Today, June 14th, is Flag Day, commemorating the adoption of our Stars and Stripes by the Continental Congress on June 14th, 1777. Noted on CBS’s Sunday Morning by the world’s only full time flag expert, vexillologist Whitney Smith, our country had no common race, no king, and no common religion; the idea of a  document like the constitution or the concept of liberty being the binding force is very abstract, and people needed something concrete, so the flag became that binding force. Happy Flag Day.

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Ahead of the heat waves, ahead of the crowds- Now is the time for a picnic! Pack up your favorite sandwich fixings, some chips and fruit, and your favorite beverages and head out for a picnic! You can go to a local park or a national park, or just to the common green area of your community and sit in the shade of the new leaves on the trees. Bring along a ball or frisbee or a deck of cards and make some memories. One of the simple joys- quiet time with friends and family, spent away from the distractions of the day.

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If your community has an exercise center, take advantage of it! You’ll save the time and money of commuting to a local gym, and you’ll save gym membership dues- at about $30 per month, that can be $360 in annual savings. That’s a weekend getaway trip, or Christmas gifts or just more money in the bank, and who doesn’t want more money in the bank?

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I know, I know. Times are tough, belts are tightening, there’s less money for the fun stuff. But we still need fun! Some entertainment! Netflix and Blockbuster.com are both great places to get hours of movies for cheap. The cool part is No Late Fees! Forget to return the movie? No problem… no late fees! Leave the movie at your friend’s house a month ago? No problem… no late fees!

That’s good, but suppose you don’t want to ante up $20 a month? If you really want to live on the cheap and still watch a new release, go to the library! Yes, that’s right, the public library. They have shelves of movies, documentaries, self-help, animated family shows all for … wait for it … FREE!!! The hitch? There are late fees. Keep the movie for more than their 1 or 2 week period (ask before you borrow- not rent), and you’ll have to come up with the late fees. But wait, there’s more! Many libraries have online DVD catalogs where you can download a movie or audio CD to your computer and watch/listen for free, and you don’t have to return it. It is coded to “self-destruct” (become inaccessible) after a certain date. Well, that’s easy-peasy. And if you want to watch it again? Just download it again! I think you can even run a cable from your computer to your regular TV so you can watch it on a larger screen with friends and fam. Google Library + your town or county name to access your local library’s movie shelf. But the popcorn is still gonna cost ya.

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Two months to go until the 2008 elections and some Voter Registrar offices across the country are still in the midst of trying to find places to set-up voting locations and alternate voting locations. This is a great opportunity for apartment communities to turn a medium to large space in the community into a voting location. If you have a business center, a large lobby area/ office, Community center or room then you have space.

Plus this is what you get back:
1. Free advertising for your community
2. Get to know your neighbors and have them refer business to you
3. It is a civil and patriotic duty
4. Your residents will not have to travel far to vote

Make sure to:
1. Decorate with lots of American flags and 4th of July type items
2. Make sure to have the community and company name everywhere
3. Provide some food and refreshments
4. Provide lots of brochures and other collateral for this event.

Remember this is for one day and it is a good way to give back to the community and show some good will. It will return loads of good busines in return. Contact your local registrars office today. Vote!

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I recently came across a site about walkable cities. The site allows you to find out if a neighborhood is walkable or not. www.walkscore.com lets you type in a zip code or city and it will score the area based on serveral factors. There are also heat maps for larger cities showing the most walkable in green and the least in red. Some west coast cities that are not usually thought as walkable made the list. One city most people think is not walkable is LA and it made the list as a walkable city. Check out this site and see if where you live is walkable.

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While getting ready to blog late this morning a medium sized earthquake hit the SoCal region. While there was no damage here it always reminds me of the need to be prepared. The earthquake was centered around Chino Hills, CA and it got me thinking about the apartment communities there. What kind of things were happening in those offices after the quake?  What steps if any were being taken? Most companies have a protocol in place in the event of a disaster or event such as this. Although no major damage, it is a warning for all to be prepared no matter where you are in the US. We all contend with events that can create havoc and disrupt our busy day, so preparedness can truly help.

