You can view my presentation by clicking HERE.

Midtown entrepreneurs contribute to thriving ecosystem

Continuing its emergence as a bustling retail/business center in the heart of Midtown, the Cooper Young community and the area just adjacent to it welcome some new developments here in the first few days of 2013.

First, the long-time company Toof Commercial Printing at 670 S. Cooper recently announced plans to acquire American Digital Printing and merge the two operations. The 17 employees of American Digital will migrate to Toof’s headquarters on Cooper and owners say that during the next year the company likely will be adding workers. That’s definitely great news and an indication that Toof, which traces its roots to 1864, is poised to be around for many more years.

Second, Ray Rico Freelance has signed a lease for 550 square feet at 2294 Young Ave.

Rico has been working on the property, which formerly housed Victory Bicycle Studio and Shoenista’s, by sandblasting the outside bricks and transforming the interior space by erecting walls and adding fresh paint.

Plans call for Rico’s team to open a creative co-op within the year.

“The move to Cooper Young was deliberate,” Rico said in an email. “Cooper Young was recently named one of 10 great neighborhoods by the American Planning Association’s Great Places in America program. The area is central, diverse and includes a vibrant arts community. Not to mention I live close by. We have big plans for this space.”

And that’s not all.

Similar to Toof, which plans to generate jobs, Rico has added two full-time spots at the firm (office administration and client development) and will add a Web development position in the coming months.

Finally – for now…I’m certain that much more is in store in the days, weeks and months ahead – Kathy Katz has opened Cooper Street 20/20 at 800 S. Cooper. The name is a reference to Katz’s decades of experience as a restaurateur at the Southern College of Optometry.

The new market is open from noon to 7 p.m., Mondays through Fridays and features “prepared soups, sauces, entrees and side dishes, featuring fresh, quality foods with local ingredients whenever possible.”

Stop by from 4 to 7 p.m. on Jan. 10 for the grand opening celebration and to welcome Katz’s establishment to the neighborhood.

Visit www.cooperstreet2020.com to learn more.

I realize there’s plenty to be concerned about these days, what with the fiscal cliff stories dominating news coverage and updates on tax hikes creating concern for most of us, but news like this offers a bit of inspiration as we look forward at the year to come.

Here’s hoping for the best for these companies and for the rest of our entrepreneurial ecosystem, too.

View article here: http://startupmemphis.com/2013/01/03/midtown-entrepreneurs-continue-to-thrive/

We were pleased to be featured in The Commercial Appeal.

A quick bit of history. I began my carrer at The Commercial Appeal back in 1999, fresh out of school. I worked there until April of 2007, when I branched out on my own to live out my dream of opening my own business. Fast forward six years later and I’m being featured in the very paper where I once worked.  Pretty awesome feeling. Thanks for the coverage CA!

To view the story visit: www.commercialappeal.com/news/2013/jan/09/ray-rico-moves-into-cooper-young-plans-for-co-op/

Ray Rico Freelance Moves Into Cooper Young, Plans for Creative Co-Op

By Kristan on January 10, 2013

Ray Rico Freelance has inked a lease for 550 square feet in the heart of the Cooper-Young Historic District after working for six years as a freelancer out of his nearby home and hiring strictly contract labor.

The space at 2294 Young Ave. sits on the opposite corner of the current Cooper-Young Business Association office. Previous tenants include Victory Bicycle Studio and Shoenista’s.

Rico had outside bricks sandblasted and constructed and painted inside walls in order to better prepare the space for client meetings. The team has already been working with Eric Mathews of LaunchMemphis on its one-year growth plan, to open Memphis’ first creative co-op.

Additionally, Ray Rico Freelance has created and filled two full-time positions. Kathy Benefiel, who has a background in the medical field, manages office administration and bookkeeping. Tammy Bryant, with past experience in print sales and advertising, oversees new business development and client expectations. Ray Rico Freelance also plans to employ a full-time Web developer.

Ray Rico Freelance specializes in branding and design, speedy printing and online marketing, including social media and website design. Other services include grant writing, promotional items, copywriting and editing, photography and videography.

Community partners include Leadership Memphis, Common Ground, Young Women’s Christian Association, Wolf River Conservancy, Memphis Academy of Science and Engineering, Mid-South Pride, Friends For Life Corp. and the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Memphis.

– Sarah Baker

View article here: http://www.memphisdailynews.com/news/2013/jan/7/digest/

Ray Rico’s goal is to open creative co-op

Cooper-Young just got a bit more creative.

Ray Rico has opened Ray Rico Freelance, a marketing firm, in the historic Midtown neighborhood.

Rico is leasing 550 square feet at 2294 Young Ave., a space which previously hosted businesses Victory Bicycle Studio and Shoenista’s.

He has already been working with Eric Mathews of Launch Memphis on the firm’s one-year growth plan to open Memphis’ first creative co-op.

