How's the Weather?

It’s been a milder winter than usual, but that doesn’t seem to stop me from wanting spring to come even earlier this year.  We just got our hour of daylight back and nothing tantalizes the senses more than having more time to enjoy outdoors in mild temperatures. 

Businesses too have been tantalized as of late by positive economic indicators: jobs seem to be picking back up, the stock market is on an uptick,  consumer spending is increasing.  But just as a winter chill in March can hang around like an annoying gnat, businesses are not so quick to embrace the positive, warm, spring-like news. 

It’s understandable.  After all cold, dark times are not that far in the rearview mirror.  A timid, timed approach to hiring and development is prudent given the ride we’ve been through.  And while many are optimistic of a warm, mild spring, there is always the change that your particular area may be in for more cold, damp and dismal weather.  It’s safe to say that places like Miami and San Diego will have pleasant weather, they always do.  But what about places like New York, Boston and Chicago?  They rely much more heavily on unpredictable factors like the jet stream and wind patterns to determine long term temperatures weather patterns. Your business might be like Miami, it doesn’t matter the time of year, for the most part the weather is nice.  Oh sure, you get a big thunderstorm and sometimes they come in clusters, but overall, your temperature and climate are attractive to customers.  Or maybe your business is like New York, it could be a rainy, wet spring, or it might be a mild, warm and fun place to be depending on effects that are beyond your control.

While this is a very simplistic analogy, I tend to think of each of these types of businesses as being someplace in between and yet leaning towards one or the other.  Economic forces will always play a factor in any business decision, yet some businesses are less affected by them than others.  Small businesses in particular, like the kind we help here at Beacon are most vulnerable to “big picture” economics, and yet thousands of small businesses also have thrived through tough economic times with little damage.

So how does this bode for the future?  Well, like the weather, the future is impossible to predict with 100% accuracy.  But like a city’s geographical climate, there are indicators of what tomorrow will be like.  Let’s take a look at a few of them

1. The business of tomorrow will be more automated.

It’s here.  After the internet boom, costs of doing business online plummeted and companies looked for ways to get more done with less.  This had ripple effects across the business landscape with dire predictions of robots replacing all of us.  That has not happened, but it’s here.  It just looks somewhat different than what you saw about artificial intelligence in the movies.   As the labor force looks to open its doors once again, it will be those with the skills and adaptability to automate their work that will be hired.

2. The business of tomorrow will be leaner.

This means that yes there will be fewer employees in a typical corporation or small business.  It’s not because businesses are not interested in growth or expansion or new talent.  It is a factor of cost.  The cost to hire and keep an employee is becoming prohibitive, but businesses can only automate so much.  Humans are still the driving force behind innovation and ingenuity.  No machine can replace that, but humans do get sick, do take time off and do have greater cost demands than machines in most cases.  And now with the notion of healthcare benefits being a wildcard political factor, the need for simplification of benefits across the board is just over the horizon.

3. The business of tomorrow will be competitive

Competition drives our society and with news travelling faster than ever before, the ability to “cut in line” when it comes not only to market efficiency, but with new ideas and innovations will be at the forefront.  Being first to market has always been an important issue, but as time marches on this will become an even bigger factor as small startups look to improve on existing technologies and products.

Yes, the weather is never an easy thing to predict.  Climate is much easier to distinguish, but when it comes to business climate, it is important to take stock of where you are- Miami, or New York?  

Hey Flower Guy- Holiday Season Is Over

I’m posting the article below by Wil Gonzalez, AIFD from the Ukiah Daily Journal in Northern California.  As the Valentine’s Day season, and the holiday season for that matter is behind us, a number of challenges this year await.  Wil has provided a great piece here from the perspective of the retail florist to the consumer.

And take a moment before or after reading this article and vote on our poll to the right.  We want to know how your Valentine’s Day Sales went.  Enjoy.

