Now that Christmas has passed, I wonder if it is too early to turn our attentions to the next commercialized holiday.  Has anyone yet thought of the Valentine's Day gift they will purchase for that special someone?  I know you just might be catching your breath from all the Christmas shopping you just did; however my friend, time does not stand still for any man and before you know it Valentine’s Day will be here!  If by chance you should be contemplating the best way to convey your sentiment of love and appreciation I recommend that you consider Motivators to help you express that message with our Promotional Valentine's Day products.  Leave that lasting impression with the ones you care for the most or get the attention of a future client as these items are great tradeshow giveaways.

Affection Candle

I once read a survey that said one in three people write down the passwords for their computer.  Now, the basic idea behind having a password is to prevent the access of your computer documents or files by unscrupulous or unauthorized individuals.  If the information contained in your computer is confidential or of value your password helps to restrict admission and protect your privacy.  The same premise is rational concerning the security of our home.  We have keys to our respective places so that only those whom we wish to have unabated access will be able to enter-in at anytime, right?  So with that thought in mind, I ask myself, why is it that spare keys are often left in the most common places, like the mailbox, a flowerpot, or under the doormat?  For the record, I would never leave or authorize my keys to be left anywhere outside, but, to those who do, I wonder why leave them in such an easy place to find.  If I was a burglar and I stress the word 'if', these locations would be a no-brainer.  But in any case, I was perusing the Motivators website and came across what I thought to be a very cool item called the promotional Spare Key Holder Rock.  This item looks and feels just like a real rock, but, it has a compartment which is able to hold and hide your spare keys!  I have never heard of anything like this before and I think this would be a nice alternative to the usual hiding places.  I only pray that no criminals will read this blog!!!  

Time moves so swiftly, even more so it seems between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Before you can finish off the last of that Thanksgiving turkey you lookup and realize that Christmas is right around the corner!  There is 21 days left until Christmas, three weeks, and many employers are still scurrying to find that perfect holiday gift to provide to their employees.  Well, they should look no further then Motivators for fast and free holiday rush service.  Right now, as part of Motivators holiday promotional many items are able to be imprinted with five, three, or one-day rush production service at no additional charges.  I know that everyone loves and appreciates fast service, but, how good does it feel when you do not have to pay extra for it!?  

Star Paperweight/Clock Gift Set 

 

I was listening to my favorite Stevie Wonder album the other day, Songs in the Key of Life, no question one of the greatest albums ever made, and all of a sudden in the middle of Pastime Paradise the disc starts to skip!  Now, I am starting to get upset because everyone who lives in my house, other then myself, has a bad habit of not putting CD's and DVD's back in the case after they have finished with it.  So, my first thought was that somebody had scratched my CD; however, after wiping down my disc with a piece of cloth from an old t-shirt I discovered that it only needed to be cleaned.  But surely, if you have a CD or DVD long enough you will experience some measure of wear and tear to your disc, such as smudging or scratching, and you may not be able to afford an expensive repair machine such as this apparatus which has a retail sale price of $995:

Thus, I recommend to you the inexpensive Leeds CD Maintenance Set which at a minimum order requirement of (36) has a current sale price of $3.17 per item.  The set includes cleaning solution, a brush with key-ring, a player head cleaning disc, (3) colored CD markers, and a CD case with (12) double-sided CD sleeves.  This item will help keep your CD collection in pristine condition.   

Leeds CD Maintenance Set

Did it have to be this way?  Was John McCain destined to fall from the start?  Were the winds of change too strong for any mere mortal to withstand?  While some may point to McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential running mate as the reason for his loss and others may look to his fiscal policies during a time of economic crisis.  I, myself look at something no one has even broached as the possible explanation for his defeat.  Just maybe it was not the economy and it was not Sarah Palin, but rather, John McCain's judgment on promotional products which cost him the presidency.  Maybe you will agree or maybe not, but, I have a few examples for you to consider:  I believe if given a taste test, more Americans would probably choose Obama O's cereal over CAP'N McCAIN.

Now, take a look at these Air Force One's!  I use to have a bone colored pair which I thought were pretty original.  Maybe if John McCain had a fresh promotional product idea like this one he would have won!  

You know, in an election it is important that you are able to get your message out in a clear and well-defined manner which is recognizable to the public.  Do you think this promotional button got a second or maybe third look from a potential voter?   

I think we can safely say, yeah!

