L I M E Blog

Back from Egypt

Sorry for the delay in my posting, but I just returned from a trip to Egypt, where the Internet like the power, phones, and etc. are not always working. My mom, Aunt Stephanie and I went to visit their sister, my Aunt Jennifer who lives in Cairo. We spent the first 3 days in and around Cairo (trying to get over our jet lag). Then, left on a 4-day cruse down the Nile. We started at the very bottom of the country (where it boarders Sudan) at Abu Simbel and worked our way north, towards Luxor, stopping all along the way to see the temples that litter the shores of the Nile. Then spent our last week around Cairo and Giza.

Egypt is a very individual sort of place, and I was so glad that we were with some one who knew the country. Egypt is a Police state, which means that there are men with guns (BIG ones) all over the place. But even though there are policemen on every corner and then some in-between, traffic laws are non-existent.  The Egyptians view traffic laws, as mere suggestions were everything from speed to direction is optional. It is amazing that anyone is able to drive through all of the mayhem and get to their destination alive. The best word to describe Cairo (not just it’s traffic) is Chaos. Absolute but wonderful Chaos.

 

Widows and Orphans

Continuing in a series of what-not-to-dos, I present to you Widows and Orphans:
Widows are when the last line of a paragraph falls on the next column or page of text, all by it's lonesome. Similarly, and orphan refers to when the first line of a paragraph is left alone on it's own page or column. Fortunately, most word processors take care of this without us even noticing or saying so much as thank you. But it's ok. Word processors don't have feelings and don't mind if we forget to be polite once in a while. Now, the more important part of this post is this: Widows are also those awkward one or two words at the end of the paragraph that are on their own line, as illustrated to the left. They are small and don't want to be left alone. There are many ways of preventing such a typographical tragedy. One simple remedy is to reword your paragraph. Another trick is to adjust the "leading" or "spacing" of the letters. I will address these topics at a future date. So until next time, don't let your paragraphs orphan any words or widow any lines!

Why Men are Never Depressed

Men Are Just Happier People-- What do you expect from such simple creatures? Your last name stays put. The garage is all yours. Wedding plans take care of themselves. Chocolate is just another snack. You can be President. You can never be pregnant. You can wear a white T-shirt to a water park. You can wear NO shirt to a water park. Car mechanics tell you the truth . The world is your urinal. You never have to drive to another gas station restroom because this one is just too icky. You don't have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt. Same work, more pay. Wrinkles add character. 

Wedding dress $5000. Tux rental- $100. People never star e at your chest when you're talking to them. New shoes don't cut, blister, or mangle your feet. One mood all the time. Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat. You know stuff about tanks. A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase. You can open all your own jars. You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness. If someone forgets to i nvite you, he or she can still be your friend.  Your underwear is $8.95 for a three-pack. 

Three pairs of shoes are more than enough. You almost never have strap problems in public. You are unable to see wrinkles in your clothes. Everything on your face stays its original color. The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe decades. You only have to shave your face and neck. You can play with toys all your life. One wallet and one pair of shoes -- one color for all seasons. You can wear shorts no matter how your legs look. You can 'do' y our nails with a pocket knife. You have freedom of choice concerning growing a mustache. You can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives on December 24 in 25 minutes. 

No wonder men are happier. 

The L I M E Team

Here at L I M E we have a fantastic team.  Five of the Six of us came to L I M E being good friends with at least one person on the team already.  As a result we all started out being fairly comfortable around each other.  We had a small office space separate from the main office that we worked in most of the time which made it easy for us to get to know each other fairly well.  We out-grew that office pretty quick though and moved into a larger office space but it provides us with lots of space to work in and we are comfotable and happy with it.  Happy workers make for fantastic productivity.  Thus one more reason why L I M E has a great team.  We all get along great and enjoy enjoy working with each other to provide the best service possible for our clients.

Importance of Marketing

I just cam across this little gem and thought that it was a hoot. Take a look . . .

Bean Counter

What Successful Businesses Have in Common

By: Ron Finklestein is a business coach and the owner of YourBusinessCoach.net. He is also the author of Celebrating Success! Fourteen Ways to a Successful Company

How does a small company become successful? Despite the bad news we so often hear about the number of small businesses closing or moving, the news really isn't all that bad: Thousands of small businesses startup every year, and a good percentage of those companies have learned what it really takes to survive the early startup years and become successful enterprises.

After working with dozens of small companies, I discovered that the successful ones share some common traits. Here, then, are the 14 qualities I've witnessed in many of the thriving small businesses I've worked with:

Company culture. Culture is defined as the "integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief and behavior that depends upon man's capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations." For successful companies, culture is about attracting and hiring the people who would be most successful in that specific organization. And it's about driving the behavior that makes the company successful.

Customer service. Simply defined, customer service means taking care of your customers. Many companies integrate customer service into their business culture through training and the design (and frequent redesign) of relevant business processes. In most cases, the business plan dictates how they will provide quality customer service.

Attitude. As the owner of the company, you must have a positive attitude and accept 100 percent of the responsibility for the results of your business. When you accept responsibility, you can act to make the necessary changes to accomplish the desired results. Then, when success is achieved, you're generous in giving credit to others within the organization. Without exception, the most successful business owners understand that it's all about people: hiring and retaining the right people, eliminating ineffective people and providing the necessary resources for employees to master their tasks.