-----By Wil Gonzalez, AIFD

Well it looks like the holiday season is behind us. In the floral industry that means from Thanksgiving to Valentine's Day. As many people surmise, Valentine's is a huge. And it is only one day. My boss says it looks like it was a good day. He judges a good day when none of the employees are fighting, when we don't receive complaints and when all deliveries are made and little or no mistakes are made. I agree, a good day. I work with some amazing people, who worked hard to make sure all customers were well served. Since it is a small shop we all do many different tasks. Sales clerks will be trained to green in vases and gather flowers for designers. Designers will be sales clerks when there are 10 customers waiting to be served and all the phones are ringing.

It was at that time when I over heard one customer complain that "florists over charge on this day just because we can." Since I was with one customer, I was unable to respond and our poor clerk was left speechless. I feel bad for that customer because he left feeling used.

In the many years I have been in this business, I have found that people gravitate to floral work because they are creative/artistic people who like flowers and like people. Those who work in flower shops want to assist, help, guide our customers to make a purchase that fits the occasion and their current budget. In my travels I've learned that while the profit margin for flower shops is very low compared to other businesses, all shop owners stay in this industry because they do want to help customers get the best value for their floral purchase, in hopes that they will choose to buy flowers in the future.

In the articles I write I attempt to help that customer understand that this is a business that deals with a perishable product that has seasonal demands and weather related concerns. There is also the very basic business axiom of Supply and Demand. All of these things affect the price of the flower you want to buy today.

You have to know I feel so lucky that when I came to Ukiah 17 years ago, I chose the flower shop that would be the only flower shop left in Ukiah after all these years. I have to say that it has everything to do with great employers. They give me time off to do the MCAVHN annual Event of the Heart, in the middle of Valentine's as well as donate flowers for the event. They let me do far out, fashion forward designs for modern, young customers. They care about the business, customers, employees, and above all they care about the flowers they purchase and where they are sourced.

I'm proud to say that long before Buy Local' was a slogan, my boss always procured product from sources as local as possible. When big box or grocery stores started buying roses (and lilies) from South American growers, many California growers sold their farms. These are now sprawling suburbs. As for the imported product, I know what flowers go through to get to that big box store before it gets to you. First, it's pesticides and fertilizers no longer allowed or used in the USA. Next it's the travel and storage. From Columbia to Miami. That is usually the point of entry. Sitting in a warehouse waiting to be inspected by USDA before being shipped to the next warehouse. Waiting 1-3 days before being shipped to your big box store. This journey can take 3-6 days.

Chances are those flowers have been stored and shipped with produce. Produce that emits ethylene. Ethylene (C2H4) is a naturally occurring plant hormone. It does affect the growth, development, ripening, and senescence (aging) of all plants. Bananas, after being brought to the USA, are placed in huge lockers where high levels of ethylene is introduced in order that the bananas turn from green to yellow. Those bananas are probably in the same produce trailer as apples, potatoes, strawberries peaches as well as roses and carnations. Ever buy a peach that FELT ripe but was hard on the inside? How about strawberries that started to rot before you could finish the basket? Maybe long lasting carnations that dried up, shriveled up after 3 days? How about the rose that never opened or heads that just fall over. These are some of the effects of ethylene exposure. Unless my boss is eating an apple when driving, freshly harvested roses from the farms to the shop, our California grown roses are not exposed to outside sources of this ripening agent.

Maybe you saw my Facebook page with the photo of the boxes of Pro-Flower product being manhandled in some warehouse, somewhere in USA. Hey, where's the romance? Where is the love?

In the big picture, the National Retail Federation reported that consumers probably spent $1.8 billion on flowers for Valentine's Day. That is up from $1.7 billion in floral sales 2011 and $1.6 billion 2010. We notice that sales are higher when Valentine's Day is on a weekday and deliveries to a work place are in high demand. In this small town shop with all the extra help that needed to be hired, tight workspace and long hours to get every detail on every order just right, we got along just fine. It was a successful holiday. Now we take a breather and get ready for Mother's Day. Where ever Mom is I recommend, order early and order directly from the delivering florist.

