It happened sometimes. Some people got in touch with us and said they liked the concept of what we do and would like to contribute.
So, wait no more!!!!
On some pages, on the left column we have a small graphic where you can click and donate. It is our tip jar. Thanks in advance!

Retailers of the world rejoice! The "Holiday" season has officially evolved into a time of merchandising and marketing and is no longer a season of any particular religious significance. In fact, I'm a little uncomfortable capitalizing the word, "Holiday".

Just today, as I sat at my computer, contemplating what I would write about, a fellow "Holiday" celebrator informed me that there was absolutely no religious significance to the season because the December 25th date was a totally arbitrary date. She's right. It's origins are actually pagan.

Why December the 25th Anyway?

Because those who attached a religious significance to the day had actually forgotten the day they were trying to remember, they figured the Winter Solstice was as good a day as any. Besides, ancient astronomers figured that December 25th was about the time that the days started getting longer and would be a good time for a party. Since the pagans were already celebrating the rebirth of the sun, they might as well join on in.

Numerous pagan religions honored the birth or rebirth of their respective dieties on or about that day... and it just made sense.

I'm Not Trying to Make Light of the "Holiday"

Labor Day, Memorial Day and President's Day are all arbitrary. Yet they maintain at least some of their original significance. Of course the 4th of July is just that... the 4th of July. And St. Patricks Day is... we'll, maybe it's an arbitrary day too. I'm not sure.

Just because December the 25th is an arbitrary day, do we really need to remove all the religious significance of the day because folks in the first century forgot when the actual day was? I realize that most of the world doesn't agree with the religious significance, but even in Japan they don't call it a "Holiday" Cake.

When Did Merchandising to the Masses Become so All Fired Important Anyway?

Santa is a pretty cool guy. He's spreading a lot of cheer and making children happy. (Except for my younger sister... I still remember how she screamed and cried when she sat on Santa's lap as a little girl.) But does the season really have to be all about selling stuff?

Believer or Non-Believer... What Would it Hurt?

If we spent a little less time at the mall and a little more time around hearth and home sharing with our children the values of the original "Holiday" story, would that be so bad? I personally would appreciate a little "Peace on Earth".

That said, Merry Holidays.

I'm amused by my recent excess of luck. Shhh knock on wood (toc toc toc) not that i want it to leave or anything, but things keep falling into place you got to love that! :)

Last week i decided to go visit a friend. As i walked towards the door i spoted a bill, and much to my surprise it was 20 bucks!

Once inside, chatting and laughing and having a good time my friend mentioned that she was going to the U2 concert on saturday, to which the other friend responded in a harsh tone while rolling her eyes "and i have a ticket i want to get rid of!" - to which my response was "give it to me i'll buy it for 20 bucks!" - we laughed and obviously she didn't give me the ticket.

Next day i get a message on my cel phone from her asking if i wanted to buy the ticket for $50. She payed over $120 for it... when i tried getting tickets months ago they were sold out, so it was definately a done deal for me. Really if you think about it i only had a $30 dollar out of pocket expense taking in consideration that i found $20 on the ground!

The concert was a 'fantabulous' experience, i don't think it could have been better... well maybe a little closer would be good i was waaaay up high behind the american flag which hangs in a corner waaay up there! The place was packed with people - and the crowd seemed to be going wild from start to end!

U2's stage performance was as good as it could get. The lights that seemed to change colors to the mood of the songs were fascinating, often sending me into a deep trance.

Now i'm left with some pictures, a cd, and good memories from a super excitting night. Check out these pictures...

Wow! Every 'dot' you see on this picture is a head!
Not to mention that you can only see half of the place...

So it was a little hard to actually see them... but i've got good vision!

The lights were simply amazing.

When he asked us to lift up our cel phones it was incredible...
the place lit up with little cel phone screens!

*Deep breath*

Mr. Bono himself (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune)

I love The Edge! (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune)

I'll leave you with one more Buzz and Biz audio show. - There's even a little snippet of the concert on there. - Listen and then tell us what you think. You can leave your comments here or leave us a recorded message at (206) 202-BUZZ.

Click HERE to listen (12/20/05 - 9:56min)

The Buzz Squad has just arrived from an event and you get to hear about it first hand! - FM100 has put together what they call the 'Mini Concert Christmas Series'. These run until the 21st of December, each featuring a cool artist.

