About 36 hours before hosting a holiday party for almost 40 people from my business group Million Dollar Ladies, my hot water heater sprang a leak — of course, perfect timing right? When your hot water heater leaks there's no patching it up, you have to do a complete replacement.

Luckily, one of the members of the group is the owner of a plumbing company that does superior work and was someone I trusted. So I called them and they came to my rescue replacing the unit in a just a ... Continue Reading

Designing "just because" is no way to develop solid design. If you are a designer or someone in the business you already know this.

There are times though when clients are adamant about something that has to be in the design, not necessarily for a good reason, just because they like the "idea" of it, not because it has any real meaning or validity. This will often put a wrench in the creativity process but it's something everyone of us has had to deal with from time to time.

Consultation throughout the project ... Continue Reading

So you did it, you thought by not marketing your company on the web or with traditional marketing collateral that you'd save huge bucks. You probably did. How much did you lose though because your name wasn't out there or you didn't polish your current marketing pieces up taking advantage of the economic situation? In most cases you'll have to work harder to get that same sale that was approved last year in a third of the time, fine.

Hitting the pavement to drum up business requires more than a ... Continue Reading

Though more and more businesses realize they need a website in today’s at your finger tips online information age, there is still a lot of misconception that surrounds having one. A major misconception is that “once I have a website, the money’s just going to start rolling in.” That’s just not the case in most instances. If you do nothing to promote the website, it ends up being like home gym equipment: It’s there, but nobody’s using it. What we tell people is that you ... Continue Reading

This type of thinking applies not only to graphic design, marketing, and brand strategy but really any profession ranging from landscaping to interior decorating — you name it.

If you search the web there are plenty of companies that will design your logo identity for $100 and your website for under $500, you absolutely don't want to go this route. These types of solutions are typically sweat shop off-shore design companies that turn and burn out work throwing quality to the wind.

We can't tell you how many companies we have estimated projects ... Continue Reading

It's the fourth quarter, the last month before the New Year. If year-end marketing budgets haven't been spent yet or you're anxious about getting started early for next year, this is the month to get serious about gearing up for Q1 2009. By having business in the pipeline now you'll be ready to go to kick-off the month of January.

This year more than ever, your marketing strategies should be offensive — instead of defensive. With the right creative moves set in motion now, this will help keep your business ahead of ... Continue Reading

Where was I? I was sleeping like a baby without an ounce of shopping anxiety.

If you've ever waited tables, Black Friday traditionally is a lot like working at Sizzler on Mother's day: lines out the door, crazy people, running out of product, a lot of apologies and my favorite — parking lot rage.

It's not a fun day for employees or shoppers but it's the day that kick-starts the holiday shopping season nonetheless.

With all of the in-store and pre-television/radio ads, Black Friday becomes one big blur of who is selling ... Continue Reading

So there I am in the Starbucks drive through for the usual morning wake-me-up. I get to the window and the barista says "Your coffee was just paid for by the car in front of you." (who by this time has fled the scene)

She proceeds to tell me that every car in front of the next car is doing the same — it's this game they play to see how many cars will pay for the next. That day I was the 44th car in a row to follow suit. My ... Continue Reading

Well, it’s here. We are in the final week of November. If you live in the good ole U.S.A., that means we take time out as a nation on Thursday to give thanks for all of our blessings. For most of us, it means we get together with family and friends and eat a huge feast. It may even be the only time of year we get together with certain members of our family. This got me thinking about all we are thankful for in our marketing design business.

One thing that is ... Continue Reading