Growing The Development Culture

Growing The Development Culture

"Getting There..."  Dr. Dana Richardson,   Eco Dev

You’ve seen the movie, “Hoosiers,” starred Gene Hackman as the coach who took a small town ball team to state?  “Yeah, figures Dr. D that you’d choose a basketball movie story seein’ as how our boys are in the playoffs for football, genius!”  Yes I know, but some quotes are too good to pass up! Be they football, like Denzel Washington, talking to the team as Coach Boone, of “Remember The Titans,” at Gettysburg, “this is hallowed ground.” Or, Gene Hackman, taking his boys into a gym at state that’s huge, asking them to measure the basketball key, remember that?  They measured the net, they measured the key, and his statement was, “I’ll think you’ll find that the measurements there are the exact same ones we have back home.”  His point was; it isn’t the size the opponent, it’s the heart of the competitor, and it’s how you compete; whether we win, lose or draw (can you have a draw in football?) – If our athletes play their hearts out and play with good conduct and athletic manners of combat in football, they are winners.

THEY ARE ALREADY WINNERS- GETTING THERE!

  Economic Development carries in the program an idea that somehow we’re going to make businesses happen, education get better, the infrastructure of the community get better, the way that the community reports itself to the outside world, become enhanced.  In short, the expectations for a good economic development program need funds; and what we tend to believe is that those funds will always come from the Federal Government, State government, or some other source of grant money.  Here’s a shocker- they usually don’t.  In major cities which have huge economic development programs, the majority of the funding comes from the city leaders.  Grant money can happen, and we’ve been fortunate to have grants approved, but we’ve been unfortunate to then have the agency approving the grant, not receive enough money to fund the grant?  Interesting concept; that one is; sort of like, ordering a Cheeseburger, like everybody else, but only being able to watch other people eat it? Isn’t there a better solution, in order that, our community can continue to grow, continue getting there? 

  Did you catch that, how we report ourselves to the world sentence?  You may have thought “internet,” O.K., think “internet” as T.V.; see it?  How powerful is the impression left by the first contact with a website?  In the case of Universal Studio Orlando (http://www.universalorlando.com/) it’s pretty powerful – Harry Potter is front and center; and who, could forget Harry?  In the case of NASA a lot of really cool things are going on no matter what page you click to (http://www.nasa.gov/).   If you type in Lafayette Louisiana, you get this (http://www.lafayettela.gov/) web site that is aimed at you communicating with them, and visiting them; hmm, that’s interesting, wouldn’t you say?  So what about Springhill, what do people see if they type into the search engine Springhill Louisiana?  It is in the top three on Google as a web site, great, but it’s behind, Wikipedia and North Webster Chamber of Commerce?  Is North Webster Chamber of Commerce, Springhill?  No but we have a nice link middle of their screen; but would a person have to want to find Springhill to use this?  Here’s the point; surfing facts tell us that when an executive is looking for a new community to come to, they go to; Google, and they search for the community- the question you need to ask yourself is, are the sites that they’re finding about us influencing their choice?  Is there any possibility that we might make our site better, more attractive, more welcoming and more inviting to them to contact us?  When those executives click on your page you have 7 seconds to impress them,  or they’re gone!  We need to perhaps think about what it is that we want to show them, so that, when it comes to getting them here, we’re getting there!  

WANT TO READ FIVE TIMES FASTER? GUARANTEED!!

Yes you think the good Dr. has lost it,
but guess, what, NOPE- know this
works, have used it for years, and it
works.  Isn't hard, isn't a hassle- it's
so easy, when I tell you what the deal
is, you're gonna say- "doc you killin'
me wit' this stuff, let's go grab some
etouffee...."  or something like that...

So that means if right now you are
reading one book every two or three
weeks- you are going to be reading
five in that same 
amount of time!
With no hassle- no sweat- and no
headache!  Hard to believe isn't it?
But here is the deal, I've used this
for years, and it works, and every
person that I've shared this with
who uses it...well, they are just
blown away by how easy and how
quick this is.

It's not that you aren't reading, it's 
how you are doing what you are doing-
AND- catch this...it's where!  Let's be
adult about this...yes, the can, it's a real
place, and, well- reading can take place
there...although it doesn't necessarily
have to, the real secret to this method,
if there is one- is how you go about doing
what you are doing- this will take some
getting used to.  You put a book in the
car- AND- catch this, you read in it,
much as you can, five minutes before
you take off, OR, five minutes before
you start home, OR, when you pull
into the drive!  Book in the car!

