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| Client Profile - Atomic Design |
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Atomic Extends Their Brand Personality at the Office.
When you walk into Atomic Design & Consulting, you'll know you've found a place where creative minds are at work. Music is playing, lights are comfortably dim, walls are painted "Atomic Blue", and workspace is neatly designed with a masculine-funky-modern-cool vibe that reflects Atomic's philosophy: business savvy, cutting-edge creative solutions.  "We needed a space where we could get to know our customers and they could get to know us. We are big believers in building brand image everywhere you can and that includes office space," said Jackie Bese, partner at Atomic.
 Stephen Brown, partner at Atomic, worked closely with Bob Gibbons at Reata Commercial Realty to select the property. Stephen says, "Bob was always prompt in responses and attentive to our ever-changing space requirements." Atomic moved to Premier Drive in Plano early in 2006 and has been growing their client portfolio steadily since.
Established in 2002, Atomic Design & Consulting is a full-service web design, email marketing, and search engine optimization (SEO/SEM) company located just outside Dallas in Plano, Texas. They actively service hundreds of clients, including many local, national and global accounts. They research and develop everything from corporate identity and branding down to individual pixels on clients' websites. For more information, visit www.atomicdc.com.
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| BizTip - Saving MS Office Docs as PDF's |
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Do you ever wish you could save a Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint document as a PDF? I do this all the time to be sure the document won't be changed on the other end. PDF files have become the preferred way to attach documents online.
I had been using PrimoPDF which works well, but it's a bit cumbersome and time-consuming.
 Enter Microsoft to the rescue. You can download a great new add-in which will allow you to save documents from any one of 8 MS Office 2007 programs as PDF files or XPS files. I tested this recently and it worked very well. After installing the add-in and opening the file you want to convert, you select SAVE AS and then select the PDF or XPS option. The file in the new format will automatically pop up.
It's so easy and saves time. It only works for Office 2007 as far as I know though and it doesn't work if you want to convert a web page to a PDF. You'll still need PrimoPDF for that. |
| Ask |
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Asking must be the most underutilized tool available to all of us. The Bible says, "Ask and it shall be given unto you." But how often do we take this seriously?
 I recently found the answer in my own family. My daughter, Meredith, was trying to raise the money to go on a mission trip to Trinidad & Tobago in January. With the economy being what it is, it's hard to ask people to give. So we prayed for God to give us a clear sign of whether she should go.
Then she came with me and Jan to the Plano Chamber of Commerce's Business Interchange where she made a 30-second request for assistance in front of 100-120 people. It turns out that someone else also made a plea for money to feed people who wouldn't have enough during the holidays.
 People started giving to the other person, but not to Meredith. We were worried. Then someone gave to Meredith and the other person and that opened the flood gates. People just kept giving - $10 here, $20 there. Some gave cash. Others wrote checks. It was miraculous.
By the end of the meeting she had raised $500...and the other person had raised even more. The Plano Chamber of Commerce is an amazing place where we have found business, services we can refer to clients, but mostly we have found friends.
The money has continued to roll in and she is within a few hundred dollars of her goal. John Higgins with the Dallas Stars gave her 4 tickets to the January 15 game to sell and Michael McMahon with Big D Cats gave her a gift certificate for 2 for a Sunday brunch cruise to sell. If you would like to buy either, please let me know.
In business we all want to sell more of our goods and services. We need to sell or we don't feed our families and we can't donate to help others.
Maybe we just need to ask.
Oh, and I wouldn't forget to pray first either.
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| Correction |
 I received a great deal of positive feedback on my Thanksgiving column. It's always interesting to see what people connect with and I'm glad that did.
Several of my clients and friends are financial planners. One of them pointed out that my statement about having lost 40% in my 401k was not accurate. Losses aren't realized until you sell. Similarly, gains are not realized until a sell either. Thanks to Brian Hendon with Edward Jones for that bit of good news. We can use all we can these days. | |
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| Speaking Engagements |
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With real estate typically being the second-highest expense for most companies, they need to know how to manage those costs more effectively. By understanding how to negotiate with their landlord, they will likely reduce that cost over time whether they use a corporate real estate advisor or not.
I am looking for opportunities to speak to business groups, trade associations, networking groups, and service groups like Rotary, Lions, etc. - anywhere that business owners and managers might be.
The title of the talk is:
"What Your Landlord Doesn't Want You to Know."
Your kind referrals to groups of which you are a member would be appreciated. |
| Sublease & Save |
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Save A Bundle!
Subleases can often save 20% - 50% when leasing space. They are also usually short-term which allow for greater flexibility when a company's future isn't crystal clear.
Visit the Properties page in my website. It features the excess space we have listed which our clients no longer need. If you don't see what you need there, let me know and I can find you sublease space listed by other brokers.
If you know of a company which has more space than they need, I'd like to be introduced to them. Or if you know of a company which needs to lease space, I'd like an introduction to them as well.
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| Christmas |
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It's easy to get cynical about Christmas when the stores start beating us over the head with it before we've even given out Halloween candy. |
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But I think we get stressed because we're so concerned about the cost, and buying the right gifts, and spending so much time with goofy relatives.
I wonder how much more fun Christmas would be if the only gifts given were those bought at garage sales and thrift stores. If we invited people with no family to our family gatherings. If we turned off the TV and pulled out a board game.
I think the namesake of this holiday would be far happier.
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| Forward & Past Issues |
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We welcome your testimonials and your referrals. Thanks for your business and support.
Bob Gibbons
972-679-1142
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