When I first started thinking about a career in Social Media, I found myself spending hours a day for months on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. I couldn’t get enough of it and loved all of the minute-by-minute interaction that was happening right before my eyes.

One of the stories that came out of that time is one I share on a regular basis with our clients and prospects:

“The Johnny’s Story.”

Johnny’s  is a bar and grill that started in Lawrence, KS and a place where I spent more than a few evenings when I was a student at KU. They have two locations in Lawrence and six in Kansas City. In fact, there is one that is five minutes from my house at 8262 Mission Road, Prairie Village, Kansas 66208.

I’ve lived in Prairie Village for nearly 5 years and realized a few months ago that I hadn’t been to Johnny’s in years. How did I realize that? I noticed one of my Facebook friends “became a fan” (now, as you know, it’s just called “LIKE”) of the Prairie Village Johnny’s Facebook Page .

So I became a fan too and started seeing updates every day in my Facebook feed….”2-for-1 burgers on Thursdays!!!”…”Join us for Taco Tuesdays!!!”…..”Live music this Friday!!!”….”$2.50 Schooners!!!”…..and on and on. Eventually I found myself thinking “2-for-1 burgers is a good deal”, “I’d love to go hear some live music”, “Mmmmmm, tacos sound good”, and “I need to get over to Johnny’s”.

And I did. Again. And again. And again. And not just by myself. I brought people with me. I started to tell my friends about 2-for-1 burgers on Thursdays. I coordinated a couple of Jayhawk watch parties with my friends. I gathered some people to see live music. In fact, thanks to a recent promotion they mentioned on their Facebook page, I check in on Foursquare  every time I go to Johnny’s now and, (after ordering a couple of drinks), get a free appetizer for doing so! (I’m partial to the mini-burritos.)

Oh, and I post about it on Twitter and Facebook. And I talk to clients and prospects about it every week. And now I feel like I’ve gotten to know the Prairie Village Johnny’s that much better…their persona…their brand…the people that work there….and I like it. I like ALL of it.

So what happens next? People hear me talk about it (and I’m enthusiastic when I do!) and see me post it on Facebook and Twitter and then THEY start thinking “I need to get over to Johnny’s.” And they will. It might not be today. It might not be tomorrow. But they will.

What did Johnny’s do right? They provided me, the consumer, with consistent, relevant information that directly influenced my buying decisions. They shared their personality and their brand with me. They offered specials and incentives for me to come into their establishment…and then, most importantly, they took GREAT care of me (and my friends) when I got there.

The important thing to know is that this isn’t an isolated case between me and Johnny’s. These stories happen EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. This is the power YOU have. As a consumer. As a business. As someone that actively engages your friends, family and customers through social media.

The final thought I want to leave you with is this: When businesses that haven’t engaged in social media are wondering what the ROI (Return on Investment) might be, think about “The Johnny’s Story”. Has Johnny’s done an ROI report on Mic Johnson? NOPE! But have they gotten incredible value out of me? ABSOLUTELY.

Social media works. It worked on me.

Anyone want to go to Johnny’s?

How has social media influenced a buying decision for you, your family or business? We’d love to hear your story.

Fry-Wagner Moving & Storage

Moving is a stressful undertaking.  Whether it is your business or your home, there are many forces working against you, including time, weather and people averse to change.  One of my best practices when faced with these types of situations is to bring in the experts and let them handle it.  I have been referring business to Fry-Wagner Moving & Storage for years and they always do a fantastic job.  The relationship has gone even deeper over the past 2 years because Earl Kawaoka and I are in a Vistage group together that meets each month, and I recently trained their Kansas City and St. Louis sales teams how to use LinkedIn more effectively.  Through all this, I have gotten a deeper understanding of how Fry-Wagner is operated and who the people are that make the company successful.  These guys are the real deal.  Whether it is a residential move across the country, or moving your small business from one location to another in Kansas City, you should call them.  I am going to have them move my parents from Wichita to Kansas City later this year when my father retires from Boeing.  That is how much I trust them.

