As part of our on-going series on mergers and acquisitions Chef Kate Plummer and Sous-Chef Andrea Pereira talk with Jamie Watson at Certified Marketing, Jamie lays out what is needed to sell your company and what you should be doing right now to make your company better, whether you're selling or not. Finally, a must listen portion for any business owner or salesperson, Jamie breaks down best business practices for your long term planning.

Jamie has been involved various aspects of Finance and Accounting for over 20 years. She qualified as a CPA in the state of Indiana, where she worked for a regional accounting firm, and became acclimated to the small business environment. Jamie transitioned to CMC in 2006 and has been involved in the consulting of both supplier and distributor companies in the Promotional Products Industry for 15 years. Her passion is in helping business owners achieve their financial goals through education and understanding of the financial issues that face small businesses, both inside and outside our industry.

As part of our on-going series on mergers and acquisitions Chef Kate Plummer and Sous-Chef Andrea Pereira talk with Chef Larry Cohen of Axis Promotions, now Halo Branded Solutions. Larry walks us through what an acquisition can look like from the seller side and what everyone should know. He also drops some amazing Business 101 information that you definitely should start using now.

Bio:

Larry Cohen is the Founder of Axis Promotions, a full-service marketing and promotions agency, and now serves on the Executive Committee of HALO, the parent company of Axis. After working as a lawyer in Washington, D.C., Larry decided to change directions and put his creative energies and entrepreneurial spirit to use. He founded Axis in 1991 with one goal: build something that was - and still is - 180 Degrees From Ordinary. Axis has grown to become a creative powerhouse in the promotional products industry, with a client base including American Express, L’Oreal, NBC Universal and more. When Larry is not busy growing Axis, he serves on the PPAI board, PromoKitchen Advisory Board, and PeerNet Marketing Committee.

As part of our on-going series on mergers and acquisitions Chef Kate Plummer and Sous-Chef Andrea Pereira talk with Chef Larry Cohen of Axis Promotions, now Halo Branded Solutions. Larry walks us through what an acquisition can look like from the seller side and what everyone should know. He also drops some amazing Business 101 information that you definitely should start using now.

Bio:

Larry Cohen is the Founder of Axis Promotions, a full-service marketing and promotions agency, and now serves on the Executive Committee of HALO, the parent company of Axis. After working as a lawyer in Washington, D.C., Larry decided to change directions and put his creative energies and entrepreneurial spirit to use. He founded Axis in 1991 with one goal: build something that was - and still is - 180 Degrees From Ordinary. Axis has grown to become a creative powerhouse in the promotional products industry, with a client base including American Express, L’Oreal, NBC Universal and more. When Larry is not busy growing Axis, he serves on the PPAI board, PromoKitchen Advisory Board, and PeerNet Marketing Committee.

At PromoKitchen, we're exploring all the different sides of mergers and acquisitions in the industry. Our first conversation is with Bridget Smith of Zazzle, formally Boundless. Bridget talks about being the lead on acquisitions, what funding looks like in 2021, and what made Boundless and Zazzle two different companies.

Bridget Bio: Bridget has had many roles since she started at Zazzle in 2005. Presently, she's our VP of Special Operations, overseeing the myriad of new opportunities that Zazzle is working on. She's also run our international operations, primarily opening and staffing our European headquarters in Cork, Ireland. She was Zazzle’s CFO for seven years and has also managed our acquisitions of FanMade and Boundless. Quite simply, there's not a facet of the business that Bridget hasn't touched. Prior to coming to Zazzle, she was a CPA at Ernst & Young, the Director of Finance for Apple's U.S. operations for 13 years, VP of Finance at Intuit and also co-founded an educational software company, Tenth Planet, which was later acquired. Bridget enjoys skiing, hiking, playing golf, snowshoeing and playing with her three grandkids in Nevada, where she set up operations at our manufacturing facility in Reno.

At PromoKitchen, we're exploring all the different sides of mergers and acquisitions in the industry. Our first conversation is with Bridget Smith of Zazzle, formally Boundless. Bridget talks about being the lead on acquisitions, what funding looks like in 2021, and what made Boundless and Zazzle two different companies.

Bridget Bio: Bridget has had many roles since she started at Zazzle in 2005. Presently, she's our VP of Special Operations, overseeing the myriad of new opportunities that Zazzle is working on. She's also run our international operations, primarily opening and staffing our European headquarters in Cork, Ireland. She was Zazzle’s CFO for seven years and has also managed our acquisitions of FanMade and Boundless. Quite simply, there's not a facet of the business that Bridget hasn't touched. Prior to coming to Zazzle, she was a CPA at Ernst & Young, the Director of Finance for Apple's U.S. operations for 13 years, VP of Finance at Intuit and also co-founded an educational software company, Tenth Planet, which was later acquired. Bridget enjoys skiing, hiking, playing golf, snowshoeing and playing with her three grandkids in Nevada, where she set up operations at our manufacturing facility in Reno.

In this episode Chefs Johanna Gottlieb (Axis powered by HALO) and Charity Gibson (Peerless Umbrella) talk to Kristine Shreve. Kristine is the founder and CEO of Kristine Shreve Consulting, which offers writing, marketing and business development services. The company can be found at www.kristineshreve.com . Kristine is also the creator and host of the Business + Women podcast, where the discussion centers around being a business owner and being a woman and how those two states of being intersect. Currently, Kristine is also the Director of Marketing and Outreach for Applique Getaway. On Facebook, Kristine is the founder of the Women in Garment Decoration Facebook group. Kristine was the Director of Marketing for Ensign Emblem and EnMart from 2006 to April 2020.

In this episode we break down how we can help remove the bridge between decorators and distributors, we talk about how zoom has forced us to face some challenges and more!

In this episode Chefs Johanna Gottlieb (Axis powered by HALO) and Charity Gibson (Peerless Umbrella) talk to Kristine Shreve. Kristine is the founder and CEO of Kristine Shreve Consulting, which offers writing, marketing and business development services. The company can be found at www.kristineshreve.com . Kristine is also the creator and host of the Business + Women podcast, where the discussion centers around being a business owner and being a woman and how those two states of being intersect. Currently, Kristine is also the Director of Marketing and Outreach for Applique Getaway. On Facebook, Kristine is the founder of the Women in Garment Decoration Facebook group. Kristine was the Director of Marketing for Ensign Emblem and EnMart from 2006 to April 2020.

In this episode we break down how we can help remove the bridge between decorators and distributors, we talk about how zoom has forced us to face some challenges and more!

In this episode, Chef Kate Plummer sits down with sous-chef Josh Pospisil about coming out and finding community. We cover how to create positive spaces and why he keeps wearing pink on Wednesdays.

In this episode, Chef Kate Plummer sits down with sous-chef Josh Pospisil about coming out and finding community. We cover how to create positive spaces and why he keeps wearing pink on Wednesdays.

In this episode chefs Kate Plummer and Josh Storey talk to Elise Lindborg and Kelli Henderson of Brand|Pride about Pride month, how to combat "Gay Washing," and what it takes to run a certified LGBT owned business.

Brand Pride is a lesbian owned, LGBT certified branding solutions company. For 20 years they've guided hundreds of brands on their quests for the best promotional items to achieve their goals of building brand loyalty.

What started out as a small, home-based business twenty years ago is now a bustling seven-figure operation with clients of all sizes nationwide. They challenge businesses to put their money were their ideals are.