Naturally, our businesses are bound to face tough times as well. And working through those times will help truly make the mark of your brand. How do you recover from heartbreaking moments in your company? On FreshBusinessThinking.com, Judy Piatkus writes that there are a number of ways to do so. Speaking from experience, Piatkus reveals that tough times are made to be triumphed over.

Get Your Money In Faster. The first tip offered up by Piatkus is perhaps, the most obvious. Are you not pulling in enough money? The answer to that question, of course, will be the first tell-tale sign as to whether your business is suffering tough times or not. “If you hate chasing those outstanding invoices, then go on a course or send your staff on one so that you learn the techniques of getting paid quickly,” writes Piatkus.

Get Your Accounts Under Control. Even if your money is coming in at a good rate, it’s important to know exactly what your forthcoming cash flow looks like. Do you know what you can budget towards advertising, among other expenses? It’s important to not mismanage your earnings. Get a hold of your financial situation and be meticulously focused on exactly what is coming in and what is going out.

Look Closely At Your Deals And Contracts. Perhaps, it’s time to start renegotiating prices with your suppliers. Also, are there any products and services that you can justifiably increase prices for? Are there items that have prices you can lower to attract more customers to buying them? Take a look at your inventory and come up with ways to move it as fast as you can.

Go Slow On Your Stock. Maybe, the problem lies in the fact that you have too much inventory. Piatkus insists that you “only order what you need and just in time. You can’t afford to have surplus money tied up in stock.” If you are overstocked, you may need to consider whether it’s better to cut your losses and turn some of your stock into cash. Be more careful about your ordering practices going forward.

Hire Only Essential Permanent Staff. Your staff members are your best allies. Naturally, it’s important to employ talented, hard-working individuals who have the best interests of your company at heart. You don’t, however, want to hire staff members unnecessarily. “Use temps and short-term contract employees for specific projects,” says Piatkus, “you all need to work together as a team to overcome the difficulties.”

Lead From The Front. In other words, be strong. “When times are tough everyone knows it and if you want to hang onto your business and keep your key staff, you have to show no fear,” writes Piatkus. At Synergy Marketing, we make it our mission to help business owners who feel that they are going through tough times. Our pricing is very affordable. And our products are very effective. Find out more by calling us at 1-877-748-9884.

On About.com, Darrell Zahorsky offers up a number of solutions to entrepreneurs looking to steer their companies in a brighter direction. Cutting costs with extreme precision, marketing outside normal boundaries and taking advantage of low cost advertising campaigns are just a few effective strategies. But there is more you can do. Let’s take a look at few more tips.

Connect With Peers. “Hard times in the form of recessions or industry shakeouts impact more than just your business,” reminds Zahorsky. Keep in mind that many other businesses may be experiencing similar rough patches as yourself. Perhaps your rebuilding stage will present the perfect opportunity to connect with other industry professionals to begin partnerships.

Zahorsky recommends taking part in professional peer group sessions so that you can extract knowledge and best practices from other professionals in your field. Sometimes, the “scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” policy is what is most needed to help dig yourself out of a hole. After all, the stronger your team, the more wins you’re bound to rack up, right?

Fundamental Focus. Sometimes we get caught up in resting on our laurels. This may happen for no other reason that it appearing as if we have the freedom to take it easy. When business is good, we think there’s nothing to worry about. And this may cause us to lose sight of some of the fundamental principles of business. Zahorsky reminds us to go back to doing our due diligence.

“Doing regular financial checks, providing sales training, managing your customer relationships are some of the fundamentals that need to be re-learned and re-visited,” he writes. Consider revising some of your customer service policies. Most often, it’s the service – not the products – that customers most appreciate about their favourite brands. Focus on reinvigorating your client base through amazing customer experiences.

Process, Don’t Replay. “It’s easy to fall into the trap of replaying the situation that got you here today,” says Zahorsky. So it’s important to remove negative thinking from your mind. Don’t replay your mistakes. Don’t dwell on the past. This may be tough to do at first, but the key is to focus on the future. Keep in mind that your bad times won’t last forever.

Surviving the bad times entails a positive outlook and a focus on turning things around. The sales reps, here at Synergy Marketing, specialize in helping business owners utilize promotional products in ways that help to increase their client bases. It’s all about providing positive experiences and leaving long-lasting impressions on your customers. Give us a call at 1-877-748-9884 to learn more about the power of our promo products!

