Previously we posted some of our new Thanksgiving cards, so this month we are highlighting some holiday greetings we’ve recently added to our collection.

Click the images for more details about individual cards.

Many businesses and families want to choose a card that’s unique and festive while still being inclusive for all recipients. That’s why we offer a large selection of “season’s greetings” and “happy holidays” cards that don’t refer to a single holiday.

“Nature’s Beauty” highlights a forest scene of winter trees and deer with panels of jewel-tone colors. The card stock is pearlized white with “Greetings of the season” shining in gold foil underneath the image.

There are a lot of horizontal cards out there, but this vertical orientation is a beautiful frame for trees stretching berry-covered branches to the sky. “Season’s greetings” curl across the top like a red ribbon.

This card is not only made from up to 100% recycled paper, but the manufacturer uses renewable energy sources for minimal environmental impact.

Send wishes of Happy Holidays to family and friends with these irreverent holiday cards. A polar bear in a Santa hat snuggles in the snow on a background of white recycled paper. Cute but still appropriate and humorous without being offensive, this is a card that would make even Scrooge smile.

All of our cards are manufactured in the United States and many of them are made from recycled paper or manufactured using energy-saving sustainable practices.

So long, summer! The transition to fall marks the calm before the storm as our busy holiday season approaches. While we sell all-occasion greeting cards for use year-round, the winter holidays really get us hopping.

One trend we see is an increase in the popularity of Thanksgiving cards. What better time to express your appreciation for others than a national holiday dedicated to giving thanks? Instead of throwing your lot in with a pile of winter holiday cards, Thanksgiving cards offer an opportunity to stand out and get your message through.

Here are some of our beautiful new Thanksgiving greetings — just click the card images for details and a closer look. Would you guess that all three are eco-friendly recycled paper?

This eco-friendly Thanksgiving greeting features the same rich brown paper inside and out for a unique and dramatic look. We recommend a gold imprint to match the foil on the front.

Keep your hippie street cred without sacrificing style! This cheerful card is made from recycled paper developed from responsibly managed forests (and may contain up to 100% post-consumer fibers). Renewable energy resources such as wind power, solar power, and biomass are used in the manufacturing process.

Like the previous card, this tri-fold card is also sustainably manufactured and opens in the middle to display the inner ecru card stock with your verse and personalization. The outside ‘wrap’ is a beautiful Bronze Stardream paper.

Which of these is your favorite? If you don’t see a card you love here, that’s OK! CLICK HERE for more Thanksgiving greeting cards.

If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a thousand times: Your brand is your business. But if you have a small business—and lack the far-reaching resources of a Fortune 500 company—how can you build your brand without spending a fortune?

Customer service.

Think of your brand as a promise you make to clients. Customer service is the process by which you turn this promise into reality.

Here are five easy tips for building your brand through customer service:

1. Focus on quality, not quantity. Don’t compromise quality to boost the bottom line. No one likes to feel cheated out of time or money, and cutting quality is the quickest way to sabotage your brand. Be honest about what you can deliver in what timeframe; overpromising will only lead to resentment and a lack of trust.
2. Give customers a voice. Customers like to be heard. Whether it’s a compliment or a complaint, giving your customers a voice allows them to build equity in your business. When customers post an online review through a website like Yelp, they’re also staking their personal reputation that what they’ve said about your business is correct.
3. Respond to feedback. If a customer posts a negative review of your business or emails you a complaint, a prompt response is essential. Acknowledge the problem and make it right. Whether it’s positive or negative, thank the customer for his comment. A certificate that’s good for a discount on future services or products is a great way to bring customers back for repeat business and encourage customers who had a negative experience to give your business a second chance.
4. Don’t over serve. No one likes to shop for products with nosy sales staff stalking their every move. The same applies to your business clients. Give your customers room to create their own experience with your brand.
5. Anticipate needs. Lack of service is just as bad as over service. Don’t just be there when clients need you; anticipate their needs and have a solution ready.

What defines customer service for you? How has customer service influenced your perception of a company’s brand?

Effective communication is essential to building strong business relationships with clients and colleagues.

