December 2023

Building Bridges Newsletter

Connecting people and businesses through factoring!

Christmas Wooden Foot Bridge*

(Click above image to enjoy

YouTube Christmas holiday songs)

Holidays & Events

Dec. 1: World AIDS Awareness Day

Dec. 3: Advent Begins

Dec. 4: Santa's List Day

Dec. 5: Bathtub Party Day

Dec. 6: Put on Your Own Shoes Day

Dec. 7: Chanukah begins

Dec. 7: Pearl Harbor Day

Dec. 8: National Brownie Day

Dec. 9: Christmas Card Day

Dec. 10: Nobel Prize Day

Dec. 11: National Ding-a-Ling Day

Dec. 13: Violin Day

Dec. 14: International Monkey Day

Dec. 15: Bill of Rights Day

Dec. 15: National Lemon Cupcake Day

Dec. 16: National Chocolate Covered Anything Day

Dec. 18: Bake Cookies Day

Dec. 19: Look for an Evergreen Day

Dec. 20: Go Caroling Day

Dec. 21: Humbug Day

Dec. 24: National Egg Nog Day

Dec. 25: Christmas Day

Dec. 27: National Fruitcake Day

Dec. 30: Bacon Day

Dec. 31: Make up Your Mind Day

Dec. 31: New Year's Eve


December is also Bingo Month, National Fruitcake Month and Write a Friend Month.


Note: Mazon will be closed Monday & Tuesday, Dec. 25th & 26th in recognition of the Christmas holiday weekend.

This Month in History

Dec. 7, 1941: The U.S. Naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, was attacked by nearly 200 Japanese aircraft in a raid that lasted just over one hour and left nearly 3,000 Americans dead.


Dec. 14, 1962: The Mariner II space probe sent back information from the planet Venus, the first information ever received from another planet.


Dec. 16, 1770: Ludwig van Beetoven was born in Bonn, Germany. He created powerful, emotional music and is widely considered the greatest orchestral com-poser who ever lived. He suffered from hearing loss before he was 30 and by the time of his last (Ninth) symphony, he was completely deaf. In 1824, he conducted the Ninth Symphony at its world premier in Vienna although he was unable to hear either the orchestra or the applause. In all, he composed 9 symphonies, 32 piano sonatas, 5 piano concerti, 17 string quartets. 10 sonatas for violin and piano, the opera Fidelio, the Mass in C Major, Missa Solemnis, and other chamber music.


Dec. 22, 1783: Following a triumphant journey from New York to Annapolis, Maryland, George Washington, victorious Commander-in-Chief of the American Revolutionary Army, appeared before Congress and voluntarily resigned his commission.

Entrepreneur of the Month

Erwin Perzy, Founder of the Orginal Snow Globe Factory

 

In the late 1800s, a young Viennese designer named Erwin Perzy indulged his fascination for toys by building a workshop in his parents’ home. Perzy grew up to become a surgical instrument mechanic by trade, but never lost his love of toys, continuing to tinker with models in his free time.


One day at work, he was asked by a surgeon to create a brighter lighting system than the then-new Thomas Edison lightbulb for their operating rooms. He took a Schusterkugel, or a water-filled glass ball that shoemakers and other craftsmen used to focus illumination, and began experimenting with materials that might intensify the light. One of those materials was a semolina substance that did nothing for illumination, but when it fell to the bottom, was transcendently reminiscent of snow.


Simultaneously, Perzy was helping a friend create a miniature model of the Austrian countryside Maria Zell Church to be sold as a souvenir. He looked at his ball of water and thought, "Hey, why not put the church in a snowy globe?" It would not only magnify the religious iconography, but would also evoke a pleasing winter tableau. His globes subsequently became an instant hit among the upper echelons of society, those that could afford the twinkling handcrafted ornaments.


He patented the design, which he called the “glassball with snow effect,” or schneekugel, and partnered with his brother to open a business in 1900. After playing around with different recipes for snow (an eventual mixture of wax and plastic whose exact measurements is a closely guarded family secret), he opened Firm Perzy in 1905, later named Original Vienna Snow Globes. The company grew rapidly, and in 1908, Perzy received an award from Kaiser Franz Josef I for his work.


By the 1920s, Perzy’s globes were being exported to countries around the world. And though the two world wars sidelined distribution, by the 1950s, things were back on track. That was when Erwin Perzy II took over the business and moved it to the former carriage house where it operates today, nestled in the nondescript 17th district neighborhood. It could be easily missed if not for the snowy sign that reads Original Wiener Schneekugelmanufaktur.

 

It should be noted that the Perzy snow globe was not really the first of its type. Glass ball paperweights were quite popular at the time, and there's a record of a glass company showcasing paperweights comprising hollow balls filled with water in the 1878 Paris Universal Exposition. The ball in question featured a man with an umbrella posing beneath powder that fell like snow. But Perzy, ever the savvy businessman, was the first to patent the idea, and so the Perzy snow globe took off.


