Laura Zander of Jimmy Beans Wool shares a life lesson

Photo: Digiman Studio

I have had the privilege of listening to Laura Zander of Jimmy Beans Wool speak four times now, and each time I am so impressed with how down-to-earth this woman is. Her story is so inspirational. Laura and her husband Doug are software engineers who ditched the industry when it busted in 2000. They traded-in their San Francisco city lives for the quaint mountain town of Truckee, CA. By the means of fate, Laura stumbled into the yarn business and opened a tiny shop in Truckee. 13 years later, Laura and Doug are running a $7 million online retail business selling, yes, yarn.

Laura Zander has made yarn damn cool. I want to share one of her stories that really stuck with me, and has so many underlying messages in not just business but, in life.

Laura has a 5-year-old son named Huckleberry. Once upon a time, when Huckleberry was 2, Laura and Doug were boarding an airplane with him when the pilot walked by and caught Huck’s eye. Laura leaned over to her starry-eyed 2-year-old and whispered, “Hey, you should go ask the pilot if you can fly the plane.” Fly the plane? Really? Come on. “He is probably going to say no, that’s what he should say. BUT… what if he says yes?! Could you IMAGINE? You could fly a real-life airplane!” Huck looks over at the pilot excitedly, jumps down from his seat and makes his way to the front of the plane. The young boy speaks, “Can I fly the plane?” The pilot is stunned, and at a loss for words he says, “Sure.” Huck jumps into the pilot’s chair and goes crazy. Buttons, throddles, wheels, channels are all poked, prodded, and turned. The kid can hardly focus on what he is doing because he is so full of excitement. He is flying a real plane.

Many trips were taken after that, and each time, Huck prepares himself for a big-fat NO, and asks the pilot if he can fly the plane. Sometimes, the pilot will say yes! Sometimes, they say no and Huck understands, because after all, he was expecting it.

There was one occasion when Huck asked the pilot if he could fly the plane and the pilot replied, “I am sorry buddy, I can’t let you do that. BUT… I can let you under the plane to check out the cargo.” Huck looks over at his mom, and she says, “AWESOME! You never know what could be down there! There could be a whole circus down there, cotton candy, maybe even ice cream, and that would be way cooler than flying the plane! You never know!” Grinning ear-to-ear little Huck followed the pilot to the cargo.

You never know what kind of opportunities are out there if you don’t ask. And often, even a “no” will lead to an open door, if you are looking for it…a door that could be way cooler than the one you were originally trying to open.

Thank you for sharing your story, Laura.

Runners Come Out for the 1st Annual Downtown River Run

So, in February I found a pair of pink Mizuno running shoes, a GPS watch–and the rest is history. I am runner, and I am not turning around. This is one of the best towns for such a hobby (addiction) due to the amazing scenery and trails. There are so many different races held in this town, I wanted write about one that has really set the bar for other races being held in this area.

April 14th was the first of three races for the RENO 5000 race series, and it was held downtown (beginning and ending at Reno’s famous arch). This first race has been titled the Downtown River Run. Dolan Auto Group is the title sponsor for all three of the RENO 5000 races this year, and the Downtown River Run was an exciting success.

“This race was only the 2nd race I have ever participated in.  My wife runs marathons & 1/2 marathons all of the time, and her experience with your race was heads above many others including the San Diego Rock ‘n Roll marathon, the Portland, Seattle & Honolulu marathons as well.  You’re setting the bar high for everyone else.” – Doug I.

Over 1,000 runners arrived under the arch on the morning of April 14th and debated whether or not to run with their sleeves on… It was a chilly spring morning! The Junior 1 Mile race kicked-off the event, and kids took off in pursuit of a Lexus CT 200. The 10k and Half-Marathon racers took off immediately after the National Anthem, and then followed by the 5k runners. Runners headed west and followed the Truckee River, then looped back around to finish under the arch.

RENO 5000 was created in an effort to produce events that will help our community to get fit, stay in shape, and to provide the feel of a world-class race experience for our local runners. You can expect consistency at each of RENO 5000′s events. After producing 40 events in less than 4 years, every single event has started on time and runners can always count on this in the future. There is nothing more frustrating for a runner than a race that has a late or even early start time.”Some of our more competitive and elite runners have a warm-up regimen, and a correct start time is vital to their performance,” says Race Director William Contreras.

