your customer base diversified? 5. Tell us about your time hosting "Garden Talk" on various radio stations in the San Francisco area? What did listeners most want to know about? 6. Have consumer tastes for plants changed over the years? 7. Are consumers plant-knowledgeable when they come to shop? 8. Are your customers interested in California native plants? Are they interested in drought-tolerant plants? 9. How have the wildfires that have affected our region since 2017 had an impact on your business? 10. Has homeowners' insurance requirements for defensible space affected the plant choices they make or the volume they buy? 11. Has the downturn in the wine industry and the removal of so many acres of vines in the region had an impact on choices consumers make? 12. Are your customers primarily homeowners as opposed to farmers, professional landscapers or shopkeepers? Which plants sell best? 13. Has the mix of plants you carry changed over the years? If so, why? 14. Is there a seasonality to the nursery business? 15. Do customers show price sensitivity, especially during an inflationary period as we're experiencing now? If so, are they sensitive to the size of the plants or the volume of plants purchase? 16. What has been the impact of water conservation on plant selection and plant purchase frequency in recent years? 17. Has climate change affected the composition of plant sales over the years 18. What do you wish consumers understood better about plant health and plant longevity? 19. Is it painful to see homeowners replace lawns and/or plants with stones or artificial turf? Do you consider those moves to be unnecessary? 20. What would you advise a prospective new homeowner before she or he buys a new house regarding plants to purchase for landscaping purposes? 21. Do you find customers want plants for aesthetic purposes or for property value purposes? Or both? 22. What would you say is the most important ingredient in King's Nursery longevity? 23. King's Nursery is consistently rated the best in Sonoma County over the last 15 years - why? 24. Is there a fifth generation in the planning for succession? 25. Other issues you might want to discuss Guest URL: https://kingsflowernursery.com

  3. Oct 23

    Strictly Business KSVY - Author: The Rush: California Gold: The Civil War and the Making of the Modern World

    Guest: Nathaniel Philbrick, Author: The Rush: California Gold: The Civil War and the Making of the Modern World 1. What attracted you to the topic - (over the course of nine months in 1849, Nantucket, once the whaling capital of the world, lost a quarter of its voting population to the gold fields, 600 Islanders sailed to California)?, 2. Given the title of your book, can you summarize the causation or connection between California Gold and the Civil War?, 3. Ultimately, is the book about the quest to control of economic resources of California, or is it about human prejudice and bigotry?, or both?, 4. What did the South want with California - what did the South want to do with California if it became a slave state?, 5. Slavery = low cost production for the South - ‘Cotton is King’ ... motivation for California interest?, 6. Your book spans a period of roughly 21 years: 1848 to 1869. It describes the scramble for wealth reshaped ideas of freedom, labor, and belonging. What had those ideas been? How did they change?, 7. Any pre-conceived notions about the place of the Gold Rush in history?, 8. Was what happened to Nantucket emblematic of other towns, cities and regions in the U.S.?, 9. The title - double meaning? 5 rushes: - 1) Gold Rush, 2) rush for profit, 3) the rush to get California to be a free state versus a slave state, 4) The rush for federal subsidies to build the Central Pacific Railroad, 5) The rush to hire Chinese laborers to build the Central Pacific Railroad, 10. How fast did gold move from a Sierra Nevada riverbed into an actual banking and credit system?, 11. Before CA - Historically, Congress tried to admit states in pairs (one free, one slave) to maintain a strict balance of power in the U.S. Senate; how/why CA was different?, 12. Origin of the Chivalry party, especially the name? 13. Villains - William Gwin, David Terry, Thomas Jefferson Green; heroes - David Broderick, JohnFremont, Elisha Crosby, Charles Duane, Mary Ellen Pleasant?, 14. Calhoun was right - why is he the only Southern politician mentioned?, 15. Comprise of 1850 - did CA have any other choice?, 16. CA border desire by Gwin - could it have worked?, 17. Act for the Government and Protection of Indians (1850) and The California Fugitive Slave Act of 1852 - what do they reveal about the boundaries of freedom in a "free" state? 18. What was the mechanism by which gold — as opposed to speeches or elections — tipped the balance of power in Washington?, 19. What does the Gold Rush teach us about how a resource boom reshapes a region's politics, not just its economy?, 20. In the election of 1860, the topic that concerned most Californians was the transcontinental railroad, not slavery in the Western territories. Is that right? 21. Attempted coup of 1861 - Do we owe the nation's salvation to Albert Sidney Johnston, who refused to surrender the forts under his control to the Chivalry And then led Confederate forces against William Tecumseh Sherman in the Battle of Shiloh? 22. Your writing strategy - personalize each chapter/situation?, draws readers in?, makes situations more understandable? - How do you choose the handful of individual characters who carry a sprawling historical narrative like this one? (the Rosales brothers, William "Billy Joe" Joseph, Samuel Brennan, Edwin Sherman, James Williams, John Rollin Ridge, William Tecumsah Sherman, Thomas Starr King and the Big Four)?, 23. 1858 - MN (Minnesota’s statehood bill was originally paired with Kansas); 1859 - OR (only state in U.S. history admitted with a constitution that explicitly banned Black people - amended in 1926); Kansas admitted into statehood in January 1861 as the 34th free state: wasn’t balance of free/slave states lost before the Civil War began (April 1861-April 1865)?, https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/602065/the-rush-by-nathaniel-philbrick/

