Archive for Just for Fun

Christmas 2011 — Birth of a New Tradition

By Bob Holdsworth · Comments (0)

Wednesday, October 26th, 2011

Support your local Entrepreneur!!

This is a reprint of something a reader sent to me that I think is a GREAT idea that we should all adopt. I’m in…who’s with me?

As the holidays approach, the giant Asian factories are kicking into high gear to provide Americans with monstrous piles of cheaply produced goods — merchandise that has been produced at the expense of American labor. This year will be different. This year Americans will give the gift of genuine concern for other Americans. There is no longer an excuse that, at gift giving time, nothing can be found that is produced by American hands. Yes there is!

It’s time to think outside the box, people. Who says a gift needs to fit in a shirt box, wrapped in Chinese produced wrapping paper? Read More→

Comments (0)

Categories : Business - General, Business development, Customer Service -Client Relations, Entrepreneurship, Family - Lifestyle, Just for Fun, leadership, Personal Opinion

Tags : bob holdsworth, customer service, Entrepenuer, Entrepreneurial Freedom, leadership, management, Personal Development, personal responsibility, The Holdsworth Group, young entrepreneurs

Burning the Koran – An example of bad marketing and bad citizenship.

By Bob Holdsworth · Comments (0)

Wednesday, September 8th, 2010

Reverend Terry Jones of the Dove World Outreach Church in Florida thinks it’s a great idea to burn a copy of the Muslim Holy book the Koran on the anniversary of the 9-11 attack. He is getting international attention with his intention and free publicity for his ministry, which should by now be attracting just about every wingnut in the country. This is a great example of how not to use controversy to your marketing advantage.

The number of issues that I need to explain to my kids about this is unbelievable.

His first amendment right to say what he wishes – I respect that. However, how do we feel when someone burns our flag, or how would he feel if a Muslim burned his Bible?

He is a minster – a man who has chosen to preach acceptance and tolerance and the practice of good deeds to his flock. Where is any of this evident in inciting riots and furthering hatred? After all, the attacks were carried out by extremists…every country, religion and political party has them…why should we call attention to their actions by insulting others who were not involved. Read More→

Comments (0)

Categories : Entrepreneurship, Family - Lifestyle, Just for Fun, leadership, Marketing - Sales, Personal Opinion

Tags : bob holdsworth, Entrepenuer, family life, leadership, marketing coaching, personal responsibility, The Holdsworth Group

SkimBoarding – A man’s got to know his limitations!

By Bob Holdsworth · Comments (0)

Sunday, August 29th, 2010

So there I was watching my two eight year old sons skim boarding at the beach…over and over…how hard can it be ?? The picture is Chris executing a 180 turn perfectly.

Skim boarding done right!

The process is easy, pick up the board, wait for a little water at the end of the wave’s journey ashore, throw the board, run after it, hop on, balance yourself and ride it for a short distance. I can do that. Bad thought, evil thought, why do I listen to these voices in my head?

So I announce to my stunned kids that I’m going to do it too. They hand over the board, stand WAY back and start looking for my life insurance and a cell phone to call the ambulance. I wait for my wave, the perfect wave, it rushed ashore, white foam, the perfect depth of water for skimming…I can do this. Read More→

Comments (0)

Categories : Business - General, Family - Lifestyle, Just for Fun, leadership, Personal Development

Tags : bob holdsworth, Entrepenuer, family life, lifestyle, Personal Development, personal responsibility, The Holdsworth Group

Baby seal comes ashore…

By Bob Holdsworth · Comments (0)

Monday, August 23rd, 2010

So there I was enjoying a little down time with my family when suddenly the entire beach became enamored with this little creature swimming back and forth about 10 feet offshore…a baby seal.

It was obvious that the seal was lost and was unable to figure out how to get back out to sea and over to the other side of the breakwater, about a mile away, to where the majority of the other seals congregate. It got more and more tired and finally washed up on shore to rest.

The police and animal rescue arrived fairly quickly and kept everyone away while we all watched. For a while the seal simply lay there and we thought the worst…then finally it got slapped by a wave and got up and headed back into the sea.

The event was great for all of the kids watching to see wildlife so close up. It also stuck a chord with me as an entrepreneur. As the little guy we often get tired of fighting, lose our sense of direction, get disconnected from our support group and need to take a time out before heading out again…it’s ok and it’s normal.

Epilogue: Animal rescue did finally take the little creature into custody when about 15 minutes after this short video was taken, it breached itself back on shore obviously exhausted. Enjoy the little guy.

Bob can be reached at bob@holdsworth.com

FOLLOW ME ON:

Comments (0)

Categories : Business - General, Family - Lifestyle, Just for Fun, Personal Development

Tags : bob holdsworth, family life, lifestyle, The Holdsworth Group

The fight for the NURDLE

By Bob Holdsworth · Comments (0)

Thursday, August 5th, 2010

I was reading the Wall Street Journal the other day and was astounded, well actually these days nothing surprises me anymore, that two toothpaste manufacturers are going to war over a graphic picture of a squirt of toothpaste.

Now I’m all about protecting intellectual property, I have plenty of copyrights and trademarks of my own, but this seems insane even to me, a professional marketer.

For the uninitiated, a NURDLE is the apparently correct name for the tiny little perfectly shaped glob of toothpaste shown on the box. In this picture the red, white and blue thingy.

nurdle

n. a grain, pellet, granule, or other small piece of a material, especially as part of a large quantity (such as foam kernels used as packing material); (in pronunciation-based spellings) a nodule; a quantity of a gel or semi-solid; a thing of unknown name (doodad, thingamajig, etc.). Also nerdle. Read More→

Comments (0)

Categories : Business - General, Just for Fun, leadership, management, Marketing - Sales

Tags : bob holdsworth, Business Coaching, defining business services, Entrepenuer, innovation, leadership, management, marketing coaching, Small Business Coach, success, The Holdsworth Group, young business owners, young entrepreneurs

Young entrepreneurs…the future is here.

By Bob Holdsworth · Comments (0)

Friday, May 7th, 2010

Jack: Author, Salesman, Philanthropist

I was just out in Dallas at the Glazer-Kennedy 2010 SuperConference (www.DanKennedy.com). The event attracted about 1,300 business owners and entrepreneurs from more than 20 countries. The conference was outstanding and different from previous years.

This year the organizers, especially Bill Glazer, who has a very strong relationship with Junior Achievement, had encouraged attendees to bring their kids or grandkids ages 10-18. There was a special seminar track just for them as well as a competition for the Young Entrepreneur/Marketer of the Year.

These kids were engaged, enthusiastic and they wanted to learn how to run their own businesses. In fact many of them were already operating a business or two. As I was sitting at lunch with fellow grown-up entrepreneurs I was relating a story about one of my twin sons, age 7 1/2 (the 1/2 is VERY important), who also wants to run a business. I can’t wait for him to be old enough to attend with me. Read More→

Comments (0)

Categories : Business - General, Family - Lifestyle, Just for Fun, Marketing - Sales, Personal Development

Tags : bob holdsworth, Business Coaching, family life, marketing coaching, Personal Development, personal responsibility, success, young business owners, young entrepreneurs