Though we did not win, the effort was admirable, and we showed that Namify can make anyone, even their employees, look like pros!

When told that there are many different options for name tag attachments, such as magnet backings, swivel clips, military clutch pins, alligator clips, and even cell phone attachments, people are generally surprised at the variety of options now offered.

When shown the wonderful benefits of using a magnetic backing for their name tag, people tend to fall in love with the product. The Green Magnet is versatile and practical. By attaching the name tag to the clothing using the green magnet, there is no risk of tearing the clothing or puncturing the skin. The magnets are strong, too. Able to withstand up to fifteen pounds of pull, the green magnet will almost never come off were your tag to get snagged on something.

The green magnet is by far the most popular selling name tag backing for name tag distributors like namify. Last year alone, Namify sold over twice as many green magnets as any other backing.

Perhaps the only downside of the green magnet is that people with pacemakers cannot wear them. The magnet will interfere with the normal functions of the implant. As an official maker and distributor of the green magnet, we must warn against wearing the green magnet when using a pacemaker.

-Namify, LLc.

It’s true! During the famous shootout scene known as the “Mexican Standoff” in the the great Spaghetti Western The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, you can see the three main characters positioned nervously around a cemetery courtyard. As the men reveal their weapons from behind their coats and jackets, the tension rises.

Tuco, the movie’s Ugly character, lets his pistol down on a rope cord lanyard, helping lanyards to make one of their first appearances in popular movie culture! Seeing a lanyard used as a pistol holder in a movie like this is highly unusual, as a cowboy in a Western movie tends to keep his guns lying low on his hips, nestled in a leather holster. But Eli Wallach, the actor who plays Tuco, told the director of the film (Sergio Leone) that he had too much trouble getting a pistol into a holster without looking, so Leone switched to a lanyard for Wallach’s character.

In actuality though, lanyards were a large part of military life and western cowboy and frontier life.  Lanyards were used to signify rank and class in the military. And pistol lanyards were common for soldiers in situations where the risk of losing ones pistol was significant.

So we find just one more use for lanyards! Can you think of another? Watch for the pistol lanyard in this clip from The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly in the meantime.

Now the only question is: Did Namify make that lanyard!?

No cookie nibbled by a French novelist
could send one into the past more suddenly—
a past where I sat at a workbench at a camp
by a deep Adirondack lake
learning how to braid long thin plastic strips
into a lanyard, a gift for my mother.

I had never seen anyone use a lanyard
or wear one, if that’s what you did with them,
but that did not keep me from crossing
strand over strand again and again
until I had made a boxy
red and white lanyard for my mother.

She gave me life and milk from her breasts,
and I gave her a lanyard.
She nursed me in many a sick room,
lifted spoons of medicine to my lips,
laid cold face-cloths on my forehead,
and then led me out into the airy light

and taught me to walk and swim,
and I, in turn, presented her with a lanyard.
Here are thousands of meals, she said,
and here is clothing and a good education.
And here is your lanyard, I replied,
which I made with a little help from a counselor.

Here is a breathing body and a beating heart,
strong legs, bones and teeth,
and two clear eyes to read the world, she whispered,
and here, I said, is the lanyard I made at camp.
And here, I wish to say to her now,
is a smaller gift—not the worn truth

that you can never repay your mother,
but the rueful admission that when she took
the two-tone lanyard from my hand,
I was as sure as a boy could be
that this useless, worthless thing I wove
out of boredom would be enough to make us even.

The event was held on March 17 at the Vivent headquarters in The Riverwoods Shopping Center in Provo, Utah.  Kids came from all over Utah to participate and performed admirably.

Congrats to the winner, Sophie Choate, who won the Bee by spelling the word Mordacious.

Watch the Spelling Bee video to see our Namify lanyards being worn by all the participants. We were proud to help out with this wonderful event, and wish all the best to Sophie, who is headed to Washington D.C. for the national Spelling Bee!

Go to Namify.com for other great deals on great products!

