Happy Halloween!

From our family at API to yours, please have a very safe and very happy Halloween.

Halloween - Celebrate Halloween at Work

The Creation of Halloween Traditions
By Susan M. Heathfield

Traditions are important in companies just as they are in families. And, Halloween is one of the best holiday traditions to establish and to celebrate at work.

Halloween has climbed right up the holiday charts and is now the second most popular holiday, second only to Christmas, so it's popular with employees, too. Celebrating Halloween at work appeals to the child in each of us and helps create a motivational, team work-oriented work culture.

Halloween is unconnected to any particular religion so diverse employees are rarely offended. The myriad activities associated with Halloween allow you to schedule few or many events while still celebrating Halloween at work. As with any event that is not part of the content of the work, participation in any Halloween festivities is voluntary. No employee should feel pressured to celebrate Halloween at work.

How to Celebrate Halloween at Work

As with any employee event, you will want to form a small, cross-functional committee to plan and execute the Halloween at work events. Rather than all organizational event planning landing in the lap of the Human Resources staff, rotating primary responsibility for holidays from department to department is important.

This rotation allows for team building and leadership development across the company, since planning and executing holiday celebrations builds staff skills. Additionally, when different departments "own" holidays, staff are more likely to participate and fresh ideas are generated. The tradition of the celebration is important, but new and original activities, along with the tried and true, are welcome. Finally, participation on the planning team further develops staff team work skills.

Celebration Ideas for Halloween at Work

These ideas will spark your creative thinking and open up the world of possibilities for celebrating Halloween at work. And, they are all doable since my client companies have done them all.

• • 
    Costume Party or Parade: No Halloween celebration at work would be complete without the opportunity for staff to wear costumes. You can keep the event simple and encourage people to just wear their costume to work for the day. Or, you can make the celebration more elaborate and hold a party or an official parade of costumed employees throughout the company.
• 
  Staff voting for their favorite costume is often a popularity contest - yup, I'm a realist - so, to counter this, I recommend multiple categories of awards. Try best costume, funniest costume, most sophisticated costume, costume that took the most work to make, scariest costume, and most creative costume. Advertise the awards in advance and provide a nice gift to the winners such as a gift certificate or catalog certificate.
• Halloween Breakfast: Cider and doughnuts make a popular breakfast treat for Halloween. So might pumpkin and apple breads, pumpkin pie, pumpkin coffee cake, or pumpkin and apple muffins. For healthy eating, assorted fruits top off the meal, and do make the breakfast a team building celebration. Ask employees to spend some time together rather than retreating with their breakfast to their office or cubicle.
• Halloween Luncheon: You can make a Halloween at work luncheon as seasonal as breakfast. Or, you can order pizza, sandwich wraps, submarines, or any other luncheon menu. Most restaurants will deliver for a large crowd even if they don't advertise that they do. This enables employees to work until the event is scheduled.
• Halloween Decorations: Offer prizes for best and most festively decorated work area. You can give awards like the awards suggested above for costumes. Enhance the team building aspects of this competition by encouraging teams of people to work together to decorate their shared work area.
• Pumpkin Carving Contests: Start at around 4 p.m. so staff can bring their children in for the pumpkin carving contest. TechSmith Corporation makes this an annual event and the company product evangelist takes pumpkin carving pictures to share.
• Trick or Treating (Without the Tricking): Not just for children, you can encourage all employees to bring treats to share and employees can go cubicle to cubicle or door to door trick or treating. Provide each employee with a Halloween trick or treat bag for fun.
  
  --Because trick or treating is for children, too, you can hold a costume party for staff children, schedule trick or treating with the employees, and serve cider and doughnuts for all. The children are amazing in their costumes and your employees will enjoy the event. Many, like me, may live where they don't see any trick or treaters.
  
