"Excellence must be achieved through the eyes of those who judge us; once achieved it can only be maintained with constant innovation."  ~ Tom Collins, author

Earlier this year we re-imagined the Executive Errands® website and over the last few months we have completely redesigned our brochures, business cards, advertising, table top displays, promotional flyers and presentation folders.  You name it, we're redoing it!

Why?  Because our company has evolved over the last eight years.  Where we are today is so much broader than what we had initially envisioned. As clients ask for new tasks and services, we have agreed to expand our offerings.  And as we have changed, so too must the way we present ourselves change.

Just like Executive Errands®, the way any of us present our companies to the world can alter how we're perceived. These days, digital technology makes creating and producing any type of marketing collateral fairly easy, even for people like me who have zero artistic ability.  

Yet there are varying degrees of excellence and these degrees can have a far reaching subliminal impact on prospective clients and customers.  To illustrate what we mean, let's consider a common business card.

Everyone in business must have a business card.  It is a convenient and necessary way to provide your contact info and possibly even promote your products and services in one 3.5 x 2 inch portable space.  It's like a billboard in the palm of your hand.

BUT, there are all sorts of ways to produce a business card. And each of them projects a different degree of excellence.  Consider:

• You can purchase card stock and, using a word processor template, create and print your own cards at home and have them instantly.
• You can use a 'one-graphics-design-fits-all' website, pick from their pre-designed templates, fill in your info and have your cards in about a week.
• You can have a card professionally designed, then order them from any number of printing companies and get them in about a month (or so).  And for custom business cards you also have the following minimum decisions:
• Plain card stock or colorful?
• If white stock, is the ink black or a 4-color imprint?
• Will the cards be a matt finish or will they have an aqueous coating?
• How thick should the card stock be?

Each of these decisions will affect the cost of the business card.   As previously stated, a business card is a necessary marketing piece of your business.  No matter which options you selected above, as long as the card includes your full contact info, it will technically have served its purpose.  So then why do all these decisions matter?  Why not just go with the least expensive options?

Because, whether they will admit it or not, most people - at least most of your colleagues - can recognize which options you chose by simply looking at your business card.  And subliminally they may be forming an opinion about you and your company based solely on this first subconscious impression.

Cards printed at home are obvious and most of us recognize the 'one-graphics-design-fits-all' website templates too.  These two options may imply

• 'I'm new at this' or  
• 'I'm trying to save costs' or
• 'I have no idea how to create something visually appealing'.  In a worst case scenario, either of these two options may mean  
• 'I'm not sure if this business is going to work so I'm not going to invest in a professional design'.

Conversely, each decision up the business card design scale can imply a deeper level of commitment to your company, your own belief in the value of your offerings; even the level of quality and professionalism you will offer your clients.

That's a lot of responsibility for a simple little business card to shoulder.

It's all about degrees of excellence.  Yes, the business card printed at home will work.  But the custom designed, custom printed, sturdy card stock; glossy card with a burst of color can sometimes do so much more.

From the beginning, we opted to go 'all out' for our business cards (and for all our other marketing collateral for that matter).  We had a vision for Executive Errands® and that vision meant that only high quality would do.

In fact, our marketing materials have always been so high end; it is necessary to tell people that Executive Errands® is not a franchise because it is so often mistaken for one.

Truly, 'good' is based on perception of value by the people who receive them and the intended purpose of each product.  Just because our materials were good eight years ago or five years ago, or even last year, doesn't mean they are good today. Constant innovation is the hallmark of the successful.   

We must all consciously reinvent ourselves; ever changing and striving toward a state of continuing excellence so we keep our businesses (and ourselves) interesting and current with new trends in our respective industries....These are not just marketing materials... they're oh, so much more...

Our Favorite Things... Storekeeper on El Paseo   

When it comes to holiday decorating there are many degrees of excellence.  You can purchase do it yourself craft materials and make your own décor. Or you can pick up items at one of the big box stores.

