My trade show booth design was the best at the show.

July 26, 2014 in 23, trade show booth design by Hannah Savage | Permalink

I work at a small company and the owner likes to do trade shows. I on the other hand do not like it so much. He is very personable and outgoing. He can talk to everyone and could talk for weeks on end about the business, which is a good thing because you should be passionate about what you do. The first time I attended a trade show with them I was new to the company and didn’t have a whole lot knowledge about what we were promoting. I mostly stood back and watched as my boss and co-worker worked the floor and probably engaged with every single person who attended the trade show. It wasn’t my best but it was a learning experience.

The next trade show I attended went much better but I still felt a little uneasy talking to people about what we were promoting. I was involved with the planning of the trade show booth design and I was really able to contribute. We wanted to show how our LED lights could save people a lot of money on power bills while simultaneously brightening stores and offices. I had the idea to bring in some of the old style lights and the new lights to show people the difference. My co-worker then had the idea to build a structure that we could take with us and mount the lights how you would see them in a ceiling.

We ended up having the best trade show booth design there. It was bright and inviting and people would come over just to see what all of the lights were about. We did really well at that show and generated a lot of leads.

The next trade show we made even more improvements. We brought in a big fan coil unit which is found in freezers of convenience stores. On one side was the original motor and on the other side was the new motor we would use. We ran the fan all day and it brought us a lot of customers. Not only did we have interesting lights but now we had a fan. People would even come walk by just to stand in front of it to cool off. This show was a huge success and our trade show booth was the coolest at the show. Both literally and figuratively.

The final touch that we added was a spinning wheel. We had a form that people would fill out and answer a question. If they listened to our 2 minute pitch they would know the answer to the question. If they got the question correct then they got to spin the wheel and whatever they landed on they won. We had Chipotle gift cards, Starbucks gift cards, highlighters, and a tool set. This was enough to get many people to listen to our promotion. At the same time people were really having fun and enjoyed our booth. We left a lasting impression on everyone with our uniquely designed trade show booth.

trade show booth

Digital marketing is important for all lawyers and law firms.

July 23, 2014 in 23, website design for lawyers by Amanda Friese | Permalink

I recently hired a lawyer to represent me in a case against the landlord that I used to rent an apartment from. When I first moved in to this apartment I absolutely loved it. The apartment was in a historic neighborhood which meant that my place had a ton of charm and character. The landlord seemed really cool at first, as they tend to do, but a months or so after I moved in she started to act very strangely. She would send me strange e-mails at odd hours of the night making crazy demands and assumptions. My guard immediately went up and I started to save all of our e-mail correspondences in case I would ever need them. I am glad that I did because those e-mails came in handy during my case against her. As time went on the apartment I was living in started to fall apart. A hail storm broke the ceiling windows in the bathroom and when I requested that they be repaired, my landlord ignored my calls and e-mails. About a month later the washing machine in my unit broke causing the entire back room to flood. I called my landlord as it was happening and didn’t hear a word from her until a week later after leaving multiple angry messages on her voicemail and e-mails in her inbox.

attorney website designThe pinnacle of my frustration with my landlord came when I was moving out. I was obviously not planning on signing another lease with this landlord and gave her very early notice that I would not be resigning my lease. After very little communication on her part I moved out knowing that I had covered myself legally throughout the move out process. Three months later my landlord subpoenaed me for two thousand dollars in damages to the apartment. Obviously this was ludicrous and I knew that if she took me to court that I would win without a doubt. I got online to search for a lawyer and was immediately overwhelmed by all of my options. In looking through all of the various law firm websites I was surprised to notice how much the attorney website design weighed on my decision to hire them or not. I quickly realized that if an attorney had a poorly designed website that I would immediately dismiss them as an option and move on to a different firm’s site. Little things like font choice or ease of navigation seemed to greatly impact my judgement of the law firm. It was clear to me that marketing is a very important aspect of a lawyer’s business. I realized how true it really is that a website is today’s most common first impression. I passed judgement very quickly after seeing an attorney’s website design.

Eventually I found a lawyer to represent my case and just as I thought it was over very quickly and ended up in my favor. In the end my landlord owed me money to cover my legal fees.

