Seniors Celebrated at Annual Thanksgiving Party
It was a day of dancing, visiting, door prizes, food and friendship as the City of Paramount held its 37th Annual Seniors Thanksgiving Dinner on Thursday, November 16 to honor the elders of the community.
Nearly 500 guests enjoyed the music of Grupo Neblina amid the festively decorated Paramount Park gym.
Thanks to the seamless work of the volunteers – including the Paramount Rotary Club, the Paramount High School Corsairs service club, a team of Weber Metals employees, and City staff – the food flowed flawlessly and the service was prompt. The participation of these terrific community members helps make this event a great success.
A special thank you goes to all of the local businesses who contributed to this year’s party. Their cash support and raffle prize donations make the Thanksgiving fun possible. The City appreciates their generosity.
$500+
State Assemblymember Anthony Rendon; Ace Clearwater Enterprises; CareMore Health Plan; Clinica Medica Hispana; Communication Workers of America Local 9400; Weber Metals, Inc.
Up to $400
CalMet Services; Paramount Petroleum; Standard Catering.
Up to $200
Demaria Electric Motor Services; El Compa Restaurant; Knights of Columbus; Rosewoods Restaurant; The Water Store; Vicky Professional Services.
Gift Certificates
Alondra Hot Wings; Antojitos Mexicanos; Banc of California; Big Ben Car Wash; Casa Gamino Restaurant; Enrique’s Mexican Restaurant; Gus’s Deli; Shakey’s Pizza.
98, born in December, 1918 in Pasadena. Moved to Paramount in 1948.
“That’s when it was Hynes and Clearwater. It was all dairies and cows.” She has seen quite a change, she said, watching as the dairies eventually left. What she enjoys best about the holidays is gathering with family. What keeps her young at heart?
“Enjoying every day, every second, keeping busy. I still garden and sweep the yard.
I’ve been yarn knitting for a couple years, and whatever I make I give to my friends. It’s good therapy for seniors.”
Hwa Bang
94, born in April, 1923 in Seoul, South Korea. Has lived in Paramount for five years. Thanksgiving is her favorite holiday. The key to a good, long life? She worked hard. “And,” she added, with a twinkle in her eye, “I was the wife of a pastor.”
Victor Valadez
94, born in July, 1923 in Guerrero, Mexico. A resident of Paramount since 1979.
He brought his family to Paramount from Mexico to work and enjoy life. Today a favorite activity is attending the Senior Center and the dances held there.
Mageno 90, born in October, 1927 in Paramount near the corner of Madison and Vermont.
“I’ve had a good time living in Paramount. When I was younger I went out and worked, worked, worked.” This, she suggested, along with avoiding alcohol, makes for a good life. Her favorite thing about the holidays is “Having a big crowd and enjoying yourself.”
Part of the tradition of the Senior Thanksgiving Dinner is acknowledging those in the crowd who are 90 years and above. A few of them spoke this year with the Pulse Beat.
Chize Ouchi
Beatrice
Track the Santa Train On Our Homepage or Your Smart Phone
The Paramount Santa Train has been bringing the holiday spirit to kids in every neighborhood of our City since 1969, when the “Express” was a modified Helm’s Bakery truck.
This season the train, sleigh, and caboose will be running from Monday, December 4 through Thursday, December 7.
You can find a schedule of stops on page 14, in the recent issue of the Around Town newsletter that was mailed to every home and business in Paramount or you can go to the City’s website homepage at paramountc-
ity.com. In each neighborhood there is a painted white star marking the spot on the street where the train will visit.
You can also track the train in real time by viewing a map on the homepage and by downloading a free app called Glympse on your smart phone. On Glympse, enter ParamountTrain in the “View a Glympse” field to see where Santa is traveling.
You can also call (562) 220-2121 to learn more.
Come Have Breakfast With Santa
Here’s a reminder that on Saturday, December 9, Paramount Park will once again become a winter wonderland as Santa Claus stops by from 8 a.m. till noon.
Breakfast with Santa will feature a meal with pancakes and scrambled eggs, holiday craft-making, giveaways, and entertainment. There will be plenty of snow for sledding.
Also in the Community Center, from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., you can have professional photos taken with Santa in his cabin – $10 for one 5x7 photo and four wallet photos. (No personal cameras.)