The Big Business and Technology Expo was held at the UCCU Event Center at Utah Valley University on February 29 and March 1. Keynote speakers included Steven M.R. Covey and Governor Gary Herbert. Namify™ was out in full force as an official 2012 sponsor of the event and as a vendor. Paul Shin and Nick Vance manned the booth, getting people interested in the great products we have, and making quite an impression. The Big Business and Technology Expo is just one of the events that make the Utah Valley such a great place to do business. Namify™ is proud to support local businesses and looks forward to an impressive 2012 business year.

The printer’s custom “one off” ability is efficient and requires no setup. This is the kind of efficiency we strive for at Namify™ and it will allow us to reach the needs of all of our customers- from individuals and startups, to Fortune 500 companies. We are excited to be able to provide our customers with the highest quality products at great prices. Ryan Gibert, our Textile Press Lead, is very excited about the new machine. “It will give us the opportunity to do so much more for our customers. Whatever they need, whether it’s one shirt, or five hundred, we’re going to be able to take care of them quickly and keep them coming back”, says Ryan. We are all excited to keep getting better and growing our wonderful customer base. Keep up the good work guys!

Fun Facts:

Favorite Season: “I truly love them all!”

Nickname: “My son calls me ‘Nom’ because I love, love, love to nom on food!”

Self-Description in 3-5 words: Loving, outgoing, hopeful, happy, and improving

Upon arriving, each kid received a participation gift pack that included a cinch bag, water bottle, New England Baptist Hospital bone pens and T-shirt. Participants were then divided up into two sessions, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, with teams playing four games. Whistles were blowing, sneakers were screeching and coaches were instructing as the day progressed.

Namify’s own Paul Shin worked out the deal with the Boston Celtics to provide the NBA Championship team with the shirts and jerseys for this great event. The Celtics were very happy with Namify’s exceptional customer service and products and Paul hopes to continue working with them in the future for all of their Namifying needs!

Namify is an industry leader in brand manufacturing and even holds its own line of specialized sports apparel, perfect for any athletic team or event. Go to Wickify.com for more information on our products.

So please, go to the Event Planning tool at Namify.com and open The Hunger Games Party tab. You’ll be sure to find everything you need to throw the perfect theme party. We’ve even included convenient links to click on that will take you to helpful websites, fantastic party products, and top notch decor ideas.

Be sure to let us know how your party goes. We want to hear how our Namify Event Planning tools have helped you to plan all of your parties and organize events and meetings.

To access the Hunger Games Party checklist, simply click on this link or go to Namify.com and click on the Event Planner Tools at the bottom of the homepage. The checklists are organized in alphabetical order. The Hunger Games list will be under the letter ‘T’.

Good luck tributes! And may the odds ever be in your favor!

“Being involved in the Chamber has given Namify™ an active voice and visual recognitionin one of the top places to do business in the entire country,” said Gasaway.

Other committee members that Brad will be working with include:

Bruce Rowe – CEO of Sebo Marketing
Jeremy Blickenstaff – President of One Enterprises (Shops at Riverwood)
Steven Roy – VP of Economic Development, UVU
Leonel Castillo – President of AmBank
Chad Magelby – CEO of Magelby Construction
Jason Badell – Director at Rainmaker Management Group
Laura Jarman – President of Dear Lizzie

Welcome to Kurt Anderson, who has recently come on board in the Marketing Department and is excited to be a part of the Namify™ team…

Kurt is passionate about writing, storytelling, Oldie-Goldie music, and boxing (he has a 10-1 record as an amateur boxer). His responsibilities will be to write our way into promotional history! – Brad Gasaway

Fun Facts:

Favorite Season: Summer!
Nickname: Stephie or Steph Barbie
Self-Description in 3-5 words: Silly, Smart, Sassy Stephanie!

The Springville Chamber of Commerce has selected Namify™ as Business of the Year, to be presented at an honorary banquet on January 18th at the Springville Art Museum.

The criteria for selection included: a clear demonstration of leadership, sound business practices, community involvement, and a strong trend of performance and sustained growth.

Namify™ CEO, Christopher Jensen, will be in attendance to accept the award on behalf of the Namify™ family.

Fun Facts:
Favorite Season: Fall
Self-Description in 3-5 words: Bionic, Accountable, Transparent, Unified, Precise

“Our business is to vitalize people’s brands, the very concepts that are dear and guarded by our customers, and to do it more efficiently than anyone else in America,” explained Welton. “These additional locations will allow us to increase our availability, visibility, and trust-relationships with clients in their own market area.”

