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Sue Marceau

Schott Leads His Team at Tomlinson Wealth

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The management team at Tomlinson Wealth Management takes pride in a third generation of family members supplying financial services to Arizona residents.

Investment Specialist Steve Schott and his wife, Dana Tomlinson Schott, have been transitioning to more ownership as Dana’s father, Owner/Manager Andy Tomlinson, gradually puts his outdoorsman and athletic endurance skills to work in retirement mode.

Andy Tomlinson founded Tomlinson Wealth Management upon leaving the position of Prescott city manager in 1987 and chose to stay in his cherished Prescott while pursuing a rewarding second career. Andy considered a few options, but decided to follow in his father’s investment management footsteps. The senior Tomlinson practiced in Phoenix at the time, and was an excellent resource and sounding board for his financially astute son.

Equipped with undergraduate and MPA degrees from Arizona State University in business finance and public administration respectively, Andy initiated his wealth management and financial consulting career more than 40 years ago by advising cities and towns how to invest capital reserves and retirement funds for public employees.

The Tomlinson/Switzer family connection with Arizona extends far beyond Andy and his father. Andy’s great-grandfather settled in Northern Arizona after the Civil War. An Arizona native, Andy raised his own family in Prescott. Dana and his grandchildren continue the Tomlinson family’s Prescott traditions.

Investment specialist and son-in-law Steve Schott joined Andy in his investment business in 2010. As with his father before him, Andy has lent his academic, financial and real-world business experience to Steve. For his part, Steve has brought expansive expertise in small business ownership, customer service, capital management and community involvement to the firm. He previously owned an office products company with four locations in Northern and Western Arizona, and had been part owner of Prescott Honda.

Practically a Prescott native, Steve attended local public schools and is a proud graduate of Prescott High School. He earned an undergraduate degree in finance from the University of Denver and an MBA with an emphasis in finance from the University of Arizona.

teve remains a passionate community volunteer, including current leadership as a board member for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Arizona. He also donates time and energy to mentoring a Boy Scout troop and presided as president of a local homeowners’ association.

With the transition, Steve will continue to provide the investment services, full brokerage services, tax reduction strategies, creative estate planning, life insurance and annuities, portfolio analysis and management, IRA rollovers and 529 college plans, for which the firm is known.

The Tomlinson team brings a total 90 years of expertise to the table in serving its clients, including the contributions of Office Manager Kay Baker, Registered Financial Assistant Sara O’Brien, Registered Financial Assistant Laura DeLaHuerta, Assistant Pattie Glau, Receptionist Amy Garbo, Andy, Steve and Dana.

“Our wealth management philosophy remains solid,” Steve said. “We advocate a well-diversified portfolio as the best protection against inflation and risks of interest rate fluctuation. Our strength is building customized portfolios that combine many different asset classes, provide the optimal strategy for managing tax efficiency, and have the best potential for protection against inflation and adverse market conditions. Each plan is individualized to the precise needs of the client, based on goals and risk tolerance.”

Tomlinson Wealth Management utilizes diverse sources of innovative and practical solutions through Broker-Dealer Geneos Wealth Management.

From one generation to the next, Tomlinson Wealth Management stands by its commitment to top-of-the line service and client education to create diversified portfolios positioned to weather economic storms. Still, the firm cautions, diversification created by any investment company does not ensure a profit or protect against loss in a changing market.

“We took care to build your retirement plan,” Steve advises clients. “Now, let it take care of you.” QCBN

By Sue Marceau

Managing Pain in Northern Arizona 

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We’ve all felt it: a twist here, a pull there or a twinge when moving too quickly, too forcefully or too awkwardly. This troubling pinch in the back, shoulder, neck, arm or leg could progress toward a lengthening battle with debilitating pain. That’s when your primary care physician can refer you to Northern Arizona Pain Institutes (NAPI) to get your life back.       

Leading pain management efforts at NAPI’s Prescott, Flagstaff and Show Low offices is Robert J. Brownsberger M.D., whose pioneering therapies reintroduce suffering patients to an activity-based lifestyle. Trained in physical medicine and rehabilitation, and board certified in pain medicine, Dr. Brownsberger realized during his medical residency 37 years ago that his professional talents would best serve patients besieged by chronic pain.  

“Patients who first arrive at my office often feel trapped,” said Dr. Brownsberger. “They cannot take on usual physical activities which they had previously enjoyed. We are able to manage a wide range of pain conditions to get them back to doing what they love. By evaluating and treating all levels of pain in a comprehensive, compassionate and professional way, we can get patients on the road to fewer and less severe incidents of discomfort.”  

The disease of chronic pain is poorly understood by just about everyone and neglected by the medical community, Brownsberger said, so he pursued the specialty. During a rotation in pain management with medical residency at the University of Washington, he found his niche.  

He earned his medical degree from University of Cincinnati College of Medicine in 1981. In return for a scholarship, he served as a U.S. Navy flight surgeon stationed with the U.S. Marine Corps’ helicopter squadron. Of that time as primary care physician to pilots, he said, “I have great admiration for the men and women serving our country in the military branches, and this was by far one of the best experiences of my life.”   

Embarking on his non-military medical career, he worked with an orthopedic office for two years before opening his own practice. Now, he utilizes new FDA-approved and medically-supported treatments to squarely target patients who experience unresolved and persistent pain. With complaints about aching backs the second leading cause of visits to a doctor’s office, it’s easy to see how a minor incident might become something more debilitating. 

“The ability to move or function is limited,” he said of patients experiencing chronic pain. “You are thinking it’s going to be short term, but it turns into days, weeks, months or years. Imagine how it could affect your overall ability to be gainfully employed or have a meaningful relationship with family. It affects all aspects of a person’s life and can easily impact the whole family.”    

