LeePemberton.com

Pay attention as Washington scrambles to find ways to pay for President Obama’s desperate “Jobs Plan”.
Following the classic pattern of our Socialist leaning government, Obama plans to again spend money to pay Americans for not working!

While you & I cannot find workers willing or even interested in working, the give-away program continues!
But, beware as the need for money tightens more and more – The Feds are quietly becoming much more aggressive as they enforce the “independent contractor” rules. Little businesses like us are easy marks for enforcement. I want you to read this article carefully:

Independent Contractors Who Aren’t
from the National Clothline
author Frank Kollman
Click here for more – http://www.ecleanadvisor.com/public/860.cfm

“ the only way to do great work is to love what you do.”
. . . Steve Jobs

Don’t miss this 15 minute video of Steve Jobs giving an absolutely incredible commencement address, or download the print copy. It is too powerful to even paraphrase – just watch it or print it out & read it.

Jobs just stepped down as Apple CEO, and overnight Apples stock value dropped 7%, or in the neighborhood of 15 Billion dollars! (bounced back in two days!) What an reputation – often referred to as “Modern Day Edison”!

Video version
Steve Jobs’ 2005 Stanford Commencement Address
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc

Text version from Stanford for print
http://news.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html

comments from Lee Pemberton

On this special weekend where families still come together,
and share precious memories of loved ones, I decided to
take a break from Sales & Marketing tips and share some
thoughts of days long gone, when days were much different
for me than they are today . . . .

(You have to be a certain age to really appreciate this)

THE BASIC RULES FOR CLOTHESLINES:

(If you don’t know what clotheslines are, better skip this.)

1. You had to wash the clothes line before hanging any
   clothes–walk the entire lengths of each line with a damp
   cloth around the lines, or take it down in a big ball to be
   rehung next week!
2. You had to hang the clothes in a certain order, and always
   hang “whites” with “whites,” and hang them first.
3. You never hung a shirt by the shoulders, always by the
   tail! What would the neighbors think?
4. Wash day on a Monday! . .. . Never hang clothes on the
   Weekend, or Sunday, for Heaven’s sake!
5. Hang the sheets and towels on the outside lines so you
   could hide your “unmentionables” in the middle
   (perverts & busybodies, y’know!).
6. It didn’t matter if it was sub zero weather….
   clothes would “freeze-dry.”
7. Always gather the clothes pins when taking down dry
   clothes! Pins left on the lines were “tacky!”
8. If you were efficient, you would line the clothes up so
   that each item did not need two clothes pins, but shared
   one of the clothes pins with the next washed item.
9. Clothes off of the line before dinner time, neatly folded
   in the clothes basket, and ready to be ironed.
10. IRONED? Well, that’s a whole other subject!

A CLOTHESLINE POEM

A clothesline was a news forecast
To neighbors passing by,
There were no secrets you could keep
When clothes were hung to dry.

It also was a friendly link
For neighbors always knew,
If company had stopped on by
To spend a night or two.

For then you’d see the “fancy sheets”
And towels upon the line;
You’d see the “company table cloths”
With intricate designs.

The line announced a baby’s birth
From folks who lived inside -
As brand new infant clothes were hung,
So carefully with pride!

And the ages of the children could
So readily be known
By watching how the sizes changed,
You’d know how much they’d grown!

It also told when illness struck,
As extra sheets were hung;
Then nightclothes, and a bathrobe, too,
Haphazardly were strung.

It also said, “Gone on vacation now”
When lines hung limp and bare.
It told, “We’re back!” when full lines sagged, with not an
inch to spare!

New folks in town were scorned upon
If wash was dingy and gray,
As neighbors carefully raised their brows,
And looked the other way.

But clotheslines now are of the past,
For dryers make work much less.
Now what goes on inside a home
Is anybody’s guess!

I really miss that way of life. It was a friendly time.

When neighbors knew each other best by what hung on the line.

I just reviewed the book “Meaningful Marketing” for a second time, and I really like the way the authors Doug Hall and Jeffrey Stamp, lay out the differences between what they refer to as ‘meaningful marketing’ as compared to what they see as mindless marketing.

They refer to “Meaningful Marketing” as an analytical and methodical approach by each of us to getting the most from our marketing efforts while we minimize costs, effort and waste with the measurable goal of maximizing sales, efficiency and long-term repeatable effectiveness. Now that’s a mouthful, but it hits home!

On the other hand, “Mindless Marketing” is clearly identified as activities that we take such as dropping prices when agitated by a customer or competitor, or spending countless dollars on the same old promotions that never work, while hoping that customers just might respond differently to our same old, tired and repetitious offers!.

I am sharing a few good tips I compiled from my review:

Watch out for these signs of “Mindless Marketing”, some good questions to ask yourself . . .

Are you are still doing things that haven’t worked for the last ten years or so?

Are you using marketing gimmicks or tricks to capture business?

Are you spinning your wheels by trying faddish or trendy stuff that is not part of an overall strategic plan? As an example, have you succumbed to using the latest social media sites or
other internet marketing tools without any understanding of how/why/what to expect them
to do for you?

