An opportune time

DeAnne Toto

While many people in the North dread this time of year, with the holidays behind us and what seems like an endless winter stretching before us, I actually kind of like it. It’s the start of a new year, which always brings with it new possibilities and goals. It’s a time to press the reset button, to begin again.

Many of you may be focused on self-improvement through the practice of setting personal resolutions for the year ahead. For many entrepreneurs, the new year offers an opportunity to reconsider their professional goals, as well. For some, this may mean launching new services or marketing campaigns or adding staff to free themselves up to do more big-picture thinking.

For those of you considering getting into the medical waste transportation or disposal sector, our cover story, “Doctor’s Orders” beginning on page 14, is for you. Written by Bob Spurgin, a leading expert in health care waste management practices and president of Spurgin & Associates, an environmental consulting firm in Irvine, Calif., that specializes in medical, pharmaceutical and hazardous waste management, the article offers practical advice on the factors to consider before expanding into this field.

For those readers who are considering a reboot of their marketing programs, Tom Adams has set a goal for you in his regular column, Marketing Jolt, which is on page 12. He advises replacing a “get-your-name-out-there” marketing strategy with a “get-their-names-in-here” approach that uses strategies that bring the right prospects to your business.

The issue also features a Q&A with National Association for Information Destruction (NAID) President-elect Chris Isabell of iSecure, Grants Pass, Ore. Isabell details what he hopes to do during his one-year term as president of the association, which begins at the NAID 2014 Annual Convention in April.

Speaking of NAID, we also dedicate a few pages to documenting the group’s evolution over the last 20 years in the feature “Necessary Trade,” beginning on page 30. SDB’s Megan Workman talked with NAID CEO Bob Johnson about the association’s many programs and the challenges and opportunities ahead in the industry. The perspective this article provides should be interesting to those who are new to the information destruction industry.

I hope you’ll find plenty of good information in this first issue of 2014 that will be helpful in your business resolutions for the year ahead, whatever they may be. I also wish you a healthy, happy and prosperous 2014.