You're Never too Young

A 2012 graduate of Bella Vista High School (BVHS) and founder of iParts & Phone Repairs, Alika sold his first product for profit when he was five years old. Always having an entrepreneurial outlook and coming from a family with a background in electronics that strongly believes in free enterprise, Alika founded his first business iPhoneReplacementParts.com when he was 13 years old, selling iPhone parts online and accepting iPhones in for repair from all over the world to his house.

He opened his first store iParts & Phone Repairs in Citrus Heights in 2009 when he was 14 and a sophomore at BVHS. His Mom, Dad and sister Kala ran the store for him while he was attending school. Alika would come in to work after school and on the weekends. As each new product like androids and tablets were introduced into the industry, he learned how to repair them and offer the service to his clients. He then began incorporating things like unlocking devices and selling cell service like Simple Mobile and H20.

As his business grew and the world started going the way of devices, he needed more technicians. He started hiring and teaching his friends that he had gone to school with all of his life. Once he graduated high school, he started running the business himself. He took certification courses to broaden his level of repair and then sent his employees to get certified so they could learn too.

In 2010 he started selling and marketing corporate accounts to his clients who were from businesses or large outfits when they walked through his door. In 2013 he added his sales and marketing director to promote his business in the field and sell corporate accounts and establish relationships with power partners such as box stores and carriers. Alika opened his Vacaville location in February 2014. Current project…opening a new store. Future project…he’ll be one of the first ones to figure out what that next new wave is and he’ll ride it!

Horst Rechelbacher: A 4th Grade Dropout Who Built a Global Cosmetics Empire

By Dick Kazan

Horst, who passed away at the age of 72 in 2014, created Aveda Corp. from modest means into a worldwide business. This is his story:

Born in Austria during World War ll, the post war years in Europe were very hard and Horst dropped out of the 4th grade to help his family during those difficult times. Later, at age 14, Horst became an apprentice barber and by the age of 17, had become a hair stylist in Rome and subsequently in London and then New York.

To build his reputation and his clientele, Horst participated in beauty show competitions and held seminars, when in 1965, while in Minneapolis he was in a horrific automobile accident. Horst was fortunate to survive and it took six months for him to recover, leaving him deeply in debt. But during those six months, he fell in love with the American Midwest and never left.

To pay his bills, he opened a salon, Horst & Friends in Minneapolis, with just himself and two other people. Over time, this salon grew into a small chain of salons. Horst also began creating shampoos and other natural beauty care products which he formulated in his kitchen sink. Ultimately, those products led to his big break, when at nearly 37 years of age he founded Aveda Corp. in 1978.

Horst opened Aveda Concept Salons and he created a broad line of natural beauty products, and nontoxic household cleaners. He also offered coffee beans, herbal teas, nutritional supplements, books and jewelry, with many of his products eventually available in 25,000 stores and salons across the globe. In 1997, Horst sold Aveda to beauty conglomerate Estee Lauder for a reported $300 million.

After selling Aveda, Horst built Intelligent Nutrients, which specializes in natural, organic earth friendly beauty and health products, many of which he grew on his 570 acre organic farm and retreat center in Osceola, Wisconsin.

How passionate was Horst about natural, organic earth friendly products? His classic words were, "Don't put anything on your skin that you wouldn't put in your mouth." At trade shows and in interviews, Horst would demonstrate this principle by drinking hair spray and other of his company's products, mixed in water. "Absolutely delicious," he would proclaim. "This hair spray could be sold as a nutritional supplement."

Editor’s notes: Dick Kazan is the author of the website Kazan Today. For more entertaining and compelling real-life stories with valuable lessons on how to succeed in business and in life, visit www.kazantoday.com.

Confidence

By Dr. Andrade

A bright and beautiful smile goes a long way. When I come home, the first thing I look for is the smiles of my kid’s faces. I always give them a hug and a kiss and let them know how much I care for them. Same thing goes for my wife. Her smile still warms my heart.

