We are proud to introduce ANLA NewsBrief, your association's newest e-newsletter and member benefit. This resource provides weekly comprehensive news briefings of the top industry and business stories, as well as updates on your ANLA member benefits, events, and resources. We hope you find NewsBrief to be useful and informative, and we welcome your feedback at benefits@anla.org.
The New ANLA.org
from ANLA
In March, ANLA launched the new www.anla.org, offering easier navigation to breaking legislative and regulatory news, business profiles of ANLA members and a searchable Industry Knowledge Center (sponsored by AM Leonard) with archived newsletter articles and business forms. You'll also find audio & video from past ANLA events and member experiences. If you haven't checked it out, we encourage you to visit this new site! While you are there, check out the audio from one of the top sessions at the 2009 Clinic, John Kennedy's "The Anatomy of a Successful Team" as well as this great tip on how to produce near perfect plants out of every flat shared at the Grower New Ideas Program. More
ANLA Attends White House Town Meeting
from ANLA
On March 26, Maryland garden center owner, Gary Blondell of Gary's Gardens, represented ANLA at an historic town hall meeting on small business issues with President Barack Obama. Visit the www.anla.org News Section to learn more. More
ZipHarvest: A Resource to Help You Help Your Customers
from Health News Digest
With the announcement of a Victory Garden going in at the White House, First Lady Michelle Obama has made it official. The backyard vegetable garden is back…and for good reason. But a beginning gardener can be overwhelmed by questions. What should I grow? How much garden space can I handle? What tools do I need? First time gardeners looking for answers can begin their planning at www.ZipHarvest.com. More
How Twitter, Facebook Can Save You Money
from Smart Money
Merely maintaining customer loyalty just isn’t enough for businesses these days. Now companies as varied as Sears, Fiji Water and Gold’s Gym want to be friends with you, too -- through online social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Indeed, in an effort to ensure warm feelings, some companies are even offering exclusive discounts and deals in exchange for the privilege of your friendship. "There’s definitely a business advantage to having a presence there," says Tim Ross, principal of Kendall Ross, a Seattle-based retail branding firm. "It’s free, targeted advertising." More
Communication Key to Keeping Clients, Employees
from The Chicago Tribune
As counterintuitive as it may seem to many business owners, communicating openly and regularly is more important than ever during times of uncertainty, experts said. "There can be a huge positive result in trust and credibility," said David Grossman, president and founder of DG&A, a leadership and communications consulting firm in Chicago. More
Who Gets Hit When the Wealthy Cut Back
from The New York Times
The first stirrings of spring in Fairfield County, Conn., have sounded: the whine of the leaf blowers and the beep of dump trucks full of mulch. But this spring and summer in Fairfield, one of the wealthiest counties in the United States, is shaping up as a tough one, not just for the homeowners - many of whom work in New York - but also for the landscapers and other workers they employ. More
The Ethics of Data Protection
from DC Velocity
It's not as if we need anything more to worry about as we try to steer through the "perfect storm" of the global financial crisis. Unfortunately, though, there are some threats that cannot be ignored. One of them is the soaring risk of internal data theft. At a time when wave upon wave of layoffs is hitting corporations, a new study reveals that many companies are losing more than workers. They're also losing important company information, much of which, if leaked, could be extremely damaging to their operations. More
Nothing is Set in Stone, So Renegotiate
from The New York Times
Maybe your fixed costs are not as fixed you think. With the recession continuing in full force, you may find that everyone - from the company that supplies your office with water to your neighborhood banker - is willing to renegotiate their existing arrangements with you to keep your business. More
Toronto Exhibit Examines Urban Agriculture, Vertical Farming
from IPS News
A new exhibit called Carrot City is inspiring discussion about city farms and their role in the coming new world of food production. In both industrialized and developing nations, experts say, humans must begin to nourish themselves with crops and livestock raised in their ever-expanding metropolises. More
Drought Picture Shows No Improvement
from KPBS San Diego
There's plenty of snow in the Sierra Nevada, but California water officials say it falls short of the amount needed to replenish the state's reservoirs. KPBS Environment Reporter Ed Joyce has more on what that may mean for San Diego. The state department of water resources says the snowpack is holding less water content than normal for this time of year. More
Passion: Is It Working For or Against You?
from Lawn & Garden Retailer
Consumer Confidence Highest in 13 Months
from Today’s Garden Center
Smarter Selling: Bubbling Sales in the Garden
from Green Profit
The Six Sins of Greenwashing
from Landscape Management
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