Q: Good Morning. What markets or industries do you see expanding in Upstate NY in the next 5 to 10 years?
A: Other than Welch Allyn....I would hope there will be a whole new series of industries based on the technologies that are available in our universities.

Q: What is the best networking group or method for small businesses?
A: it depends on your industry and where your customers are located. For example, we are a manufacturer and the Manufacturer's Association of Central New York is a great networking group of fellow manufacturing leaders. Nationally the NFIB is a great resource for small businesses, especially the under 10 employee business. There is also YPA, Young President's Association, which is a networking group of younger leaders.

Q: Good morning, I started a small business 10 months ago, but I am still working my previous job. How will I know when to make the transition to go full time with my venture?
A: When you have that feeling that you are really on to a winner. A good gut feeling.

Q: What was the first job you held for the company?
A: We bought an old building that had not been occupied for many years. I had the important job of putting the putty on all the window panes. It was a pain. My brother and I did every window. We painted and cleaned the ducts in the building as well.

Q: Hi, do you feel that the 9/11 event will have an impact on the Central New York economy?
A: Certainly it already has. Both positive and negative. For medical products it has been positive. Same with our inspection equipment. Yet, with the decline in airline travel it could also be negative.

Q: How is the best way to finance a new small business
A: With Welch Allyn, back in 1915, my grandfather borrowed money from his uncle. He didn't really trust banks and looked to the family for funds. It all depends on the magnitude of the business. If you are just starting up, borrow from friends. Don't dilute yourself with equity and don't give away too much.

Q: How long did it take for your business to grow from a small to medium sized business?
A: Many, many decades. We started in 1915 with two employees; Dr. Welch, and my grandfather, William Noah Allyn. Eighteen years later in the middle of the depression, my father wanted to join the family business, but the business could not afford to add another employee - even the owner's son. So he went to optometry school, and when he graduated, the business could hire him and he became the eighth employee. It was not until after World War II that our family business really started to grow in size. But it was not until the mid 1970's that we really started to grow into a medium-sized business. It has been a long time, but it is important not to grow any faster in your infrastructure until you can afford those added costs.

Q: What do you see is the best way to motivate your employees?
A: Welch Allyn works on this very hard. The best way by far is constant communication on how the business is doing. We try to educate our people on the business and take on goals. We all share in the benefits when they are made.

Q: Do you see the Internet as truly beneficial for small business?
A: I think it is absolutely essential for small business.

Q: What made you decide to start your own business?
A: I didn't. It was started by my grandfather in 1915. We started the business within the business. We took the core technology into other businesses. Look for other opportunities to exploit your core technology.

Q: What do you mean "don't give away too much"?
A: In an early stage development you don't want to give away too much of the future. How do you know what is too much? Try to maximize your borrowing capabilities. Once you have exceeded those, you may be in a position to have to give away equity.

Q: Hello Mr. Allyn. This is an honor - I am a big "fan" of your company. What basic "ground rules" if any, do you and your family have to keep business and family relationships productive (on the business side) and loving/trustful (on the family side)?
A: Constant communication. Keeping everyone up to date all the time. We have someone who manages the family aspect of it. When you have 3 - 4 generations around, it isn't always easy. We have Don Nelson that works for us that does this and more. Start family members while they are in high school and college.

Q: How do you communicate your strategy to all employees? This is our company's biggest challenge.
A: We have quarterly meetings where we meet with everyone for 2 hours. The presentations are given based on the progress of the Company. We keep everyone up to date including where we are in meeting our financial goals. This is important for them for their incentive pay. We always end the session with questions and answers.

Q: You mentioned something about inspection equipment. What sort of products do you offer in this area?
A: In 1984 our research and development folks invented the world's first miniature video-based inspection equipment. It was first used to inspect the inner plumbing of people like you and me, essentially by inserting a miniature TV camera down the throat or up the rectum. The same technology has since been expanded to go into engines and machines without having to disassemble the machines. For example, we can inspect a jet engine while it is still on the plane and get the plane back into the air whereas in the past, the engine would have to be disassembled for inspection. The key here is to always look for other markets for your products. Even though we originally invented this product in 1984 as an extension of our medical business to look inside the human body, we were able to see a market outside of our normal business.

