Productivity Archives - PromoKitchen

5 Tricks for Working With Your Apparel Vendor

Posted on November 23, 2015 by PromoKitchen Contributing Editor

The following post was written by PromoKitchen chef Marshall Atkinson of Visual Impressions. In the promotional item industry selling either printed or embroidered apparel is part of the daily routine. It’s a natural course of your business to help your customers with their event t-shirts, company store merchandise, golf outing sport shirts, company picnic teamwear, or just simple brand awareness…

When You’re Up to Your @** in Alligators

Posted on February 24, 2015 by PromoKitchen Contributing Editor

This post was written by PromoKitchen Chef Marshall Atkinson, COO of Visual Impressions, and originally appeared on his blog There is a small sign that used to hang in my dad’s office that reads, “When you are up to your ass in alligators it’s difficult to remember that your initial objective was to drain the swamp”. He passed away a…

8 Tips on Being Positive and Productive

Posted on June 17, 2014 by PromoKitchen Contributing Editor

Within the last couple of weeks I have had quite a few people ask me how I “get so much done.” It’s an interesting question because I am always wanting to do more. I don’t feel like I am doing all I want! My wife would probably agree! (Love ya Amy!). During that same time I have had several people…

Be A Promo Superhero!

Posted on June 6, 2013 by PromoKitchen Contributing Editor

By Janie Gaunce, President/CEO of Grapevine Designs The jargon in this industry sounds like a foreign language to a newbie, right? Like many people, I came to this industry from another career. I remember sitting in my first promotional products staff meeting wondering what a placket was. My past training in sales was very feature/benefit driven. Quickly, I became completely bamboozled…

When the Peripheral Opponent is You

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Bobby Lehew

(Cross-posted from bobbylehew.com, with apologies to Steven Pressfield). As an avid book collector, I’ve amassed more than my share of unread books. It’s a possessive obsession, an incurable malady. Of the piles and piles of books I’ve purchased through the years, none seem to retain their unread status longer than the books that fall into the two categories of ‘self-help’…

Tips for Tradeshow Attendees

Posted on January 10, 2013 by Brad White

So you are ready to start the New Year and you’re preparing to go to the big tradeshow. You will be looking for new products, forming new relationships, and reconnecting with colleagues and friends. With travel and events, the show will keep you constantly on the move for a week straight. Then quickly upon your return home, you will be…

The Tools I Use: Dale Denham

Posted on October 15, 2012 by Promo Kitchen

The “Tools I Use” is a new series designed to help our community discover and share new tools to build their businesses and enhance their personal lives. We welcome members of our community to participate in this column. If you would like to submit a post, just answer the three questions in bold (below) and email your article, we’d love to…

5 Things I Have Learned from Being on Sabbatical and How I Can Apply Them to My Next Business

Posted on October 10, 2012 by Promo Kitchen

The following article was written by Craig Morantz, former VP of Sales with Polyconcept and founder of Burning Prescence (post was originally published on his blog Seems Obvious to Me). When I was working I was always booked, every 15 minutes in my calendar I had a meeting or a task to complete. Initially and really for the majority of…

The Tools I Use: New Series

Posted on September 13, 2012 by Bobby Lehew

We’re kicking off a new series in our productivity category on PromoKitchen, inspired by the uber-popular site, The Setup. This series is designed to help our community discover and share new tools to build their businesses and enhance their personal lives. We welcome members of our community to participate in this column. If you would like to submit a post,…

Juggling 101 – The Entrepreneur’s Guide To Sanity

Posted on July 31, 2012 by PromoKitchen Contributing Editor

The following article was written by Ruth Verver, partner at Paperclip Promotions. Being your own boss is one of the most amazing and rewarding things you can do. It also tends to be the kind of thing that ties your stomach in knots and causes your head to spin. It’s the beginning of the year…where are all of those sales…