Then, from 10:00 a.m. to noon there will be a “selfie station” with Santa out in the park – no charge for these and you can use your own camera.
“Life is a series of experiences, each one of which makes us bigger, even though sometimes it is hard to realize this. For the world was built to develop character, and we must learn that the setbacks and grieves which we endure help us in our marching onward.”
-Henry Ford
The overall event is free to attend, but you need to buy a ticket for the food. A limited number of tickets are now available for purchase until December 8 (Mondays through Fridays only). Presale breakfast tickets are $4 per person, which also gives you access to the fast-pass lane. (The price of a ticket at the door on the day of the event is $5 per person, first come, first served, with no fast-pass access.)
Again, breakfast will not be served after 11:00 a.m., so get there in plenty of time.
You can buy tickets at a variety of locations in town: STAR Afterschool sites (between 2:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. each day); the Recreation office (15300 Downey Ave. from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.); and the Paramount Park Community Center (14400 Paramount Blvd., 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.).
For more information, please call (562) 220-2121.
Holiday Trash Pickup/Street Sweeping Schedules
Christmas and New Year’s Day will slightly alter garbage collection schedules this season. CalMet Services will have no trash pickup on those holidays.
If your collection day falls on Christmas, Monday, Dec. 25, it will be picked up on Tuesday, Dec. 26. Similarly, trash service will be delayed one day through the week, with Tuesday’s on Wednesday, and so on.
If your collection day falls on New Year’s Day, Monday, Jan. 1, 2018, it will be picked up on Tuesday, Jan. 2. Similarly, trash service will be delayed one day through the week, with Tuesday’s on Wednesday, and so on.
If you have any questions, please call CalMet at (562) 259-1239.
With street sweeping, there will be no service on the following days: Monday, December 25; Tuesday, December 26; Monday, January 1, 2018. There will be no makeup for any of those days.
Recycle Your Christmas Tree
After the holidays, residents of Paramount who have Christmas trees can place them out at curbside for pickup. The trees will then be recycled into mulch.
CalMet, the City’s refuse hauler, will
pick up trees at no charge after Christmas from December 26, 2017 through January 12, 2018 for single-family residential accounts. Be sure to remove the stand and all the decorations, lights and tinsel, and do not wrap the tree or enclose it in a plastic bag. If the tree is four-feet-tall or less, you can put it in your green waste recycling barrel. For anything larger, set it curbside on your normal garbage collection day by 6:00 a.m. (Flocked trees will also be picked up.)
After January 12, 2018, your tree can still be taken away by scheduling a bulky item pickup.
For apartments or condominiums, trees on the curb by 6:00 a.m. during the stated dates will be taken away for free on regular pickup days. If it’s necessary to drive onto the property there will be a $5.00 charge per tree. In these latter cases, the service must be ordered 24 hours before the regular pickup day by the manager or owner who must have the account number for verification.
Also, commercial customers must call CalMet before placing a tree out for collection so a green waste truck can visit their location.
If you have any questions, please call CalMet (562) 259-1239.
Farmers Market Wants Crafters
The Paramount Farmers Market is open every Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Progress Park, 15500 Downey Ave. This season it will be featuring a special Candy Cane Lane Craft Fair with a selection of holiday gift ideas.
The Market is inviting craftspeople to apply for booth space on Candy Cane Lane. It is requested that any vendor commit for a minimum of four weeks. If interested, or to learn more, please email SoCalMarketManager@gmail.com.
In addition to an increase in the number of weekly vendors that offer fresh produce, prepared foods, and various other fine products, the Market often has live entertainment playing throughout the day. And EBT is accepted.
The Paramount Library now has a booth at the Market on the first and third Fridays of the month. Library personnel will conduct story time, offer books for sale, have a list of upcoming events, and more.
Mayor, Peggy Lemons
You Can Report Loud Parties Anonymously
Part of the enjoyment of the holiday season is the chance to gather with friends and family for parties. Sometimes, however, gatherings such as these can get a little out of hand and bother our neighbors.
There are plenty of facts, figures, and details about distracted driving, but the California Office of Traffic Safety wants you to know the plain and simple ones:
• If something falls to the floor, pull over before trying to reach it.
