Stubbins Watson, Bryan & Witucky Co.- June 2020

THE LEGAL NAVIGATOR JUNE 2020

FROM THE DESK OF

Mike Bryan

Hello everyone! I hope you and your families are doing well. If you have any questions about the federal or state regulations that have been enacted related to COVID-19, then just let

me know. I may not have all of the answers for you, but I can at least point you in the right direction.

THE ELUSIVE POWER OF CONSUMER TRUST AND RISK

Many of you have attended seminars that I have presented in the past. Hopefully, we’ll be able to resume those once again soon — perhaps late June or July. In the meantime, I’ve created a prerecorded seminar regarding Estate, Medicaid, and VA planning. This is essentially the same program that you would see me present to the public. But now, this can be viewed at any time! If you know of anyone who is unable to make these programs, whether it is due to health reasons or otherwise, then please forward the following link:

Top Methods for Strengthening Your Business’s Credibility and Marketing

Over the past few decades, we’ve heard a lot of public outrage about companies betraying consumer trust. Whether they’re considering tobacco products or baby powder from Johnson & Johnson, Americans have become more proactive about placing their trust in the items they use. More than ever, establishing trust has become an incredibly important aspect of every business’s marketing strategy. You might be thinking, “How do we establish that trust in modern terms?”To answer that question, we need to look at how we got here. Marketing is a relatively new concept introduced during the Second Industrial Revolution. As mass production took over, companies needed to sell more and more products. So, they started asking the same question: How do you get people to buy? Products used to be made in small batches, and consumers relied on word of mouth, recommendations, and influencer marketing (a celebrity sponsorship, for example) to find and choose services and goods. Once the world discovered the power of marketing, mass production pushed companies to previously unimaginable scales. Then, rampant upscaling led to some companies cutting corners and outright lying about their practices. We know the rest of the story. Believe it or not, consumers haven’t lost track of word of mouth, recommendations, or influencer marketing tactics. In fact, they trust these forms of marketing more than ever. Whether you sell goods or services, there’s an online forum where you can read reviews about your business. Just look at the power of Yelp, TripAdvisor, and even Instagram. Endorsements from trusted locals (and celebrities) have become powerful tools to draw marketing attention.

SWBWLawFirm.com/how-to-protect-assets-from- the-cost-of-long-term-care

You have the opportunity to be the person who let them know:

•

How to avoid spending potentially thousands of dollars in unnecessary probate or guardianship proceedings How to protect one half (or more) of their assets from being spent down for Medicaid How to potentially receive $14,742–$27,195 from the VA each year to help pay for home health, assisted living or nursing home care

•

See you next month!

–Mike

Continued on Page 2 ...

740-452-8484 • 1

... continued from Cover

professional sources to your marketing and service claims, consumers feel more reassured.

Ultimately, the trick to establishing trust isn’t your online rating — it’s risk. Hearing your best friend’s recommendation and reading Yelp reviews are just a couple ways to evaluate risk. If your business offers little to no risk to the consumer, it’s more attractive. Just like in new friendships, people get anxious about forming new business relationships or buying new products. When people shop at your business, what risks are they taking if they buy? If they do buy, what risks are they taking if they continue? Consider how you can decrease that risk. By reducing consumer risk perception as much as possible, your business will instinctively establish trust between you and your consumer. They won’t switch to another company if they feel fulfilled. To reduce risk and evolve your business to be a step ahead of the competition, reevaluate all potential concerns that consumers might have when using your product or service. Try not to shy away from mild or serious concerns. Contact current customers or host focus groups to talk about people’s initial impressions of your business. In all steps of this process, be thoughtful and strategic with the aspects that you can tackle. Now, your company might be minimizing consumer risk, but you still need to market it. There are many tactics, and each one changes depending on your business. Offering guarantees — like the policy, “Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back!”—may be reliable cushions for risk, and you can strengthen your guarantees by including objective data. When you attribute academic, government, or

Endorsements from local or industry celebrities can also be huge boosts to your business. Look into obtaining official product or service status from a credible trade association, charity, or other business. Any local professional can add a stamp of expertise to your product or service. In the same vein, showcase all of your best testimonials! The most credible references are nonpaid testimonials, but compensating consumers for their time is also an option if necessary. When it comes down to it, marketing and establishing trust between you and the consumer is just like any friendship. Start by considering their needs. Then, give them the ultimate comfort of knowing their risk is in good hands.

GLAZED GOODNESS The Sweet History of National Doughnut Day

Get ready to treat yourself because June 5 is National Doughnut Day! Contrary to popular belief, National Doughnut Day wasn’t created as an excuse for Americans to eat more doughnuts. The celebration was actually started by the Salvation Army in 1938 to honor “Doughnut Lassies,” the women who served doughnuts to soldiers on the front lines duringWorld War I. The Salvation Army still celebrates National Doughnut Day by delivering doughnuts to veterans across the country. The earliest version of the doughnut is believed to have come to North America with Dutch settlers in the 17th century. The Dutch brought with them balls of fried, sweetened dough called olykoeks , which translates to “oily cakes.”Though they were tasty, we don’t think many people would be eager to pick up a dozen oily cakes for the office. According to Smithsonian Magazine, the word“doughnut”was coined in the 19th century by a woman named Elizabeth Gregory. Her son, Handon Gregory, was a New England ship captain. She began making deep-fried dough treats with nutmeg, cinnamon, and lemon rind for her son and his crew. She would put hazelnuts or walnuts in the center of the pastry where the dough might not cook through, so she called her creation“doughnuts.”

though the exact reason is unclear. Some say it was to use fewer ingredients, while others suggest he created the hole by accident after skewering the pastry on the spokes of the ship’s wheel when he needed to steer with both hands during a storm. Whatever the reason, that hole is still part of a classic doughnut to this day. There are lots of ways to celebrate National Doughnut Day. Recognize the history of the holiday by donating to the Salvation Army or by sending a box of doughnuts to a veteran in your life. You can also order from your favorite local doughnut shop or fry up some homemade doughnuts with your family. There’s a pretty great recipe at SallysBakingAddiction.com/ how-to-make-homemade-glazed-doughnuts.

