Marketing is EVERYONE'S Job

Marketing is too important to be left to the marketing department.

-David Packard

 

Several years ago, I started my first day at a new temp job as a receptionist for a Japanese automotive company in Metro Detroit.  The learning curve was huge - my work experience at that point was limited to child care, restaurants, a flower shop, and another two week temp job.  This was my first "big girl" job, and I wanted to be great - even though I knew it was "temporary."  I had to learn who worked in what department and what paperwork and phone calls went where.  

 

But one thing was noticeably missing: a Marketing Department.

 

I brought this to my superior's attention, wondering out loud if the marketing was handled from the corporate office in Japan, when he said something that stuck with me: "There is no marketing department.  Marketing is everyone's job."

Marketing is everyone's job.

After nearly a year working there, that is what stuck with me.  It stuck with me when I left that job to take a job in a marketing department for an architecture firm.  It stuck with me when I changed my college major to marketing.  It stuck with me when I decided to start my own company and focused my business on marketing.  It sticks with me today as I coach start-up businesses or help businesses in crisis - marketing isn't just the job of a single department - it is everyone's job.

There has been a lot of coverage across the internet (including this blog) about the importance of having the right business values and mission statements.  One thing that seems to astound me is the lack of marketing goals company-wide in these statements.  When a company builds this idea into the basis of their company, everyone owns it.  When it's shown more than it is said, the company is successful.

In today's world, where buyers have made 60% of their decision prior to talking to a sales representative, businesses need to be more aware of how their company is perceived.  If a potential client finds out about your company from a file clerk, you want their experience to be positive enough that they consider your company.  When they Google you and come across the VP's LinkedIn page, you want them to feel the company.  Your Twitter postings should fit the values, mission, and marketing plan.  This idea is less about marketing to your customers, and more about building brand recognition through every employee.

How do we move forward?

Marketing departments are still necessary for developing and implementing the marketing plans for the success of the company.  Web, print, social media, trade shows, networking - all of these are still vital for a company to succeed, but the voice of the company, the culture, the persona recognition - these should be owned by everyone.

How do you incorporate marketing in your company?  Would you consider taking a holistic approach to marketing?

Be sure to leave your thoughts in the comment.

Nicole
The Restless Entrepreneur

Why aren't you holding yourself accountable for your success?

“A body of men holding themselves accountable to nobody ought not to be trusted by anybody.”
― Thomas Paine

Accountability.  No one wants to hold themselves accountable, but everyone else should be.  And you are the only one who can pave your way to success...or failure.

So why aren't you holding yourself accountable for your own success?

There are 4 fears that cause a lack of accountability:

Fear of failure -
Are you so afraid of failure that you cannot hold yourself responsible or liable for your own actions?  Do you lack trust or faith in yourself?  Fear of failure is a deep imbedded, nagging thought that can stop us before we even start a task.

Fear of success - 
Some of us are afraid of what would happen if we are successful.  Will we be able to keep up with family obligations?  How about a social life?  Will you be more scrutinized if you find success?  Fear of success is just as debilitating as fear of failure.

Fear of being thought of as a fraud -
Imposter's Syndrome impedes success.  The fear of being seen as not qualified enough by others, or not feeling like you know enough yourself can cause stagnancy.  Even when you have an MBA and 12 years experience, you can feel like you aren't enough of an 'expert.'

Fear of not being taken seriously -
Ideas and products die before they are even launched due to the fear that others won't understand or see value.  People are afraid to talk about their business plans or ideas, thinking that they'll be laughed at or ridiculed.

And all of these fears can be cured by one important resource: your business coach.

A business coach listens.  A business coach leads.  A business coach gets you from the current level, to the next, by teaching you to hold yourself accountable.

Clearing the 4 fears: failure, success, Imposter's Syndrome, or not being taken seriously, all happen with the right coach.  There will be a future post about finding a business coach and what other added benefits they add, but for now understand that before you start that next business, launch your next product, or decide to jump ship from a corporate life to an entrepreneurial one, check in with your coach.

Success is waiting - and it's not terrifying.  It's attainable.  Build your support network, and include a coach!

Nicole
The Restless Entrepreneur

P.S. Be sure to sign up for "Become a LinkedIn All-Star!"  The Google Hangout will be held on Wednesday, July 23rd at 1pm EST - and a lucky attendee will receive 1 hour of FREE entrepreneurial coaching!

Have a wonderful 4th of July!

Those who won our independence... valued liberty as an end and as a means. They believed liberty to be the secret of happiness and courage to be the secret of liberty.

--Louis D. Brandeis 

 

Have a wonderful and safe Independence Day!  Remember what the day is about - liberty and freedom!

Nicole
The Restless Entrepreneur

Join me in a Google Hangout - Become a LinkedIn All-Star

Being an All-Star is everything.

-- Allen Iverson

Mark your calendar - you don't want to miss my first Google Hangout!

If you read the post about breaking up with social media, then you are probably like me and know that you can get more out of your social media - especially LinkedIn - and I want to help you reach "All-Star Status!"

Let's work together to grow your business, grow your connections, and grow your influence over your market using LinkedIn.

Be sure to join me on Wednesday, July 23rd, at 1pm EST on Google Plus for: "Become a LinkedIn All-Star!"



While you're at it, be sure to connect with me on Google+ so that you won't miss the other Google Hangouts I'll be having - all to benefit you and grow your business!

We should probably connect on LinkedIn also!

Here's another reason to attend - one attendee will receive a one-hour coaching call or private hangout for more tips and tricks specific to your business.

Hope to see you then!

Nicole
The Restless Entrepreneur

How to coexist with kids during summer break

“People who violate your boundaries are thieves. They steal time that doesn’t belong to them.”

― Elizabeth Grace Saunders

This summer, my SO and I decided to try something different: instead of shipping our son off to child care for the normal 2-3 days per week, we decided to keep him home and juggle him between both of our businesses.  We're both self-employed and have flexible schedules, so we figured that would be a piece of cake...and so far, so good.

