CablesAndKits Blog

Opposites Attract | Easy-to-use Sanitizer Dispensers | The Mighty OM3 Fiber Cables | News to Start Your Day

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Happy Thursday!

October 29th is National Cat Day! For all of you cat lovers out there, today is your day!

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I’m sure you all have heard the saying “you have to spend money to make money”. My husband adds another step; he spends to make, but he ultimately makes money TO spend money. That may seem like a silly sentiment to some of you. Of course you make money to spend it! But that isn’t true for all of us. Some of us really enjoy saving. Dave Ramsey says it this way: when it comes to money, most people are either a nerd or a free spirit, and in most marriages, opposites attract!  

Craig and I did an Entreleadership 2-day course with Dave here in Atlanta many moons ago. It was fun, and we learned a lot. Craig had trouble during that course admitting he is a free spirit. I’m not sure why. I think it is one of his most endearing qualities (except when it drives me crazy). He’s now more mature and has fully embraced his free spirit spending. In fact I’ve heard him say to multiple people recently “when I’m not making money, I’m spending money!” Do I look panicked? I kind of feel it.  

I’m definitely a nerd when it comes to spending. I like to save up, I love spreadsheets, and I do enjoy buying things I want so long as it doesn’t breach the threshold of comfortability in my savings account. After Craig finished the barn cleanout project here at our house, he started to focus his attention on a new hobby. Some of you who are more tech-oriented may appreciate this. He installed a Plex server on a newly built PC, bought a Western Digital portable drive with Plex already installed (this is for our RV), and he’s buying up Blu-ray DVDs from people for $1-$2 per movie to rip them down to files to store on his personal media server. (Me? I really like the buy/rent button on Amazon for movies, ha.) In all the tech ways, Craig definitely IS a nerd. 

One thing led to another with the media server movie project, and he’s now commandeered our guestroom in the basement and is turning it into a theater room. Maybe now you can understand more fully why when he’s telling people “when I’m not making money, I’m spending money!” I start to feel a little anxiety. Just how much does it cost to build a theater room? I guess I will find out soon enough. I’m itching to start planning and get a spreadsheet going to keep this project on track, and I’m eager to get Craig back from sabbatical so he can focus on the making money part of this journey.  

[Read more…] about CEO Daily Update – 10.29.2020

End of Year Thoughts | Update on MagiCare Wipes & Nitrile Gloves | Stop Staring Out the Back of the Bus | News to Start Your Day

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Happy Wednesday!

(October 28th is National Chocolate Day!  Woohoo! Now that’s a holiday!)

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I’m not sure about you all, but this week is flying by for me. I can’t believe it is Wednesday already!  

For years now I have observed and commented that this time of year seems to go by quicker. I think it is perhaps the extra family activities combined with the time change and less daylight hours that make it feel that way. The planner in me tries to prepare for the upcoming rush of activity by making lists and knocking out as many pre-holiday tasks as I can while the realist in me prepares to hang on for the ride. I “plan” to expect the unexpected.  

PSA: If you live in a state that observes the time change, it is this weekend! 

At CK we have several big projects open that we hope to see good progress on by year end. The “great PPE exit” is well underway, thanks in no small part to you all. Rebecca noted this week that we’re almost out of wipes and sprays, our glove stock is dwindling, and masks are selling well. We still have a good stock of smaller (3oz and 8oz) hand sanitizer bottles. Stocking stuffers? 🙂 We are currently ahead of our targets on this project and are grateful for it! 

Besides PPE we’ve also been working on some behind the scenes technology upgrades. Several smaller projects are moving right along and one big project may give Jason (you know him by now right?) and Cris, our Technology Product Manager, a few gray hairs by the end of the year. Even with the delays and unexpected setbacks in this project, these guys have kept pushing forward and making progress, have been rock stars in pushing and supporting our pivot swerve into safety supplies, and they’ve maintained positive attitudes. I am thankful to have both of them on our team.  

On this hump day, as we’re all staring at the end of another month and the end of the year right in the face, I encourage you to take a minute to find something or someone you are thankful for. If it is a someone, take another minute and tell them. May it make your day and theirs a little brighter. 
 
