Today I worked on websites, tried my hand at coding a form for a friend, find someone to actually code that form, loaded a new photo gallery up on a website, made lunch, visited with my niece — and took 1.5 hours to watch The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame special on Netflix.  I thoroughly enjoyed Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young and Stevie Wonder.  But it was Simon and Garfunkel that did it for me.  They sang The Box, You Can Call Me Al, Sounds of Silence and finally Bridge Over Troubled Water.

These are some words to live by.  I practice being this kind of friend and I’m very happy to say I have a couple of friends who are my Bridge.

When you’re weary, feeling small
When tears are in your eyes,
I will dry them all
I’m on your side
When times get rough
And friends just can’t be found

Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down

When you’re down and out
When you’re on the street
When evening falls so hard
I will comfort you
I’ll take your part
When darkness comes
And pain is all around

Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down

Sail on silver girl
Sail on by
Your time has come to shine
All your dreams are on their way
See how they shine
When you need a friend
I’m sailing right behind

Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind

Tonight I went to a meeting at TownsEnd Winery.

We meet once a month, roughly, and build relationships and figure out ways to get people into our county and into our businesses.

There’s Country Heritage bed and breakfast, TownsEnd Winery, Carlson’s Tree Farm, Cathy’s Country Cook’n, Cornerstone Cottage and Cornerstone Cottage Kids, Latham Hi Tech Seeds, Debworks and Val Plagge (2012 ASA/Dupont Young Leaders of the year for the state of Iowa recipients) representing Franklin County at this meeting.

I promise by the time you’re done reading this blog post, you’re gonna want to travel to Franklin County Iowa and take advantage of one of many kick butt itineraries we’ve got coming.  Now we haven’t set prices yet, but we do promise you’ll get way more than you’ll pay for.

Here’s just a few of our ideas:

City to Farm Excursion

See how the new pig farmer raises pigs.  These little piggies cross over a scale and take their weight first.  Then they get to go to the food court for a little nosh.  Tired from all that weighing and eating, they retire to the lounge area.   What? Yes – the pig barn is set up with a food court in the middle and a couple of lounge areas to the side.  It’s great for weighing, eating, and sorting.  You won’t want to miss that.

Next take a ride on a tractor.  A nice big tractor pulling either a planter, a disc, a plow or maybe even a combine.  This ain’t your grandpa’s farm partner — we’re taking big, hunkin’ heavy duty machinery that will make a sailor blush, it’s so stinking big.

While your out there, walk up the stairway to the top of the grain bins.  That’s right – these farmers have circular stairways going around the bin so you can walk clear to the top and see three counties!

Bike Trail with a Twist

You’ll stay at the world famous Country Heritage Bed and Breakfast.  True to their name, they are out in the country only one mile away from the bike trail that traverses through Franklin County.  After a big country breakfast, take one of the bikes and head to the trail.  Go west (young man) and find your way to the Carlson Tree Farm.  It’s only a few miles away and once there, you won’t want to leave.  Perhaps you’ll take part in a scavenger hunt, and find all kinds of treats, coupons and fun things along the way.  Or maybe you’ll toast marshmellows over the open fire and make s’mores kids only dream about.  Be sure to visit the lodge and relax with a cup of hot cocoa or maybe a toddy.  There’s a tractor and haywagon that leave all day long taking folks on hayrides around the property.  See where they grow their own wheat and make their own bread.    Tag your own Christmas tree – and come back to get it during the holidays!  At the end of the day you’ll sit around the fire and listen to some truly scary ghost stories!  Don’t worry about getting home – the fine folks at the B and B will just come get you.  And yes, you’ll feel like you’re right at home.

Or go east and find yourself in the lovely town of Hampton.  Swing on downtown, just a few blocks off of the bike trail.  If it’s warm, stop at the aquatic center and go for a dip (try out that two story slide while you’re there).  Pop into one of the many specialty shops and pick up a neat gift for your loved one.  Hungry?  We’ve got Mexican, American, Chinese and fast food — we can fill your belly up!  Make your way east to Hansell and find TownsEnd Winery.  They promise good wine, great company and plenty of stories.  Once again, don’t worry about getting home — the fine folks at the B and B will come get you.