As Darell Zahorsky points out on About.com, “Recession, economic downturn, dishonest partnership, or industry shakeout are all events that can put your business abilities to the test. Surviving in hard times requires a steel determination and never-say-quit attitude. But in today’s swift and merciless marketplace, more is needed than a winner’s attitude.” With that, he offers up a number of strategies to help business owners through hard times.

Cut With Precision. Too often, business owners feel that the first move that they should make when times are tough is to cut costs. At first glance, it appears as if it’s the most obvious thing to do if your company is losing money. But Zahorsky insists that “for small business, cost-cutting needs to be implemented with the precision of a surgeon’s scalpel.” You don’t want to cut too deeply.

He writes that some businesses end up never recovering after cutting too many costs. Some costs are simply necessary in order for the business to function. At the same time, it’s important to not cut too shallow either. You don’t want cash flow problems to resurface because you’re still spending money in the wrong places. Be precise and decide exactly where cuts should be made and by how much.

Look Outside. Often, small business owners look locally when marketing their brands. Zahorsky suggests that during tough times, one should look outside of their regular boundaries. Is international trade a viable option for your business? Perhaps, opening up your products and services to people all over the country via your company website is in order.

As well, maybe it’s time to begin marketing your company south of the border. Recently, it was reported that an internet sales tax may be applied in the U.S. to American companies who do business online. Being the owner of a Canadian company means that you’ll be able to do business with American customers without having to charge them that U.S.-imposed tax. You may be soon opening yourself up to a vast new market!

Use Low Budget Marketing. This is where the promotional products offered by Synergy Marketing come in extremely handy. For decades, promo gifts have been helping businesses across Canada increase their client bases for a number of reasons. Perhaps, the most significant reason is the relatively low cost of the gifts when compared to other marketing strategies.

“The key to salvage any business in hard times isn’t to reduce your marketing activities but to replace them with low-budget marketing,” writes Zahorsky. This is what our sales reps, here at Synergy, specialize in. We’d happily discuss with you any new marketing strategies you have where promotional gifts may be incorporated. Give us a call at 1-877-748-9884.

The Leafs seemingly had the game all locked up with a 4-1 lead with ten minutes left to go in the third period. Then disaster struck. A meltdown of epic proportions took place as the Bruins stormed back with three goals to tie it up – one of them taking place with just under a minute to go in the game. With the game going to overtime and the entire series on the line, the Leafs Nation feared the worst.

And then the worst was realized. 5-4 was the final score. The Boston Bruins celebrated. The Toronto Maple Leafs were sent home. “It was one of the worst chokes in sports history,” said one of our heartbroken reps this morning, “I was all ready to plan parties for watching round two games thinking we had it in the bag. A big time lesson was learned last night. It’s never over ’til it’s over.”

Not all Leafs fan are down on themselves this morning. There are many who are still very proud of their team’s accomplishments. “People forget how young this team is,” another rep commented, “No one even thought we’d make the playoffs, let alone the seventh game in a series against Boston. Don’t forget that the Leafs were down 3-1 in this series. It’s a miracle we even played last night.”

One thing is for sure. The young Maple Leafs gained quite a lot of experience from their series against Boston. And last night, one of the most important lessons in sports was learned. You can’t let your guard down for a second. You must fight until the bitter end in order to become a champion. There is hope, in Toronto, that such a lesson will carry this team towards a brighter future.

“This is how it is in any business,” said another Synergy team member, “You will always have your highs and lows. The key is to learn from the lows so that your successes can become greater and more frequent. Business owners who don’t learn from their mistakes end up going out of business.” Keeping this in mind, our sales reps always work diligently at getting their clients on the right advertising track.

Like the Maple Leafs, many business owners throughout Canada have slipped up and taken wrong turns before. Getting your company back on its feet takes a lot of hard work and perseverance. We imagine that a number of changes will be made in the Leafs organization. Are there changes that need to be made within your organization as well? Sometimes, it’s the smallest tweak that will help to turn things around.

Stay posted to the Synergy Marketing Blog this week as we tackle the topic of rebounding your business from tough times. No person and no business is immune from the harsh realities of life. As they say, “you can’t win them all”. So as we pick ourselves up from last night’s crushing Maple Leafs defeat, we look forward to helping your brand work towards its brighter future!