Until tomorrow, 

Christin 

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Today’s Product Updates from Rebecca:

Happy Wednesday! You all sure have been buying up the PPE deals! We just dropped the sale price for MagiCare 75% Alcohol Cleaning Wipes! We have plenty in stock, ready to ship!  

[Read more…] about CEO Daily Update – 10.28.2020

Morning Brew | Last Call on Wipes | Our Favorite Switch | I Hired Your Resume But Got You | News to Start Your Day

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Happy Tuesday!

(October 27th is National Black Cat Appreciation Day…Appropriate for Halloween this weekend.)

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Good morning, friends! Have you had your morning brew? As I was making my coffee a day or two ago I had a realization … I think I am a coffee snob.  

A few years ago, Craig was telling me about French pressed coffee being his favorite. At that time we had a Keurig. It was a fairly new addition to our kitchen, as up until that point neither one of us drank coffee regularly. Once we bought the Keurig (mostly for when we had other people over), Craig started drinking it more often. He had French pressed coffee while at a restaurant and enjoyed it. He loves strong coffee, black. Give me the creamy, sweet stuff.  

>> I like this graphic, coffee + pantones. I’m somewhere between Basically Milk Still and Day Four Tan Line and Craig is Dead of Night. Which one are you? << 

Because of my fondness for cream and sugar, I avoided coffee becoming a regular thing for me. I would enjoy a pumpkin spice frappuccino while out shopping or coffee at Thanksgiving with family with plenty of creamy goodness. Then I bought Craig a French press and conical burr coffee grinder for Christmas one year. Game changer.  

French pressed coffee is delicious. Strong, creamy, flavorful. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, check out the French press here.  (It was technically patented by an Italian man, go figure.) To make coffee this way, your biggest investment is the grinder. We have this {relatively} economical conical burr one. We own this French press in 34oz and 50oz (the larger one for when we have guests).  

A friend of mine posted about cold brew a while back, and I filed the info away for another day. She makes her cold brew concentrate overnight, keeps it in the fridge, then adds hot water to dilute it down a bit and warm it up for her morning coffee throughout the week. Hot cold brew. Genius!  

[Read more…] about CEO Daily Update – 10.27.2020

Christmas Cards? | 3-Play Face Masks | 2960 Series Catalyst Switch | Hiring for Talent | News to Start Your Day

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Happy Monday!

(October 26th is Nation Pumpkin Day! So whether you are carving it or drinking a spiced version, enjoy!)

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Happy Monday, all!  

I hope you all had a good weekend. I spent most of the weekend not feeling well, so I was glad to be mostly better and able to attend church with the family yesterday. The autumn colors here in our little corner of Georgia are beautiful right now. Some of the leaves are beginning to fall, so we’re enjoying them while we can. I usually schedule family pictures for us around this time, but this year I just wasn’t feeling it for some reason. Just one more thing on the to-do list, I guess. I’m embracing simplicity where I can.  

One of the reasons I like fall family pictures is because it helps me prepare for sending Christmas cards to our friends and family. I enjoy sending and receiving cards. We usually hang all of the cards we receive up in one area of our home. It is a nice little moment to enjoy, seeing the smiling faces of people we care about all in one place. The last few years it seems like I have received less and less cards from others. I wonder how families will choose to handle that task this year. Will job changes or losses keep them from sending? Are more people craving some sort of connection so they’ll be sure to send cards or letters? I’m still debating embracing a year of simplicity (no cards) vs keeping tradition (sending them).  

How does your family handle sending cards? Are you doing anything different this year? 

Christin 

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Today’s Product Updates from Rebecca:

Monday… we meet again! Who else is ready to start the week strong!? No better way to do that than by snagging some awesome PPE at phenomenal prices!  

One of our absolute best deals is on our 3-Ply Protective Face Mask. This is a box of 50 classic 3-Ply Protective Face Masks! Stay protected while maintaining comfort with these masks! We also have 3-Ply Protective Face Masks for Kids available! Adorable designs + great everyday protection!  

