When I think about a life motto or mantra, I always come back to the idea that we should view life through the lens of 'getting better every day!' That's why the end of every blog incorporates the idea of 'looking forward to a brighter tomorrow!' Today is only twenty-four hours and this week was only seven days. If one hour, or one day, or one week ruined us, then we have got to pick ourselves up and remind ourselves to keep moving forward. Martin Luther King Jr. said "If you can't fly then run. If you can't run then walk. If you can't walk then crawl. But whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” 
Take an inventory of where you are right now. Are you in a rut with work? Is your relationship with a spouse or loved one shaky? Have you fallen out with a best friend or family member? It could be one or all of these things. What happened? Taking the time to think about the situation after the ember has cooled a little will give you a greater understanding of you and your choices and actions as you look introspectively at your own life. Don't dwell on what someone did to you or how they hurt you. Instead, when something like this happens, focus on the only piece of the situation you have control over and responsibility of, how you acted and how you responded. Too many times, even the coolest heads get heated in an emotional discussion or situation. Think about what you did... now decide if what you did requires an apology. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't, but it is VITAL that you figure that out. Next, you need to think about how you responded, even if you thought it was only inward. Were you angry? Offended? Were you hurt? This is a harder spot, because I am asking you to look inwardly and determine if that was warranted. If you say, 'no', then that is something you can apologize for. If you say, 'yes it was warranted', then I would encourage you to look harder and remove any 'pride' that you may be harnessing. You still say, 'yes it was warranted', then you do not need to apologize unless your heart tells you to.
"Looking inside yourself is a practice that we as people need to do on a much more frequent basis. It would rid the world of most 'Karens' and put us on the path to a brighter tomorrow."
Once you realize where you are, there are only two paths. You either move in the direction which will take you forward, or you don't. There is no reason to overcomplicate life. Teachers and philosophers and heads of religion have used the simplicity concept for thousands of years because they knew a simple path was the easiest to follow. So don't complicate it. Either, you choose to move in the direction of what you want to obtain, or you don't. Gym goers make a mental choice to fight for what they want. Doctors and Lawyers make an active choice to study hard for what they want. Business women and men make personal sacrifices for where they want to be. Moms and dads make hard choices for where they want their families to end up. If you aren't where you want to be, there is no magic potion or genie to make it happen. But where there is willpower, there will always be a way. Or you decide that it isn't worth the energy and settle for staying where you are and remaining who you are in this moment. You need to recognize that this is also a choice. The world is not laying out your path and then guiding you down it. YOU are laying out your own path and leading yourself down it. It is YOU who is in control of your destiny and of your future. You decide on your own Brighter Tomorrow! "Everything!" It will cost you everything to get where you want to be because the process will not bring the old you along. The process will leave your past there and create a new self. We can not move forward without also becoming a new person in the process. I'm not saying you'll be completely different, because you will still have many of your attributes as you grow. I am saying you will be refined. Bad habits will be chiseled away like a sculptor chiseling the stone. Like melting gold so that you can scoop away the impurities, you are refined. And so, when you choose to be different than you are, you will always come out better on the other side. Then, repeat the process. 
And when you feel lost and the darkness of doubt and fear are overwhelming you, take courage. You are not alone. There are people here who want to see you succeed. The tunnel gets darkest before the light at the end comes into view. So, in the words of Dory, "Just keep swimming." Keep swimming until you reach the other side. Swim until you find the current that will boost you forward or the school of fish that will join you in the journey, even if only for a short time. Just keep moving towards your goal of a 'New You'! And together, in 2022 and beyond, let us work on ourselves as we look forward to a brighter tomorrow! Want to know more? Then Subscribe for Monthly Updates to our Newsletter Find more amazing products on our Case Studies! 
Leadership begins inside of you. Imagine yourself as a work of art, a sculpture. You start out as a big chunk of marble, and the first pieces of rock that have to be chiseled off are easy to see. Things like dishonesty need to be broken off to leave only integrity. Chunks of timidity chiseled down to leave only determination and boldness. Breaking off those blocks of negativity to leave more positivity. Once you've done that, you are left with a figure that looks more human, but that still needs some fine tuning. This is where many leaders get, but become unwilling to finish the project. They say things like, "This is just who I am." Or, "I've been like this for forever." And what they mean is, "This is as far as I'll go, and I am unwilling to change." That type of leader will never be their best. Being a Leader is choosing to always grow. If you aren't growing, or in the case of a sculpture, being chiseled and polished, then you are not growing. And many would say that if you aren't growing, you are decaying. This is step one in becoming a great leader, and if you have already decided this is too much, then turn back now. The chiseling process is not for the faint of heart. It requires constant commitment and humility.
