AllegraUSA

To My New Blog

2010-10-04T10:35:00.001-05:00

Thanks for visiting my “old” blog. For various reasons, I am going to stop blogging here. It makes more sense to do my business blogging on my company website. Please visit my new blog at:

http://allegrameadows.com/MediaRoom/Blog.aspx

One note: I plan on moving over some of the most popular articles from this blog to the new one. Sorry if you start reading something that looks familiar.

TO My New

2010-10-04T10:34:00.001-05:00

Thanks for visiting my “old” blog. For various reasons, I am going to stop blogging here. It makes more sense to do my business blogging on my company website. Please visit my new blog at:

http://allegrameadows.com/MediaRoom/Blog.aspx

One note: I plan on moving over some of the most popular articles from this blog to the new one. Sorry if you start reading something that looks familiar.

Power of Social Media

2010-07-30T11:20:00.003-05:00

Do you believe in the power of social media? In 2010 that is like asking is you believe in gravity. SM will impact you either way, so what are you waiting for? Get on board.

Check out this youtube video which is an ad for a book. Very compelling.

http://bit.ly/9NZuOh

Make Hay While the Sun Shines

2010-05-21T12:41:00.003-05:00

Like many small businesses, we have been slow lately. This week, for a change, we got slammed. Not that I am complaining, I will take the work any day.

For the first time in a long time, we will be In production on Saturday. I have had to jump in to get the work out. I have only run a printing g press once in the last ten years. The first reason for that is because the nature of our business changed and the second is that Hank is so efficient.

So, in helping out where I need to, I have been operating our letterpresses. I am in no way a press operator, merely a tender. Hank and Bob set the jobs up and I stand there and keep them running.

Yesterday, I die cut several thousand sheets of labels on our Heidelberg Windmill. That is the press featured in the video on our website.

Today I'm a watching our 70year old Kluge letterpress while we die cut a few thousand paper wrap labels. As this machine runs, which looks like it was made from the cast Irene version of the game Mousetrap, I'm writing this blog post. I am writing it on my new WiFi iPad.

Two different forms of communication, one seventeenth century, the other 21st century, living side by side. That's the way it is.

The Internet did not kill print. Just as TV did not kill radio and videos did not kill TV, print will live on. It will remain a vital part of our lives.

Gotta go, my Kluge needs me.

Sent from my iPad

I went to a Chamber talk...

2010-04-15T16:51:00.004-05:00

I went to a Chamber talk at the Palatine Public Library. Bonita Richter, who runs the Small Business Development Center at Harper College was the speaker. Her talk was on planning to grow your business in 2010.

The talk was good and we left with some good, usable info. Something else struck me. It is good for me to get out of the office and meet with other business folks. Do you do that in any given month? Do you network or mingle at Chamber functions? How about Lions, or Jaycees? Or, do you stay hunkered down in your office or shop?

Get out there. Meet some other people. Hear some good ideas. The world is changing. You have to know what your next step should be.

Happy Anniversary To Us

2010-04-01T11:36:00.000-05:00

Today, April 1st, is our business anniversary. Twenty-one years ago today we opened our doors. On one hand it seems like yesterday, on the other it seems like a century.

In that time, we have learned a lot, grown a lot, changed a lot, and met a lot of really nice people.

When we started we had two small, single color printing presses. Along with that was a stapler, paper cutter, folding machine, and a paper drill. That was about it.

Now we have dozens of pieces of equipment allowing us to offer a large variety of services and products. There is know we could have known then what we would be doing today. Likewise, we probably could not accurately predict what we will be doing five years from now.

We have witnessed great changes in our industry. From the acceptance of computers for management and graphic design, digital copiers replacing the traditional ones, radical changes in printing technology, and fax machines, websites, email and other innovations that changed the way we communicated with our customers.

We have seen our share of disappointment and near tragedy, success and excitement, and more of the same. But, looking back, we would do it all over again. Why? We are a big part of our business community and we get to work with some great people.

Our March eNewsletter Results

2010-04-01T11:22:00.001-05:00

You might be on our distribution list for the “Allegra Swatch.” In its newest incarnation, we switched email providers. We are now using Mail Chimp. So far, so good. There are lots of reasons to use them over the number 1 brand. But, that is for another post.

We are not totally sold out on email newsletters, though. There is a lot of evidence that printed newsletters are much more effective at getting the word out. That too is for another email.

