In this world of constant work and social media, it is important to get up from where you are working and move around. The old morning and afternoon 15-minute breaks and your lunch hour seem to have disappeared. If you can go outside and just breathe in fresh air a few times a day, do it. If you are confined to the indoors, take a walk to another area of the building. Get moving and change the scenery. Drink water. Stay hydrated. It doesn’t only help your skin and your body, but it also helps your mental health. It is important to take your mind off your work a few times during the day. That means that you do not work through your lunch break. It is called a break. Take the time to do something you enjoy. Read a book, eat slowly and enjoy the meal, think about fun plans you are making. Just do not think about what is back at your desk to get done. The half hour you are away from work will bring more energy to that task than if you did not take a break. If you need to schedule breaks and your down time on your calendar, do it. Yes, write it down as it is as important as the job you are doing. You are as important as the job. Your mental health is important.
Agency Services
Business Mental Health – Week 3
We spoke about taking breaks while you are on the job and at your workspace. What about the days your company allows you to take off. Vacations, mental health days, or whatever they call them. Do you actually take them off? Fear of not taking time off is a mental health drain. I remember a person that felt they could not be replaced because they did not write down anything that they did. They felt that this was their job security. They were so busy and were not taking any time off. They felt if they were the only person that knew where things were and they were always available, that this was a sure way to keep their job. The problem was…. They never took time off, they were always available, they were not able to realize that getting help and asking for help was a good thing for them mentally. Instead, this person ran from one floor to another doing what needed to be done. They were exhausted and, in their mind, they were the only one that could do the job. You may have guessed what happened. They could not keep up; they did not allow anyone to step in from time to time to assist in what needed to be done and their job performance began to decline. This went on for years until one day, the boss called them into the office and let them go. It wasn’t because they were lazy or weren’t doing the job. It was because our bodies mentally and physically cannot go 24/7 without breaks. Who do you have, or have you asked to help you with what your job is? Spring is here and vacation time is here. As Creative Ideas Agency have been helping businesses be the secret partner for their advertising, public relations and social media, we have also been filling in to help with job assignments when you need us. We have filled in on those projects that you either need an extra hand to handle a project or while you are on vacation, making sure that the project continues to be on schedule.
Business Mental Health – Week 4
At Creative Ideas Agency, we make it a priority to have our team take time off. In doing so, we have the energy to be creative. We never have a retainer fee, so our clients use our services when they need us. We have been doing this for 35 years. We can meet with you and your team to see how we can step in to take a project from your hands so that you are not stressed.
Do you need a few days off, are you going on a vacation but feel you cannot go because there are due dates on a creative project that will mentally drain you?
We would love to help you mentally to realize that job will be worked on while you are taking time away. Don’t fear that if you go away and take a break you will not have a job. Fear that if you do not take time away and breaks that you will not be capable of continuing to do the good job that you are doing.
It feels so good to not fear. It feels so good to take care of your mental health so that you can give your business 100% of your energy when you are there.
Breathe, put your favorite colors around you, place a photo or saying that makes your happy and don’t forget to smile.
We would love to hear from you. Tell us your story of how you are taking care of your business mental health.
Spending Your Advertising Dollars – Week 1
Did you know the old saying you have to spend money to make money. It is actually very true. When you are trying to build your business and get cash flow coming in, it is very difficult to think about spending money on advertising and marketing. The truth is if you do not spend a minimum of 2% of your gross money and up to 5% on the net amount of money you bring into your business, you are not spending enough. Very successful businesses spend 7+%.
Even if you are on a diet, you still must have a certain amount of calories in order for your body to have energy and to survive. Why would you want to starve your business by not having an advertising budget to help you have a healthy business.
Of course, there are many many ways to spend your advertising dollars and every business is different. In fact, every business that is the same type of business spends its money differently. Creative Ideas Agency, Inc has been studying and making advertising plans for more than 35 years. None of our clients are given a cookie cutter plan. Each business’ goal is to make money and to bring in more business, but the goals and the offering of each business are always different. Do you have an advertising budget, or do you wish that people will know about your business and hope they will call or walk into your business?
Spending Your Advertising Dollars – Week 2
Creative Ideas Agency has been in business for more than 35 years. They have been making advertising plans for hundreds of businesses from start-ups to global world-wide businesses. Business was good and yes; Creative Ideas has an advertising budget. Yes, we do what we tell others to do. But, one year, the owner thought she would like to see what happened if she did not have an advertising budget or was less than 1% of gross sales. Everything was fine for the first quarter. Business was still coming in and even new clients that had heard of Creative Ideas Agency were contacting us. Creative Ideas Agency has been branding its look and style for many years. The second quarter was good, but we did not see the flow of new business coming in. By the third quarter the owner knew that she would never do this again. Thank goodness the business had surplus and because Creative Ideas Agency advertised as we help our clients to do, we were able to regain the business flow and get new clients as well as keep the clients we had. It was a lesson learned. Yes, what we have been telling our clients is true. You must spend money to make money.
Yes, the type of advertising and the places you buy your advertising change as your company grows and as the times change. When we began Creative Ideas Agency in 1989, we didn’t even have the internet. Newspaper was a big way to advertise. As newspapers go away and readership is actually read online, we adjust to what are the trends and we adjust the advertising dollars.