• How Hard Can It Be?
  
  People get into business for a number of reasons. Some have a great idea. Others are tired working for someone else and are determined to find their place in the market. Still others are committed to making a difference and find that the way of the entrepreneur is the only path that makes sense. Regardless of why you choose to go into business, if you're like most people, you'll have a great knowledge of your product or craft, you'll be a good sales person, or a great manager or able to design all of the systems you will need to be a success.
  
  The odds are that you will not be all four of these people. This may leave you with perilous blind spots.
  
  Running a successful business is a matter of balance. Not unlike the example of flight, there are four opposing forces that must be held in balance before you can soar:
  
  The key is keeping the forces in balance. If any of the forces becomes stronger than the others, more effort will be required to maintain control. If the forces get far enough out of balance, the plane will crash.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Business is not that different. As shown in the graphic to the left, there are the four forces of management, sales, infrastructure and production that must be balanced.
  
  Management (lift) sets the direction of growth, as well as predicting where it will come from and its speed.
  
  Sales (drag) determines the speed at which your organization can achieve its targets.
  
  Production (gravity) tends to pull down the organization as the lack of salable good or services keep a business scrambling or an excess locks up cash flow and starves the company.
  
  Infrastructure (thrust) is the engine of the company, providing the forward thrust needed to keep the company going. Infrastructure includes the people, tools and systems needed for the company to do its business.
  
  WBP looks at you in the context of the complete business. Whether you're having a business plan done or getting systems designed, we never stop analyzing how you interact with your business and where you need support. This support may come in the form of consulting services, employees, training or infrastructure. The important thing is that someone is watching out for you, making sure you will know what you don't know so you can get to the next level.
  
  Who We Are
  
  We started WhiteBoard Partners in 2004 to deliver profitable ideas and insight to small business owners. Since opening, WBP has served over one hundred clients, providing business plans and funding searches as well as policy, process and procedure development. As the 'Business Owner's Resource', we don't just talk the talk, we're running our own business day every day and we are keenly aware of the challenges facing small businesses. We learn as much from our clients as we benefit them. The combination of our efforts are more than the sum of the parts. WhiteBoard Partners is a Woman/Minority Owned Business certified with the City and County of Los Angeles, the Orange County Transit Authority and many other state and local entities.
  
  Lydia Mehit - Partner and Owner. Lydia brings many years experience to her clients including many years spent at such giants as General Motors, Ford Motor Company, Hughes Aircraft Company, ConAgra Foods, Coca-Cola and many other national firms as wells as small and mediums size companies. She has worked the majority of her career as a consultant in the fields of computer operations, programming, systems design, data warehousing, workflow and process design and management.
  
  Peter Mehit - Managing Partner and Owner. Peter has worked in many different environments across a number of roles giving him a broad background to apply to clients in any industry. Starting as a project manager in industrial construction, he changed careers and had a successful run in information technologies, working as a programmer, project manager and department head at a manufacturing concern. During this time he refined his analytic and system development skills. These culminated in the creation of the Process Engineering Program Office for Computer Sciences Company, a group responsible for the development of policy and systems for a staff of 1,100 people engaged in the Y2K changeover. He has also worked at a consumer products startup (Anvillar) as well as an internet start up (Ocentrix) and has started and run two other businesses prior to WBP.
  
  Camille Edwards - Associate Consultant. Camille is a student at California State University at Fullerton majoring in business and marketing. She works for WBP as a researcher, drafting marketing and business plans. She also supports WBP's internal marketing efforts
  
  In addition, WBP partners with a number of specialists in fields ranging from human resources, highly integrated computers systems to bookkeeping and public accounting. We have the depth you need to get your questions answered.

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