Small Business Marketing
Building a team is like putting together a puzzle of disparate parts that don't always want to fit together perfectly. A workplace puzzle never is complete, when one vital piece is lost, another takes its place…and it’s never the same fit.
Having different personalities in the workplace is an advantage. However, managing a range of psyches, emotions, and needs provides some serious challenges.
For seven years I have owned an education business with twenty to thirty employees. Personality was a big reason to hire someone, and the more sensitive types were fabulous in the classroom, but more challenging (at times) to manage.
As I build my marketing team, we will have a smaller core group and will need to work together more closely than what was required of my previous business. I already have a few key individuals on board that I brought with me more for their passion and their cultural fit. At the end of the day, culture is what ensures that the disparate pieces hold together.
Having different personalities in the workplace is an advantage. However, managing a range of psyches, emotions, and needs provides some serious challenges.
For seven years I have owned an education business with twenty to thirty employees. Personality was a big reason to hire someone, and the more sensitive types were fabulous in the classroom, but more challenging (at times) to manage.
As I build my marketing team, we will have a smaller core group and will need to work together more closely than what was required of my previous business. I already have a few key individuals on board that I brought with me more for their passion and their cultural fit. At the end of the day, culture is what ensures that the disparate pieces hold together.
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Failure and positive thinking seem polar opposites, but they consume much of what is posted and shared on social media.
When I first started my Twitter account I asked a colleague what posts get the most shares. She told me "Celebrity deaths and inspirational quotes." Interestingly, when I asked the same questions about blogs, I was told that people love to learn about your failures.
So of course, we can't always post inspirational quotes and hopefully no one has so many failures that it's all they write about. So, how do you create content that people will want to read?
When I first started my Twitter account I asked a colleague what posts get the most shares. She told me "Celebrity deaths and inspirational quotes." Interestingly, when I asked the same questions about blogs, I was told that people love to learn about your failures.
So of course, we can't always post inspirational quotes and hopefully no one has so many failures that it's all they write about. So, how do you create content that people will want to read?
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I had outlined this blog and began to fill in the content, when both of my kids ran in my office and ask if we could all go outside to throw the ball or skate and enjoy the beautiful evening. The irony of the timing, made me really stop and think what was the most important use of my time at that moment.
I had finished my client work, it was a beautiful day, and the requests to hang out with mom are becoming less and less. The request to go outside and 'play' came just as I began writing about the balancing act of growing a business while nurturing a family. So here I am, a day later and just now writing my blog.
I know many entrepreneurs struggle with how to make time for family or a partner while giving it all to a growing your business. Deciding where to give your attention can be a real struggle and a stress. It will never be perfect, but here are a few ways to find a little more balance.
I had finished my client work, it was a beautiful day, and the requests to hang out with mom are becoming less and less. The request to go outside and 'play' came just as I began writing about the balancing act of growing a business while nurturing a family. So here I am, a day later and just now writing my blog.
I know many entrepreneurs struggle with how to make time for family or a partner while giving it all to a growing your business. Deciding where to give your attention can be a real struggle and a stress. It will never be perfect, but here are a few ways to find a little more balance.
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Have you ever wondered about the reason why, when you think of someone, they somehow appear? I do - all the time!
Tapping into my intuition has always worked for me and when I ignore my gut feeling, I always regret it.
A childhood friend of mine use to call me just as I was picking up the phone to call her. It could have been weeks since we talked, but we always seemed to be in synch. Today those calls have moved to texts, but still they appear just as I am thinking of her.
If you ask the experts, they say that coincidence does not exist, however synchronicity does.
Tapping into my intuition has always worked for me and when I ignore my gut feeling, I always regret it.
A childhood friend of mine use to call me just as I was picking up the phone to call her. It could have been weeks since we talked, but we always seemed to be in synch. Today those calls have moved to texts, but still they appear just as I am thinking of her.
If you ask the experts, they say that coincidence does not exist, however synchronicity does.
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I love fall. It is by far my favorite time of year. Living in Texas, I just wait for the cool-down after a brutally hot August. The State Fair of Texas, football, beautiful foliage, cool morning runs, pumpkin everything, and lovely weekends spent outside.
Beyond the weather and family fun of this time of year, it also becomes one of the best times of year to re-set your business and begin putting into motion the necessary plans to make 2016 great. I know many of my finance friends tend to grumble every October when the stock market does its usual third quarter roller-coaster, but as a marketer I'm putting plans into action.
Here are five reasons fall is great for your business.
Beyond the weather and family fun of this time of year, it also becomes one of the best times of year to re-set your business and begin putting into motion the necessary plans to make 2016 great. I know many of my finance friends tend to grumble every October when the stock market does its usual third quarter roller-coaster, but as a marketer I'm putting plans into action.
Here are five reasons fall is great for your business.
