Beth n Rod

Sometimes you have an idea you think is a good idea, and it turns out not to be such a good idea. We opened a new forum yesterday for our TGS Site Supporters. It turns out, that some folks looked at that in a negative way, although we didn't mean it as anything but a way to say thank you. So, in response to several passionate and vocal members here on TGS we have pulled the private forums. Thanks for your feedback, we do appreciate it. :) Beth

Your covers rock! Reminds me, I need to post a pic of the last one we got on our machine.... Beth

ROTFLAMO!!!!!! Now that was just funny, I don't care who you are.... Beth

More shots...same house...

Another log home....

Here's a two tone job....

I'll second that one!!! Rod!~

Welcome Mark! Glad to have you here. Beth :groovy3: :groovy2: :groovy2:

Rob, Thank you for the info. I will c heck it out and let everyone know what the results are... hopefully with pics too. The job is scheduled for 01-11-07 so I have time till then to do some more research and ordering. Rod!~

Here's a log home we did with HD-80, Citralic, and of course, Wood Tux.

I was so busy looking at Neil's pics I missed that text. Man, that's horrible. May he heal quickly. Have a great vacation Neil! Beth

Here are some more photos for the contest. This is a solid deck stripped with HD-80. It was barely 50 outside, very early spring. Beth

Hi Rob, Who is the supplier of the product you mentioned? The shadow is going to be the biggest part of the satisfaction of the customer. I am sure that he will want as much of it gone as can be done if not 100%. I am prepared to inform him that this in most cases may not be possible and to expect a residual. Rod!~

Yes! And also get your testimonials then. Testimonials are wonderful. While you are at it, ask them to refer you business. If you ask, you would be amazed at what these folks will do. Not everyone thinks of it on their own. Beth

Isn't wood care fun? I love it! It may sound odd, but I like working with my hands and helping to transform wood that didn't look so hot to wood that the owners love and take pride in. Beth :groovy:

We use Cabot - Problem solver primer and then white solid color stain. The latex works better than the alkyd for application purposes. Rod!~

It really is a beautiful job!!! And you are very welcome for the help. ;) I love looking at before and afters of people's work. They can be very inspiring. Now is the time when we plan for the coming year. I love this time of year for that. Beth

I am working on the logistics of an on board decker system with around 200' of hose, reel and containment for spills such as a tray or other vessel to capture sealant in the case of a leak or spills during container changes. For one thing, it would make my life so much easier if the saddle tank (225gal) we have installed in the van was a square configuration instead of rounded. I could then set up a smaller tank on top of it with reel(s) next to it and take the pump assembly and mount it to the bulk head wall with a line to the main battery for power. As you can tell, it is a project in the works also waiting on this years budget allotment so I can determine how and when it will be done. I may sell the tank and replace it with another square one as mentioned above. Rod!~

