Our company was founded in 1978 and has evolved from a machine shop into your complete solution for any custom tooling or automation application.Bent River also manufactures their own line of Solar Photovoltaic Laminators, Flat Panel Laminators, JEDEC Tray or Auer Boat handlers, conveyers and other products.
Bent River is located in Clarkdale, Arizona in the northern part of the state near Sedona, between Prescott and Flagstaff.

Our Charter is to support competitive manufacturing with our automation and tooling so that manufacturing rejuvenates and flourishes in the United States of America.

Our residents interests are at the heart of Mission Healthcare’s service, which is why we are guided by a philosophy called Culture Change that takes a resident-centered approach to providing exceptional care. Our associates are dedicated, experienced professionals who work together to provide this quality service. We strive to create warm, inviting homes where residents feel comfortable and part of their communities.

Mission Healthcare is a member of the American Health Care Association, Care Providers of Minnesota, South Dakota Health Care Association, and the National Center for Assisted Living.

Mission HealthCare, LLC leases and operates the Evergreen Terrace Care Center and Pleasant Seasons Assisted Living in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, Bethel Care Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, Red Wing Health Center in Red Wing, Minnesota, St. Lucas Care Center and Deaconess Towers Assisted Living in Faribault, Minnesota. Mission Healthcare also owns and operates Wheatcrest Hills Healthcare Center in Britton, South Dakota, Firesteel Healthcare Center in Mitchell, South Dakota. Fountain Springs Healthcare in Rapid City, South Dakota, Belle Fourche Healthcare Center and Sunpointe Assisted Living in Belle Fourche, South Dakota, and the David M. Dorsett Healthcare Center in Spearfish, South Dakota.

He’s Executive VP of SalesGuard…the service offers protection and coverage for business owners up to $250,000. There is no upfront or monthly expense and the approval rate is extremely high….helping business owners get the access to cash they need to secure their business!

Here are some of the questions that guided our discussion:

1. You’ve written that, as you were growing up in your family’s business, everyone (including the kids) helped on the business while your mother raised three children as a single mother. What were these early years like for you and how did it help shape your interest in business?
2. What kind of business was this?
3. You’ve been in the “small business” space for more than 15 years. Have you every seen it like this before?
4. As you meet with prospective clients, what kinds of challenges are coming up for the small business owners around Scottsdale?
5. What do so many business owners or entrepreneurs seem to not understand about how to work with bankers? What are some of the myths?
6. One of your passions is making entrepreneurs more aware of the many education and support programs made available by the city and Federal institutions. What are some of the most valuable programs you’re seeing right now?
7. Let’s walk through the SBA lending programs and get a feel for how they work…you’ve mentioned there have been changes in the last several months…

He started his career in 1989 as a developer at the Danfoss Group, a Denmark-based producer of components and solutions for refrigeration, air conditioning and heating. In the early 90’s, he worked at LEGO as technical designer and from 1996 to 1999, Michael was the owner of a chain of popular restaurants in Denmark. He’s been a consultant to many companies in the financial and telecom space, assisting these companies to build successful marketing organizations.

Ad-Supported Phone Provides Competitive Free Calling Option to Enterprise, Small Business Market via SIP-enabled Devices

Los Angeles, CA, October 6, 2010 (ITEXPO: Booth # 606) – The 2600hz Project, a subsidiary of VoIP, Inc. today announced free SIP phone service for VoIP carriers. The ad-supported system is designed to empower today’s VoIP providers to compete with free calling services already available on the Internet. The white-label service bundles features like find-me, follow-me, ring groups, meet-me conferencing and voicemail into a hosted platform. PromoCalling enables carriers to compete with similar offerings from Google Voice and Skype taking communication a step further by operating via business grade SIP phones rather than web or soft phone devices.

“Smaller VoIP carriers face fierce competition in a marketplace where Google and Skype offer services that are free,” said Darren Schreiber, CEO and Co-Founder of 2600hz. “Combining quality services with our ad-based revenue system helps level the playing field by creating cost effective solutions that are trusted by small-to-medium businesses as well as enterprise-level companies.”

PromoCalling showcases 2600hz’s flagship offering-distributed cloud communications technology. 2600hz’s technology allows for inexpensive cloud-based servers to switch thousands of calls at little to no cost, driving the price of VoIP hosting down to pennies per seat. The combination of ad-delivery services with inexpensive hosting technology allows for the low cost solution. Ads are displayed on the graphical LCD of approved SIP phones during the day, which offsets the cost of most U.S. long distance calls.

PromoCalling employs an innovative revenue model, and as an industry stand-out, couples ad-based technologies with SIP hardware devices. Previous attempts at ad-based services have generally required software or web-based phones. This ad delivery mechanism also adds another medium for marketers to reach desired audiences given them access to rich demographics that can target a particular subset of business users.

Utilizing cutting edge technologies like FreeSWITCH, 2600hz is leading the way in low cost, carrier-grade enterprise technology. The offering was made possible through a partnership with iCall Carrier Services and with cooperation from YeaLink Network Technologies.

The offering is available to providers who utilize the 2600hz open source software to power their hosted VoIP platform. The SIP compliant phone is a standard YeaLink phone which can be purchased via verified retailers.

There is no lock-in or contract – if a customer is unhappy with the service they may use the phone with any other SIP compatible service provider.

More information is available at http://www.promocalling.com

About the 2600hz Project
the 2600hz Project’s mission is to remove barriers to entry for utilizing VoIP and SIP technology. The company focuses on providing carrier grade hosting solutions to small and medium service providers. Service offerings range from free and pay VoIP calling to carrier-grade switching systems and VoIP training courses for industry professionals. The company’s core revenue comes from helping VoIP 2.0 companies build, support and maintain scalable infrastructures. The company is located in San Francisco, CA, is privately funded and is profitable. For more information, please visit: http://2600hz.org/

1. When you look at all the possible applications of experience you’ve had, holding a PHD in Economics and an MBA, what is it about the prospect and promise of Precious Metals that caused you to go into the mining business?

2. In the business of Gold mining, give us a sense of the operating economics AND the risk management piece. What might those of us not in the business not be aware of?

3. From the CEO perspective-your fundamental mission is to build shareholder value. What are the key drivers-how do you build shareholder value in the mining business?

4. Talk a little bit about the science of Gold Mining-what does this involve and what are some of the nuances?

5. Many of our listeners may not know w gold gets made in to coins or bullion. What is the physical process look like once your company has discovered and mined Gold in a particular region?

6. Let’s talk about the pricing environment of Gold from a global perspective. What relationships do you tend to pay most attention to?

7. What drives your stock price-where is the market sensitivity. Is it about the efficiency of your processes, ultimately driving EPS, or something different?