No customer likes to hear when they are placing an order that there is a minimum order requirement, but, in the promotional product business it is the status quo and very much necessary.  Many of our products are sold at a low dollar amount and if we did not have a minimum order requirement we would surely loose money.  No question, it is difficult to balance the need to be fair to customers as well as the need to be fair to ourselves; however, you would be hard-pressed to find a customer who will sympathize with any company's need to make money.  In our business, Motivators is able to maintain a price advantage for many of our clients due to our minimum order requirements.  Our clients are able to buy products at deeply discounted pricing allowing them to make the best budgetary decisions.  We do not restrict the dollar amount of an order, but, we do require that the order meet the minimum quantity within our pricing matrix.  Nevertheless, we also recognize that there are occasions when a lower then normal minimum quantity may be needed and we strive to accommodate that need within reasonable measures.  On the Motivators website, we have a page of low minimum quantity products which are listed by category.  These promotional items have the same high quality as any other product we offer, but, it satisfies the customer who is looking for the same discounted price with a lower minimum requirement. 

Though we do not have the power to prevent and eliminate completely all problems and calamities from taking place in our lives, we can strive to be prepared to deal with them in a way that reduces our stress.  And, if anyone would attempt to manage their stress, an important starting point for effective stress management is identifying the source of stress in your life.  The American Psychological Association (APA) says that the leading cause of stress is money and work.  According to their statistics three-quarters of Americans are experiencing stress due to these two factors.  Other sources of stress, the most recent APA survey traces to the difficulties of managing work and family responsibilities together.  Thirty-five percent of those surveyed by the APA cite their jobs interfering with family time as a source of stress and one in four said that they had been alienated from a friend or family member because of stress, with eight percent saying stress was the cause of a divorce or separation.  So, once you have identified the origin of your stress the question then is how do you manage it?  Well, there are healthy and unhealthy ways of managing stress.  The APA survey indicated that four in ten Americans, 43 percent, say they overeat or eat unhealthy foods to manage stress; 39 percent drink alcohol; and 19 percent smoke cigarettes.  The alternative or healthy way to manage stress would be: listening to music (54 percent); reading (52 percent); exercising or walking (50 percent); spending time with family and friends (40 percent); and praying (34 percent).  Here at Motivators we introduce other healthy ways to manage your stress.  For example, stress reliever products such as stress balls, can help you squeeze out some of the tension you may be feeling during a hard day at work.  Ladies may utilize the Aromatherapy Kit, which uses essential oils and other aromatic compounds from plants for the purpose of affecting one's mood or health.  Another stress reliever can be a customized massager which works out tension with spa like treatment.  Again, I reiterate that though we may not be able to prevent every problem that comes up in our life, we can strive to be prepared to deal with the problem in a way that reduces our stress.         

Leeds Essentials Apple Incense Kit 

 

                 

Last night, the American public got the opportunity to see John McCain and Barack Obama debate for the last time in the presidential campaign.  Nothing of note was said on policy issues which I had not heard before; however, McCain did introduce a new fellow into the national stage by the name of Joe who happened to be someone Obama spoke with on a campaign stop.  Joe is a plumber and he aspires to start his own plumbing business, but, he is concerned that once he starts his business he will be obligated to pay more taxes.  But anyway, as I watched and heard Joe's name invoked maybe thirty times during the debate I thought to myself, wow, he could not pay enough for the kind of publicity he is receiving tonight.  Joe should immediately take out some advertising space in the Yellow Pages and start working on starting that business like right now!  So, as I thought about marketing Joe's business I thought if I were Joe I would simply name my business Joe the Plumber and flood my area with every marketing approach I could think of to promote my new business!  I have a few promotional product ideas which might help him get started.  I do not think it would be good for Joe to show up at someone's home and he does not have the tools needed to get the job done so I believe he could use a few good customized tool kits for himself and his employees.  During lunch or coffee breaks they can use the 14oz Little Joe Insulated Mug or the Leeds JoeMo Tumbler and then if the sun should get to hot they can shade themselves with the JoeShade Shade Umbrella.  Okay, I know plumbers do not work outdoors, but, you never know!  On the other hand though, Joe just might be looking for more of the same kind of free promotion which he got last night. 

JoeShade Umbrella

Right now, in America, we are probably experiencing, at least what we are being told, the worst economic times since the 1930's.  Within the last year, the reports are saying that many people within our country have lost their job or are going through severe economic hardship.  Many hardworking citizens have lost their home and others are afraid that they will not be able to make ends meet for their families.  In the month of September alone it was reported that 159,000 jobs were lost, 84,000 lost in August.  Different ideas have been publicized on how we as citizens can do our part to help stimulate the economy.  One of the best ways to help our economy is to buy American made products.  There are currently about 293 million people living in the United States.  Richard Kemble, CEO of madeinusa.com, says "If each one would shift $20 a month in spending from foreign made products to American made products that would create 5 million new jobs.”  We have certainly heard all we can stand about bailouts and stimulus plans, but, no one in media has consistently discussed the possibilities from manufacturing and buying American made products.  If you are like me you unquestionably do care about the state of our financial system.  I submit that buying promotional products made in the USA can do a great deal in the efforts to strengthen our market.