By Rob Garza, Digital Print Consultant at MEDiAHEAD

What interesting new challenges we’re facing. For me, meeting current clients and prospective clients virtually is challenging. And that will likely continue. But I’ve learned from past experiences that I like new challenges. No, I won’t be training for an Ironman or bodybuilding event… but the time at home is an opportunity to improve our lives. I’m going to dust off my drawing tablet (from a previous life in design) and try some new recipes in the kitchen with my daughter.

Like many, I’ve been working from home for the past couple of months. I’ve had to find new ways to help others, not only in business but for my friends and family who are all in the same boat. The quote I mentioned in my last blog was “We’re all in this together”. This applies not only to work, but family and others you’re close to.

Hollis Renewal Center in Kansas City, Kansas

Recently, I was at the Hollis Renewal Center. It’s a quiet place I like to go to unplug. I stay at one of their cabins with limited phone service and no TVs. You’re surrounded by wildlife, hiking trails and nature. I took my daughter, her fiancé and other loved ones. Though we are family, we’re also a health care provider, an HVAC essential worker, an educator and a student. One doesn’t always think about that when getting together with family. But this year was different. Conversations focused on how they’re coping with each day, how they see new patients, new protocols to follow, and new restrictions when you have to enter a house or place of business.

At Home

Kids are learning through workbooks and online meetings with their teachers as well as social media platforms. (You still have to make sure they’re being taught and prepared for next year.) High schoolers still have homework and if they’re still in a scholarship program, they’re required to meet and keep up with their goals. Adults have to stay on top of our game for work as well as staying healthy by avoiding too many snack trips to the refrigerator. It’s a stressful time added to what everyone already had on their plates before COVID-19.

New Normal

Our new normal is to stay in touch with clients, prospects and family through social media, emailing, texting or with phone calls instead of meeting at their office, having coffee or lunch. This is hard for me personally because I like meeting people, going to new places, and trying new restaurants. I know this will all pass in time, but things will probably be different moving forward.

Men’s Group

Another thing helping me through these interesting times is my men’s group. On Sunday mornings, I meet with my church men’s group via Zoom. We usually start off sharing how the week went, give family updates, and talk about new things we’re doing. Even though it’s a video conference, it’s nice. It’s personable and we really get to know each other better. From there, we discuss a spiritual awareness topic the meeting leader sends out a few days prior. We discuss the topic and challenges it has in our daily lives. How each person interprets the topic can be pretty interesting at times. From there, we veer off course to talk about sports and how golf games are coming along. I look forward to seeing everyone and listening to their perspectives.

Patience is a virtue.

Those words are so true. I have friends and family who say that I have patience for a lot of things, but this certainly has tested my limits. I do meditate and find calm when I can… more so than I used to. I’m staying active, though I really would like to get back to the gym and the friends that I see there.

I’m not comfortable with some of the personal changes I’ve noticed during this time at home. My affectionate personality is diminished, which I’m not happy about. Washing my hands for no apparent reason is also becoming bothersome even though I know it’s necessary.

We all have challenges during this time. It’s a great time to set some goals. Tackle that project you’ve been meaning to get done. Start learning a new skill or dive into a new hobby you’ve always wanted to pursue. Make sure it’s something different and not too easy. Make it part of your routine. Most importantly finish it because life happens and you can’t stop it but you can control it.

By Kat McDaniel, Principal at MEDiAHEAD

This simple sentence is a philosophy that came from Patrick Mahomes when asked how he remained so calm during the Super Bowl. It’s the ability to make emotions work for you, instead of against you.

We all need this time to decide how we are going to pivot and re-focus our goals, both in business and at home.

Stepping Up

It warms my heart to see so many companies giving their time and expecting nothing in return.

I’ve done Zooms with Novella Brandhouse on marketing, Grant Gooding with PROOF Positioning on narrowing your focus and the Women Who Mean Business on pivoting and refocusing on what small businesses can do to survive.