“The move to Cooper-Young was deliberate,” Rico says. “Cooper-Young was recently named one of 10 great neighborhoods by the American Planning Association’s Great Places in America program. The area is central, diverse and includes a vibrant arts community.”

Ray Rico Freelance specializes in branding and design, as well as printing and online marketing including social media and website design.

Other services include grant writing, promotional items, copywriting, editing, photography and videography.

View the story here: http://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/print-edition/2013/01/04/v3-fights-bringing-events-to-sportsouth.html

Ray Rico Freelance office

Don’t let the afternoon doldrums drag you down. Follow these five tips for a more prolific workday.Sometimes your productivity comes to a screeching halt. 

You can’t possibly do anything right now. Even getting up to use the bathroom seems like a chore. A coffee the size of a banned soda in New York might help, but even then, completing that writing assignment seems like a distant possibility.

Thankfully, there are less-caffeinated ways to overcome this impasse.

Here are five ways to be more productive at work:

1. Eat more super foods. 

The wedge of deep-dish pizza you had for lunch is not going to power you through the day. That’s not just personal experience talking; it’s science.

A 2005 study by Great Britain’s International Labour Organization (ILO) found that nutritional intake has a direct impact on productivity. It even said that eating proper foods could boost the U.K.’s national productivity level by 20 percent.

So what kinds of foods should people consume to avoid the mid-afternoon stall?

According to an infographic from MindFlash.com, which cites the findings of the ILO study as well as data from WebMD, foods that boost productivity include:

• fish
• dark chocolate
• nuts and seeds
• avocado
• raw carrots
• blueberries

To learn more about these foods and how they affect you, check out the infographic.

2. Look at pictures of kittens. 

Browsing images of adorable kittens seems like a time-wasting activity, but a recent study foundthat people who looked at pictures of cute baby animals—as opposed to those who viewed images of adult animals or delicious foods—before completing a task were the most productive.

Here’s one to get you started (via):

3. Take a break. 

Don’t take time only to look at cute animal pictures. Get up and do something.

As tempting as it might seem to muscle through a task so you can knock it off your to-do list, researchers have found that doing so will lead to stress and exhaustion. In fact, taking regular breaks dramatically increases productivity, particularly for people who work at a computer,according to a study from 2011.

In that study, University of Illinois psychology professor Alejandro Lleras and postdoctoral fellow Atsunori Ariga explored a person’s ability to focus on repetitive computer tasks for an hour. The result: Those who took two short breaks over the course of an hour saw no drop in performance compared with the people who worked straight through.

4. Focus on one activity. 

In other words, don’t multitask.

You know that person in the meeting who’s typing something on his laptop, checking his smartphone, jotting down notes, and nodding in agreement? Well, that person is stoned—or at least as mentally dulled as someone who just smoked pot, according to researchers.

A British study from 2005 found that workers distracted by phone calls, emails, and text messages experienced a greater temporary drop in IQ than a person smoking marijuana.

Similarly, a study from last year noted that multitasking hurts short-term memory.

So, what’s the solution to this problem, given the always-connected world in which we live?

PR exec Gini Dietrich offered some advice in a column she wrote last year for Crain’s Chicago Business:

“Choose a challenging task that needs to be accomplished the next day. Block out 60–90 minutes to at least get it started, if not complete it. Close email. Turn off Skype and instant messaging. Put your email in offline mode. Turn off every alert you get for your social networks. Set the timer for your allotted time, and get to work.

“I’m willing to bet good money you’re much more productive working this way. If it works, determine the top five things you need to accomplish each day, set your timer, and get to work.”

5. Stop forcing yourself to be a morning person. 

Unless, of course, you are a morning person. Then by all means, get cracking when the rest of the world is struggling through its first cup of coffee.

The point is to find your “peak time” and harness it for optimal productivity. If, for example, you kick out the jams from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., then block out that time for your most important projects.

To determine your peak time, Lifehack.org suggests you monitor your workflow for a week and jot down when you’re most productive. Adjust your hours accordingly.

Of course, determining that you’re an evening person is all fine and good, but how do you benefit from it when you have to be at your desk by 8 a.m. every morning? That might require a meeting with your manager, a job change, or perhaps just boatloads of coffee—plus a few super foods and kitten pictures.

Via http://www.healthcarecommunication.com/Main/Articles/9822.aspx

And special thanks to Ella for featuring her artwork this year. <3

Here are a few pics from the gay pride festival and parade in Memphis, TN Oct. 6.

UPDATE! Hey we were featured in a snippet from a story on Dateline NBC, too. Check it out! Coverage begins @ 11:47

Dateline NBC Reports on The Swing State ft. Memphis, TN

Photos by Ella Hernandez, Matt Riddle, Joe Gordon, Randy Brafford and RJ Marshall-Jackson.