 

Or, you can opt for one-of-a kind and gorgeous specialty items from Storekeeper on El Paseo.  Storekeeper, located right next to Nicole in the middle of the El Paseo shopping district is a gift shop that carries items for home décor and one of a kind gifts for any occasion.

 

Seasonal holiday displays show items that have been picked for holidays such as Christmas, Halloween, and Thanksgiving. The Christmas display fills the entire store with terrific decorations and custom decorated Christmas trees.

 

The items at Storekeeper are expensive compared to a big box store - but they are so worth it because the quality is amazing.

Take an artificial poinsettia for example. The first degree would be the big box store, then improved quality at a craft store and finally (and technically no comparison), Storekeeper...  

 

Of course you can stop in anytime and find beautiful one-of-a-kind pieces, but if you plan now for next year, you can try to take advantage of the closer-to-Christmas sales  (keep in mind - because most of the Storekeeper inventory is unique, something you really want may not be available later).  

 

Storekeeper also offers "Christmas in July" when they have their pre-Christmas sale!  We love it because we can review the new trends in holiday décor so we're prepared when our seasonal homeowners ask us what's new for the holiday season. 

 

Storekeeper is located at 73-560 El Paseo, Ste. E, Palm Desert and their hours are Mon - Sat, 9:30am - 6pm; Sun, 9:30am - 5pm

 

If you want beautiful holiday décor that will last for years to come, please visit Storekeeper... One of our favorite places! 

 

 

And remember - it's always better to honor our local entrepreneurs - so shop local!

 

["Our Favorite Things" gives us an opportunity to share people, places, events and things that we truly love and that you might too.  We have no business affiliation with any company or individual featured here.  We just want to share good things with you and if our recommendations help build business for someone else or saves you time or money, GREAT!!!]

We are about to eat a lot of pie for Thanksgiving!  Don't shake your head. I don't care who you are, if you're reading this, it is likely you will eat at least ONE piece of pie in the next 30 days.

And there is no greater pie debate than what constitutes a chocolate pie.  Especially a chocolate SILK pie.  Talk about degrees of excellence!

My favorite one used to come from Baker's Square.  Are they still in business?  Who knows?!?  The fact is, there isn't one here locally.  My second favorite came from Marie Callender's although technically it was a German Chocolate pie (with mmmm pecans and coconut) but alas, there is no longer a Marie Callender's here locally either.

(As an aside, what is it with this desert and pie?  Are we anti-pie?)

Anywayyyy....  My sister and I debate this topic quite a bit.  She says she makes a chocolate silk pie but I disagree.  She puts pudding in a pie shell with a processed topping.  Yes it tastes good, but that is NOT a chocolate silk pie in my (recipe) book.

Nor would I accept that one of those pre-made frozen pies labeled chocolate silk are actually chocolate silk pies.  They might be similar but nothing is as good as homemade (or Baker's Square mmmm). 

True chocolate silk pie (as its name suggests) is a silky mousse of a pie, piled high with fluffy whipped cream.  Just thinking about it makes me want one... and while it is fairly easy to make, it takes a bit of patience and time.

The best recipe I've come across so far is one by Ree Drummond, aka The Pioneer Woman.  

Here is her recipe: (or you can view her step by step pictures here: Pioneer Woman Chocolate Silk Pie) 

Ingredients

• 4 ounces, weight Unsweetened Baking Chocolate
• 1 cup Salted Butter, Softened
• 1-1/2 cup Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 4 whole Eggs
• 1 package Baked Pie Shell 

Preparation Instructions

In small microwave safe bowl melt 4 ounces of unsweetened baking chocolate until stir-able (about 45 seconds on high). Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer beat 1 cup (2 sticks) of regular (salted) butter and 1 ˝ cups of white sugar until fluffy (about 1 to 2 minutes). When melted chocolate is cooled, drizzle it over the butter/sugar mixture. Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Beat the mixture thoroughly until combined (on a Kitchen Aid mixer, you will be using the whisk attachment).

