Mama Mia! What is Pappa Murphy's doing to me?!?

What? Not available yet? I just got the coupon in the mail!

"The special doesn't start until February 14; would you like the current special instead?" was the response I received yesterday when I ordered the "heart-shaped family size pepperoni pizza" for $6.99.

I was a bit disturbed. Papa Murphy's become my favorite pizza company because of the product, price and great customer service. Now we have an issue with all 3. It's more the principle than the price, but a couple bucks off, promoted with no start date, is a couple bucks. I really didn't need it heart-shaped, a round one would have suited me very well. And when I pointed out that it didn't say when the promotion started, all I got was "we don't have them in yet."  Huh? 

So, during this transaction, they failed on product (not "in"), price (I didn't get to use my coupon) and great customer service (not!).

As a business owner, I pay attention to how others handle this type of issue. When we offer a coupon or certificate for our inventory business, and forget to put the start or expiration date on it, we honor it forever - yes, even 10 years later if someone turns one of those in, WE WILL HONOR IT. And why shouldn't we? Why shouldn't they? Why shouldn't you?

Earthquakes cause additional catastrophes

The recent earthquake in Haiti has drawn everyone's attention. The loss and devastation is most likely beyond what anyone could have imagined.

Have you considered what would happen to your belongings if you experienced an earthquake? Often there is damage caused by more than just the shaking of the earth - there are avalanches, flash floods, fires, landslides and tsunamis. Very unique to earthquakes is there is no "season" specific to this disaster like there is for winter storms, hurricanes and tornadoes.

According to the Insurance Information Institute, 5,000 quakes strike each year. Since 1900, earthquakes have occurred in 39 states and caused damage in all 50. One of the worst catastrophes in U.S. history, the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906, caused direct quake losses of about $24 million and fire losses of about $500 million, according to the National Geophysical Data Center. That would be about $11.4 billion in 2008 dollars, a small portion of the potential cost of damage from a similar earthquake today. The quake caused $235 million in insured losses, which would be about $5.4 billion in 2008 dollars.


These numbers are astounding! Therefore, I wanted to provide a reminder that earthquakes are not covered under standard homeowners or business insurance policies in the US. Coverage is usually available for earthquake damage in the form of an endorsement to a home or business insurance policy. If you don't know if you're covered or not, check with your insurance agent.

The business-savvy Colts

I don't think there is a football fan in the country who hasn't weighed in on whether the Indianapolis Colts were right to "let the Jets win" by sitting Manning, Wayne, Freeney, Mathis and most of the other starters 4 weeks ago. Was management crazy to give up a perfect season? Did they just not care about the team? Or the fans? Through all this hoopla, we didn't hear much from Colts management. And now, after winning 30-17 against Jets this time, they're going to the Super Bowl.

This made me think about the sport in a business perspective - after all, we all know professional sports is BIG business! We, as inventory services business owners, make small and large decisions every day. Each decision is paving the road to where we see ourselves tomorrow and also years from now. We often give up one thing in an effort to achieve another.

And so did the Colts. We've learned from our business coach, J.Sewell Perkins, that we must know what we want, and not let others put doubts in our minds. We've learned to have confidence in our decisions, stick to them, and keep the desired end result in mind - no matter who or how many think we are nuts!

The Colts showed that their business-savvy decision-making skills are top-notch. They exemplify what JS has told us many times ...  no matter how many think you are wrong, if you know you're on the road to your Super Bowl (whatever that may be), stay on track and you will get there.

Renters need an inventory, too

Sirens screaming, horns honking and once again (seems all to often recently in Central Indiana) a fire department is being called to an apartment community. We watch news clips and sadly hear that the majority of the residents did not have insurance to replace their belongings.

Renters insurance is an extremely low-cost means of protection. According to Erie Insurance, it can easily cost less than $20 per month to cover all of your belongings if you experience a loss due to fire, vandalism, burglary or natural disasters. Plus, if your circumstances require you to live elsewhere temporarily, your renters insurance will pay your hotel and other expenses related to the disaster until you can return to your apartment.

According to Erie Insurance's website, renter's policies generally start at around $25,000 in coverage. However, a lot of people find that isn’t enough! This is how a personal property inventory can help - you'll have a list of your belongings to help determine how much coverage you'll need. Then if you do need to file an insurance claim, photos and a written report will help prove ownership. Having this information will help maximize your insurance settlement, complete your claims faster and with a lot less stress. If you need to file a police report for stolen items, you'll also have serial numbers of electronics, power tools and appliances.