  4. Sep 30

    Strictly Business KSVY - Founder and Proprietor, Book Passage, Independent Book Store - Elaine Petrocelli

    We will talk about: 1. How did you get the idea for a bookstore In 1976, and what did you do after you got the idea? 2. You started hosting authors live in that same year. Considering how many books are published each year, how do you decide which authors to host? Is attendance at live authors' events predictable? In other words, the bigger the name, the more people you expect?, 3. Did you have a focus on which books you wanted to carry or which authors you wanted to carry? 4. How difficult was it to get distributors to send you books as a new bookstore owner? 5. Did you have a feeling on which books would sell best? 6. I have read that you've been credited with finding Khaled Hosseni, author of The Kite Runner. What do you think makes for a book's 'buzz'. Are there some books that you're surprised succeeded, as well as those you were surprised that failed? 7. Were there any books or authors which you refused to carry? 8. Were you surprised that Sausalito (2017-2019) did not work as a location for another Book Passage store, considering it's a major tourist town? 9. You opened in the Ferry Building in 2003. Was it hard to get space? 10. How often do you get authors to come and talk about their books? How do you attract authors to come to either of your stores? 11. Do you deal with publicists of authors' books or the authors themselves to sign them up for a personal visit? 12. Do you make your own decisions on which books to carry, or do publisher's representatives advise you on selection? 13. I read recently a person's opinion that the nonfiction book market is collapsing. Over a period of 8 years, best-selling fiction books have greatly outdistanced best-selling nonfiction books. Is that what you're finding? 14. What are the best-selling genres of books in either of your two bookstores or the region in general? 15. How have people's tastes changed over your 50 years in business? 16. How has the availability of Kindle and Audible affected the market for physical. books? 17. What is the health of the Book-selling business today versus when you began? 18. How many books per author do you decide to buy and display? 19. Which author is the best-selling of all time in your stores? 20. Have you ever thought about expanding to the South Bay? 21. Who is your biggest competition? 22. Were you surprised that Barnes and Noble opened in Corte Madera, close down and then reopened in one-sixth of the prior space? 23. Do you sell other items besides the books? Other merchandise? 24. How are different kinds of books priced by the publishers? Do all types of books carry the same profitability to you? 25. Does your staff read and recommend many of the books you carry? 26. What kind of customer feedback do you get? 27. After 50 years, upon reflection, is there anything you would have done differently? 28. What do you wish readers knew or appreciated more? 29. Do customers spend as much on books today as they have in the past? 30. What portion of your total sales is online? Did that increase significantly during the COVID era? 31. How do you compete successfully against Amazon? 32. Do you have a succession plan for Book Passage? Book Passage URL: https://bookpassage.com/

  5. Sep 23

    Strictly Business KSVY - Author of Tin Can Coast: A History of Industry, Greed and Fishing in the Golden State - Joseph Ogilvy

