Crafting Your Email Marketing Message: How to be a Good Communicator Where it Counts. Posted on December 15, 2015June 1, 2016 by Jessica Lunk There are many benefits to email marketing for small businesses, but you know that. What’s tough about email marketing, however, is that your communication skills can make or break those benefits. Email gives you the opportunity to connect with existing and potential customers, engage them with helpful resources, and introduce them to your services or products. When done right, email marketing can increase customer loyalty, maximize your marketing ROI, and drive more sales. But to do it right, you have to be a good communicator where it counts, or your message won’t hit the mark. Keep in mind that “how” you say something matters just as much or more than “what” you say. Here are some tips on how to be a good communicator in email campaigns. Be Authentic Folks opening emails from your small business don’t want to be treated as if they’re dollar signs. Instead, they want authentic communication. Perfect your brand’s voice by talking to people on a human level. Maintain an authentic tone that relates directly to your audience. Provide meaning instead of superficial promises. Remember, the best brands are really just people that happen to be associated with your product or service. For instance, a simple check-in email from Hazel at Canva feels authentic and personal for a few reasons: Sender: The email comes from Hazel, not from Canva in general Tone: The tone is easy-going and friendly Format: It’s mostly text, giving it a friendly feel Timing: The email was sent at just the right time – when I hadn’t been in the Canva app in a while and need an introduction to newer features to pull me back in. Engage in a Conversation Tone and voice matter in emails. They humanize your brand and allow for genuine dialogue that occurs naturally. Don’t be afraid to engage in a playful email conversation that syncs with the rest of your brand. This approach expands brand loyalty. Custom Ink does a solid job of connecting with their audience on a personal level. The conversational, fun tone in this email paired with a personal message from their CEO makes their brand feel authentic, creating a customer experience that stands out in the inbox. Show Your Brand’s Personality Put a face on your small business’s brand and let its real personality shine through. You can cater to your buyer personas by posting the content they enjoy while making it relatable and fun. Cultivate a voice that delights viewers. Most folks prefer a connection rather than just information. Buffer, for example, takes something as mundane as a receipt and infuses their brand’s personality into it. The way they position their message makes the customer feel like a valued extension of the Buffer brand. A Little Transparency Goes a Long Way While you don’t have to go as extreme as Buffer does in living up to their core value, “Default to Transparency,” being real with your customers can go a long way to win their trust. A great example is this email from Magic Beans. While Magic Beans made a mistake in an email send, they took the opportunity to give customers access to the people working behind the scenes – both their Founder, Eli and their Marketing Whiz, Kate. Focus on Quality Instead of Quantity Sending strong emails that are not only conversation and on-brand, but match the interests of your audience will give your small business an edge while building trust. As a matter of fact, the quality of engagements are much more important than the quantity of engagements. So, if you’re sending out lots of emails with low engagement, take a step back from your email marketing strategy to see if you can increase the relevance and value of each email for your audience – even if it means cutting back on a few sends. Follow these tips, and your marketing message will communicate the voice and tone of your brand while keeping your readers engaged.
Cut the Crap: 5 Ways to Communicate Effectively in the Workplace Posted on December 14, 2015January 10, 2024 by Jessica Lunk Small businesses spend a lot of time trying to perfect their communications. After all, marketing is all about communicating your message to potential customers. There are so many different mediums to communicate through, it takes a ton of time and resources to stay on top of it all Putting all this effort into communicating with the customer comes at the expense of effective communication in the workplace. If your team members aren’t getting their message across to each other, or if you aren’t getting your message across to them, you can hardly expect to work together efficiently. It can create a stressful office environment where tempers flare and jobs aren’t getting done. Good communication helps to create a happy and productive workplace. Are You Speaking the Same Language? The 4 Communication Styles Communication is everything in an effective work environment. Productivity, and your sanity, relies on it. There are various styles of communication in the workplace, yet no one in particular is the right one. As a manager, it is important to understand the style of communication that is most effective with each employee to ensure that the message is clear. Here is a simple breakdown of the four most effective communication styles found within work environments. The Supporter This is the most patient style of communicator – a listener. The supporter tends to avoid conflict; however, they make good mediators because of this. To best communicate with a Supporter, provide reassurance, earn trust, and give them time to think about and make their decisions. The Analyzer The Analyzer, is the most organized style of communicator and prefers facts and details. These deep thinkers may come off as pessimistic or frugal, however they thrive when