Sound tedious? Don't want to do it yourself? That's where we come in!

I'll do it myself ... or will I?

Our guest today is an accomplished writer, published author, marketing expert and entrepreneur, Cindy Dunston Quirk has excelled in the field of communications for over twenty years.

A self-proclaimed Southerner down to her DNA despite her geographic location, Cindy is the creative mind at the helm of Leap Media Group. Founded in 2006, Leap Media Group provides writing and creative services for a variety of clients. Also included under the Leap Media Group umbrella is the publication of the Indiana edition of Doctor of Dentistry and the soon to be premiered Greater Indianapolis edition of MD News.

Believing the way you do one thing is the way you do everything, Cindy moves through life and the business landscape nimbly in a mode of 0-100 in 60 seconds. Following a whirlwind romance, she married Steve Quirk. Their roller coaster adventure is currently at the twenty-year mark and counting. The couple resides in Anderson, Indiana and lives each day to the fullest under the watchful eyes of Zoe and Scout, their beloved furry, four-legged children.

“I’ll get around to it.”

“It won’t take that long to do it myself.”

“I just don’t have that much stuff.”

“That will never happen to me!”

Heard any of those statements? Have any of those words come from your mouth? They came out of mine on a regular basis. Why would I want to pay someone to conduct an inventory of my belongings when all I have to do is walk around the house, take a few photos and write down what I have. Piece of cake. Right? Boy was I wrong.

Following a massive explosion and fire at my sister’s home in Georgia, I watched she and her family try to piece their lives back together. Gone were many items of monetary as well as sentimental value. For months they had the heartbreaking task of sifting through smoke and water damaged items in their house deciding what to try to repair and which items were total losses. But the kitchen and one bedroom and all of their contents where the gas explosion took place, were completely gone.

Even though I saw first-hand the mountainous task my sister and her family faced, it still took me four years to realize I would never make the time to conduct an inventory of my own home and its contents.
I finally sent Cindy Hartman an email and said, “Uncle. You win. Let’s schedule an inventory.” When I notified my husband of the impending inventory, he said, “Why are you paying someone to do that? We can do that ourselves.” And to that, I replied, “When?” And then I just stared at him. There was no reply. He stared back at me.

When Cindy and Mike arrived on the appointed day for our inventory, they were professional, courteous and treated all of our worldly belongings with tender loving care just as if they were handling their own treasures. And no, they did not count the dust bunnies they found throughout the house! Thank you for not counting those Mike!

The inventory took almost five hours to complete. They worked diligently and carefully itemizing every last detail of every item of value and recording every serial number they could find---inside and outside. Attic to basement and everything in between.

When the inventory was completed and delivered, I brought it home and showed my husband who looked at the documents and said, "This is pretty extensive."

And that, is why I will never do an inventory of my own home; not even if I had the time and energy to do it myself. Not only did Hartman Inventory save me time and effort by conducting an independent inventory of all my treasures, they also did it so well and so completely that I will never think of doing this on my own ever again.

This inventory REALLY upset me!

I know, it's not about me - it's about the customer. Well, this actually IS about the customer. We arrived at this darling house, greeted warmly by the owners and their 2 dogs, to provide their inventory service. All was going as normal - counting things, taking photos of them and logging them in the written report. Often we ask if specific items belong to them (i.e., a lap top that could - and often does - belong to the company). Of course, we wouldn't log an item that isn't theirs, so knowing this is very important.

Well, as we got to one room of the house, there were all types of military clothing sitting out. Shirts, shorts, pants, jackets, shoes, boots and dress uniforms. They talked to us about the deployment that is coming in a few weeks. You see, they were preparing to pack, which is why all the clothes were laying out, and they apologized for the "mess". As we were leaving that room, assuming all was accounted for, we were asked, "Did you get all the military items counted?"

Our answer was that no, explaining that since military uniforms are not "theirs", we don't include them in the inventory. The next statement - they "had to purchase everything; officers have to buy their own."

That really upset me. We have people bravely serving our country, and officers have to pay for their own uniforms? As I said - they are serving OUR COUNTRY. I'm flabbergasted!

What is it that you do ... exactly?