This isn't a new concept - there are a TON of work-from-home parents who juggle their career with their kids' lives, and come out on the other end just fine.

I don't want you and your experience, be it just summer or be it year-round, to be "just fine."  I want to give you a few pointers, so that you can work efficiently and effectively and give your kids all of the mom or dad time they need.  It's true - you CAN coexist with your kids and have a successful career.

http://andreaalicia.net/working-from-home-is-not-for-me/

Here are my 8 tips for coexisting with your kids as a work-from-home parent:

1)  Understand that you may have fewer unproductive hours

Depending on the age of your child(ren), you may have to adjust your expectation of work that you can get done at home.  You may enjoy having more access to them and may want to work less.  You may have more interruptions, or may have to play referee too often.  Maybe you just don't have a lock, or a door to close at all.  Accepting that you might have to change your productivity for a couple months may keep you from unnecessarily blowing your top.

2) Adjust your schedule - and stick to it

For some of us, having fewer productive hours just won't cut it.  If that's the case, then you need to find time to work.  For example, I wake up at 5am.  My son doesn't wake up until 8am.  By adjusting my schedule in the morning, I found three uninterrupted hours to get work done (and that's more than most employees in an office)!  When my son wake up, we spend a solid hour and a half together before I have him do solo activities.  For the rest of the day, we block out "me" time and "us" time. If it's a "me" time and he wants my attention, we've worked out a note-writing system.  I don't feel interrupted, and he can communicate.  Win-win.

3) Use Parkinson's Law to your advantage

If you only have a half hour block of time, try to fit more than thirty minutes worth of work into it.  Sounds crazy, but it works.  You'll figure out how to work efficiently when you have less time than you need.  It's almost like cramming in college, but it is actually effective.

4) Plan your meals and make it easy on yourself

This is a topic that will come up again, but here's a pro tip: plan your meals.  Shop for those meals.  Prep your ingredients when you get home from the market (separate and process your meat and vegetables).  Develop an arsenal of crock-pot meals.  Freeze leftovers.  Try not to deviate from your plan unless it's a special occasion.  Another quick tip: keep a basket of snacks in a low cabinet and one in the fridge - allow the kids to pick their own snack when it's time for one.

5) Let them watch a movie or play a video game - and DON'T feel guilty

Here's a fact: as much as you love your kids and as much as they love you, they don't want to be around you 100% of the time.  I'm not saying you should let the TV babysit your kids while you work, but once in a while, when you need to get something done, it's allowed.  You shouldn't feel guilty that they are doing something they enjoy - and chances are you'll get another hour of uninterrupted time.

6) Schedule time for just the kids

I touched upon this on #2, but this is key: if you expect them to let you work, then make time for them.  Schedule it.  Stick to it.  We eat meals (no electronics welcome) together, do chores together, exercise together, and spend at least an hour outside every day.  We build in quality time, so that our separate time together doesn't feel as isolating.

7) Call in the reinforcements when you need to

Once in a while, especially when I know I have to have an in-person meeting, I call a babysitter.  If I'm working on a big project and need to devote a bigger block of time to it, I'll call them as well.  Without guilt.  It doesn't make you less of a parent to allow someone else to handle child care duties.  It's not cheating.  It's just business.

8) Give yourself a break

You're going to have a bad day.  You're going to get frustrated.  The kids are going to get frustrated.  You're going to need to recharge, so make sure that you spend quality time by yourself, with your SO, and with friends.  It can be fun and worthwhile to spend two solid summer months working-from-home with kids, but take time away from them too.

What are your favorite tips for working-from-home with kids?  What hasn't worked?

Nicole
The Restless Entrepreneur

Breaking up with social media

“Moving on is easy. It's staying moved on that's trickier.”
― Katerina Stoykova Klemer

Today, I decided to break up with social media.

Wait, that doesn't make sense.  I thrive on social media; I teach others about social media; I grow my business and others' businesses with social media.

But I need a break.  I need a break from cheap, meaningless connections.  I need a break from sub-par content and dialogue.  I need a break from mediocrity.

http://www.elsaelsa.com/astrology/2012/05/22/what-if-someone-breaks-up-with-you/

How often do you audit your connections?   

Do you scour through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or any other social media sites and remove contacts that aren't worth your time?  Do you make mental notes about where your connections are on your radar?

Why not?

So the truth is, I'm not breaking up completely with social media; I'm breaking up with how I use it.  Fact:  I'm typically not a "friend" or "follow" collector.  Take Facebook for instance: today I decided it was time to clean through my friends.  I don't use Facebook for business often, so it's just my social circle, and it needed to be cleaned out.  I was at my highest amount ever, 308, and judiciously and without regret eliminated 127 people.  Not because I didn't think they were good people; not because they did something wrong; not even because they don't post funny things sometimes.  No, my reasoning was simple and precise - short of family members, I deleted people who didn't enrich my life.  I kept people who I would call if they were absent, or at the very least email by normal email.  I kept people who I interacted with.  People whose stories and pictures were meaningful.  People who I would miss if they no longer posted.

So how does this translate to business?  

If you're a Twitterer, what are you getting out of your news feed?  Are you clicking the links excitedly because you love the content you're receiving?  Or do you just follow everyone who follows you?  Are you bored with your content?  Are you tuned out?

The same goes for LinkedIn, Pinterest, and the others, as well as newsletters.  It's important to look at how you distribute your content: B2C through newsletters, Facebook, Twitter, Vine, Pinterest, or Instagram, YouTube; or B2B through newsletters, LinkedIn, Twitter, Vine, Pinterest., or YouTube, but it's also important to look at how you receive feedback and content relevant to you and your business.  If you're digging through hundreds of nonsensical posts hoping for that one golden piece of information that will push your business forward, then you're doing it wrong.

Take 5 minutes a couple times a week and weed out that bad information!  Unsubscribe to unnecessary newsletters; unfollow people on Twitter; break a broken connection on LinkedIn, and unfriend people who don't enrich your life on Facebook.  De-clutter your information pipeline, and you'll see that viable leads and information are all that's left.  And then, all that's left is the follow up and close.