The Leafs, of course, have made it to the ever-exciting seventh game of their first round NHL playoff series against the Boston Bruins. The series wraps up tonight in Boston, as the Leafs have come from a 3-1 series deficit by winning the last two games. For many hockey fans, the Leafs are lucky to have even made the playoffs. Considering that it has been nine years since their last playoff run, they have exceeded many expectations already.

But taking their first round series to Game 7 is a whole other thing. “Forget making it, I hope they win it!” one of our Synergy staff members excitedly stated this morning, “Sure, it’s great the Leafs are here, but I think they can take it. Their play over the past two games has been stellar, especially (their goalie, James) Reimer. The momentum is on the side of the Leafs. I can’t wait for tonight!”

There is a lot to be said about momentum. Some may think that it’s just a word to describe a rejuvenated sense of energy, but that energy can help a team go a very long way. It’s no different in business. Our many years of experience, here at Synergy, has taught us that when business owners go out of their way to “wow” their customers, the effects can be felt for years.

“When I started handing out my promotional key chains, I have found that I was creating a new impression for my company,” one of our clients shared last week, “It just seemed like my customers were happier. Many told me that they were appreciative of the gift and that it made them feel ‘cared for’. Using promo gifts to market my company has helped me to develop a whole new reputation. I love it.”

There’s no doubt that like many of our clients, the Toronto Maple Leafs are creating quite a new reputation for themselves. Gone are the days of assuming that the Leafs would be handed losses at every turn. They have become competitive in ways that even the biggest Leafs fans seem surprised by. Many eyes will be glued to tonight’s Game 7 battle which gets underway at 7 p.m.

“I’m so excited that they’ve made it this far,” another of our team members stated today, “It’s a big achievement already. Of course, I hope they win. And I think they have a great chance considering how things have been going lately. But I think the impression that they’ve made on the hockey world has definitely been a good one. The Leafs are now a team to be taken seriously.”

Another NHL playoff series will also be going to a Game 7 as the Washington Capitals and the New York Rangers will have to settle their score by taking their series as far as it can go. The winner of that game will take on the winner of the Leafs-Bruins match up tonight. We’re hoping, here at Synergy, that the Leafs will surpass expectations once again and make it into the next round.

We’d also like to help your company make a greater impression. Let’s take your brand to the next round! Call us up at 1-877-748-9884.

In yesterday’s blog, we began to share a number of Staib’s suggestions. Comparing your current job to a previous one you hated is one way to begin thinking positively about your work situation. Also, making friends at work is an important way to make your workplace a much more fun place to be. In today’s blog, we’ll conclude our look at Staib’s suggestions in hopes they give you the boost you need to do a better job.

Practice a five minute relaxation every hour. Most people are too busy trying to get their work done. Not that there’s a problem with completing your work. But have you ever thought about how much better your work would be if you took the time to do it right? Avoid doing rush jobs. One way to do that is to be more relaxed. And as Staib recommends, you should slow down and take a minute or two to just breathe sometimes.

Use your breaks to actually take breaks. Don’t go off and talk about work. Take a walk. Take a look at the trees. Breathe. Relax. Enjoy life. Remember that there is more to each day than the tasks required of you to complete at work. Keeping in mind the bigger picture – your happiness – your work will not only be completed in a timely way, but it will be of higher quality.

Keep a gratitude journal. Writes Staib, “We all need to take time to appreciate what we have. By keeping a gratitude journal you’ll retrain your brain’s synapses to focus on the positive.” Keep in mind that it’s all about staying positive. And what better way to do that than to remind yourself of the things that you are thankful for? This is a great exercise that will energize you each day.

“Try writing three positive things that happened to you before you leave work,” says Staib, “After 30 days you’ll notice a big difference in your attitude.” We think you should take it one step further. Before you go to work each day, take a moment to reflect on all of things that you are grateful for. Try to write down three positive things that you will try to do for others as well.

Laugh at the situation you are in. In other words, don’t take things so seriously. Without laughter and joy, what would the point of living even be? “Studies have proven that people are more creative and work harder when they are having fun with their co-workers and the work that they do,” reveals Staib. Our Synergy sales staff is proof of that! Give one of our team members a call at 1-877-748-9884 and you’ll see!

