According to legend, a goat herder in the Kaffa region of Ethiopa found that his goats were overly excited after eating some beans on a local bush. It wasn’t long until Kaldi ate them himself. He then took them to a monk who disapproved of the stimulant effect and threw the seeds into the fire, which made them smell good. Someone took the roasted beans from the ashes, ground them up, and dissolved them in hot water. Soon thereafter everyone in the tribe was coming to Kaldi-bucks for their morning brew. Parts of that are probably apocryphal and other parts are completely made up. But it did get me wondering…how do those folks that I work with and around take their coffee? And just how big a part of our lives is it?

Topics: coffee

With apologies to Charles Dickens: 

Topics: marketing, economy

Topics: local, advertising, audience segmentation, targeting, microtargeting, mobile, marketing

While COVID-19 was busy turning our lives, our jobs, and our economy upside down, it also threw a severe wrench into the works of pretty much all sporting endeavors in the world. Baseball was in the middle of spring training when the pandemic panic went into overdrive, causing the cancellation of the rest of spring training and a huge uncertainty over whether we would see a baseball season at all in 2020. It took some time, extra precautions, and a massive amount of negotiations, but the baseball fans at the ClearBox offices got at least the 60 game season that is underway. It got us to thinking about how baseball is similar to business.

Topics: Business Development, Business, baseball

...or How I Spent my COVID Vacation

Two months ago a lot of people were saying, “I really could use a break!” Which should serve as a cautionary tale about being careful what you wish for. Most of us got some unexpected downtime during the first half of Q2. Some people were able to take advantage of the “time out” for personal improvement or play around with potential start-up businesses. Business owners have seen a different story play out. We've watched fixed expenses continue and watched revenue plummet (maybe even to zero if you're in the restaurant biz or a similar space). We try to read the tea leaves, look into our crystal ball, or watch CNBC…they all seem pretty equal in trying to see what's next.

Topics: Business Development, Chattanooga, Innovation, Leadership

This is Part 2 of our tips for successfully working from home. If you missed Part 1, it’s a great time to get caught up!

Topics: Business Development, Chattanooga, Innovation, Work From Home

COVID-19…just mentioning it makes some people want to rush to the store to see if they can load up on more toilet paper or ground beef. There is little doubt that it’s changing the world we live in on a permanent basis, especially when it comes to how people work. Some have played around on the fringes of working from home for a decade or longer…and for some it will no longer be optional if you want to remain employed.

Topics: Business Development, Chattanooga, Innovation, Work From Home

Email is Dead! Long Live Email! It's 2020 and who does email marketing anymore? Email seems sooo 2010. Here's the big secret, email is still one of the most powerful tools that you can use to engage your existing customers as well as to create opportunities for new business. According to emailmonday.com, email generates $38.00 in revenue for each $1.00 spent. Okay, that's a 3800% return on investment. Let THAT sink in.

Whether you work in the B2B space, or the B2C, email can help you grow your business in 2020. We've compiled a list of 20 fun tips, facts, and stats to help you get excited about email marketing in 2020.

Topics: Chattanooga, Work, Tools, Email, direct marketing

As we approach St. Patrick’s Day, we thought it might be nice to think about some things the Irish people have done for our world…besides green beer and Irish whisky. I mean, let’s be honest—Peterson pipes and Guinness are pretty great and they do have their place, but they probably don’t have a direct impact on your daily lives.

Topics: Business Development, Chattanooga, Social Media, St. Patrick's Day, Innovation

Every job has essentials. Painters have favorite brushes, musicians have instruments. A chef might have a favorite knife or preferred skillet. Farmers have relied on John Deere for decades. For those of us at ClearBox, some of our mission-critical tools are...

Topics: Chattanooga, Work, Tools, Social Media