Club of the Month: February 2003

FIRST ROW: Jessica Mai (Head Hen) and Dolores Ventura MIDDLE ROW: Debbie Brinkman (Former Chicken Scratcher), Kara Suzuki and Kari Keeling (Coin Purse) BACK ROW: Bonnie Cissell, Jaime Birdwell (Fox in the Hen House), Lisa Fuess and Lisa Locke (Current Chicken Scratcher) INSET: Becky Byszewski (2nd Hen in Charge)

CHICKS: Tell us how you met and how long you've been together as a club.

HENS with a HANDBAG: Jessica, our Head Hen, knows most of the Hens through school, work and personal relationships (close friends or mother)...

Jessica invited all of them to join the Club after she read the Chick's book. (By the way, this was our first assignment -- "read the book" -- because Jess wanted to find out our level of commitment). We had our first face-to-face meeting in November 2001 at Head Hen Jessica's home with Kari, our Tax Hen, on speakerphone (she lives in Missouri, but I guess that comes later). We had our initial get together meeting in November of 2001 and in January of 2002 we had our first "official" face-to-face meeting with Kari on speakerphone again (we'll get her out here one of these days!).

CHICKS: What prompted you to start a club?

Hens: Jessica, determined to become a business owner someday, came across the Chick's book during her usual ventures in business research [Jessica: I was shopping through Costco and saw the very cute picture on the cover of the Chicks book - I read the jacket and was hooked!] Her enthusiasm for investing after reading the book [Jessica: in 3 days flat] was boundless and in August of 2001 she started looking for friends who might share her interest [Jessica: Can you tell my mom wrote that part?].

It was no problem finding those women since most of her friends shared the same strong willingness to learn (and the same ignorance about investing). One of the initial persons contacted decided not to join the club but, nevertheless, we were able to fill the last two spots right away. After Jessica gave the first assignment we knew it was critical to put into practice what we had just read... Just Do It!

CHICKS: Where are you located?

Hens: Most of us live in Southern California. Jessica Mai, Debbie Brinkman, and Lisa Fuess live in Murrieta. Lisa Locke lives in Temecula. Jamie Birdwell lives in Sun City. Kara Suzuki lives in San Diego, Dolores Ventura lives in Studio City, and Becky Byszewski lives in Aliso Viejo, Bonnie Cissell lives in Canyon Lake, CA and Arizona, and Kari Keeling (our tax hen) lives in Ozark, Missouri.

CHICKS: Do you meet online, or face-to-face?

Hens: Our regular monthly meetings are online. Our first meeting was face-to-face in November 2001. We had a second "kick-off" face-to-face meeting in January 2002 to sign the operating procedures and welcome our 2 newest members. We just had our third face-to-face meeting in December 2002 and all the Hens pitched in to purchase an airline ticket for Kari to come to California so that the Hens could meet her face-to-face for the first time. We also have a couple of "non-official" face-to-face meetings to investigate and research potential stock purchases (i.e. P.F. Chang's and maybe Cheesecake Factory). To sum it up, we have 10 online meetings and 1 face-to-face meeting per year.

CHICKS: How did you come up with your name?

Hens: One of the first girls we asked to be in the group was extremely creative and imaginative and came up with four or five names during our very first face-to-face meeting. This name tickled our fancy the best. She decided not to be in the club, but we really liked the name and we wished her well.

CHICKS: How has your portfolio done?

Hens: We it's beating the S&P 500! Unfortunately our portfolio has mirrored the present market climate. We haven't made any money (we haven't lost as much as the S&P 500), but we all agreed that we are investing for the long run and we are keeping our fingers crossed.

CHICKS: What's been the greatest benefit of being together as a club?

Hens: The greatest benefit has been gaining knowledge about so many companies and how they operate. In addition, our understanding of the stock market has greatly improved. We share so much information with each other regarding online sources, investment terminology (Jessica submits a weekly term from Investopedia.com), and understanding the "numbers". We have developed into mature Hens with financial responsibilities and freedom. We have also learned that Warren Buffet and Jimmy Buffet are not the same person.

CHICKS: What's been your club's greatest challenge?

Hens: Our greatest challenge has been getting to know each other online and learning how to work together as a team. Email is not sensitive to feelings nor does it care if a Hen has time to log on and "check-in" in a particular week. Working around people's strengths and weaknesses can be challenging and frustrating at times.

Interpreting people's commitment has been difficult. Sometimes the idea that some Hens have more, or less, time than others might be interpreted as though they are more, or less, dedicated to investing and achieving our club's goals. By meeting face-to-face in December and in future annual meetings, it will allow us to get to know each other's characters and personalities.

In addition, acknowledging that all research is welcomed helps to increase the comfort level when giving a company report. We have also emphasized the importance of taking extra steps to obtain in-depth research because it allows all Hens to fully understand the particulars of a company, their history, and their future. Several people have apologized if they were perceived as inconsiderate or too bold (via email this could be a bad thing). However, we realize we have a common goal as a club and we have 10 different ways to go about reaching that goal.

CHICKS: Any good club stories to tell? (If you've got any funny ones, we love to laugh!)

Hens: Well, all we can really say about this is that it has something to do with one of the Hen's husbands and a kitty under the sheets of their bed. We promised we wouldn't disclose any further information and we know that this doesn't make the story funny for other people reading it - but it will bring back memories of this Hen telling the story. Let's just say that our new theme song is Jingle Balls! ;)

CHICKS: What advice would you give new clubs?

Hens: Have patience with each other and yourself!!! You are not only learning about the stock market and investing (maybe for the first time), you are learning about human nature and how to express yourself in a different format (written as opposed to face-to-face). This may seem overwhelming but remember that you are not alone.

Establish very specific guidelines/operating procedures in the beginning so that everyone knows what is expected, knows what the consequences are and follows them, they exist for a good reason. They are the backbone of the club and they will guide you when resolving issues regarding money, personnel, attendance, etc.

Make sure whoever you ask to join the club is willing to put in the time and effort on a continuous basis. It takes extensive research not only to pick a good company, but also to convince the others members in the club that it is a worthwhile investment. Realize that a simple fact that you read on a company's website is not so simple to the rest of the members because they did not read it. You need to provide details in your own words.

And last, but certainly not least, HAVE FUN! Try not to be critical of each other - everyone has different ways of doing things and not everyone is going to agree on one thing all of the time. Don't take it personal! :o)