Clients ask all the time: How much money should I be spending on marketing?

On the surface it's a basic question. Anyone that's ever put a budget together knows that it helps to have an idea of how much to set aside for each function. One easy way to do that is to go by experience. "What did we spend last year on advertising?" Another is to go by an industry rule of thumb. "Marketing should be 5% of your overall budget."

When you dig a little deeper the question has another aspect to it. It's usually asked to answer a deeper question that goes beyond preparing a sound budget. Facility owners are trying to answer, Am I doing this right? It's an important question to answer. Spend too much and you've given your ad agency and local television station money that could have been spent on building your business or your personal wealth. Spend too little and you might sit with empty beds, losing money and running in the red. Read more about Long-Term Care Facility Marketing Budget: How Much Money Should Be Allocated

Ever wonder where we get the word 'money'? A little background on a word that’s so much a part of our daily life.

It all starts with the Roman goddess, Juno.

The Romans had many gods, their chief deity being Jupiter, a.k.a. Jove. He was the Roman equivalent of the Greek's Zeus. (If you remember from your ancient history class, the Roman deities were mainly copies of the Greek pantheon.)

Jupiter was the patron deity of ancient Rome and he ruled over their laws and social order. Jupiter was married to his sister, Juno, with whom he sired Mars, the Roman god of war, and Vulcan, the god of fire. Clearly a dysfunctional family, but on par with some of today’s reality television. I guess some things never change.

Juno was the Roman version of the Greek’s Hera and was the queen of Roman gods. The month of June is named after her and as the god of matrons and marriage she’s the reason we traditionally hold our weddings in that month, good weather aside. Read more about Juno, Geese and the Origin of the Word 'Money'