etc!graphics, inc.

Differentiation is everything. @marketoonist

Knowing how to deliver an idea is really a valuable skill. Good communication and the ability to get an idea out of your head into someone else's head is right up there at the top of Leadership skills. But the delivery of the idea will always be secondary to the substance of the idea. @Toastmasters19

Real growth is unstoppable, but it must be tended. Growing a small business is very similar to growing plants in your garden. At this time of year, people are hardening off the seeds they started indoors in January so they can place them in the garden plot. If they move the seedlings outdoors too fast, they will get too much of a good thing. The gardener has to step it off- a little more sun today than yesterday, otherwise the plant will be challenged by too much all at once. Ideas are much the same. If an idea is not thriving in a certain place, try another place where it has better soil, different light, less rocks, more water, more room, and where it has more space to grow. Growth is all about removing hindrances, and making the most of what you have. . . blooming where you are planted.

Ever wondered what a commercial is really selling? It's a thing. "I look at these billboards and have absolutely no idea what they're advertising." npr.org/2026/03/18/nx-…

Wanna know the reason Pantone Matching System was developed? Yea. This. Consistency of color is one of the easiest ways to create a strong visual brand. Color lodges itself in our memory, whether we are aware of it or not. How do I know? Because right now, you [most likely] can imagine the National Geographic Yellow, yes?

"There is no business, there are only people. Business exists only among people and for people.” ~James Autry Think about this deeply. Your marketing will never be the same. Have a good week! #MondayMotivation

Work is love made visible. ~Khalil Gibran, The Prophet

Happy Birthday Fred McFeely Rogers March 20, 1928 – February 27, 2003 “As human beings, our job in life is to help people realize how rare and valuable each one of us really is, that each of us has something that no one else has—or ever will have—something inside that is unique to all time. It’s our job to encourage each other to discover that uniqueness, and to provide ways of developing its expression.” The World According to Mister Rogers

An architect's alphabet. #typography

A product for everyone is a product for no one. You never see a long line waiting for a one-size-fits-all T-shirt. Because it fits NO ONE. An effective #Brand, by its very nature, is exclusive. It is just as important to define who your Brand is NOT for, as to know who it is for.

A balance sheet and an income statement are used to measure profitability in a small business. But they can only measure MONEY. They will never measure VALUE. These financial statements will never measure how many friends you have made along the way. They will not measure whether you treated your employees well, or whether they even like you or not. They do not measure whether your product made the world a better place, or improved anyone else's life but your own. There are SO SO SO MANY THINGS that these statements cannot measure. And there are so many more important things in small business than the bottom line. (That's what Vision and Mission Statements are all about. Don't forget it!) Small business consumes a lot of a person's time. Make sure that it is time worth spending! Have a purposeful day!

Pantone chip paintings. An oldie- but a goodie. fastcompany.com/3042011/famous…

I heard someone say, "TRUST is the goal, not certainty". Blew my mind. Entrepreneur, you don't need more info. You need courage. If you must have certainty to act, you will never act. Pay more careful attention to what you have already learned. ACT on what you already know. That's the whole point of prACTice. We are all practicing. ACT.

“Your AI slop bores me,” is a new gamified website designed by programmer Mihir Maroju. The site is a parody of popular chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude. Except instead of asking an AIyour most random, silly, out-of-left-field questions, “Your AI slop bores me” directs your requests to an actual random person on the internet. fastcompany.com/91505685/your-…

When you’re really going through it, work can take a backseat—and should. fastcompany.com/91502859/stayi…

May the road rise to meet you. May the wind be always at your back may the sun shine wam upon your face and rains fall soft upon your fields And until we meet again Until we meet again May God hold you in the palm Of His Hand. Happy St Patrick's Day

"Basically, when you get to my age, you’ll really measure your success in life by how many of the people you want to have love you actually do love you." Take this definition of success straight from the Oracle of Omaha. inc.com/marcel-schwant…

Is Spring around the corner here in Central Iowa? Or is it FOOLING us? Hard to tell. Hard to tell. Have a good week ahead, whatever the weather!

Amen Adam, Amen. We'll know we have achieved equality when the CEO's of Fortune 500 companies are at least 50% women. (Currently, women hold 11% of the top positions as of June of 2025.)

Flashback Friday. . .Fun Friday. We do some important work here at Etc!Graphics. Have you noticed? Some of our jobs help the entire citizenry of Gotham, because they enable a certain Super Hero to do his work. Notably, Iowa League of Heroes, and Batman. Our local League visits children with terminal illness in the hospital, bringing and entire troupe of Super Heros to encourage them to be brave and resilient. Such a privilege to be a part of it. Na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na naaaaaaaaaaa BATMAN.