Do You Have a Plan?

I can't tell you how many morning I come into my office without a plan.  I start reading emails, answering calls, writing up orders and before I know it I'm bouncing around in more directions than a pinball trying to avoid the gutters.

I just signed up for my first half marathon February 19th the Heartbreak Half (not going to lie the name intimidates me).  The race involves quite a bit of an uphill journey and running uphill stresses me out just a little (okay a lot).  I realize it would be pretty stupid to just show up February 19th start running and plan on finishing a 13.1 mile run with a good time and no injuries.

Yet how many of us run our businesses that way just taking off and hoping everything works out for the best.  Hoping that the sales come in, the orders go out and that at the end of the day we can hopefully call it a win.

Here are a few things I've learned from this adventure that can be applied to your business:

1.  Find a coach.  Those of you who know me know that I have Katie.  She is my trainer, coach and incredible friend. She tells me when I'm doing too much (or not enough), when I need to rest and most  importantly when I need to suck it up, quit whining and shut my mouth.  You need a Katie in your business.  Someone you can talk to and strategize with. Someone who isn't afraid to tell you they think you're wrong or heading down the wrong path.

2.  Create a plan.  With the help of Katie I have a plan.  It's a 12 week plan that runs right up to the race.  I know how many miles I need to run each week and how many days.  It lays out how many bootcamps, swim, spin and zumba classes I can take and on which days as well as what intensity of workout I should do.
Now I am sitting at my desk this morning thinking what is my 12 week plan for sales.  How many calls do I need to make? How can I structure my day to get the best results?  Am I doing too much? Too little?

3.  Form a team.  I realized a long time ago it's much harder to achieve success if you try to do it alone.  My friend Heidi signed up to run the half marathon with me.  We are training together.  We can share the fun as well as the pain and hurdles (and I am betting there are going to be a few hurdles).  It makes me accountable to someone else besides just me.  I can't just say I don't want to run today because it would be letting her down. (Fortunately for me Heidi is a great motivator so she won't let me back out and goof off anyway!)  I have other friends who have volunteered to run with on days we need it and even more that provide encouragement, motivation, cheering and often the well timed kick in the butt.  Everything is easier and more fun it you have a great team.

I love how doing something in one part of your life can impact other areas.  Stay tuned over the next 12 weeks as I'm sure there will be more lessons learned from this half marathon.

Is it Important to Say Thank You to Your Clients?

I'm in the business of helping clients reward their customers for loyalty and helping them to find and keep good clients.  Sometimes, however, I'm the one that learns a lesson.

A couple of weeks ago I had the chance to go out with a group of friends. Even better they were bringing along another friend so the two of us could meet.  Well of course I had to head down to the mall and pick out a new outfit just for that night. What with all the exercising and weight loss the clothes closet is a little bare.  I went to two separate department stores buying a new jacket at the first store and jeans and a dress shirt at another. 

Two weeks passed and yesterday I received two pieces of mail.  The first was a beautiful 5 panel postcard with my name typed on the front a bunch of great marketing material inside and two gift cards attached inside.  One for $25 off my next purchase of $100 and one for 20% off an entire days purchases.

The second was hand address envelope with a hand written thank you card that in nut shell said:

"Just wanted to follow up with you to see how your date went?!  I hope you had an amazing time, we know you looked great!"  Inside was also her business card with her cell phone number hand written.

Now it turns out I need to get a couple more new shirts.  I can give my business to the store that sent me  the generic mailer with an offer of cash off or I can choose the store with the incredible sales woman who showed me she listened to what I said and cared (or at least pretended to) about how my evening went.

No contest I will be calling the saleswoman today and setting up a time to come in and buy my shirts right after I finish sending out some handwritten thank you cards to some incredible clients of my own.

Moral of the story "Never forget the importance of a simple thank you!"

American Eagle Graphics Showcase of Ideas

Wow okay I've gotten a little behind on updating the blog.  Funny how life gets a little fast and furious some times.  A lot has happened in the last couple months.  I finished the Warrior Dash a 5k plus obstacle course and am training for my first 10k in October.  I'm just two days away from facing my fear of heights (actually less a fear of heights and more a fear of hitting the ground from extreme heights) by doing a tree to tree adventure course.  Basically, it is an aerial obstacle course in the trees.

I set out this year with one simple goal to try new things and stretch my comfort zone.  I've done quite a bit of both so far.  Speaking of trying new things and stretching our comfort zone a little my company, American Eagle Graphics is putting on our first annual Showcase of Ideas/Customer Appreciation Event October 6th from 3PM -6PM.

This showcase will be an opportunity to meet our staff and discover great ideas from our top suppliers. With over 25 product lines represented this will be a great opportunity to see the latest and greatest ideas in print, promotion, and apparel.  Not to mention we will be serving some great food and tasty beverages.

