Learn how to create a great elevator pitch for your business!

Does this describe you at a networking event?

Your palms are sweating.

Your heart is racing.

Your mind draws a blank.

What are you going to say in 30 seconds or less about your business?

I’m Debbie Lewandowski, Your Commercial Queenwith Spotlite and my next workshop is on April 4, 2009 from 9:30 – 1:30 at: Darrel Dorr Productions in Lake Forest. 27031 Vista Terrace Lake Forest, CA 92630

In just 4 hours, you will learn the best way to create an awesome elevator pitch for your business.

The cost is $97 to attend and seats are limited. Register by April 2nd by calling Debbie Lewandowski at 949.633.7181 or emailing debbie@yourspotlite.com.

Proudly sponsored by Tammi Spruill from Fruition Branding, Darrel Dorr from Darrel Dorr Productions and Moses Jung from Mustard Cafe, Mission Viejo

A Christmas Story…SoCal Style

Below is a story from Karin, our Mission Viejo car mechanic.  She got word of kids in the Inland Empire who were not going to be visited by Santa, and it broke her heart.  SO, she asked the Chamber to help her do something about it.  Here is our Christmas story!

My Dear Friends

Here are pictures of the joy you brought. You have made a difference to the boy who wrote the nasty letter to SANTA, you have touched these children as you can see by their beautiful smiling faces! Files Attached.

I am overwhelmed and my heart is swelling with thankfulness for being able to help them and for knowing you, my many fine friends.

I thank you, my heart thanks you for ALL your help in the short notice of one day. From the generous donations of money, candy, food, toys, even jackets and school supplies from Marianne Dorsey, Bob Schumacher at BMW for the box of donated toys,  to Jason Kennedy fetching those toys, Libby Jason for toys and food, Claudine for storybook candy and Trader Joes for the 60 something bags, to Annie Banani and Annie Nelson redirecting 30 balloon art kits with 30 DVDs for the WHOLE class to watch and do as group! Our own Diana donated a used bike that our team cleaned and lubed! For everyone who gave 1 dollar or more, or a toy, or your time, I thank you! Please forgive me if I neglected to mention you.

I used the money you donated as wisely as I could at the Dollar Tree Store. We raised $250 (in a day) between the Chamber and Neighborhood Car Care. I spent $200 and gave the rest to Jenny thier teacher for cookies or food for the families.

Every girl and boy got a good size teddy bear, 1 Big Toy and lots of smaller toys, footballs, more stuffed animals, jewelry and scarves and gloves from my gift boutique, a deck of cards, candy and chocolate from the 76 Station, and your donations also purchased a bag full of fun art supplies for the class of pom poms, google eyes, pipe cleaners, glue, crayons, markers, colored pencils and more!

The teacher Jenny’s thank you letter is below! As she said in her mail:

                                               God bless you abundantly for blessing these children.

As Scott Doody says:  “I Love Ya, Man!” I do!
A blessed, peaceful healthy holiday and new year to you and yours!

Karin, Keith and Sons
and The Neighborhood Car Care Team
 
 
 
Dear Karin,

Yesterday was the most magical day for my students as they opened the gift bags you gave to them. I wish you could have been there to hear their excitement as they opened the bags filled with toys and goodies. For some, your gifts will be the only Christmas gifts they get this year.

I heard several students say that it felt like Christmas day had arrived. I had tears in my eyes as I stood back and watched them open their bags to find sporting equipment, art supplies, jewelry, candy, electronics, board games, and so much more. They were overwhelmed in the most positive way.

The teddy bears were a hit, and it was so sweet to see both boys and girls hugging their bears and rubbing them against their faces. It was as if the teddy bears were a security blanket for them. Many of these children have baggage that they carry around, yet they put on the bravest face each day.

I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your generosity and for bringing a bit of Christmas into my classroom. Please thank the South Orange County Chamber of Commerce, your employees, BMW, and everyone who played a part in this magical day. Merry Christmas to all, and may God bless you abundantly for blessing my students.