Amazing facts....

Amazing Facts sent in by John Franklin*

A dime has 118 ridges around the edge.
A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.
A crocodile cannot stick out its tongue.
A dragonfly has a life span of 24 hours.
A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.
A 'jiffy' is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second.
A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.
A snail can sleep for three years.
Al Capone's business card said he was a used furniture dealer.
Almonds are a member of the peach family.
An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.
Babies are born without kneecaps. They don't appear until the child reaches 2 to 6 years of age.
Butterflies taste with their feet.
Cats have over one hundred vocal sounds. Dogs only have about 10.
'Dreamt' is the only English word that ends in the letters 'mt'.
February 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a full moon.
In the last 4,000 years, no new animals have been domesticated.
If the population of China walked past you, in single file, the line would never end because of the rate of reproduction.

a personal note

There is always so much to be thankful for each and every day that we have the opportunity to live out our dreams. At L I M E we have a wonderful staff that gets to do that each and every day. That staff is supported by more then just a dream and more then just the client work, we have those that stand beside us. Those that are not in the office or the meetings. Those that don't see all, but understand everything. Those that stand beside us are our families.

Those family members that sacrifice so much to let us all live our dreams and yet rarely get the thanks they deserve. Today is a special day for my family! It is my beautiful wife's birthday!

I couldn't be a luckier man! She is my everything and I love her more the words can say! She does so much for me. She gives me the ability to live out my dream of L I M E and does more work then any one person I know. She is the glue that keeps it all together and with out her in my life I would not be who I am today.

We have 4 beautiful children and there is no mother on the earth that is better then my wife! ( Sorry ladies it is true! )

She gives and gives every day and today I want to say,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOVE! I LOVE YOU!

time of your life

This is the time for all of us to take the extra step and step out into the world with a different view a different mission.

It is no longer just about protecting yourself, it is no longer the time to wonder what is in it for me, but it is time for us to all stand up and serve. It is time to look around us and see what more we can do, not how much more we can make. Those that look to business to achieve only financial glory will achieve nothing more then failure.

There is a theory in the marketing world that the best form of marketing is your personal touch and your attention to your clientele. This theory is often down played and ignored due to the fact that marketers don’t make money on ‘personal touch’, but I stronger disagree and find it to be an excuse not to educate clientele. This theory has been tested over and over again and has successfully proven to be more then just a theory.

Think of it this way; how many times have you seen a commercial for a popular electronic store and been sold on the idea of visiting this store only to enter the store and have nothing but a horrible experience and leave the store empty handed? We have all had some type of experience similar to this. This is a perfect example of the theory of personal marketing.

As for the marketer did your marketing work? Yes, you went to the store, but did the marketing produce results? Did the marketer fully educated the client so to achieve financial success? NO. Now all the work that the marketer did in commercials, print and other medias only seems to be an expense to the client and thus the services are now ‘worthless’ in the eyes of the clientele.

As a result of the attitude of those serving you not only did the electronic store loss your business, their marketing was a ultimate failure. The failure was not due to the commercial, the flyers or the website, but the attitude and the lack of personal touch. Marketing is not dependent on print, web or fancy commercials it is dependent on you as a business owner and the culture you create in your business.

Why as a marketer am I outlining all of this and what does this have to do with 'time of your life'? First off outlining this is serving our clientele and illustrating that marketing is more then just an ad. Successful marketing requires education and dedication.

Now why did I start off by saying this is the “ time of your life? “ Our world is in turmoil right now both on an economic level and a political level. Businesses are closing doors each and every day. Mergers are now just part of the daily news and big, once untouchable CEOs, are falling down to earth to reap their just rewards. This is your time, your time to stand hand and shoulders above your competition. It is your time to serve while others are surviving. It is your time to change your focus from the dollar signs to the people. Wether you believe in karma, GOD or a divine power the principle of ‘good’ is the same. Being ‘good’, honest and serving your fellow man will never hurt you.

Early in my career I had a mentor that taught me more about business then any one person has ever taught me. He currently owns 90 % of the plastic pet supply market and is a world renowned inventor. Needless to say he has achieved finical freedom, but he did not do what he does for the sole purpose of money......

Monday Humor

Just a bit of late monday Jokes..... Keep your heads up the day is almost done.

Dog-gone Amazing

A man was out driving, when he came across a flock of sheep. He got out of his car, and walked over to the shepherd tending the sheep. He asked,

"Are you a betting man?"

"Why do you ask?", said the shepherd.

"I'll bet you $20, to one of your sheep, that I can guess the size of your flock.", he said.

"You're on", said the shepherd, "How many sheep have I got?"

"367", came the answer.

"That's amazing," exclaimed the shepherd, "You're absolutely right! go and pick yourself a sheep."

Having claimed his prize, the man was walking away, when the shepherd called out to him.

"How about another bet- double or nothing.", he challenged.

"What's the bet?", said the man.

"I'll bet you that I can tell your occupation, and who you work for."

"That's a bet." said the man. "What do I do?"

"You're a marketing consultant, and you work for the government.", said the shepherd.

"That's amazing," said the man. "How did you figure that out?"

The shepherd smiled. "Put down my dog, and I'll tell you."