Today, we had the oportunity to join Donny Osmond as he sang along to some christmas tunes... one of which was even composed by him.

The place was packed! - He has a great sense of humor, i love it! - My favorite part you ask? - When he forgot the words for the one bad apple song. - Ok, enough talking for now. I'll leave you with some pictures, but check back later for some more exciting news and maybe even a little surprise in our podcast. ;)

Oh Yeah!!

*Sigh* :)

Hard to imagine, isn't it? A father and son who disagree? My son is a communications major with an emphasis in marketing communications. He's a really smart kid with a great mind for advertising and public relations, but he believes that I'm old-fashioned.

I'm a Long-Copy Sort of Guy... He's Not

I don't hold it against him. He's been taught by his professors that copy doesn't sell anymore. People won't read copy and you certainly can't "measure" advertising results.

Most ad agencies want to win awards... they don't care about your product

I once spent some time in a firm that believed you couldn't write a single word of copy unless you had sold for a living. Advertising is supposed to sell. Period.

I'm not a real football fan, but I enjoy watching the advertisments during the Super Bowl. They are very creative and cause a lot of stir within the advertising industry, but they aren't designed to sell. They are created to entertain... and that's not the same thing. I wonder how many people reach for the phone or run to the store to purchase whatever product they are supposed to be selling?

The agencies that created that advertising will tell you it's all about awareness

Hogwash. Unless you're Coca-Cola, you can't afford to wait for awareness to produce results for you. You need advertising that will produce results. Phone calls, reply cards, and yes... orders.

How do I know what works and what doesn't?

What I'm about to tell you, you're advertising agency will probably disagree with. There is a science to advertisng that works and it's been tried and tested for years. And you need to have an understanding of that science if you're going to be able to evaluate the effectiveness of your advertising.

Direct Marketers have been practicing this science for years. And they have made a lot of money doing it too. You need to find an agency that understands the science, if you want every advertising dollar you spend to count.

You can start by learning more about it yourself

Tested Advertising Methods by John Caples is a great place to start. If you only read one book on marketing and advertising, read this one. Evaluate your agency by the principles outlined by Mr. Caples and you'll be well on your way to making your advertisng work for you, and not your agency.

By the way, you've read all the way to the end and demonstrated that you've got an attention span far greater than your ad agency thinks you do. You should be proud of yourself.

Now, go sell something.

While what i'm about to share is relatively a useless piece of information i feel this extreme desire to share it with you... I just came back from the movies. Yep, that was it you can go back to work now.

Oh, you decided to stay, eh? Very well, much to my contentment i shall continue to entertain you with some random thoughts, and trust me, they're random alright! :)

I love to go to the movies. I don't know... i'm just a little freak about it. You know how they say that when you're in the womb and your mom eats too much of something you end up really liking that something when you become a grown person? - My thinking is my mom must've gone too much to the movies when i was in her tummy! - Ok, so i was obviously exposed to it when growing up... her being an actress and a movie director and dad a photographer definately had an influence on me. Well, not like i work in the field or do anything even remotely close to it, i just enjoy it. Fine, secretly, i have to say that deep inside i have this desire to maybe be a movie critic someday. But, shhhh don't say anything... what you read here stays here, it's between you and me only, k?

Every year i keep a file in my computer with the movies i watch with a little rating next to it. Why i do it i don't know it's just fun. Don't worry, you'll see it in here on the last day of the year, i'm actually looking forward to posting my list! My movie retrospective post... oh so cool.

Now, what really boggles my mind is not why i keep a list of what i watch, but really the big question of the day is why do i keep the movie stubs? Why?? Even worst, why have i done it since my 8th grade in high school?!! I have quite a stack of movie stubs, i tell ya! - But i have to confess that i do not have the stubs of all the movies i've seen. I know... it's a shame. But what to do when you go on a date for example, the guy pays, hands it to the fellow who's taking care of the entrance, and then sticks it in his pocket? I'm not going to ask him for it... oh wait, no wonder i haven't made it to a second date in ages!!! ;)

Ok, enough of that yadda yadda, i'm surprised you even made it this far! And because of that my friend, here's the most valuable piece of information you can acquire from this post: If you haven't checked the Salt Lake Film Center yet, please do so. Throughout the year they put tons of cool events together, and most of them are free. - Like i mentioned earlier i just came back from the movies, and guess what? It was an advance screening of 'Green Street Hooligans' a screening provided by the film center. Way cool, you go to the movies for free aaand you get to see them before everyone else! Check out our 'Learn & Fun' page for some upcoming screenings... there's a cool one coming up this thursday hint hint.

