I was fortunate enough to schedule a few snow days last week. Snow days with some business associates (friends). They didn’t start out as friends…business brought us together, but bonds grew and friendships developed.

Our scheduled snow days were in beautiful Telluride, CO. I’ve made many trips to Colorado, but this was my first to Telluride. And it was awesome. Natural. Clean. Unspoiled.

The air was crisp and quiet. On several days, soft snow fell. The fluffy white flakes looked huge contrasted against the deep evergreen trees as they floated down from the crystal blue sky. There were several mornings where our skis were the first to make a mark on the freshly groomed slopes. It was easy to feel at one with nature. I found it all to be extremely peaceful. And big.

The great wide open spaces made everything seem bigger. Reality seemed bigger. Day dreams seemed bigger. Ideas seemed bigger. It seemed as though the sky really was the limit and I found myself not only thinking bigger, but believing bigger.

The great wide open…where everything’s bigger. Where visions are crisper and ideas sharper and minds are open like the views from the mountain tops. All so startling, yet ever so refreshing. What a great way to start the new year…thinking bigger…believing bigger.

And how were your snow days?

Refections. Maybe it’s the peaceful early morning snow falling. Maybe it’s the quiet neighborhood and our house aglow with snowflake lights dangling from the gutters over the front porch or the colorful sparkling lights of the three spiral Christmas trees with glistening stars decorating the front yard. Maybe it’s the warm glow of our Christmas tree brightening the dark early morning hours. Whatever it is, I sit smiling gazing out the window at how peaceful it all is. It’s these quiet moments that I catch here and there that I really cherish. My personal escape from the hustle and bustle of it all. I drive hard all year long. Pushing, pulling, tugging with my foot always on the gas. But it’s these unexpected, quiet moments that mean so much. A momentary break. A chance to breathe. A chance to reflect. A chance to enjoy those important things in life that I love. My beautiful daughter, my adoring wife, my family near and far, my cherished friends who we never seem to spend enough time with each year.

I’m committed to finding more of these unexpected moments in the new year, but this moment I steal to reflect. To my dedicated employees and loyal clients who make working seem less like work – thank you. To my friends, my family, to Becky and Jackie. Thank you for making me better.

Merry Christmas. May we all help to make someone else better in 2011.

My daughter Jackie and my wife Becky

OK, so we certainly agree that social media isn’t for everyone. And we would also agree that Facebook isn’t right for everyone. But please do understand that conversations are happening now about you and your business. It’s up to you to choose whether you are a part of them or not. So, you can talk with your customers…or you can let them continue to talk about you!

The chart below is the latest data from comScore. Check it out. Time spent on Facebook eclipsed time spent on Google sites in August for the first time EVER. And, you’ll notice that Yahoo continues its downward spiral.

So what are your thoughts? Do you know what conversations your customers are having about you in the realm of social media? We’d love to hear your thoughts.

Brad Gillum (Willow Marketing) at AM&AA Summer Conference 2010 from AM&AA on Vimeo.

Having been recognized for our experience in working with small, family-owned, closely-held and entrepreneurial business, we thought we would explore new business opportunities a bit more in the category. Those in the Private Equity market understand that there are more ways than one to develop value in a business. Not all the value of a business is reflected in the balance sheet. By building the brand of the business and creating a loyal customer base we can significantly add value.

Yep, marketing is pretty sophisticated stuff! And it works!

Detroit Rock City! Yep, Sue and I strapped on the seat belts and headed north on a couple of weeks ago. We visited the Troy office of our client Hall Render. (OK, not really Detroit, but a corporate suburb.) It was great to spend time with the attorneys and staff there and hearing first hand what their needs were with respect to marketing.

First of all, we were welcomed by everyone there. Hoosiers aren’t the only hospitable ones! Thanks to everyone for welcoming us and making us feel comfortable. Accompanying us on the trip were Eric and Heather, Hall Render’s crack marketing team . . . and some pretty cool Willow clients. It really is nice to have clients that you enjoy being with professionally and socially!

I learned local market planning with my first real Boss in the agency world – Marty Lave. The concept is a simple one . . . to get a grasp on the culture, environment, business climate and the people, you have to meet with them in person. We had regularly scheduled meetings with our out-of-town clients for this reason. And it is effective. While in Troy, we took advantage of the time to meet with a few suppliers as well – Crain’s Detroit Business. Our first meeting was with our advertising representative. The second meeting was with the reporter handling the legal beat in Detroit. Both meetings were great. And quite honestly, they both enjoyed the opportunity to meet with us face-to-face after having interacted via phone and email so much. Technology is great and it can make us more productive, but I’m even more so a believer today than ever before that people do business with people. And people like interacting with people.

Lesson learned? Spend less time on the phone, emailing and texting. Spend more time meeting and greeting. Shake hands. Smile. And take it all in. Makes for a stronger relationship, both professionally and personally.

And did I mention the great conversation with Sue on our road trip? Our stop at IKEA? Seared ahi? Our detour through Toledo? Let’s meet in person and I’ll share all the stories with you!