 

Pain management with NAPI’s tools can mean a world of difference. Unless surgery is clearly indicated, patients are best served with alternative methods including behavioral therapy, medication management and injections, Brownsberger said. These options can help improve motor skills and quality of life by significantly reducing the severity of pain. As a disease state progresses, a “whole smorgasbord of therapies” can be implemented.  

 

Newer therapies include spinal stimulation, radio frequency therapy and epidural injections at trigger points. X-ray guidance plays an important role for injections to areas such as the knees,   enabling Brownsberger to “see the contrast from the injection, feel the knee joint and know we are getting the medication to the right place.”   

NAPI’s newest therapy is Dorsal Root Ganglion (DRG) stimulation, a minimally invasive treatment approved by the FDA. The DRG method utilizes stimulation through pacemaker-type implants to specific joints, such as the knee or foot, or an area affected by diabetic neuropathy. Wires connected to an external battery are maneuvered within the patient’s body to trial the therapy before surgical placement.  

The DRG stimulation therapy locally and throughout Northern Arizona is only available through NAPI. July marked the first time a patient here was able to experience the technology, and the team was enthusiastic about the outcome.   

“The beauty is that the patient gets to try it,” Brownsberger explained. “Patients have control over the treatment by turning if off or on, up or down. It works by preventing the signal for pain from getting to the brain.” QCBN 

 By Sue Marceau  

 

Prescott’s Kastle Keeper Cleaning, Consulting, Writing

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The young Shannon Miller always knew she would excel at self-employment, even while building her first business at age 12. The university neighborhood where her mother resided in California proved a lucrative market for washing cars. Hiring 17 acquaintances at $8 per day each, the pre-teen was “making great money” coordinating washes for tenants and neighbors, until the homeowners’ association intervened.

Next up was babysitting, which she managed from ages 13 to 17 in the same community. Aligning parents of young children with a crew of nine sitters, Miller earned a percentage of the sitting fees. That enterprise shuttered when her mother moved out of the condo complex. The teen then embarked on a venture growing and selling house plants.

Miller’s entrepreneurial nature has propelled her from those fledgling enterprises to community college, a bachelor’s degree from UCLA in business management, a silversmith certificate, marriage, children and grandchildren. Entrepreneurship runs in the family, as Miller’s father was self-employed as she was growing up.

Shannon Miller and one of her 10 employees review supplies in the storage room at Kastle Keeper Cleaning Services, LLC in Prescott. Photo by Sue Marceau

Now, both Miller and her husband, Duane, each have their own businesses, with his expertise in plumbing. Their full private lives include raising granddaughter, Maiya, 3, and grandson, Makaius, 2, while the children’s mother serves with the U.S. military in Japan. A nanny helps out during the day, allowing the couple to manage their respective businesses.

Miller entered the cleaning profession after closing her downtown Prescott jewelry store when the recession hit. Not wanting to leave the area, she hired on with a cleaning company. Several months later, she set up her own crew and formed Kastle Keeper Cleaning Services, LLC.

Starting its ninth year in May 2018, the company now employs 10 professionals who clean 60 to 100 houses a week. Besides routine cleaning jobs for steady customers, Miller accepts referrals from real estate agents to clean houses for sellers prior to listing. She donates cleaning services to cancer patients as a giveback to area communities. In all endeavors, Miller prides herself on putting customers first and maintaining very high standards of workmanship.

Entrepreneur Shannon Miller (left), owner of Kastle Keeper Cleaning Services, LLC, discusses cleaning sellers’ homes with LeAnn Carver, designated broker at Bella Terra Realty in Prescott.  Photo by Sue Marceau

“Having a plan is half the battle, even if it is on a cocktail napkin,” Miller noted. “There must be a plan that you follow from A to B to C. It’s like sailing. You need to have a list to check your goals and make sure you are still on track.”

Strong organizational skills are essential, she says, especially since Miller simultaneously runs two other ventures: a consulting practice for small businesses and freelance writing for the cleaning industry. In consulting, she targets women-owned businesses. Clients include two cosmetics consultants, a cookie enterprise, and three Phoenix-area cleaning companies.

“I find that women seem to be under-represented when it comes to guidance in managing a business,” she said. “It can be scary for entrepreneurs to hang it out there every day and take the risks and responsibility of running your own business. Some people seem to have full-on meltdowns from too much financial pressure or management obligations.”

Having seen businesses operated by degreed entrepreneurs succeed as often as endeavors undertaken by tradespeople brimming with passion, Miller asserts that desire and willpower are equally as important as formal education.

“I am one of those very fortunate people who has two careers that I absolutely love, and I hope to have more,” she said enthusiastically about cleaning and consulting. “I am very lucky and blessed to be here in Prescott. I would really like to land a radio gig. Who knows what the year ahead will bring.” QCBN

By Sue Marceau

Girls Learn Success in Education, Life from ‘Sisters’

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Girls who attended the Sister-to-Sister event on May 1 at Yavapai College (YC) said they heard stories of struggle and inspiration, learned about the benefits of higher education as they pursued careers, and enjoyed the camaraderie. Sister-to-Sister is a mentorship program that provides high school girls with support from professional women. The half-day workshop was co-sponsored by the YC Educational Talent Search/TRIO Program (ETS/TRIO) and the local branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW).

TRIO offers programs to motivate and support eligible students on their journey toward completing a college education. The U.S. Department of Education funds about 3,000 such programs across the country. The YC Sister-to-Sister partnership with AAUW coincides with the ETS/TRIO mission of supplying tools to help students learn about attending and succeeding in college. Volunteers from AAUW held round table career discussions with the 19 attendees from high schools in Chino Valley and Verde Valley.

