We are going South » Business

Play Around in Memphis

admin — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 23:50:33 +0000

This is a sponsored guest post written by Memphis Travel on behalf of Memphis CVB. Post powered by Sponzai.

More than just the home of the blues and barbeque, Memphis gives you plenty of ways to play around, with fun things to do no matter who you are or what you like. Of course, if you’re into Elvis, rock-and-roll and mouth-watering ribs, you’ve got to check out Graceland, Sun Studios, and the Rendezvous. But Memphis has much more to offer than this holy trinity of southern culture, with enough to see, do and eat to make it the perfect location for your next long weekend getaway.

The families out there (or the wild at heart) should be sure to check out the Memphis Zoo, one of only four U.S. zoos with giant pandas. Recently ranked the #1 zoo in the U.S. by TripAdvisor.com, the Memphis Zoo lets you get up close and personal with the animal kingdom. And with the recent addition the Northwest Passage, home to Polar bears in a see-through underwater exhibit, and the zoo’s newest section, Teton Trek, kids and adults alike are certain to have a blast.

Don’t let your midtown experience stop at the zoo; the Cooper-Young and Overton Square neighborhoods are just down the street. Ask a local Memphian where to find a tasty bite to eat, great local music and ice cold beer, and they will probably direct you here. Speaking of beer … the environmentally conscious visitor can enjoy a locally brewed beer by Ghost River Brewing or walk through the natural landscape and educational facilities at the Lichterman Nature Center.

Memphis has museums for just about everything. From the Civil Rights Museum, Cotton Museum and Fire Museum in downtown to the Brooks Museum, Children’s Museum of Memphis and the Pink Palace Museum further east, the number of places to have fun while you learn are as bountiful as the barbeque restaurants. Families, friends, sports fans, history buffs, self-proclaimed food critics – Memphis has everything you need to keep everyone happy.

So when you visit Memphis, stay a few extra days. Even the locals don’t run out of things to do. And to make it easy, memphistravel.com is launching a new travel guide to help you plan your next vacation. Simply choose from a list of interests and you’ll be given a sample itinerary with lots of great ideas. You can also register for a chance to win one of twelve trip packages that include tours, gift certificates to Memphis’ favorite restaurants, hotel stays and more. Go to itinerary.memphistravel.com to get started.

Trouble in the tech sector

admin — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 06:14:41 +0000

You can count Microsoft as yet another victim to the growing contraction in our country. Earlier in the year they had plans to let go 5000 people which tells a frightening story. If they are not selling software, then people are not buying computers for their home nor or companies upgrading their current systems. The makers of Windows OS, Microsoft Money ,and many of today’s most popular productivity software is feeling the pinch of companies and consumers not spending their dollars to upgrade their computers or software. They depend on us and businesses to constantly upgrade their software in order to provide revenue for development and growth. Consumers have been voting with their pocket books and more cautious about what they are spending money today. Well guess what. With the current climate, we are all getting used to using what we have. That means old cars, old homes, old clothes etc. Perhaps we have hit a max in all segments where we say, “OK, I have all I need to get by.” They have a decent cell phone that works and a decent tv etc that are all good, so why spend money to upgrade? I have all I need and I am content with what I have it the Mantra of old personal finance books. Well guess what. That is where we are now. Again, its ok what we are going through. Its painful though.

Getting your prepaid visa

admin — Fri, 21 May 2010 18:54:49 +0000

I, like everyone else in the world, uses a credit card when ever needed for purchases that may take a while to pay off. I have 3 and they are all 0% balance transfer cards with the same on purchases. I find these through the mail and really had no idea that a website existed to point out where the best deals are. You can find rates and answers to the Prepaid Visa cards which are a great tool to help you manage your debt. If you own a business, then this site is great because they have business credit cards too. I found offers on mileage plans, double miles, no limit on miles, no annual fee for the first year. Perhaps the point is obvious, but why pay hundreds in interest payments when there are credit cards out there now who want your business? I see no need, plus you may earn some bonus miles along the way. Finally, there is a great resources page. Here I found links to credit help sites and a Life Event Management Center. How great that this site wants you save money on interest and then help you get help so that one can get control of there credit. I applaud them for this!

