Holiday cards

"What? It's only September 21st and you're already talking about holiday cards?". Yes. Christmas is only about 3 months away and it'll be here before you know it. I'm not sure of the exact date of Hanukkah, but it's around the same time. But what about Thanksgiving? It's only about 2 months away. And Halloween is just over a month away.

Most people, if they do send out holiday cards, usually send cards for one of the December holidays. If you want to stand out you can send either Halloween and/or Thanksgiving cards.

SendOutCards lets you send out out your holiday cards easily, quickly and inexpensively. You can purchase the cards from the privacy of your own home, anytime day or night; and SendOutCards will print the cards, with your message and/or photos inside, put the card in the envelope, address it, stamp it and take it to the post office...all for $1.64 per card including postage!

Here are some examples of holiday cards in our catalog:

Halloween: 

Thanksgiving:

Christmas:

 Hanukkah:

Remember, these cards are printed out on quality, recycled card stock, coated with a UV coating, put in an envelope and mailed. You can send as many, or as few as you'd like...there is no minimum or even maximum order.

Create your holiday list and send a card to everyone on it. You can send the same card to everyone or different cards to some of the people on your list...or a different card to everyone! It's up to you.

And each card is totally customizable. Don't like the message inside? No problem, you can delete it and write one of your own. Want to add pictures to the inside. No problem, you can add as many photos as you'd like. Prefer a holiday card with your family photo on the front? No problem, you can start with a totally blank card and add your photo to the front, with a message if you'd like, and completely customize the inside.

To find out more, email me.

Interesting days

Today - International Red Panda Day, International Day of Peace, Miniature Golf Day and World Gratitude Day

Tomorrow - Hobbit Day, White Chocolate Day, Ice Cream Cone Day, Business Women's Day, Elephant Appreciation Day, Dear Diary Day and World Car Free Day

Next Wednesday - Good Neighbor Day and Drink Beer Day Invite your neighbors over for some beer! If you don't have any, invite yourself over to your neighbors'. But be careful, if you have too many beers you may find yourself celebrating Ask A Stupid Question Day

October 21 - Reptile Awareness Day, Count Your Buttons Day, Back To The Future Day and Apple Day

How to use Snapchat in your business

Yesterday was Talk Like a Pirate Day, and as usual Krispy Kreme gave away donuts. One donut if you talked like a pirate, a dozen if you dressed as one. And for the first time this year you could also use a Snapchat filter to get a dozen donuts. So, I figured I'd better download Snapchat so I could celebrate #TalkLikeAPirateDay and I did and I fumbled around enough to figure out how to use filters.

But when I got to Krispy Kreme, I couldn't find the pirate filter. The woman inside said it hadn't been working all day, but I still got a dozen free donuts! After learning more about filters and lenses, I wonder if they meant using a lens? Because filters are very limited geographically...each store would need their own filter...but with a lens, it would be available anywhere. I guess I'll have to wait and see which one they used. Although lenses can cost hundreds of thousand of dollars to produce.

And speaking of free donuts, I don't know how many they gave away but there was a group of 7 people in front of me dressed as pirates and they each received a dozen donuts. They must've given away hundreds of dozens of donuts just while I was there.

Custom geo-filters are pretty inexpensive to make...probably less than $20 depending on how long it's active and how large an area that it covers. Here's an introduction to creating a geo-filter for an event such as a party, reunion, wedding, etc., as well as for a business. And for those of you who are just getting started like me, here's a beginner's guide to using Snapchat.

Interesting days

Today - Punch Day and Get Ready Day 

Tomorrow - International Red Panda Day, International Day of Peace, Miniature Golf Day and World Gratitude Day

Next Tuesday - Crush a Can Day, Tourism Day and Ancestor Appreciation Day

October 20 - Conflict Resolution Day, Suspender's Day, International Sloth Day, Get Smart About Credit Day, Brandied Fruit Day and Waiters Day

2,340

That's how many weeks there are between the ages of 22 and 67. The number of weeks between college graduation and being eligible to collect Social Security, if you were born after 1960. And if you don't go to college it could be 2600 weeks or maybe even more. That means you'll be working forty five years to fifty years.

For most Americans you won't have anything to show for all those years of work. There are no more gold watches and very few pensions left. The pension has been replaced by the 401k, relieving the company of having to provide for an employee's retirement and placing the responsibility entirely on the employee.

The difference is that a pension is a defined benefit plan, while a 401k is a defined contribution plan. A pension gives you a specific amount of money to live on paid by the company every month. With a 401k you put a specific amount of money into it every month and if you're lucky you might have something left to live on when you retire...you're entirely at the mercy of the stock market. And with a 401k you have to start taking out a minimum distribution at age 70 1/2. The amount of the distribution is based on your life expectancy (plus your spouse's if your spouse is the beneficiary). Right now, the tables require that the 401k account be drained in 27.4 years if you're age 70 since the IRS wants all of the tax money that they allowed you to defer before you die. But since most Americans have little to nothing in their 401k, they will probably take more than the required amount.

