Poppit Sheets and a Desktop Dumpster Fire?

By Kat McDaniel, Principal at MEDiAHEAD

Poppit Sheets and a Desktop Dumpster Fire?This year we are going to give out funny holiday gifts. We’ve all been so stressed this year in the office – too much to do, not enough time to do it, no budgets, crazy deadlines, and grumpy people. Yikes!

I started thinking about a month ago… What if we didn’t give traditional gifts to clients that we normally would? Let’s face it – our lives are a dumpster fire right now, why not give them a dumpster on fire for their desk or a mousepad that has the cutest little dumpster on fire.

I’m Fine. I’m Fine! Everything is Fine.

How about some stress relief from Poppit Sheets – pop that stress away with bubble popping sheets. They come in a tissue box, just pop one out and start poppin’ when you see your boss coming.

Everyone needs an insulated cup that says, “Chaos Coordinator.”  Someone who solves problems you never knew existed in ways that will blow your mind; see also: ninja, badass; legend.

Sending funny gifts can make your business stand out from competitors and show that you care about your client’s mental health, and you want them to be happy.

Here are some ideas for funny gifts you can send to clients:

  • Novelty socks: A good novelty sock with the client’s face on it can be a hilarious gift.
  • Belly button lint brush: A tiny lint brush designed for a belly button is a fun gift for someone who already has everything.
  • Fake champagne bottle candles: These candles are a fun alternative to shipping alcohol.
  • Funny notepad: A funny notepad can be a good option for clients who would appreciate the sentiment.

Have fun with client gifts this year. Be sure to put a smile on their face!

Poppit Sheets and a Desktop Dumpster Fire? Poppit Sheets and a Desktop Dumpster Fire?

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What is your mindset regarding leads?

By Betsy Bennholz, Promotional Products Sales Manager at MEDiAHEAD

What is your mindset regarding leads?When it came to finding leads, at the beginning of my career I would literally pull out the phone book.

For the youngsters reading this, that was this big yellow printed book that listed businesses and doubled as a child’s booster seat. The big printed white book was for people who had a home phone attached to their wall. Sorry, I felt a history lesson was needed. All that to say, I opened the big yellow book and started in the A section and if someone had a bigger ad in the book, I thought they might have more money to spend, and I would call them first. Not exactly a scientific method, but it seemed logical at the time.

Fast forward thirty years and all that is gone. Now, it is social media, websites, and networking events. I still believe in “know, like and trust” and go to networking events. Building relationships is key in business, no matter the era.

What I find interesting is how the company culture approaches leads.

The following are lead behaviors that I have experienced in my career.

  • The lead hoarder – It’s like they’re collecting treasures, even if they don’t plan on using them anytime soon.
  • The lead holder – The mindset is that you exchanged cards and if they need something they can call, or they will get to it when I can.
  • The lead delegator – This is smart delegation, passing the lead to the best-suited person or team to handle it effectively.
  • The lead Piranhna – They’re hungry for success and will go after leads with determination and persistence.

I have experienced these working for three companies and also owning my own business. Each company had a different philosophy. Not every lead is meant for every salesperson or business and recognizing that can lead to better outcomes for everyone involved.

My personal philosophy is there are enough business leads for everyone, and collaborating with other salespeople who believe the same way has served me well. Not every salesperson is a good fit for a given client. If you haven’t made any transactions, I believe in passing those leads on.

At MEDiHEAD, Kat McDaniel is extremely generous with passing on leads and letting us do what each of us does well. This kind of environment fosters success and positive relationships within the team. When it comes to leads, we like to make connections. Let’s talk!

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Have Fun at Work!

By Kat McDaniel, Principal at MEDiAHEAD

This week, we all decided to walk two miles down to the parade to cheer on the Kansas City Chiefs. We wore our Hawaiian Bros/Chief’s shirts and braved the cold for a fun day.

