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KEYSTROKE MONTHLY THE
NOVEMBER 2021 THE REASON FOR THE SEASON
Thanksgiving Is for Gratitude
As we continue through the last two months of the year, we prepare to celebrate a very special holiday: Thanksgiving. It’s my absolute favorite. While the food, family, and friends are certainly a highlight of the celebration, it’s not the true purpose of the holiday. On Thanksgiving, we can take some time to reflect on all the things we are grateful for and sometimes take for granted. For me, there are not many things I’m more grateful for than my business and the wonderful customers who support us. Beginning on Dec. 1, we will be starting our 27th year in business. Over that time, we have had an extraordinary number of people rely on us and use our services in their time of need. This Thanksgiving, I want to take a moment to express my tremendous appreciation for the customers whom we have helped since 1995.
freedoms because of the sacrifices made by the men and women of our military. The unfortunate truth is that we easily overlook and forget the sacrifices so many people have made. We need to make a conscious effort to remember them and show our appreciation for their service year-round, not just on Veterans Day. Showing gratitude can be difficult, especially when considering current events. We often focus on the negative instead of appreciating what we actually have. I urge us all to set some time aside every day to
The last 26 years have been an entrepreneurial roller coaster, but we have survived and are still continuing to grow as a business. So much
of what we do is to help people who have found themselves in an emergency. Sometimes kids get locked in cars or people get locked out of their homes or businesses, so they turn to us for help. It’s a blessing to provide a service in a timely fashion and bring relief in stressful situations.
count our blessings. It will help us realize what’s truly important in our lives. Keeping a gratitude journal is also something to try. Write down things you are grateful for every day. It might seem silly at first, but it’s a great first step to take toward creating a positive mindset for yourself. And science backs it up, too!
“So much of what we do is to help people who have found themselves in an emergency.”
The last two years have been very difficult due to the pandemic. Luckily, we not only stayed in business but actually grew. That doesn’t mean we avoided challenges, though. We lost two extremely valuable employees this past year, and it’s been very difficult not hearing their voices on a regular basis. Both Cliff and Jeff had been with Pop-A-Lock for 11 years, and they will be sorely missed. We would not be where we are today without them. Thanksgiving is not the only holiday in November that calls for us to show our appreciation. Earlier this month, we celebrated Veterans Day, which is an incredibly important holiday. We are all blessed and should be thankful to live in this wonderful country, and we enjoy our
I am so grateful to enter our 27th year in business and could not be more appreciative of the over 2,000 customers we serve a month between Louisville and Lexington. It’s been gradual and took time for us to reach those numbers, but I couldn’t be more amazed and grateful that we help so many. Hopefully, we can continue to help as many people as possible heading into the future. -Doug Barnes
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JUST BOUGHT A NEW HOUSE?
Don’t Forget to Change the Locks
One of the most exciting purchases anyone will make is a new home. Ideally, it will be a space where you can create new memories for you and your family for years to come. While our homes provide us with shelter, play host to fun activities and parties, and house our possessions, we also want them to provide us with security. If you want your new home to be safe and secure, you should consider getting the locks rekeyed or changed out. When you receive the keys to your new home, there’s no way to know how many copies have been made. The previous owners could have made keys for extended family, babysitters, and so many others. If you don’t change out your locks upon move-in, anybody who has a key will have access to your house. If you’re purchasing a new house, you should schedule an appointment to have the locks changed in advance. This way, the locksmith can prepare new locks and cut new keys at the shop, which is more cost-efficient and timely, rather than trying to make them onsite.
You may also think you need to get the locks changed the day you move in, but it might be better to wait an extra day. The first day you move in can be incredibly stressful: You may still be closing out the deal, moving in your furniture, or dealing with a number of other issues that could arise. Having a locksmith work on your house during that time might add to the stress. Moving back your appointment to one day after you move in will make it easier for you and the locksmith. It’s not just new homeowners who should look at getting locks changed out or rekeyed. If you’ve lived in your house for a number of years, you should also consider it. You might not remember to whom you’ve given keys or how many. In the long run, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
The First Thanksgiving: What Was on the Menu?
Every Thanksgiving, we gather with our families and friends and pig out. Turkey, cranberry sauce, and stuffing, oh my! But did the Pilgrims actually eat all the same foods we do today? When we sit down at the Thanksgiving table, we are blessed with mashed potatoes, candied yams, green bean casserole, turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. However, if we wanted to be historically accurate, we would need to change up that dinner spread a bit. Historians know of a few foods on the table that Pilgrims and Wampanoags shared at Plymouth Colony in 1621. Wildfowl, corn (in grain form for porridge), and venison were sure to be served at the first Thanksgiving. Wild turkey was also a common and abundant food source but wasn’t likely the main course as it is today. A few days before the first Thanksgiving, the colony’s governor put four men in charge of hunting for birds for the feast, and they very likely returned with some turkey.