MEDiAHEAD is continuing to print and distribute adult and child coloring books to non-profits here in KC.

We also have a new fun COVID19 comic book that Scott Emmons wrote and produced with eleven local artists that contributed illustrations.

We’ve continued to print 3D N95 masks for KU nurses and now a funky little thing that you can use to open the door for a fun giveaway.

Special thanks to Rieger Distillery

The hometown hero is Andy Rieger, owner of J Rieger Distillery. Four weeks ago, when they lost nearly all of their normal revenue streams overnight, their team rallied to quickly pivot their entire business to hand sanitizer in 36 hours. They had the first bottle of sanitizer to the public on March 19. Because of the hand sanitizer, 65 hard working members of their team have remained employed full time. In just over three weeks they have produced and distributed 200,000 individual bottles of hand sanitizer… that’s 72,000 gallons! They have also given/donated 20,000 liters of hand sanitizer to hospitals and first responders.

We are pivoting this week to bottling Rieger’s Remedy with a co-branded logo for our customers, available in 1 and 2oz. We are also supplying our portal clients “back to work kits” with masks, protective eye-wear, gloves and hand sanitizer.

It’s very stressful at work, but I’m having the most fun being cooped up with John and Amy.

We’ve planted a huge garden, played games, puzzles and fun trivia with The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art. We have spent so much time in the backyard, which we never did before. Cocktails at 6pm with cheese from The French Market on our deck has become our daily ritual.

From my friend Becky Blades – “in the rush to return to normal, use this time to consider which parts of normal are worth rushing back to.”

Stay safe and healthy!

By LeRay Warrior, Principal at MEDiAHEAD.

With new cases of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) continuing to rise each each day, it makes total sense to abide by the city-wide Stay at Home orders currently in place in St. Louis, Kansas City, and many other parts of the country. Social distancing is one of the most important defenses we have against this new “invisible enemy” and these new laws should not be flouted for selfish purposes.

This is also a time to take a look at your own personal hygiene routines. Frequently washing hands and spraying down surfaces with disinfectant are helpful measures to prevent the spread of this highly contagious virus. But less has been said about your cell phone.

For many, a cell phone can feel like an extension of our body. And yet, while many of us have been fanatically washing our hands, have many of you have also been cleaning your phone on a regular basis?

Phone Harbor More Germs Than Most Surfaces

The average American checks their phone 96 times a day. To give that some context, that’s once every ten minutes! Whether we are watching videos or listening to podcasts on our morning commute, or when we’re occupying time in between meetings, we spend a great deal of our existence tapping and touching our smartphones.

But when was the last time you cleaned your phone? The research shows that very few of us take the time to clean our cell phones, despite the fact that they are roughly ten times dirtier than the average toilet seat. You wouldn’t dream of touching a toilet seat 96 times a day, every day, without cleaning. So why do we have a different attitude toward our phones?

How to Keep Your Phone Clean?

Luckily, keeping your phone clean is quite simple. The first step you must take, which many of us are guilty of, is leaving our phones OUTSIDE of the bathroom. When you take your phone into a bathroom, you expose it to all types of bacteria including the very dangerous E. coli. So it’s a good idea to leave it stowed somewhere safe during bathroom activities.

Secondly, when it actually comes to the cleaning of your phone, you can use a soft microfiber cloth to remove germs. Or if you’re looking for a deeper clean, you can create your own cleaning solution (60% water, 40% rubbing alcohol) before dipping a cloth into the liquid and subsequently using it to disinfect the surfaces of your phone. This isn’t something you need to do every day; once a week should suffice.

Use Your Clean Phone to Call Me for Your Next Printing Run

With so many US citizens currently cooped up at home under orders from the State, there’s never been a better time to run a targeting direct mail campaign. Not only will it result in a bump in brand awareness, but it can also provide a slew of new leads, business inquiries, and ultimately sales. With direct mail campaign responses on the up, it makes sense to pivot your marketing strategy to better reflect the current conditions we find ourselves in as a nation.