How often do you weed through your social media and newsletters?

Nicole  
The Restless Entrepreneur

P.S. Learn more about making LinkedIn work for you in "Become a LinkedIn All-Star," a Google Hangout on July 28th!

What is your purpose in business

“Your purpose in life is to find your purpose and give your whole heart and soul to it”
― Gautama Buddha

You want to start a business.  You're working through your first draft of your business plan, when you're suddenly stumped: 

What is my mission statement?

What should you do?  You haven't given this much thought.  What do you want people to know about your business?  

What is your purpose?

http://www.stjamessantee.org/our-mission-partners.html

A mission statement should include your goals.  Your mission statement can, and should, be an elevator pitch for your company, or at the very least, the start of one.  Your mission statement should capture attention and make a person want to know more.  So how do you get that into a succinct phrase or paragraph?

Whenever I'm tasked with helping a company create their mission statement, I always look for inspiration.  I work to weave in a story of where the company started and where it's going.  I try different ideas out loud alone, and then in front of my closest and most beloved critics.  I come up with idea after idea, carefully crafting it piece by piece.  And more often, I look to the great mission statements and see what works, and to the worst to see what doesn't.

Let's look at Starbucks:

 "Our mission: to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time."  Do they hit their mark?  As a quick mission statement - kind of.  They give you the feeling of comfort and community, and I get that from their company.  Thankfully, they have an extended mission statement on their site that goes into the important parts that their original statement is lacking.  They let us know about the products, the service, the clients, the employees, their overall vision, and what they do for their shareholders.  Overall, their albeit short quip is fulfilling.  It makes me want to know more.  It makes me want to partake in their culture.

Let's try another, General Motors.  

"G.M. is a multinational corporation engaged in socially responsible operations, worldwide. It is dedicated to provide products and services of such quality that our customers will receive superior value while our employees and business partners will share in our success and our stock-holders will receive a sustained superior return on their investment."  As a mission statement, it fits in alignment with what should be there: products, quality, customers, employees, shareholders.  Everything is summed up quickly and informatively.  Does it invoke emotion?  Aside from their current issues, yes.  I want to know what "superior value" their quality products offer.  Personally, as an aside, I hope that they are able to overcome their current trials so that they can maintain this mission without fear of it being seen as tongue-in-cheek.

Inc Magazines "The 9 Worst Mission Statements of All Time" has a wonderful list of the bottom of the barrel mission statements, my favorite (or least favorite) being McDonald's "McDonald's brand mission is to be our customers' favorite place and way to eat and drink. Our worldwide operations are aligned around a global strategy called the Plan to Win, which center on an exceptional customer experience – People, Products, Place, Price and Promotion. We are committed to continuously improving our operations and enhancing our customers' experience."  Yes, they meet some of the qualifications for a good mission statement, but instead of being forward-thinking, they're fluffy.  Full of air.  It does not make me want to learn more; in fact, their "global strategy" sounds a bit lame and cheesy.

So what's the takeaway?  

First, don't just throw your first idea on your business plan and call it good.  Your mission statement needs to say something; something about the company, where it's going, what it's offering and to whom, how it's offering those services or product, and what you're offering your community.  Just remember: who, what, when, where, why, and how.  Second, involve people in on the planning of the mission statement.  Work out a few ideas, say them out loud, see if you can spin an elevator pitch from it.  Work the top risers with a team of people who understand your business.  Shine it up like a new penny.  And third, make sure you're hitting your mark.  You get to pick what journey your mission statement takes people.  Make sure it's a journey worth taking.


Nicole
The Restless Entrepreneur

Team Wil Wheaton

“If you like nerds, raise your hand. If you don't, raise your standards.”
― Violet Haberdasher

In case you've missed it, Wil Wheaton has pretty much become the King of the Nerds (he has his own new show!), and that is a level of awesome most of us will never reach.  Ten years ago, heck, 3 years ago, that would have been a hide under your bed, anxiety-inducing title.  No one wanted to be labelled a "nerd."

Flash forward to 2014, and nerd is the new cool.  Or something.  My point is, we, all nerds collectively, have found our place on the internet and in the world.  Our fear of being who we are, thrown out the window.

http://www.webpronews.com/wil-wheaton-has-advice-for-kids-being-bullied-2014-03

So, since I ask this in every post:

What does this have to do with business?  

Well, for me, it allows me to include a ton more self-deprecating humor in my presentations and writing.  It also made it acceptable for me to talk about my strange hobbies, including entomology, brain dissection, and welding large metal dinosaurs without feeling like I'm going to be harshly judged or branded a weirdo.  My interests, which have been all mine for over 30 years, can now be shared with a wider audience.  And the reception has been amazing.

What does this mean for the rest of us?  

I believe that more innovation can and is happening.  Science fiction has created so many useful products.  Jules Verne's Twenty-Thousand Leagues Under the Sea lead to Simon Lake creating the submarine.  Igor Sikorsky took another Verne book, Clipper of the Clouds, and made a helicopter.  H.G. Wells' books lead to many more inventions, and Star Wars was the inspiration for cell phones and others.  Nerds created these.  And nerds, with their new-found platform, will create even more.

What will I do with my nerd platform?  

So far, it has allowed me to take my love of brain dissection and neuroscience, combined with a deep understanding of psychology and mental illness, combined even further for my passion for politics, to help spread news about the NIH's NeuroBioBank to a broader audience.  It helped me realize that my passions were in Public Health so that I could pursue those, as well as my fascination with infectious diseases, into a career path.  I can combine that with my entrepreneurial attitude, and become a consultant on Public Health.  My nerd platform allows me to do what I love, what I'm passionate about, and now instead of bizarre or obscure, it's interesting.

Nerd culture is giving everyone a chance for new conversations.  Bullying, and in turn, anti-bullying campaigns, are driving forward due to nerds like Wil Wheaton.  Carryovers from past cult classics can co-mingle with modern day pop culture, getting people interested in things like role playing games and steampunk.  Shows like The Big Bang Theory show how adults can be almost child-like with excitement about things, causing them to geek-out.  Dragons and comic books are mainstream, and even my least nerdy friend has seen every Marvel movie to date.