Q: In what areas do you expect the fastest growth for Welch Allyn in the next five years?
A: We have three companies within Welch Allyn. We have medical, wireless barcode and miniature lamp manufacturing today. And obviously I hope that all three will grow, but I believe that the medical will grow much faster because it has a much stronger international presence.

Q: Can you exploit your core technology if it is retail or service?
A: Sure. You just have to understand what it is. If you have core technology you can. Look at what UPS has done with package tracking.

Q: Mr. Allyn - What are the greatest (and worst) attributes of doing business in Central New York?
A: Our market place is much greater than Central New York. We have to constantly watch our taxes. They are much too high. The bureaucracy is still too slow. Too many layers to act on anything. We have to go through 4 layers of government before we can do anything. We have a North Carolina operation. In 1986, we built a new factory. From the time we selected the land to the time the building was built took only 90 days. An amazing feat! The positive side of doing business in Central New York are that things are getting better on the tax side. We have great universities, good water, and a great energy company who will work with its customers. The workforce is excellent - we are truly blessed.

Q: Do you have a large overseas market?
A: Yes. Our goal is to get to about 40% of our sales for international. We are currently at 30%.

Q: Thank you for your time.
A: You're welcome, thank you for yours as well.

Q: Do you think Welch Allyn will ever go public?
A: My father had a great saying "You can only go public once". We have yet to find a good reason to do it. However, we have split the company into thirds. The bar code division may go public in the next 5 years. A small business cannot go public because it needs to have a certain critical mass of sales and profits. However, if the owner wants to it can sell off to another business or they could sell to their employees through an employee stock ownership program.

Q: What factors influenced your decision to split the company into thirds, or three separate businesses?
A: All of the businesses started from a common base. As these spin-off companies from medical started growing, even though the core technologies are similar, the markets are different. It became cumbersome to keep them under one entity. By dividing them, each had separate, distinct business. In order to successfully grow these businesses, we have separate Boards and separate Presidents. We keep in touch to grow on the core technology because each company's innovations can help the other.

Q: Over the past 15 years what changes have you had to make in order to remain successful?
A: We entered into quality programs and the computer age. We are getting ready to launch many initiatives in these areas. Meeting the customers' requirements all the time as well as being the low-cost provider all the time is the way to be successful. You can't be one and ignore the other. We spend 8 - 9 percent in new product development. We are having a great sales year due to new products. To grow, you can't keep selling your old products. You need to continue to add new products all the time - otherwise someone will do it for you.

Q: Is there anything you would have done differently if you could do it all over again?
A: Certainly. We don't have all successes. We had some financial disasters and I would have avoided those like the plague the second time around.

Q: What was your most effective marketing promotion?
A: I can think of a lot of them. Do you know when the doctor looks in your ear? One of our employees had an idea to put a disposable tip on the otoscope. We found a company named Pfizer Pharmaceutical that came up with a drug for ear problems. They bought them and put their name on them and gave them for free to all the doctors in the United States. The doctors loved them and they became a great purchased product. Another marketing technique was getting to the doctor before they received their medical degree, while they were still medical students. We gave them every service they possibly wanted so they had a happy experience with Welch Allyn.

Welch Allyn started back in 1915 as a small family business and now is recognized as a world leader of medical instrument manufacturing. Mr. Allyn knows what it takes to grow a small starting business into a profitable business. Please feel free to chat with Mr. Allyn.

Q: Was the vision for Welch Allyn in 1915 the same as it is today?
A: Certainly much more expanded today covering many more areas of medicine, bar coding and inspection manufacturing. Initially the product enabled the doctors to see. Doctor Welch and William Noah Allyn had a vision of using new technologies of batteries and miniature lamps and applied them to handheld medical products. They created ear and eye scopes. They were very limited to these two products. My vision has always been to be the leading provider of medical instruments in the doctor's office and related hospital environments. We can even check vision in children 2 years old. We can check for hearing loss on a newborn child. We can check for glaucoma quicker and more accurately than ever before. We can check for body temperature within 4 seconds. We are way beyond that vision that was set in 1915. We always have innovated and improved.