Unfortunately, in today’s world of instant communication, it’s all too easy to hit Send on an email without thinking about the quality and message of the content—or worse yet, to let your idea of “personal” be defined by a 140-character tweet about last night’s disastrous dinner or date. (Sorry, but your clients just don’t care and shouldn’t be made privy.)

Strike the balance between personal and professional by following these best practices.

• Don’t be a “reply all” offender. Before you hit “reply all” on an email, consider who really needs to be involved in the conversation. Replying to the one or few who need the message instantly makes your email more personal. Co-workers will appreciate that you don’t flood their in-boxes with irrelevant information, or worse, meaningless babble. This also means that when colleagues or clients do receive the occasional email from you, this message will stand out and they’ll pay attention.
• Write it out. When a personal touch matters, send a handwritten note. Remember clients’ birthdays, congratulate colleagues, and say thank you. Order a set of personalized cards and keep them in your desk drawer. When you get the urge to send a quick, not time-sensitive email, grab a card and write it out. Doing so will take only a few more seconds, and it is more personal (and memorable) than a generic email.
• Listen up. We speak at an average rate of 150 words per minute and think at around 500 words per minute. This means that it’s easy for our minds to jump to conclusions and formulate a response before our speaker is finished. Resist this urge by making eye contact, asking questions and restating what was just said. Not only are you more likely to comprehend the message, but when your speaker feels valued, your own message gains credibility.

It takes hard work and determination to become an entrepreneur. It also takes vision, but an outside, objective perspective is sometimes essential. We can all use a little advice from time to time: one of the markers of a smart, savvy small business owner is that they know when to ask for help.

Entrepreneurs, especially, have to acknowledge they can’t know everything about their business; it spreads them too thin to be effective in the areas in which they shine. An adviser can help aid your business development, and here are a few ways to use their assistance more effectively.

Image credit: Fabrizio Salvetti

Adviser vs. Mentor

Some people confuse the two. A mentor relationship is an unequal relationship – you are learning the ropes of a business from a more experienced, seasoned professional. Although it’s reciprocal, as the mentee, you usually gain more than the mentor, and the mentor is in an authoritative position.

An adviser to your business is more of a partner. There is a value-added component for both of you. You get a fresh eye to evaluate how you’re doing and to offer insight. Your adviser gets kudos for assisting you and should be compensated.

How to Best Utilize Your Adviser

Time commitment – When choosing advisers, find someone that can make a time and energy commitment over a period of time that you both determine. A virtual relationship with your adviser is great, but also make a point to schedule regular face time.

Get it on paper – It’s best to draw up a contract that spells out the terms of the adviser role. This should include compensation specifics and the time frame of the advisership.

Communicate – If two people in a relationship have very different expectations, it’s not likely to work. Be honest and open with each other to avoid any ongoing issues.

Ask for help – Your adviser expects to be asked to help and guidance. You need to ask for what you need when you need it.

Have you effectively used a business adviser? What did you find most valuable?

What makes a good manager? There’s often an assumption that you have to have natural leadership qualities to be a good manager. While some innate characteristics can “create” a top-notch manager, many of the skills can also be learned. There is also a great deal of overlap between leader and manager. Joseph C. Rost, author of Leadership for the Twenty-First Century, criticizes those who “denigrate management to ennoble leadership.” He goes on to explain that management is about authority, and leadership is about influence. Both are important.

So what are the qualities you want in a good manager?

1. Leadership – It’s easier to manage people if they trust you and want to follow your lead. It also promotes employees to “buy in” and become invested in a project.
2. Good assessment skills – A good manager can quickly assess data to keep what’s needed and reject the rest.
3. Communication – It’s become a cliché for sure, but effective communication is a critical component of being a good manager.
4. Listening skills – Good managers gain insight and useful data by listening and being open to other viewpoints and opinions.
5. Feedback – Giving and receiving feedback from line staff and higher-ups is a sign of a good manager. Acting effectively on the feedback can make you a great manager.
6. Planning skills – Managers who can effectively plan both short-term and longer-term projects demonstrate flexibility and the ability to see the big picture.
7. Information sharing – Good managers know the value of sharing information. The old style of using knowledge as power is not effective in our information age.
8. Conflict resolution – Conflict is part of any relationship. Managers who are adept at acknowledging and resolving conflict will earn employees’ respect.
9. Network utilization – A good manager knows to use both formal and informal networks within organizations to stay on top of the game.
10. Crisis management – How people handle crises is often an indicator of their leadership skills. Handling a crisis in a decisive way can inspire employees to trust their own instincts in a difficult situation.

