Winter Classic, 10 years of soccer excellence!

We are proud to provide championship soccer trophies, soccer medals, and pins to one of the nation's premiere soccer tournaments, the Pacific Northwest Soccer Club (PacNW) Winter Classic!

This year is the 10th Annual tournament, held over the first two weekends in January 2018.  More than 100 top youth soccer teams attend the tournament, its the premier winter soccer event in the Country!   Over 100 college coaches attended the showcase, looking for future talent for their schools.

The PacNW Winter Classic is based out of the the world-class Starfire Sports Complex, located just south of Seattle.  Starfire Sports is the training home of the Seattle Sounders and features 11 fields of both natural grass and artificial turf.

PacNW designs a logo for the tournament each year, and this year, in it's 10th year, features the roman numeral X in the design!  All championship teams win the tournament's exclusive trophy, it is NOT offered on our website, we only purchase it for this specific event.

Thank you to Executive Director Todd Johnson for trusting us with his tournament's award needs!  It's an honor to be chosen as his awards vendor.  Good luck to all the teams playing this weekend and have fun!

Cheers,

Jessica

An example of a Thermo Plaque.

A huge shout out to Luke at Thermo Plaques, who was chosen by our staff as Trophies2Go's 2017 'Vendor of the Year'!  Based in California, they have been in business for over 46  years!

The Thermo Plaque Company creates custom laminated wall plaques from diplomas, certificates, news articles, magazine articles and much more.  The plaque edges are sanded, sealed and painted to finish the display.  It's a great way to celebrate and acknowledge any accomplishment!

Our customers that order special plaques from Thermo Plaques include Tiger Oak, who does the many Seattle Business Awards, and The Scotsman Guides.

Here is what our staff says about working with Luke:

An example of a Thermo Plaque made by Luke, our 2017 Customer of the Year!

Mike says that Luke is "very helpful, responsive and knowledgeable"

Mika says "Luke gets back to us right away when we request an order, and it super nice and easy to work with.  Also really creative.  Great products."

Janice says "Like is very responsive, he gets back to me quickly.  He is quick, he gets the covers done fast for our customers".

Our vendors create the components that allow us to assemble and customize the best quality trophies and awards in the industry.  Thank you to Luke at Thermo Plaques and all of our awesome vendors for great products to offer our customers!

Cheers!

Jessica

Our 2017 Product of the Year, the Hole in One Golf Plaque!

For the 2017 Product of the Year, our staff chose a golf award, the Hole-In-One Golf Plaque!  This extremely popular golf award has sold over 75 times so far this year!  Wow, who knew so many lucky folks made holes in one on the golf course!

This golf plaque features a #1 figure that can hold the lucky golf ball that made the once-in-a-lifetime shot.  To the right is customized etching with the golfer's name, golf course name, hole name, yardage, golf club used, and date.

At an affordable price of $38.00 each, this golf plaque makes a great gift to acknowledge a special moment in time!  Country clubs can give it to members, golfing buddies can commemorate the epic shot!

Thank you to our supplier Plastic Dress Up (PDU) for creating the components for this awesome award.  Also, a shout out to Paul, our rotary engraver, for the beautiful etching on each and every one of these special golf plaques.

A great product choice for 2017, check it out here!  Cheers!

Jessica

Sometimes I feel like a fish out of water with business tasks!

In college, a long time ago, I studied Fisheries at the University of Washington and learned about salmon spawning habitat, riparian corridors, water quality, and other environmental-related topics.  You may think this was a random major of study, but it came in handy when my girls were in elementary school and also when gardening (I have been a Master Gardener since 2003).  However, around two years ago, when I started transitioning into running Trophies2Go.

As Jeff spent more time on his new business venture, I began slowly taking over Jeff's tasks at Trophies2Go.  I started by completing the KPIs each week, including accessing Google Analytics.  Next I began writing business checks out of our accounting software, being aware of GL codes, credits and debits (huh?). But phrases like Costs of Goods Sold, Balance Sheet, P&L were still completely foreign to me.

For existing business owners, these financial terms are probably no big deal.  But for someone without any business knowledge, it's a challenge.  There's so much to learn, but I couldn't do it without key people.

