What Can Your Taxes Teach You? Business 101?
Inevitably, once the NFL playoffs hit, individuals, married couples, small business owners, and corporate financial types start hauling out the previous year’s receipts, bank statements, and other tax records. It’s a sure sign that tax season has arrived: W2s and 1099s and Mortgage Interest statements are crossing in the mail; numbers are getting crunched and…
As Leader, the Buck Stops with You
One of my long-time brand “heroes” let me down over the holidays. No, it wasn’t the fact that the item I ordered didn’t make it in time for Christmas, though that was the case. Nor was it the fact that this long-time ecommerce vendor failed to plan adequately for the inevitable holiday deluge of orders.…
Happy Holidays from Barrel O’Monkeyz
I hope everyone is as excited for the holidays as this puppy!
The Barrel O’Monkeyz 2014 Think “Outside the Gift Box” Holiday Gift List
With holiday shopping, it’s never too late until—well—it’s too late! So, instead of stressing over what to give and battling crowds at the mall, and with available shopping days dwindling to a precious few, check out these offerings of unique products and/or gift certificates for that special someone in your life. Huntington’s Disease Society Of…
The RIGHT to Win! Do you have the Right?
When a pro athlete takes the field—whether it’s Aaron Rogers staring down Darrelle Revis, Giancarlo Stanton facing off against Clayton Kershaw, or Serena Williams or Venus Williams going head to head with another tennis elite—each competitor has both the ability and the expectation of achieving success given the talents and track record he or she…

Are You Tenacious?
Success doesn’t just happen. Contrary to popular culture (and the occasional suggestions of our elected leaders), success takes hard work, perseverance, a little bit of self-made luck, and tenacity—and it’s the same whether you’re looking for success in relationships, at school, in your career, or landing that new client. I define tenacity as “strength with…
Just Ask and They will Tell . . . A Simple Marketing Tool that will Help your Business
Sometimes the most obvious solution is staring you right in the face. Take businesses thinking about or already in the process of branding or re-branding themselves. They struggle with what to say, how to say it, and to whom to address it. But why? If they’ve been in business for a while, they have a…
Just Ask and They Will Tell
Sometimes the most obvious solution is staring you right in the face. Take businesses thinking about or already in the process of branding or re-branding themselves. They struggle with what to say, how to say it, and to whom to address it. But why? If they’ve been in business for a while, they have a…
What’s in Your Wheelhouse?
We’ve all been there. In fact, we’re all probably still “there” to some extent, at least on occasion. In business and in life, there are just some things we love to do and some things we abhor—even if we’re good at them. Take me, for example. On the domestic front, the laundry and I just…
All Assumptions Are Not Created Equal
We’re all guilty of assuming. After all, assumptions based on life experiences and common sense can help us to anticipate and be proactive, rather than reactive. But taking things for granted all of the time, even when we should know better, is where we can get into trouble . . . and the news these…

Keeping in Touch
We all wish our marketing success could be guaranteed and efficient. Given the massive sales of the iPhone6 and iPhone6+, it seems these days all Apple has to do is “build it and they will come.” The same goes for other recent product debuts such as the PlayStation4 and Xbox One. With built-in user communities,…
Lasting Impressions: Successful Brands Can’t Afford to Have Bad Days
Your brand is the sum of your actions, your words, how others experience you, and how they perceive you. This holds true whether you’re an individual (personal brand) or you represent an organization (company brand). Your brand is your reputation. It sets expectations, and it’s based on first impressions and lasting impressions, whether those impressions…