FinditLocal411 Blog
July 5th, 2010 at 12:19 pm
Let’s face it, the type of aggressive shopping that results in dinner for a family of four under a dollar per person isn’t always possible in areas like Michiana. Sure, there are nearby cities like Chicago, Indianapolis, Detroit and Lansing that offer the best of urban shopping. But, to execute the tips found throughout the “Save Money” media, one must frequent these retailers often on a daily basis. Doing so with the urban shopping tactics that many tipsters advise will only result in a loss of money due to gas and vehicle wear and tear.
Fortunately, there is a way to shop savvy during this recession, using local—Michiana—grocery chains. Just try these five easy tips.
Forget about samples sales
Urban shoppers swear by sample sales as a way to buy good career clothing at a low price, but this option isn’t available in our area. What we do have, however, are outlet malls that work just as well. Visit the mall’s or individual store’s sites online to find coupons, discounts and a heads up on sales.
Use those coupons wisely
Stores like Martin’s Supermarket chain, located throughout the Michiana area, encourage the use of manufacturer coupons. They do not double and triple the coupon savings like those savvy television shoppers suggest, but they do allow you to use manufacturer coupons in conjunction with instant coupons and $mart Values items (specially priced items) to maximize savings in this economy.
Coordinate your shopping list around the store discounts and coupons
 Using the $mart Values for example, create a list using the items found on Martin’s Supermarket’s Online circular’s $mart Value section. Cross reference these with the coupons in your arsenal. Depending on the Martin’s Store, you may be able to use more than one coupon per purchase (if you purchase more than one item per coupon). You may find yourself buying foods and nonfoods for up to 70 percent off the retail price!!
Stock up
When the coupon, instant savings, and specials come together in a perfect trifecta of saving, stock up! This is where you usually see women pushing shopping carts full of cake mix or toilet paper. Don’t buy more foods than you can use in a year, because the excess will just become a waste. As you build a healthy stock of goods and foods, you’ll see your investment in long-term cost-cutting. You’ll find yourself going to the grocery store less and less.
Co-Op
Many urban areas do have co-op shopping facilities that allow communal purchasing. However, you can have the same experience by forming a co-op with family and friends. Buy in bulk and then split it up to spread the savings. Many area farms allow individuals the opportunity to buy livestock for the meat. These thousands of pounds bought at a discount can be easily shared—both meat and cost—amongst your little co-op.
Taking the urban shopping guerrilla tactics to your local retailer is possible with a few adjustments. Just look the ways in which your retailer accommodates through their coupon policy, special values and in store savings. You may find that it doesn’t take an urban setting to save.
June 15th, 2010 at 11:50 am
 Summer is approaching and many people are looking forward to three months of exhausting job search. Our site offers many options for continuing your education. For those of you who want a break—with pay—look to the Michiana tourism industry. There are actually many jobs in the area that offer the rewards of travel and scenery, but are temporary, allowing you the opportunity to take a break from your unemployment search without committing to a new career.
Mackinac Islands
Coolworks.com is a great resource when it comes to finding jobs in the tourism industry. Spend the summer season on an island where cars aren’t allowed and natural scenery abounds. Live and work in one of the resorts on the island. Positions include everything from bar-tending to reservations managers and chefs. Click on the “Employers” to see information on room and board as well as application details.
Summer Camps
Another way to get away for the summer, with pay, is to go to summer camp. No, you won’t go as a attendee, but as a camp counselor. Look to sites like Snag A job and Career jet, where Michigan and Indiana summer camp jobs are still available. You should also visit the camp’s website (go to the jobs or careers section) for more information.
Summer Nanny
The summertime also means the end to school. Kids all over the country are home and in need of supervision. Services like Nanny Pro and Nanny Needed are looking to hire nannies in South Bend, Gary, Hammond, New Buffalo and other Michiana cities. Nannies live with families during the week, taking care of the children while the parents work. They also go on vacation with the family, caring for the children while the parents have a little alone time. You must have some childcare experience to perform this job.
Internships
Get your foot in the door of a new career through an internship. Interns learn the ropes of a career by shadowing an executive, while performing menial tasks. Sometimes, they are given the opportunity to perform part of the exec’s duties. Interns aren’t always paid, and many must find their own room and board. Be sure to review the internship listings carefully before applying.