8. The Stocker Group offers Risk and Knowledge Management to international clients in the mining business and other industries in 11 countries. Where do your clients need most help when it comes to Risk management, and what is your general approach to assisting them to that end?

9. When you describe an area as “Mining Friendly”-what does that mean?

10. Give us a picture of some of your current projects and a sense of the nuances of challenge and opportunity each one offers….

• northeastern Peru (Gold Sands project) and
• Nevada’s Walker Lane gold belt.

They are mining-friendly. Characteristics we seek are:

• Taxes and sovereign royalties are reasonable, set at levels to attract investment (not discourage it).
• The legal regime for mineral rights is well-developed, with clear, stable rules and procedures.
• The permitting system for mine development is rational and efficient, to protect miners from needless delays and uncertainties.
• The political system is stable, so that there is reasonable confidence that the rules won’t change radically during a mine’s lifetime.

A native of southeastern Pennsylvania, Barry L. Friedberg, MD, came to Palo Alto, California in 1975 to complete his formal education with an anesthesia residency at Stanford University with department chief C. Philip Larson, Jr, MD.

Part of the anesthesia residency included time working with cardiac transplant surgical pioneer Norman Shumway, MD. Also while at Stanford, Dr. Friedberg met Thomas Fogarty, M.D., inventor of the Fogarty catheter. Dr. Friedberg was impressed by the elegance of simplicity.

Following the successful completion of his residency and the requirements of the American Board of Anesthesiology, Dr. Friedberg became a Board Certified (or Diplomate) Anesthesiologist in April 1980.

Newport Beach, California has been home to Dr. Friedberg since 1980, initially working at Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian until 1991. Always an innovator, before joining Hoag, Dr. Friedberg introduced their anesthesia staff to the Dinamap in l979, an automated blood pressure device. Many Hoag anesthesiologists openly expressed skepticism, thought it was futuristic and superfluous. (One anesthesiologist even went so far as to say, ‘If they have a machine that takes a blood pressure, what will they want an anesthesiologists for?’) However, it quickly became a well-established way of determining patients’ blood pressures.

Dr. Friedberg was also an early adopter of pulse oximetry. When the technology first became commercially available in 1983, he went to the hospital administrator to encourage the hospital to purchase units for every anesthetizing location. Not until 1990 did the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) before declare this safety monitor a standard of care.

At Hoag, during the 5 years Dr. Friedberg practiced the subspecialty of cardiac (open heart) anesthesia, he introduced the Swan Ganz catheter and cardiac output computer to the heart team. With Dr. Friedberg giving their anesthesia, the heart surgeons were able to know the patient’s cardiac output and peripheral resistance immediately when coming off bypass pump for the first time in the program’s history.

In the fall of 1986, Dr. Friedberg turned his professional attention to outpatient surgery for 4 years at Hoag’s James Irvine Surgicenter. Moving from an institutional outpatient setting to the office-based one was a natural growth in Dr. Friedberg’s career in 1991.

Dr. Friedberg developed propofol ketamine (PK) anesthesia in 1992. His approach was derived from the mid 1970s diazepam (Valium®) ketamine anesthesia published by Vinnik in 1981 and further popularized by other plastic surgeons like Baker, Stuzin and Ersek.

PK anesthesia was designed to maximize patient safety while imitating general anesthesia. Patients do not hear, feel or remember their surgical experience.

Since 1993, Dr. Friedberg has practiced exclusively in the subspecialty of office-based anesthesia (OBA) for elective cosmetic surgery. Because of the unique challenges in the office-based setting, Dr. Friedberg saw a need for education of his hospital based colleagues who might choose a path similar to his own. The Society for Office Anesthesiologists (SOFA) was founded in 1996 and merged in 1998 with the Society for Office Based Anesthesia (SOBA), another non-profit, international society dedicated to improving patient safety through education.

Economic forces in the late 20th century have forced more procedures away from the hospital and surgicenters and into office-based settings. The ASA and SAMBA have subsequently conceded that OBA is a legitimate subspecialty of ambulatory anesthesia.

In 1997, Dr. Friedberg became the first anesthesiologist in Orange County, CA, to begin routinely monitoring his patients with a brain activity monitor, adding a significant refinement to PK anesthesia. Many anesthesiologists expressed similar skepticism about brain activity monitoring that they had expressed nearly 20 years earlier about the Dinamap.

More and more enlightened anesthesiologists in the United States, Canada, England, Ireland, Japan, Australia, and a growing list of other countries have enthusiastically incorporated PK anesthesia into their practices, much to the delight of their patients and surgeons.

When Olivia Goldsmith, author of ‘The First Wives’ Club’ died in 2004, the need for the a comprehensive textbook in the field of cosmetic surgery anesthesia became apparent. Dr. Friedberg’s reputation and extensive publications in the field made him the first choice among the then 40,000 US anesthesiologists.

Cambridge University Press published Dr. Friedberg’s ‘Anesthesia in Cosmetic Surgery’ in April 2007 in English, followed by the book’s Portuguese translation for Brazil in June 2009. Brazil performs the most cosmetic surgery of any country in the world.

A list of Dr. Friedberg’s publications can be accessed from his Curriculum Vitae, provided upon request.

Subsequent citations of Dr. Friedberg’s PK anesthesia articles are noteworthy because half of all published journal articles are never referred to in later journal articles by other authors. Dr. Friedberg’s articles have been subsequently cited in over 60 journal articles. His articles have also been cited in 20 textbooks including Barash 6th ed. Clinical Anesthesia and the 2010 encyclopedic Miller’s Anesthesia (7th ed).

The Karolinska Institute is the foremost medical center of Sweden. The ‘Minimally invasive anesthesia for minimally invasive surgery’ article in Outpatient Surgery Magazine (Feb. 2004) was posted on the Karolinska Institute web site.

Dr. Friedberg is recognized as a medical expert in anesthesia by the California Medical Board in addition to the legal profession. His expertise has been lent to a number of peer-reviewed medical journals for review. Dr. Friedberg is also a contributor to the letters to the editor section in several anesthesia and surgery journals.

From 1998 through 2008, Dr. Friedberg was Assistant Professor of Anesthesia, volunteer faculty, at University of Southern California from 1998-2008, and Associate Professor of Anesthesia at the University of California, Irvine, Volunteer Clinical Faculty in 2009.

He has also lectured to anesthesiologists and surgeons in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Israel and Venezuela. Dr. Friedberg’s expertise for safer, simpler, cost-effective and better patient outcomes was shared at 2009 Grand Rounds for the anesthesia residents at the prestigious Cedars Sinai Hospital, the January 2010 Biennial Pan Pacific Plastic Surgeon’s meeting in Honolulu, and the upcoming May 2010 Grand Rounds for the anesthesia residents at UCLA.