Keynote speakers at this year’s event included Prescott Police Chief Debora Black and YC Dean of Computer Technologies and Instructional Support Stacey Hilton. YC students and graduates shared their initial impressions and insights about attending college, including episodes of harassment and belittlement.

Chief Black lamented about girls being conditioned from age six or seven to be polite, agreeable and helpful. She discussed overcoming those traits for career success. Her insights were reflected in student narratives, including the perspectives of former firefighter Aileen Casillas and aspiring pilot Jaqueline Beltran.

Casillas had been a firefighter during the Yarnell Hill tragedy five years ago and has since battled post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). She said she originally had only positive thoughts about firefighting and moved ahead with her chosen career path, certain she would succeed. Yet, ongoing harassment eventually undermined her confidence.

“It slowly erodes you,” Casillas explained. “It’s kind of like a frog in hot water. He doesn’t know [he’s in danger]. He doesn’t jump out. And by then, it’s too late.”

Casillas countered the negativity by speaking to people who knew her and appreciated her abilities, she said. She also focused on her children, although she was careful not to let them know what was happening. Before becoming a firefighter, Casillas had worked in the floral industry. She now operates Florian, a growing business named after the patron saint of firefighters.

Beltran, as a senior at Chino Valley High, was the first student in the aviation program in the Mountain Institute Joint Technical Education District to pass the Federal Aviation Administration’s written test for a pilot’s license. That goal evolved from seeing a plane she wanted to fly.

“Belittled because I was female, the only female in my class for the last four years,” Beltran said she endured ridicule about her youth, aviation expertise and fitness to be a pilot. She also was sexually harassed. Staying strong and not letting those encounters deter her, Beltran persevered. Her latest triumph is a scholarship for more flight instruction this fall in Bogota, Colombia.

Chief Black, one of 200 female police chiefs in the nation, said she “never set out to blaze trails, yet here I am and it’s a wonderful place to be.”

Growing up in an Illinois household with three brothers, Chief Black graduated high school and began college in social services. An elective in criminal justice “absolutely set me on fire,” she said.

Chief Black earned a two-year degree, and applied to become a police officer when eligible at age 21. None of the 14 agencies responded, she said, even for an interview. Moving to Arizona, she applied at the Glendale and Phoenix police departments. She was offered jobs with both, and chose the department not undergoing a harassment lawsuit. She joined the Phoenix Police Department in the early ‘80s.

One of 14 women in a large class at the police academy, Chief Black ultimately had been the last woman standing and “they tried like heck to get me to quit.” Finally, after incessant taunts from condescending male colleagues who expressed that she might get hurt or that she was only there to find a husband, Chief Black “had to set the record straight.” She adamantly declared: “I’m not leaving. Just let me do my job.”

On patrol, she discovered her natural ability to diffuse potentially dangerous situations by listening, conversing and calming citizens under stress. During her 30-year career, she has been the chief of two police departments: Phoenix and now Prescott.

Chief Black offers leadership agility to female professionals and students. Central to that dedication has been uncovering the cerebral, cultural and environmental influences that hold women back. Gender bias begins, she emphasized, because girls are raised to be humble, share credit and reflect positively on others.

Teachers’ evaluations for girls, for example, tout attributes such as “pleasant” and “nice,” while chastising conduct interpreted as aggressive. Boys, in contrast, are commended as “intelligent,” “talented” and “born leaders.” Girls who are asked to describe themselves choose passive words, while boys portray themselves as “talented, smart and good at math.”

Jaqueline Beltran (center), as a Chino Valley High School senior in 2015, became the first student at Mountain Institute Joint Technical Education District (MIJTED) to pass the written exam required by the Federal Aviation Administration as the initial step to earning a private pilot license. Pictured with her are Cheri Warner, a then adjunct instructor at Yavapai College’s Career and Technical Education Center (CTEC), and John Morgan, the college’s dean of career and technical education.

Girls’ conditioning makes them “too eager to be nice, to be helpful, to be agreeable,” Chief Black added, citing research using lemonade loaded with salt and served to children. Boys were vocal about the bad taste. Girls, in comparison, finished the lemonade, expressed appreciation and claimed the lemonade was good.

“Only when they were pushed, did the girls tell the truth,” Chief Black noted. When asked why they answered the way they did, the girls said that “they didn’t want to hurt feelings and did not want to be rude.”

Whatever happens career-wise, women perceive situations as worse than they are, she noted, while men view them as better. This extends to job ad responses, where men apply if they have 50 percent of the competencies demanded, but women only pursue at 100 percent.

Women put more pressure on themselves by working more hours, forgoing lunch, not playing golf, remaining wary of appearing weak and shouldering a significant fear of failing, Chief Black explained. They worry not only for themselves, but also about unintentionally proving that women cannot do the work of men.

Nevertheless, women have a head start because they are instinctively better at leadership through values, collaboration and cooperation, Chief Black said. Echoing the Casillas message, she explained that lack of confidence – not lack of competence – holds women back.

Sister-to-Sister coordinator Claudia Greenwood said some of the young women attending may be the first in their families to earn a degree. Since they also may not have role models at home or in their social circles, the program enables them to learn from women who attribute their career and life success to obtaining a university diploma.

Greenwood founded the Sister-to-Sister program in the 1980s while a professor at Ohio’s Kent State University. She heard Secretary of State Colin Powell speak about a U.S. government mandate establishing mentorship as an important component of non-profit and community-based education programs. Greenwood recalls Powell saying that “the most important thing to teenagers is to have mentors,” so she returned to campus and brought together her AAUW branch and Kent State officials to found a legacy.

Moving to Prescott in 2003, Greenwood saw the same mentorship need and pitched the concept to AAUW Prescott. The partnership with Yavapai College celebrated its tenth year in 2016.

