MS Companies has been successfully servicing its customers for the past 10 years. After a decade of doing business, we evaluated our company as a whole. Through this process, we realized an important component of our business was missing. This missing link was community involvement.

In light of this discovery, we set out on a mission. MS Companies vowed to get itself involved in the community in more ways than one and we took action immediately.

We began small. Asking fellow employees if they knew of any organization with which we could get involved.  This turned out to be a great starting point. One of the MS employees had a personal connection to the organization, People on Wheels. Thus, we took part in our first monetary sponsorship.

By no surprise, our next endeavor was discovered while browsing facebook. Created by Tom’s Shoes, MS Companies took part in One Day without Shoes. It is a day of awareness dedicated to shedding light on the people of the world who aren’t fortunate enough to have shoes. Each employee was shoeless for the day, and although our conditions were entirely different from those around the world without shoes, the cause was on our minds with every step we took.

The direction we wanted to steer next was clear. Time is the most valuable of resources and we wanted to give some of ours to the community. However, knowing how and where to give our time was unclear. We then turned to family, friends, and neighbors to help guide us. Through these relationships, our next project surfaced. MS will soon be volunteering for the Lilly Day of Service who partners with Keep Indianapolis Beautiful.  On October 7^th 2010, we will be a small portion of thousands of volunteers who will beautify 10 interchanges on I-70 in Indianapolis.

A natural evolution occurred while we began to involve ourselves in the community. Four cornerstones of service emerged, and now define MS Companies mission to give back to the community. Projects involving Time, Environment, Awareness, and Money (T.E.A.M) are our focus. Through our contributions of Time, improvement of the Environment, building of Awareness, and Monetary donations, MS pledges to make a significant difference in our community each year.

TIME

Time is one of the most valuable resources no matter what industry you are in or type of business you are trying to run. MS Companies chooses to contribute our time to causes who need volunteers to successfully run their organizations or project.

ENVIRONMENT

Every little bit helps. This phrase can be applied to almost any initiative, and it rings especially true when it comes to the environment. Ms Companies is dedicated to helping preserve the environment from projects as small as using hand dryers in the office to planting trees and flowers around Indianapolis.

AWARENESS

The first step toward resolving world issues is building awareness. The purpose is to inform people of the issue and then show them how they can help. MS Companies is dedicated to resolving issues from beginning to end. That is why we choose to take part in “awareness days” to help spread the word and encourage others to join the movement from the get go.

MONETARY donations

There are several reasons MS Companies chooses to sponsor nonprofit events fiscally. The money either helps fund the event or it goes to the charity or organization’s budget. Either way, every nonprofit organization or charity working to make a difference, requires money to sustain their cause. MS is happy to contribute to that sustainability.

No matter where, when, how, or why you give back to your community, what counts is that you are doing it.  Let us know what you have done in your community!

Tears, memories, hugs, handshakes, waves, double takes, thank yous, silence, and then it’s done. Goodbyes can be heart wrenching, but it is my personal belief that they should be handled like any other separation. No I don’t mean with screaming and yelling about how you were a selfish pig, getting a lamp thrown at your head, and then storming out. By “any other separation” I guess I am referring something more along the lines of two best friends moving apart, where they will miss each other and are still there for each other, but will not be going to the same building everyday Monday through Friday for 8 hours a day to put effort towards similar overlying goals…. So I guess I am saying part ways with your employer in good terms as friends.

In order to make sure that you burn no bridges and maintain your relationship with the company you are departing from I only have 3 things to offer.

• Keep It Private- There is no reason to let a bunch of information leak out through the company because via the magic of Chinese telephone you will have bill in the mail room telling Ted that you are leaving because the upper management hit your dog with his 1982 Cutlass Supreme. The only exception to this is if it is necessary to debunk any rumors that may be floating around the office.
• Go On and Get- The second bit of advice is when it comes time to leave make it quick. There are obviously going to see no significance in your departure and dragging out the process will only annoy them and possibly increase animosity that may be present. By keeping the whole process short and sweet you can leave in the good graces of all. This will also help to avoid any emotional out bursts, whether they be sad, happy, or angry.
• Give warning and be honest- the final piece of advice is to be sure to tell your employers well enough in advance and be sure to tell the truth. Most of the time if it is your choice to leave the company it is because you have received a better offer and employers will most often be happy for any success that you are having. There are instances when they may react poorly but if you give them plenty of time to plans for your leaving a bad reaction is very rare.

