Erika’s Musings
Bad News is Never Great News: How to Deliver Bad News in the Best Way
Many years ago, I received a letter from my trash company. I was surprised to see the letter since, up to that time, my relationship with the trash company had been limited to the occasional wave when they came by to pick up the cans. The letter almost ended up in the junk mail pile,…
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Giving Thanks for Failure
Well, we blinked, another year passed, and Thanksgiving is upon us once again. As I do every year, I have been reflecting recently on where Spring Insight is, how it got there, and how many people I have to thank for that growth. This year, it strikes me in particular how much failure has played…
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True Confessions of a Marketing Campaign that Fell Off the Rails (Stay Lean with these Five Simple Tricks)
It’s the holidays, so all the “ladies” magazines are offering tips on staying lean in these tempting times. I’ll take my cue from them — let’s talk about being lean. But this has nothing to do with yummy, yummy egg nog. You don’t want to hear my advice about what to do if you see…
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Forward Movement is the Antidote for Uncertainty
“Faith is taking the first step even when you can’t see the whole staircase.” ― Martin Luther King Jr. There’s plenty of good advice out there about setting a goal before you take action. At Spring Insight, for example, we wouldn’t dream of launching a marketing campaign without a clear idea of the target audience…
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A 3-Step Plan to Keep Your Resolutions
New year, clean slate, fresh start. It’s an optimistic way to welcome 2017. Many businesses and organizations take time to reflect on past achievements, note the lessons learned, and launch the new year with inspiring goals. Then there’s the dark–some would say realistic–side of New Year’s goals and resolutions: only 8% of people achieve them.…
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On Following Up and Working December
December is a weird month for small business owners. I have been known to describe it as the Month of Fridays. But this year, I’m declaring December the Month of Following Up. I am all about finishing 2016 strong and hitting the ground running in January. And judging from the number of emails I’ve gotten…
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Just because you build it, doesn’t mean they will come.
Picture this: you own a successful local retail business in, say, beautiful Washington, DC. All of your hard work and sacrifice is paying off. You aren’t banging it out of the park, but you are doing nicely. Your customer base is growing, your inventory is under control, and you are starting to turn a steady…
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When Was the Last Time You Learned Something Just for Fun?
Remember how when you were a kid and learning seemed so compartmentalized? Learning happened at school (or at home when you did your homework), the rest of your time was for fun. For nine months out of the year, learning was your job. When the adults went to work, the kids went to school. I…
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September: Back to Business, Not Back To Busy-ness
With the Labor Day weekend behind us, the carefree days of summer are gone once again. Oh. Who am I kidding? When you own a small business, there are no actual carefree days. (How is it that our kids “busy” makes us so busy? That doesn’t seem fair.) The business world has a cycle to…
Read MoreBusiness lessons learned from “The Birthplace of Rock N’ Roll”
During the July 4th holiday, I decided to celebrate our nation’s independence by locking myself in a car with my family (no, the irony is not lost on me) and taking an epic road trip through parts of the Midwest (yes, we all survived with our sanity intact. There was a 14 year old in…
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