Thought Center

Thought Center

Fletco Carpets USA Partners with The Vure Group to Expand U.S. Availability of its Award-Winning Commercial Products into Southwest

Los Angeles, CA — February 16, 2017: Fletco Carpets USA is pleased to announce it is partnering with The Vure Group of Houston, Texas to continue its expansion in the U.S.  Fletco Carpets, one of Denmark’s leading carpet manufacturers, launched in the U.S. in November 2016 under the leadership of Anthony Minite. Aligning with The Vure Group supports the company’s expansion efforts by bringing its award-winning commercial and residential carpet products to end users in the Southwestern marketplaces.

“The response we are receiving from end users has been overwhelming and we are thrilled to have Chris Watson and Vure Group on board,”  said Minite, managing director.  “Chris is a trusted colleague, who has a great reputation for design and service excellence.  I have every confidence that Vure and Fletco will have tremendous success in this marketplace.

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Creative Content – Video Series Spotlighting Employees

We absolutely love the creative process and we enjoy being challenged by our clients to create compelling content.  This video series spotlights the men and women who make Marina Del Rey Hospital so special, and its host, Saul, is someone beloved by all who know him.

When we first met with the marketing team at Marina Hospital, they referred to their staff as a “cast of characters,” which we immediately embraced.  The idea for “60 Seconds with Saul” came up early in our collaboration process and was pitched to Saul, who loved it. The time commitment for Saul is minimal and the client is thrilled with the results.

If you are looking for interesting content to “humanize” your organization, we recommend you look within to identify the people who make a positive impact and explore ways to shine the spotlight on them.

Need help creating content? That’s our jam! Contact us today.

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How Waiting Tables Set Me Up for Success

I have always said that working as a server (it was called waitressing back then) was one of the best learning experiences of my life because it taught me important skills that I use in my job every day.

Serving was a desirable job in my youth because you had the opportunity to make money instantly by earning tips.  But little did I know that slinging hash would set me up for success all these years later. Below are some of the ways waiting tables made me a great consultant.

Getting slammed. This is restaurant lingo for having multiple tables sat in your section at once.  It’s never ideal, but when it happens, you must jump into action and take care of every party with a smile.  This taught me tremendous project management skills, including stress management and prioritization. The funny thing is, I still have nightmares about being slammed to this day.

Recovering from mistakes.

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Fletco Taps Industry Veteran Anthony Minite to Lead North American Expansion

Company will Partner with Spartan Surfaces and Sustainable Surfaces to Expand Brand into U.S. & Canada

Los Angeles, CA — October 10, 2016: Fletco Carpets, one of Denmark’s leading carpet manufacturers, announced today it has named industry veteran, Anthony Minite as Managing Director of its new United States and Canadian operations. Minite, successfully ran Bentley Prince Street (BPS) as President for 11 years and ultimately was part of the team that purchased BPS from its parent company Interface in 2012. Minite will lead a strategic plan for Fletco to expand into the U.S and Canada. The company will be partnering with Spartan Surfaces and Sustainable Surfaces to expedite its expansion in the marketplace. Fletco Carpets will officially launch at NeoCon East in Philadelphia next month.

According to Fletco’s Brian Jensen, “We have been wanting to expand into the U.S.

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Best Marketing Advice Ever: Build a List and Nurture it

I recently attended a webinar by one of my favorite marketers and authors, Chris Brogan, and this advice was hands down the best takeaway. I am grateful to Chris for reminding me how important email marketing is for building business.  We easily get caught up in finding new customers, learning new apps, using the right keywords, and over analyzing blog titles, that we sometimes forget about tried and true practices like email marketing.

Since that webinar, I have been reminding all my clients to go back to their lists and nurture them. We are getting reacquainted with a practice most of us have done since the beginning – snail mail, then email. It’s actually been fun coming up with fresh ideas for content, catchy subject lines, and good old-fashioned personalization.  

Think about how many marketing emails you receive. Chances are good you open several a week, and it’s likely that some of them prompt you to take some kind of action.

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Why your Bad Yelp Review Could be Good for Business

To Yelp or not to Yelp.

That is a question we get all the time from frustrated clients.  I think we all can agree there is value to user reviews but we know all to well that Yelp is easily manipulated by users (and sometimes Yelp themselves, but that is a blog for another day.)

I use Yelp often to find service providers, restaurants, etc.  But I also know enough about the platform to question reviews that seem suspicious. Interestingly enough, the businesses that speak to me are the ones who get bad reviews and actually respond in their defense.  This is something I help clients with on a regular basis. It’s to your advantage to respond publicly to bad reviews (as well as good ones) because your future customers will see that you pay attention and that you are willing to solve problems for unhappy customers.

Today, however, while I was searching for a service provider in my neighborhood, I came across one of the best replies I’ve ever read.

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Able ARTS Work (Formerly Arts & Services for Disabled) to Host “On A Roll” Casino Night Fundraiser in Long Beach

Event takes place Friday, November 4th from 5 to 9pm, at Hotel Maya

Long Beach, CA – September 20, 2016: The first annual “On A Roll” Casino Night to benefit local nonprofit, Able ARTS Work, will be held Friday, November 4th at Hotel Maya in Long Beach, California. Able ARTS Work (formerly Arts & Services for Disabled) provides lifelong learning through creative arts education, for people of all abilities throughout Los Angeles. This event is open to the public and tickets may be purchased online or at the door.

Tickets are available for $100 per person, which includes appetizers, wine tasting, live entertainment, and starter “funny money” to enjoy traditional casino table games. All profits from ticket sales will benefit Able ARTS Work programs. Attendees will also have the opportunity to purchase student artwork on site, with 50% of those sales going directly to the artists.

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Arts & Services for Disabled Announces 4th Annual Artbeat for Humanity Gala, COUNT ME IN! Honoring Special Olympics Southern California & President/CEO Bill Shumard

Event will be held June 18th at the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach

2016 Celebrated artist Carlos Arredondo

Long Beach, CA – April 15, 2016: Arts & Services for Disabled, Inc. (ASD) is thrilled to announce its 4th Annual Artbeat for Humanity Gala, which will be held on Saturday, June 18th at the Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA) in Long Beach. The event, dubbed COUNT ME IN!, is a multi-sensory celebration that encapsulates ASD’s commitment to inclusion, community support and orchestration. During the gala, ASD will honor Special Olympics Southern California and President/CEO Bill Shumard with the Ami & Remo Belli Humanitarian Award, which recognizes local community leaders.

“Our annual gala is always a great celebration for all the senses and this year will be no exception,” said Helen Dolas, founder/CEO of ASD.

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Arts & Services for Disabled (ASD) Student Artwork will be Featured in “Artful Healing” Exhibit at Museum of Latin American Art

ASD will lead dance & drumming workshops during opening reception on Sunday, April 10th

Long Beach, CA – April 8, 2016: On Sunday, April 10th, the Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA) will open its “Artful Healing” exhibit with a reception from 1:00pm to 4:00pm. The “Artful Healing” exhibit pairs works by local Long Beach artists with pieces from the museum’s permanent collection. Three of the local artists featured include current ASD students, Cristina Mariotta and Dennis Lauterwasser, and Suzanne Doake (now deceased.) MOLAA Founder Robert Gumbiner was a local physician and believer in the restorative powers of art making.

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