  --To appeal to the philanthropic hearts of your staff, a form of employee team building and staff motivation that is growing in popularity with the new generations of employees, invite children with special needs to trick or treat, too.
• Schedule Philanthropic Activities for Volunteers: Use your imagination to find community events, activities, and needs and assist with them. Company employees have visited elder care centers in full costume and passed out treats. They have visited pediatric care facilities at hospitals. And, they have run clothing and food collection drives for local churches, charities, and food banks.
• Bobbing for Apples and Other Games: Bobbing for apples is a tradition many of your employees will decide to skip, but it's fun for those who are interested. It's a laughter generator for those who are not. Team building games and activities, that are active in nature and without the potential to embarrass, work best for Halloween celebrations at work.

Halloween celebrations at work are a popular way to mark the occasion of this increasingly widely celebrated holiday. The Halloween celebration at work is positive for employee morale and team building. Sounds like a real winner to me. Looking for other Halloween ideas?

Halloween at the Office

Everybody in the US seems to be thinking about Halloween just now. For most people, it centers around their children and the annual trick-or-treat festivities. However, for a growing number of Americans, Halloween is also celebrated at the office. That's a good thing for the business as well as the employees. Here is a plan that you can start today that will let you and your employees reap the benefits of Halloween at the Office.

Why Should I Bother

You can use Halloween at the Office to build morale and teamwork. At the same time it can help you spot creative and participative talents among your employees. Your people have a little fun in the office, which builds morale. Groups of employees work together on fun projects, which helps build teamwork. Employees from different departments share a common activity, which improves communication and inter-departmental cooperation. You get to identify the people in your organization with hidden talents, skills like creativity, team leadership, and cooperation, in a non-hierarchical setting.

Start Today

Even if you haven't yet started, it's not too late. Find, or appoint, a volunteer to coordinate the activities. Human Resources and Communications are good places to find this type of individual, but it can be anyone.

Decide what the event will include, when and where it will take place, and set a budget for the event. Then get the word out.

Use whatever employee communications methods you have to announce the Halloween at the Office event. Post it on the bulletin boards and the company intranet. Send out a blast email. Use the communication tools you have so people will have enough time to get their part ready.

What's Included?

Pick and choose from this list those things that will work for your company. Be aware of the company culture, its industry, and its location.

• Halloween Party
  Usually this works best at lunch time. Set it up in the company cafeteria or lunch room if you have one. Get facilities to put up decorations, which you can purchase. Make sure everything is fireproof. The party can be as simple or as extensive as time and your budget allow, from a buffet lunch to punch and cookies. Having a party increases the time that employees from different departments will interact and provides a venue for judging a costume contest if you have one. It also gives employees who cannot, or choose not to, participate in the costume contest an opportunity to interact with those employees who do.
• Costume Contest
  Set up and publish the contest rules, including categories. You may want to have separate contests for teams and for individuals. Award prizes for best, most original, scariest, lamest, etc. You can even give a prize to the individual who's costume most resembles a corporate executive or best exemplifies the company spirit.
• Area Decorating
  Starting the morning of the event, allow employees to decorate their group areas in a manner reflective of Halloween. They may want to create a haunted house or a graveyard. What they come up with tells you something about the people in the group. How well they do it says a lot about their team spirit. Keep an eye out for the informal leaders who emerge during the process who you might be able to develop further.
• Other Games and Contests
  If it's appropriate for your company, consider apple bobbing or pumpkin carving or anything else your event leader comes up with.

Events like Halloween at the Office can be great ways to promote employee morale, teamwork, and inter-departmental cooperation. They can also help you identify creativity, innovation and leadership talents among your employees that you can develop for business purposes. Besides being good for business, it can be fun. Give it a try.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

What is Breast Cancer?

Breast cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the breast. It is considered a heterogeneous disease—differing by individual, age group, and even the kinds of cells within the tumors themselves. Obviously no woman wants to receive this diagnosis, but hearing the words “breast cancer” doesn’t always mean an end. It can be the beginning of learning how to fight, getting the facts, and finding hope.