With Love,
Jenny F.

 What a GREAT Christmas Story!!  Do you have your own?  Comment here!

Happy Thanksgiving from the SOC Chamber of Commerce!

Just wanted to send a shout out to all Orange County, CA businesses and their families & wish you a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

What are YOU thankful for???????????????????  Post your comments, OC!!  Have a happy turkey day

thanksgiving

Great business teleseminar – 5 deadly mistakes you can’t afford to make in this economy

I thought this would be great info for the South Orange County chamber blog, hopefully Rick and the Productive Learning and Leisure team won’t mind!  Rick Itzkowich was our featured speaker, and his company Productive Learning and Leisure fully admit they have made ALL of these deadly mistakes, and survived them, so it will be nice for us to be able to take some advice as opposed to taking some hard knocks   Thanks for sharing, Rick! 

Mistake #1 – treating sales and marketing the same. 

THERE’S A DIFFERENCE!!!!  Sales is not marketing.  Marketing definition:  getting people who have a need for your product and service to know you, like you, and trust you, so they can buy from you.  They need to know you have their best interest at heart, and a prodcut or service on hand that fills their needs.  Sales is more a short term in focus, and marketing is a long term strategy. 

For example, take networking.  Many people are in the Chamber, BNI, or LeTip groups.  Networking is marketing, NOT sales.  Go there to build long term relationships, not to sell.  If you go with a sales mindset, you’ll get a couple sales… but you’ll turn a lot of people off.  Just focus on getting people to know you, like you, and trust you.  Build that solid foundation. 

Businesses in this economy need to continue to sell AND market, or risk living month to month forever.  If you market and don’t sell, you’ll fail.  If you just sell and don’t market, you’ll always barely scrape by.  Is that where you want your business to be for the long term?  Of course not!

Mistake #2 – the acronym OOSOOM.  Out of sight, out of mind. 

There’s a famous Visibility, credibility, and profitibility model called VCP.  You need to stay visible, and be out there.  Credibility involves building trust, and being consistent.  Profitibility will come after you are visible and credible.  Don’t expect to be profitable if you have issues with visibility or credibility!

Ready for some stats?  The Ultimate Sales Machine book states only 3% of people are in the market to buy your products or services at any time.  7% are open to buying your product or service right  now.  So that totals 10%, The remaining 90% don’t pay attention, are not interested, or are happy with your competitor.  So in a nutshell, its a numbers game and you need to be in front of a lot of numbers. 

***Angie’s side note*** this is why organic SEO is SO IMPORTANT!   It weeds out the other 90% and gets you the needle in the haystack!  You’re getting in front of those 3-10% online who have searched for you, typing in a phrase that indicates they want to do business with you. 

Rick told a story of his BNI meeting where OOSOOM was painfully true.  There was a guest who came in for ink cartridges and Rick needed some new ones.  Obviously, Rick was in the 3% who wanted it now, so he decided to buy.  BUT, when the time came to renew for the cartridges, 8 months later, Rick couldn’t remember the cartridge guy’s name or his business, and he ended up buying from someone else.  Rick would have bought 100’s of dollars from the same guy if he stayed in touch, but instead those dollars went to competition.

Mistake #3 – Focusing on customer acquision and forgetting about retention. 

Most businesses are worrried about getting new customers, and they ignore keeping the old ones.   Yes, new clients are exiciting.  But you can’t think of your existing clients as old news.   Make sure to build your business goals around new AND old clients.  Don’t take your existing clients for granted, they are always your best resell or upsell opportunity! 

More stats:  79% of small biz owners have NO formal customer retention policy in place.  Do you have one?  Over a 5 yr period businesses may lose as many as HALF of their customers.  Aquiring a new customer can cost 6 to 7 times more money than to retain an existing one.   A small investment in customer retention pays GREAT dividends.  Sometimes its just getting the clients to hear from you.  Many times they think you don’t care, and then they leave

Mistake #4.  THIS IS A BIGGIE!  Trading time for dollars. 

