'The Information Empire'

In knowledge, there is power.

And if you package it right, a profitable cash flow as well.

Cheri Hill is packaging it right as books, DVDs and seminar invitations pour out of the Reno headquarters of Sage International Inc., and Hill moves as fast as she can to position the company as what she calls "The Information Empire." Starting a dozen years ago from a bedroom office to handle the paperwork of Nevada incorporation for companies around the nation, Sage International these days sells incorporation in all 50 states only as a byproduct of its information business.

The company posts,Hill says,multi-million dollar annual revenues.

Nearly every week, employees of the company field about 1,000 orders for copies of "Inc.& Grow Rich," a book written by Hill and her father, C.W."Al"Allen, the company's retired founder.

Seminars featuring Hill a couple of times a year draw 150 to 200 people who pay $695 each.Monthly tele-seminars featuring Hill typically draw 150 or more and carry a price tag of $9.95.

Then there's the Corporate Strategies Home Study Course.

The DVD explaining the uses of a limited-liability corporation.

The audiotape,"After the Inc.Dries." And that's just one side of the operation.

Equally important to the company's revenue stream,Hill says, are the services Sage International provides to organizers of corporations.

Those services range from preparation of corporate minutes ($200) and preparation of business plans ($495 and up) to programs to build a business credit for a new corporation ($1,995).

Using consultants and contractors, Sage International handles tasks ranging from simple monthly bookkeeping to sophisticated exit strategies for business owners.

"We tell them what they didn't know that they need to know,"Hill says.

And the company still does a nice business serving as the registered agent for companies that want to incorporate in Nevada.

But the creation of business entities whether it's a limited-liability corporation in Nevada or a nonprofit in Florida is secondary to Sage International's mission these days.

"We care truly from the heart about educating the clients," says Hill."We are not interested in selling you an entity." The more we learn and the more we share, the more comes back to us."

The company's educational mission, she says, demands nearly constant study by herself and the rest of the company's staff especially since Sage International moved into incorporations in all 50 states in the late 1990s.

That means,Hill says, that the company now needs to stay abreast of 50 sets of everchanging state laws.

And it's the source of Hill's biggest worry as she knows the company must move quickly to widen and deepen its educational services and products to stay ahead of its competitors.

After spending nearly 10 years building the company's infrastructure while her father was on the road preaching the gospel of the value of Nevada incorporation,Hill has devoted the three years since her father's retirement to strengthening the company delivery of education.

Video production, for instance, recently moved in-house.

That, in turn,may provide the support that Hill needs to reach another goal a television show providing education and support for people hoping to build and protect wealth.

Although the company brought video production in-house,Hill says it's likely that Sage International will continue to rely heavily on strategic partnerships with other firms to provide counseling and back-office service to the entrepreneurs who are its clients.

"It's not my goal to build a big-employee company,"Hill says.

The current staff of 16 is just a bit lean, but she thinks only a couple of additional positions will get Sage International where it needs to be.

The staffing is important,Hill says, as she seeks to follow the advice that she gives at her seminars: "Work on your business, not in your business." A motivated staff gives Hill the freedom from daily details she needs to envision the company's direction and begin bringing it to reality.