Vera Bradley Spring and Summer Patterns

So with the season changes, I get excited because this means the very important VERA BRADLEY NEW PATTERNS!!! It's the little things in life. . .

My personal favorites from the new lines are:

Deco Daisy

Viva La Vera! (fun name too)

 Folkloric

There are more to love but these are at the top of my list! Vera Bradley is top of the line in quilted luggage and handbags and we have their products at Bukoo Gifts Let the women in your life decide their gift or reward. I bet there's a good chance they'll find something they like! ;)

What's a Referral Worth?

In today's economy, it's tough to be a salesman. If you think about it, in any job you are trying to sell something. Whether it's your service, your product, or yourself, whether you already have the customer, you have to KEEP selling them in order to keep their business. It's a tough market out there with a lot of competition. People are not afraid to do their research to go and find the best deal, whatever that may be.

You speak to any person who knows about sales or marketing and they will tell you that the best form of advertising is word of mouth, or referrals. What will increase that word of mouth traffic? Probably a reward or two for the person that sent business your way. The truth is that if your face is on TV or you have commercials everywhere, the odds that someone is going to use your product or service may be high. But if Tina's friend Wanda tells her that your service is the bomb.com, Tina is going to trust Wanda. And you should thank Wanda, because Tina is probably not the only one who listens to her. A tiny act of thanking someone in a big or little way could go miles for your business.

Think about growing your business and solidifying your customer base with a gift for those who give you the greatest compliment of all- a referral. Big gift or small gift, they will appreciate the fact that you took the time to thank them, even when they weren't expecting anything from the mention of how great a job you do. So ask yourself next time you get a referral- what is it worth?

Competition and Rewards Breed Health and Wellness!

It's human nature to be driven by competition. We see everyday in the media and television about how our desire for "things" got us into the mess that is the economy right now.  Like it or not wanting to be the best, or have the most is what drives humans in a lot of ways, whether we like it or not.  We can take these forces of competition and things and bring them together to motivate each other to being better. Companies have been implementing health and wellness competitions of all different shapes and sizes to see great improvement in employees' well-being.  Most people do not shy away from competition in any form so turning healthy behaviors into a way to "win" is a solution that many companies are finding is a fun, cost-effective, and rewarding way to improve wellness in the workplace.



With this improved well-being comes less spending on prescription costs and doctors visits. Sick days are taken less which means increased productivity for the company.  Not to mention healthy behaviors of eating right and physical activity  are known to increase morale.



No matter how you choose to implement a program, whether it's to create a "healthy" competitive spirit in the office with prizes or incentives as the goal, or just overall wellness pride, consider putting a program into place that will not only be a great business decision, but a moral one as well.

Now let's all drink to our health!