Take this opportunity to innovate.  Take this moment in time to delve into your deepest, darkest nerdisms and pull something creative and inspired out.  Collaborate with your people on the next big thing.  There are few wrongs that can come from this time of freedom.  

Thank you, Wil Wheaton.

Nicole
The Restless Entrepreneur

Editing your content to death

“Kill your darlings, kill your darlings, even when it breaks your egocentric little scribbler’s heart, kill your darlings.”
― Stephen King

How many steps does it take from pen to paper to publication?  

One?  A few?  Too many?

I have a confession.  

I edit my content...to death.  I pre-write, then I write, then I edit, then I edit again, and again, then I pass it off to someone else, then I edit again and then, maybe, it's done.  This whole process happens in normally a day, two tops.  Or, at least I used to.  Then I got smart.

http://janefriedman.com/2013/05/31/find-freelance-book-editor/

I heard some great advice in a podcast (The Solopreneur Hour #117) that if you want to be a better public speaker, you should study comedians.  While I use this methodology for speaking, it also transfers well to writing.  One lesson has really stuck lately - your first draft sucks. Tweak it over time. Then, when you've dispersed it enough, throw it out and develop new content. It's helped me to stop my edit-to-death step that comes after creation - instead, I'm letting it develop and editing it a little at a time as it goes.  

While I'm not altogether giving up on editing, I'm taking it more as a long process instead of a hack job.  I pre-write a few bullet points.  Then, I write, whether it be an article, a blog post, content for a marketing piece, or a presentation, and then I let it sit.  I'll browse over it and tweak obvious errors.  I'll pass it along for feedback, then respond to the feedback.  I'll let it sit a bit longer.  I'll look for ways to enhance the piece, and if I can't, I stop trying.  I'll throw it out to the public and let them comment.  And then, if I feel that the message is good, I leave it along.  I write my blog posts a couple weeks ahead so that I have time enough to fix what needs to be fixed, but I no longer fixate on fixing everything...to death.

I realized that writing is not a sprint to the finish, it's a marathon.  

You have to pace yourself.  You have to prepare for the long haul.  If you're spitting out perfect content in the first go, well, you're amazing.  But realistically, your first piece needs work.  Sometimes a lot of it.  Most of the time, though, it doesn't need to be red-penned to death.  Most of the time, it just needs time.

Do you pick your pieces down to the bare bones, or do you fluff it up? 

 I try to land somewhere in the middle.  Content matters, but how it is delivered is obviously important.  No one is going to be interested in a story or presentation that is just bullet point information with no depth; but on the same token, readers and listeners don't want to be walked through every single thought, emotion, or action that you, the writer or presenter, has.  Get to the point in a meaningful way.

How do you determine when your piece is finished?

Nicole
The Restless Entrepreneur

The Zombie Apocalypse and lessons in failure

“Sometimes you have to do something ugly so that something beautiful can grow.”
― Cedric Nye

Bear with me today, I'm taking a huge leap to make a few big points.

First of all, I'm not big into the whole idea of this zombie apocalypse phase.  I'm not a doomsday prepper,  I'm not a soothsayer.  I'm not Will Smith or Woody Harrelson.  I'm a business owner who understands preparing for when things go south.  The truth is, my business anti-fail plan is more thorough than my SHTF plan.  But I have a feeling that we can learn a thing or two from the other side.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj31GHBl2wVfqKmXywVBHYWp82Nvw57zK_gcKbdnYnsrv-iHTziGoQP1iWMuR8VdR8uN5GOAVr-_uYdEgMtzJEr-6CQ0wGWjSVVDChtNAUX5lMjMgg_ZW4Kl0uqBTEPyjN27W_B8utQVZL2/s1600/tumblr_m4rs9asC2Q1rux18io1_r2_500.jpg

Let's start with some established rules of zombie survival (according to Zombieland) and swing them into business.  

Rule #1 : Cardio.  

Why is good cardiovascular health important in business?  Well that's obvious.  We've all read dozens of articles about the hazards of sitting too long at work.  So let's take this a little further - how does this impact your anti-failure plan?  Did you know that one of the contributing factors to burn-out is poor health?  Including a fitness plan and good diet are key to your survival in business so that you can keep on keepin' on.

Rule #2: The Double Tap.  

This idea can incorporate into business on so many levels.  First, the double tap may relate to editing your documents.  You write; then you edit.  Double tap.  Second, it may mean closing a deal.  You make the initial contact; then you ask for the sell.  Double tap.  And in our anti-failure plan, third, learn everything,  Get a mentor; then go to a seminar.  Double tap.

Rule #10: Don't Swing Low.  

When you're working on building a business, the last thing you want to do is swing low.  I'm not talking about taking things low and slow, I'm talking about your expectations.  One reason entrepreneurs succeed is because we just don't give up.  We swing high and swing for the fences every single at bat.  Yes, some ideas take time to develop, and some ideas just don't pan out, but our success isn't because our first business worked; it's because or third or fifth or twentieth idea stuck.  Tenacity is the key.

The last rule of the zombie apocalypse that we need to remember in business is:

Rule #22: When In Doubt, Know Your Way Out.  

This is highly contradictory; some entrepreneurs believe that if you have an out plan, that you're not 100% invested in your business.  I disagree; knowing where that line of failure is can be key.  If you know when your idea is failing and you pull the plug, you can save reputation, especially with investors.  Driving a train on an incomplete track will lead to failure.  Have an out plan; know what failure means; push that line if you have to, but stop if it's broken.  Failure doesn't mean failure; it means that you need to rework your thinking and planning for the next big idea.

Obviously, I cannot cover enough advice about failure plans in a blog post; especially because I was amazed at how many other of Zombieland's rules fit in business: #8 Get a Kick-Ass Partner, #16 Opportunity Knocks, #19 Break It Up, #20 It's a Marathon, Not a Sprint, Unless it's a Sprint, Then Sprint, #21 Avoid Strip Clubs, #29 The Buddy System, #32 Enjoy the Little Things, and lastly #33 Swiss Army Knife.  Maybe someday I'll cover more rules of the zombie apocalypse in business, or you can leave your Zombieland survival rule in the comments!  Take time to develop your own zombie apocalypse plan anti-fail plan for business, and let me know if you find some creative rules to follow.

