Need prayers--and marketing help!

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montanaman

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Hello all,

On Monday the president of the non-profit organization I worked for called an all-staff meeting and gave us the bad news: A few of our major donors had been hit hard by the market collapse – some losing up to 60% of their wealth or business – and therefore wouldn’t be able to follow through on their commitments to the organization. All told, it added up to a nearly $2 million shortfall. The president sadly announced the first round of layoffs. I was one of about a dozen people to lose their jobs yesterday.

Obviously, this is very inconvenient. Aside from it being just a few days before Christmas, I needed that job for working–AND for driving to! (Simpsons reference…as is 75% of everything I write). Seriously though, this is somewhat scary. I have a wife and 9 month old son, and we live in a very expensive part of the country. The economy still hasn’t bottomed out yet, unemployment is way up, and who knows what an Obama administration will do to the economy?

Nonetheless, I’m optimistic. About a year ago I started helping people with their “small moves” in the DC area. It started simply, but it really turned into something. I ended up incorporating and building a Web site called www.MyTruckBud.com. That side business met a need, and last week I laid out plans to replicate it in every major urban area by May. Now, of course, my plans have changed. The side business is my main business, and if I can, I’ll go national within a month or so. (How? I can discuss that in another post, perhaps. It’s very do-able).

So, I need your prayers. Second, if you know anyone in the DC area, please let them know about my service. Third, if you have a pickup truck, you’re near a highly-populated urban area, and you’d like to make a little extra money on the side, I’m looking for a lot of good men. You won’t get rich doing this, but it’s helped me to make ends meet for the last year or so.

But I mainly need your prayers. I have about one month before my salary stops, and after that, no more insurance. I’ll be running myself ragged trying to increase business, build a nation-wide company, and yes, find an emergency job in a terrible market.

Thanks for your help!

Chris
 
Besides praying, which of course I’ll do-

There’s a country song called “You Find Out Who Your Friends Are.” See if you can use the song sung by somebody else without violating copyright law, the part about friends coming with their truck when you’re in the middle of no where. The whole “friend” thing in an area that is anything but friendly ought to go over big. Play up that whole “TruckBud” thing.

Congress is coming to town at the end of the month, and they’re bringing new staffers. New staffers don’t get their stuff moved on the government dime. You need to figure out a way to get your name and biz to all the new staffers (email? handshake and greet?). You also have people coming in and out of the military commands right now.

If anybody can weather this, you can, Chris.
 
OutinChgoburbs said:
Besides praying, which of course I’ll do-

There’s a country song called “You Find Out Who Your Friends Are.” See if you can use the song sung by somebody else without violating copyright law, the part about friends coming with their truck when you’re in the middle of no where. The whole “friend” thing in an area that is anything but friendly ought to go over big. Play up that whole “TruckBud” thing.

Congress is coming to town at the end of the month, and they’re bringing new staffers. New staffers don’t get their stuff moved on the government dime. You need to figure out a way to get your name and biz to all the new staffers (email? handshake and greet?). You also have people coming in and out of the military commands right now.

If anybody can weather this, you can, Chris.
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First, prayers for you and your growing family and your growing business.

OutIn got me thinking, what about finding out who sings the song and try to contact them with your idea. Maybe in these hard economic times they will donate their song to you on the grounds that if this company makes it big, they get a small cut in it - seriously look into this, you know artists have hearts too and they just might see a good thing coming and be willing to let the sentiment of the song be used for you. Of course, you need to make sure they understand that it might be some time before the company does anything more than make ends meet - maybe they could make $1.00 off of every job generated by the company - who knows, 52 weeks in a year, 50 States, minimum of 2 large metro. areas so, that would be what, $104.00 per State, per year so that works out to $5200.00 a year and that is if there is a minimum of one job a week in all 2 cities in all 50 States!

Of course, this can be a lead in story on some news show like the Today Show or GMA - the artists get some publicity and you get some publicity at the same time!

Brenda V.
 