“I think it’s the best race we’ve had,” said Taylor Samuels, who placed first for his age group and fifth overall in the men’s 5k. “There was a lot of positive energy.”

Many vendors from the area were in attendance; most importantly L’uva Bella Wine Gallery was pouring beer and champagne to treat the runners after the race.

RENO 5000 Race Director said, “As much as we try to please 100% of the people, it is impossible and we understand that, but if we can come close, we feel we are doing our job.” Furthermore, “I have run a lot of races, and I know that as a runner- all you should have to worry about on race day is your performance. The rest will be handled by us.”

RENO 5000 works hard to establish relationships with businesses in the community in an effort to produce sponsorships, so that the races can continue to offer low entry fees for a quality race experience. It doesn’t stop there; RENO 5000 strictly works with local vendors for all of their events and always donates a portion of proceeds to a local charity. Past donations have been given to charities that support: the victims of Air Races, JK Metzger fund, Northern Nevada Food Bank, and the fight against childhood obesity.

It was wonderful to see runners of all different ages come together for this event. If you would like to join the next race on June 23rd at Damonte Ranch High School, you can register here. The 3rd race will take place on September 8th at Bowers Mansion. The Downtown River Run has plans to return next year with the addition of a full-marathon, and there is even buzz about  next year’s race being Reno’s first Boston-qualifying event. Awesome.

WordCamp Makes Its Way to Reno

Ah, yes! Calling all developers, web designers, marketing professionals, and bloggers! The fifth annual Reno-Tahoe WordCamp will be held at the University of Nevada’s Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center April 27-28.

This unique educational event is an opportunity for WordPress developers and users of all levels to meet, share ideas, and learn more about the WordPress platform and its business applications. WordCamp features two days of conference sessions and workshops taught by local and national experts.  Covering “everything WordPress,” the event is organized by the Reno WordPress Meetup Group to benefit and support the WordPress Foundation.

WordCamp attendees can choose between technical and business tracks, and the agenda includes content and forums for WordPress novices, experts and everyone in between.

“WordPress is an awesome platform that makes it easy to build a website or blog,” says WordCamp organizer Megan Duggan, a graphic designer at Innerwest Advertising and Public Relations in Reno. “The Reno-Tahoe WordCamp packages great speakers and educational content into a low-key, affordable event for the local community. If you are designing websites or using WordPress for business or personal branding, you need to be at WordCamp.”

People can register online at 2013.reno.wordcamp.org. The fee for the 2-day conference is $30, which includes lunch both days, a t-shirt, and a Saturday evening after-party and networking event. Single-day registration is $18, and student discounts are available.

Businesses of all sizes are being told that “content is king,” and WordPress is the world’s leading content management system. More than half of all websites that include a CMS are WordPress-based, as are most professional blogs. WordPress is used worldwide to anchor and streamline ecommerce, digital marketing, and business and personal branding.

The two-day Reno-Tahoe WordCamp offers technical and business tracks that include presentations, live demos, question-and-answer sessions, panel discussions, and more. The international WordCamp organization embraces an “unconference” philosophy, encouraging impromptu sessions limited only by the imagination of attendees.

The technical track is aimed at developers and designers. The program is still being finalized, but topics likely to be covered include WordPress site setup, theme development, jQuery, developer trade secrets and techniques, the latest plugins, web fonts and mobile issues.

The business track is aimed at marketing professionals, business owners and bloggers. Topics include monetization, authority marketing, blog content, branding, e-mail marketing, podcasting and social media strategies.

“Reno WordCamp is one of the best conferences in town for the WordPress community of users, developers and designers, many of whom make their living from using the software and building new things on top of it,” says Colin Loretz, cofounder of the Reno Collective coworking space.  ”It also showcases the WordPress talent in and around Reno by attracting attendees and speakers from other cities, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, Sacramento and Las Vegas.”

WordPress enthusiasts at all levels are encouraged to register at 2013.reno.wordcamp.org.

What’s WordPress?

WordPress is a free, Web-based, Open Source software program anyone can use to build and maintain a website or blog.  Originally intended as a user-friendly blogging platform, WordPress has been transformed by a large Open Source community of WordPress programmers who have improved and greatly extended its capabilities. No longer just a tool for bloggers, today’s WordPress is a comprehensive content management system (CMS) that can be used to run full-sized, media-rich websites for social businesses.

