Jady Regard, Author at CANE RIVER PECAN COMPANY

The Art of Corporate Gifting – Meaningful, Ethical Tokens of Appreciation

Different Sectors,
Different Rules

Showing heartfelt appreciation to people who deserve thanks is vital to a company’s continued success. It can also be a bit like walking on nutshells. You want to build professional bridges with employees, clients and colleagues, especially around holidays or other milestone occasions. Regardless of industry or sector, however, rules and etiquette have become the watchwords of the day, part of a balancing act between ethical behavior and compliance with the law. Legal, ethical corporate gift giving hinges on:

Federal, state, and local laws.
Professional industry association guidelines.
Individual company policies.

Most industries have either laws controlling gifting in the workplace or guidelines and accompanying company policies to ensure gifting remains ethical. In general, a gift must be a gift, and modest is best.

What Is a Gift?

Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidelines define a gift as “the transfer of property (including money), or the use of or income from property without expecting to receive something of at least equal value in return.” In simpler terms, the giver must truly be giving a gift – sans strings, future influence or control. The higher the value of the gift, the greater the perceived expectation will be of owing something in return.

Gift Taxes and Value Continue reading The Art of Corporate Gifting – Meaningful, Ethical Tokens of Appreciation

The Timing and Importance of Employee Gifting

Creating a Happier Workforce

You can run any type of business in the world, but if you don’t have happy, productive and talented employees, success is a tough nut to crack. After all, your employees do the hard work of running your business on a day-to-day basis. If they’re not happy, it will show in your bottom line. One of the simplest ways to encourage greater employee engagement and loyalty is to show your workforce that you care through employee gifting. Gifts don’t have to be expensive or high tech to help employees feel more invested in your company. Even the gesture of a small token can boost morale.

Reap Considerable Benefits from Employee Gifting

Gifting is the practice of giving presents or mementos to employees who deserve to be recognized for their accomplishments, on special occasions or just because. Many businesses also engage in gifting around the holidays in an effort to thank their workforce for another year of success. Not all business leaders believe in the idea of employee gifting, but those who do can notice great results from the practice. Giving employees gifts has been found to have a wide range of benefits. Some of the most compelling include:

Greater employee satisfaction and fewer overall employee complaints
Increased individual productivity
Better teamwork among employees
Better customer relations
Reductions in employee turnover
Fewer stress-related illnesses among employees
Reductions in workplace accidents
Reduced absenteeism

Choosing the Right Times & Occasions for Gifting Continue reading The Timing and Importance of Employee Gifting

The Importance of Corporate Gifting Frequency

The art of sales is like dating; you will have the same feelings of anticipation and hope that the evening will be successful. As with dating, the process of making a sale doesn’t end with just one meeting. You must continue to nurture the relationship by making subsequent appointments and communicating by telephone. In dating, you expend this effort to cement a romantic relationship with another person. With sales, you are strengthening a business relationship. One thing that can help you with both is a periodic gift.

Gifts for New Clients

When you are dating, you will learn that everyone you meet is not a match for you. This also occurs in the business world, and it is the reason that new and old companies alike must continue their marketing efforts so that they can bring in new customers. Gift giving helps people accomplish this goal very well. It is also an excellent way of breaking the ice in the beginning. For example, it’s highly advantageous to have corporate gifts for your guests when you are hosting a promotional event in the community. You could even hold a raffle and give away more thoughtful client gifts. Like a dating partner, these clients will remember you and your brand long after the event is over. Continue reading The Importance of Corporate Gifting Frequency

How to Keep Your Clients During Economic Downturns

Tough economic times hit businesses hard. Budgets, staff and programs get cut, leaving minimal resources to allocate for additional spending, including client retention. Executives are forced to make difficult decisions on where to spend company funds, and budgets that are perceived as being extraneous are some of the first to be cut.

However, an economic downturn is no time to scale back on maintaining and building relationships with your clients. Abandoning your client retention strategy will cause your brand to lose ground and make it difficult to bounce back when conditions improve. As a business owner, you should be looking to invest more in ways to draw in and retain customers. While the competition is busy scaling back, you can move in and stake your claim with a core group of clients who will remain loyal to your business no matter what the economic atmosphere.

The Importance of Customer Retention

Business owners agree: customer loyalty rates are falling. Competition is fierce and economic hardships hit everyone from individuals to corporations. Company executives are keeping a closer eye than ever on the bottom line and becoming more discerning about where they spend their money. When budget cuts loom, the hunt is on for cheaper options and opportunities to slash spending wherever possible. Continue reading How to Keep Your Clients During Economic Downturns

How to Store Pecans without Ruining Them

00010020_1 There’s nothing worse than opening a container of pecans you stored months earlier to find them rotten or rancid. If you picked all those pecans, all of your hard work would seem pointless. Fortunately, there are a few principles to storing pecans that will ensure your hard work or money spent was not wasted.

Do Not Store in Moist Places

Regardless if the pecans are shelled or unshelled, storing them in a moist room will promote mold growth and may cause the pecans to decrease in quality. Make sure the pecans have an opportunity to dry out after the harvest to remove moisture. Do this by placing the pecans on a screen or hanging them in small ventilated bags for approximately two weeks. Also, keep the pecans in dry, dark places.