“The goal is to encourage young females in the Quad Cities area toward high school graduation and going on to college,” she said. “Sister-to-Sister models for young women how a college education enriches their lives and expands their possibilities. The girls see that.”

Camp Verde High School sophomore Bianca Escobedo said she enjoyed interacting with others who had already been in her situation and could teach her how to go through the next few years.

“I wasn’t sure what was going to happen or who I was going to meet, but I was so happy I met the people I did,” she explained. “I really enjoyed hearing from such strong women. I would definitely recommend this program. I was so inspired by everyone there and left with such a positive outlook. I felt empowered.” QCBN

By Sue Marceau

From Mountains to Oceans

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Living outside the United States is the norm for 400,000 American retirees who have chosen – often for financial advantages – to make their home in countries such as Canada, Japan, Mexico, Germany and the United Kingdom. While that list of global locales is not all-inclusive, the Social Security Administration identifies them as favored among retirees choosing to reside beyond the nation’s borders.

However, retirees are not the only Americans making their homes abroad. About 6.32 million Americans resided overseas in 2011 for employment, federal and military service, personal preferences or as trailing spouses or family members. That was an unofficial estimate provided by the U.S. State Department, which had not “officially” calculated those stats since 1999.

For some, the allure of living abroad is an immersion in other cultures and connecting to people in their language and gaining new perspective. The how and why of such transitions into day-to-day overseas living can be intriguing. Some find employment in their new environment in the tourism industry – bartending, leading charter boats tours or even opening businesses like restaurants.

Michael Stark is the owner of Epernay Bistro & Wine Bar on St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. “The place you live is no less a character in your life than your family or closest friends. The city or place you choose to live is every bit part of your life as what you do and who you do it with. It will help you define what you like, what you love. Then it will provide true grace in how you live.”

Stark has been living and working in St. Thomas for the last 15 years and has owned Epernay for the past seven. Having spent a significant portion of his childhood on nearby islands, he was on vacation and staying at his parents’ house on Tortola when he decided to chance the move. He had just sold a nightclub in New York City and was enjoying rest and relaxation. A boat trip with friends opened his eyes to USVI.

“Manhattan defines me and St. Thomas makes me whole,” he explained. “While you can do this in another place stateside, the more divergent where you go to is from where you come, the greater the pleasure in learning it. But most importantly, aspire to be a local. When you can move to another place and the locals think of you as local, you’ll know exactly what I mean. I’m still working on it.”

USVI is similar to the Quad Cities and other locational gems where people choose to live. It is a lifestyle choice. The friendliest people, mostly mild weather and the natural beauty of the Quad Cities are offset by what some people give up to live here. For non-retirees, it is often lack of career options and limited well-paying jobs. That is the cost of living in paradise.

“It is not easy and it is most certainly not for everyone, but if it seeps into your soul, there’s

nothing else like it,” Stark said of living in the USVI or other overseas venues. “Anything you truly miss, you can go visit.”

For those currently living in the Quad Cities, the Arizona High Desert offers convenient access to Mexico for seasonal commutes and second homes. This includes Chino Valley resident Liz Mason, who, with her husband, owns two condos in Rocky Point, as well as rentals in the Quad Cities. She visits when the weather is nice, while he travels back and forth, staying two to three weeks at a time.

The couple started out crossing the border with a motor home, which they have since sold. Because of family and local business obligations, as well as an aversion to humidity, Mason spends less time in Rocky Point than her husband.

“My husband used go down with another friend more often than I did,” Mason explained. “He called me one day and said, ‘We’re going to buy a condo.’ So, we bought one condo. It was for a rental. Then, he called and said we were buying this other condo. I said okay. So, now we have one that’s our own.”

They have already sold the first rental condo and purchased another, holding 99-year leases in bank trusts, Mason said. The condo complex has its own rental agency, so management of that aspect is simplified. Rocky Point has “all the amenities,” she noted, including Sam’s Club, Burger King and a Walmart called “La Bodega.”

“It’s a nice, relaxing place to go,” Mason said. “My husband never had any problems coming back and forth. It does get busy on holidays, so he allows for that. People should probably go down there and explore before they decide to buy because it’s still not like our country.”

For people thinking of moving outside of the U.S., Stark’s advice is simple: Do it. “It’s a

great big world out there and Americans tend not to go out into it nearly as much as they should. Traveling is not the same. Live somewhere for a few years. See if you like it. If you love it, stay. This is a magical place,” Stark said of St. Thomas. “For all its trials and tribulations, it’s the cost of getting to live how we live and where we live, and for many of us, it is absolutely worth it.” QCBN

By Sue Marceau, QCBN

 

 

 

Tools, Tips for Inviting Customers into Your Business

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DigitalInvitation is the new persuasion in the quest for business success among marketers in a digital world. The alphabet soup of B2B, B2C and C2C targeting among businesses and consumers has transformed into person-to-person conversation via evolving technology platforms.

Successful businesses invest in their most valuable asset: themselves. Storytelling in the right time and space inspires readers to follow, engage, refer and/or buy. The marketer becomes the trusted friend and advisor to a nurtured fan base on the World Wide Web.

The catch is fishing the best waters while hooking elusive nibblers. Three local marketing experts – Cadu Medina of Craf2M, Tim Lewis of Iron Springs Design, and Donna Werking of Northern AZ Social – can help cast the net.

“Marketing has always been about storytelling,” said Medina. “We are human beings, right? Storytelling is what connects us. It’s the only reason we pay attention to anyone and what they say. Forget the people behind the computer, social media or any type of advertising and marketing. Sometimes we talk to them like they are gathered in a room with 25 people behind them. It’s a one-on-one conversation. In that moment, you are talking to a person. So, own that moment, because it is that important.”

