“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.” - Oprah Winfrey

As a sales rep, you get handed a lot of hats: Customer service (the client calls you for everything long after the sale is made), Unloading the truck (because you aren’t doing anything else, right?), Collections, PR, Receptionist, and the list goes on. But here is the insider secret - You only have one job! Just one.

Some say it’s the most wonderful time of the year. It’s October...we’re not talking about Christmas here…even BETTER...oh yes, I’m referring to Halloween. 

Life is good...no, really...in this year when so many have suffered, I’ve been busy rediscovering joy and goodness in life. Personally, spiritually, and professionally. And it happens to be the year I turn 50. Half a century...50 laps around the sun. And as I sat at my desk and looked out the window at the Market Street traffic, it occurred to me that I’ve learned plenty of lessons during my lifetime...and that maybe I should jot some of them down. All of these lessons are personal...some are definitely spiritual...but every one of them can be profitable if applied to business, too.

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?

With apologies to Charles Dickens: 

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.

...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.

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!