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Investing in America

Trump's proposed tariffs appeal to people who want American manufacturing jobs back, but will immediately increase household costs by thousands of dollars. Long-term investment in American manufacturing, like the programs initiated by the Biden administration, is a more effective and sustainable way to boost domestic production and create jobs.
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Radical Inclusiveness - the Competitive Edge

In a business climate where competitiveness and innovation are everything equality and diversity in the workforce are important keys to success.
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Outstanding Customer Service is a Culture Thing

The question of how to deliver the outstanding customer service consumers expect is easy to answer but harder to implement.
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If AI Does the Work, How Do We Train the People?

If AI replaces foundational work, how will new professionals build judgment? Here’s why experience still matters—and what we risk without it.
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    Reflections
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    Ethics

    I Had This Wrong for 20 Years: Profit is Not a Purpose

    Had I stopped to think deeply about it, I would have realized much sooner that profit and a higher purpose are not mutually exclusive.
    Merchandising

    Marketing made manifest (Part II)

    Part II of the series. To manifest your marketing is to make your unique offering of value obvious to your customers.
    Marketing

    You Can't Fake This

    Here's an example of what happens when even one detail of your operations, sales, or marketing fails to be consistent with the brand you have created.
    Retail

    In it to win it: Don't let generic retailers and pricing models drag you off your designer strategy

    You already know being in business for yourself is hard work. But working this hard for no money? Differentiate.
    Branding

    Can You Put 200,000 Miles On Your Brand?

    But building a brand requires commitment to every aspect of your business, from the quality and cost of components, to post-sale support, and all the way through long-term product satisfaction.
    Leadership

    How We Evolve

    I suspect that the key to lifelong vitality may be the ability to change my own mind.
    Management

    Getting Employee Reviews Right

    An annual employee review process can be a powerful driver for business growth and innovation. Unfortunately, in most companies it's not used for that at all. Here's how to improve.
    Management

    Being a Better Leader Part 3: Be a Student of Business

    To be a better leader, be a student of business. This article gives advice on what areas to study and where to go to find that information.

    Tell Better Stories

    It's not enough to sell a product or a service any more. You must also be able to tell the story. The Pip Storytelling Deck is a tool we use at the Werx Brands to construct and tell better stories. You can be a master story-teller too!

    Order Yours Today
    Management

    Surviving Tough Times: Part I

    The Jewelry Design Professionals’ Network (JDPN) invited Andrea Hill to prepare two presentations for their members and students, to help them manage their careers and business during the Covid-19 crisis.
    Management

    The Knee Bone's Connected to the . . . (or, A Cure for All Manner of Social Problems

    This failure to make connections is not isolated to the medical community. Business owners regularly fail to make the connections necessary to ensure the health of their businesses.
    Management

    Integrity is A Russian Doll

    An integrity-infused business is all-or-nothing. You’re either feeling it or you’re not, and if you’re not feeling it, it will bite you in the bottom line.
    Management

    Collaborative Management: Consultative vs Consensus

    There are two distinct styles of collaborative management. One is preferable to the other for a few reasons.
    Management

    Are You Writing Your Own Obituary?

    The bottom line is that the jewelry industry is going to be fine. But retailers and small manufacturers need to ask of themselves a few vital questions.
    Management

    First Things First: There's an Order to Profitability

    The building blocks of profitability are clear, and they even have a required sequence to them. But without knowledge of the building blocks - or awareness that these building blocks even exist! - your business will suffer.
    Management

    Help is On the Way! (but did you ask for help?)

    Knowing you need help and willingness to ask for help are very different. Only those who truly want help can benefit. And help often determines success.
    Management

    Change Mismanagement

    The types of changes you should – and should not – make during a recession are the same types of change you should consider during a strong economy.
    Management

    Sit. Crawl. Walk. Run. Stairs. The Strategic Process

    If you follow a logical, tested, practical strategic process, you can implement all the strategic building blocks your company needs to be competitive and successful.
    Management

    Being a Better Leader Part 3: Be a Student of Business

    To be a better leader, be a student of business. This article gives advice on what areas to study and where to go to find that information.

    Video

    Check Out Our Youtube Channel!

    Go to our Youtube channel and pound that SUBSCRIBE button!

    We post a lot of videos: business educational, inspirational, motivational, and even lots of software/technical. You don't want to miss it, so subscribe to our Youtube channel today, and get alerts when we post new content.

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    jewelry industry, marketing

    marketing

    branding, selling

    ethics, personal development

    marketing, management

    Strategy

    Branding

    Taking a knee ... Long the choice of peaceful, PRAYERFUL resistance.

    Maybe the reason its so hard to remain in quarantine is that it's hard to outrun sadness when you're forced to be still.

    It's surprising how many people are not aware of their reasons for doing things. They think they know, but when asked to reflect upon it, they don't. Why are you in business? Why are you pursuing this role? Why are you frustrated, lonely, anxious, doubting? Why are you making this decision? Why aren't you asking for help? If you ask why before deciding what, who, how, or when, you will come up with a stronger answer every time. In business, why is the essence of strategy. In life, why is the essence of progress.

    "Millions of items of the outward order are present to my senses which never properly enter into my experience. Why? Because they have no interest for me. My experience is what I agree to attend to. Only those items which I notice shape my mind.”
    William James

    I suspect the fear of being afraid is the most destructive fear of all.

    I sometimes wonder what our country would be like today if Christians had thrown themselves into eradicating poverty or inequality with the same energy they invested in fighting abortion.

    Society and Culture

    Follow Social Articles

    Trump Defined

    On Generation Bashing

    More Empathy. Less Entitlement.

    Pop Gossip and Bloated Self Esteem

    Crazy-Ass Gods Get All the Press

    The Religion Trap

    Cynical? Just a Little

    Home School – Going for the Least Damage, When the Most Good Isn't an Option

    You Don't Own Me

    How Do You Bend the Lens?