AM I NEXT?

Some readers have asked about the message that appears at the bottom of each post:

"Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life, nor promises of a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something terrible hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, at any time, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. While many employees can read the writing on the wall, why do most assume it’s targeted at someone else? Are you now wondering, Am I Next?"

It’s a wake-up call: stability is often an illusion. What feels safe today could shift tomorrow, and the routines we rely on might suddenly vanish. Many of us were taught that loyalty, hard work, and dedication would naturally lead to promotions, raises, and recognition. Yet in the modern workplace, that promise can feel more like a myth than a reality.

Even if a company calls you part of its “family,” the truth is that layoffs, restructuring, or sudden changes can strike at any moment—sometimes driven not by performance, but by executives protecting their own positions or hitting financial targets.

Finding a job today is no small feat. Competition is fierce, interviews are grueling, and even landing a role doesn’t guarantee safety. Job security is never absolute, and change often arrives without warning.

The footer is meant as a gentle, sobering nudge. It’s not designed to scare you, but to spark awareness, reflection, and proactive thinking about your career and your future.

While we wish you the best, it’s a truism: Hope is not a plan.

The Dangers of Tampering with the Past: How Cracker Barrel Killed Itself

The Dangers of Tampering With the Past: How Cracker Barrel Killed Itself

Cracker Barrel is dead. And it didn’t die of natural causes. It was smothered to death by its own executives—strangled by rainbow flags, DEI buzzwords, and consultant-approved “rebranding” schemes that no one asked for.

For decades, Cracker Barrel was more than just a roadside restaurant. It was a piece of Americana—a place that reminded people of their grandparents’ kitchens, their church potlucks, their road trips across a country that still had some innocence left. It was comfort food in rocking chairs, biscuits and cornbread without asking, warm smiles, and a store filled with the kind of Americana that made you nostalgic for a time when America still knew what it was.

That’s what made Cracker Barrel special. That’s what made people wait 30 minutes after Sunday School for a table. That’s what made families plan road trip stops around its exits instead of just pulling into McDonald’s. Cracker Barrel worked because it tapped into the deep human hunger for memory, tradition, and roots.

But then came the tampering.

Instead of fixing the actual issues—slower service after Covid, declining food quality, staff shortages—the executives decided the real problem was the past itself. They treated the chain’s core identity like a sickness that had to be “modernized” and “rebranded.” Out went the biscuits and cornbread, in came rainbow sloganeering. Out went the Americana charm, in came shiplap walls and consultant-approved “geometric” décor. Out went the unifying spirit of shared heritage; in came divisive corporate politics.

Tampering with the past always comes with a price. Once you strip away the character, the memory, the very essence of what drew people to you in the first place, you can never get it back. Cracker Barrel wasn’t just a restaurant—it was a living connection to an America that people still long for. By mocking that past and replacing it with sterile corporate virtue-signaling, the company destroyed its soul.

And customers noticed.

They didn’t just lose trust in the food—they lost trust in the brand itself. When you tell your customers that their memories are outdated, their values are unwelcome, and their loyalty is irrelevant, don’t be surprised when they stop showing up.

The moral of Cracker Barrel’s collapse isn’t just about one restaurant chain. It’s a lesson for every business, institution, and culture-war opportunist: you can’t build a future by mocking the past. You can’t “rebrand” away the very soul of what made people love you. Nostalgia, tradition, and heritage are not weaknesses to be stamped out. They are the roots that make anything worth keeping alive.

Cracker Barrel killed itself by forgetting that simple truth. And unless other companies wake up, they’ll follow it straight into the grave.

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life, nor promises of a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something terrible hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, at any time, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. While many employees can read the writing on the wall, why do most assume it’s targeted at someone else? Are you now wondering, Am I Next?

How to Make Your Home Office Impress Clients—In Person and On Camera

Today, we feature a guest post by Amy Collett of Bizwell.org ……

How to Make Your Home Office Impress Clients—In Person and On Camera

You weren’t planning on working from your dining room table. But then your job evaporated, the next move wasn’t clear, and the business idea you’d been sitting on? Suddenly, it didn’t seem so risky. Now you're in it—clients, calls, invoices—and the space you work from has to carry more weight than ever before. But here’s the friction: most home offices are built for convenience, not credibility. And when your workspace becomes your brand’s front door, that misalignment can quietly work against you. Fortunately, the fixes aren’t expensive—they’re about intention, layout, and presence.

Choose a Room That Respects the Work

Don't wedge your business between a couch and a cluttered coffee table. Where you work sends signals about how seriously you take what you do. If your clients feel like they’ve interrupted your Sunday afternoon, they’ll hesitate to invest. Instead, pick a quiet corner away from high‑traffic areas—somewhere that tells your brain, and theirs, that work happens here. It could be a spare bedroom or just a repurposed nook, but it needs boundaries.

