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Yellow Wristbands Uniting Those Laid Off From Jobs
http://www.theledger.com/article/200...Off-From-Jobs#
'Laid Off. Need a Job' reads the bracelet selling online for $3. BRADENTON HERALD | MCCLATCHY FRIENDS STEPHANIE AUCOIN and Barbara Bourn are marketing wristbands that say 'Laid Off. Need a Job.' They sell online for $3 a piece. By BRIAN NEILL MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS Published: Sunday, May 3, 2009 at 12:01 a.m. Last Modified: Monday, May 4, 2009 at 1:50 a.m. Stephanie Aucoin lost her accounting job more than six months ago and has been spending 10 to 12 hours on the Internet looking for a new one. Her friend of 16 years, Barbara Bourn, is employed in interior design sales for a Sarasota company and has seen her commission-based income fall 60 percent because of the sagging economy. Frustrated, the two sought to find a way to both market their talents and make an income. The result? A wristband that almost 6 million Americans could legitimately wear. It reads: 'Laid off. Need a Job.' 'I pushed her (Aucoin) to come up with something, because she's very creative,' Bourn, 59, said. 'So she came up with this idea. Because we're both hurting financially, we figure this was a way to help other people and ourselves at the same time.' The women ordered 500 of the wristbands from a manufacturer in Texas and did a marketing blitz by handing some of them out for free. They sell them online for $3 apiece through a Web site Aucoin designed at Home of the Original "Laid Off Need A Job Wristband". The wristband has already worked for Aucoin — sort of. Aucoin, 48, was wearing one of the wristbands on an elevator recently when she was heading to a job interview. A man on the elevator noticed the wristband, offered an interview to Aucoin and then hired her. Trouble is, the employer, whom Aucoin declined to name, never paid her, and now she's out of work again. 'I stay on the computer (looking for work) probably 10 to 12 hours a day,' Aucoin said. There are currently about 5.48 million laid-off Americans receiving unemployment benefits in the nation, the Associated Press reported. Sally Hill, spokeswoman for the Suncoast Workforce Board, which helps the unemployed find work through its Jobs Etc. sites, said the 'Laid off. Need a job' wristband probably would gain interest from potential employers. 'It's a creative way to strike up a conversation. Networking in today's economy is very important and a very big part of what job seekers should be doing,' Hill said. 'It's so competitive out there. Sending resumes to companies is not enough. It's getting in front of people.' The yellow wristbands are a way of initiating a conversation, Hill said. Bourn acknowledges the wristbands are part tongue-in-cheek — dark humor, if you will. But she also believes they serve an important role in communicating the severity of today's joblessness. 'It's really to get the word out there,' Bourn said. 'I think the unemployed are a little bit invisible, and this is to make them more visible. It's kind of like a symbolic signal for everyone to look for these bracelets. I really want the employers to take notice.' Of course, Bourn and Aucoin also hope to make some income for themselves through sales of the wristbands, although they say they haven't sold many to date. They say they are talking with a national retailer, which they decline to name, that has expressed an interest in carrying the wristbands. But recessions don't last forever, meaning the lifespan of 'Laid off. Need a job' wristbands may be short-lived. That's OK, Bourn says. They're working on something else. 'We're going to have to get a patent on it, so I can't tell you about it,' Bourn said. 'But it's going to be good. Stephanie is extremely creative.' |
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I see your point Krazi, I just really can't see the majority of people out there willing to dish out $3 to buy a bright yellow rubber bracelet. It's not a bad idea, but is it going to catch on? I don't think so. If they made these bracelets and others (it says they're working on a new design) then maybe the company will take off. But, if all they have to offer is these bracelets, I can't see them going far. Their main source of advertising seems to be the internet. I don't know about you, but if I'm on a tight budget because I'm unemployed, chances are that I'll choose food over internet access. :) |
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 Originally Posted by Krazi
What if you want to order a bracelet in Canada where internet service cannot be found free anywhere, especially not in McDonalds? ;) I'm german, love a good argument. :D |
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Originally Posted by Altenweg
Friends, neighboors, cousins, uncles, some bum on the street w/ a blk berry phone... internet is everywhere. You have internet service at McDonalds? Wow! Canada sucks! ;) You said it not me... :D |
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Originally Posted by Altenweg
By the way... while at your daughters friends how's picking her up, ask to use their internet and get a wristband. I think you need it because your job as a german and liking to argue isn't up to par. Lmao! |
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Originally Posted by Krazi
I have internet dear, contrary to what the majority of Americans believe, I don't live in an igloo, I've never seen a polar bear, there are no penguins in my backyard, I don't know one single Eskimo and I do have high speed internet. :D Take that! :cool: |
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