As a dentist, I know I can impact someone’s life in a very positive way. I meet people almost every day that are shy or embarrassed about showing their smile due to some flaw they haven’t taken care of yet. It could be a missing tooth, a broken tooth, stained yellow teeth, a crooked smile, swollen gums, bad breath or a loose denture. Everyday, I get to help someone smile bigger, feel more confident, eat better and get out of pain. It’s a hard job, but very rewarding. I get up every morning, up to the task to help someone finally be able to smile with the smile they deserve and radiate to the world everything they are. A friendly and beautiful smile is a welcome sight in an language.

For the upcoming year, put your best smile forward. My team and I are ready to see you and give you the smile you deserve.

Dr. Philip W. Brickner: A doctor who made house calls on the poor

By Dick Kazan

Philip, who at 85 recently passed away in his Bronx, New York home did what few other doctors do. He became a doctor to the poor and the homeless.

It began in 1969 when Philip and his colleagues at St. Vincent's Hospital in New York realized they were getting a flood of elderly and sickly men in the emergency room. It turned out the men were coming from a nearby rundown hotel that housed 1200 men, including drug addicts and recently released convicts. They each lived in a 6 by 8 foot chicken wire and cinder block cubicle.

When Philip and his colleagues went to this hotel, they saw severe health issues and also injuries inflicted by some of the stronger men on the weaker ones. Philip setup a "free clinic" at that hotel, which he and his colleagues operated three times a week. He formed teams, comprised of a doctor, nurse, social worker and electrocardiograph technician, to call on them. Philip also added daily visits to the sickest.

This was the start of Philip providing free medical care to the poor and doing it where they lived. Over time his patients included people who were homebound by physical limitations, including in some cases, the infirmities of old age, as well as disabled children and AIDs patients.

Why did he do this? "There is no point in a doctor in a clinic telling someone to go home, elevate her leg and take antibiotics when she has no home and no money," Philip told The Boston Globe in a 1990 interview.

One of Philip's greatest achievements was during the 1980's when he ran a pilot program in 19 cities, providing medical care to the homeless. This pilot program led to the McKinney-Vento Homeless Act of 1987, providing extensive medical care to shelters and food lines, patterned on Philip's work. Today, this law, its amendments and newer programs provide services in 249 cities.

For Philip, it came down to this: He was a strong advocate of doctors, black bags in hand, going anywhere patients needed them. And by his actions he set the example.

Editor’s notes: Dick Kazan is the author of the website Kazan Today. For more entertaining and compelling real-life stories with valuable lessons on how to succeed in business and in life, visit www.kazantoday.com.

Family First for Leo the Landscaper

By Bob Cox

Are you familiar with the old saying, “It’s nothing personal, it’s just business?” Well, I've never been particularly fond of that philosophy because it often rationalizes ruthless and self centered practices. Fortunately, I’m not alone as more and more business people are seeing the benefits of making business a very personal experience. Leonid Gopa, a.k.a. Leo the Landscaper, happens to wholeheartedly agree.

Leo is the owner of Blue Jays Landscaping in Rancho Cordova and he has a refreshing and unique approach to doing business. “The philosophy of my business is to free up people’s time whenever they come home from a long day of work and commuting. When most people come home, they face even more work do around the house. Maybe they come home to a front yard that’s full of leaves, with grass that needs to be cut and bushes that need to be trimmed. My philosophy is to give time back to those people so that they can spend their valuable time, their most precious commodity with their families. A lot of families don’t get that time; especially kids nowadays. They don’t get enough attention from mom and dad.

Q: You mentioned that you are an avid reader of positive and inspiring books. How did you get started?

A: I used to be an account representative of a company that sold nutritional meal replacement shakes. When I first joined the company, I received a subscription of Success Magazine. In the first magazine I got, it contained a motivational CD from Jim Rohn. I liked it so much I began craving more of that information. My favorite speakers and authors are Jim Rohn, Zig Ziglar and Brian Tracy. I love listening to positive motivation and right now I am currently reading Motivation Manifesto by Brendon Burchard. His book is about motivating people to pursue their dreams.