Paramount has a “loud party” patrol that responds to resident complaints about such nuisances.
• 80 percent of vehicle crashes involve some sort of driver inattention.
• Up to 6,000 people nationwide are killed in crashes where driver distractions are involved.
• Talking on a cell phone or texting is the number one source of driver distractions.
Project LEAD Sending Positive Message to Paramount Fifth Graders
If a call for disturbing the peace comes into the Sheriff’s Station, there will be a visit to the location and a first-warning notice will be issued. If a return visit is made, the responsible party (property owner, tenant, etc.) will be liable for fines. For instance, a second visit within 30 days will produce a fine of $250. The third, fourth, and fifth visits within 30 days of the first call will entail fines of $500, $750 and $1,000, respectively. In addition, the cost of extra resources involved (multiple deputies, helicopter, and so on) can be passed on.
• Texting takes your eyes off the road for an average of five seconds, long enough to travel the length of a football field at 55 mph. Most crashes happen with less than three seconds reaction time.
Paramount has its own dedicated District Attorney – Kelly Tatman – who works out of the Sheriff’s Station. Her duties include making sure that criminal investigations and prosecutions in town receive full attention and don’t fall through the cracks at the larger County D.A.’s Office.
If such disturbances come from the same location over an extended period of time, deputies will focus on solving the problem with those who are causing it.
If you’re planning a party, be sure to take your neighbors into consideration and refrain from playing loud music and making other intrusive noises into the early morning hours.
• The act of talking on a cell phone, even hands free, can give you “inattention blindness,” where your brain isn’t seeing what’s right in front of you. You aren’t even aware that you are driving impaired. If you think you can handle both driving and talking on a cell phone or texting, you are kidding yourself and putting us all at risk.
Tatman has been visiting a class of 36 students at Jefferson School as part of Project LEAD. The program, which goes into the classroom once a week for 20 weeks during the school year, uses volunteers like Tatman from the D.A.’s Office to teach fifth-graders about the law and help them recognize the social and legal consequences of criminal behavior.
Keep in mind loud party calls can be reported at any hour of the day or night. Also, deputies do not divulge the identity of any residents making complaints, so you can call in anonymously.
For more information, call the Paramount Sheriff’s Station at (562) 220-2002.
Vacation Home Checks
Distracted driving is anything that takes your eyes or mind off the road or your hands off the steering wheel – especially texting and cell phone use, whether hands-free or handheld. Who’s doing it? Most of us. It has been estimated that, at any one time, more than 10 percent of drivers are using a mobile device.
Sadly, too many young people first become acquainted with the justice system as delinquents. Project LEAD is designed to avoid that scenario.
Here’s a reminder that if you are a Paramount resident and have plans to be out of town during any part of the holidays, you can contact the Sheriff’s Station for a vacation home check. The City’s Public Safety Officers will periodically take a look around your home or property while you’re gone. (This free service is available throughout the year, not just during the holidays.)
Call (562) 220-2002 for more information.
A ticket for $159 for texting or talking on a cell phone is a major distraction to your wallet.
Paramount Chamber of Commerce
What can you do? Most important, obey the law. It’s there for a reason. Also, do your best to eliminate distractions:
• Never text and drive.
The class from Jefferson recently went on a field trip to the Museum of Tolerance. (They will also go to a local courthouse). In addition, Project LEAD’s curriculum includes speakers connected to the criminal justice system and a mock trial involving either drug selling or gun possession on campus. Students are assigned roles and argue a criminal case to a jury consisting of other students. Teachers and parents attend, too.
• Turn off your phone when you get behind the wheel.
• Don’t text or call someone when you know they are likely to be driving.
• Make a pact with your family, spouse, and caregivers never to use the phone with kids in the car.
• No eating or drinking while driving.
• Don’t program your GPS, MP3 player, or other devices while driving.
• Pull over and stop to read maps.
• No grooming.
• No reading.
• No watching videos.
• Try not to get too involved with passengers.