Today’s marketers must follow customers’ attention and habits in an environment where entertainment looms large, buying choices are virtually infinite, quality and value are demanded, and the competition could be anyone in the world with a computer, camera and subscribers, Medina said.

“You can’t afford to ignore social media,” Werking asserted. “It’s an inexpensive way to create relationships” among 2.44 billion social media users predicted through 2018 and more than 40 million small businesses on Facebook in 2015.

Businesses may be missing referrals if they think their customers are not using social media, Werking cautions, enumerating the medium’s diverse benefits: driving traffic through posts; showcasing products; encouraging testimonials; enhancing relationships; and improving customer service.

“Content will always win, but the context of where it happens and when it happens is more important,” Medina said. “I control what I see, what I consume, when I want it, where I want it. Time is my most precious asset. So let’s stop wasting their time. We need to be there when [customers] are ready to talk to us and communicate with us.”

Loyal fans generating referrals are the result of a good social media strategy, Werking said. She encouraged taking time to craft content properly to retain the brand voice and retain a cohesive strategy across all platforms. Tactics include providing a website link; mentioning (tagging) other businesses; optimizing posts for mobile users; and utilizing hashtags (including on Facebook). She recommends promotions via social media once or twice a year and keeping current on trends and paid advertising.

Lewis identified domain names as business assets that should be protected, developed and maintained. His tips include ensuring a mobile-friendly site, tying the website to traditional media, and optimizing searches with new domain extensions (.dentist or .church, for example, instead of .com or .net).

In building a website, Lewis favors gathering great pictures and strong, clear messages, while  employing calls to action (buy now, call today, click here to register, make an appointment, contact us). Over time, he notes, updated products, specials and blogs should be added. The objective is to position oneself as an authority.

People “don’t buy your product,” Medina said. “They buy you. There is one unique thing about what you do and sell. That one thing is you. No two people can approach me and sell me a product or service the same way. If you are not bringing that into your business and your marketing, you are not optimizing your marketing.”

Werking shared trending 2016 social media tools, including Facebook Livestream (which was being used to cover the seminar); Periscope (Twitter Livestream); Fanpage Karma (competitor comparisons across multiple social channels); Likealyzer (Facebook page optimization); Klear (analytics on profiles and top interactions); and the 2015 Social Media Marketing Report (for which more than 3,700 marketers were surveyed for answers about social media trends and results).

Multiple free tools also are available to website developers, Lewis notes, including WordPress, Joomla and Drupal. More than 90 percent of websites today offer online store, newsletter and event management plugins through WordPress.

Google controls about 75 to 80 percent of SEO marketing, Lewis explains, with Bing and Yahoo carrying most of the remainder. Since more than 60 percent of searches are requested on mobile devices, it is important to have a responsive design that queries the device and displays accordingly.

Frequent changes to SEO must be monitored and adapted, Lewis advises, noting the April 2015 Google de-ranking of sites not mobile friendly. Mobile friendliness can be determined by searching “google mobile friendly page” to obtain a free report. Additional tools include Google Analytics and Google Adwords.

Start simply, the experts say, by picking one social media platform and seeing it through before trying something else. Keep it simple when baiting the hook and the fans will follow.

By Sue Marceau

Employees, Interns Praising On-the-Job Training

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InternsTrainingYoung people who take the initiative to seek internships and on-the-job training can find themselves on the receiving end of proficiencies never imagined while sitting in a classroom, participants reveal.

“Always do today what others won’t, so tomorrow you can do what others can’t,” advised Gary Medeville, a Chino Valley High School senior, 2016 Arizona high school wrestling champion, enrollee in Mountain Institute Joint Technical Education District (MIJTED), and a weekend operations controller at North-Aire Aviation. “Having a proactive and positive attitude in the work environment makes you stand out to employers and makes you more preferable for hire.”

Business owner Tracey Horn, a former intern herself, also has supervised graphic design interns at her firm, Helken & Horn Advertising Agency.

“It really helped me define my career path, so I am a huge fan of internships,” Horn said, describing her initial pursuit of a career in film production while earning her degree at the University of Arizona. An internship with a film company helped Horn discover that “it was not the path I wanted to take.” She then interned at an advertising agency, and “found my calling. The light switch came on. They hired me after the internship was done. I grew up in the world of advertising, but fell in love with it interning.”

No statistics are readily available regarding internships and job offers at the high school level, but the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) reports that 61 percent of graduating university seniors from the class of 2014 had undertaken an internship or co-op experience. Of university graduates receiving job offers before graduation, 52 percent had held internships.

 

“It is so very important for hands-on experience with what you think you want to do in life,” Horn said, noting that options such as MIJTED did not exist where she grew up. She urges students to take any opportunity to incorporate internships. MIJTED CTE Director Laura Jaime agrees.

“On-the-job training is crucial to the students applying the skills that they have learned in class and putting them to use in a real world application,” Jaime explained. “The students need to understand the ‘feeling’ of being on a job site that cannot be recreated in the classroom.”

MIJTED Skills Labs provide students with on-the-job training for high school credit, Jaime explained. Over the past four years, Skills Labs have been placing 15 to 20 high school students annually with area companies: Tim’s Toyota, Lamb Chevrolet, Soldi Creative Cuisine, Earnhardt Liberty Kia, Outdoor Sports, Bowen Chiropractic, Canyon Physical Therapy, Advanced Physical Therapy, Circle L Animal Hospital, Yampa Precision, Yavapai Regional Medical Center, Heritage Funeral Home, and Family Medical Walk-In Clinic. Firms such as Soldi Creative Cuisine and Earnhardt Liberty Kia have subsequently hired their interns.