In 2021 this generation is between the ages of 57 to 75. They grew up during the Vietnam War and post war eras. They were the Rock and Roll, Beatles and Woodstock enthusiasts. Many of them were a part of the FIRST two-income households, first generation with TVs and the first to openly accept divorce as a tolerable reality. History even noted them as the first 'tolerant' generation, paving the way for American Freedoms. But what do they offer to companies like yours? The answer is experience. This generation is the one who blew figurative holes in the mountains of society and culture. They weren't just "rebels without a cause" because moving forward was the cause. Freedom to be and choose was, in their early years, their motif. Though, for some, that has changed as they have gotten older. In the work place, they should be the wise guides for the new generations who are rising up to make industries new and bring business back to the present and then push it to the future. They need the Baby Boomers to teach them so that they don't make the same mistakes.
In 2021 this generation is between the ages of 56 to 41. This generation grew up street-smart because of career driven parents and often divorced or broken homes. They learned to fend for themselves early on which has earned them the term, "The Latch-Key Kids". Most remember the introduction of computers in middle school or high school. They were interested in philosophizing more than settling with a long-term career and family. They tend to commit to self growth and average seven career changes in their lifetime. Society, and thus individuals, are often seen as disposable unless they enhance this generations growth. So how do they fit into our work culture? Seen as the renaissance of entrepreneurship, and rightfully so, they typically push the companies we see around us onward. This Generation took up the reins and drove Business to the next level. They have the experience of transforming companies from what they were to the next level, what they should be. They are the driving force and that energy is needed by the other generations. That leadership is required for the other generations to learn it and often to live by it because it was and is the life blood of leadership and entrepreneurship! 
In 2021 this generation is between the ages of 40 to 21. This generation, my generation, are thought to be sophisticated, technology wise, immune to most traditional marketing and sales pitches, they’ve seen it all and been exposed to it all since early childhood. According to a Goldman Sachs research:
When we learn to understand one another, we conquer Multi-Generational Struggles. And we grow into a Brighter Tomorrow... TOGETHER! 
Corporate Synergy is the cooperation of staff, clientele and vendors formed to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects. That is the positive effect of one staff member to another. One Customer to a Salesperson. One bookkeeper to a Vendor. When we maintain a balance and harmony amongst those three parts of business, we find Synergy. And Corporate Synergy is what takes a good team and moves it to excellence. Finding the spark to this synergy is very easy for the administrator or leader who is proficient with it. A leader who can observe the 'language' each person needs to feel respected and accepted. A leader who can learn the body language of their coworkers and subordinates, so well that they can see issues before they get out of control. These are the leaders who not only avoid big issues by handling them before they get out of hand. These are the leaders who can spark enthusiasm in the workplace. They make every worker feel appreciated by the company as well as by that administrator. These are the leaders who make every person in the company want to succeed. To spark this sort of community and cooperative teamwork, a leader needs to be attuned to the following
Now that your leader has sparked the fire, you need to add some fuel to really ignite it. That fuel can be anything that gets your employees excited. These are sometimes the events or gatherings that make employees hate work a little less. Because, let's face it, no one wants to work at a boring job these days. We are a society that is finally coming back to the age of 'Work hard to Play harder'. If we aren't fulfilled and happy, we will pick up and leave, and that generation is the one that is taking the front row on this leadership train. We might as well accept it.
Critics debate that we may not see recreational marijuana legalized on a Federal level until 2024. The question isn't 'if' but 'when'. This is the time for big and small business to prepare to Capitalize on Cannabis! There is still a lot of progress to be made, but the people are pushing for the legalization, and in many states it is already legal on a local level. As you can see by the map produced by DISA Global Solutions, 25 States have become 'Fully Legal' when it comes to Marijuana. The map also shows only 5 States that are still 'Fully Illegal'. 
