Our company was started in Oregon, in a little town called Clatskanie, which is about 65 miles north of Portland and about 40 miles east of the Pacific Ocean. The Lewis and Clark Bridge in Longview, Washington (located 15 miles east of us) was the inspiration for our logo. We have many happy memories of starting our business in the Beaver State but it is time to move on.

Our current lease is up and so we thought now would be a good time to move and get settled in our new home. Where are we going? We're moving to the beautiful state of Idaho! We have a wonderful business opportunity in Idaho as well as some family connections so it seemed like the right place to start the next chapter of the Bridgeview story. We found a wonderful place in Couer d'Alene (northern Idaho) and we're excited to adopt the Gem State as our new home.

And guess what? Idaho has some amazing bridges!! No matter where we go, we're still here for you, helping you build your business and cheering you on the greater heights! Idaho, here we come!

Father Mark Goring discuss the book The Truth About Employee Engagement by Patrick Lencioni. Happy employees = engaged and dedicated employees.

One of the first things Kevin did when he decided to start Bridgeview was design the company's logo. After he had perfected it, he printed it out on stickers and then put the stickers on everything. Seriously, we have pens with Bridgeview stickers on it. Our printer has a Bridgeview sticker on it, our wire cutting machine has a sticker on it, our inspection log has a sticker on it...shoot, he almost put a sticker on the cat! Is Kevin just a sticker crazy nut? No! Well...maybe...but the point is that Kevin put our logo on everything for one specific purpose. To constantly remind us of who we are! 

Internal branding is such an important part of creating a company culture.  The motivational speaker Simon Sinek says, "Customers will never love a company until the employees love it first." This makes complete sense. Have you ever been to a grocery store and the cashier was slowly dragging items over the bar code scanner as if the items weighed 10 pounds each? Sometimes you can just tell when someone doesn't want to be at work and that bored, noncommittal attitude doesn't really help excite people about the store they're shopping at or the product they're buying. Internal branding helps to encourage a sense of belonging to a team and when a person is on a team, they feel like what they do matters.

Can something as simple as sticker create a feeling of love for the company you work for? Sure! When Kevin puts his stickers around the workroom he's saying proudly, "I bought this. My hard work allowed me to purchase this necessary piece of equipment and I'm proud of that." When I see the stickers I feel a sense of pride for the hard work our family is doing to build our company.  When my kids see the stickers they know that this company belongs to us and they can feel happy to be a part of it.

Does this mean you should put stickers on on everything in your work space? No, but what can you do to encourage internal branding? Maybe all of your employees wear hats with your logo on it. Maybe you put a cool decal on your work van. Maybe the only pens allowed at your company are pens with your name on it. Maybe you just put the sticker on the darn cat... Whatever you do, remember that you're creating a sense on belonging, a sense of pride, and you're inviting others to be on your team. Go team!

If we could give you one piece of advice when it comes to managing your inventory, it would be this: LABEL EVERYTHING!

Admit it, there is just something satisfying about seeing inventory items on a shelf, organized, tucked away in bins, and labelled appropriately. No one likes having to dig through boxes or plastic storage totes to find materials, especially when you're in a hurry. Having a storage system with clear labels helps make building items and filling orders easier and more efficient.

Our favorite label maker is the Brother P-Touch. There are lots of models out there but we happen to have the PT-45. It's super easy to use (our kids use it) and it prints out clean labels that we use practically everywhere. Yes, you can get a little fancy with its different fonts and symbols but if you have an hour to spend messing around with fonts then we need to have a talk about time management... The refills are inexpensive and come in a variety of colours. You can find a similar label maker on Amazon or your favorite office supply shop.

Whatever label maker you use, make sure it's simple, cost effective, and, most importantly, that you USE IT. Organization goes a long way to making your life easier and your business more successful.