(Check out this blog post for some further insight, “Leadership vs. Management Quiz Answers”)

We all do it at work: procrastinate, read email, stay in touch with friends, and attend seemingly-endless meetings.

Welcome to the Workplace Productivity-Killers. There are three activities that we routinely do as part of our workday:

1. Read email
2. Use social media
3. Go to meetings

They also take up way too much time. So how can you still utilize these business tools and be productive?

Email

Don’t let an inbox full of email dictate the start of your day. Many of us compulsively open and respond to every message that we can.

Stop it! Instead, schedule three times during the day to scan your email for items that need your immediate attention. Respond as needed, but have a time limit.

When replying, think twice before clicking that “Reply All” button. Who really needs to see this information? Don’t leave anyone out who should be in the loop, but your whole office doesn’t need to know about the sandwich you’re ordering for lunch.

Social media

It’s OK, you can admit you’re on Facebook way more than you should be. It’s addictive to see what our buddies are doing. Social media can also be a great tool for work, but like email, it can be a productivity “black hole” – before you know it, you’ve wasted an hour.

Deal with the distraction head-on. Acknowledge that social media can be a time-suck and set a time limit, or only use it during your lunch break. And please — turn off the chat feature. If you use social media for work, focus your time and energy where it matters.

Meetings

I don’t know many people who believe meetings are critical to the success of doing our jobs, but they are sometimes necessary. Decide if you really need to have a meeting or if a few emails or phone call will do. If your presence isn’t actually needed, perhaps declining a meeting invitation and getting work done at your desk is more productive. Schedule meetings at the beginning of the day if possible and keep them short – 15 to 20 minutes. Having a firm end time helps you prioritize to fit everything in during the period allotted.

Part of mastering the art of avoiding the Workplace Productivity-Killers is in taking back control over your time by being more aware of how you’re using it. You can still squeeze in a few tweets…

Which of these three is the biggest time-suck in your day?

Photo credit: Bradley Gordon

It’s hot. Really, really hot.

So stay cool and get some reading done while you’ve got air conditioning. Here are some of the posts we found interesting and useful this week to get you started.

Photo credit: Kris Bradley

Here are 20 ways to motivate yourself.

Now that you’re motivated, set smart daily goals to move forward.

Don’t be a lousy leader.

Check out these website makeovers — what a difference color can make!

How do you train employees?

Corporate culture isn’t just for big businesses, so make yours great.

What lessons can we learn from Tina Fey’s Bossypants?

Have a great weekend, and stay cool!

You may not be an artist, but that doesn’t mean you don’t need creativity. If you come up with unique marketing ideas, plan company events, or have to solve personnel problems, you’re being creative at work. So how can you keep the good ideas flowing?

It might sound counter-intuitive that our same old, daily routines can spark our creativity, but it’s true. I bet you’ve had time in which you sat at your desk just trying to be creative. Did it work? It usually doesn’t; being creative on demand is tough.

Routines Create Structure

Very few people are creative out of thin air. Think about two tasks: one where you know the parameters, one where you don’t. Which is easier? If you have a structure from which to launch, you can then come up with ideas that will fit. In a blog post “Killing the Fear of Routine,” artist Dan Goodwin says, “A big fear many of us have as artists is that if we develop creative routines and practices, we’re likely to get stuck in a rut.”

He’s explaining the difference between the creative process itself and the supportive structure that allows you to come up with new ideas. It’s the security of our routines that help us focus on other stuff. You’ve probably experienced working on something less than inspiring, like a spreadsheet, and a great idea pops into your head for an upcoming project.

Off Your Game

Do you ever notice that varying your daily routine throws you off your stride? Let’s say one morning no one makes coffee. You have to stop your usual habits, make coffee, complain about it to whomever was listening, and now your day feels disrupted. The normalcy of your routine leaves you free to focus on what needs to get done, not when or how.

What regular routines help you focus on the creative aspects of your job? Tell us about them!

Photo credit: Chris Metcalf