Fry-Wagner has the process of moving your business down to a science.  I have seen it many times with companies like Bishop-McCann, American Association of Veterinary State Boards, and more.  You tag and box each office with special stickers and there is a roadmap that shows which office in the old building is moving to an office or location in the new building.  The loading and unloading of the trucks are done in a specific order to make things run more smoothly.  Each office, made up by a collection of packed boxes, stays “together” during the move.  These moves usually happen in one business day because of their excellent planning, process and skilled movers.

I have toured the Fry-Wagner facility off of I-35 more than once, and one thing people don’t realize is the vast warehouse space they have available for storage of items.  For example, if your house is crammed with stuff, and you need to get half of it out so that you can stage it and show it, Fry-Wagner can pick up the first half of your stuff and store it in their warehouse until you sell your current house and buy your new house.  That way, it is not sitting in a container in your driveway (even though they offer that service also).  The storage is by weight and is reasonably priced.  The other thing that Fry-Wagner uses their storage space for is Records and Asset management.

This blog post has been another business recommendation of mine based on the fact that many of you reading this wanted to know the companies here in Kansas City that I trust and respect.  Fry-Wagner is one of those companies.  If you are moving, give them a call at 800-394-0049 for a free estimate.  And no, I don’t get a dime for these recommendations. 

Team Office

I work with people/companies all over Kansas City, and one of the things that comes up often is that they are growing or moving.  One of things that is usually a part of any growth or move process is office furniture.  This can be a time consuming, expensive, and frustrating part of the process.  (So many options, how do you choose?  Did they ship the right stuff?  Are the installers going to be there on the right day/time?)  I have been working with Team Office for years and highly recommend them.

Team Office Warehouse

One of the lesser known facts about Team Office is that they have a huge warehouse down on Southwest Boulevard filled to the substantial roof with previously owned Furniture.  For a tour of some of the things they have there, click here.  I have purchased HON® filing cabinets, chairs, desks and storage cabinets at the Warehouse for massive savings compared to buying new.  The inventory is large and there are tons of options for each kind of thing you may be looking for.  I needed to find Purple chairs and cubes a couple of years ago… found them there.  $10/chair, and shockingly inexpensive per cube.  Their installation team is hard working and they know their stuff.  They delivered everything, set it up, and were gone in less than 4 hours for 10 workstations.

There are many great people that make up Team Office, but I have to mention my friend and co-founder of Team Office, Brad Justice.  Brad is well known and well respected around Kansas City and has really done some amazing things for people over the years.  Don’t take my word for it, check out his LinkedIn profile.  Get in touch with Brad via InMail through LinkedIn and he will take great care of your office furniture needs.  Whether you need to get new stuff, new to you stuff (previously owned) or are trying to get rid of your older office furniture to make room for new, Team Office is one of the companies you should consider having at the table of vendors helping you with major business changes.

SHAMELESS REQUEST: Please let me know if you enjoyed this post.  Depending on response I am going to sprinkle in other companies that I work with and highly recommend (and why) in the coming months of 2010.

Box of Logo Pens

One of the things that I have had to figure out is how to get my logo on marketing materials.  I believe that shirts and pens are two of the most effective ways to advertise.  You will always see me in a blue shirt with the Blue Gurus logo on it.   I do have “off duty blue” for evenings and weekends where the shirt is blue but no logo. 

Shirts
I really like the wrinkle free shirts at Eddie Bauer.  I ordered 10 shirts of various styles and various colors of blue (obviously).  Once I had the shirts, I had to figure out a place that could embroider my logo.  I chose Hometown Threads to do the work and the results were great!  Hometown Threads is located inside the WalMart at 157th and Metcalf.  I took 10 shirts in on a Tuesday, and they were done by Friday.

Pens
There were a TON of options and companies that could sell me pens with my Blue Gurus logo on them.  I ended up going with Pens R Us.  I know, I know, that name sounds silly, but the entire process was smooth and the results were exactly what I wanted.  I specifically chose the Bic Round Stic with blue barrels and white caps.

