I have spent my life pursuing entrepreneurial ventures. When I was about 9, I was convinced I could make a fortune if I gave foot massages to my family and friends. So, what did my supportive parents do? They loaded me in the car and headed to the local supercenter to buy all the essentials. We purchased a footbath container, a pumice stone, lotion, and an expensive toothpick that is supposed to push back cuticles. My big idea lasted about a week or so and I came to the conclusion that I hate touching feet and I think they are gross.

The next adventure was ironing. Start up cost was low; no need to purchase anything, I just needed to find customers. Besides my father, who wore business clothes daily, I needed a wider customer base that wore ironed clothes at least once a week. Naturally, I thought of my pastor. He was probably just the only other person I saw weekly that wore button down shirts and slacks. Pastor Matt was a young, extremely intelligent and kind man. When I pitched him my business plan and asked if he’d be interested his first question was if I knew how to iron, which is a fair question for a 10 year old. Then after assuring him I knew how to iron he told me he would be my first customer. I took an ironing refresher course from my mom and in the lesson realized this next venture was not going to be for me. I wasn’t a huge fan of chores and anything that felt or resembled a chore was not going to work. I never mentioned the ironing thing again, and neither did Pastor Matt. I can’t say for sure, but he was probably relieved.

There was always an idea floating around in my head. I would go through phases like any normal child. I went through a cowgirl phase, where I wanted to have lots of farm animals and live on a ranch. A couple months later I wanted to be an entertainer and would write lyrics for the songs on my “Shaylea’s Greatest Hits” album (I jumped straight to the end of my career). In my soccer years I wanted to become a professional athlete and would dream of going to prestigious camps and being discovered by the U.S.A. women’s team. The list goes on, and my dreaming brain did too.

Like I said earlier, I have been blessed to have people around me that have encouraged and let me pursue my dreams throughout life. This blessing has followed me to Images In Tile. In November when my best friend and I launched a clean eating company and started writing a cookbook I got nothing but “Congratulations!” from the team at IIT. And about a month ago when I decided to pursue &CompanyEats (the title of the cookbook, and name of our business) full time I knew IIT would be supportive and understanding. When I sat down to talk to Jennifer, part owner of IIT, she was beyond supportive and understanding, she was excited for me to pursue what I love. I couldn’t have asked for that conversation to go any better than it did. I want to thank Images In Tile for letting me be a part of your team for the past 10 months. I wish the team nothing but success for years to come.

Thanks, again, Images In Tile.

Shaylea

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The most important part of change is communication. Having an open line of communication between employees and managers is beyond important, it’s essential. Without conversation about change and being open to talk about the potential benefits and hardships of what is about to happen, employees won’t feel apart of the change and that is the last thing you want. You want everyone to be aware of changes taking place and not feel left in the dark. The simple act of conversation can save you a lot of trouble down the road. This doesn’t mean you need to consult subordinates on important change decisions, just give them a heads up when it’s coming. This will let them feel like they are a part of the conversation and it will build trust among the organization.

An established trust between employees and supervisors is the next indicator of company readiness for change. Without faith in leadership and believing that they have their employee’s best interest at heart, it is hard to get people to follow you into change. This isn’t something that is gained overnight; it takes time and effort (more so on the supervisor) to build. If you know change is coming in the next year or so, you should already have or should start building trust among the company.

The last is to take the responsibility and consequences of change onto your shoulders and not put the pressure of failure or success on your employees. Communication, trust, and good leadership are all a part of this. You need to keep the dialog open with employees about what’s working and what’s not. Get the opinion of those actually making the changes, this doesn’t mean you always have to take their advice, but give them a chance to share their perspective. If the trust is there, subordinates will trust that you are looking at change from all angles and will make the best decision for all parties involved. Good leadership is key in all areas of change. Leaders aren’t afraid to take the high road and lead by example. This can sometimes mean losing a customer or employee. Most likely, though, if you lose someone to a thought out and ethically sound decision, your company is better off without him or her.

Change can be a rocky time for companies and leaders who haven’t put in the legwork to create an atmosphere of openness and trust. For those who have, trust your instincts, talk to your employees and lead by example.

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We hear the expression, ‘Fresh Eyes’ all the time, “Let’s get fresh eyes on that,” or “We need a set of fresh eyes in here.” Having someone else see what you do from a different perspective can be a huge asset to any business or company. From bringing one person in to take a look at what we do, we have now sold products we didn’t know we had stored away. We have been able to organize and clear shelves to create space for new inventory.

Not to say you should constantly be hiring new people, that might turn into a nightmare, but you shouldn’t be afraid of consulting people on the outside to look at your business in a critical and constructive way. You never know what may come from a good pair of ‘Fresh Eyes’.

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Bright is in these days. The lighter a space seems, the better. Bright houses and spaces always seem bigger and happier; and in case you werent aware, houses can portray emotion. If I could choose the emotion of my dream house I would go with relaxing, peaceful, and joyful. Just thinking about it is putting me into a dream-like state. Until I can build and live in my dream home, I’ll use these 3 things to get as close as I can to the house with the emotions of my dreams.

