by Jan Johnson | Jan 20, 2025 | Consumer Research
Remember all those brainstorming sessions where the leader told you to “think outside the box”? Leaving the conference room, you were often directed to “color inside the lines.” Oh! And remember to “stay in your lane.” The problem...
by Jan Johnson | Jul 18, 2024 | Farmer Insights
Here in beautiful East Texas, we were barely touched by Tropical Storm Beryl. It wasn’t nearly as bad as they predicted, and I am very grateful. Others, however, like the melon farms further south, were not so lucky. Ahead of the storm, farmers were scrambling...
by Jan Johnson | May 20, 2024 | Farmer Insights
I was making my annual pilgrimage from beautiful East Texas up north this week, and of course, I was looking, as I always do, at what farmers are doing. There wasn’t as much activity as there sometimes is, but I could see good stands of rice from those...
by Jan Johnson | Mar 15, 2024 | Farmer Insights
I recently posted a couple of articles on LinkedIn that got more than the usual amount of attention. Both were highlighting data from the most recent USDA Census of Agriculture that tallied the fewest farmers since 1850 and also indicated that few...
by Jan Johnson | Jan 12, 2024 | Farmer Insights
One thing I’ve learned, living in small-town, beautiful East Texas, is that we don’t have transactions — we have conversations. Take the other day, for instance: My TV went black and I couldn’t get it to turn on correctly. Now, in researching how to fix it, there...
by Jan Johnson | Dec 20, 2023 | Consumer Research
So, I’ve been showing some relatives around beautiful East Texas over the holidays, and I have to say: Texans go all out for Christmas! If you’re a regular reader, you’ve seen me share pictures and stories of the Athens Christmas Parade, the very cool tree in the...
by Jan Johnson | Oct 27, 2023 | Farmer Insights
I am a member and the secretary of a well-known international service organization. Our chapter, here in beautiful Athens, Texas, is large and active; we regularly attract new members. As secretary, it’s my job to add them to the national membership...
by Jan Johnson | Sep 5, 2023 | Consumer Research
Why do farmers take so long… to buy into something new?There is an old saying: ”Are you willing to bet the farm on that?”Today, the answer is “no.” And a longer answer is, “If I wait, I might lose a bit, but I will not lose everything.”Farmers’ skepticism...
by Jan Johnson | Apr 28, 2023 | Farmer Insights
I was recently listening to a marketing guru share her amazing words of wisdom for increasing sales. “Facts tell, stories sell,” she declared with a doe-eyed look of “Aren’t I smart?!” And stories have been used to sell a lot in the past...
by Jan Johnson | Mar 1, 2023 | Farmer Insights
I’ve been racking my brain, reviewing old newsletters, and sifting through recent articles and studies to find something new and breakthrough to share with you. Either my creative juices are on a break or there are time-tested truths that years don’t...
