In the 51 years since President John F. Kennedy added the presidential seal of approval to National Small Business Week, it has never been cooler (or probably harder) to operate a small business. The country as a whole better appreciates the benefits that locally owned businesses bring to their communities. Before today’s start of NATIONAL SMALL BUSINESS WEEK, contact your chamber of commerce or SCORE chapter to see what events are planned. Or check sba.gov/nsbw.
America’s favorite bespectacled comedienne turns 44 today. On TINA FEY’S BIRTHDAY, let’s honor the woman who, over the last decade, has served as the entertainment world’s biggest ambassador for sexy/smart eyewear styles. Devote part of your front-window display to a collection of Fey-like styles, or promote a selection in your weekly bulletin, plus a favorite 30 Rock quote or two. Here’s one we like:
Jenna Maroney: That guy wanted to buy you a drink!
Liz Lemon: Really? But I already have a drink. Do you think he’d buy me mozzarella sticks?
MEMORIAL DAY comes early this year, meaning an early symbolic start to summer. Leave the discounting to stores selling TVs, but freshen up your displays to reflect the seasonal change: Get those sunglasses out front, and highlight them with a summer prop or two.
Today marks the start of CHILD VISION AWARENESS MONTH and it’s your chance to show your dedication to this key group of customers, who have become more important than ever with the Affordable Care Act. In addition to sales on kid-appropriate frames, why not schedule a speech at a local school or business organization on the impact of uncorrected vision on children? Or offer to write a column on the same subject for your local paper. How about presenting vision exercises for kids on your website? Or start a Pinterest page on young entertainment stars who wear glasses.
Your family will thank us for this one: On NATIONAL LEAVE THE OFFICE EARLIER DAY, make a conscious effort to wrap up all that work and g0 home. Don’t do your work haphazardly, just do it more efficiently and with a little more focus. (For instance, instead of visiting Facebook/Yelp/Pinterest 32 times a day to see who’s commenting, just visit once at a pre-scheduled time.) There you go, we just got you home a half-hour earlier.
The sun god is at the peak of his annual cycle. Celebrate with a MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S TRUNK SHOW. Sparkling wine, warm wind, cool jazz and dazzling eyewear and sunwear. Hmm, sounds nifty. Invite us too! (By the way, if you haven’t scheduled a summer vacation yet, do it now!)
Remembering NATIONAL COLUMNISTS’ DAY could earn you some sweet PR. Send a thank-you note to your favorite local newspaper columnist along with an invitation to stop in for a checkup and/or eyewear style consultation.
On this day in 1974, a pack of Wrigley’s gum was swiped across the first checkout scanner in a Troy, OH, supermarket. The 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BAR CODE’S INTRODUCTION is a good time to remember that many of the technologies that make us uncomfortable (EHR systems, anyone?) will eventually be so ubiquitous that we’ll wonder how we ever lived without them. Moral of the story? Embrace new technology. Action of the day? Find a new technology that excites you and learn more about it.