presented with a vast amount of detail. Communicating with the Analyzer is best done via charts, graphs,lists, and providing answers to questions in great detail. Ensure that you are well prepared with the facts when planning to communicate with an Analyzer. The Promoter The outgoing and social Promoter is typically the center of attention. These curious communicators like to talk, so don’t rush them through the conversation. Promoters like to use lots of examples and stories to get the message across. The Controller The fact-driver and efficient Controller thrives on motivation and goal-setting. To best communicate with a Controller, get straight to the point and set clear goals and objectives. Typically, a Controller will take minimal direction and run with it; however, they may often be labeled as bossy. As a manager, you must understand the individual communication styles of you and your employees. It’s important to place trust in your staff and allow them to work in the ways that is most efficient for them. Cut the Crap 5 Ways to Communicate Effectively There are many benefits to learning good communication skills. It helps to tear down the barriers that exist because of cultural and language differences, both in the office and in the global marketplace. Misunderstandings due to poor communication can have disastrous consequences. Clear communication is great for employee morale and open lines of communication between employees and management. Good communication skills can be learned. Here are a few things to keep in mind: Avoid arrogance and ego. If you’re in a position of authority, don’t try to intimidate your employees to what you want. This can cause employee morale to plummet. Meet your fellow workers on equal ground, respect their abilities and position, and don’t speak to them in a sarcastic or condescending tone of voice. Show confidence. Although you don’t want to come across as an arrogant jerk, you do want to communicate an air of confidence, both in the work you’re doing and in the person you’re speaking to. Be clear and concise, look people in the eye, and be specific about what you want. Give feedback. If employees are doing a good job, don’t hesitate to tell them. They appreciate it when you let them know they are doing a good job. If there is a problem, it needs to be addressed, but approach it with diplomacy and tact. The last thing you want to do is destroy their morale. Learn when to use email. Email is a great tool for some things, like when you need to communicate with a lot of people at once. It can also be used reach people who are hard to get ahold of or when you need a record of a communication. It’s not so good when you have a lengthy message with a lot of complicated details. Remember that tone and emotions can be easily misunderstood in an email and it should never be used as a way to avoid a situation that needs to be handled face-to-face. Never say anything in an email you wouldn’t say to someone in person. Learn when not to communicate. Micromanaging is not conducive to effective communication in the workplace. Learn to trust your people, and only step in when necessary. Applying these four skills of communication will benefit the workplace. It will allow good communication to flow between employees, management, and customers.
Your Mom (Is On Social Media) Posted on December 10, 2015July 6, 2016 by Jessica Lunk What You Need to Know About Social Media Demographics Millennials, Gen X, Baby Boomers… all these generations to consider when creating your buyer personas. And what are they doing online? We can safely say, pretty much everyone is on social media. And that’s just between Facebook and Twitter. You’ve also got your Snapchats, Tumblrs, Pinterests, Reddits, Instagrams… We are a social-hungry culture. We put together some quick facts on the generations and how they are engaging with social media so you can decide which platforms you should be on to reach your ideal customer. The Millennials Love Visual Media Born in the early 1980’s to the early 2000’s Now in their mid 20’s to early 30’s Getting established into their careers Still have decent credit ratings Otherwise known as Generation Y, this generation has grown up with touch screen technology, and are very hip to the tech world that changes very quickly around them. Facebook is very important to them so the audience you will get through pages on that site are valuable to explore with your marketing. The Millennials are also very good with visual media such as Snapchat, and Instagram. They are more likely to share photos of things they like, and themselves then write long word heavy posts on all their social media interactions. Videos are very popular with this group who is happy to watch endless YouTube vlogs, and are even hip to the new web streaming video site, Periscope. Generation X Is Savvy To All Media Born in the late 1960’s to 1980’s Now in their late 30’s to almost 40 years old Getting ready to send their children off to college Money is invested in their homes and raising children This demographic is the one that comes after the Baby Boomer generation. They are pretty technology proficient, but some remember what it was like when they were young without all the distractions of social media. They aren’t as easily blown away by guerrilla marketing techniques through social media and share less of what they see on those various sites. The Baby Boomers Born between 1946 through 1964 Now in their early 50’s to almost 70 years old Some have hit retirement age with most of their children out of the house Enjoying pensions and rip 401k’s from successful careers The good ol’ children of the Post-War baby boom. Many are invested in social media as a way to keep tabs on their grown children or much adored grandchildren. This group still is targeted mostly through traditional methods