I certainly hope your business takes off. I am sorry you were laid off just before the holidays! That stinks!
 
Do you think you could be a booking agent for a band I know? they would like to tour that area of the country (I’ve lived there, but not being able to approach venues and bars can be difficult) and they are the third most watched group in their category in the US. If you think it’s something you could do successfully let me know. Obviously, you would get a percentage of the pay. I know that I have suggested Ram’s Head in Annapolis for them (where their competition plays and also a venue I’ve frequented when I lived outside of Annapolis) but do not know the yuppie bar scene and venues enough in the Philly, Baltimore, Annapolis, DC, Norfolk areas enough (possibly NY, NJ and MA). And yes, I’m being serious. PM me if you’re interested.
 
Brenda_V said:
First, prayers for you and your growing family and your growing business.

OutIn got me thinking, what about finding out who sings the song and try to contact them with your idea. Maybe in these hard economic times they will donate their song to you on the grounds that if this company makes it big, they get a small cut in it - seriously look into this, you know artists have hearts too and they just might see a good thing coming and be willing to let the sentiment of the song be used for you. Of course, you need to make sure they understand that it might be some time before the company does anything more than make ends meet - maybe they could make $1.00 off of every job generated by the company - who knows, 52 weeks in a year, 50 States, minimum of 2 large metro. areas so, that would be what, $104.00 per State, per year so that works out to $5200.00 a year and that is if there is a minimum of one job a week in all 2 cities in all 50 States!

Of course, this can be a lead in story on some news show like the Today Show or GMA - the artists get some publicity and you get some publicity at the same time!

Brenda V.
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:eek:

That’s not a bad idea at all. I’m working on a video commercial right now (among other things) and have been looking for a good song. I was thinking “Pick-up Man” by…whatshisname…but I’m afraid that would imply I’m looking to pick up some ladies. Lol. Because most of my customers are young single women who rent, that would be an extraordinarily bad song choice. Lol.

But this one…not bad…

Great. Another item on the list. 😉
 
montanaman said:
:eek:

That’s not a bad idea at all. I’m working on a video commercial right now (among other things) and have been looking for a good song. I was thinking “Pick-up Man” by…whatshisname…but I’m afraid that would imply I’m looking to pick up some ladies. Lol. Because most of my customers are young single women who rent, that would be an extraordinarily bad song choice. Lol.

But this one…not bad…

Great. Another item on the list. 😉
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How about advertising in church bulletins too? And never ignore the Catholic Information Center in DC, they send out this kind of stuff all the time to all the members on their email lists.
 
gmarie21 said:
How about advertising in church bulletins too? And never ignore the Catholic Information Center in DC, they send out this kind of stuff all the time to all the members on their email lists.
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I’ll try the CIC–good idea. I was going to write a note for the Arlington Diocese mailing list today, too. I’ve had an ad in the parish bulletin for a year, and I’ve gotten two calls–one canceled. As Fr. K. says, the best way to keep a secret is to put it in the church bulletin. Lol.
 
To recruit drivers, maybe you will be able to find others who are in your predicament. In particular, I am thinking of DHL drivers. I believe they’re closing shortly. Those guys (and gals) already drive a truck for a living so have to have a good driving record and work history, and will be looking for work. I’m sure enough of them own pickups to get a few good workers.

Maybe even go as far as contacting some closing companies. Some may be offering assistance to laid off workers to help them find employment, or would at least be open to making a posting.

Another thing I see occasionally on craigslist are postings in the furniture column to help with moving private furniture purchases for a reasonable price.
 
montanaman said:
I’ll try the CIC–good idea. I was going to write a note for the Arlington Diocese mailing list today, too. I’ve had an ad in the parish bulletin for a year, and I’ve gotten two calls–one canceled. As Fr. K. says, the best way to keep a secret is to put it in the church bulletin. Lol.
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Try Catholic newspapers too. Baltimore Catholic has a weekly publication. I always look there and in my bulletin first if I need a service.