However, as far as mashed potatoes are concerned, in the early 1600s, most Europeans and the Wampanoag had no idea what a potato was. They weren’t cultivated in North America until the 1700s. Likewise, cranberries were still very new to the Pilgrims, and they didn’t yet use them for food — instead, they used them to make dyes for fabrics! For dessert, pumpkin pie was not yet a thing either. Although the Pilgrims liked pumpkins, they didn’t have the butter and wheat flour needed to make pie crust. Instead, they hollowed out the pumpkins (just like Halloween!) and filled them with milk and honey to make a custard and then roasted them. Although our Thanksgiving meals have changed over the years, it still is a fantastic time to get together and celebrate. In the spirit of evolving traditions, don’t be afraid to innovate to add your own personal traditional twist to the holiday as well!
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HOW TO GROW SALES WITHIN YOUR SMALL BUSINESS
3 Strategies to Try
It can be incredibly difficult to get your small business off the ground, especially in today’s climate. You can have an amazing product and a beautiful storefront but still struggle to break even month after month. But don’t be discouraged. While there’s no secret formula to get more customers in your door or increase sales, you can implement a few strategies to help your business become more successful.
your marketing toward a customer base that will actually shop with your business. Use social media to your advantage: Research your potential customers and see what their interests and lifestyles are like. Draw comparisons between them and tailor your marketing so it intrigues them. You’ll attract the right customers and build a lasting relationship with them. UTILIZE YOUR EXISTING CUSTOMERS. If you’re looking to unveil new products or services, your initial target market should not be new customers. Instead, reach out to your existing customer base to inform them of your new offerings. Chances are, they have already used and enjoyed one of your products or services and will be interested in trying something else. You’re also more likely to get honest feedback from these customers so you can adjust where necessary.
Here are three tips on how to grow sales within your small business.
KNOW YOUR COMPETITION. If you want to get ahead in your industry, you need to understand how your competition operates and what their customers love or despise. If you offer similar products or services, you need to find a strategy that sets your business apart from the competition. Adjust your marketing and sales strategies to grow your business and attract new potential customers in your area. RESEARCH YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE. One of the biggest mistakes that new small businesses make is trying to appease everyone. The simple truth is that not everyone will be interested in your products or services. You need to target
TAKE A BREAK
IN REMEMBRANCE
CLIFF COLLINS
Cliff Collins was with Pop-A- Lock for almost 11 years. His work ethic was like no other, and he became the manager’s “right-hand.” Cliff was a mentor, a confidant, a role model, a father figure to some, and most importantly, a friend to all of us. In his downtime, he watched NASCAR and loved spending time with his two children, Stephanie and Stephen, and his two grandchildren, Emma and Hailey. Cliff is deeply missed and loved by not only his family, but also his Pop-A-Lock family.
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PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411
POP-A-LOCK 739 MILLPOND ROAD LEXINGTON, KY 40514 POPALOCKKY.COM
LEXINGTON SOUTHERN IN 859-253-6736 502-895-6736 812-288-7576 LOUISVILLE
INSIDE THIS ISSUE THE REASON FOR THE SEASON PAGE 1 JUST BOUGHT A NEW HOUSE? DON’T
FORGET TO CHANGE THE LOCKS THE FIRST THANKSGIVING MENU PAGE 2
HOW TO GROW SALES WITHIN YOUR SMALL BUSINESS
How One Dog Saved His Owner REMEMBERING CLIFF PAGE 3 DOG DIALS 911 TO SAVE HIS OWNER PAGE 4
By Dialing 911
Dogs can be trained to obey a lot of commands: sit, stay, roll over, play dead. But how about “dial 911”? Well, that would probably be a foreign command for most dogs. Luckily, it wasn’t for Buddy, an 18-month-old German shepherd who remembered his training and saved his owner’s life. Joe Stalnaker of Scottsdale, Arizona, sustained a head injury during a military training exercise 10 years prior to the incident. Because of that injury, he suffered from seizures. Normally, a condition like that would make it unwise for him to live alone, but Stalnaker valued his independence and wanted to find a way to lead as normal a life as possible. Joe adopted Buddy from a Michigan-based organization called Paws With a Cause when the pup was just 8 weeks old. Paws with a Cause trains assistance dogs, and after adopting him, Joe trained Buddy to dial 911 until an operator was on the line in the event that he had a seizure.
A year and a half later, that training saved Joe’s life. One day, Joe began seizing when he was home alone with Buddy. Buddy rushed to the phone and dialed 911, whimpering to the dispatcher. Even if they don’t hear anyone on the line, dispatchers are required to send police. When police arrived at Joe’s home, they found him and Buddy, who was barking loudly. They took Joe to the nearby hospital, where in a few days, he made a full recovery.
Some might say that Buddy was just following his training, but this heroic act goes far beyond just sitting and rolling over for treats.
Even the veteran dispatchers hadn’t heard of a dog dialing 911 before. Buddy knew it was his mission to keep his owner safe, and thankfully, he knew exactly what to do under pressure — because that’s what heroes do.
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