of advertising through television commercial, and even some print media; however, you don’t want to count out marketing on social media to this older generation. Far From Digitally Illiterate While you may have the impression that the older generation is disconnected from digital technology, the statistics tell a different story. They certainly aren’t as connected as Millenials, but they are far from digitally illiterate. Research shows that smartphones are now owned by 64% of Americans. Demographically, 27% of Americans 65 years of age or older now own smartphones. Of those 50-64 years old, over half (54%) own smartphones. Keep in mind, these aren’t just cellphones but smartphones. It is also worth knowing that number is growing. While mom or dad may need more help learning new technology, don’t misconstrue that to mean they are disconnected. Pew Research took a look at the most popular social media platforms and who was using them. There may be some older demographics your business is missing out on: Facebook now claims 48% of all internet users who are 65 and older. For those who are between 50 and 64 years old, 64% are Facebook users. Of all internet users between ages of 50 and 64 years old, 24% are Pinterest users. For those 65 and older, 16% are on Pinterest. Remember that Pinterest is dominated by women. Linked also has solid numbers for the older generation although they are reaching retirement age. Pew found that 26% of all internet users made use of LinkedIn, while 12% of those 65 and over used the platform. While the numbers of older users drops with social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter, they are not insignificant. Of internet users 50-64 years of age, 11% use Instagram and 13% use Twitter. It’s worth noting that even of those internet users who are 65 and older, 6% use Twitter and 4% use Instagram. Keep exploring these generations on social media in relation to your business and expertise. Tapping into these pockets of consumers will help you drive brand awareness, engagement, and ultimately more sales. Stand out among these groups by being in the right place with the right type of message on social media.
What’s So Great About Marketing Automation? Posted on December 8, 2015June 18, 2018 by Jessica Lunk Everybody say Warriors! The hottest start in NBA history keeps on rolling. The Golden State Warriors, now 22-0, are the most exciting team to watch in basketball right now. Before, teams won by controlling the paint, but this underdog team is playing ball out on the edge with the most efficient offense in the NBA. The Warriors, led by Stephen Curry, their star point guard, have leveled the playing field for a new type of player in the game of basketball. As I’ve been watching, I can’t help but see the connections the Warriors and Curry have with the small business world. Before, big business dominated the market with more power and more money; they went hard in the paint and controlled the game. With a new breed of marketing automation tools, small businesses can now tap into that same power big business benefited from for a fraction of the cost. How Does Marketing Automation Improve Your Game? The main benefit cited by small businesses using marketing automation is that they can shorten the time it takes to make sales by automating their efforts. Why? Sales works more efficiently by only working with the leads and prospects that are ready to buy. By taking specific actions such as submitting an online form, customers are giving businesses the signs that they are interested. Potential customers and clients get filtered the sale funnel in a more efficient way, so marketers can concentrate on closing sales and not prospecting for leads. How? If a lead isn’t ready to buy, that doesn’t mean they won’t some day. Provide valuable lead magnets to bring more leads into the funnel which you can then serve email campaigns to nurture them through the sales funnel. Since the automation programs also provide analytics, managers are also able to make better decisions about how to focus their efforts and budgets. Like what? You can see where you stand and how well your marketing campaigns are working. According to 70% of successful marketing automation users, conversion rate is the most useful metric for tracking performance. One study, published on eMarketer, found that companies that employ this data-driven approach fair better than their competitors in a number of important ways: These companies reported three times as much success when it came to engaging customers and achieving an advantage over their competitors. The automated companies were also three times as likely to report that they enjoyed greater revenues during the time period they employed their new marketing tools. Marketing Automation, Your Sharpshooter You want to move the ball down the court and get a slam dunk – that’s the big business way. However, you’re running a lean machine and efficiency is one of your top priorities. Stephen Curry and the Warriors focus on getting the three-point shots because they are more efficient than dunking at the net. Marketing automation helps you make those three-pointers. Your campaigns are your plays. With marketing automation, everything can be entered into the system and scheduled so you can then focus on other tasks. In addition, marketing automation makes it easy to segment different groups to send targeted messages tailored to how they communicate. When a prospect is ready to buy, your marketing automation system will notify you so you can make the shot and score. Marketing automation is a long term strategy; the longer you use it, more opportunities to optimize your practices arise. Test different plays to see what works for your business. Over time you will experience better lead management, more relevant content, and increased revenue.