Q: How has reading positive books helped you grow personally and professionally?

A: First of all, it has opened up my eyes a lot more and I now see things that I never paid attention to before. I've heard this quote many times, “Little things don’t mean anything, little thing mean everything.” So, you have to pay attention to all the details around you in order to really enjoy life.

Q: What sets you apart from other lawn care maintenance companies?

A: I am a family oriented person. I have two young kids and a young wife who just turned 23 a couple days ago. I know what I expect from my life, I know what my kids want out of me as their dad and I know what my wife wants out of me and that’s how I came up with my philosophy for my business. She never gets enough of my attention and the same thing is going on with many other families. I want to help other people so that I can spend more time with my family and help the people I serve spend more time with each other. I’m not really looking to make money. I’m looking to help people.

Besedka Johnson: Who at Age 85 Became an Actress

By Dick Kazan

Most people assume that someone 85 has accomplished all they ever will. But life is filled with surprises. 85 year old Besedka was swimming at a Hollywood Y.M.C.A. and unbeknownst to her the movie “Starlet” was being cast.

Movie executive Shih-Ching Tsou spotted Besedka and as she later told the New York Times, “When I saw her [Besedka] at the gym, I was stunned. I thought, ‘This lady is who we are looking for.’ “ She took a photo of Besedka and texted it to the movie’s director, Sean Baker, who texted back he was interested. Ms. Tsou informed Besedka what was happening.

Besedka was stunned and pleased, for in her youth she had dreamed of becoming an actress, yet never did. But afterward, she had serious concerns and she discussed those concerns with her son Jim, who is in the film industry. Who are these people and what is the film about? And why at age 85 are they interested in her, a person who has never acted?

Jim looked into the movie and the production company and encouraged his mother to pursue it. He later told The New York Times, “I said; ‘Mom, do you know how many waiters and waitresses have slaved throughout their lives for the chance to get to do what you’re doing? Do it!’ “

With her son’s encouragement, Besedka pursued it. She learned her lines, auditioned and landed the role. “She was already convincing and I knew she would get more convincing,” Sean Baker the director told The New York Times. “She came prepared.”

The movie was filmed over 25 days in the San Fernando Valley summer heat. When Besedka complained to her son about the heat, “I laughed at her,” he told The New York Times. “I said, ‘Mom, you’re in your first movie and you’re already a prima donna.’ “.

Born Beatrice Vivian Divic on October 5th, 1925 in Detroit, Besedka moved to California in her teens, and was briefly a model. She changed her name to “Besedka” during the 1960’s to match the name of a dress shop she owned in the San Fernando Valley. The name Johnson came from her first husband whom she divorced in the 1950’s and a second marriage ended in divorce as well.

But in 2012 when the movie was released, 86 year old Besedka became a star, starring opposite Dree Hemingway, daughter of actress Mariel Hemingway. Besedka played “Sadie,” a tough, lonely elderly woman with no family. Sadie is befriended by 21 year old Dree Hemingway’s character “Jane” in a heartwarming cross-generational story, in which both women’s difficult lives are uplifted by the presence of the other.

“Starlet” is such a fine film, that in 2013 it won the Robert Altman Award at the Film Independent Spirit Awards, and last year, Besedka received special recognition for her performance at the South by Southwest film festival in Austin, Texas.

But on April 4th, 2013 87 year old Besedka passed away from a bacterial infection in Glendale, Calif. She is survived by Jim and two other sons, Marc and Lloyd and by two grandchildren. However, in addition to the joy of her family, the last year of her life became something special. “My inner voice is like: ‘Come on, I’m 86 years old. Who the hell wants somebody at this period [in life] …,’ said Besedka last year about becoming an actress. “But I loved being Sadie.”

Editor’s notes: Dick Kazan is the author of the website Kazan Today. For more entertaining and compelling real-life stories with valuable lessons on how to succeed in business and in life, visit www.kazantoday.com. 