Wil Gonzalez works for Rainforest Fantasy, is NW Regional past-president of the American Institute of Floral Designers, Ukiah Garden Club president and a trophy winning Rose parade Floral Designer. 

It’s Tee Time

Yes the frigid days of January are upon us. The long cold winter has descended on these hapless souls in the northern hemisphere. But not all places above the equator have been transformed into a quasi tundra where conditions are as inhospitable as an alien planet. We here in Florida are still enjoying days in the 70s and 80s, the southwest and southern California also boast mild days and cool nights. And for those of you who do not have the good fortune to live in these warmer locations, first let me apologize. For those of you who seek refuge from the icy, blustery north, welcome. And it is to these individuals that I write this review of GolfShot, a nifty little app available on your handheld device/ smartphone from the good people at Shotzoom.


First of all there is a free “Lite” version and a full $29.99 version. I would recommend trying out the “GolfShot Lite” version before buying the full version (which I know carries a steep price tag, but worth it, once you find all the cool stuff it can do).

Let’s start with all the neat stuff that the “Lite” version does.

So when you hit the links, you take this little app with you on your phone you can use it as your scorecard for you and your golf buddies and email it to them when you are finished. It automatically loads the closest golf courses, asks you which distances you’ll be teeing off from and you also have the option of inputting your personal handicap. Then asks at which hole you will be starting and at this point you will also be entering the other members in your party.

After you finish each hole, the app lets you enter the number of strokes for each player. When you, as the owner of the app, enter your score, you also will enter the club you used to tee off (Par 3 holes), whether you sliced left, right, came up short of the fairway or hit the fairway (Par 4 and 5 holes). There are also inputs for sand shots and penalty strokes. The app complies this data at the end of each round and produces useful information such as driving accuracy, greens in regulation, recovery, putting averages and other information that is plotted on a graph and can show your progress over 5, 10, 20 and 50 rounds. You can recall your stats for each round (where it was played and what your stats were for the date and particular course) that you play and see which way your game is trending.

So in summary, that is what the “Lite” version will do. The main drawback I noticed in playing with this app is that since I am left handed golfing and right handed writing, I have to use a gloved finger to input my scores and other information so it makes my finger about twice the size. I use an iPhone so the on screen buttons can be hard to press with any degree of accuracy, but I get around this by carrying a stylus which I would recommend for this app especially if you plan to use it on the golf course where one little (innocent mind you) incorrect entry can throw your stats off.

As fun as the free, “Lite” version is, the full $29.99 version is even more enticing. This version gives you all the features as the “Lite” version, but includes a GPS feature which will measure your ball’s distance from the front, middle or the back of the green. It also includes aerial images of the course to present you with the perfect distance to the hole, making your club and shot selection that much easier.

The whole app is uncannily accurate and really does double as the ultimate range finder/ scorecard no matter where you choose to golf and regardless of your ability. The largest drawback to this particular app is that with your “location service” turned on at all times (it has to be if you want to know exactly how far from the hole your next shot is) it is a major battery drainer. Forget about answering an email or taking a call out on the course, this app will take you from 100% to 0% most likely before your round is over. The only true way to get around this is to carry a spare, portable power source, but let’s face it, who wants to do that?

But have no fear, the good people at Shotzoom have obviously listened to their reviews, taken heed and come up with a nifty alternative. Enter the Shotzoon Golf GPS Rangefinder. This app eliminates the continued use of the GPS running in the background. It is a very accurate rangefinder and can make your club selection very simple. While it does save your smart phone a good deal of battery time, it too can be a bit cumbersome and difficult to gage each time you take a shot. Holding the unit steady and seeing the screen on certain types of sun-filtered days can be a bit daunting.

I addition, Shotzoom provides Golfplan with Paul Azinger. This app provides personalized tips and tricks based on your current game. I have yet to play around with this app, but would welcome any comments from those of you who have and I will try to write a review when I get the chance.