Women in the United States get breast cancer more than any other type of cancer except for skin cancer. It is second only to lung cancer as a cause of cancer death in women.

Each year it is estimated that nearly 200,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and more than 40,000 will die. Approximately 1,700 men will also be diagnosed with breast cancer and 450 will die each year. The evaluation of men with breast masses is similar to that in women, including mammography.

You can donate now: https://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/donate/

The History of Halloween in America

Halloween, celebrated each year on October 31, is a mix of ancient Celtic practices, Catholic  and Roman religious rituals and European folk traditions that blended together over time to create the holiday we know today. Straddling the line between fall and winter, plenty and paucity and life and death, Halloween is a time of celebration and superstition. Halloween has long been thought of as a day when the dead can return to the earth, and ancient Celts would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off these roaming ghosts. The Celtic holiday of Samhain, the Catholic Hallowmas period of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day and the Roman festival of Feralia all influenced the modern holiday of Halloween. In the 19th century, Halloween began to lose its religious connotation, becoming a more secular community-based children's holiday. Although the superstitions and beliefs surrounding Halloween may have evolved over the years, as the days grow shorter and the nights get colder, people can still look forward to parades, costumes and sweet treats to usher in the winter season.

Every October, carved pumpkins peer out from porches and doorsteps in the United States and other parts of the world. Gourd-like orange fruits inscribed with ghoulish faces and illuminated by candles are a sure sign of the Halloween season. The practice of decorating “jack-o’-lanterns”—the name comes from an Irish folktale about a man named Stingy Jack—originated in Ireland, where large turnips and potatoes served as an early canvas. Irish immigrants brought the tradition to America, home of the pumpkin, and it became an integral part of Halloween festivities.


In the United States, pumpkins go hand in hand with the fall holidays of Halloween and Thanksgiving. An orange fruit harvested in October, this nutritious and versatile plant features flowers, seeds and flesh that are edible and rich in vitamins. Pumpkin is used to make soups, desserts and breads, and many Americans include pumpkin pie in their Thanksgiving meals. Carving pumpkins into jack-o’-lanterns is a popular Halloween tradition that originated hundreds of years ago in Ireland. Back then, however, jack-o’-lanterns were made out of turnips or potatoes; it wasn’t until Irish immigrants arrived in America and discovered the pumpkin that a new Halloween ritual was born.

Since ancient times, ghost stories—tales of spirits who return from the dead to haunt the places they left behind—have figured prominently in the folklore of many cultures around the world. A rich subset of these tales involve historical figures ranging from queens and politicians to writers and gangsters, many of whom died early, violent or mysterious deaths.

The Process of Screen Printing

Screen printing is a printing technique that uses a woven mesh to support an ink-blocking stencil. The attached stencil forms open areas of mesh that transfer ink or other printable materials which can be pressed through the mesh as a sharp-edged image onto a substrate. A roller or squeegee is moved across the screen stencil, forcing or pumping ink past the threads of the woven mesh in the open areas.

Screen printing is also a stencil method of print making in which a design is imposed on a screen of silk or other fine mesh, with blank areas coated with an impermeable substance, and ink is forced through the mesh onto the printing surface. It is also known as silkscreen, serigraphy, and serigraph printing.

Screen printing first appeared in a recognizable form in China during the Song Dynasty (960–1279 AD).^[1][2] Japan and other Asian countries adopted this method of printing and advanced the craft using it in conjunction with block printing and hand applied paints.

Screen printing was largely introduced to Western Europe from Asia sometime in the late 18th century, but did not gain large acceptance or use in Europe until silk mesh was more available for trade from the east and a profitable outlet for the medium discovered.

