Mountain Views News          Saturday, January 25, 2014

BUSINESS NEWS & TRENDS Mountain Views-News Saturday, January 25, 2014 
10 BUSINESS NEWS & TRENDS Mountain Views-News Saturday, January 25, 2014 
10 
BUSINESS TODAY 

The latest on Business News, Trends and Techniques 

By La Quetta M. Shamblee,MBA 
KNOWLEDGE + ACTION = POWER 

“Knowledge is power” is a familiar saying that is only partially true. The fact is there are millions of 
people who have attained knowledge in certain disciplines, some to the point of being regarded as 
experts. For those whose goal it was to simply attain a certain level of knowledge, mission accomplished. 
For the others who have ideas about using the knowledge toward some greater personal or business 
purpose, it’s important to take action if there is any real interest in making progress. 

Every entrepreneur who has built a successful business venture from the ground up, has had 
to develop an arsenal of specialized knowledge about some aspect of the industry in which their 
business operates. Some people think that the mere acquisition of knowledge is all that is needed to 
start and operate a business. If that were the case, there should be a steady stream of new enterprises 
being established by individuals completing workshops and classes. Gaining knowledge is one thing, 
having the confidence to do something with it is another. The thing that stands between knowledge 
and action is fear. 

When knowledge and action are combined, the outcome can be seemingly miraculous. All of us have 
had to go through the process of mastering a body of knowledge before moving on to apply it. From 
a simple task like learning the rules of the road and how to drive a car as an adolescent, to mastering 
the operation of a heavy piece of machinery, the process moves from knowledge to action to practice. 
The repetition of this cycle results in what most would refer to as experience, skill or expertise. The 
more times the individual completes the cycle, the easier and more effortlessly the task is to execute 
until it may seem automatic. 

Instead of gliding through life with recycled daydreams about their dreams and aspiration, 
entrepreneurs demonstrate that knowledge combined with action, followed by practice and repeating 
the process is one of the keys to success. 


Checking my P. O. box here at the Sierra Madre Post Office when I noticed a 

sign that will change some people’s lives. As of Monday, February 18, the post 

office will open at 10:00 instead of 9:00am. That is certain to inconvenience 
folks, particularly those who are trying to conduct business with the post office on the way to work. 
This is the second recent change with our post office. Not too long ago the letter carriers stopped 
organizing at this post office and are now coming out of Arcadia. Sierra Madreans concerned about 
whether our local post office is going to disappear probably have good reason to be concerned. I 
wouldn’t be surprised if it disappears. Obvious that it is cost cutting measure. The post office has 
operated in massive deficits for years despite the fact that a first class postage stamp will be 49 cents 
by the end of this month. 


For years the post office has been trying to end Saturday delivery of mail. The government has kept 
them from curbing Saturday service. What are your feelings on the subject? Would you rather have 
the offices open an hour later or suspend Saturday deliver? Australia, Canada and Sweden have five 
day a week mail delivery. Many European countries have Saturday delivery (except Portugal) and the 
Soviet Union is said to have mail delivery seven days a week…or else (just kidding on the or else).
Lets look at the size and scope of the post office. The Post Office (USPS) generated $65 billion in 2012. 
160 billion pieces of mail were processed in that time. 40% of the world’s mail volume is handled by 
the USPS. 1.3 billion miles are driven each year by letter carriers and truck drivers. There are 212,530 
vehicles currently in service. Every month the USPS processes address changes totaling 39.7 million.
They spend about $1.8 billion every two weeks in salaries and benefits. The post office wants you to 
know they take no tax dollars whatsoever. They also pointed out they deliver ground packages for 
UPS and FedEx totaling 400 million. 


The westernmost post office is in Wales, Alaska. The northernmost post office is in Barrow, Alaska. 
The easternmost is in Lubec, Maine and the southernmost post office in in Key West, Florida. The 
smallest post office is in Ochopee, Florida. It’s 61.3 square feet. The largest is in, no surprise, New York 
City. It’s 393,000 square feet. There is a post office right on the border of Tennessee and Virginia. It has 
two zip codes and serves customers in Bristol, Tennessee and Bristol, Virginia. 


The five most common street names in the U.S. are: Second, Park, Main, Maple, and Oak. The longest 
“Main” Street in America is in Island Park, Idaho and its 33 miles long.
Anything else you want to know? 


RICH Johnson 

POST OFFICE HOURS CHANGING AND 
OTHER STUFF 


GROW YOUR EMAIL LIST WITH 
SOCIAL MEDIA 

Email marketing is one of the best ways to reach your audience. It’s proactive 
marketing; instead of waiting for people to come to your web site – you go to 
them. You want to make sure that you are delivering to people who care and 
want your emails. Growing a quality email list is importatn. 
One way to grow your email list is to promote your sign up through social media.
Once or twice a month, a great social media post could look like this: 


“Join our email list to receive exclusive email offers and updates. Join now at: (your link to your sign 
up here).” 

Make sure you know how to get the link to your sign up link. If you use Constant Contact, select 
“contacts” then select “Sign-up Tools.” Select on the Link icon from the sign up form and it will give 
you the url that you can share on social media. 


About MJ: MJ and her brother David own HUTdogs, a creative services business that specializes in 
Internet Marketing strategies and Social Media. They offer social media management services and 
help their clients build a strong on-line presence. “Like” them on Facebook for trending news in social 
media, internet marketing and other helpful tips, www.facebook.com/hutdogs. 

Sign up for their upcoming classes and presentations at: www.hutdogs.com/workshops/schedule 


SIERRA 
MADRE 
FARMERS 
MARKET 


 The Sierra Madre Farmer’s Market 
hours have changed to 3:00pm 
through 7:00pm every Wednesday. 
Vendors include Dry Dock 
which has fresh and wild caught 
fish, Rustic Loaf with artisan 
breads, Cutie Pie with fresh pies 
and much more!

 For those interested in being a 
vendor contact Melissa Farwell 
with Raw Inspirations at 818-5918161 
ext. 806.