Preseason College Football Top 25
Well, with the preseason college football top 25 poll out, do you agree with the rankings? Alabama is on top just the way they ended the season. Although I’m not an Alabama fan, I will have to give props to their fans. Alabama fans are die hard and full of team spirit all the way to the end. Their team booster club must make a lot of money selling spirit items. The fans are always dressed in Crimson and White or coated with body paint or cheering loudly. This tremendous team spirit causes a huge adrenaline rush for the players. What if we gave this much effort toward our business? Do you show team spirit for your business or employer? How much excitement do you bring to your employees or coworkers? Are you the drab, negative, and always complaining type, or are you a motivator? Your attitude determines the level of customer service that you give. If you take a person that hates their job and a person that loves their job and have them do the exact same customer oriented task, the person that loves their job will always do it better. Even if each one does the same exact things, the customer will favor the person with the positive attitude and get a better feeling toward your business. Personally, I know of several business that I despise going to because the employees have bad attitudes. This all starts with management. Make sure you as a business owner and your managers demonstrate positive attitude and it will positively impact your business.
Comparison of various types of thundersticks (thunderstix)
So what are thundersticks anyway. Sometimes people refer to them as bam bams, thunderstix, thunder sticks, boom sticks, fan-ta-sticks, among other names. These are all similar products. They are football noise makers for the stadium. They consist of two inflatable sticks which are banged together to make a loud noise. When in combination with other thunderstix, the noise is very loud. However, all thundersticks are not created equal. Thunder sticks can be broken down into 2 main categories: Re-usable and Non-Reusable.
Reusable Thundersticks
- These type of thundersticks have an inflation valve exactly like a pool raft or a beach ball and can be inflated and deflated as many times as desired. If they need more air during use, you simply open the valve and add more air.
- They are made from a vinyl material (PVC) are are slightly thicker than all other types of thunderstix and therefore, are more durable.
- Because these thunder sticks are made of a thicker material, they have a lower pitch boom when banged together.
- This type of thunder stick can be slightly more expensive, but the fact that they are reusable makes up for the small difference in cost.
- Because these are manufactured first and then printed, the custom imprint can not be printed over the entire area of the thunderstick like they can on the non-reusable types.
- Production time for this type is typically much shorter than the non-reusable type since the sticks themselves are already produced.
Non-Reusable Thundersticks
- These type of thundersticks or bam bams don’t have a valve to inflate but rather an end similar to standard mylar balloon which can take a little more effort to inflate. Some brands such as bam bams actually have a straw that is used for inflation that makes the process more cumbersome.
- These are made of a polyethylene, which feels similar to PVC; however, most are slightly thinner but more rigid.
- Most non-reusable types have a higher pitch sound to them, but they are still very loud.
- These can be lower priced if you choose a longer production time.
- These can be custom printed on a much larger area on the sticks since the material is printed first then manufactured.
- Production time can be anywhere from 2 weeks to 9 weeks with 2 weeks being the most expensive and 9 weeks being the cheapest. If you plan ahead, you can save a lot of money with the 9 week production time option.
Whichever type of thunder sticks that you choose, they all work well and get the job done. Making noise is an important part of any sports arena. Showing team spirit helps to pump up the athletes and actually help them play better if they have the excitement of the crowd.
Newspaper Article
Thanks to Dusty Ricketts from the Northwest Florida Daily News for doing this interview.
Free and Cheap Ways to Promote Your Website
In 2009, there were approximately $156 billion in internet sales for the U.S. The forecast for 2010 is $173 billion. The forecast for 2014 is $249 billion. Are you getting a piece of this pie? If not, you should seriously consider beefing up your website. More and more locals are now going to the internet to buy their goods now, so it’s extremely important to have an ecommerce website so your customers and potential customers can buy from you online. But just having a website is not good enough. You have to promote it. Here are some easy and cheap ways to promote your website:
1. Make sure the link to your website is in your email signature so that every email you send is a potential visitor to your site.
