LaunchPad - INW

Spokane Regional Networking, Social Media, Professional and Business Development

May 2009 Blog Posts (15)

Last week's scare.....

Last week there was significant movement in interest rates for mortgage loans. In one day the rates jumped up from the 4.875 percent range to the mid 5's. They did settle back down within 2 days but the reality of market fluctuations sent out a wake up call.

Buyers who are still sitting on the fence might take notice and start scurrying around.

Our Spokane market is still pretty active and homes that are in good condition and are competitively priced are selling. Often with multiple… Continue

Added by Tom Clark on May 30, 2009 at 8:15am — 8 Comments

Library Q & A, pt. 2

As promised in my last post, here is a recent question that came to me at the library. If you have any thoughts about where to find additional information, I'd love to hear your ideas. Also, are there questions like this that you have that you can turn over to the library?

Q: Hi Mark,

Here’s one that might stump only because the data about to be requested might not exist. I’d like to know what… Continue

Added by Mark Pond on May 29, 2009 at 4:30pm — No Comments

Library Q & A

Every so often a friend will ask "So, Mark. What was the wackiest question you received at the library today?" and I'll tell them about being asked if Saint Jerome died from a lack of Epsom salts (huh?), or being asked for the name of the person who invented shoes, and so on.

While such questions are always a bit difficult to handle, they point to a larger issue. You, dear Launchpad reader, have live and local reference pros at your… Continue

Added by Mark Pond on May 29, 2009 at 11:34am — No Comments

How To Avoid Twouble In Twitterville

Seems like everyone has their rules these days.

* Red lights = stop.

* Lights out = sleep.

* On time = not 15 minutes late.

Wouldn’t it be nice if the Internet were completely rule free? Some people think it is, but they are mistaken. Even Twitter has its rules of conduct. Skip some of these and you will find yourself in need of creating a new account due to being shut down by those in authority.

Today, I’d like to tell you how to avoid twouble in… Continue

Added by Guy & Irene @ PainKickers.com on May 28, 2009 at 4:33pm — No Comments

Tweet for Business – An Internet Marketing Book Review for You!

Have you ever wondered what the value in Tweeter is or how you might use it to promote your business? Well, if so, then you might want to try it out, sign up and of course, educate yourself a little. It is a very interesting scheme, and although most baby boomers don't get it, well, they should not let that stop them from cashing in on its potential uses. It is for this reason that I am going to have to recommend a very good book to you. The… Continue

Added by Lance Winslow on May 27, 2009 at 10:53pm — 2 Comments

Twitter Without Twitter Grader Is Twouble

Okay. You finally did it.

Everyone's been talking about Twitter and you finally bit the big one by signing up for a free account.

Yippey, you say. Victory! You are now part of the Twitterific world.

It's at this point that you begin to blankly stare at your monitor with only one question on your mind.

NOW WHAT?

Twitter by itself can seem little better than a tooth ache without a dentist. Just like medical professionals successful Internet… Continue

Added by Guy & Irene @ PainKickers.com on May 27, 2009 at 5:57pm — 3 Comments

Twitterific -- Why Twitter is every business person's oasis

I recently met with Allen Battle. It was a good meeting. Can't say I agree with his entire vision, but then I'm not at the helm of LaunchPad INW.

There were many important thoughts that came from our meeting.

One was on the issue of content. Simply put people love valuable content. Point taken.

To that end alone with valuable information about chocolate & the acai berry I will officially start teaching people… Continue

Added by Guy & Irene @ PainKickers.com on May 26, 2009 at 7:30pm — 3 Comments

A Great Jubilee Day was held on May 26, 1783 in North Stratford, (A predecessor to Memorial Day)

A Great Jubilee Day was held on May 26, 1783 in North Stratford, now Trumbull, Connecticut to commemorate the end of the Revolutionary War [1]. This celebration included feasting, prayer, speeches, toasts, and two companies of the North Stratford militia performing maneuvers with cannon discharges and may have been one of the first documented celebrations following the War for Independence [2].

Personal reflections

The 26th day of May, 1783, the inhabitants of North… Continue

Added by Donald Morgan on May 24, 2009 at 7:59am — No Comments

Worth Reading

Really.

In fact, a whole Launchpad community based on things that are worth reading.

For those of you who were members of the Readers' Community on the previous version of the Launchpad website, we are going to have to re-create the community again because it didn't survive the migration back to the original platform. You'll note that this time I went with a name that I thought was more descriptive and not as clunky/generic as "Readers' Community." It sounded too much like… Continue

Added by Mark Pond on May 22, 2009 at 1:30pm — 1 Comment

LP Leadership Minute- Using Your Lifelines

Resourcefulness is a key attribute for navigating challenge and change. In the movie Slumdog Millionaire the characters survive through quick wits and a scrappy determination to overcome any challenge, coupled with compassion for others and lasting friendships. During the game show scenes, I was reminded of the concept of using your “lifelines” when you are stumped. As you may recall from Who Wants To Be a Millionaire, they are:

• Phone a friend

• 50-50

• Ask the… Continue

Added by Diane Q on May 22, 2009 at 7:05am — No Comments

Marketing Into a Black Hole

We have a large number of our clients that are part of the home building industry. Lately we have been faced with the problem of clients trying to "Market into a Black Hole." What I mean by that is that you can't throw marketing dollars and efforts towards a market where customers are just not buying. For example, one of our clients owns an interior design firm that has had steady growth up until about 6 months ago. However, with the dramatic slow down in the building industry, the market is… Continue

Added by Kevin Weir on May 20, 2009 at 3:56pm — 1 Comment

Death by Random Marketing

I speak to dozens of business leaders each week, specifically small business owners. I am always amazed how often I hear something like, "I've tried several things, they didn't work so I changed to [something else], that didn't work, we tried a few other things which costs more than we made too. Marketing doesn't work for our business."

Seriously? Marketing doesn't work for your business? That is just stupid. Business… Continue

Added by Michael Orr on May 20, 2009 at 12:06pm — No Comments

Ice Ice Baby!

Frigid temperatures produce a winter gift for Washington wineries. The bitter cold weather has a delicious upside. It has allowed Northwest winemakers to harvest the rare and delectable Ice Wine.

Ice wine (or icewine, as one word, or in German, Eiswein) is a type of dessert wine produced from grapes that have been frozen while still on the vine. The sugars and other dissolved solids do not freeze, but the water within the grape does. This results in a smaller amount of a more… Continue

Added by Laurie L. Ross on May 19, 2009 at 4:44pm — No Comments

LaunchPad Moves Back to Previous Platform

LaunchPadINW.com is returning to the original platform and wants you back.

As you know, back in March we made some significant changes to the LaunchPad site. After a lot of thought, late-night discussions and input we believed we could provide a better site for our members by making a number of "improvements." We were wrong.

As local business professionals, we built the LaunchPad site out of our love for networking and a commitment to promoting economic stability in the… Continue

Added by Michael Orr on May 19, 2009 at 3:49pm — 17 Comments

In today's business environment, competition within your industry is becoming more and more competitive. Everyone is looking to get an edge over their counterparts.

1 January, 1970 0 comments General

Some have the ability and the capital to create huge ad campaigns, others are able to hire full-time business development or marketing staff while they run the day to day operations of the business. But what if you are among the hundreds of small businesses in our region that does not have these resources at your disposal. LaunchPad INW in conjunction with The Next Level LLC has developed a process that is not rocket science but a redefined process… Continue

Added by Allen Battle on May 17, 2009 at 12:00pm — 1 Comment