Namify CEO, Christopher Jensen, was pleased with the unanimous choice of David Komp for the Branch Manager position. “David has a great sense for business, he has a winning attitude, and above all he understands how important Customer Service is to our team,” said Jensen.

Mr. Komp is currently employed as the Customer Service Manager at Namify™ headquarters in Springville, UT. Having been with the company for two years, he will finish out his given responsibilities in Utah at the end of February, and prepare for the ribbon cutting ceremony in Portland two weeks later.

“Opening the Portland branch will be an amazing opportunity,” said Komp. “It is a
diverse, yet very tight-knit metropolitan area where we have quite a large grouping of clients. The face-to-face interaction there will allow me to do what I love most … building relationships and making those same people look smart and amazing.”

Initially, Namify™ intends to house processes at each location that allow for 24-hour turnaround on small to mid-size jobs, and then cooperate with headquarters to meet any high-volume needs.

The store location in Portland, as well as the details of their ribbon cutting ceremony will be released at a later time. Worldwide, Namify™ serves over 120,000 customers, including over 60% of Fortune 500 businesses.

This year’s Christmas Party was fun-filled with lasting tributes, pivotal announcements, and loads of laughs.

The unveiling of the new name and company logo evoked standing applause from an audience of 400 employees and guests, gathered at company headquarters in Springville, Utah. The excitement, in part, was attributed to now having a solid name to accurately depict our broadened capabilities. Originally founded as The Nametag Source in 2001, then changed to Namifiers in 2006, Namify has far outgrown its beginnings of just making nametags and placards for other local businesses. Over the past decade, we have incorporated an array of in-house processes that empower clients from all industries to handle their branding needs with one universally-competitive producer.

“We feel strongly that altering our brand to Namify will sure up our relevancy in the global marketplace,” Welton explained in a separate interview. “We are very well-rooted on the manufacturing side, but we have also dedicated an equally-aggressive pace to pre and post-production support in terms of graphic design, brand management, search engine optimization, and other marketing services. To ‘namify’ and to brand are synonymous; we capture the whole experience into one affordable, client-driven solution.”

Mr. Welton revealed that our company will press forward under the executive direction of Christopher R. Jensen, who has occupied our position of Chief Operations Officer for the previous eight years. Having been with the company from its founding, Jensen was the clear candidate to help maximize Namify’s impact in the coming years.

“It is always humbling and exhilarating to step into this type of a role,” said Jensen. “We have such a great mentor, associate, and friend in Bryan, and I am very enthused to further execute strategy with him and the Board of Directors to grow the Namify family.”

Scott Bishop was mildly excited to win an ipad

Lots of laughs courtesy of Cary Long

Namify Employee of the Year: Kevin Wright

Jen Larios rewarded for a record-breaking performance

A heart-felt tribute to our mentor and friend Bryan L. Welton, Jr

Kevin is originally from Anaheim, CA. He has been married for a year and a half and recently built a home in Spanish Fork about six months ago. He is big sportsfan … loves to play golf and watch both BYU sports and his brother play high school basketball. The things that Kevin enjoys most about Namify are the great people, the fun atmosphere, and the “sky’s the limit” type of opportunity.

Favorite Season: Golf season
Self-Description in 3-5 words: Awesome, Intelligent, Dominating Sales Person
Where he plans to go with his 2 ROUND TRIP TICKETS to anywhere in theworld: England

Fun Facts:
Favorite Season: Autumn
Nickname: I’ve always been really thin, so people used to call me “T-bone.” That didn’t stick after High School, though.
Self-Description in 3-5 words: I’m a fun guy.

Cutest Couple: Paul and Jesse Shin

Most Like Costume Character: David Komp

Sweetest Costume: Melanie Hansen

Pumpkin Contest Winner:

Megamind Pumpkin: Brad Gasaway

Desk Decorating Contest:

Best Decorated: Chelsea Kirkwood

Spookiest: Karen Rodeback

Great costumes everyone!

“What will it take to get from where you are, to where you want to be?”

