September/October 2009

Publishers’ Perspective

Out and about with POND Trade Magazine

It is really good to get out and about. One can hardly come back without having grown and learned from the experience. Over the past few months I have visited ponds built in Southern California (see the hybrid pond article A Pond in the Middle in this issue) and I was in Seattle for PNKCA’s (Pacific Northwest Koi Clubs Association) 25th Annual Seminar, and visited local dealers and ponds there. Then Cindy and I flew to England and went to the British Koi Keepers’ Annual Show (Britain’s largest annual national koi show), wandered Kew Gardens outside of London (they are having their 250th Anniversary), and saw several koi and water garden dealers around southern England.

Then I was off to the Chicago area for Pondamonium (10th Annual Celebration by Aquascape) and the International Waterlily & Water Gardening Society’s 25th Annual Symposium. It is virtually impossible to come away from all of this without being overwhelmed by the vitality and diversity we enjoy in this trade/industry/niche market.

Most of us have felt the hammer of the recession, some much harder than others. But what I felt and saw at these events was enthusiasm and innovation, hope and joy. Most of those I spoke with were focused on serving their customers as best they could and on sharing new products and services they had to offer them.

Manufacture’s have you entered your new products in our PRODUCT OF THE YEAR competition yet? If not, time is running short. If you have new products that you have introduced to the marketplace in 2008 or 2009, they qualify, but you must act now. The deadline is coming up fast–October 31, 2009.

Would you like to get your magazine delivered to your email each issue instead of receiving the printed version? We are working on rolling out a digital version of POND Trade Magazine right now, so watch for announcements to come in our newsletter. If you are not yet signed up for the POND Trade Newsletter, don’t miss out. You can sign up at pondtrademag.com/newsletter/signup/

With this issue, we reach the one-year mark publishing POND Trade. I wish to thank you all–readers, advertisers, writers and friends for your amazing support. It has been a real pleasure working with all of you, and I look forward to continuing to bring you the very best news and information possible in our magazine, newsletter and web site.

As you read through our pages, please be sure to remember our valued advertisers, without whom this publication would not be possible. Give them a call sometime soon. They deserve it, and you might be surprised just what they have to offer you to help you grow your business today.

As always, thank you for your support,
Tom Graham

Download the September/October 2009 PDF

Article List

Pond Design – Plant vs Rock Edges
Jeff Rugg
Line ponds with rocks or plants? Leave behind the old style rock pit; now add plants to edges. Learn how to make a real water garden, reduce your labor and increase your profits.

Aquatic Plant Care in the Fall – Fall Finale
Cyndie Thompson
Winterize your customer’s water gardens. Learn great tips from an expert who has 20 yrs of water gardening experience. Plants need special care for successful overwintering - information you and your customers need to know.

Coast to Coast – Part 2 (UK Retailers)
Shaun Kelly
Learn about a variety of successful UK retailers. They share their knowledge and passion for the industry - how to handle fish/plants/POS displays, products they stock and meet the owners and managers.

Boost Pond Business Retail Sales with Goldfish
Joe Pawlak
Goldfish are a must. Goldfish are valuable and profitable to sale. The key is that goldfish sell for less and have a good margin. Advice on how and why to capture these sales here.

The Hybrid Koi Pond - A Mixture of Various Pond Design Techniques
Tom Graham
Explore combining technologies and techniques from the koi pond and water garden to create a hybrid pond. Learn what they have in common or not. Easy affordable maintenance was key for this pond.

Do Different PVC Fittings Really Make a Difference in Water Flow?
Michael D. Cox
Test efficiencies of pipe fittings, in a controlled test. Two 45ºs elbows vs. one 90º, which has better flow? Learn about actual head, dynamic head, and total head. Increase your pumps output by 12%?

Language of Koi – Shiro Utsuri
Matt Corino
Shiro Utsuri are strong contenders for prestigious awards. Learn how to select a young Shiro Utsuri. Find answers to whether yellow on the nose is a problem and what the black should look like.

Overwintering Koi Under Thick Ice
Jamie Beyer
An in-depth and informative article about winter and koi ponds. Jamie shares his knowledge of successful koi keeping through the winter. The simple techniques outlined here can help the hobby of keeping koi to prosper.

Improve Communication with Six Key Steps to Better Pond Sales Tactics
Pamala Greiner
We all sell. It is important that your communication style and appearance dispel the “salesman” stereotype. Pam shares six important things you should do. Tips for you to succeed in finding and keeping loyal customers.

Checklist to Prepare your Pond for Fall and Winter
Curt Nuenighoff
Guidelines to better understand the process of transitioning the water garden from season to season. Remember, you are the expert and your advice is the most important customer’s will receive. Includes a Fall/Winter Pond Checklist.

Are Your Days Crazy? Take Control
Leo Babauta
How do you take back control? You are not effective if you are running around and putting out fires. Expert Leo will advise you how to take back control of your day in 7 steps.

Networking Benefits of Hosting a Pond Business Event
Mike Garcia
Hosting a pond event is an opportunity for networking. You learn and see new things for the industry. You meet people in the pond business that you can learn from and share your experiences with.