(A Lemonade Stand Case Study) On a scale from one to “please, please make it stop,” how tired are you of hearing that “great culture” is the secret to success—with zero practical advice on how to build it? You can feel when a company culture is good and you can definitely sense when it’s bad,…
Abby Haralson
Abby writes this bio as her two dogs simultaneously use their puppy eyes to try and beg a treat from her. She loves helping small business owners build their brand through content, especially if they want to be fun while doing it! She loves to hike with her pets and husband, is trying (unsuccessfully) to grow a kitchen garden, and is constantly stuck between starting a new book or learning a new recipe. By the way, the dogs won, and are now both smugly chomping on a pretzel.
At most companies, KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) are hard numbers: revenue growth, retention rates, profit margins, or customer acquisition cost. At Lemonade Stand, we measure those too, but we add something else to the list: serving others. When we say “serving others,” we mean making service a measurable part of our culture. It’s not just…
To me, productivity looks like this: time management tools, the goal-tracking note in my phone, and a 50-item to-do list. I write things I’ve already accomplished on my to-do list just for the satisfaction of crossing them off (and I know you probably do that too). In fact, this blog has been sitting on my…
My grandparents have an ancient walnut tree in their backyard and every fall, all of the cousins would get together, rake the big leaves in a 10-foot-tall pile (I’m not joking—the pile stood taller than all of us), climb a rickety ladder and get into the low branches of the tree, and then we would…
Arrive Home and Build Then Bless are a perfect match. Every month, Arrive Home team members get money on a debit card to spend on people around them—friends with rare diseases, church service projects, and so much more. Anything they can think of, their work gives them funds to bless the lives of their community. …
Every month, team members at Brighton Homes receive funds through Build Then Bless to help people in their communities. From supporting a relative who’d lost her hair to paying off a child’s school lunch debt, the Brighton Homes team is building and blessing, one micro-interaction at a time. Since 1994, Brighton Homes has been building…
Find a little inspiration from 101 of our favorite ways to build and bless your community! Hand-to-Hand, Eye-to-Eye Blessing Sign up for Lasagna Love and deliver food to someone in need Take a care package to a neighbor who had a baby or who is sick Buy food for someone on the street corner or…
“I’ve delivered lasagnas to people living in tents and to families living in homes much nicer than mine. Needs are not always outwardly visible and we don’t always know what challenges people are facing.” The goal of Build Then Bless is hand-to-hand, eye-to-eye interactions, so when my coworkers Katie and Lizzie talked about Lasagna Love,…
“I’m not even sure if we would recognize each other if we passed on the street—that’s how short the interaction was. But the experience took me out of my world and helped me connect with someone else.” Are you the “make a new best friend with the person next to you in the grocery store…
Ever heard the saying, “Leaders aren’t born, they’re made”? Well, it’s true. Even a natural leader needs a little polishing. If you’re a business owner or manager, odds are you’ve got an eye on the next generation of leaders within your company. But how do you take your team from good to great? How can…