Stay Current In The Current

By Randall Chase

 I just got back from Institute For Organization Management in LA. While out there I visited a beach  and as I watched the surfers it reminded me of something I have seen in the business world.

I shared this with our Ambassadors recently and it seemed fitting to repost this here. 

Stay Current in the Current

 In a fluctuating market it can be hard to keep yourself in front of the wave. Just like in surfing, there are a few very important keys to be able to keep yourself afloat and riding the wave of the new economy. Your board is your business, the wave is the marketing trend.  

Stay in front:

You have to stay just in front of the wave to ride it. Too far out and it won’t push you, wait too long and it will pass you by.

Ride with it, don’t try to direct it:

You can’t control the wave any more than you can control the market; in small business you must ride with the wave to be successful.

Keep a keen eye out:

You must know which wave to ride and which ones to let pass by. Some waves are short lived and others have staying power. 

There are always more:

Remember that if you miss this wave, there will be another wave coming soon. Just regroup and be ready for the next one. 

They all break:

Every wave drives to the shore, and all waves eventually break, as is the case with the market. Know that getting into it; don’t get too attached to the wave, but keep your board close. Don’t lose your business for the sake of a market trend. Do you remember Pets.com?

You have to start somewhere:

You will never catch a wave if you don’t jump in the water. You will never catch the market if you don’t at least try to ride the wave, sitting on the shore is easy, and it’s easy to criticize from a beach blanket, but get out there yourself. 

Remember its about making a lasting impact in your business, not about the waves of marketing trends. Utilize the wave as a tool to push your business to the next level. But don't get lost in the sea of options, if a marketing trend is working for you keep riding it; if not hop off and look for something else that works better. While this may take time to figure out its worth the time spent. A pro surfer didn't become one overnight, and they probably missed a few good waves along the way.  

Social Media may be your wave to ride, it may not. Print media may be your wave that connects you with the market your business needs. Just know that if one doesn't work for you there are other waves in the ocean, and it may be coming before you know it. Ride it or it could pass you by, or worse yet crash over and sink you. 

Article written by Randall Chase

No portion of this article may be used without the written permission of the author (If you ask I will more than likely say yes though, so be kind).

Twitter Virus Strikes again!!

Say it ain't so.... someone has said something bad about me?!?! NOOOOOOO...

Fear not!! It's not true, everyone loves you and no one is saying bad things about you :)

I noticed a few times today on Twitter recently:

This is what it may look like. DON'T CLICK IT

Its a Direct Message that makes it look like someone doesn't like you... well many have fallen victim to this virus and its sweeping the Twitter world again, it has made a few circles around the block changing its name a bit but it the same bug each time. It was, "Someone is saying bad things" Someone is making Comments about you" and others. Basically people are concerned so they click on it and shaclaky you get struck by a smooth criminal. (A Virus that is, not Micheal Jackson)

This Virus then sends out the same message to all your friends as you... that't right it takes over your Twitter account and sends out messages like it was you sending it out.


So you may get this message  that looks like its coming from a reputable link, or even an old friend from high school well its not. 


They are infected with a virus that uses their Twitter account to send out these messages.

Some words to the wise, “don’t click on the link”. Just delete the Direct Message (DM). 

And by the way, go and change your Twitter password while you are at it. It would not hurt to do a full virus scan either.

These viruses use generic messages in hope that many people will click on them. I have alerted those who have sent this to me to perform the above steps.

Lessons to take away from this experience:

• Don’t click on everything that has a hyperlink
• When in doubt about whether sender really did send this, contact the sender to verify that they did purposely send it
• If you get infected, login into the affected site and change your password as soon as possible
• Make sure there is no gift left behind on your device by doing a virus scan
• You have to protect all your accounts by acting wisely at all times. Don’t be click happy and click on everything that gets in front of you.

Social media is a great tool for personal and business use, but make sure you use it wisely!

