A few thoughts on business, design, and the blessings of life.
What’s Your Opinion?
Do political opinions hurt or help your business? Here’s what you should know.
Is Your Website Serving Your Customers During Covid-19?
Our screen time has skyrocketed. Now, more than ever, it’s a dire necessity that your business has a strong online presence.
Moving Objectivity Beyond Fear or Pride
When it comes to objectivity, we have a responsibility to move beyond our fear or pride.
Thoughtful Marketing During Coronavirus Times
Coronavirus has everyone need an extra big hug. Here’s how small businesses can make a difference.
Striving for Harmony on Earth Day 2020
Striving for harmony is good for Earth Day and every day (especially during coronavirus lockdowns).
Crazy, Right? 19 Reasons to Start a New Business During a COVID Pandemic
Crazy as it sounds, pandemic economics may be just the time to start your own business.
Well, March Was Interesting
Stay-at-home orders help us appreciate Wisconsin’s wonderful small businesses even more.
Working Through the Madness
Advice on running our business can be good, but we all must do what we’re each wired to do.
Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with Pandemic Panache
This St. Patrick’s Day we’re experiencing coronavirus chaos. Yet there are still many reasons to celebrate.
Celebrating Fat Tuesday with Sense of Place
You know how you walk into a local bakery and the aroma of fresh baking fills your soul to its deepest depths? That was my husband and me this last weekend as we followed the Wisconsin Foodie trail in Sheboygan. Stepping into the first bakery was an aaah-romatic indulgence of Paczki. Coming upon the second was a heavenly whiff of…
Who Owns a Name?
Last week The Cap Times ran an interesting story titled ‘We Are A People.’ It’s multifaceted to say the least and I was surprised it didn’t evoke more conversation. The story talks about Kickapoo Coffee, a fair trade, organic roaster from southwestern Wisconsin. But first, let’s explore a bit of geography for those unfamiliar with…
Bartering With a Geek (said with the utmost affection)
I used to be an avid quilter and when my daughter got married I promised them a wedding quilt. I’m not always on time with my handcrafted gifts, especially for something as big as a quilt. But when their 5-year anniversary rolled around and I was nowhere near being finished, I knew something had to…
Winter’s Hope Brings Summer’s Bounty
It’s called the seed catalog effect. It’s when outside the January winds blow and inside we cozy up with seed catalogs, and it’s then that our green thumbs become their most ambitious. There’s something about those glorious displays of bounty that brings hope to the new year. They’re a promise that spring will most certainly come and, yes, this will be the best gardening year…
Iowa Evokes Passions
Last weekend, while presenting my Marketing Your Uniqueness workshop at the Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI) Convention, I posed this question: “Why do you do what you do; what drives you?” Put another way: What is your passion? My workshop attendees were business owners, ranging from farmers selling directly to consumers, to agri-tourist operators, to…
Happy New Year! Happy New Decade!
This, my first day back to work in the New Year, is always one of my favorites. I’ve got a new calendar all ready to go, the sun is shining, and I’m absolutely full of anticipation. Don’t get me wrong, I had a wonderful holiday season. Here’s a quick recap. For the Memory Bank My…
Looking Back at 2019
Isn’t this a cool tractor? It’s a 1939 Ford 9N, packing in 80 years of all-purpose, workhorse reliability. These days its main jobs are moving our chicken coops in summer and hauling wood in winter. With a bit of patience on the startup, this ol’ boy has as much get-up-and-go as the day its treads…