Here is the down and dirty. For a marketing business, Mail Chimp says the average open rate is 18%. For the most recent issue of the Swatch, we are at 17.3%. Ok. Not too bad. But it is way off of our 21.9% open rate from the February issue.

Three big reasons for this pop out right away. First, folks could have found the subject line less compelling than I did. Second, we sent it out late in the day—4:00 pm. When my my east coast people or my local contacts who left early arrived at work the next day, my newsletter was buried deep in their in box. Last, it is a holiday week. Easter and Passover. On top of that, it is spring break for some folks. Just as their are fewer cars on the road this week, there are fewer people in their offices.

Here is the free marketing lesson: timing is important.

Numbering by Color!

2010-03-11T17:27:00.001-06:00

We just came up with a way to sequentially number documents and forms in any Pantone color ink you would want. Before, like almost all other printers, we could only do black and red.

So now you can let your imagination run wild. We can match your logo color scheme. Also, for security we can print in metallic colors or fluorescent inks to keep people from duplicating your stuff on a color copier.

While it is not earth shaking news, it is one more innovation we can offer you, our clients.

Amazing Waterproof Paper

2010-03-09T14:02:00.002-06:00

A good client came to us a couple weeks ago with a problem. They wanted equipment tags. Great. Easy enough. Not so fast. It’s not going to be that easy.

They were going to be used outdoors. The typical tag is a manila colored paper similar to index cards. So paper is out. How about laminating them? Great protection from the elements and affordable too. Nope. They have to write on them. Can’t write on lamination. Hmmm.

Now it gets interesting. Doing a little brainstorming, someone thought of that sample pack the paper mill representative dropped off a few months ago. Let’s check that out.

They had the perfect product. It is a synthetic paper. It is chemical resistant. Waterproof. And it is tear proof. We test it here. Perfect. Oh, and you can write on it with a pen or Sharpie.

After we print on it we can cut it, punch holes in it, round corner it, die cut it, and who knows what else we can do with it.

Some other uses we have found for it. Membership cards. Menus. Reference cards or instructions used in a harsh or dirty environment. Outdoor signs. Rear view mirror signs. Plant stakes.

Call Allegra Marketing, Print & Mail and tell us your problem. We will find a solution.

Fixed to Flexible

2010-03-05T07:55:00.001-06:00

Here is a short Ebook (37 brief pages) I think everyone in business should read. Todd Sattersten has boiled a lot of wisdom from recent business and social change books to come up with a great resource. Including ideas from “Predictably Irrational,” “Free Prize Inside” and “The Long Tail” among many others, each page is a gem with a repeatable story and a fact or two. How you apply them is up to you.

Check it out on Scribd. It is free, printable, and downloadable to your mobile device. Let me know what you think.

Letterpress Video

2010-02-15T15:11:00.001-06:00

I just added a video to our website (the first one ever). It was shot and edited by Al Landsberger, a local graphic designer and friend of mine. The subject is our 1950s era letterpress. It turned out really cool.

Two Random Facts

2010-02-04T10:36:00.000-06:00

A recent New York Times article said the Federal Government spends seven dollars on the elderly for every one dollar spent on children.
A recent “O’Reilly Factor” piece said the Federal Government paid $100 million in December 2009 on interest on the national debt. What Bill O’Reilly did not say was weather that was a one time amount or if the US pays that every month. Staggering.

Small Business in 2010

2010-02-03T23:32:00.000-06:00

Owning a small business the last couple years feels like a scene from Gladiator. You are in the arena, they open the gates and hungry lions come running out. Ah. Just another day in the life.

Sorry to say it but the Federal Government is no friend of the small business owner. President Obama has not done much so far to help the situation. The turmoil surrounding health care has only added to the confusion we have felt.

Now, Mr. Obama has rolled out a small business plan. There are a couple small provisions and two big ones. One part involves a tax credit for hiring new employees or increasing wages.

The problem with this is twofold. First, you need taxable profits from which to credit. So, this won’t help many small businesses. Second, staffing decisions usually only make sense when there is increasing demand. Otherwise, a bad decision is merely a drag on the business.

The second big plank is an incentive plan aimed a community banks to lend to small businesses. If this is under TARP, these banks will shy away from it. Accepting TARP funds painted your bank as weak. Nobody wants that tag.

The other big flaw is the belief that small businesses will use this money to expand. It won’t happen. Why? We are scared. We don’t know what will happen next. And we are already full of debt. Owners who get these loans will pay themselves bak the personal loans they made to their businesses or pay off their credit cards.