So to conclude, I would recommend that for the average golfer, if you are looking for a nifty electronic scorecard, the Golfshot Lite version is an easy to use, free app that provides you with a ton of information and can help see which way your game is trending.

If you are into having all the ins and outs of a rangefinder and GPS system incorporated into your game, I would recommend Golfshot GPS ($29.99 in the iTunes app store), but again beware that the battery drain will be severe.

Why We Micro-Lend

If you’re not familiar with our company you probably have no idea what we do nor any idea why we do it.  If this is the case, consider this your introductory post at least in terms of Beacon Worldwide- Beacon Marketing’s non-profit micolending division.  For those of you already familiar with Beacon Consultants, Beacon Imports and Beacon Worldwide, consider this a refresher and a little more information to get you inspired.

In short 8% of every sale no matter how small or large from our Beacon Imports division (www.beacon-imports.com) goes to our microlending account.  These funds are then dispersed to aspiring groups and individuals all over the world.  We do this because we feel that capitalism in all its forms cannot thrive unless there are organizations, individuals and companies that are willing to give access to capital to each and every entrepreneur throughout the world.  Risks are part of our American heritage and Beacon Marketing tries to look for those business that closely mirror our own values and takes on this risk by working through that individual’s or group’s financial institution to provide funds for the startup and/ or continuation of that particular business.

We do this both domestically and abroad.  Our domestic partners allow people in poorer urban areas of the United States to better their lives by using their innovation and skills to develop products and services that will benefit their communities.  Our foreign partners disperse funds to areas of the world where access to capital and resources are scarce.  In essence we are trying to infuse a little bit of capital in the areas where it will make the biggest difference.

Recently Forbes Magazine’s cover story “Can Venture Capitalism Save the World?”  highlighted (on a much larger scale) how one organization’s quest to break into third world countries is offering skills, resources and hope to those who have only known difficulty and misery.  I invite you to read this article here (http://www.forbes.com/sites/helencoster/2011/11/30/novogratz/

 and see for yourself why we and other organizations lend our resources to individuals who, like us, still have a dream.

Giving Thanks and "Franksgiving"

Have you noticed that the Christmas season came early this year?  It was sort of a voluntary thing amongst the giant cabal that is U.S. retailers that consumers should undergo ceaseless caroling over in-store sound systems a full five weeks early this year.  But chintzy music and holiday crooning aside, as Richard Dryus said in Close Encounters of the Third Kind:  this means something.  This is important.

Was this the result of intelligent marketing or hopeless desperation?   To clue ourselves in on this answer let’s go back to last time that we faced an economy like the one we are in now.  As many media and political types like to point out (and I happen to agree with several of them), that would be the great depression.  For nearly a century Thanksgiving was held on the final Thursday in November.  This could mean that either the fourth OR the fifth Thursday might be any given year’s annual day of thanks.  Turns out in 1939, still in the throes of the great depression, Thanksgiving fell on such a fifth Thursday.

Now it seems laughable in 2011, but back then, it was poor taste to adorn a retail outlet with Christmas décor or have so-called “Christmas Sales” before Thanksgiving.  So in 1939 Lew Hahn, the general manager of the Retail Dry Goods Association  mentioned to the secretary of commerce that this date would be less than favorable for holiday sales at a time when retail outlets needed the revenue most.  By October, FDR had come up with a solution:  mandate Thanksgiving be held on the fourth Thursday in November.

It wasn’t until the 1950s that all states finally fell into line with what came to be knows as “Franksgiving.”  And without getting into too many details about the national difficulties and the debate of this move, it finally stuck and is the date upon which we celebrate Thanksgiving today.

This little history lesson does have a point.  In 1939, retailers needed to move Thanksgiving earlier to make way for Christmas, to give more time to spend more money.  Today, with the nation and the world busier than ever, if we were to wait for congress to act we’d probably have to wait until 2045 and by then we’d get some crazy piece of legislation that moved Thanksgiving to mid- July so that the Christmas buying season could begin in earnest while we are still buying our sunscreen.

