Orange County Advertiser is excited to welcome back guest blogger Kari Adler, owner and founder of Have a Tiki Day with more timely business advice.

Is it really 2011? Yes! And the ONLY way we should think of this New Year is how lucky we are to experience it. Each day is truly a treasure and we need to remind ourselves everyday! Don’t allow yourself to be drained by what you don’t have, or can’t do, or criticism by others. This babble will only hinder your ability to live each moment of your life with appreciation for what you DO have.

I remind you of this because of my own latest experience with negative comments directed toward me. I was recently featured in an article for the Orange County Register titled No jobs? Graduate, 23, creates something bigger . I received several positive comments, many thanks to all of you, and several negative ones. Some were downright nasty. One individual even attacked my family. I couldn’t understand why someone would write such negative things without knowing me. I felt horrible.

This brings me to my first Tiki Tip of the New Year and my own personal resolution…

Tiki Tip: Turn a Negative into a Positive

I know, I know, you’ve all heard this before. But do you actually do it? Or do you dwell on negative thoughts that drain the life
out of you. If you’re like me, you are more inclined to believe a negative comment about yourself than a positive one.

As a self-proclaimed Perfectionista, I am already hard on myself. So criticism from others is especially difficult. This is where my brother Kash Adler, writer and actor extraordinaire, stepped in. Not only is he my younger brother, he’s my go-to for calm and positive energy. Basically, my little Buddha.

Kash flat out told me to stop being silly and turn this negative into a positive. I was dwelling and making myself upset. And upset over what? Some words from anonymous bloggers.

Of course I knew these comments were false and typical jealousy, but nevertheless, hurtful. As a small business owner, I’m not used to criticism that harsh. But he said, one day, HAVE A TIKI DAY® will be bigger than you could imagine. And if I think these comments are bad now, just wait until you’re a Fortune 500 company.

I now view these comments as preparation for the future. It pushes me to work harder on my business and reinforces the fact that I’m the one in control of my thought process. We are all faced with negativity on a daily basis, but it’s up to you in how you think about it. Think positive, be positive and you‘ll be productive!

Tiki Tip: Take out the Trash!

Referring to the physical mess around you. A space full of clutter and chaos will only distract you from what you need to focus on. Whether it’s your bedroom, office or kitchen…CLEAN IT UP! I have always found a disorganized space creates disorganized thoughts. Not to mention a waste of your valuable time if you have to sort through a million papers to find what you’re looking for.

I live and work in a clutter-free zone. Shocker, Perfectionista Kari operates in an organized space. But believe me, its works. I have helped other non-perfectionist people organize their spaces and it’s been successful.

In a hurry and can’t find your keys? Or the all important Blackberry? Eliminate this stress by placing your keys & cell in the same dish every day. Organize the little things and relieve the stresses you simply don’t need. Also, don’t forget to toss those items you won’t use again. They’re taking up space that you will eventually run out of. Whether its old books, kitchen gadgets or paperwork, donate what you can and take the rest to the trash!

Tiki Tip: Don’t Predict, ANYTHING

Predicting is the absolute WORST thing you can do. You may have an idea what will happen in the next 5 minutes, hour, or day, but you can never be sure. We like to plan and predict things as we think they should be and are let down when it doesn’t happen. By doing this, you set yourself up for disappointment. STOP this right now!

Always prepare for the unexpected and you’ll be prepared for anything! Life changes in split seconds and one can never know what’s around the corner. Therefore, DON’T PREDICT!

My grandmother always said, “Man Plans and God Laughs”. So very true! Sure I make business plans and keep events in my calendar, but I don’t freak if things change. I expect plans to change. This way of thinking will allow you to handle personal and professional changes much easier. Expect the unexpected and you’ll adapt with ease.

Celebrate the New Year with Kari’s Tiki Tips for your personal and professional life.

Peace, Love &… HAVE A TIKI DAY®

Facebook and Twitter are all abuzz with the first-ever Small Business Saturday, a national movement to drive shoppers to local small retailers.

American Express’ CEO Kenneth Chenault said that large retailers have Black Friday and online retailers have Cyber Monday, “and now, starting on Nov. 27 of this year, small-business owners will have Small Business Saturday.” (Associated Press, November 8, 2010)

American Express has launched campaigns on Facebook and Twitter driving consumers and business owners to http://www.facebook.com/smallbusinesssaturday where they can participate in many ways.