This will make their balance sheets looks better but it won’t increase capital investing. I clean balance sheet is swell, but it doesn’t help the economy.

Here’s my plan. Eliminate business income taxes. Not all the way—people would go crazy thinking about Exxon Mobil making a bazillion dollars more profit. But just part of the way. No income tax on the first $2 million dollars of profit.

This would eliminate income tax for the vast majority of small businesses. It would cut the unfairness of double taxation of small and family owned businesses. The Fortune 1000 would still pay taxes on the majority of their profits.

There would be several benefits. Owners would have profits to do the most economic thing with. They would reinvest in their companies, hire more people or increase wages as sales grew, or they would pay down debt. They would also pay themselves more.

Several things in the above paragraph would be taxable events. Income tax revenues would go up. Also, prices of goods and services would go down. Investment in businesses and opening businesses would increase. Innovation would also increase.

There would have to be a mindset shift for this to happen. Business people are too easy a target. Politicians would have to join arms with business owners instead of painting us as greedy exploiters. The public would have to come to appreciate the sacrifices we make. The era of mistrust would have to end in pop culture. Bernard Madoff and J.R. Ewing need to be lampooned as the freakish anomalies they are, not as symbols for all business people.

Who is Mark?

2009-10-16T12:56:00.002-05:00

Update: The Daily Herald corrected my name in the online versions. So, it's just the print edition that uses my alias.

So the Daily Herald article on closing the Palatine Postal Facility ran today. I was quoted at the end of the article. So far, so good. However, due to an error, I was cited as "Mark" Tarpinian. At least Kim spelled the name of my business correctly.

Shutdown the Palatine Processing Facility?

2009-10-15T15:12:00.000-05:00

The USPS announced plans to shut down the Palatine Processing Facility recently. Why should you care? Well, I will tell you. All mail in this area—from Evanston to Elgin will then go through the Carol Stream facility. This will delay local mail by a minimum of one day. That’s bad. There is a possibility of a logjam at the Carol Stream Processing Facility.

For those of us who mail information, there is a bigger problem. There is a possibility of delays and added costs. Many businesses are built around supporting mail in this area. We will be left high and dry.

I feel this will have long lasting detrimental effects on mailing. At this time when the USPS is seeing declining mail volume and revenues, they need to innovate and be creative. Cutting services, hours of service, raising prices, adding layers of difficulty to creating bulk mail will only hasten the decline of the Post Office.

By the way, Kim Pohl of the Daily Herald interviewed my for a marketer/mailers perspective. Look for it in an upcoming paper.

Yes You Can Send Prospect Email Without Being A Spammer

2009-10-13T14:05:00.002-05:00

A prospect came to me recently looking to do an email blast. Unlike the email blasts I do for my business and for some clients—this one was different. They want to send to people who are not their customers.

As she described what she wanted to do, the only thing that popped into my mind was—SPAM! That’s one of those touching the hot stove issues I always want to steer clear of. But I told her I would look into it. And I did.

What I got was an education. Are you ready for an outline of what I learned? Here goes. Contrary to popular belief, there are legitimate, legal ways to email to prospects. For definition a prospect is someone who you don’t know and who probably doesn’t know you.

There are two ways to send out prospecting email. One was is through mostly offshore vendors. Their lists are typically gathered through questionable means. While I hate to throw stones—these are the spammers of the world. Their lists have a high degree of incomplete or out of date addresses. You risk being blocked by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and your legitimate email will not be delivered. You could also face penalties or fines.

The other way is through a credible list broker. Their lists are culled from opt-in lists where people acknowledge they will accept marketing info. Neither you nor I see the lists. The vendor holds on to them. They also will design the email template and they take care of sending your eNewsletter out. You will get access to tracking info and leads. We have worked with a couple mailing list vendors who provide this service. We trust them very much.

While this route is more expensive than the first, it would be less expensive than direct mail. Even though the response rate is much lower than postal mail, there could be a benefit in lower cost per contact and immediacy.

There is an indirect way. This might give you credibility of being associated with someone known to your audience. That is to get an article or profile about your organization into someone else’s email blast. You might have to pay for the space or trade for space in your eNewsletter. But you have control over the content. You also can look like an expert to this audience. The hard part is finding a partner who has a non-competitive offering but has a list of people you need to reach.