What’s WordCamp?

WordCamps are casual, locally organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They come in all different flavors, depending on the local communities producing them, but typically include sessions on how to use WordPress more effectively. Attendees range from blogging newbies to professional WordPress developers and consultants, and often combine scheduled programming with unconference activities. The first WordCamp was held in San Francisco in 2006, and WordCamps have since spread to more than 100 cities spread across five continents.

Hope to see you there!

Mark Estee, 12-months Revisited

“Persistence is probably the single most common quality of high achievers. They simply refuse to give up. No matter how hard it seems, the longer you persist the more likely your success.” — Jack Canfield

I will NEVER get tired of hearing about people overcoming challenges, and stepping into their own.

My life has been a beautiful roller coaster, specifically in the past 12 months. I wanted to take a minute to revisit one of my posts, which really kicked things off for me in 2012. There’s this guy, named Mark Estee, who took the time out of his extremely busy life to give a graduate student (me) an interview late one evening as his newly opened restaurant was locking it’s doors for the night.

I met Mark Estee during his 4^th month in business with Campo, this month marks the 16^th month that Campo has graced Reno with its presence. And oh, what a year it has been. This place is great. Ok… But, in the words of Mark Estee:

“Restaurants are supposed to have great food. That should be expected. There’s so much more to a great restaurant than just the food.”

This place is so much more than the food. I can go on and on about the accolades, the awards, Campo Mammoth, Top 10 this, Best of that… This guy and his restaurant have achieved the unexpected in the past year. BUT, I am not going there. I am going to stray away from the obvious. There are 2 things that inspire me most about Mark: 1. He is the self-made-comeback-kid 2. He LOVES Reno.

Mark says, “No matter what you do, you are bound to make mistakes. That’s the best part.”

I have listened to Mark give a handful of speeches about his journey, and I pick up on something new each time. Rock bottom means different things to each of us. But, I have a feeling that this guy stared rock bottom straight in its ugly face. He climbed out of it. He made the choice one-day to “put on a new self” and has been choosing to put on that new self-everyday since. No one made Mark a successful entrepreneur, no one told him he should be a chef, no one protected him from all the mistakes he has made personally and professionally, no one told him he should create this beautiful concept known today as Campo. No one. He did it- the good, the bad, the ugly, the brilliant, the beautiful, the delicious. On his own.

Mark has put in the hours. But, as much as he is doing it for Campo, he is doing it for Reno. He wants to help define our community and put Reno on the map- and not for our casinos or Reno 911. Mark is so passionate about the Biggest Little City, buying local, and helping people out. He has transformed the look of a section in downtown Reno and he has set the bar for restaurants in this area to a whole new level.

I’ve been on this mission recently trying to figure out what makes Reno. This town doesn’t get as much positive recognition as it deserves, quite frankly I am tired of it and I know I am not alone in making that statement. We have so many cool people doing really cool things, and our town is embracing the small businesses that are popping up all around Reno. You know what’s even better? Mark isn’t from here, he’s from Boston. He came to Reno from California to follow his dream of opening Campo. He left California, to come here.

Small business owners like Mark Estee, in my opinion paint a beautiful picture of the opportunities that this town has to offer. AND I don’t mind making the claim that when I think of the people that make this town so communal and inspiring-people like Mark come to mind. Cause Reno, in a way, is a comeback kid.

Oh, what a year it has been. Thank you Mark for continuing to share your story, and letting Reno be a part of it.

Davy Ratchford of Northstar, Enlightens with Valuable Personal Insight

“We are so lucky. We are marketers. Everyday, we get to be creative and disruptive for a living.” –Davy Ratchford

I am proudly on the board for the Reno-Tahoe American Marketing Association. We host luncheons each month and we host a guest speaker. I want to hear more from the best marketers in our area, and in 2012- one of the best presentations came from Davy Ratchford. We are in a creative field, and marketers constantly have to be on their toes. I am always on the lookout. What is the latest tactic that is grabbing consumers’ attention? What was the plan and thought put behind these tactics?

Davy Ratchford was the Director of Marketing at Northstar California. I just found out hours ago, via Twitter, that Ratchford has accepted a position at Vail Mountain in Vail, Co. Congrats, Davy! Davy transparently shared his personal story and presented some great insight as to what he is constantly looking for, everyday, as a professional marketer.