Moving on UP . . . Next Door.

By Dave Trux & Walter Ford

In the course of a life of a business, it grows and needs change. The first shop we had was 6,500 feet and had a nice waiting room but had its limitations and shortcomings. We didn't have a dedicated bathroom for our customers, which is extremely important to us. Our techs did a good job keeping the bathroom clean but not customer clean. We consider the shop an extension of our homes and wanted it to be as clean, nice, well lit, warm and comfortable as you would feel if you were in our house, which this place really is to us.

Our new building, which is right next door, has a dedicated waiting room that’s completely separate from the sales area and the offices. We have a couple of couches now, so when there is more than one customer waiting, they don’t feel so crowded. We have a huge flat screen TV to watch, a coffee maker and it’s now like a really nice living room.

The techs out in the shop work more efficiently and are much happier when they’re not working in temperatures of 110 degrees that feels like a hot box. In our new 9,100 square foot facility, we have a dedicated clean room for building engines and a dedicated lounge area for the techs with their own closets and bathroom. The work space itself has coated floors, which was a great cost that helps keep the shop clean. The coated floor reflects the lights back up underneath the cars, so our techs can see better while they’re working. Most importantly, the building is fully insulated. When the weather outside was in the triple digits, the temperate in the shop was 25 degrees cooler! In a concrete building, when the walls get heated up, it will hold the heat for quite some time. The old building actually shields the new building from the sun, so we don’t have that problem anymore. The work area, even on triple digit days will stay around 78-82 degrees, so it’s really nice.

So, this move will be better for our customers and better for our employees. Better employees’ equals’ better quality work, which again benefits our customers! Our new facility is very nice and clean and looks more like a showroom now. Finally, we are also dedicated to keeping our environment clean by making our business as green as possible. We've always printed our invoices on two sides and this building is much more efficient with respect to heating and cooling, so we’re much happier as well!

The Value of Supporting Local Businesses

By Bob Cox

The creation of the internet has been an amazing technological advancement for society. With the click of a button, we have instant access to information that adults back-in-the-day would tell us nosy little brats, I mean darling young children like me to either look it up in a dictionary, encyclopedia or peddle our fat little fannies down to the local library. Rather than resort to such “extremes”, I took great joy in making up stuff that sounded reasonable in my convoluted little mind. I guess that’s how I landed my current job as publisher of this fine magazine!

The ease of access to gobs of information is of course just one of the many things the internet provides to the masses. Another is the convenience of shopping online and having products delivered to our front door, oftentimes at a savings over conventional retail shopping. That convenience does come at a cost, not only to ourselves but to our local community as well.

Every dollar we spend outside our neighborhood represents one less dollar for local businesses to hire more help or simply survive. It’s no great secret that many businesses have moved out of our beautiful state as California has become an increasingly hostile environment to do business in. Texas Governor Rick Perry hasn't exactly been shy about poaching large businesses from California by pitching them on why his state is a great place to do business in. Over the past 23 years, I’ve heard thousands of local business owners complain about the escalation of clever fees, tax hikes and costly imposed improvements that squeeze away their shrinking profits like a financial vise.

With all the challenges that we have faced not so long ago during the Great Recession, I totally understand the value and importance of making every dollar stretch, so when the savings from buying on-line is substantial, it can be very difficult to rationalize buying local. On the other hand; if the savings is relatively small while the benefits to our community is obviously great, it makes perfect sense to resist the temptation to push the computer tab that adds it to the shopping cart.

I spoke with my good friend and local business owner Millie Finch (Owner of Trends-n-Treats Pet Supply-Spa-Boutique in Fair Oaks) the other day about the subject of supporting local businesses. Here’s how our conversation went.

Q: Why do you think it’s important for our community to support local businesses?

A: Supporting locally owned businesses can help prevent national chains from monopolizing the market, and help maintain the character and closeness of a community like ours, that so many of us enjoy and consider a privilege being a part of. It’s a really good feeling knowing you are making a difference by shopping at locally owned small businesses’.