Everyone knows that I’m not a big football fan, but my employees are superfans. I love to participate in events like this because it is important to them. Fun at work is a key element of employee happiness.

Kansas City Chief's Parade Have Fun at Work!

A sense of fun helps people to have a more positive mind-set, enjoy higher levels of wellbeing and better mental health.

Organizations with higher levels of employee wellbeing report lower levels of absenteeism, presenteeism, and work-related errors. It’s why we all have lunch together every Friday, with the rule that we can’t discuss work. It’s how we all get to know each other outside of our work life.

Some companies think fun at work is a distraction, but research suggest that it has a positive impact on engagement, creativity and purpose, which increases employee retention and reduces turnover.

When you think about it, we spend 75% of our day with co-workers and no one wants to work at a place that’s no fun!

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Grit – Be Willing to Prepare to Win

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By Kat McDaniel, Principal at MEDiAHEAD

Kathryn McDanielI have been thinking about the following question after my friend, Jaime Simpson, asked me to be on her podcast Winners Win.

Is there a characteristic or value you hold personally that helps you succeed or be a “right fit” for your role?

I can’t believe that it has been 31 years since I bought a little printing company because the owner was going to prison for counterfeiting – and moved to KC not knowing a single person with an 11-month-old baby!

I’ve always had what people call grit.

Everyone told me that there were already too many printers in KC when I first started making sales calls. But you can face adversity more confidentially when you are determined to make it through, giving you the drive that you need to come out on the other side. I had the unflinching belief that the company was going to be successful, and I told them so.

I am also the type of person that gets up every morning in a good mood. It’s important to feel that everything is going to be okay, no matter what. After surviving cancer – what’s the worst that can happen? A kind, cheerful persona is also helpful to keep your clients and employees calm when situations arrive.

Putting in the work.

Grit is related to a mindset in that if one believes that failures are due to their fixed traits, there is no reason to try again. Conversely, individuals with growth mindsets are more likely to be resilient and have more confidence to plan and prepare to overcome adversity. I love this Bear Bryant quote…

“It’s not the will to win that matters; everyone has that. It’s the will to prepare to win that matters.”
– Bear Bryant

When the Going Gets Tough.

GritThere have been times in my life that I truly believed there was no way out. The collapse of my ex-husband’s business, which caused terrible financial blowback on my company, the death of my beloved, my cancer and lastly, the pandemic – who would have predicted that! There is an old saying “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” I truly believe that we need to keep going, putting one foot in front of the other, even when things get tough.

I have been blessed to have had people in my life that were resilient and demonstrated extraordinary grit and mental toughness throughout my journey. I have always been impressed by the people who displayed certain characteristics that allowed them to push through adversity and even excel while doing so. All of these traits have played a huge role in my success and the way I approach everyday life.

What traits have played a role in your success? I hope this resonated with you!

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Mascot Update – Frankie’s First Christmas!

Frankie's First ChristmasBy Frankie Bean, Mascot and Instagram Model at MEDiAHEAD

December is a big month for me! My first Christmas with my mom and dad and my very 1st Birthday! Bark-hoooo!

My dad, Bill Mitchell, also has his birthday on December 24th. (What a rip-off because he only gets one present.)

It’s been a wonderful year getting to know everyone in the office.

Most of the time, I walk around with my long leash on, so that people can step on it if I try to go crazy and run away. I haven’t learned how to jump on Kat’s desk, like Izzy did, so I’m not getting any extra food.

FrankieI’m looking forward to the holidays, my parents always drop lots of food while they’re cooking, and I get lots of pats from all the relatives.

I also hope this year I have helped my mom and dad and everyone at the office feel okay after Izzy passed – we sure do miss her.

Love to all,
Frankie

paw

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Toxic clients can drive away your employees.

By Kat McDaniel, Principal at MEDiAHEAD

Toxic CustomersI have had several clients over the years that I fired because they were rude to my employees. Toxic clients don’t just cost you money – they can also drive off your best talent. If you don’t stand up and support your employees, how can you expect them to have your back?