Screen printing was first patented in England by Samuel Simon in 1907.^[2][3] It was originally used as a popular method to print expensive wall paper, printed on linen, silk, and other fine fabrics. Western screen printers developed reclusive, defensive and exclusionary business policies intended to keep secret their workshops' knowledge and techniques.^[4]

Early in the 1910s, several printers experimenting with photo-reactive chemicals used the well-known actinic light activated cross linking or hardening traits of potassium, sodium or ammonium Chromate and dichromate chemicals with glues and gelatin compounds. Roy Beck, Charles Peter and Edward Owens studied and experimented with chromic acid salt sensitized emulsions for photo-reactive stencils. This trio of developers would prove to revolutionize the commercial screen printing industry by introducing photo-imaged stencils to the industry, though the acceptance of this method would take many years. Commercial screen printing now uses sensitizers far safer and less toxic than bichromates. Currently there are large selections of pre-sensitized and "user mixed" sensitized emulsion chemicals for creating photo-reactive stencils.^[4]

Joseph Ulano founded the industry chemical supplier Ulano and in 1928 created a method of applying a lacquer soluble stencil material to a removable base. This stencil material was cut into shapes, the print areas removed and the remaining material adhered to mesh to create a sharp edged screen stencil.^[5]

Originally a profitable industrial technology, screen printing was eventually adopted by artists as an expressive and conveniently repeatable medium for duplication well before the 20th century. It is currently popular both in fine arts and in commercial printing, where it is commonly used to print images on Posters, T-shirts, hats, CDs, DVDs, ceramics, glass, polyethylene, polypropylene, paper, metals, and wood.

A group of artists who later formed the National Serigraphic Society coined the word Serigraphy in the 1930s to differentiate the artistic application of screen printing from the industrial use of the process.^[6]"Serigraphy" is a combination word from the Latin word "Seri" (silk) and the Greek word "graphein" (to write or draw).^[7]

The Printer's National Environmental Assistance Center says "Screenprinting is arguably the most versatile of all printing processes."^[8] Since rudimentary screenprinting materials are so affordable and readily available, it has been used frequently in underground settings and subcultures, and the non-professional look of such DIY culture screenprints have become a significant cultural aesthetic seen on movie posters, record album covers, flyers, shirts, commercial fonts in advertising, in artwork and elsewhere.

Sales Rep Secrets: What to expect and how to find a good one

When I hired my first sales rep in New York it was the best thing I ever did for the growth of my company. The first season sales doubled for the year. It was just the beginning. I had really good success selling my line myself. I personally sold to Nordstrom. I needed growth and I wanted it now. Off I went to NY and the rest was history.

If you want your business to grow you’ll need to find other people to sell your products other than yourself. Hiring a sales rep is one of the best and fastest ways to increase your sales. You’ll find it’s more economical for you to find independent sales representatives to sell for you because you will need more time for other parts of your business and you don’t want to spread yourself too thin. After all you have other things to do in creating your empire!

One thing to remember is no one is ever as enthusiastic or knows your products as well as you do.  It is therefore up to you to create the enthusiasm in your sales rep and educate him/her about your product making sure they have all the proper line sheets, catalogs, brochures and order form information.

A sales rep is your business partner. You both win when there are sales. If you partner with a seasoned rep, the rep has numerous industry relationships and contacts: buyers, other sales reps in different locations, other manufacturers, media and other industry experts. They also know their industry – what works, what doesn’t. A newer hungry rep will have to make those contacts fast or go out of business.

BUT….

Remember that no matter what the rep tells you, the truth is his or her loyalty is to the retail store and not to your company.  It sounds strange that when you are the one signing their commission checks that they would not be loyal to you, but it simply does not work that way.  The reason is, the sales rep must keep his credibility with the retail store, they may purchase several lines out of the showroom and it is up to the rep to keep that customer happy.  The last thing a rep wants to do is lose his customer by having him purchase goods that will not sell or buy the wrong quantities. 

When you are ready to find a sales rep, don’t be disappointed if they don’t fall all over you to get your line.  Taking on a new line is called “pioneering” a line and not all reps want to do this. It takes lots of their time and energy to introduce a new company into the marketplace. 