So, this being my last day of my brief internship with MS Companies I would like to say that it has been a great experience and that I have learned a ton. Now, I leave you with 2 videos. One is the ideal way I see my departure and the other is the wrong way….. You be the judge.

Video 1

Video 2

First, let me start off by saying there are unspoken about of safety reasons for job training and being the most important reasons, having to deal with your health, that should be enough said, however I know there are those of you out there who just feel that you are too cool for school, invincible, and all that other jazz so I will continue on.

Job training feeds into a credible bank of resources that you call your resume, this stockpile of self-knowledge serves as negation ammunition when interviewing for a job. By going through an intensive job training and gaining a new skill set or certifying an old one you are just increasing your value and the reasons for a potential employer to hire you. This is because a potential employer has little sympathy for your situation (as many of you may know) and are mainly focus on personal business goals such as lowering cost, increasing output and other business goals. One effective way that employers will do this is to make sure you hire employees you take less investment to become efficient at whatever the company does meaning, less on the job training or mistakes made on the job.

Another reason for increasing your skill set is the advancement opportunity that it opens up for you. If you are skilled in an area or even certified, and perform well, you are much more likely to be considered for a supervisor position over Joe Shmo who picked his nose during his training classes and will probably be taken of payroll soon for a tragic accident where a fork lift carrying tomato soup knocks over a pallet of flour from the top of a shelf.

Finally if neither of those two reasons is good enough for you there is always MONEY!!!! As I said before the higher the skill level that you attain the more negotiating power you have because you are more valuable. This means that employers are likely to pay more for that experience and knowledge that you have.

To conclude this discussion on skill and job training I will say this do it, and pay attention because it will help you keep/get that job you want, make more money, and could even keep you alive on the job.

This brings me to the focus on this post, which is more of a question than an abundance of information… “Is the trained workforce that is ready and willing to work worth more than the money saved by outsourcing the job?”

I did a little light research and found that the average outsourcing contract can be attributed for about 15% of savings. This seemed like it could be almost too much for a company to skip out on (probably why outsourcing was such a craze), but what this number does not take into account is the immeasurable value added by having a skilled, fully trained workforce. This immeasurable value includes things like (as stated by Kevin in his original post) beneficial ideas and a knowledge of the product and process, and a shorter communication and supply chain.

If it comes down to personal opinion I think I would agree that outsourcing is just not as beneficial option as staying put and utilizing resources in the country. However, with the trend of companies pulling their assets from other countries and bringing them home, it is far from matter of opinion and can I think it can be easily be determined what the right choice is.

This is kind of an interesting subject and I would like to hear more on it so if you have a comment or just a point of view please post it.

1.Misplaced Smells: Now being a good ‘ol country boy myself, I have become acquainted to some smells. You have your cows and pigs and compost piles and about one hundred other things that make you go running in the opposite direction. However, there are times in the office when you catch wind of a stench that would curl the hair on a skunk. It is unnatural and I have never been able to put my finger where the sent is coming from but I believe it migrates from the kitchenette and the area by the restrooms and I will leave it at that. A word to the stinky one watch your back because you will be found out and I have a pocket full or air fresheners waiting for the day.

2.Musically Gifted… or Not: Whether you sound like an entire choir of cherub angels or a crying baby scratching its finger nails on a chalk board (what I imagine to be the worst sound ever) leave it at home. Don’t get me wrong I belief in the power of music and LOVE to belt it out, but the office is not the place for your rendition of Jeremiah Was a Bullfrog, no matter how awesome it is (or you think it is).

3.LOUD PERSONAL CONVERSATIONS!: No one wants to here about the reason for your doctors appt. on Thursday leave it at home and never bring it up again.

4.Sound Effects: Now I will admit to partaking in the occasional making sound effects to my life… making car noises while driving, swooshing sounds when flinging open doors, the occasional “Thud” when I drop something… but there are some people in this world who think they are the sound effects guy to a Disney movie, and that’s fine as long as you are in the recording studio and not the cubical next door. I especially draw the line when it begins to sound like the Coyote and Road Runner are battling it out over the wall, car horns, rocket blasts, and anvil sounds included (even if it is because I am disappointed when I peak over the wall).

