Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Day 441

I got a phone call today asking if I'd be interested in writing an annual report. Definitely! Before spending a lot of money on the company annual report became a corporate faux pas, I used to get a lot of this sort of work. Now, most companies just stick a cover on their 10-K report and claim that they are saving the shareholders money. I'm actually kind of surprised that anyone still does a full blown annual report with an editorial section anymore, but I'm certainly happy to get the job.

I also decided to run an advertisement for my own company, which is something I do even less frequently these days than write annual reports. You'd think, since I'm in the advertising business myself, that I'd be a little more enthusiastic about self promotion. Unfortunately, most of the money I've spent on my own advertising has just disappeared down a black hole. Since the very beginning, most of my business has come from referrals. It's time to give advertising a try again though. I'd like to expand the veterinary specialty side of my business and I've just about run out of veterinarians that I know personally.

Dash certainly knows plenty of vets personally. I've been taking him to the vet every other week lately. After yesterday's false start, I was determined not to forget his appointment again. I put a post-it note reminder on my computer and we arrived right on time. I have this elaborate appointment calendar on my computer that I can update via e-mail or even using my cell phone, but I seldom remember to look at it. Old fashioned yellow sticky notes seem much more effective. The computer calendar just seems to remind me of what I've already forgotten when I finally get around to looking at it.

I need a Twitter strategy. Google Analytics is telling me that almost 10% of my web traffic is already coming from Twitter. Maybe it's time that I started taking Twitter seriously.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day