Chenault said that the first 10,000 small business owners who sign up to participate will get $100 worth of Facebook advertising. American Express will give a $25 credit to 100,000 of its cardholders who pledge to use their cards at independent businesses on Nov. 27. (Associated Press, November 8, 2010)

Consider these statistics:

For every $100 spent, $68 returns to the community – Civic Economics

Small businesses employ half of all private sector employees – SBA

Small businesses represent 99.7% of all employer firms – SBA

For every year over the last decade, 60% – 80% of new jobs were generated by small businesses – SBA

Small Business Saturday is:

A day to come together in support of the small businesses we love.

An opportunity to reinvest our money into the shops and restaurants that employ our neighbors.

A moment to recognize the businesses that are the heartbeat of our communities and local economics.

So as retailers are being encouraged to patronize community businesses, how are you as the small business owner going to reach out to them? Will you sign up for Small Business Saturday? Will you offer special promotions? Are you reaching out to hire employees from your community? Will Small Business Saturday take a nationally recognized spot between Black Friday and Cyber Monday? Time will tell, but for the local economy, the concept is fantastic.

Predictions of the near future have print media continuing to lose readership and lose advertising revenue (albeit at a slower pace.) But we recently read one prediction that indicated newspapers would face increasingly fierce competition from local TV and radio. This begs the question – among newspapers, TV and radio – which media should be first in line for local ad dollars? We actually didn’t anticipate the answer would be quite so compelling. But we think you’ll agree, the answer is print. This link is to a chart of the top 10 media markets in the U.S., outlining the relative strength of local late TV news, AM drive radio and daily newspapers.

Comparing 100 percent of the possible audience for each media (actual numbers for each would be lower of course) and using national average ratings for each market; these ratings would, of course, be a little higher or lower in any given market. But as you can see – the audience that actually uses newspapers ‘to plan shopping and make purchase decisions,’ far exceeds that of TV and radio in virtually every market.

What is especially interesting is that we’re only including the major daily newspaper circulation in each market. What would the numbers look like if we included all the weeklies and various shoppers in the mix? — Source: Media Bids

As an Orange County Business Owner, consider the impact that print advertising has on the newcomer market. Home at Last (HAL) is “home plate” for OC new residents who want and need to touch base with their surroundings. Each issue is packed with information — a combination of articles, advertorials and directories focus readers on what’s important to them: City resources (local government, libraries, parks, recycling centers), malls, beaches, automotive (AAA, auto malls, DMV), points of interest (amusement centers, harbors, sports centers), home improvement, dining and other lifestyle topics are covered.

HAL Newcomer Directory and Relocation Guide is part of the Welcome Express® Welcome Package, which is assembled specifically for each newcomer and personalized with the family’s name.

Home at Last is unique — new and fresh yet still deeply rooted in the Welcome Express® brand name recognition achieved through 20 years of doing business in OC

To combat empty store syndrome, many retailers are thinking outside of the box in order to attract customers. To stay competitive they are realizing that they must appeal to their community and become not just a retail location, but a destination.

Of course, many restaurants have already discovered the value of this concept by offering live music on Fridays and/or Saturdays. But does this concept work for say, jewelry stores or furniture stores? Business owners say yes and no. Not all are seeing a spike in sales, but they do see that they are cementing their place in the community.

Live music is not the only event businesses can add to their repertoire. Clothing stores are adding fashion shows. Fitness clubs are adding juice bars. Gift stores offer cookies and freshly brewed coffee. Events or perks are definitely becoming an integral part of retailers trying to reach out in a recession. And most retailers seem to agree that connecting with the community is key in the longevity of their business.

What ideas do you have in these tough times? Have you added events or special perks? We’d love to hear your comments!

What Motivates People?
By Rick Warren

If your work involves any contact with people, whether as a construction foreman, salesman, teacher, flight attendant or a leader, or in providing a service, you must understand something about motivation to be effective. Why do people act the way they do? Throughout history great minds have suggested different answers to that question.