Nicole
The Restless Entrepreneur

I refuse to do what I love most

“I read recipes the same way I read science fiction. I get to the end and say to myself "well, that's not going to happen”
― Rita Rudner

I'm huge on telling people to do what they love as their career.  I'm constantly coaching and trying to find opportunities for people to follow their dreams.  I advise jaded workers to find a passion project that they can put time toward, because it will bring them a balanced happiness and can transfer positivity and opportunity into their every-day career.  

But here's a secret: I do not do what I love most as a career.

Am I a hypocrite?  

Or am I on to something?

My second year living away from home while attending college, I received a phone call from my mom.  She told me that I should just move home and she'd help me start a catering company.  There you have it: I LOVE to cook.  I quickly shot that idea down and kept working toward my degree, which at that point was probably pre-law, or entomology, or communications.  The truth was, I wasn't interested in giving up my future as a lawyer who wrote press releases about her newest insect discovery, or whatever I was working to be.  I didn't know what I wanted to be, but I knew what I didn't want to be.

http://www.fastcompany.com/1751577/redesigning-food-trucks

Catering might have been a good fit for me as a career.  I've "catered" many a dinner party, large event, and even wedding for family and friends.  But to cook for strangers, to have to take classes on the proper use of the proper utensil and how to properly julienne and chop and dice... that didn't interest me.  I don't follow recipes, so most things I make aren't able to be reproduced.  My understanding of cooking comes from an innate understanding of portions and proportions.  I know what ratios to make whatever bread or pasta or soup or anything.  But as a career?  It didn't work in my mind, unless I could operate a food truck.  And then only maybe.

I enjoy cooking.  I make, mostly from scratch, about 10 meals a week.  I don't buy pre-packaged foods; I buy produce and meat and staple items and combine them to make whatever I want.  I get inspiration from cookbooks, but use the recipe as a guideline, barely.  I recreate foods I have in restaurants.  I make most of my creations by looking at a picture of pleasant-looking food and guessing. 

That is not how you operate a business.

I have a feeling that being a chef or caterer or anything relating to food would make me hate cooking.  I spent time as a teen working in fast food, and helped open a restaurant early in my career, but to actually devote my life's work to cooking just feels wrong.  It feels suffocating.  It feels uninspired.  I flirt with the line between cooking being a passion and work with one of my developing companies, but it's less cooking and more recipe development.  That's not cooking to me.

I do what I love every day.  I help businesses succeed.  I teach people how to operate their business and turn their dreams into profit.  And in doing that, I achieve my dreams and have success.  

I save my top passion for me. 

 I keep cooking as what I do for my family, or for my creativity, or for my relaxation.  And everyone should have something that they do, aside from work, that is just for that purpose.

So no, I'm not a hypocrite.  I truly believe that each of us need something that we love more than our job.  Something different from our families and relationships.  Something that is just ours.  And sure, we can share it with others, but they don't have to like it.  They won't always.   And that's okay, because it's just for you.

Nicole
The Restless Entrepreneur

The effects of a violent city on business

The main goal of the future is to stop violence. The world is addicted to it.

--Bill Cosby

On May 30th, I got to sit in on a Google Hangout with Search for the Common Good and Cure Violence about "A Cure for Urban Violence."

Let's start at the beginning, shall we?

I moved to Saginaw over four years ago.  Before I moved here, my boyfriend laid out a map of where I was allowed to go and where I could go between 9am and 3pm, and where I could never go.  Let's go back a little further, to the early/mid 1980s where I grew up: South Bend, Indiana.  Coming to Saginaw in 2010 was much like being in South Bend in the 1980's - gang and general violence run rampant.  My tiny 500 square foot house where I spent a good chunk of my childhood was smack dab in the middle of one of the most violent neighborhoods.  Gangs traveled by rail lines from Chicago and Detroit to South Bend, right by my house.  Shootings, robberies, arson, and stabbings were an every-day occurrence where I grew up.  Fast forward almost 30 years to present-day Saginaw.  Last year, Saginaw was ranked 3rd most violent city per capita in the US.

Up until early this year, I didn't think of how the violence that exists here affected me.  Yes, I was told certain places and neighborhoods were off-limits, but honestly, my neighborhood in Saginaw doesn't see the level of violence that exists in others.  I had become blissfully unaware and disconnected to the violence that was happening in nearby neighborhoods and to our community members.  It wasn't until I saw Gary Slutkin's TED talk about treating it like a contagious disease that I gave my ability to impact the violence a thought.

http://www.myspeakupspeakout.com/saginaw-residents-plead-for-end-to-gun-violence/

Since seeing that talk earlier this year, I have reached out local decision-makers and influential residents to see how I could become involved.  With my history in public health and my person interest in the spread of contagious disease, the Cure Violence plan made sense, and I saw how it could positively impact my new home - the place that I have learned to love.  I see so much positive potential in Saginaw, and knew that I needed to reach out to more people.

The cost to business owners operating in a violent city is huge.  

Robberies, shootings, stabbings, police brutality and mismanagement of situations can ruin a business owner's livelihood.  Let me rephrase: something completely unrelated to your business operations can shut your business down immediately.  I don't know about you, but I haven't planned for that in my business.  I don't have a storefront or an office besides my home that I operate out of, but I know plenty of locals who do.

Realistically speaking, you can't plan for that.  You can't prevent violence from shutting your doors.  

So what can you, a business owner do? 

Advocate.  Be active in your community violence plan.  Support models like Cure Violence.  Maybe it wouldn't work for Saginaw, but SOMETHING WILL.  And that is how we plan for it.  That's how we prevent it from happening to us, or our neighbor, or our favorite business; we work together, in the community, with the community, to develop a way to minimize it.

