The October Edit

The kickoff of Q4 always feels like being at the bottom of a very steep mountain you’re about to climb, and for some reason the only pair of shoes you have packed for this trek are your most uncomfortable pair of 150mm Christian Louboutin stilettos. Whether it be holiday gifts, client events, end of year reporting, forecasting for the new year, or planning your trip to PPAI, it seems as though everything is happening at once professionally… and don’t get me started about the way the social calendar picks up around this time as well… Keeping things organized and everything moving forward becomes an Olympic sport. 

Since time and energy are limited and valuable resources, what do you sacrifice to be able to keep the juggling act in the air? 

In the past, it has typically been my social media posting and my wellness routines that initially fall by the wayside. These are also the things that keep me inspired and balanced, so although they take up time and energy, once I pause my practices, my mental health starts to decline almost immediately. As a result, the rest of my work suffers through a trickle-down effect, which then brings me to a realization that I need to get back to the basics by finding time to do the things that fill my cup. It shouldn’t be a surprise that like clockwork, I get back in the groove.  

Einstein suggests that insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result. Which is why this year, I am choosing to recognize my patterns and attempt to get ahead of the spiral by continuing to put my best foot forward with structure and cling to the things that fill my cup to avoid an EOY meltdown. Because, in my own version of a Show Girl era that is going through many things behind the scenes, the most basic rule of business is that the show must go on!  

Tasteful Truth:

You can start OR end your email with an exclamation mark, but you can’t do both! As someone who prides herself on being authentic in the workplace while toeing the fine line between professional and GIRLY TWIRLY, I have made this a rule of thumb to follow when constructing my emails. Exclamation points seemingly take off the edge when you want to come across as warm in an email. However, when you put too many exclamation marks in an email to someone you are starting a relationship with, you can lose your ability to be taken seriously by the receiving party almost immediately. You can throw one in there that either suggests warmth in the greeting or the sign off.  

It's like dating, you don’t want to come across too enthusiastic at the beginning.  You must feel it out first to gauge the temperature of - is this someone who will appreciate correspondence with some flavor, or is this someone who wants to keep things as matter-of-fact as possible? If they seem the latter, you don’t have to entirely suppress yourself, but at that point, it isn’t worth constructing the most witty, gregarious content with minimal return. Look at it as being freed from the expectation of excitement. It sounds dramatic, but every time you put more thought and enthusiasm in a message that won’t be fully appreciated, you are taking energy away from yourself that could be better spent elsewhere. And GIRLY to GIRLY, our time and energy are valuable… especially at this time of the year. 

Merch Moments:

• The Life of a Show Girl – As a closeted Swiftie, the rest of the world and I were so excited to recently usher in the Life of a Show Girl era. Initially the album was polarizing between the two camps of those who appreciate Taylor being in a happy place versus those who want the deep, profound, lyrics that typically come from her heart breaks. Personally, I can appreciate a light-hearted bop, but obviously what I am most tuned in for is the merch that will come along with it. Her initial merch drop was a cardigan and a CD packaged in a custom orange glitter box, which was almost as polarizing as the album itself.  To me, it felt underwhelming as the product did not really tell the same story as all the Show Girl branding that has been all over the internet. Heck, the packaging itself was the most exciting part of the kit, which leads me to believe more merch is coming because Taylor’s team never misses the merch mark. And I’ll be sure to be on the lookout for the moment it drops.  

• The “On Brand” Show – If I can’t be real here, where can I be?? Jimmy Fallon and Boz St. John dropped a new TV show called “On Brand” a few weeks ago and I made it to the final round of casting for the show. Clearly, I did not make it on the show, and that level of rejection stung. Because I was swept away in the possibilities as it initially transpired. If I’m being honest, it is my dream scenario to bring the promotional products industry to a larger audience by being featured on a nationally televised show which is essentially a contest that would highlight what I have made a successful career off of, hosted by two marketing geniuses that I deeply admire??? It would open up so many doors and could ultimately be life-changing to tell the gate-kept story of merch as the main character of marketing strategy through the lens of a promotional products professional. 

However, rejection and failure come with the turf of doing anything great in this life, so I choose to see this as an indicator that I am heading in the right direction to even be considered for an opportunity like this. And who knows what the future holds. 

In my minimal spare time, I plan to watch the show and will bring you all my thoughts along the way as I am sure there will be an abundance of merch moments packed in the mix.  

• My Italian Summer – Last month’s blog was written while I was en route to my second Italian vacation of the summer (I know it’s ridiculous, but we had two weddings of people we loved very much so we made it happen).  After being exposed to an abundance of Italian culture in a relatively short amount of time, I noticed many things that are currently trending in the retail space that could eventually trickle down to promotional products or potentially be used for inspo for an Italian inspired event for clients. 

  • Sardines

  • Olives

  • Wine

  • Lemons

Mantra of the Month:

If it’s not this it is something better – This is a mantra I use just about every day and have been saving for the moment I could talk about the “On Brand” let down. It is a very powerful mindset because there will be many moments of disappointment or rejection on a high performer's journey. In these moments it is easy to be overcome with self-doubt… and honestly want to quit, but by shifting your mindset to faith over fear, you gain confidence that everything is working in your favor. It takes the pressure out of what feels to be life or death situations and once you practice this a few times, you will realize that maybe the initial failure wasn’t final, or that something even better came about. This is not to be confused shifting to a blasé  attitude because you still have to put your all into anything you want, but more so just a reminder that there is a bigger plan that you may not be able to fully understand in the moment, so rather than being devastated that it didn’t work out, find comfort in the fact that as you show up as your best self, amazing things beyond your dreams will happen.