Do NOT trade your time for dollars.  Most small business owners don’t have a business, they have a glorified job.   How do you know?  Well, if you go on vacation or get sick, and you don’t have any money or resources coming in, then you’re working a job you call a business. (sorry, we’ve all done it)  REAL Businesses still earn money if the owner is not performing the work themself.  Formulate your business systems so they generate passive income.  Rick mentions having other people selling your product or service, or even your website.  If you are doing all the work yourself, you have NO EQUITY.  You’re the only asset in your business, and that’s not a business at all.  Sometimes a barter can’t be avoided or is in your best interest, but be careful! 

Rick mentions Michael Gerber (LOVE HIM!!) and his Emyth concepts.  You need work ON your business, not in it all the time.  If you only ever work in your business then you’re honestly stuck in a job.  Yes, you need to do both, obviously!  But most people just work in it and wear too many hats.  Consider outsourcing, and remember time = money.  If your constantly working 40 hour weeks then you don’t have any more time to offer trades.  Really, RELATIONSHIPS = MONEY.  Try to build relationships with influential people in your industry and think of how much that one person could do for you.  It only takes a couple power partners to really take your business to the next level. 

**Another Angie note – its nearly impossible to work ON your business when you’re so busy in it.  What Angela and I do, which helps tremendously, is block out time for this.  No, not just “every Friday”… its way to easy to let yourself off the hook   We schedule her Trendwest timeshare at least quarterly, and we GO AWAY for the entire week (autoresponders on and all) to work ON the beast called Cal Coast Web Design.   If we didn’t do this, we’d already be out of business, I guarantee it.  By no means are we experts, but hey we’re still here after 5 yrs and that says something***

Mistake #5 -  Having no follow up or stay in touch systems in place. 

Most people go network on a regular basis, BUT, they never bother to follow up or keep in regular contact to stay front of mind.  You need a structured follow up system in place!  This isn’t only true of new prospects, but also of old people from the past.  You come out with new products, don’t you?  Don’t you think that some of your old trusted clients would enjoy the upgrade too?  A recent survey showed that almost 50% of the small businesses don’t collect email addresses from their customers. And of those who do, a large percentage don’t have a systematic way to stay in touch with them.

Are you making any or all of these mistakes?  If you are, you’re in for some rough times with your business, and you will lose some business to your competition in this market. 

But wait!  Here’s help on the horizon!  Rick offers a fully automated contact tool that can help you before you have to learn the hard way.  They’ve got great results and rave reviews – its called quoteactions.   This is an automated campaign that communicates with daily emails.  There’s a motivational or interesting quote, and an action that brings it to life.  All quotes and actions are pre-written, and they are tested for success.  You can be up and running with Quoteactions in less than 30 minutes.  Fees are really reasonable, less than a dollar a day.. and there is no risk or obligation – even a 60 day $$ back guarantee!  Pricing starts at just $24.95 a month, and there is a small set up fee.  Check out www.quoteactions.com for more details and to sign up or email rick@productivelearning.com .  

Q & A time:

Q.  What’s the best balance between sales and marketing? 

A.  Do 80% marketing and 20% selling if possible.  If you need to make sales right away, though, then flip that and do 20% marketing and 80% selling. 

Q.  Does the quote action bug people when they see it every day? 

A.  Possibly, but most people opt to receive messages 5 days a week, even when they have the option of less.  They’ve researched the stats, and less than 10% of the people who get the messages unsubscribe.  The messages are short and sweet so they don’t tend to be annoying, and the system is also a double opt-in so everyone is happy to get the emails. 

Q.  How do we get our people in the system?   

A.  There isn’t much for us to do here, we just need to send the excel database to Rick to import…they knew they had to make it easy for their clients. 