2. Make sure your link is printed on all of your letterhead.
3. Make sure you website is printed on any promotional products that you buy. Promotional items are a great and inexpensive way to promote your site.
4. Make sure your website is listed on your business cards.
5. If you have on hold messages on your phone system, make sure you have a message on there to steer people to your site.
6. Create internet only specials and give out flyers to everyone that buys from your store telling them to check out the online specials.
7. Tell everyone that you see to visit your site.
8. Use social media and develop relationships with people and have your link posted on your Facebook or Twitter pages. Occasionally post a special directing people to your website.
9. Start a blog and include links to your website. Make sure your content is useful so that readers will want to continue to visit and read your blog.
The sooner you devote the time to develop a good website, the sooner you can increase your sales through internet sales.
Are we on the brink of another financial economic collapse?
Many financial analysts are forecasting a double dip in the economy. Well, this may or may not happen, but If it does, we, as business owners, need to be prepared. Do you have a firm business plan? Do you have written marketing plan with budgets, strategies, plans for execution, and ways to track the results? If not, I would urge you to think about the marketing strategies that you are doing currently and decide what is working and what is not? You should be able to have measurable results for any marketing venture. The results may not necessarily be sales but they may be phone calls, emails, or other forms of leads that can turn into sales. Your marketing should be specifically targeted to the demographics of your buyers. By targeting your marketing, you can substantially increase your conversion rate and make your marketing campaign much more successful. It is typically a good idea to spread your advertising and marketing across several different mediums such as print, internet, promotional products, and even television or radio if within your budget. However, I would caution you not to spread your marketing out too thin, otherwise, it will be ineffective. Creating an effective marketing plan is a thought provoking process that shouldn’t be taken lightly. So go ahead now, and protect your business and create plan. We have all heard the saying from Benjamin Franklin, “a failure to plan is planning to fail.” I hope you are not planning to fail.
Custom T-Shirt Designer Coming Soon
We have an exciting new feature coming to our website. Right now we are in the early phases of releasing a custom t-shirts designer. You will be able to completely customize your apparel using either your logo that you would upload and/or our clipart. You will also be able to add any text in a variety of fonts. This new feature will make it easy to design, order, share, and see your t-shirt design before you commit to buying. We will, of course, still offer professional design services for your screen printed t-shirts.
Fun With Thunder Sticks
So what are thunder sticks, you may ask? Thunder sticks are also, sometimes, called bam bams, thunderstix, thundersticks, boom sticks fan sticks, or fan-ta-sticks, depending on the brand that you get. These are great spirit items for the the stadium. The stadium noise makers are great for football games are very loud and easy to use. All you do is inflate the sticks and bang them together. In combination with hundreds of other thundersticks at the same time, the noise is really loud. These are great items to help generate team spirit. Thundersticks make great fund raising items for the school booster store to sell. You can sell these along with mini footballs and stadium seat cushions. Utilizing all of these items will help boost your club profits.
Mini Footballs and the Pros and Cons of each type
Every year around this time we sell thousands and thousands of mini footballs. These footballs are great for cheerleaders to throw out to the crowd at football games. All of the mini footballs help to keep the crowd involved and excited. There are 3 main mini football types that we sell and I’ll list the pros and cons of each. Before I get into the various types of mini footballs, I’ll list the pros of all mini footballs.
Benefits of All Mini Footballs:
- They help generate team spirit and excitement with the crowd.
- They are fun.
- They can be used as a marketing campaign when printed with the custom marketing info.
- Great for pep rallies and for game day.
Plastic Mini Football
Pros:
- These are the least expensive footballs.
- Because they are the smallest option, the shipping is the least expensive for these footballs.
- Because they are made from blow-molded plastic, they will never lose their air or shape.
- 12 different colors to choose from: Black, White, Blue, Red, Yellow, Orange, Green, Brown, Purple, Clear, Gold, or Glow in the Dark.