Book in the den, where you sit down
to watch T.V.- beside where you sit
down- put the book there!  Book
in the kitchen- if you really want to
get radical with this, put the book where
you go most often when you go into the
kitchen...that's right...the refrigerator.
Book in the bedroom, beside the bed,
before you sleep, or, when you wake
up; five minutes...that's all, that's all there
is to this, and if you will do it- you will
increase the number of books you read,
and you'll make an amazing discovery;
your mind works by where, and remembers
the story by where you are reading it at.
Simple- my turn- "I told ya so..."

Sooner or Later..

Make yourself develop the discipline
to read.  Jim Rohn, one of America's

premier keynote speakers, and a man
who motivated millions to succeed;
quipped that, "leaders are readers."

So - one of my buds is a dead set "not
gonna read it," kind of gal...which one
must respect, after all; anybody who is
willing to be that honest, you have to
respect, so what's the solution there?




To me it seems like "lighten up,"
might be in order...AND...if you
care about your folks like I care
about my bud- heck, get them an
audio dose?  Guaranty ya this-
Jim Rohn sounds just as good as
he reads...check it out...

Gray Haynes - "A Riverbank of Tears" ONE CLICK TO GET IT

Gray Haynes is an amazing author, this is an amazing book, CLICK on image get it now!

Simple Facts - Open Your Business in Springhill Louisiana...We Want'cha...

All of the clients that we handle in Springhill
Louisiana have a standard approach to the
business model which they must take.  It's
that simple, first, they have to be registered
with the Secretary of States office in Baton
Rouge, DDP Group encourages them to
pursue L.L.C. status, because that seems to
accord them the widest variety of choices to
make as to the future of their business.

Next we like our clients to tackle the fun
of the I.R.S. at IRS.gov.  What we tell them
is, "if you will call the IRS you will find a
friendly helpful human on the line."
We know, we've called them countless times,
we've never had a bad experience, but bear
in mind, people are gonna treat you like
you treat them, so if you call up irate,
do you really expect someone a thousand
miles away on a phone line, to not get
in your face in return?  Be nice...it's easy
to do...even if you're fumed, just think of
it as ...therapy, and call the IRS.gov.

Second we like them to register with the
Louisiana Economic Development Division
in Baton Rouge, this allows us to work with
the Hudson Initiative and the Small and
Emerging Business Division, as well.
If we are dealing with veterans that are
opening their business we try to affirm
such with them and have them register with the
Veterans initiative at that site as well.

This opens doors for our clients to information
that previously they might not have been
aware of.  So when they help us do our job
better we can in turn, hopefully, help them
to do theirs with a little more clarity.  It's
something to get used to, it's not easy
for small business when there are any
additional hoops to jump through, but
in the long run, it's worth it.

Great Big Joy

"We have to do something about this, it just

Mopsy relaxes on her favorite pillow

isn't fair to her..."
My wife's words hung me on the truth;
"I know it, but what can we do, she can't
stay with Deb and them, and she just
doesn't seem to get along with anybody,
not us, not the other dogs?"
"Well, would you?  If somebody shot you in
the ear with a bee-bee, wouldn't you be pissed?"
She had made her point, but what to do?

My heart has always gone out to my Mopsy-
when my wife first brought this dog home
she was tore to pieces, her skin looked like
it had been kicked or bitten off, she was
a mess- and somebody threw her out at
the plant where my wife worked.  She got
Mopsy into the van and brought her to the
vet, he fixed her up; and we tried to get her
into some friends homes where they had
dogs outside with large dog run pens- on
farms and such, but each time, Mopsy would
go to the corner of the pen, and the other
dogs would eat her food, she wasn't being
treated fairly by them.  We knew- we had
to do something.

"We can't take her to the vet, she's older,
won't nobody want to take her..."  The vet
had a policy that if they couldn't find a home

Mopsy today no pinkish beat skin...

for the animal after a certain
percentage of time, they had to
put the animal down as part of
being able to even keep the facility,
it was one of the roughest parts of
the small rural vets life, and we knew it,
and we really had already
started to become attached to Mopsy.
But Mopsy was anything except attached to us,
if we'd approach her, she'd head down, tail
tuck and growl.  Sure signs in my mind that
somebody had harmed this dog in the past.