If you will be able to attend please take a moment and register here.

Great gift ideas for the iPad or Tablet Owner

I've been busy training getting ready for the Warrior Dash on September 11th. The warrior dash is a 5k obstacle course where you get to leap over fire pits, climb over walls, crawl through the mud under barb wire and a host of other fun adventures.  I like the excitement of trying something new and testing my body to see if I have what it takes and mostly competing against myself.

I love a good challenge and as most of you know I love anything new and exciting.  I was especially glad when Lisa (one of my favorite suppliers) brought in the new Gemline Fall/Holiday catalogs yesterday.  I am a technophile.  I love gadgets whether I know what to do with them or not (usually not but that's why I have a teenager to teach me).

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Gemline has a couple great new accessories for the tech-savvy professional to hold their tablets or e-readers.  I love the new Tablet Keyboard Stand.  I think this is going to be a great gift idea for the tech lover.  It can be used as a carrying case or presentation stand. It adjusts to three different positions to find best display angle.  The deluxe keyboard charges from computer and the bluetooth keyboard pairs with various tablet devices.

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On a slightly more basic level (but also more affordable) they have introduced the Deluxe Tablet Stand.  It has all the features of the Keyboard stand minus the keyboard.  This product will make a great tech gift for as little as $14.98.

Holiday Gifts in August?

Wow its August already.  Been a little negligent on the blog for the last couple weeks working on a couple big client events.  Can't believe we are into the last 5 months of the year already.  I just finished signing up for the 5k Warrior Dash Obstacle course in September and the "Run Like Hell" 10k in October both of which should keep me busy training for the next couple months.  After that it is holiday season.

Speaking of holiday season I just received my first batch of Holiday catalogs from one of my favorite suppliers Logomark.  Many of my clients like to get there holiday gift shopping done early so they have less to worry about the closer we get to December.  An extra added bonus some of these gifts are great for events and current promotions.  In fact Logomark currently has a number of their holiday products on a sale.

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Just in case anybody is wondering what to get me I've picked out a couple gifts that I wouldn't mind receiving. First is the Erasable Memo Pad and Solar Calculator.  I'm always looking to jot down a quick note someplace where I will see it and pretty much use a calculator all day long.  Tie it in with something catchy like "Take Note!"

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Those of you who know how much I love exercise will know that I recently started going to yoga along with my spin classes, running and bootcamp.  So the new Yoga Mat would make a great gift for any Spa or Fitness related program or gift.   Also perfect for wellness programs.

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Finally, maybe because it's August or maybe because I can't seem to find just the right temperature in my office I love the Chrome USB Oscillating Desk Fan.  Plug it in and prepare to be blown away (sorry couldn't resist the pun).

Best Way to Submit Art for Your Projects

Just finished up an incredible weekend of fun after the sun decided to come out here in Oregon.  I managed to pack in a couple concerts, a wedding and a friend's birthday party all into 2 days.  Since it was one of my bootcamp friends getting married we even managed to get a group photo with the bride and 5 of us other bootcampers doing a side plank across a bridge in formal wear.

Sometimes you are just glad to get back to work so you can rest a little bit.  However, now that I'm back I have several clients rush projects sitting on my desk this morning.  Several of those projects are going to require that I have my graphics department redo art that was provided.

Today I thought we would take a moment and talk about the best way to submit art to ensure your project flies right through production (especially if you are dealing with a quick turn date or need to waive a proof).

I get a lot of art files that we can't work. Jpegs are the worst as we can manipulate or resize them. Almost as hard to work with are bmp's (bitmap art very grainy), gifs, and png files.  All of these mean we have to convert and clean up art which takes time.

If you want to speed your order and project along without any additional costs or delays the best file you can provide your promotional products distributor is an Adobe Illustrator eps file in vector art with all fonts converted to outline.  The less anybody has to touch up your art the less likely there is to be a mistake.

Before You Throw in the Towel Autograph It.

My bootcamp instructor watched a Navy Seal training show on TV which inspired our class last night.  She had us run down the hill in teams of 2 holding an 8' divider over our heads and then do lunges all the way back up the  hill carrying the barrier.  Then for fun a little crab walking up the hill feet first to get the blood pumping. Anyway those were just two of the many exercises last night.  I won't even get into the pushups, burpees, mountain climbers, planks and running lines.  It was what I call a two towel night at the Y.

Speaking of towels when it comes to fitness towels, beach towels or golf towels there is only one towel manufacturer I use.  Towel Specialties has several unique products and exceptional customer service.  One of their products I like in particular is the Autograph Towel.  This towel is perfect for any event or fundraiser. It allows you collect the signatures of all the participants or donors and have them imprinted along with your logo on the towels.  To make the presentation of the gift even better take a look at the many packaging options provided by Towel Specialties.