February 11, 2004

An interesting factoid about Donald Trump's life, outlined in his 1989 book, The Art of the Deal, was that the beginning of his business career was decidedly humble, forged in Cincinnati's low-income housing market, where he worked at the time with his father. Trump's eventual success didn't come through the IPO of some flighty Internet company he'd developed. Rather, his success in real estate was the product of an old-fashioned business sense: he took the bland and unwanted, refashioned it with an attention to detail and quality, giving people something attractive, functional, desirable—and of value.

A company new to the foothills, Rocky Mountain Community Directories (RMCD), is taking the same approach to the patently mundane business of telephone books and yellow pages. RMCD is now working with local businesses and organizations to produce a stylish and more useful, comprehensive community phone directory that is expected to offer noticeable improvements over the current compendium of white and yellow pages serving the foothills.

What will the new directory look like? With larger, readable print, artwork of a local artist on the cover, and restaurant menus, it will parallel the directories found in such destinations as Jackson Hole, Steamboat Springs or Provo.

Richard Fox is Regional Director of Rocky Mountain Community Directories, and he's the executive in charge of adding color, organization and simplicity to the telephone book that will serve Evergreen, Conifer, Morrison, Genesee/Mt. Lookout, Idaho Springs, Pine, Bailey—and all the little burgs in between. Fox says that the community directory is designed to enhance the commerce of local businesses. "Our goal is the same as the Chamber of Commerce," he notes.

The community directory, available this summer, won't be hard to miss. Instead of the nondescript yellow cover we've all come to, well, accept, the new Rocky Mountain Community Directory will feature a striking cover, showcasing a black and gold wildlife watercolor painted by local award-winning artist Julie Wynn. "The Art of the Dial" is coming to the foothills.

The phonebook will be physically larger, too, for one principal reason: so that its print and ads can be increased in size. Naturally, this is welcome news for all of us over the age of, say, nineteen, who regularly use a magnifying glass in order to find the phone number of an acquaintance, or a business listing. Complementing the white pages and its home phone numbers will be a section that lists contact information for the foothill's community and non-profit organizations, and schools. A robust schedule of local happenings—art shows, fund-raisers, school events, sports, to name just a few—will also be detailed. Organizations that would like to ensure they and their schedule of events are included in the directory should contact Richard Fox at community@rockydir.com or (800) 964-8804.

And when you can't decide at which restaurant to dine, or grab takeout, RMCD will be there to help: the directory will include menus.

The best news, though, is for business.

Local businesses that attract customers from Idaho Springs or Genesee will no longer need to purchase costly advertisements in three different phonebooks. RMCD Vice President Mike Sego notes that the elimination of expensive, duplicate ads in multiple books is just the beginning of the savings advertisers can expect.

"We're offering a premium book for a lower price. Businesses will pay considerably less," Sego says, for the same size advertisement in the enhanced Rocky Mountain Community Directory. A coupon section in the book will also help generate more customers, who'll benefit as well.

There's another unique feature that will distinguish RMCD's business listings. The directory will include phone numbers and ads of home-based businesses that employ home or cell phone numbers, rather than the more costly commercial business lines. The yellow page directory currently serving the foothills region requires businesses to pay for a commercial phone line before they are eligible for a listing in the business section. "We want to help small businesses become big ones," Regional Director Fox emphasizes. For listing help, home-based businesses should contact RMCD at customerservice@rockydir.com or (800) 964-8804.

Dan and Vicki McKinney, who are in the process of moving their business, Evergreen Photography Studio, into downtown Evergreen, have advertised in Richard Fox's community directories before, when their studio was located in Utah. "The ads are superior" Dan says, comparing their quality and impact to that of standard telephone company yellow pages. "In all honesty, when the new community directory came out, people pretty much pitched the existing yellow pages."

And, so, we return Mr. Trump. What might "the Donald" say to the current Ms. Tiny Print and Mr. Boring Yellowpages? Probably something akin to what he might say to one of his underachievers on NBC's The Apprentice: "You're fired."

By Siegfried Brian Barger.

SOURCE: The Canyon Courier