Jim Nother has always seen himself as an encourager, dedicated to uplifting friends, family, customers, and employees. As the owner and president of Nothers The Award Store, in London, Ontario, Canada, he’s spent his career doing just that.

For many retailers, marketing can be a challenge and therefore easily avoided. Common reasons to avoid even thinking about marketing may include limited time and money, a lack of understanding of social media or other distribution channels, or even difficulty targeting the right audience.

Rustic Falls Engraving—better known as RF Engraving—sits at the center of town in Grantsville, Utah. About 30 miles west of Salt Lake City, Grantsville is home to 12,000 people. While RF Engraving has done work across the country and internationally, the majority of their business is closer to home, including from nearby Salt Lake City.

Say you go into a fast food restaurant and order a No. 5 with a Coke. After receiving your order, the employees are off and running.

Sound familiar? But what you might not realize is that the minute you walk into any fast food location, the operational systems are already in motion: How they handle customers, supplies and production is all pre-determined. Business seminars, books and courses often recommend that business operations mirror popular chains like McDonald's.

In-person customer service and relationship-building have been the backbone of the personalization industry for decades—something not likely to change any time soon. Across the board, though, digital tools are helping personalization shops increase sales, find new customers, manage employees and a whole lot more.

There is a proverb from 14th-century England that says, “Mighty oaks from little acorns grow,” a reminder that starting small and persevering can lead to great things. That is a good way to characterize the growth of Becky Gromala’s business, The Silver Squirrel Engravings and Gifts.

Sports are important in almost every corner of the world, with events uniting people with the most diverse of backgrounds. Consider that 1.5 billion people tuned into the 2022 World Cup final game between Argentina and France, according to FIFA. 

Regardless of the category you fall into, preparation helps. After all, it can be easy to think of public speaking in the framework of only what happens in the moment: how your voice sounds, how people perceive what you’re saying. But often, the real key to sounding good in the moment means taking the appropriate steps before the event.

With holiday gifts, some people are planners and others, quite frankly, are not. Personalization businesses are familiar with both types. Clearly, most businesses would prefer to create as many personalized gifts as possible—as early as possible—for the early birds who know what they want and are thinking ahead. But businesses can’t afford to turn down last-minute orders, even if it means burning the midnight oil.

It’s always great when a plan comes together.

Nick Blumer got into the personalization business after spending four years in the United States Marine Corps and 16 years in the Air National Guard, as well as performing network security and HIPAA compliance at a nationally recognized healthcare clearinghouse. When the company he was working for was sold and downsized during the pandemic, Blumer built an online company that sold hats, T-shirts, coffee and accessories. One day, his accountant let him know that there was a business for sale in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, that might be a great fit for him and his family.