Calendar: November 2015

This article originally appeared in the October 2015 edition of INVISION.

November is DIABETIC EYE DISEASE AWARENESS MONTH. Use your email bulletins to remind diabetic clients how essential it is that they get dilated eye exams every year. Follow up with personal calls to diabetic clients to be sure they know you really care (and to schedule their next checkup).

Today is CLICHÉ DAY. Ask team members to pin their favorite bromides on the office bulletin board. There’s a reason they’re clichés — it’s because they’ve got truth in them. Here are two to get you started: “The harder you work, the luckier you get.” And: “Think outside the box.” (Scientists have found that this particular metaphor, enacted literally, really does free the mind for brainstorming. So save that next big appliance box you get and give it a try. )

VETERANS DAY. It’s time to honor your community’s veterans for their service to the country. Sponsor a float in your local Veterans Day parade. Feature new frames in camouflage patterns (a trend we spotted at Vision Expo West). Offer discounts to veterans and active-duty military personnel.

Remind your clients that November 19 is a great day to give up smoking.

The GREAT AMERICAN SMOKEOUT is a perfect time to remind clients of the damage that cigarettes can cause — including cataracts, glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration. Prevent Blindness has a page (invmag.us/smoke) featuring valuable health information worth sharing on SmokeOut Day as well a video guaranteed to make your clients think twice about lighting up.

Ahh, THANKSGIVING. With the help of some friendly locals, the pilgrims made it through the first year, and the Plymouth Colony eventually prospered. Similarly, you probably owe a debt of thanks to your business’s friendly locals — those clients who got you through your early years or the last recession. Prepare some thank-you cards — make sure they are personal and handwritten — and mail them. Arriving in November will ensure they are well-received because you avoid the “best-wishes” deluge that marks the end of the year.

Today, SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAy, is all yours — your 15 minutes in the spotlight in a crowded holiday season. Step up and claim your place on the holiday shopping calendar by stealing some of the habits of fellow major shopping days Cyber Monday and Black Friday. Promote the importance of supporting small business in your community and, more importantly, offer great deals and truly special events. Start your preparations by going to smallbusinesssaturday.com, where you’ll find plenty of resources and ideas.

CIDER MONDAY! We like this date: It’s an invitation to shoppers to visit a real store, touch real products — and be greeted with a warm cup of cider. First observed by Toadstool Bookshop in New Hampshire, it offers a tasty twist on CYBER MONDAY, which kicks off the online shopping season today.

B U S I N E S S    A N N I V E R S A R I E S

HAPPY 100TH ANNIVERSARY TO the HENRY FORD HEALTH SYSTEM

MICHIGAN

This year marks a century for the Michigan healthcare network begun by the famous automotive pioneer. Henry Ford Health System joined forces with OptimEyes in 1996 — an event marked by this photo from the HenryFord100.com timeline. Henry Ford OptimEyes has eight Detroit-area Super Vision Centers, plus more satellite offices.

Does your business have an upcoming milestone? Email us at editor@invisionmag.com.

lev radin / Shutterstock.com

C E L E B R I T Y    B I R T H D A Y

Nov. 13. Comic actress and co-host of ABC’s The View, Whoopi Goldberg turns 60 today. Her minuscule round readers, worn extremely low on her nose, are as much a part of Whoopi’s image as her dreadlocks and her black suits. Not that this singular personality worries too much about image.