"ALL AISLE AND WINDOW SEATS FROM LA TO SHANGHAI ARE FILLED"

“I am sorry sir, there are no upgrades. All aisle and window seats from LA to Shanghai are filled. I am sure the middle seat will be ok.”

“Sure I thought, 15 hours wedged in the middle seat will be fine, if you are a sardine.”  

Every time I started off on the China trip, I promised myself I would look into cross border manufacturing. I mean, the Cali-Baja region has a wide spread manufacturing base. And the products are not striped donkeys or piñatas…far from it. Forty thousand people are employed in Medical Device manufacturing in the region. Not to mention Toyota, Samsung (no batteries!), etc. And the region is 15 time zones closer…the aisle seat is right behind my steering wheel. It takes less than 45 minutes from San Diego to Tecate for instance. Over and back, on any mission, in a single day.

Finally, I decided it’s time to get informed. We looked around San Diego to see if anyone involved in the Sport and Active lifestyle industry might be willing to share some experiences with us. When you think about San Diego lifestyles I think about the beach, maybe beer and music…that's how we came up with Taylor Guitars. A call to Taylor was all it took. Bryan Bear and Victor Villaneuva came to our Advisory Board meeting and really gave us all a primer on manufacturing in Cali-Baja. It was an eye opener, to say the least.

At the end of the presentation they invited us to come to their new Tecate facility to see the execution of a really good plan to expand manufacturing. Approximately 20 of us took up the offer and made a field trip to the new facility. It was far more than a tour. Taylor’s VP of Product Development, Ed Granero, shared the factory and showed us how it can work. There’s too much to relate here, but let me say, this was far more than a “tour.” I am not too sure how to describe it…but we saw a state of the art, 110,000 sq. ft. factory in operation, met many (happy) employees, gained a lot of business insights, made connections with the Business Development staff from Cali-Baja, had a cordial “only in Mexico” lunch and came home with a head crammed full of ideas for our industry.

By the way, 20 people traveled to and from Taylor‘s factory in less time than one person can get to China in that middle seat…just sayin’.

FYI:

• Security: My guess is that this is your first reservation. No one can deny some issues in the region. If you are a drug smuggler you may encounter those people, but probably you are not. Renne, Nick and I are frequent Mexico travelers and never have encountered any problems. Pacific Beach? Much scarier!
• Border wait: The Tecate foot crossing could not be easier. No wait in, no wait out. Good parking in on the US side. Easy public transit on the Mexico side, ten minutes to Taylor Guitars for instance.
• Visas: both governments have fast pass programs and visa arrangements to allow easy crossing for citizens of both countries. The Taylor employees are cross trained in both the El Cajon facility and Tecate. They cross easily, daily.
• Bureaucracy: Not sure we Nortes should be lecturing anyone about this, but yes there is a process. The rules are clear, but complex enough to require careful investigation. See the Contacts list below for expert guidance.
• Facilities: State of the art industrial space is readily available. Space costs are more than competitive. Facility build out can suit your need.
• Labor: Adjust your thinking. Did you know there is a 2.5% unemployment rate in Cali-Baja? That Mexico majority population is under 30 years old? Or that they have a fast growing, well-educated middle class looking for careers? The blended cost of labor per hour, all industries is competitive with China, running less than $4.00/hour. In our sector, the price will be higher depending on the skills needed for construction.
• Economic Incentives available? Absolutely!

Well there is much more. But if you are curious about possibilities of manufacturing in Baja, by all means call us. We can help. But here are the contacts for the people who are really expert in the region:

• Barbara Ruelas, Director of Investment and Project Management (Northern Baja) bpruelas@baja.gob.mx, 52 686 558 1137
• Carlos Uribe, Business Development, curibe@iamsa.com.mx, 52 664 211 0707
• Adrian Hernandez, Business Development Executive, Tecate EDC, Adrian.hernandez@tecateedc.org, 619 503 7282
• Ismael Soto Dominquez, Investment Promoter, Secretariat of Economic Development isotod@baja.gob.mx, 52 665 103 7530

See photos from the trip here.

SDSI Membership approaches 100! SDSI welcomes new members Topical Gear and High Performance Movement and renewing members LALO Tactical and Slyde Handboards
SDSI membership is a historical high, now with 99 member companies behind SDSI’s mission to make San Diego the Capital of the Sports and Active Lifestyle Industry. Thank you for you support, we are honored to work with you to grow your businesses and the SAL industry!

Topical Gear. Founded in 2010, Topical Gear has redefined the care of youth female athletes. Our Orthopedic Sports Medicine staff used published research to develop T:25 technology to enhance functional movement, protecting ligaments of the ankle, knee or structures of the shoulder. We don’t brace, we train muscles! And we are looking forward working with SDSI to get and keep the SAL athletes healthier while enhancing their performance. Learn more at topicalgear.com​​​​​​.