5 Key People who help me run my business

1. A great business coach.  My coach Curt LeMaster at Key Business Solutions started the process with teaching me how to define my core values and how to write a business plan.  He also taught me about inventory management, inventory turns, and Cost of Goods Sold.  A very solid beginning.

2.  A patient bookkeeper.  When I don't know how to use our software, our bookkeeper Jeanine patiently teaches me what to do.  And when I mess up (which is often) she makes it right without complaint.

2.  An even more patient business partner.  Tom's background is in banking and management (he used to run bank branches for goodness sake!) so he has a much better handle on financial matters than me.  He monitors our checking account multiple times a day, does the cash flow dance, and seems quite confident when I haven't a clue.  I'm grateful for his skills, especially since I lack them!

4. A business smarty pants husband.  Jeff knows his stuff, is an extremely talented entrepreneur and has a million resources when I get into a bind.  I guess 23 years of running a business has it's perks, which is extremely helpful to a newbie like me.

5. Understanding staff.  They get that I'm new at running a business and when I don't have the answers, they either help me or are patient while I figure it out.

At some point the shit got real and I realized this is MY business and it has gotta start with me.  I have to put myself out there to learn new things, which is really uncomfortable, humbling and challenging.  But I can feel myself growing which is extremely exciting!

If you are considering starting/buying/running a business and don't know what you are doing, you aren't going to learn unless you go for it.  You gotta dive into the deep end and learn to swim.  What are you waiting for?  Good Luck!

Cheers!

Jessica

Personalize A Gift To Remember!

Holiday shopping has begun and it's time to think about what to get your clients, vendors, and your staff to thank them for their service to your company over the past year.

The important thing is to tailor your gifts to your recipient.  The more personal in nature you can make them the better.

Clients

Your customers are the reason you're in business, you want to thank them for their patronage over the past year.  For a smaller client, a holiday card and small gift might be enough.  But for a key client, you want to appreciate them with something special, below are some ideas.

1. Edible gifts - it can be something like a fruit basket, box of special candies or even steaks.
2. Special dinner - either treat your client to a dinner out or a gift card to your client's favorite restaurant.
3. Wine Boxes: include a favorite bottle of wine and place it in a personalized wine box with your logo on the top.  A perfect way to present a special gift to remember.
4. Cooking Tools:  For a more casual office, engrave a BBQ tool set for their use all season long.  Also engraved cutting boards make popular and functional gifts.

Vendors

Without key vendor relationships, your business would not run smoothly and efficiently.  Thank them for helping you grow your sales with a custom gift.

1. Polar Camel Cups - These cute and affordable personalized tumblers are a very practical gift, engrave their name or company on the side to make it personal.  Treat them to a coffee card inside as well.
2. Business Card Holder - with their name and logo, they will think of you daily!
3. Engraved Coaster Set - another tool they can use on their desk to remember your relationship.

Staff

Engraved pint glasses paired with a special brew make a great gift!

Treat your employees to a party and gifts to show your appreciation.  Without your staff, you would not be able to do what you do!

1. Bonus: All employees like cash as a thank-you for their hard work.  That would be the first step for a gift.
2. Beer Gifts:  I just had a customer order 48 engraved pint glasses for her team of guys with the company logo etched on the glasses.  I told her to add craft beer with the glasses for a gift they will love!
3. Wine Gifts:  In the same genre as the beer, monogrammed wine glasses make fantastic gifts for your staff.  Include a nice bottle of wine for another lovely gift that will be enjoyed for many nights to come!
4. Games:  For the office jokester, consider a fun personalized game.  The mini corn hole game can be a great break in the office and we also offer personalized poker sets.
5. Golf Gifts:  Maybe you have golfers in your office, consider an engraved golf ball box with a dozen high quality balls inside!  We also offer a putter gift set, perfect for an office and our popular Hole-In-One Plaque to memorialize an epic round!

Don't Forget About Promotional Products! We now offer a huge catalog of items for your business including pens, notepads, lanyards, give aways. Check out our new Promo Products Website and see the thousands of the options.

Put some thought into how to show appreciation to important people in your business!  Personalization makes it special, it's key to a meaningful gift.  Happy Holidays!

Cheers,

Jessica