Is your marketing still focused on the transaction and not on building the relationship?

I like these guys. They are as down to earth as it gets. And, at the end of the day, there’s no sense in marketing just for the sake of marketing. That’s just common sense really.

You can buy it from Amazon http://tinyurl.com/clntipAM for under $20 bucks.

This headline caught my attention this morning and I believe it should be of interest to you also.

“Make Cents? Walmart to Mirror Dollar Store Model”

My first thought was that this was a “Grabber” headline with no substance, until I started to read it. Then I read something that has drastically limited my trips to Walmart  -  it takes too long to justify the few dollars I save!

The article goes on to say, “A big complaint with warehouse shopping is that it takes too long to get what you need and get out again, which is one of the reasons people gravitate to Dollar Tree, Dollar General and stores like them“

How True! Marketing 101 today tells us:
“When all other things are equal, time becomes the primary decision factor!

Make sure to read this all, it is a lesson for us!
http://tinyurl.com/clntipWAL2

Another New Year Is At Hand! — Pay close attention to things happening around you. I am sharing these trends that I see unfolding, and I strongly caution you to take positive steps so that they don’t steamroller over you and your business this year. Following are two that I feel you must become aware of, with more over the next few weeks:

#1 – RETENTION
Customer Retention is a big one! Attracting new customers has become increasingly difficult, making the retention of existing customers a big priority for several reasons:

• It really does cost less to keep customers than get new ones even when times are good. With the incredible lack of trust among consumers today, the saving are significant!
• Secondly, referrals are the new “customer gold”, available only to those hardy “miners” who are knowledgeable enough to know how to do the “mining” in a totally trustworthy manner.

Retention of good employees is directly tied to your ability to retain customers, and is especially critical when “mining” for referrals!

• Don’t let the high unemployment issue blind you to the fact that good employees are still not easy to find and keep.
• The employee who knows how to treat your valuable customers may well be your most valuable tool this year for increasing your customer base through referrals!

#2 – SELF EMPLOYMENT
As the fact sinks in that their old jobs will not be coming back, the unemployed will be faced with options they don’t like. Some will take jobs at a lower pay scale and adjust. Others will decide to take advantage of government subsidized training to qualify for jobs in a different field. Some will relocate for better job opportunities.

However, many will decide to become self employed. You can expect a significant upturn in new business start ups in the cleaning industry! Parents & grandparents will lend money for equipment once they realize that good training is easily available in this industry, (and everyone already thinks this is an easy business)!

Last week I expressed my thoughts regarding using technology wisely and how it has benefited me.

I promised the balance of the pictures that I took, including a peak at my hi-tech watering system.

Check these out, and I might mention that I will be harvesting potatoes this weekend.

I see if I can get a couple of pictures for you.

Click here to view the slide show

Question for you: Are you using technology effectively in your business and your life?

As I approach my 79th year, I find myself answering one question over and over, “How do you keep up with everything you do”?

Especially after posting a picture of my front porch with all my flowers on my blog, I received more comments like this; “Keeps you busy now that you have retired, good luck”!

The fact is, I am not retired and have no current plans to do so! But, what I have learned is the secret of using technology to my benefit, both in my gardening hobby and in my business activities.

When I found myself with aching knee’s and back some years ago, I researched online and learned about “raised beds” and “container gardening”  -  long story short, I embarked on developing “raised beds” and “containers” around my home.  -  Everywhere!

Result?  Aching back and knees were gone! Plus, much less weed & bug problems. However, because I built so many beds, I next found myself spending an incredible amount of time (and $$$) watering these beds!

I finally thought that I might have to sell and move into a smaller apartment.

However, technology again came to my rescue! I discovered relatively inexpensive, DIY “mini-soaker” irrigation systems that now allow me to water and feed at the same time using an affordable but  simple, manual timer and feeding system.

So, as a result, today I have the best of both worlds! My gardening hobby and my business activities without feeling exhausted or crushed!

Could I have achieved these results without technology? Not on your life!

Computer skills along with internet technology make the business more interesting and functional  -  saving an incredible amount of time compared to these same tasks in the early 1980’s! Which equals a big increase in my productivity!

I also probably save 15– 20 hours a week alone, as well as many, many $$$$  in my gardening.

And I am able to do a far better job of both!

For many of you, these are incredibly difficult times. You have never experienced anything like this.  So, here is a very simple suggestion from me to you  -

(1) Learn how technology can help you do better while using less of your physical assets by making sure you use technologically advanced tools and products to help you.

(2) Learn how to use internet and computer technology to reduce your marketing costs while increasing your effectiveness!

Many of you have asked what I do other than work in our family business, so I decided to show you around. I had Melissa take some candid shots of my gardens which are my hobby and passion – after our wonderful industry filled with incredibly hard working persons whom I love and have served for for the last 50 + years!

This is the entry to my home, but early next week I will have the other 30 or so pictures posted for you to take a glimpse.

Click here to view the slide show