Don't forget to post here about the event afterwards and put up some pics! Beth

Thank You John Orr! :) Beth

How to Work a Trade Show Whether you're exhibiting or attending, here's all you need to know to make any trade show a success. By Jane Applegate Marilyn Simes, CEO of Digital Instincts Inc. in Tuckahoe, New York, was one of the more than 2,000 women who crowded into Navy Pier last week for the 15th annual Entrepreneurial Woman's Conference. She flew from New York to Illinois looking for prospective clients for her Internet marketing firm. No one would believe the economy was in a slump based on record attendance at the women's conference, co-sponsored by the Women's Business Development Center and the Women's Business Enterprise National Council, which certifies women-owned businesses. After the show, when we met at the airport, Simes had that drained, post-trade-show stare, but she said she was happy she made the trip. "I made a lot of new contacts and reconnected with other businesspeople I knew," she said. Her biggest accomplishment was bumping into a running shoe company executive she was dying to do business with, on the exhibit floor. The Chicago show was a hit because it afforded women from around the country a chance to meet with supplier diversity executives from scores of major companies ranging from AOL/Time Warner to Pfizer and UPS. "I can't believe they pay me to do this!" said Glen Mayer, corporate supplier diversity coordinator for UPS. Outgoing and friendly, Mayer said he attends trade shows for a living and loves every minute of it. But for most of us, attending a trade show is exhausting and frustrating. Your eyes ache from the bright lights, your feet hurt from the concrete floors, and your stomach hurts from eating all that free candy. Sometimes, it pays not to give away too much for free. Chatto Wright, who runs a salon in Chicago, charges for samples of her beauty products at shows. "People have more respect for what you are making when you charge for it," she said. "The people who walk through a show grabbing whatever they can are not good potential customers. I only give samples away if I see someone with really problem skin, then I pull them aside, talk to them about their skin and offer some products to help them." Based on my experience reporting on and keynoting scores of trade shows, I'm now producing a video called "How to Work a Trade Show" for a client. Here are some survival tips to make the trip to a trade show worthwhile. If You're Exhibiting Do your research to select the best show for business development. Talk to colleagues who have attended the same show before you make final plans. Read the promotional brochures as soon as they arrive. Take advantage of early-bird discounts on booth space, travel and hotel accommodations. Try to book a booth in a busy aisle near a big corporate booth that will attract lots of traffic. When you receive the exhibitor's kit, read it carefully. There are many confusing forms to fill out. You'll usually have to deal with two or more companies; one producing the conference and another responsible for renting equipment, phone lines and electrical power. In many cities, you will be hiring union workers to carry your displays and materials in and out of the convention center. If you can't afford to buy a custom display, be creative and make one. We create a SBTV "studio" on the expo floor by renting stools and bringing along our own backdrop, lights, cameras and glossy "Tell Your Story" posters. Most booths come with one draped table, a few chairs and a trash can. Create a realistic budget. Consider travel expenses: ground transportation, accommodations (ask employees to share rooms if possible), meals, snacks, giveaways and the cost of being out of the office for a few days. Create a press kit or a press release and make sure it gets into the press room or distributed at the press conferences. Ask the show's press reps to arrange introductions to the reporters covering the show. Try to set up interviews in advance with local radio and newspaper reporters. Set up a schedule that lets you work in the booth part of the day. You also need time to walk the floor to make contacts. Bring a clever giveaway. The hit of the Chicago show was an elegant, battery-powered pen given to guests at a cocktail party sponsored by ING Aetna Financial Services. Bring a supply of chocolate or mints to serve as magnets to passersby. Bring your friendliest employees. You want high-energy, happy people in your booth. They must be well-groomed, attentive and not chewing gum, sitting or talking to each other. If You're Attending No matter how tired you are, attend a few seminars and all the group meals. Target industry leaders and contacts you want to meet. Spend some time each day circulating and schmoozing. When you finally catch up with a person you wanted to meet, ask them to join you outside the hall where it's quieter. If it's an industry leader, you will only have a few minutes to make an impression before they are distracted or led away. Speak to as many people as you can while waiting in buffet or bathroom lines. You never know who will turn out to be a great contact. If a reporter or producer approaches you, give them a good quote for their story. Rather than carrying around heavy brochures, collect the cards of serious prospects. Say, "So many people were interested in my products, I've already given all my brochures away. But, I'd love to send you one as soon as I get back to the office." Distribute postcards. Unlike a heavy brochure, postcards are light and easy to carry. They are also very inexpensive to print. For about $500, you can get 5,000 postcards made by 1-800-POSTCARDS. Bring three times as many business cards as you think you will need. Wear comfortable clothes and a jacket with pockets. I keep my cards in one pocket to hand out. I store cards given to me in the other pocket. If you don't have a stylish, comfortable outfit to make a good impression, go shopping before the show. If money is tight, contact the organizers and volunteer to help in exchange for free admission. Gwedolyn Meeks, who owns and operates Gwen's Bread Pudding Crunch in Chicago, attended a show for free in exchange for helping out at the registration desk. As a new business owner, Meeks said she learned a lot by watching the thousands of women "working" the show. "The most important thing you can do at a trade show is to show up," she said. "Just being here is the most important thing." Jane Applegate is a syndicated columnist and the author of 201 Great Ideas for Your Small Business. For a free copy of her "Business Owner's Check Up," send your name and address to Check Up, P.O. Box 768, Pelham NY 10803 or e-mail it to info@sbtv.com.

http://www.showstopperexhibits.com/Tips.htm And a nice link to go with it.... Beth

We just got a job that involves removing oil from a customer of a 3rd party that created the condition. This happened about 2 months ago and now an attorney is trying to help with remedy. There is a time constraint imposed by the customer and they insist on being present during the process. We have already decided that a waiver is going to be signed by all releasing us from liability. According to the 3rd party, they have tried to clean it but did not get it very clean. We suspect a stain remains and are not sure we can get it much cleaner but we are going to try. We accepted to help the 3rd party in the remedy but now temps could be a factor. Any suggestions?

