The Family Business

Some of you know that the Bolton family (of which I spring) is heavily involved in the tradeshow registration business. With over forty years in business, Registration ControlSystems (RCS) prides itself not only on their state-of-the-art technology but also on close client relationships. Those relationships are rooted in trust and respect. Loyalty and excellence; enthusiasm and innovation are keywords for every RCS employee. A family-owned and operated business, one third of RCS employees are related and everyone is considered family.

A family business is defined as a business that is owned and managed by one or more family members. A positive reputation with customers is the most important business goal for 44.6 percent of family-owned businesses nationwide.* Evaluating the quality ofservices or products and analyzing customer satisfaction on a continual basisare the most widely used business planning practices in family-owned companies. A crucial part of managing quality is employee motivation and participation. Family-owned businesses include a unique dynamic of related family member employees and non-related member employees. Motivation to maintain personal freedom, rewards for meeting challenges and goals to increase family security by building the business are all success perspectives unique to family-owned businesses. Family-owned businesses tend to focus on efficiency, improving customer service, improving decision making, decreasing defective products and services, improving teamwork and increasing productivity. Family owned businesses concentrate on creating an outward focus on customers and an inward focus on operations to improve client relations and product offerings.

The RCS family of employees includes fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, in laws, etc. It also includes “family” of close friends and loyal staff-members with no less than five years, and many with more than twenty years of experience in the business. RCS believes direct contact between clients and their assigned team members is the most efficient and effective way to provide excellent service which also allows us to provide quick and flexible responses to our clients. To us, every event is the most important at the time it is occurring. Client satisfaction is our ultimate goal, as a business and as a family. These statistics show why our Clients are so important to us!

Stay tuned for more *fun* trade show news! 

*Danes, Sharon M. “Business Planning Practices of Family-Owned Businesses” University of Minnesota.

Yeah. I write.

I keep telling myself I am a writer. I believe I am a writer. So write, right? Yes, well, easier said than done, unfortunately. I recently read a blog post by one of my favorite writers about how she knows more about craft than she should and I’ve been giving that thought. I agree that some craft knowledge is essential but when does it interfere with creativity? Also, if you don’t try then you never know if you are good or a hack.

I think I can write. I don’t know about my fiction writing but I know I can write a decent paper for school. I journal a lot but I don’t know if what I write in my journal is worth reading. Some of it bores even me, and I wrote it!

So here is my blog. My goal is to have something posted every day. Each day has its own assignment. Today is Thursday and the assignment is to talk about what I’m reading or watching. I am currently reading an old Nora from 1991. It’s a series about four sisters, the kind I like; a romance with a touch of paranormal mystery. No crazy, loony, bad guy, yet, just the sisters and their home and their guys.  It is a simple story, predictable but suitable for a brain break.

Typically I like romances but I have been reading science fiction lately and loving it. I am in need of suggestions. Yes, I’ve read The Hunger Games (and saw the movie, more about that another time).  Yes, I’ve read the Twilight series. I just finished The Host (also by Stephenie Meyer) which I liked (surprisingly). I have some Orson Scott Card sitting around but I’m afraid I won’t like it. I’m kind of picky.
But then again, I did like The Host.

Next week I start my last “English” class for my Bachelor’s degree. I’m sure I’ll be doing some writing (and reading) for that so I might learn something [snicker]. Keep posted.

I Watch All The CSIs (So What?)

I remember the first episode of CSI (Las Vegas) that I ever watched. My husband turned it on and I came in late. I don’t know where I was that he was watching TV but he had to explain to me what was going on. NickStokes was new and Gil Grissom was training him.  They were investigating the disappearance ofa woman and her husband was the person of interest. I was fascinated with how they could find blood by spraying something and shining a light. Nick and Gil discovered more blood under the carpet and flooring and the man was arrested for murder of his two wives.

After that I was addicted. I thought ER had become boring (George Clooney left, what was the point?) and so my substitute became CSI.  

I remember when CSI: Miami started because I was not interested. I was not a Caruso fan because of his hoity-toity behavior with NYPD Blue (which, interestingly enough Kim Delaney moved to after leaving CSI: Miami!)  and just didn’t want to see him in another police role. I was excited about “Jenny” being on the show but it wasn’t enough.

I actually started watching CSI: Miami about five years ago because our XXYY group created a bit of a hullabaloo over an episode about a boy with an extra Y chromosome, and they called it “the aggressive gene,” which was nonsense, of course. I watched it to see what all the fuss was about and loved it! My favorite character is Calleigh but she’s been a bit of a drag the last couple of seasons (she was pregnant in real life and they gave her a lot of time off and less active storylines).

CSI: New York was never on my agenda. I was already watching CSI and CSI: Miami and I thought that was plenty (I also like the Law & Order series—that was really my addiction for a while) but my daughter’s friend got a part as an extra (she also did How I Met Your Mother!) and so we started watching it to get an idea of what the show was like. That was an easy addition to my already fueled addiction to the other two CSIs (and I was desperately in need of more CSIs to watch (right!) because I had already watched all the shows I had ever missed of both.