This blog entry is from guest blogger, Sandra Connor. Her company offers business growth assistance to small businesses through its thinkVAULT brand. 

"What is it that you do exactly?" Can other people answer that question... 

---

...without you standing right beside them and prompting their every word?

If you are a micro business owner, you need all the "salespeople" you can find. That will include colleagues, cohorts, friends, neighbors, relatives -- and yes, even competitors.

Why are competitors potential sales reps? 

One of two conditions may occur: 

1. There will be work available that they may deliver poorly - for whatever reason. That spells a potential win for you: They deselected themselves and made an indirect referral for your business. 
2. There may be work that your competitor has either no interest in doing or that they lack the capacity to do at this time. Competitors often can, and do, refer customers to a direct competitor. The reasoning: Better to have a satisfied customer who may remember the favor, than to risk never hearing from them again.

Both of these possibilities represent just two reasons you should know who your competitors are.

An article from Entrepreneur.com called "Get to Know Your Competition" spells out '7 shrewd strategies for forging alliances' with competitors. An older, but still relevant, article reminds business owners to Know Your Market and Your Competition. It's Step 2 of a suggested '10 Steps Before Starting a Small or Home Business' series. 

In a nutshell: Before your fans can rave about what you do, you must clearly articulate that and remind them. This is even more critical when you provide an intangible service. You must paint a picture for would-be raving fans and partnership colleagues that they can see in their minds' eyes. If you sell flower arrangements, fix cars, bake wedding cakes, etc. -- most people have already seen, used, or tasted the results from someone's business before. The challenge for you, if you do something totally service oriented, perhaps with results that are not immediate, is to make it REAL.

Here are some examples of the BEFORE and AFTER of how I describe my business:

Before	After
I help people build their businesses.	I help business owners get to their next level of growth - whatever that is.
I work with small businesses.	My typical client: a very small business, with an owner who's never run a business before - often a woman over 35.
We help you to solve problems.	We help you put to bed those 1, 2, or 3 things that keep YOU up at night!

How successful are these changes? I recently had colleague reiterate back to me "So, you're like a Freelance Adaptive Executive Attache - a high-level resource finder?" "Yes!" I said, because people hear what they need and typically need what I hear. When those two match what my company delivers... Voila! A successful relationship can be formed. He followed with "You have a very marketable product. (I can say): 'Call her. She knows how to do this!' I get it." Now that's the difference between 'doors are open for business' and actually DOING business! 

Are you ready to grow your business? Contact me to start your vault to the next level. 

These people are driving me crazy!

I have been receiving 2-3 comments per day - PER DAY - on my blogs. That's not normal (I'm sad to say), and these are not welcome. Some are advertising their product or service not even related to personal property inventories, insurance, small business and marketing - topics I discuss in my almost daily thoughts here. Like I'd accept these advertisements? With a link to their site? When I don't even know them?

Even more annoying (but only slightly) are the ones that make absolutely no sense...
I inclination not acquiesce in on it. I assume nice post. Particularly the title-deed attracted me to be familiar with the sound story. Or, the ones in a foreign language. I was going to include a recent one in this post, but one word "looked" like a what-we-all-call 4-letter words, so decided not to risk it!

Are you getting these, too, on your blog's comment section? I talked on Wednesday about newsletters and permission to send them. Maybe it's time to get the spam police to go after these posters - or should I say imposters?

But I rarely ever pay full retail

As a society, we have been trained to expect to purchase items on sale. No more "special day" sales - it seems every day is a "sale" day someplace. I can think of a few stores that should advertise when things aren't on sale!

This topic comes up often when customers are placing the cost of items on their inventory's written report. They purchase most everything on sale, often waiting weeks and sometimes months for the right sale to come along (most often for high-ticket items). But, after a loss, you won't always have the luxury of waiting for a sale. Can you image a sports fan waiting for a few weeks to replace a TV - especially during the playoffs?

The insurance company will want to know the full retail value of the item - before discount - when it was new. Insurance agents have explained that this is the number used as a baseline when determining the depreciated value. The depreciated value is what you'll receive upon submitting your first claim. Then (if you have Replacement Value Coverage), when you replace each item, you'll submit your receipt and receive the difference between your depreciated value and the new purchase price of a like item.

Another reason to know full, pre-sale cost of your belongings is to verify that you're insured sufficiently. Insuring everything at the discounted price will give you a false, low number.