Allegra Marketing, Print & Mail of Rolling Meadows would be glad to answer any questions or provide you with a quote. Call Michael Tarpinian at 847/398-2500.

By the way we also design and support traditional eNewsletter campaigns directed to your current customers, clients, students, fans, or patients.

Letterpress

2009-10-08T16:49:00.002-05:00

My guys recently had a successful test of letterpress printing. Before this test, we had used our letterpress for embossing, die cutting, and perforating paper. Lots of different stuff, but not for printing. Not bad for a fifty+ year old printing press, huh?

But there is an increasing interest in this old fashioned printing. Why? Nostalgia is part of it. The other part is the craft of letterpress printing. It looks different than our traditional printing or photocopying. There is a texture to the printing. It has a feel. It does not look flawless. It has character.

Some studios are commanding top dollar for stationery and wedding invitations of their letterpresses. We are looking at a slightly different model. We want to make note cards, business cards and invitations that are elegant and affordable. New techniques have helped to breathe new life into these old presses.

The movies American Psycho and the recent Seven Pounds have featured characters in an elegant business card throw-down and a letterpress printer respectively.

Best Seats in Town

2009-10-07T14:44:00.002-05:00

The Palatine Chamber of Commerce has just put out the decorated benches in the Best Seat in Town fundraiser. It’s a fun civic event that promotes the Chamber, local businesses, local charities, and local artists.

My sentimental favorite is the Harris Bank bench in support of the Immanuel Lutheran School Girls Basketball program. It was created by a local student whom I know (hi Joz). You can see it in front of the church and school on Plum Grove Road. I like the perspective of looking from the near net.

Keep your eyes open around town, these benches are all over. Also, pick up a park bench walking map and be sure to vote for your favorite. (You know I will).

Mike’s Wish List

2009-09-25T15:25:00.002-05:00

Perhaps there are a lot of business owners like me right now. After a couple of years of solid growth where we invested a lot of money back into our business, we hit a bump. Clearly the Great Recession has impacted businesses far and wide.

Now we are watching every expense. Closely. That’s the new reality. But here is where I take it to my own level of tightwadness (not a word, but you know what I mean). For everything that is non-essential to our operation, but would be nice to have, I am creating a list. It’s my wish list. Some is for new stuff, some is for software updates.

If there are others like me living a life of small business delayed gratification there are consequences. That is pent up demand. When the economy improves and businesses start spending again, there will be a rebound effect. People like me will loosen up and start buying the stuff they held off on purchasing. It could be a big snowball.

On the other hand, if we all see we have done without things for so long, maybe we don’t need them after all.

Web Favorite — FontCapture

2009-09-25T14:24:00.003-05:00

I have been messing with a website I found a few weeks ago. It is called FontCapture. It is a free service. The only thing it does is create a font from your handwriting. It is simple. And it works. You can create a font for both Mac or Windows.

What you get back, instantly I might add, is a complete font. A to Z, 0 to 9, plus punctuation. The slowest part of the process is writing out the template. But that doesn’t take too long either.

Here’s how you do it:

1. Download their template and print it out on your printer.
2. Print the letters as you would like them to appear.
3. Scan the template.
4. Send the template to FontCapture through their website.
5. Install your font on your computer.
6. Done.

Creating a cursive font is painstaking work, so you probably could not create a font of your writing, just your printing. All in all, its pretty cool. And did I mention it is free?

International Literacy Day

2009-09-08T08:53:00.003-05:00

September 8th is International International Literacy Day. While there aren't too many UN programs I would get behind, this is one of them.

• At least 1 in 7 people in the world cannot read.
• 776 million adults are illiterate.
• 75 million children are out of school.
• 30 million adults in the U.S. possess below-basic literacy skills.

Today only, use the coupon code 4LITERACY at BetterWorld Books and save 15% off their already low, used book prices. Plus they offer free shipping in the U.S. Your purchase will support literacy programs in the United States and around the world.

Is your marketing sending the right message?

2009-07-27T13:07:00.002-05:00

A recent call to a clients office left me confused and surprised. It was a Doctor’s office and they were not in. So I got their answering service. Actually at first I got their answering services on hold message. After being told I would speak to an operator promptly, I heard their recorded music. Since almost everyone has gotten away from elevator music, this was pop music. Actually, it was the current queen of pop—Britney Spears. So I listened to about 45 seconds of her recent controversial hit [the one about Amy] which is out and out vulgar.