At the end of the program, the kids will participate in a graduation ceremony and receive a certificate of completion from the D.A.’s Office at a meeting of the Paramount
Paramount Chamber of Commerce business counselor Charles Lowe is a small business consultant, specializing in business start-up, marketing and e-business, business planning, government contracting, technology and international trade. He has 30 years of experience in small business and international trade, and has done business in 45 countries throughout Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America. Over the last 12 years he has acted as a business consultant to the several Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) and Centers for International Trade Development (CITD) for Community Colleges in the Los Angeles area and for Loyola Marymount university. From 1983 to 1999 he owned and operated two export management companies specializing in the export of computer products. He began his career by working in the International Consumer Division of the Purex Corporation and as a manager for Overseas Operation, an export management company, specializing in builder’s hardware and electronic security products. He holds a Bachelors’ degree in Latin American Studies and Economics and an MBA in International Management.
ber that if you’re going out of town for an extended period of time, you can schedule
Paramount residents can contact the Sheriff’s Station about having Volunteers on Patrol keep an eye on your home or property
Simple Strategies for Better Event Marketing
Friday, May 16, 2014 - 10am to 12pm
Attend this presentation and learn how to use the power of event marketing to get potential and existing customers to take four key actions:
• Sign up • Speak up
• Show up
• Follow up Good marketing is about eliciting a physical and measurable response. In this practical and engaging seminar, you will learn how to find, convert, and keep new and existing customers through effective event marketing. You will also learn best practices related to the who, when, where, and what that makes an event a memorable experience. Learn how events can engage customers. Take your events to the next level using e-mail, social, traditional, and internet marketing tools. Fee: $20
Consultants are provided by the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) which is a grant funded nonprofit organization, primarily funded by the Small Business Administration (SBA). There are more than 900 centers located throughout the united States. The SBDC’s goal is to insure small businesses success and contribute to
economic development. Consultants are industry professionals with many years of experience in their respective fields including; attorneys, loan consultants, marketing and demographic research experts, accounting and bookkeeping specialists, web masters and social media experts, and specialists in international trade and government procurement and business planning.
(Make checks payable to LBCC SBDC) For Reservations: 562-938-5051
Common assistance sought by small business owners include, business startup, loan packaging, business planning, sales campaigns and improved Internet presence and use of social media to increase number of clients and sales revenue, help with certification and bidding in order to get contracts with government agencies, international trade assistance to secure international sales and reduce sourcing costs, and help analyzing financial statements and budgeting and implementing accounting systems.
Spotlight for State Farm, maria galli
We are pleased to Spotlight Maria Galli State Farm Insurance Agency!
Maria is a graduate of u C Berkley who has worked in various industries from where she draws her business expertise - including law firms, brokerage houses, public relations, and marketing firms. While working at a public relations firm, Maria became acquainted with the State Farm Agency opportunity and quickly realized that combining her business talent and entrepreneurial drive would be a successful venture with State Farm. In December of 2007, Maria took a leap of faith opening her own agency and has never looked back.
Over the course of 10 years in Paramount, Maria has simultaneously acquired her own commercial property, remodeled the building as part of the Paramount Beautification Project, got married, bought a home, and had 3 amazing children. She has achieved these personal accomplishments all while being in the top 5% of over 19,000 State Farm agents throughout the u nited States. She has also received numerous industry accolades which include being a 9 time Ambassador traveler, an 8 time Chairman’s
Circle recipient, and 9 time Senior Vice President qualifier.
Maria is proud to be a part of the Paramount small business community and aims to continue supporting the growth of the businesses and families around her. She will be celebrating 10 years as a Paramount Chamber Member, has participated as an Ambassador, and has attended countless ribbon cuttings and openings, holiday mixers, and quarterly breakfasts. The Maria Galli State Farm Agency regurlarly sponsors booths at the Paramount carnival, Paramount farmer’s market, Our Lady of the Rosary Parish, and anual job fairs. She strives to educate young citizens by speaking to High Schools students about financial management and credit building. Maria attributes much of her success to her relentless focus on developing and challenging her team to be the greatest versions of themselves. She is immensely grateful to her parents for helping her develop a strong work ethic and for the unconditional support she receives every day from her husband Brian. Maria does a great job balancing life, work, and family. She is excited about continuing her service to the Paramount community.
Help a Student and Promote Your Business
The generosity of the Paramount business community has helped make dreams of college become a reality for many local students. Over the years, hundreds of scholarships worth hundreds of thousands of dollars have gone to Paramount kids attending a university, community college, or trade school.
