Idea Mensch interviewed me & my business.

I was very honored by the article and my thanks to Mario. I can't say anymore about speading your company's message to your audience.

 

From an article posted in the Costco Connection by Andrew Lock on "Don't Give UP".

Charles Schulz

"every cartoon that Charles Schulz (creator of the comic strip Peanuts), submitted to the yearbook staff at his high school was rejected.

 

From an article posted in the Costco Connection by Andrew Lock on "Don't Give UP".

Albert Einstein

"did not speak until he was 4 years old and did not read until he was seven. His parents thought he was 'subnormal,'  and one of his teachers described him as 'mentally slow, unsociable and adrift forever in foolish dreams.' He was expelled from school.

From an article posted in the Costco Connection by Andrew Lock on "Don't Give UP".

Thomas Edison

"…teachers said he was 'too stupid to learn anything.' he was fired from his first two jobs for being 'nonproductive.' As an inventor, Edison made more than 1,000 unsuccessful attempts to invent the light bulb. When a reporter asked him how it felt to fail 1,000 times, Edison said that he didn't fail all those times, but that the light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps."

From an article posted in the Costco Connection by Andrew Lock on "Don't Give UP".

Walt Disney

"…was fired by a newspaper editor because 'he lacked imagination and had no good ideas.' Disney went bankrupt several times before he built Disneyland. In fact, the proposed park was rejected by the city of Anaheim, California, on the grounds that it would only attract 'riffraff'."

This is an amazing video from the TEDx conference in St. Louis, Missouri. The founder and CEO of Panera Bread Company, Ron Shaich discusses how his company is not just giving money to local charities but is investing in his community. 

Panera Bread Company has over 1400 locations in 40 states. It's estimated net worth is 3 Billion Dollars! This 20 minute video will really make you think about how we need to be more involved and have a purpose.

He has found a solution to help feed the poor and homeless without having to through the humiliation of standing in line for free handouts. This video is very inspirational and promotes community.

 

Strategic Web Partner - John Hooley

I can't begin to tell you how much John (BlueBridge Development) has helped my company. We trade out our services for each other. He has done all the development for my web site, www.inkspotgraphics.com and I assist him with web design on his projects. He is easy to work with and allows me the freedom of design. 

He recently asked me to help him design a Joomla! extension web site called Code Haiku. The direction that he gave me was that the site was to be clean and the navigation to be user friendly.

 © 2011 Michael Johnson - Inkspot Graphics. All rights reserved.

 

I was walking through the lobby of my office building and something caught my eye on the table.

 

 

It was a great self promotional piece for a letterpress printing company (in our building), Keeganmeegan & Co. I have always been fascinated by this mechanical form of printing.

 

I had to go down and introduce myself. I met the two entrepreneurs, Katy Meegan & Keegan Wenkman in their nice new studio. They started in 2007 with their company. Besides letterpress, they design, bookbind and are set up for silkscreening.

 

The other reason that I was fascinated with their two color, self promotion postcard is that it was printed on chipboard. Besides having just a normal printed marketing piece you should find ways to appeal to your potential client's other senses (taste, smell, touch, sound and sight). This was a very affordable but effective postcard. I love it.

 

I hope to do my next promotional piece with these two young entreprenuers! Maybe a thank you card, or Christmas card. . .

 

© 2010 Michael Johnson - Inkspot Graphics. All rights reserved.

I have a friend of mine that asked about creating a logo and web site for a new company that has a eco-friendly cleaning service for both residents and small businesses. Jean and her sister, Colleen, joined forces to build a business where they could reap the rewards of running a successful company.

 

We had a couple of meetings to discuss their strategy and business model. I was very honest with them about there being a lot of competition in that industry with a community (Portland, OR) that is very concerned about our environment. We began pounding out ideas for their business name and finding a good (memorable URL for their website). I kept telling them that there are tons of "GREEN businesses" that have the same generic names that people will forget. "You need to do something defferent that will stick in your potential client's head."

 

Then all of a sudden, Jean said, "Well you know, we were thinking about having all our employees wear custom toolbelts that are made of green leather." We could call it "Greenbelt Cleaning Services".

 

"What? Wait a minute, that is great idea". We started brainstorming and found that the URL was available. They want to get electric cars or hybrids and get them covered with auto wraps so that they are recognized around the city. We discussed their competition and how their websites are not interactive. There potential client base is going to want to identify with the people that they let into their homes & businesses. There needs to be a high level of trust. They can only begin this communication by getting in front of their clients and the way to do that is to use video on their website. They were excited and I sent them the website of a strategic partner that creates professional videos for a reasonable price.

 

We discussed other marketing ideas for their new business. As the meeting progressed they discussed the green products that they would be using and this amazing vacuum cleaner that does a million and one things. WOW, now it is clicking. . .

 

Colleen said, "But you really know, it is

 

© 2010 Michael Johnson - Inkspot Graphics. All rights reserved.