The First Step is the Hardest to Take

We've all been there.  Planning that pet project in our head.  Organize my workspace, clean out the garage, write the great American novel, start an exercise routine, etc.

I am not willing to help you with any of those things.

But if your pet project is to get started with a social media initiative for your business, then I'm your man!

Solstice Media is currently offering a Summer Special on a New Media package.  I will come to your place of business and produce a video during a two hour session. We will post the video on YouTube. We'll then get your business set up on FaceBook, Twitter and LinkedIN.  We'll create a blog for your business and write the first one.  Then I will come out and train you how to work all of them.  All for the special price of $795!!

Social Media for business is a great way to market your product or services for free and with results.

Solstice can also get you set up with an AdWords account or pay per click campaign.  We can also develop a website or launch page for you.

So take that first step and call Solstice Media today! 

By the way - Happy SOLSTICE!!

Pete Ricci - Solstice Media

Where Have I Been?!?!

Bless me readers for I have sinned.  It has been 9 months since my last posting.  That is the normal gestation period for humans and although I am a male and can not be pregnant, I have been busy giving birth to a number of accomplishments!

I have partnered up with The Power Room and helped create a video studio complete with green screen.  We have been mostly producing music videos, but are now offering business podcasts, web telecasts, live streaming video and infomercials.  Very exciting stuff.

Solstice is also handling projects for Artist Ardeth Sobyak, The Chester City GOP, National Realty Corporation, Advanced Cleanout, Executive Health Resources and MyKidsBFit.com.  A very busy couple of months to say the least.

Personally, my charitable and volunteer initiatives are in full swing as well.  I am on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee for the Delaware County Chamber of Commerce, where I also run the Social Media/Marketing Committee and serve on the Executive Search Committee.  Our Charity, Tommy's Gifts for Kids is growing nicely, events are in full swing at St George's Episcopal Church in Ardmore, Pa, where I am the Fund Raising Chair and I am coaching The Dodgers Rookie Baseball Team at Drexel Hill Little League. 

So, obviously I am busy, but that is no excuse for not keeping in touch.  For that I am sorry. 

Talk to you again (real) soon.  -Pete

What I Learned Down the Shore

Hello Everyone - This past weekend at My Mom's House in Avalon Manor, New Jersey, taught me a few great lessons. These lessons were so great that My wife and I both took Monday off to see if there were any other lessons to be learned! Here is what I learned:

1. Not being "Down the Shore" sucks.

2. If I have a laptop, internet access, my Droid phone, a dictation device, access to my cloud-based server and paper & pencil I can work from anywhere.

3. No matter where I am, my clients can access me. (That's a good thing!)

4. With technology as a tool, you can increase your quality of life and even improve your business.

5. Nobody knows me at my Shore Church so I don't get asked to volunteer for anything.

6. Mundane tasks such as cleaning out your e-mails, organizing your contact database, synching devices, etc are all better if you do them while sitting outside under an umbrella on a dock on the bay with a gin & tonic.

7. Recharging your batteries is critical to success. To prove this so far today I have driven home from the Shore, went to a Delco Chamber Board Meeting, visited a retainer client just to touch base and helped him with a challenge, stopped by my Church and said a prayer for those in need, signed a new client (Woo-Hoo), converted an existing client to a retainer client (2x Woo-Hoo!) and developed 2 web pages for a current project. All this by 4PM!

8. You only live once so live well.

There is so much you can learn by taking time to reflect, recharge and relax.

Until next time - Pete

My Birthday Blog

Happy Birthday to ME!! Today is the day. I am 45. Odds are I am half way through my life and if you count in 5-10 final years of dementia and incontinence, I probably only have about 30 lucid years left! The thing is, I was supposed to be a millionaire by now. Last time I checked my portfolio, that was not the case. So it's time for my half-time review. What has happened that has kept me from this goal and what can I do to reach it by 50? (Since 50 is the new 40, I will technically beat my goal by 5 years!) So I weighed my life's pros and cons and am definitely happy with my life as the pros outweighed the cons.

Pros:
Wonderful Family, A Son who beat Leukemia, hundreds of loyal friends, a great Church Home, My own Company, which is in it's 8th year, a Family Shore Home, flashes of decent musical ability, and a great charity - Tommy's Gifts for Kids.
Cons:
I need to be in better health if I am going to reach 90! I am not a millionaire. I am not close to being a millionaire.