    We will Talk about: 1. Whole story seems a sad commentary on rational (human) expectations and behavioral economics (how human psychology, emotions, and cognitive biases influence financial and economic choices), 2. Is fishing (and ‘over fishing’) a prime example of the ultimate battle between economics and sustenance?, between market opportunity and sustainability of resources for that market? 3. Would you characterize the book as an ultimate battle between nature and man?, the frailty of human need to capitalize on perceived present opportunity at the expense of future potential?, 4. What motivated you to write this book?, 5. Was consumer awareness (or lack thereof) of source of food one of the reasons you wrote the book?, 6. How/where did you start your 5-year book writing journey?, 7. How did the California Current become the focus of your research?, 8. Why the title?, 9. Was your move to Austin, TX relevant to the development of your book thesis?, how?, 10. Was the subject matter disturbing, at times, as you wrote this book about man’s destruction of natural resources and exploitation of/violence towards - animals and immigrants? 11. ‘Hard to read intention from the archaeological record’ (Chumash foraging)- that changed with the Russian pursuit of otters? 12. ‘Every technological innovation is an ecological one’ (Chumash tomol watercraft) - short-term positive broadening of economic base, long-term destruction of ecological resources? 13. Chumash (1500s) - last people to understand the economic consequences of their actions and incentives to care about their actions? 14. The book is a cautionary tale - of what? 15. Seems clear that man will exploit/destroy the natural environment unless restrained and restricted…are we as a planet doing enough to preserve and foster nature? 16. Is this the book’s lesson - Harmony isn’t the way of the world (‘the end of the fishery in the village meant the loss of a relationship between people in the ocean. It could never be harmony’) 17. Why characterize the ‘price of entry for California’s arrival into the modern world’ was 40,000 otter pelts (1733)? 18. ‘Missions of California (1769-1833) were built to protect her otters’ - byproduct but not the essence (conversion to Catholicism)? 19. Chinese - 1852 - 20,000 left HKG for CA (gold) - anti-foreign resentment (sinophobia as they still found gold) ‘fueled by the bitterness of dashed hopes’ = ultimate human frailty & weakness? 20. Abalone - the new gold for the Chinese? (dominated CA ocean fisheries in 1860s-1870s - only people landing real quantities of seafood in CA = new source of sinophobia; national by 1870s); environmental regulation = about competition, racism (prices, catches), not environment?; 21. Chinese abalone fishery regulated out of existence by racially-targeted legislation (1872 - Exclusion Act); why were white Californians not competitive, needed regulation to compete? 22. 1902 - Cannery Row - industrial canning - preservation in tin cans = effect on sales of fish?; 1930 - Chicken of the Sea’ - effect on sales of albacore tuna? 23. Reduction (sardines): canning = entry fee to the reduction game, key to over fishing (profitability of industrial sales vs. retail sales)? 24. Arrival of Japanese immigrants = repeat of abalone and Chinese harvesters? 25. Fisheries management: farm raised vs. wild caught - is that the ultimate solution to preservation of ocean species? 26. Federal/state regulations on fishing - (CA seasonal closures on dungeness crab, sturgeon, ocean salmon, pacific halibut) = enough government protection? 27. Maximum sustainable yield - always at risk due to prospective profitability? 28. Comparable natural resource food disasters in history or present day? 29. Best success stories of natural resource rescue and restoration? 30. What do you want readers to take from the book or do after reading it? What would you want readers to do? Guest URL: https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/tin-can-coast-9781639736812/

  6. Sep 15

    Strictly Business KSVY - Co-author, Wineland; Celebrating the Heart of Sonoma - Matt Villano

    We will talk about: 1. How did you wind up in Healdsburg, since you're from Long Island and moved to Seattle before coming to California? 2. We live in an agricultural county, but it doesn't seem that you've written that much about agriculture. Is that correct? 3. Had you ever done this kind of book before?, 4. Is this book a bit of a travelogue?, 5. The blurb describes you as a food writer, but that doesn't really seem accurate?, 6. How were the 20 profiles selected: friends of Charlie Palmer, notably successful businesses in Sonoma County, high-profile individuals?, 7. Were many potential profiles rejected?, Any potential interviewees not interested in being profiled?, 8. Were the interviewees ready and willing to talk, or did you have to probe to get them to talk about themselves and their work? 9. Did you have much of a say in the layout of the contents: land, artisans, community, tomorrow?, 10. Are there any other sections or topics which you might have liked to have included in this book?, 11. Were you surprised by any of the interviewees: the work they do, how they do it, why they do it, their plans for the future?, 12. What did you learn about Sonoma County which you did not know before doing this book?, 13. What do you hope this book will do for your small business writing career?, 14. Why are you a cetacean? How do you satisfy that interest in Healdsburg?, 15. Why so much focus on Las Vegas?, 16. How long did these interviews take?, 17. Difference between doing a book like Wineland and doing guidebooks?, 18. Do you hope to be able to convert your work in Wineland into corporate work in the wine industry?, Or the restaurant industry?, 19. Is there a Wineland sequel in the future?, 20. How do you make money on this book?, 21. Tell us about your alter ego, Matty Vino?, How often is Matty out there performing, and at what kind of events?, 22. Do you hope your daughters will become writers too? Guest URL: https://whalehead.com/about/