As always, check with your insurance agent about your policy. All insurance companies are different, and policies are quite different, depending on the coverage you've chosen.

And, by the way, I hear so-and-so is having a great sale .....

Replacement value isn't what you paid for it

What if something costs less now than when I bought the first one? This question came up during a discussion about replacement value insurance coverage. Customers of our inventory service often ask us insurance-related questions. We're happy to discuss generalities, and always state that the only person who can give the full answer is your insurance agent. That's because every company is different and policies are different.

For replacement value discussions, we usually use the example of a $1000 sofa. The process for replacement value is 2-phase. Let's say it's 5 years old (sofas have a 10-year life). That means if you have a disaster, you'd receive $500 for that sofa. Then you'd purchase a new similar one that might now cost $1400. After turning in the receipt for the new sofa, you'd receive an additional $900 - the initial $500 you received, plus the $900 after the receipt is submitted on a claim.You've replaced the sofa at today's cost.

Now, back to the question above, about something costing less now than when first purchased. Great examples are VHS players, DVD players, digital cameras, video cameras, wide screen televisions and flat screen televisions. Compare what you paid when they first entered the market, and what they cost now. For many of these items, today's prices are more than 50% less than just a couple years ago. You'll receive a "like item" if you have a loss, but not what you initially paid for it.

Some don't feel that is fair, that they should get the actual cost they paid when the initial one was purchased. But consider that the purpose of insurance is to get you back where you were prior to the loss. Other than electronics, most items cost more today than years ago. The insurance company will REPLACE each item that was destroyed or stolen.

Make sense? Fair? Yep!

Don't call the cops - just unsubscribe instead

My friend Patric Welch, owner of Noobie, found himself in a pickle recently. He has a lot of contests (I haven't won one yet, darnit) and the content entrants are automatically subscribed to his weekly enewsletter as part of his terms and conditions. That makes sense to me, and I actually feel it should be expected.

But apparently many new subscribers reported his email as spam. In Patric's words, this "got Noobie in a wee bit of trouble with the email police."  He politely asked these contest-winner-wannabes to just unsubscribe rather than reporting the email as spam.

I get quite a few emails and newsletters daily (many unsolicited), as I'm sure everyone does. But how do you decide when to report and when to unsubscribe? If I'm aware of their existence, I probably have met them somewhere, maybe given them my card, or possibly someone else gave them my info, or I could be on a networking list of members that is shared with other members.


My take on it is if I know - or at least know of - the person, it's a no-brainer. If I don't want to receive the emails I unsubscribe. (It's quite easy. Just go to the underlined word "unsubscribe" and click.) There are many reasons to report spam. But consider the repercusions to that person that you do know. Save the reporting for those who are truly spammers, and treat the others as you'd like to be treated (unsubscribed, not reported). Contact the email police when it's a true emergency (spam).

That's my take on it - what is yours?

For love or money

A movie, a reality TV series, a book and many TV episodes have these words as their title. And unfortunately, all too often this can be used as a headline when a millionaire or billionaire leaves an estate that is going to be contested. Recently Mel Simon's (of the Simon Mall fortune) daughter filed court papers stating that her father was "coerced" into increasing the amount going to her stepmother, Bren.

Few of us will find ourselves fighting over billions of dollars, but while providing our home inventory service, we have found discord in the family is often created by the little things. The smallest of small. The tiniest of tiny. And in the process, loss of - or at the least, disrupted - the love between family members.

We've witnessed or have heard the stories of people arguing over a piece of jewelry (not a valuable diamond, either), a rug, a cookie jar with a cracked lid, a quilt, a candy jar with a chip in it...the list goes on and on. What I find interesting is that it's usually the love one has for the recently departed that makes the family members want that specific item. Unfortunately, there are usually 2 or more that have the same sentiment for that piece.

Whether you are a gazillionaire or have just a few dollars, plan for the day when your family will have the responsibility of dealing with your estate. Having an inventory of your belonings and letting people know who-gets-what is the perfect way to make the estate settlement easier for your executor.

Snow can be a destructive winter wonder

Yesterday's post by veteran State Farm Agent Jim Metzler discussed how to avoid frozen pipes. Today, he continues his winter tips ...

A more subtle destructive winter wonder is the phenomenon known as ice damming. Snow on your roof can lead to ice dams that damage the roof, gutters, walls, interior ceiling and even items inside the home.