6 Small Business Investments to Plan on Before the Year is Out Posted on December 2, 2015December 14, 2020 by Jessica Lunk This blog post was updated on December 14, 2020. Like every year, the shopping season is jam-packed with Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday deals. And this year, since most of the holiday shopping has moved online, it seems like every time you open your email or log on to social media you’re being inundated with promotions and discounts. And while you’ve probably already planned out your holiday shopping, what about shopping for your small business? Small business owners dedicate a lot of time to their customers and improving sales. However, if you want your business to thrive, it’s important that you find ways to invest in tools that will improve it long-term. You can’t expect to rise above your competitors if you are still being held back by less efficient processes and a lack of insights into your strategies. You’re probably thinking that now is really not the best time to make a business investment of any kind. But the truth is, now is one of the most strategic times to be dipping into your budget. Sure, investing in tools and products will require some fees upfront, but doing so will afford you benefits in the next year that you won’t want to miss out on. If you are a small business owner that runs a profitable operation, accelerating your expenses for the end of the year could help to offset taxable income. So if you have been planning to make a purchase of any kind, but have been putting it off for the right moment, pulling the trigger now, before the end of the year, can be a good idea for your business. Now, we know the high from making purchases is very real. However, don’t start adding to your cart just yet. You need to proceed with caution and be specific about the purchases you make if you want to actually offset your taxable income. Luckily, we’re here to help you make sense of some of this so you can determine what you’ll want to go over with your tax professional. Broken up into two categories (fixed assets and operations), here are some six small business investments business owners should consider before the new year: Fixed Assets Fixed asset expenses – you know, those big-ticket investments that are intended to last a long time for your business – may be depreciated over time. However, for small businesses, the Section 179 business tax deduction allows you to deduct more than the depreciated amount – up to $1,040,000 for 2020. As an added bonus, Congress has raised the deduction limit significantly every year for the past decade or so. For instance, last year, they extended the deduction limit to $100,000,000 – that’s a huge small business tax write off! This typically happens at the last minute, so while there’s no guarantee the deduction limit will be raised this tax year, the odds are in your favor. While we’re here to help offer you some tips, remember, we are not tax experts. Before making any small business investment, you should always consult your tax advisor or a tax professional. You’ll want to ensure that whatever purchase decision you make is one that will benefit you business and offer the right strategy for taking fixed asset deductions for your business. Here are a few fixed assets to consider purchasing this year: Equipment The end of the year is a good time to take a look around and see which equipment is no longer working at optimal performance. Farm implements, wide format printers, manufacturing equipment, restaurant-grade freezers, and ovens, etc., – if you’re planning on adding some expensive equipment fees to your credit card in the upcoming year, consider bumping your equipment purchase up to December. Vehicles Purchasing a company car? Adding a food truck to your restaurant? Or, maybe it’s time to get a truck or van added to your fleet. Again, make your purchase before the end of the year to help offset your business income tax and keep more of your money when your 2020 business tax bill comes in 2021. Property or Real Estate Expanding your business is always an exciting milestone. Perhaps you’re opening a new location or expanding your business into new regions. Or, maybe you’ve chosen to upgrade by moving to a bigger and better location. Whatever your growth plan looks like, if it involves a real estate purchase, you may want to get it in ASAP. Real estate purchased before January 1st is another fixed asset your business can deduct from your 2020 taxes. Operations Not every small business can take advantage of Section 179 deductions for fixed assets in 2020, but even those smaller investments can add up to deductions. So, tally up any operational fees you may need to make and consider taking the plunge sooner rather than later. Technology Whether you’re planning on upgrading systems, investing in new financial software, or maybe even taking a stab at small business marketing automation in 2021, make your business investment now in 2020. Not only will it be another expense you can deduct, but getting your technology sorted out now means you can start the new year with a clean, streamlined slate to make it the best year yet for your business. To give small business owners even more incentive to invest in sales and marketing technology before the year is out, BenchmarkONE is offering 10% off when you sign up for semi-annual billing of any of our plans by December 31st, 2020. If you’re even slightly considering upgrading your sales and marketing software, now is a great time to watch a demo and check it out! Supplies Printer paper, ink, post-its, and paper clips…stock up now on the essentials that keep your business running smoothly. Getting everything you need now means you won’t have to stop for an office supply run for a while, so you can concentrate on getting your year off to a good start. Projects Planning a rebrand in 2021? Need to redesign your website? Digitizing all of your old files for easy access and less storage? If you can tick a few of your 2021 projects off your list now before the year is out, you’ll be in a better spot when the new year starts – and can deduct the expense for 2020. If you’re looking for more tax tips for your business and hiring a tax professional isn’t an option, Freshbooks has a whole section dedicated to small business resources on their blog. And, of course, always consult a tax expert to make the best bookkeeping and tax decisions for your business. For profitable small businesses, it’s all about smart spending at the end of the year. Consider making your investments now instead of waiting for the next tax year. Not only will you benefit from the 2020 tax deductions, but (and maybe more importantly), you’ll be positioned to start the 2021 tax year off with a bang. Just remember, consult your tax advisor or a tax professional before making any big decisions.
