BUSINESS ADVISORY BOARDS

ADVISORY BOARDS
An Advisory Board is a group of people (can be as small as 4) with diversified interests and opinions.  The group can meet once a month or maybe every other month for about 2 hrs. ea. meeting.  Each person has a chance to speak and should prepare something like the previous month's *Accomplishments, Challenges & Goals. *(these will be discussed in a future Post).   A Moderator for each meeting can be chosen to manage the division of time.

BENEFITS:


Talking with others in business who can:
* be supportive
* give unbiased ideas & help
* share your successes & celebrate your accomplishments
* understand your strengths & weaknesses
* bring fresh, new ideas to the table
* give you socialization with others in business
* help expand your business & personal goals
* keep you updated on other businesses or New business ideas 
* give YOU the opportunity to help others with your good ideas and support

The Group becomes your Business Family. You come back to your business energized and with a new perspective and creative ideas.  I have been in a group for over 15 years and find it one of the cheapest, most helpful things I have done for ME and for my Yard Card business devolopment.

To set one up costs nothing unless you get speakers or go to dinner together.

Form a Group of dedicated people who will be honest with you about their business and yours.  Donot make it larger than 8 people or time for each person will be limited. STAY on TRACK at the meetings and make it a commitment.  Please comment if you need more help with this idea!

"The New Year lies before you like a spotless track of snow. Be careful how you tread it, for every track will show".

Marty Miller   http://www.yardcarddirectory.com/      www.lawnexpressions.com/

ORGANIZE YOUR BUSINESS for 2010

ORGANIZE FOR THE NEW YEAR

* Clean out old files ----hard to do, not a fun job, but gratifying once you rid yourself of unneccsary papers & STUFF
* Update your database--very important
* Think of new ways to create business &  NEW customers
* Thank your repeat customers--maybe for New Years or Valentines Day
* Inventory your products to see if you need to purchase new things, refresh them, or add new products or delete those that are not working for you.
* Start the year with a GOOD method of filing, not only for tax purposes, but for keeping you "on track".
* Get on new Yard Card Directories and improve your Internet visibility
* Join business clubs or Chamber of Commerce--great way to meet people and get your service known
* Refresh your website with new content & photos--put your STATE on the Home Page!
* Start an Advisory Board with 3-8 other business people so that you can share experiences, support each other.  (more on Advisory Boards in future posts)

* Start the New Year with a positive attitude!

"Your outcome has much to do with your attitude."

Marty Miller  www.yardcarddirectory.com/

DIRECTORIES (Lawn Displays) for Interent Visibility

There are many new Celebration Yard Card/Display Directories on the Internet; some for specific companies & their products, and others more general. This gives you many choices as to where to place your listings. It is advisable to list on as many Directories as possible as that is often where the consumer will look to save time.

What Directories should you be on?
You can judge the criteria of each Directory by: What does it offer me? Is it a site easily found by search engine placement? Is it feasible in my advertising budget? How many rentals/sales do I need to pay for the listing? If it is less than 4 rentals/sales, than I would say it is a good deal. If you have no way to monitor which sites are bringing you business--ASK YOUR CUSTOMER. I send callers to a Directory almost every day, even if it is not my Directory www.yardcarddriectory.com/   People do searches using different search terms and I like to refer them to a Directory website that will be useful for them. The bottom line is visibility for your Business and accessibility for potential customers.  Also, being on a popular Directory will give your personal website higher rankings in the serach engines.  Put a link on your website to the Directory.

Marty Miller  http://www.lawnexpressions.com/

THANKSGIVING DAY BLOG

Thanksgiving is a special time to gather with family and friends and share memories. As with many families, we always have each person at the table, including children, say something for which they are thankful.

An excellent website having to do with the origin of Thanksgiving, traditions, recipes, stories & jokes is  http://www.thanksgiving-day.org/.  Great website!

I would like to do a little "Turkey Talk" regarding turkey preparation. Although this has nothing to do with the Yard Card-Lawn Display Industry--cooking is another passion of mine.

