The original plan for Christmas week included a drive to Nebraska, where my family lives. Departure was set for tomorrow morning, giving me today to finish laundry, packing, and wrapping.
So of course, Mother Nature just stepped in and turned that plan upside down.
As of now, looks like I may be taking off today, which means quiet time on the blog. If possible, I’ll post from Lincoln, but that’s contingent on Grandma’s internet access being back online. Next opportunity might not be until New Year’s, upon returning home.
In the meantime, hang in there everyone. You’ve been through one hell of a holiday season, and have earned more than a little down time. The next chapter, post-holiday, will be equally interesting. Together, we’ll look at the trends and figure out the path.
Planning to attend NYIGF in January? Then keep Sunday, January 25th open, because there’s a heck of a great party on the horizon…the annual Gift for Life bash, this year under the new moniker “The Stakes are High.” This year’s a big one, partly because of our new affiliation with DIFFA (Design Industries Foundation Fighting Aids); partly because it’s our 17th anniversary…
…and partly because we’ve never had a casino night before, and if you’ve been to one lately, you know how nuts those are. (Word of warning: I am not, nor will I ever, be a professional gambler, as many who attended Casino Night at the GHTA conference will attest. The house, however, loves me.)
For more info, click here. The party starts at 6:00, runs ‘til 10:00, and promises to be a lively, rip roarin’ time.
This is one gamble that’s well worth taking. See you at the tables.
It’s one thing to tell consumers your business is solid and stable, but it’s quite another to do so by pointing out someone else has fallen on hard times. I’ll bet the genius who came up with this shining example of bully mentality is the same kid who threw rocks at smaller kids on the playground.
There will inevitably be temptation for independent retailers to do the same—if not in print, verbally-—-as some of their local competition falters or fails. My advice? Don’t. It’s one thing to promote that your service is better, your product selection is better, and your staff is better; it’s quite another to gloat over someone else’s pain, then try to make money from it.
Unless, of course, you want to look like a bone scraping vulture.
I can think of better things to be remembered for.
For me, 2008 was pretty terrific, albeit filled with too many third party political agendas (and I don’t mean election-related). For my friends who own retail stores, however, it was an uphill battle filled with enormous challenge–in most cases becoming critical as early as June.
Regardless of whether your year fell into the “terrific” or “challenging” category, it’s safe to say 2008 was complicated. Reeeeally complicated. The past twelve months generally gave a lot of pretty smart folks some pretty serious headaches. [click here to continue…]
I’m strapped to the desk today, which means it’s going to be a Pandora afternoon.
If you haven’t heard of Pandora, you’re really missing something. Simply put, it’s a free online service that plays music based on the songs you like. Today, I’m listening to Bing Crosby, Tony Bennett, Louis Armstrong and the like singing Christmas songs, simply because I typed in “Santa Baby,” then selected the Eartha Kit version from the menu that automatically appeared.
This morning, Lee Scott (CEO and President of WalMart) appeared on Meet the Press as part of a 5-person brain trust discussing the economy and where it’s headed. A comment he made really resonated with me; to paraphrase, when WalMart moms stop shopping for themselves–choosing instead to defer spending in lieu of their kids’ and spouse’s–it’s a sign of serious pull-back in the consumer market. As much as it pains me to say this, the leader of WalMart is dead-on-right. [click here to continue…]
Well, you found me. I’m tinkering around in here, trying to build a better home for the Always Upward blog. Whether or not this little endeavor is successful, however, is unknown; I’m quickly finding there’s a lot I know–and a lot I don’t–about working with someone else’s php code.
In the meantime, please continue to follow the blog at its current location:
Sure, this video has been around for a couple of years, but it never ceases to amaze and delight. Consider this my stocking stuffer for all you stressed out retailers in the world….
Planning to attend NYIGF in January? Then keep Sunday, January 25th open, because there’s a heck of a great party on the horizon…the annual Gift for Life bash, this year under the new moniker “The Stakes are High.” This year’s a big one, partly because of our new affiliation with DIFFA (Design Industries Foundation Fighting Aids); partly because it’s our 17th anniversary…
Well, you found me. I’m tinkering around in here, trying to build a better home for the Always Upward blog. Whether or not this little endeavor is successful, however, is unknown; I’m quickly finding there’s a lot I know–and a lot I don’t–about working with someone else’s php code.