Finding a Freelancer for Your Small Business Posted on December 1, 2015September 18, 2024 by Jonathan Herrick If you thought the only real reason to hire a freelancer was to do things you don’t know how to do, you’re limiting yourself. Many valuable – but time-consuming – tasks can be outsourced, and it’s often a great way for startups and small companies to save money and scale their business. It’s no surprise then that 90% of Elance customers are small businesses. After all, why pay a full time employee to do things that can be compensated on-demand? Most small businesses hire freelance workers for projects like web and mobile app development, cross-platform app development, content production, and online marketing, but you can find freelance workers to do all sorts of tasks, ranging from creating spreadsheets to putting together a video to acting as a virtual assistant. So where are these secret resources hiding? There isn’t just one place to hire temporary or remote workers. Some sites cater to just about every talent or specialty, but there are some specialized freelancing sites that might be better for specific projects. While some choices are better for highly skilled workers, others are great for simple and repetitive tasks. These sites often offer reviews of past work and let workers showcase their experience and talent. They usually also make it pretty easy to figure out how much the work will cost, if there are any guarantees that the job will get done correctly, and how to make payments. 10 Places to Find Freelancers for Your Small Business These are some of the general and specialized freelancing websites to help you find the right worker for your small business: Upwork: Created from the merger of Elance and Odesk, this site has people who are eager to do just about any task and plenty of competition to keep bids modest. The sheer size of the site may mean that you will have to spend a lot of time trying to sort through all of the offers. Other similar large sites include Freelancer.com and Guru.com Freelancer.com: Like Upwork, Freelancer.com is a large site dedicated to finding freelance professionals. This is a good place to start if you’re looking for help with web-based projects. Typical projects Freelancer.com can help with are website development, website design, mobile app design and SEO marketing. Guru.com: As the name implies, Guru.com is geared towards finding the right specialist for your project, rather than simple grunt work that does not require any special skills or training. You can post a job to find a freelancer, or search their database of thousands of freelancers to find the right fit for your project. Fiverr: You might think it’s impossible to get quality work for $5, and you might be partly right. However, there are professionals in fields like graphic design or proofreading who are making a living by adding in extras that can increase the bill. Typically, $5 jobs are more like a work sample. While some Fiverr sellers have learned to offer quality work on a budget, others might remind business owners that sometimes, they get what they pay for. 99 Designs: If you need help with branding, 99 Designs is a great place to start for tasks like creating a logo, designing a website, creating a car wrap for your company vehicle, or even designing your company tee shirt. 99 Designs is unique in that instead of choosing freelancers a la carte, you can run a contest to source several designs at once, and choose a winner. Mechanical Turk: This site is not so much for professionals as it is for people who perform micro-tasks. For example, this would be a good place to go to get people to gather small chunks of information from many places on the Internet or write short and simple descriptions. WriterAccess: This website is specifically for all types of writers, from bloggers to journalists to legal writers who hold a J.D. The writers here are well vetted and come with both writing and industry experience. Customer service is also very good. Customers can choose writers of different levels in order to get the right mix of quality and affordability. TopTalhttps://www.toptal.com/: Like WriterAccess, Toptal is selective about the freelancers they allow into the website. TopTal only caters to software, mobile, and Internet developers and designers. This is a place to go for high-quality tech and graphics talent. Craigslist: These local classified websites aren’t just a place to sell old bikes. Professionals do look for work there, and plenty of small businesses post freelancing jobs. If it’s important to find somebody local, this might actually be one of the better resources. However, all negotiation and payment has to get worked out between the business and the freelancer. TaskRabbit: Time is money, and if you’re running a small business, your time is extremely valuable. TaskRabbit helps you find people to help you at home, from picking up your dry cleaning to walking your dogs. When your home is taken care of, you can stay focused on your business. Could Freelancers Help Your Business Grow? Outsourcing work gives small businesses leverage to get projects done without adding to payroll. Because freelancers aren’t permanent employees, you can be agile in shifting spend around to complete the most pressing projects, scaling up in one area while scaling back spend in another. However, remember that you get what you pay for. At the end of the day, a freelancer’s work is going to be another representation of your business. Hiring the right freelancer is just as important as hiring the right employee if you want to get good results that can help your business scale.