I’m no prude, but this song gets switched off when in the presence of either of my daughters. How it got on the radio in the first place is beyond me. It is up there with some of the nastier stuff Prince recorded in the ‘80s. And that was rarely on the radio.

After taking my message, the operator answered a couple questions I had about this song. Her company is aware of it, but it is out of their control. They pay for a quarterly subscription so they just have to wait it out. Really? Stop it now. Don’t wait.

Everything in and around your business is part of marketing. Your place of business, your printed materials and forms, your delivery trucks, your employees, and your style of handling phone calls. Whether you intend it to be marketing your business or not, it’s all marketing.

I would not let an employee make deliveries celebrating sex, drugs, or alcohol. Nor would they parade a controversial anti-hero in front of my clients. The same goes for my phone messages. You don’t have to go back to the watered down stylings of Muzak strings, but come on people use some common sense.

What tone do you want your marketing to hit? Do you want people to think you are staid, or hip, or conventional, or happy go lucky? Are you ok offending or being controversial? What message to you want your public to hear? Answer these questions and go for it.

Printing Magnets — on our printing press?

2009-07-09T17:33:00.001-05:00

We recently worked on a fun project for a large Church organization. They needed a large quantity of magnets in a hurry and on a tight budget. Typically these are done by a silk screener. They are great quality but turnaround time and price might have been obstacles here.

Fortunately, we recalled a recent sales call from a paper mill rep from Nekoosa Coated Paper. They have a new magnetic sheet product that will run through a printing press. After trying the samples he left behind, we decided to go for it.

It worked great. They printed nicely, they dried quickly, and the finished product was beautiful. These were cut to business cards size but we could have cut them to just about any desired size. Also, with our die cutting capabilities on our letterpresses, we can cut them to almost any shape imaginable—triangles, circles, start, you name it.

Give us a call to see how we can promote your business or event with magnets.

They Don’t Live in Glass Houses

2009-07-07T12:59:00.003-05:00

You know the phrase: “People who live in glass houses should not throw stones.” Have you ever thought the phrase is strange? People who live in brick or frame houses should not throw stones either. But this is not about that. This is about direct marketing.

There is a company or maybe a few companies who market directly to the public in an unusual way. You might have folks like this in your community too. Is it a widespread phenomenon? I don’t know. They take their flier or brochure, or whatever, and put it in a Ziploc® with a handful of rocks. No. Seriously.

Then they fling them out of a moving car onto driveways around the neighborhood. I seem to recall one being from a home repair business. But I don’t recall the name or if I ever looked at another one. The packages annoyed me. It was litter dumped on my property.

Why do they do this? Is it to save money? If so, I doubt it is cheaper. Between the cost of the baggie, the rocks, the labor to fill and seal the bags, and the cost to drive around, it all adds up. Now, if they had pretty stones in there, maybe. If they sold rocks and pebbles for landscaping, perhaps. But, I don’t think they are.

Standard Mail postage is about 26¢ each—it is a real good deal. Yes, we charge for our services to mail. But you are getting a professional direct marketing piece. Put down the stones.

(http://www.flickr.com/photos/tahliajayde/3600630428/)

Typos happen

2009-04-27T16:21:00.002-05:00

There is an old phrase in printing regarding typos. Doctors bury their mistakes, architects plant ivy, printers make notepads. While there are very few true "printers errors," most are more accurately "proofers errors," if you spend enough time in printing you will see lots of blunders.

This recent one is a doozy. Anytime your gaffe is shown on TV, you have really done it big. Case in point the Washington Nationals jerseys. They hit the field with NATINALS embroidered across their chests. Whoops.

This Vista Does More Than Print

2009-04-02T12:15:00.008-05:00

When you buy business cards from an internet company that does not charge for them, you have to ask yourself a question. How are they generating income? I have seen troubling things for years about a few of these big internet printers. Now, they are getting some exposure and their shady practices are coming to the light of day. Check out this news story.

My company has never sold or traded client information. We have never dealt in bait and switch. And we have never made it a policy to treat anyone in an underhanded way.

When You Find Yourself in a Hole—Stop Digging

2009-03-16T10:05:00.002-05:00

Over this past weekend, the Obama administration rolled out their small business stimulus plan, or whatever they are calling it. All it looks like is a reduction in costs to borrow. Bad idea. Has anyone in the White House ever had to make a payroll? I doubt it.