Toxic Client Traits

The top traits of a toxic client are being hard to please, unreasonable, dramatic and impolite. They can decrease morale, company engagement and employee motivation. And employees put the blame on their employers, with 60% saying it was their company’s fault for keeping a problematic client.

Considering the current labor market, it’s a good to deal with a toxic client immediately.

I can remember a night that I had to jump out of bed because a client was screaming at the pressman during a press… Okay – she didn’t quite understand that mixing red and blue would result in purple. I told her we would finish the job because we are professionals, BUT I also told her I never wanted to see her in my pressroom ever again!

Setting reasonable boundaries in the beginning can help.

Toxic clients often add new items to existing projects or ask for irrelevant things to be added beyond the scope of a project. You must be clear that these changes or additions will result in additional charges and possibly impact the due date.

Stand your ground when a toxic client attempts to dominate the situation. It’s also important to keep a copy of your communications to back up your version of events. Clients like these rarely pay you on time and often refuse to follow their contracts.

Over the last 30 years in business, I’ve learned that it’s always better to sever ties with toxic clients. It’s not worth you or your employee’s sanity. Fortunately, after being in business for so long, we only work with clients we love!

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It’s Me! Miss Frankie Bean!

Miss Frankie BeanBy Miss Frankie Bean, MEDiAHEAD Mascot and Instagram Model

Hello friends! Would you believe this is my very first blog post for MEDiAHEAD? I’ve been the mascot here for a few months now… but out of respect for Izzy, I wanted to put some time in before I tried to fill her author paws in our blogging efforts. (And we all still miss having Izzy around, although I don’t miss her jumping up on my desk and eating all my food or drinking my coffee.)

The time has come for me to start adding my stories to the mix. So here we gooooo!

First of all, as a younger mascot, I’m a bit more up to speed on popular social media sites. I’m well on my way to becoming Instagram Famous and you can follow me on Instagram right here! Okay, 88 followers might not be a lot, but we all have to start somewhere, right?

Miss Frankie BeanAs you can tell in some of the pictures, I am a bit more fabulous than Izzy was… I’m all girl. I have an amazing runway walk, even though I’m a bit of a chunky monkey.

And yes, I love to do The Zoomies in our back yard as well. Maybe the doggielympics are in my future?

Anyway, I will continue to bring stories from the perspective of our shop floor in the coming months. I’m so glad to be on the team here at MEDiAHEAD!

Sniffs and Slobbers,
Frankie

paw

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In Loving Memory of Tom and Izzy

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February was a tough month for myself and my employees. Not only did we have to deal with the death of Tom, my father, but we also lost our beloved Izzy – who most of you have been following in our office and blog for years.

As much as you prepare for this moment, the experience left us reeling with the seven stages of grief: shock and denial, pain and guilt, anger and bargaining, depression, upward turn, reconstruction and acceptance. And grief does not follow a straight line – it bounces between all the stages.

Strategies for coping with grief are varied – my sisters and I dealt with his death with wine, cheese, chips and togetherness. Bill and Dory cuddled Izzy for weeks to let her know how much she was loved.

Bill and Dory’s Izzy

Izzy Izzy

It helps to know that you won’t feel like this forever. Take care of yourself and allow it to go.

You can handle this, even when you feel like you can’t. Don’t try to stifle or avoid your feelings, make space to experience painful emotions and ask for help if you need it. You’re not alone.

Be gentle with yourself. I found grief to be exhausting so I carved out time for lots of rest. Your feelings are normal – the process makes it more difficult if other people around you tell you what you should or shouldn’t do. Allow yourself to feel whatever the heck you want, that’s your normal.

Grief comes in cycles, not a straight line. You reach a point where you feel good, only to feel bad again. Grief has been described as a series of loops.

