Sunday, November 22, 2009

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

Saturday, November 21, 2009

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/

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

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/

Sunday, November 15, 2009

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/

Saturday, November 14, 2009

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/

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

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/