And while you're working, you'll probably not have enough money to live on even if both spouses are working. Forty five to fifty years of struggle followed by 20 - 30 more years of struggle after retirement.

What are the options for retirement?

1. 401k, 403b, etc - They all have similar requirements for minimum distributions
2. Pension - if you're lucky enough to get one
3. Social Security - if there's anything left by the time you retire
4. Continue working - which is what many people will have to do whether they want to or not
5. Start your own business - preferably one that will pay you a residual income, so that you'll continue getting paid when you quit working

I can help you with #5. SendOutCards is a fun business to work because our product not only makes the person using it feel good but also the person receiving the card and/or gift will feel good. And SOC provides a residual income, a potentially substantial one, that will continue paying for the rest of your life and possibly even beyond. I don't know the requirements of passing your business down to future generations but I know it's possible. Click here to find out more...scroll down to the bottom of the page and watch the Own Your Own Business video. Then click on the 3 horizontal bars in the upper right corner and select Send a Free Card to try it out on me. Click yes to watch the automated walk through.

Interesting days

Today - Butterscotch Pudding Day and Talk Like A Pirate Day

Tomorrow - Punch Day and Get Ready Day

Next Monday - Batman Day, Family Day, Johnny Appleseed Day, Love Note Day and Lumberjack Day 

October 19 - Hagfish Day, Global Dignity Day and Evaluate Your Life Day 

 

The Funday Sunnies

Interesting days

Today - Wife Appreciation Day, Hug A Greeting Card Writer Day, Gymnastics Day, Water Monitoring Day, Respect Day and Cheeseburger Day and Cheeseburger Day I'm ready for a cheeseburger! And since I'm a greeting card writer, I'm available for hugs

Tomorrow -  Butterscotch Pudding Day and Talk Like A Pirate Day One of my favorite days. Krispy Kreme offers a free doughnut if you talk like a pirate or a free dozen if you dress like a pirate. But this year you can use a Snapchat geo-filter at Krispy Kreme to make yourself look like a pirate and show it to an employee and get a free dozen doughnuts! I downloaded Snapchat yesterday, so I'm ready!

Next Sunday - Cooking Day, Comic Book Day, One-Hit Wonder Day, Psychotherapy Day, World Pharmacists Day and World Dream Day

October 18 - No Beard Day and Chocolate Cupcake Day

Your weekend guide to interesting days

I was thinking about calling today's post S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y Night, but then I remembered that I already did that back in May of last year and I even included a video of the Bay City Rollers singing that song. So, I went along with my old standby blog post title.

Interesting days

Today - Constitution Day, International Eat An Apple Day, International Country Music Day, Coastal Cleanup Day and Apple Dumpling Day

Tomorrow - Wife Appreciation Day, Hug A Greeting Card Writer Day, Cheeseburger Day, Gymnastics Day, Water Monitoring Day and Respect Day

Next Saturday - International Rabbit Day, !@#$%, Cherries Jubilee Day and Save Your Photos Day Did you know that with a free SendOutCards account you get storage space for 500 photos! But if you need more you can upgrade to 1,000 photos for a one time $99 fee. Still not enough? You can upgrade to unlimited photo storage for a one time fee of $199. And your photos will be stored where you can easily use them on a greeting card!

October 17 - Clean Your Virtual Desktop Day, Boss' Day, Mulligan Day, International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, Spreadsheet Day and Wear Something Gaudy Day This sounds like an awesome opportunity to wear my official first day of summer shirt again!

The Friday Fishwrap

All the news that's fit to wrap around a dead fish

The week in review

Monday - "More reasons to send" Birthdays and holidays aren't the only reasons to send greeting cards

Tuesday - "Who is your ideal customer?" Hint - it's not everyone with skin

Wednesday - "Golden eggs" A continuation of yesterday's blog post

Thursday - "SendOutCards Convention Recap #TBT" A recap of last year's convention

Interesting days

This week

Saturday - World Suicide Prevention Day and Swap Ideas Day

Sunday - Patriot Day, No News is Good News Day, Grandparent's Day, Hug Your Hound Day, Hot Cross Bun Day and Make Your Bed Day

Monday - Boss/Employee Exchange Day, Video Games Day, Programmers' Day and Chocolate Milk Shake Day

Tuesday -  Roald Dahl Day, Kids Take Over The Kitchen Day, Positive Thinking Day, Defy Superstition Day, Fortune Cookie Day and Peanut Day

Wednesday - Eat a Hoagie Day and Cream Filled Donut Day

Thursday -  Greenpeace Day,  International Dot Day, Felt Hat Day and Make A Hat Day

Today - International Grenache Day, Concussion Awareness Day, World Ozone Day, Stepfamily Day, Collect Rocks Day, Play Doh Day, International Read An Ebook Day, Working Parents Day and Guacamole Day

Next week

Tomorrow - Constitution Day, International Eat An Apple Day, International Country Music Day, Coastal Cleanup Day and Apple Dumpling Day

Sunday - Wife Appreciation Day, Hug A Greeting Card Writer Day, Cheeseburger Day, Gymnastics Day, Water Monitoring Day and Respect Day

