Birds are done!

I got all of my birds done. I believe there are nine.. I'm too lazy to get up and count. But- they're cute! Really cute! I just need to head outside and find some little branches for them to live on. Then the mobile is finished!

I did another little art project today- I'll post some pictures later.

Some of the birdies (pictures taken with my FABULOUS birthday present from my fiance):

Network, Network, Network

One of the things I've really seen my dad (who has owned businesses for my entire life and then some) done very well is network. I swear he seems to know everyone out there. I constantly run into people that just happen to know him through one thing or another.... I want to be that way too. I think it's such a big part of how he's been so successful and I am very very big on supporting other businesses inside my community.
When I decided to try my hand at it myself, I joined Biznik (for any of you out there looking for a way to network- try it, you will meet some amazing people). I went to one event shortly after joining and met some wonderful folks. I just love the idea behind spreading your name, helping them spread theirs, and building our community as well.
I've only been to a few events so far, but I have been able to meet so many people through it. Our company has worked with some, and will continue to any time it's possible. My boyfriend and I even ordered organic food from a company that a woman whom we met at an event owns- so business or personal, we just love supporting businesses based in our community, especially when we actually know who they are!
Needless to say, networking works. I think it is fabulous, it is something I will continue to do for... probably the rest of my life. If there's any tip I can offer anyone, it's to network. Everyone wins.

Just to plug my Biznik profile...

New Ideas, the good, the bad, and the ugly

So I think I had mentioned this in my previous post, but one of the things I have to do (and really love doing) is come up with really creative and really new ways to get our name out there.
A few weeks ago I had a call from a real estate agent who works for a fairly large eco-friendly construction company, he asked if I could come out to two of their open houses with some cars to help show off the complete green lifestyle the home buyers could have. Of course I said yes- it was free pr, and we have the same demographic. The first open house was more for the people who had worked on the 'micro-community' project, so there were a ton of people, a lot of them had questions but not so many were actually interested, oh well, it happens. The second part of it was at the same project, but strictly for public. I'm not kidding... 5 people showed up, one of whom was friends with the realtor. Sometimes these things work... other times, not so much.
We were invited to be sponsors in a golf tournament to benefit cancer research, so yesterday I headed up to Newcastle with a car and another guy from work, we plowed our way through the golf carts and made it to our post at hole #11. Again... lots of questions... but not so many people really interested, and on top of that, as I write this my arms are so disgustingly sunburned I feel like I need to shower with aloe- anybody able to hook me up with that?

The moral of the story is yes, you have to think outside the box, but you have to roll with the punches too.
Hey, at least I get to go away for the weeked.

Change the world, one car at a time...
Jen

Popping My Blogging Cherry, With a Famous Band- What Else?

So this is the first, hopefully of many. What a fantastic day to start too! Being in such a new industry, Marketing is something we are trying to get creative with- this stuff can really get expensive! I've really had to try and think outside of the box and come up with some fresh ideas. One of which I got to put to the test today!
A few months ago I sent out what seemed like a million emails to different local bands to request that they help us get our name out there- and hey, they get a 'green' image, it's good for everyone involved. I received a response from Bremerton band MxPx's drummer, Yuri Ruley. We decided to give him one of our cars, a ZENN, for a few days to see what his thoughts were... Today was the day we picked it up!
Our fleet manager (and our in house EV genius) Jarrod Christensen came along for the ride. We made the trek over to Bremerton with a gigantic banner, cameras, and interview sheets. I can't even tell you how excited I was. I'll be honest with you, I'm new to the marketing game. I like to think I have pretty darn good common sense and I'm creative, so this feels natural to me (yes- I'm also working on getting my degree in Business & Marketing!), but this was BIG.
We arrived, met with the band- let me tell you, these guys were so great! They were all so nice. Yuri was absolutely amazing, he really believed in the idea behind our cars and just loved what they stood for. We set up our huge ZENN banner and positioned the car in front of it, snapped a few pictures and had the guys fill out our interview sheets.
So here I am, at 10pm on a Wednesday, and my first ever press release (if that's what you want to call it) with an uber famous band and our kick-ass cars is born!


Check it out, give me some feedback, and most importantly... start saving the world, one car at a time. :)



Until next time....
Jen