You can sit around and wait for something to happen, or you can get together with a group of committed friends – and MAKE something happen.  That’s what we are doing in Franklin County.  Making things happen.

See you soon!

Partnerships are a great way to get things done.  I’m working with a group here in Franklin County that include a seed company, a small business owner, a bed and breakfast owner, a member of the soybean association, a marketing company (me), and a winery owner. We meeting every couple of weeks to discuss what we as residents and businesses in the county can do to grow our businesses and attract more consumers.

I spoke with Shannon Latham, of Latham-Hi Tech Seeds in Alexander, Iowa.  She’s a member of our partnership team. 

Shannon, I know you are involved in the Girl Scouts with your daughter.  How do you see the Girl Scouts helping to build up our community?

 One way is to tap into local organizations that are working along a similar path.  Interestingly enough, the new Girl Scout handbook (at least for Junior Scouts) says you can “make a walking tour for your community.”  The Girls Guide reads:

If people appreciate places, they will want to take care of them! Find out about the history of some buildings in your community.  Put together a pamphlet that tells what you’ve learned, along with a map that locates the buildings. Give your pamphlet to friends or to your town’s visitor’s bureau.

As the Junior Girl Scout leader for West Fork, I’d gladly have my troop help on fulfilling this requirement for Sheffield.  I’d even be glad to contact fellow Girl Scout leaders in other communities within Greater Franklin County.  That’s one way to make a difference.

Another option Girl Scouts have to earn the Girl Scout Way badge is to “improve part of your community.”  The guidelines read:

Get permission from the person in charge of a park to leave it better than you found it.  Maybe your Junior group can “adopt” the park for a season and pick up trash, sort recyclables or weed and water plants every week.

I believe one could interpret “park” loosely to include Harriman-Nielsen (which provides a great opportunity for cross-generational leadership) or the Old Stone House.  Recruit one troop to adopt a specific historical place and help maintain it for a season. Then when these groups hold events, the Scouts’ families are more apt to come and invite others to join them at the event because they feel some ownership toward it.

The really great thing about this is that it doesn’t cost money!

I truly believe our Tourism Committee or Promotions/Marketing Committee of the Chamber can serve as a catalyst for involvement countywide by a larger group of people, working toward one united goal of inviting people to their “home county.”  It also accomplishes the goal of increasing awareness of local residents to the number of opportunities available to them right here in Franklin County.

Shannon – talk to me about partnerships and collaboration.

Another idea to foster collaboration is to give members a reason to work together. I realized that small business owners need examples of how they can come together and apply for Tourism Grants.  Donnis and the Country Heritage B&B could partner with Town’s End winery to provide a “Sweetheart Deal” for folks traveling to Franklin County during the month of February.  They could put together a “one-priced package deal” that would provide them with ideas (and coupons) for local specialty shops; dinner for two at Ridgestone; wine tasting on Saturday at Town’s End and boat rental.

Another idea is to put together a “Christmas in Franklin County” package.  Somehow we need to help bring together Franklin County business owners to create a “package dealers” that could include:

• One targeting families: Carlson Christmas tree where kids can feed the animals and run through the trees.  Even if a family isn’t able to transport a whole tree, they could buy greenery and wreaths), Cocoa with Santa at Cornerstone Cottage Kids, etc.
• One targeting couples: Make your wreath at Carlson’s Christmas Tree Farm, wine tasting at Town’s End, tickets to see “A Christmas Carol” (I realize this would require reserving a few tickets specifically for this purpose because otherwise it will sell out), etc.

These are just a few top-of-mind ideas that would only get better with input from more people.

Our partnership group will be creating many new ways to work together and market each other — what kinds of things could your community do? 

