When creating a marketing plan for your business, you probably have realized that there are several different parts that you have to include. These include a SWOT analysis, market research, budget, and more! But what do these different parts mean? Well it is easier to understand each of the pieces separately so let’s talk about the SWOT analysis portion of the marketing plan you need to create for your business.

Have you ever walked into a business and knew right away that something was different? Have you met representatives from a company and knew right away that you wanted to partner with them? What is it that makes a business stand out, what is it that draws you in. That thing that is sometimes hard to put your finger on is culture. The use of the word culture, when focusing on business is defined as a way of thinking, behaving, or working that exists in a place or organization.

Have you ever heard of the term Best Practices?  If you’ve ever read a business book or an improvement book then you probably have. It seems like the term comes up all the time. One book says “best practices are amazing” and the other says “best practices are horrible,” but they never seem to define them. And it always seems to refer to big companies on the stock exchange and rarely about small business leaders like you and me.

Looking forward to going to work every day is a luxury not everyone has, but sometimes just a little bit of employee recognition can make a big difference in making your company a happier place to be. It doesn’t have to be a big extravaganza. It’s actually the little things day in and day out that will have the most impact to help create a happy culture in your company and make it a place your employees look forward to coming to each day.

Let’s face it, your marketing stinks. You know it, and so do your customers. This is partly because you are trying to do all of your marketing on the cheap and in house. Sure that might work for awhile, but if you're really serious about generating more business then it’s time to change.

“The Cloud” has become somewhat of a household term over the course of just the past few years, and for good reason - it has changed everything. The way we store, share and access data today is remarkably different than it was years ago, thanks in large part to cloud computing, a term first coined by executives at Compaq in 1996. It wasn’t until 2006, however, when Google and Amazon began to use the term frequently and the technology became a huge part of how the Internet operates.

We LOVE to brag on our clients. Sometimes we get to brag about work we have done with them, and sometimes we just get to brag on the incredible stuff they are doing! Today is such a day. The Hignell Companies have been a client for nearly seven years and we love who they are and what they do. We talk often with them about the Chico community and the involvement that businesses get to have in making our community a better place. We are proud to tell you that The Hignell Companies is doing more than just talking about corporate giving! We wanted to tell you about this. This blog is the press release announcement so you can see what they are up to!

We would like to congratulate one of our clients on her start-up business Hot Flash Wines. After months of hard work Mollie Macarthy-Openshaw the owner of Hot Flash Wines, finally has some wine in those bottles! This is also a big moment for us here at Half a Bubble Out because it’s our first wine label that we have created!

In a world where a lot of people are less than happy with their jobs, coworkers, clients and overall lives, I want to give a shout out for gratitude and happiness this week. Here are my five W’s on work. I hope reading these causes you to pause and take stock of the reasons you have to be grateful.

There is a new movie coming out this month called After Earth starring Will Smith and his son Jaden. If you are a fan of post-apocalyptic movies it will likely be a hit in your house. It’s right up my family’s alley but I am impacted by the trailer on this one. Hollywood spews out a lot of nonsense along the way, but every once in a while they happen upon something so deep and profound I have to stand back in wonder and awe.