Lighting a Brighter Way in the New Year

Do not look now but the calendar is rapidly approaching the end of the year and the beginning of the new year.  The bad news is time is running out for all of last years resolutions but the good news is you are about to start from a clean slate.  Trick or treating is now behind us and the Thanksgiving turkey and December holidays are just around the corner.  With the decreasing time you now have to get your shopping done you will also have ever decreasing daylight until mid December.  As the days get shorter that usually spikes flashlight sales making it a wonderful time to put one into the hands of your clients.

This is probably the one category of gift that has absolutely no restrictions.  Your clients boss won’t care if they receive a flashlight.  It does not carry the same security risk as portable storage devices, the stigma of a knife or the redundancy of another piece of clothing that will shrink to nothing after a few washes.  Truth be told flashlights are one of the few areas where quality is still exceptional in most cases.  The Garrity Power Lite – K23 not only provides long life it is also environmentally friendly as it does not require batteries.  The unit is fully charged by simply cranking a handle that provides hours of light.  The technology has continued to improve and a minute of turning will now give up to an hour of light.  On the same self-powered theme the Leeds Dynamo Multi-Function Flashlight runs off the hand crank mechanism.  When cranked you have the versatility of an FM scanner, emergency siren and flashlight all in one.  To be a true emergency device it should be self-powered which is why we rate these devices highly as items to store in your car or in your home especially as we approach the winter months.  For overall utility we like the Multi-Purpose LED Screwdriver which has a clip, bright light and a set of screwdrivers all in one.  I think what is most attractive about this package is that it just looks good and is unique.  You will also see it in a major national catalog arriving in your mailbox this week.  That’s right, that “major”  national retailer sells from the same sources as the rest of us.  For a quick and easy solution the Garrity Multi-Function Auto Emergency Lite provides everything you would need in a dire situation.  As recently seen in documentaries power windows in your car present a major hazard if your vehicle were to become submerged.  This type of safety lite provides a hammer punch which when used properly breaks out the window so you can get to safety.  It also includes a belt cutter in case that jams.  In addition to all those functions it is also a lite and or strobe.  I wish these safety items were bigger sellers than they are or better yet that the manufacturers would include them in a safety kit for automobiles that goes beyond the basic kits we already see in the marketplace.

A month ago we discussed the contradictions in many privacy policies.  An interesting situation was relayed at a recent business meeting at which an associate revealed a vendor had given out their name without permission.  One aspect not mentioned in the earlier piece is that you should always get permission prior to using a client as a reference.  Some are prohibited from giving anything of that nature, others just don’t want to do it.  Check first to avoid an embarrassing situation that benefits only your competition in these difficult economic times.