Holidays are a great time to take days off and spend time with your friends and family. This labor day weekend, I don’t have much planned, but I do intend to relax a little, especially since I’ve been working so hard lately. I have a client who gets a certain number of articles every day, and I mentioned to him on Friday about having a nice holiday weekend.
His reply was a confused “so you aren’t going to be around on Monday?” email. Stupid me – I forgot that Labor Day in the United States isn’t Labor Day everywhere. My client …read more

Despite its humble beginnings as an English drinking song, the music accompanying the Star Spangled Banner has evolved into something that sounds quite inspiring. I enjoyed this straightforward rendition from the United States Marine Band.
Another rendition of the Star Spangled Banner is this, which includes words highlighted so that you can learn them — and where they go.
Have a very Happy 4th of July!

Memorial Day

It’s a national holiday in the US. Are you working? I’m not judging. I’ll be working some today too. Does it seem to you, as it does to me, that we’re technology is allowing forcing us all to work more and at all hours?
For me, this is a huge advantage because I rarely have to be in a physical location at a certain time and that allows me to pursue a certain level of balance between work and parenting. But sometimes, it is hard to turn it all off. If I’m not doing actual work, I at least do my …read more

With Earth Day in the recent past and Mother’s and Father’s Day approaching, we see an increase of holiday-oriented marketing. This type of marketing can be of value to customers, but only if you truly have a holiday tie-in. If you’re just trying to grab some of the holiday hype, your customers may decide that you’re following a trend rather than offering them a good deal.
For instance, I heard several people scoffing at flyers printed by stores touting their Earth Day deals and environmental consciousness. The paper waste was not lost on those potential customers. Also not a good idea: …read more

The holiday season is fast upon us, and along with the stress of endless events and shopping galore comes a whole set of social conventions to navigate in your business. How do you handle the holidays?

Gifts for clients and coworkers — Should you chip in, get something individual, avoid it entirely? How much to spend, and when to do it?
Holiday-specific or generic cards, or no cards at all – What holidays get cards and what don’t? What should they say? When should you send them? Does receiving a card require a thank-you note?
Office and personal events — What to attend, …read more