Not only was it wonderful working with Iaomai because of the inspiring advanced healthcare they provide to those most in need worldwide, but President Sean Burgess was extremely helpful providing content, managing some multi-browser testing and supporting our artistic efforts along the way! As a thank you to Skybox Creative for our work on the project, Burgess kindly sent our staff an incredibly beautiful and exotic floral arrangement that literally dropped all of our jaws – it has the largest lilies we’d ever seen!

It was very gracious of Iaomai to offer such a warm gesture, and we in turn commend the organization on their medical outreach, which includes both clinical and surgical procedures during their medical trips. Iaomai specializes in the mobilization of advanced healthcare services to under-served populations around the world. Photo galleries for their most recent trips to Guatemala in 2009 and Jamaica in 2008 are available on the site click here, as well as photos of their most recent fund raising event at the Hotel Del Coronado click here.

Without even asking, Burgess provided a testimonial about the entire web development experience and end product:

“Skybox has been one of the freshest breath of business air I have had in a long time. I am so glad we have done business. I hope your business continues to be a huge success and other potential clients see your diversity and creativity in delivering unique and relevant websites.”

“Power Lunch: 5 Ways to Massively Increase Your Income” was the topic of today’s luncheon. Karie Kaufmann, Certified Business Coach with ActionCoach, presented the group with a variety of practical ideas to help grow your business. Prior to meeting Karie, we learned that we shared a mutual client, David Dent of CodeB San Diego, small world! By eliciting responses from the group, we were able to create a list of ways to; create more leads, increase your conversion rate, increase the number of transactions per customer, increase value therefore increase the average sale (DON’T DISCOUNT was a strong message she wrote out in large type) and increasing your profit margins by looking at ways you can cut costs.

One of the strongest messages I was left with was the importance of forming strategic alliances – creating and nurturing relationships with people who share your target market but don’t compete. One method to find out who the right strategic partners are is to draw a circle on a piece of paper with your target market/potential client in the middle, from there draw lines outward and think of all the possible people they come in contact with. Once you have your list of potential people/industries, find some local companies and introduce yourself. As long as it is a mutually beneficial relationship, they will most likely agree to meet with you and discuss the possibilities.

Prior to listening to the speaker, we played a game of Networking Tic-Tac-Toe, a first for me! We got to find out more about each other’s businesses and target markets by filling in squares on a tic-tac-toe board. Then as the luncheon coordinator, Doug Means, drew business cards out of his pocket, we put x in that square, the first person to get 3 in a row won a gift certificate for a free lunch at Seau’s Restaurant (where the event was held). It was a fun way to make sure you met at least 9 people at the event and really sparked conversation throughout the room.

Skybox Creative and Skybox Ink ♥ networking! We immerse ourselves in networking and learning all we can about business growth and development. The lunch drew a diverse range of business owners/professionals including, Stasia Shimkus of Arbonne International, Kirk Nigel of KNG Construction, Dave Brodwolf of Domination Marketing, Adrienne Moch – Copywriter and President of NAWBO San Diego, Carol Galloway of PartyLite, Ashley Sellers of National Life Insurance, Jan Naylor-Smith of JuicePlus, and of course Karie Kaufmann and Doug Means who put the event together! We would definitely recommend attending one of their events if you haven’t yet!

Skybox had the chance to meet with Adam Hale of Blend, a well-branded printing company who prides themselves on exceptional digital printing. As we got to chatting about coating options and elaborate branded materials, Hale pointed us in the direction of Creative Coatings, a company in San Diego that specializes in unique coating treatments.

We also stopped by the Mohawk Fine Papers booth and picked up some of their latest samples, as well as In To Ink Letterpress, which had some truly beautiful invitations and envelopes. They describe their letterpress work as:

“having a look and a mystique that is not able to be replicated on an offset press. There is texture and dimensional feel to many letterpress projects. There is also the opportunity for the project to be more of a hands-on crafted piece. We strongly encourage any of our clients utilizing our letterpress department to be press side during the creation of their project. This allows a fine tuning to your desired look.” Courtesy of intoink.com

We had the pleasure of congratulating Publisher David Perloff on his magazine’s success, as it has become one of San Diego’s signature luxury lifestyle publications. In a short time, the magazine has evolved into a sleek and chic printed piece, keeping the socialites and downtown rockers informed on all that is fun and fresh in San Diego.