The interesting thing is, someone is already there. And someone is closer to being there than you are. And someone is not near as close to making it there as you are.

We are all at a different place in our goals, and working toward them in different ways and at different paces.

Kinda puts things in perspective, doesn’t it?

I usually advise people to only compare their success or failure against their own progress. Not against the progress (or success) of others. That said, it pays to get to know people who have gone before you on the same path and learn about their “steps to success”. How did they get there? What did it take, and how long did it take? The answer will likely be different in every success story, but there is always something to learn from those who have achieved what we hope to achieve ourselves…

Analyze Your Own History of Success & Failure

In addition to learning from others, one of the things that has worked best for me is to learn from my own mistakes & achievements. What have I accomplished in my life, and how did I do that? What have I failed miserably at – and why?

Our own “steps to success” often lie right there in those answers.

Where I Am -vs- Where I Want To Be

I’m in a unique position. Unique to me anyway. As I was analyzing this question I realized that I can easily achieve ALL of my current goals in 12-18 months, tops.

It wasn’t always that way, of course. I can remember a time when my goals and ideas seemed IMPOSSIBLE from where I was sitting. Unrealistic, even.

And gosh, I remember it well…

I won’t bore you with the gory details of my house being a wreck, bouncing checks, having zero credit, struggling to put food on the table, etc, etc, etc. But I will tell you that it was HARD. I can remember sitting in in the middle of all that – with two young children, even – wondering how in the world I would ever get out of the hole (much less get ahead), have a home of my own – or just get my life together, period.

It seemed to me that most people had it so much easier than I did.

Part of that was true. SOME people did have it easier than I did. Some had it much harder. And as I examined those who seemed to have it so easy, I began to realize they had their own troubles.

No one is exactly where they want to be at any given time. We are all moving, sometimes forward and sometimes not. We all want more, better, bigger… We are all at our own place on those steps to success.

How I Got From There To Here

As I was giving this question some thought, I looked back over my own path. Getting from there, to where I am in my life now, seems like it took an eternity.

Admittedly it did take me longer than it may have for others, given certain circumstances in my life (that I wouldn’t take back for anything). Being a single mother, for example, or taking care of my grandmother for two years.

But really, it wasn’t that long. And it wasn’t that bad. And I DID do it.

I now have a successful business, financial security, a great credit score, my own beautiful home, wonderful friends, and two incredible children who are practically raised. I travel as much as I please, have a flexible schedule, and can afford all the simple luxuries I had to do without for so much of my life.

What more could I ask for? …

Simple Steps to Success

As I said above, no one is exactly where they want to be. And that includes me. There are several things I would like to achieve. Many of which I wish I had already done by now. But hey – we are where we are, and that’s where we have to start.

I mentioned being in a great position – where I can easily achieve all of my current goals in as little as 12-18 months. That realization alone was HUGE. My goals no longer seemed so far out, or near impossible.

And I didn’t happen into that position by accident, or by luck. I got myself here – every single (grueling, doubting) step of the way.

As I continued pondering this question, I was forced to answer the obvious: exactly where do I want to be, and what do I want to achieve – specifically? It’s easy to say I want to make more money, be less stressed, travel more, yada yada yada.

Most of the things we say we want are entirely too general, with no “HOW” tied in and no specific milestones to work toward. And without milestones or specific goals, how in the world will you even know that you achieved your success??

Earlier this morning I was reading Leo Babauta’s ZenHabits blog. In the last 6 years he has quit smoking, lost 70 pounds, quit his job and become a successful blogger and author. By the way, he has six children and a wife.

I’m not sure exactly how long it took him to achieve each of those goals (and many more I didn’t mention), but in my opinion that’s an awesome accomplishment in such a short time! Leo seriously inspires me…

Six months, six years – how long it takes doesn’t really matter. The truth is, you can do absolutely nothing and stay exactly where you are (or just let life happen and end up wherever you do). Trust me, I’ve tested that. LOL.

Whatever your goal, if it matters enough to you, the timeline is irrelevant. If HERE is not a happy place, then THERE should be your ultimate all-consuming goal.