Davy shared 2 major points that really got my wheels spinning: “As marketers, it is our responsibility to cause disruption and to seek out unique opportunities.”

Disruption: As marketers, it is our responsibility to look for a way to get the consumers’ attention. How do you do that? By being different. Normal is…well…normal. It’s expected, it’s assumed. Disruption, however, gets the people’s attention. Disrupt the status quo if you want people to notice your product.

Opportunity: Constantly be on the lookout for unique opportunities to position your service or product. Ratchford shares a story of a once lost, white, fluffy dog that was spotted wandering around the Northstar resort. This little pooch is now Northstar’s mascot, and his name is Marsh Mellow. Marsh Mellow is a big time celebrity on Facebook, the fans love him! All of this was made possible because someone saw an opportunity. Opportunity can be in the form of a dog, a person, a song, a product…opportunity is everywhere! You just have to find it.

It doesn’t matter what industry you are working in, Ratchford’s insights apply to all marketers across the board. I appreciated his transparency. Thank you Davy Ratchford for sharing your journey with as, as well as some very inspiring thoughts and ideas!

Do you have a story worth spreading? Now’s your time: TEDx makes its way to UNR

 

“This is a great opportunity for Reno’s brand. This town is full of talent. We want to find and showcase the hidden stories and talent in our community as well as the familiar ones.” -Bret Simmons, Associate Professor of Management, College of Business

Can it be? Is it true? Word on the street is that TEDx is making it’s way to the campus of our very own University of Nevada in search of “ideas worth spreading.” Believe the buzz. This is yet another excellent opportunity for our community to come together and really shine. TED has created a program called TEDx, and TEDxUniversityofNevada will be held on January 25, 2013 at the Joe Crowley Student Union on the campus of UNR.

The most beautiful part about our town is the people. I just moved back in January, and in the past 10 months I have been nothing but inspired, moved, intrigued, and motivated by the people I have connected with in Reno. There are some extremely inspiring people which make up our community and now is the time for them to share their story.This isn’t for professional speakers or superheros, this is for anyone in our community who has a story or an idea worth spreading. Doesn’t matter how old you are or what you do, the more diversity among the TEDx talks- the better! All proposals will be considered. TEDx wants to hear your story.

Who’s TED?

TED isn’t a person. TED is a nonprofit devoted to “Ideas Worth Spreading”. It started 1984 as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. TED’s mission: Spreading ideas. They believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world.

The two annual TED conferences, in Long Beach/Palm Springs and Edinburgh, Scotland, bring together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes or less). These talks are recorded, and published on TED.com. What’s your favorite TED talk? Mine is John Wooden’s.

What’s TEDx?

It’s TED, but local! TEDx is designed to give communities, organizations and individuals the opportunity to stimulate dialogue through TED-like experiences at the local level. TEDx events are fully planned and coordinated independently, on a community-by-community basis.

TEDxUniversityof Nevada

Team TEDxUniversityofNevada consists of: Bret Simmins, Clare Dreyer, Greg Mosier, Kambiz Raffiee, Sue Moore, Lori Mead, Christina Hilfer and Jim McClenahan from UNR, Abbi Holtom Whitaker, President of The Abbi Agency and Liz Christofferson, CEO of Empower Consulting. This team is responsible for organizing the event. The mission is broader than traditional education. This opportunity is beyond the University; the college of Business MBA program is sponsoring this event, but it’s for the best interest of the community as a whole.

“I am a state employee with the College of Business. My responsibility extends beyond the classroom, it’s also to be a good citizen. I have brought TEDx here because it is a great way for the University and the community to work together.” -Bret Simmons

Have an inspirational story you want to share at TEDx?

All proposals need to in by Friday, October 19, 2012. Please visit the TEDxUniversityofNevada site for all of the info, and for specific instructions on how you could be considered as a speaker for TEDx.

Now’s our time to shine, Reno!

Nevada’s Discovery Museum Inspires the Youth of Northern Nevada

Discovery overload: A term coined by the staff of the museum to describe the event that occurs when a child finally reaches the top of the ramp to enter The Discovery Museum and first lays eyes on the all the attractions. The Cloud Climber is the first challenge to be witnessed, and conquered.