What is Marketing? - Ryan Allis Two shoe salesmen find themselves in a rustic backward part of Africa. The first salesman wires back to his head office: “There is no prospect of sales. Natives do not wear shoes!” The other salesman wires: “No one wears shoes here. We can dominate the market. Send all possible stock.” - Akio Morita, Sony Simply stated, marketing is everything you do to place your product or service in the hands of potential customers. The purpose of marketing is to get the word out about your product—and in turn to make sales of your product or service. Sales is only a part of marketing, however. While sales is simply the act of converting a prospect from prospect to customer, marketing is the process that makes sales possible including brand development, partnership creation, publicity, and advertising. Marketing is the background work that gets prospects in the door. Sales is the process of converting those prospects to lifetime customers. The cause of the failure of many businesses is a breakdown in or lack of marketing. You can develop a wonderful product or provide a high value-add service, but if the marketing is not there, your business will not succeed. There are two different types of marketing. The type you’ll learn in most business schools can be generally defined as corporate marketing. In a business school class on corporate marketing, you’ll learn about things like branding strategy, demographics, and positioning statements. While these subjects are important to know, they will not be of great benefit to the bootstrapping entrepreneur who does not have a million dollar budget, ten ad designers, and a sales force of one hundred. The other type of marketing is entrepreneurial marketing. In entrepreneurial marketing, instead of concentrating on brand recognition you concentrate on sales. Without much money to spend, the return on investment (ROI) of every ad, of every campaign, is that much more important. In this chapter, I will present both the basics of marketing, the core of much of what corporate marketing is based on, as well as a complete step-by-step marketing strategy to launching your business and building it to one million dollars in sales, without spending a dime in upfront costs. One of the most basic and most important concepts in marketing is known as the Four Ps. The four Ps are product, price, place, and promotion. If you can develop a good product at the right price, position it in a place where buyers are, and promote it well to create desire in the customers’ mind, you’ll quickly succeed in making a lot of sales. Product As we talked about before, your product is crucial to your success. If you have a good product, getting the other three Ps right will be that much easier. The ‘product’ includes both the actual physical product as well as product decisions such as function, appearance, packaging, labeling, and warranty. The word ‘product’ also encompasses any services you may provide. The service you provide is your product. Price If your price is too high, not enough people will be able to afford it. If your price is too low, you will not make any profit. On the other hand, if your price is too low, many will not buy it because they may see it as an inferior good. To best manage these forces and optimize your net profits, you will have to test many different prices of your product(s). Place Place is essential to building sales. Place essentially rests on positioning—the positioning of your marketing message and the positioning of your product. In both retail stores and online, how to properly position your product is a very important skill. Without proper positioning, no one will know you exist. If you are hidden in the back corner of a store on the bottom shelf and your web site is number 3425 in the search engines for your targeted keywords, you likely will not make many sales, no matter how good your product is. We’ll talk more about how to position your product both online and off later in this chapter. The positioning of your product is also known as your distribution strategy. A distribution strategy is developed by determining where on the value chain you want your business to be positioned, and who the buyer will be. You may sell your product to a retail store who then resells it to the buyer, a manufacturer who sells exclusively to jobbers and regional representatives, or directly to your end consumers. We’ll talk more about distribution models and strategies later in this section. Promotion Promotion is an essential part of the marketing process. Promotion decisions include those related to communicating your message, advertising, and public relations. Important Definitions for Marketers B2B – Business to Business. B2C – Business to Consumer Brand – The aggregate representation and reputation of your business across all those who interact with it. Includes much more than simply the logo and corporate identity. CRM – Customer Relationship Management Demographics – Data on customers and prospects such as gender, location, birth date, past purchases, income level, marriage status, and birth date. A marketer can better target their promotions with good demographic data. Direct-to-consumer – Selling a product directly to the buyer without any middlemen. Distribution Model – The levels of companies through which a product is sourced, manufactured, and then sold. Distribution Strategy – Where and how a company positions itself in the value chain, including what type of distribution model it follows. LTV – The Lifetime Value (of a customer). Market Research – research about a market including the competitors and competing products, its size, and growth rate. Retail – Selling a product to an end buyer ROI – Return on Investment Target Market – Who your business will be targeting with the promotions for your product. Those that are most likely to buy. USP – Unique Selling Point, also known as the value proposition; what you do that differentiates you from your competitors. Value Chain – A representation of the distribution model based on the value added by each type of business at each level. Wholesale – Selling of a product to another business who will later resell it. http://www.woopidoo.com/articles/ra1-marketing.htm