Well, that’s it because the office is a bustle – its hard to take an hour out in the middle of the day   Thanks again to Rick Itzkowich and the folks over at Productive Learning and Leisure for these great tips.  Hopefully everyone reading will comment their appreciation! 

South Orange County Networking – there’s so many options!

Is it possible to have a thriving business in this economy?

ABSOLUTELY, but you can’t go it alone!  One great way to get quality leads is NETWORKING.  There are all kinds of networking groups here in Orange County – RBN, LeTip, the Chamber, BNI to name just a few.  But what makes you stand out???

Have you heard about The Connectors Network?  Its a different kind of networking group – not just networking – its about growing your business, protecting your business, and getting more done in less time because you’re utilizing other trusted Orange County professionals to help you. 

If you know a way-too-busy business owner in Orange County, tell them to come to Spassos in Laguna Hills on Tuesday, Sept 9th to learn how to protect their businesses ASSets!

Kurt Varricchio with The Law Offices of Kurt M Varricchio will be speaking – not only will you get potential business, you will avoid potential pitfalls in your business – see you there!!  Admission is $25 at the door or $20 if you pay online in advance.

Cosmetics & Skin Rejuvination, Estate Planning and Protection

Mary Kay Products and Cosmetics in Southern California

Susie Stojanovski an Independent Senior Sales Director with Mary Kay was up first.  Susie is a Queens Court member and she loves to help “Make You Beautiful Every Day“.

Susie discussed how to get rid of fine lines and dark spots on your skin. She also discussed Mary Kay’s impressive list of great products to help your skin spots, dark circles and crows feet. One in particular product mentioned was an amazing firming eye cream that helps with those fine lines around the eyes

Have Rosecea? Mary Kay also has a line of sunscreens that lasts 5 hours and are very gentle on the skin! Great for men AND women of who live in Southern California and near the beach!

Need a gift basket? Susie can help! To get in touch with Susie, contact her at…
Phone# (949) 348-0536

Southern California Estate Planning Attorney, Bryan King

Next up was Bryan King, our “singing” Orange County estate planning attorney.  Bryan talked to us about some average people who really lost an above average amount of money by not properly planning and protecting their estate.

On average, most inheritances are squandered and spent in 7 years! Don’t let that happen to your kids by planning accordingly. You can protect your IRA, property, assets and businesses by working with an Orange County estate planner like Bryan King. Remember, what you DON’T know CAN hurt you!!!

Protect your children, estate and yourself by contacting Bryan King at…
Phone# 949-975-1680
www.orangecountyestateplanner.com

Lake Forest Chamber – what a great expo!

Today I had the pleasure of speaking on Internet Marketing and SEO at Lake Forest City Hall.  Its so nice how Orange County has such supportative Chambers of Commerce, you should really check yours out :) 

There were a TON of amazing speakers today!!  The chamber organized a business expo and there were a lot of great companies and people in attendance.  I saw Carol Bridges taking professional photos of the booths and businesses, Keith Cowan and LogicIT helping advise businesses on virus protection and managed IT services, Cox, AT&T, and others.   

The best part was the advice and speakers.  Here are my treo notes:

Keynote Speaker Scott Betty, Oakley

First up Scott Betty, from Oakley, who had a mile long bio…lets just keep it short and say he’s a marketing guru and has been a major part of taking Oakley to the next level.  Scott started with a nice video showing us the essence of Oakley. 

Today he focused on the emotional connection between your brand and consumer – here are my humble notes, Scott, thank you for allowing us to share  

Who is Oakley?  They were founded in 1975, selling at motocross races.  Now they have 10 worldwide offices, and 570 patents.  They expanded across the globe and have a good balance now with the various countries…right now Japan and Brazil are huge.  Oakley didn’t start with glasses, they started with handle grips, and now have products from apparel to watches.  Current yearly revenue is almost to 900m. 

Next we talked about the economy and consumer spending.  Do consumers stop spending in a recession?  NO, but they become more selective.  They will spend for need…but what about desire?  What are our needs?  Food, water, transportation, communication, right?