For some of these students, it has made the difference in whether or not they could continue their education. For all recipients, it has been important assistance.
All donations to fund the scholarships are made to the PEP 501c3 non-profit entity, and are tax deductible.
When you support college education in Paramount, donors will receive publicity in a variety of venues. If interested in sponsorships or other contributions, please call (562) 220-2121.
Chipotle Donating to PEP
Speaking of contributing … the local Chipotle is one of numerous Paramount food and drink establishments pitching in.
You can enjoy a great meal while helping local students attend college by taking part in the Paramount Education Partnership College Scholarship fundraiser at Chipotle on Thursday, December 14, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Watch the City’s social media as the date approaches for flyers to show upon making your order (on Instagram at paramount_posts and Facebook at CityofParamount.) Or simply say that you are there for PEP. A portion of your bill will be donated to the college scholarship fund. Chipotle is located at 15754 Paramount Blvd. in Clearwater Crossing.
Mark your calendars, too, for upcoming fundraisers at Horchateria Rio Luna (January 11), IHop (February 15), Gus’s BBQ & Deli (March 15), and Alondra Hot Wings (April 19). Any business interested holding similar fundraisers can call (562) 220-2121.
Hundreds Pitch In for Paramount
The latest Pitch-In Paramount community event was held on the morning of Saturday, October 7 and brought out a huge number of volunteers. A total of 340 students from Paramount High School clubs (JROTC, Green Club, ASB, Leos, and Interact), members of local churches, and other residents helped paint wrought iron fences at Spane and Dills parks and performed a clean-up project for an older resident-in-need. Thank you to all who came out to make this quarterly gathering another positively Paramount moment!
Painting the fences at Dills Park.
The following businesses renewed their membership in the Paramount Chamber of Commerce last month, they are celebrating another
year as members. Chamber and Business Resource Center services are made possible by their support.
Stater Bros. Begins “Harvesting Hope” Holiday Campaign to Help Local Families Fight Hunger
Throughout the months of November and December, Stater Bros. in conjunction with its charitable arm Stater Bros. Charities will be “Harvesting Hope“ in the valued communities Stater Bros. serves. All 171 Stater Bros. supermarket locations will provide four convenient ways for customers and employees to help their friends and neighbors in need this holiday season.
“Bag of Hope” Donation Cards
“Bag of Hope” donation cards are available for purchase at each check stand. Funds collected through the “Bag of Hope” donation cards will provide fresh and healthy food and funding to our food bank partners and holiday campaign beneficiaries. n onperishable f ood Donations
Food donation barrels are also available at all store locations for those customers who’d like to donate nonperishable food items. Most needed items include canned tuna, peanut butter, canned vegetables, canned fruit (in water or light syrup), and whole grain cereal.
Coin Canisters
Monies collected through the coin canisters at each check stand during November and December, will support low income seniors, veterans, families and children in need.
Stater Bros. Charities will present these funds to qualified food banks and feeding programs in the seven Southern California counties served by Stater Bros. Supermarkets. s alvation a rmy r ed Kettles
The traditional Salvation Army Red Kettles will be in front of all Stater Bros. supermarkets from November 13th through December 24th collecting nickels, dimes and quarters to help those who are most vulnerable in the community where the donations are made.
“Stater Bros. has always believed in not just doing business in the community but being part of the community and we are proud to partner with area food banks and local non-profit agencies to serve the needs of our local communities,” said Pete Van Helden, President and CEO of Stater Bros. Markets.
Annual food drive partners and holiday campaign beneficiaries include Community Action Partnership – Kern County, Desert Manna, Feeding America Serving Riverside l San Bernardino Counties, FIND Food Bank, Inland Empire Desert Communities u nited Way, Inland Harvest Food Bank, Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County and The Salvation Army.
The Workout Grand Opening
Grand Opening of The Workout located at 15340 Paramount Blvd.
The Workout training facility is equipped for hybrid cross functional training.
Holding sweat towels from The Workout from left: Paramount Chamber Senior Vice President Jon Tanklage (Marukan Vinegar USA), Owners Frank Corona and Yvette Corona.