So once you’ve undertaken a deep clean of your phone, make sure to use it to contact myself or a member of the team and we’ll be more than happy to help you grow your business in spite of this challenging environment.

I hope that everyone you know remains healthy and safe during these unprecedented times!

By Michele Stilwell, Director of Marketing and Accounting at MEDiAHEAD.

When we were growing up, I never really thought about that day when I would need to start taking care of my parents. We were too busy being kids and teenagers. Then we got to our twenties and it was all fun and exciting. Many of us got to our thirties and started thinking about settling down and having kids. Forties and Fifties we were raising those kids and sending them off to college (or at least getting them out of the house.)

Did you ever think during all those years that the day would come when you’d be taking care of your parents?

Maybe just one of them… or both of them. It’s an eye opener for sure. Things start to happen. They might get sick and can’t do things for themselves. Or their vision goes and they can’t renew their driver’s license. That’s huge. Think of all the places you drive to on any given day.

When parents lose the ability to drive, the responsibility has to fall on someone… most often it will fall to you. The good news is there are lots of delivery services. (Hallelujah!)

Then there are the doctor’s appointments.

You might have a parent that’s sick and having trouble remembering things. You really need to go to these appointments with them each and every time. This can be several appointments in any given month.

It’s stressful when you get to the point where you have to start making decisions on what assisted living, nursing home or memory care facility they need to move to.  Getting them settled in and then checking on them daily to make sure everything is going well. Taking them activities to do, or food they might like, or simply sitting with them just to talk so they are not lonely or feeling forgotten in a strange place.

This is all part of taking care of a parent, even though we might not be mentally prepared.

I think it’s important for all Generation X’ers to know that several of us are going through this right now. There’s a great support group out there. Our friends, neighbors and co-workers might be going through similar situations or have gone through it already. Lean on them, get the support you need, and talk about it. Help like this can guide you through anything that you may be dealing with.

It’s extremely difficult to go through the process. But knowing others have gone through the exact same thing can be a huge help.

I’m going through this right now with my mother.

You would not believe the support system I have all around me. It’s unbelievable, and much needed.

Another great organization that I can’t put enough words in this blog about is Hospice. The team that they have and the people they employee are “Angels from above”.  If you have had to interact with a Hospice organization, you will undoubtedly agree with me.

This hasn’t been my typical blog post about digital printing or portals. But I wanted to talk about it because I’m sure that people around me are going through the same thing. I wanted to make sure you knew you’re not alone. And as the roles change, it’s important to show our parents we love them as much as they showed us when we were growing up.

By Kat McDaniel, Principal at MEDiAHEAD.

Here comes my yearly reminder before Black Friday hits next week. Where you decide to shop this holiday season has a major impact on both our local economy and the environment.

Many studies have shown that when you buy from an independent, locally owned business, rather than a nationally owned business, most of the money is then used to make purchases from other local businesses, service providers and farms.

By buying local, you are strengthening the economic base of our whole community. Enriching your neighbors, by supporting their endeavors fosters the great community we have here in Kansas City.

Buying from a small local manufacturer or maker is also good for the planet. Less transportation, shipping boxes and plastic, habitat loss and pollution.

Our maker community in Kansas City is so unique.

There are SO many cool one-of-a-kind businesses that are an integral part of our community compared to a chain store that looks the same anywhere else. And local businesses hire people that know the products they are selling and take more time to get to know their customers. For example, this series of holiday maker’s markets being hosted at the Roasterie on December 7th, 14th and 21st.

So many of our local businesses also donate more per sales dollar to local non-profits, events and teams compared to any of the national chains.

Small local businesses are the largest employer nationally, and provide the most jobs to our community.

And most important, local businesses mean a stronger tax base and better use of public services compared to the national chains. This means better public services like schools, transportation and emergency services for you and your family.

As a small business owner that works with many small business owners, I feel passionately that small businesses are vital to the success of a community. So when making your purchasing decisions for the holidays, please consider giving your business to local businesses in Kansas City when possible!