It’s not the simple fact that we do not need, nor would most likely tolerate an act of congress to move Thanksgiving, but rather we as consumers have already made up our minds when and how our buying will take place for the holiday season regardless of when Thanksgiving falls.  Online retailers have shifted the entire focus of holiday buying from a specific set of dates and locations to one in which the consumer can more fully control the environment.  However, in both 1939 and 2011, the economics are similar.  The faster and longer people can get part time holiday work and the faster consumers can spend their hard- earned dollars, the better off the retailers and their wholesalers will be.  Thus the business cycle can once again begin spinning a little faster.  

Today, with the business cycle is fighting for its very life, there are stark differences between today’s retailer and the retailer of 1939.  Businesses no longer have to wait for an act of congress.  Thanksgiving, the federal holiday falls where it may within the specified law, but the sentiment for buying falls whenever the consumer decides.  So the answer here is that it is both desperation and savvy marketing that we hear Bing Crosby in the linen aisle so early in the season.

Is this a bad thing or a good thing?  Opinions vary widely and perhaps another post would be in order to properly assess the overall mood, but suffice it to say that while giving thanks for this holiday shopping season is not something that might be on the tip of every shoppers tongue, at least we can say we don’t have to wait for congress to begin the spending.

Forget the Recession

In an age where jobs are rare commodities, consumer discretionary spending has taken a plunge. That’s bad news if you are in the retail, wholesale or distributor business. Over the past few months, we’ve written blog posts about staying the course, biding your time, preparing for the worst, preparing for recovery. We’ve opined on such things as the gloomy economic forecasts, trying to stay upbeat while facing reality. We’ve advised clients and potential clients alike on matters such as cutting back your workforce, cutting costs, strengthening your inventory positions and keeping ideas and products fresh and new. So in this latest post (yes it is very late), I’m proposing a new direction not aimed at the economy or government or even business for that matter. As we begin the final quarter of 2011, it’s tough to see any bright spots on the horizon as far as business goes, so this month, Beacon Marketing (via me of course) is going to post something a little different. I’m going to list off how to forget about the current (potential) double-dip recession and start to feel good about the present environment by showing how some of those we’re worked with over the past year have made the best of an awful business situation.



1. Spend time with family

I know for some of us this is like…duh. For others this is like….no way, never. But I like to think that a grey area exists between “duh” and “no way.” For those of us who love our families and home life is bliss, this makes all the sense in the world and chances are you don’t have to read this or find any time for that matter to actually want to be with those individuals. But if you are in the “no way” category, you can have all the free time in the world and you’d rather be anyplace else. I think however for most of us, it is a matter of finding what used to be called “quality time.” If you set aside 30 minutes at home with your family and expect a spontaneous act of “quality time” to happen, you are only going to be disappointed. Instead, how about just showing up and seeing where it goes. Sometimes just being around is the first step.


2. Get outside

It’s amazing to think about how much time we spend each day in front of the computer or our phone screens. While the internet was supposed to make everything from shopping to photo-taking easier, it has now become the official medium for life as we know it. It has become a demanding master rather than an easy conduit. Everything is done online now. Even out phones are tied to online services that demand our time and attention. My advice is to go someplace where the weather is nice even your own backyard (if you live someplace nice). And get away from phones, screens, televisions, keyboards and even people if necessary. Take in a few hours of sun, autumn air or just do an activity someplace open. You’ll find that it gets your mind off work a lot better than that last adult beverage.


3. Get a massage

OK, so for the guys this may seem a little “metro” but regardless of your manliness, even the most intense (or laid back for that matter) guy’s muscles get knotted up and need some relief. Chances are you have a local massage clinic someplace close by. If not, you can scour your local ads or simply Google “massages” and your zip code and there is an even better chance an individual with the proper qualifications can come to your own house. Aromatherapy, soothing music, some controlled breathing all may seem like something that’s a bit “out there” for some people, but if you take the hour or so to actually do, the rewards can last for days.