There are two major problems with this plan. Access to money is not a problem for many small businesses. Community banks and credit unions are willing partners. Citibank and Bank of America are not lending money, but they won’t deal with small business during good times—forget it now. The problem is sales and profits. Our sales are way down and therefore our profits are too.

The other problem with this plan is debt itself. Our country got into this mess because of too much debt. So, now the suggestion is more debt? Really. Mr. Geithner, when you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging. Don’t make things worse than they are.

How about my plan? Cut government spending, cut personal AND business tax rates, and cut regulation. Make it easier to a little guy to make a buck. This social engineering program makes us nervous. Raise tax rates on one hand and make it easier to get deeper in debt with the other. Small business is not buying. The financial big shots got us into this mess, Now Washington, get out of the way of the little guys to clean it up.

Layoffs Stink

2009-03-13T11:43:00.002-05:00

There are a few situations in business that really stink for a small business owner. Being defrauded or swindled by an employee or partner is really bad. Being a victim of someone else's crime is way up there. Violence brought to the job by an employee is unconscionable. But what these have in common is they are rare and have to do with crime in one form or another.

But in the regular ups and downs of business, nothing is worse than letting go of an employee. Sometimes you have to sack an employee because they did not work up to expectation. That’s hard. One reason it is hard is because the owner was probably the one who made the decision to hire that person. Now the boss has to admit he or she made a mistake. So the decision to fire an under-performing worker is delayed in the hope that they will get with the program and turn around. That rarely happens.

While there is justification to let go of a bad worker, laying off an employee is much harder. Now you have to sack someone who was doing a good job. It is not for cause. It is for economic conditions that are usually not in the bosses control. The overall economy is in the dumper, sales are down, clients are slowing down payments, we are in a pinch. I have to let you go.

In a small business employees can become like family. Of friends. That makes it worse. Some bosses will delay laying off excess staff in down times because it hurts and is uncomfortable. This delay could kill the business. It can put everyone out of work. And it can bankrupt the business owner personally. Sadly, the burden to make the hard decisions falls on the owners shoulders. It stinks, but that’s the reality.

My Plan to Restore the Economy

2009-03-02T10:31:00.004-06:00

President Obama’s plan to restore the economy seems to be really complicated and risky. A guy named Joe even said it has a 30% chance of failing.

Here’s my plan:
Cut income taxes across the board including corporate income taxes which are the highest in the world;
Cut government spending across the board except for defense to keep more money in hands of the folks;
Cut government regulation to make it easier to start and grow a business.

This plan worked for President Reagan. It is tried, tested, and it works.

—Michael Tarpinian

Minimum Wage

2009-02-16T09:27:00.003-06:00

There is a trend recently reported in the Wall Street Journal. Restaurants are getting rid of their busboys. The minimum wage has made them too expensive for restaurants to keep on staff. Now the wait staff is clearing tables and bringing water glasses.

This is part of the law of unintended consequences brought on by a high minimum wage. Perhaps the aim of a minimum wage is good, but it just does not work. Those who are on that low margin will be eliminated. How is that better for those just starting out in the work force or who don’t have the language skills to keep up?

Staff costs are expensive. That is one reason you fill your own cup of pop at McDonald’s. Some fast food restaurants are using order kiosks where you press the buttons and pay without one of their staff involved. More entry level jobs eliminated.

I have asked liberal politicians for years to defend their high wage positions. None have answered me. If $6.55 is good, why not $16.55 or $25.00 a hour? Wouldn’t it be great if everyone made $50 grand a year?

No it wouldn’t. Many people are not worth $6.55 an hour. At least not today. After they have some experience—yes, but today they might only be worth $3.00. It sounds harsh but a low wage is motivating.

After high school without much direction, I got a minimum wage job in retail during a recession with high unemployment. No benefits and a lot of nights and weekends. I worked my way up to assistant store manager. Then I made about $0.35 more an hour than minimum wage. That experience told me to go get a college degree.

If these now unemployed bussers are not worth minimum wage where do they go to get experience for a position where they would be worth it?

Quote for the day

2009-01-22T12:46:00.003-06:00

If you don't like change, you're going to like irrelevance even less.

—General Eric Shinseki, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Former Chief of Staff, U. S. Army

Since I read this quote a few years ago, it has stuck with me. Now, it seems timely for any business person.