I told my wife we really should keep her- and
then we needed to pour love into this poor

Mopsy still loves the wife's garden...

girl, love in every way we could.
Gentle voices, constantly trying to
get her to come to us, bringing her the
best food, water, and after
three months; Mopsy actually
came up to me, hand down,
head down, eyes down, and
she sniffed my hand, and we bonded,
I touched her and gently petted her,
and it was real.

Mopsy has been with us now for thirteen years,
we have no idea how old she really is, but we
know this, we should have taken before and
after pictures, nobody would believe the
difference in her.  It's the power of love, I
always say, oh, not our love toward her, her
love toward us, you see, she had to forgive
whoever had done those horrible things to
her, and then realize, it wasn't us; and that
my friends is what this story is all about- great
big joy!

Rural Social Media is a blog about
perspective, really, that's what it's
all about, you see we have
a mission here; to better the
lives of those around
us.  We live in rural America;
and we believe that living in rural America
is totally different than living
anywhere else.  That's a simplification,
and we don't all have wheat shucks sticking out
of our mouths and wear bib overalls,  but it's
not such a bad thing at all, to wear them, is it?
Somebody around this great nation of ours needs
to man up- I'd just as soon they were wearin' bib
overalls, as cross dressed fancy, how 'bout you?

Great Big Joy comes in lots of flavors- but
it boils down to this, success; and hard work,
work that pays off.  Yes I know what the good
folks at the Metaphysics, "The Secret," side
of the house say, "all you have to do is believe
and it will be so,"  but what I'm gonna share with
you is, when you really believe, your hard work
becomes like play, and you make it so.  Now
that's a bit different statement, but I believe when
you boil it down, success doesn't happen very
often from dumb luck, it just looks that way.

Great Big Joy is a series of ideas and concepts that
we're gonna go through together, about business,
because that's what I get to do, my task in life,
my passion, is to help the community of Springhill,
Louisiana, do better.  Now that probably sounds
pretty crass, but realize that every community in
America has suffered in these last two decades
by the changes that have taken place in our world.
Those sufferings were very real, to farmers who
used to have a cash crop that would be allowed
to come up next year, only now, that's not for
certain anymore, thanks to the good folks at
Monsanto, and their hybrid seed programs!

Great Big Joy comes after going through such,
for the farmer who finds another way, and my
task, my passion, is to help them.  That's the
community side of what I get to do.  Now there
is also the fun side, and that's where we're gonna
stop today, but I want to share a success with
you that I'm enjoying to no end, that's the
businesses that are already doing pretty good-
only we're gonna get to help them go to the
next level.  Imagine what fun that is going to be?
Imagine being able to stand next to someone
that is going to someday be a name that is
spoken very far away, and with respect, no
matter where it is spoken at?  Imagine being
Paul Allen in California when a young man
comes over named Bill Gates and wants
to discuss this new device called a computer?
Imagine being able to help the future
leader of a massive franchise of pet
grooming products, because that's
her dream, and someday everywhere
people say, "Painted puppy- why
sure, we remember that gal...she..."

Do You Really?

Don't you just hate it when late night TV is
all those infomercials?  Nothin' else on, there
you are, awake, flippin' through the channels
because you can't sleep- AND, to top it off,
you get infomercials.  Doesn't it chap you
just a touch?

Well this one won't- love Facebook?  Want
to see your Facebook experience become
"AWESOME!"  No matter what sort of Facebook
person you are?  Check out this lady- she will
amaze you, and her directions work...they work
and every single one that I've tried has worked!

NOW if I can do it, and I don't have any THUMBS(!)
imagine what you can do?

BLIND COMMITTEE Errors...?

Three really tight blind guy's felt like there
was nothin' they couldn't handle- in fact
they were so independent that they said,
"there's nothin' we can't handle you bring
it on- we'll figure it out."  And for some
time they gained a modicum of fame
for their ability to figure stuff out.
Ever been there?  Needed somebody
like that?

One day an equally real person said
that he had a challenge they might
not be able to handle- well, they
rose to the occasion.  So he put
before them a challenge, a room
they would go into and tell what
was in that room.  They agreed.

In the room they went---and the
first fella said, "this is obviously a
broom closet, I can feel the wisps."
The second man spoke up with;
"That's weird this feels like a tree
to me, like a rubber tree maybe?"
By which time the third guy
shouted out:  "Have you guys
lost it, this is obviously a commercial
sweeper?"