8 Marketing Podcasts Every Entrepreneur Needs to Hear Posted on November 30, 2015 by Jessica Lunk If you are an entrepreneur, you’re always in learning mode, and most of that learning happens as you go—making mistakes, regrouping, evaluating and reiterating. But not all the lessons have to be reactive. With the rising popularity of podcasts—spurred, in large part, by the runaway success of the podcast Serial—there are a host of informative and entertaining podcasts focused on entrepreneurship and small business. With so many to choose from, we’ve compiled a list of seven of the best podcasts right now for startup founders and small business owners. Each one offers valuable insights into starting, running and growing a business. Entrepreneur on Fire: hosted and founded by John Lee Dumas, who interviews entrepreneurs to get insights and information from them to guide listeners on their entrepreneurial journey. That includes, for instance, advice about creating the right products and services for your audience, tips for boosting blog traffic or how to create an effective 60-second sales hook. Entrepreneurs talk about their failures and the lessons learned and every interview features that founder’s “Ah-Ha!” moment and the steps they took to turn that moment into success. ConversionCast: hosted by Tim Paige, this podcast helps marketers find measurable results to use in marketing their business and increasing revenue. Each episode features real-life case studies from seasoned marketing professionals who share tactics they’ve used to increase their numbers. And every marketer on the show gives hard data about before-and-after results. Stories From The Influencer Economy: hosted by Ryan Williams, an entrepreneur and marketer based in Los Angeles. This podcast features one-on-one interviews with those in the “world of influence,” and that includes creators, entrepreneurs, social media gurus, entrepreneurs and writers. The shows give valuable information about launching your product or service to the world, and gives insight into how people, businesses and brands can learn from top influencers. The Suitcase Entrepreneur: hosted by Natalie Sisson. Sisson has built an online business that gives her the freedom to travel and live the life she wants. She shares what she’s learned about online marketing, business and entrepreneurship twice a week. Sisson is big on figuring out the “why” behind what you do, and finding the “sweet spot”— essentially asking you to understand why you are offering what you offer and why people will want to pay for it. StartUp: a podcast from Gimlet Media (a startup itself). Gimlet was founded by Alex Blumberg, who spent 15 years as a producer and reporter at the public radio show “This American Life” and NPR’s “Planet Money,” a podcast he helped start during the financial crisis. His cofounder is Matthew Lieber. Startup chronicles the struggles and successes of a different business in each season, including Gimlet. Everything is on the table, from how to market your idea to angel investors to how to determine what differentiates you to your customers to how to balance startup life with regular life. Entrepreneur Effect: Hosted by Dush Ramachandran, this podcast highlights opportunities for entrepreneurs in digital marketing with thought-provoking interviews and discussions on strategic topics like product, positioning, pricing, packaging and promotion. Social Triggers Insider: This podcast was created and is hosted by Derek Halpern. He is a marketing expert and entrepreneur whose business, Social Triggers, helps entrepreneurs get more customers and partners, negotiate more effectively, price products correctly, market them and gain referrals, among other challenges. Forbes wrote that Halpern, is an “expert on how consumer psychology applies to online marketing.” The Slack Variety Pack: a podcast from Slack, a project management tool to get more stuff done in less time. This is a podcast about loving what you do in work and in life. Each episode highlights people following their dreams in our innovative and modern culture.
