Category — Random Stuff

I wanted to share some thoughts about neighborhoods and isolation – tied together in the analogy of a movie theatre. I thought this up tonight after a bike ride and the video was shot off the cuff. View it here or below. And yes, I did shave my beard two weeks ago and I’m not quite used to it yet. 

What do you think?

Almost five months ago I wrote about Dorothea Puente’s duplex coming on the market. If you don’t know Puente’s history, she ran a “boarding house” in the 1980s out of her Sacramento Victorian duplex at 1426 F Street. She drugged and murdered  tenants to cash their social security checks. Eventually seven bodies were found buried in her backyard.

In case you were wondering, I wanted to give an update on MLS stats for this duplex that has been on the market for 148 days as of today. 

Date             Price
02/26/10   $309,800
03/23/10   $301,800
04/15/10   $292,800
05/10/10   $274,800
06/01/10   $263,800
06/23/10   $252,800
07/15/10   $237,800

It’ll be interesting to see what this property sells for in comparison to other duplex units nearby. Regardless of price, would you have any issue buying a property like this? How might a murder or other heinous circumstance impact real estate value?

The world has changed tremendously over the past decade in terms of technology and how we communicate. I was remembering yesterday for some reason how I used to have a pager in the mid-1990s and how obsolete this device would be for me today.

As a business owner I think a lot about marketing, and reminiscing of my days of having a beeper clipped to my belt made me think of short marketing points for yesterday’s technology. These would all be irrelevant in today’s world, but it’s funny how they used to be normative or even cutting edge.

“Beep me and I’ll find a payphone to call you back right away”

“You don’t have to mail a letter. You can fax me.”

“Look me up in the yellow pages.”

“We have email.”

Can you think of other marketing slogans for outdated technology? What type of technology did you use that is no longer relevant today? Did anyone else have a pager like me?

I mentioned previously that I was planning to get together a group of local business-minded people to read through the book “Crush It” by Gary Vaynerchuk, so I wanted to update you on the details. Right now there are 4 members in the group and since we can accommodate 8 or so there is still room for you to join. We’ll be meeting at Rancho Cordova City Hall in the Chamber of Commerce board room on Tuesdays in August from 2:30-4:00pm. This is not an open meeting once our capacity is reached, but I wanted to give you specifics in case the time and place work for you. Thanks Barbara for working out the meeting place.

If you are interested in being a part of this group, let me know ASAP. I’d love to see a diverse group to help foster great conversation. Call 916.595.3735 or email me at ryan@LundquistCompany.com. This is about growing in business, building relationship, and thinking through ideas together.

Would you be interested in reading through the book “Crush It” by Gary Vaynerchuk? I put together a little business book club earlier this year and I’d like to take a stab at Round 2. The main idea is that during one month local business-minded people get together at a coffee shop once a week for 60-90 minutes to talk about a few chapters of a book. This is a short commitment, but good on a few levels. It helps us bounce around ideas, grow, learn together and form stronger relationships. This book is very well liked too, so I’m looking forward to absorbing the content together.

The last book we read was Trust Agents. Depending on our meeting location, we might just do locals only (I’ll keep you posted Bryan & Tom since you guys joined last time from Georgia & Alabama). We’ll see on that point.

I don’t have set times yet, though I’m thinking we can start in later July or the beginning of August on Tuesdays or Thursdays from 2-3:30pm. Let me know if you’re interested or if a different time works for you. I’d like to meet somewhere near the Rancho Cordova area or Sacramento. The best group size will be 8 or so people – and from different types of businesses. If it turns out that August is too busy for us based on vacations and such, then we’ll just make it happen in September when things theoretically slow down.

I got news a couple hours ago that fireworks for the annual youth fireworks fundraiser at Cordova Neighborhood Church were stolen late last night from the metal storage container on church property. Thieves broke in and took nearly everything. In short, this fundraiser is THE big fundraiser of the year for kids to earn their way to summer camp as well as pay for other activities throughout the year. Right now the church is out between $8,000-$10,000.

This is actually my home church, so it’s definitely personal for me. But objectively speaking, it’s not okay to steal from kids and churches. Bottom line.

But there is good news because fireworks will be re-stocked by this afternoon. If you are thinking of making a purchase anyway, please consider going to 10600 Coloma Road in Rancho Cordova. Also, see the Rancho Cordova Post for more details. I think News 10 also came out to run a story. Let’s respond together. Feel free to spread the news by Twitter, Facebook, or however you’d like. Just remember that there is a massive 4th of July Parade tomorrow morning on Coloma Road, so plan around that major traffic jam (street blocked off until 12pm basically).

Happy 4th of July everyone!!!!

Photo by Bryce Cooley – used with permission.