Farmhand
Michigan and Indiana have many rural areas where large scale farms and orchards are located. If you’d want to get your hands in the dirt and be truly close to nature, take a job as a farmhand. In Michiana, farmhands are needed from March/April when planting starts to October for late harvests. Michiana farmers grow everything from berries to vegetables to fruits like apples and peaches. Find these jobs in local newspapers or by contacting the farms.
Enjoy the Summer:Take a Job Hunt Break
Finding a summer job can be the break you need to rejuvenate the search for the job you want. In addition to being a paid change of pace, a summer job prevents a long lull in your resume and will provide you with valuable experience that may just come in handy in the new career.
June 9th, 2010 at 9:15 am
 Losing your job is frustrating enough, going through it without the proper information only adds to the frustration. The pink slip from your boss doesn’t come with a “How To” guide for finding your next job. Your former company does not offer “exit counseling” to those newly relieved of their positions. Fortunately, each state, including Indiana and Michigan, offer resources to help those during their foray into the realm of the unemployed.
Indiana
Job Seeker Services
- WorkOne Seek To Provide Professional, Efficient Services
 Work One, Indiana’s employment security agency gathered its resources to create a guide for unemployed Hoosiers. In addition to a step-by-step guide on filing an unemployment claim, the Job Seeker Services section also has explains the latest in federal and state unemployment laws. There’s also a link to a Frequently Asked Questions page and the Indiana Workforce Development site, where you actually file the claim.
- Indiana WorkForce Development
Indiana Department of Workforce Development allows unemployed workers to complete their unemployment claims online. The site also provides a link to the list of requirements needed to receive unemployment benefits. This page also displays updates to important laws governing benefits and payouts.
- Indiana Department of Workforce Development
To answer any question that you may have about filing for, receiving and extending unemployment benefits, the Indiana Department of Workforce Development has compiled a list of links to the information that a newly unemployed person needs or wants to know. You can find everything from claim information, the debit card system and reporting income to appeals and other resources.
Other Assistance Programs
The state of Indiana has many other programs to help those who finds themselves without an income or a sudden income decrease. The Indiana Department of Workforce Development has compiled a list of resources from child support enforcement to legal advice, food programs and insurance assistance.
Michigan
- Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency
Michigan also allows residents to file their unemployment claims online. This site offers information on claim filing and eligibility. It also provides a link to the online claims service.
- Tips for Contacting the Agency
It can be very difficult to find the appropriate information about a claim. Fortunately, The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency has compiled a list of frequently asked questions and used them to create tips on contacting their agency for information. It includes the appropriate times, numbers and circumstances under which you would call the numbers as well. There are even tips on avoiding busy signals.
- Resources to Assist the Unemployed – Public Libraries of Saginaw
 Like Indiana, the state of Michigan has many resources available to unemployed individuals in addition to the weekly benefits. You can find these and job search database listings in the Saginaw Michigan library’s Resources to Assist the Unemployed.
Having the resources to feed and shelter your family while you are out of a job is the primary concern of Michiana residents when they receive that pink slip. With the right resources, you can remove this concern and begin your journey toward another job or even a new career.
June 3rd, 2010 at 9:44 am
To get you through the rough patches, while waiting on unemployment or finding a new job, a cash job may be a good option. They are temporary jobs that do not result in a paycheck, but cash paid at the end of the day or week. There are plenty of cash jobs available in Michiana. However, taking a cash job does not exempt you from reporting the income to your employment security agency and to the IRS at the end of the year.
Tourism Jobs
Michiana is an area where many people go away for the winter and come back in the summer. This provides many opportunities for cash jobs. Here are a few to consider:
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Babysitter/Nanny
Gardener
Housekeeper
Dog walker
House Sitter
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Caretaker
Mover
Companion
Caddy at Elbel Golf Course in Michiana
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You can find ads in area newspapers like The Herald Palladium, a publication that serves the the beach communities of St. Joseph’s & Benton Harbor. Also consider posting your own ads or signs in the area on Craigslist or other classified sites.