18 students from Austin, NV grades K-4 piled into a bus to drive 175 miles each way to see the Nevada Discovery Museum. How did they earn the funds to pay for the bus trip? They sold a sheep. Welcome to Nevada.

A mother and her daughter were skipping away as they were leaving The Discovery, an employee asked the mother, “Wow, most kids are battling to get out of here- your daughter is so cooperative!” The mother replied, “I had to tell her that we are going home to eat whipped cream! “

Great stories like these are consistently posted on The Nevada Discovery Museum’s Facebook page, and they often receive tons of attention. What great way to depict the type of excitement that is experienced by the children here. Patrick Turner is the Marketing and PR Manager at Discovery, and does a fantastic job at creating the museum’s culture through their Facebook. Videos, stories, and pictures are shared consistently each week to share individual experiences of the children.

In 2004, The Terry Lee Wells Nevada Discovery Museum was founded by Chris Riche. Chris and his two young sons frequently visited other museums; he realized Reno’s lack of an educational  hands-on experience for children. Chris formed a small board of individuals who would help develop his idea as well as look for donors. Over $20 million has been donated to this non-profit start-up, $5 million which was donated by The Terry Lee Wells Foundation. The Discovery Museum landed in the old City Hall building on Center St. Remediation began on September 8, 2010 to create an over-arching theme of contextual Nevada.

You want water? There’s the “Truckee Connects.” You want stars, fishing and camping? There’s “Under the Stars.” The Discovery’s board wanted to create something that was directly related to what Reno is. They didn’t want just any museum; they wanted a place to educate our youth on the history of this great state which they’re being raised in. Whether its wandering through a mine tunnel, crushing rock with a pick ax, or rooting through crushed cork to look for hidden treasures, The Nevada Discovery Museum is a hands-on representation of Northern Nevada. Tica Lubin was responsible for the museum’s content creation and design. Members from Indian colonies, University of Nevada, NV Energy, and miners from Virginia City all contributed to create an accurate and engaging experience for our youth.

September 10, 2011 The Terry Lee Wells Nevada Discovery Museum opened. To date, over 125,000 people have visited the museum. This is double the amount of visitors forecasted in such a short period of time. It was estimated that the Discovery would sell 2,000 yearly memberships by the end of 2011, almost 6,000 memberships have been sold.

Become a fan of the Nevada Discovery Museum on Facebook to live vicariously through these excited kids (and parents!) and get updated on the latest happenings like homemade hydrogen balloon explosions and mentos and tonic water geysers!

Haley Wood and Jessie Watnes Create Big Following on Facebook for GourMelt

Facebook, Twitter and grilled cheese sandwiches served from a food truck, what a beautiful combination. The gourmet food truck craze really hit hard in 2009-2010. The idea of selling high-quality food from a truck has appealed to people all across the nation, especially to Haley Wood and Jessie Watnes.

These two wonderful women met 10 years ago, as servers at the local Archie’s. Haley is from Elko, NV and Jessie is from Reno, NV. Each of them were going to school, but they had a knack for the foodservice industry. When school was over and they set out to tackle their careers, but something was missing. The life of desk jobs, clocking in, and repetition was not what these 2 ladies had in mind.

“We loved working in the foodservice industry, it was ingrained in our brains, and we were very good at it. We always have friends and family over and we really enjoy cooking for everyone.”

In 2010, the girls researched the food truck phenomenon as it was all over the Food Network and other media.

“This idea was different. We are not chefs, we don’t have any fancy credentials- but we are artists. A gourmet food truck was a perfect way for us to channel our talents.”

Haley Wood is the voice behind Gourmelt’s Facebook and Twitter. Months prior to GourMelt’s first event, she was tweeting to the community creating awareness and anticipation for Reno’s new food truck. After hours of research and the blood, sweat and tears involved in the reconstruction of their food truck from 1989 (Bessie), GourMelt grilled their first sandwiches on Earth Day, 2011.

Haley and Jessie created a business plan, which involves offering a quick and quality lunch to local businesses. How it works: businesses contact GourMelt and request for them to come and sell lunch to their company. Before GourMelt started on Earth Day, they had 5 weeks of locations booked. These ladies also love the idea of supporting local businesses and enjoy bringing their crowd to various locations. GourMelt’s bread is from Reno’s House of Bread and their eggs are from Reno Egg.

