After talking with Danny Stusser frinchise owner for “The World’s Largest Weekly Restaurant Publication”, Coffee News I found out that acctually
Coffee News® is a fun weekly publication distributed free to restaurants, coffee shops, and other waiting areas providing a quick read while waiting for food or service. The light-hearted, family-friendly content in Coffee News® consists of unusual stories, jokes, trivia, amazing facts, horoscopes, local events and more, and appeals to people of all ages. Guaranteed to make you smile, Coffee News® is a refreshing alternative to the hard news of today. Businesses love advertising in Coffee News® because it provides an affordable, effective and exclusive print advertising vehicle for building top-of-mind awareness in the local community. I asked Danny several questions about his business and his personal lifestyle and here are the answers.
Provide us with a brief summary of your business’ services.
The main service we deliver, every week, is Coffee News. We deliver by
hand to nearly every independent and locally owned restaurant in
Tumwater, Olympia and Lacey. We started this here in 2005.
In addition, twice each year we publish the Thurston County Visitor Map,
which we’ve produced since 2007.
And we’ve developed a new promotional product called UpRightCards.
These are small display signs that stand straight up from a desk or
countertop. These we sell nationally, mostly to businesses that have a
brand mascot character.
Tell us about your company’s mission and values.
We help local business owners
get attention every week
from their nearby prospects
even if they have a small budget and
hate writing their own advertising
What is the most pressing issue for your business?
I’m in the advertising business. Advertising has grown and changed in the
past 15 years, but the fundamental concepts haven’t. I’m concerned that
very few business owners and managers like to think about advertising at
all, so what I do is often considered a distraction from their core work. I
believe that marketing is the number one job of business leaders.
What are the services you use the most (or are looking forward to
using) from the Tumwater Chamber?
My favorite part of my Chamber membership is the monthly lunch forum.
I’m looking forward to the first-ever field trip to JBLM in July.
I’d like to see more members come to rely on the excellent website that
we’re provided by the Chamber.
How do you stay engaged with trends that you see in your industry?
Read. Go to conferences. I participate every month in continuing education
about marketing, advertising and management systems.
What is your company culture like?
Since there are only two of us in our little office right now, the culture
changes depending on what somebody brought for lunch. I’d like to think
that we have a happy working environment, but you’d have to ask my
current and former employees. You want their numbers?
I would say that it’s important to me to make sure that all of our people feel
they have authority in their areas of work, control their own schedules —
and can take time off when needed for family matters.
What does it take to be a successful employee at your company?
It helps to be bald, handsome and a reasonably competent writer.
What makes Tumwater such a great place to do business?
Of course, it’s the water!
And the people who drink the Tumwater water. This area is generally
populated with friendly people, which might sound clichéd until you
consider that it’s not the same an hour north of us. The so-called “Seattle
Freeze” stops somewhere north of the Nisqually River.
What, in your opinion, are the most pressing issues facing the
Tumwater community?
I’m concerned about the oppressive traffic jams we’ve seen develop in the
most recent three or four years. I hope that the city gets real creative real
fast about moving cars in and out of the Capital Boulevard crunch zones.
What pieces of advice have you found to be the most helpful since
starting your career?
Read. A lot. And every day. Read about your company, its competitors,
others in your kind of business and, more important, read about businesses
and ways of doing business that are outside of your daily experience.
Often the most successful ideas come from another industry.
How do you achieve a work/life balance?
Balance? Really? I never think about that. I like to be fully involved in
whatever I’m doing, whether it’s work, a social lunch or with my family. I
work a lot, but I also take time for what’s important outside of working.
Where is your favorite place to have a meeting outside the office?
Unfair question! In my business, I can’t have a favorite!
I like to meet in lots of places, but I only meet at restaurants, coffee shops,
bakeries and taverns that serve Coffee News! Fortunately, that gives me
about 45 locations in Tumwater and another 140 or so in Olympia and
Lacey, including State Offices.
Social Media contact:
https://www.facebook.com/CoffeeNewsTM/
JUNE SPECIAL OFFER
For Tumwater Chamber members, Coffee News is offering a special deal
for new advertisers: Only Only 50 cents per distribution location per week
to advertise in Coffee News Tumwater Edition — for up to 9 weeks! That’s
as little as half price! OFFER EXPIRES JUNE 28, 2019. See more details
on the Chamber’s website at
https://www.tumwaterchamber.com/membership/membership-
directory/#!biz/id/5b7450c1afd6913368e9a232/Deals!
or call or text Danny Stusser on 360-259-5000