danniewriter

I’ve been collecting articles and infographics for a while now, searching for resources that will inspire owners/leaders of local small businesses and non-profits to try something new in their marketing for 2019. Of all the infographics I’ve seen lately, this one from Larry Kim and MobileMonkey, Inc. seemed especially useful. Take a moment to look […]

Christmas Pansies One of the things I love most about living in the U.S. is the vast diversity of geography and climate in our 50 states. Among other things, it guarantees that weather is always an appropriate, informative, entertaining, and reasonably safe conversation to have with strangers. “You’re from Minnesota? What’s the most snow you’ve […]

The frontispiece of the original printing of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. (public domain photo) I love movies, but am no longer someone who “must” see a film on opening weekend; sometimes I’m even a year late. Falling squarely in the better-late-than-never category is The Man Who Invented Christmas, which I missed in 2017 but […]

As welcome as Santa …

If you own or manage a business, it’s likely that one of the least-favorite aspects of your job is responding to customer complaints. And, if you are on social media, it’s possible that the headache turns into a migraine if a troll has latched onto you. Business Unplugged’s Carol Roth compiled a great collection of […]

The song, “Once in a Lifetime,” by Talking Heads has been going through my mind quite often of late, especially the lyric, “You may ask yourself, ‘Well, how did I get here?’” Never thought I’d find a kindred spirit in an eccentric Scottish rocker, yet here I am. For reasons frequently murky to even myself, […]

With Amazon’s takeover of the universe showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon, it is easy to minimize our “non-digital” surroundings. However, if you are a brick-and-mortar business owner, you could be missing simple and effective marketing opportunities. Make sure you aren’t Overlooking the Obvious, revisit this blog post from 2016.

It is 3:19 p.m., and I have no idea what I was doing at this time 30 years ago. I was living in Elizabethtown, Ky., at the time, so chances are I was doing Saturday errands, maybe making plans with my mom. Perhaps we were on our way to Magnolia to see my grandparents. I […]

Being self-employed actually means working for more people than I can count on most weeks. I like the fact that, usually, no two weeks are alike, but I’m also glad when some aspects change very little. Case in point, these three friends. Maddie is in the foreground. She is a miniature Australia Shepherd/Poodle. Behind her […]

When you are in charge, and something bad happens, instinct can serve you well, but not always. Instinct can equip you to put out fires, the literal and figurative blazes, quickly and efficiently. As a business owner, or head of a community organization, that instinct is like gold. It can prevent a spark from growing […]