Free Photos

2008-11-11T11:07:00.003-06:00

Here is a special offer we want to let you know about—free stock photos. In partnership with a great stock photo agency, we are offering their entire catalog for your use, for free. Order any poster, banner, full color flyer or brochure to take advantage of this offer. Call us today to start your order and we will let you browse their online catalog or assist you with a search that fits your theme or topic. This offer will be good through at least March, 2009.

Print/Replant Redux

2008-11-06T12:46:00.000-06:00

It is a cool feeling to surprise someone. I had a chance to do that this week. It happened while talking with a new client. I was explaining some of Allegra’s services and benefits. His head snapped to attention when I mentioned our Print/Replant program. Yes, we really do replant our National Forests with seedlings for every sheet of paper we use.

I did some calculating and came up with this statistic. Together, you and Allegra are responsible for planting an acre of forest. It is a drop in a bucket when we hear about hundreds of acres being scorched by wildfires. But, we are one printshop in less than one year into this program.

If you would like more information about Print/Replant, for information on how to get trees planted, or for a guest article for your newsletter, let me know. I would be more than happy to help.

The Best Deal at the Post Office

2008-11-04T09:40:00.001-06:00

I was talking to a client the other day about her newsletter mailing. It's a big mailing. Not just in the number of recipients but in the size of the mail piece. It's one of these 12 page newsletters that also includes a return envelope. Their current printer is organized such that the only way to mail this piece is pre-sorted, first-class mail. For two ounces, this is costing them a small fortune.

She was hesitant when I talked about pre-sorted, Standard Mail. She was under the impression there would be all kinds of problems mailing it this way. When I assured her that thousands of companies and organizations send their correspondent out this way every day without a problem, she softened up a bit.

Then I explained something to her she had never heard before. With Standard Mail, the post office allows you to mail up to 3.3 ounces for the same cost of mailing a postcard. What a value! Now that their mailing list has gotten bigger, their total cost of mailing will go down by 25-33%.

Think about how you can use this tremendous value to your benefit. You can send out a larger mailing in an envelope with many pieces in it. This is something we call “lumpy mail.” You can send a promotional product that ties in with the theme of your mailing. You can group a mailing with your neighbors, networking group, or marketing affiliates so you can take advantage of the postage discount.

Give Allegra Print and Imaging of Rolling Meadows a call today at 847-398-2500 to discuss this and other great ways to save money on your direct mail marketing campaign.

Discipline yourself...

2008-10-23T13:23:00.001-05:00

I watched about 30 seconds of the World Series yesterday. The announcers were talking about one of the Managers. He puts motivational sayings around the clubhouse to teach the players. One that caught my eye was this one from John Wooden that I never heard before: "Discipline yourself and others won't need to." What I find great about Wooden is that his best sayings apply to basketball but they don't. They apply to all of life. They don't just apply to athletes. They apply to all who are facing the human condition. Check out more John Wooden quotes at the link below.

http://www.sacredhoops.com/john_wooden_quotes/index.html

Henry’s Model T

2008-10-22T14:34:00.001-05:00

Most of us remember reading somewhere Henry Ford’s famous line, “the consumer can have any color cover he wants, as long as it’s black.” But you probably do not know that when the car was introduced in 1908, in addition to black you could also buy it in red, green, or blue. Black only became the standard when Henry Ford realized he could save costs by eliminating the other colors.

Ford created a standard that is with us to this day. Businesses either eliminate choice from us or give us a wide variety of choice. We usually have no choice in the color of Cabinet of a new HDTV. But look at the choices we have for an iPod Nano. Businesses pick a niche in which to market.

Printers, like your humble blogger, are generally in the choice business. We don’t dictate what the customer is going to get, the customer tells us what she wants. Virtually nothing we print looks exactly like any other thing we print. Sure, the paper size may stay the same, there are only a couple thousand fonts to choose from (two or three of these make up over 90% of everything printed in the U.S.), and layout typically follows some pattern. But inside those limits, the choices are endless.

For years I’ve tried to come up with a niche product. Something that I can produce that would almost be off the shelf. So far, no luck. It is been far easier for us to market Allegra Print & Imaging of Rolling Meadows like a standard print shop.

That is beginning to change though. Customers are pushing us to offer more services to them. At the same time we are looking to expand our service choices to stay ahead of them. We are starting to test the definition of what a print shop is. So far, it’s going well.

By the way, the Model T was introduced the same year my beloved Cubs last won the World Series.

