CablesAndKits Blog

adding value to your IT infrastructure

Face Masks

CEO Daily Update – 9.21.2020

by

Weekend Away | CP-7965G Phones | Clorox Wipes & Masks | Business Updates

Happy Monday!  

Welcome to the CablesAndKits CEO daily email. Read more about this email by scrolling to the very bottom. 

Well, we did it! The camping weekend was a big success. Everyone in both families had a ton of fun. In fact, before we left we reserved two spaces for next year!  

We didn’t actually get lost in the woods, but got “lost in thought” in the woods … and then of course this song/video came to mind. See how many 80’s bands you can hear/see in this video haha.  

It’s amazing how much “fun” doing nearly nothing can be. Like the line from the movie Office Space, “I did absolutely nothing and it was everything I thought it could be”.  

We cooked outside on a flat top grill, sat around the fire talking, and the kids rode their bikes up and down the road for hours. We went to a playground and let all the kids play and also played putt putt before we left. And, going with friends that already knew what they were doing made things that much more enjoyable.  

And of course (and if you’ve ever gone camping you already know this) I have a shopping and todo list a mile long! Things I didn’t even know I needed I suddenly cannot live without. It’s incredible, but it’s like any “hobby” where spending money and working on things is actually enjoyable, so it’s great.  

The unfortunate downside is I did something to my knee Friday when we got there that caused pretty excruciating pain when I went from bent to straight and visa versa, and constant aching pain even then, especially when not hopped up on Tylenol or Ibuprofen. All the reading I did seemed to point to the need to rest, ice, and elevate, which was pretty hard to do well under the circumstances. Not walking at all was not an option. So I did the best I could, walked straight legged, swinging it around, sitting as often as I could. Now that I’m home I’m trying harder to rest it and let it recover. Good Lord getting older is tough!  

It’s amazing what some downtime will do for the mind. Now I’m ready to hit the ground running this week! I highly recommend taking a break every once in a while!  

I don’t know if it’s true, but I heard …  

[Read more…] about CEO Daily Update — 9.21.2020

CEO Daily Update – 9.11.2020

by

Business Coaching | OSFP’s | Face Mask Sale | We Will Always Remember

Happy Friday!  

Welcome to the CablesAndKits CEO daily email. Read more about this email by scrolling to the very bottom. 

Today I had a call with a business coach I’ve worked with for a few years. We talk once a month for about an hour and cover whatever is on my mind. Today I had a topic I’d been pondering on for months and was stuck. He was able to ask some questions to get me talking and I came to a conclusion of what I wanted to do.  

Coaches are great because once you have worked with them for a while, they know you fairly well, but at the same time they are not in your operation day to day so they can be objective.  

You can engage with a coach/mentor or even a friend personally as well. Years ago a good friend of mine and I met every week for about a year. We spent some time talking about the movies we’d seen and all that, but then we got into “ok, so what’s going on?”. We’d speak our minds about our current issues and then get the thoughts of the other person, questions, and even if we didn’t come to a solution we’d be further down the road.  

Sometimes you can’t see the forest for the trees (Dictionary.com: An expression used of someone who is too involved in the details of a problem to look at the situation as a whole). Having someone that has nothing to gain and nothing to lose by giving you their SOUND advice can be super duper valuable. Ponder those ponderables in your ponderer.  

I don’t know if it’s true, but I heard …  

[Read more…] about CEO Daily Update — 9.11.2020

CEO Daily Update – 8.24.2020

by

New Wipes | Face Mask Sale | Consequences of a Lack of Self-Control

Happy Monday!  

Welcome to the CablesAndKits CEO daily email. Read more about this email by scrolling to the very bottom. 

This weekend I got a nice long walk that I didn’t expect, didn’t want, but that was my decision. My wife and I were driving down the road, and as couples sometimes do, we started arguing about something … I don’t even remember what. I said something to the effect of “I feel the overwhelming urge to pull over and get out” which was a way to say “I can’t take any more”, to which she responded, “whatever you feel you need to do”. Out the car I went (after stopping of course).  

That’ll show her!  

Just how far from home am I anyway? 8 Miles! Well whatever… it’s exercise. How long does it take an out of shape cripple to walk 8 miles up and down hills in the burning afternoon sun? Four. Four hours is what it takes. The last time I intentionally walked on the treadmill was for 20 minutes and I tore my Achilles’ tendon. No joke. What’s wrong with me?  

I’m very strong willed. Like you’ve probably not met anyone quite as strong willed as me strong willed. When I decide I am going to do something I almost always do it, now, and with high speed and high energy. So the moment I opened that car door I had just committed to walking 8 miles in the heat. I had two people attempt to pick me up pretty early and I politely declined. I felt that I’d committed to walking home and by golly that’s what I was going to do.  

At almost an hour in I thought this is tough, maybe I’ll Uber. None available .. ever. Fine, never mind, I need to walk this anyway. Another hour in I thought ok, if someone stops again I guess I’ll take the ride. There’s no way I’m going to hold up this long with my bum leg, bad back, being out of shape, the heat, no water, etc. No one ever stopped again.  

[Read more…] about CEO Daily Update — 8.24.2020

CEO Daily Update – 8.12.2020

by

Kids Masks | UV Sterilizers | Light Bulb Moments

Happy Wednesday!  

Welcome to the CablesAndKits CEO daily email. Read more about this email by scrolling to the very bottom.  

I mentioned yesterday that the wife and I decided that we wanted to buy a camper. We’d gone and looked at some on Saturday after having talked about it off and on for months. To my complete surprise last night after we’d looked online for a little while, my wife said “why don’t we rent one and go on a trip … tomorrow”. That is so not like her! I had mentioned wanting to go see her family in South GA (a 5-6 hour trip) and she suggested that we combine the trip to see them with an RV trip. So, we looked for rentals till 3am!  

