by Kirby Hasseman
Today was a snow day. I know, that’s not a huge revelation on February 1st in Ohio. The winter that had started out very mild, has turned more harsh over the last couple of weeks. So when I got the call this morning to alert me that school was cancelled, it was not a huge surprise. The call came a about 15 minutes before my scheduled alarm was set to go off. And, as I processed the information, I realized that my morning appointment had cancelled yesterday. My morning had just opened up. I stood up and turned my alarm off. Then I crawled back into bed and snuggled under the covers with my lovely bride…and smiled. It was a “little moment of celebration.” In business and in life, we are taught to celebrate the huge victories. If you win the big game, land the huge client, graduate, get married, or get that job, we throw a party. These are special moments and they should be celebrated. But moments like that are, well, special. That means they are (by definition) rare. They don’t come along that often. And while they are fun to celebrate in that moment (and great to shoot for) they don’t provide many opportunities for satisfaction. In the middle of grinding for a big goal, I think it’s important to give yourself reasons to celebrate along the way. These moments of happiness and gratitude can help to boost you when you need it. In addition, they can help to provide some level of fulfillment along the way. These “little moments of celebration” can help you with that. Now don’t get me wrong. It’s not a daily time to be lazy. It’s a simple time to take a breath and take stock. Then, after reflecting on how far you have come, or how much you have to be thankful for, you can get back to work. Make sure you never miss an update or a chance for a “little celebration.” Sign up to become our VIP! Each week we send a list of the content we have created to provide you value. Sign up for that here.
by Kirby Hasseman
Do you ever wake up stressed in the middle of the night and struggle to fall back asleep? Your mind starts to race about things that happened yesterday or are due tomorrow and you just can’t shut it off. Asking for a friend. I think most of us have had a night like that. Many of us have more than one. But for me, when I wake up and start to work on the problem, my anxiety goes down. The challenge might still exist, but my focus changes from all of what could happen to what I can do about it. I have shifted to my “circle of influence.” Stephen Covey talks about this concept in his amazing book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” Covey explains that everyone has a circle of influence where they have direct control. Inside this circle, they can have a big impact on their day, and ultimately, their life. The challenge is, many of us spend a lot of our time focused outside of that circle. We worry and we fret over the economy, the President, other people’s opinions, and even the weather. These (and so many other things) are outside of our circle of influence. They create stress and worry and (most importantly) we can’t do ANYTHING about them. It’s a waste of time and energy. This is the inspiration for today’s VLOG. There are 3 things that I don’t pay any attention to. They are outside of my circle of influence.
That’s why, when people ask me, “what’s the weather supposed to be like tomorrow,” I can honestly say “I have no idea.” I found that the weather forecast was a source of constant frustration for me. That may be silly, but I either didn’t like what was supposed to happen, or it was not what was predicted. Most importantly, I couldn’t do anything about it. So I shut it off. What are those things in your world? What is a source of frustration for you that you can’t do anything about? It might be time to focus on your “circle of influence.” Make sure you never miss an update! Sign up to become a VIP. We send out one email per week to catch you up on all of the content! You can sign up here.
by Kirby Hasseman
Every community has a story. Every community goes through its ups and downs. There are times when things are booming and times when the economy is tough. It’s the nature of things. Things go up and then come down. But with hard work and perseverance…things can go back up again. For many years, Coshocton County had it’s share of downs. A community that had an embarrassment of riches in manufacturing, saw several plants close down or leave. People who wanted to work were forced into different jobs and sometimes had to look for jobs outside of the community. For sure, that was part of the down. The challenge I think, for a community (or even an organization), is when they start to identify with the downs. They make that become a part of their identity. They start to think “that is who we are…and what we deserve.” I think that is what has happened (with a group) in Coshocton County. This group spends a lot of time and energy “celebrating” the negative. They continually look for the challenges and the injustices and hold them up. “See I told you so. This place sucks.” But over the past couple of years, things have been slowly working back up. There is an enthusiastic group in leadership that is working together. If you were looking, you could see the positive shifts happening. There is an improvement to a park here. The streets get paved there. These are subtle, but foundational, changes that improve the community. Now the signs are starting to become more obvious. This week the Mayor of Coshocton announced a healthy investment in the community. A company focusing on digital currency is going to be investing up to $100 million and creating up to 100 jobs on the site of a factory that was closed. In addition, the cry that “there are no jobs” is officially silly. Each and every day there are more and more jobs posted to the OhioMeansJobs site for Coshocton County. Oh…and there are even more just outside of the county. As a matter of fact, most companies are struggling to hire fast enough. And if you are worried that our workforce does not have the training for these new jobs, I give you…COTC. Central Ohio Technical College recently announced a program where they are offering free college for anyone in Coshocton County coming from a household where the income is less than $60,000 per year. It’s free college my friends…check it out. These are just a few obvious (and amazingly positive) signs that things are moving back up in Coshocton County. But as with any organization, the members of the community are the best and most powerful pieces of the marketing team. So what story are you telling? Make sure you never miss an update! Sign up for our VIP newsletter here. Each week we send out one email to keep you up on the content!