Maybe you want to be thinner or healthier. One year from now you can be just that, or you can still be wanting it. Maybe you want to be a published author, or a successful blogger. Again, one year from now you can find yourself exactly there. Or you can find yourself sitting in the exact same place, wanting the exact same thing.

Ask yourself: where do I want to be one year from now? What do I want my life to look like, specifically?

The difference between people who achieve goals, and people who don’t, is simple: people who achieve goals are taking consistent and intentional steps toward them. They made their goals (or desires) a priority.

Obvious, right? Sure. We’ve all heard it before. And while it sounds great on paper (or on the screen), it’s “easier said than done”. Or is it?

How hard is it really to set aside a specific amount of time to work toward your greatest desires? We set aside time for all sorts of things, intentionally or unintentionally. Getting intentional is the key. Once you know *exactly* what you want to do, you have to make it a point to just DO it.

I took a long hard look at my schedule and my task list yesterday. There were plenty of things throughout my day that did not have a direct impact on my highest priorities. I made the decision to ditch two of them and do a high impact cardio workout instead. Those two things were important, mind you – but they didn’t trump my desire to get in shape inside of the next year.

Nothing is going to happen overnight. Even if it did, you would miss out on the journey – and every single step to success (slow as it seems sometimes) is important in preparing you for that success. Looking back at myself 10 years ago, had you dropped everything I have now in my lap then… I wouldn’t have even known what to do with it. I would have screwed it all up royally – I’m sure of it.

Make a decision today about what you want, get committed to it, and start taking the steps toward that goal. One step at a time. One day at a time. No matter how far away it seems from “HERE”. (We’re all “here”. You’re not alone.)

5 Simple Steps to Success

• Decide exactly what you want to achieve.
• Determine how long it will take you to achieve it.
• Note what steps you need to take to get there.
• Figure out what you can replace or let go of to make time for these steps.
• DO the steps.

Everything you need to achieve your goals, is already inside of you. You have what it takes to do anything, and change anything you please. Decide what you want to change, what you want to achieve, and get out there and do it! One day at a time.

Go be a success story!

I have a new pet peeve: sales and marketing people who use the word “very” as a condiment, sprinkling it heavily and indiscriminately — like salt — into any product or company claim.

Let’s look at some examples, which I’ll number for subsequent reference:

1. … can process very complex queries …
2. … a very unique product positioning …
3. … has a very experienced team with very strong investors and very powerful technology …
4. … has a very scalable architecture …

When you very-up everything, several problems develop:

• Your speech (or writing) will end up sounding like puffery (e.g., “whiter than white.”) Very becomes a non-word that people will filter, eliminating its power in the few cases where it could be properly applied. You damage your own credibility. For example, see case 3.

• You transfer the meaning of your claims to the very. For example, in case 4, the claim becomes a VERY scalable architecture as opposed to a very SCALABLE architecture. The claim should be about the scalable architecture, not about the very.

• You will have a tendency to make unsupported claims, fooling yourself into thinking that very represents substantiation and/or differentiation. Try this: take every claim you make it and then re-make it without the very. When you do, I suspect you’ll end up wanting to change some of your claims.

• You will make illogical claims. For example, in case 2 the claim “very unique” is ridiculous; something is either unique or it’s not. This is also arguably true in case 4: architectures are either scalable or they’re not. These damage your credibility.

• The very-ies can backfire on you, over-positioning your product. For example, in case 1, perhaps the customer doesn’t think his queries are complex, let alone very complex. By needlessly adding very, you’ve potentially led the customer to think: “I don’t really need all this power, I don’t have very complex queries.”

Yes, hyperbole is an occupational hazard in marketing and we all fall victim to it. I remember the time at Business Objects when I was desperately in search of a word that meant “more ultimate than ultimate.” I’d heard “penultimate” kicked around a few times and figured that’s what it meant. Imagine my reaction when our PR guy, Randy Cairns, came back with: “uh boss, bad news, penultimate means one less than ultimate, not one more.”

When we stopped laughing, I realized that it made perfect sense. Ultimate means ultimate. Only a marketer would want to find a word means more ultimate than ultimate.

How can you reduce your own personal hype level? Speak more slowly and precisely. Listen to what you say. And never say very.