February 3, 2024

Cheers to our Exciting 5 Year Anniversary!

Swizzle is turning 5!

As we come upon our 5 YEAR ANNIVERSARY, we’d like to share some things we have learned along the way.

The Swizzle Team is no stranger to the branding and promotional products business with over 50 years combined team experience. However, the startup of any new business provides an opportunity for reflection and growth.

Five things we have learned in our five years.

1. Building and Maintaining Community Relationships is invaluable.
Success cannot be built in a vacuum. Relationships cannot sustain without work. This we’ve known from the beginning but have really reflected on at this anniversary. So much of what we do at Swizzle is working to build strong relationships in an effort to feel and be a part of everything our thriving community offers. Personal connections and relationships are essential, and community is crucial for a growing business as it fosters word-of-mouth marketing, and a positive image. We know that good relationships build trust and this is very important, so that customers can feel confident that their interactions with us will be honest, and that the quality of what we deliver will be consistent.

2. Life is unpredictable. It’s best to be able to go with the flow.
Even the best made plans can be turned upside down. Rather than getting upset or anxious with unexpected hiccups, we’ve learned that allowing ourselves to be flexible and adaptive to change encourages a less stressful environment and a more positive work-place. This doesn’t mean on our 5 year anniversary that we don’t worry about getting things done, or getting them done right. It’s more the idea of “keep calm, carry on.” Stuff happens, and when it does, it’s managed better when we are able to handle them calmly and with grace. We do our best to come up with quick solutions. But overall, flexibility is key to remaining positive and navigating those twists and turns.

3. Time is valuable. Ability to time manage is a Skill.
Time is a gift that should be used wisely. It is finite and cannot be replenished. Therefore, it’s important to budget time for what is important. This, however is a skill and it’s easier said and done. Learning the craft of time management means to be able to decide what’s important and then prioritize. Creating a time budget means reserving a slot within the schedule to provide each client, each priority (however big or small), the time it deserves. On this 5 year anniversary we can say we do our best, because we realize everyone else’s time is just as valuable. As we celebrate our anniversary, we are grateful for our ability to help our clients, and for the time we’ve also learned to budget for personal priorities with families and friends.

4. Patience is key.

The saying “slow and steady wins the race” is a great mantra. When starting out five years ago there were so many dreams and ideas we wanted to tackle. However, on this anniversary we reflect that Rome wasn’t built in a day and everything cannot be done at once. We had to slow down, and realize that there is a process to growth, and doing too much at one time, despite the best intent, is not always the best thing. Multitasking can be a good thing, but it also means an important task may not be given 100% the time and attention it needs. Like the story Tortoise and the Hare, the lesson is that a patient and methodical approach will help achieve goals with greater success, even if it takes more time.

5. Mistakes are part of success.
Continuous learning and self-improvement are essential for both professional and personal growth. On our 5 year anniversary we understand mistakes are inevitable. But success is also inevitable with the right mindset. Nothing grows without being challenged, and Swizzle is no exception. In the past five years Swizzle has faced many challenges. However, with these challenges, we have also been able to feed ourselves with new learning experiences which nourish us and nurture our ability at growth. If every little mistake is seen as a failure, this development is blunted. We’re fortunate to say that Swizzle has flourished through the challenges and we are proud to be celebrating this anniversary.