Joining us on the line from his US office in Albuquerque New Mexico to share the story of his launch, and his approach to developing this successful operation is Nasib Thabet, founder and CEO of Gold Silk. Here’s are some of the questions guiding our discussion.

1. Take us back a few years, what events led you to the creation of Gold Silk and the line of products you now sell internationally?
2. Describe your personal connection to the business. What gets you up in the morning?
3. How do you approach the design, the actual creation of Gold Silk Products? What are the characteristics you included in your line that make it a top seller?
4. You are selling every continent, with a robust worldwide distribution network. How did you grow these channels-and internationally? How do you do that?
5. How many products/designs do you have right now?
6. What is your top seller and what’s the proportion of sales of that item vs. the rest of the line?
7. IS the psychology of someone who is traveling very different from that in the stationary brick and mortar venues who is shopping locally?
8. What is the competitive environment like out there in the space you operate?
9. How has the economy effected your Company’s performance, if at all?
10. Have you found that your customers have similar tastes throughout the world, or do the sales different products tend to trend differently with the geography?

Over the last few years alone, Reggie has completed hundreds of deals including: Pre-Foreclosure, Trustee Sales, Retail flips, Wholesaling, New Construction, Private lending and more.

Reggie often speaks and teaches at Investment Clubs and Real Estate Expo’s in an effort to help educate other Real Estate Investors.

As the managing broker for his company, Reggie continues to oversee its real estate projects as well as assisting in finding new investment opportunities for this changing market. He also created “Be The Smart Investor”, a real estate investment & education firm.

Buzz Rodriguez, owner of Point Loma Cabinet & Upholstery introduces himself and discusses the process of furniture restoration. A San Diego upholstery expert for over 30 years, he offers insights into San Diego furniture restoration for furniture lovers.

From helping many people with San Diego furniture refinishing projects, to restoring antiques and family sofas, Buzz and his team have seen it all and will share their experience with you.

Most people are “FREAKED OUT” about any thing having to do with furniture replacement or restoration. Buzz briefly walks you through and explains the process and advantages of reupholstery, wood refinishing and custom building pieces from scratch.

Ernie’s unique system helps newbees and seasoned real estate professionals learn how to make money by working with Probate Real Property and Probate Personal Property. Here are some of the questions guiding our interview:

1. What is probate?
2. So what is probate property?
3. Two kinds of Probate Property
4. Why Probate for you?
5. How does your system work?
6. How can listeners learn more about navigating the world of probate property?

CONTACT INFO:
CERV Niche Systems, LLC
115 West California Blvd, Suite 267
Pasadena, California 91105
1-800-442-2988
email: info@ProbateFox.com

Easy On Hold: Real Marketing

A strategically written, professionally produced ad on-hold message reduces hang-ups, but can do so much more. Give callers the information you want them to have. Easy On Hold Messages can help you transform a wasted advertising opportunity into a positive experience for the caller.
Use Your Music and Message On-Hold to Build a Relationship with Your Customer

You have a captive audience, a prospect or customer calling to discuss doing business with you. Don’t waste the time he waits for you to come on the line playing sleepy music, a radio station’s tunes complete with commercials or boring silence. Use that time to tell and sell. Music on-hold ads can give the customer valuable information about your product or service and ultimately influence their buying decision.
Ads On-Hold Can Enhance Your Company’s Image

Ads on-hold messages can make small companies sound big. And they can make big companies sound friendly. Whatever your objective, we can customize a message that projects the image you want for your business. We’ll coordinate the right information, voice and music in a way that benefits your business every time a call is placed on hold.
A Little About Us
We Know What Works

Easy On Hold has been in business since 1997. We enjoy living and working in the Portage and Kalamazoo MI area. In that time, we’ve created thousands of music on-hold messages for satisfied customers in North America and abroad. Easy on Hold provides Music On Hold, Message On Hold custom productions, to reduce hang-ups and impress callers.

Try our free custom music on hold demo service. We provide scripts and voiceovers and royalty free music on hold backgrounds, as well as messages on-hold equipment, on hold music players, marketing help, and personal assistance to help implement messaging for most phone systems. Read “Music On Hold Customers Sound Off” – comments from actual customers in .pdf format.
Marketing/PR Team Founded Easy On Hold

Easy On Hold was founded by professionals in the marketing and advertising field who believe in the power of the spoken word. Our writers, producers and announcers know what works and will help your business build stronger, more profitable relationships with your target audience-callers who need your products and services. Trust Easy On Hold to create effective, custom music on hold messages for you.

Read About Easy On Hold as published in About.com.
Easy On Hold Ranked as Top Media Production Firm

Easy On Hold is ranked among “Top Sites in Media Production” by Alexa.com the site owned by Alexa Internet, Inc. (a subsidiary company of Amazon.com that provides information on web traffic. Alexa has been tracking EasyOnHold.com since April 25, 2000. Easy On Hold is highly regarded as a quality firm.
What Makes Easy On Hold Different?

Hear your actual production before you buy.
No long-term contract required.
All ASCAP-BMI music licensing included.

Hamilton served as Director of Franchise Development for Las Vegas Discount Golf and Tennis, a sixty five store franchise chain. Prior to that, Monte worked as a Marketing Development Consultant for American Leak Detection. Hamilton received his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from the University of Montana at Missoula.

Perpetual Publishers is committed to bringing high-tech solutions to small businesses, starting with online publishing.

In addition to video, audio and Flash-rich active media, Perpetual Publishers offers infinite zoom; search and archive functions; bookmarking and reader page notes; digital catalog order forms (that integrate and connect directly to a shopping cart); digital rights management; third-party subscription/payment; and one-click page printing.

About Music by Bradley Young

Combining a profound sense of the past with a distinctive flair for the present, and offering exciting innovations for the future, pianist Bradley Young takes the standard definition of “virtuoso” to unique and promising new places on the musical horizon. Drawing upon a remarkably diverse series of historical and modern piano influences, Bradley has established himself as a dynamic player, composer and band leader in every genre from blues, soul, and boogie woogie to traditional and contemporary jazz, which is Bradley’s first love. In fact, it is his passion for contemporary jazz that has inspired him to create Midnight Rhapsody,and you can sample the music from this CD here on myspace! The CD,which is long out of print,is still available on amazon.com, cdbaby.com,or at Bradley’s website,www.bradleyyoung.com.

