small biz

I have to say, it’s been kinda fun. THREADS, the new *conversation* app from Meta that blew into our social world on July 5th, has been fun to explore. Now, I’m someone who admittedly ISN’T on the cusp of all that is new and techy. The fact that I got onto it on the first […]

Sometimes, to grow your business, you need to take a step back… As business owners, we easily get caught up in those mundane tasks we need to do to keep our business working. But when you’re in the trenches of your business, day after day, it can be hard to see the bigger picture. But […]

So, what exactly is procrastination paralysis? It’s usually when you’re feeling overwhelmed and anxious about starting/finishing tasks, that often results in delays (or even avoidance) of taking any action. It can affect your overall productivity/progress, and even lead to missed opportunities. And yes, increased levels of stress, frustration and guilt are usually included. Sound familiar? […]

You can call me the Queen of Procrastination* *sometimes ;) Some days I’m killing it, getting stuff done, really knocking it out of the park. But then on those “other” days, dang, not even close. So, I wondered why that was, why are some days so damn awesome and others are total duds? Sure, there […]

A lightbulb customer is someone who gives you a moment of sudden inspiration or realization. In the early years of Essential Packaging, circa 1995, all of our packaging products came in cases of various quantities. For our first Christmas, we brought in this line of matching gift bags and boxes in assorted holiday patterns. But they […]

Ah yes, the early days when you started your small business… For some of you it might’ve been during the pandemic. For others, it’s been a long time, even years. No matter the timeline, think about when you FIRST started… It was pretty exciting, right? Maybe it started as a hobby and then family/friends started […]

Custom branded ribbon is that ‘next level’ luxurious touch that your business can inexpensively add to any product, promotion or gift packaging. It can take a plain white gift box from blah to *OPEN ME* in seconds. And custom branded ribbon is so versatile that you can use on anything – gifts, products, gift baskets, boxes, […]

Unless you’ve been living in a cave these last few months, you’ve probably heard of Chat GPT – the powerful assistant you didn’t even know you needed! Just in case you haven’t heard of it, ChatGPT is the amazing artificial intelligence chatbot that’s currently sweeping the nation. It allows you to have an *almost* human-like […]