Proper cooking of a turkey is imperative if you do not wish to spend the evening or the next day in the ER with food poisoning.

1. Cook a fresh turkey within 3 days.
2. Thaw a turkey in a refrigerator or for quicker thawing use a chest cooler with ice or frozen cold packs.  (It should be started in the fridge about 4 days ahead of the day you wish to cook it and spend no more than 2 days in a COLD cooler.)
3. Do NOT thaw a turkey at room temp as bacteria will grow.
4. If you stuff your turkey, place an unpeeled apple in the opening rather than sewing it closed.  The dressing will pick up a nice apple flavor and the apple will absorb extra grease.  (APPLE NOT EDIBLE--altho' it WILL lookl like a baked apple, after removing from turkey)
5. I rub the turkey with mayonaise and salt and pepper it.  After putting in a roasting pan, I tent the turkey with aluminum foil and place it in a 425 degree oven for 1/2-1 hr., depending on size of turkey.  I then turn it down to 325 degrees for the duration.
6. I remove the foil about 1-2 hrs. before I think it is done.  It will brown the skin.
6. DO NOT overcook or undercook a turkey.  If it does not have a pop-up timer or meat thermometer, move the turkey leg back & forth to see if it is a little loose. 
Then cut into the breast mid turkey--you do not want to see pink meat.
"We may give without loving, but we cannot love without giving." author unknown

Have a good Thankful Holiday!    Marty Miller  http://www.lawnexpressions.com/   Denver

BENEFITS & FEATURES of your Business

BENEFITS and FEATURES of your Lawn Display Business

Make sure your website & marketing materials contain Benefits more than Features. What is the difference between benefits and features? Features are a description of your product-- (ie) 5-6 ft. colorful Yard Signs, Personalized message sign, 30-40 pink flamingos, many critters or props from which to choose.

Benefits would be-- what is the benefit to your customer in using your business? (ie) "Make a friend happy with a unique early morning surprise", "Let the whole neighborhood know of your Graduate's Big Day!”,“Surprise a new Mom with a Stork in the Yard” Announce the New Baby” “Celebrate that BIG birthday with a Yard Card”

People are more interested in the benefit to them & the recipient than a long description of your product.  In the Celebration Lawn Greetings business, it is all about recognizing people!

"Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out"
Art Linkletter

Marty Miller  http://www.lawnexpressions.com/     http://www.yardcarddirectory.com/

Work at Home Moms

As a follow up on Jane's Blog (Phoenix Storks--Yard Cards) about working from home with young children, I am going to give you my favorite website that went on-line in 1995.  It is http://www.hbwm.com/ . The website was one of the first, if not the first, to address the subject of Mom's working from home.  As a Member of HBWM, I was able to have a featured article about my www.lawnexpressions.com Yard Card business which I had started in 1990. If you are a "Work at Home Mother", check out this website--it has really grown.

Marty Miller   http://www.yardcarddirectory.com/

MOMMY & YARD CARD BUSINESS BLOG

Since I believe it is important to have others in this type of business blog about their situations in running a business, Jane Dixon of www.phoenixstorks.com has written about combining Motherhood and her Yard Display Business. She is a Member of  www.yardcarddirectory.com/.  THANKS Jane!  Marty

As the owner of a Lawn Greeting business, and a mother of 3 small children, I often get asked how I run the business around my young family. That's the beauty of this business, you can choose to run it in a way that works for your situation.

For us, since my children are all under 7, and only 1 is in school full-time, we choose to do all of our deliveries and pickups during the evening and night hours. Stork and baby displays are put up with my husband's help after he comes home from work, and bringing all 3 kids with us in the Minivan. The surprise displays I do myself, in the middle of the night after the kids and my husband are asleep. I need to be back home by 4:00 am so that my husband can get to work on time, so on busy nights I may ask my sister to help with the setups.