Q: Does supporting local businesses improve our local economy?

A: Yes it does. The money spent at locally owned businesses often stays within the community and helps create and provide job opportunities to help stabilize a thriving business community.

Q: Should consumers expect friendlier and more attentive service from locally owned businesses?

A: They sure can at Trends-n-Treats! That’s one of the most distinguishing differences and draw of our small locally owned business compared to a corporate box store shopping experience. Corporate policy often doesn't allow their employees to provide the one-on-on service; therefore, employees may not have the same enthusiasm and passion to help customers with their needs and questions beyond say, what they can read to a customer that’s printed on the back of the package. At Trends-n-Treats, we have the ability to take the time to listen to our customer’s pet needs and help them with difficult questions, especially in regards to proper pet nutrition, because we have a true passion for what we do and because we can provide answers that are backed by research.

Q: As a local business owner, are you now more inclined to shop with other locally owned businesses?

A: Always have and always will! I love the friendly, personal service and the consistency of seeing the same faces who know me and my family. I also appreciate a store’s ability to custom order outside their current inventory, which is something we do at Trends-n-Treats. Our customers often tell us that our store is one of the few places their pets feel comfortable and excited to visit, because they've come to know our family and can sense how much we truly care about and look forward to seeing them.

Q: What are some of the best ideas you've implemented to network with other locally owned businesses? 

A: Being active in my local chamber of commerce attending & holding business mixers and participating in charitable and other community events. Here’s one example: This month, Trends-n-Treats is participating along with other local business owners to bring new customers into each of our business’ by donating to the HUGE Go-For-It Sweepstakes giveaway that’s going to bless one very lucky winner!

Q: Our magazine was created to motivate and inspire our readers to break through fears and self-limiting beliefs to live an extraordinary life. What have been the greatest fears you've faced, either in your personal life or in business and how have you overcome them? 

A: Greatest personal fears...health issues, finances and loss for both me and my family. Business wise; a few years back, our store Trends-n-Treats was located inside another shopping center. We had been there four years when a large corporation moved one of their pet boutique stores in next to us. We were in the midst of a downward economy and although we gave it all we had, there was no way for our family business to survive next to the big guys. All of my eggs in one basket, so to speak, with my family, my staff and my own livelihood at stake, I became filled with fear! With support of our local business community and our customers, I put on the shield of faith and entered into major survival mode! On a wing and a prayer, we moved Trends-n-Treats to a brand new location. I gained so much from that experience both personally and business wise.

Q: What are the greatest joys and challenges of owning a family run business? How have you dealt with the challenges?

A: I opened my business to provide a future for my family. It brings great joy to my heart knowing everyday I get to wake up and work alongside the people I love the most and get to spend time with even in a working environment. One of the greatest challenges stems from the same seed. Not every second of the day does every family member see eye to eye regarding the decisions made, but at the end of the day we’re all family and look past our differences, making sure we keep the support strong for each other and for the business.

Q: With the holiday season in full swing, what are some great gifts to give to people that love their pets?

A: Breed specific items, especially for dog lovers such as shirts, socks, jewelry, plaques, cards, magnets, note pads, aromatherapy pet candles and so on! For Cat lovers the same, plus laser toys, unique bat around feather wands, toy mice etc. would be purrrrrfect. Trends-n-Treats is proud to carry unique and locally made cat trees, pet collars, beds, soft and tough pet toys and so much more! When you visit friends and family, remember to bring gifts for their pets such as cat nip for the cats or healthy chews and specialty treats for the doggies!

The Presence and Presents of Joy

By Bob Cox

The best year of my childhood occurred every year I that can remember from Thanksgiving weekend until Christmas Day. From Thanksgiving Day until December 25^th, I was completely swept up in holiday cheer. Everything about Christmas excited me. No show or cartoon on TV about Christmas was too sappy or contrived to miss. Every Christmas song I heard, every Douglas Fir I inhaled and every snow scene I saw that was painted on the windows of local businesses made my heart race with anticipation. During that incredibly long four week period, I was locked in and “present minded”!

