Esther: Welcome back to the BusinessMakers Overtime Show heard here and online at thebusinessmakers.com. We are your hosts, Esther Steinfeld.

Katie: And the ghosty Katie Laird.

Esther: And we are excited and a little scared to share with you some awesome marketing tactics if you have a ghost.

Katie: I always thought it was very interesting seeing places that marketed the fact that they have crazy apparitions and phantom touching on the staircases.

Esther: I know.

Katie: 'Cause it's like really? You really think I want to go there? But people do. It's brilliant.

Esther: They travel around.

Katie: They do.

Esther: Going to these places.

Katie: They really do. We were just talking about some really interesting shows that are on television right now. It's kind of a craze with these paranormal activities and sitings and monitoring and –

Esther: Mhmm.

Katie: So anyway we found this great article on Smallbusiness.aol.com that's actually talking about very specifically from a business perspective what you do to bring people to your spooky mansion/business/whatever it is that you do.

Esther: Yeah; so one of the things that they suggest that you do if you think you have a ghost is weave this compelling this story. Like find out the history of your location. Find out how long – if it's been there since the 1700s find out if there's been some kind of murder there in the past or some kind of – maybe it was a hospital or maybe it was buried on a graveyard. I don't know. Whatever it is you should find out more about the spot that you're on.

Katie: And actually, yeah, build on that as part of your marketing. That's absolutely brilliant. And another tip and this completely makes sense for any business, but make sure that not only do you have a web presence online, but that you're actually using search engine optimization techniques to promote the facts that hey, we run this really great printing shop. You can come take a tour and we're haunted. We have ghosts. So people are actively looking all around the country for places to, especially around this time of year, Halloween time, go somewhere that kind of freaks them out a little bit. Go on those ghost tour walks. So be sure that if people are looking on Google for that that they find you and who knows. Hopefully you will actually you will actually make a little extra money with your regular business, too, besides just locking them in a closet and shaking the door. Whatever it is that people do. Actually that's totally mean. Don't do that.

Esther: So what do you think are some of the most haunted businesses? We hear about different places. What are places that are like notorious for being haunted?

Katie: Definitely in some of the older cities where you have these buildings that, like you said, have this history that there have been tragedies and there have been great things. They've seen major periods of war and the Plague. Who knows? All this persecution and a lot of people feel like whatever your feelings are on the afterlife that sometimes in times of great crisis that spirits will stick around behind and leave messages for the living –

Esther: Unfinished business.

Katie: Unfinished business.

Esther: Right.

Katie: So that seems to be where I hear the most crazy stories.

Esther: Well I went to a bachelorette party in New Orleans.

Katie: Which has got to be a crazy haunted city.

Esther: Oh my gosh. And the bride insisted that we stay at the Provincial.

Katie: The Provincial?

Esther: It is one of the top ten most haunted hotels in the country apparently.

Katie: Really?

Esther: This was like a fight amongst the bridesmaids.

Katie: Oh my gosh.

Esther: Because we didn't want to stay there, but –

Katie: It's like there's a perfectly fine Holiday Inn down the road.

Esther: I know. So this place, the Provincial, it used to be a confederate hospital.

Katie: Oh.

Esther: Yeah; and all kinds of terrible things happened there and we actually stayed in this particular room and it was called the Lady Beauchamp room.

Katie: Okay.

Esther: And there was this picture of Lady Beauchamp on the wall and apparently some terrible things happened to her when she was at the hospital.

Katie: Gees.

Esther: And that was one of the rooms we were in. So we were just terrified all night. We were lucky to make it out alive.

Katie: That is freaky.

Esther: Sans haunting.

Katie: What did you experience? Anything?

Esther: I didn't experience anything, but I also slept with the light on.

Katie: Okay.

Esther: I don't think they like the light.

Katie: And you were in New Orleans so those hurricane –

Esther: And I was at the bachelorette party –

Katie: Probably help you sleep.

Esther: Ah, you know, a couple cocktails you forget about ghosts.

Katie: Exactly. Ghosts, whatever. Like the more the merrier. Whatever.

Esther: Right.

Katie: Well I know here in Houston that even though a lot of our buildings are very modern, they've torn down a lot of old, old architecture; there are some very highly reputed haunted spots. Strangely enough one of them is at an Italian chain restaurant in downtown –

Esther: Oh yeah.