How Small Business Owners are Celebrating Thanksgiving in 2015 Posted on November 25, 2015November 11, 2022 by Jessica Lunk This Thanksgiving we want to turn our attention to small business owners. With Black Friday around the corner and Small Business Saturday close behind, we’re wondering if small business owners are getting caught up in the frenzy, or taking time to be present with family and friends. Their answers may surprise you – or, maybe they won’t. Here’s what 11 small business owners had to say about how they’re spending Thanksgiving this year. 11 Small Business Owners Share Their Thanksgiving Traditions We host a traditional Thanksgiving meal at our home with extended family. We don’t travel on Thanksgiving which makes it much more enjoyable in my view. After the meal we often attend a movie with our kids or work on a large puzzle spread across the kitchen table. The day following Thanksgiving my mother-in-law hosts a broiled Cajun shrimp feast! I also look forward to starting a good book during Thanksgiving. I close my small business and give my staff two paid days off to enjoy a four day Thanksgiving break with their family. Thanksgiving is my favorite time of year! John Kinskey, Founder and President of AccessDirect Thanksgiving to me is a time for family and for a few days out of the year it is alright to forget about business and just relax. Each year I look forward to seeing all of my friends and family, attempting to cook (it always ends in some sort of disaster), gorging myself on way too much food, and just kicking back without a care in the world – I know that all our employees feel the same so we close our business on both Thanksgiving Day as well as Black Friday. David Batchelor, Co-Founder / President of DialMyCalls.com I am the CEO of CDJ & Associates and the “mom” of a gigantic blended family that includes 11 kids, their spouses and our grandchildren. Carving out time to keep traditions is a BIG part of keeping me grounded no matter massive an undertaking I am enduring with the business. Some of our traditions include cooking while listening to disney movie showtunes and later listening to a very specific Holiday CD. As soon as we hear it, it shifts the atmosphere of the house. Before the meal, EVERYONE is responsible for sharing with everyone at least one thing they are thankful for. With a family our size it takes a while to get through everyone, but it is important to us that we remain mindful and are able to verbalize what blessings we have. Lastly, we are from the Detroit area, every Thanksgiving includes watching a Lions football game and given their track record we begin praying for them as soon as we are done blessing our food! Camille D. Jamerson, President & CEO of CDJ & Associates While I might take on a gig Saturday morning (because newborns arrive whenever they feel like it!), the rest of the weekend is mine to enjoy with friends and family. Luckily my industry has a steady stream of clients since babies are constantly being born, so I have the luxury of taking a weekend off to spend with my loved ones. Thanksgiving in my family is all about the food and good company, but mostly the food. Between the turkey, the stuffing and the sweet potatoes, elastic waist wardrobe options are a must! And don’t forget about dessert! Baking homemade apple pie with my mom has always been part of the tradition, complete with a flour-covered face and sneaking bits of raw crust to devour. Nowadays, a nice glass of wine (or three!) with fancy cheese balls, crudités and charcuteries, and a pile of board games makes for a wonderful and entertaining night. The best part? I get to enjoy leftovers for days! Stephanie de Montigny, Birth, Belly and Baby Photographer at Pure Natural Newborn In my family my brother, sister & I always spend Thanksgiving with my dad together. For Christmas they go to their in-laws but turkey day is sacred for us. We always go out to eat (vs cook), we go to different cities depending on what my dad prefers (since he treats), we toast our family members who have passed with champagne, the kids play hangman with my husband and we often go to a movie too. We usually all leave town on the Saturday after to beat the rush and try to take the whole week off work. I started my company 14 years ago and have never considered missing the holiday with my family no matter how busy we get, times like this get more special as you age. Paige Arnof-Fenn, Founder & CEO of Mavens & Moguls Our traditions are changing. For over 30 years we celebrated Thanksgiving at home with our two daughters. Both daughters have families and live out of town. Now we travel and spend time with one or both families and four wonderful grandchildren. About ten years ago we migrated our traditional brick and mortar retail stores to eCommerce. This has given us the freedom to travel. Bob Shirilla, Owner of Simply Bags As a small business owner it is always hard to completely unplug, especially since I am married to my business partner! Our family tradition is to totally unplug, hop on a plane and spend Thanksgiving in Maui. That way we literally cannot escape each other! 😉 We spend the days together going on adventures and on Thanksgiving day we settle in for a traditional meal and start by going around sharing what we are each thankful for. It really has created some of the best memories and I look forward to doing this yearly for many more years to come. Nellie Akalp, CEO & Founder of CorpNet.com I own my own small business. I always try to wind down on client work by Wednesday afternoon so we can enjoy spending time with the kids and traditions like watching a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. Our family Thanksgiving day traditions include watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade-the kids look forward to that every year. Then, we usually host our family for dinner. We make the turkey and everyone brings a dish to share. One thing that’s NOT a tradition at our house is no pumpkin pie – none of us like it! So, we usually have a cherry or apple pie instead. Unusual, but we just don’t enjoy the pumpkin. (-: Michelle Garrett, Owner of Garrett Public Relations My business partner and I own two small business ventures that see extra activity around the Thanksgiving holiday – our studio rental business, The Studio Hampton Roads, and our convention for working women, the Modern Femme Movement. Our core vision revolves around our commitment to our families, so it can be especially challenging to navigate the busyness of