News From Mazon Associates, Inc.

BUILDING BRIDGES
Supporting business by lending good money to good businesses.

September 2008 - Vol 1, Issue 5

In This Issue

Numbers in the News

Enterprise of the Month

Greetings!

Welcome to our September issue of Building Bridges. Having again survived the 100+ Texas summer temperatures, we are looking forward to the mild fall season. We continue to find great new clients, and the Barnett Shale (August newsletter) has had a positive financial impact on both our existing and new clients.

We are glad that everyone is enjoying our newsletter, as we continue to share good news, good tips and good health with you.

Lisa Mazon

Numbers In the News

Consider this the next time you post your outgoing mail: The United States Postal Service (USPS) processes and delivers more than 212 billion pieces of mail every year, which equates to 700 million pieces per day, 29 million pieces per hour, 486,000 pieces per minute and 8,000 pieces per second and delivered to more than 300 million people at 148 million homes, businesses and PO Boxes in every state, city and town, and in Puerto Rico, Guam, the American Virgin Islands and American Samoa. Approximately 1.8 million new delivery points are added to the USPS' delivery network each year (equivalent to the number of addresses in a city the size of Chicago). With an annual operating revenue of nearly $75 billion, the USPS receives no tax dollars for operations, but uses the revenue from the sale of postage and products to pay expenses. They are the second largest employer in the USA, with nearly 685,000 career employees, and pay approximately $2.1 billion in employee salaries and benefits every two weeks. If it were a private sector company, the USPS would be ranked 21st in the 2007 Fortune 500. First-Class Mail, Business Advertising and Expedited Mail would each make the list on their own - 58th, 112th, and 369th respectively. (Source: www.USPS.com)

Enterprise of the Month

With a marketing and communications degree from New York's Syracuse University and several years of marketing experience under his belt, entrepreneur Howard LaMunion moved to the DFW area in 1995. After working for various startup technology firms, he saw a need for public safety and technology marketing, and in 1999 started ConsulttUs Group, Inc. His company specializes in providing marketing and public relations services for business-to-business companies as well as public safety and government organizations. He plans to add consulting to his services this fall, utilizing baby boomers looking for part-time, semi-retirement work. Mr. LaMunion, as well as several other marketing team members, has a background in public safety and he volunteers as a reserve officer for the Dallas Police Department, which gives him an insider's view on the needs of his clients. The majority of Mr. LaMunion's 53+ clients are former law enforcement or fire officials with annual company revenues ranging from $4 million to $150 million. All of his clients are referrals by other companies. He considers each client unique. He and his marketing team get to the "soul" of a client's business by spending considerable of time at the location learning about their business. This allows ConsulttUs to focus on just the right individualized marketing plan, something not available with large PR firms. With ConsulttUs's annual revenue between $1.1 million and $1.3 million, Mr. LaMunion likes being a small business and building relationships with excellent services rather than focusing on rapid growth. (Source: Dallas Business Journal). For more information, visit www.consulttus.com.

Invoice Addresses

Your invoice billing address is critical to prompt payment by your customers, and quick return of your invoice reserve. Invoices returned by the Post Office due to incorrect billing addresses can delay payment to Mazon by sometimes up to two weeks. Occasionally, invoices are returned for incorrect address or zip code; address format not following USPS requirements (especially the last line of the billing address should be City, State, Zip and should not contain a telephone number); non-readable address by the postal carrier. If your invoice is returned to Mazon for any reason, we will quickly research the reason for the return, correct it, let you know of the correction for future invoices, and promptly re-mail the invoice. Our individual fee for this service is $Zero, as it is a part of our factoring service to you.

Notary Facts

Occasionally, an employer may have a business-related reason to inspect or copy an employee's notary journal. Please keep in mind that, even if you have paid your employee's Notary application and bond fees to be of service to your company, the Notary has an iron-bound duty to the Secretary of State and the public which he/she serves to protect the journal from loss, damage or tampering at all times. As a boss or supervisor, you are allowed to inspect only the journal entries that concern your business, but no one else's, and the Notary must be present whenever the journal is viewed. The Notary should keep the journal in a locked and secure location when not in use (some states even require this). For a Notary to release control of the journal for any length of time would be a careless neglect of the law. Additionally, the increase in identity theft and new privacy laws require that personal information of all Notary customers must be kept confidential. (Source: The National Notary Assoc.www.NationalNotary.org)

Blood Pressure Facts

To help clear confusion about the difference between a stroke and heart attack, a heart attack occurs when blood flow to a section of heart muscle becomes blocked. If the flow of blood isn't restored quickly, the section of heart muscle becomes damaged from lack of oxygen and begins to die. Stroke (or brain attack) is a type of cardiovascular disease. It affects the arteries leading to and within the brain and occurs when a blood vessel that carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain is either blocked by a clot or bursts. When that happens, part of the brain cannot get the blood (and oxygen) it needs, so it starts to die. Also known as hypertension, uncontrolled high blood pressure can wear away portions of smooth arterial lining, providing a foothold for plaque to form, which can build up, and break away causing a stroke or heart attack. Men and women with uncontrolled high blood pressure (BP) are three times more likely to suffer stroke/heart attack as people with normal blood pressure. Thirty percent of Americans with high BP don't know they have it, and only 24% of persons with high BP have it under control.

Your BP reading consists of systolic (the higher, first number) and diastolic (the second, lower number), for example 120/80. If the systolic number is consistently above 130 or the diastolic number is consistently over 85, consult with a doctor to lower the numbers. You can reduce your risk of stroke/heart attack by limiting alcohol; watching salt intake (salt increases BP in 30-50% of people); reduce stress (exercise or use relaxation techniques); take prescription meds if necessary; increase potassium by eating bananas, spinach, tomatoes and drinking orange juice. You can purchase a home BP monitor for about $40 and frequently check (and write down) your BP readings for your personal healthcare knowledge and to share with your doctor. When BP is lowered, further damage to arteries is minimized or stopped, allowing your body to heal.