I’ve come to realize that, if you are a roller coaster lover, Southern California is the place to visit. In particular, Orange County and Los Angeles County are home to two of the best theme parks for thrill rides. No, Disneyland is not one of them, although it (and its adjacent sister park Disney’s California Adventure) does offer some exciting action rides worthy of a visit.

Here we’re speaking of Knott’s Berry Farm and Six Flags Magic Mountain (aka Magic Mountain to the locals). The SoCal Guru notes that these two destinations have focused directly on roller coasters and thrill rides to differentiate themselves from Disneyland.

Magic Mountain is crazy with wild coasters; the place is lousy with thrill rides. Of course some in your group may not be roller coaster fanatics, and there are many other rides and activities to be enjoyed, as you can learn at the SoCal Guru website.

Knott’s Berry Farm also has really focused on thrill rides, although they offer Camp Snoopy, Ghost Town and many other fun attractions and themed areas within the park. My daughter worked on the new Silver Bullet ride and she says that is one of several coasters that will really help you lose your dinner.

One place at Knott’s Berry Farm that you don’t want to miss is the World-famous Chicken Dinner Restaurant. It is a landmark, serving thousands of dinners weekly since the Great Depression years. Check out the Southern California Vacation Guru for insider information and tips for having the best time at Knott’s. You can find out about nearby hotels, and also about the many other vacation opportunities in Southern California.

You can learn about the other Los Angeles-area theme parks, namely the Disneyland Resort and Universal Studios Hollywood. You’ll find some fun thrill rides at other parks, but they don’t stack up to what they offer at Six Flags Magic Mountain. If you’re a roller coaster enthusiast, this information may come in handy.

If you are a looking for a marketing consultant in Seattle, or any other location for matter you will want to ask them a few very specific questions during your discovery process.

Here are some questions you should ask them:

1) Are they focused more on selling advertising than helping you create and execute a real marketing strategy?

2) Are they skilled at both offline marketing and online marketing? Specifically merging the two into one strategy for the maximum effectiveness of your marketing dollars.

3) Are they leveraging Social Media? Are they current will Social Media marketing.

4) Are they savvy with email marketing techniques? Are they using these practices in their business?

5) Are they a marketing consultant or a marketing coach for small businesses? Is their focus small businesses or any business?

The primary consideration is whether you really need a consultant or a coach. Let’s face it, we are all in the marketing business.

You may find you need a seattle marketing coach more than a consultant. This approach let’s you do the marketing yourself with expertise and accountability to actually get it done.

If you are the type of business owner that is always procrastinating and putting off marketing for “another day” this is usually a good fit. Just like an athelete needs a coach to hold them accountable, many small business owners need one as well to get the results they need and desire in their business.

Most times the expense is negligible compared to the money being left on the table by not executing a marketing strategy at all.

To success in 2010!

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