4. Try a new place

This is fore everyone. If you are the thrill-seeker, get to an amusement park or bungee jumping center. If you are more laid back, try a new restaurant or diner. Regardless of what your idea of fun is, it is important to break the same old routines that you rely on for convenience and expedience. Take some time to try new foods or new activities. Many of our clients we queried for this report have found that there are restaurants and parks literally within 10 minutes of their office or homes that they had never tried but had been meaning to when they had time. Our advice is to make that time now.

There are literally countless other hobbies, locations and activities that can help you take your mind off whatever current situation you are facing, be it economic or otherwise. But the most important thing is to incorporate these new things into some kind of routine. Many business owners find themselves so tied to their business that they defer new activities until a retirement that either never comes or keeps getting further from their reach. The time to do things that relieve stress, expand your horizons and keep you happy and health is not in retirement, it’s today.

What To Do Now

As national and global news continue to weave their way into and out of our daily lives, a somber reality still remains. Our country’s economic growth is not keeping up the pace it should to sustain small business growth let alone prosperity. The reasons are varied, but one word tends to sum up the entire scenario: uncertainty. This wait and see approach has failed to get many small businesses out of the starting block and those that are running laps have slowed to a meager limp in many cases. It’s a lot like a surfer waiting for the right wave at the right time. Many businesses are standing on the sand with their surf boards, but just can’t seem to take the plunge. The wind isn’t right, the wave is braking too soon or too late, it just doesn’t make sense to go out there right now unless a series of events occurs repeatedly that tells us everything is going down the right path. And right now, none of that is happening.

During this difficult time, we have given lots of advice to small businesses on pricing, timing, logistics, business cycles and product value. Some of our clients who have been around for decades are still too frightened to try anything new let along hire any new employees, launch any products or bring in any new vendors. This is why the economy has slowed to the pace that it has. Too many business owners are resting on their old tried and true products and methods to get through rather than pushing into new frontiers.

So what can small businesses do to try to push ahead during a time when the situation seems to require staying put?

1. Test marketing. Ok, so you realize investing in large quantities of inventory on products that are not tried and true sellers is probably not the best idea at this point. We concur completely. However, one of the more prudent things to look at would be to try smaller quantities of product (even if the initial cost is higher) and test their results on your top customers.
2. Make variations on existing best-selling products. One of our biggest clients has a product that has been around for decades and gets reorders from big box stores on a weekly basis. A sure-winner, we advised them to keep the product, but change the quantity and packaging. The costs were slightly higher, but the profit margins added additional revenue to their second quarter sales.
3. Network. If your business does not have a website, you are back in the early 1990s, if your business does not have a FaceBook page, you are about a decade behind the eight ball. This is a great time to catch up with the rest of the world by creating your own community and advertising to your closest circle of business contacts. We like to think of social media not wholly as a way of attracting new customers, but as a way of solidifying your relationships with those whom you do business.
4. Cut operational costs. No one is a fan of unemployment, diminished pay or selling valuable assets. But we also need to be real as long as the economic situation stays at it is. We need to think smaller operationally. This can mean anything from selling property to cutting back workers’ hours to pulling the plug on the second phone line. While the options are painfully plentiful at creative, they still are necessary for the leaner, dynamic and more versatile business of the future.

There are things that businesses can be trying at this point in time to prepare for expansion. This is not to say that some small businesses are not expanding currently. There will always be those organizations that can still turn out new and innovative ideas even in a recession. On average however, most of our clients have expressed reservations about taking new directions and their actions tend to follow this line of reasoning.

No one can say for sure when the skies will clear and the time to take more risks, hire more workers and turn out new products will begin. In the meantime, there is no reason why your business cannot take the small steps necessary to prepare for that time.