As a pianist, the Chicago native’s eclectic and soulful performing and composing style is unique in that it is reflective of nearly the entire history of jazz piano. His own musical evolution was inspired over the years by everyone from stride and boogie woogie players like James P. Johnson, Willie “The Lion” Smith and Meade “Lux” Lewis, to swing and bop giants such as Bud Powell, Oscar Peterson, and Herbie Hancock, to contemporary jazz masters like Alex Bugnon, Brian Culbertson, and Joe McBride.

Bradley began classical piano lessons at age five, and by seven he was performing recitals with his own improvisational compositions. In his early teens, while studying privately at Northwestern University and the Evanston Conservatory of Music, a family friend, who was also a jazz pianist, gave Bradley his entire collection of blues and boogie woogie 78s, and Bradley became enamored with those genres. As he was performing his first professional gigs at Chicago blues hotspots with local legends like Freddie Below and Big Time Sarah, Bradley was also studying with famed Chicago blues pianist and recording artist Erwin Helfer.

He attended Columbia College in Chicago, then Indiana State University for a year before transferring to the renowned Berklee College of Music in Boston for three years. At Berklee, while still boogie woogie-ing by night, Bradley studied composition, harmony, counterpoint, arranging and music theory. Upon graduation, he returned to Chicago and built a late night reputation at top Chicago jazz clubs like Andy’s, Pop’s for Champagne, the Green Mill and the Gold Star Sardine Bar. Since establishing himself in the Los Angeles area,Bradley has continued to grow as an artist….studying with wonderful teachers like Alan Pasqua,Mike Garson,and Terry Trotter. He has appeared as pianist and music director for hundreds of distinguished special events across the country,working with celebrities like Clint Eastwood, Sigourney Weaver,Sharon Stone,Brooke Shields,Gary Shandling,Teri Hatcher,and many others….Bradley also continues to perform at numerous Los Angeles area jazz venues. Bradley has played and recorded with some musical greats… artists such as Chet Baker, Art Farmer, Buddy Childers, Sal Marquez,Steve Cole,Tony Dumas, Luther Hughes,Dave Carpenter, Peter Erskine and Jeff “Tain” Watts.

Bradley has recently been signed by respected European record label ENJA RECORDS. The first recording to be issued is a previously unreleased studio session featuring jazz trumpet legend CHET BAKER,recorded in 1986 in Chicago,and is scheduled for a mid October 2008 release. The CD features Bradley Young,piano,Larry Gray,bass,and Rusty Jones,drums;it is titled,appropriately,“CHET IN CHICAGO”… For more information about this previously undiscovered recording,log into the ENJA website,at http://www.enjarecords.com, and type in CHET BAKER into the search window.

While continuing to grow as a pianist and recording artist,Bradley has found time to pursue his passion for film making,co-directing and scoring a feature film,“Recycled Parts”,a first in his career.The film is a blood curdling genre piece firmly rooted in the modern horror film tradition.Scoring the film with co-composer David Wolf gave Bradley a chance to write in a style that owes something to his favorite film music composers,such as Jerry Goldsmith,Bernard Hermann,and Alan Sylvestri.The film had its premeire screening in Los Angeles in March 2007,and more about the film can be seen here at myspace.com/recycled parts the movie.

In a recent interview, Bradley has this to say:“Its been gratifying,and alot of fun to be able to create music in a variety of styles and genres,from hip hop,funk,blues,and jazz to contemporary film music.I hope my music touches peoples’ lives, and I believe music has an extraordinary ability to do just that.”

With an exciting and distinguished résumé behind him and considering all that lies ahead, Young is certain to add to the traditions he so embraces as he emerges onto the national and international music scene.

But there are a zillion options to consider rendering the process of getting a book market ready quite daunting—-and very difficult to pull off if you don’t have any experience. That’s where a book shepherd can help.

Joining us on the line from her offices in Beverly Hills, CA to help us understand how authors can navigate the publishing world is Ellen Reid, founder of Book Shepherding, Ellen, welcome to the program…

1. The publishing world, like many industries has been re-inventing itself for some time. From your perspective-how do you describe the changes you’re seeing?
2. What is a book Shepherd?
3. How does your experience in sales, marketing and advertising inform the work you now do for authors?
4. What do authors most need from a Book Shepherd?
5. You have said that it’s difficult for an author to create the best name for their work. What do authors not get about creating the names, the titles for their books and why is it hard for them?
6. When you look at the entire range of pieces or elements required to accomplish to release a book successfully—-what do find that authors often think they can do that they really can’t pull off alone?
7. It’s been said that releasing a book is not always the END, but a means to an end-that, in fact it’s only a part of creating a complete business. In a world where many author’s first question is…“how much will I make when I release my book”…tell us why that’s not always the question they should be asking.
8. You have a new book out entitled, Put Your Best Book Forward. Why did you write it and tell us a little about what’s inside?
9. Where can our listeners find the book?
10. Where can we learn more about Book Shepherding and the services you provide to authors and indy-publishers…

CONTACT ELLEN at bookshep@mac.com

In 2009 they incorporated, and the Teas are now distributed to various location in the Chicagoland area and beyond—-joining us on the line from the windy city is Jordan Scherer, the Owner of Wiseman Tea. Welcome…

1. What is it about tea—— the flavors, the energy and the health benefits that many of us coffee drinkers just don’t know about?
2. So, the inception of Wiseman started with a series of tea-meeting with Bryan Comisky—-share the process of conversation to conversion-how did you actually start this business?
3. How did you plan to fund the business-and has that picture changed since incorporating? Bootstrapped or some funding?
4. Is there anything in terms of the roll out that you would have liked to do a bit differently?
5. Give us a sense of your resources-is this a 2 man operation or do you have employees and a facility?
6. You’re buying teas on a global scale-where are you buying from and how are you making the teas uniquely Wiseman Tea—-
7. Your tag is “Life’s Too Short to Drink Bad Tea”. What is “bad tea” —-and what’s different about Wiseman Teas?
8. One of the most difficult elements in any startup is packaging and distribution. How have you approached the matter of distribution and sales with Wiseman? Online, brick and mortar?
9. How have you leveraged social media to get the word out about Wiseman—-and how are you measuring those activities?

Surviving the Recession by Investing in the Customer Experience

Times are Tough

• Difficult economy makes it hard for businesses to predict the future, set growth goals.
• We can’t control the macro economy, but we also don’t have to just be victims, floating along waiting for things to get better.
• In these tough times, what can we control?

Current Focus: Passion for the Customer Experience

• The customer experience is more than just good customer service, which is just table stakes in today’s marketplace.
• The customer experience involves every single interaction a customer has with your company – from the first contact all the way through to putting a great product into their hands, on time and with a smile.
• Improving the customer experience involves looking for ways to deliver remarkable interactions at every touch point and figuring out a way to say ‘yes’ to your customers. It is a renewed commitment to putting the customer first.