Students and their families also have been known to generate their own opportunities. Medevielle, for example, transitioned to his current position at North-Aire Aviation after negotiating an internship last summer.

“Working as an operations controller, I usually check in with the students and make sure they are ready for their activity for the day,” Medevielle explained. “After the activity is complete, I send them out with a smile. Sometimes, I’ll check the fuel for the airplane and make sure all the briefing rooms are ready to go for the day.”

Medevielle says he achieved the internship after attending an open house. “During the cleanup,” he explained, “I was helping out with the work and my dad knew I had a love for aviation, so he asked if I could get a job as a hangar boy to start off. After some asking around, he was able to get me to talk with some of the people in management. Afterwards, we set up an interview and I received the internship.”

Company President Greg Reverdiau said Medevielle “has been an excellent addition to our team at North-Aire Aviation. We have a solid dedication to giving back to our community and mentoring the next generation of workforce candidates fulfills that goal. Gary shares his enthusiasm and raw talent with us and we work together in executing standard business practices. He learns about what is expected in the world of work and how to respond to business situations. We value his insights and contributions to our workflow and customer care. Internships and on-the-job training are win-win relationships I would recommend to any business owner in today’s competitive global marketplace.”

 

Medevielle plans to join the military after graduation and anticipates that his contributions at North-Aire Aviation will help him become an air traffic controller for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

“Working with pilots is what air traffic controllers do,” Medevielle stated. “So I think that being able to understand them is helpful. Also, I want to become a private pilot myself, so spending time with them is beneficial because I can learn something about flying every day. It also gives me people skills and work experience.”

Medevielle and Horn offered insights for locating internships and job training. Horn said she, as an employer, looks for individuals who want to learn and to observe, who show interest, and who are enthusiastic about the business world.

“Just ask around, and if you have an interest in something, go for it because you never know unless you try,” Medevielle encouraged. “Even if you have to start from the bottom, it’s still great work experience. Having a positive attitude towards your work will make your time there a lot more enjoyable and you may become an example for your co-workers.”

By Sue Marceau

Bitcoin: Currency of the Future?

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BitcoinA novelty digital payment method surfaced in January 2009 as the brainchild of a computer programmer identifying himself as Satoshi Nakamoto and christening his techno-currency Bitcoin (BTC).

The prognosis for BTC as a mainstream currency has been shrouded as much in mystery as the identity of its inventor. The fact that Nakamoto is presumed to be a pseudonym only adds to the intrigue.

 

“I like the innovative nature of Bitcoin,” shared investment manager William T. Hepburn, president of Hepburn Capital in Prescott. “It shows us what alternatives to traditional money are possible. However, most of the total failures in investing involve new entities with good stories, but without proven track records or underlying value. This is the precise nature of Bitcoin. There is no intrinsic value, just a good story. The price rise of the past three months followed a decision by a European court’s ruling that Bitcoin would be exempt from its Value Added Tax (VAT), and gave market manipulators a new PR platform. If you look at price chart of Bitcoin, it looks very much like a speculation rather than an investment. Think tulip bulbs and dot-coms of the 1990s.”

BTC has captured the interest of Congressional Research Service (CRS), which delivered a report to members and committees of Congress in October 2015. The document cites unease about use in illegal money transfers, impact on the Federal Reserve, and lack of consumer protection. The potential for money laundering, treatment under federal securities law, and effects on the regulation of foreign exchange trading remain legal and regulatory questions.

A maximum of 21 million BTC ultimately can be mined, with that milestone anticipated in 2040. Coinbase.com quotes 15,029,500 BTC as of December 2015. Average price at that time was $422 per BTC. Pricing has ranged from less than $20 to $1,100.

“Unlike a dollar, Bitcoin has no legal form, is not legal tender, and is not backed by any government or other legal entity, and its supply is not determined by a central bank,” CRS cautions. Coins owned by investors and end users are stored in digital wallets on an owner’s computer or with an online wallet service. There is no retrieval for lost or stolen BTC.

Here’s how it works, according to CRS: “Each Bitcoin and each user is encrypted with a unique identity, and each transaction is recorded on a decentralized public ledger (or blockchain) visible to all computers on the network, but does not reveal any personal information about the involved parties.”

Network users, called miners, gather blocks of new transactions and compete to verify that all transactions are valid. Verification reportedly can be completed in as few as 10 minutes or as many as 60. The first miner verifying the blockchain is awarded 25 BTC by the controlling computer algorithm.

Insight on BTC users comes from blogger Tyler Durden in an article entitled “The Demographics of Bitcoin” submitted March 2013 to www.zerohedge.com. He reports that the “average Bitcoin user,” is male (96 percent), 32.7 years of age, libertarian/anarcho-capitalist (37 percent), non-religious (61 percent), with a full-time job (43 percent), and in a relationship (56 percent). Curiosity, profit and politics are identified as the biggest motivation for new users. Thirty-nine percent of users do not drink, smoke, gamble or take drugs. “Regulatory/legal intervention” and “reputation problems” concern users.

Research firm Quantcast estimates that nearly half of BTC users have annual incomes of $50,000 and above, with 35 percent earning more than $100,000 a year and 26 percent more than $150,000. Tech savvy and Internet buying go along with the profile. Collections of white papers posted online show BTC as fodder for educational research, especially regarding the technology.

From Hepburn’s perspective, “Bitcoin feeds the desire of schemers and scammers, rebels and ultra-early adopters to use vehicles that are off the radar charts – (concepts) that ‘the man’ has not yet figured out how to control, and their neighbors do not yet understand. Just as some folks like the feeling of being ‘off the grid’ and unregulated, Bitcoin users enjoy the anonymity of its transaction process.”