February News

Click here to grow your business

February 2012 Welcome to Waxahachie Chamber Of Commerce We appreciate your membership and look forward to a great year!! Date 2/23/2012 Time 6:30 PM TO 9:30 PM You are cordially invited to the 84th Annual Awards Banquet, Thursday, February 23, 2012, Six-Thirty in the Evening at the Waxahachie Civic Center. Ticket price: $38.00 per person. Please RSVP by February 16, 2012, to Karen Maxwell: kmaxwell@waxahachiechamber.com or 972-937-2390. LifeStyles: The Home and Family Expo There is still time to get your booth space Its coming up, make sure and reserve your booth spot for this years LifeStyles Expo, and Taste of Waxahachie. Booths are filling up fast but we still have some great spots open. This is the biggest expo if its kind in Ellis County with over 60,000 Square feet of meeting space, over 100 booths and over 3,000 attendees each year. If you haven't gotten your application yet, click on the link below to find out more: LifeStyles:The Home and Family Expo The 2012 Membership Directory is in!!! We have all been waiting for it, and it's in, they just arrived as publishing this newsletter, and they look GREAT!! In This Issue 84th Annual Banquet LifeStyles Daddy Daughter Dance 2012 Membership Directory #2 In The Counrty Waxahachie Chamber "THE Chamber to Watch" Second Most Liked Chamber In The Country According to ACCE (American Chamber of Commerce Executives). When it comes to Social Media, The Waxahachie Chamber is on top of their game. We are providing opportunities galore for you to promote your business in the fastest growing advertising market in the world. "When it comes to Social Media you are either in it, or you are being left behind" according to Social Media Experts the world over. The Waxahachie Chamber has run to the top of the market becoming "The Chamber to watch in North Texas", says the Director of a Leading Social Media company in Dallas. The Waxahachie Chamber of Commerce Facebook page has over 3,200 fans, making it the SECOND largest Chamber page in the nation. That's right in the NATION. And with nearly 400 Twitter fans, we are staying on top of the current trends and making sure that we pass that on to you. When it comes to Social Media, we want to make sure that you are able to use this to your advantage. As a member, you are able to link your Facebook page to ours and promote your business. This will put your company far above the competition by posting your ad in front of over 1,000 viewers a day. Your business will be the one they see and the the one they will want to choose. If you haven't already done so, be sure to Like us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn now by clicking the links below.

Social Media Basics

This is a blog series that we are going to be putting on to help our members with some of the burning questions about Social Media. We will cover many topics from Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn. How they work, what you can do with them, and most importantly how they can make you money.

For starters what you need to know is that Social Media is more than just another advertising venue, its more like a conversation you are having with your customers, and potential customers.

Traditional Media is like a one way street, you put an ad out and hope it gets your message across, but you are not there to answer the questions your audience has, and you can't expound beyond the print. Social Media on the other hand is like a two way street, or conversation. You are able to communicate instantly with your customer, and then respond directly to questions, and be able to overcome the objections if there are any.

One way that I heard it put was imagine you are having a conversation with an individual and someone just walks up and says "Hi, I'm so-and-so buy my product." and then they leave are you going to buy his product? Most of us would answer "NO" This is how a traditional commercial happens many times, we are watching a show that we like, and then there is an interruption (usually at good part) and then in come the commercials for paper towels, dog food, razors, medications, 3 minutes later your show is back on and you have moved on. Or you have recorded your show and just fast forward past them and ignore them anyway.

Social Media on the other hand is your customers intentionally communicating with you. You are a part of the conversation not simply an interruption to it.

An example would be on Twitter:

When you go onto Twitter and tweet (or share) about your product and use the # symbol in front of it, then anyone else interested in that product will be able to see you. Example, "I sure do love #IceCream I wish I had some right now." If you sold Ice Cream you could follow anyone who puts the "#" in their tweet and tell them that your company sells the best. then offer them a 10% off coupon by going to your website or email them a coupon. Its just that simple. This works with anything.

The Social Media Company Social Motives posted this in their blog last October:

An well-integrated Social Media strategy will keep customers and prospects engaged with your brand for longer. In an independent 2010 survey, the Social Media Examiner asked marketers how social media has affected their businesses and the results were mapped into the graphic below:

At the Waxahachie Chamber of Commerce we are here to encourage develop and grow your business through networking, advertising, promotion, and growth opportunities.

Follow us on Twitter at:

@HachieChamber