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Autumn (and Play-Doh) Teaches Us to Look at Things in a New Way

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Happy fall, y’all, For many of us, it’s our favorite season.

Oddly enough, autumn is an example of open-mindedness. In August, we bemoan the loss of fun and sun. Yet, if we wait it out just a few weeks that NEXT season— autumn—delightfully changes our world. The same can be said about our ever-shifting business world. Maybe even our products.

Play-Doh Wasn’t Invented for Kids  

In the 1930s Kutol Products produced a putty to clean furnace soot off wallpaper. But by the 1950s, natural gas replaced coal as the main heating source and demand for the putty came to an end. No problem. Kutol Products saw an opportunity to reimagine the product as a kid’s toy—Play-Doh!

Dying and rotting leaves create the musky autumn scents we love. Product failures motivate new ideas—innovative ideas that sometimes change the world.

What’s the NEXT season for your small business? Or your product? Maybe it’s the time for creative thinking and new ideas.

What I’m Working On This Month

Autumn is our seasonal celebration of sipping and scenery. My husband and I call it our Octoberfest Brewery Tour and every year I do a poster to commemorate the event. This year we’re heading to Iceland. Yes, Iceland! They have beer, but only since 1989—seriously.

What I’m Tuned In To This Month

  • Mammoth Hike Challenge starts October 1! It’s the Ice Age Trail Alliance’s annual celebration of October in Wisconsin—43 miles and three trail communities. Need to track your segments? See below!
  • I made these S’Mores bars for an autumn gathering and, yes, they were the best.
  • We all have opinions about the UAW strike. “The Four Winds,” by Kristin Hannah, opened my eyes to life before unions.
  • Are you a gardener? Here’s an interesting article on seed saving.

Let’s Work Together

Think Adunate might be a good fit for your next project? Give me a holler and we’ll discuss ideas.

CONTACT ME

New and Updated!

It looks sorta the same, but it’s not. It’s better! Hot off the press, Adunate’s new map will keep you trekking on the Ice Age Trail’s up-to-date route. Complete with added segments and trail communities, it’s a great way to showcase your hiking adventures!

Check it out here!

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NOT SUBSCRIBED? LET’s Do This!

Collaborate With Your Competitors? You Bet!

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My husband and I just returned from our annual Octoberfest Brewery Tour. This year we took our sipping and scenery to Charleston, SC, and it was glorious! 

Businesses Working Together

In one of Charleston’s lesser known but rising neighborhoods is the Charleston Brewery District. It’s a community of ten breweries “sharing their love of beer with the Lowcountry,” as they like to boast. It’s also an example of savvy entrepreneurs working together to create a tourist hotspot, benefitting both their businesses and their community.

Used with permission from the Charleston Brewery District

Creative Collaboration

Tarah Gee, president of the Charleston Brewery District, says there are many advantages to working together. Two innovative ideas rocking it for both the breweries and the community: 

  • Free Shuttle
    The ten breweries have chipped in to provide a free shuttle every Saturday. Beer enthusiasts ride from brewery to brewery, sampling and enjoying.
     
  • Keep Charleston Beautiful
    Once a month, the breweries take turns hosting a neighborhood clean-up. The breweries provide the bags and volunteers provide the umph. Afterward, everyone gathers for a beer. 

What about you? How can you and your competitors work together? 

LET’s WORK TOGETHER

What I’m Working On This Month

Join me November 4 as I present an inspiring workshop for the Women Food & Ag Network. Here’s the scoop!

What I’m Tuned In To This Month

  1. It takes a team, even in the craft beer industry.
  2. October was National Women’s Small Business Month: Two women forge their way and help others to do the same.
  3. What makes Wisconsin special: One brewery’s pandemic business model.
  4. Are predicted shortages stressing your gift plans? Give an Ice Age Trail poster.

Celebrating Fat Tuesday with Sense of Place

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You know how you walk into a local bakery and the aroma of fresh baking fills your soul to its deepest depths? That was my husband and me this last weekend as we followed the Wisconsin Foodie trail in Sheboygan. Stepping into the first bakery was an aaah-romatic indulgence of Paczki. Coming upon the second was a heavenly whiff of hard rolls before we even walked through the door. Oh, how I swoon.

Good Smells, Good Marketing

They say good smells are good marketing. In truth, tapping into all the human senses is good marketing and our weekend getaway was a perfect example. Think cozy lights welcoming us as we arrived at our B&B. Or a friendly hubbub at the local foods cafe. All of these absorbed together created a memorable image of Sheboygan, an image which, jargonly speaking, can be referred to as “sense of place.”

Defining Sense of Place

Sense of place is the impression we get from a place. It’s the look, the feel, the sounds—it’s the complete physical and emotional lens through which we experience a place. 

When it comes to your business, sense of place is equally important. It’s an element of your brand. Whether it’s your venue, your website, your logo…they all evoke a sense of place.

NEED HELP WITH YOUR SENSE OF PLACE?

What I’m Working on This Month

I was proud to participate in an upcoming toolkit called “Amplify Our Voices: Connecting Organic Women Farmers with the Media.” It’s put together by Renewing The Countryside and coming out soon. Join their newsletter! 

What I’m Tuned Into This Month

  1. Paczki Day! Everyone is Polish on Paczki Day, so Happy Fat Tuesday to all!
     
  2. Gastrophysics, Charles Spence. A little science-heavy for my right brain, but interesting nonetheless. Eating is multi-sensory, meaning there’s truth to Good Smells, Good Marketing. 
     
  3. “At Berea College, Students Craft a Bright Future, Tuition-Free,” Are you a maker deciding on colleges? Interesting article from an equally interesting magazine.
     
  4. The Corner Table Podcast: Food Photography, A beef farmer recently lamented that the food photographer he hired altered his meat presentations, leaving them inedible. Yep, sorry, but I bet they looked tasty good in the photos. I’m suggesting he listen to this podcast.