Boosting Your Business Brain: How To Grow In Your Company This Year

Julie Starr • January 10, 2023



As a business owner of any size, you’re more than likely to have been impacted by the busy festive period, which is often followed by a lull in customers, sales, and providing paid-for services. However, this doesn’t have to be a negative thing. It’s worth seeing any quiet times in business as opportunities to focus on moving forward and developing your brand and company. January and the new year is always an opportunity to review previous months and ensure that you can plan how to better yourself and your business during the weeks and months ahead.

Therefore, it’s worth taking some of that extra time to figure out some ways to boost your business brain and ensure that growth and development are part of you and your business’s future in 2023 (and beyond). Having a plan in place will allow you to be proactive and ensure you’re developing further, even if you only gain the knowledge that something isn’t working anymore; that’ll be more knowledgeable than you’ve had previously. The following are some tips and ideas for entrepreneurs who need a boost for a successful year ahead.

Invest In Your Knowledge

There will always be an array of reputable sources with plenty of experience and knowledge in your area of business. And, very often, they share their knowledge, and pass it on to fellow and fledgling entrepreneurs. As such, it’s time to find yourself a talk, a course, or get online to check out webinars like Marie Forleo’s B School , so that you can boost your own knowledge. You will know all there is to know; however, you stand a great chance of boosting your business brain if you’re proactively learning from those who’ve been doing what you do for years. Even seminars by those in different areas of the business could inspire you and your company in various ways. So, start looking into taking the time to continue learning so that you and your business keep growing.

Utilize Your Time

You’ve (hopefully) already decided to make wise decisions regarding your use of time , by committing to further learning. However, there are always ways to fill your time with actions that will benefit you and your business. With so many options available in regard to what you can do, it can feel overwhelming. With that, it’s worth assessing each area of your business and deciding what and where needs work. You can then prioritize specific action items and make them part of your weekly action plan. Be innovative and challenge yourself to think outside the box, and if you feel like you have a great idea; implement it as soon as possible!

Remain Open To Change

As a business owner, you’ll be passionate about what you do, sell, and provide for your customers and clients. However, it’s crucial for your future success to be attentive to timely developments, release attachments to fixed ideas, and be prepared to change. It’s an ever-evolving environment. When you look at change as an adventure, change can often lead you to success and longevity. 

5 Everyday Items That Can Quietly Boost Your Brand

By Julie Starr • July 17, 2025
The best branding doesn’t always come from big campaigns or expensive graphics. Sometimes it’s the smaller stuff that leaves the biggest impression. Things people actually use, touch, or carry with them. That’s where your brand can quietly make its mark without needing to shout about it. If you’re only focusing on social media and business cards, you’re leaving a lot on the table. Here are five overlooked ways to get your name out there that feel natural, useful, and more personal. Thank-you slips If you’re already sending out orders, there’s no reason not to include a short thank-you slip. You can easily get these made through any decent online print shop , and they’re usually pretty cheap to run off in small batches. Just a simple note that says thanks, maybe with a reminder to follow you online or a cheeky discount code for next time. It’s quick, thoughtful, and makes the whole order feel more finished. Customers notice that kind of detail, especially when everything else they buy online comes with zero personality. You don’t need a complicated design either. Just something clean with your logo, a message that sounds like you, and maybe a social handle. The point is to give them a reason to come back or remember your name without it feeling forced. Branded zip pouches If you sell physical products, offer services, or run events, small zip pouches are surprisingly effective. Think of the kind you’d use for stationery, receipts, or travel bits. You can get your brand printed on the side and hand them out with purchases or include them in welcome packs. People keep them because they’re actually useful. They get tossed in handbags, school bags, or glove boxes and your logo just keeps turning up. Cleaning cloths for glasses or screens This one works brilliantly if you’re in tech, health, beauty, or anything involving screens or eyewear. A simple microfibre cloth with your branding on it can go a long way. Everyone needs one. Whether they use it for glasses, a phone screen, or their laptop, it’s something they hang onto. It’s not the kind of thing people throw away, and that means your name sticks around too. Receipt envelopes You might already use little envelopes to hand over receipts or business cards. Branding those envelopes is a small change that makes a big difference. Instead of someone getting a scruffy bit of paper in a plain sleeve, they’re handed something that feels a bit more finished. You can even add a message inside. Doesn’t need to be anything dramatic. A simple “thanks for visiting” or “see you next time” is enough to add a personal touch. Wet wipes or mini hand gels If your business is in hospitality, food, or anything hands-on, branded wet wipes or pocket-sized hand gels are surprisingly popular. People actually use them, especially at festivals, food stalls, pop-ups, or kids’ events. They end up in handbags or cars and stick around longer than you think. They don’t scream “marketing” either. They’re practical, and when done right, they make your business feel thoughtful. That’s what good branding does, it shows you’ve thought ahead.

How Student-Led ‘Energy Audits’ Are Cutting School Costs (and Lighting the Way Forward)

By Julie Starr • July 14, 2025
What happens when students stop waiting for adults to fix things and start conducting their own energy audits? Money gets saved. The lights get switched off. Data gets analyzed. And a quiet revolution in sustainability begins—inside schools that once overlooked their own inefficiencies. Across the globe, student-led energy audits are proving that change doesn't always need to come from a policy shift or a major capital budget. Sometimes, it begins with a clipboard, a spreadsheet, and a group of curious minds asking: Why are the hallway lights on at noon when sunlight floods the building? The Energy Detectives These audits aren’t science fair projects. They’re rigorous investigations, often done in collaboration with facilities staff, local environmental nonprofits, or even engineering mentors. Students go from classroom to classroom measuring electricity usage, checking for phantom loads , and identifying where heat is escaping in winter or air conditioning is leaking in summer. One high school in Ontario saved over $12,000 a year after its Grade 11 physics students ran an energy audit and suggested simple changes—LED upgrades, motion sensors in bathrooms, and smarter heating schedules. They didn’t just propose ideas. They pitched them with spreadsheets, thermal images, and payback timelines. It worked. Learning That Pays Off—Literally Unlike textbook learning, these audits blend real-world math, environmental science, economics, and persuasive communication. Students aren’t just learning about sustainability. They’re doing it. And the savings add up. From dimming overlit hallways to reprogramming HVAC systems that run all weekend for empty buildings, students are surfacing blind spots that administrators often overlook. In some districts, their findings are influencing energy policy. Elsewhere, the audits have inspired school boards to hire sustainability coordinators—often alumni of the student programs themselves. There’s something poetic about a school funding new books or laptops from money saved by students who found out the vending machines didn’t need to be plugged in 24/7. Why This Matters More Than Ever With education budgets tightening and utility costs rising, every dollar saved is a dollar that can go back into classrooms. And here’s where it gets interesting from a family finance perspective, too. If you’re a parent setting aside money for post-secondary savings, every bit of school efficiency helps. Fewer energy costs might mean more programming, better STEM facilities, or even bursaries. That raises a broader point: when families save for their children’s future, they often look into RESPs (Registered Education Savings Plans). And many wonder—is a RESP deduction available on my taxes? While contributions themselves aren’t deductible, the gains grow tax-free, and students often pay little to no tax when they withdraw the funds during school. A Movement Worth Replicating These audits aren’t just an exercise in environmentalism. They’re leadership labs. Students learn how to spot inefficiencies, speak up in board meetings, and make a business case for change. They don’t just flip switches—they shift mindsets. And they carry these habits into adulthood. The result? A generation growing up not only with climate anxiety, but also with tools to tackle it.