Tag Archives: giveaways

Staying Productive During the Dog Days of Summer

POSTED BY: Arleen, FILED AS: Business Planning, ON: Sunday, August 16th, 2015

The dog days of summer are here. It can be hard to stay productive during this season while co-workers and employees go on vacation, summer hours go into effect or maybe even your business slows down a bit. In this post we will look at ways to stay productive during the dog days of summer.

What are the dog days of summer, anyway?

What thoughts come to mind when you hear the phrase “the dog days of summer”? Warm weather, sunny beaches, pool side barbecues or family road trips? Or maybe you think of it in more of a literal sense like dogs lying around in the heat or playing around like this fun video from America’s Funniest Home Videos (AVF).

Sidney Hall [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Sidney Hall [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

While the term may mean many of those things to us today, I think you would be surprised to learn about its origin. It comes from the Greek belief about the star Sirius also known as the dog star in the Canis Major and Lepus constellation. Take a look at the image above. The Greeks believed that Canis Major was like a dog chasing a hare named Lepus. The dog star Sirius is at the tip of the dog’s nose. The dog days of summer occur when Sirius lines up with the Sun. These days are believed to be the hottest days of the year. However, we know now that this couldn’t be true. While the months of July and August are usually the hottest the hottest days can vary from year to year depending on where you live. We also know that a star could never warm up the Earth as much as our Sun already does. However the term “dog days of summer” has stuck and taken on a whole new meaning. Continue reading →

How to WOW Your Audience: Karise Eden’s Power Voice Auditon

POSTED BY: Arleen, FILED AS: Promotional Products, ON: Saturday, September 20th, 2014

I’m a big fan of The Voice and came across this video the other night. Karise Eden blew away the judges and the audience. In The Voice the auditions are blind meaning the judges have to make decisions based on voice alone and not on looks. If they vote in after hearing someones voice then they have to convince the contestant to work with them. When chosen the judges then help the contestants try to win the competition and build their music career. What I love about this video is the “wow” factor. As she walks out on to the stage you don’t know what to expect but then as soon as she opens her mouth you are shocked. During Eden’s blind audition each judge buzzed in after hearing just a few seconds of her sing. Continue reading →

Lessons from Successful Branding Entrepreneurs

POSTED BY: Arleen, FILED AS: Promotional Products, ON: Wednesday, October 23rd, 2013

This post was inspired by several articles that I have read about being successful. I’m always fascinated by well know successful people and how they have acquired their success. There are more millionaires and billionaires now than ever before in the history of America. The creation of the internet plays a big role in this. The internet has opened a market for almost everything. For the first time ever a consumer can see an advertisement, make a purchase and have it delivered to their house without ever speaking to anyone or leaving the comfort of their own home. While many people on Forbes 400 2013 list of Billionaires have made most of their money in conjunction with the internet there are many business men and women who have used the internet simply as a tool to further their already thriving businesses. Recently I came across some very impressive people whose names we know well and are still relevant in the world of business. They are all Successful Branding Entrepreneurs.

mark-zuckerberg-facebook

Believe.
Trust in your gut feeling. There is a voice in all of us that propels us to work hard, focus and to finish but not just finish, succeed. It is this voice that drives the entrepreneur in all of us. One well known entrepreneur and innovator is Mark Zuckerberg. Mark is the founder and creator of Facebook, a social media company that has almost 1 billion users worldwide.

It was in a college dorm room at Harvard where he and some friends created a social media page for his college which would later became the template for Facebook. Many people told him it would never work and now he is one of the youngest billionaires in the world. It took Mark’s belief in his self along with the belief in his idea to encourage him to forge ahead with his creation. So innovative that there is almost no one in the world who doesn’t know what Facebook is, it would not be in existence if it wasn’t for imagination, perseverance and belief in his own capabilities.

Continue reading →