Ford automation

admin — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 00:10:13 +0000

I am so proud of Ford right now. They are doing all the right things to come back to profitability without having to take any government bail out money. Henry Ford started the automobile revolution by using the assembly line with a conveyor belt system that made more economical to make cars and thus expanding the market. A great innovative idea that has helped countless other car makers and industries produce products that are more affordable for masses. That is why the Ford spirit is an example of doing something right. Their second quarter profit is 2.3 billion, by restructuring some debt and selling some cars. This is the type of example that we need to see.

They are taking responsibility for their own actions, selling off brands that no longer suit their business model, selling a car like the Fusion that is beating Toyota and to my heart, they are exploring an alternative energy car. This is who we need to be buying from when making a car purchase. I was a Chevy guy all my life, but now that brand belongs to Government Motors. I cannot believe that I am ready to switch brands but then again Henry Ford never envisioned something like this. Sorry Gm, but this family is moving to the American Brand. I love many other countries out there, we are all suffering but we need to applaud and stand by those firms that are true to the capitalist model and true to keeping good American jobs afloat. Good for you ford. PS, I still wish you would have kept the suicide doors on the Flex.

Franchise opportunity

admin — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 01:45:10 +0000

My online experience started with selling odds and ends on eBay. It seemed like a good way to make some extra money, and so many people were doing it. After a while I started to look at what my actual costs were including time to package, mail, and list items. Was it worth the cost? So I decided there had to be a better way, and I came across a friend who asked if I had tried using a Drop shipper. ( For those unfamiliar with this, it is where a company houses and then ships the goods to your customers. Your customer makes a purchase through you. You then turnaround and place the order with the Drop shipper, and they ship out on your behalf)WOW! To have no inventory cost, someone else to package the clothing and send the goods with your name on it, what could be better?

Owning your own business can be a the most rewarding experience and also the most difficult time you will have. You can search and find the right franchise opportunity that could help you skip many of the trial and error steps that I had to go through.Many businesses today thrive on the franchise model where a successful business replicates itself for others. This helps to eliminate a lot of the start up headaches and the business plan is already set for you. Franchise businesses will help in training, marketing, and hiring. This is great for the first time business owner to get into an industry without all the required background. It will still take a lot of hard work and hours to be successful business.

Taking a trip south

admin — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 17:18:13 +0000

I took a trip to New Orleans to attend the Mardi Gras festivities and because of a group of friends had been talking about making the trip , and I was ready to party. I left Seattle, WA. at 10:00 PM and I was in New Orleans the next morning at 9.30 AM. One of my buddies who books travel online all the time was even able to find some Expedia Promo codes that allowed him to book the hotel and flight and save additional dollars above their already low fares. I found where my Hotel was located and I was ready to see the Big Speak Easy, Nawleans as the locals call it. I wound up on the wrong side of town and I prayed that I would get out of there alive. Some of the people gave the appearance that they did not care if you were dead or alive. If I had taken a tour of the city I would never have been subjected to that kind of Fear.

If you take a tour of a city you can find out a lot of the history of the town and a lot of important people that were responsible for shaping the town into what it is today. I know New Orleans has a lot of repair to do at this time because of hurricane Katrina, but I think the great city will be back stronger than ever before. It’s French Creole culture are made up of some of the finest eating in the world.

