by Kirby Hasseman
In the book Finish by Jon Acuff, he argues that “perfect” is the enemy of “done.” He gives example after example of “perfect” talking you out of starting or continuing with your goal, because it would not be good enough. This is right on. Think about all of those new exercise plans. You start off like a ball of fire. You work out each and every day for a week or two. Then you miss a day. Then you fall completely off the wagon and give up. We have all been there. That’s why Jon says that one of the most important days is “the day after perfect.” It’s actually easier to keep things rolling when you are on track. But the moment you get off track, “perfect” convinces you to give up completely. I bring this up because it’s part of the reason I was able to convince myself to do this blog every day. I know that in order for Google to find a blog post in it’s algorithm, the post has to be at least 300 words. When I learned that, I felt like every post had to be 300 words, or what was the point? That was “perfect” talking. These posts (and any writing for that matter) needs to be as long as it needs to be to get the point across. No longer. So I gave myself permission at the beginning of this journey, that if the post was not 300 words, it was totally okay. It still counted. It was more important for me to show up every day. If I did that, the rest would take care of itself. So stop letting “perfect” talk you out of doing. Make a deal with yourself. As Jon Acuff would say, it will help you give yourself the gift of “done.” Finish is a great book (and a great audiobook) and you can find it here. And if you want to make sure you never miss an update, you can sign up for our VIP newsletter here.
by Kirby Hasseman
We live in a digital age. We have more tools and platforms to be connected with each other than ever before. In most ways, I think this is a really good thing. I do. I am connected with so many more people, from all over the country, than I could have been 20 years ago. Not only have we met at some function, I am able to keep up with their daily lives. I get to see their kids grow up. I see pictures from their vacations. It’s a way of connecting with people we simply could not have done just a few year ago (and we take it for granted). But it’s not the only way to connect. It’s not even the best way. I was reminded of this when Mark and Catherine Graham drove from Toronto Canada to visit with us this week. For those that don’t know, Mark and Catherine own commonsku, which is an order management software program designed specifically for the Promo industry. They are also really nice people. It was great to connect with them…in person. They came and stayed overnight. We had dinner and hung out and they got to see our routines and workflows in person. But why? We communicate with them regularly. We are connected on all of the social media channels. Why make the trip? I even asked them about it. Of course the answer is simple. The best way to connect–really connect–is in person. Not only did they get to learn what it’s like to do business in Coshocton, Ohio, but they got to go over some new changes to their platform that are really cool. And here’s the thing, despite the face that I am on their platform every day, I did not know about most of them! But with them in our office, our team took the time to learn them and learn the reasoning behind them. I had seen the updates and the emails. But I had not take the time to dig in. There is still so much power in face to face communication. It’s easier to send an email. It’s quicker to post it to social media. But so often, the message doesn’t really get through. Leave it to Mark and Catherine Graham, entrepreneurs in the TECH space, to remind me the power of being “social” in person. Make sure you never miss an update! We send out a VIP newsletter once a week with all of the content from the week in one place! Sign up for it here!
by Kirby Hasseman
Yesterday I made an announcement that I didn’t really want to make. I announced that we were closing the Tap Room at Hasseman Brewing in Coshocton. You can read that update here. While I am disappointed with the lack of traffic and support, I am very proud of what we have done with that business. We have created a great product. We have learned a lot. And we have created a small team of people that are really passionate about the journey. In addition, nothing really cool happens without taking a risk. Sometimes risks work. Sometimes they don’t. It’s life. But I think what is important in situations like this is, what do I learn from them? As I said in the blog post, we are not closing. We are changing. We will be selling bottles, kegs and are even exploring the idea of doing Private Label beers (I am really excited about that). As you might expect, there will be more updates on this as we move forward. But what does this have to do with you? Simple. At some point in our lives, we will all have a project that doesn’t work. It is frustrating and humbling when it happens. It’s depressing even. It’s easy to want to crawl into the fetal position and just hide. It’s natural. But it’s not productive. So what do you do when it doesn’t work? Honestly Assess: When something doesn’t go as planned it’s easy (and natural) to look for someone or something to blame. But that’s emotion. It’s important to look at what worked (we got better and more consistent making beer) and what did not (we did not have traffic to the Tap Room). Make A Decision On What’s Next: Once you have that, you can look at the options of what is next. We could have closed completely. But based on what we felt our strengths were, we felt we could keep it going in a more productive way. Execute: Then do. Obviously we are just beginning this stage. I don’t pretend to have that all figured out. Heck…it’s even more obvious that I don’t have it all figured out. But the world lacks people who execute. In my experience, good things happen when people take action. If you want updates on what we do next with Hasseman Brewing, you can sign up here. But if you want to keep up with all of the content we are creating at Hasseman Marketing, sign up for our VIP newsletter here!
by Kirby Hasseman
Welcome to a super awesome blog post series for Hasseman Marketing called:
“Brand-ecdotes!”