Here is one idea to help:
Put together a community preparedness brochure for each move-in and resident. Put this information on your blog and website. Place this information on bulletin boards and areas of high traffic areas in your community. Make sure to include important phone numbers, a place where to meet in the community for information and instructions on what to do for various events. Make sure to practice drill a couple of times a year to keep staff ready and find troubles spots in your plan.

This may seem like extra work now, but when or if something happens you will be glad the proper steps were taken before to limit the chaos.
 

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Many large apartment communities or high end communities put on regular events to keep up retention and to set them apart from their competitors. The budget for these events can range from hundreds to thousands of dollars. Most apartment communities just don’t have it in their budgets to put on events, so what should they do?

You might be tempted to talk to your vendors to sponsor an event, but this only works short-term. The problem with asking vendors is that you can beg for just so long until they start saying no, so whom do you ask?

If you are looking to do yearly, monthly, or even weekly events then seek out those with the marketing dollars trying to reach your residents. The first business is insurance. Insurance sales is the toughest job in the world. Insurance companies spend billions of dollars trying to reach your residents. Often the best marketing for this industry is to network. Why not let a local office put on your pool party this summer. Let them cater and host the event. Allow them to mingle, network with your residents, put out some brochures, and a banner. (Note: Do not allow them to put out a podium or make a speech during the event. Networking only.) Other good networking types of businesses that could benefit are your local real estate offices and auto dealerships.

The second business is the nearby supermarket. Talk to the store manager about putting on a monthly Sunday Brunch. So many supermarkets are competing for your residents business and this is a great way to reach them. They can bring store brand products, bring flyers, and coupons are always a great idea. Other businesses in this catgorey are restaurants, bakeries, and caters.

The third business type is the starving artists. They don’t necessarily need to be starving, but those looking to get name recognition are in this group. This group is made up of musicians, singers, and other performancing artists. Many are just looking for a place to play their music. Invite a local quartet who could play for free for your community with thr hopes of landing more gigs such as weddings or other events.

The last business type are the local potter, stain glass maker, painter, yoga instructor and so on. These businesses may be looking to grow or to establish more clients. The best part is that they can help enrich the lives of those living in your community and provide some fun.

The thing to remember is to ask the businesses to do this for free. Let them know you are giving them something as well such as space and an audience of potential new customers. The best part is that your not expanding your budget and providing residents with another reason to stay. Now get going on some fun!

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I saw this commercial the other day on TV for the new Honda Pilot and was excited to hear them mention a blog. Watch the video above to see the commercial. Blogging! It’s officially everywhere!

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The price of gas is in the news everyday and on our minds every time we see the gas gauge move its way down to “e.” This has also caught the eyes of many marketing departments. It has also caught the eyes of many apartment managers too. So now everyone is offering gas cards if you move-in by a certain date or sign a twelve month lease. It is so easy to offer this kind of incentive since it is in the news a lot. The problem also comes that everyone is offering it too. It takes away the incentive part. I can get a card for signing up for a new cell phone, getting five oil changes, or drinking thirty lattes. It is no longer the big deal if a dozen other businesses are using this incentive.

So if not a gas card then what? Well another area hitting our wallets is the grocery bill. Have you seen your grocery bill lately? A gift card to the nearby supermarket has a lot more value now. This is just as an important of an issue as gas prices. We all have to eat and not having to pay for groceries for a little while can be a bigger incentive with the gas cards you get from the billion of others you do business with. I am not saying do away with the gas card, but why not offer a choice. Another great idea in larger metro areas is public transportation passes. Often if you pre-pay for a month or longer the deals get better and better. Mass transit is getting pretty popular even in California where the car is king.

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