The use of social media is crucial, almost reliant, to Gourmelt’s business plan. To market their business, GourMelt solely relies on Facebook and Twitter. Around 10:30am (timing of her posts is crucial) each day, Haley will tweet to over 4,000 fans the location of the truck. When it comes to social media, these two really focus on creating excitement and anticipation amongst their fans. They also keep it very simple. It’s not about sales or gimmicks, Haley only posts once a day and it is relevant and valuable information. Gourmelt serves any where from 85-140 meals per day, thanks to their tasty menu and the marketing power of Twitter and Facebook.

“When people communicate on our Facebook, they are not talking to a robot- they are talking directly with us and we respond to every question or comment.”

Hats off to Haley Wood and Jessie Watnes for their excellent execution on Facebook, another business that is leading by example. Check out their creative menu and get more info here. Become a fan of their business page and follow on Twitter so you can find out where they will be today!

Judy DeLong Promotes Real Deals-Reno on Facebook

Judy DeLong is a Southern California native, raised in Pasadena, which happens to be in the backyard of where I grew up (this was exciting for us, probably not for you). She moved to Incline, NV in 1977 with her late husband Jim Lagano. In 1989 they moved to Reno, NV where Judy joined Deloitte Global as a CPA Administrative Manager for 19 years. Judy and Jim were thrilled to move to the Biggest Little City, Judy has been in love with the city since. She loves the great size of Reno, but the small town feel of the community. In 2002 Judy lost her husband Jim, to a long battle of 6 years against cancer.

In 2006 Judy and her newfound love, Bob DeLong were both retired from their careers and decided to travel across the country for 2 months hitting almost every state. This became a lifestyle for the couple and Judy was beginning to get bored with retired life. In 2009, one particular stop in Bozeman, Montana is very memorable to Judy. They were visiting friend Joanie Schaefer in her beautifully decorated home.

“I asked Joanie where on earth did she purchase all of this great stuff to furnish and decorate her house, that’s when she turned to me and said, ‘Real Deals.’ “

If you have not visited this store- it’s a must, the prices are killer. Real Deals was created in 2003 by Marisa Humphrey, soon she brought on here 4 sisters: Carrie, Karmelle, Wendy and Dori) they each adopted a love for home-décor.  The stores sell cute home décor as well as furniture at UNBELIEVABLE prices. “2 days. 2 good to be true.” Each Real Deals store is only open on Thursdays and Saturdays. This is the model, which attributes the sale of their quality products at such an affordable price. “Part-time store, full-time anticipation!” –Real Deals

Judy and Bob jumped back in their RV and headed to Bend, Oregon (which was the nearest store) and this Real Deals franchise just-so-happened to be owned by one of the five sisters, Wendy Christensen. Wendy shared her journey and her beautifully filled store with Judy and Jim. The couple left Oregon with an idea in their heads.

October 14, 2010 Judy DeLong opened Real Deals Reno. Husband Bob, is very much involved, you can even find him pouring wine for the ladies on Real Deals’ Diva Night. He has also helped Judy develop the business. Judy claims she really didn’t know much about the retail business, and thanks to Alice Heiman (does that name ring a bell?) she was trained in customer relationship building. Judy wanted to learn more about her customers as well as bring new ones in- this is where Facebook made an entrance. Here are the numbers:

Facebook Business Page

Likes: 433

Judy and Bob had poured thousands of dollars into traditional marketing tactics (i.e. newspaper ads, mailers) and disappointingly they had very little results. In July of 2010 Judy took a social media course with Lisa Larter and learned how to reach out to here audience on Facebook. With Facebook Judy is able to directly converse with her target audience rather than “spay-and-pray” with mailers, which leaves owners hoping that their brochure will make into the hands of their target audience.

“Facebook has been great, my presence has grown exponentially since I created our business page. People come into my store talking about my Facebook posts, and they look for items they had seen on our page. I really enjoy interacting with our customers on a daily basis- they keep me on my toes!”

Judy takes advantage of tagging customers in her photos; she has a feel for what a lot of her regulars want to see. Every Monday Judy has a contest for her fans. She will post a picture of a new item and all of her fans guess what they think the price is. Now this game is tricky! All of the items at Real Deals are of great quality and it is often surprising how affordable these items are. The fan that guesses the price most accurately without going over- wins that item! Judy got this idea from the Jefferson, Georgia store (which is Real Deals “home base” and biggest store).