Each week we will talk to a branding all star about what make the Promotional Product advertising media so special!
This week we talk with Ben Taylor from Bam Bams. Ben is not only a marketing rock star (in the industry and out) but he is also working on a new project called Co-Lab. He has the experience and the perspective…so let’s hear it directly from him!
1. What is your all-time favorite Promotional Product and why? This one is easy for me, it’s our BamBams. Even though they’re a product we don’t concentrate as much on anymore, they’re what started it all. They give me an immense amount of pride in my father, our business and our namesake.
2. Can you name a Promo Product that you have that STILL reminds you fondly of an event, person, organization? If so, can you tell us that story? I have a journal that I received at the very first Search Marketing Expo I spoke at over 10 years ago. It sits in the desk drawer at my home office and it’s filled with outdated SEO tactics and client notes from that conference. The journal is special to me, because it has my name and speaker bio in it. I look back at it from time to time and am in awe of how much that bio has changed over the years and excited by how much better and more creative the journals that we have access to now. Shout out to Chameleon Like journals and Commonsku for the awesome ones we get every year now! 3. What is the current product you use all the time? BamBams Athletic Socks. Our TSA-400 to be exact. I wear them almost everyday at the gym. They have replaced all of my Under Armour and Nike socks.
4. What is an idea/product that you think organizations UNDER use?Private labeling. There are so many distributors out there selling BamBams Socks, but instead of pitching a private labeled sock so that their customer gets greater value out of their product they just pitch socks, without the private label upsell. The best part about private label is that your client begins to build their own brand using your merchandise. You’ve developed something so custom for them that finding it elsewhere and matching it exactly becomes very difficult. It’s a win win for both the distributor’s client and the distributor. 5. What do you think is the best thing about Promotional Products as an advertising media?It puts an emphasis on human interaction. More often than not, you’re giving a promotional product away to your client, friend, family, or etc, you’re physically handing it to them. It’s something tangible that they can hold, use, or wear that serves a very specific purpose, the purpose of furthering your brand’s message while simultaneously completing another objective. Promotional products also give you a unique advantage to be very creative and innovative with your brand. Take socks for example, if I sent a pair Hasseman Brewing socks to Kirby Hasseman, he would wear these socks with pride because it represents his brand, he’ll be thankful to me for providing him with the simple pleasure of a new pair of socks and the pride of wearing his brand in a format that is not always used. It’s just fun. Promotional Products build and maintain relationships because they’re personal. How can you not love that?
And…that’s the another edition of Brand-ecdotes! Thanks to Ben Taylor for taking the time to jump in on this project! Awesome stuff here!
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by Kirby Hasseman
As you might expect, my team and I get to see the latest and greatest promo! We have a ton of great suppliers that work with us to make sure we have “seen it all.” With that in mind, sometimes I become jaded. I feel like I have seen every t-shirt, tumbler and cooler in the world. I mean, why would I need another? Recently I had the opportunity to work with one of our great clients (McWane Ductile) on their vendor golf outing. They always create a first class event. In order to make the event extra special, we partnered with our supplier Imagen Brands to create a “Hit it to Win it” contest on one of the Par 3’s on the course. The concept goes like this, we have some amazing logo’d products and we place them all over the green. (No, we did not impede a hole in one). Then if the participant hits one of the items, they get them! It was a lot of fun. (And yes there will be a video soon). I tell you this story to tell you this one; I found my new favorite cooler in the process! This is the cooler I did not know I needed. But I do! The Coleman 36-Hour 42 Can Marine Soft Cooler has an awesome look (that’s what got my attention first). The logo just pops off here and gets your attention right away. But in addition, I love the size! It’s just right for a trip out in the woods, at the golf course or out on the boat. In addition it keeps the ice in the cooler for up to 36 hours! Finally, I dig the top hatch for easy access to those cold beverages on a hot day! So take it or leave it. But I love it. As I said, I didn’t know I “needed” this cooler. But I know now! For more information on the cooler, check out this link. And make sure you never miss an update. It might be content. It might be product. But we hope to bring you value every day. Sign up for the VIP newsletter here. Oh…and shop for more products here.