5.Hey That’s My Pen: Remember that Swingline Stapler from office space and its owner Milton? Ever have a piece of office equipment you loved like that? Me neither but I can say it gets me just about half cheesed when I am looking for my sticky notes and can’t find one, not even in the secret stash I keep in the back of my desk drawer tucked in the box for the company digital camera… woops! Regardless it drives me BONKERS to be sitting at my desk and unable to find something. So a word to the wise (or at least those who work near my desk) watch what you “borrow” because I am mighty dangerous with a paper clip shank.

6.Who Ate My???: Going along with borrowing things from people, the next item on the list is eating someone else food. Now this has never happened to me but I guarantee you if you want to see world war three go ahead and try and take my left over kabobs from last night. Some things are brought to share … say a box of cupcakes or an entire pizza pie, but I don’t think the sandwich with “Property of Henry Cunnington” written on it is an office free for all.

7. For the final behavior on the list, I included a link to a video. This type of behavior is just outrageous. I don’t believe the security officer wouldn’t just let this poor man do his job…. Wait you mean he wasn’t with the demolition company… never mind then. Enjoy!

Office Worker Goes Insane!

The first comment that I would like to make is on the number of banks within the top 100 companies. There are about 30 or so banking companies within the top 100, with 6 of the top ten, and JP Morgan pulling out the top spot. Now, I have no beef with the banking industry just am amazed with number of banks that have obviously prospered after the recent “Crash” or “recession.”

Number 2 on the list is GE; this did not come as a huge surprise to me. Although there have been some uncertain times in the past of the company regarding environmental concerns, those days are long gone and the company has become a forerunner in alternative energy resource experimenting with solar options, wind turbines, and other efficient forms of power.

Next up just after GE and the banking system is big oil. Again no surprise here, oil being a diminishing commodity makes it a high demand good and spilling millions of gallons into the ocean didn’t increase the available amount (not to mention the condition it left the gulf coast in).

Having covered the top 12 companies in just three different industries AT&T is up next. It was only a matter of time until I expected to his this communications giant on the list. The company keeps half the world in touch and ever since it hooked up with Apple, providing wireless services for hot items such as the iphone, the two have looked to conquer the cellular world and possibly the of it not matter where you can hear the Verizon spokesman now.

The last thing I would like to comment on is the company in the 58th spot that despite not accepting a boost from the government bailout a year ago is the best ranked auto making company on the list. Ford Motor Corp. is doing well for itself with new products just as their redesigned sleek Explorer and even more aggressive looking F-150.

I know this is a short commentary on a rather lengthy list, but I could go on for days and feel that this is a safe ending point. I will end with this, it is good to see that even with the battered and bruised economy that the US has limped on for the past few years we maintain our position on the top of this list with both the highest ranked companies and number of high ranking companies. Possibly a sign of prosperity in the future? If not it is at least a point of pride.

For the entire list go to: www.forbes.com

Recently we asked through our social media outlets how long our follower’s morning commutes were. This got me thinking of how much I hate sitting in traffic. So I decided to find different little things that can be done to help keep a person sane while they wait for hours on a hot and cramped highway so that you can make it to an early morning meeting two states away. Hopefully you all find this list as helpful as I did.
10. Phone Games: Sitting in traffic gives you the perfect opportunity to break the high score on every game you have on your phone. Personally I am a fan of Bubble Breaker, but just about any game will do.

9. Creep out other drivers: This may seem a little childish but if you try it you will find that it is surprisingly amusing. You can accomplish this by simply smiling at the person next to you for prolonged periods of time or by rolling the windows down and having an intense conversation with yourself. However you choose, be careful with this one because you never know how your neighboring cars will react.

8. Intense office training: If you have ever seen Forrest Gump then you know that in the military you practice assembling and disassembling and reassembling your rifle. Well, warzones are not the only place for such skills, the office can be a scary place. So take out your ballpoint pen and get to drilling. Soon you will be the fasted at taking a pen apart and putting it together again in the entire city, let alone your office.

