When we drive a car, we need to have our eyes wide open and react to everything we see. That process works for driving cars. It does not work for driving your life. The problem in life is that virtually all thoughts that we have come from the world we see. When we see the…
Read More
If you sell into any type of food or beverage market, you know how important seasonal marketing can be. Whether it’s cookies with box labels themed around the holidays, craft brews with limited edition labels themed around popular sports events like the Super Bowl or March Madness, or limited editions of wine and spirits designed…
Read More
Most people I know, including me from time to time, do not like failure. There can be lots of financial and psychological costs to failure. However, most successes in business and life are preceded by failure. Most times, lots of failure. Additionally, sometimes winning ideas come from losing. Here’s a great example: In 1985, Proforma…
Read More
There are more than 100,000 education institutions in the United States. From elementary schools to graduate and specialty schools to everything in-between, all of them need printed forms and labels. But if you want to sell into this market, timing matters. Schools don’t operate on the traditional calendar year. They operate according to the school…
Read More
Ask the Accountant… Question: Is there anything I need to do if I have my bank and credit card data automatically downloaded into QuickBooks? Does all the information just get recorded? Answer: That sounds lovely, but it does not work that way, unfortunately. It is just a big dump of information into your QuickBooks, and…
Read More
If you sell labels into the consumer product markets, you know how frequently those labels change. When this occurs, it leaves your customers hanging with obsolete inventory as they race to reprint those labels while wondering how much those changes are going to cost them. Those changes not only cost them in obsolete labels, but…
Read More
It’s not often we stop and think about what kinds of business lessons can be taught by Mother Nature. One of the most intriguing analogies for business growth and entrepreneurship, in my opinion, comes from the book “Grow Like a Lobster,” authored by Joshua Dick. Below are highlights from some of his key concepts –…
Read More
Ask the Accountant… Question: When I enter my credit card charges or bank entries, I don’t always know where to put them in QuickBooks. Do I have to wait until I know before entering them? Answer: QuickBooks has an expense account that allows you to “park” an entry until you can figure out where it…
Read More
If you’ve paid attention to the retail shelves lately, you’ll know that the number of SKUs is exploding. According to 2023 Grocery Industry Report, many producers have doubled their SKU counts over the past few years. Health and beauty markets have also seen SKUs increases to account for different shades, sizes, and finishes. Nearly every…
Read More
I love Dan Pena. He tells the unvarnished truth. He has a great short (30-second) speech that you are 2,000 cold calls from being a millionaire. He’s right. But the problem, as he so truthfully says, is that most people don’t want to be a peddler. Check it out: Yes, most buyers are happy…
Read More