Judy is also going to begin a forum on Facebook where customers can post pictures of what they are doing with Real Deals product. Customers can post pictures of their newly decorated wall, kitchen, or perhaps outdoor décor! Great idea. Check out Real Deals Reno on Facebook and give Judy a shout out.

Lee Brothers Create Facebook Buzz for Beach Hut Deli

In 1994 Scott and Todd Lee moved to Reno, NV from Granite Bay, CA. Scott attended UNR earning a degree in Digital Media and brother Todd worked at Cope & McPheters. Prior to moving to Reno, the 2 brothers thought this place was all lights, casinos, and hotels.  They instantly fell in love with the Biggest Little City. After college Scott soon joined his big brother and helped Cope and McPheters launch their Internet sales; they were soon swimming in success. The brothers’ knack for business combined with technological skills were the perfect formula for success. In 2003, Scott and Todd purchased a home in Northwest Reno. What they didn’t know at the time was that the purchase of this home would be the key to opening their own business 3 years down the road.

Growing up, the boys frequently enjoyed lunches at Beach Hut Deli. They were close friends with Beach Hut founder and franchise owner Troy Feist. Scott explains:

“You know when you go back to your hometown and you have that one place you have to visit every time? For me it was Beach Hut Deli. I remember being 10 years old and running around that place!”

Scott had turned to Feist during one of his Christmas vacations, and mentioned to Feist that he was looking for a change, he wanted to do something more than what he was doing. Feist slid his business card across the table and told Scott that when he was ready- he would be happy to help him. Months later, Scott was ready. Scott and Todd refinanced their house, which provided them with the means to open up Beach Hut Deli, Reno. Scott and Todd rounded up friends and graffiti artists Ernie and Neal; they also hired on a general contractor, “Butch Hut” to assist in the very cool and unforgettable design of their sandwich shop.

Beach Hut Deli opened on February 5, 2006 in Northwest Reno and these 2 brothers instantly hit the ground running. Scott attributes a big part of their success to their prized employees. Scott and Todd are very meticulous in whom they bring on to their team. They look for driven people who understand the importance in teamwork. They also attribute their employees to their Facebook success. Here are the numbers:

Facebook Business Page:

Likes: 4,819

Twitter:

Followers: 269

It was a slow day for business on President’s Day 2009 when former employee Devin Noe suggested that Beach Hut Deli create a Facebook fan page as a means to drive business. Their Facebook presence was created, and from there Devin requested that all of her 700+ friends “like” the cool sandwich shop where she was working, so did Carrie Potter, so did Miranda Montejo and so did Kinslee Scamaldo. Before Scott and Todd knew it, they had a whole slew (1,000+) of followers on Facebook- Scott even compares it to a cult! Here’s his strategy:

“It’s all about timing. You can’t post a picture of a sandwich at 8 am, or announce your happy hour specials at 9 am…we have to strategically plan each of our posts. I do about 11 posts a day which consist of pictures of sandwiches and beer specials. I utilize Facebook and Twitter to set-up our day for the lunch and dinner rushes. When it’s really slow, I will have all my employees go on their Facebook pages and post something about Beach Hut to bring some business in.”

Scott and Todd will feature a couple sandwiches for the day, and sure enough during their lunch rush several will mention that they saw a picture of the Surfin’ Bird on Facebook and it looked so good, they had to have one. I will vouch for Beach Hut Deli- the pictures of the sandwiches are exactly what you can expect when you order. What? A restaurant that serves the food as advertised? Yes! Beach Hut Deli will also give you a free cookie if you “check-in” upon arrival.

I asked Scott if he has had complaints about his service on Facebook and he said yes. He said he will handle complaints utilizing the direct message feature on Facebook and invite them to come back in so he can fix his error. On one specific occasion there was a complaint on Beach Hut’s Facebook page, and their fans immediately responded to the complaint and supported the sandwich shop. The Lee brothers feature events on Beach Hut’s page such as Nerd Friday Nights, Thirsty Thursdays, Happy Hour, Aloha Fridays. Check them out!

Beach Hut Deli will be opening another location in Downtown Reno’s Comm Row mid-April 2012. This location will be smaller and will serve more as an express stop. Stay tuned on their Facebook page for more details!