The Workout owner Yvette and Frank Corona receive certificates of congratulations from elected officials at their ribbon cutting. From Left: Tom Hansen (Paramount City Council), Dystanie Flores (Offic e of State Senator Ricardo Lara), Paramount Chamber Senior Vice President Jon Tanklage (Marukan Vinegar USA), Lynda Johnson (Office of Assemblyman Anthony Rendon), Luz Castro (Office of Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard), Yvette and Frank Corona (owners), Eric Hernando, and Mayor Peggy Lemons.
7 Ways To Make A Holiday Sale Actually Work
By eric rosenberg
Eric Rosenberg is a finance, travel, and technology writer originally in Ventura, California. When away from the keyboard, Eric enjoys exploring the world, flying small airplanes, discovering new craft beers, and spending time with his wife and little girl. You can connect with him at his own finance blog, Personal Profitability (personalprofitability. com). This article originally appeared on www.nav.com.
The holiday shopping season traditionally kicks off with Black Friday, the annual shopping holiday the day after Thanksgiving that brings retailers “into the black” for the year, indicating a profitable period. But Black Friday alone is rarely enough to compete and make a profit in today’s market. Instead, many business owners run holiday sales to boost business during the busiest time of the year.
1. Start With the Math
In business, there is a concept of selling some products at a small loss to boost the sales of high margin products. These “loss leaders” can work
Ask The Expert
well to boost the top line, but you can’t run a business with a focus only on revenue. You have to turn a profit to succeed in business. Do the math and calculate margins on the products you expect to sell the most, and figure how to turn lower margin customers into higher margin customers. If you can upsell, convert, or at least turn low margin customers into leads for high profit products, you should be in great shape.
2. Improve the Customer Experience
Many shoppers try new stores, both online and offline, during the holidays. In fact, the National Retail Federation shares that 27.4 percent of all retail sales took place during the holidays in 2015 and most business expect about 20 percent of sales to come during the holiday season. This means the holiday season is your time to shine, not an opportunity to slack off on customer service and expect the sales to just roll in. The holidays are your opportunity to impress new visitors with a wonderful first impression. Make sure that first impression is a good one, and be ready to turn every unhappy customer into a happy customer if anything goes wrong.
Best Tips to You Protect Yourself While Online Shopping
It’s a reality today that scammers are not just waiting for Cyber Monday. It is important to protect yourself while shopping or working online all year long, especially during this peak shopping season.
Here are a few ways to keep yourself from becoming a victim of cyber fraud.
- Make sure your security software is up-to-date. The newer the update, the more difficult it is for ID thieves to steal your information.
- Never shop with a debit card. Protections are very limited. Scammers can gain access and your account could be wiped out. u se a credit card instead, you can dispute any fraudulent charges.
- Be careful of all those ads you’ll see on pages you visit. Malware is sometimes hidden and meant to infect your computer.
- u se sites that you know and if you create logins, don’t use the same password for everything.
- Double check that the website address is secure before clicking. The “s” in “https://” means the website is secure. Look for a green lock icon.
- Look for misspellings and errors in the web address, it may look like the reputable site, but a slight difference in the address -- BIG red flag.
- Be sure you do not expose personal information on social media (phone#, address, birthdates) and use “Friends Only” settings. Don’t allow public access.
- Keep a close eye on your bank statements and credit cards. If you see accounts that you did not apply for, call immediately to have closed and verify charges.
- When you shop, just take those extra seconds to review the source and what information you are allowing someone else to have. Don’t make it too easy for the scammers.
3. use Consistent Branding & Marketing
If you are going to take the time and effort to advertise your business, make sure it doesn’t go to waste. use consistent branding and marketing to give your advertising push the greatest impact. A sale works best when it creates long-term brand affinity and not just a one-time boost in sales. Your color scheme, logos and other media assets should all match and follow the same rules. If you are new to all of this marketing stuff, learn how to create a brand style guide you and your team can use to maintain consistency when promoting your business.
4. upgrade Business Technology
Whether your customers checkout through an online cart or a cash register in the store, make sure it is a simple, efficient, and enjoyable experience. The worst thing in retail is getting a potential customer all the way to checkout and losing the sale! Take every possible pain point out of the checkout experience for the best conversion rate. Modern systems also make the management and tracking of sales very simple, as you can put time bounds on specific deals so your staff doesn’t have to think about it.
