Yesterday I had a party. It was an open house for the pool store I manage, to celebrate 32 years in business. I invited all of our customers, who didn't come, as well as my colleagues from the Cocoa Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, who came in droves to eat, drink, and help me be merry. What made the event extraordinary, however, were the hundreds of little yellow rubber duckies that helped to promote this event. I didn't come up with the idea for the Duck Wall of Fame all at once; it kind of evolved over time. Originally, I had planned to deliver ducks to homes in particular neighborhoods where I would like to capture the swimming pool maintenance market. I was going to put a little yellow duck on everyone's doorstep, along with a flyer. Then I realized how annoying that would be. Cocoa Beach is a small town; if these people wanted to buy my services they would already be here, buying. The one thing I've learned as a Chamber of Commerce Ambassador is that you don't get new business by pestering people to buy your stuff; you get new business by referrals from other business owners who know and respect you enough to tell their customers about you.