Handon Gregory also gets some credit for making doughnuts recognizable: He was the one who first put the hole in the doughnuts,

2 • swbwlawfirm.com

Bolster Your Child’s Literacy With Newsela Hands-Off Learning for Busy Parents

If you are looking for easy-to-implement strategies to improve your child’s literacy at home, check out Newsela. Newsela is a content platform that partners with sources like The Washington Post, Smithsonian.com, and The Economist to provide content that is relevant to the moment on a broad variety of topics. Unlike a newspaper or magazine article, though, the content on Newsela is aligned with Common Core educational standards, meaning that time spent practicing skills with Newsela’s learning exercises will help your child start the next school year ahead. Articles come with questions and multiple-choice answers already written, and kids can choose from over 20 different genres, including current events, sports, and even science. The platform publishes 10 new articles every day, and the level of reading and assessment difficulty is adjustable, so your child can practice reading texts that push them without being frustrating or too difficult. Newsela includes a functionality that allows parents or teachers to manually set a Lexile level — a text difficulty level the reflects your child’s reading ability — but if left unadjusted, Newsela will gather data about how your child performs on assessments to automatically set texts to the appropriate difficulty.

Newsela collects data on how your child performs on the standards identified in each assessment, so spending some time looking at that data can help you understand their strengths and weaknesses and fill in any gaps in their learning. Whether you adjust text difficulty or Newsela does, learning about your child’s Lexile can be an excellent way to better understand your child’s strengths and weaknesses, which is essential if you are going to help bolster their literacy.

Take a Break!

PALEO SAUSAGE FRITTATA

Inspired by SarahFragoso.com

Bacon may be a paleo favorite for breakfast, but this hearty sausage meal can be enjoyed any time of day and is the perfect way to mix things up!

Ingredients

• • •

4 green onions, diced

• • •

3 tbsp coconut oil

10 eggs, whisked

1 lb mild Italian sausage 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and grated

Black pepper, to taste

Directions

1. In a large ovenproof skillet, heat coconut oil over medium heat. 2. Crumble sausage into the skillet and cook until browned. 3. Add sweet potato and cook until tender. 4. Add green onion and sauté for 2–3 minutes. 5. Spread this mixture evenly throughout the skillet. Pour eggs over mixture and sprinkle black pepper over top. 6. Cook without stirring for 3 minutes or until bubbly. 7. Transfer skillet to oven and cook under broiler on low until frittata is cooked through.

ROSE SOLSTICE SUMMER SUNSHINE

GRILL HOT PEARL PRIDE

BARBECUE BEACH FATHER’S DAY GEMINI

740-452-8484 • 3

StubbinsWatson Bryan &Witucky Co., L.P.A.

PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411

59 N. 4th St. Zanesville, Ohio 43701

Mon–Thu: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fri: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

740-452-8484 swbwlawfirm.com

INSIDE THIS ISSUE From the Desk of Mike PAGE 1 Consumer Trust and Risk: Building Your Credibility PAGE 1 A Day to Honor Doughnut Lassies PAGE 2 Bolster Your Child’s Literacy With Newsela PAGE 3 Take a Break PAGE 3 Paleo Sausage Frittata PAGE 3 Botanical Gardens in the US PAGE 4

LIVING MUSEUMS Our Nation’s Botanical Gardens

right to you with virtual tours. In addition to the USBG, which offers virtual tours at USBG.gov/ take-virtual-tour, check out these other gardens that allow you to explore without having to leave your home. Chicago Botanic Garden In the spring, the Chicago Botanic Garden staff invited virtual visitors to join them for a nature moment. Garden staff shared images from around the 17 gardens kept there. The Chicago Botanic Garden continues to wowwith virtual tours that, thanks to Google’s technology, make you feel as if you’re really there. Start your tour at ChicagoBotanic.org. WaddesdonManor and Gardens This historic site across the pond in England gives visitors detailed virtual views of theWaddesdon Manor and its stunning gardens. Each day at Waddesdon Gardens, the staff designates a specific area as a“Silent Space,”where visitors

In 1842, theWilkes Expedition returned from its trek across the Pacific Ocean on behalf of the United States government, having visited parts of Portugal, Brazil, Antarctica, and Fiji. Among the specimens the explorers brought back from their travels were collections of plants gathered from around the world— just what the young nation needed to start its very first botanical garden. GeorgeWashington, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams had a shared dreamof creating a national botanical garden, but the idea didn’t really get off the ground until theWilkes Expedition brought back the garden’s first plants. The United States Botanic Garden (USBG) was established inWashington, D.C., and four of the plants on display there today are part of the original collection brought back from the expedition. Since it’s not always possible to go on vacation and visit far-off gardens, many botanical gardens around the world have started bringing the flora

can go to disconnect and find peace. The Gardens also created a special message for their virtual visitors that we can all take to heart: “We encourage you to find a space in your garden or in your home that feels peaceful and designate a time each day to enjoy a quiet moment of reflection.”To see this historic site for yourself, visitWaddesdon.org.uk.