Embroidered Blue Shirt

Other ideas?
I have my logo on my iPhone case, my projector, my laptop and my truck.  Consistently displaying the logo keeps you top of mind with the people that you are in contact with on a daily basis.  Give them a consistent experience and it strengthens the perception that your product or service will be consistent as well.  Simple idea really, but powerful when done right.

Blue Gurus Logo

The logo is complete! We hired Infusion Creative to create the logo. It is interesting how much work goes in to creating a business logo, but when you plan on printing, placing and posting it all over the world, you have to get it RIGHT!

Next step is to get the web site up and running which we plan on getting done by the middle of June. It will be nice to get all the information together so that we can clearly explain how we help clients grow their small businesses! We help them sell more and then deliver faster!

Atlantis Drainage Solutions

For the past 5 weeks I have been multitasking. I have been starting a new business and getting my house ready to put on the market with my friends over at Group O’Dell. I did a lot of projects to get my home ready, and one of them was setting up proper drainage for the downspouts off my roof. Too much water was getting into the crawlspace when it rained hard enough.

I asked around and found that Atlantis Drainage Solutions was a good company that I could trust to do the job right. And they did. Their staff was professional and experienced. Not to mention friendly. Anyway, the drainage problem is fixed and I am really happy with the results. I would recommend Atlantis Drainage for any kind of residential water control needs.

Infusion Logo

I have a home! A good friend of mine, Matt Simpson, owns Infusion. They are a web site and brand delivery company. Matt and I have done business together over the past 2-3 years and when he heard that I was looking for a place to call home he invited me to office with him. They are located at 6340 College, right next to the Overland Park Convention center. It is a fantastic space that they just moved into and completely remodeled. This gives me immediate access to a lot of great infrastructure including a conference room, phone system, fax, copier, etc. The lesson here is to accept the generosity of others. Matt and I have always helped each other grow our businesses and this is taking that relationship to the next level.

Vande Brake + Baker

 I have chosen Mike Vande Brake to be my CPA. Mike and I met at Church of the Resurrection many years ago in a Crown Financial Bible Study. Since then, we are involved in the same ACA group and run into each other often. He also got a strong recommendation from my good friend Shawn Kincade. Too many things pointed me in Mike’s direction. He has already been responsive and knowledgeable, even before I am a paying client! That is just good service and his reward is my business. Looking forward to working with Mike. We are going to set up Quickbooks (the hosted version) and my initial chart of accounts in 2 weeks. He is also helping me get a clean start by making a hard separation between my personal expenses and business expenses. One thing I am going to have to do is fund my Commerce Bank business account so that I can turn in an expense request for the startup costs. Legal, web hosting, Exchange hosting, domain registrar, etc. Sound advice!

Commerce Bank

 The banking relationship is decided! I have chosen to bank with Commerce Bank. Many factors contributed to this decision, but again, it came down to people. I have known Keith Asel for a while now and respect him. I also met Rebecca Gubbels about 3 times one week because we were going to the same kinds of networking events. Rebecca and I hit it off like old college buddies. Not only that, my attorney, John Gilliford recommended her as well while we were setting my LLC up. Small world. Anyway, opening the accounts on Wednesday! This is good because there have been quite a few small things that I have had to pay for with my personal funds that really need to come out of the business. I will fund the business checking account with a loan and cut myself expense checks for the things I paid for personally. I am close to picking my CPA as well, and will post that soon.

Gilliford Law Firm

I have selected Gilliford Law Firm to set up my new entity. I have worked with John Gilliford in the past and have always been impressed. He is up front, to the point and reasonable. He knows all the little details that I would never think to ask and he is really helping me get a head start on setting up my business. Once he is done filing paperwork with the state where I am incorporating, I will be excited to share the name I have chosen. We meet on Thursday to knock everything out. Good progress.