Business Idea & Opportunity Evalution - Ryan Allis In analyzing your business ideas you must be able to pass them through a test to determine if they truly are valid opportunities. All of your ideas must have a demonstrated need, ready market, and ability to provide a solid return on investment. Is the idea feasible in the marketplace? Is there demand? Can it be done? Are you able to pull together the persons and resources to pull it off before the window of opportunity closes? These questions must be considered and answered. Opportunity-focused entrepreneurs start with the customer and the market in mind. They analyze the market to determine industry issues, market structure, market size, growth rate, market capacity, attainable market share, cost structure, the core economics, exit strategy issues, time to breakeven, opportunity costs, and barriers to entry. Below are two models that entrepreneurs use to evaluate their business ideas and plans. Fourteen Questions to Ask Every Time To evaluate opportunities, entrepreneurs ask the following questions: 1. What is the need you fill or problem you solve? (Value Proposition) 2. Who are you selling to? (Target Market) 3. How would you make money? (Revenue Model) 4. How will you differentiate your company from what is already out there? (Unique selling proposition) 5. What are the barriers to entry? 6. How many competitors do you have and of what quality are they? (Competitive Analysis) 7. How big is your market in dollars? (Market Size) 8. How fast is the market growing or shrinking? (Market Growth) 9. What percent of the market do you believe you could gain? (Market Share) 10. What type of company would this be? (Lifestyle or High Potential, Sole Proprietorship or Corporation) 11. How much would it cost to get started? (Start-up Costs) 12. Do you plan to use debt capital or raise investment? If so, how much and what type? (Investment needs) 13. Do you plan to sell your company or go public (list the company on the stock markets) one day? (Exit Strategy) 14. If you take on investment, how much money do you think your investors will get back in return? (Return on Investment) Let’s take the above fourteen questions and term them into an easy model that you can use to evaluate your business ideas you come up with. This is called the RAMP model. The RAMP Model Let’s start with the first letter, R, which stands for Return. Return really is return on investment. R Discuss Exit Strategy (acquisition or IPO) R Is it profitable? Will your revenues be higher than your expenses? R Time to breakeven (how long before cash flow positive? How long until the company begins to have an aggregate net income) R Investment Needed. How much money will it take to start-up this venture. Will it be $20,000, $200,000, or $2,000,000? Now let’s look at A. A stands for advantages. A Look at cost structure (suppliers, what each element will cost to source or manufacture) A Barriers to entry (large competitors, regulations, patents, large capital requirements. If there are many barriers to entry, it will be difficult to enter a market. The higher the barriers to entry, the more disadvantaged you will be. A Intellectual Property. Do you have a proprietary advantage such as a patents or exclusive licenses on what you will be selling. A Distribution Channel. How will you be selling your product? Will you sell it direct to the consumer via the Internet, sell it to wholesales, sell it to businesses, or sell it to retail stores. If can develop a unique distribution channel this can surely be an advantage. Now let’s look at M. M stands for Market. M The Need. Is there a big need for this product or service. Try to avoid ideas that sound cool but there is no real need for. Make sure your product or service fills and need or solves a problem. M Target market (who are you selling to? businesses? consumers? what demographics?) M Analyze target market (who are you selling to? businesses? consumers? what demographics?) M Pricing (what you they charge, what will be the price, will there be a high enough markup). M Analyze market size Finally let’s look at P. P stands for potential. P Risk vs. Reward. How risky is the opportunity? If it is very risky, it there a chance for the business to do very well. Will there be a high reward for the founders and investors if the company succeeds? P The Team. Is the team right for the business. Do you have knowledge in this area. P Timing. Is the market ready for your product. You may have a great idea for flying cars, but if consumers are not ready for your product you may not be able to turn your idea into a successful business. P Goal Fit. Does the business concept fit the goals of the team to create a high potential or lifestyle business? By using the RAMP model and the fourteen questions above you should be able to do a thorough job analyzing your business ideas and opportunities presented to you. http://www.woopidoo.com/articles/ra2-business-ideas.htm