WHEN I MARRIED YOU, YOU TOLD ME YOU WERE GOING TO BE A NEUROSURGEON, NOT A CARDIOLOGIST

July 23, 2014 in 23, brain surgery, neurosurgeon by Sonny Andrew | Permalink

When we met back in the university I had so much respect for you. I thought you were the most amazing person I had ever met and before I even knew what had happened, I was falling in love. I fell in love with a man who was an amazing polo player and a great dancer. I will never forget when we went to the big school dance one summer and all the people stopped to watch you do your Waltz. You just had that special affect on a person that is so rare. Above all; when I first met you, you were going to be a Neurosurgeon and not just a cardiologist.

It is unbelievable how you have changed over the years. You used to be a man of principals who believed in something. You used to talk about your greatest passion; brain surgery, and how one day you would be the best brain surgeon in the country. Look at you now; you are just a sad cardiologist who spends all his time tinkering with people hearts when you should be inside their heads tinkering with their brains. Don’t you still have any moral fiber holding you to your past ambitions? How sis you fall so far, when you were always so driven and determined, two of the qualities that made me fall in love with you.

I remember when we got engaged and I called all my friends to tell them I was going to be the wife of a neurosurgeon, and I can never forget the shame when years later, I had to introduce you as a cardiologist. It was hurtful for me to have to always be the one to announce to the world that you had given up. My mother was especially let down by the news. She had always dreamed of having a brain surgeon for a son-in-law and it was an awful let down for her to learn that you were going to end up as nothing more than a heart doctor.

I have a friend whose husband is a back surgeon, he does spine surgery. At least they can hold their heads up high when they are at the country club. I feel as if I constantly have to excuse you to the world for your choice to give up your study of the human brain. You used to have a giant cartoon drawing of a brain above your bed and from its mouth there was a caption that read “I am the most important organ in your body, so don’t lose your head now.” I never got tired of seeing that poster when I would come visit you but did it mean anything or did you know even then, that you were going to give it all up just a few years later.

Today, I don’t even recognize the man I married. I hope it is not too late for you and you will see that you must return to your studies and finish becoming a neurosurgeon. If you won’t do it for yourself or for me then please do it for our children.

Movers Have To Complete Their Job With A Certain Amount Of Professionalism

July 18, 2014 in 23, movers, moving companies by Christine | Permalink

moversMovers are going to be careful with different pieces of equipment when they are paying attention. The different business owners out there that care deeply about the different pieces of IT equipment that can be a part of a company. Printers can be extremely expensive, especially when you are talking about toner and ink. A business owner wants to protect their budget and save money where they can, they can’t continue to correct issues that were caused by bad movers. You have to be able to vet moving organizations before you select one. Look at some of the best review sites out there, try to get actual customer testimonials as well. There is a lot of work that needs to be done on the local level.

Antiques

Antiques are definitely something that people need to be careful with. You want to make sure that people know which boxes are marked as antiques when they are being moved. It does not make sense to just throw antique plates around, like those plates don’t matter. The plates will break if they are not managed properly by different movers. You want to make sure that movers know how to properly pack antiques. A bad packing job can ruin a very valuable asset, many experienced movers should know that. 

Organization

Some movers are asked to organize an office or a commercial building. You want to make sure that any blueprint associated with the organization of an office is easy to understand. If a mover organizes a home or commercial office in the wrong fashion, then that sort of issue can take months to correct. The best people to organize a home office may be people that have run their own home business. If someone’s resume includes running their own business, then they may be a good candidate to help you move your items.

Storage Units

A good moving company can work on different storage units. Once the moving company has moved items to a storage unit, they should take the time to check on the storage unit. A storage unit is something that can be a part of an auction in the future, this means that the mover definitely has to take care of the items inside of the storage unit. A well organized storage unit is going to appeal to buyers during an auction. 

Mileage

An agreement has to be worked out with the movers about how much they get paid for their travel. A question about mileage is definitely going to pop up. Once an agreement is worked out about the mileage, then a project can be completely. Many people have a deadline to be moved into a given area. A deadline may be set, but the movers should not move at a fast pace where their job is done in a careless fashion. The cost of gas is something that needs to be factored in when you are coming to terms with the moving company. If a company is simply asking for too much gas money, then you can always hire a different moving firm.

