Do you think of yourself as an artist? When famed abstract artist Jackson Pollock referred to an artist, he meant anyone who is “building things.... some with a brush, some with a shovel, some choose a pen.” If your idea of creativity is building something from a watermelon, Pollock would have certainly approved!

Fruit carving, called Mukimono in Japan, has a long history, perhaps dating as far back as the 7^th century AD. Watermelons have traditionally been carved into vessels to hold a candle, much like today's jack o' lanterns, or made into baskets to hold flowers or fruit, but mostly these fruits are carved to add an artistic presentation to the table.

Many entrepreneurs lament over the feeling of not accomplishing everything they want to, despite the fact that they’re working hard and putting long hours into their business. When we speak to business owners who feel this way, we recommend that they learn how to write SMART Goals.

SMART Goals help people achieve their objectives by clarifying their ideas, focusing their efforts and using time and resources wisely.

Full disclosure: We are not attorneys or experts in the law and this is not legal advice. Please consult your attorney and do your own due diligence if you have questions or issues.

It’s all about the data. Customers have to trust that the personal data they provide you by punching in their card number on your website or swiping their card at your register will be kept safely and securely. Without that assurance, sales in the digital age aren’t really possible. Sure, you want to make transactions easy, but you also want to make them secure. Customers have enough to worry about without fretting about their identities being stolen or their credit cards being hacked. It is your job to help minimize their risk.

Have you ever searched for something online and then checked your Facebook page, only to be bombarded with ads for that same item you were searching? That practice is known as retargeting, and it’s an effective way to increase ROI on ad campaigns and boost your revenue!

Full disclosure: We are not attorneys or experts in the law and this is not legal advice. Please consult your attorney and do your own due diligence if you have questions or issues.

You’ve got a killer product and a great team to support that product. It doesn’t do you any good to keep it to yourself. Everyone will love what you have to offer. You just need to get the word out, and after doing some marketing research you’ve decided an aggressive email campaign seems tailor-made for what you want to accomplish.

Think going outside to play is just for kids? Think again. It’s warm and sunny and the summer is full of great possibilities. Here are some fitness ideas the whole family can get into:

Spend some time at a national park or forest. You can hike, swim, mountain bike— the choices are endless. The family that plays together stays together, so they say. So why not take a family class? Most locations offer tons of classes to choose from, whether it be karate or swimming, skating or boating. NOTE: Before visiting a park, please check the park website to determine its operating status.

After losing the final major battle of the Revolutionary War, surrendering British soldiers played a tune called ‘The World Turned Upside Down.’ Their world did seem to have taken a crazy turn. A group of ragtag rebels had defeated the world’s foremost military power. With all the changes we’ve experienced in the last few months, it’s not surprising that more than a few small business owners may be feeling like those beleaguered soldiers. That isn’t the case. While some things may very well be different, it doesn’t mean that marketing rules don’t still work. 

Active Campaign

Go beyond email marketing with true marketing automation 

Email Marketing. Marketing Automation. Sales CRM. Messaging. 

All the tools you need to make meaningful connections and grow your business. 

Check out others who we recommend - solid vendors and products that could benefit your business today.

Should you use Facebook ads to promote your products?

The short answer: Yes.

Here’s why:

Full disclosure: We are not attorneys or experts in the law and this is not legal advice. Please consult your attorney and do your own due diligence if you have questions or issues.

The affairs of the rest of the world used to seem distant. What was happening in your hometown was far more important, and unless there was a war or an earthquake or maybe a plague of locusts in some far-flung corner of the globe, most people probably didn’t pay much attention. Those days are long gone. Markets are more connected than ever before, which is why in the last of our series on Understanding the Law, we’ll look at how the European Union’s adoption of their new GDPR standards may affect you. 

Summer already? It was such a short time ago that some of us had two, three, or as much as four feet of snow in our yards. Now that the weather is heating up, make sure you're prepared for the high temperatures.

Start slow. You can't start exercising in the heat without a little preparation. Shorter workouts outdoors are in order, until you've acclimated yourself to the hot weather.

Full disclosure: We are not attorneys or experts in the law and this is not legal advice. Please consult your attorney and do your own due diligence if you have questions or issues.

Texts have become an indispensable part of our daily life. Why call the love of your life at work when all you want them to do is pick up a gallon of milk on their way home? Texts are quick and easy, and often a perfect way to communicate short, simple message to each other during our busy lives. They’re less obnoxious than a traditional advertisement and far less obtrusive than a phone call. What could be better for a marketing campaign, right?

Unless you work in an industry that thrives in the summer (or during a pandemic, *cough* toilet paper *cough*), you’re probably experiencing a bit of a slowdown right about now. So, we’ve come up with six ways to survive the summer business doldrums:

Have you ever searched for a company, only to find an incomplete Google listing? It’s extremely frustrating when you are seeking the services of a business, but it’s nearly impossible to track down the contact information for said business.

Don’t be that business.

The first step in becoming a successful entrepreneur is making it easy for customers to find you, and in the 21^st century, that’s done online.

There’s a printed mask available to the general public that says: “if you can read this, then you’re too close.” Even in these turbulent times, the quip is worth a smile. According to many health experts, social distancing (i.e. staying more than six feet from someone) is one of the best ways to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. However, we know it’s not always possible. Sooner or later we’re going to have to squeeze by someone in a crowded shopping aisle, stand uncomfortably close to them in a subway or perhaps reluctantly share a cab on our way to a can’t-miss meeting. While these interactions may potentially put us at risk if we’re not careful, they are by nature transitory. The cab ride is brief, the trip on the subway is but a small fraction of our day and it only takes a few seconds to slip by someone in a store. But what do you do if your entire livelihood depends on close interaction with your customers? Telecommuting may work for an account manager, but it doesn’t help if you’re a hair stylist. Working closely with your customers doesn’t mean you have to throw caution to the wind, however.