|
|
 If you could do anything with your life, without worry of financial constraints or fear, what would you do?
This is one of my favorite questions. Ask it of yourself or someone you think you know, and either way you may be surprised at the answer. So what is your dream? Are you doing it now? Whether your ultimate dream is to become head of your HR department, start your very own company, or buy that sheep farm you pass on your way to work each day, one thing is vital: Never Give Up!
Take, for instance, Nola Ochs of Kansas. A 97-year-old grandmother, Nola is a college graduate. She graduated two years ago, earning not only a degree but a spot in the Guiness Book of World Records for being the oldest person to graduate from college. Her ultimate dream? To get a job on a cruise ship as a story teller. And guess what? She got the job, took the cruise, told the stories… then decided to go back to college to pursue her Master’s. A perfect example that even achieving your dreams isn’t the end of the ride.
Feel a thousand miles away from your ultimate dream? Well, we all know it starts with the first step. Steve Carrell of “The Office” once held a 3rd shift job as a cashier in a 24-hour convenience store. Johnny Depp? Sold pens over the phone. Ozzy Ozbourne worked in a slaughterhouse. (I can’t help the irony here – I’m just reporting.) Howard Stern drove an ice  cream truck, Carrie Underwood worked in a gas station, Albert Einstein was a simple patent clerk, George Washington was a land surveyor, and he never even went to college! You get the point – achieving your dreams doesn’t have anything to do with where you are now. But it has everything to do with the direction you’re facing.
Taking one small step every day is important. If you want to buy that sheep farm, read books on sheep. Visit sheep farms on the weekend. Wear wool on every opportunity. If you’re hoping to write the Great American Novel, write at least one page a day, and allow yourself to write absolute crap. If you have to rewrite the whole page the next day, you’re still closer to your dream than if you never started at all.
Obstacles? Yes, there are always those. Sometimes we can walk over them and sometimes we have to learn to fly first; sometimes they take a day to overcome and sometimes we have to wait a long time, like Nola Ochs, to see our dreams come to fruition. As difficult as achieving our dreams can be, as frustrating and heartbreaking and seemingly unobtainable at times, it’s a far, far better thing to strive to reach them than to live without them.
 Finding the right company award shouldn’t be so complicated, but with all the choices it often gets overwhelming. Whether you need to order 100 for the big awards ceremony at corporate, or you only need one because Bob in sales finally won that trip to Hawaii and he needs a proper sendoff, there’s lots to consider.
Price is always a factor these days. And of course you don’t want to skimp on quality. Since most awards get displayed in people’s offices or workspace, you’ll want something nice for all to see, especially when it comes to visiting potential clients who will certainly be impressed with your successful staff. (“Wow, that Bob of yours must be quite an asset!”etc.) One suggestion we like to make that fits the bill on both price and quality is the acrylic award.
Acrylic awards have the look of crystal, while offering a great backdrop to your message. The quality is excellent and durable, won’t break like crystal would when Bob accidentally bumps his Hawaii recognition award off the desk with his elbow (he’s a great salesman but a bit clumsy on occasion), and there are countless affordable choices whether you need one or one hundred.
Still seems overwhelming? Yes, there is every possible variation, including color, shape, size, price, even theme. So if you’re not the catalog browsing type and if you aren’t too hip on spending the bulk of your afternoon surfing the net hoping to stumble across a discount site that, by the way, may or may not be very trustworthy, we’d be happy to help you out. Because as it turns out, we’ve been known to come up with some pretty good ideas if I do say so myself. And we can meet your budget. And make Bob happy with that shining award on his desk, long after the trip to Hawaii is nothing but a distant memory of luaus and sunburn.
So feel free to contact us with an “I need exactly this” or an “I have no idea what to get, but it has to have a polar bear theme.” We can handle it. In the meantime, you can check out a few award possibilities below. (And don’t miss the photo of Bob on his Hawaiian vacation!)
 Here digital entrapment is used for a more customized look.
 The Marquis Award
 Star Column Award
 Bob’s Favorite Vacation Photo
Clocks are a longtime favorite in service awards programs. After all they’re practical, decorative, and great reminders of time spent with the company. But when searching for incentive program ideas, there’s no need to stick with the old fashioned mantel clock standbys. Shake up Father Time with a different view.
Take it Outside - These days many people are looking at their back yards as an extension of their living quarters. Outdoor fireplaces, more comfortable furniture, and built-in barbeques are all the rage. To add another facet, recipients might enjoy choosing this indoor/outdoor City Centre clock by Howard Miller. Dials on the front and the back add a certain old world charm. And of course it’s water resistant.
Wall Flowers - The kitchen is one room of the house that can’t be without a clock. This charming wall clock by Bulova adds a beautiful grape motif to its weathered 18″ dial.
Table Time – Here’s a unique spin on the clock. This “Clocktail Table” will always let guests know it’s time for a visit. Perfect for living room or rec room. And it’s battery operated, so you won’t have to figure out how to wind this baby up!
Retro’s the Rage – For those who want to add a bit of time gone by to their desk or office, this beautiful piece offers an antique walnut finish and a cool 1940’s design reminiscent of Philip Marlowe’s office.
Milking the Company Theme - Okay, we couldn’t resist. No, not everyone is going to moo over this one (there we go again), but if your company has a theme like cows perhaps, it’s always fun to offer items within your service awards program that reflect the company spirit.
Extreme Home Style – Everyone enjoys watching Ty Pennington work his magic on a home makeover. Now you can add a bit of his style to your program with this Ty Pennington design waterfall fountain clock. The textured glass back panel beautifully enhances the cascading water, and a recessed bottom mounted lamp illuminates the glass fountain panel and accentuates the flowing water. Sure to add a bit of relaxation and a zen moment or two.
Incentive program ideas are sometimes hard to come by. It’s nice to keep the favorites such as clocks and other timepieces on the list, and adding a fresh and unique twist to the selection makes choosing that much more enjoyable for everyone! For more great ideas (or just to chat. We love to chat.) you can contact us at 1-888/664-6449 or send us an email and we can help you find more timely ideas!
 Been Lazy About Social Networking? You’ve put it off as long as you can stand it. Adding online social media to your business has been on your to-do list since the over-30 crowd started venturing onto Facebook, but it seems like a daunting task. You? Tweet? Perhaps you thought it best left to the likes of Ashton Kutcher, but let’s face it – these days businesses need a social media aspect. Your potential clients and customers expect it, and after all it’s not that scary. We’ll walk you through the simpler aspects to get you started. Before you know it, you’ll be opening up your business, large or small, to a much broader and international audience.
Twitter: I start here because although it may initially sound confusing, Twitter is probably the simplest social networking tool to handle once you’ve spent about 10 or 15 minutes playing with it. Basic setup is easy and quick and tweeting is simple: You write something – anything – in 140 characters or less. You can announce a sale at your shop, share a company goal, or talk about the weather. And since you can add a link to your company’s website within your tweet, you’re able to share who you are with lots and lots of people who have found you on Twitter and have decided to “follow” you. When you get an email letting you know you’ve got a Twitter follower, be sure and follow them back. It’s all about the give and take, and the more followers you have the broader your reach. You can check out our Twitter page to see who we’re following and who’s following us (right-hand column) for a quick and easy way to follow some interesting companies and HR professionals around the globe.
Facebook Fan Page: If you already have a Facebook account, then this one’s really easy. Just visit someone else’s Fan Page (here’s ours) and click on the link in the bottom left-hand corner (Create a Page for My Business) to get started. Facebook will walk you through the setup. You’ll notice on our page we usually announce whenever we have a new blog article so our Facebook Fans will know it’s time to swing by for a visit. But you can use the Facebook Fan page to announce whatever you’d like about your business. You can add links, product photos, video of your unique machining processes, etc. If you don’t have a personal Facebook page, you’ll need one to set up the Fan Page. It doesn’t mean you have to jump into Facebook headlong, however. A simple personal page is fine – you don’t even need to open it up for others to get into unless you really can’t resist the temptation. The point here is to add a layer of contact with your business that many potential customers want and will be happy to use.
Forums: If you’d rather just talk back and forth and share your expertise, you may want to check out the world of forums. It seems they exist for everything on the planet. Let’s say your company sells cat toys. Google “cat forums” and you’ll get 154 million (not kidding here) to choose from! Pick a few out, sign up, and search for areas where you can comfortably discuss the subject with those who have left questions that you can answer, for instance. While many forums poo-poo having you blatantly hawk your wares, you’ll still be able to share your knowledge and, when appropriate, mention your company products or services. You may find you’ll get yourself a nice following within some of the forums, and that means yet one more way to effectively reach out.
Blogs: Admittedly, you’ve got to really enjoy writing, or have someone in your staff who does, but having a corporate blog provides a great way to communicate with current and potential customers and anyone else in your business. Again, share your expertise. If you’ve got that cat toy company, you’ll probably want to blog about cat care, cat hair, cat pajamas, etc. There are some fantastic corporate blogs out there that receive huge amounts of followers. Everyone from Southwest Airlines to Coca-Cola to (ahem) General Motivation Company have added blogging to their social networking repertoire. You need not blog daily, but a once-a-week post can certainly add a fun and informative layer to a growing company.
These few suggestions just scratch the surface of adding online social media to your business, but they’re certainly good places for any company who’s ready to venture out. The important thing is to start! Even if you aren’t the sort to add your kids’ photos to Facebook, Twitter about your dinner, or blog about your family reunion, you’ll find a great advantage to looking at these networks as free and useful business tools. And make sure to let everyone know once you get going! Put up Facebook and Twitter links on your website, add a blog link to your email signature, let customers know you’re out there in the forums. Potential business is out there and it’s looking for YOU in these very places. It’s just a matter of hooking up.
|
|