Labor and Scrap
Other jobs may present themselves in areas where the real estate economy has been hit hard by the recession. In these areas, developers are coming in and tearing down older homes to build new ones. This provides opportunities for day labor. A person with a truck can also earn cash by picking up scrap from these sites and turning it in for cash at the local recycling centers.
Extra Hands = Extra Cash
 Contact the organizers of large events around Michiana on setup day or up to a week before the event. These places always need extra hands in pitching tents, setting up tables, cleanup the area and even for parking during the event and cleanup afterward. The Michigan City In-Water Boat Show, for example, is an annual event that hires a handful of people before the event. They are hired as independent contractors, as is normal for day labor and paid when the job is done.
Reporting the Cash
You must report the money you receive, be it as cash or in check form, if you receive unemployment or any other form of public assistance. For unemployment, report these amounts on your weekly claim form. Failure to do so can result in loss of your benefits or even criminal charges of fraud.
When working for cash, remember that the job is only temporary. Continue your job search and unemployment reporting, with the cash payment included. Look at your cash job as a way to earn extra cash, a possible resume entry and a little change of pace from your job search routine.
May 27th, 2010 at 10:02 am
Welcome to National Small Business Week! Each year since 1963, the President recognizes our nation’s small business and their owners with a week of keynote speakers, honors & awards, receptions and other events in Washington D.C.
This year’s Small Business Week comes at a great time for Michiana and Chicagoland small business owners, as our local economy is starting to swing upward with new jobs and companies popping up in the last few months.
Why Small Business?
Small business has received a great deal of attention in the past few years. As the presidential election of 2008 prodded along, citizens kept hearing that the economic recovery of America would come on Main Street, not Wall Street. This proclamation played out like a broken record until the message was clear: We must make small business a higher priority.
The Fabric of Our Communities
We’re talked about the importance of “Buying Local” on this blog before, but it bears repeating. For each purchase you make with a locally owned and operated organization, 73% of the capital stays within your local economy. If you shop for a new table at Target or Wal-Mart for example, only 43% of that purchase stays in your community. That’s a significant gap that could cost your town jobs and tax revenue. As expressed on the Small Business Week website, 60-80% of new jobs in the community are created by small businesses.
Small Businesses Thrive on Creativity
As Small Business Week has progressed, the message has been clear: Legislation and tax breaks can only go so far, creativity will win the day in this economy. It’s a message that has played out for decades, but today’s small business owners have a bounty of tools at their fingertips to promote their business.
 SEO
Search engine optimization has been around since the early 1990’s, but it has developed as a full fledged industry in the past 10 years. An effective SEO campaign helps small businesses compete with the big names for search engine referrals and online visibility.
Digital Marketing
Much like SEO, digital marketing on sites like FindItLocal411 helps your company reach audiences far outside the traditional audience of those in your surrounding geographic area. Online web-malls like the one we provide here at FindItLocal411 help small businesses sell products online when a personal Ecommerce site isn’t in the plans.
Small Business Year!
Let’s embrace the lessons learned during Small Business Week 2010 and carry them out throughout the year. The official delegation in Washington D.C. is honoring 27.2 million businesses this week, but there are even more in your community that deserve some recognition. Make sure you are supporting them and enjoy the week!
May 11th, 2010 at 12:03 pm
“You’re a tool.”
“Thank you.”
Did you ever think that being called a “Tool” would be a good thing? Well, in this case it is. Let us explain.
Name recognition is an asset for any business, especially in the tourist communities of Michiana. Aside from spending a fortune in advertising or on gimmicks with little returns, small businesses can benefit from becoming a tool for consumer use.
What is a Consumer Tool?
A consumer tool is a resource that consumers use in order to make purchase decisions, gather information and to stay up to date on industry information. A business that becomes a tool benefits from continuous exposure for its role as a resource as well as for its profitable ventures. The consumer makes an initial purchase, but returns continuously because of the resources.
How to Become a Consumer Tool?
There are a few tips to consider when trying to become a tool for consumers.
- Find Your Niche. Appliance repair services and parts retailers can offer instruction on basic maintenance. A bakery could host a cake decorating class. An accounting firm can offer tax tutorials. Whatever your business is, figure out what you can offer to the community that would make your business a resource for consumers.