Buyers are often skeptical of new lines because they have no track records for delivery, quality or sell through.  Though reps are always looking for something new they are often skeptical of someone new to the industry because – let’s face it – they get paid when the goods are shipped and this is how they make their living.

Having often been asked “ How do I find a good sales rep?”  I’ve put together a few pointers first on Where to Find them and then what to ASK them:

WHERE TO FIND A GOOD SALES REP:

1.    Ask retail stores in the territory who they like working with and who they think would be a good rep to handle your product.  If you already have customers in the territory with whom you do business - ask them first.  If you don't do business in the territory find out who you’d like to do business with and then contact them and ask which sales reps they recommend.  Many buyers have favorites that they enjoy working with and are happy to put you in touch with each other.  Just be sure this is a store where your line is already selling or a store where you’d really like to have your products.

2.    Go to a Trade Center and visit Showrooms.  Most major cities have trade centers where reps have permanent showrooms. These are showrooms where buyers purchase wholesale goods from all types of retail establishments.  There is not necessarily access by the general public to these showrooms so you will likely need to establish the purpose of your trip with a guard or some other official.  Take proof that you are a legitimate business (business license, printed check forms, business cards etc. will usually do) because you may need to show proof that you have a business in order to get access.  Once you are in the Trade Center go through various show rooms to see which reps carry what lines for sale.  After careful observation you will be able to see which showrooms and which reps might best be able to represent your line.  Don’t look for lines that are exactly like yours – look for showrooms where you line would be complimentary. Be observant of how the sales people work in the showroom and if it’s a small one you can even talk to the rep.  Be careful to respect the sales rep’s time with paying customers.

3.    Ask for referrals from other manufacturers: Your friends in the industry with compatible products might be able to refer you to a rep they know. 

4.    Ask other sales reps: If you have found a showroom you like or rep you are impressed with and for one reason or another they are unable to take your line, by all means ask them for a referral.  Often they will know a rep who is new to the business, looking for new lines and quite hungry to pioneer a new line.  A referral from another rep can be a very good source for a new vendor.  Remember just because a rep is new does not mean he/she is not good, professional, honest and hard working.

5.    Tradeshows are great places to find reps – or for them to find you:  Tradeshows are where business gets done and deals are made. Reps are scouting as are manufacturers – be on the lookout for a rep you’d like to work with – this is the best time to see them in action and meet face to face. And if you don’t have a booth at a show – walk a show and scout out the possibilities – gather business cards and figure out who you want for your line.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A SALES REP:

1.    Do your due diligence: Call other vendors who are using this sales rep. Ask the following questions;

• Has the sales volume has met with their expectations. 
• Does the rep return phone calls and generally give feedback. 
• Does the rep follow through with sales calls? 
• What is the rep’s general reputation?
• How long has the rep represented their line?
• Is the rep hungry - meaning does he/she want to and need to make a living?

2.  Interview the rep in person.  Never, Never, Never hire a sales rep without having a face to face meeting and seeing his or her showroom.  Believe me the worst thing you can do is give your product to someone you haven’t met.  You are entrusting this person to create significant sales volume for you and you are hiring this person to represent you and your company - You must meet!!!  When you meet someone you will develop rapport, the rep will see that you are serious about your business and you will be able to see if this is a person with whom you can develop a long term relationship.

3. Check out the Showroom (unless the rep is a “road Rep”) and look for the following: 

•  Is the space well used? 
• Is the showroom clean?
• Are the displays interesting and well merchandised? 
• Ask how often displays are changed? 
• Does the rep smoke?  Some do.

Once you decide on which rep to hire then it is important to come to an understanding of what exactly you are hiring him/her to do for you and you will need to have a written agreement.  Generally it is not necessary to have a formal contract and often a letter from you to the rep and then signed and acknowledged by both of you is sufficient. However I would check with your attorney.
 