[Read more…] about CEO Daily Update – 10.26.2020

Planning & Creating | The Lesser-Known PPE | The Loveable SFP-10G-LR | Rhythms & Sabbaticals | News to Start Your Day

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Woohoo! Its Friday! 

(October 23rd is National Boston Cream Pie Day. Go enjoy one (or your favorite dessert). Calories don’t count on holidays.)

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At the beginning of 2019, Craig presented me with a Goal Planner from Cultivate What Matters.  

I’m sorry to say it sat on my desk until almost September of that year. Because I hadn’t been the one who was introduced to it, I didn’t really understand how to use it, and we ended up spending half of our year selling off pieces of another business we owned, buying a house and moving. I bought the author, Lara Casey’s, audiobook (Make it Happen) at some point and really enjoyed what it had to say. Her main message: surrender your fear and live on purpose. 

In 2020 I decided to buy myself the new Goal Planner and actually put in the work on the front end. What did I want this year to look like? One of the exercises in the beginning of the planner leaves a space for a word of the year. I had been praying each time I sat down to work through these exercises, and I knew immediately what my word was for 2020: create. 

I imagined that my year would be spent exploring my creative side: more photography, decorating our new home, exploring painting perhaps. Little did I know that most of my creative energy would be poured into business activities. Last week when Jason wrote the daily email he mentioned that he had a phrase for this past year, and that his phrase took on new meaning during the course of the year. Needless to say, I can totally relate. When I agreed to jump in and help Craig with a few things this spring/summer, I had no idea I would find myself hiring and onboarding a fractional CMO and marketing firm. 

We met the firm we’re working with through Craig’s CEO group. Initially, we reached out to their CEO for advice on building our own marketing team. (Remember that lesson we learned from selling PPE about being more intentional?) We liked what they had to say so much that we decided to hire them! It has been fun work to walk through the discovery exercises with our new CMO and Marketing Manager. (Warning: buzz words coming your way.) We’re exploring customer personas, defining what we want our voice to be in the market, and we’re looking for ways to engage and add value to our customer and potential customer interactions.  

We know you all enjoy a good daily email 😉 What other ways do you like to engage with companies you know? Social media? YouTube? Educational articles? Blog posts? Forums? Perhaps we’ll send a more thorough questionnaire out at some point, but for now I would love to hear from you if you have the time for a quick reply. Help us be a better resource for you! We truly want to add value (to your IT infrastructure and beyond). 

[Read more…] about CEO Daily Update – 10.23.2020

2020 Lessons Learned  | Thermometers Update | Best Rack Mount Kit | Change Your Thoughts | News to Start Your Day

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Happy Thursday!

(October 22nd is National Make a Dog’s Day! So go treat your furry, four-legged canine friend to a special treat or buy them a new toy!)

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As most businesses probably are this time of year, we are looking forward to 2021 and starting to make plans. What do we want to focus on? Where can we improve? Where do we want to be at the end of 2021? It has been an unusual year for us all, so this year’s planning discussions feel quite a bit different than they have in the past.  

Besides the obvious market disruption that COVID was and is for nearly every business, some things that were different for us this year have been our product mix, marketing methods we’ve tried, and how we communicate with our customers (like this email). When we began selling safety supplies in March, we did it to serve a need, to attempt to be profitable through a yet-to-be defined season, and if I’m being honest maybe a little bit because we were bored. We had no idea adding a new and vastly different product line would change our business so much.  

When Craig and I started selling pre-owned networking equipment out of our garage in the earliest days, it was in an environment where customers were plentiful. The business really thrived in those days because of Craig’s ability to BUY well. The selling part was easy. When the CK webstore took off and we were selling more accessories, customers just came to us. At least a hundred new customers a day placed orders on the site back then. We did not have to hunt them down; they just needed what we had. Then we entered our awkward teenage years as a company, making our way through by pivoting rapidly from opportunity to opportunity. By the time we reached 2018/19 we had somewhat matured and had leaders over most critical areas, Craig had a vision for where he wanted to go, but the how was still a bit fuzzy. 2020 was supposed to be a year of reaping the rewards of hard work that had been put in during 2019 to really define the roadmap of where we wanted to go. Enter COVID. 

[Read more…] about CEO Daily Update – 10.22.2020