1. All Things White

I love all things white, these days. White floors, white backsplash, and white shower tile are three things that attract my eye to any space. If you are going for a bright and clean looking room, I promise white will be your best friend.

2. Pop Of Color

Don’t be afraid of bright and bold colors, or even black. Whether this is in the form of an accent rug or some bright artwork on the wall, a splash of color adds personality and dimension to a room.

3. Sunlight

There’s a reason we have a sun. There’s also a reason we need the sun. I firmly believe this reason is so that our homes feel bright and cozy all at the same time. The absolute best way to brighten up a room is to get more sunlight in there, whether that’s a skylight or adding a window to the room. These remodels are the most drastic out of the 3 but they also brighten your room up the most.

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Building projects aren’t for everybody, but, I do think there is a project out there for everyone. Whether your passion is art, cooking, sports, exercise, gaming, building, sewing, or any of the other 1,000,000+ hobbies in the world you could have I’m convinced projects are for you. They keep our creative dreaming active and our problem-solving skills sharp; both of which move our world forward.

There are people who get intimidated by projects so they never dive in and start one. Don’t be afraid to take a leap and start the project that’s been in the back of your head for a couple months. Sure, you may fail, but that’s where those problem-solving skills come in. What if it succeeds? Then you’ll have completed something awesome and great, and move on to something bigger or more complex (creative dreaming).

It’s like they say, better to try and fail than to never try at all.

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This blog post could come off as an annoying sales pitch, or it could be a genuine employee who truly believes in the quality and consistency of our product. Don’t try to read between the lines, simply because there is nothing there. Images In Tile truly has a wonderful product and we love to share it with others as often as we can.

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You would think that a young twenty-something in today’s world would know the importance of backing up a computer. Logically, I knew the importance of organization and having all of my bases covered if something were to breakdown or suddenly shut off, but I had never put pen to paper or the rubber to the road (whichever analogy you find most applicable). Having organized files ensures ease of use and more time efficient computer use. You also have the peace of mind that comes with knowing you won’t lose even the most important file.

Along with myself, I hope you choose to make your life easier and have a back up plan. Because lets face it, computers don’t live forever.

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The article explained how students wrote down one surprise each day and answered two questions referencing that thought; ‘Why did I find it surprising?’ and ‘What did I learn about myself from that surprise?’ My immediate reaction was, ‘Wow, just think how that would increase a childs awareness of consequences if parents had them do that at the end of each day?’ My next thought was, ‘Why just children?’

What if, as employers, we asked our employees to take 5 minutes before clocking out and write down something that surprised them during their workday? Then have them analyze how to cause the outcome to be different next time. It could be something seemingly insignificant, like being caught off guard in the bathroom because there’s no toilet paper left, or it could be a pretty significant surprise, like a shipment not coming in on time and delaying production.

There is nothing worse than planning months in advance for a trade show, shipping what you need to the show location, and upon arrival realizing it’s in a thousand pieces. Surprise! Lesson learned that you shouldn’t cut corners in packaging the crate because ‘it would do’. Or maybe you decide there’s a better way to clean tile than what your supervisor has shown you. Surprise! Looks like your supervisor wasnt being tedious without a reason.

Surprises will always be in our lives. Some cost more than others: financially, emotionally, physically, and mentally. We could learn some lessons if we took inventory more often and learned from our past surprises. Yes, a surprise can be the same thing as a mistake, but why not take a positive approach. Give your employees a hand-up by considering a Surprise Notebook. Utilize it at company meetings, review it weekly or monthly, and refer to it when you need a reminder. Hopefully you’ll never wind up without toilet paper again.

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Now, certainly, Christmas isn’t all about the presents and about spoiling your kids. However, I like to look at this story as a reason to be thankful for family and soaking up moments with loved ones. Our toddler brains hadn’t gone into the gifting ceremony thinking that we would want to delight in each gift, but once we realized how awesome they were we were ready to put all other unopened gifts on hold.

There are a lot of parties, tasks, and lists to check off this season, but in all of the hustle and bustle don’t move so fast that you forget to stop and enjoy each moment. I think our adult brains do the opposite of what my brain did at 2. We go into the holidays thinking we will enjoy each second but once we start going we get overwhelmed and miss out on really awesome things. Don’t run yourself ragged moving from one thing to the next without enjoying each thing as it comes. Be a toddler again and soak up each nugget of gold.

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When customers call or order from us they ask for advice, which finish would we recommend and what size tile would work best? Should they use ceramic or would you go with stone? So we give our professional opinion.

In the words of Thomas Jefferson,

The variety of opinions leads to questions. Questions lead to truth.

Well said President Jefferson. We want our opinions to lead to questions from our customers and together we will reach the best truth for that particular project. Our whole business is about customizing work for customers, and we always want to customize projects that are sustainable, high quality, and exactly what our clients want.

The next time you call a business concerning their products, listen. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and end where you both want to be. The people on the other line will be the ones to tell that you want matte coasters so you don’t have to restock your glassware.

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