Katie: That is actually supposed to be the number one haunted spot in Houston I hear. Everything from apparitions to people's purses going missing, which is a little like oh really, that was a ghost?

Esther: It was a ghost. Yes.

Katie: Oh my gosh. To people seeing silverware moving and it's really interesting that around this time of year people just congregate at these spots just hoping to experience something out of the ordinary, unusual. I think they are crazy/slash incredibly brave 'cause I don't go to those things.

Esther: Katie and I have already had this discussion. You will not find us, well you might find Katie this year –

Katie: Unfortunately.

Esther: She's being dragged.

Katie: Yes, forcibly.

Esther: Speaking of Halloween, what are you going to be for Halloween this year, Katie?

Katie: So I thought that I really had it under control. Like I totally knew what I was going to do. If you go onto Martha Stewart's web site – I'm a huge Martha Stewart fan – she has these phenomenal, of course, ideas on costumes that you can make yourself that are very cost effective –

Esther: I love that.

Katie: Very cool, absolutely love it. So I decided that I was going to be and this is ridiculous when I say it out loud, a bird's nest. It's so ridiculous when I say it out loud. If you go to the web site I swear it is the coolest thing 'cause you go and you buy this Spanish moss from the craft store and you –

Esther: Me and producer John are in hysterics right now –

Katie: I'm ignoring all of you. I'm the creative type and quirky. Therefore I am allowed these creative licenses. But you buy this Spanish moss and you make a little hat out of it and oh, it sounds so ridiculous and you hawk like birds and twigs. But then I decided I found this really great and I'm totally ignoring all of you, I found this really great and this is similarly ridiculous, crochet pattern that I can actually make my own Hello Kitty crochet ears and put them to barrettes and then just dress up –

Esther: Well that's cute.

Katie: Like Hello Kitty, but then again that's also what I'm considering dressing my three-year old daughter as so I may want to rethink that, too, 'cause how embarrassing.

Esther: I don't think you have any idea what you're going to be.

Katie: So basically now I have no idea at all. So Esther, what about you 'cause I'm sure it's way more better planned than mine.

Esther: I actually have no plan. I have to be honest, but I decided on the way over here that I think I'm gonna be Taylor Swift and I think I'm going to make Doug be Kanye West.

Katie: Oh my gosh.

Esther: Doesn't that sound like a good costume? Or maybe I'll be Miley Cyrus. I just want to be something where I can see one of those songs that is stuck in my head 100 percent of the day and it's normal.

Katie: And you just want a chance to wear a really hot dress like you would wear –

Esther: Yes.

Katie: At some major music award show.

Esther: And I want that blonde, curly hair.

Katie: Okay. Carry around a microphone with a shocked expression on your face and –

Esther: I'm going to let you finish.

Katie: Yeah; wait a minute.

Esther: But Beyonce had the best. I'm just kidding.

Katie: That's right. The best Halloween costume.

Esther: Oh man. Well we'll have to post some pictures once we actually figure out what we're going to do.

Katie: Yeah; maybe.

Esther: If Katie's a bird's nest –

Katie: Speak for yourself.

Esther: If Katie's a bird's nest I guarantee you there will be pictures all over the internet, whether she likes it or not.

Katie: Yeah; probably, but I'm okay with myself. Everything's fine.

Esther: Well I think that wraps up a spooky edition of the BusinessMakers Overtime Show. What do you think?

Katie: I believe it does.

Esther: I think we've given you a lot to think about this week.

Katie: We've got some candy to go eat girl, come on.

Esther: Absolutely. We do love pumpkin shaped candy corn if you want to send us some.

Katie: Absolutely.

Esther: Only pumpkin shaped though.

Katie: Yeah; exactly, exactly. Far more fulfilling, much less work.

Esther: So we hope you'll visit us at our Twitter page, Twitter.com/overtimeshow. You can visit us on Facebook/BusinessMakers.

Katie: Yes, ma'am. Or you can just come to theBusinessMakers.com and see our lovely shining faces.

Esther: Absolutely. We're there. We'd love to hear from you. We'd love to hear what you have to say about the show and if you have any ideas we want to hear them.

Katie: We do. We'd love to have ya'.

Esther: You've been listening to the BusinessMakers Overtime Show heard here and online at thebusinessmakers.com. I'm Esther Steinfeld.

Katie: and I'm Katie Laird.

Esther: And we will see you next week.