Monday - Butterscotch Pudding Day and Talk Like A Pirate Day 

Tuesday - Punch Day and Get Ready Day

Wednesday - International Red Panda Day, International Day of Peace, Miniature Golf Day and World Gratitude Day

Thursday- Hobbit Day, White Chocolate Day, Ice Cream Cone Day, Business Women's Day, Elephant Appreciation Day, Dear Diary Day and World Car Free Day

Friday - Checkers Day, Restless Legs Awareness Day and Hug a Vegetarian Day

Next month

October 10 - World Porridge Day, SHIFT10 Day, World Mental Health Day, Native American Day, Handbag Day, Cake Decorating Day, World Homeless Day and Hug A Drummer Day

October 11 - Face Your Fears Day, Coming Out Day and Ada Lovelace Day

October 12 - World Arthritis Day, Emergency Nurses Day, Take Your Parents To Lunch Day, Old Farmers Day, Bring Your Teddy Bear To Work & School Day and Pet Obesity Awareness Day

October 13 - World Sight Day

October 14 - World Egg Day and Be Bald And Free Day

October 15 - Conflict Resolution Day, Chicken Cacciatore Day, White Cane Safety Day,  World Maths Day, World Students' Day and Bridge Day

October 16 - World Toy Camera Day, World Food Day, Department Store Day, Steve Jobs Day, Feral Cat Day and  Dictionary Day

SendOutCards Convention Recap #TBT

This time last year the SendOutCards Convention was in Disneyland. This year it will be in Salt Lake City at the end of the month. I won't be going this year.


I had a great time at convention! It was held at the Disneyland Hotel. I arrived Tuesday afternoon and checked into the Baymont Inn and Suites about 4 miles from Disneyland. It was kind of a pain being so far away, but it was much cheaper than staying at Disneyland.

On Wednesday was the Bootcamp...all about building your business. At the beginning of the bootcamp all of the new changes were announced. Some of the big announcements were the MRM Training Portal and the Gold and Silver Customer Packages.

The MRM Training Portal is the online version of the Mastering Relationship Marketing 2 day live seminar that was presented earlier this year but is now available online. The cost is $99 with a $49 annual renewal. There will be more modules added to it as time goes on.

The Silver Package includes a 1 year subscription to the MRM Portal, the Handwriting Font and Signatures Package (a $49 value), the Custom Brand Manager (a $149 value...also with a $49 annual renewal), and 200 points (a $62 value)...all for $345. But the best thing is that you can buy points at the wholesale price of 31 cents each...if you have a subscription of at least 100 points.

The Gold Package is similar except it also includes the Memory Vault (a $99 value), which is for additional storage for cards, photos and contacts; as well as an additional 300 points (a $93 value) for a total of 500 points...all for $450.

There were similar additions to the Marketing Distributor package but the biggest change is the immediate payout of the bonuses.

Thursday was a free day that I spent at the Disneyland Park.

Friday morning was mostly announcements and two of the biggest for me was the Rookie of the Year, Cathi Rickly out of Las Vegas and the Distributor of the Year, Casey Eberhart, out of LA. Casey will be speaking at the Laptop Lounge in Walnut Creek on September 29th. Friday afternoon was free time again spent in the park.

Saturday was more on the new packages as well as some testimonials and business building. There was a closing party that I didn't attend because I drove home right after the main convention session.


A few UPDATES: The Gold and Silver packages are gone and have been replaced by the Personal, Marketing and Business Bundles at $195, $395 and $795 respectively. Ask me for more info on the bundles. And it now only costs $50 to become a distributor! There won't be a Bootcamp at convention but there will be a Promptings Academy.

Interesting days

Today - Get Ready Day Here in CA we have to be ready for earthquakes and when it's dry like this we need to be ready for wild fires also. It's also Felt Hat Day,  Make A Hat Day, Greenpeace Day and International Dot Day  

Tomorrow - Collect Rocks Day and Working Parents Day. Holy guacamole it's Guacamole Day. It's Play Doh Day and I'm sure some of you creative types can make play doh from guacamole! Let's not forget Stepfamily Day. And it's World Ozone Day. And some updates to the interesting days: International Read An Ebook Day, International Grenache Day and Concussion Awareness Day

Next Thursday- Hobbit Day. White Chocolate Day (it's alright, but is it really chocolate?) and one of my personal favorites, Ice Cream Cone Day Maybe a white chocolate cone? Plus it's Business Women's Day. As well as Elephant Appreciation Day and Dear Diary Day Remember when you wrote things in your diary and were upset when people read it? Now people are upset if they post something on Facebook and the entire world doesn't see it, comment on it and share it! And lastly, it's World Car Free Day

October 15 - Conflict Resolution Day and Chicken Cacciatore Day At least there's no conflict about what's for dinner tonight. It's also Get Smart About Credit Day (which is on the 20th this year) and White Cane Safety Day Shouldn't this be every day? Plus a few more days that weren't on last year's calendar: World Maths Day, World Students' Day and Bridge Day