YOGA....YOGA DEN...AMAZING!

Who knew? Well the YOGA DEN knew, but I didn't.

"Restorative" & "Gentle" Yoga are an amazing way to get in touch with yourself. Feeling stressed? (and who among us isn't?) Feeling cranky...my default setting somedays. Feeling the need to stretch it all out? If any of these are the questions - YOGA DEN IS THE ANSWER!!

What have you got to lose - stress, irritation, knots in your muscles? Plus you can feel good about the soothing wonderfulness of doing something just for you!!

CAN YOU SAY......SCAM????

Businesses get these ALL THE TIME, a "OFFER", to fill in their names & Addresses to be "PUBLISHED" in the......what?? The ONLINE California internet??? The online USA directory??? The online ENTIRE WORLD BUSINESS listing directory???

DO NOT FALL FOR IT!!! STOP...DO NOT!!! If you send this in the only ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY SURE THING THAT WILL HAPPEN IS THIS.....YOU WILL GET A BILL FOR OVER $1000.00 per year - SELF RENEWING!!

And to be even more clear, these people have a room full of hot shot lawyers who's only job is to make you pay. Credit dings, Credit Card charges, nasty phone calls....this is the world of the people who prey on you by using the "Walking Fingers', a much respected logo, to part you from your money.

I only use  ONLINE...I only use PRINT ... REALLY??

When the Internet hit local businesses several years ago...We were told - this is earth shattering - EVERYTHING WILL BE DIFFERENT NOW. ALL YOUR NEEDS WILL BE MET --- ONLINE.

AT&T rushed out to change all your print ads to online. (web designers became our new best friends)

The funerals were planned for Newspaper advertising. (send paper flowers)

Directories, and most print including magazines  were buried at sea with Osama Bin Laden. (splish-splash)

Well, now its 2013, and the "fog of advertising war" has begun to lift. Visibility is better...local small business has a better - clearer -  view of the battlefield.  There was an..... unexpected result. The internet only ADDED to your need to reach out ability - it NEVER replaced it. I know everyone thought they could STOP all advertising - even the stuff that was PROVEN to work, but change is never that fast, never that complete, and it never stops.

So, small LOCAL businesses simply had to ADD another "door" to their business. Not, CLOSE their PRINT ADVERTISING DOOR door. 

It's better when you grow your own..or build your own

Think only the "BIG BOX" home improvement stores can help you with that patio, garden, lawn, and gravel or stone work? ... Well here's the LOCAL company that is 4th generation and can make your life not only simpler, but your project easier - or your yard more beautiful. Since 1929...we've been in the building materials business... and we know our stuff. Come on by...let's talk. I bet we can help...and we DELIVER! Whether you need to make a vertical garden or a water conscious stone walkway - we can make it happen for you. Plus...local business is business that cares about your satisfaction.

When you gotta have it....WE GOT IT

Think only the "BIG BOX" home improvement stores can help you with that patio, garden, lawn, and gravel or stone work? ... Well here's the LOCAL company that is 4th generation and can make your life not only simpler, but your project easier - or your yard more beautiful. Since 1929...we've been in the building materials business... and we know our stuff. Come on by...let's talk. I bet we can help...and we DELIVER! Whether you need to make a vertical garden or a water conscious stone walkway - we can make it happen for you. Plus...local business is business that cares about your satisfaction.

Need to "GIT 'er DONE...Fast. Friendly, Focused on YOU!

Tools, Trucks, Cement Mixers - or we can mix it for you. We got you covered. When you need to do a job the right equipment is under our roof... Ready for you. Come on in and we can make the work a little bit easier...after all the right tool for the right job makes it happen.We're here in Norco, CA - Horsetown USA....LOCAL & Ready to serve you!

It's going to be HOT - and YOU WON"T CARE !!

Okay, we know where we live. Southern California - it gets hot here - and as much as we appreciate Southern California Edison and the air conditioning they deliver to us on those days when we can't take the heat anymore...we have options. Yes - I said "options" - a different way to make us cool...although I am certain you, personally - are cool - remember temperatures rise and these guys at MOHR POWER will make you life better...certainly cooler - and in the middle of a Southern California summer - cooler is better......Oh, I forgot - and you will SAVE buckets of MONEY. Give them a call - its a free estimate....free is good...

This is why LOCAL works...

So, when you go to list your home we can all go online, and my guess is that when you type in REALTY the "BIG" guys will pop right up on your screen. You know the drill - want a "nationwide" - anything - there they are. Hey, it's the way it seems to be, but LOCAL business..LOCAL service people, LOCAL companies...are all around you. Check out Vera's video - maybe she's not a pampered TV star with experience in front of a camera - but you can feel the sincerity. She will work hard for YOU. Give it a try .....LOCAL WORKS!