Store in Vacuum-Sealed Containers/Bags

Always store pecans in airtight containers or bags. If you do not have a vacuum-sealer, Ziploc bags work perfectly fine. Make sure all air is removed from the bag and that it is completely sealed so moisture does not form. The method of storage does not matter nearly as much as ensuring they are properly sealed. Continue reading How to Store Pecans without Ruining Them

Stock Up! Why You Should Buy Pecans in Bulk

043crp2 Pecans should not appear just around the holidays as a treat or in a warm pecan pie. They should appear all year, in all kinds of food, because they are incredibly nutritious and can add just the right amount of flavor and crunch to a dish. How do you make sure you have pecans to last all year? Stock up! Here are the reasons why:

Excellent Snack

Sometimes, we forget about snacking on nuts because it can be easier to grab that bag of chips. However, pecans are a great alternative to less-healthy options. They are filled with essential vitamins, fiber, and protein (nutritional content here).

Delicious Garnish

Pecans act as an excellent garnish and can accompany many dishes, such as salads, fish or desserts. If you have pecans stocked up, then you never have to worry whether or not your dish could be improved by their presence. Be adventurous with your cooking! Continue reading Stock Up! Why You Should Buy Pecans in Bulk

How to Keep Your New Year Resolutions in 2015

feet-on-scale We are all familiar with the desire to make proactive changes to our lives and relationships. We make grand promises with ourselves about how we are going to change and get that body we always wanted. But truth is, we are also oh-so-familiar with the feeling of failure from not achieving what we were so pumped about at the end of the previous year. What are the solutions to this perpetual problem?

Create a Plan

Create a map or outline of how you plan to achieve your resolution. While creating this outline, think about how you are going to handle temptation. Once you start to deviate from your goal, remind yourself what you intended to do with your goal. This moment of intentional reflection could be the difference between falling off the wagon or sticking to your resolution.

Be Realistic

It is unrealistic to attempt to completely change a behavior that has been a part of your identity for the larger part of your life in a matter of a few months or a year. Take small steps first. Continue reading How to Keep Your New Year Resolutions in 2015

Don’t Do These Four Things When Making a New Year’s Resolution

firework_bokeh_explosion — Firework Stars by christmasstockimages.com is licensed under CC by 3.0

Many people view the New Year as a time to wipe the slate clean and begin a journey of self-improvement. However, for many, resolutions eventually become failures a few months into the year and not maintaining and attaining the goal can do more harm than good to the psyche. In order to get the most out of a resolution steer clear of these four things when making that commitment:

Forgetting about the Small Goals

If you are committing to large goals that are changes in behavior, it is quite unrealistic to believe you can quickly change that behavior that may have been a part of your life for many years (smoking, over-eating, over-working, combativeness). Instead of quitting the habit all at once, begin by establishing small goals such as allowing yourself junk food one or two days a week. By accomplishing smaller goals over time, it is more likely the resolution will be achieved.

Not Having a Plan

With any resolution, you need to have an explicit plan for attaining it. If you decide to lose weight, you need to have a well-defined plan of action. Remember to start with small goals such as cutting out junk food or steering clear of as much processed food as possible. Also, remember diets rarely work in the long run. Make a plan for healthier lifestyle changes such as regular exercise and a well-balanced diet. Continue reading Don’t Do These Four Things When Making a New Year’s Resolution

The Emily Post Guide to Throwing the Perfect Holiday Party

lights_and_decorations — Party lights and decorations by christmasstockimages.com is licensed under CC by 3.0.

Remember to keep your party simple and focus on what matters most to you and your guests – enjoying each other’s presence. Follow this guide and you surely will throw the perfect holiday party where you will make your guests feel content and welcome:

1. Preparation

Be sure everything needed to be prepped is done before guests arrive: a planned meal, a variety of beverages (alcoholic and non-alcoholic), and outdoor lighting.

2. Self-Awareness

Your guests will feed off of your demeanor. Display no stress, agitation, or disappointment. Be the twinkling light of the party.

3. Toasting

Once you deem the moment appropriate, make a toast thanking your guests for attending. Add meaningful details about their importance in your life. Continue reading The Emily Post Guide to Throwing the Perfect Holiday Party

10 Christmas Gift Ideas for Your Outdoorsman

For some people on your gift-list, it gets increasingly more difficult to find a gift they will not only enjoy but also find useful. Outdoorsmen are no exception. They seem to always have new trinkets and gadgets for making their adventures fun and successful. So, if you have an outdoorsman or two on your gift list, consider these unique ideas for making your gift to them a memorable one.

Olloclip
Light and easy lens attachments for mobile photography. Great for capturing beauty observed in the stand, a great kill, or the wood’s serenity.

Trail Camera
Easy way for hunters to see what moves around the stand when they aren’t perched and ready to take aim.

GoPro
Incredibly crisp, clear images of an outdoorsman’s adventures.

Multitool
Any outdoorsman can’t have too many multitools (one to keep in the truck, at the camp, in the backpack, in the office desk) Continue reading 10 Christmas Gift Ideas for Your Outdoorsman

Different Sectors, Different Rules