Your Turn. “What do you do to encourage people to extract more joy from work?,” asks Staib, “When you help people increase their happiness, you’ll increase yours as well. It’s a win-win for everyone.” In other words, pay it forward. Remember that your happiness cannot be won alone. Perhaps, working harder on making others happy will be your true path to finding happiness – not just at work, but in life!

With this mind, we do our best to keep the atmosphere in the Synergy offices a light and fun one. Music is playing, jokes are told and overall, our staff is made to feel that they can be themselves. Believe it or not, having fun is actually a big part of running a business successfully. As we’ve said many times before, a happy staff is a productive staff.

With that said, we know that you may need a little bit of help in the “having fun at work” department”. Karl Staib is aware of that as well. On Forbes.com, Staib writes that “we are able to act out our thoughts and make them a reality. It really is an amazing gift that we take for granted. We get to put our thoughts into action to help ourselves and others with problems.”

So how can we put our thoughts into actions? If we are having a hard time at work, can positive thinking really help to turn things around? We sure think so. And, as you may have guessed, Staib does too. In his Forbes.com piece, he writes of a few different ways that workers can bring joy back to their jobs. Let’s go through some of those ways to see if we can get you re-energized.

Remember an old job that you hated. We’ve all had these. Bad jobs are almost like chickenpox. Somehow, we’re all bound to get them. Staib points out that recalling a past job that you couldn’t stand is a good way to find out the root problem of your despair. And that would be your negative thoughts. Consider the difference between your hated job and the job you have now.

Remind yourself of how far you’ve come since you had that last job of yours. If you’re an entrepreneur, consider the struggles you’ve had to overcome to start working for yourself. Be proud of your accomplishments and remember how far you’ve come. If you work for a business owner, recall why you left your old job for this one. Are you currently working that hated job? Perhaps, it’s time to move on.

Build your friendships at work. This is something we encourage, here at Synergy. We know that when work is no fun, not much work will get done. Take the time to build better relationships at work, insists Staib. If you have a hard time talking to others, it’s time to work harder at doing so. You have to be around your co-workers often enough. You may as well get to know them.

You may be surprised at just how many new friends you’ll make by simply saying “good morning” at the start of each day. “Ask them questions about their families, their hobbies and whatever else gets them talking,” Staib suggests. Just remember not to interrupt them. Be sure to allow them to do some talking. This is how you’ll get to know them. And this is how they come to appreciate you.

Often times, business owners allow things to get stagnant by not making any changes within their companies. After a while, your customers will get bored of the “same old, same old”. If you expect to provide your clients with any type of excitement, it will be important for you to get excited about your business again. On NextLevelVision.com, Frederika Angus poses some important questions.

“Do you remember how you felt when you first came up with the idea for your business? Do you recall how excited you were to take on this new challenge?” she asks. Angus points out that most business owners begin their entrepreneurial journeys with great deals of excitement. And then, somewhere along the way, the thrill somehow goes missing. Sound about right?

It’s important to have joy in your business, writes Angus. And this has a lot to do with striving for excellence. Sure, it takes a lot of hard work. As an entrepreneur, you knew that from the get-go. But if you’ve been feeling a bit burnt out since the get-go got going, it’s time to find some ways to rejuvenate yourself. Thankfully, Angus provides a number of tips to point you in the right direction.

Take time off. Perhaps, the first thing that is necessary for you to do is take a break so you can truly recharge. Angus notes that business owners can sometimes find themselves in positions where they are simply taking on too many of the company’s every day tasks. Sometimes, you need to take a step back from the business. This doesn’t mean to step away – just take a break.

It can be as simple as taking a walk. It can be as big as going on vacation. Reconnect with the people you love, suggests Angus. Remind yourself of why you got into business to begin with. Try to get yourself back to a place where you were excited about going into business for yourself. When you return back to work, you should have the energy necessary to move forward with a positive attitude.

Eliminate the stressors. This includes doing away with things that consume too much of your time or ending activities that are just plain mundane. Taking on too many tasks, Angus reminds us, is no way to properly run your business. You need to be able to devote appropriate time and focus to the most important aspects of your company. Prioritize what means the most to you.

Talk to someone. “Share your challenges with your business coach or even a trusted colleague. Sometimes all it takes is a good conversation with someone to shift your perspective back to one of joy,” writes Angus. Of course, your friends, here at Synergy Marketing, are always up for a talk as well. Feel free to call us at 1-877-748-9884 to discuss ways of injecting more joy into your business!

