It’s fascinating to me to watch people network. The smiles and firm handshakes. The warm introductions and business card exchanges. All a necessary part of growing your business and getting your name out there. But I’ve also witnessed the other side of that. The whispers and eye rolls. The brush offs and avoidance. All unnecessary parts of growing your business and getting your…
“People love romance.” I saw this quote in a recent ad for People magazine and I have to say, I agree. We all want to see the heroine swept off her feet by the ruggedly handsome hero, risking life and limb, to rescue her and win her heart forever. We get lost in 800 page trilogies that pull us…
If you ask many small business owners what business they’re in, they will tell you simply what they do. ‘I build websites’ or ‘I distribute promotional goods.’ While these statements are true, you only have a few seconds to make an impression and those statements, in no way, give prospects any reason to pursue the conversation further. I find these…
Some of my most treasured moments are the times when I watch my daughter pretend play. Of course she has dolls and talking games, but it’s those times that she picks the simplest things and turn them into something magical. As I sat at my computer to work, she found a bag of orphaned crayons and spread them onto the…
Edwin Binney, along with his cousin, C. Harold Smith, formed Binney & Smith in 1885. The company created many things, like a new type of black coloring used to make black car tires and later school supplies. But at the gentle nudge of Edwin’s wife, a school teacher, Binney & Smith did the unthinkable. In 1903, they created…
Well, it’s back to school time.  I find myself, for the first time, standing in a sea of parents, buggy to buggy, slightly pushing and nudging,  all reading a slip of paper with a common theme – the school supply list for the upcoming year. This is a long list and I wonder that if I’m buying all…
Being that buying a new box of  crayons on a weekly basis has become the new norm in my household, I’ve taken the time to ask myself a question. Are all crayons created equal? To the average crayon user, the answer would probably be yes – a crayon is a crayon, right? Well, not exactly. You…
Despite the fact that there are hundreds of broken, partially wrapped crayons lurking in the nooks and crannies of my house, my daughter insists on buying a new box of crayons every time we go to Target. Now, I know that all those crayons back at home stuffed in the sofa cushions are perfectly capable of  getting…
If you had to name one event that could ruin your entire day, what would it be? I’ll throw one out for free – having a bad customer service experience. Whether its your coveted morning latte being made with bitter coffee (yuck!)or having to wait in the doctor’s office an hour past your appointment time,  a poor customer service…
One of the first questions people ask about Crayons & Marketers is about the name. Where did it come from? The answer is simple, really…my daughter. As many women in business do, I have children. Well, one actually, but she’s a hand full. When she was younger, I would keep a box of crayons in…