Last week I headed to Kansas City for the All-America City Awards as a part of the delegation from the City of Rancho Cordova. I am very pleased to announce that Rancho Cordova is now recognized by the National Civic League as an “All-America City”. This prestigious award means a great deal for the community at large and it was an incredible honor to be involved. It was a fantastic bonding time for the team too, and so nice to meet many great citizens from across the United States.

I made three videos while in Kansas City as a way to stay in touch with everyone back home (and a total of 7 videos over the past week). It was neat to see so many people using YouTube, Twitter & Facebook to include others in the All-America City quest. This shows again how social media is changing the way we are able to communicate.

You can see our team’s presentation here, some of Andy Gee’s photos here, several videos I shot here, and follow the #allamericacity twitter stream too.

Online All-America City Articles (added 06-29-10)

• Rancho Cordova Post
• Sacramento Press
• Sacramento Business Journal
• Cordova Community Council
• City of Rancho Cordova Website
• Grapevine Independent

We had our final All-America City team meeting last night before our Rancho Cordova delgation makes the trek to Kansas City over the next few days. We’ll be competing with about 25 other finalists for the honor of being crowned as an “All-America City.” We’ll give a 10-minute presentation on Thursday morning, so wish us luck. I put together a fun one-minute “Rocky” video from our team gathering last night. What do you think? Watch below or here. I’m so excited for this week. Once I knock out a couple days of work, I’m out of here.

This morning I enjoyed a business meeting at the Sheraton Grand in Downtown Sacramento that was largely focused on technology. This was a California Association of Realtors YPN meeting . It was nice to see a few Realtor friends, connect with some new faces, and be resourced with new Android phone apps I was not previously aware of. Check these out and let me know what you think.

Evernote: This app allows you to “create text notes, snap photos, and record audio.” It might be useful for snapping a quick photo of a business card and keeping it stored on file, a reminder to call someone, or maybe an audio note to not forget to pick up the pasta from the store on the way home.

Calendar Pad: I should have had this app already, but I never came across it. Calendar Pad is great because it syncs with my Google calendar, so I can very easily run my schedule no matter if I’m on my PC or Droid. Very nice.

COL Reminder: This app is great for remembering certain important details, whether a parking time, telephone call to make, appointment, etc… While the speaker at C.A.R. YPN was talking early this morning, I downloaded this app from the Android market and then put it into use to help me remember that my two-hour parking was going to expire at 9am. I like that I can make this app work for me by sending me a reminder anytime I want – a few minutes, an hour, or a few days from now.

Gist: I’m interested to test drive this app to see if it’ll work out for me. As explained on the app website, “You can now see complete business profiles for your contacts including updates from social networks like Facebook and Twitter, mentions in the news, and email correspondence across inboxes.” I’m not sold that this app will really fit my style, but what I do like is that if I want to keep up with what just a few friends or clients are doing on social media, I can make that happen with Gist. When you first join a social network, it’s easy to keep up, but then when you get a few hundred friends on Facebook and Twitter, it’s not too hard to lose track of certain people because they get lost in the haystack so speak. You can see a video for details.

What phone apps do you use for business and life? Have you come across any new really useful (or fun) apps lately?

I had to run an errand in between typing reports today and I came across this gem near Bradshaw Road and Highway 50 in Sacramento. I took a double take and this definitely gave me a chuckle. What do you see when you first glance at the website? Do you think it might have been an advantage to have the “d” and “e” capitalized.

What marketing lessons can we learn here?

If you have not been to the Sacramento Central Farmers Market, I highly recommend it. This weekly market takes place on Sundays between 8-12pm off of 8th and W Street near Downtown Sacramento. There are some really great deals for organic fruits, veggies and meat, especially if you go toward the end of the day. We came home with bags full of stuff yesterday for only $20.00. Other than the savings and fresh food, what I appreciate about this market is the location directly under Highway 50. Yes, it’s a bit noisy, but there is always shade, and I’m a huge fan of creative uses like this for locations that would normally not be traveled much at all. 

Does anyone shop here? What other markets do you recommend? 

I’m getting ready to head out to Kansas City in a couple of weeks for the All-America City Awards. The City of Rancho Cordova was selected as a finalist in the competition this year, and I am honored to be a part of the delegation to make the trek to Missouri. My role on the team will be to represent Project 680. I’m very excited to get to travel for a few days, be a team player for my city, and meet so many wonderful people.

Here is a synopsis of the All-America City Award competition from their website:

The National Civic League recognizes ten communities each year for outstanding civic accomplishments. To win, each community must demonstrate innovation, inclusiveness, civic engagement, and cross sector collaboration by describing successful efforts to address pressing local challenges.

I’ve never been to Missouri. What should I expect in KC? Is there anything I should definitely try to do while I’m there?