Sometimes the person you owe the biggest "thank you" to, is you. In the United States, it's Thanksgiving week, which means this Thursday we will spend time with family and friends, carve up a turkey, and watch a little football. Given the holiday's name, it's also an opportunity to show sincere appreciation for the people who have supported you, given you opportunities, or loved you unconditionally.   For the first time in a long time, our empty nest will be full, as both our

This episode of Between 2 Brands is brought to you by the good people at CoasterStone – home of the original absorbent stone coaster. With that combination of stone-cold quality, striking decoration, low cost-per-impression, retail packaging, and unmatched value, David Glenn and his team at CoasterStone are ready to help you make a ROCK-SOLID impression with your clients. Email them at promo@coasterstone.com  today! It’s Friday and time for a VERY special edition of the Betwe

Growth doesn't happen by talking louder I've been in the promotional products industry for a long time – 26 years to be exact. To put that number in perspective, I've lasted longer in this industry than the average career of a Major League Baseball player (6 years), longer than the average marriage in the United States (8 years), and even longer than David Lee Roth fronted the mighty Van Halen (14 years). That's a long time to be in one industry.   For the first 13 years, I h

BIG thanks to our pals over at PPAI . NOW is the time to register for the SUPER BOWL of Promo – the PPAI EXPO! With over one million square feet of exhibit space, over 900 exhibiting suppliers, and unmatched networking opportunities, this is the one industry event you can’t afford to miss. Register today at ppai.org/expo ! It’s Friday and time for Ep. 44 of the Between 2 Brands #podcast with your host, Bill Petrie! This week, Bill shares a peek behind the scenes about plannin

The best things you'll ever build will also be the hardest. As I write this, I'm less than 24 hours removed from co-hosting the most recent PromoCruise. For those unfamiliar, it's an event where we take sixty branded merchandise suppliers and distributors – along with their plus ones – on a cruise, aiming not only to change how we network in the promotional products industry but also to elevate it by emphasizing the importance of relationships.   This is where I would typical

This episode of Between 2 Brands has been brought to you by the good people at CoasterStone – home of the original absorbent stone coaster. With that combination of stone-cold quality, striking decoration, low cost-per-impression, retail packaging, and unmatched value, David Glenn and his team at CoasterStone are ready to help you make a ROCK-SOLID impression with your clients. Email them at promo@coasterstone.com  today! It’s the first Friday of November which means it’s tim

Sometimes a bit of chaos is the creative spark you need. If you're reading this during the first week of November when this blog drops, I'm somewhere in the Mexican Caribbean on the fourth PromoCruise. At this point, you'd think that organizing and running a networking event would be some variation of "wash, rinse, repeat." However, for a variety of reasons, this PromoCruise feels very much like the first time – and I'm not talking about the 1977 hit song from Foreigner.   As

BIG thanks to our pals over at PPAI. NOW is the time to register for the SUPER BOWL of Promo – the PPAI EXPO! With over one million square feet of exhibit space, over 900 exhibiting suppliers, and unmatched networking opportunities, this is the one industry event you can’t afford to miss. Register today at ppai.org/expo ! It’s Halloween AND time for a spooky episode of the Between 2 Brands #podcast with Bill Petrie! This week, Bill kicks off the podcast by talking about the i

How opening your mind can lead you to the right solution. Everyone I know loves being right – including me. It feels good, it's validating, and it makes us feel as if we know what we are doing. However, when one feels they are right all the time, it comes with a nasty side effect: it stops them from learning.   I've always been drawn to the way scientists think, even though I have the polar opposite of a scientific brain. They begin with the premise that they might be wrong –

A HUGE Thanks to our friends over at BEL Promo for sponsoring this fine broadcast. When you’re looking for the lowest minimums, deepest inventory, 5-star and A+ service – you know you can BEL Promo that! If it’s Friday, then it’s time for a brand-new episode of the Between 2 Brands #podcast with Bill Petrie! To kick off Ep. 41, Bill talks about the fragility of cloud-based internet services in wake of the major outage this past week and bids a fond “adieu” to part of the wor