Cons:
- Because the mini footballs are only about 6″ from tip to tip, the imprint area is the smallest out of the three footballs measuring 2″ W x 1.25″ H. This are is plenty big enough to print your team name and mascot though.
- Because these are so lightweight, they don’t throw quite as far as the vinyl or foam mini footballs.
- Because they are made of molded plastic, the tips of these footballs are hard and can hurt someone if they are hit directly in the face.
Vinyl Mini Football
Pros:
- These footballs are considerably larger than the plastic mini footballs. They measure approximately 7″ in from tip to tip; however, the diameter of them is much larger, depending on how much they are inflated.
- They have an athletic valve so you can add more air or deflate.
- Because these are made of vinyl and are air filled, they are much softer. They make a much better choice for indoor use or for children’s parties.
- These footballs throw much farther and better than their plastic mini football counterpart because they have more weight to them.
- The imprint area is larger on the vinyl mini footballs than on the plastic footballs measuring 2″ W x 1.5″ H, allowing your ad space to be a little larger.
- 14 different colors to choose from: Black, White, Brown, Burgundy, Pink, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple, Gold, Silver, or Glow in the Dark.
- This one is just my opinion (from over 10 years of selling them), but recipients will keep these vinyl footballs longer than the plastic footballs because they have more play value.
Cons:
- They are more expensive than the plastic mini footballs, but only usually by 5 to 10 cents each.
- They are a little more expensive to ship due to the size difference over the plastic mini footballs.
- They will lose air after several months (but since they have an athletic valve, they can easily be re-inflated).
Foam Mini Footballs (Nerf type)
Pros:
- Higher perceived value than plastic or vinyl footballs.
- Throws better than plastic or vinyl footballs.
- Kept for a long time by recipients because of the high play value.
Cons:
- More expensive than plastic or mini footballs.
- Can become water logged if played with in water.
While all three types of mini footballs have value, you have to decide on which type fits into your setting and budget. The important thing is to help generate team spirit. These spirit items are perfect for doing that.
Adobe Illustrator Tutorial - Saving File for Older Illustrator Versions
Here are the easy instructions on how to save your Adobe Illustrator file down to an earlier version. Have you noticed how fast newer versions of software come out now? It seems within a few months of buying new software, there is an even newer version of the software out. If you bought every new version, you would never learn all of the new features available. With this tutorial, I’m going to show you how to save your Adobe Illustrator .eps file so that it will be compatible with older versions.
Step 1: After creating you file, click on File, then Save As.
Step 2: After typing in the file name, click Save.
Step 3: Select the version that you want to save down to and Click OK. And that’s all!
Fun Halloween History
Well, it’s getting close to that exciting time of year (for us old kids, anyway). Halloween is only a few months away. This is a critical time to really market your business in order to finish the 4th quarter strong. Using Halloween promotional products is a great to do this. Halloween bags for trick or treating are one of the best forms of marketing during the Halloween season. These trick or treat bags not only market your business because of the custom imprint on them, but they also have many safety tips to help keep the kids who are trick or treating safe.
One thing to keep in mind about Halloween is that it is NOT a devil’s holiday as many people believe. If you dress us like devil’s, you can make it that, but Halloween is what you make it to be.
Facts and History about Halloween
Here are some interesting facts and some of the history about Halloween put together by the National Confectioners Association. I have added some of my own various comments in Bold Italics.
First, a little about the history of Halloween:
- The celebration of Halloween started in the United States as an autumn harvest festival. In pioneer days, some Americans celebrated Halloween with com-popping parties, taffy pulls and hayrides.
- In the late nineteenth century, with the large influx of Irish immigrants into the U.S., Halloween became associated with ghosts, goblins and witches.
- Jack-o-lanterns are an Irish tradition. In Ireland, oversized rutabagas, turnips and potatoes were hollowed-out, carved into faces and illuminated with candles to be used as lanterns during Halloween celebrations.