Today, the Austrian company makes about 300,000 snow globes each year, shipped all over the world with profits split between factory designs and custom orders. Only the glass bulbs, which come in five different sizes, are made elsewhere, with all the tools made in-house. Motifs are either handcrafted, injection-molded, or produced by 3-D printers, of which they now own nine.


Ask Perzy III what his favorite snow globe is, and he’ll say it’s the last one he made. Currently, that means two very massive ones, fashioned expressly for display in their booth at the Vienna Christkindlmarkt in front of the City Hall. “In one is St. Stephens Church, the most important church in Austria,” says Perzy. “And the second has the Vienna City Hall inside. Both buildings are surrounded by little Christmas markets.” Unlike regular snow globes, these gargantuan versions contain no water. At 31 inches in diameter each, they would simply be too heavy.

 

The City Hall Christkindlmarkt is one of several area markets where those who don’t have the time to trek to the museum can get their authentic Viennese snow globe fix. (For an original Perzy, look for the words “Vienna Snow Globe Austria” stamped on the bottom of the black base.)


These days, less breakable plastic snow globes can be found just about anywhere. But the glass ones are more dramatic, used for everything from advertising to plot points in movies like The Santa Clause and TV’s Sons of Anarchy. In the art world, they’ve crossed the line from holiday kitsch to serious handicrafts, with the dystopian works of artists like Walter Martin and Paloma Muñoz turning jolly motifs on their heads.


There have been changes on the Austrian front, as well. Two years ago, Erwin Perzy III retired, and, in a first for the lineage, his daughter Sabine took over the business. In addition to being a skilled toolmaker, she also holds a degree in International Business, and some of her first moves included renewing the webshop, updating the website, and creating the Facebook account.


A trip to the store/museum/factory is free (complimentary tours must be scheduled beforehand, and won’t be available until after Christmas). In addition to family photographs, manufacturing tools and machinery, and an aspirational photo series of a nomadic snowman globe making his way across the world, you’ll see notable custom orders, including a replica of a globe made for Bill Clinton containing confetti from his inauguration party, and one Barack Obama commissioned for his daughters. Bulbs produced for popular Viennese brands, like Vulcano Schinken or Manner Schnitten, are also on hand, plus replicas of a very famous Perzy globe -- one which Perzy III wasn’t even initially aware his grandfather had made.


“A journalist came to my office many years ago and said he found out that my grandfather made the Citizen Kane globe,” says Perzy. “And he brought the idea up to make a replica of this snow globe. I was looking for two years for all the molds from my grandfather, and I could not find this mold. I think this was just a single globe made for this movie.” Some years later, he made a replica mold, and now you can buy your very own piece of memorabilia from the movie’s famous opening sequence. Hopefully for you, it’ll bring happier memories.


Show up during the holiday season, and perhaps you’ll see Sabine in action, or even Perzy, though he’s technically retired. “Since my daughter is my boss, I work much more than before,” he chuckles. It’s a family business, after all.


(Source: Vanita Salisbury, Senior Travel Writer at Thrillist.com)

Business Book of the Month

Embrace the Power of You: Owning Your Identity at Work by Tricia Montalvo Timm. Paperback, 264 pages, Page Two published, March 7, 2023. ISBN-10: 1774582570, ISBN-13: 978-1774582572.


Many people, especially women and people of color, can find it difficult to truly be themselves at work. Montalvo discusses the challenges of embracing your own identity and what employers can do to eliminate barriers and fully support employees exactly as they are.


It takes hard work to succeed and rise in the ranks in any workplace. Adding the weight of needing to conform to an identity that isn't your own can make that process even harder. Tricia Montalvo Timm is a former C-suit executive from such technology companies as Looker and SugarCRM. Now a board member and chair of the compensation committee at Salsify, Timm, a first-generation Latina, has learned first-hand what it takes to fully embrace one's own identity in the corporate setting and how beneficial it can be for individuals, teams and organizations themselves.


(Source: ABFJournal.com)

Quotable Quotes for Everyone



We entrepreneurs are loners, vagabonds, troublemakers. Success is simply a matter of finding and surrounding ourselves with those open-minded and clever souls who can take our insanity and put it to good use.”

Anita Roddick

Founder of The Body Shop




More About Mazon Associates, Inc.

Learn more about our factoring services by clicking our staff photo to the left!
Building Bridges - Bridging the Gap
Connecting people and businesses through factoring!

Can your business benefit from same-day funding of your customer invoices rather than wait the normal 30-90 days for payment? In today’s fast-changing economy, it is critical for businesses to be funded for product delivered and services provided in a timely fashion to keep pace with the competition.

 

Mazon Associates, Inc. is a financial services company that can provide your business with immediate cash flow through accounts receivable financing. Once your account is established, Mazon provides cash to your business each time you bill your customers, as well as provides friendly, in-house collection services on past due invoices.