Gangs are a form of community.  If you take the crime and violence out of the equation, gangs are not a bad thing.  They're not scary; they are a way for those who feel like outsiders to fit in.  To have a family.  Gangs are not the problem.  Crime and violence is the problem. 

So what would happen if we built better communities?  

What would happen if we pitched in and took care of each other and our interests?  

What if we stopped having "self interests" and had "community-focused interests?"  

Do you think that would help to cure violence?
Leave me your thoughts below!

Nicole
The Restless Entrepreneur

For liberty - the rights of businesses

They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.

--Benjamin Franklin

A few weeks ago, I was driving through a nearby neighborhood with my 8 year old, when he asked:

"Mom, what does 'give us back our America' mean?  Don't we already have our America?"  

It took me just a second to find his reference - a garage door painted like the flag with the wording written across it.  At this moment, I had a few options: try to explain politics as simply as possible to someone who is too young to understand and probably isn't interested, breeze over it as quickly as possible, or use it to teach a lesson.  Of course, I chose the latter...after I gave a brief political and historical lesson.

As an entrepreneur and small business owner, I see the effects of a lack of liberty and a change in laws that deeply affect our opportunities because they take rights away.  I'm not going to get into a big political conversation on here, but I want to point out a few things that business owners should be more aware of.

http://www.todaysgardencenter.com/sales-floor/displays-merchandising/small-business-saturday-use-these-resources-to-promote-your-business/

The lesson that I explained was about the benefits of shopping local or using local contractors.  

This is a real story of something happening locally: 

There is a stone wall that is in need of repair.  Company A, a local company, approached the wall owner a few years ago to offer their services in repairing the wall, but at that time there was no budget for the repair.  Last year, the funds were available and the job was put out to bid.  Company A was the only bidder in a public bid.  The wall owner decided not to move forward at that time.  In April, the wall owner decided to proceed and Company A once again bid the same amount.  Company B, a contractor from 2-1/2 hours away, underbid Company A since the bad last fall was public.  Company A is likely to lose the opportunity to do the work for the wall owner.

I explained this to my son and asked him how he felt.  His initial response was that since Company B bid the lowest that they should get the contract.  I took this opportunity to explain supporting local business.  I asked him where he thought the money earned by Company B would go.  He said that it would go wherever Company B was located.  I asked him where the money would go if Company A received the contract.  He understand that it would stay locally.  I then took it a step further.

One of our favorite restaurants is Olive Garden.  We patronize chain restaurants often, because sadly we don't have as many mom-and-pop type restaurants in our area.  I explained that when we eat at Olive Garden, they keep money locally to pay their employees, and to pay their taxes and overhead, then the profits go to the corporate office.  The food that they buy comes from a national company with greenhouses and farms outside of the area. "Well, where does the money go?" he asked.  After a quick search, I told him "Florida."  He didn't think that was fair.  He didn't like that his (my) money wasn't working locally.  It wasn't going to support local efforts and growth; instead, it went across the country to work in some other community.

I then took the chance to explain about a local farm-to-table restaurant that's opening this summer.  They will buy their in-season foods from local farms and companies.  They will employ all local people instead of bringing in upper-level leadership from out of the area.  They will funnel the money they have into the local economy.  Patronizing a restaurant like this helps our region more than eating at Olive Garden.

So what does this have to do with the rights of business? 

 Well, obviously the local decision makers are okay and supportive of franchise and out-of-the-area businesses coming in and pulling monies out of the region.  And the local businesses owners should be more vocal about this.  We should support each other, and patronize our local businesses.  And not just on "Small Business Saturday," but as often as possible.  Yes, I'll still eat at Olive Garden and shop at Kroger, but whenever it is feasible, I'm going to go to Bradley's and shop at the farmer's market and local butcher shop.  We should also make sure that we're aware of the laws that our elected officials are supporting on our behalf.  We need to speak up and let them know how we feel about policy.  We need to advocate for our beliefs, because believe it or not, most politicians don't understand small business.

How do you contribute to local companies?  

Do you actively seek them out over national companies and franchises?  

Is this an important issue to you?

Nicole
The Restless Entrepreneur

Why does mental health matter to businesses

“Stigma's power lies in silence. The silence that persists when discussion and action should be taking place. The silence one imposes on another for speaking up on a taboo subject, branding them with a label until they are rendered mute or preferably unheard.”
― M.B. Dallocchio

Here are a few facts about me:  

I lost my brother to suicide nearly 10 years ago.  I have volunteered in suicide prevention and mental health for the past 7 years.  I have been a psychology and public health student for 12 years now.  I suffer from social anxiety, PTSD, and bouts of depression.  In short, I know a thing or two about mental health and mental illness.

Mental illness is important in business.  

Employers are slowly realizing this as fact, and are slowly trying to incorporate policies and plans to support employees.  Health insurance plans, thanks to the Mental Health Parity Act, are starting to treat mental health coverage similar to coverage for other chronic conditions.  Locally, one of my health care partners, Family and Children's Services of Mid-Michigan, recently wrapped up a "Stomp out the Stigma" campaign for May's Mental Health Awareness Month.  The campaign brought business professionals throughout Midland County together to campaign for better mental health in our region.

http://dialog.studentassociation.ca/index.php/mental-illness-the-power-of-stigma/

There are fairly disgusting statistics in our country based on mental health problems in various industries.  I, having worked with small and large companies throughout the country, have seen the causes and effects of mental health issues and how they are handled.  I see plenty of room for improvement, but starting that conversation with businesses and individuals is not an easy one.  There's still stigma attached; people feel that the PC way to approach mental illness is to not approach it at all.

Treating mental health and mental illness as a taboo topic is not helping.  Treating the brain separate from the body causes and perpetuates stigma.  Companies can help to support their employees by receiving training on how to help them with mental illnesses.  There are screening programs that can help companies with assessing potential problems so that plans can be established.  There are ways to involve community health programs to bring services directly to employees who need it.  Mental health awareness events should be the norm throughout the year for businesses.  And employees should be comfortable talking about their issues with trusted people.

This ideas really feeds into my ideas and plans for building community.  