A little more about Shannon Latham:

Shannon Latham is one of the principals of Latham Hi-Tech Seeds and serves as the company’s vice president. She is responsible for the company’s marketing, communications and event planning. Prior to joining the family business in 2005, Shannon operated her own communications business for two years. She also worked for six years as an account executive and public relations specialist for The Meyocks Group in West Des Moines. Other previous work experience includes serving as agricultural program coordinator for the Iowa Department of Agriculture & Land Stewardship where she did public relations for the Beginning Farmer Loan Program and coordinated the Iowa Agricultural Youth Institute (IAYI).  In addition, Shannon served a two-year stint as director of legislative affairs for the Agribusiness Association of Iowa where she coordinated grassroots lobbying efforts.

Shannon earned an MBA from the University of Iowa and a B.S. in Ag Journalism / Public Service & Administration in Agriculture from Iowa State University. Active in civic and professional organizations, Shannon is an active member of the Tourism Committee for the Greater Franklin County Chamber.  She has served as a Girl Scout troop leader since 2007 and as Cub Scout Den Leader since 2009.  She recently finished a three-year term as a Trustee for the Iowa 4-H Foundation, as well as on advisory boards for the Iowa Small Business Development Center and the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center at North Iowa Area Community College. In addition, Shannon has served as president of the Iowa Chapter of National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA).

The cool people are beginning to come.  Some of them are even following me (Jason Falls for example).

The best news?  Kelby Carr is writing Pinterest for Dummies!  If you don’t know Kelby Carr, google her.  One smart cookie.  I love her boards.

Social Media Coolness has some things like:

How to Create an Editorial Calendar for Bloggers

The Anatomy of a Perfect Landing Page

Oh Yes….Say It has things like:

Courage

Love All

Business Needs has things like:

free printable budget 

Top 5 Apps for Goal Setting

That’s just a few things Kelby has in Pinterest collection.  You’ll notice that each link above takes you to another site, not Pinterest.  That’s called giving credit where credit is due.

I’ve got boards too.  You can view them at http://pinterest.com/debworks/

If you don’t have an invitation to join Pinterest.  Just send me an email, I’ll invite you.  Put in the subject line “Pinterest invite please”.

Have fun pinning!

Are you off work today?  A lot of people are.  You might run into town and do a little last minute shopping, have coffee with a friend, go to the grocery store for that one thing you forgot.

Please remember the people who are working today – the invisible people. They are the cashiers at the grocery store, the gas station attendants, the sales clerks helping you with your stocking stuffers.  They have families too and would like to be shopping, hanging out or playing with their kids on Christmas Eve.  Instead, they go to work and help to make your day a brighter one.

Extend a thank you, a Merry Christmas, a smile.  It’s a gift well appreciated.

2011 included lots of travel, speaking, designing and focusing local.

Travel:
In 2011 I traveled to Des Moines, Iowa, New York City and Hutchinson KS to speak at a 140 Character Conference.  My mom and I took several road trips and wrote about them – Eastern Lincoln Highway in Iowa, Sioux City with my aunt and uncle, Hutchinson to meet the friends from last year and see Garrison Keillor for her 82nd birthday, and many times to Iowa City on doctor runs.

Designing:
Worked on Iowa Falls Empress Boat Club, Adam Lee Music, Tyden Farms, Highway 3 Yard Sale, Cornerstone Cottage (and Kids), marketing campaigns and websites.

Focusing Local:
Franklin County Tourism and Greater Franklin County Chamber of Commerce consulting work – enewsletters, print newspaper, press releases, ticket designs, facebook pages, helping design webpages and social media plans.  Lots of wandering around the county taking pictures of events and activities and posting them all over the webz.  Organizing the Bloggers Harvest Tour, Des Moines 140 Character Conference and Partnership Planning for 2012.

Now my goal for the rest of the month is to focus on what worked out of those things listed above, how I can build upon them and create bigger, better, and monetize it more.  Then I’ll add in some new ideas for 2012 that Debworks wants to pursue!

What did your year look like?  What will you do again?

I’ve heard customers say “they never do anything different” and “why should I shop local?  I can get a better deal at Wal-Mart”.

These comments are opportunities for local residents and businesses to help create change and share a new mindset on how we think about our community.   Here’s a little advice to consider.

1.  Stop saying “in this economic climate” – people are still shopping, traveling and talking about businesses/places they visit.  Start looking at what people want.  Where we live, there are more day travelers coming from around the state.  What can you provide for them?