There are many ranches for sale along the I-25 corridor in Colorado.

July 17, 2014 in 23 by Jon | Permalink

Today is Father’s Day and I made the drive up from Denver to Fort Collins.  I have been making the drive at least once every two weeks as of late and I have begun to enjoy my time in the car.  It is the opportunity for me to either zone out and listen to music, listen to This American Life, an NPR podcast, or just think about everything that is going on in life.  I realize that everyone has their own problems and I try to think about mine and sort mine out when I am in the car driving up to Fort Collins. The reason for this is that I rarely get the opportunity to be alone without having to be on the computer or something like that.  For example, I am currently alone, but I am writing, so right now would not be the best time for me to try and think about all of my problems.  Nevertheless, I hope to reach a point in time when I can be more intentional with all of my thoughts and trying to develop a way to cope with my problems.

colorado ranches for saleThe drive from Denver to Fort Collins is a very pretty one.  You are surrounded by farmland on either side and it is a great opportunity to view some of the rural areas in the state of Colorado.  Today, one of the things that I noticed was that many of the ranches were for sale. I thought that this was interesting, especially around the Greeley area because they have such a long history of ranching in that part of the state.  I guess that the ranches may be for sale because many of the youth in the area are looking to move to one of the larger cities in Colorado rather than continuing the family trade of ranching. I think that this makes a lot of sense because it shows that the families are cognizant of a wider movement in professions in the country.

During the last census in 2010, it marked the first time that farming and ranching were no longer listed as professions.  That means that there are less than one percent of the people in the nation doing those jobs.  My hope is that with the number of families that are leaving the profession that our food will start to come from smaller companies that are more focused on organic meats and produce.  I can totally see something like that happen to some of the ranches that are for sale in Greeley, Colorado. My thought there is that because there is such a long history of ranching in that city that there could be a new version of a produce renaissance, if you will.  Many of the new farmers to the area could be looking to the profitability of organic ranching and saying to themselves that they can make a decent living if they start to farm organically instead of trying to change the system of things later on in the process.

 

Heating and cooling services are necessary in Colorado

July 17, 2014 in 23, air conditioning repair, heating repair by Jon | Permalink

I feel like I am one of the few people in my friend group that was born and grew up in Colorado.  Actually that is not entirely true because so many of my current friends are people that I have grown up with, but nevertheless my point is that many of the people with which I talk with every day are not from here.  That means that they still have a lot to learn about the weather in the state.  It changes all of the time and while it was hot today, you are going to need a jacket if you are going to go to a concert at red rocks tonight.

ac repairFor this reason, I think that it is necessary to have heating and cooling in your home in Colorado. Obviously, it is not always necessary through all parts of the year, it is in the middle of July and my roommate and I did not turn on the AC today, but nevertheless, I think that it is important to have that stuff available.  I just got a dog and I love her dearly.  The great thing about her is that she is just a lover.  She wants to be with you and a part of you and that is exactly the thing that I am looking for in a dog.  The great thing about having her around is the company, but it also means that I am going to want to keep her comfortable.  I have been keeping the AC on for her and I hope that it does not break this summer. I do not have a ton of excess money and that is especially the case after this weekend.  I just hope to be able to get all of the cooking taken care of sooner rather than later.

Still, I am thankful that there are businesses like AC Specialists because they have air conditioning repair services for people like me that need to keep the extra money that I have in my bank account. I appreciate being able to do that and I hope that it is a service that I never have to use.  Nevertheless, one of the things that I will have to do is figure out just what extent of money that I need to keep in my bank account.  Right now, I do not have enough, but it is difficult for me to think about all of the factors that come into place with that sir tot thought process.

One thing that I will be saving for, just in case it happens, is heating repair.  I only have a single heating unit in my apartment, so if that were to break, I would not be able to heat my apartment.  If I am able to save up some of the money that I would otherwise spend on booze, I can make sure that I have the ability to respond should something negative happen to my heater.  That is something I want to avoid.