- Consider The Costs. Make sure that the resources you offer is cost effective for your business. You may want to try to recoup some of the costs. For example, the bakery may want to give one free course, while offering a regular course available for a fee.
- Be Creative. Instead of sending out how-to flyers or promotional items, find something that will get your business out and active with the community.
- Get Attention. Consider resources that will draw media attention a.k.a. free advertising. A copyediting service can offer resume clinics for the unemployed. In Michigan and Indiana, two states among the highest in unemployment numbers such a clinic will be major media news.
- Look for Grant Funding. Grants are available for community related activities. Businesses that come up with ideas to benefit the community like resume clinics and even boating safety courses, may be able to apply for grant funding for the projects. They may have to partner with a nonprofit agency in order to acquire the funding.
Activities such as these will keep your business’s name on the tips of tongues within the community. It will also give you business some positive press that will follow you out of this recession economy.
May 4th, 2010 at 11:40 am
Tis the season for tourism in Michiana. The boating, fishing and family vacation seasons kickoff each spring and last through the fall. The area offers many things for families, couples and people just looking for a getaway—from festivals and amusement parks to tournaments and natural landscapes, Michiana offers several options for tourists and opportunities to business owners with strong marketing campaigns.
Reaching Tourists
In a slow or recession-like economy, it is difficult to take time away from the business for some marketing. However, marketing is necessary during such an economy because the field is narrowed, making it is easier to reach consumers. Fortunately, there is a way to market your business without being at the office 24/7. To do so requires partnerships, materials and a faith in your business service offering (which shouldn’t be to hard to imagine, right?).
Using your Partnerships
Your partnerships with the local Chamber of Commerce and Convention and Visitor’s Bureau (CVB) can offer you an opportunity market your business across the local area. While your materials are traveling around the city or displayed next to festival booths, you can tend to your business, cutting the payroll costs.
The local CVB takes brochures, postcards, and even banners from local businesses display in their booths. The organization makes appearances at fairs, festivals, and gatherings all over your county. Your materials help the CVB attract tourists to the area. Meanwhile, you are connecting with the tourist industry in your area. The Chamber in many areas works in much the same way.
Getting Promotional Materials
Something as a small as a coupon or rack card can do wonders in advertising in your absence. A rack card is the size of a brochure, but is a two-sided flyer printed on glossy, heavy paper similar to that of a postcard. It has enough space to list your services, products, and even a menu. Depending on the type of graphics, colors and printer used, you can create rack cards inexpensively. You will need about a thousand to hand out yourself and through your partners and place at hotels in their “Tourism” rack.
Coupons, like those for Michiana Golf shown to the right, can be printed and mailed, or placed in the local newspaper or on your website. They can also be distributed during parades and festivals near your business.
Logo Exposure
Combine efforts with other businesses to create ads using your logos. This way, you are advertising at a third of a cost. Place such ads in event programs, special advertising flyers and on promotional products that can be distributed during large events.
A Little Bit of Marketing Each Day
Focus on nurturing your business, but do not stop the marketing. Put your business’s message and even your logo to work without leaving your business unattended. Tourist season in Michiana provides excellent opportunities for many businesses to get ahead with a little absentee marketing.
April 6th, 2010 at 8:48 am
Small business owners and freelancers alike must make their website a marketing asset. There are many websites that are underutilized. In a time when budgets are tight and businesses are fighting to survive, using a website as a marketing tool (as well as information provider) is even more important. Here are some inexpensive Do-It-Yourself tips for fully utilizing your website without shelling out the cash for a web-marketing guru.
Add a Page for Products or Services
Give people the opportunity to buy online. If needed, use the templates offered by your web hosting service. Upload good, clear photos of your products, against white backdrops. Write short descriptions that entice the shopper, but also tell what the product does. Keep these very short—one or two lines.
Add a price and a PayPal or credit card payment link. (Set up a Pay Pal account if your don’t already have one. It is a great financial service for both customers and businesses). Pay Pal and your web hosting service has the tools to make the checkout function operate without your input. Just wait for the email that announces a sale.
