In case you have not yet noticed, we like martinis around here…a lot.  I believe that my forefathers enjoyed a martini or two during prohibition when a martini–the Gibson–was named after us.  While some of us prefer the dirty variety and others like our drinks a little frutier, we are all raising a glass to this day–National Martini Day.

Let us know which martini is your favorite on our Facebook page at www.gibsondesignmanagement.com/facebook.  Better yet, post a photo of you and your favorite martini.  If you don’t have a favorite yet, look at our Facebook page for some great recipes.

Chin chin!  Cheers!  Salud!

Accounting Services is now offering more competitive pricing!  Our team will continue to provide the same high quality of service and expertise to our members, but at our new lower rate.

Our Accounting Services team would be happy to set up a complimentary call with you in order to discuss the scope of your typical accounting needs.  Let Gibson Design Management handle:

• Creating invoices for time and goods
• Disbursing checks to vendors
• Operating payroll
• Calculating and paying sales tax
• Running reports to show both the financial health of your business and where you need to improve
• And more…

If you would like more information about Accounting Services, please contact Margie Strickland, Associate Director, Accounting Services.

As an added incentive, Gibson Design Management would like to offer our members a 10% discount on all accounting services provided through July 31, 2009. 

Are you feeling a bit overwhelmed keeping up with your blog?  Blogs are a great marketing tool, but in order to keep traffic coming, you need to keep the content fresh and interesting. 

Gibson Design Management is pleased to now offer Blogging Services to designers.  Heather Bien has joined our team, bringing years of experience in the design industry and her terrific writing and research skills with her.  Our blogging team will work with you to determine your needs and then handle writing the posts to keep traffic coming to your blog.  Posts are $20/each.  You decide the frequency that works for your budget and let our team handle the rest.  For more information about this service contact Heather Bien today.

Don’t have a blog?  Our Social Media team would love to help you with that as well.  For more information, click here or contact Alexandra@gibsondesignmanagement.com today about our Social Media division.  Don’t be a dinosaur.  You can’t afford to be uneducated about this new way of marketing.

Time to officially welcome in summer and enjoy a refreshing Watermelon Crawl Martini!

Ingredients:

v  1 ½ oz. Southern Comfort

v  ½ oz watermelon

v  2 oz sweet -n-sour

v  Ice

v  Sugar for rim

v  Mint for garnish

Preparation:

v  Use watermelon to wet glass and dip in sugar.

v  Mix watermelon with southern comfort and sweet-n-sour mix.

v  Add ice.

v  Shake well and pour into cocktail glass.

v  Garnish with a sprig of mint.

Enjoy!

If you’re like most interior designers, you’re feeling the pinch of the economy.  You are not alone.  Some firms are facing difficult decisions about closing their businesses or reducing staff.  At the same time, there are firms that are busier than ever.  What are they doing differently?

They are specialists in eco-friendly and sustainable design.  They’ve built their brand around environmental responsibility and the consumer-driven demand for energy-efficient and healthy spaces and buildings.

In fact, 82% of Americans believe it is “important for companies to implement environmentally friendly practices.” – McGraw Hill

Do you need to be LEED certified to get this business and promote green products and services?  No, but it helps.

If you’d like to know more about how green can help you get business and build a thriving practice, please Click Here

Another study by the American Marketing Association and Fleishman Hillard International Communications shows that 63% of the people surveyed believe that the new administration’s policies will further accelerate the adoption of sustainability programs.

If you are looking for answers to help you grow your firm even during tough economic times, we encourage you to check out and attend Design Success University’s upcoming Green Design Summit – a ground-breaking virtual education program with 11 architecture and design industry experts, NY Times best-selling authors and environmental leaders including:

v  Penny Bonda, LEED AP & “the Mother of Green Interiors”

The New LEED Version 3 -What You Need to Know

v  Sarah Susanka, FAIA, certified Interior Designer & Author

“not so big remodeling” (and how to build a sustainable
practice)

v  Libby Langon, HGTV Star of Small Spaces, Big Style and author.

How to Work With Small Space Clients (plus she’ll share
some of her favorite tips that her clients love)

This is just a small sampling of the outstanding speakers you will hear during this two day virtual event on June 29 & 30, 2009.

No travel is required – you’ll be able to listen from the comfort of your home or office by webcast or telephone.  And, if you can’t listen to all of the calls, you’ll receive downloadable MP3s and transcripts of each session.  If you have employees, you can listen for the price of one ticket.  One ticket per firm, please.

If your colleagues are busy with eco-friendly projects, you don’t want to miss hearing about what you can do to restart and green your own business.

Click Here for more information:

Sign up For the GREEN DESIGN SUMMIT TODAY!!

Click Here

Utilizing Gibson Design Management Project Sourcing services has many benefits for your design firm.  From more hours in the day to increased profits, you will see the advantages when you let your Project Sourcing team assist you in meeting the needs of your design projects.