Work Hard, Play Hard!


How often do you multi-task?
All the time, it's the only way I get things done. Sometimes, I try not to but sometimes I can't help it. Never, I just can't do more than one thing at a time.

Article Tools: Print

| Email

| Add Comment

Share |

Work Hard, Play Hard!
By: Staff
Issue: 2009dec

When Bonni Shevin-Sandy joined the family business, DARD Products, Inc./Tag-Master Line (UPIC: TagMastr), she did more than offer a succession solution—she reinvigorated the company by launching a new division, DARD DESIGN, in 2001. Its focus on custom products and international expansion churned up more than $20 million in sales by 2007. To make it work, Shevin-Sandy has opened a China-based office and acquired a vested interest in several Chinese factories. Today, sales for both companies exceed $50 million.
Her ingenuity and hard work hasn’t gone unrecognized. In 2004 she was named ASI’s Entrepreneur of the Year and, earlier this year, Counselor International Person of the Year. In 2007, her international experience and insights earned her a seat on the PPAI Global Strategy Council where she helped chart a course of action for the industry around the issues of social responsibility in manufacturing, product safety, quality, container security and intellectual property. Despite the pressures as president of DARD DESIGN and vice president/part owner of DARD Products, Inc., she travels to Asia quarterly for factory visits and inspections yet still finds time to design and patent new promotional products.
How do you like to spend your leisure time? I love to go kickboxing when I am stressed and do yoga when I want to relax. I also have three sons, four goddaughters and three dogs and I love hanging out with them.

What’s a little-known fact about you? I have taught aerobics and fitness classes for more than 23 years and I work out every day.

What person, living or dead, would you most like to meet and why? Martin Luther King, Jr. He was one of the best activists as far as making change happen. He inspired and set the fundamentals for human rights icons.

When did you know you wanted to work in this industry? I grew up in the industry, but pursued a career in psychology. After six years of upper education, I took a job working with abused and disabled children as a child psychologist for Easter Seals. When DARD needed a succession plan, I came into the industry and never looked back. I love the industry even though it was never my original intent.

What promotional product do you wish you had invented and why? I have personally designed and patented more than 40 items, from a multi-functional stapler to a Blackberry/phone holder with built-in pedometer. I wish I had invented the original teardrop key tag (our Tuff Tag), because even after six decades it is still my company’s No. 1 seller. It is also a simple and easy concept that anyone can use.

If you had a motto, what would it be? Work hard, play hard!

What’s your dream vacation destination and have you been there? I love Singapore. I think the people are friendly, intelligent and interesting. Singapore is the most beautiful place I have been thus far. I call it the Hawaii of the Orient. It is tropical and beautiful, yet peaceful and clean.

Where do you get creative inspiration? I am inspired by mentors in our industry such as Janelle Nevins from Summit Marketing. What a dynamic and inspirational lady! Jo-an Lantz from Geiger has inspired me to market and develop the company internationally. Jay Deutsch from Bensussen Deutsch & Associates, Inc. has shown me how to grow and develop outside of the box with an approach to new business and new markets. Chris Vernon from The Vernon Company, Kurt Kaeser from Kaeser and Blair and Gene Geiger from Geiger are all inspirations because of how they grew their family businesses and kept reinventing and structuring their companies during good, fair and bad economic times. There are so many true heros in our industry, but these individuals stand out.

If you had to choose a different career, what would it be? Since I started in the psychology field I wouldn’t mind going back into it. I think that psychology applies everywhere. I also love teaching fitness and like focusing on new techniques and fitness approaches for the positive internal and external effects.

What actor would play you in a movie about the promotional products industry and why? Bette Midler—she is funny and sarcastic but can get down to business.

If your typical day was a song, what would it be? “Prayer/Life Is A Mystery,” by Madonna.

Comments (0)

* Name:
* Email:
Company:
* Title:
* Comments: