Small Business & New Year’s Resolutions

Posted on January 2, 2012 by Karyn Climans

According to an article in the Huffington Post, 57% of small businesses plan to expand their marketing efforts this year in order to attract more customers. Furthermore, 67% of small businesses are optimistic that increased marketing will lead to business growth in 2012 despite the current economic climate. The question that comes to mind when I read the above is “what type of marketing will be the most effective”?

It’s easy to spend lots of money on marketing. There are plenty of firms claiming their services will generate increased sales. I receive at least a dozen emails every week (often more) from companies promoting web optimization services, offering advertising space with their online or magazine publications, promising celebrity endorsements if you participate in their gifting programs etc. and I’ve certainly tried more than my share of these programs. Some have been effective but, to be honest, the best returns on my investments (both time and money) have consistently been via the various social media sites (Facebook, twitter and my blog site). Why? Social media allows business owners the unique opportunity to engage with customers on a more personal basis. It’s not the hard sell approach of traditional marketing because consumers are generally tired of being bombarded with advertising. Social media is about establishing a “relationship” with people. Most of the people I talk to on Facebook, twitter and my blog site are other moms and women entrepreneurs. This makes sense because it’s the group with which I identify most easily.

Will Tail Wags Helmet Covers be increasing its marketing efforts this year? Absolutely! In this economy, you can’t just sit and wait for customers to find you. Reaching out and connecting with people is key to the success of any business. Tail Wags preferred marketing venue in 2012 will continue to be social media. Watch for information regarding an exciting new campaign being launched by Tail Wags in the coming weeks!

Do you own a business and are you planning to spend more time and money this year on marketing? As a consumer, how do you feel about businesses that pitch their products via the social media sites?

Share|
Posted in Entrepreneur, General, Marketing, Small Businesses, Social Media | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Kids Mimic Our Behaviour

Posted on December 29, 2011 by Karyn Climans

Progress has been made over the past few years. Increasingly kids are wearing safety helmets while skating, skiing and snowboarding and lives are being saved. But we can do better! There are still far too many preventable head injuries being sustained while tobogganing, biking, rollerblading, and skateboarding. Parents … It’s up to you to make sure your children are wearing helmets when active in the above sports. Remember a child’s best role model is you! If you want him to wear a helmet, you should wear one too. PLAY IT SAFE!

Share|
Posted in Family, General, Safety | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Totally Random & Useless Facts

Posted on December 26, 2011 by Karyn Climans

Before we say goodbye to 2011, I wanted to share some totally useless, random but nonetheless funny facts with you:

  • One in three dog owners say they have talked to their pets on the phone. I don’t have any trouble believing this because my family regularly asks to say “hi” to the dogs.
  • In 1984, a Canadian farmer began renting ad space on his cows. These ads were probably extremely effective. Wouldn’t you notice an ad printed on a cow if it walked by your house?
  • Worms reportedly taste like bacon. Delicious as bacon is, I’m not willing to try worms.
  • The inventor of Vaseline ate a spoonful of the stuff every morning! He must have been on to something good because he lived to be 96 years old. Perhaps Canada’s Food Guide should list Vaseline as a food group.
  • The chances of dying on the way to get your lottery tickets are greater than your chances of winning. No wonder my husband has never won the lottery despite buying a ticket every week for as long as I can remember.
  • McDonald’s is the world’s largest distributor of toys! Perhaps they should quit the food industry and start producing toys full time?
  • President George W. Bush was once a cheerleader! He should have stuck to cheerleading. The US economy would probably be in better shape today if he had.
  • There is a town in Pennsylvania named Intercourse. I wonder if this town has a higher birth rate than the rest of the country?
  • The U.S. Government spent $277,000 on pickle research in 1993. I’m speechless!

Do you have any funny antidotes to add to the above? Please share!

Wishing you and your family the very best for 2012!

Share|
Posted in Funny, General | Tagged | 2 Comments

Spiked Banana Bread

Posted on December 24, 2011 by Karyn Climans

I’m not a great cook but I do enjoy baking occasionally. This banana bread is perfect for the holidays … you won’t believe how good it tastes!

100 g raisins

75 ml dark rum

Bring to a boil and then flame the rum. Take off the heat and let it cool a bit.

In a bowl, mix 175 g flour, 2 tsp baking powder & 1/2 tsp baking soda.

In an electric mixing bowl, mix 125 g melted butter & 150 g sugar. Add 2 eggs. Then add 4 mushed-up bananas.

Remove from the mixer & stir in the raisins. Then stir in the flour mix.

Pour in to a parchment paper lined loaf tin and bake for 50 to 60 minutes at 350 degrees.

Cool, then cover and refrigerate. Enjoy!

Share|
Posted in General, Holiday, Recipes | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Remembering What Matters Most

Posted on December 21, 2011 by Karyn Climans

I have a confession to make: It’s December 21st and I haven’t finished my holiday shopping, written a single holiday card, done any decorating, or baked Christmas cookies. Normally this situation would keep me awake at night worrying but, to be honest, I’m completely calm.

What’s important to me is my family is healthy and we are going to have several weeks to simply “hang out” and relax together. It’s amazing how liberating it is to realize that even if the mistletoe isn’t hanging above the door frame, the house looks like a disaster zone (my sons have brought back all of their “stuff” from university and we don’t have any where to store it), and I can always pick up “homemade” baked goods from the local bakery (they are open throughout the holidays except Xmas day), the holidays will still be special.

Perhaps my more easy going attitude is a sign of my age although it’s more likely a reflection of the exhaustion I’m feeling at this time of year. Either way, I know I’m extremely grateful for the many blesses in my life: family, friends, good health, and owning a business that I’m passionate about.

I sincerely wish all of you the very best for the holidays and New Year … hope, peace, joy, health and love!

Share|
Posted in General, Holiday, Life | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Canada Post Fails!

Posted on December 17, 2011 by Karyn Climans

In the spirit of the season, I am trying to be charitable and forgiving but this incident with Canada Post left me feeling “Bah Humbug”! Here’s what happened:

  • 2 Tail Wags customer orders destined for the United States were returned to me today. No reasons were provided for the returns. In fact, Canada Post never even attempted delivery of these shipments. They simply sent them back to me.
  • Of course, I contacted the Canada Post Customer Complaint phone # (888-550-6333).
  • After explaining the issue to the supervisor, I told her I expected Canada Post (at their expense) to provide Express Post shipping (2 day delivery guarantee).
  • The supervisor finally agreed to provide the Express service.
  • Here’s where things went wrong: Canada Post only offered to compensate me for the Express service MINUS the $7.46 cost per package for the Small Package service.
  • I reminded Canada Post I’d already paid $7.46 per package. Obviously I wasn’t prepared to pay TWICE for this service.
  • The supervisor accused me of not being able to do the math and told me I was being unreasonable expecting free delivery.
  • 10 minutes later and I still hadn’t convinced Canada Post I had already paid for the delivery service. The conversation bordered on the ridiculous. How do you explain to someone in a senior position within Canada Post that, in fact, she was the one who was having difficulty with the math?
  • Unfortunately I was unable to convince her that she was in the wrong and finally agreed to accept a reimbursement cheque for the difference between the cost of the Express service and the small package delivery service.
  • The Canada Post employee made it clear it was her final offer. She even threatened to hang up the phone on me.

From my perspective, the important thing is my customers receive their orders on time for the holidays. I pride myself on excellent service. That said, it’s incredibly frustrating when the service my company provides is reliant on giant corporations such as Canada Post. Canada Post operates a monopoly and they seem intent on offering unreliable service at extraordinarily high prices. We all make mistakes in business but it’s how we make amends for those errors that makes the difference between a good business and a bad one.

One thing I know for certain: If I offered my customers the same service I received from Canada Post, I wouldn’t be in business any longer! It’s time things changed: Canadians deserve better from our national postal service. If you agree, please share this blog post on your social media sites. As well, feel free to share your nightmarish customer service stories.

Share|
Posted in Business, Entrepreneur, General, Small Businesses | Tagged , , | 18 Comments

Appealing to Teens

Posted on December 13, 2011 by Karyn Climans

This Fall, I presented Queen’s University 2nd year Commerce students with the challenge of producing a video promoting helmet safety for the teenage market because teens are the toughest group to persuade to wear safety helmet. Here’s one of the many excellent submissions:

It demonstrates the power of having different creative minds at work when marketing a product line. Previously, it never occurred to me to link the message of Safe Sex with “Playing It Safe” (Tail Wags Helmet Covers tag line). I’m delighted with the students’ work because it drives home the safety message without being tasteless or offensive. Hope you like it too! Please feel free to share the video with your friends and the teenagers in your life.

Share|
Posted in Funny, General, Marketing, NOBI, Safety, Small Businesses, Teenagers | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Tail Wags for Christmas!

Posted on December 9, 2011 by Karyn Climans

I’m delighted with the following Christmas video for Tail Wags Helmet Covers created by one of the very talented groups of Queen’s University students. Hope you like it too!

Share|
Posted in Funny, Holiday, Marketing | Tagged , | 4 Comments

It’s a Good Thing You’re Cute

Posted on December 1, 2011 by Karyn Climans

It’s a good thing you’re so darn cute because you’re destroying my living room furniture!

It started with the fringe on the edge of the area rugs. Next were the coffee table and the wooden carved arms of my bergère you chewed down to nubs. My poor plant was growing beautifully until you started eating all of its leaves. But the final straw was my living room couch … I didn’t appreciate the hole you chewed in the middle cushion or the skirting that you ripped to shreds.

You’ve got plenty of dog chew toys and stuffed animals of your own to devour. Why do you have to attack the furniture too?

I know you miss me when I’m away on business (it’s when you do the most damage) but you know I always come home as quickly as possible.

But I can’t be mad at you for long. You always look so remorseful when I scold you. And afterwards you work so hard to make me feel better by being an angel (until the next time I have to go away on business).

If only you could call me on my cell phone next time you’re feeling lonely and you miss me!

Oh the joys of puppyhood. But I must admit that when you’re full grown, I’ll miss the puppy stage. It’s the same way I feel when I see a mom with a baby in her arms. On the one hand, I’m delighted my sons are grown-up and I’m not dealing with diapers and sleepless nights any more but, on the other hand, I’m envious.

How about you? If your kids are older now, do you miss the baby stage?

Share|
Posted in Dogs, Funny, Parenting | Tagged | 9 Comments

The Joys of Technology

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Karyn Climans

I’m completely dependent on technology and today was a good example. I worked hard to complete a number of important forms for a customer this afternoon. When the reports were finally ready to send back electronically, my email server crashed. Not being the most technically competent person in the world, I assumed the issue was at my end. It wasn’t until I’d spent an hour on the phone with a BELL technician that we realized it was a system wide problem with BELL. Hopefully the network will be back up and running again tomorrow morning because I’ve stockpiled a large number of emails in my outbox.

This is not the first time technology has let me down. One year after starting my business, my computer’s hard drive died and I permanently lost all of the files on my computer including the bookkeeping files meticulously maintained by my accountant. Needless to say, she had to re-enter all of the data one receipt at a time. After that disaster, I purchased an external hard drive in order to avoid the fiasco happening again.

Last weekend my cell phone that was only 6 months old died. With a large number of out-of-town marketplace events in the near future, I wasn’t prepared to live without a cell phone. I think this is the 3rd cell phone I’ve gone through in less than 2 years.

Thank goodness we maintain a service contract for our colour printer and fax machine because there’s been innumerable times when the machines have acted up and we’ve had to call the technician.

How did we manage before all of this technology? But regardless of the problems, I still wouldn’t want to go back to the old-fashioned pencil and paper records for all customer orders, inventory etc. I still remember my university days when I had to type my essays on an old fashioned typewriter. One spelling mistake and I had to re-type the page or submit the essay with tons of whiteout. And remember changing the typewriter ribbons? What a mess!

Without my computer, I’m confident my business would fall apart. Of course, the creative design work isn’t computerized but the rest of the business is run on my computer. On the one hand, technology is a lifesaver but, on the other hand, it’s a pain in the butt!

How about you? Does your work or daily life seem to revolve around your computer, cell phone, texting, social media etc?

Share|
Posted in Business, Entrepreneur, General, Small Businesses | Tagged , | 6 Comments