Images October 2019 Digital Edition

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT www.images-magazine.com 50 images OCTOBER 2019 Marshall Atkinson is a leading production and efficiency expert for the decorated apparel industry, and the owner of Atkinson Consulting. Marshall focuses on operational efficiency, continuous improvement, workflow strategy, business planning, employee motivation, management and sustainability. He is a frequent trade show speaker, article and blog author, and co-founded Shirt Lab, a sales and marketing education company, with entrepreneur Tom Rauen. atkinsontshirt.com This industry is full of rock stars who bring knowledge, joy and enthusiasm to our world in the way that they bring incredible knowledge, joy and enthusiasm to our world. You have to have people in your life like that, especially at work. So, are you surrounding yourself with rock stars on a daily basis? Or are you trying to find the lowest wage person that will accept the job? If you want a great work culture that’s built to slay energy-draining vampires every day, that’s not going to happen at minimum wage. The price for eliminating those energy vampires is about 20%-30% above the norm for those positions in your area. Regardless of your, or anyone else’s, policy on not disclosing pay, word gets out. Yes, I’m completely aware that labour and salaries are the biggest expense in any business. However, better employees do better work. Things get handled faster, quality goes up and customer satisfaction increases. At the end of the day, it’ll be worth it when that momentum shift accelerates your business to the next level due to the increased quality of the people in your business. Can you imagine the company you could build with the best people working for you? Get some sleep When you’re focusing on work, it’s extremely easy to overlook what’s happening to your body health-wise. As an adult, you should know better. Your body needs adequate time to heal, recharge, and get ready for the next day – and you’re almost certain to miss out on sleep when you’re working round the clock. If you’re tired, lacking in energy and find it difficult to concentrate, the energy vampire is taking control. Consider altering your routine so that you can get the rest that you need: cut back on nicotine, caffeine and alcohol, and keep your bedroom as dark as possible so that you can sleep through the night. Food to fight the energy vampire Food. My favourite subject. I don’t know about you, but I consider myself a food expert. Nevertheless, I sometimes wolf down the wrong food and pay the price for it. If you need more energy throughout the day, it’s a good idea to look at your diet. The food you consume fuels your body, so you can’t expect to feel your best if you’re surviving on a diet of burgers, chips and chocolate. We all know that vampires hate garlic, but if you want to fight off some stress and get an energy boost, here are some other foods that could help: water (are you drinking enough? Have another glass right now); fruit (strawberries, blackberries, apples, oranges, bananas); fish (wild salmon, sardines); vegetables (spinach, Brussels sprouts, avocados); beans, pulses and rice (ground flaxseeds, soybeans, brown rice); skimmed milk; and Omega 3-fortified eggs. Exercise While our industry is certainly a physical one, the fact remains that not everyone gets enough exercise. I certainly need to exercise more. When exercise is part of a person’s daily routine their mental firepower increases, keeping them sharp and focused. Exercise leads to better moods, which can affect interpersonal communication. Does your job depend on you talking to people? I’ll bet it does. If that doesn’t convince you, studies show that a workout can reduce stress and boost concentration, memory, learning potential, stamina and creativity. So, get out there and break a sweat! Take control Everyone and every situation is different, so there isn’t one tried- and-tested way to slay your energy vampire. But one thing’s for sure: if you don’t make a change now, you’ll feel worse as time goes on. Work suffers. Things get missed. More problems arise. Opportunities are overlooked. So take control of your energy vampire — before it takes control of you.