One of the statistics that stands out to me is the amount of time people spend at work to other countries, especially tribal communities where mental illness mostly a non-issue.  If people are expected to spend 1/3 of their waking hours for at least 5 days out of the week, there needs to be more opportunities for a supportive community.  Mental health awareness should be a part of corporate culture.  If it doesn't, we can't fix the problems associated with mental illness.  If it doesn't, we can't sufficiently have a supportive system to help with mental illness.  If it doesn't, we run the risk of our friends and family members not having the support they need in an environment where they spend nearly 95,000 hours of their lifetime.  And that shouldn't be acceptable anymore.

Nicole
The Restless Entrepreneur

Another one bites the dust

Founder's Syndrome: a difficulty faced by many organizations where one or more founders maintain disproportionate power and influence following the effective initial establishment of the project, leading to a wide range of problems for both the organization and those involved in it.  - Wikipedia

Earlier this year, I was tasked with helping a start-up nonprofit gain some ground so that they could meet their goals.  They had been meeting as a board for nearly a year and hadn't had much progress.  No fundraising had been done.  No press releases were sent out.  Few locals knew about the organization.  It sounded like a great opportunity to be a part of something big, and I jumped at the chance to turn things around.  I knew I was the right person for the job.  And then, I found out why there was a lack of progress:  the founder was calling all the shots, and the blind was leading the blind.

Step 1: 

 I found out quickly after my contract was signed that there was no funding, no bylaws, and no business or marketing plan.  I found out after that that while the Articles of Incorporation were approved, they hadn't submitted said bylaws or a list of board members to the state, which may have been problematic.  Then I found out that the board of directors were not big players from the community, rather they were a hodge podge of friends of the founder's with varying levels of prior board experience, from none to minimally involved.  Oh, and on top of this, the founder and blind board decided that they were going to throw a gala-level event in 6 weeks as their first fundraiser and had spread that information to the few people in the community that knew about the organization.  Add that all up together, and you have a recipe for disaster.

http://shirahime.ch/2011/08/the-founder-syndrome-or-for-some-ethical-fashion-businesses-surviving-means-failing/

Step 2:  

I made a game plan.  Within 2 weeks, I had established a business plan, marketing plan, bylaws, policies and procedures, and had selected my first staff member.  I had secured 3 television interviews, a newspaper article, and several major meetings in the community.  I planned sponsorship and donor levels, ticket prices, and a budget for the over-the-top event.  I attempted to teach the board members about how to raise funds and gain support.  And then I did the most important, and telling, step of all, I informed the board chair that her involvement with the organization might be a conflict of interest and she had two options: step down as chair or run the organization as a for-profit business.

Step 3:  

Within the next month, I realized how little control I had over where the organization was going.  The founder stepped down, but still believe she was owed credit and notoriety, and treated the board of directors as puppets.  When I received several emails and phone calls about developing a "management plan" for the founder, I knew that the organization was going down the toilet.  Just two weeks prior to the gala event, the board voted to cancel.  And then shit hit the fan.  The founder erupted into a crazy mess, shooting off angry emails, phone calls, text messages, and Facebook messages.  The option of having the business run like a business went out the window.  She tried to rescind her resignation as board chair, she tried to get her boyfriend on the board of directors, she bullied and harassed those who were her friends, and me, about her slighted feelings.

Step 4:  

After the true colors were shown and the board realized that the founder would always want absolute control, they decided that it was not ethical for the organization to continue as a nonprofit, and left the option to continue as a for-profit to the founder.  The board were (mostly) innocent bystanders - friends who truly wanted to do good for the community.  Friends who blindly followed a misled leader.  People who saw their time squandered away for months upon months by meetings that didn't amount to a hill of beans.  Most of them saw the big picture; how huge the organization could be for the community.  And so they did the only thing that they felt was right: dissolved the nonprofit.  Pissed away all of their efforts.  After just three months of a roller coaster with what could have been an amazing organization, I was left with nothing: no pay, no work, and no business, all because of founder's syndrome.

What did I learn from this experience?  

Most of all - know who you are going to be working with.  Had I done more research, I would have known that no amount of work could have fixed the issues that existed with the board and founder.  I would have found out that when someone is so blissfully ignorant about realistic business ideas and goals, that you can't convince them that they won't work.  I would have known that even the best business or nonprofit coach in the world couldn't turn around the nonprofit of someone who was doing it for all of the wrong reasons; selfish reasons at that.  


Nicole
The Restless Entrepreneur

Just a soliloquy

“One day I will find the right words, and they will be simple.”
― Jack Kerouac

Once upon a time -

I decided to write down my thoughts, ideas, and plans.  I decided to change my inner monologue, soliloquy, into a conversation.  Maybe I'm the only one who reads it.  Maybe it is just a conversation with myself, or maybe I have the potential to reach a larger audience.  When a person first starts putting pen to paper, or fingers to keys, they don't know how wide their potential reach is.  Who knows what will become of my journal writings and stories?

For at least 15 minutes every day, I make it a point to write.  Some of those writings go here, others get hidden away for my eyes only, and some of those writings are being cataloged for a book I'm working on.  Most days, the words come easily.  I write what I know.  Sometimes, though, I decide to do something I typically dread: creative writing.  I like to think of myself as a thorough technical writer, so creative writing is foreign and uncomfortable.

http://garima82.wordpress.com/2014/04/26/writing/

This summer, I plan to punch out 1000 word chapters.  This summer, I plan to publish an ebook and work toward a larger print book.  This summer, I hope to get enough of a manuscript to submit to a publisher.  This summer, I plan to find a magazine, blog, or other periodical to get published in.  This summer, my goal is to make writing a larger focus of my life, and business.

For me, writing is a release.  Writing is empowering.  The written word is impressive and finite and clear.   Spoken words can be censored and grey.  They can be wishy-washy and undefined.  Maybe it's the introvert in me that prefers the written word over the spoken, but maybe that's why I can effectively communicate through text.  Yes, I communicate just fine with the spoken word, but things become clear with written word.  Even better when I am given the opportunity to combine the two.

