Collages LLC Mini Mag - Holiday Issue 2022

Season's Greetings

Note from the Editor,

I hope that you all are doing well and are ending this year in a positive way.

For many of us, these last 11+ months have been all about learning and growing. Learning different ways to expand your capabilities and growing in ways you hadn't expected.

One of the most popular themes from Collages LLC Mini Mag this year has been being able to pivot. Personally, I have gotten the chance to use both business skills and transferable skills to move forward. Collages LLC continues to be a launching pad for me to encourage and excel.

Shouldn't all businesses do this for owners, partners, and employees? We're hoping that all of our readers will utilize what they already know to move forward. For some, this may mean a hiatus from regular business. Others may decide to pivot even more to new opportunities.

May 2023 be the perfect time for you to get the most out of your abilities, take retrospective looks at life, and continue to move forward.

Collages LLC Publications © 2022

Winter Travel Trends 2022

By Karen Nelson

As temperatures drop, many of us are dreaming about places to visit this winter. Some dreams include tropical islands to escape the cold, while others embrace the snowy mountains and exhilarating winter sports experiences. To help you plan your vacation this year or next I wanted to share some suggestions and information about your favorite destinations for a much deserved escape. Whether your dreams include relaxing on a sunny tropical beach, sipping cocoa or cocktails fireside at a snowy chalet, treating yourself to wonderful spa treatments, or enjoying the amazing Northern Lights … this is a great time to book your last minute travel for this year, and also to place deposits and take advantage of special offers for next year. I am here to answer your questions, provide suggestions, and help make your Travel Dreams come true!!

Destination Highlights:

Weddings

All‐inclusive destination weddings take the worry out of planning, giving you more time to enjoy every moment. Whatever your dream is for your special day, I can help make it a reality. No matter how big or how intimate you want your wedding to be, I will work with you to make it come to life.

Northern Lights

Whether you choose to view these amazing Northern Lights from Iceland, Canada, or Sweden, November through February offer the darkest skies and longer evenings for maximum sky gazing. The strongest lights tend to appear between 9 pm and 2 am, with the best sightings around midnight. You may want to add a night at an Ice Hotel or Spa to enhance your vacation.

Ice Hotels

Every year when the winter comes, the pristine waters of the meandering European rivers slow down and freeze into ice. Since 1989, Hotels have been hand sculpted out of massive ice blocks harvested from the frozen rivers. Today, over three decades later, Ice Hotels have become some of the favorite must visit landmarks for winter travelers from all over the world.

Destination Romance

Whether your relationship is brand new or is an ageless passion that has stood the test of time, a winter time destination romance vacation is the perfect way to celebrate your love! Make new memories while cuddling fireside, relaxing on tropical beaches, enjoying candlelight dinners, and sharing couples’ massages, at all inclusive resorts with personal butlers seeing to your every desire.

Pro Tips: More than any other season, when packing for winter time adventures you want, to focus on layers. With extreme temperatures warmer days and often freezing nights you want to have lots of options. In addition to hats and gloves, be sure to pack umbrellas, hand warmers, ChapStick, lotions, cough drops, and Vita C boosts. And until next time remember…

I am Karen Nelson, Your Personal Travel Concierge, and the founder of TAD Travel Services, a full service international travel company. As a fully certified and an accredited travel advisor for more than 30 years, it is my goal and pleasure to help make travel dreams come true!!

If you have any questions about travel, or would like to discuss planning your next amazing vacation experience, schedule a call: Travel Chat with Karen. Please join me on Facebook and Instagram. More information about Karen Nelson and TAD Travel Services, can be found online at: www.tadtravelservices.com, and be sure to join my TAD Travel VIP Club!!

Evaluating Where You Are Before Moving Forward

By Athelda Ensley

Self evaluation and business evaluation are very similar to one another. This is the process of looking at where you are currently. It involves also taking stock of where you’ve come from, as well. Through this process, it is possible to determine what might be possible in the future. Without going through this type of evaluation, it is easy to not only make mistakes, but to make the same ones over again. According to Forbes, one of the key things that small business owners need to do in preparation for 2023, is evaluate themselves and their businesses.

Update the Model

Instead of serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner in a restaurant, renting a food truck might be better. Evaluating what your business can handle is important. There are owners who will decide that it is necessary to update their business models. Through this goal, it is possible to keep more of your profits and aim better for the future.

Set a Budget

Your budget is one of the most critical things, when it comes to business operations. How much do you spend on your building or office location? What are you paying out per salary or by-thehour? Things like supplies and manufacturing also play a role in what you can offer and will offer in the future.

Consider Staffing

When financial times are going well, many businesses will begin to hire more people. The problem comes in when those good times don’t last as long as you want.

Considering your current staffing needs based off of what business goals you have is essential. Evaluation staffing by considering your hours of operation can be helpful.

There are many good reasons for self-evaluation and business evaluation. These processes are extremely important, as it relates to being able to pivot successfully. There are instances where it is necessary to close your doors, reduce services, or to fully expand. Knowing what’s best for you means taking a critical look at everything.

Employee Opinions About 2023 Matter

By Athelda Ensley

Employees alone are not responsible for their success or failure to achieve goals. This is true whether we are talking about their career goals or project goals. Employers play an important role in this process by responding to their needs. Providing adequate training is certainly one step in the right direction.

Along with training, it is critical that employers listen to what their employees think. Communicating with them in an ongoing way, matters and can make a world of difference in direction. This is one of the things that Forbes points out to business leadership as they prepare for 2023.

Showing Appreciation

There is a wide array of employees that work at any given location. Not all of them are looking for promotions or even higher pay. There are those who excel based upon the amount of appreciation they receive. This means setting up a good process for communicating and building true relationships.

Rewarding Commitment

Promotions, bonuses, time off awards are just a few of the common ways that bosses reward their staff with. There are many other creative ways to recognize those who are committed to the business. Simply ignoring good work or dependability is not beneficial in the long run.

Asking Their Opinion

You might choose to poll your employees or to simply give them a questionnaire. These are ways to not only find out what they think. It is possible through these options, to show that their opinion as employees matters to you. It is common knowledge that when these types of efforts take place, it builds even more commitment.

Whatever goals a business owner has for the future, will be based on their employees. The more pleased they are with where they work and the environment they work in, the more they are willing to give to the company or business overall.

Holiday Issue 2022 – Sponsor-Contributors

https://www.tadtravelservices.com/home1 Collages LLC Publications ©2022

Congrats to All Issue Sponsors, Contributors, Interviewees & Participants

Sponsor Contributor: Karen Nelson Collages LLC Publications ©2022

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

FROM COLLAGES LLC MINI MAG