I was preparing our weekly postings for Facebook when I saw Pines Coffee’s posting inviting anyone on a ‘medium difficulty’ hike. It’s a funny thing how making a conscious decision to do anything in any area of your life, generates opportunities! I had just finished writing down some personal goals about taking care of my physical health- what a coincidence Making changes in any area of our personal or business lives always begins with that FIRST STEP. Understanding the numbers in your business, breaking down the sales process, strengthening your team, or even getting healthy all have the same beginning process and that first step is a decision. Deciding to go on the hike (the first step), meant that I had to prepare myself as much as possible

It looks like the New Year is well on its way! Have you given much thought to how you will market your business this year?One of our primary focuses in 2021 is to help our merchants GROW THEIR BUSINESSES. You have the basics taken care of: Great Product or Service Competitive Pricing Customer Focused Back Office/Accounting Procedures Payment Acceptance Now the fun begins- getting the customers to come to your location, visit your site, pick up the phone and make the purchase! Check out the MARKETING TIPS section on our website for some great ways to get your customers coming back for more! I hope this information helps you strengthen your business! If you would like to share any additional business growth or marketing advice, please call our

Christmas has always been a special time so it is surprising to hear that some people make such an issue over wishing people a ‘Merry Christmas’. I’ve even heard of people who said they were ‘canceling’ Christmas because of financial reasons. Recently, the news reported a story where many people were going to celebrate Christmas AFTER the prices come down, AFTER Christmas. Personally, I do not believe you can actually cancel or postpone Christmas. There have been plenty of years when we had to consider fewer gifts or handmade items instead of spending tons of money on presents. When I look back, those Christmas celebrations stand out- they were even more special than the others because we focused on the real meaning of Christmas rather than the commercialized