If You Deliver, They’ll Talk

• If you go above and beyond for your customers, they will tell their friends.
• Referrals are single most effective (and cost-effective) marketing tactic.
• Company growth through referrals is organic, authentic and more permanent; will allow you to survive when things get hard
• By building referrals, you are building loyalty and passion for your business.

Happy Customers = Engaged Employees

• Focusing on the customer experience, instead of just sales will also help you to attract, hire, and retain top-performing employees.
• Nobody wants to work for a company that treats their customers bad.
• Passion for the customer gives employees a sense of purpose and empowerment.
• Encourage employees to look for ways to improve the customer experience.

Amy Budd and Roby Wallace, owners of A&R Fresh Foods, LLC, created Rawthentic™ pet foods with a unique combination of education, experience, and intuition. Amy had her own pet treat and pet food delivery companies. She has a Bachelors of Science in Animal Science, years of experience in the clinical veterinary world, and retail experience in the pet industry. Roby has trained and worked in ecology, small business management and development, and small-scale animal agriculture.

We care very deeply about our own pets and know you care about yours. We provide a superior product for your pet that is top quality nutrition, yet still affordable and convenient.

Our company is small and privately owned. We do not answer to investors or venture capitalists. We answer to you. Our bottom line is about you and your pet.

COMPANY OVERVIEW

We are a small company dedicated to animals and the people who love and care for them. We provide superior quality pet foods made from healthy, whole, bio-available food sources in convenient, safe to use packaging.

Rawthentic™ was created with a desire to feed animals what they need along with feeding them what they truly want to eat. Rawthentic™ is a unique formulation of meat, vegetables, and a small amount of quinoa (prepared in a proprietary way to mimic digestion), to meet the nutritional needs of pets.

Rawthentic™ is a unique blend of science, experience and intuition. Rawthentic™ was formulated with both the help of animal nutritionists and animal communicators. We actually interviewed panels of animals after being fed to get their responses. A little unusua—a little far-fetched for some—a little cool for others, but an amazing journey producing an amazing product that animals love.

Here are some of the questions that guided the segment with Beth:

1. You’ve credited BNI as responsible for the growth, in large part, for your own business. When was your very first contact with BNI, and what about it captivated you?
2. When you say Visibility + credibility=profitability—-I think you’re describing the nature of word of mouth-do I have that correct?
3. Why does word of mouth work so well in small business?
4. BNI—was created as a high contact networking system. You’re heading up the technology component of the organization—-is it a unique challenge to create (an online social networking platform) for an arguably “on-line“business model?
5. BNI Connect—in general how it will work to help the BNI Membership? What can members expect?
6. Is OrgTrack working exclusively on BNI, or do you have other clients and projects going?

In addition, readers looking for unique titles in various categories by self-publishers had to conduct tedious Web searches to find what they wanted.

With this in mind, Jill, a book lover herself, created Jexbo, a simple, affordable solution for self published authors and book enthusiasts. Now, self-published authors can list their books online for FREE (they simply pay 5% of whatever the author sells), have access to their own Web site and reach a large audience of buyers.

At the same time, readers can use jexbo to easily find unique, self-published works in numerous categories and communicate directly with the authors.

Frequently cited as a VoIP market expert, Rabban has been involved with the Internet telephony industry from its very early days. He is regularly quoted in trade publications and has been interviewed by media outlets around the world.

Rabban received an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University and a bachelors in economics from Tel Aviv University. Prior to his arrival in the US, Rabban practiced corporate law in Tel Aviv.

Rabban resides in New Jersey with his wife and two daughters.

Company Overview
Phone.com was founded in 2006 by industry veterans and offers affordable phone services for small business, home business or personal use. Our next-generation Internet phone service is based on award-winning, innovative VoIP technology and all our services are supported by a 24*7 customer support team.
For small business and home businesses (SOHO), we offer our Virtual Office solution that lets you get a local or toll-free 800 number (including vanity numbers) for your business and manage it however you want. In addition to 1 800 numbers, the virtual office service includes custom greetings, auto attendant, voicemail, internet fax receiving, call transfer and many more features you would expect from an expensive business phone system!

For a more personal use, we offer Phone.com – Virtual Number. One local number that replaces all your phone numbers and finds you on any of your phones (home, work, cell or other) and keeps all your voicemails in one voicemail box! You can even transcribe your voicemail to text and read them from your email or phone! All this from plans starting at $4.88 and with our unique rewards plan you can get it all for free or even earn credit!
Our home phone services are similar to the existing VoIP phone services offered to you by the cable companies however our service saves you tons of money on your home phone with unlimited long distance calls to anywhere in the U.S. or Canada. Our VOIP business and home phone services come fully loaded with all the features you need for your home phone service, including caller ID, call waiting, voicemail, call forwarding, and many more features-all at no extra charge! Our international rates are one of the lowest in the industry! All our VoIP business and home phone services come with 24*7 customer support.

Phone.com also brings you Phone.com – Chatcalls: a unique and FREE application that lets you send text messages to one or many phones! Choose what your message will sound from one of over 40 synthesized voices. Add voice emoticons for extra affect.

About Yakety Yak Wireless

Founded in 1999, Yakety Yak Wireless is headquartered in Newport Beach, Calif., and offers the latest cell phones and accessories from leading manufacturers, pre-paid and post-paid calling plans from national and regional carriers, as well as customized ancillary products. Customers can shop either online or in person for exclusive products and services, as well as trade-in their pre-owned cell phones through our “Yak Green” recycle program. We offer extensive repair services, including flash and unlock reprogramming, and a variety of handset protection plans.

David has served as chief executive officer for Yakety Yak since February of 2007, and in January of 2009, bought the company. During his tenure, the company has received recognition as one the “Fast 55” franchises by Franchise Times, one of the top 500 franchises in Entrepreneur magazine’s annual “Franchise 500” list, and one of the fastest-growing private companies in Orange County, California by the Orange County Business Journal. He has a strong background in retail and wireless industry management and sales that spans more than 20 years. He is a well-regarded executive in the industry, with experience in sales, carrier and master dealer contract negotiations, equipment purchases, marketing, advertising and training.

David has held sales and management positions in the telecommunications industry for Go Wireless, Bullet Distribution and MobilWorks. He also held the positions of marketing director and senior regional sales manager for Al & Ed’s Autosound. Throughout his career, David has consistently achieved a track record of success in staffing, recruitment, training, designing policies and procedures, and managing business development, to achieve exceptional sales results, higher profit margins and increased company profits.

