Business Scene for the week of 7/31/18
JOIN THE BOOKWORM SCAVENGER HUNT
Margie’s Book Nook is having a Bookworm Scavenger Hunt Wednesday, Aug. 1 through Saturday, Aug. 11. You can win valuable prizes by collecting passport stamps at the participating sponsors. The grand prize drawings will be held at 5: 30 p.m. Aug. 11. See this week’s ad for the complete details on the scavenger hunt and the list of sponsors.
DOYLE DAYS AUG. 3 AND 4
This Friday and Saturday, Aug. 3 and 4, head on down to Doyle for Doyle Days 2018. There is a lizard round-up on Friday evening, then Saturday kicks off at 7 a.m. with signups for the 5k Doyle Dessert Run, then a myriad of events throughout the day, including the famous lizard races.
There will be a street dance beginning at 6 p.m. with music by Rickety Bridge. Winje’s Country Store is sponsoring several events, and they are located at the corner of Main and Third streets in downtown Doyle. They can be reached at
827-2717
VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS MONTHLY BREAKFAST
Mark your calendars for the Veterans of Foreign Wars monthly breakfast from 7 to 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 4 downstairs at the Veterans Memorial Building on Main Street in Susanville. Breakfast is open to the public. For a small donation you will receive a hot delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs, sausage and hash browns. Bring the whole family, children under 10 eat free. If you have any questions, call Ron Wood at 310-0428.
DOGGIE ICE CREAM SOCIAL
An ice cream social for dogs and their humans will be held at noon Tuesday, Aug. 7. This is one of the many events that will be held at Treats Pet Supply inside Milwood Florist during the month of August. Come celebrate the dog days of Summer at Treats inside of Milwood Florist, located at 2020 Main St., Susanville. See their ads in the Lassen County Times throughout the month of August for specials on all things pets!
FOURTH ANNUAL BBQ COOK-OFF
Lassen Senior Services tells us it’s time for the fourth annual BBQ Cook-off competition. The event will take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 18 at the Lassen County Fairgrounds. There will be lots of delicious barbecue to indulge in and attendees can vote for their best choice. Plus, they’ll be having a kid’s playland and a vendor craft fair. Individuals interested in having booth space can see their ad in this week’s paper, for more information or to reserve your spot. This is an official Kansas City Barbecue Society sanctioned event.
BLUES AND BREWS
The 10th annual Lassen County Farm Bureau Blues and Brews Festival is from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 4 at Every Bloomin’ Thing. All proceeds go to local youth scholarship programs. There is free parking and free rides home. Advance tickets are available at the Pioneer Saloon.
SHARING THOUGHTS ON ADVERTISING
It is often said the American free enterprise system is the eighth wonder of the world and the average
American’s lack of understanding of what it is and why it works is the ninth wonder of the world.
In today’s times of mass communication, many of us are somewhat bewildered by the tremendous number of advertising messages, of one kind or another, that are directed to our attention on a day-by-day basis. But have you personally ever stopped to consider where our nation would be, if business people did not have the freedom to advertise the products and services they produce and provide?
Most business people understand and accept the necessity of advertising, which is the main reason we are inundated with so many advertising messages.
The various ways a business can advertise its products are limitless, but there is an irony in the way most business people go about it.
When business is good and they have the capital to advertise they do; but when business is bad and capital is low, the first thing most of them do is cut back on their advertising. The truth is, it should be the other way around. A business should spend most of its advertising budget when business is slow and cut back when business is good.
In relation to this, some time back a friend handed me a little card with a caption that said, “NEGATIVE THINKING,” and the message it contained was so good that I wanted to share it with you.
It begins, “A man lived by the side of the road and sold hamburgers. He was hard of hearing, so he had no radio. He had trouble with his eyes, so he watched no television and read no newspaper, but he sold good hamburgers. He did, however, advertise in the local newspaper, telling people how good they were. He stood by the side of the road and cried, “Buy a hamburger, mister?” and people bought. He increased his meat and roll orders and bought a bigger stove to take care of his trade. His son came home from college to help him, and then something happened.
His son said, “Father, haven’t you been listening to what people are saying? If money stays tight, we are bound to have bad business. There may be a big recession coming on, you had better prepare for poor trade. Whereupon this man thought, “Well, my son has been to college. He listens to the radio, watches television and reads the newspaper, and he ought to know,” so, he cut down on his meat and roll orders. He cut out his advertising and no longer bothered to stand by the road to sell hamburgers, and his sales fell almost overnight. “You’re right, son,” the father said to the boy. “We are certainly headed for a recession.”
When I first read this story, it kinda reminded me of the ol’ boy who was doing great making a nice profit. He was buying it for $1 and selling it for $3. The principle or the
moral of this column should be fairly obvious. When we are doing something constructive to serve others, we are better off, even though we may fail, than when we let “negative thinking people” make our decisions for us.
In closing, I would like to leave you with this quotation by E.T. Meredith, former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. “The man who fails to advertise just because conditions are a little uncertain is on par with the farmer who refuses to feed his cows because the price of butter has gone down.”