As usual when we’re out and about, we met some great people, including Aaron Blank of VQS Enterprises, Inc., a printer located in Vista and Timothy Crocker of Trend Offset. Also in attendance was Cookie “Chainsaw” Randolph, Star 94.1’s Geena the Latina and San Diego’s 6’s Ruben Galvan.

We missed the burlesque dancers…but did catch the musical talents of Nena Anderson — her rich and soulful voice was an excellent addition to the evening.

Photos Courtesy of Leetal Elmaleh

The monthly event included a casual meet and greet, raffle prizes and induction of new members. Natural Health Technologies sponsored the event and provided the evening’s delicious appetizers.

Skybox staff had the pleasure to meet a wide-range of business professionals, including Charles Dixon Garrett of Primerica Financial Services, and Toni Sanders, director of special events for Perfection Squared. Sanders is also on the Chamber board, and is their trusted event planner.

Other attendees included Spa de La Jolla and Marty Gladstein of Glad Photography.

The Golden Triangle Chamber mixers are the second Wednesday of every month. The next one is at La Jolla Brewhouse and starts at 5:30pm. They are a great way to meet a lot of interesting professionals in varied industries, and you never know who might need what you have to offer.

Skybox Creative’s eco-friendly printing business, Skybox Ink is doing increasingly well, and we are consistently expanding product options and paper stocks. New this year is 100# Linen and rounded corners for business cards and postcards – definitely check out the site – 250 business cards start as low as $14!

Skybox Creative has also been working with some wonderful clients, both new additions to our business family and some long-standing relationships. SKIN1 by Dr. Gram recently changed its name to GRAM Skincare, and we are the branding firm revamping their new look (updated packaging and logo to be presented Spring 2010!)

We are also very excited to be working with new client Iaomai Medical Ministries, a medical outreach non-profit here in San Diego. We are currently in the final stages of their website redesign, and it has been a wonderful experience working with people who are so giving of their time, expertise and spirit to make this world a healthier, happier place. Last year, they provided medical care to almost 1400 people in Guatemala during a 10-day outreach trip – incredible!

Mark it on your calendar – Thursday, March 18, 2010 – the next installment of “Green is the New Black.” Skybox Ink, in association with Skybox Creative, welcomes everyone to our Green Networking Quarterly Series at Se San Diego Hotel in the Gaslamp. More details to come soon, but there will be raffle prizes, great conversation and eco-friendly business brainstorming shared by all!

We’ll do our best to keep you current on everything Skybox here on our blog, but please drop us a line at 619.381.3825 or email info@skyboxcreative.com to inquire about our services!

Sponsors included Jerry Stevenson Law Group, 858 Graphics (who created a step + repeat banner for the event), Tender Greens Restaurant, eLiveLife.com and Se Spa.

Some of the night’s guests included Erica Phillips from Pink Payroll, a green payroll services company, Jennie Edwards from Guided By Imagination Photography, Tony Vickers from Tony Vickers Consulting, Matt Glassman from Sowers Baccala Insurance Brokerage, Ryan Stock from CBeyond, William Traenkle from Tranquilnet IT Solutions, Theron Williams from OfficePlanIt, Alexis Fingal from Precision Litho Printing, Stephen Bolling from Regenerative Homes, whose company focuses on green building and remodeling, and Creative Linguist Andre Le, who took many of the evening’s photographs.

Host of the event, Skybox Ink is a fully-automated green printing site, which uses recycled stock and soy/vegetable based inks. The products are also chlorine free and don’t use VOC solvents. The environmental positives don’t hinder the quality, which includes 16PT and linen stocks, and also multiple coating options such UV and Satin. A huge selection of printed collateral is available including business cards, brochures, postcards, door hangers, large format and more!

To get involved with the next mixer and to keep up-to-date with green events taking place in San Diego, visit Green Networking San Diego!

President of Skybox Creative, Angelina Sereno, and Account Manager, Carly Bartkiewicz, met some ambitious and interesting fellow entrepreneurs, including Jeff Weinberger, Director of Product Development for Ground Up Logic, a company that develops iPhone software, Sabrina Gallier, Search Marketing Manager for Covario and Scott Smith, Sales Manager for CBS Outdoor. After speaking to Emily Cox, we learned about Empower San Diego, a non-profit organization that focuses on political education and community involvement. Kristin Craik shared with us her passion for copywriting and online sales strategies, a writer and social media strategist for La La Lingerie, she stays very busy.

