by Kirby Hasseman
Tell me if this sounds familiar to you. You invest the time and money to attend an educational event in your industry. You struggle to get all of your work done in advance, so you can “really focus” while you are there. (With me so far?) Great news! You attend the event and it really speaks to you! You leave the conference fired up. You are committed to making real change in your office…and in your business. You head back to the office…and…nothing. Either you can’t convince your team, or you can’t convince your boss, or you can’t focus. Whatever. The amazing and inspiring plans you have fade away…into the whirlwind of your day to day. Sound familiar? Yeah. Me too. I had this happen enough times. So I came up with a few strategies to get more ideas implemented in my business. Here are a few thoughts… One Big Idea: I recently attended an event called Skucamp (I talk about that here) and my head was swimming. It was almost too much! So I decided that I needed to settle on just one idea that I could implement. I made a list so I could move on after I knocked #1 off the list. But my goal was to start with just one idea. That helped me not be overwhelmed and focus. Take an Extra Day: My wife and I attended an event called an EME. It’s like speed-dating for business. We had approximately 48 (20 minute) meetings, one after another. The event takes 2.5 days and you leave completely exhausted. It’s truly like drinking from a firehose. Amy and I had done the events before, and the results were okay. Then one year we decided to take an extra day. We sat around the pool and discussed all our notes from the previous three days. It was amazingly productive and we left with a plan. It was a total game changer for that event for us. Keep the Journal Book: Many events you attend will give you some sort of custom journal book for taking notes at the event. I love these. And in order to keep the “mojo” going after the event, I keep using it. It helps me to reconnect to the event mentally, and gives me quick access to the notes I took. Those are just a few ideas for getting back into the swing of things after a big event. What are yours? Make sure you never miss an update! Sign up for our VIP newsletter by signing up below!
by Kirby Hasseman
I am a big fan of Seth Godin. There are a ton of reasons why. He is an original thinker. He is a great author. He is a consistent content creator (I talk about his unreasonable blog here). But I also find that I love Seth’s work because he says things that I want to share. For years, he has written something on his blog and I read it and say “yes!” I feel compelled to share it with everyone…or at least people I care about. I had that experience yesterday. I was on a run and was listening to Seth’s podcast called Akimbo. This episode, called “You’re it” is on “getting picked. You see, in the past, the only way (or at least the best way) to succeed was to be picked. You submitted your book, you auditioned, you hoped and you prayed. But the success of your project or your career was ultimately in the hands of someone else. Someone else had to decide. Today it’s different. As Seth so eloquently points out in this podcast, the internet changed everything. You can publish that book on your own. You can share your idea. You can start your own comedy troop. You don’t have to wait for someone else to choose. You get to choose. So as you start today, it’s time to decide. Are you going to wait to see if someone chooses you? Or are you going to take the leap? Are you going to put in the work? It’s scary. Because if it doesn’t work, there is no one else to blame. But it can’t work if you don’t try. Like Seth, I hope you will try. Oh…and one more shot…you can listen here. Make sure you never miss an update! Each week we send out an email with all of the content we have created in one place! You can sign up below.
by Kirby Hasseman
We have been doing it a long time. But there are always lessons to learn. Each year, at Hasseman Marketing, we invite some of our best supplier partners to join us to create our Annual Trade Show. The goal is to provide a fun environment for our customers and prospects to check out the latest and greatest branded merchandise and marketing services our company has to offer. And of course, we want to have fun doing it! You can even see a behind the scenes “Day in the Life” video I shot during the day here.
And with any event like this, there are chances to learn. What makes the event work? What can we do better? The Right Partners are Key: In business, the word partnership is thrown around a lot. Most of the time, we want partnerships when it is in our favor. But for an event like this happen (and to create a long term business success) you need real partnerships. The suppliers (and multi-line reps) we have at our event travel from all over the country to invest their time in our business. It’s awesome. And of course, they do a great job showcasing their lines to our customers as well. Hard To Make It Look Easy: If you watched the video above, you might have thought, “Well that didn’t look too bad.” Though the event is a lot of work, the team works hard to make it happen. One person that spends a ton of time behind the scenes is my lovely bride. Amy spends countless hours getting things ready. It’s not just the decorations you see. It’s the pasta salad she is making at 10pm. It’s the details that would simply not get done without here. It’s a thankless job…so it’s worth a small “thank you” here. It’s Important to Keep Trying For Better: Though it felt like the show went well this year, it’s important to keep trying to improve. We will be meeting Monday to discuss what worked…and what did not. (So if you were there and have suggestions, let us know). The best things in life continually evolve…and we want to do the same. We love the opportunity to get together with our suppliers and customers each year. It’s a lot of work. But it’s a lot of fun too. Make sure you never miss an update (or an announcement about an event like this). Sign up for our VIP newsletter below. We send out one email per week to catch you up on the content activity at Hasseman Marketing!
by Kirby Hasseman
Most of us have no problem getting up for the “big day.” I mean, it’s the big day, after all. Whether it’s a big meeting, a big game or a big presentation, we are able to show up with our best. We relish it! I would hope so. Showing up when it “really matters” is sort of a baseline for success. But what do you do the next day? The lights are not shining. The music is not playing. The boss is not looking. What do you do then? When the alarm goes off the next morning, you will be sore and tired. You just put in a big day. On “the next day” the most successful people in life get up…and start to create the next big day. As a quick side note, thanks so much to everyone who attended our Hasseman Trade Show. We really appreciate you. Make sure you never miss an update. Sign up for our VIP newsletter below!
by Kirby Hasseman
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead The morning started like any other. I went through my morning routines (coffee, workout, and content) and took a moment to look at my calendar for the day. Quickly I was reminded of a morning event that I was scheduled to attend. My initial reaction was to be annoyed. It was, of course, throwing off my routine. My comfort zone was being interrupted and challenged. But I decided to “suck it up” and honor the early morning commitment. I was so glad I did. The event that morning was Manufacturing Day in Coshocton County (you can read about it here). Over 250 students gathered to learn about the many manufacturing jobs in the community. The mood in the room was festive and the energy was contagious. What really struck me was the group of people that worked to put on the event. The Coshocton County Chamber of Commerce sponsored the event in conjunction COTC, The Coshocton County Port Authority and Ohio Means Jobs. In addition, many local manufacturers sponsored the event as well. And though the financial support is amazing, I was most taken back by the excitement and energy in the room. These were people that were positive, excited and passionate. I left the event feeling energized myself. That’s what happens when you surround yourself with good people working toward a common goal. It has a tendency to lift you up. It excites you. It can often re-ignite a passion. The fact is, even the most passionate of us can lose our drive now and again. The quickest antidote I have found for frustration and boredom is to get around awesome people. On a related note, today is the Hasseman Marketing Trade show in Coshocton Ohio. Each year we fill up the largest venue in the community with some of our very best supplier partners and customers…and the energy is awesome. If you want to learn more about that event…click here. And if you want inspiration and motivation coming into your email box once a week, sign up for our VIP newsletter. You can do that below.
