The Plum Line

“Can’t Miss” Event This Weekend

The Maryland Home, Garden & Living Show is coming up this Friday, Saturday & Sunday, October 16-18!  Here are just some of the reasons this is a “can’t miss” event.

This is Marylanders last chance this year to see this many home contractors, products and services all under one roof.  Attending the largest home and garden shows in Maryland helps you get unbeatable pricing, a wealth of expert advice and plenty of family fun.

Meet Dr. Lori, and get the value of that old antique that’s been in your family forever while being entertained by this very funny, talented woman.

No other event in Maryland comes close to the gardens at our shows.  This fall event offers 10 landscaped gardens by some of the areas best designers.  Landscaping your yard is a great investment and there’s no better way to choose your company than seeing their work in person.

Whether you’re going green to save the earth, lower your costs or both, we have the experts to help you make the choice that’s right for you.

Curious what an $1800 fine hand-crafted birdhouse looks like?  Now you can see it and even buy a raffle ticket for a chance to win it at the Royal Roosts booth.  They will be among the 75 artists & crafters selling one-of-a-kind work at the show.

Enter for a chance to win $25,000 in show cash at the Royal Flush Game.

The newest paver product to hit Maryland will be at the show.  This unbelievable product could save you thousands on your patio project.  Visit the Field of Green booth for more information.

3 ultimate Man Caves will be created at the show.  Your dream hangout is coming!

Get a taste of fine living in our “Better Living” area by sampling from private label gourmet foods, get a massage, get personalized beauty tips and more…All while sampling some of Maryland’s best wine.

Love cruising but hate flying to the ship?  Travel agents in our “Better Living” area will have the latest on Baltimore’s best cruising deals plus other great destination deals.

Once you plan that great trip you may need a passport.  The US Postal Service will be offering passport service ON-SITE.  This is simply the best way to get your passport process started with no hassles, no appointments.

This is a great family event.  Visit the Kids Zone where Baltimore’s Best Events will offer fun and games for the kids while you’re at the show.

There is something for everyone at the Maryland Home, Garden & Living Show.  We hope to see you there.

Know your Core

Do you know who your core customers are?

Reasons to know your core:

• Helps you serve your customer better
• Better service creates customer loyalty
• Customer loyalty creates repeat business
• A loyal core also becomes an advocate of your business

Recently I found a company that knows it’s core and does a nice job to regularly connect with them.  This company, a local liquor store, known for it’s great bear selection, holds a monthly beer tasting event called it’s “Beer Club”.  For a reasonable fee, customers are offered food and a sampling of several of the beers from their store with a short introduction of the brewer and what to look for in flavors as you sampled the beer.

These store representatives not only connected with their customers but were also able to convey their passion for well made beer. In fact, two of the employees were getting ready to make a trip to California to visit some of the breweries they work with.

While “beer lovers” is an obvious core for this particular business it’s still important for every business to identify what their core customer is.

What do you want to be?

You’ve been asked this question since you were a child.  At the time, you picked what you loved or what was exciting to you.  You may have picked a fireman, astronaut or maybe the president of the United States.  As you get older you sometimes get caught up in the day-to-day activity of your job or business and lose sight of where you are going or what you or your company wants to be. 

One of my favorite books is the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey.  I’ve gone back and re-read this book and referenced it many times for a source of inspiration and direction.  I was reminded today in a meeting of one of the 7 habits to being effective according to Covey and that’s “begin with the end in mind.” 

Knowing where you want to be in the end is such a powerful message.  Sometimes we get caught up working so hard on certain things that we don’t realize it’s not moving us in the direction of where we want to go.

What I learned in this meeting is the importance of asking the right questions to find out where you want to go.  Covey would say to imagine you’re at your funeral and think about what you want your friends or family members to say about you.  In business, your time frame may be a little shorter than that.  Today I’m thinking about our business and where I want it to be in the next three years.  Where do you want to be?  What do you want people to say about you when you’re gone?

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