Custom Window Coverings Make Your Home Look New

July 15, 2014 in 23, blinds, House of Blinds by Alex Savage | Permalink

shades

Have you been looking for the best way to make some improvements to your home?  Many people make it a point to plant new plants on their front porch, if only to make their home look much more appealing and friendly.  Others think that a new set of paint on the exterior of their home can radically change the feeling of their home, and others believe that a new coat of paint in the interior walls can make a significant difference as well.  While many of these choices are perfectly good and capable of changing the look and feel of a home, they still come with the fact that they take lots of time and energy to complete.  While many people might have the ample amount of time and energy required to complete these tasks, others simply do not have the time in their busy schedules to make sure they are done to proper completion.  With this in mind, many people are looking for a quick and easy adjustment that will make their home look just as good.  If you’re looking for such a way to make both the interior and exterior of your home look a little spruced up, make it a point to get a new set of blinds or shutters at House of Blinds!

 

When you first think of a room’s interior, not many people think about the shutters on windows.  However, if you were to take these window coverings away, people would start to notice that something is amiss!  While they might not be at the forefront of home decoration, these custom window coverings make a significant impact on any interior decoration, and they are certainly able to make your home look like new!  With that in mind, the people at House of Blinds always know what they are doing, as they have been responsible for over 48,000 new installations of blinds and shutters in homes and businesses across the Laguna Hills area in California!  One of the easiest ways to spruce up your home is to find the most ideal set of window coverings.  Simply bring in a photo of your living space to the kind and knowledgeable associates at House of Blinds and they will be able to make a perfect match for you!
Once you have installed the new set of shutters or blinds in all of the windows in your home, you will certainly begin to notice and appreciate the difference!  A fresh set of bamboo shutters will definitely add that air of cool style and elegance to your home.  Not only will this dramatically change the tone and mood of the interior of your home, but it will also readily show itself when others are looking at your home from the outside!  With this in mind, it is not only an extremely simple way to make your home look newer and fresher, but it is also a very affordable way to do so!  There is virtually no reason to make the upgrade today, especially if you are craving a new look for your home.

Some tips for designing custom matchboxes

July 15, 2014 in 23, custom matchbox by Phelan | Permalink

More and more businesses are designing custom matchboxes as part of their marketing plan.  This is a great and effective way to make a lasting impression on your clients with something small and relatively inexpensive.  People will be reminded if your business each time they use a match, and it may even lead to conversations with others when they share their matches.  It is a good thing to do if you want to get your businesses name out there more. Just like when you plan for any marketing campaign, you want to come up with a good plan and make sure you make the message and content on your custom matchbox informative and eye catching.

1) Decide what your purpose is for ordering custom matchboxes: What is the reason why you are ordering custom matchboxes for your business. Are you simply trying to provide your customers with something they will enjoy? Are you hoping to get more customers from word of mouth? Are you hoping to remind people about your business? All of these things should inform the way you design your matchbox.

2) How many matchboxes do you plan to give away? Are you going to place these matchboxes somewhere where anyone and everyone can grab one, or are you going to hand them to specific people.  I recently went to a restaurant which did not display them outright, but placed on on your table with some mints while you were paying.  This way they ensured people took them home was also keeping control of their inventory.  I thought that this was a very clever way to give out their custom matchboxes.

Now that you’ve determined the purpose for your custom matchboxes, it is time to think about the design and the content.  You do not want to put too much text on your matchbox.  You want to think about the information you want to convey.  Do you want people to call you, look you up on the internet, or simply visit your shop? A good place to start is with the name and logo.  You will want to incorporate your design elements to the matchbox (logo of your restaurant, the colors you use).  If you want people to come in to see you, a location is key- you can even do this in a clever way by putting a small map with your location on the inside of the match box.  If you want people to call you, put your phone number somewhere visible.  If you want other people to notice the matchbox, make it bright and catchy.  This will draw people’s eyes to it and they will likely ask a question about its origin.  By following these simple tips, you will be well on your way to creating custom match boxes for your business.  Once you work through these questions, you can easily find a place where you can get help designing these matchboxes and get them ordered and delivered to your door.  You will be happy with your decision to conduct marketing with custom match boxes.

Call a Good Roofing Company, Like J&K Roofing, as Soon as You Notice Any Symptoms of Roof Damage.