Send E-coupons with Discounts and a Web Link
Use your customer contact list or guest book entries as a mailing list. Send out emails that invite customers to visit your site. FindItLocal411 sends email blasts with coupons and new business postings regularly. Emails cost nothing to send and should be used as much as possible in an appropriate manner. Include a code that will allow them to take a discount or got through PayPal to discount the prices on certain items for specific time periods. You can even do you own Internet doorbuster sale by announcing a specific time period during which your products will be discounted. Send out emails and place large font banners on your site about the event.
Link Those Social Networking Accounts
Link your Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook accounts. Update the status with specials and info about your products or links to the site. Also, link these sites to your blog with plugins or regularly posted hyperlinks. This way, you will become a curator of news around your site and be able to control the message that you set in front of customers, clients, etc.
Blog About It
Use your blog to offer tips to customers, talk about current events in your industry or to just talk about the business. Use certain key words frequently and mark them as meta tags for the blog entry. First time bloggers should use a service like WordPress, as it is easy to learn on. Wordpress blogs also easily link to your website — study their wealth of plugins for any “link” related ideas you have. Their platform allows for easily customizable layouts and formats.
Update Frequently
Update the website and the blog frequently to keep the content fresh. Ad featured items to the home page that change daily or weekly. Change headings and experiment with fonts. Add pages of info or fun activities. There is no cost but the time you spend, so make the site your own. Also, note any changes in traffic and clickthroughs as you make these changes. These might reflect your readership’s tendencies and inclination to click through on your next post.
Your Personal Town Crier
The Internet is today’s version of the town crier. You can send out a message to hundreds of people with a click of a button. It will take you some time to perfect a message and to gather a strategy. However, in no time you will have access to the largest, most inexpensive marketing machine.
March 30th, 2010 at 2:16 pm
We’d like to take this opportunity to welcome one of our newest clients, MutualBank to the FindItLocal411 community. If you’d like a feature written on your local business, please email us at info@fil411.com.
The credit crunch has left many small businesses in the dust over the past year and a half. Many reports coming out show that funds have been hard to come by whether businesses are seeking startup financing, seed money, construction & development loans, etc. As more of the national banks have tightened their loan policies, it’s important for our local banks to step up. Michiana’s own MutualBank is a great example of a bank looking to help the small business community.
Business Perspective
When looking for your next business loan, it’s important to find a bank with experience and a history of full service offerings. Business lending is a very technical field wherein a history of working with businesses can help owners overcome financial and business obstacles. MutualBank offers a full line of business lending options to provide clients and companies with a complete business perspective.
Here are some services you should look for in your business-lending bank:
- Lines of Credit – Working capital to properly manage your cash.
- Equipment Financing – Flexible loan options working with your cash flow to finance equipment, machinery or other capital needs.
- Commercial Real Estate Loans – Flexibility in interest rate options or terms that provide your business with the necessary capital to expand current locations.
- Lease Options – Leasing allows business owners to keep pace with the ever-changing technology without straining their everyday cash flow. And depending on your tax adviser, these lease may be fully tax deductible.
- Construction and Development Loans – These options serve construction companies and those looking to build additions to their current structures.
- Online Banking – As any small business owner knows, the work never stops. There’s always something more to do, so make sure your business has online banking options.
Small Business Loans
Small businesses are intertwined with their communities unlike the national chains. Money spent at local small businesses stays within the community. It is for this reason that regional or citywide banks like MutualBank specialize in small business financing and loans.
MutualBank counsels clients on the best SBA loan for each individual business. They are also an approved Small Business Association (SBA) Express lender, allowing quick and timely loans. Community banks like MutualBank help local economies grow and develop by meeting the goals and needs of businesses.
Getting Started
If you are in the Michiana area and looking for more information regarding a small business loan, check out the MutualBank “Getting Started” page. If you are outside the Michigan/Indiana region, make sure to find a hometown bank in your area. Remember, your small business is the backbone of America’s recovery!
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Sometimes the hometown bank can suit your needs better than the national branch. However, many small business owners will disagree, stating that community banks are more conservative lenders and less likely to loan to a new business. On the contrary, community banks like 
When involved with a local bank, your banker has most likely considered similar projects in and around your area. Therefore, a local bank like Mutual Bank has funded many other projects within the community. Thus, they have an interest in seeing not only your business flourish, but also that it contributes to the betterment of the community as a whole. Another bonus feature is that your bank can point you in the right direction for resources that your small business may need.