Thanksgiving while also staying true to what’s most important to us. We commit to unplugging during the holidays. It’s a time to be spent with family, making memories, decorating for Christmas, cooking together and being fully present and mindful of the people we love the most. We cherish the time spent around the dinner table, laughing and relaxing in the joy of the season, get outside in the brisk cold to hunt down the perfect tree, and refresh with later mornings and favorite movie marathons. To make this special time possible, we work very hard the week before Thanksgiving to accomplish as much as possible before we disconnect and shift the focus fully to our families. The Monday and Tuesday before Thanksgiving can be especially crazy for us, but it’s worth the extra effort to be able to truly take time off for the rest of the week. Our most important business decision has been to NOT engage in Black Friday selling. We want to encourage the families and business owners we support to enjoy their holiday time as well, and do not want to squash the holidays with a feeding frenzy of shopping. We instead host our special holiday deals on Small Business Saturday, and even have a few offers that we run as “Small Business Month” deals. This decision helps us to serve our customers and offer special savings to them while also encouraging them to join us in celebrating what is truly important on Thanksgiving – being fully present with family and friends. Katy Blevins & Somer Chambley of Modern Femme I am extremely excited and grateful for Thanksgiving this year! With having two jobs and owning my own business, it can be difficult to have time to see most of my family. Luckily, I will be able to participate in this year’s festivities! We usually go to Grandma’s and have the traditional turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, bread, pie, and much more. After eating, we usually take naps (Kidding, but I wish). We usually sit around and chit chat, until we decide to start burning off the calories by going pheasant hunting! After hunting we will end the evening with eating leftovers and parting our own ways! Derek Barnick, CEO of DNA Motivation Every Thanksgiving when we go to our family feast I leave my cell phone at home. No emails, calls or texts while celebrating with my family. During our dinner, we all write down on a piece of paper what we’re thankful for. After dinner my uncle reads the papers one by one, and we all try to guess who wrote them. We all take the challenge to be accurate but just opaque enough to keep everyone guessing. Eric Schlissel, CEO of GeekTek IT Services While every small business owner has a different tradition, there are some major trends that thread them together. Things like giving thanks, getting some extra rest & relaxation, spending time with family, taking care to let their employees have time to spend with their families as well, and of course, the food are all on the small business owner’s mind this Thanksgiving. How will you be spending your Thanksgiving this year? Share your traditions with #ThanksgivingTraditions.
Don’t Waste Money on the Wrong Freelancer Posted on November 24, 2015 by Jessica Lunk 5 techniques for hiring the right freelancer for your project I know from experience that hiring a freelancer can give small teams the agility to accomplish their goals – without adding another person to the payroll. Hiring a freelancer is a lot like hiring a permanent employee, but there is one difference – the freelancer is in a more precarious position than the applicant is. The freelancer knows this isn’t a permanent gig for them – they can only hope that you decide to use them frequently. Benefits, salary, vacation time and any of the other things that come with permanent employment are not on the table. That includes the comfort of knowing that their bills are satisfied on a monthly basis and that they are allowed to have an off day. It behooves them to look good, but what should be done isn’t always what is done. So it’s good to know that hiring a freelancer is easy. You can do it right now, if you really want to. There are people out there clamoring to do the kind of work you need done – whatever it is! You can find someone online, offer them the job, and they’ll take it with little to no questions asked. Lots of people do it. What’s not easy, though, is finding the right fit for your project. Here are some things you should consider when hiring a freelancer: Define Your Project Much like when writing a job listing, you need to know what your final product is. A clear understanding of what you want ahead of time is imperative. It helps the freelancer accurately pitch their services and price their work. This doesn’t mean that some details won’t change along the way but a change in scope is a big deal and would need to be renegotiated. Ask for Samples A good freelancer will be able to provide you samples of their work so that you can decide if they have the qualities you are looking for. Sure, everyone starts somewhere, but depending upon the type of project you are hiring for, you may not be able to let them cut their teeth with you. Know Your Timeline Once of the great things about working with a freelancer is that the work can be done quickly after the preliminary discussions are over. Be sure your candidates understand your timelines and can be flexible enough to meet them. Firm up these timelines before ever sitting down with a freelancer. Outline Your Budget This sounds like a simple in house task but it isn’t. While it is important to have your budget in place, you also need to know what the going rate for the kind of work you are requesting is. Do some research before reviewing freelancers to be sure you aren’t offering too little or too much pay for the task at hand. Prepare to Be Interviewed The freelancer is looking for several things in a potential client as well including a well-thought out end product, effective communication, and reliability. If they think they can’t trust you on any of those concerns, you may have a hard time sealing the deal. Be sure to put your best forward, too. Hiring freelancers isn’t a hard thing to do, but remember this: you get what you pay for. It may be tempting to go cheap and save a couple of dollars but what you lose in availability and proven ability will cost you more in the long run. Invest the time and effort required to find the freelancer that is the perfect fit for you and for your product. It’ll save you stress and a fair amount of money in the long run.