Here are some of the questions guiding this segment with Steve:

1. Take us back to 2006—what did those initial discussions look like as you were forming the vision for creating gotobilling.com?
2. At that starting point—-What was missing in the market space—-the GAP you wanted to fill? How did you want to do this differently?
3. When you talk to small business owners—-what are the top challenges they tell you they’re facing?
4. Let’s take a tour of your company, gotobilling—-what does it look like today interms of human capital, employees, the physical offices and your customers?—-then we can get to the services you provide…
5. OK—let’s shift to the services at gotobilling.com——what are your core services and how do they work?
6. Back to the entrepreneurial perspective—-as you began to grow as an organization—-what challenges did you face that might be instructive for our small business listeners?
7. You have started and funded the business entirely without VC or other external sources of capital—-Bootstrapped. Why do you avoid venture capitalists?
8. So—-are you funding growth entirely from cash flows?
9. What’ s on the horizon for gotobilling—what can we expect in terms of the future of the company and your offerings?

Here are some of the questions that guided this interview with Lorene:

• What is a Virtual Assistant?
• What are the benefits of using a Virtual Assistant?
• What is the “collaborative relationship” and why it is important?
• What kind of work does a Virtual Assistant do?
• Do Virtual Assistants do other things besides administrative support?
• How much does a Virtual Assistant cost?
• Who works with Virtual Assistants?
• Where does a Virtual Assistant work?
• Are Virtual Assistants like employees?
• Are there certain kinds of work that a Virtual Assistant doesn’t do?
• How do I know I can trust someone enough to give them access to my personal information and count on them to be reliable and competent enough to assign work?
• What kind of references or assurances can I ask a candidate for? What can I do to safeguard myself if I do hire someone?
• I haven’t completely wrapped my brain around how this works. How do I figure out what to delegate?
• Can a Virtual Assistant help me with marketing, direct mail, telemarketing and those kinds of things?
• Where do I find a qualified Virtual Assistant?

About Maponics
Maponics specializes in location-based data for businesses, including neighborhood, ZIP code and carrier route boundaries. Local search, real estate, mobile, social media and marketing firms rely on Maponics to power hyper-local interactive search, mapping, and ad targeting platforms, including Zvents, infoUSA, Dominion Enterprises (eNeighborhoods and homes.com), Smarter Agent, HelloMetro, Roost, CitySquares and many others. The Maponics Online Store, powered by Maponics data, is the only place USPS.com refers to for postal maps. The Company is located in Norwich, Vermont, and you can learn more at http:www.maponics.com.

What is Bishops barbershop?
Bishops is a new kind of neighborhood barbershop for Generations X, Y and Z. We are a hybrid old school barbershop offering affordable prices, high-end salon quality and a convenient walk-in only policy in a hip, fun environment that includes edgy artwork and music, stylists with attitude and cold Miller High Life. We support local artists, musicians and designers, community events and local charitable organizations.

What services and products do you offer?
Cuts and colors for men and women, as well as KMS, Goldwell and Joe Grooming hair care products. There is no diversion of these products to outlets other than salons, so you can’t find them at your local drugstore or supermarket, and they are all color-safe. Joe Grooming is an organic line that is actually for men, but women love it as well.

How are you different from other barbershops?
We’re a salon that incorporates the “lifestyle” aspect of the old school barbershops. The convenience of our walk-in only policy is enhanced by the fact that we have enough stylists to accommodate our customers, rather than just the one or two barbers you find in a traditional barbershop. Our customers can choose from our list of a la carte services that are affordably priced, and we continually educate our stylists and provide training that keeps them current on the latest trends.

What is your target market?
Our primary target market is men and women, aged 18-40, but we have many customers of both sexes and all ages.

Who do you consider your main competitors?
Floyd’s and Rudy’s, as well as national haircut chains and high-end salons.

How are you different from those competitors?
We are edgier. Our pricing makes us recession-proof, and our community involvement keeps the buzz going. Our staff philosophy is based on respect and recognition of their professionalism and working with them to enhance their skills. This attitude is passed down from our stylists to their clients, which creates a rewarding work environment built on strong relationships. We have fun, but deliver great results and customer satisfaction.

What is your business model?
A walk-in only, full-service salon at affordable prices.

What are your key strengths?
Customer service, quality and edginess.

What are your key weaknesses?
That we small and have not proven our concept outside of Portland.

What are the main challenges that you face right now?
As with any small company looking to expand, growth is our main challenge. It is critical that we successfully manage our growth as we extend our footprint beyond Portland across country, into Canada and the around the world.

What is your vision for the company?
I want to go global. I can see Bishops Barbershops in Canada, Mexico, Tokyo, London, Paris, Dublin and beyond!

Why did you choose franchising?
It’s the next natural step in the company’s evolution. Organic growth is extremely slow and very capital intensive. I know people want to be part of the Bishops concept right now, and franchising is the most effective way to offer them the opportunity to do that.

What are the three things that you want people to remember about Bishops?
People are always talking about how cool we are, so that’s probably the first thing someone will hear about us. At Bishops, you can get a great haircut, style or color in an environment that is fun, hip and edgy at an affordable price. And finally, at Bishops, you will leave you satisfied with every aspect of your experience.

The originator of The Juju List is a state of Ohio certified electrical contractor who has taken one of the most popular pieces of modern technology and incorporated it into the most effective tool for requesting service on any home or business.
Matthew Shields has been involved in the electrical field for 15 years. During that time, he has been involved in all aspects of construction on both a commercial and residential scale. Matthew has firsthand experience in everything from trouble shooting a dining room plug to multimillion dollar commercial electrical installations.
The Juju List was created by Matthew as a way for clients to be matched with elite local contractors who handle a host of the most common homeowner and commercial property owner requests.
Included in this one of a kind service is another passion of Matthew’s. Energy conservation and “Green Energy” products have been a top priority of the Juju List from the onset.
Matthew recently authored the book “Monergy” to help building owners determine the correct approach in establishing a sustainable energy management program.
The Juju List has taken that movement a step further and now allows the user a simple option to obtain an estimate customized for their particular situation.
Every possible step has been taken to insure that the contractors that join the list are the “cream of the crop” service providers.

The Juju List app is available for down load from the iTunes store for easy access from any iPhone. It has been optimized for use with the Blackberry and also offers the same tools to access the same list of elite service professionals through a web interface.

JAMT Founder and Executive/ Artistic Director: Hayes Greenfield

Our guest on this edition has created a unique organization that embodies his own artistry, creativity, and unique gifts and abilities to communicate and inspire children and adults to get in touch with their own creativity.

New York jazz saxophonist Hayes Greenfield has been a part of the New York scene since the late 70’s—-he’s studied and performed with the late pianist Jaki Byard, and created enduring associations with notables such as Richie Havens, Ornette Coleman, Herbie Hancock, Joe Lovano, Dave Liebman, Rashied Ali, Barry Altschul, and Paul Bley.

