Happy New Year - How Original!

Do you know, it's been such a crazy week here that I spent all of yesterday thinking it was only Monday. The good news for me is that today has come as a very pleasant surprise. The bad news is that I totally forgot to post the first blog of 2009. I know - I'm as upset about it as you are but don't worry, I promise we have some fun things to talk about this year.

Let me start by wishing you a Happy New Year. It seems like the right thing to do. What was the general sentiment at your New Year's party? For most people, they were delighted to be getting out of 2008; it was a crappy year and they want nothing more to do with it.

Now the psychology of that is interesting isn't it? I've come back into work with new enquiries to handle, new clients, new quotes and new orders. I'm thrilled, but I cannot help but notice that noone has announced that the recession is over. In fact, if you can stand to watch the news for more than 5 minutes without wanting to kill yourself, things are set to get even worse.

So what is it that is so magical about January the 1st? There's nothing mystical to it - the whole calendar is just started at some random point in history. No. What people are excited about is renewal - the excuse to make some sort of resolution and see just how long they can go before it all fades away, only to resurface some time around December.

People resolve to lose weight, to give up smoking, to be more courteous, to work harder, whatever it might be. My question is this - why do you need a change in the date to make a change in your life?

So what are you resolved to in the world of your business? For me, it's to have fewer clients to which I can provide even greater service. Sure, it's all a bit Jerry McGuire but I love that philosophy. I want to make my job about being creative and partnering with my clients. I simply cannot do that if I'm chasing my tail cold calling for new business.

And so it is that I have formed my own special club. My goal is for this club to have no more than 50 members, and in order to join, all you need to do is have a certain committed spend on merchandising between now and December the 31st. I'm not going to tell you that figure, because I don't want to put anybody off, but suffice is to say that it is not a ridiculous amount of money for any company that's truly serious about marketing themselves in 2009.

Membership will certainly have its privelages. The best one being that you won't have anyone here trying to "sell" you anything. We'll be concerned with helping you make the most of your company's exposure.

Want in?