The official first day of spring is just a few days away! While we are excited about the warmer weather coming and beach season being officially on the horizon, we are also dreading one thing: spring cleaning. For many homeowners, the ritual of spring cleaning is as old as time itself. Each year, when the weather starts to warm up it is a signal of one thing: organization and cleaning.

You’ve heard it over and over again: networking is one of the fundamental tools to being successful. But let us just say, for arguments sake, you are a little bit shy and soft spoken. How can you maintain a conversation with someone past the “small talk” – you know, what do you do, where are you originally from, how’s the family? Well, since you want to make a good impression on everyone you meet, and you want to form working professional relationships with people who may be integral to your career, it might help to practice a few things.

February is a month full of celebrations when it comes to our American Presidents. Not only do we celebrate Presidents’ Day on February 18, but two famous Presidents also have birthdays during the month of February. On the 12th, we celebrated our 16th President, Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, and on the 22nd, we celebrated George Washington’s birthday. We are sure you know a bunch of facts about Washington seeing as he was our first President, but we’ve been reading some interesting ones we wanted to share with you… other than the cherry tree story.

Let’s face it: you are not the only one on the road. While we all may wish that there was nothing out there but the open road for us to contend with when we get behind the wheel, the fact of the matter is that there is a lot more out there to deal with. Between weather, traffic, and other drivers, driving involves a lot of attention. And when it comes to other drivers, sometimes, a lot of attention is necessary.

As a business owner or manager, you look for specific qualities in your employees. Depending on the type of work environment, you will want an employee who can work independently, manage their own workload, multi-task and remain productive during all of that. Efficiency is essential in your employees – if they are doing things effectively while being efficient, it is more likely that things get done right the first time, saving you precious time and money. Both, things that make for a successful business when you have them!