Q: Was there any tax incentives or relief for Welch Allyn when it divided the company into three separate companies
A: No. The important thing to remember is to make business decisions based on what is best for the business first. Taxes are merely a cost of doing business and should always be minimized however, we did not receive any incentives or relief nor did we expect any.

Q: What was the first position, after you did your time installing putty on the windows, that you held at Welch Allyn. What path did you take?
A: After graduating from college, I spent three years in the Cost Guard in Oregon. I returned to Welch Allyn and became the third sales person. Today we have over 200 sales people. My territory went from Maine to Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. During my sales years, we perfected a fiber optic medical product and by the most fortunate luck imaginable we found that there were applications for the same technology within the computer industry. Then Welch Allyn started manufacturing card readers for computer companies.

Follow-up to Mr. Allyn's career path....I was made Vice President to pursue that market.

Q: Do you have a favorite philosophy - in either business or in your personal life?
A: I suppose it would be that you can never surround yourself with too many good people.

Q: We are looking for a way to promote the construction business? What would you suggest?
A: A blooming economy in Central New York. You need a very aggressive campaign to promote the benefits your area.

Q: What benefits do I have to offer my employees to retain them? Since I am a very small business, I don't have the "creative funding" that larger businesses have available.
A: In most companies their most important asset is their people. You need to do your best to attract and retain good people. You have to be competitive with employee benefits or else you will not be able to attract nor retain the good people you need to grow your business. Certainly full time employees would expect and should get reasonable health care coverage and paid time off for vacation. In the late 1940's Welch Allyn was one of the first companies in the area to offer pension benefits for its full time employees. Seven years ago we built a new in-house fitness facility. Obviously we could afford to do these things, but remember there is an immeasurable benefit of a happy workforce who can help you grow your business and be successful.

Q: What advice would you give small businesses to help them make inroads with larger companies like Welch Allyn?
A: Very simply - how can you best help your partners. If you have something that will help make Welch Allyn more strong and effective. We are constantly looking to improve and we are looking for innovative products and better ways of doing business. You need something that is innovative and distinctive in a crowded field.

Q: Have you found any problems with workers compensation rates rising or not accessible for smaller businesses?
A: I think throughout the state there is a very big problem. At Welch Allyn we have taken a number of actions to reduce workers compensation. We have a physical fitness center. We have put in a program and experts from the field to reduce the chance of injuries anywhere. We drove this as far as we could but could not go any further. Our Company nurse believes in sharing the cost savings of the reduced claims. This is a motivation for them. This gets the message across that safety is important and that when Welch Allyn workers comp. cost goes down we share the savings with employees by distributing $400 checks each spring to a randomly selected group of employees.

Q: Do you have any tips for dealing with costly business taxes in NYS?
A: Join the business council to put pressure on the State to reduce government spending and put more accountability into the State agencies. With less spending there is less need for taxes.

Q: What do you think about the proposed new mall development - DestiNY U.S.A.
A: I think my wife spends too much time shopping already.

Q: It has been a privilege to chat with you, Mr. Allyn. Thank you.
A: Thank you for joining our online chat.

Q: Mr. Allyn, you mentioned that Welch Allyn has more than just a local presence. Do you also market worldwide? If so, where would you start (i.e. find partners overseas, Internet marketing, etc.) ?
A: Yes, we sell to every country today with the exception of any country we are not legally able to sell in. Start where the customs are as similar as possible. Be sure there is a need for your product and where the environment matches your current markets. A product that may sell well here could not sell in another. For instance, if the country does not look in eyes and ears then that would be a difficult market to sell. I would encourage you to make the effort because it is worthwhile.

Q: Mr. Allyn, thank you for this opportunity to chat with you!
A: You're welcome. Thank you for joining the chat.