Hepburn published an article on BTC in December 2013 “after being asked to do a presentation that included Bitcoin to the regional Mensa convention in Phoenix. The interest then was the result of a recent spike in Bitcoin pricing that had generated much media attention. It was the kind of price bubble that is often created by speculators or operators of ‘pump and dump’ schemes. In the 18 months following my article, Bitcoin lost 75 percent of its value, and that decline confirmed my opinion that this is an easily manipulated market.”

An online search of traders and merchants accepting BTC identifies several locations in Las Vegas, Phoenix and Tucson. No merchants are listed in the Quad Cities. Hepburn said he does not know any BTC owners or retailers here, although he said he has not really looked.

QCBN caught up with Erin Brinkman of Brinkman’s Visual Art in Flagstaff, who was located on the web as a retailer accepting BTC.

“I accept donations and payments with Bitcoin, although I haven’t conducted any business with Bitcoin yet,” Brinkman explained. “I initially got involved by purchasing Bitcoin as an asset. I don’t know of any other local businesses that accept Bitcoin. I see Bitcoin as a currency that will soon be the most stable and easiest way to pay for things.”

Some industry analysts have predicted that, even if the currency itself does not evolve into broader use, its encryption technology could be BTC’s ticket to lasting legacy.

Hepburn reserves judgment. “Technology is changing our lives at a dizzying pace. [Does it make] sense that it can change the way we use money, too? As I mentioned in my December 2013 article, I confess to not realizing the impact on our lives that the Internet might bring [when thinking about the future] 30 years ago, and Bitcoin might have a similar impact, but I’ll wait and see.”

By Sue Marceau

 

 

Marketing Prescott Valley

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marketingThe call to action in Prescott Valley’s battle cry as “Leader of the Pack” originated with Mike Paredes, executive director of the Prescott Valley Economic Development Foundation (PVEDF).

Parades, an Arizona native who has been on the job in Prescott Valley for nearly two years, says that his job – and that of everyone in the meeting room – involves telling the story of Prescott Valley and all that the community offers.

PVEDF, he said, “is excited and well prepared for 2016 with an excellent plan, a proactive plan, a plan that will allow us to tell our story to the external markets outside Prescott Valley, Arizona and the U.S. It’s important for everyone in this room to tell the local story, how great it is to live here and work here and create a family here.”

One of five speakers at the first quarterly 2016 breakfast meeting of the Prescott Valley Chamber of Commerce, Paredes and colleagues saluted the town’s staff, leadership and business community for working together. The hosts reported that the meeting, a combined session of PVEDF and the Prescott Valley Chamber of Commerce, drew a record crowd.

Event sponsor and Arizona’s Hometown Radio Group Owner Sanford Cohen labeled the economy “about as confusing as it can be right now” with slow growth, significant unemployment, low interest rates, low inflation, high stock market, high government debt and uncertainty in China. He characterized the business climate as “decent” with “no recession, but no boom either” amidst another potential interest rate hike and the new federal administration.

Prescott Valley Mayor Harvey Skoog shared town achievements aligned with “keeping quality of life a vital component in community management.” Skoog credited town staff and a “great” police department with the results:

 

  • A town balance sheet with $16.5 million in reserves
  • Bond debt down to $56 million from $98 million several years ago
  • Census data reporting Prescott Valley as the largest municipality in Yavapai County
  • A local economy outpacing national
  • An outstanding finance department earning a government office excellence award for the 18th year in a row
  • Town operations functioning entirely on revenues
  • Municipal bills paid without borrowing money
  • Business growth including a Volkswagen dealership set to open Dec. 31; Ross Dress for Less built out and opening no later than March; Fain Signature Group constructing another building in front of Kohl’s, and a development agreement finalized with Dutch Brothers coffee
  • Sales tax revenue up nine percent so far this year
  • A public library serving 23,000 patrons a month
  • Home construction at 40 to 50 each month
  • Water utility clients totaling 19,419
  • A “safe community” ranking of seventh in the state

 

Marnie Uhl, president and CEO of the Prescott Valley Chamber of Commerce, praised teamwork and identified the Chamber’s successes last year. Uhl, who this month celebrates 10 years leading the Chamber, said that the community provided “the best Valley of Lights we have had in many years.” More than 900 cars passed through on four of the open nights, including 950 on Christmas Eve. Arizona Highways television covered that event and others in the area.

“It’s a gift that our community can do that together,” she said of the Valley of Lights, while also highlighting the importance of events such as a job fair hosted with Goodwill Industries and Yavapai College. She also touted regional collaboration with the Prescott Chamber, the Chino Valley Chamber, PVEDF, GPREP and other public private partnerships.

The Chamber’s efforts included direct mail to 1,018 new residents and 2,194 guests walking through the visitor center from “all over,” Uhl emphasized. “The West Coast. East Coast. Minnesota…That’s a lot for a community that is on the way to where everybody is going. I cannot say enough about our volunteers. They are making everyone feel welcome.”

The teamwork urged by Uhl and Paredes segued easily into comments from Richard Heath, executive director of the Greater Prescott Regional Economic Partnership (GPREP). Heath, who relocated from Wisconsin in June, noted that many people in the room had roles in the GPREP startup.

The primary focus of GPREP is marketing, Heath said, including attracting and bringing companies, growing businesses, spinning off new products, strengthening business activity, reinforcing what works, and addressing gaps in the existing business community. The marketing mix for 2016 includes printed materials, website updates, digital advertising, sponsorships, trade shows and special events.

Strengthening the town, from Skoog’s perspective, involves expanding Neighborhood Watch and other community safety services to become even better at protecting citizens. Additionally, he said, aging high traffic roads will be repaired.