Bill told me this week that he still thinks about Izzy every day, even though they have a new addition to the family (more to come on that later). Ride the wave.

Kat’s Father Tom

Kat with Dad and Fam Kat's Notes from Dad Kat's Notes from Dad

I will miss my father, but I also celebrate his fascinating 93 years of life. He had four daughters who adored him, three wives that he outlasted, was a world traveler and visionary. He delighted in regaling family and friends with his many stories and THAT we will miss most of all.

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Izzy has some sad news to share…

Izzy Barking at Mo

Hi guys. It’s Izzy. And this month I have some sad news to share.

My friend Monkey (we called her Mo) passed away a few weeks ago. She was the best cat friend a dog could ask for. I terrorized her daily, but I loved her so much. I still run around the house searching for her every day.

The last few days, Monkey couldn’t walk, so I stayed on the couch and cuddled with her all day and night till she passed.

My parents got some advice on how to deal with my grief.

  1. They talk to me in a calm and upbeat voice, even though it’s hard for them to cope with their own loss.
  2. We’re engaging in new activities. This helps me focus on something new and distract me from the loss of Mo and the uncertainty surrounding it.
  3. We’ve been doing some fun and enjoyable things, like going to the park. It helps me emotionally and makes my parents feel better too.
  4. The vet told them if I show signs of separation anxiety or depression that they should bring me in for a checkup (I HATE going to the vet).
  5. And the best thing of all – I get to go to the office to see my friends every day!!

Izzy and Mo - Best Friends Izzy and Mo - Best Friends Izzy and Mo - Best Friends

One thing that hasn’t changed is my appetite.

Izzy Eats Too Much PizzaI still scour the office every day for any unsupervised snacks. I think I’m getting a little extra because they know I’m sad. I even got some pizza last Friday!

Monkey lived for 20 years, which is a long time for my best friend.

I will miss her so much!

-Iz

izzy paw

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A Weather Advisory from your friend Izzy.

Izzy head shotI’m so glad it’s warming up, aren’t you? I’m just going to throw this out there that some dogs love warm weather, and some dogs love cold weather.

Me? I’m a warm weather dog for sure. Just look at me! I’m small, have very thin hair, and I’m super vulnerable to hypothermia. I absolutely have to wear a jacket and booties when I go out in the snow.

Do I like the booties, absolutely not! My humans captured it all in a video. I look ridiculous.

I prefer Spring and Fall to be completely honest.

The temps during these seasons make me feel happiest.

Some dogs adapt really well to the cold, like the ones with all the fur. I heard that during the cold spell, they actually go outside and just lay in the snow. What? Not me. I’m in and out, quicker than you can say, “Izzy”.

It’s always good to monitor your loving pets when they’re out in the elements. Especially as summer is coming up and it get really hot. I know I get hot in the summer. Did you know a dog’s temperature should never be over 104 degrees?

Did you know that temperature plays a part in our moods?

Izzy's Friend

When the weather gets hot, certain breeds are less heat tolerant than others and bronchial issues can become more pronounced (I had to have help with some of those words…) Some dogs might get a bit snappish in very hot weather and may need more space and less interaction.

I know a dog that freaks out during storms. He pants, shakes and goes in circles. He knows the storm is coming way before it arrives. His humans give him a treat with a calming agent in it and he seems to do much better.

So a word of advice from a dog’s point of view… If your super cool pet gets grumpy in the heat, don’t worry.

Here are some things you can do to make them feel better.

  • Don’t let your human take you for walks during the hottest part of the day
  • Make sure you have plenty of fresh water and shade at all times
  • Get a cooling mat – or kiddie pool to swim in
  • Lay yourself in front of a fan or the ac vent
  • Never have your owner leave you in an enclosed vehicle
  • Watch your paws on the sidewalks, street, sand or hot surfaces

Happy Spring and Summer you guys! Stay safe and cool!

Love, Iz
izzy paw

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