While it may seem like a big hurdle, having modern POS systems that tie into inventory, ordering and other business processes is key. The investment may be sizable, but the payoff comes in the form of cost savings every month indefinitely. If you are thinking of doing an upgrade before the holidays but fear the cash crunch, check out your options to get a short-term business loan in the Nav Marketplace (www.nav.com) where they review 45 different lending options.
5. Advertise Where Your Target Customers Hang Out
Think about your target customer for your business. Is it someone in retirement? A Millennial? Based on who shops most at your business, you should custom tailor your advertising for your sale. If your customers are all heavy Facebook users (common for younger adults and Millennials), Facebook is where you should focus your ads. But retirees are not hanging out on social media all that much, so for them you would want to advertise your sale elsewhere. To get the best bang for your buck, put your ads in front of the most targeted audience possible.
6. Turn Loyal Customers Into Evangelists
Odds are your business has a core following of loyal customers and a larger group of occasional customers. use your sale as an opportunity to upgrade occasional customers into loyal ones and turn loyal customers into evangelists. Referral and rewards programs work really well for this. If you sell online, an app like King Sumo makes much of the process automatic and helps you automatically reward existing customers for sharing with new ones.
7. Capture Customers for Repeat Business
Holiday sales give you a limited window of an attentive audience, but your business will thrive if you can turn a portion of those holiday visitors into year-round shoppers. Plan ahead to find opportunities to do so through incentive programs, amazing quality customer experiences, and always following through on promises and customer service guarantees.
Think about the businesses you frequent throughout the year. What are they doing to bring you back again and again? If you can offer the same qualities in your business, customers will follow your lead and turn into loyal, repeat customers. That’s the bread and butter every business owner hopes for.
Serving the community for over fifty years
Major Sponsor of Dictionaries for 3rd graders PUSD Monthly/Yearly Scholorships for PHS seniors Donate to Vets in L.B. Vets Hospital m eetings every m onday night 7:30 pm
HALL FOR REnT
Weddings * Quinceaneras * Birthdays Max 250 people - (562) 884-1357 8108 E. Alondra Blvd • 562 633-1804 www.paramountelks.org
at noon every Tuesday at Progress Plaza Park (15500 Downey Ave.) for fellowship, lunch and an informational program. Do the Club’s activities sound like fun to you? If so, please be our guest for lunch. For more information call President John Boogaard at (562) 881-0334 or Secretary Dean Mouren-Laurens at (562) 633-3224. Please visit our website at ClubRunner.ca/Paramount . We hope to see you soon!
Free Zumba-thon Latest
“Healthy Paramount” Event
On Saturday, November 18, a Zumba-thon, the latest free event in the “Healthy Paramount” program, took place at the Paramount Park Community Center from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
“Healthy Paramount” is a year-long initiative of special events, health screenings, and programs designed to encourage healthy behaviors among residents.
Part of this involves signing up for the “Healthy Paramount Passport” that contains health tips, helps individuals set goals
for the upcoming year, and lists local doctors and clinics that provide free health screenings for participants. Passports can be found at the Community Center and Paramount City Hall. Simply show your Passport at the following locations to receive free health screenings. No appointments are needed, and walk-ins are welcome.
Alberto Wilches, MD, 7831 Jackson St.; 562-531-1178.
Dusk to Dawn u rgent Care, 15745 Paramount Blvd.; 562808-2273.
Clinica Medica Hispana, 14906 Paramount Blvd.; 562630-1991.
Mercy Medical Center, 16444 Paramount Blvd., Ste. 103; 562531-7790.
Healthcare Career College, 8527 Alondra Blvd., Ste. 174; 562-804-1239.
“Healthy Paramount” is sponsored by AppleCare Medical Group, the City of Paramount, the Paramount Chamber of Commerce, the Los Cerritos YMCA, Lakewood Regional Medical Center, Lifegate Church, Health -
Care Career College, NRG Fitness, Northgate Markets, Paramount Youth Soccer Organization, and M u SA (PEP Moms). You can follow the program on social media on Twitter – @ healthy90723 – and Instagram –@healthyparamount.
The “event” for December is to walk a mile a day to keep off those holiday pounds.
On Wednesday, January 17, at 6:00 p.m., there will be a “Doc Talk” at the Community Center. For more information, call 1-800-460-5051.
