“Location, location, location!”

        ~ attributed to Harold Samuel

No one is 100 percent certain that Samuel, an early twentieth–century real estate mogul, actually said these words, but they hold true nonetheless. If you’re going to be successful in business, you need to be where your customers are. In the old days that meant putting up a store in a convenient spot and making sure your signage led would-be buyers right to your door. You might think the digital age has changed things, but it really hasn’t. Now the best real estate is made up of electronic ones and zeroes.

When Walt Disney set out to create Disneyland, his goal was simple. All he wanted was to make a magical place where families’ dreams would come true. It didn’t happen overnight, of course. It took a year and a day of construction and over $17 million just to get it opened. 

Can you imagine tackling that “simple” task? Disney might have been a visionary, but even he knew that goal was huge. When we make our business goals broad and overreaching, we can easily become overwhelmed. That’s why we need to break them down into quarterly goals that are far more achievable. This is where SMART goals come in. To be most effective, your goals need to be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Among other things, being ‘Smart’ about your goals helps keep you on track and gives you a way to measure your progress

Many businesses experience a slump between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Summer can be a slow time, and some may not see a sales rebound until Black Friday. In many cases, there are explanations: customers are on vacation, parents are busy with their kids’ activities, and so on. Sometimes that’s just the nature of your industry.

This doesn’t mean you should lock your doors for the summer. You may just need to rethink how and what you are communicating to your customers. The following steps can help you change your approach during rough times.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could leave work at the office? Imagine getting home, kicking your shoes off and never giving work another thought until clocking in the next day? For many self-employed persons, it’s almost impossible to separate work life from home life, and yet that’s one of the reasons so many people decide to go to work for themselves. 

Is it possible to obtain that perfect work-life balance? 

Have you ever noticed how many of our work-related clichés are OLD? “Put your nose to the grindstone, your shoulder to the wheel.” “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.” Even the relatively new saying, “work smarter, not harder” has been around since the 1930s. It can make you wonder if these old platitudes have anything to do with the modern world today. 

With all the tumult and challenges of the past couple of years, we are so looking forward to peace and quiet over the holiday break and we bet you are too.

We plan to take this opportunity to regroup, breathe deeply and intentionally, and appreciate each moment for what it is. Enjoy and make merry. Go back to the basics of the holiday. Remember what makes us happy. Try to put the sadness in perspective.

The holiday season is upon us, and you may already be feeling overwhelmed and ready for a break. We totally get it! 2021 was another doozy of a year.

But we’re here to urge you not to let this season go to waste—keep up with your marketing strategy, even if your sales are great.

I was speechless. That doesn’t happen often, but it happened the other day when I was talking with a JoomFuse client.

He told me about how he was excited to launch his new Joomla website…that he had searched and searched until he found a developer who could redesign his old website and keep it in Joomla because he wanted to keep JoomFuse to interface with his Keap app.

Yep, that’s when I was so dumbfounded I didn’t know what to say for a minute.

In the heat of summer, nothing feels better than a cool swim at the pool or the beach. Unfortunately, summer water fun can quickly turn dangerous. Following a few simple safety rules will guarantee that everyone stays safe and has fun.  

It’s summertime and kids can’t wait to get out on their bikes on any sunny day. Depending on where you live, your children might already be out, buzzing around the neighborhood. 

Bicycling accidents are too frequent and nothing to mess around with. Here are some safety tips for you and your kids to think about:

Summertime is a great time to be active with your family, but we can easily get bored with the same activities over and over again. Make this summer even more fun by trying some exciting new adventures.

Reach new heights by learning to rock climb. Interesting landscapes across the country challenge climbers to develop their skills and their strength. Experienced guides keep you safe and teach the correct methods. If you can’t stand the heat, look for an indoor climbing gym. There you can tackle climbing walls from beginner to expert without setting foot outdoors.

The smell of the grill, the sultry heat of a summer evening, fireworks lighting up the night— the 4th of July means summer is in full swing.

The tradition of celebrating the 4th of July goes back to the very beginning of the United States, though it wasn’t officially marked as a federal holiday until 1870. Back in the early days, red and blue paper was expensive and hard to come by so George Washington and his troops started using decorative greenery to mark the occasion.  

“It’s a nice day outside.  Why are you in here?”

You must have said it a thousand times, yet your kids are glued to their TV, video games and cell phones. Technology may be a part of modern life, but that doesn’t mean you have to let a perfectly good day go to waste. Here are some fun (and inexpensive) ways to unplug your kids this summer:

Have you ever watched a great movie or television show and been so wrapped up in it that you went to the Internet to find out more? Maybe you watched ‘Behind the Scenes’ videos or read about the personal lives of the cast. With that in mind, let’s take a behind the scenes look at some of Hollywood’s greatest holiday stories.

Every household should have a good system in place to manage important documents. Organizing now could save hours of anxious searching later. Here are some tips to help you get that stack of papers in order.