High Performance Movement is excited to become a member of SDSI! HP Movement is a San Diego-based event production company dedicated to producing and managing running events from 5Ks to half marathons. Our signature events include America’s Finest Corporate Dash, where participating companies in San Diego build teams of co-workers to walk, jog or run in the 5K event. We also manage Finish Chelsea’s Run, a 7,000+ person event that fundraises hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Chelsea’s Light Foundation Sunflower Scholarship Fund. Learn more about our events and our team at hpmovement.com.

LALO’s award winning team develops and markets technologically advanced footwear designed and developed in conjunction with the US Special Forces Operators, specifically the US Navy SEALs. Based adjacent to the Coronado Bridge, LALO was founded in 2008 to put the best “boots on troops” ever available to the military.  Foot related injuries account for the greatest number of lost operational days amongst active duty operators and are often attributed to wearing wet or inadequate footwear, and there has been minimal innovation in the space. LALO co-founder, Nathanael Roberti, watched during his five years as a SEAL how inadequate footwear was causing an assortment of problems for he and his teammates who commonly wear ordinary trail runners and Converse Chuck Taylors on missions. After six years of painstaking collaborative development with the Coronado SEAL base, LALO’s Tactical and Sport lines are the resulting solution for increasing SEAL performance and reducing injury.  LALO is now making these solutions available to everyone.  We are proud to be members of San Diego Sport Innovators. Learn more at lalotactical.com.

Slyde Handboards is proud to continue our partnership with SDSI, as SDSI Springboard helped us raise $275,000 and secure billionaire Mark Cuban and celebrity Ashton Kutcher as investors. Slyde Handboards are mini-surfboards that attach to you hand and give you extra speed and life while bodysurfing. Slyde is great for all ages and skill levels looking for a fun surf experience. Find out more at slydehandboards.com.

Bill Walton honored as Sportsman of the Year
This month, on the Outfield at Petco Park, San Diego’s Bill Walton was honored by the San Diego Hall of Champions and Sports Alliance as Sportsman of the Year at the 56^th Annual Sportsman Banquet. For a rare opportunity to thank our Executive Chairman for all he means to San Diego, SDSI attended in full force. Bob Rief dusted off his bowtie and even Tony Finn put on a suit! It is safe to say the SDSI table was the life of the party. In true Walton form, reversing the praise, Bill spent much of his time on stage thanking his friends and family, calling out nearly all 300+ attendees by name. Only straying with shouts for “More Azunia to Tony’s Table!”  Thank you Bill for your endless enthusiasm, selflessness and dedication to making San Diego the greatest place to live. Check out event photos here.

SDSI sheds light on local $547M cycling industry, lands cover story
SDSI’s recent research, shedding light on the local $547M cycling industry which is home to more than 50 industry manufacturers and 227 specialty bike retail shops, landed a front page story on the San Diego Business Journal. The feature, Community Ride, draws attention to the brands and retailers that call San Diego home including BMC, RIDE Cyclery and more, providing an inside perspective on the future of the industry. Read the full story from the October 3 issue of the San Diego Business Journal.

SDSI’s Renne Catalano Gussman talks SAL with the SDBJ
San Diego Business Journal sat down with SDSI’s Renne Catalano Gussman to understand how the local business development organization supports the SAL industry. What came out was a feature highlighting the impressive stats of SDSI’s business accelerator SDSI Springboard, sports technology trends, how SDSI is helping the industry to navigate some of its biggest challenges including the changing retail/ecommerce landscape and more. Read the full interview in the October 10 issue of the San Diego Business Journal.

SDSI supports World Beach Games San Diego 2019!
This year, thanks to prominent San Diego businessman Vince Mudd and the San Diego Exploratory Committee, San Diego won the bid and the awesome honor to host the inaugural ANOC (Association of National Olympic Committees) World Beach Games. The event was originally slated for October 2017 which provided a very aggressive timeline to execute a ten-day cultural and sporting festival that would bring together more than 200 countries to compete in 24 sports in Mission Beach. In August, the Olympic Committee voted to postpone the Event until 2019. This week Vince Mudd brought together the San Diego stakeholders to provide an update. The inaugural event will take place October 10-20, 2019, providing an addition 2-years for the athletes around the world to prepare, and will also provide World Beach Games 100% commercial rights “to make the games that look and feel like San Diego thinks beach games should like for the rest of the world.” Opening Ceremonies will be held at PETCO Park. The 1,000s of participating athletes will all be housed in San Diego hotels providing a huge boost to the hotel industry during their typical slow season. The sporting events within the World Beach Games will be unique and never seen in the Olympic Games including wakeboarding, beach wrestling, beach soccer, BMX big air and much more. SDSI is proud to support the 2019 ANOC World Beach Games and this incredible opportunity to showcase San Diego to the rest of the world. We encourage our local partners to get involved as a sponsor, partners or volunteers and we are happy to get you connected to learn how. Check out photos from Vince Mudd's announcement. Learn more about 2019 World Beach Games at www.worldbeachgamessandiego.com.

