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Now that a North American Free Trade Agreement is on the table, it‘s looking even better. That agreement will give us fantastic access to markets we never dreamed of even penetratâ€" ing in years gone by â€" but only if we‘re efficient. MQORE OF ROSS: The following quote comes from Ross Perot on the subject of how to treat the people who work for you: "Never ask anyone to do what you haven‘t done before and wouldn‘t do again. That‘s a fundamental rule in leadership . . . treat them like you treat yourself. Things you don‘t like, they don‘t like. You don‘t like to be jerked around, they don‘t either. You don‘t like to be talked down to, and they don‘t either. You would rather work with somebody than for somebody. So would they. You hate people who pound on your head after you gave everything you had and failed . . . it‘s that simple." Bravo. We need more of that kind of talk. And more people like Mr. Perot. That‘s why Queen‘s University professor David Dennis was right on the mark when he recently warned: It‘s one of the best things that‘s happened to Canada in years and the only people who have something to lose with its passage are the trade union leaders â€" not the workers â€" who become more and more irrelevant as the marketplace dictates prices. That says a lot. And it‘s a dire warning to three groups of people who haven‘t always done what‘s right for the future of the country: the politicians, trade union leaders and industrialâ€" ists. The politicians are the worst offenders. Whether they‘re PCs, Liberals or NDPers, they‘ve created a constitutional crisis that wasn‘t necessary. People don‘t understand why they started this mess in the first place and they couldn‘t care less about it. That may be a simplistic analysis, but it‘s entirely true. The economy is another matter. It involves business leaders and labor unions: the first group hasn‘t always been very good at giving very strong leadership to companies in this country and the second has failed entirely in recent years. "I have little doubt that Canada will cease to exist as a fully independent country within the next 15 to 20 years. ‘"‘This will result not from constitutional crisis, which has been engineered by politicians for the benefit of political careers, but will be the consequence of Canada‘s inability to compete in what is rapidly becoming a global economy." PREE TRADE‘S GREAT: I‘ve never understood why any wellâ€"informed person would ever be against free trade. If we‘re ever going to compete', we need a strong workforce that is flexible and intelligent â€" not one dictated to by unions who have put their own survival ahead of everything. Beimont Professional Centre 564 Belmont Ave. W., Kitchener J. Frederick Sagel is a Kitchener lawyer. 741â€" CONTACT LENS SPECIALISTS AND RECEIVE A PAiR OF GCONTACT LENSES BUY 1 PAIR OF QLASSES Call for your eye examination appointment today This past spring Koehler asked the university‘s Small Business Consulting Service to prepare a business plan for his new venture, which was researched and written by business student Bruce Mackey, who was working as a consultant during his coâ€"op work term. He began the venture in the early spring and wrapped it up in May. \ ht OP uis .A dar ronliamn ids sn Ailirsiniiint shhvnircand Koehler isn‘t blind to the economic conditions. In fact, he has gone into business with his eyes wide open, thanks to the contribution of some business students at Wilfrid Laurier University. Both Bishop and Koehler admit that the picture, poster and card store is pretty well recession proof. ‘"No matter how poor the economy is, people still buy greeting cards as a gift," Bishop said. On Monday, Wolfgang Koehler held the grand opening of Athena, a picture, poster, print, framing and greeting card franchise in the new $10â€"million 30,000â€"foot expansion of Conestoga Mall in Waterâ€" It‘s the 41st Athena store in Canada and 250th in the world. And according to David Bishop, Athena Viceâ€"President of Retail Operations, they‘ve been trying to open a franschise in this area for quite some time. business these days, considering the economic doom, gloom and bankruptcies. Diving into a business without a business plan can be financial suicide. Business bankruptcies in the Kitchenerâ€"Waterloo area last year totalled 110, nearly double the 1990 figure of 56. So, a lot of thought must go into planning a business before taking that first step. loo. Pete Cudhea Chronicle Staff Bruce Mackey, left, of the WLU‘s Small Business Consulting Service, with Athena owner Wolfgang x%m,mnmyummwmmmmmmmpmmmnm WLU consultants improve odds of business success The plan explained in detail the business‘ strucâ€" FREE* For many it may seem dimqult to start up a go at it." The consulting service has served 17 clients this summer and charges a modest $25 an hour. . _ ‘"When you see so many negative stories about businesses failing, it‘s nice to see somebody make a Wiiitinerovetin nds tiints ds isb a 2 "I feel he has affordable products with his cards and posters, and even in these tough times, people are still going to be buying gifts, especially in his price range. We had to report on four things which we call the Bankers Four Ms: Money, Market, Materials, and Men and Women," Stewart said. Money is the estimation of a threeâ€"year cash flow of the business; market identifies the customer and the competition; materials dealswith the products involved and the suppliers; while men and women deals with the staff‘s business experience. "The organization of the business plan was fantastic,‘ Koehler said. "The plan contained all the information required by the bank and it gives me a clear direction in which to steer in business." According to Stewart, Mackey did most of the work and Stewart‘s group was called in to present the bank with additional traffic flow information. ture, products and services, dayâ€"toâ€"day operations, and anticipated income, said Paul Stewart, student manager of the consulting service. Stewart maintains that many entrepreneurs view the slow recovery as an opportunity: low interest rates and an abundance of retail space provide for cheap startâ€"up costs. The Small Business Consulting Service is a business within the business department at the university. Formed in 1973, it was the idea of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Technology and the Bank of Montreal. For the fourthâ€"year coâ€"op busiâ€" ness students, these ventures involve real people, real money, real business problems. FREE PARKING