Well, it has been an interesting last 6 weeks moving the web site. I have learned some lessons, some good, some bad, and will probably be sharing them with you as things calm down.

But we are back in the world of the blogging!

More to come…

So for those that don’t know we have several interns here at the Chamber. One of them Zoe, is working with me on marketing and some event related stuff. It occurred to me that I might have her write a blog entry as I too often do not have or take the time I should. She did and there are people out there that read and post for her.

Conclusion: Guest bloggers are a great idea to gain a new audience. They take some of the “what am I going to write’ load off of you.

So look for more commentary from me, Zoe and who knows who else.

Guest blog by Zoe Panayides

“Everything happens for a reason” is quite a popular quote but one I have found myself living by for as long as I can remember. Sometimes bad things happen and when they do don’t fall apart and settle for the misfortune. Instead accept the bad thing, move on and learn from the experience. Bad experiences sometimes happen so a good experience or situation can come from the bad one. I believe that experience is the key to success whether it is a personal success, an academic success, a financial success or a business success. Good things happen and when they do you need to thank the fact that it happened and believe it happened for a reason, for another door of opportunity to open to you. If you live and learn from every situation and experience, I guarantee the next time you encounter a situation whether good or bad like the last one, you will take a deep breath and believe it happened for one reason or another that is meant to shape you as a person in the long run. Here are a couple examples where this quote has fulfilled my many expectations.

First, I am new at the Chamber, my name is Zoe and my summer internship hunt started during this past winter break, around December precisely. I found what I thought was an awesome place to apply for an internship, this marketing and advertising company on jobfinder.com. I applied, had an interview in which they basically told me I got the job I just needed to come back in May when I got home for the summer to have a second interview and start. May came around, I emailed, called and emailed again, no response. I did not have any other places that I was thinking of working at because I thought I had this job in the bag. So again I called and emailed and called again, they never returned my calls or emails. Instead of freaking out I used my last resort and turned to the most trusted figure in my life, my mother. She automatically said she knew the perfect spot that was conveniently in need of an intern so I called and this time my calls were returned automatically. The Pleasant Hill Chamber of Commerce had accepted me into their community. Shortly after, I found out the business that I had first applied for back in December was not a trusted or reliable company and that no one had even heard of it. So you see, everything works out how it is meant to work and everything happens for a reason.

Second, everyone knows that the college an individual attends will shape that person to who they become socially and professionally. I applied to six different colleges when I was a senior in high school. I got into all of them except for one and it came down to San Diego State University and the University of Arizona. I had always thought I wanted to go to the University of Arizona but SDSU sounded great with its beautiful location and how close it was to the beach. A lot of people from my high school went to SDSU and almost no one from my high school went to the U of A. Conveniently when the time to decide had come, SDSU raised their tuition for the following year and the U of A added a Sports Management Program, which is exactly the program I wanted. There was no more competition and I went to the Grand Canyon State more excited than ever to embark on this new journey and it became the best decision I have made in my life so far. I recently got admitted to our prestigious and infamous Eller College of Management and will be applying to the Sports Management certificate in the fall. In addition to that I joined the sorority Alpha Phi and have met the most amazing people and made the most amazing friends than I have ever had. So you see, everything works out how it is meant to work and everything happens for a reason.

I am the happiest I have been in my entire life so far and it was through many horrible experiences and just as many amazing experiences that I got to learn and grow from to get to this spot. So you see, everything works out how it is meant to work and everything happens for a reason.

I was meeting with a Chamber member yesterday. She has been working on launching her business… for six months. Some would call it a failure to launch. If you where in the software industry it would be a failure to ship. Either way, when you don’t ship, you don’t get paid.

This is not a commentary on her. She has a lot of very good reasons. But at the end of the day she is not making any money and what she is now about to launch is a more refined version of what she was looking at doing for six months. She could have been doing her business for six months as she refined it and made some money. I guess you could say she did not have her “ship” together!

In a brick-and-mortar situation you have rent to pay so it tends to create enough urgency that you get the store open and start shipping/selling/cooking or what ever you doing. In the home-based world it is too easy to get caught up in perfection or building a business model or branding or what ever and you don’t notice that time just goes flying by.

Some of the smartest people I know fall victim to this. They will even create systems to monitor how much they are not getting to ship. Pretty amazing.

How do we fix this? Well, start by setting a date. Make it concrete and make sure it is achievable. Then work backwards from that. Then work like heck to hit that ship date. Guess what. You now have a business!

I know that some people check their online presence on a regular basis. It’s not a bad idea if you want to know what is going on in with you or your business on the internet. But checking stuff on a regular basis can be a pain. What to do? Set up a Google Alert. It’s pretty simple to do. Just type in Google Alerts into any search engine and you get a pretty simple screen to set up a regular search that shows up in your email as often as you want.

So use it to save time and gather information… or as some would say, set up an ego alert! Nothing wrong with that!

Be sure to read the sign before you you post it:

Did I read that sign right?
TOILET OUT OF ORDER. PLEASE USE FLOOR BELOW

In a Laundromat:
AUTOMATIC WASHING MACHINES: PLEASE REMOVE ALL YOUR CLOTHES WHEN THE LIGHT
GOES OUT

In a Memphis department store:
BARGAIN BASEMENT UPSTAIRS

In an office:
WOULD THE PERSON WHO TOOK THE STEP LADDER YESTERDAY PLEASE BRING IT BACK
OR FURTHER STEPS WILL BE TAKEN

In an office:
AFTER COFFEE BREAK STAFF SHOULD EMPTY THE COFFEE POT AND STAND UPSIDE DOWN
ON THE DRAINING BOARD

Outside a second-hand shop:
WE EXCHANGE ANYTHING – BICYCLES, WASHING MACHINES, ETC. WHY NOT BRING YOUR
WIFE ALONG AND GET A WONDERFUL BARGAIN?