7. Wave Game: Again, involving your fellow traffic jammers, but less weird. Wave at the people around you and create a points system, for example 10 points if the girl next to you, 5 if the guy passing you nods, and so on. Get creative and have fun trying to get the high score

6. Ready Set GO. This may seem a little absurd and might even make time move slower but it was a suggestion that we came across at a few different sites. It starts by drinking a few bottles of water and then waiting. From here on out it is a last man standing game where the winner takes all.

5. “To-do” list: This can be either serious or not, with the later often being more entertaining, although less productive.

4. Solo Concert. This is exactly what you think it is. Crank the tunes and let your heart out. After getting through half of your Styx: Greatest Hits album you won’t even want to start driving again.

3. Band Concert. This is more difficult. It requires the cooperation of at least one of the cars near you. First after finding someone willing, you have to sync up your tunes and decide who gets to be Lennon and McCartney.

2. Personal Hygiene: A very important part of working in the office is looking and smelling your best. If you have time, guys might as well shave off yesterdays beard and girls go ahead and do your makeup. (This activity is only suggested in stopped traffic jams not while vehicle is in motion.)

1.Work: We know you all probably think we are crazy, but if you can catch up on some calls that may let you leave the office early it will be worth it.

That wraps up our list. Hope you all found it informational and helpful on your next trip.

To start, the first benefit of social media marketing is that it can cost you virtually nothing at all. To sign up for many of the sights all you need is a valid email address and a user-name (not a high price to pay). On top of that you have the cost of the person running the social media for you. For this you can choose to options. You can hire someone to run your social media either as their sole responsibility of incorporated into their other duties, OR you can bring on a non-paid part-time intern to do it (virtually no cost until you get into the opportunity cost of having the intern make coffee runs). Now let it be said that the quality of your social media campaign will be affected by who you have run it. It should be obvious that if your VP of Marketing is in control of the social media pages that it will be of much higher quality than if a freshman in college working for free 8 hours a week is generating your posts.

Having told you about the low cost, it is time to preach about the high effectiveness. Social media sites are used by 80% of Americans, which is roughly 300,000,000 people. The site Facebook ran a study on the separation between users. Out of the 5.8MILLION users that are on Facebook, the average separation was about 5.73 degrees (coincidence that this is the same as the theory of 6 degrees of separation… I think not). This means (in theory) that if you post a message and everyone likes it, everyone in the world has a chance of seeing it after its reposted just 6times… (Let that sink in). If you need more proof to the range of social media sites just look at the top viewed YouTube videos I have found different answers for THE top video, but all of them seem to be well over say 200,000,000 that is about HALF the people in the united states!!!

Now that I have covered the range that social media sites have a grasp of the last thing to do is run through the business benefits. These benefits include:

• Viral promotion capabilities
• An easily accessible market
• 2-way communication with prospects
• Easy qualified leads
• Additional aspect to multiple aspects of marketing mix (price, place, promotion, product)
• Quicker customer response channels
• Guerrilla service opportunities
• Improved customer, prospect, and lead feedback
• Variable research opportunities
• Updated industry information
• Increased competitor visibility
And the list goes on.

I hope this little argument can persuade your business to at least investigate the opportunities that we here at MS Companies are trying to capitalize on.

Consequently, this is the exact same way that new entrepreneurs feel when starting their business. They are envious and scared of bigger more mature companies who can leap and bound to heights that seem as if they will never be accessible for such a small business. But just as mom and dad were there to reassure you that if you eat your veggies you will grow to be not just big, but strong too, we here at MS Companies are here to reassure you that if you eat your entrepreneurial vegetables your business can grow to be the Schwarzenegger of the economic playground, dominating your competition and saving your allies from bullies.Having grown from a toddler itself, MS Companies offers this list of business vegetables that can be used to grow your small business.

1. Own a Phrase: Just like Fonzie had “Eeyyyy” and Trump has “You’re Fired”, you have to have a few simple words by which you can be recognized by the masses. Though most memorable when used by television stars, sayings or slogans are prominent in business too. Here are a few that have had some success you may have heard of:

“Just Do It” – Nike
“Zoom zoom” – Mazda
“Built Ford Tough” – Ford
“Silly Rabbit, Trix are for Kids” – Trix Cereal

Thinking of a simple message that embodies your business in a few words can be critical so we suggest starting there.