Clients Feel What They Sit In

Even one in-person client visit can make or break trust. It’s not about impressing with sleek design—it’s about showing care. When someone steps into your office, they’re stepping into your process. If there’s no chair for them, no spot for their bag, no visual cue that they were expected, it lands like a missed beat. Offer comfortable guest seating that says, “This seat was set for you.” An armchair with arms, a side table, maybe a lamp—not a repurposed folding chair from the garage. The room doesn’t have to be fancy. It has to be ready.

Protect the Infrastructure You Can’t Afford to Lose

No one discusses logistics until they fail. But the heater going out mid-meeting? The dishwasher is flooding the hallway? That’s real. Your ability to show up depends on things most clients will never see—until something breaks. That’s why this is worth a look. A home warranty that covers core systems isn’t about homeownership—it’s about operational readiness. If your business operates from your home, then your home is your second employee. Treat it like one. Stability isn’t sexy, but it’s trust in disguise.

Separate Your Work from Your Life—Visually

You’re not working harder just to feel more scattered. Desk placement isn’t just an aesthetic decision—it shapes your focus. Facing a wall might block distraction, but it can also block clarity. Angling your desk so you create a visual boundary from the relaxation zone keeps you psychologically anchored in task mode. Even in a studio apartment, facing a window instead of your bed can make the difference between “present” and “checked out.” And when clients see that visual clarity behind you on a video call, they trust you’ve got things handled—even before you speak.

Online, You Still Have a Stage

You can have all the answers and still look unprepared if your camera setup makes you appear backlit and underwater. People notice shadows, glare, and visual clutter more than they admit. Start by fixing the light. Natural light is ideal—but never behind you. Soft, forward-facing lighting helps you avoid harsh backlighting in video calls and makes you look awake and engaged. Toss a neutral backdrop behind your chair if needed. Clean up cables. Hide distractions. The goal isn’t perfection. It’s intentionality—something that reads clearly through the screen.

Sit Like Your Back Has to Last

If you’re in your office for eight hours, your body’s alignment is part of your performance. You can’t show up sharp if your neck is pinched, your wrists are burning, or your eyes are strained. Skip the guesswork, and an ergonomic setup protects your health. Think monitor height, lumbar support, and lighting temperature. It’s less about expense and more about evidence: that you take yourself seriously. That care trickles outward. The sharper your posture, the stronger your presence—and it translates directly to the energy you bring into your client conversations.

Set the Mood That Moves the Work

A blank, sterile room isn’t neutral—it’s dead space. Your clients aren’t judging your taste, but they are responding to it. A thoughtful, intentional office atmosphere helps people feel settled and seen. Add music, art, or color that speaks in your voice—not just what you saw on Pinterest. And yes, bring in life. Real plants. Greenery signals calm and competence. Something as simple as a peace lily in the corner can shift the entire emotional tone of a call. When you use inspiring decor that supports focus, your space starts doing part of the relationship work for you.

You don’t need a commercial lease to feel like a business owner. You need a space that matches the weight of what you’re building. When your office makes clients feel considered, calm, and clear about who you are—everything else follows. It’s not about the furniture. It’s about what the room says in your absence. Build it like it matters, because it does.

About the author, Amy Collett…

Personal branding is you, exemplified.

 After 18 years of climbing the corporate ladder, I was let go. As I was updating my resume, I realized something. Looking at the words on that paper, you couldn’t tell one single thing about who I really am.

• A prospective employer wouldn’t know that, while I was leading a team of marketing professionals, I was also coaching my daughter’s soccer team to a championship.

• My next boss wouldn’t be able to tell that, after a day at work training new employees, I go train to be a yoga instructor.

• An HR manager wouldn’t be able to tell that I spend most of my vacation days each year traveling out of state to visit my aging grandmother.

• None of them would know that, even though I had been responsible for keeping track of sample inventory at every job I’d ever had, I hated doing it.

 But these are the things that make me who I am and, in a lot of cases, make me good at what I do. The leadership, discipline, and love I put into my personal life carry over into my work. They are not mutually exclusive.

That’s when I decided to merge the two. It wasn’t easy, but it was worth it. Now, I have a job where I can focus on my strengths, leave early on Tuesdays for soccer practice, and use personal days when I need to take care of my nana. More importantly, I am able to be my true self at work and at home. Talk about work/life balance!

The best part is, you can do it too.

Contact Amy

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life, nor promises of a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something terrible hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, at any time, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. While many employees can read the writing on the wall, why do most assume it’s targeted at someone else? Are you now wondering, Am I Next?