Holiday preparation in Q3 is the key to winning Q4, and with Q3 only about a week away, the time to start thinking about it is now. Apogee is looking for a repeat of a great 2015, and we’re not procrastinating.

In September 2015, I met with NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Fran Tarkenton, a man with a larger than life personality and one of the stars of a show I watched religiously in the early 1980’s: That’s Incredible. It was an honor to be in his presence and to listen to him talk about business and life. To say that I’m a fan is an understatement.

Years ago, I was working for an online retailer and was handed an affiliate program. I had no experience, no understanding of the industry, and no clue. I made mistakes, lots of them. Thank goodness I got some things right too!

There is a quiet but escalating war going on between large agencies and small ones in every corner of the marketing, communications and public relations world. I have always been on the small agency side, dating back to the days when I left the newspaper industry to work for a mom and pop firm in Atlanta.

A quick scan of the ShareASale Top 100 PowerRank will show you a handful of programs that are on Auto Approve. It makes sense that this is possible but I’d like to share the hazards of this type of mismanagement. It’s like having 32 cavities behind a pretty smile. It’s not something to brag about.