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The business world is changing and how we search and consume information has drastically changed in the last five to ten years. Possibly no other business disciple has changed more dramatically than that of marketing and staying on top of current trends is becoming increasingly more difficult.
As a company, Marketing Eye invests and trains its people to stay abreast of current trends impacting the market. We find for many of our clients, what has worked in the past as effective marketing and sales, no longer works. We understand that when operating a business, staying on-top of the ever-changing marketing landscape is not only challenging, but time consuming and in some cases just not possible.
At Marketing Eye Dallas, we have not only owned our own businesses, but we have helped many entrepreneurs who struggle with the new sales funnels, automations, and digital communication landscape.
Deciding to outsource your marketing function is something business owners don't take lightly. Here are the advantages and disadvanges of deciding to hire someone to manage your business' marketing.
As a company, Marketing Eye invests and trains its people to stay abreast of current trends impacting the market. We find for many of our clients, what has worked in the past as effective marketing and sales, no longer works. We understand that when operating a business, staying on-top of the ever-changing marketing landscape is not only challenging, but time consuming and in some cases just not possible.
At Marketing Eye Dallas, we have not only owned our own businesses, but we have helped many entrepreneurs who struggle with the new sales funnels, automations, and digital communication landscape.
Deciding to outsource your marketing function is something business owners don't take lightly. Here are the advantages and disadvanges of deciding to hire someone to manage your business' marketing.
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There is so much discussion on the need to be more creative in the work place. After all, 'to create' means to bring about what has not existed before. The newest creation, innovation, or way of doing something, can make or break a company. Netflix was able to create an entertainment market of watching movies, programs, and shows that had not existed before. While other companies, such as Blockbuster, could not envision past the physical movie rental market. It may be easy to identify creative companies like Apple and Google, but it is more difficult to tap into our own creativity.
Work, life, and the demands of everyday life are actually hindering our ability to be creative. The secret to tapping into your creative side, and letting your mind explore, may be found in a simple box of crayons. The childhood activity of coloring is gaining in popularity with adults and may be our answer to increasing innovation by calming our mind and stimulating our imagination.
Work, life, and the demands of everyday life are actually hindering our ability to be creative. The secret to tapping into your creative side, and letting your mind explore, may be found in a simple box of crayons. The childhood activity of coloring is gaining in popularity with adults and may be our answer to increasing innovation by calming our mind and stimulating our imagination.
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Every entrepreneur has a secret weapon of success. It's what drives them to succeed, brings them up when times are tough, grounds them when business rocks and makes the entrepreneurial journey worthwhile. For me that secret weapon is my husband.
Today is our fifteenth anniversary and not only do we celebrate our time together, but our family and the life we have created. As with most marriages of this length of time, we have had great times and rough times. There is nothing like two lay-offs and a sick infant in the hospital to challenge your strength. Being married to an entrepreneur is no cake-walk. Often there is investment, risk and a whole lot of hoping, praying, hard-work and long hours. If you are an entrepreneur or are married to one, I am sure you can relate.
Here are the qualities that every entrepreneur needs, in a supporter, to make them successful.
Today is our fifteenth anniversary and not only do we celebrate our time together, but our family and the life we have created. As with most marriages of this length of time, we have had great times and rough times. There is nothing like two lay-offs and a sick infant in the hospital to challenge your strength. Being married to an entrepreneur is no cake-walk. Often there is investment, risk and a whole lot of hoping, praying, hard-work and long hours. If you are an entrepreneur or are married to one, I am sure you can relate.
Here are the qualities that every entrepreneur needs, in a supporter, to make them successful.
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Let's face it, we are all busy. Keeping up with the ever changing landscape of marketing, entrepreneurship, social media can be a challenge with an already full schedule. A tool that I have found that is both educational and entertaining is podcasts. When stuck in traffic or sitting at an hour and half swim team practice, I really enjoy listening to others experiences in business. Not only is it a distraction from the parking lot of Dallas rush-hour traffic, I usually learn something that I can apply to my own business and life.
A good podcast is more than educational, it is entertaining. The more you listen, the more you really get to know and enjoy the host. While the podcasts I listen to all have a business, entrepreneur or marketing spin, they also have a personal side. Think more along the lines of "This American Life", and less like an economics college lecture.
Here are my top ten picks:
A good podcast is more than educational, it is entertaining. The more you listen, the more you really get to know and enjoy the host. While the podcasts I listen to all have a business, entrepreneur or marketing spin, they also have a personal side. Think more along the lines of "This American Life", and less like an economics college lecture.
Here are my top ten picks:
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There's just something good about Friday. Most people see it as the second best day of the week (next to Saturdays). But, Fridays can be the best day of the week for an entrepreneur. Monday through Thursday is reserved for working like crazy in your business, but Fridays is the day to work on your business. For me, Monday through Thursday is spent marketing my clients' businesses, meeting with prospects, attending events and writing marketing strategies for my customers. I reserve Friday to reenergize my business and myself. This is when I put together marketing plans for my own business, I set goals and budgets, write blogs, engage in activities that inspire my creativity, and connect with mentors, friends and others in my field.