Today—-he’s the founder of Jazz-A-Ma-Tazz (JAMT)—- a music education program that he founded a decade ago—-that takes students, parents, and educators by surprise. Using the fundamentals of jazz music, participants engage in activities that reinforce specific social and personal skills that improve learning: communication, positive risk-taking, cooperation, and creative expression.

Today, Jazz-A-Ma-Tazz reaches more than 25,000 people a year, largely from within the New York metropolitan area. Here are the show questions and notes:

1. When did you discover your own ability and desire to communicate with children and teach the way you now do?
2. How did the idea to create Jazz-A-Ma-Tazz first come about, and how did you ultimately get it going?
3. Your program takes the fundamentals of jazz music as and invites participants to engage in a variety of activities—-what kinds of skills can be learned from Jazz that are not necessarily limited to music, per se?
4. It would be easy to say this is an adjunct music clinic. But it’s really about much more than music, isn’t it?
5. Walk us through a program you would do for middle schoolers or high schoolers-what exactly is your approach when you walk through the band room doors?
6. What have been some of your discoveries as you conduct Jazz-A-Ma-Tazz in schools—-has anything totally surprised you or blown you away?
7. What is the entity of Jazz-A-Ma-Tazz—-this is a non-profit organization, correct?
8. If our listeners are interested in getting more information about the work you’re doing a Jazz-A-Ma-Tazz—-website info—-phone?

Contact: Hayes Greenfield
@212 477 5260

David Rosenblad has spent the last twenty-something years in almost every aspect of the sound and music industry, as a sound designer, composer, music producer, sound editor, and recording/mix engineer . He is president/owner of DRM Productions, Inc dba DRM: sir reel sound in Dallas.
Coming out of the Electronic Music Department of the University of North Texas, he embarked on a career as a recording and concert live engineer and producer as well as a sound designer for the theater earning the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre award for Sound Design in 1984. He has also won (purchased?) numerous Telly Awards.
David was the primary post sound editor/mixer at Dallas Sound Lab for many years , then formed the company DRM Productions in 1989 (incorporating in 2000), and later adopting the dba DRM: sir reel sound.
His company provides comprehensive post audio services for documentaries , feature films, episodic television, as well as TV and radio commercials, and music projects with clients including PBS, HBO, MTV, HDnet, History Channel , Think Film, New Films International and many others. He has worked with a wide variety of music artists such as Herbie Mann, Freddy Fender, the deathray davies, Everclear, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Allan Holdsworth, Cheap Trick, The Flaming Lips, Maynard Ferguson,Brave Combo, and Barney the Dinosaur.
He is also a Digidesign Pro Tools instructor teaching accelerated Pro Tools certification courses in Dallas.
He spends much of his his “non-session” time playing guitar for various outlets (including studio), practicing yoga and leading kirtan chanting (look it up) .

If you want to know about real estate in Manhattan, our guest on this segment is recognized around the world as an expert in Manhattan Real Estate and has been featured by Brokers Weekly, Social Life Magazine, Barons.com, CNBC, MSNBC, and the Associated Press. Debra Duneier is Senior Associate Broker with Corcoran and in 2008, she founded her company, Living Home by Debra, LLC.
She’s applies her unique, intuitive talent and her knowledge of classical Feng Shui principals to activate healthier, happier and more prosperous living and working environments. Through her real estate transactions she is always improving the lives of her clients. She was recently featured on Martha Stewart’s Sirius XM Radio Show, “Living Today”, Better TV and The Chicago Sun Times.

Here are the show notes:

1. Give us your perspective on the real estate markets in Manhattan—-what are you seeing right now…in terms of the recession and how it has effected pricing and transactions?
2. You founded Living Home by Debra late last year—-where did the inspiration come from, and what did you want your business to stand for?
3. What kinds of services does Living Home provide?
4. Most of us think of a real estate transaction as just that—-a transaction. I know you’ve interested in making transactions much more than that—-I guess that means your clients experience of the process of them. How do you approach your own real estate transactions?
5. The name Living Home—-suggests you’re making REAL homes for clients. Do we sometimes forget or miss how to create a home-like-environment for ourselves?
6. For those of us who don’t really know—-what is Feng Shui?
7. How do you apply Feng Shui to the work you’re now doing with Living Home by Debra?
8. What’s in your plan for Living Home by Debra—-what does the company look like 3-5-10 or so years into the future?

Debra Duneier
Living Home by Debra, LLC
dduneier@corcoran.com
Blog: LivingHomeByDebra.wordpress.com
d:212.769.6740 m:646-678-1282

Our guests on this segment of the Smallbiz Brain are married to each other….and they love to travel.

Judith Fein and Paul Ross have garnered multiple awards for their travel articles and have contributed stories and photos to more than 80 magazines and newspapers internationally.

They also give travel performances and talks, make videos, teach travel writing and photography, and take people on cultural immersion trips to exotic locales. And most of all—- most of all—-they believe that getting to know people in other countries contributes to global connectedness and world peace.

1. When you consider all the businesses one might love to try as an entrepreneur, Travel Writer would certainly be at the top of the wish list. What events in your lives led to doing this fascinating work you now do?

2. Why do you think travel is so important for people?

3. How does traveling change one’s perception of their life and the way they experience the world?

4. So what does it mean to be a travel journalist?—-tell us about the cycle or process of planning, going, reporting, recording editing and then selling the content?

5. Can anyone become a travel journalist or photographer? Can you make a good living doing it?

6. What income streams do you have that are related to travel and can you tell me a little about each?

7. When people travel with you, you say that you teach them how to be travelers rather than tourists. What’s the difference?

8. How do people benefit from traveling with you, as opposed to traveling alone or with other tours?

9. I see that you encourage people to write and take pictures when they’re on a journey with you. Is this hard to do if they have absolutely no experience (with either)?

10. Where are you going next?

Two years ago in 2007 she decided to create the home-based business Divine Creativity, Inc. The business started out in the field of web and graphic design but with the competition so high she had to find a niche to differentiate her services. She hit the mark with the creation of a new and innovative career term: “Tech Savvy Virtual Assistants”.

As America’s Tech Savvy Virtual Assistant, Tania offers internet marketing services once only allowed to high budget businesses such as website design, maintenance and hosting at a more affordable cost.Lopez has also taken a grass roots approach to grooming other virtual assistants such as the creation of several virtual groups and the first face to face New York Virtual Assistant Meetup Group.