Paredes’s focus on employment creation includes higher paying jobs, reaching out to businesses dissatisfied elsewhere, and tapping the international market in manufacturing. PVEDF’s tool kit for 2016 boasts a new promotional brochure, website enhancements and translation into Spanish and Mandarin, an email campaign to businesses across the country, and global trade missions within the western U.S. and overseas.

“With a higher cost of living, our neighbors to the west find it harder to do anything,” Parades said, describing monthly trips to multiple areas of California to target companies with 15 to 45 employees in light manufacturing, aerospace and construction. “This is our niche. I found that out really quickly. We need to be knocking on their doors once again and being proactive in that approach.”

A new focus on Business Retention and Expansion is underway by GPREP to ensure consistent visits to local businesses to uncover their needs. Since most jobs are created by existing businesses, the goal is to help them stay and expand, he said. Workforce training through Yavapai College, the Career and Technical Education Center and Mountain Institute Joint Technical Education District support this effort.

Paredes said he aims to make PVEDF “a catalyst to help local companies expand and increase the community’s economic vitality.” The “eyes and ears” role of site selection groups and other global partners “puts us in front of corporate decision-makers who need to hear the local story.”

By Sue Marceau

Couple Encouraging Horseplay

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HorseplayFinally, a holiday toy for your horse

Horsing around with America’s favorite pastime yields home runs for thousands of equines worldwide as owners push playing ball with Equi-Spirit Toys & Tools from Prescott to fortify their animals’ minds, bodies and spirits.

One horse lover, Tamra, writes that her Haflinger, Rusty, “really enjoys playing with his equine ball…It has been a fantastic toy, and a great training tool…from teaching Rusty to trot while in saddle to helping my Haflinger, Adler, become more brave. I even play ‘catch’ with both horses, rolling the ball to them and they roll it back using their noses… Thanks so much for the great toys.”

Rusty, Adler, and other equines romp with 25-inch or 40-inch balls in arenas, round pens or open pastures, thanks to humans such as Tamra who recognize the importance of horse play to their equines’ overall health and well-being.

“All animals love to play,” said Lisa Ross-Williams, co-owner with husband, Kenny Williams, of the company that has created, markets and sells “horse-proof” balls designed to withstand aggressive equine kicks, bites and squeezes.

“People [often] think horses are livestock and that they don’t have that play drive,” she continued, “but they absolutely do. Play strengthens mind, body and spirit. Horses are meant to move in a natural state. All too often, they are not given much room or ability to roam with a herd.”

As a result, the equines can exhibit signs of boredom and listlessness. The positive physical benefits of horseplay, she says, include healthy digestive systems and hooves, along with emotional security and brain challenges.

Playing “stimulates their minds when they are able to figure out ― especially with a ball ― how they want to play,” Ross-Williams explained, citing pushing, kicking, lying atop or nudging among the options.

The business venture arose from an effort to help Riley, a two-week old orphan colt the couple saved from auction. The motherless foal’s survival was tenuous in 2000. The couple recognized that “he needed to start moving to get strong. Once horses are up and nursing, they need to be moving 10 miles a day. We knew that physical exercise was very important for him.”

Sensing that toys might stimulate Riley to get the exercise and play he needed, the couple gave the colt every toy imaginable, only to watch as he quickly destroyed them. Needed, they decided, was a ball that could survive Riley and his tough brand of horseplay. Through trial and error, varied designs, and multiple prototypes, they finally developed a ball with enough durability to pass the Riley field test.

The ball sold today consists of a thick, durable PVC bladder overlaid with a 1000 denier U.S. Cordura cover. The covers are made in Phoenix and the bladders come from New York. All balls include the company’s patented air fill chamber enclosure, which keeps the inflated bladder safe from prying horses and donkeys. The cover “closes immediately on itself, so that the horse cannot get into the inner bladder,” Ross-Williams explained.

Cost is $125 for the smaller 25-inch ball designed for ponies, minis and other small or timid animals, and $185 for the 40-inch diameter, which may have more appeal for larger equines.

The balls generally tend to last five years or longer, when some owners have contacted the company about new covers. Cover-only sales are restricted to previous customers, Ross-Williams stated, to ensure that their branded product is correctly utilized. The bladders used by Equi-Spirit are specifically made to withstand 1,000 to 1,500 pounds per square inch of pressure and not pop, she said.

At one point, the couple engaged retailers in the country and around the world to help sell the Equi-Spirit Balls. However, the expense of quality production and limited customer service from third parties prompted them to focus the sales function in-house. The couple is protective of both their product and their reputation.

“We were told by some businesspeople that we are making them too durable,” Ross-Williams said. “They said we should make them so they fall apart and people would come back to buy more. We are a small business. We have horses [and understand the expense of caring for animals]. We would not put our integrity on the line and do that. It happens too often in the business world.”

Ross-Williams and her husband own a menagerie of animals, including seven equines, two cockatiels, three dogs, two pigmy goats and seven cats. The equines ― including a miniature, an Arabian, a donkey, and a Paint ― were all rescue animals. They all reside at Talking Horse Ranch in Williamson Valley.

“I have loved horses all my life,” Ross-Williams said. “I had a horse when I was a little girl. I got her when I was 10 years old. Her name was Liza and she was 10, too.”

Later in life, Ross-Williams met her husband when they both served in the Air Force. They did not have horses for many years until they purchased their first property together in Apache Junction. Ultimately, they began educating people about natural and holistic horse care through publishing, webcasts and the Equi-Spirit balls.

And based on the couple’s ongoing success in the horse arena, the Equi-Spirit Toys & Tools business is going to the dogs ― happily in the form of 25-inch Canine-Spirit Balls. QCBN

For more information about playballs for dogs or horses, go online to www.equi-spirit-toys.com or call 928-999-5759.

By Sue Marceau, QCBN