Turn your mixer to a medium speed and over a period of 15 to 20 minutes add in the four eggs, one at a time, leaving about 5 minutes between each egg addition.  

Once the pie filling is well mixed, pour it into the baked pie shell, scraping every last speck of it out of the bowl. Smooth out the pie filling and place pie in the refrigerator to chill for at least two hours (preferably longer).

Plop a heap of whipped cream and garnish with a few chocolate curls if you're feeling sassy.  Enjoy! 

Here is another area where there are varying degrees of excellence:  The holiday card fiasco, I mean, experience...

I love sending holiday cards, but buying a box of them from the drugstore or big box store can come across as cheesy and again, just like home printed business cards, it's easy to tell when you receive one that yours is one of 25 exactly-the-same as everybody else.   

You do get bonus points for hand signing and can override the plain box holiday card altogether by adding a personalized note, but still, a box of holiday cards is pretty ordinary.

Personalized, pre-printed cards are a step up from a standard box set and even though the recipient knows the card they received is one of many similar cards, at least it shows you took the time and incurred the expense of making a card specific for your business or family.

And then there are individualized holiday cards where you spend an hour or two at a card store, agonizing over 'just the right' card for each person on your holiday card list.  Then you sit down to sign them all and you typically write a personalized note.  This is the Cadillac of card giving.

All three of these options, from one degree or another are time consuming and costly.  Add in stamps and if you have any more than about 25 to do, the cost can really climb. 

Here is a solution.  A free app from Apple called Cards.  You can actually go online and create personalized cards customized with your own text and photos.  And the best part is, they print them out on quality 100% cotton paper, they include embossed designs and then they mail them for you.

There are actually too many great features to list here, not the least of which is you can use this app not only for holiday cards but for birthday cards, thank you cards, announcements and the like.

You can make the cards one-at-a-time or select up to 12 recipients at a time.  The Cards app prints and mails your cards for the extremely affordable price of $2.99 per card to addresses in the US ($4.99 elsewhere in the world).   

Given the price of postage and the time you'll save, that's quite a bargain for a personalized card of this quality.

The Cards app is available free from iTunes for iPhone and iPad.

And PS, if you already have your own cards and would like them hand-signed and/or the envelopes hand-addressed, that's something we can do for you - many of our business colleagues hire us to do this so their holiday and client thank you cards are personalized and time effective.  

Excellence is not tied to the amount of money you spend.  What truly matters is the value others perceive you to offer.   And as long as you believe in what you create and are able to convincingly present it - cost alone makes no difference.

Using our business card example, if you're a non-profit organization and you're fully dependent on the generosity of private donations, a self-designed and self-printed business card may imply you are conscious of your spending and you want to minimize non-essential expenditures in favor of direct operational costs.  It's absolutely a positive choice.

The point is you need to decide what's best for you and your organization.  What message do you want to convey?  How do you want to do it?  If budget is a concern, then you may want to identify all the tasks you need to accomplish and then prioritize them based on those that will have the most positive impact for your business.

From a personal perspective, we too need to be constantly striving for excellence and to realize there are varying degrees of it here too.   

Having integrity, being dependable and reliable and honest are all indicative of personal excellence.

As we move closer to 2014, consider where you are in your industry.  Has it changed this year?  Do your marketing materials send your desired message?  How can you better position yourself to promote growth?  There is no simple or single answer - there is only that there are many ways to accomplish something and there are varying ways to get you there... indeed, there are many degrees of excellence!

Have a wonderful and family focused Thanksgiving! 

Leslie Spoor, C.C.S

President, Executive Errands® & Concierge Business Solutions™
760.898.9604

CL #944447

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Executive Errands® is a Registered Trademark of Leslie Spoor  

(our attorney insists we say this)