Notice in health food shop window:
CLOSED DUE TO ILLNESS

Spotted in a safari park:
ELEPHANTS PLEASE STAY IN YOUR CAR

Seen during a conference:
FOR ANYONE WHO HAS CHILDREN AND DOESN’T KNOW IT, THERE IS A DAY CARE ON
THE 1ST FLOOR

Notice in a farmer’s field:
THE FARMER ALLOWS WALKERS TO CROSS THE FIELD FOR FREE, BUT THE BULL CHARGES.

Message on a leaflet:
IF YOU CANNOT READ, THIS LEAFLET WILL TELL YOU HOW TO GET LESSONS

On a repair shop door:
WE CAN REPAIR ANYTHING. (PLEASE KNOCK HARD ON THE DOOR – THE BELL DOESN’T
WORK)

I read a lot of books. Not because I am so smart but because I am not. I am currently reading Linchpin by Seth Godin which is fun and thought provoking. I did just finish several other books that were very interesting but what made the books so much better was lunch with my good friend Marian Woodard.

A single conversation with a wise person is better than ten years of study. — Chinese Proverb

For those that don’t know Marian, she is a charming, witty, interesting and very smart southern girl that has never abandon her Georgian sense of style and good manners. Even if she was not so smart I would hang out with her! Good manners matter.

So back to lunch: Marian and I had a chance to have lunch with no other itinerary than to have lunch and chat. What did we chat about? The books we are/were reading and the insight we had gleaned. What is wonderful about this process is the insight you get from the other person!

Then not too long ago I read a short blog entry from Seth Godin about what we should do with all those smart books we buy and hopefully read. Usually they end up on a shelf, then in a box and then earn a trip to the library or second hand book store. Why not give it to a friend?

So next time Marian and I have lunch she’ll give me a book, I can’t wait, and I will do like wise. Then we will read and discuss and compare brilliant insight! And schedule another lunch to do it all over again.

Sometimes we get too wound up about what is happening right in front of us and forget that life continues. I love this story:

There is a Taoist story of an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit.

“Such bad luck,” they said sympathetically.

“We’ll see,” the farmer replied.

The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses.

“How wonderful,” the neighbors exclaimed.

“We’ll see,” replied the old man.

The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune.

“We’ll see,” answered the farmer.

The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son’s leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out.

“We’ll see” said the farmer.

This is not to say that when bad things happen we should not be sad or mad but keeping things in perspective can really help. And often times things work out.

Before I worked here at the Chamber I had a job at a mortgage sub-prime lender. I did some compliance work and made copies and generally hated my job.

That’s terrible, you say.

We’ll see.

So when a friend came to me and offered me a job making four times as much I jumped at the chance.

That’s terrific, you say.

We’ll see.

When I got the job he failed to inform me that he was under indictment and that his license to do business in California had been revoked. Bad situation

That’s awful, you say.

We’ll see.

So as I was kicking around in a new partnership I heard about the Chamber job. Sounded like a perfect fit so I put my resume in to be considered.

That’s great, you say.

We’ll see.

Turns out that they had all ready selected some one who by all accounts was far better qualified than I.

That’s disappointing, you say.

We’ll see.

A friend involved in the Chamber at that time put pressure on the committee and they decided to interview me. I wowed ‘em and got the job. That was eight years ago and here I am and things look very different from where we were.

That’s great, you say.

We’ll see.

I think when we apply more time than right this minute it can help see that life goes on, business changes and the community changes. Our children grow and in spite of the moronic things we did as parents they survive and even thrive. People we know live and die and we go one.

That’s terrible!

We’ll see.

I read this great article about
5 Guys Burgers in Inc Magazine. What I was impressed with was the fact that Jerry Murrell, who started 5 Guy’s Burgers, went up against the likes of McDonald’s and Burger King and has not only survived but has thrived. How do they do that? By staying true to their core values and no matter how much they get tempted they stay with what has won and continues to win in their business.

So what are your core values that help you to win? Don’t know? You may want to figure it out.

And watch for 5 Guy’s Burger coming to Pleasant Hill soon!

I know that you are very excited to find out that I learned something so here it is:

Don’t run a flash drive through the washing machine! The data rarely survives.

Now I did not say it was profound but again I did learn that. I had kind of assumed that because they appear to be sealed up pretty good that they might do ok but I learned other wise.

And something I relearned was to check your pockets before you was your pants. Usually I relearn this with gum or a pen or something that gets all over everything so I was fortunate to have this retaught to me in a less destructive way. And I think I have found the data other places.

I have thought of a word for this. it is relesson. A relesson is a thing in our lives that taught us a lesson that we later have to relearn. When I am cooking and not paying attention I sometimes relearn that the stove is hot and that knives are sharp. I hate that relesson!

Why would I write about such a mundane subject matter? Because we all need to relearn things in our business and in our life. Sometimes they are as painful/frustrating/oh-my-gosh-what-happened as a pen in the wash or worse in the dryer with your work shirts and sometimes these relessons are not as painful.

I have a plan so I don’t have to relearn all of my relessons. That is to on occasion take a look at my habits and routines and be sure they cover things adequately in my life that I rarely give thought to.

Man, I hope it works. If nothing else for the sake of my fingers!