Now, the critic in me would at this point segue directly into the intrinsic details of the film, but the weirdo in me much rather open up note pad and note in my cool 'movie list' that i have just seen this movie. I think i've just said the word 'movie' way too many times in this post.

Anyway, see you around! Oh you know what would make me just so happy?? A Comment! Yeah, i'm begging for them now... :)

Hello There!! I've got some exciting news check this out: The very first of many to come 'Buzz Tips' podcast series. What's the objective you might ask? Ok, nice and simple: a tool for your enjoyment and personal growth. 1 minute tips on how to promote yourself. Click HERE to listen.

P.S.: Did you miss out on a previous podcast? That's ok, you can always go back to our 'Podcasts' page and listen to them by clicking on the link on the left-hand corner under the main menu.

Here is another Podcast. Woop-Dee-Doo! To listen to it in your computer just click on the link, for mp3 players click on the xml banner to the side.

This one is a recorded web seminar given by Kathleen Gage for BuzzBooster last month.
She talks about how to deal with change in life and at work. Enjoy! Oh, and don't forget to give us your feedback, this way we can ensure we're providing quality material that you want to have access to. ;)

Click HERE

A couple weeks ago we talked about becoming a success-practices investigator. We discussed the need to create: 1) a notebook for keeping track of the marketing techniques that appealed to us, 2) clipping and saving the ads that impressed us, 3) keeping the direct mail that comes to our home and reading it for ideas, and 4) watching and listening to headlines.

The first part of the secret of never-ending success was to not limit ourselves. Now it's time to talk about the next part of the secret.

I remember the first time I saw a Vespa Scooter. I knew they were Italian. But I didn't know much more about them than that. They were first imported into the United States back in 1953, but other than a brief appearance in American Graffiti, I didn't really notice them until about 2 or 3 years ago. (I guess I was too busy noticing other things.)

I have to admit though, once I did, I started seeing them everywhere. Have you ever noticed that when you purchase a new car, for example; after you drive it home, you start seeing that same make and model of car everywhere? The same is true of our secret.

What do a paperclip and a Vespa Scooter have to do with never-ending success?

The second part of our secret is, see your hidden assets.

In his book, Getting Everything You Can Out of What You've Got, Jay Abraham, a world renowned marketer, speaker and writer, tells a story about a friend of his that might help shed some light on this.

His friend was a catalogue manager for a large computer mail-order company. Over the years he'd risen to the highest level within the company that he possibly could. He had also trained a number of younger people who, over the years, had quit and gone to more prestigious, high-profile jobs.

As time went on his one-and-a-half hour commute and all the bureaucratic corporate nonsense became too much. He was burned out. He hated going to work. He saw nothing fulfilling in his job. And, to make matters worse, whenever he came up with a truly innovative idea, management rejected it. He wanted out.

One day, without any other job prospects, he quit. He decided that he never wanted to work for anyone else ever again. He would be master of his own destiny.

Unfortunately, he had no plan. He'd just walked away from an almost 6-figure income and had to support the Northern California lifestyle that went along with it. He struggled for a couple of months with no success.

Here are three questions that have the power to change your life.

After talking with him, Mr. Abraham asked three questions. I'd like to ask you the same three questions.

1) Have you identified and valued your true expertise and inventoried your negotiable personal assets? (Do you know what your personal assets are and do you know how valuable they might be?)

2) What performance skills have you demonstrated in the past that not only have abstract, but intrinsic, value and importance to a business—or specific type of business? (What are your special skills that have real value?)

3) What have you accomplished that people would not only respect, but also desire to learn and utilize to gain the same benefits for their companies?

At first, he drew a blank. So Jay had him analyze and reconstruct all the monumental things he'd experienced, contributed to, and been a part of since he started working. Not only at his current job, but in every previous position he'd ever had over the course of his entire career.

