Back in the days of building my own distributorship, I worked hard to secure an appointment with a large prospect in town. It took almost two years of diligent calling and following up, but I finally got an initial appointment. I was very excited about the opportunity. I did a great deal of work to…
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I’ll be the first to admit it—I love the fall. From pumpkin spice everything to cozy sweaters, there’s nothing better than autumn’s chilly arrival. As you know, the change in seasons also means a change in what’s trending for apparel. These days, promotional apparel trends tend to fall closely behind runway trends, and I wanted…
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Learn to ask the right questions to the right people at the right time. One of the worst things we can do is to ask ourselves the wrong questions. Instead of asking yourself, “Why can’t I lose weight?” Ask yourself, “What can I do today to live a more healthy life?” Instead of asking yourself, “Why…
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Video is more than an opportunity to go viral. In fact, video is almost always better used to support existing efforts, as going viral is akin to winning the lottery. One of my favorite industry “fun” videos remains the Gap Stick video created by the very talented Jeff Anderton, who is now with SnugZ USA. Jeff…
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Stand out, be different, be fearless, innovate! The four things above are just one of my 10 secrets of successful people. That’s right. They stand out because they are not afraid to be different and are willing to innovate. Particularly in a business where we sell the same stuff from the same suppliers to the…
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This weekend, I was going outdoors, and knew it was going to be hot. I decided to take a large amount of water with me, so I went into my cabinet to grab the biggest drink container I could find. What I found impressed me. I found my 32 oz. sports bottle from Doylestown Rock…
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I started Proforma in 1978, just one year after graduating from college, in my Cleveland apartment with a $200 investment in a phone answering machine, stationery and a used file cabinet. We grew nicely in those early years. By 1984, we had grown to about $4 million in the Cleveland area. I decided it was…
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Question: We have some recurring errors in our QuickBooks. No one will take ownership of the errors, but I need to find out who made them. Is there a way to do that? Answer: QuickBooks Premier and Enterprise have a report that should give you that information. It’s called an “Audit Trail.” This will list…
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In my last blog article, I recalled a story from the early days of Proforma, and how a client’s request for 12 spiral rings led to earning a million-dollar customer with 50 percent gross profit. Here’s a story of another million dollar win. Back in those early years building Proforma, my practice was to get…
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Question: Is there a way to add data to stock reports in QuickBooks? Answer: QuickBooks Premier and Enterprise allow a great deal of customization of its reports, but sometimes you will want to add, rearrange or manipulate data beyond the scope allowed in QuickBooks. In that case, you can export that QuickBooks report to an…
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