Long Island Entrepreneurial Briefs July 18, 2003

Long Island Business News, Jul 18, 2003 by Adina Genn

Channeling Alexander Hamilton

for new executive search firm

With Enron and WorldCom continuing to make headlines, Joel Hamroff figures the corporate world is ready for his new enterprise, Levittown-based Hamilton & Church, which opened in December. The company's sole purpose is to offer retained searches of chief financial executives and comptrollers at a time when CFOs are examined under a microscope.

Hamroff, a past president and current board member of New York Association of Temporary and Staffing Services, also owns Magill Associates, a permanent and temporary staffing company in business since 1986. Magill and the new venture share corporate offices. Magill Associates, Hamroff said, is at the point where it is "self- managed and self-run." He created Hamilton & Church as a separate company, rather than a division, "in order to devote myself solely" to the new venture, he said.

In providing retained searches, Hamilton & Church charges an upfront fee - 25 percent of the client's first year annual gross base salary, with most salaries in the six-figure range.

"I devote myself one search at a time," Hamroff said.

Aside from his staffing expertise, Hamroff said he is exceptionally qualified to conduct these searches. "I was a CFO, and before that a comptroller and before that an accountant. I have the knowledge," he said. "Who better than someone who's been there, done that."

To date, Hamroff has two clients, though he would not disclose whom because of confidentiality. He expects to wrap up the first search within 90 days of inception, and then begin the next one. "There's enough talent to choose from because of layoffs. I found five candidates in three weeks," he said.

Hamroff is spreading the word about his new business through networking.

"Right now my client base is in Manhattan. It's an outstanding marketplace," he said. He is getting "substantial introductions" through contacts at accounting and law firms.

He's pleased with the reception. "You have to speak to management at the highest level. They have to walk away from the table with the belief that you can do the job. My background, my white hair helps this along."

Hamroff hopes to expand along the eastern seaboard and then head to Chicago.

He chose a company name that suggests trust. "Hamilton" is after Alexander Hamilton, appointed by George Washington as the nation's first secretary of the treasury. "Church" is after the Church family, entrepreneurs who mentored Hamilton in financial matters; Hamilton also married into the family. "It's an interesting bit of history for the country," Hamroff said.

New venture teaches ancient dance

Roni Yaari brings almost every facet of her life to her new venture, which she's fairly certain she'll call Ronidance. But even if the company's name isn't firmly established yet, Yaari is getting down to the business of teaching Middle Eastern dance workshops in her home studio in East Northport and at parties. She also teaches at a nearby Gold's Gym and at the New York Sports Club, she said.

Israeli born, Yaari has danced professionally for 15 years. She studied the modern dance of Martha Graham and flamenco. She is inspired by Indian dance, which she learned in her travels through the country.

"I integrate flamenco, Middle Eastern and modern. Nobody else has this style. It's a beautiful thing to do," she said.

She performed at the United Nations, on CNN, for a Giorgio Armani grand opening that included a Middle Eastern theme, and elsewhere.

Much of the dance, she said, dates back 6,000 years, she said. Her repertoire includes belly dancing, which Yaari said developed a bad rap, evoking images of overweight women that prompt people to laugh at them.

To Yaari, belly dancing is quite the opposite, and is performed by those who respect their bodies. "It's a sensual dance. It's very different from sexy. It's a thin line. It's not for someone else. It's discreet. It's for women to get to know themselves better and let these feelings out."

Yaari holds four-day workshops for 12 that include yoga, belly dancing techniques, Middle Eastern food and an hour of choreography. On the last day, she hosts a party where enrollees bring their families and enjoy Middle Eastern fare. Participants perform their dance, and Yaari, too, performs.

Though she's never at a loss for creativity, Yaari admits that her organizational skills need some help. That's why she's hoping Iris Shecter, who assists with invoicing and event coordination, will join her as a partner. With Schecter behind the scenes, Yaari will continue to spread the word about her art, whether it's through performing before new audiences at parties, teaching and advertising at local gyms, or building word of mouth.