Aculief closes clinical trial for “headache relief”
Aculief in collaboration with Synovation Medical Group will be completing its clinical trial for Headache Relief the end of this month. "We are excited to complete this groundbreaking study and look forward to the results" says Jon Doogan President and Founder of Aculief. Aculief will work to have the data analyzed in the coming weeks and prepare for FDA 510(k) submission for "headache relief" claims. If FDA cleared, Aculief would become the first company in the world to obtain 510(k) clearance for the market and sale of an all natural, drug free, Wearable Acupressure device with a "headache relief" claim. There are nearly 300 million people in the US affected by headaches and 4 billion globally. Learn more at acculief.com.

American Wave Machines brings indoor surf to Australia
American Wave Machines (AWM) has partnered with Aloha Surf to bring the first indoor surf venue to Australia in 2017. Aloha Surf, located in Joondalup, Western Australia will combine retail, entertainment, dinning and sport all under one roof. Powered by AWM’s SurfStream Aloha Surf will provide a wave for surfers of all levels from gentle whitewater waves to 6-foot barrels. Learn more here.

Tower + Chris Craft
Tower Paddle and boutique boat maker Chris Craft collaborated to offer a top shelf special edition inflatable SUP. Why not have a iSUP that matches your Chris Craft boat?  Preorders now available. 

TransWorld Business STATE OF SURF 2016 – female surfers rise on social media
Transworld Business STATE OF SURF report uses statistics and analytics compiled by SURFER, SURFING and Strategic Market Intelligence to take a comprehensive looks at the trends that have defined the past year for surf brands, retailers and consumers. This year the results are contributing a new and scientific perspective to women’s place in surfing, reporting Bethany Hamilton as the #1 ranking surfer on social media. The report also showed of the top 25 ranked athletes by social media engagement, 10 were women. Get a copy of the 2016 STATE OF THE SURF. Check out an interesting follow up article on Grind TV featuring 5 interesting takeaways from the 2016 report.

Elliptical cycling champions defend their titles
The competitive sport of Elliptical Cycling, created only seven years ago by ElliptiGO founders Bryan and Brent, continues to attract a deep talent pool, smashing records year after year. The 7^th Annual World Champion of Elliptical Cycling took place on Palomar Mountain outside San Diego, where the reigning champions took home the victories. Read more here.

Hookit wins the DMA’s 2016 Marketing Innovation Award
Hookit continues to gather accolades for its Hookit Valuation Methodology (HVM) which tracks, measures and values overall engagement generated around sponsorship assets across digital and social media platforms. The Direct Marketing Association of America (DMA) name Hookit winner of the prestigious 2016 Innovation Award in the Measurement and Attribution category. This award follows Hookit’s top honors at SFIA’s Startup Challenge and SDSI’s Star Brand Award. Read more here.

On December 1, 2017, 4.2 million additional salaried, white-collar American workers will be eligible for overtime pay. 146,00 are California workers. We want you to be informed if and how this will impact your business and how you can prepair. So we asked our friends and experts at Insperity:  

How Will the New White Collar Overtime Rule Impact Your Businesses?
By Anna Brewer
Director of HR Administrative Compliance
Insperity

By now, most companies are likely aware of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime rule change scheduled to take effect on December 1. According to White House estimates, the change will make 4.2 million additional salaried, white-collar American workers, eligible for overtime pay. However, what many California business owners might not know is how, and to what extent, the new rules specifically impact them.

A brief summary of the situation: Under the old federal rule, generally white-collar employees were required to receive overtime pay if they made less than $455 per week, or $23,660 a year. Effective December 1, 2016, the minimum salary level will increase to $913 per week, or $47,476 annually. In addition, workers classified as “highly compensated employees” must now be paid at least $134,004, rather than the current $100,000, in total annual compensation and hold non-manual labor jobs to be automatically exempt from overtime. The rule change also establishes an algorithm, based on economic factors, which will be used to determine future adjustments to the minimum salary requirement.

How will California companies be affected?
Because California has its own set of regulations - which include a state minimum wage higher than the federal minimum wage and mandated overtime compensation for people who make under $41,600 per year - fewer California workers on average, will likely be impacted by the change compared to other states. According to the Department of Labor (DOL), an estimated 146,000 workers in California fall between the state’s salary threshold and the new, higher federal standards.