Sigmund Freud believed that all behavior is motivated by the desire to avoid pain and experience pleasure. In his view, pleasure-seeking is the reason anything gets done. We work because it will provide us with things that we think will provide pleasure. While it’s obvious that the desire for pleasure is a real and powerful force behind much of what we do – it doesn’t explain all behavior. Millions of people willingly forfeit physical pleasure and endure pain every day for a variety of reasons.

Alfred Adler believed that the desire for power and prestige is what motivates us. He wrote that we all need to feel good about ourselves so we seek to control the people and events around us in attempt to acquire these feelings. We look for things to do that will give us a sense of power and status. Again, this is partly true, but it doesn’t explain why so many powerful and famous achievers still feel unsatisfied.

Victor Frankl believed that it is the desire for purpose and permanence that explains why we do what we do. As a survivor of the Nazi death camps, Frankl learned firsthand that man’s search for meaning is the root of human motivation. People can live with minimal food and comforts but they cannot live without hope.

The truth is, each of these views is partly right. Human beings have a physical dimension, a psychological dimension, and a spiritual dimension. Life involves HAVING, DOING, and BEING. Our physical side desires a safe workplace and a secure income. Our psychological side wants to be valued, rather than devalued, for our work. And our spiritual side requires that there be a meaning and purpose to what we do.

Wise managers and leaders create organizations that help people experience pleasure instead of pain at the physical level, self-worth at the psychological level, and meaning and purpose at the spiritual level. When you integrate these values into your workplace extraordinary achievements are possible through ordinary people!

“Thank you God for making me so wonderfully complex! It is amazing to think about. Your work-manship is marvelous… You saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe… How great to realize that You are thinking about me constantly!” Psalm 139:13-17 (Living Bible)

“This article is from Rick Warren’s Ministry Toolbox issue #20.
www.Pastors.com. Copyright 2001 by Rick Warren. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”

After declining for 4 straight quarters from early 08 to early 09, economists estimate OC’s economy has been growing since Q2-09.  After 2 years of negative expectations, OC executives are definitely optimistic in their outlook for Q2-10.  A quarterly index of business expectations is at 65.2 for Q2, the 5th straight gain since the low in early 09.  The index, based on a survey of executives, professionals, managers and business owners is designed to be a leading indicator of quarterly economic activity.  An index reading of 50 or more signals a positive outlook for the quarter.  The Q2 65.2 reading is up from 53.3 for Q1.

More specifically, let’s look at housing…

OC Housing:  Although still 45% below their Feb, 2005 peak, OC housing prices have increased 5 to 7% since January 2010. There are 2 primary OC housing markets—those for below $1M (hot) & those above $1M (cold).  At the current pace, it would take buyers 2.5 months to absorb current inventory of below $1M homes.  Above $1M home inventory would take 9.4 months to absorb.

And lastly…

OC’s annual gross metropolitan product—a measure of economic output similar to the nation’s annual gross domestic product—is $165.5 billion.  That is down from a high of $172.6 billion at the start of 2007.

All of these stats are good news for advertising companies in Orange County as well as marketing firms in Southern California. What about small businesses in Orange County? Does this increase your sense of hopefulness for the future? We’d love to hear from you!

Last week, we looked at using fan pages or just pages as they are now called, to establish a presence for your business, product or brand. But would a Facebook group be a better choice. Let’s take a look at Groups to see what they are all about.

Facebook groups can be created for just about anything. They typically are meant to foster group discussion around a particular topic area, cause, or event, or interest. Group pages are linked to your personal profile. Like pages, they are easy to set up.

Steps:

To begin, go to the Groups application and click “Create a Group” in the upper right corner of the page. On the following page, you will be able to add descriptive information about your group. All groups require a group name, description and group type. Click “Create Group” when you are finished. And that is it. Very simple

Next, add a picture – To be easily recognized as a business, you should choose a logo or storefront as your photo.

Select your group’s privacy settings. These settings can be changed at any time by clicking “Edit Group” on the group’s main page.

Why Groups make business sense:

Administration – As the group administrator, you can easily send messages to group members, making it easier to communicate with them about your business. However, there is a limitation of 5,000 members.

Facebook Groups are searchable by keywords. This makes them easier to find easier to find by Facebook users.