The federal government first regulated marijuana in 1937 when Congress passed the Marijuana Tax Act. This was a tactic used to regulate drug use without making it 'illegal' because this was believed to be less susceptible to legal challenge. However, it essentially outlawed the sale of cannabis. Then, in 1970, Congress passed the Controlled Substances Act, which established categories into which they placed drugs depending on their perceived usefulness in medicine and potential for abuse. Schedule 1, the most restrictive category, contained drugs that the federal government deemed as having no valid medical uses and a high potential for abuse. The US categorized Cannabis as Schedule 1. Two years later, the Shafer Commission, appointed by Nixon, recommended that marijuana be decriminalized. This would ultimately remove it from the Act completely. Nixon, however, rejected his own Commission’s report. Through multiple avenues including Medical Research, recreational utilization and social acceptance, Marijuana took the spot light again in the eighties. Activist groups like the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) formed. They promoted and coordinated grass-roots efforts to legalize medical marijuana at the state and local levels. This brings us to where we are today. Now, these efforts extend beyond the medical uses. Cannabis' successful campaigns in several states lead to legalizing its recreational use. Many Americans praise these efforts as a triumph of average citizens over a politicized legal system. A system that imprisons large numbers of nonviolent drug users unnecessarily. A failed War on Drugs. An unresponsive regulatory regime that denies easily acquired relief to suffering patients. Some think these claims and this unique path to marijuana's legalization brings unique problems. They believe that without proper scientific study and medical trials there can be no clear and reliable guidelines for the drug’s administration. There would be no indications of potential side effects from prolonged use. Critics question whether the medical marijuana movement’s immediacy and disregard for research protocols reflects humanitarian concern. Is this for suffering patients or profit seeking producers and distributors? Many medical associations are hoping to remove marijuana from Schedule 1 to permit further study. Rather than merely saturating the market with non-regulated products for quality or potency. Smoking marijuana remains the primary mode of ingestion. Physicians and scientists believe medical users exposed to a variety of health threats because of it. There are hundreds of chemical compounds inhaled in cannabis smoke. Though medical marijuana advocates may be justified in their enthusiasm, only time will tell. Will this path to legalization represent the unmitigated good they believe it to be? If it is... then we need to be ready to capitalize on the cannabis market. This of course depends on your industry, but if you think you have an idea of how your company can jump on board, I say test it. Custom Equipment Company is sending out fliers with some of our products that may be helpful including shelving, racking and packaging materials. Because we have such a wide variety of products, we can pick and choose which ones would work best. Perhaps you are a bakery and you could research the legality behind baked goods containing cannabis. You won't know until you try. Perhaps it is looking at the legality of allowing smokers in your restaurant or giving them specified areas. It might even be as simple as prepping your HR for when recreational use becomes a thing. You'll need to check those policies so they're ready. Let's double down before we miss the opportunity. As we grow on to a Brighter Tomorrow. 
If you were to correlate accounting with another field, I would say it most closely relates, figuratively, to medicine. Imagine your company is the body and the administration and C-suite teams are the brain. Your employees and staff are the organs and your customers are the food and water that every body needs to survive. Accounting is the pulse. It's the heartbeat that let's us know when we are on the up and up or a slow decline. sometimes it skips a beat from a financial hiccup and sometimes you can feel it slow as a company is coming to an end. The person with their finger on the pulse, on the financials, should always know how healthy the body (the Company) is based on that pulse. And where do you check for this pulse? That's also essential, because you want to get the most accurate reading. You can look at Revenue and say, "We made ten million dollars this year!" But if your expenses were eleven million, your pulse is gone and your body might be dead in the water. That's when you draw the pulse from the top line. Instead, you should go for the bottom line, the true net profit of your company after everything is expensed and accounted for. This check will give you the most accurate diagnosis of the health of your company. That being said, when looking at the bottom line there are some things your team can fix and other things that, as the Admin or Owner, can only be fixed by you. Let's start with your team, the harder part. Increasing Sales, or the Top Line, of your Profit and Loss Report. A company needs a 'top line' to be successful. Without it, you will have to do a lot more pruning to keep the company above water. But it is only half of the coin. So what are some ways to increase sales without spending too much more money? This can be done in two ways starting with ensuring that all of your employees are in the right positions. You will never be optimized if the person who is best at Human Resources is out in the field doing Outside Sales. You can't optimize labor if your Outside Sales Rep is inside trying to create appropriate Processes and Procedures. Secondly, you need to optimize the use of the time given. If you have salary employees, you should be making sure that they are optimizing every hour of their shift to get more done. Making cold calls or sending cold emails may not pay out every time, but it's something and costs nothing for a salary employee who has nothing else to do that day. Research. Send Emails. Visit Websites. Read News Articles. There are so many things that an employee can do to optimize their time. 
Organic Search Results come from a lot of different things, but in our small company we have come to find that focusing on E-Blasts and Monthly E-Newsletters, Updating and Refreshing the Website and Blogging have been our 'big three' that have increased SEO (Search Engine Optimization). If no one is responsible for this, try to hire a teenager for the summer who can get some experience in the field and will do this job for very little. Or, like we did, hire on a full time adult whose job is to do these things. They aren't hard, but they can't be brushed off and left undone. Your 'audience' will be looking for you to keep those things updated. And in todays time, this is easier than ever. If you haven't had time to check it out, here is a recent blog on the 
Now, for the easy part. Or the part that is usually easier. How do we raise the bottom line without any additional sales? Well, we cut excess spending. We trim back the fat so that all that is left on the steak is the meat. There are companies out there who specialize in lowering utility bills, cable and even telephone. But, if you aren't a fortune 500 company, you can do much of this on your own. Lower your utilities. Lower your rent or mortgage payment if possible. Scout out new insurance companies. Cut wasteful spending on consulting fees and accounting fees that may be excessive and unnecessary. It's all just Accounting 101. Raise Sales and Reduce Spending. Any business that can do this, will survive and most will actually thrive! And after 2020 and the Covid Pandemic, our businesses NEED to thrive!! Let's thrive together as we move towards a Brighter Tomorrow!