It cracked me up in the movie The Town when Ben Affleck said, “I watch all the CSIs,” as an explanation for his knowledge of police behavior and protocol for bank robberies.

Because, yeah. I watch all the CSIs.

Book People

I am a “book person.” If you are also a “book person,” then you know what I mean. If you are not, let me explain:

I love books. I love the smell, the feel, the weight in my hands, the words on the page. I love ebooks too, but when I love a paper book then I keep a copy to have because I might read it again. The books I doubt I will read again I give away. This is the key to “book people.” When they give you a book they will say one of two things.

1. When you are finished go ahead and give it away for someone else to enjoy.
2. When you are finished please RETURN IT TO ME!!!!!

Chances are very good that if I want it returned I have written, stamped, stickered or possibly engraved my name, address, SSN & phone numbers, etc.; JUST so you will return it to me.

If a “book person” loans you a book PLEASE TAKE GOOD CARE OFIT! That means you do not bend down the pages to mark your place. That is what bookmarks are for. If you need a bookmark I have plenty, but really a SHEET OF TOILET PAPER WORKS JUST FINE TOO!

Also, don’t get the book wet or drop it in the mud or we might accuse you of being Gaston, or in other words, “Positively primeval.” And No, that is not a compliment.

If you have had the book for a while we might ask you about it, casually, but really we’re freaking out because you have had it long enough for us to have read it about four times. So to not look too freakish we ask, “So how’s XXX book coming? Did you like it?”

Do Not Say; oh, I borrowed a book?  Also, do not say, Oh, You wanted that back?

We Made That Point Very Clear. Especially if my name is written/stamped/stickered/engraved on the inside (by the way, Yes, I have a book engraver, my mother gave it to me) that is a sure sign of wanting it back.

Many “book people” will not loan out their books. It only takes one or two of the, Gee, I think I put it on my bookshelf somewhere… Or, the borrower moves away.  With your book. …to get a “book person,” to stop loaning out their books.

Personally, I don’t keep as many books that I have already read as you might think. I have a lot of books but most of them have not been read and that is why I still have them. I have a couple of collections (Jennifer Crusie, The Little House Books, The Anne Books, some Judy Boltonmysteries) but for the most part once I have read a book I am done with it. I do not re-read them because I remember them. If I LOVED it then I will keep it, i.e.; Jennifer Crusie. No. I don’t lend those out. Anymore.

…just sayin’

Happy New Year!

New Year’s Resolutions

I do not believe in New Year’s “Resolutions.” I believe in goal setting. I love setting goals and many of them I do and have achieved. I also believe in constant self-appraisal and self-improvement. When something does not work for me I am on the search for a new idea, method or solution. A lot of times I will tweak a current method that is not working and if it still doesn’t work I keep tweaking and trying and tweaking and trying. As a result I am ALWAYS reviewing my goals.

What I like about setting goals at the beginning of a new year is that it feels like a New Beginning and that always provides encouragement for me. I have no idea how many times my “leaf” has been “turned,” but I am still not perfect (enough for me anyway, and I’m sure there are many that will off their opinions of my perfection level—lol) so I keep plodding away hoping the next thing I try will click.

My first year away from home at college I took a religion class at the LDS Business College and one day our instructor’s son came and substituted. He gave a lesson I have NEVER forgotten about priorities and goal setting. I have also read Franklin/Covey’s books about time management and habits for successful people. So I have combined these ideas to create my own way of goal setting.

First, my priorities, which are based mostly on relationships:

1. God
2. Family
3. Church
4. Career (school)
5. Other

Based on that I can reflect on what is important and what needs focus or improvement.

According to Covey we need to Daily “Sharpen the Saw,”

Spiritual

Physical

Mental

Social/Emotional

And figure out our “roles,” which I use the above priority list for.

I have also read The Courage to Be Brilliant in which MartaMonahan discusses how to slowly improve ourselves by perfecting five things at a time.

This year my goals are simple:

1. Improve my relationship with God (Spirituality) by Praying daily (am & pm), Reading my scriptures, Journaling (that is hand writing on paper) and keeping a Gratitude journal where I list five things each day that I am grateful for.
2. Improve my physical state by eating right and exercising daily. I don’t care if I dance crazy for 20 minutes with my kids; I need to MOVE MY BODY! Also, to eat right for me. That means a low-carb diet for my crazy imbalanced metabolism, fat loving body.
3. Cleaning my house. This is for my family (and me) to keep us all happy and organized. It has to be done. Putting it off just makes it harder when it’s out of control (…yes dear, I’ve been listening…)
4. Writing: blogging, web content, fiction. This is separate from my journaling. I want to be a “Writer.” Writer’s write. I want to get in the HABIT of writing every day so that I can get to the point where writing 2,000 words a day is just expected. Whatever that produces monetarily or not is what it produces. It is who I am.
5. Serve. Outside my family. I would like to do this daily, but serving OUTSIDE my family is a time-challenging thing for me to do.

For some these goals may seem to high or too low but I know myself. I know I can do these things. I know I am capable. (Honestly, the house-cleaning thing is the most dreaded—lol.)

These are not my “resolutions,” but my goals for 2012, which I am hoping is a MUCH better year than 2011!

Happy New Year to you too!