SO CLICK TO REALIZE WHAT YOU KNOW

AH The Kicker...HERE IT IS....

Jon McNaughton's painting, "The Forgotten Man."

Saw this on facebook - could not turn away from it...

How does it make you feel?

Your Opportunity Is Looking Right At You

YouTube presents you as a television channel.
This truth is sobering, especially if nobody
watches, then, it's very sobering.

It might mean you don't post a video worth taking
in, or, it can mean that your video is fine,
it's just not what certain people want to
look at, so they don't talk about it, hence
the term "social media."

But knowing social media and doing social
media are two different things.  Just as
knowing about grants, and then writing
grants, are two different things.  But both
are necessary, it's really a question of
which you want to do?  If you'd like
to do some research and get into making
money from that- we believe that we
have a great key that will unlock the
doors you need unlocked to get such.
If you'd like to get into grant writing-
we believe we have the best opportunity
going to break into the field, and we'd
love to chat with you about it.

Dr. D - 310-846-8096

DEJA M00 Hits Full Force

This morning, March 1st, 2012,
Facebook opened
me up with a great
big..."oh I
know you
didn't shoot
that green stuff at me!"
Moment, that can't
not be shared.
Had that odd feeling
that we've been here before?

Let me explain..

On March 15th, in the Springhill
Community Civic Center Council
Chambers, (and hopefully the
turn out will be great enough
that we'll have to use the
big room) we are going to
have one of the most
powerful leaders in small business,
anywhere,
John Matthews, (CLICK)
come to see us.  Ordinarily
this wouldn't be a big deal,
but here in Louisiana, it is,
and keep reading and
I'll tell you why...plus...
throw in a
little secret you really
don't wanna miss...

In Louisiana small business
there is funding
available, which is
always good news, grants, and loans, and...money!
Small business is usually not fortunate
enough to have a staff of people to research
and write grants, it would be nice if they
could afford such, but usually they can't.
So several years back, Louisiana's Governor,
Bobby Jindal,(CLICK)
took action and started teaching a lot of people how to
research and write grants for small business.
Here's the kicker, as they say, much of what
happens with a grant doesn't happen at just the
research and writing phase, much of it is follow through
with the people who have their hands on the money spicket...enter
our hero- John Matthews.

Ordinarily, it would be just another
visit from the state government "down south,"
in Louisiana, to their distant friends and voters,
"up north," in the state- but not this time.  What
happens when we explain to powerful people
that we need assistance in the north
of the state is, they hear, "travel,
no shows, small crowd,
little interest."  What we're
saying is, "wow do
we ever need what you have."
What they are hearing is,
"here we go again, we've traveled
up there before, 
and nobody showed up."
See the problem?  
So this time, we have to do
whatever we have to do,
to make sure that doesn't happen
this time.  We need what this
man has to offer...and to
sweeten the deal...we have a special prize -
and it's a nice one-
your name goes into the bowl for two such
nice gift receipts for $25.00 to a local eatery
that is nice  - hows that!  Two names will
be drawn from the people who email us
to say "we're gonna be there - March 15th
at 5:30- Council Chambers" - and we'll draw
them out that evening...NOW- hows that for
cool...NO MORE DEJA M00 Huh?

What does "good deal" really mean?

It's been so long since I've done a blog
entry that most of the folks who used
to swing bye, have swung bye,
and said "bye-bye" and who can
blame them.  Here is my official apology
to them, they were faithful readers,
and I went to work outside my career
field for a while and did not have any
moments, really didn't, to do
entries.  That has changed, and a
much chastised Dr. asks you to engage
once again, promising you
that we will surface some juicy topics, as well as,
some useful ones.  That being said, let's dig in,
to what I hope will be a joyful bowl...

So we have to begin with my faves- Chris and
Mari - Chris cause he's just way beyond cool
with his gadgets - I don't think there is a new app
out there that Chris hasn't tried, and the cool thing
is, when Chris say's it works...you can trust his
voice.  http://www.facebook.com/chrisvoss?ref=ts 




Which brings us to Mari Smith.  One of a kind?
Unique- AWESOME- they become just words
if you aren't careful, until you run into Mari-
then suddenly, you see...she's the definition
of so many of them:  http://www.facebook.com/maris