Angelina and Carly found out about the event after meeting Adam Hermsdorfer, President of Ad 2, at an open house for C&S Sales a few weeks earlier. C&S has some incredible custom packaging products, such as invitations, menus and novelty items that are really worth checking out!

The San Diego chapters for Ad 2 and PRSA are both great organizations for local people in advertising, public relations or related industries to meet new business contacts, share ideas and also give back to their communities through fundraisers and philanthropy.

GREEN IS THE NEW BLACK – Free Quarterly Networking Event in San Diego

Thursday, December 17, 2009
7pm-9pm + beyond at Sîren Uber Lounge inside Sé Hotel
1047 5th Avenue, San Diego, 92101

Skybox Creative + Skybox Ink (Green Printing) are excited to announce the launch of our new quarterly FREE Green Networking Mixers in San Diego! We have partnered with Sîren Uber Lounge, inside Sé Hotel (Located just above The House of Blues), to offer a luxurious setting for the events, with a relaxing indoor lounge and heated patio/bar area. Due to the success + demand of our annual networking events, bringing hundreds of people together, we have decided to host quarterly mixers.

ALL entrepreneurs and business professionals are welcome, our Green Mixers simply provide a setting for eco-friendly businesses to connect + collaborate. It also provides the perfect opportunity for companies to learn how they can become more Green. This is an opportunity to grow your business and do something positive!

Thursday, December 17th will mark the first in our mixer series. We are currently seeking sponsors, preferably Green-related for our raffle. We are also seeking cash sponsors ($100 and up) for event food + beverage. In return, you will get up to 5 minutes to promote your business/give out prizes & certificates as well as two months of free advertising on our event website! For more information, contact us at info@skyboxcreative.com

RSVP info@skyboxcreative.com

We ♥ our earth!

Last night – Thursday, November 19th – I attended the Wilmington Young Professionals November Business After Hours at The River Room in Wilmington, North Carolina. As many of our clients and business associates know, Skybox Creative + Skybox Ink are expanding our offices to North Carolina in August 2010. We are extremely excited to get involved with the local Wilmington businesses. So far, I have received a warm welcome from each person I have met! Everyone in Wilmington seems to love it here, there is a strong sense of camaraderie and community that is felt immediately.

One of the gentleman I met, Brian McArtan is co-owner of The River Room as well as VP of DJ Professionals & Video. Awesome guy. He is a man on the move with big plans for the future, I am looking forward to hearing all about them! The River Room is a venue with 2,500 sq ft of meeting and event space available for all types of meeting, rehearsal dinners, corporate events or simply a cool place to hang out. They can seat 80 with a dance floor and cocktail style parties, they can accommodate up to 140. It must have been close to that last night, WYP brought a diverse and entertaining crowd of over 100 to fill the colonial style, yet contemporary venue.

Jackie Willse, was the host of the event. Jackie is one busy woman, organizing events for WYP, Owner/Candlemaster of Port City Candles and more! Chris Davis and I had a chance to chat about his photography work, which is amazing by the way! His focus is on Conceptual Ad Photography as well as Portrait work, check out his work here.

I also had the pleasure of meeting Courtney Shaver of The Bride’s Book (A bridal magazine), Monica Tockman – Wedding & Event Coordinator of Something Blue Productions, Steven Capo of Intelligent Placement Solutions (A physician job placement agency), among many others!

I am pictured above with Shannon Bowen Social Media and Breaking News Journalist for StarNews Media, David Merrill who manages the local Wilmington Networking Events Calendar, along with Todd Bishton, Johnathan Williams and Nicholas Karnazes.

Greg Tumolo and Bill are partners for a local company ClickCheckSave.com. This company will be national in no time, with a rebranded company name + image on the brink of a massive launch, they will be releasing an entirely new concept to the world. I would blog about it, but want to make sure I don’t spoil the secret.

Beautiful photographs were showcased all over the venue from the photo collage in the entry way to the walls in the bathroom. Most well known for their Wedding and Portrait Photography, Baca Photography has a ton of amazing work to show off.

It was a great night overall, within less than 2 hours, I met a ton of friendly people and learned a lot about the various businesses in Wilmington, NC. I’m looking forward to my next mixer when I return in December/January and even more so for the transition out here in August!

- Angelina, Skybox Creative