Currently, we are comfortable with the amount of income the business is making at this time. Most of our customers find us through the web, either our website or one of the directories and of course we have alot of repeat clients. When our family is older, and all my kids are in school, I plan on ramping up the business with additional advertising and joint-venture partnerships with other local businesses that target the same markets I do.
Jane Dixon
http://www.phoenixstorks.com/

COMPETITION in BUSINESS--LAWN DISPLAYS

COMPETITION: (Rivalry, match, contest) Good, healthy competition is good, as it makes us grow and get better at what we do. We need competition to make us stretch ourselves; also it is imperative for the economy and gives the consumer "choices".
However if we get stuck on always being competitive, it can be counterproductive. "Remember the banana--when it left the bunch, it got skinned."
Do be courteous about copying others' work or ideas without getting written permission.  THERE IS PLENTY OF BUSINESS FOR ALL OF US!

Marty Miller    http://www.yardcarddirectory.com/    http://www.lawnexpressions.com/

COLLABORATION in the Yard Display Industry

COLLABORATION : (To work jointly with others) In most businesses, collaborating is very good. You can share ideas, benefit from each other's knowledge, increase the market knowledge of your product and gain more visibility. Many companies worry too much about having other companies in their area. I always liken it to the city corners that have 3-4 gas stations. Who in town has the most business? The businesses close together, so people have options.

In our particular business of Lawn Greetings; if consumers see a lot of signs or yard displays out there--it starts to imprint the idea in their minds for future celebrations. If people rarely see signs or displays then the concept does not become popular. With several companies in your area that makes each company "work smarter, not harder". We are each advertising for each other with consumer product knowledge just by having people see the idea in a yard. Also our ultimate goal is to service customers wanting this type of celebration recognition in their yard and if we cannot help them out, we can refer them to another company. I would welcome several more companies in my area so that I didn't have to work so hard to get the Yard Card idea known. There is plenty of business for everyone, especially when we all work together to help each other. (I don't mean giving away trade secrets or copyrighted materials--just visibility of the social expressions of signs and displays).
     "Life is hard by the yard, but inch by inch, life's a cinch"

NEXT BLOG: COMPETITION   Marty Miller http://www.lawnexpressions.com/
http://www.yardcardirectory.com/

History of Yard Cards & Lawn Displays

History of Yard Cards & Lawn Displays

When I started business in 1990 there were just about 3 companies that could be found on the internet for this specialized, social expression industry. The first company that I was aware of was in the mid 1980's and it was a company that was started by 2 MI teachers with signs about 3-4 ft. tall. I found it in a feature article in a small newspaper. I thought "Wow, what a great idea." Then I started seeing a few Stork Sign Rental companies.


Since I had always had an interest in Parties & celebrating people's special events this seemed like something really fun, thus I started working on a business plan. (something we can discuss in future blogs).


I started renting with 5 signs in late 1990 and choose Valentine's Day, 1991 as my roll-out date. I knew I would remember that date and made sure I had some free publicity near Valentine's Day, 1991.


Now in 2009, there are many companies offering diversified options; including large 4-7 ft. signs, banners, A-Frames with messages, yards full of smaller flamingos, buzzards, cows and so many other items referred to as “Props”. This trend has caught on all across the United States and in Canada & the industry is growing.

Most of the companies offer their Rental Signs or Displays in certain areas as they are delivered either late in the evening or early morning for the “wake-up” surprise for the recipient. This type of social expression gives the consumer options to the more traditional flowers, balloons and candy.

The growing number of companies is a testimonial to the popularity of this type of celebration or special event recognition.

My hope, in future blogs, is to provide helpful information to those either in the business or those thinking of starting in this business. I would enjoy this being “interactive” with posts from other companies with ideas, helpful hints, ideas and links that would be helpful.

We will be touching on many other subjects in future blogs.


STAY TUNED!

"Your dreams come true when you act to turn them into realities"

(author unknown)

Marty Miller www.lawnexpressions.com/ www.yardcarddirectory.com/