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September 2025
HANSON HEADLINES
CraigHansonCPA.com • (701) 252-6190
Roots and Resilience A HERITAGE WORTH HONORING
Imagine moving to a country at a young age, building a life and career for yourself, and raising a family during some of the most challenging times in history. It may seem like a hefty task, but that’s precisely what many of our ancestors did to give us a life in America. It’s no secret that our country is experiencing polarizing times, but I firmly believe it’s still a place where people can come and make a go of things. After all, I wouldn’t be here at all unless my great-grandparents believed in that philosophy and made the trek here to build a great life for themselves and their future generations. Sept. 24 is Heritage Day, an excellent opportunity to trace our families’ journey from foreigners to prosperous U.S. citizens. My father’s side of the family came here from Norway and Germany, while my mother’s family emigrated primarily from Germany. Although both my grandfathers had passed away by the time I was born, I was fortunate enough to know both of my grandmothers. Growing up, I attended big family picnics one of them hosted for our family. Various aunts, uncles, and cousins would gather for these special times, and my memories of them grow more meaningful with each passing year.
My great-grandparents on my mother’s side started a couple of farms after arriving in the States, but they lost both during the “Dirty Thirties.” If you’re unfamiliar with that reference, it’s the name sometimes used for a series of dust storms that devastated parts of the U.S. and Canada nearly a century ago. Just imagine how intense that must have been for my great-grandparents and anyone else who lived through it — and how resilient they must have been. Who knows? Had that unfortunate event not occurred, I might have ended up as a farmer and not an accountant. My grandparents on my father’s side had better luck in business, running a clothing store and a bar in the ‘40s and early ‘50s. The sign for the store, Hanson’s Clothing, was later hung in one of the fair barns used by the 4-H. Unfortunately, the sign was lost during a barn remodel before I could take it back as a keepsake. Thankfully, I’ve been able to hold on to another keepsake for all these years: a 1923 radio my dad and uncle found in my great-grandparents’ barn. My dad was in radio and TV repair, so he took it back and eventually passed it on to me. It sits in my office to this day. As you can tell by the photo above, it’s held up very well despite being
more than 100 years old. Although it somehow still works, we don’t use it much. If it blows a tube, there’s no way to replace it today. Still, it certainly proves that things were built to last back then! This Heritage Day, take the time to honor your family history and how past generations helped shape the person you are today. Do you know what life was like for your grandparents or great-grandparents? What mementos from their lives remain in your family? The further you look
back, the more amazed you’ll likely be at how colorful your loved ones’ stories are. –Craig Hanson
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rarely one of them. Holiday-related email promotions can be tiresome for customers already bombarded by plenty of distractions, so consider being one of the few vendors that presents them with an opportunity for a breather. Before a major holiday for your demographic, give them the option to opt out of holiday-themed promotional emails. The results can be as illuminating as Christmas lights, as they may save you the trouble of creating holiday-themed content that will do little more than alienate potential purchasers already overwhelmed by everyone else trying to get their attention. Tips for Modernizing Your Email Marketing Message Mastery
Even in an age dominated by social media, many businesses still succeed by focusing on the more traditional model of reaching consumers through their inboxes. No one could blame you if you’re tempted to dismiss that previous sentence as a relic from a decade or two ago. After all, most email marketing is ineffective at best and annoying for consumers at worst — an electronic version of the print flyers and sales circulars you can’t wait to toss in the trash when they appear in your mailbox. As with any marketing tactic, making your emails stand out and generate sales is the key to making your mailing list work for you. Here are three ways to sharpen your approach in 2025 and beyond. Don’t drown in the social media sea. Email marketing still has the advantage over showcasing your wares on TikTok, Facebook, X, or Instagram. How is
Learn from your leading customers. First, if you haven’t devised a loyalty or rewards program for your most loyal patrons, consider doing so immediately. If you’ve already done some work to segment and target your marketing to appeal to the most active people within your consumer base, take it a step further by utilizing them to strengthen the effectiveness of your email communications. Pay particular attention to what the
that possible these days? For one thing, utilizing social media as your sole means of marketing is like sprinkling fish food in the ocean and hoping the right fish chows down. When you post on social media, you compete against political memes, duck-faced vacation photos, and all the other content users receive. By focusing on developing effective email marketing, you avoid subjecting your company to the algorithmic whims of major social media platforms and zero in on your customers’ specific interests, buying habits, and demographics. Most significantly, you can
most enthusiastic among your supporters click on and respond to. Their reactions are a valuable template for
what may attract new customers. Additionally, you can test the waters of new calls to action and promotional campaigns by introducing them to your MVP customers first, gauging their reaction, and tweaking the initiative before distributing it more widely. Email marketing in 2025 isn’t the computerized version of chiseling an ad into a stone tablet; it’s a still-relevant tool that can attract and retain consumers in an increasingly competitive marketplace. By following these tips, you can take greater advantage of a tried and true tool for generating sales while others in your market get stuck down the newest strategy rabbit hole.