Once a consumer decides they need something, there is another set of decisions and criteria for purchasing:  based on price, convenience, promotion, and availability. 

But what if what YOU and your business offer is just a want?  Not a need with the above criteria?  For the want list there are a different set of criteria…brand, trend, peer pressure, celebrity influence, EMOTION.

So how do we connect that emotion with our product?  How do people justify what they want into a need?

Take starbucks.  Its not coffee.  Its a club…its an atmosphere.  Look how many people buy into it!  Also Air Jordans.  People buy them in advance every year – its an emotional footwear phenom.  Look at iphones – another emotional product and culture. 

Oakley makes an emotional conection by focusing on innovation, and performance, authenticity, and not being scared to take risks.  ie the green reader lens sunglasses for golf.  If you are a golf nut you’re going to drool over this!  If performance is the same – take the Oakley backpack example – then focus on design.  People may not need it but they sure will want it!   Oakley has awesome fabric for racecar drivers that won’t catch you on fire if you’re in a crash.  That’s emotional, saving your life while you play your exterme sports.  Creating products that have emotional connections is the way to go.

Scott says the best watch is the oakley watch.  All a watch does is tell time…so they needed to win the race with design innovation again. 

How else does the company stay front of mind?  Oakley has sports marketing ambassadors who its their job to integrate Oakley into any given sport.  Nascar, golf, surf, football.  Oakley is there building relationships with all of them, and this is what brings them success in sports.  They think of the athletes as family, and ask for opinions all the time.  Each sport becomes a power partner, and an avenue for publicity   Nice!

Another way to market is participation with consumers.  Roll out with the rolling ”O” lab.  This mobile booth allows consumers to literally experience the Oakley difference.  It showcases Oakley technology and shows consumers how oakley has better product performance. You may see the rolling O at your next big sporting event. 

Also online they have diarama contests to help do personality based marketing and connecting.  wooo hooo Oakley!!!  Way to embrace web 2.0.  Seriously, I’m going to take a second for kudos.  Everyone go look at Oakley.com.  NOTICE how they have the website separated into men and women.  Personalization.  Notice how the products say what sport they are good for.  More personalization.  Notice how each time the homepage loads there is a different emotional niche or sport being offered up.  Total personalization.  Notice how you can grab the exact link for any product in the address bar.  Not an accident.   Simple online innovations like this get people to actually interact and BUY from your website.  Go Oakley, thanks for setting a great online example too!

Back on track.  Scott advised the Chamber members to Be bold, take risks, do not be afraid because that is what blows peoples mind.  Ruffle feathers!!!  Consumers appreciate the fact if you don’t alway play it safe.  Embrace failure and don’t be scared of it… or else you are not really pushing the envelope!

Orange County Business Marketing Panel

Next up was the marketing panel.  I was on it, so that would be rude to take furious treo notes :)  Everyone feel free to comment your thoughts, though!!  I thought everyone on the panel had AWESOME advice, I’m always inspired by Michelle with Sandler Sales.  That woman knows her stuff!!!

OC Business Finance Panel

The next panel was a Q & A that went over effective cash management.  I fully admit this is not my strong suit so feel free to clarify these notes with comments!!  Here goes…

What is a good definition of cash flow?  In a nutshell, its what’s going in, what’s coming out, and then what’s left over.  Look at an accurate profit and loss statement.  subtract items or take items off of P&L that take cash but don’t earn revenue, like inventory, debt service, paying down principal, owner draws.  Then add back loan proceeds and depreciation into cash flow to know requirements.

What key metrics should biz owners have?  Balance sheet, liabilities.  Divide cash by liabilities and look for a number greater than 1.  Also keep track of average day sales. 

What are tax advantages of being a corporation?  Ask an attorney and a CPA if you should incorporate…its NOT always the best thing for all companies. 

