Dallas, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City: There is a certain magic in this show. It is a special playfulness and joy, a suspension of the negative which results in two people cultivating the art of the impossible.

True American heroes, these two are like the wonderful Aunt-and-Uncle that you always love.

This story begins like most stories, one person goes out selling. This time it is holiday cards and her name is Anne McGilvray. She became a manufacturer's rep and grew her business to $3M in annual revenues.

She then invited her husband to join her and together they grew AMCI into a powerhouse, over $60M in annual revenues with over 200 reps selling to 60,000 small chains with mostly less than ten stores.

Now that's magic.

We discover two very talented people who find and work with creative, talented people. Spend some time with this episode of the show and you'll learn what it takes to have the magic touch.

From jaw-breakers to comic books to wrapping paper to watches, if you can get on their train track, your product has a chance of becoming the next big thing.

First, we will learn a little about how she selects products and how she merchandises to insure success. Then, we meet her technology wizard, her husband, Michael McGilvary. Mike's goal is to be as close to a paperless back-office "as practical." And obviously, they train their people well; in this show you will meet grandmothers who use some of the most sophisticated wide-area networking technologies that exist today.

CONTACT:
AMCI, Inc.
2332 Valdina
Dallas, TX 75207
Dallas showplace: 214-638-4438
Fax: 214-638-4535
National Order Line: 800-527-1462
Email:Click here
URL: http://annemcgilvray.com/

• GO FURTHER: Spend some time with the ten key points of the case study guide (just above in the green box) and each of the related transcript segments.

• STEP 1: "I'm Going to Start a Business. You have to at least say these words to yourself. It is the first step and a big step.
  
  AMCI is at both STEP 7 and STEP 8.

• E-COMMERCE & EDI: No longer a luxury, e-commerce and online accounts receivable and payble have become a bellwether, a marker that says, "my business is waxing" (if you have it), or "my business is waning" (if you do not).

• Business Type: You can study other episodes of the show by industry, i.e. AMCI are manufacturer's reps but also distributors.

• 1500+ Questions and Answers within SmallBusinessSchool. Within every show there are about 15 questions and answers. Within the school, there is a place to record your answers to these questions. Your answers to the same questions that Hattie has asked all the other business owners become part of your own secure database where you have options to re-display your best answers within this site as your own profile page (that is this page), essentially an executive summary , a study guide and/or a transcript.

• JOIN, JOIN, JOIN: Your professional associations in your industry are your key to continuing education, market research, collaborations, strategic partnerships, capital and so much more ... often you'll find that you enjoy like-minded people and many will become friends for life.

• FIRST PRINCIPLES: Starting a business is the road to economic independence for most of us average people. Read a little more to see why incorporating a business keeps the passion of the American revolution alive!

• SUPPORT PUBLIC TELEVISION:
  Become a member of your local station. If you are already, great. If not and your business is doing well, consider joining the Producers' Club ($1000).