Thursday, June 14, 2012
401 S. Main St. • Stillwater
40S-372,1647 o 800-678.2
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I met an interesting young
man last week by the name
of Travis Brorsen. Some
of you may know Travis
and his dog, Presley, from mean...QR
seen a QR code, they look
something like a digital ink
blot in the general shape of
a square. The ink blot...I
code shown
, ,
By Dr. Suzette Barta
the CBS reality show,
Greatest American Dog.
Travis and Presley won
this show in 2008. Today,
they have a video series
that teaches good manners
and other life skills. Much
about Travis and Presley
is interesting, but the one
thing I want to focus on
for today's article is their
business card.
I know. You're thinking
that business cards,
even very nice ones,
are not particularly
interesting--useful, sure,
but not interesting. What
interested me about Travis'
business card is that on the
back it had a QR code.
While I have seen QR
codes before, this was the
first time I have seen one
on a business card. I expect
to see more and more.
For those of you who are
not sure if you have ever
here is for Payne County
Extension's Facebook
page. Now that you've seen
one, some of you may be
thinking, "Oh yeah, I've
seen some of those before."
Perhaps you've seen them
the same places I have, in
a newspaper, on a poster, or
on a product label or tag.
If you know me, you
know that I am not overly
attached to my phone,
so I have never really
been tempted to use my
phone to read a QR code.
However, once I had Travis
and Presley's business
card sitting on my desk
practically staring at me,
I decided I wanted to try
it out.
My first thought was that
I needed to take a picture of
the QR code with my phone.
If you do this, you will get
a picture of a QR code on
your phone and nothing
more. So it's not quite that
simple, but, honestly, it still
is not difficult. Just use your
smart phone to download a
QR code reader app. Mine
was free.
Now, open the app on
your phone. Pretend like
you are taking a picture
of the QR code. You will
probably hear a beep or a
shutter sound to indicate
that you have captured
the code. When I scanned
Travis and Presley's QR
code, it immediately took
me to their website on my
phone.
Of course, this is super
cool and totally "techie,"
and I'm thinking .that I
want to make my own
QR codes and put them
on, well, everything. I'm
also thinking that this is
way, way, way beyond my
tech skills. Turns out that
it's not--in fact, it's very
easy. Just Google "free QR
code generator" and you
will find many sites that
will make a QR code for
you. All you have to do
is enter the website URL
where you want to send
people, click a button, and
the code is generated. You
can usually print it out,
download and save it, or
email it to yourself.
Now, the only question
left is, "What do I do with a
QR code?" Well, we know
that they work quite well
on business cards. Already
have business cards? No
problem, just print the QR
code off on blank address
labels and stick to the back
of your cards.
For more ideas, Debbie
Sanders of the Perkins-
owned Sanders Copy and
Design explained, "The
QR Code can be printed on
about anything but is easily
incorporated in business
cards, flyers, brochures,
etc. as a quick link to the
company's own website or
e-mail address. The codes
can also be used to link to
virtual coupons, surveys
or even for a map and
directions to the company."
\
Just be sure you are linking
the user to something
useful.
As it turns out, there is a
Suzette scanning the QR code on a bottle of ketchup in a
restaurant. Photo provided
lot more to be said about
QR codes. Check out part
2 of this article next month
to learn demographics of
who is using QR codes
and also about some of
the negative aspects of QR
codes.
Dr. Suzette Barta is
an Extension Educator,
Community and Economic
Development, with Payne
County OSU Extension. She
is also an active member oJ
the Perkins Community
Chamber of Commerce ana
the Greater Perkins Area
Economic Development
Authority. To contact her
regarding the content of this
or other articles, e-mail her
at sbarta @provalue.net.
Bridget Carroll
Young Entrepreneur Profile
Meet Bridget Carroll
By Susan Weckler running through all the
Do you need music for a
special occasion? Young
entrepreneur Bridget
Carroll provides beauti-
ful harp music for special
events. Sixteen year old
Bridget is very talented in
playing the harp and her
music brings a special
touch to many occasions.
What / who inspired
the idea for your busi-
ness?
My harp teacher, Lorelei
Barton, encouraged me to
start playing profession-
ally.
Share with us how your
family life, background
or training has prepared
you for your business
venture.
I got my first harp from
my parents for Christmas.
I was having fun playing
around with it by my self
for three years or so when
my grandparents offered
to drive me to Tulsa to
take lessons. I have been
with Mrs. Barton for over
a year now. She really
pushes me to do the best
that I can. She is a great
teacher.
Did your parents
encourage you in this
pursuit? If so, how?
My dad helped with set-
ting up my website and
logistics of owning my
own business. My mom
helped with ideas and the
aesthetics side. And of
course, they bought me the
harp and pay for lessons.
Have others mentored
you?
Dana Maher, from the
band Vintage Wildflow-
ers, has given me a lot of
support. We both play the
Celtic harp which is an
unusual instrument. It has
been great to have some-
one to talk to about all the
peculiarities I run into.