- The word “witch” comes from the Old Saxon word “wica”, meaning “wise one.” The earliest witches were respected dealers in charms and medicinal herbs and tellers of fortunes.
- The pumpkin originated in Mexico about 9,000 years ago. It is one of America’s oldest known vegetables. Pumpkins generally weigh from 15-to-30 pounds, although some weigh as much as 200 pounds. The majority of pumpkins are orange, but they also can be white or yellow. They are rich in vitamin A, beta-carotene and potassium, and their seeds provide protein and iron. They make great pumpkin pie too. I would love to carve a jack-o-lantern out of a 200 pound pumpkin.
- According to legend, the jack-o’-lantern began with a fellow named Jack, who was too stingy to be allowed into Heaven and too mischievous to join the Devil in hell. As consolation, the Devil threw Jack a lighted coal, which Jack placed inside a turnip he was eating. It is said that Jack continues to use the coal to light his path as he searches for a final resting place. Notice for all the over the top parents that don’t let your kids participate in Halloween, that this is a legend. That means it is NOT true. Halloween is a fun time. You don’t have to let your children dress up as the devil.
Trick-or-Treat Tidbits
Adults
- Four-in-ten (41%) adults admit that they sneak sweets from their own candy bowl. I bet this is closer to ten-in-ten (100%)
- On Halloween night, the majority (52%) of those providing treats to costumed kiddies will be passing out chocolate, while three‐in‐ten will drop hard candy or lollipops into the sacks. My question is, “Why do people still give out those nasty chewy fake peanut butter candies? You know the ones I’m talking about that are wrapped in either Black or Orange wrappers. Those are nasty and I bet most of them end up in the trash can. May since the stastics show that 41% of adults admit sneaking candy from their own bowl, that means the 59% that aren’t doing it are giving out these nasty candies.
- 62% of adults will be handing out candy because “it’s a personal favorite” or it’s a household tradition (55%) This is the way to do it. We give out Reece’s, Almond Joy, Kit Kats, and other GOOD stuff.
- 43% of grown-up celebrants cite costumes as one of the most indispensable parts of the holiday. What’s the point if you don’t have a costume?
- About 26% of households will include full-size candy (chocolate and non-chocolate) in their Halloween activities. I love these households. Don’t be stingy with the goodies.
- 90% of parents admit to sneaking goodies from their kids’ Halloween trick-or-treat bags. Me? Never! I can’t even believe you would suggest that.
- Parents favorite treats to sneak from their kids’ trick-or-treat bags are snack-size chocolate bars (70 percent sneak these), candy-coated chocolate pieces (40 percent), caramels (37 percent) and gum (26 percent). These statistics don’t quite add up to 100% but I guess that’s beside the point. Full-size chocolate bars would be closer to 100%. Don’t you know we want to help our kids eat healthier, so we have to ingest some of this sugar ourself. It’s just to protect our kids though, not for us.
- Parents least favorite goodie to take from their kids’ trick-or-treat bags is licorice (18 percent). No thanks on the licorice.
Kids
- 30% of kids report that they SORT their candy first when returning home with trick-or-treat loot, others:
- Savor it (20%) YES!
- Share it (16%)
- Stash it (14%)
- Swap it (7%)
- Kids say they prefer homes that give: anything made with chocolate (68%) followed by lollipops (9%), gummy candy (7%) and bubble gum or chewing gum (7%) Chocolate! Chocolate! Chocolate!
- More than 93% of children go trick-or-treating each year. I feel bad for that 7% that don’t get to partake in this event. Halloween is not a devil’s holiday, people!
- Kids tell us that their favorite treats to receive when trick-or-treating are candy and gum. Eighty-four percent of kids said candy and gum are their favorites over other options like baked goods or small toys. I don’t let my kids eat baked goods. Who knows how many roaches and rats are running around these kitchens. Or these days, what kind of poison could be in those brownies.