Allow you as the administrator to send out bulk invitations and any of the group members can invite friends which is an effective way to quickly market your business or product.

Allows you to post information about your business or product – Of course, engaging content and encouraging interaction among group members will make your group more attractive.

To create a group, sign into your facebook account and then go HERE

For more on how to utilize social media for your business, click HERE.

In the past two weeks we have discussed both Pages and Groups as a way to market your business on Facebook, next week we will compare the two to see which is thought of as the most effective marketing tool.

Chris Brogan, President of New Marketing Labs, says “We really can’t deny the fact that businesses are testing out Twitter as part of their steps into the social media landscape. You can say it’s a stupid application, that no business gets done there, but there are too many of us (including me) that can disagree and point out business value”.

Here is a snippet from his blog post 50 Ideas on Using Twitter for Business

1. Twitter helps one organize great, instant meetups (tweetups).
2. Twitter works swell as an opinion poll.
3. Twitter can help direct people’s attention to good things.
4. Twitter at events helps people build an instant “backchannel.”
5. Twitter breaks news faster than other sources, often (especially if the news impacts online denizens).
6. Twitter gives businesses a glimpse at what status messaging can do for an organization. Remember presence in the 1990s?
7. Twitter brings great minds together, and gives you daily opportunities to learn (if you look for it, and/or if you follow the right folks).
8. Twitter gives your critics a forum, but that means you can study them.
9. Twitter helps with business development, if your prospects are online (mine are).
10. Twitter can augment customer service. (but see above)

We here at Orange County Advertiser want to hear how you are using Twitter for your business, what is working and what isn’t. Chime in!

It is no secret that times are tough. Driving through local shopping centers, the “for lease” signs look to be contagious. But as a business owner, this is not the time to put your tail between your legs and slink away. This is the time to focus on your marketing budget and position your company for future prosperity.

In a study of U.S. recessions, McGraw-Hill Research analyzed 600 companies from 1980 to 1985. The results showed that firms that maintained or increased their advertising expenditures during the 1981-1982 recession averaged significantly higher sales growth than those that eliminated or decreased their advertising. This increased growth not only occurred during the recession, but continued for the following three years. By 1985, sales of companies that were aggressive recession advertisers had risen 256 percent over those that didn’t keep up their advertising!

5 Tips for staying on top:

1. Maintain marketing budget making sure efforts include high value and high impact non-advertising venues such as public relations, word of mouth, and social media. Consider direct marketing which gives more immediate sales impact.

2. Market to your target audience. Spending money to sell to people to who don’t need your product is poor budgeting.

3. Keep in mind that customers will be shopping for the best deals and in tough times, price cuts offer a bigger draw than promotions.

4. Consumers want to count on the reliability, safety, durability, and performance of products so stay away from gimmicks and flowery messages. Look to empower consumers to make good choices based on value rather than price.

5. Be innovative. For example, run a competition to win advertising space on your site. You are marketing your website in a way that is free for you but valuable for others. Or add your website’s URL to the signature of each email account (personal or business) you use, so it appears on every email you send.

What it comes down to is that successful companies do not abandon their marketing strategies in a recession; they refine and adapt them. What are you doing to adapt?

Orange County Advertising explores the impact of the internet with Talkshoe. Your business takes on the starring role as Talkshoe enables users to record, join or access live interactive discussions, podcasts and audioblogs over the web, complete with technical support, conferencing, bandwidth and storage, all for free. Here’s how it works: The host chooses a topic and starts a community call. People join via phone or computer and talk, listen or chat. The call is automatically recorded as a podcast and listed for you. TalkShoe currently has almost 100,000 users and millions more listen to recorded Community Calls via iTunes and other podcast directories.

Here are some of the benefits to your business as taken from the Talkshoe website:

Position Your Company as the Thought Leader – You know your business and industry better than anyone else, and people like to buy from experts. So when you’re the expert, you’ve got a leg up on the competition.

Lower Sales and Marketing Costs – By simultaneously reaching a broad geographically dispersed audience, you can lower travel cost, and make more efficient use of corporate and sales resources.

Want more exposure for your business? Discover how Welcome Express can put you in direct contact with the ever growing newcomer population in your area. Call (949) 481-0600 for more information or click HERE.