by Kirby Hasseman
We all have “that voice.” I have talked about it before. We all have that voice that spends time telling us that we are not good enough, or smart enough, or not ready. We hear that voice the loudest when we are about ready to try something new or challenging. That voice is fear. That voice is insecurity. It’s a voice we all have. But what do we DO with it? Seth Godin, in his great book “What to do when it’s your turn (and it’s always your turn)” talks about this when he asks “where do you put the tired?” He points out that when people run a marathon, there will be a time when you get tired. There are no books on how to run a marathon WITHOUT getting tired. When you run 26.2 miles, you will get tired. So what do you do with the tired? The same point is true for fear and insecurity. There is no way to create or challenge yourself or try something new without hearing that voice. So what do you do with it? From what I can tell, people do one of a few things when confronted with “that voice.” Run Away: When faced with something that scares people, sometimes they just completely avoid anything to do with it. They feel if they don’t know about or see it, that opportunity will not exist. The problem with this group is they will never achieve what they could in life. By avoiding their fears, they avoid their potential too. Curl Up: Sometimes the fear just stops them. They don’t leave the area. They just watch others do what they want to do and wish. The challenge here is this leads to a life of jealousy. They will constantly be watching people doing the things they would love to do…but won’t. When you see people who are mean-spirited and judgmental online, I always consider this group. Fake It Till You Make It: You see this group full of bravado. They feel like if they are brash and confident enough on the outside, we won’t know they hear the voice. This has been me many times in my life. Though this is preferred to the first two, because at least they are leaning in, it is hard to sustain. I think the goal for this group is to start here, and then grow to a place where you don’t have to fake it anymore. Ignore the Voice: These people still hear that voice, but they choose to push forward anyway. They know it might not work. They know there is a chance of failure. But they find a place to “put the fear.” This is, generally, the group that creates long term value and content and success. Which one are you? If you are like most of us, you have been all of these in different areas of your life. But now that you recognize it…what will you be today…and tomorrow? Where will you put “that voice?” Make sure you never miss an update! Each week we send out one email with all of the content of the week! It’s our VIP list and you can sign up here.
by Kirby Hasseman
Most of us want to help. In some way, some day, most people like the idea that they can make someone’s life better. But where do you start?
With a world full of people and problems, it’s hard to know what problem to help with? Then, if you have decided about a passion project, it can be hard to decide how to help. Where do you start? Often the best answer is the simple answer. Start with “the next right step.” Take, for example, homelessness. During this brutally cold time of year, it’s easy to see that this is a need. The unfortunate fact is, there are homeless in every community. We think of homelessness as the nameless people that sleep on the street. And sometimes, those of us that are fortunate, wonder what they must have done to get there. But there is also a population of people that are homeless, and stay on couches and floors. There are men, and women, and children. It’s not a new problem. But it’s a problem, nonetheless. It’s a real challenge. So where do you start? With the next right step. From now until February 28th, we will be collecting the items below for the local homeless population. We have already begun the effort and wanted to give you the chance to help. You can drop off goods to our office at 432 Main Street in Coshocton. Don’t have anything to donate (or don’t live nearby) but want to participate and help? Awesome. Send a donation and we will gladly purchase items for you. We will take care of getting the goods to a few wonderful local people that are helping to serve the homeless population in our area. Below are items that are being accepted.
In addition, we recently did some really cool t-shirts that were imprinted with the mission: “Be Kind. Spread Joy. Embrace the hustle” These t-shirts have been a huge hit. They have a great message and they are super comfortable. Want one? You can purchase one for $25 and the proceeds will go toward this cause.
Where do we start? The next right step. Join us in helping. Be Kind. Spread Joy. Embrace the hustle. Make sure you never miss an update. Sign up for our VIP newsletter here.
by Kirby Hasseman
This past week, I had the opportunity to attend the largest trade show in the Promotional Industry in Las Vegas. The PPAI Expo is the industry’s premier event and features education, networking and a huge trade show full of “trade show items.” I love this event. First of all it’s become a yearly class reunion for me because of the wonderful, diverse and dynamic people I get to call my peers. In addition, I get the chance to learn the latest and greatest going on in the industry. Oh, and the PPAI Expo would not be the same if I did not attend Skucon, the coolest conference in our industry as well. It was a lot to get to, so I wanted to share some trends and themes I noticed at the event. Tariffs are a huge concern: The Promotional Products industry is a 24-Billion-dollar industry built on the back of importing. A huge number of “imprint able items of awesome-ness” come from China. The impact of tariffs on the industry could be big. The cost of many promo items are likely going to be effected. With that in mind, let’s have the conversation and a plan. I think this means that products that are already domestically produced will see a boost in the coming year. Dream Teams are being built: There is a ton of consolidation in the promo industry…and quite a bit of concern about it. But that is not what I am talking about. Though some Venture Capital Groups are acquiring some awesome brands, I am noticing individual teams that are creating “dream teams” of talent. These are the brands that I see making huge gains in the coming year. Commonsku, Starline, and Snugz are brands in our industry that come to mind as talented, cool teams that I (and many in the industry) admire. Good Seems To Be Winning: As I walked the enormous show floor, I found myself saying “she is a great person,” or “that is a great guy,” a lot. Not coincidentally, these are the companies I am looking for opportunities to work with. In an industry where we can often source the same (or very similar) product from multiple vendors, the quality of the people really matter. The same is true, I think, for nearly any industry. Despite the concerns surrounding tariffs, I did notice an air of positivity in the industry. My hope is that this is a good sign for the economy in general. Time will tell. Either way, here’s to a happy and healthy 2019! Make sure you never miss an update. Sign up for our VIP list today.