So what can California companies do to make sure they remain in compliance? Here are a few tips:

Determine the impacts now
It’s a must for all companies to be keenly aware of how many employees on their payroll will be affected when the new rule is enacted. Now is the time to review job duties of employees identified as being impacted by the rule change.

Better software may solve problems
Dependable and accurate hourly tracking systems are a must in California where state and Federal labor laws often overlap. Employers will need to manage new time-keeping responsibilities for employees reclassified to nonexempt status. Companies should consider electronic solutions that allow workers to clock-in and clock-out using mobile devices to decrease the administrative burden associated with other methods such as manual time sheets. Companies should also recognize that the common practice of checking emails after hours on smartphones could also impact hourly totals. Nonexempt employees are required to be compensated for all the time they have worked, including time spent on work emails at home or during the weekend. Company email policies should be revisited in light of this risk.

Ask broader policy questions
Work email policies are only part of the picture. All related company policies should be thoroughly reviewed prior to implementation of the rule change. For example, are employees required to obtain written permission from an authorized manager prior to working overtime hours? Are employees required to acknowledge their timesheets? If this is not the case, a policy revision may be in order to improve both tracking and control of overtime costs. It should be noted that a policy requiring permission to work overtime is valid but, if an employee works extra hours without permission, overtime must be paid, although the employee may be disciplined for not following the policy.

The importance of communication
Once company officials have a firm grasp on the impacts of the new overtime rule, it is time for some internal communications. Managers should proactively communicate with the affected employees. They need to be prepared to answer questions and explain any company policy changes that will be implemented as a result.

Salary adjustments might make sense
Many impacted companies may decide to make pay adjustments for employees with salaries near the cap. Due to overlapping state and federal regulations in California, it is likely many companies will make these alterations. Doing so could reduce some of the timekeeping complexities the law might create. However, employers must also recognize that pay increases alone do not guarantee exemption from the new overtime rules.

For more information, call 888-808-8842 or visit www.insperity.com/sdsi.

TurningPoint Tip
Better Hiring through Better Messaging I just returned from the annual LinkedIn Talent Quest conference, and would like to share some tips I picked up along the way. The key takeaway was 1) the war for talent is in high gear 2) there is a lot of "recruiting noise" flying around 3) job descriptions are stuck in the 1970s and 4) great candidates respond to great messages from great hiring managers. It takes a focused, deliberate and clear strategy to attract the best talent. What can a small company do to win the war: 1) develop job specs that showcase why an A Player would want to work for you "In this job, you will be able to..." 2) use LinkedIn or other online resources to target specific candidates and proactively seek them out, don't wait for them to come to you and 3) review your salaries to be sure you are competitive.

Job Openings
Regional Territory Manager, Distribution – Western U.S. 
Western Region Territory Manager, Medical Distribution – California 
President/COO, Medical Device – San Diego 
Operations Manager, Distribution - Maryland  
Director of Sales, East, Financial Services – Northeast 
Director of Marketing, Biotech/cell therapy – San Diego

Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa – Multiple positions available click for info

J!NX – Multiple positions available click for info 

KPMG - Multiple positions available click for info

RSM – Multiple positions available click for info 

Red Door Interactive – Multiple positions available click for info

SKLZ – Multiple positions available click for info

Sun Diego Boardshops - Accounts Payable Clerk click for info contact melissa@sundiego.com

TurningPoint Executive Search, ranked #33 on SDBJ "2016 Fast Growing Private Company", is SDSI's resident expert for hiring, retention and job search. A San Diego native with more than 16 years of recruiting experience, President and Founder, Ken Schmitt is available as a sounding board who can share industry “best practices” with SDSI members.  Have you registered for the 2016 Dynamic Disruption Summit? SDSI members receive a 20% discount with this exclusive code. Read their blog and contact Ken at Kens@turningpointsearch.net.

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Oct. 25 SDSI Board of Directors Meeting, 4-6pm

Nov. 8 SDSI Springboard 15 Minute Presentation #3

Nov. 9 Chew & Chat Membership Breakfast, Techniques for Fudning your Business, 8-9:30am

Nov. 15 SDSI Advisory Board Meeting, 3:30-6pm

Dec. 13 SDSI Holiday Party

Through Nov 14. Manufacturing Day events click for info

Oct. 27 Dynamic Disruption Summit, San Diego, CA click for info

Nov. 16 MetroConnect Grand Prize PitchFest including ElliptiGO click for info

Jan. 5-6 Agenda Long Beach click for info

Jan. 5-8 CES 2017, Las Vegas, NV click for info

Jan. 9 Outdoor Retailer All Mountain Demo click for info

Jan. 10 – 12 Outdoor Retailer Winter Market click for info

Jan. 24-25 Agenda New York click for info

Feb. 20-22 Agenda Las Vegas click for info

Mar. 12 – 15 ROTH Capital conference click for info