  7. Sep 1

    Strictly Business KSVY - Author, "Brand New Beat" - Peter Richardson

    What we will talk about: 1. Why focus on Rolling Stone magazine?, 2. Why write about just the first decade of its existence, 1967-1977?, 3. Was Wenner an example of right place/right time phenomenon?, 4. Wenner wanted to be ‘the Henry Luce of the counterculture’ when he started Rolling Stone magazine - does that mean money, power, influence, fame, change the culture of the country?, was he a ’hip capitalist?, 5. Gleason & Wenner believed in the power of R&R to change society and race relations - from their perspective: what had influenced ‘youth’ before R&R?, 6. How did Wenner want RS to be characterized (trade or cultural critic, not underground)?, 7. Did Wenner see RS as a direct competitor to Ramparts magazine (former employer)?, Crawdaddy magazine?, how differentiate it?, 8. Was it music or counterculture which attracted readers?, 9. Why predominantly male, white readers (targeted demographic or existing market?, did readership profile change in the first decade?, 10. 1969 - featured black musicians on the cover six times = newsstand sales dropped significantly…why?, 11. What was RS’s relationship to the counterculture (Altamont, Manson)?, to music?, 12. How did rock and roll clarify ‘the reality of what’s happening today’ (as described by Ralph Gleason)?, 13. Wenner as ad salesman: prime ad revenue source = record labels: weakness or strength?, designed for full-page advertisements - why?, 14. What did Wenner want the magazine’s first cover (Lennon) to accomplish?, 15. ‘Much of magazine’s impact revolved around its design’ - what did that mean?, 16. Revenue impact of Annie Liebowitz and Hunter Thompson hiring? 17. Impact of Clive Davis on advertising and funding? 18. Magazine sales: record stores and newsstands (14%) - was that the preferred mix? 19. Issue #18 = circulation of about 20,000; on target or better than expected? 20. 1970 - RS reputation for being ‘viciously anti-woman; sexism = part of larger rock culture; why (no appeal to or coverage of successful female artists)?, why not seek larger audience?, 21. 1971 - impact of introduction of political coverage on magazine sales?, 22. 1975 - total readership averaged 2 million, net paid circulation = 417,000; as expected?, self-described as a “biweekly general interest magazine, covering contemporary American culture, politics, and arts with a special interest in music” = quite a change in theme?, 23. 1977 - why the move to NYC?, abandonment of readership base? 24. Your opinion: did RS ‘change society’?, how? 25. Other issues you might want to discuss Guest URL: https://www.ucpress.edu/books/brand-new-beat/hardcover

  8. Aug 25

    Strictly Business KSVY - K3 Innovation Supporter, Philanthropist - Gary Nelson

    We will talk about: 1. Take us back 56 years - did you find the market for staffing or did it find you?, 2. How did HR policies change over your years in the business?, 3. You were in HR in-house for about 10 years before starting your business - what need did you see which needed to be filled?, 4. Why retire on 2012?, hard to do?, 5. What have been the catalysts for your choices of philanthropy?, 6. Why focus on education, healthcare and the performing arts?, 7. You had some pushback in establishing Sonoma Charter School in 1995, some considered it hostile - were you surprised by the reaction?, 8. Tell us about K3 Innovation - what motivated you to get involved? 9. Hard to sell the concept?, 10. Satisfied with the results thus far (12 schools in Sonoma County)?, 11. Is reading proficiency affected more by home influences or classroom motivation?, 12. Is reading, as an activity, down amongst young persons or is it ‘multi-modal’ (books, audible, online)?, 13. How have you selected people over the years with whom you’ve worked - what did you look for?, 14. How is For You From Me Creations doing? How much money did you hope to raise - per production?, per year?, 15. Life lessons you told your son about - any additions?, 16. Would you enter the workforce management business again?, 17. Perceived effect of AI on staffing and job retention/loss?, 18. Effect of downturn in wine industry on philanthropic support in Sonoma County?, 19. Can there be too many philanthropies seeking support from a finite pool of contributors?, 20. Other issues which you might want to discuss Guest URL: https://www.k3innovation.org/

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About

Strictly Business engages the people and issues of business and management history, corporate growth and profitability, entrepreneurial breakthroughs, operating successes and failures. Covering all factors contributing to Sonoma County’s economic growth and development. Kip Altman: Raised in Boston, graduated from Georgetown and the Un-O-Chicago Graduate School of Business. Worked on Wall Street and lived in New York City for many years, moved to S.F. in 2003, Glen Ellen in 2013. An active trader of stocks, author, and creator of the largest existing business history site businesshistory.com.

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