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Growing up my dad went to work at 6:50 and returned from work at 4:50. Work was work and when he changed from his office clothes, work was over. There was no computer, cell phone, email, texting Skyping, tweeting, or linking. It was just over till the next day.
Today, my work starts when I wake and ends when I close my eyes. I often office from home, so there is no end of day, no leaving the office. Even when I office outside the home, the computer, tablet and phone come with me.
I know it's not just me, it seems that everyone I talk to tells me how busy they are. Is it technology, demands to be over- productive at work, the need to always appear to be the perfect parent, friend or spouse, or the feeling that you always need to be 'on'?
Whatever the reason may be, it doesn't look like life will be slowing down any time soon. So if you can't change the busy world we live in, you will need to change the way you react to it. The key just may be finding some balance in and unbalanced world.
Today, my work starts when I wake and ends when I close my eyes. I often office from home, so there is no end of day, no leaving the office. Even when I office outside the home, the computer, tablet and phone come with me.
I know it's not just me, it seems that everyone I talk to tells me how busy they are. Is it technology, demands to be over- productive at work, the need to always appear to be the perfect parent, friend or spouse, or the feeling that you always need to be 'on'?
Whatever the reason may be, it doesn't look like life will be slowing down any time soon. So if you can't change the busy world we live in, you will need to change the way you react to it. The key just may be finding some balance in and unbalanced world.
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No regrets. It's not just what I say, it's what most people would say, even you, had you not been so afraid to take the risk.
I often have people tell me about the things they would or could do, but don't. They even ask for advice about following their dreams, but move no further than the idea stage. The reason, most often, is fear of failure.
Fear and insecurities are the single biggest threat to you becoming successful. It ties you up not just for hours, but perhaps years or a lifetime.
I often have people tell me about the things they would or could do, but don't. They even ask for advice about following their dreams, but move no further than the idea stage. The reason, most often, is fear of failure.
Fear and insecurities are the single biggest threat to you becoming successful. It ties you up not just for hours, but perhaps years or a lifetime.
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Starting a business is a bit like having a baby. It's harder work than you image, it costs more, it's more time consuming, you don't get much sleep, but you're still happy you made the leap (at least most days).
There are probably as many books out there on how to start a business as there are on how to survive the first year as a parent. Good advice only goes so far, there is no way to get around buckling down and giving a lot of attention and love to this treasure you are rearing and growing.
With two kids and two businesses, I'll skip my parenting advice and offer a few things that I have found have helped me (or I wish I would have known) during the first year of growing a business.
There are probably as many books out there on how to start a business as there are on how to survive the first year as a parent. Good advice only goes so far, there is no way to get around buckling down and giving a lot of attention and love to this treasure you are rearing and growing.
With two kids and two businesses, I'll skip my parenting advice and offer a few things that I have found have helped me (or I wish I would have known) during the first year of growing a business.
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The surest way to never have an epic fail is to never try something new. At sometime all companies will face a blunder, but how you deal with the situation may determine if your business 'Fails-up' and grows and strengthens from its mistake or if you just fail.
As a marketer and communicator I have walked the unfortunate path of dealing with crisis management for some of the biggest companies and notorious blunders. From communicating to clients during the Enron Scandal, to spinning the story of trust for a firm with a sour reputation.
One thing I learned from 10 years in the technology field is that things are going to go wrong. You can't deliver a new solution without a hiccup or two. It is how you deal with the situation that will determine if you fail or 'Fail-up'.
As a marketer and communicator I have walked the unfortunate path of dealing with crisis management for some of the biggest companies and notorious blunders. From communicating to clients during the Enron Scandal, to spinning the story of trust for a firm with a sour reputation.
One thing I learned from 10 years in the technology field is that things are going to go wrong. You can't deliver a new solution without a hiccup or two. It is how you deal with the situation that will determine if you fail or 'Fail-up'.
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There is a conundrum that many small business owners face on how fast to grow and how fast to staff. You put the best model together, service your clients well, market, sell, and network, and then it seems at once sales begin to close and projects are initiated, only to find that you are past the capacity of your employees to complete the projects.
Even if you have begun the talent search process, you hope the recruiting process lines up with sales growth. Staffing talent can be the key to taking your business to the next level, but staffing too early can diminish profits, by leaving employees idle. On the other hand, waiting too late can leave an owner with an excessive workload that can impact sales and delivery. It's a delicate balance and it takes perfect timing to get it just right.
Even if you have begun the talent search process, you hope the recruiting process lines up with sales growth. Staffing talent can be the key to taking your business to the next level, but staffing too early can diminish profits, by leaving employees idle. On the other hand, waiting too late can leave an owner with an excessive workload that can impact sales and delivery. It's a delicate balance and it takes perfect timing to get it just right.
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