Q: Does Welch Allyn use the Internet to sell products online?
A: Just beginning too. We have been historically 100% distribution. We have great loyalty with our distributors and partners. There are some instances where a doctor could get simple $5 - 10 items in a convenient manner. Opportunities to better serve our customers but not sever the relationships with our distributors/partners. We currently use the Internet heavily for order tracking and status is available at www.welchallyn.com. Selling products is not just closing the sale. It is promoting the product. The ability to instantly get information to your customer about a product is beneficial. No more old catalogs and price sheets.

Q: Why Skaneateles New York?
A: Very simple reason -- the fishing is good. My grandfather was an avid fisherman. He looked around and found that fishing was good in Skaneateles. He also found it was great in Naples, Florida. Both are great real estate investments.

Q: Thanks for spending your time with us! Back to Monday business.
A: It has been my pleasure!

Q: What is the best way to "get to know" your customers?
A: Get out in the field with them. View your product in use. When I was entering the medical sales force, one of the requirements was that you had to have all the medical products used on you. We would go to the hospital and experience the application. Find something that can distinguish your company.

Q: Have you ever had team building workshops with your employees?
A: All the time. Constantly.

We are big believers in education! We even have built our own training center in Skaneateles.

Q: What other types of market intelligence do you use, keeping costs in mind?
A: We have all types of surveys that we subscribe to. We also do individual surveys and subscribe to publications. We look at government statistics and other types of services. You really need to be careful with surveys. We used Syracuse University's management to help us craft the questions to make sure we were getting meaningful responses. We also have meetings with Doctors to take the instruments blindly (not knowing the manufacturer) to get their true reaction.

Q: How do you keep your employees informed?
A: Newsletters, quarterly update meetings. The presidents of all the companies get up and talk. They discuss where we are with our goals and new product development. We try to keep them very excited about the future.

Mr. Allyn says we even have dances (sock hops and square) and Easter egg hunts - 300 kids showed up. I was the one wearing the Easter Bunny costume. This is important that employees see the CEO is reachable. It shows my human side.

Q: What do you feel was your biggest business challenge in the last 5 years?
A: Hmmm.. That is a good question. Personally, it is probably the computers and the Internet and staying current with changes and opportunities. How to stay with it.

Q: Hi Mr. Allyn, what do you feel is the best way to post help wanted ads? Many larger companies are using the Internet now, but we still find that the Sunday Classified Ads prove the best for our company. Are we "behind the times"?
A: We have found www.davincitimes.org for technical people has been wonderful. This is a website advertising employment opportunities in Central New York. For the non-technical jobs, we have a backlog of people that want to come in. We don't have to do too much advertising. Our biggest problem is financial, sales and marketing areas. We really go all out trying to look out for our people. Our people take that message out to their friends.

Q: What newspapers to you read with your coffee on Sundays?
A: I try to catch up on the Wall Street Journals I missed during the week. I read the Syracuse Sunday paper.

Q: If you where introduced to a new business opportunity, how would you proceed?
A: It happens every day. The first thing I do is look at the quality of the people. Are these the people that I really want to work with. Does the product fit into our product categories. Understand opportunities of the product and is it unique. Is there a synergy with our product lines. In the bar code area, we are looking for expertise in the wireless area. Skills of the workforce to fill a void we may have is also important.

Q: What is the best networking group or method for small businesses? We are active in our local Chamber of Commerce and find that useful.
A: Networking in what regard? Sales, business opportunities, strategy, etc.

Q: Mr. Allyn, Thank you for sharing your morning with us, great site bizboom—I'm sold
A: Thank you.

Q: What was your most effective marketing program (in the last 2 years or so)?
A: A low tech idea brought to us by a school teacher whose child had ear problems. It was affordable and effective. This solved a basic need to get wax out of people's ears. It was not sexy or high-tech computers, but we hit exactly what the customer wanted!

Q: Thanks for your time and wisdom.
A: You are welcome!

Q: Sorry, I am running to a meeting, but the networking I was referring to was business opportunities.
A: To keep plugged in to what is happening in the community on many fronts. Cast your net very broadly and tell people what you are looking for. You never know where business opportunities will come from. Get the word out!

This wraps up our Executive Chat session for today. BizBOOM.com and Niagara Mohawk would like to thank Mr. William Allyn for his time today in providing expert advice to the Upstate New York small businesses community.