Bring on the plastic

admin — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:25:33 +0000

I good story that at least lets us now how credit cards work and market themselves has to be American Express. Here is a card that spent years branding themselves as THE card for executives, the well to do and really a status symbol. Major executives were targeted as a major influence in bringing the elite status to AMEX. Presidents of large American companies like Samuel Foti, Alan Mulally, Donald Morel are the types of individuals that AMEX would love to have touting their corporate card in order to show that every type of business can benefit from the flexibility and wide acceptance AMEX has. When you presented this card you were something different. Then came the greed. All of sudden, Am Ex began to send out mass market mailers like all the other junk cards to get those whose credit was not so great, did not pay off the entire balance and really just played the game. What a branding marketing fiasco. Now we find this company giving away 300 gift cards to certain markets, to pay off their bill and go away….please.

How ironic, we know your ilk do not pay off their balance, so let us lend you money and when times get tough, well just pay you to pay off the balance. Are you kidding me? Now I will look at Am Ex a little different, having to second guess their motives. Now I hear small businesses are reeling as that market Am Ex got into is getting hammered and so now their credit has fallen. Talk about losing love from future clients. I do appreciate any company getting back into their core business, but this one is a little bitter to taste.

Software as a Service

admin — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:03:51 +0000

I am helping out a good friend in building a renewable energy business that is quickly moving forward. We have done a good job tracking the the tax credits for our customers along with putting together a solid renewable energy program for their homes. However, we have already ran into issues though in our computer network system, cost and not having an IT department. One very clever idea out there is renting software and using software as a service or SaaS. There is also a core foundation of being able to do an employee survey to help gain ideas around synergies within the company and what new ideas can we look for when taking this product to market.

I found that they have a great service with their visual studio team foundation server at fraction of the cost where project control programming for your project can be exposed on the web. With all the software that I can rent, I can get set up in minutes and get my money back if I think it has not worked out in 30 days. What we need is the project server hosting software which will help us track our timekeeping, Gannt charts etc which will give us better control over our projects and their costs. We have huge commercial projects where we will need to keep tract of financial’s and keep everyone on the team on track. You can watch a great clip on how all this software helps you and your business. Another hot item is a team foundation server workgroup, where again I can rent for a fraction of the price with no need to hire an IT employee nor worry about depreciation costs. We are just the right fit for this type of company and you may to.

Grow your brand through promo items

admin — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 06:02:22 +0000

As the economy has gotten worse vendors are looking at new ways to get consumers exited about their HD TV and through the advancement in 3D technology they are hoping to drive sales. While the LCD market is only expected to grow 17% this year which is down from 28% in 2008. The new advancements and the move to all digital broadcasts that started in June will likely get some customers looking at upgrading their current set. The newest T’s that were unveiled at the trade show are now starting to come to market just in time for football season and the Christmas and holiday shopping blitz.

All in all the CES show showcased a lot of new technology that has been in development and finally ready for the market. The work and logistical coordination that goes on at these shows is a technical feat on its own. From providing promotional calendars to consumers that participated in the trade show there are countless technicians in the background maintain the networks . As we enter into a new year and the economy looks to get back on track so that people will feel comfortable spending on these cool new gadgets let’s hope that we all have a great year and by this summer we will be watching the 3D premier of the latest Hollywood release.

Enhance your brand and reach through CMS

admin — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 17:22:40 +0000

So many companies are looking for ways to capitalize on the various social media channels and blogs that appear to be growing daily. Many of them have hired outside bloggers to help them create and drive content to the web in hope to catch the attention of current and future customers. There are various Marketing analytics programs that are available in order to help measure and quantify what exactly is working and what is wasting time and resources. Some of those programs enable you to :

Empower marketing teams to build Web pages on the fly, without sacrificing feature set or control

Utilize the extensive out-of-the box features or take advantage of the open architecture

Easily build and offer wikis, blogs, forums and the latest in social networking

Eliminate risky channels and make the most of your online investment with an integrated e-commerce platform

Provide top tier results through a broad enterprise search

Easily offer RSS, secure subscriptions and web alerts

Synchronize content, functionality and membership data securely, from staging to production and back

As companies continue to maximize their brand reach and frequency the method of delivery will be constantly evolving so that you must know and be able to change your marketing mix in order to meet the demands of your customers.