The idea was to rent something that was similar to what we think we WANT so we can get a feel for it. After lots of looking and talking we decided that we thought a class C might be best for us. I locked down a rental, went and picked it up, and by the time you read this email we will be packing up and hitting the road!  

When I got home we surprised the girls and they lost their mind. They are so excited about the camper and the adventure. More to come!  

From Joe, our friendly Safety Supplies Product Marketer:

I hope everybody is having a great week so far! Today is an AMAZING day as we’ve added new products to the site! School has officially started for many kids and I know it can be worrisome but I’m here to give you guys a little extra comfort! CablesAndKits is finally HAPPY to announce the arrival of kids masks! With 5 different patterns these boxes of 50 masks contain girl, boy, and neutral patterns, perfect for stocking up the whole family or sending with your kids to school for the teachers to keep in the classroom. It can be insanely hard to get the little ones to cooperate and wear a mask all day, so a nice design may it make it much easier!  

Two new products in one day?!?! YES! On top of the children’s mask we’ve also added UV Sterilizers to the site which are awesome! With rechargeable batteries and a compact design these are perfect for bringing with you on the go. Whether it be your keyboard, car keys, steering wheel, or even a carpet, enjoy a clean surface without having any sticky residue or scents left behind from disinfectant agents! These UV wands are small enough to fit in your pocket, purse, car, etc and are great for killing germs and viruses on surfaces where sprays are not appropriate or practical.  

[Read more…] about CEO Daily Update — 8.12.2020

CEO Daily Update – 8.3.2020

by

Amazing prices on 3-ply masks | Out of Practice / Shape | Supply & Demand

Happy Monday!  

I hope you had a great weekend. We went back to church for the first time since all this COVID stuff first started (months). We could have went back weeks ago but at first it seemed that masks may be required so it was easy to just stay home another week. One week turns into two, then three. Then I got the ‘Rona so that put me out a couple weeks.  

To keep everyone socially distanced they went from one service with a normal chair arrangement to three shorter services with small groups of chairs spaced apart. God bless the pastor and staff/volunteers! It was great to just be back in the building, a highlight was seeing friends we haven’t seen in a while.  

In fact, we invited some of those friends who also have small kids over to the house Sunday afternoon / evening to swim and partake of those ribs I spoke of on Friday. He makes his own BBQ sauce and I experiment with different rib rubs and prep methods so it was definitely a “coming together” sort of moment. It was fantastic!   

Back to “getting back to church” – scripture has a lot to say about believers gathering, learning, and worshiping together (which doesn’t HAVE to mean “church” as we know it today but that’s another conversation). If you compared it to “practice” or “training” of something you want to get good at you can see why for matters of the faith it’s an important thing to do. When you get “out of practice” you get “out of shape”.  What we focus on and spend time on will be who we become.  

Are you consistently doing things that take you in the direction you want to go? (Whatever that may be) 

Throughout this pandemic we have had people complain about pricing, or even accuse us of price gouging. It caused me to write this as a reply of sorts to an email from a customer. Check it out and let me know what you think ….  

How do products in short supply and high demand become so expensive? Here is how:  

[Read more…] about CEO Daily Update — 8.3.2020

CEO Daily Update – 7.21.2020

by

Counterfeit Cisco | Lower Prices on Thermometers and Masks

Happy Tuesday!

I hope the first day of your week went well. It was my first day back at work in a little over a week of course, and while I thought it was going to be hard to get into the swing of things it all started flowing pretty well right away. I have some really great leaders and I love meeting with them weekly to hear what’s going on and to give feedback and guidance. Some things we do saps our energy and some things give us energy. Meeting with leaders and hearing how they are moving things forward is certainly one of the things that GIVES me energy! The coffee didn’t hurt.  

Counterfeit Cisco switches
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2020/07/15/counterfeit-cisco-switches/

Someone sent this article to me and I thought it was worth sharing with commentary. First of all, you all know that CablesAndKits sells pre-owned Cisco. What you may not know is that the entire pre-owned industry is vulnerable to counterfeit product. Why would I say that?! Because it is true, and you need to know – and you need to know what to do about it. Being as I am your trusty networking products CEO I am going to tell you!

First of all, let me paint a picture for you. Let’s say that you want to buy a nice pre-owned car. Do you go to Carmax, your local brand name auto dealer, or do you buy one sight unseen from some guy you met in a waffle house at 2am? The shady guy in the waffle house may have a “great deal” for you, but aren’t you a bit concerned with where he got this car, if he actually owns it, if it runs right, etc? Perhaps instead you go to the local Chevrolet dealer because surely they have your best interest in mind – but they buy many of their used cars from auto auctions and they don’t ALWAYS get the best ones. Or, maybe you’ll consider Carmax. Not only can you find a good deal on a good ride, you can trust that they have gone through the car with a fine-tooth comb to ensure it hasn’t been wrecked and repaired to the point YOU cannot tell. That is one of their brand promises – a GOOD deal (not always a great one), on a GOOD car. (I own no stock in Carmax, and have never bought a car there – but I am very well aware of their brand position)

The pre-owned Cisco industry (or any pre-owned industry) is the same – in addition to the “traditional” ways of buying, there are people that make it their business to be someone you can trust, and that is how they build a reputation and a long-term business – providing you value and minimizing or eliminating the risk. This is what CablesAndKits exists to do – to “add value to your IT infrastructure”…. to help you save money on your IT spend while reducing or eliminating your risk – and we’ve been doing just that for almost 19 years. (Gosh I am getting old)

[Read more…] about CEO Daily Update — 7.21.2020