If we finish the year with a loss.  Is there a way to carry the loss?  Yes, but most tax payers prefer to elect to carry it forward. 

How else can you keep your cash as a business owner?  One way is to make sure your inventory is not cutting into your cash flow.  Don’t buy too much that just sits on the shelf.  Ask yourself do you really need that?  In tight times business owners need to think about every purchase.

Frank suggested to not use your cash all up – keep cash flow with financing.  Be on top of your receivables.  Don’t be afraid to ask for your money.  If you don’t set the standard up front then people will think its ok to pay you last…remember….if they don’t pay…they are not a real client!!!  So simple, Frank, but so true!  Why do small business owners fear calling for the money owed to them?

A question was asked about a line of credit…Masuda suggested don’t wait to get this until you need it…then its too late.  Small businesses should have an LOC to keep them safe – like 25k is a good number for most. 

What if you can’t get an loc?  Frank suggested alternatives – accts receivable financing.  Its not based on your credit, but for your customers credit!  If you own a retail business then you can usually get a merchant acct advance for about a month.  Also consider a sale / leaseback.

Just because you have bad credit doesn’t mean that you can’t get financing.  First off, know your credit and get things current.  Lenders look at the story..is it solved, or is it a pattern?  Fico is your personal credit….Dunn & Bradstreet is your business credit. (d&b)….ooooh, that is what that means! (smack to forehead)

Can you still get financing if you don’t show profit?  You need to show cash flow, ability, or stability.  You’ll be considered on all of the above.

How does a small biz handle collections?  Remember people make a concious decision of who they are writing checks for…be the squeaky wheel.

What if someone can’t pay their bill?  Well, think about all options before settling, make decisions based on the situation.  Is that client going out or coming into financial difficulty?  Should you take what you can while there is still something there?  It may be the best decision..Masuda mentioned the Bad check restitution program is an Orange County service small businesses can use when they get bad checks – thanks!!!

What if WE are the ones in trouble?  What do we do as a biz to survive???  First take a look at where you are spending the money.  If you don’t have money in the bank then don’t write the check.  NSF fees build up big time and they are also a consideration in credit.  Postdate checks or ask for extensions.  See how much you are paying in merchant fees.  (I just did this Michael Durante with Card Services Direct saved me 1200 a year!)  Stay in touch with your people and almost anyone will work with you.  Don’t hide be in constant communication. 

What great info from our financial experts.

Next up was the human resources panel, but DARN I have to go!!!  Its my loss, I’ll fumble with our new hire now next week   I’m sure everyone was excellent, would love comments!!!

Orange County Spot Mobile Detail and Arbonne

It was a pleasure hearing today from Ken Marsh with Kens on the Spot Mobile Detail. Ken’s been a chamber member for one year, and he thanked us all for helping him to grow his business.  He can help you detail your boat, plane, motorcycle, and car, anything that moves!  He uses green products that don’t pollute the environment or the air you breathe in your car.  He can get stains out of your carpet and upholstery.  He does corporate cleaning too – if you have an office of 5 or more call Ken. 

A new service Ken also offers is helping you sell your car.  If you want max money for your car then don’t sell it back to the dealer.  Ken can make it easy and can make you money when it comes to selling your car in Orange County.

For just $99 ken can wash, clean, and make your car sparkle…check out more prices at www.kensonthespot.com.

Another special guest was Libby Jason with Arbonne. Libbys passionate about selling Arbonne because its a great product and she used it for 6 years before she started selling it! 

Arbonne is made here in the USA and they are a ph correct botanical company.  Their products don’t use mineral oil, they aren’t tested on animals and they are eco friendly.

The new line is the Seasource Detox Spa - it can help you avoid fatigue, premature aging, and wrinkles in your skin. 

Libby is a family woman, a purpose driven woman, and her purpose is to love others and glorify God.  She wants to help others and buy a beach house someday- awesome attitude Libby!

