As a child, I (Michael) always knew I wanted to own a business one day. From standing in front of the local convenience store with my first shoe shining kit, to mowing neighbors’ lawns, I was always trying to make a buck. I even told my Sunday School teacher I wanted to become a ‘bachelor millionaire.'

Do you find yourself thinking “how is it 2022 already?” Time is relentless and the older we get, the faster it seems to tick along! We've been thinking a lot about how we frame up our reality. How we see and perceive the world we live in these days, and how we lead well with all that is swirling around us.

At 2,320 miles long, the Mississippi River is the second-longest river in the U.S. It has the world’s fourth-largest drainage basin, including all or parts of 32 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. 

And it all starts from Lake Itasca, a small glacial lake only about 1.8 square miles in area, with an average depth of 20 to 35 feet.

Just as that small lake fuels a gigantic network of rivers and tributaries, the leader of a company has an exponential impact on the workplace culture. As a leader, one of your most important jobs is as CCO—chief culture officer.

Do you look forward to going to work each day? Do you leave work feeling hopeful and fulfilled? As a business leader or manager of your company, if you don’t, then your employees probably don’t either. And if you do, have you checked with your employees to see if they feel the same way? A huge part of building a Passion and Provision company is creating a space where your employees feel safe, engaged, heard and valued. A place where they can actually have fun while also doing good work and finding fulfillment in their contribution.

Social media can sometimes be a popularity contest. Everyone is screaming for attention and there is strength in numbers. The influence of a social media profile can be measured by its number of followers. A huge number of followers implies credibility and certain social media “Influencers” even make money from their popularity via product endorsements. There has been a race to build followers and some people have found a shortcut, but at what cost?

Facebook has over 2 billion users worldwide. It’s where you go to catch up on the latest news from your friends and family, but it has also been an integral place for businesses and advertisers to show relevant content to you. On January 11, 2018, Facebook announced that they plan to change their algorithm to focus more on friends and family interactions. Their goal is to increase the quality of your time spent on facebook, and reduce the quantity.

You may have seen the issue of ‘Net Neutrality’ back in the news this week. On Thursday, December 14, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) repealed the internet neutrality rules that were put in place in 2015. 

If you could be a fly on the wall in one of our Half a Bubble Out staff meetings over the past several months, you might hear phrases being thrown around the table like lean and classic survey results, or hyper-responsives, SMIQs and DDS. It might sound like we are speaking in code, but this fun new vocabulary all stems from learning a powerful marketing strategy known as the Ask Method®.  Are you scratching your head wondering what could be so revolutionary about ‘asking,’ or curious how it is growing businesses? In this interview, Michael Redman, Half a Bubble Out CEO, shares his personal journey of becoming a certified partner of the Ask Method^® and how it’s transforming the marketing industry.

When you walk through the doors at the Bubble, three things become very clear...

1. Environment

The first is that you have entered the workplace of visionaries, who decorate with drum sets and antique candy dispensers, (which I might add, are surprisingly comforting to the nervous interview candidate). The creatively charged environment speaks seamlessly to the culture of a Passion and Provision^® company. One that aims to engage anybody who walks through the door to dream big, pay attention to detail, and to think outside the bubble. Here, there is the inevitable promise that work can be fun, stories can be told, and businesses can grow.

Anyone who ever said email is dead is crazy! Email marketing is a powerful tool these days – and if you do it right, it can set your small business apart from your competitors. How? Timing, segmentation, personalization, and automation are just some of the ways email can be used to reach your target market and customers at the right place, at the right time. Did you know that 91% of internet users check email at least once a day on their smart phones? We’re willing to bet you fall into the category.