In addition to growing and promoting her business and the growing term Virtual Assistant, Lopez’s largest goal is to open a Career Center for moms who want to work from home. Not only has this niche resulted in being recognized by news organizations such as CBS News and SBTV.com, but also as a single mom Lopez has made her an icon for single mothers who need more creative ways for taking care of their kids. In fact, within this business and its objectives, she has reached great new heights as a working class mom.

Tania Lopez
DCinc.
Tech Savvy Virtual Assistants
Ph: 646.260.8416

All of these capabilities had to be accomplished on whatever media the original source material was on, be it record, reel-to-reel, 8-track, cassette, video tape, video disc, DVD, or CD. Andy saw a real need to be able to provide the capability to restore recordings on a source that the clients could no longer playback themselves, but wanted to hear those old, priceless recordings once again. In the last couple of years, New Mexico has also made a big push to get the film industry to make movies and TV shows here, so it made sense to include the ability to master in reverb effects for the television and film industry.

At first he researched to see if there was such a facility already here in Albuquerque. What he found out was that there was no such facility in the city, the state, and few other places in the country as well. The result, Andy has assembled state-of-the-art digital and analog equipment as well as a collection of vintage analog equipment to get that just right sound. What his business provides is described in its name. High Fidelity Mastering is the high-quality reproduction of sound that improves the original recording. His goal with every project is to create the finest possible sound from the original recording.

You can contact Andy at 505-459-6242, email him at andy@highfidelitymastering.com, or visit his web site at http://www.highfidelitymastering.com.

Here are some of the show notes from this segment:

1. What exactly is Mastering?
Mastering is the process whereby the mastering engineer prepares and transfers recorded audio from the original source material onto a master CD or DVD. This master is the source from which all copies are produced. It’s crucial, therefore, that the master is made properly for the best transfer to occur at the production facility. This allows mass production of your recording at the best possible level of quality.

2. What is High Fidelity Mastering?
High Fidelity Mastering is the high-quality reproduction of sound that improves the original recording. By using a collection of specialized mastering equipment, the mastering engineer can create the sensation of being in the presence of the actual performance. This is accomplished by a variety of means, such as eliminating noise, adding depth, widening the soundstage, and increasing dynamic range of the recording.

3. What does the mastering engineer do with my recording?
Your recording is improved through various means such as equalization, compression, and expansion. Additional tasks, such as editing, pre-gapping, leveling, fading in and out, noise reduction, and other signal restoration and enhancement processes, are applied as necessary during the mastering stage. Program material is then put in whatever order you request. In the end, you receive a CD or DVD master that’s ready for a production facility to produce as many copies you request.

4. What is it you listen for?
Essentially, everything! These are just some of the things that will improve on your original recording. We take out the bad, accentuate the good, and make your talent shine through!

• Proper tonal balance, depth and width of the soundstage.
• Noise, distortion, sibilance in the vocal, and out-of-phase sound caused by improper microphone placement during the original recording.
• Proper imaging of the vocal and placement of instruments to recreate the feeling of being at the original performance.
• All songs at the same volume level from one song to the next.

5. Do all professional musicians use a mastering facility?

If you look on any CD or DVD made within the last ten years, you’ll find in the list of credits two very distinct recognitions: “Recorded by…” and “Mastered by…” Yes, all professional musicians use a mastering facility.

6. The recording studio provided me with a master already. Why would I need another one?
Listen to your recording studio master repeatedly, over a period of time. You may find that you’d prefer that the vocals be more forward of the instruments. Or you may hear a buzz or hum you hadn’t noticed before. Or you’d like to have a wider soundstage or a greater depth to the music. Or you may like more reverberation, or perhaps more punch to the kick drum.
You could return to the recording studio, but their studio time is more expensive than our mastering time — and they may not have the equipment and skills needed to make the necessary changes. That’s when you want a specialist, High Fidelity Mastering.

7. Can you restore an old recording that has a lot of noise in it?
Yes, we can remove clicks, pops, buzz, hum, tape hiss, unwanted transients, and distortion. We can also remove acoustical noises from engines, ventilation, wind, water, insects, and other sources. The noise reduction process we use is NoNoise II by Sonic Studio. It won an Emmy Award for outstanding technical achievement. We also use the Izotope RX software.

8. Can you convert a stereo recording to 5.1-surround sound?
Yes, we use the UnWrap software by T.C. Electronic to create a 5.1-surround DVD master.

9. Do you work with musicians out-of-state?
Yes, we’re set up to work with anyone anywhere in the world. You can send us your audio files via the Internet in any format you have. You can also send us your project via ground mail. We can work in a variety of formats; CD, DVD, 33 1/3, 45, or 78 rpm Record, 1/2 track and 1/4 track Reel-to-Reel, Audio or VHS Cassettes, 8-Track Cartridge, Laser Disc, CD-Video Disc, and Capacitance Electronic Disc. We also can work with any DVD format regardless of what region in the world it was created. The DVD master we create will be in the U.S. Region 1 format.

10. How is High Fidelity Mastering different than other local facilities?
We’re the only facility in New Mexico that has the combination of world-class equipment with the proper education in mastering to do a truly professional mastering process. We’re the only mastering facility that utilizes the Masterpiece Analog Mastering System and the T.C. Electronic System 6000 Multichannel Processing Platform.

Unifying the Building Industry for a Carbon Neutral Future

THE MISSION – 2007
CASA’s mission is to facilitate, lead and mange the transformation of the way buildings are design and constructed. Our goal is that all buildings and communities are environmentally sustainable and healthier places to live, learn and work. We support the goal of eliminating green house gas emissions, reducing energy consumption, incorporating the use of renewable and recyclable materials, and integrating all aspects of sustainable design in the design and construction process.

THE NEED
There is no greater challenge facing the human race than the issues of global warming and the depletion of energy and material resources. We are racing towards an uncertain future if we do not take the necessary steps to change the course we are currently on.

While the climate change discussion has focused primarily around the issues of energy production and vehicle emissions, it is buildings that are far and away the greatest consumers of energy and materials and, to a lesser extent, direct contributors to green house gas emissions through the direct combustion of natural gas and oil in heating and cooling. These two factors taken together amount to about 50% to 55% of all energy consumed in the State of New Mexico and this country. These percentages do not take into account the energy used in the production of materials specified, the transportation of those materials nationwide and the energy consumed in the construction process itself. It is not a great leap to see that reducing the energy consumption of all buildings will have a tremendous impact on energy consumption and also positively influence energy production and transportation emissions.

The problem has been defined by Architect Ed Mazria’s research that is available on his website http://www.architecture2030.org. The question then is: where do we go from here and how do we get there? Steps are being taken in New Mexico and a handful of other states, but a concerted, coordinated effort is needed to align all sectors of the building design and construction communities to incorporate sustainable design principles in all building types.