Libby is happy to do Arbonne parties at home, do gift baskets for mothers day, do corporate parties, do YOUR skin right!  http://libbyjason.myarbonne.com – call her today.

Chamber Meeting Notes!

Today’s Southern California Chamber of Commerce meeting was fantastic.  There were a large number of speakers all of whom passed on valuable tips and information to those in attendance.  Two speakers really stood out amongst their counterparts and I’d like to share the information they shared with us.

 

 

 

The first speaker to leave a lasting impression was Frank Marriaccino, a member of the Maximus Financial Group. The Maximus Financial Group specializes in assisting small businesses through financing which in turn helps these businesses grow into profitable organizations.  When other banks tell you no Frank advises you to call the “Frank Bank”.  Frank works hard to find you the money other banks refused to give you.  In addition to this Frank doesn’t get paid unless he’s able to secure you a loan, so there is no risk involved!  In addition to standard business loans Frank can also help proprietors secure SBA loans, uninsured credit, and accounts receivable financing.  If you’re looking for a loan Frank works for you, give him a call today!

 

Tricia Scott with the American Cancer Society relay for life was the next speaker.  Tricia spoke about her reasons for relaying which quite simply are to help find a cure for cancer and so that no one has to hear “you have cancer” from their physician.  Tricia also urged all of those in attendance to relay themselves and asked us to pass that message on to others.  The American Cancer Society says half of all men and 1 in 3 women will learn that they have cancer at some point in their lives so the ACS’s team of volunteers continue to work hard at relaying for the cure.  For those interested in joining the fight, Tricia indicated you can do your part by sponsoring, putting your own team of volunteers together, and in general by getting the word out!  Cancer survivor Steve Bell spoke as well to tell us that Relay 4 Life raised 3 billion dollars for cancer research which drew thunderous applause.  We should all take a few moments to reflect on this very significant cause and spread the word.  For those interested you can help people like Steve and Tricia by donating here.

 

Up next was Big Red with Best DVD who presented an awesome chamber commercial.  In this commercial she put a bag on her head and said ‘who am I’?  Who is this crazy redhead, anyway???  She’s the DVD conversion specialist who takes your photos and VHS’s out of the bag, and onto DVD.  This drew an overly positive response from the crowd and we would like to commend Big Red on a fantastic commercial.

 

Of special note too was Kelly with Downey savings who also presented a fantastic commercial.  Hats off to Kelly for the presentation!

Orange County Interior Design and Home Staging

Speaking today we had Renee Stevens and Dave Stevens with Modus Operandi Designs.  M.O. also means Method of Operation…they do interior design projects and home staging for Orange County.  Hey…this is NOT just interior design – its lifestyle design.  Renee can do contemporary or old school tuscan, but the true passion of this interior design company is to design for the client.  If you felt like your last interior designer forced their taste on you, then you need to call 949-350-8252!

What constitutes good interior design?  Renee takes your taste and opinion of design and tailors that for good environments and productivity for your home.  She helps balance your work and play areas – and we all know how important balance is

Why hire an OC interior designer?  Because its better to do it right the first time!!  Don’t worry about expense… they can work hourly, or around your budget, and even around YOU while you’re still at home while the updating is in progress!

The company also does staging for homes.  With so many homes on the market in Orange County its important to stand out and actually get an offer in!  If your an OC realtor with a home that just won’t sell, call MO designs.

Next up was Dave – he handles the painting and faux finishing for M.O. Designs.  Color is so important to your interior design that they have an interior, exterior, and commercial division to support all your painting needs.  Dave has a special interior painting niche – they can get fancy or just help with the outdated projects like acustic removal or a re-texture.  They use Dunn Edwards paint, the industry standard in paint so you have only the best for your home.  Also, you can go green with low VOC paint.  Also MO does Orange County crown moulding, baseboards,  and other projects to make your home beautiful!  Call Dave today at 949-350-8256 to get the right hue to cure your ‘honey do’ blues!!!!