How often do you write?  

Does it come easily, or is it a chore?

Nicole
The Restless Entrepreneur

Looking forward, looking back

“Study the past if you would define the future.”
― Confucius

June is a fun time for my business: a time of reflection and planning.  I run my fiscal year the same as a calendar year, but June kicks off the planning process for the next year.  I start off the month by looking at progress markers so far in the year, compare year-to-date from the prior year, adjust the remaining goals of the year, and start to lay down my plans for the next year.  This isn't a quick process, and my next-year planning normally takes most of the summer.

With my hands in so many projects, reflection and planning are absolutely necessary for my success and sanity.  I just wrapped up a long-term contract and am feeling out a few opportunities for another.  I have a handful for short-term projects and need to keep feeding that pipeline.  

Sound familiar?

I don't feel that any of this is unique.  On top of the typical day-to-day, I maintain sufficient time for my passion projects - my nonprofits and in-development business projects.  I'm at a point, here in June 2014, to make big leaps and moves in 2015.  I have a business that is in the market sample/research stage, and could likely reach production and distribution early in 2015.  I have a nonprofit that will officially come to fruition after four years of work.  I have another nonprofit that may or may not move forward in this calendar year, and may or may not need a change of venue.  If I didn't revisit my plans, I couldn't stay on top of all of these projects.

Starting in September, I bring an intern into the mix.  This is exciting and both wonderful and horrible timing.  They get dropped into one of the biggest campaign seasons for the first nonprofit, right when I kick off no fewer than 4 major regional events in a week.  Right now, I'm trying to fit the intern into the workflow for the following 30 weeks.  If I didn't take time now to revisit my plans, I would shortchange their learning experience.

http://pixelenemy.com/ask-the-community-what-games-are-you-most-looking-forward-to/

Looking forward, I see opportunity. 

For my consulting business, I'm rebooting a series of classes, workshops, and seminars, as well as integrating webinars and podcasting.  I see new ways to reach new markets, and ways to integrate what I do for the benefit of my region.  I have opportunities to influence more young entrepreneurial minds with a large keynote speaking opportunity, as well as speaking opportunities at more colleges and universities.  I have more opportunities to reach and inspire more start-ups and new innovative industry in the area.  Realistically, I'm planning for failure and seeing success.

Looking back, I see where I've come from.  

For my consulting business, I am failure-proofing my client relations after some tough lessons from the first half of this year.  I see where I took some big risks and saw too-little return.  I took every opportunity that I could, but didn't seek out as many opportunities as I should have.  I reached out to more people and tried to be more influential, and now I can say that I am a major influencer in my region.  That all happened so far in 2014.

I'm not one to spend a lot of time looking back, especially not with negativity.  I did enough of that in my 20s and learned several major lessons.  The biggest lesson I have learned and can teach others is: Do not ask what went wrong; ask what you can do differently.  This has changed the way I think about the past and the future.  Instead of focusing on negative experiences, I focus on learning experiences.  I work to failure-proof my business.  I share my victories with others through what I've learned by missing goals.  Oftentimes, I meet and exceed those goals instead.

Change your way of thinking; change your life.  Spend more time looking forward than backward; but know where you came from and learn from the past.  Share your experiences and learn from the experiences of others.   And most of all - take risks.

Nicole
The Restless Entrepreneur

Not work...just life

“Persistence. Perfection. Patience. Power. Prioritize your passion. It keeps you sane.”
― Criss Jami

It's almost June.  Schools are getting out for the summer.  Office-bound adults are trying to figure out how many times they can swing getting out of work at 3 instead of 5.  Freelancers are waking up early and squeezing as much work out of their morning so that they can order a noon margarita from their local wi-fi engaged restaurant while they work from the patio just an hour or two longer.  Sound like you?  No?  Well why not?

In the summer months (mid-May through mid-October here in Michigan!), I prefer to wake up early (5 - 5:30), get in as much work as I can before 7:30, have a leisurely family breakfast, do some yoga or a HIIT workout, then get back to work around 9:30/10am.  I'll do meetings or correspondence until 11:30/12, then have another leisurely meal.  Between 1 and 3, I turn off email alerts, phones, and any distractions and get a couple more hours of work done.

What does this have to do with life?

What does this have to do with balance?

Well, the way I see it, knowing your own energy and how it flows throughout the day can set you up for success...or failure.  Getting enough work done at peak time allows us to work fewer hours in the day in the most efficient way, allowing us plenty of playtime.  Does this happen every day?  No, but it does happen more often than not.

http://www.key-dynamics.com/blog/bid/271857/10-questions-for-you-and-your-life-balance-coach

Here's a concept that I've noticed most businesses miss: scheduling meetings first thing in the morning, especially on Mondays, is a waste of time.  Sure, once in a while it's nice to come into work and grab a coffee and bagel, then idly sit in a meeting for 2 hours before actually starting your work day, but it's highly unproductive.  How about planning your first 10 minutes around the water cooler, then getting to work?  No, not answering emails and checking your voicemail.  The other things.  Those productive ones.  The things that you get paid to do.

Most days, I don't respond to or answer emails or voicemails until mid-morning.  By then, I've had a few actually productive hours of my day, so I can sit in meetings or make phone calls or play back-and-forth on the email.  And then I can shut it down and get back to actual work.  Our corporate society makes it impossible to actually work.  According to this Forbes article, more than 50% of employees waste  up to 2 hours of their work day on just social media.  That doesn't count how often Susie over the cubicle wall distracts you, or how long it takes to get back on task after babysitting your outgoing fax for 10 minutes.  I would wager a bet that the average office worker has 4 or fewer hours of productive time a day.

So back to life and balance -

Imagine a world where you had a 4-6 hour work day, spread throughout the day to benefit your energy schedule.  Imagine that you weren't tied to your desk, and you could work from that restaurant at lunchtime with a drink and no one would mind.  Imagine that you could end your work day at 3pm every day, not just Fridays, and not just in the summer.  

What would you do with that time?  

How would you live?

Nicole
The Restless Entrepreneur