Thursday, February 24, 2011

Writing Effective Service Offers

by Debi Neville, Freelance Writer and Time Trader, January 2011

Four basic items need to be addressed in each offering:
1)   identify the problem or need
2)   offer a solution to the problem
3)   explain how YOU can provide the solution
4)   call to action

Example:
1) Dream of cinnamon rolls like Mom used to bake?
2) A dozen can be delivered fresh to your door
3) I have 20 years baking experience and a wonderful old fashioned recipe, can be made with whole wheat and fruits if you want to try something a bit new, will deliver same day!
4) This weekend curl up with a good book, a cup of coffee and delicious, warm sweet rolls; call to order today!

Words to use which conjure up emotions, wants, answers, memories, needs, etc. which are more likely to get a response:

Warm                                                     Depend
Organized                                              Memory(ies)
Clean                                                     Creative
Spic-span                                               Unique
At your fingertips                                  Experience
Solution                                                 Fun
Finally                                                    Quality
Friendly help                                          Searching
Desire                                                     Direct
New                                                        Now
Vision                                                   This is the year
Worry free                                           Recycle, reuse
Express yourself                                    Thoughtful
Cross off your to do list                           Dessert
Problem solver                                          Do!

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Time Trader Spotlight: Mike's Pumpkin Creations

Time Traders often ask to see photographs of the work people offer in Community Weaver. It makes sense -- if someone is offering to make something, seeing a photo of their past work can help you decide if they are the right person for the job.

Periodically we will feature Time Traders here, offering descriptions of their Service Offers along with photos of their past creations. If you are a Time Trader with a talent you'd like to see in the Spotlight, email your photos to timetrader@familyservicerochester.org along with any descriptive information you'd like included. If you have been happy with a service provided by a Time Trader, please feel free to email the same address and any photos you may have along with a request that they be Spotlighted. We will be happy to post these items to encourage the community to take advantage of all the amazing talent Time Trader has to offer!

That said, let's get to our Spotlight:

Have you ever seen those amazing portrait pumpkins on the national televised morning shows? The ones where people's likenesses are carved into the pumpkin? Or the beautiful Martha Stewart styled monogrammed pumpkins? Believe it or not, we have a very talented Time Trader who can do pumpkin carving like that!



This pumpkin has carvings on both sides. One image glows eerily while the reverse side of the pumpkin casts a shadow on the wall.




Mike can also carve watermelons for events in the summer time, with words:


Or images:


Or even creating a 3D stroller/fruit bowl for a baby shower.


He does lovely portraits. This animation shows the process from photograph to completed project. Amazing!


As you can see his portraits are spot on.


The pumpkins above and below are actually the artificial ones that are available at most craft stores in the fall, so they can be saved and used year after year. The pumpkin below is black but as you can see the inside is light colored and it looks amazing when lit from inside.

Mike says, "A 3 sided birthday pumpkin (cake, balloons, photo) takes about 1 to 1.5 hours per side for a total of 3 to 4 hours. A Welcome pumpkin using a previous design took 3.5 hours to cover the full surface.  (New designs and photos take a little longer.)

"In 1998 I used my young daughter as an excuse to carve a couple of non-standard pumpkins.  (She didn't really care and did not understand anything about what was different.)  Who cared that where we lived we had no trick-or-treaters that year!  I just had an excuse to do something that sounded fun.  From there it has been growing to more complicated creations.
"I have figured out that over the years creative things tended to leak out of me at times.  I finally realized how much skill and real interest I have over the last 8 to 10 years.  Looking back, I can see some of it was going on as far back as high school and even grade school.  Some of those old items included carved candles - one of which took more than 10 hours for just the carving.
"I find that I end up doing many things that are ephemeral.  Food carvings, pumpkins, window murals will all be gone after a small amount of time.  Like life, they are to be enjoyed while there and hopefully remembered fondly afterwards."

And here's a photo of Mike so you can say hello to him when you see him at a Time Trader event:


Thanks Mike, for sharing these great photos with us and for sharing your tremendous talent with our community.