 

  • Established in 1976 and serving clients for more than 46 years.
  • Multi-million dollar line of credit with an established bank.
  • Clients range from $5,000 to over $1,000,000 in sales per month.
  • Private family-owned business lending our own money to businesses.
  • Clients range from start-up businesses to 20+ year companies.
  • Same-day funding by ACH or wire transfer once an account is established.
  • Month-to-month contract with no up-front fees.
  • Factoring fees range between 2%-5% of the invoice amount.
  • Factor all of your invoices or pick and choose the accounts you sell.

 

If you have any questions about our services, please feel free to give us a call at (972) 597-6967, send an email requesting an application (linda.burson@mazon.com) and/or visit our website at www.mazon.com.

Mazon's Refer & Earn Program = Money in Your Pocket!

Businesses - Associates - Friends - Family - Acquaintances!


You just never know when someone you know might need Mazon's factoring services! We offer an ongoing monthly referral payment of 10% of our fees for clients referred to us! Visit our Referral page for more information!



Business Tip of the Month

Years ago, Sam Walton, founder of the world's largest retail chain, Wal-Mart, opened a training program for its employees, with much wisdom. When everyone was expecting a talk about sales and service, he started with these words: "I'm the guy who goes to a restaurant, sits at the table and waits patiently, while the waiter does everything but write down my order."



I'm the guy who goes to a store and waits quietly, while the salesmen finish their personal conversations.

I’m the guy who walks into a gas station and never uses his horn, but patiently waits for the employee to finish reading his newspaper.

I'm the man who explains his desperate urgency for one piece, but doesn't complain that he only gets it after three weeks of waiting.

I'm the guy that, when he enters a commercial establishment, seems to be asking for a favor, begging for a smile or just hoping to be noticed.


You must be thinking I'm a quiet, patient, never troublesome type... Get fooled. Do you know who I am? I am the customer who never returns!


I love seeing millions spent annually on all sorts of ads to get me back to your company. Because when I first went there, all they should have done was just a little, simple and inexpensive kindness: treat me with a little more courtesy.


Theres only one boss: THE CUSTOMER. And he can fire everyone in the company from the president to the janitor, simply taking their money to spend elsewhere."


Want to be successful? Have better customer service than anyone else!


(Source: Facebook contributor)

Tickling Your Funny Bone

One day in early September the chief of a Native American tribe was asked by his tribal elders if the winter of was going to be cold or mild. The chief asked his medicine man, but he too had lost touch with the reading signs from the natural world around the Great Lakes.

 

In truth, neither of them had any idea about how to predict the coming winter. However, the chief decided to take a modern approach, and phoned the National Weather Service in Gaylord Michigan. “Yes, it is going to be a cold winter,” the meteorological officer told the chief. 

 

Consequently, he went back to his tribe and told the men to collect plenty of firewood.

 

A fortnight later the chief called the weather service and asked for an update. “Are you still forecasting a cold winter?” he asked. “Yes, very cold,” the weather officer told him. As a result of this brief conversation the chief went back to the tribe and told his people to collect every bit of wood they could find.

 

A month later the chief called the National Weather Service once more and asked about the coming winter. “Yes,” he was told, “it is going to be one of the coldest winters ever.”

 

“How can you be so sure?” the chief asked. The weatherman replied,“Because the Native Americans of the Great Lakes are collecting wood like crazy.'”


(Source: Funny-Jokes.com)

About Our Clients

Our clients are traditionally businesses that are manufacturers, distributors and service companies in the following areas: advertising / marketing / apparel / design / courier & delivery services / equipment repair & maintenance / environmental services / graphic design / signage & printing / staffing & employment services / security services / catering & food services / legal services / light construction / telecommunications / transportation services.

Our clients may include startup, early-stage growth and high-growth businesses; under-capitalized businesses with historical operating losses; businesses with cash flow problems having a cash flow need; businesses with tax liens or turnaround situations; businesses who may not currently meet a bank's credit criteria.  

Our clients have delivered services or products to other businesses and have business-to-business invoices that can be independently verified.  

Most of our clients have come to us through referrals from current and former clients. We rely heavily on word-of-mouth marketing to bring in new clients -- and we offer a lucrative referral program.  

Our clients are located in any of the 50 states in the U.S.A.  

Our clients are not companies with a majority of consumer receivables such as retail businesses, progress billings, third party pay medical receivables and certain construction-related businesses.

For more information about becoming a client, please contact us by telephone 972-554-6967 or toll-free 1-800-442-2740, or visit our website.

Disclaimer: Building Bridges Newsletter is published monthly at no cost to subscribers and is for no monetary purposes as it is intended solely for the knowledge and entertain-ment of our subscribers. Our content is gleened from various public sites on the worldwide internet and no copyright infringement is intended.