I don’t know if it costs anything to get on ServiceMagic, but they have a decent site. Not sure if it includes moving, though.
 
Another idea too, since I have too many family members who are or were in the business, freight delivery. My uncle owns a freight company in Chicagoland and my brother works for him as a dispatcher in the days but makes light deliveries at night and on weekends (packages that can fit in a car or passenger truck and need to be delivered within a 3 state radius from us). I am SURE there are freight companies out there that may need drivers for smaller deliveries (why use a semi for three 10pound boxes). They are usually located around airports.
 
Or even advertising in the Penny Saver (I know that when I was out there I’d always look there first).
 
Thanks, vluvski! Great ideas. Right now the operative word is FREE. I have to rely on “new” and earned media for the short-term. But I’ll definitely advertise in those places when possible.
 
How about apartment complexes? Residents there probably move more frequently than homeowners. Some places might let you put up a flyer on a bulletin board, or even add something to the lease info pack.
 
gmarie21 said:
Do you think you could be a booking agent for a band I know? they would like to tour that area of the country (I’ve lived there, but not being able to approach venues and bars can be difficult) and they are the third most watched group in their category in the US. If you think it’s something you could do successfully let me know. Obviously, you would get a percentage of the pay. I know that I have suggested Ram’s Head in Annapolis for them (where their competition plays and also a venue I’ve frequented when I lived outside of Annapolis) but do not know the yuppie bar scene and venues enough in the Philly, Baltimore, Annapolis, DC, Norfolk areas enough (possibly NY, NJ and MA). And yes, I’m being serious. PM me if you’re interested.
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Kind of off topic but a tip for your band - in Baltimore try the Fell’s Point and Federal Hill areas. Just go by the zip codes - Fell’s Point is 21231 - don’t know Federal Hill’s but you could find it on the map.
 
Universities too. You might even be able to get some business just by “cruising” around during moving periods and looking for people who can’t fit everything in their car…

Also, don’t forget about the laundromats. Most laundromats have a bulletin board when advertisements are indiscriminately posted, or a section of wall which enterprising publicists have taken over for that purpose. I’ve actually had success advertising in laundromats, although this works best if your flier is bilingual. As an added bonus, people in laundromats tend to be transient because they’re the ones without washing machines.
vluvski said:
How about apartment complexes? Residents there probably move more frequently than homeowners. Some places might let you put up a flyer on a bulletin board, or even add something to the lease info pack.
Click to expand...
 
I think I’m living a bona fide miracle here. In the month or so before now, I’d done what I always done–place ads on Craigslist and hope for a customer or two. Sometimes I can get five from one ad (or more), but around the holidays, it slows way down and I have to post five ads before getting ONE customer.

Since Monday, when I was laid off, I’ve barely increased my CL ad post frequency, and all of a sudden I’m flooded with jobs. And really, only a few are from CL. The goal is to do at LEAST one $100 job per day. To make the household budget, I need to do about 40 per day every month. I have about a week’s worth of moves lined up already.

It’s easy to see signs when you want to, so I don’t know, maybe I’m just seeing God’s fingerprints all over the situation. But there are other things, too–for example, my wife and son are both going through a terrible cold right now, and I don’t have the least sign of the virus. Lol. And my son, God love him, smears his snot all over his face until his hands are dripping with it, then he slaps me across the cheek, under my nose, across my mouth… I SHOULD be hovering near death in bed, but I’m not. Moreover, I’ve had great patience and strength when I work through the day, come home, then take care of them when I’m maddeningly prevented from working on the business.

This is not me. I’m a whiney, easily frustrated BOY most times. But business is good, life is good, and I’m not in the least bit stressed. It’s either shock or grace, and for now I choose to believe it’s grace.
 
I choose to believe it’s grace, too, and somebody who puts forth effort.
 
Because most of my customers are young single women who rent, t
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At least you don’t have any problem finding good help to unload trucks and stuff. My guess most of your labor is of the free kind?

JUST KIDDING!
 
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