Would today be the day my parents headed for the mall, throw financial caution to the cool ocean winds of South Torrance and bestow upon me another bounty of gifts that I truly did not deserve? When no one was looking, which was often, I would sneak around the house like a young Sherlock Holmes, snooping for hidden treasures under beds, in closets and anywhere else my curiosity took me. My excitement would reach a crescendo once the gifts were wrapped and nestled under the tree as my imagination of what was concealed went wild.

Then, after each season was over, I found myself dreading the inevitable letdown. Within a few hours after all the presents were unwrapped, I would feel an empty sadness after riding so high on that magical holiday wave. Once I became a teenager, the thrill of Christmas waned over time until it became just another holiday. I truly missed the fun and excitement of such anticipation, but had no idea how to get that back.

As an adult, I have discovered the joy of planning vacations with my wife Diana, even when we don’t end up going! Shortly after I begin planning our trip, I start to feel that same excitement I did when I was a kid during Christmas. Once we leave, within a few minutes I feel a great relief at the thought of leaving all my responsibilities behind. From there, I try hard to stay in the moment, even when things don’t go according to plan.

As I look back on these memories, I now realize that I wasn't exactly experiencing the present moment. I was actually thinking and planning ahead for a future event. One could make a strong argument that during those experiences, I wasn't practicing the awesome power of being present minded by living in the here and now. On the other hand, those encounters helped me experience real joy in the present moment and isn't that what we all ultimately want more of in our lives?

I believe that the key to life is to have as much joy as we can while we are here and share this joy with the people we love. Does it really matter if we find great joy reminiscing about the past, being completely present with our surrounding environment or planning our next great adventure? It brings me joy to think not!

Jaime Escalante: How He Became One of the World's Most Respected Teachers

By Dick Kazan

Jaime, who passed away at 79 in 2010, became famous from the 1988 movie, "Stand and Deliver." This movie told the dramatic story of how Jaime captured the imaginations of his Garfield High School students in East Los Angeles, 99% of whom were Hispanic and most of whom were poor. He led them to remarkable academic achievements. But the most dramatic story may be Jaime's.

Born in Bolivia in 1930 to school teacher parents, Jaime was raised by his mother after his parents divorced when he was 9. As a young man Jaime was a top student at Normal Superior, a Bolivian teachers college, where he met his wife Fabiola. She encouraged him to go to the U.S. for a better future for Jaime Jr. (the couple would later have another son, Fernando).

With just $3,000, 33 year old Jaime arrived in Los Angeles on Christmas Eve, 1963. He didn't speak English but soon sent for his wife and son, after landing a job cleaning tables and mopping floors at a Pasadena coffee shop.

Jaime learned English at Pasadena City College, where he also studied physics and math. As he learned English, he got a better paying job at a Pasadena electronics firm, where he became an outstanding employee.

But Jaime's heart was in teaching and in 1974 at age 43 he quit his job and took a big pay cut to teach at Garfield High School. "My friends said, 'Jaime, you're crazy.' But I wanted to work with young people," he told The Los Angeles Times. "That's more rewarding for me than the money."

Jaime's specialty was calculus, which the school had not previously taught, believing its students weren't capable of learning it. But with his charm, Jaime took control in what had been difficult class rooms and also entertained his students with impressions, jokes and props as he motivated them to succeed. The result was incredible.

Eventually Jaime had his inner city kids achieving top calculus scores and high scores in other subjects on Advanced Placement college exams, as many of them went on to higher educations. Because of Jaime influencing so many young minds, we now have many more doctors, attorneys, businesspeople, engineers, managers and teachers, who in turn are guiding numerous young minds down the path to success today.

Editor’s notes: Dick Kazan is the author of the website Kazan Today. For more entertaining and compelling real-life stories with valuable lessons on how to succeed in business and in life, visit www.kazantoday.com.