It is highly unlikely that the loss has dampened the spirits of Leafs fans, however. There is no doubt that the crowd outside of the Air Canada Centre will be just as big, if not bigger for Game 4 tomorrow night. After all, there’s nothing like the playoffs to get sports fans excited. Considering the energy that can’t help but exist during such times in the professional sports year, it’s important to think about your company’s energy.

And no, we’re not talking about keeping the lights on. We’re talking about keeping your spark going. How do you inject playoff-like excitement in the customers that visit your place of business? Working with business owners across Canada on a daily basis, our Synergy sales staff is well aware that every now and then, there can be lulls in your daily operations.

Getting complacent, however, is no way to take your company to the next level. Being experts in marketing, our team remains focused on helping business owners find new and inventive ways to put charges back into their businesses when necessary. Believe it or not, promotional products have been working wonders in doing just that for decades. You may be wondering how.

Consider that promo gifts are not your regular sources of advertising. They are not 30 second commercials that flash on and off television screens hoping to be noticed. They are not printed advertisements they may miss the mark in speaking to your direct needs. Promotional products are actual, useful items that can be used each and every day. We’re talking about advertising tools that last.

When a customer receives a promo gift, that person is going home with something that they can inject into their daily lives. Pens are used each day to write things down, of course. Key chains are necessary to keep your keys together, obviously. Water bottles are used for…well, you get the idea. Think about how often these gifts can be used and then consider the advertising power of such gifts.

Promotional gifts not only work, but they are incredibly inexpensive when you compare them to traditional advertising costs. It’s important to also keep in mind the staying power of the gifts you are giving out. These aren’t business cards or flyers that are likely to either be lost in a pile or thrown away. These aren’t meaningless pins or stickers that don’t have any practical uses.

Your promo gift is a symbol of your generosity. Your promo gift is a way of saying “thank you for your business”. But, perhaps, more importantly, your promo gift is a way of making a lasting impression. It’s a daily reminder that your company cares and is the right one to do business with on an ongoing basis. Get your business the promo gift that will help boost it to the next level by giving us a call at 1-877-748-9884!

Those first two teams mentioned have locked horns in the nastiest of ways. In their Game 3 confrontation last night in Ottawa, the Sens and the Habs combined for well over 200 penalty minutes as a entire line brawl (meaning everyone on the ice was involved in a scrap at the same time) broke out in the final period. By the end of the game, there were barely enough players on each team’s benches to make line changes.

Out of all of the chaos, however, a star was born. Playing for his home team, Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored his first NHL hat trick for the Ottawa Senators, who went on to win the game by a blowout 6-1 margin. What makes the story especially interesting is the fact that Pageau had only scored two goals in just nine games played for the Senators during the regular season.

As great a moment as the hat trick was for the NHL playoff picture, the excitement will shift to Toronto tonight as the Maple Leafs take to the ice for Game 3 against the Boston Bruins. Having won Game 2 by a score of 4-2 this past Saturday night, the series is now all tied up at one a piece. Tonight’s game, however, is a very special one for the city of Toronto.

It will mark the first time that NHL playoff hockey will be played in the city since 2004. And as has been proven for the first two games of the series, the city of Toronto is guaranteed to be electric when puck drops this evening. Although there are bound to be game-watching parties all over town, there is likely to be no more an exciting place than Maple Leaf Square.

The area located directly outside of the Air Canada Centre has become quite the haven for Leafs fans. They have gathered in droves to watch the first two games of the series on the big screen outside of the building. The game will be taking place inside, of course, and there is no doubt that the ACC will be rocking. But it may even be louder outside where there is bound to be a huge crowd.

“I was there for the past two games,” revealed one of the members of our Synergy sales team yesterday, “It was absolutely amazing. I don’t know what it is, but there is something very thrilling about uniting with complete strangers, giving them high-fives and cheering for every goal. It’s really exciting. Now with the Leafs playing at home, I’m sure it’ll be even more crazy.”

As it turns out, there will be even more members of Synergy’s staff enjoying the game at Maple Leaf Square tonight! Where will you be to take in all the action? It’s undoubtedly an exciting time for Canadian hockey fans. We suggest making the NHL playoffs a topic of conversation with your customers. You are more than likely to make a new friend and great impression.