What's your biggest
struggle in your business
and how do you manage
it?
Getting word out has
been difficult. Coming up
with ways to advertise is
difficult, but I'm getting
the hang of it.
Do you feel that people
don't take you very seri-
ously because of your
age? If so, how do you
overcome that?
Usually people don't
realize that I am as young
as I am. It can really throw
them off, but if I have a
professional attitude, most
people are quite willing to
work with me.
What character traits
do you feel are impor-
tant in being an entre-
preneur?
Willingness to learn is
very important. The ideas
you have fixed in your
head are usually not the
best. Learn from people
who have experience. It
saves a lot of time.
Summer is here ments you do, the more equities. The percentage
-- which means a vaca- likely you are to make of your holdings devoted
ing on a plane or even
enjoying a "staycation"
at home, you're probably
looking forward to some
down time with your
family. But not every
aspect of your life should
be relaxed. Specifically,
you don't want to take a
vacation from investing
-- which means you need
to become a diligent,
year-round investor.
Here are a few sugges-
tions that can help:
• Keep on investing.
Don't head to the invest-
ment "sidelines" when
the financial markets
experience volatility.
You don't want to be
a nonparticipant when
things turn around
because, historically,
the early stage of any
market rally is generally
when the biggest gains
occur. (Keep in mind that
past performance of the
market is not a guarantee
of future' results.)
• Keep learning. In just
about any classroom, the
best students are the ones
who get the most out of
their education and put
their learning to the best
use. And the same is true
of the investment world:
The more you know
about the forces that
affect your investments'
performance, and about
why you own the invest-
decisions.
• Keep your focus on
the long term. As an
investor, you need to
look past those events
-- such as natural disas-
ters, recession fears
and political instability
abroad -- that may have
noticeable short-term
effects on the financial
markets but little impact
over the longer term. So
instead of making invest-
ment decisions based on
today's headlines, think
about what you want
your financial picture
to look like in 10, 20
or 30 years -- and take
the appropriate steps
to help make that pic-
ture materialize. These
steps include following
a long-term, disciplined
investment strategy
that's suitable for your
individual needs, making
adjustments as time goes
on and working with a
professional financial
advisor who knows
your situation and can
help you make the right
choices.
• Keep looking for
growth opportunities. To
achieve your long-term
goals, such as a comfort-
able retirement, you'll
need to own growth-
oriented investments,
such as stocks and other
investments that contain
imity to retirement. But
no matter what your
situation, you want a
portfolio that's designed
to help you meet your
investment goals.
• Keep relying on "hard-
working" investments.
To help ensure your
investments are work-
ing hard for you, choose
those vehicles that can
help you in multiple
ways. For example, when
you invest in a 401(k)
or other employer-spon-
sored retirement plan,
your money grows on a
tax-deferred basis, which
means it can accumulate
faster than if it were
placed in an investment
on which you paid taxes
every year. (Keep in
mind that taxes are due
upon Withdrawal, and
withdrawals prior to
age 59½ may be subject
to a 10% IRS penalty.)
Plus, you typically fund
your 401 (k) with pretax
dollars, so the more
you put in each year,
the lower your taxable
income. Furthermore,
with the choices avail-
able in your plan, you
can create a good mix of
investments.
Enjoy your vacation
this summer. But no
matter what the season,
don't take a break from
investing. Your efforts
may pay off nicely for
you in the future.
Matt Hull is a financial
advisor for EdwarclJones
Investments in Stillwa-
ter.
Getting to do something
I love for other people is
really nice. One thing I am
excited about is playing all
kinds of music for all kinds
of events' I can play clas-
sical music, Disney songs,
Celtic tunes, and pop. I
really like fitting the music
to the occasion whether
it's a brunch on Satur-
day morning, an evening
dinner party, wedding, or
any other event.
What are your future
plans / financial expecta-
tions for your business?
Right now I am excited
about attending wedding
expos in the fall and play-
ing for recruiting parties at
OSU. I am also planning
to attend several music
camps to help expand my
repertoire.
Do you have any advice
for young people who are
considering starting their
own business?
Some of the best advice I
got was M.V.P. - Minimum
Viable Product. If you wait
for everything to be exactly
perfect, you will never be
able to do anything. Just
start something and go
from there.
What is the best way
for someone to contact
you if they'd like to learn
more about your busi-
ness? (website, physical
address or e-mail)
My email is ownerofa
lonelyharp @ gmail.com
My website address is
ownerofalonelyharp.com.
I also have a Facebook
page where I post updates
about where I play.
By Matt Hull
Edward Jones Investments
What do you like best tion most likely isn't far the right moves -- and to stocks should be based
about having your own away. Whether you're the less likely you'll be on your risk tolerance,
business? hitting the road, jump- to makehasty and unwise time horizon and prox-