To his surprise, he'd realized that under his direction, the greatest mail-order catalog success in the entire industry had occurred. The owners of the company had become multi-millionaires. He was on the cutting-edge of dozens of product-introduction breakthroughs that became massive successes. Further, the heads of critical departments at five of the industry's top catalog companies had been trained personally by him.

He began to finally realize and appreciate the second part of our secret. His previous successes and skills created a wonderful opportunity for creating greater success for his clients. As well as financial independence for himself.

Now, instead of being in a dead-end, lower-rung, middle-management position in a large corporation, he deals with owners and presidents of fast-growing and exciting entrepreneurial enterprises. But what's more, he's successful and extraordinarily happy.

You still haven't told me how a paperclip and a Vespa Scooter are part of a secret to never-ending success!

Once you sit down and answer those three questions, and you quantify and value your hidden assets, life will never be the same for you again. Mr. Abraham says, "What you know, do, or have successfully done is probably worth considerable money and value to other non-competitors in your business or line of endeavor—or outside it."

Now for the paperclip. A simple office tool. Used by millions. Was invented in 1899 and underappreciated since then. I never give my paperclips a second thought, until they're not there. Would your employer only miss your contribution to their company after you're gone? Your hidden talents, just like the paperclip are probably underappreciated… not only by others… but by you, too.

And the Vespa… Once you start looking for your hidden skills and assets, and start recognizing them for how valuable they are, you're going to see them all over the place.

A secret to never-ending success.

Don't limit yourself.

Recognize your hidden assets.

We had some people asking us what is a podcast, so here is the definition:

Podcasting is the preparation and distribution of audio (and possibly other media) files for download to digital music or multimedia players, such as the iPod. A podcast can be easily created from a digital audio file.

Podcasting has been likened to TiVo because it allows users to listen to their selected podcasts whenever they like, similarly to the way time-shifting lets viewers watch television programs when it suits them. Furthermore, because of the portability of the player devices, users can listen to audio files from the Internet as they go about their daily activities - for example, listening to a news blog entry while at the gym, commuting, or just walking around.

So, we can say that a Podcast is like a radio program that you can listen in your mp3 player, but if you don't have one, no problem, just click on the link and listen from your computer.

At the post bellow, you find our Podcast about how to design great flyers.

The snow is finally here, and with it, a big change in the scenery. Here at Buzzbooster it was time for a change too. Starting today we have another channel called "Once Upon a Buzz". This channel will talk about great entrepreneurs around the Valley, their stories and how they built their businesses. We hope this will be a great source of information, especially for people that are thinking about starting a new business.

Also, since we love to be up to date with new technologies, I must say that bellow every flyer for every event, you'll find simple text. With this, everyone can download the information to their pda's and not miss out on any event.

But there is more! Starting right now, the first "BuzzBooster Podcast"... You may click HERE to listen to it, and/or download it to your MP3 Player. These podcasts will feature tips for businesses and interviews. We hope you enjoy it! Oh and don't forget to give us your feedback afterwards by clicking on the 'Comments' link right below.

BuzzBooster Podcast: Killer Flyers

As the holiday season approaches the business events dwindle, and the christmas bazars/fairs start taking place... In other words, not much happened this week business-event-like!

On Tuesday i had the opportunity to go to one of the 'Business Ignitor Series' presented by Connect Magazine, Grow Utah Ventures, and Parsons Behle & Latimer. Aside from the networking with other entrepreneurs, and the yummy catered food, the highlight of the event was a Q&A with Kim Jones, Founder and CEO of Verite. It was quite an event. - "My hope as a business woman was restored," "It's so good to see a woman leader in the business world," "Wow! This was way beyond my expectations!" ...were just a few of the comments shared among viewers.

And to top it all off i was the super duper lucky winner of 4 (FOUR!) second row tickets to the Utah Jazz vs. L.A. Lakers game!! Compliments of Latitude Restaurant Group. Woop-Dee-Doo!! Thank you thank you i had a blast. ;)

I Think i need a new camera!

Let the game begin!!

Fouls... so many fouls...

Oh so close to the press check these seats oh yeah!

Cool stuff. Did you know i was a cheerleader once?!

Oh let them rest... oh look i was so close to them that the Parker guy on the right even looked at my camera when i took the picture!

I think this is the only picture in focus!

Oh so happy...