2. Become a writer: Now, I know that when you think of great writers such as Hemmingway or Harper Lee you are not immediately enticed by great economic success and the luxurious life lived by them and their cohorts but let me explain. Writing content allows you to educate your target market on your product and not someone else. So, flood the media with your words spreading your message. It will inform your customer and raise your clout among online market.

3. Use Guerilla Service: The Guerilla warfare tactics used on jungle gyms all round the world where children sneak around, ambush one another, focusing on surprise may seem to be irrelevant to your business, but the creator of social media site Foursquare says otherwise. You have to sneak around discovering problems and then without being asked attack (not violently) the customer or prospect with a barrage of information and solutions. This along with a “scrappy” marketing plan that is informal and sporadic is a great way to make your small business stand out.

4. Make a friend: It is a big and lonely world out there and to try and get through it alone is darn near impossible. That is why we suggesting finding a buddy to help you through it. It can be a competitor, client, customer, doesn’t really matter. A partnership or joint venture is a great way to change up your business model and double your resources for a while.

5. Focus: To reach your goal of being a big and strong company you need to focus on one goal or area of business until you get your feet off the ground. It is similar to the montage in every Rocky movie where Rocky does nothing but train for about 3 minutes of the movie, chasing chickens, lifting logs, and running up stairs to an inspirational rock song. This may seem limiting to a small company wanting to branch in different directions, however before you business can become one able to multitask on several different services or products at once you have to gain credibility with one.

6. Pay Smart People: If you cannot make a friend to partner up with, try hiring some. It is a proven fact that people will help you if you pay them, and experts make great helpers. From this we can conclude that it is only logical to hire experts in your business to help your company move forward and grow.

We here at MS Companies hope that you find this list as an asset to your small business and if you have anything to say about the list ( comments, add-ons, critiques) be sure to post it and let us know because another part of growing your business is taking comments of your performance and using them to improve. Thanks for reading.

The video was a lecture by Seth Godin and poses the idea that we as a population are becoming numb to conventional styles of marketing, advertising and business ideas in general. The theory is built off of the idea that we have had information pushed at us so often in the same way that those methods do not have any significant effect on our actions, and in particularly our buying patterns. We have seen so many commercials selling their product using sports figures that now we are more likely to sprout wings and fly before we notice a product using this common marketing technique.

I do not mean for this post to be a slap in the face of companies using these methods, but to show that the idea presents a question to be answered…”What do you do to get your product noticed in a world where your target market doesn’t care?” The answer to this is so extremely simple, it is to do the most bold and outlandish thing possible.

If you truly want to get your product noticed you have to do something a little different than your favorite football star smashing through a door to offer you say… a can of soup. Godin continues to give examples of things that would catch peoples’ attention at the top of the list being a purple cow and the second a 50 foot tall lava lamp in the middle of a Salt Lake City street. Either of which would make a person double take or even triple take.

Now that we have answered that question we are we have to find the solution to, “how do I turn my business into a purple cow?” It starts with anything. One of the most easy and creative ways to make your company jump out at the consumer population is by changing your business card. This sounds simple, but however there are companies that are doing some standout things with their business cards. We found a few ideas to get the juices flowing at this blog.

Another way to build a giant Lava Lamp in the middle of your company’s road is to try and do something that we found while watching Malcolm Gladwell’s video on TED, which is to be the best at making your product, but to bring the best at making your product, similar products, accessories, and any other relatable item. This means to not perfect one of your products but to take your product and smash it out until it encompasses an entire industry if possible and then be the best at it all. This will mean you are appealing to many more people and hopefully their wallet. A prime example of this is Apple and their dominance in the entire field of all that is technology… being the next Steve Jobs sounds good to me…

Finally, he most impactful way to break the mold is to do something that can turn your business into a cow shaped lava lamp with purple goo inside bouncing on a pogo stick. What I am about to suggest is bold and may include great risk (please do not try this at home) is to look at all of your competition and write down how they do things and then redesign your business going down the list doing exactly the opposite of what your competition is doing and this will get your customers’ attention. (MS Companies would like to warn all readers of the dangers of trying this tactic and say it is not responsible for any negative repercussions as a result.)

I hope we helped you out with this post, Good Luck with your purple cows!

Seth Godin \”Sliced Bread\”

Malcolm Gladwell \”Spaghetti Sauce\”