What a busy past 12 months its been. We continue to be humbled by the wonderful customers we deal with every day and the amazing products we are asked to create. Our Pet Memorial plaque business has enjoyed continued growth during 2011. We are proud to be Australia’s most respected and loved specialist maker or Pet memorials, Memorial plaques and outdoor urns for pets. We are looking forward to some really exciting new Pet memorial products being launch by us here in Australia. As always they will be of the highest quality made form only the best materials and every item lovingly hand engraved.  Our people memorials have been well received also. It seems today increasingly Australians are looking to new and more modern ways to cherish the memory of a loved one. Our people memorial plaques are more contemporary option for people particularly younger people. 2012 holds some pretty exciting new opportunities for talkingstones. We will be launching  a new product category that will be marketed to garden centers and a new business being launch here an another one overseas. These truly are exciting times for the talkingstones family. At the festive time of year we really feel blessed to serve such wonderful customers and work with such professional partners. So from our family to yours we wish you a safe Christmas and prosperous new year, and as we like to say around here, Take care of all that you love!. James & Samantha Rae and the talkingstones team.

When you loose a pet it can be as hard and as difficult as loosing a human member of the family. Australia ranks as one of the highest in the world in terms of pet ownership. No wonder many of us have experienced the loss of a pet or certainly know someone who has lost a pet.

Today their are many options for people looking to memorialise the memory of a pet. On line using a simple search term “Pet Memorial Plaque” will give you plenty of results. Prices and styles of Pet Memorials vary. Do check if teh price quoted includes shipping. Any quality pet memorial plaque will be heavy and can be very expensive to ship.

A stone pet memorial

Generic Mass produces plaques don’t allow for any customisation but are very inexpensive. Today a number of companies specialise in Pet Memorial plaques that can be customised to your specific requirements. Its nice to be able to personalise you pets memorial plaque.

Increasingly Australian pet owners are looking to creative ways to memorialise their pet. Engraved tumbled river stones are becoming a popular option. They make a truly Australian option that wont make your backyard look like a pet cemetery.

You can spend a little or spend a lot it really depends on what you think is the most fitting for your beloved pet.

Personalised memorials come with your chosen inscription or you can select a common one. Ask for examples or make sure you can see a gallery of recent example before deciding. Its great to know that in Australia that a quality lovingly engraved memorial for you pet doesn’t have to cost a fortune. Some custom pet memorials start at only $80.00

If you are looking for any type of memorial don’t forget to look into talkingstones, they have a great range and affordable prices.

We deal with many traditional retailers around the country who sell our range of Pet Memorials. http://www.talkingstones.com.au/pet-memorials/ And I am regularly suprised by the reaction we get when we mention our online store. Some retailers can be downright hostile that we have an online store. They really feel threatened by online businesses. Many clearly have the view that its a “Them and Us” . This suprises me as I believe that both can exist serving distinctly different consumers in different stages of the sales cycle.If you really feel threatened by an online store why not create an online store to compliment your traditional bricks and mortar business. On online store is cheap to set up and if you already have a store full of inventory you dont even need to buy stock!

I can remember becoming outraged at the amount of money my wife and I had to pay in Mortgage Insurance when we bought our first home. At the time I mentioned my outrage to a business mentor and I remember this valuable advice he gave me. “If you cant beat them, then join them!”. When I said “What did he mean?” he said “Why don’t YOU become the Bank!  ”How?” I said “Buy Bank shares” was his reply. And that’s exactly what we did. now where we hear of increases in interest rates it not so hard to accept, and when its reporting season and the usual round of record profits are announced by teh banks we have reason to celebrate. So I ask you how can you become the bank in your business????

Intersting article on same topic here:

http://bit.ly/pVTRgd