Is being a millionaire THAT important. No. It is not. But I DO want to be able to provide for my children and wife, pay for the kids' college, buy the home that I will spend the rest of my life in and I want to never need the phrase "overdraft protection" in my life again!

How will I achieve this?
By continuing to give customers a great value and great service.
By being more consistent with maintaining rate integrity and collections.
By consistently reviewing my monthly, quarterly and annual goals.
By keeping my priorities in order.
By just plain continuing to work my ass off.

So Happy Birthday to me and thanks for checking in.
Future Millionaire,
Pete

Summertime!

Summer's here and the time is right for dancin' in the street! The time is also right for preparing for the Fall business surge. Most businesses experience a lag in the Summer and a big bump leading into the year's end. So what can you do now to best prepare yourself for the busy season? Here are a few tips:

1. Update your website. Making frequent changes to your site will help with search engine optimization and keeps your content fresh.
2. Organize your contacts. Prioritize your contact database by category and importance. Make sure to reach out to clients who have used your products or services previously at this time of year and see if they need you again this year. Remove dead contacts and clean out your e-mails!
3. Start a blog! A blog is a great positioning tool and a great way to reach out to potential clients. Linking your blog to FaceBook, Linkedin and twitter will optimize the effectiveness of the blog.
4. Clean out your files, desk and office space. Reducing the clutter in your life will make you a better organized and more efficient professional.
5. RELAX!!! Even if you don't have the time, MAKE the time to relax, recharge and have some fun. You only live once and there is no substitute for the value of spending time with Family and Friends and enjoying some quiet time of reflection.

So enjoy the rest of your Summer and if I can help you with anything at all, please don't hesitate to contact me!

Bless me Readers!

Bless me readers for I have sinned. It has been 6 months since my last submission!

The good news is that I have been very busy. When you are a one man show, sometimes you can't do anything but the jobs. So that brings me to this blog's topic. The sin that is "deviating from the plan". I had every intention of learning more about Search Engine Optimization and sharing my wisdom. But then I landed a number of great projects and I was juggling tasks like a circus performer!

So how do you do your job but still carve out time for your branding (such as this blog & networking), growth (such as cold-calling & RFP's)and company maintenance (such as bookkeeping, invoicing and collections)?

The answer? Caffeine. Copius amounts of caffeine. Sometimes you have to suck it up and pull an all-nighter. Which I have been doing a lot of lately. I told all my clients I was taking a vacation day and I cleaned house. Literally. My desk is back in order, I made 50 phone calls to past clients looking for new business. (That worked to the tune of about $2300 in business!). I got my collections in order and reviewed my quarter 1 goals. I threw out dead files (into the recycle bin & re-used the file folders). I made changes to my website and I updated my samples page.

Now my next challenge is to grow. To have a studio space and to hire someone. This will be a step back to take a step forward and I can't afford to do it! So how do I make this happen? Tune in next time and see what I have done! Have a great Summer! I hope we speak again before it has ended.

-Pete

Hey - I'm back from the SEMA show in Vegas where I went to support Riggio Innovations. We had a very successful trip. Here's how we did it. After deciding this was the perfect venue for showcasing the line wrench, we reserved a booth and chose appropriate supplemental marketing purchases. We paid for a banner that hung from the aisle sign for our row. It hung 20 feet up from the floor by wires. We also chose a kiosk ad that was attached to the "You are here" show directory. These purchases drove a ton of people to our booth saying "we just HAD to see this wrench!" We placed a display in the new products showcase and I held a press conference at the convention's media center for roughly 25 journalists and automotive magazine reporters. Probably the most important element was obtaining a list of attendees at the show and contacting them prior to the show with a link to our website with the video from my last post. The result was a staggering 1000+ attendees who want to buy the wrench who gave us their contact info via a lead capturing device we rented for the show. These are critical. More importantly, over 20 leading tool manufacturers CAME TO US to express their interest in manufacturing out line wrench!! We signed 11 non-disclosure agreements and are ready to begin negotiations.
This tremendous success validates the cost of participating in an event like this. It wasn't cheap, about ten grand for flights, accomodations, exhibitor space, supplemental marketing opportunities brochures, flyers displays and booth banners. However in the long run, this will prove to be a very small investment compared to the return. The lesson here is that when considering a marketing vehicle, it's OK to spend a bit as long as you are marketing to the proper market segment. Here's a shot of me and Rich Riggio at SEMA. Take care - next we'll talk about the follow ups and blogs.