personalize an email campaign to attract the right attention, from adding a customer’s first name to your message to tailoring the text to appeal to their direct needs and purchase history. People respond to messages that speak to them rather than at them. Email marketing enables you to build personalized customer relationships instead of posting an ad on social media, easily scrolled past in a millisecond. Ho-ho-hold off on holiday promotions! Most people love to receive gifts over the holidays, but the email equivalent of 100 pounds of Spam under the tree is
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about her age as a teen to secure her first-ever job. When her mother, Thelma Meyer, remarked one day that she loved using Caldrea but couldn’t afford it as an average consumer, Nassif realized it was time to create a variant that appealed to her family roots. This led to the 2001 debut of Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day. This wholesome-branded, budget-friendly alternative line appealed to Midwestern
sensibilities and quickly became a hit that rivaled Caldrea’s success. In 2008, Nassif sold both brands to SC Johnson for an undisclosed amount. Accolades Abound Nearly a quarter-century after its creation, Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day remains a cultural favorite among the cleaning contingent. A May 2025 New York magazine article on budget hand soaps praised the brand’s “vast range of garden-inspired scents, non-drying formula, affordability, and refill options,” adding that its all-natural ingredients “clean effectively while leaving hands soft.” In 2020, Nassif was inducted into the Minnesota Business Hall of Fame. By following her instincts of what she didn’t like in traditional household products, Nassif created the brands she wanted to see — and became one of the most celebrated soap specialists in the nation. Although her days of overseeing Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day are over, her keen sense of what works and what doesn’t on store shelves remains in full effect. She told Twin Cities Business, “When I walk into Target and Whole Foods, I’m still straightening out the bottles.”
HAVE A Laugh
SMOG, SOOT, AND STUBBLE How Bountiful Beards Became Victorian Air Purifiers
Step aside, antibiotics! In the smog- choked streets of 1850s London, where chimney smoke clung to every surface and a “fog” could linger for months, doctors championed a fuzzy solution. As London’s population surged past the one million mark in the mid-1800s, so did
its coal consumption. Residents warmed their homes and powered the city with coal, releasing dense plumes of smoke that clung to the damp air. In 1873, a thick smog blanketed the city, contributing to hundreds of bronchitis-related deaths. To combat this, Victorian doctors claimed thick, woolly beards were a frontline defense against disease. But these physicians were caught between outdated theories and the dawn of germ science, believing thick beards could filter the noxious air swirling through the city. Instead of acting as a mask, these beards could act as a breeding ground for different bacteria and parasites. So, while the beard boom of the 1800s was well-intentioned, it might be best remembered as a moment when style, “ science ,” and smog collided.
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PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411
905 James Ave. NE • Jamestown, ND 58401 (701) 252-6190 • CraigHansonCPA.com Inside This EDITION
Have tax problems? Unsure what to do? Our Free video reveals what you should and should NOT do when you receive the dreaded letter from the IRS. CraigHansonCPATaxResolution.com
1.
A Story Still Standing
2.
Secrets to Standout Sends
3. Beards Were a Victorian Health Hack
4.
Aroma and Ambition
SCRUBBED TO SUCCESS MONICA NASSIF BRINGS CLASS TO CLEANLINESS
Store aisles across the U.S. are filled with cleaning supplies that get the job done
and stood aghast at the unsightly array of cleaning supplies available. As she recalled in a 2020 Twin Cities Business magazine interview, she thought, “Gosh, that is so pathetic. What if the bottles looked like machine guns and didn’t smell like bleach? What if it could be like Aveda?” After jotting down a one-page business plan on the flight home, Nassif soon launched Caldrea, a high-end line of sprays and soaps to provide elegance and sophistication to common household tasks. The chic spin on everyday cleanliness became an instant hit among retailers nationwide, with the brand’s soap selling for $10 a bottle. However, one critical potential consumer wasn’t having any of it, and the wake-up call literally hit home for the growing business owner. Marketing to Moms Before Nassif was a jet-setting soap magnate, she was one of nine children in a working-class family in rural Iowa. She knew the value and pride of a hard-earned dollar, lying
but leave your home smelling like a chemical factory. While many
consider these harsh scents an unavoidable reality, Midwestern entrepreneur Monica Nassif decided enough was enough — and built a fresh- smelling empire. From Unpleasant to Upscale In 1999, Nassif — whose eclectic professional experiences included a stint in nursing, serving as a speechwriter for the Dayton’s department store chain, and running her own marketing agency
— stepped into a Linens N’ Things in Atlanta while on a business trip
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