2. Don’t spend other people’s money.   In other words – don’t prejudge people.  You really don’t know what their priorities are and how they want to spend their money.  People do have money to spend.  Your job is to figure out what they want to spend it on!

3. New ways to advertise don’t always cost money.  They do cost time.  Facebook, twitter, LinkedIn, blogging can all be done for no cost or almost no cost.  You do need to spend time on it to be effective.  You wouldn’t just put up a billboard and expect people to flock to your store either.  People need to see something 7 times before it sinks in!

4. If you’re not doing anything different, you’re become stale.  Rearrange your store, change the windows, use new ads in the paper and on the radio – give people a reason to come visit you.

5. Wal-Mart helps put small, local businesses out of business.  Most of your  dollars spent at Wal-Mart don’t make their way back to your county/town.  The average Wal-Mart worker is paid $8.81 an hour, works under 32 hours a week (so they don’t get insurance) and requires $943 a year in Medicaid and other public assistance. *  66 cents of every dollar spent locally, stays local.  Local businesses also know you, give much better customer service as a rule, hire people from your neighborhood, pay local taxes and live where you live.

The picture is Danielle Noah painting a temporary sign for Cornerstone Cottage Kids.  They received a grant from the Chamber to put up a new sign, but that project won’t start til spring.  So until then, they took some plywood and made their own temporary sign.  It’s new, different and brings people into the store.  Isn’t that the point? 

*In exchange for all the family-supporting jobs Walmart has take away, all it has given us in return are very low-wage jobs working in its stores. The average Walmart worker makes just $8.81 an hour, data from IBISWorld show, and requires $943 a year in Medicaid and other public assistance, according to information from the state of Ohio.  Taken from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stacy-mitchell/another-shocking-fact-abo_b_1138952.html

Don’t carry your phone into the store with the Amazon app on it.  You know, the one that checks prices and then offers to give you another $5 if you buy it from Amazon.

Will they help you pick the exact perfect gift for your mom?  I don’t think so – they don’t even know her.

Will they let you return it and help you find something else?  Oh maybe – but you’ll have to pay to ship it back, no one will pick up the phone to tell how to use it properly and no one will say “we’re sorry, let us help you with that”.

Will they hire people from your neighborhood to work in their store?  Nope.

Will they pay the 1% local sales tax that goes to support your local schools?  Not a chance.  Just consider where your money goes — does any of it stay in the local community?

Think hard when you shop outside of where you live.  It affects you too.

The picture is Steven During (my great nephew) and Dennis Carlson – owner of Carlson Tree Farm.  Dennis held Steven up and then put his head in Mrs. Claus’ place – so we could take Steve’s picture.  Let me see Amazon do that!  We bought a tree and a wreath from them – and we petted the animals, and visited the barn and watched them make the wreaths and we visited their lodge where they had local vendors set up selling their wares.  Yeah, let’s see Amazon do that.  

But here’s what is interesting -they are having commercials during the play.  It’s a great way for a local business to get in front of a larger audience of local people who will probably use their product.  The play is also rebroadcast on the local radio station KLMJ.  Again, a great way to get in front of a local audience.

Take a listen and then think about ways you can advertise locally!  Come back and share your ideas please.

Latham Seeds Commercial 

You do use head shots, right?

If you have a business, you market online, you need head shots.  Good ones.

If you can, find a local photographer and hire him/her.  If that doesn’t fit in your budget, be creative.  Approach the photography class at a local college or high school – see if someone there wants to take your pics.   Or find a new photographer just starting out.  Ask your friends.  Look on facebook and see who’s posting head shots (you’d be surprised how many there are — look at baby pics and wedding shots).

You need a portfolio of pictures to use for different occasions.

1. Email signature

2. Business card

3. marketing literature

4. in blog posts

5. on your website

6. on Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.

In this day of global being the new local, you need to build relationships and people want to see what you look like.   Hiring someone to take professional photos shows that you care about your appearance – and its spills over into people thinking you care about your business too.

Smile!

See all the shots on my facebook page