Voice Recognition

2008-10-14T14:29:00.002-05:00

As an original Mac user (1984), this is a great time to be alive. Because of the growing popularity of the Mac platform, I get to see new stuff come out for the Mac almost every day. One of my favorite new toys is voice recognition software called MacSpeech. It is based on a very popular platform but the software was made specifically for the Mac.

I bought it primarily to help one of my daughters in middle school. After testing it myself, I can see broad applications for business use.

It is much faster than typing. However, it changes the way you put information into a computer. Using a keyboard has been part of my writing process since I was in college. I often tell people that getting my Mac in college raised my grades by one full letter. So this B- student became an A- student almost overnight.

An interesting change this brings is that the stream of consciousness ideas that you can speak will be put onto a page on your computer. You get to sort them out and edit later.

By the way, this blog entry was written using MacSpeech.

Add This!

2008-10-07T10:40:00.002-05:00

We have just added a new feature to our blog. You can now link to your favorite posts and share them with your friends on Facebook, StumbleUpon, de.li.cio.us, and many other social networks. Hover over the "bookmark" button at the bottom of each post to see all the options. So, return often and see what there is to share!

Bicycle Shop Bailout Plan Debated in Congress

2008-09-26T10:14:00.001-05:00

This is a headline you won’t see anytime soon. Obviously the big story is the financial crisis hitting our country. But there is something to my headline. From one source, about 30% of bike shops in the U.S. have closed in the last 5 years.

I have not studied the problem facing these retailers. So I can’t go into detail on that here. But here is what I think. Bicycle shops are small businesses. Big industry, but small business. Nobody is watching out for small business owners. We are on our own. These shops are also spread out. There might be one or two shops in any town or neighborhood.

Banks are big business. To some degree, banks are in the business business. They provide the gasoline for the economy. They are clearly more important than bike shops. Or corner bakeries. Or (gasp) print shops. So, banks and investment firms get government bailouts. Small business owners don’t get a “do-over.”

This is sad to me. As a small business owner I feel for these shop keepers. As a lifelong biker I am a sad customer. Bike shops and book stores are two of my favorite places to visit. Don’t get me started on book stores. They all but disappeared about 7 years ago.

I understand that the big banks need to be protected. They are too tied into our economy. However, I have not seen anything about consequences. Unless there is clear evidence of theft or fraud, I would not be happy seeing bankers put in jail. But having to pay back their ill gotten gains? Perhaps. But business survival has to make economic sense. Poorly managed businesses should fail or be bought out by smarter business people. Bike shops—the market is speaking. Investments banks—your time has come too. What do you think?

End of the Line for Kinko’s

2008-09-25T13:03:00.002-05:00

We recently heard about the end of Kinko’s. If you haven’t heard, FedEx, the current owner of Kinko’s has decided to change their name from FedEx Kinko’s to FedEx Office. They will be dropping Kinko’s entirely.

This is a huge change for the printing and copying industry. For many years this brand-name was synonymous with photocopying. It was almost as popular as the name Xerox. Because it sounded funny it was the punch line of many jokes and story lines in sitcoms. Now it’s just part of history.

As a printer I have mixed feelings about FedEx’s decision. Kinko’s has been a standard bearer in our market’s mind. While printers have not measured themselves to Kinko’s, some customers have. This has given us a good standard to follow to point out our strengths versus them. For instance, in Illinois copy shops like Kinko’s have to charge sales tax. Print shops do not. We are considered value added resellers. In my county, this saves my customers 10%.

Nevertheless, there is still power in brand names. Once I had a customer take a long walk across my parking lot to walk in and asked me if I knew where the closest Kinko’s was. When I asked him what he was looking for and he just said copies, I said that I could do them here. He seemed to be more than a little surprised. He explained that he needed to have Kinko’s copies made. When I told him that we had similar equipment and we can do everything that they could do, he was still not satisfied. He left explaining that Kinko’s copies are better because they’re from Kinko’s.

FedEx’s decision to change the name is a puzzling one. They bought the company because it had the best name in the industry. Now that they have written off about one third of the value of the venerable copy shop, they have decided to strip most of the rest of the value of their purchase away too. It’s sort of like buying a McDonald’s Happy Meal and throwing away the toy.

Hello World!

2008-09-23T11:59:00.001-05:00

So, here is my introductory, welcome to my blog posting. Like many beginning bloggers we find it necessary to explain that we are blogging. Again, like most bloggers I hope to post witty, informative, and interesting information. I welcome your comments and questions.