I am leery of the rep who presents you with a huge contract.  I am not an attorney so cannot advise you as to the best agreement, however it has been my experience that you both must come to an understanding of 3 elements: 

1.    Territory where the rep can sell,

2.    Commission rate and

3.    When the commission will be paid.  (typically commission is paid on shipping or within 15 days of shipping, but this can vary depending on your agreement)

4.    You may also include what you expect the rep to sell, but until you have had one or two seasons in experience with this rep it is hard to predict.

5.    Who pays for the samples

Jane Button

How to be A Great Boss

If you’re in charge of a company or team, small or large, you’ll want to do your best to keep everyone keen, engaged and productive. Being a great boss involves walking a fine line between friendship and leadership – but the rewards are immense: high employee loyalty, improved results, fewer wasted resources and the ability to go on vacation without worrying that everything will fall apart without you.


Here are seven ways to build a great relationship with your team and to make sure that your employees stick around.

Listen to Concerns and Grumbles
Make sure that colleagues feel you’re approachable if they have concerns. Pay attention if someone raises a perceived problem – even if your first thought is to disagree. Sometimes, the new guy or a junior employee may spot inefficiencies that you and other old hands are blind to.


Pay attention to the general office atmosphere, too. Do your employees seem dejected, unenthusiastic or stressed? Give them a chance to talk about what’s on their mind. Make changes where you can: sometimes, very small things can make a big difference in how people perceive you and their job.


Be Accessible – Sometimes
As a boss, you want to be accessible to your team. You want people to feel that they can ask your advice or admit to a mistake or a problem. The alternative is living in blissful ignorance until all hell breaks loose around you...


However, you don’t want to be too accessible, or your own work will suffer. Have a clear signal that indicates you’re not available unless it’s an emergency; closing your office door is a common and simple method.


Delegate – Then Stay Hands Off
From the employee’s point of view, there’s nothing worse than being given a task – then having constant interruptions and “suggestions” from the boss on how to accomplish it.

Learn to delegate properly – then forget about the task. Let your employee complete it in their way, without you breathing down their neck. This will considerably lighten the stress for both of you! It also helps to train people to use their initiative and work without micromanagement.


Access to Training


Try to ensure that every employee has access to training. People enjoy learning new things and feeling a sense of progression – plus, highly-trained, confident employees produce great results.


Create a corporate culture where everyone, even the most junior members, knows that they can work their way up. Don’t neglect training in a rush for quick results: it can cause problems down the line if your more experienced members of staff leave.


Update Everyone on Progress


Send out a company-wide email, or hold a short meeting, every once in a while to update everyone on the progress that’s been made recently. You’re the boss, so you have a very good picture of how all the cogs are working together to deliver significant results – but employees often only see the small part of the business that they’re involved in.


Encouraging everyone to feel part of a team effort that’s producing something worthwhile can create more satisfaction than simple monetary incentives, like pay rises.


Bring Food and Arrange Treats!


One of the most well-received things you can do as a boss is to offer “treats”. This doesn’t need to cost much – a few boxes of chocolates or packets of great cookies can be a lovely surprise treat, perhaps on a Friday afternoon.


If your team has just completed a big project or hit a significant milestone, consider arranging some sort of celebratory event – perhaps a lunch out, or an afternoon of activities. This does cost money (and person-hours) ... but it’s another big way to create the sense of being a group of friends, not just colleagues.


Say “Thank You”


This last point is a very simple one ... but it can mean so much. In the rush of day-to-day business, it’s easy to forget to acknowledge people’s hard work. But people are often much more motivated and encouraged by a few words of thanks and praise than by any other reward.


Make sure that you do thank and praise people for a job well done. Just a few words from the boss like “Joe, I heard your presentation went down really well with the clients – great work!” can make someone’s day, and it hardly costs you any time at all.

The top factor in determining workplace satisfaction is the immediate manager. In a study of 60,000 exit interviews, 80% of the employees who quit their jobs did so because of their boss. (fromBlame it on ‘The Boss’, BtoB Magazine)