July 10, 2014 in 23 by Ben | Permalink

roofing companyIt can never be emphasized enough that your roof is an utterly critical component of your home.  Your roof is the main shield, protecting you from everything from hail and lightning to snow and freezing rain.  Because it is always exposed to these things, though, it may accumulate a bit more damage, in a shorter amount of time, than other parts of your home.  That means that you need to be vigilant, by always remembering to call a good roofing company, like J&K Roofing, as soon as you notice any symptoms of roof damage.

For the most part, people are not as familiar with their roofs as they are with other parts of their home.  The main reason this is the case is the fact that most people rarely, if ever, walk on their roofs, to closely examine what it looks like.  If you do go up on your roof, there are a couple of obvious things to look for.  If you notice that some of the shingles are peeling off or part of your roofing appears to be sagging in, you should call the roofers, immediately, as these are obvious signs of roof damage.  On the other hand, there are other, smaller symptoms, that you might not be able to notice, even if you are up on your roof.  These can turn into bigger problems if you are not careful, though.  That is why it is advisable to have your roof inspected regularly, even if you do go up on your roof, on occasion.

Roofing inspections are something that you should have done every year, preferably at the end of the summer or the beginning of autumn.  The reason this small timeframe is so important is the fact that it is after hail season yet before winter.  It is vital that you have your inspection taken care of before winter starts, as winter weather makes roofing work difficult.  Not only that, snow and ice lead to some of the most nasty roof leaks.  Because of the heat coming from inside your home, the snow and ice on your roof can melt for weeks on end.  So, if you have a hole or crack in your roofing, you will inevitably have a leak for a long time.  Of course, as important as it is to get your inspection done before winter, it is equally important to get your roof inspected after hail season.  This is because hail can cause a ridiculous amount of damage to your roof, in just one storm.  When several occur, within a few weeks, your roof can take quite a beating.  If you were to get your inspection mid-hail season, you would run the risk of accumulating more damage, after the inspection is over.  There is a good chance that they will not find any damage, during the inspection, but there is also a good chance that the roofers you hire will discover an issue.  If they do, you need to heed their advice and either repair or replace your roofing, or else you could be dealing with some more serious damage, down the line.

Deciding about becoming an egg donor

July 9, 2014 in 23, egg donation, surrogate, surrogate mother by Melissa | Permalink

As a young, single woman, on great way to help other and also earn a small fee is to get into egg donation. While this is quite a bit more work and time commitment than doing blood or plasma donation, there is a very real feeling of satisfaction when you are helping another woman or a couple start a family. When women are unable to get pregnant for whatever reason, when they want to be pregnant and can’t it must be a very terrible feelings. Anything that we can do to help those women is a blessing in my opinion, and I think that it is a great cause to get in to. Egg donation does take a lot of time and energy, because there are appointments that you must go to as well as check ups with the doctor and medicine that will help to ensure that the right number of eggs are produced. Then, when it is time to collect and donate the eggs, there is a procedure where they will use mild sedation and retrieve the eggs. Once they have them, they will use IVF to fertilize the eggs with the sperm from the donor family or couple. egg donationAfter the eggs are fertilized, they will be implanted into the woman who is going to carry the baby. This can take several different rounds in order for the woman to become pregnant, but in the end there is usually a very high success rate for getting pregnant. And it as all because a woman decided to donate her eggs to that couple.

On the extreme end of that spectrum is becoming a surrogate mother. This is where instead of donating just your eggs, you actually carry the baby to term for the couple, so that they are able to have a baby, even when the woman is unable to carry the baby to term. There can be so many different reasons why a woman is unable to carry a baby to term, and in that situation there is nearly no greater altruistic move than for another woman to carry the baby for her. In the end, the result is a child for a couple that want a child, and the surrogate mother is able to give that to the family. There is quite a bit of compensation that goes into being a surrogate, and for that reason there is also a lot of legal paperwork that must be signed and legal fees that must be paid. But as with egg donation, the surrogate will get all the expenses of the pregnancy covered, and will also often be paid a fee for the essential use of her womb. While this may not be for everyone, as it is a bit more intense and time consuming than simply donating eggs, it is something that is really helpful and necessary for those women who are unable to become pregnant and who want to have a family of their own. Because of this, it is something that so many would consider doing.