• Date: Wednesday, August 25, 2010 
• Guest:  Greg Lowe, President – Acorn Management Partners
• Listen to show. 

Welcome to the Gross Reality.  My name is Steve Gross and I will be your host for the next hour.  This is a show aimed at those of us involved in business as an owner, a motivated manager, or a young business person building their skill sets for the future.  Past seminars are available to listen to here. 

We are not a show about money, but about achievement, personal responsibility, self esteem created by real accomplishments, and the personal freedoms needed to allow these activities to occur.

Additionally, we also support and defend free enterprise, enlightened self interest and a commitment to capitalism, that is not corrupted by special deals and influenced by government.  We need to stand up to corruption, both private and public and recognize the enemy that it is to freedom and free enterprise.

As a CPA and cofounder of HLB Gross Collins, an Atlanta based regional accounting and consulting firm, I have seen, advised, invested in, and consulted with many companies.  I have seen success, failure, struggles with economic cycles or industries going through changes.  Those that accepted change as normal, and challenges as part of the choice to be in business had an advantage and, in more cases than not, have succeeded.

We are pleased to have Greg Lowe, President of Acorn Management Partners join us today to talk about the feasibility of being a public company in today’s economy and if you choose this path how to make it positive for your company. 

Since access to capital, whether debt or equity, is limited, many are looking at public markets in creative ways to access much needed growth capital, and Greg will help us understand how and why!

Before we dig into this with Greg we will feature our weekly segment – The Good – The Bad – The Ugly and activities around us that provide opportunities or represent threats to our businesses in the near future.

 Business Tip of the Week

I have featured a brief report on this topic on our blog and I will share it again today.  Progress and reality of a Virtual Back Office as a way to operate your business is more feasible and advanced than ever.  In the last year or two, bandwidth, security and functionality have come together to offer business a lower cost solution to administratively operating their businesses.

Whether a small business or a more mature business generating $50-200 million in sales, new applications are creating an available virtual market.

 Why take a look or a “new look”? 

1. Lower operating costs, as “in the cloud” replaces hardware and software in your office.
2. Automatic functions – filling out forms and scanning replaces much of the accounting activities while maintaining I.C.
3. Fewer people needed to operate and maintain it.
4. Empowers your controller by giving him automatic benchmarking and insights. 

Click here to read the full article. 

This Weeks Good

• Congress is out of session
• The president is on vacation
• No action – no mischief

The Bad

• Unemployment remains high
• Housing not improving

The Ugly

• No focus on the economy
• Distracted with mosques and other activities
• Inaction on debt, deficits, spending – future pressures from healthcare and social security.

I like to introduce Greg Lowe, President of Acorn Management Partners.  As president of Acorn Management Partners in Alpharetta, GA, Greg has worked in the financial sector, as a license financial advisor and senior vice president within the brokerage industry for over 17 years.  Greg has developed and managed private client services as well as handled institutional accounts for several regional firms.  After watching the markets evolve over the years, Greg could see that the investor relations industry was not evolving at the same pace.  Greg is using his knowledge, experience, and work ethic along with his partners to create a new perception of what investor relations should me.

• How can an every day company find opportunities in public markets?
• What are the key factors in succeeding on this path for an average company?
• How does investor relations play a key role in going public and how to you help clients in this aspect
• Why are investor relations so critical in success?
  •  Keeping people informed on factors affecting the value
  • IR as it relates to support for Board level strategic decision making
• What are some of the industries that are thriving in public markets?
• Where are they key opportunities that may often be overlooked?
• What conditions in a business make it ripe for going public?