Not just a Senator - a Family friend

Last Thursday I revealed to the world (the world of Corona, Riverside,Norco and Eastvale), how I "assisted" Senator Feinstein during her appearance at the Good Morning Corona Valley (GMCV). 


My "assist" was basically comprised of NOT spilling a glass of water on her red suit, while I tried to do my own David Copperfield disappearing act as I grabbed my ringing phone from beneath the podium. All this while my friend "Diane"(that's Senator Feinstein to you), was speaking to the business people of our community. I am certain I was big help. 
Well, imagine my surprise when my sister Lorraine, after reading my post, called & explained that our family has a long history with the Senator. Hell, we're practically family...


Here's the story.....Once upon a time when Diane - was running for office (Senate?) she made an appearance at an event in Mendocino, Ca for the newly established Ocean Sanctuary Foundation (yes....my sister is a tree hugger, and ocean protector on the side). Lorraine attended the event, in fact, she was in charge of selling the newly minted T-Shirts that proclaimed "OCEAN SANCTUARY" in various hues of blue. Now, you know the deference & respect I showed the Senator when I was bending over basically between her skirt and the podium....well it's evidently a family trait to be ....shall we say....less than subtle when in the presence of Diane Feinstein.
The Senator had, like Julius Caesar, come to the event - saw - and conquered. The crowd was dispering and she was making a strategic exit....surrounded by her escorts - or are they guards? When my sister looked up and saw her walking away. Always the subtle "marketeer" of the family she proceeded to yell out - "SENATOR SENATOR SENATOR or maybe Diane, Diane, Diane..... who stopped dead in her tracks to see who was yelling at her - and that tiny pause, was Lorraine's opportunity. She said (loudly), "You want to by a T Shirt don't you? And now the people standing nearby turned and gazed at our Senator - who, good politician that she was, said....and I quote..."Well I guess I do now"! Lorraine's memory is hazy after that because she thinks the Senator borrowed the money from an assistant and got the hell out of Dodge. But she had accomplished her T-Shirt mission.


So there you have it....our family keeps running into Diane - literally, that's me, and figuratively - that's my sis.... We are bound together - 2 goofball chicks, and the dignified Senator from California... and that's the way it will stay. At least until my niece and nephew have their own encounters with the good Senator - and I'm sure they will  - it's in the stars..


P.S.(Why didn't Diane hug me - when she saw it was one of the crazy Ardaiz girls - is what I want to know) 

Policies..we don't want no stinkin' policies (1 in a series)

That's our policy, you hear it and you want to scream - I'm a person not a policy", but policies can be your best friend as a small business owner or executive. Think of policies as problem-solvers. In fact they are a "time-travel" solution to problems. You can solve a problem now that might not pop up for 5 years. Really. It's like having Spock or Scottie at your side as you go when no Man or Woman has gone. For those of you younger than the Star Trek generation - use your Firefly analogies. (Okay maybe LOTR or Harry Potter would be more generationally in tune)

With policies in place, you can resolve issues that you presumed, would NEVER happen, and then a few months later --- the never-gonna-happen-issue is square in your face. Well, probably a person is square in your face, or a client, or a customer, or even an employee - but you have thought this through and because you have a policy and a POLICY MANUAL, you're prepared.

If you are member of a peer group, or belong to an association, Widget Manufacturers of America, for example, that has expertise with your business you may be able to draw on their knowledge for a Policy Manual. You can read and adapt these for your own company.

At some point in your business dealings I can almost guarantee that your clearly defined policy manual will save you sleepless hours and (I can hear the sighs) save you money. Small business is rebooting during our "Great Recession", and that money that is better put toward promoting you and your product or service.

We will give examples of various policies that you might want to think about including in your "Time Travel" manual. And look forward to hearing from you about how policies helped you, your company or averted a potentially negative situation.

Small business is BIG ...... seriously

Big...small....it's all a matter of perception and definition, right? Well how big does SEVENTY-EIGHT (78 %) sound to you? Can I have 78% of that cake? How much is a 78% reduction in my house payment? I'm going to get a 78% increase in my income. Sounds big to me.


Well, here's even more BIG news! Seventy-eight percent (78%) of the businesses in this country have 10 or less employees. Whoa! This doesn't count the "large employers" who have up to 20 employees. So even thought the county, state and federal government keep talking about helping small business, they mean business under 500 million. We are nano-sized and yet together we are 78% of the businesses in the USA.


What we want to do on this blog is promote, support and recognize the LOCAL businesses that really make up our cities. Those of us engaged in small business have special needs, we have local knowledge, and we produce genuine jobs in our communities.


SO WE BEGIN!