After several days of melting-freezing cycles, it's common for the melted water and ice to work up under the shingles until water enters the attic and eventually does damage to the ceilings, wall and contents.

In cases where the ice dam goes unnoticed for an extended period of time, it can do significant damage to the building and its contents.

There's no way to guarantee an ice dam won't damage your home, but you can take steps to cut the chances of an ice dam forming in the first place:

• Thoroughly clean all leaves, sticks and other debris from your home’s gutters and down-spouts
• Make every effort to keep snow on your roof to a minimum. Long-handled devices on the market called “roof rakes” let you stand on the ground and pull the snow off the roof. Keeping heavy snow loads off your roof reduces the chances for both ice dam formation and roof failure due to the weight.
• All winter long, keep gutters and down spouts clear of snow and icicles.
• Evaluate the insulation and ventilation in your attic. Most experts agree the R-value of attic insulation should be at least R-30 (R-38 is preferable in northern climates).

Cleaning up a smelly, wet and very cold mess

Guest blogger Jim Metzler, State Farm Agent since 1981, is a Lifetime President's Club Member. He received his bachelor's Degree from Purdue and Masters Degree from Ball State. Rather than selling insurance, if you ask Jim, he'll tell you that "Service is what we sell!"

(317) 844-4402 ~ www.InsuranceInIndy.com ~ email Jim

Have you ever had the misfortune of cleaning up a smelly, wet and very cold mess on a freezing winter day? I hope you haven’t and never do. Thousands of people, however, suffer through this nightmare every year because unprotected water pipes in their homes freeze and break.

There are ways you can prevent frozen pipes and ice dams, simple solutions to avoiding the hassles and costs of cleaning and repairing your home.

The value of two minutes
Two minutes. That’s about as long as it takes to begin a small trickle of water from your home’s hot and cold faucets and to open the doors of cabinets with water pipes running through them.

Two weeks. That could be the length of time needed to find and hire contractors to tear out smelly, water-soaked carpet and wallboard, dry the remaining flooring of your house and replace all that might have been destroyed by flooding from burst, frozen pipes. An eighth-inch (three millimeter) break in a pipe can spew up to 250 gallons (946 liters) of water a day, wrecking floors, furniture and keepsakes.

As you can see, there can be a tremendous advantage to spending a couple of minutes taking simple, no-cost precautions to prevent frozen pipes. The saying, "time well spent," is certainly an under-statement when you consider the soggy consequences of doing nothing. Here are a few additional steps to protect your home or apartment:

• Insulate pipes in your home’s crawl spaces and attic.
• Use heat tape to wrap pipes. (Use only products approved by an independent testing organization, such as Underwriters Laboratories, Inc., and only for the use intended (interior or exterior). Closely follow the manufacturer’s installation and operation instructions.
• Seal leaks that allow cold air inside, near where pipes are located.
• Close air vents leading under the house.
• Disconnect garden hoses and, if practical, use an indoor valve to shut off and drain water from pipes leading to outside faucets.

Check tomorrow's post to read Jim's answer to: What are ice dams?

Gosh, how things change

Last week we assisted a customer with his business inventory. While determining the costs and year purchased, it because very evident of how things change in just a couple years. We created his initial inventory just 2 short years ago, and when we returned to help him with the pricing, we took many more photos and listed quite a few new items. It was amazing how many changes happened in just 2 years!

Look around your home or business and see for yourself. It's eye-opening to realize the changes in your contents (adding new and discarding old).

Would you be able to remember each if you had to create your list - especially under the stress of a fire, theft or natural disaster? Would you have the time to complete this information thoroughly and accurately? An even better question is, do you even have a list and photos of your belongings?

A resolution that your executor will appreciate

We chose to start the year with this blog because it's the perfect New Year's Resolution. This isn't a topic that's fun to talk about - that of estate planning or estate settlement. But when it was first posted, it was discussed by many of our friends. You can do the planning; your executor, who is normally an adult child, usually needs to deal with settling the estate. One of the tasks he or she will have to face is compiling a contents inventory if you don't do yours yourself.

Here is how you can lessen the stress, time and emotional turmoil for him or her.

Happy New Year

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Look not mournfully into the past. It comes not back again.
Wisely improve the present. It is thine.

Go forth to meet the shadowy future, without fear.

~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow