Why I don't shop at Wal-mart

I'm broke, and I still don't shop at
 Wal-mart.
Low, low, LOW prices.

Wal-mart is the king of differentiation. They claim to be the "lowest" priced store.

How can someone compete with that?

Scenario:

You are the owner of a business, and you have a product to sell.

Let’s assume this product is a bar of soap.

Your wholesale cost (the price you buy it for) is $.50

You want to price it at $1.00 to have at least a 50% profit margin.

Wal-mart sells a similar soap for $.88

A fellow wal-mart lover would say that over time those .12cents will add up. Which they will…

.12cents x 100 bars of soap=a savings of $12.00! 

Ok, now let’s compare both businesses.

	Walmart	Your local store
Average wage of employee	$7.50	$9.50
Carbon foot print of products	6000miles	60miles
Differentiation	LOW prices	LOCAL PRODUCTS

Three….that’s it? I’m not done…please be patient ;)

Average wage of employee: If you’re from California, than obviously it would be our minimum wage. But there are 49 other states with minimum wages as low as $6. Wal-Mart workers earn an estimated 12.4 percent less than retail workers as a whole. Considering the amount of success Wal-Mart has you would think they’d treat their employees a little better.  I’m also a huge believer of working your way up the ladder, and when you’re compete ting with 50 other employees; your chances of being recognized are slim.

A carbon footprint is a measure of the impact our activities have on the environment, and in particular climate change. It relates to the amount of greenhouse gases produced in our day-to-day lives through burning fossil fuels for electricity, heating and transportation etc. 

Carbon footprint: Global warming exists. You need gas for getting your soap to the airport, gas for the airplane to fly 6000miles, gas for the truck to unload the airplane, and gas for the trucks that deliver soap to their 627 stores.

Differentiation: Is it me, or is something being recalled from China every other day?  The reason Wal-Mart can charge less for products is because China’s wages for their employees are MUCH lower than here. aka outsourcing. Plus, Wal-Mart pays their employees LOW prices wages.

If you “hate” Wal-Mart don’t shop there.

I’d much rather pay an extra .12cents than to drive all the way to Wal-Mart and buy my .88 cent soap. Let me just grab some other random cheap stuff that I walk by because it’s SOOO cheap.

It’s cheap. Cheap in price, cheap in wages, cheap in quality.


You get what you pay for.

If none of this got to you even just a little bit please take this in mind.

Without small business we would have
no variety
no local products
no sincere smiling faces
no place to be a regular at
no locally roasted coffee
no local pastries
no local cupcakes
no hand stitched blankets
no places to advertise for your magazine
no places that will let you play the guitar in front of their store
no taquerias
no authentic Chinese food
no eco-friendly products
no artisan products
no businesses to hire your services
no place to apply to that doesn’t pay minimum
no hope for the future

You get the picture.

I’m broke and I still don’t shop at Wal-mart.

I choose not to shop at Walmart

because I don’t want others to be broke.
 Follow the crowd that matters, or in this case…the crowd that cares.

Sources I used:

http://www.pbs.org/itvs/storewars/us_stores.html

http://money.cnn.com/2011/03/07/news/companies/walmart_target_better_price/index.htm

http://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/retail/bigbox_livingwage_policies11.pdf

http://walmartstores.com/aboutus/7606.aspx

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_kilometers_are_between_California_and_China

http://www.pbs.org/itvs/storewars/stores3.html

http://greenupgrader.com/8539/10-reasons-to-shop-local/

Dance or Die

If you're ever in the mood to Dance,

 then hit up 
Dance.or.Die.

 It was creating by a young man named

Timothy Thai. (click for interview)

He had a vision with a vision of spreading the EDM love throughout the Northbay.

Dance.or.Die helps promote and throw local events showcasing a wide selection of entertainment from your favorite bangin’ genres of House Electro, Fidget Dutch, Dubstep and Drum n' Bass
Some of the music---->>>>http://soundcloud.com/dtmpower2

Dance.or.Die is located in the Sonoma County area, primarily in Santa Rosa.

Dance.or.Die will be celebrating their first year in 2011.

Creating an exclusive pre-anniversary show that will be EPIC.

Robotchick will be there along with 199 other true Dance.or.Die fans.

I’ll see some of you there.

Here’s a link to the tickets

$7 for Dance.or.Die’s pre-anniversary exclusive show?

Your loss if your not there.

After all.... how often do you get to say you went to a badass show with DJ’s who blow your mind!

(That wasn’t 45minutes away)

P.S. I believe the tickets will go up in price very soon, so I’d get mine now.

 Click for the new upcoming show on 11.11.11

Links:

Pre-anniversay Party 11.11.11

Ticket Sales

Interview with Timothy Thai

Dance or Die Facebook

Dance or Die website

Robotchick Review:

I must say that one of the main reason's I love Dance.or.Die is because of how clean it is. When you attend one of their shows, you just want to Dance. It's all in the name, and I love it! Dance or die, simple yet effective, and a very powerful name. The business targets the younger generation for a cleaner version of fun. 
From a mom and attender perspective; I'd much rather party in Santa Rosa. It's safer than driving with your friends all the way to the city, and way more cost efficient, and funner. Dance.or.Die shows aren't just music and a dance floor. It's has had the works. 
I've seen
Fire breathers
Performers
Special Guests
Black Lights
Neon Lights
Flashing lights
all kinds of lights
Even the people with lights on each finger

For all the 18-20 years old; you can attend to. Let's face it, but where do you find an actual legit place to party in Santa Rosa and that age? You're too old for Chops, and you're too hung for Winery's and bars. You can dance and be sober, no question. And know you finally have someplace to just dance.
For all the 21 year and up; there are in's & outs, and bars. If you're afraid to have a shot or two that's fine, but just remember no one's going to want to fight you since they'll be dancing. So, don't drink too much haha

First Show ever. They've come a long way!

Interview with Timothy Thai

Friend 1-What should we go out and do tonight?

Friend 2-We could go to the bars.

Friend 1- "But I'm not 21" 

Friend 3- "The bars...AGAIN?"

Friend 1- "I want to go dance my ass off!"

Friend 2- "I'd rather not drive for 45 minutes to party"

Friend 3- "Yeah, it's expensive too"

I'm sure you've all had this conversation with your friends. I know I have. Though I'm 22 now; I was "underage" once too. I have friends that are younger. Plus, I agree with friends 2 & 3; driving to the city is so damn expensive and time consuming. 

Fortunately, for us... along came Timothy Thai. A Rohnert Park local kid with a love of music and a hella-of-a-lot-of   BALLS.

He had the guts to create his own Dance scene right here in our little Santa Rosa. In just a matter of months, his shows reached hundreds. Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, Petaluma, San Francisco are just a few examples of travelers. 
Here is a short interview I had with the Timmy Thai:

Meet DJ T. THAI

Head of at Dance. or. Die. Productions

Transferred from Santa Rosa Junior College

Studying Business Administration/Accounting
 at California State University, Long Beach

Lives in Long Beach, California
From San Francisco, California
Born on May 19, 1989

How did you decide to create a brand new dance scene in Sonoma County?
      It all began after a festival called Lovefest in 2008 in San Francisco. It involved 100,000+ people and Electronic Dance Music with a dozen stages or so. Since then I knew I wanted to dance and spread the amazing music. Look at it now!!! All over the radio. But I wanted to stop driving 45 minutes to the city all the time for great parties. A friend of mine wanted to DJ for a show, so what better way then to throw your own show??

Where did the name Dance or Die come from?
                The vibe we got from the first show was absolute amazing. It wasn't packed, but everybody was dancing as if it was their last night alive. Since then... Dance or Die. I've been to shows or clubs where the place is packed and half the people are standing around. At Dance or Die that doesnt happen.

What gave you that initial push to create Dance or Die?
                The initial push was to push for what I loved and wanted to do as a DJ. Spreading good music is a huge passion of mine and being able to spread this feeling I get through music with the hundreds of people that show up to my shows is unbelievable and I can’t explain it.

How long have you been a DJ?
I've been Dj'ing since 2009, but I think deep inside we're all Dj's .

Who's your favorite DJ guest?
            My favorite DJ/producer is Diplo, but my favorite guest dj that has played at my shows is Ross FM from 99.7 House Nation, a good friend of mine that has been there for me since the blow up of Dance or Die.

Which areas has Dance or Die been in?
Dance or Die is strictly Sonoma County, but we help push for shows in San Francisco like the one with Downlink & Lazy Rich - Nice Dreams 2.

What was the first event you ever played at?
                The first official event I ever played was Electro CandyLand, with over 2000 people and 4 stages. I had about 200 people as I was one of the opening djs. Who knew that’s where I would meet Ross FM on the main stage.

What's the best event you've played at/put on?
                The best events are always the Dance or Die shows. The quality of people and the vibe are just off the hook. Everybody having a great time screaming, jumping, and dancing all night light. It's because this is all so new to them. They get excited for the DJ's that come through. San Francisco and Oakland it happens all the time so this music and the djs aren't really anything to get excited about.

Out of all the tunes you have, which one 'never fails?'
Aerodynamic by Daftpunk that I remixed.

What's your favorite tune of all time?
                Music is always changing, like right now, playing Moombahton in Santa Rosa the kids are going wild over. I play all good music from Electro, House, Hip Hop, Dubstep, and it’s the way I incorporate it in my set that I think blows people’s minds. It's not club-like at all; it's actually like the energy of a rock show created by a dj. Right now it's Avicii - Levels. You can mash it up with so many different songs!

When all the partying is over how do you like to chill out?
            Oh man if it’s not my show, then I party all night and meet people and artists and party until the AM! But if it’s my show I normally just hang out with some old friends I haven't seen in a while then passes out after. It's hard work throwing your own shows!

So how is the scene in your eyes at the moment?
                The scene is absolutely ridiculous right now. I never thought I’d see Electronic Dance Music this big. I thought a couple thousand people at a show was a lot, but now its 100,000+ with ALL kinds of people! It's all over the radio and its starting to gain people who don't even listen to Electronic Dance Music. What I guess I’m trying to say is how people would hit the Hip Hop clubs because it's poppin and is the standard, but now the standard is shifting to Electronic Dance Music, it's the place to be right now.

Where do you live?
                I live in Los Angeles right now. Loving it! Summer all year long and kicking it with artists like Dillon Francis, Skrillex, 12th Planet, and such haha.

What’s the Funniest thing that ever happened at an event?
      At Dance or Die the crowd was raging so hard they were pushing the dj table and almost tipped over all the equipment! We had to get a security guy stand in front of the booth and protect it.
What do you do outside of the dance music scene?
            Outside the Dance Music Scene hmm. I love everything. Play soccer, go to reggae concerts, hip hop clubs, and just focus on school mostly.
What advice would you give to up and coming DJs/Promoters?
      Now a days everybody is trying to be a DJ. If you want to blow up you have to be unique. Remix your own songs, make your own mashups, don't play songs that everyone else is playing because then you’re just one of a million. I for example play a lot of the unique sounds that you don't hear at other events. I like to focus on the Reggaeton sound and Brazilian beats in my set. It's hard to explain but just listen to the bass kick of Pon De floor, that’s an example.

When you play is this pre planned set?
                I really have to know what the crowd wants, I have different playlists for different styles of crowds and I'll create a playlist for that night before the show.

Why is Dance or Die different?
      The base of Dance or Die isn't really different from any other event. It's just that the people that come and people that come play make it crazy and fun as hell.


Thank you Timothy Thai
-Robotchick






For more information on the Dance or Die pre-anniversary show on 11.11.11 Click Here

Most original costume EVER

Presenting....

Miss Ivy 

as

A Candy Magnet

Who doesn't already love a two year old in a costume? 

Who doesn't love a two year old who can

 introduce herself,

say 

please

thank you

 trick or treat

 and Happy Halloween?

I know I do.

Which is why I came up with the idea of a candy magnet for my little Ivy. I figured why not come up with an idea that might make people susceptible to giving her MORE than the usual portion.

In conclusion, the most common response we received was....

"oh you have so much candy already...."

which was followed by (about 80%)

"here have as much as you'd like"

and

"you are SOOO cute"

Success

Actually during one situation a lady said she was going to go cry after our daughter said 

"My name is Ivy" 

and we told the lady this was the first time she'd said this sentence. 

Marketing can manipulate your mind to get you to buy stuff.

And get my girl more candy