11-29-2017, Forbes -- Opportunities to truly connect with people can be rare. Sometimes, these opportunities present themselves in a moment of vulnerability or because you shared the right story. However they happen, such moments tend to pop up during the holidays, perhaps because of a higher sense of emotion during these months. Sure, some emotions are centered around worry or stress because your family is going to drive you nuts, but others carry a sense of nostalgia or positivity. It’s important that brands and individuals take a step back and make sure they’re engaging people in the ways that will help them form a real relationship with customers and anybody else who is important to them. Recently, Cheddar.com reached out to me to discuss how companies should be engaging audiences during the holidays. Here are seven rules of engagement to help you form real, lasting connections during the holiday season: 1. Give up short-term gains to build long-term relationships. REI was closed again this year for Black Friday to encourage people to go outdoors instead of shopping. The company could clearly profit in the short term by staying open, but it chose to make a statement that some things are more important. In reality,…

11-29-2017, Mobile Electronics -- In response to its popularity earlier this year, Mobile Solutions and Orca Design and Manufacturing teamed up again September 9 through 11 to host a live build workshop for 25 installation techs from around the country. The training was sold out and featured 2017 Installer of the Year Chris Pate, past IOTYs Tom Miller and JT Torres, Top 12 Installer Sage Weir and Bryan Schmitt, owner of Mobile Solutions. The vehicle used was a 2017 Volvo V90 XC Cross Country, owned by Mobile Electronics Editor-in-Chief, Solomon Daniels. "We basically had three different components to the class, which was blended in with our Master Tech class. We talk about OEM integration, signal and how to add audio to modern vehicles," Schmitt said. "We did a classroom theory, how to use test tools like the oscilloscope and RTA, then talked about it in a real world fashion. I thought it was great for guys to see live demonstrations on a real build while they were there. Trying to stick with the three-day time period was a challenge. We did a great job managing it." The participants were thrown into the mix with no preparation after an initial sketch…

11-27-2017, Entrepreneur.com -- Failure, for entrepreneurs, is inevitable. This might come in the form of small losses, like losing an important deal to a competitor, or in big ones, like being unable to make payroll. The best entrepreneurs, however, are not defined by these failures but rather by how they deal with them. Navigating difficult situations both externally and internally is crucial to being a successful entrepreneur. When faced with this failure, here are 10 ways to better handle it: 1. Be prepared. You do not have to come up with full contingency plans for any type of failure. Although, being mentally prepared for failing and difficult times is critically important. If you have expectations that things are going to go perfectly according to plan, then, once they do not, those hard moments will be more difficult than you will expect. 2. Find what can build your energy back up. Better understanding yourself and the outlets that you need to deal with difficulty is underrated. People who know what they need to feel better and think clearer are much more equipped for facing hardship head-on. This could be in the form of exercising, spending time with people that you care about, or…

If you’ve achieved all the success you can handle, I challenge you to take one more step. 11-27-2017 -- It is easy to become complacent with your success. Doing the same thing year after year that produces the results you expect is a glorious thing, and we should all be as blessed. The question I ask of you today is what determines that you are as successful as you can become? How do you measure it? If your measurement is solely on your own merit and you feel confident that you are doing your best, then your perception may be that you have nothing left to learn. Or do you? Learning all of life’s lessons takes more than a lifetime. Working every day to become better than you were the day before requires a discovery mindset. If you approach your day and thus your life without this, you are doing yourself and your business a disservice. Why do people stop learning? Too busy, maybe a bit lazy or just apathetic towards learning new things. There is also another, and frankly more dangerous reason. You think you know all you need to know and no one else’s experience can provide you…