Words For Hire

Business, PR, Marketing, Social Media 586.461.2103

Getting the Most Out of Learning Opportunities with #Workhacks

by

Raise your hand if you have ever had conference brain? After a conference you are brimming with ideas and have a long list of things that you want to try, implement or learn more about. I don’t know about you but I often come down from the conference high, and land back in the real world with deadlines to manage, campaigns to organize and clients to please. I may get to one or two things on the list but far too often that list become one more of my kids with no shoes.

Overwhelmed

Overwhelmed (Photo credit: Walt Stoneburner)

Last week I attended the first ever Solo PR Pro Summit. It was an amazing event with a great lineup of speakers. The information shared was too valuable to languish in the “land of knowledge never applied” so I decided to try a different approach.

Post conference I started my day off with the #workhacks idea presented by Sarah Evans. As someone who was a Six Sigma trainer I truly appreciate efficiency improvements that are repeatable and help you reproduce the same high quality results in less time. The idea of #workhacks is to get more done in less time by strategically automating tasks and centralizing workflow to one hub.

My first workhack was to set up an account with Tracky which would function as my centralized hub for projects, ideas and status updates. Tracky will take time to really use effectively but is one of those hacks that has immediate payoff.

I cannot possibly implement everything I learned at the summit so made a prioritized list of tips that I could begin hacking away at over the next several months. I used Tracky to set up tips as tracks with links to the accompanying presentations and other resources that will help me work my way through putting insight into action. I can track my progress, and break up larger tasks into milestones. I can also add people to each track. This allows me to add subcontractors, subject matter experts or accountability partners to each specific project.

By using a project management approach, I am treating myself like a client (thanks to Heather Whaling for the reminder on this one) with a commitment to work on and not just in my business. The bonus is that I also have a personal development plan for the year to keep me growing, learning and becoming an even greater resource for clients.

How about you, do you have workhacks that help you to be more productive?

 

Yahoo! CEO Ignites Debate on #Remote Work

by

Roses are Red, Violets are Blue and Money is Green

by

Valentine's Day Chocolates

Valentine’s Day Chocolates (Photo credit: SimonQ錫濛譙)

As Valentine’s Day approaches, the last minute stress of finding the perfect gift begins to slowly creep into our brains…and our wallets. A holiday born from the unwavering dedication of St. Valentine to marry Roman soldiers and preserve the tradition of love has somehow been transformed into a celebration of love through the purchase of goods. Huh? If St. Valentine knew how misconstrued his intentions have become, his heart would break…

Love it or hate it, there is no avoiding Valentine’s Day. More than half of the U.S. population observes Valentine’s Day; making it extremely valuable to any business seeking to make it a holiday to remember. The restaurant, hotel, flower, online dating, card, jewelry and chocolate industries all bank on consumers wanting to express their love and impress their sweeties. To accommodate the surge in product demand, these industries adjust their costs and edit their services. The price inflation of goods for the occasion doesn’t seem to distract love addicts from participating. In fact, Valentine’s Day sees steady to increasing profits annually and comes in second to Christmas as the most expensive holiday. This year’s holiday is estimated to contribute around $18.6 billion dollars to the economy; which is about $1 billion more than 2012’s spending and to date the highest projected revenue on record.

So what are people buying? A survey was conducted that showed on average consumers would spend around $131, with men spending more than women. Typically, married couples spend less money to woo their honeys, spending around $74 per spouse. Popular purchases such as flowers are projected to bring in around $13.19 billion while its yummy counterpart chocolate holds its ground at $1.6 billion. Jewelry is not the most popular gift, as only 1 in 5 are looking to splurge on the shiny presents. However few those shoppers are, big ticket price tags result in big time sales – contributing $4.4 billion to the jewelry industry. On average, most consumers indulge in practical gifts such as clothing and the least chosen Valentine’s Day gift option is gift cards, coming in at a lowly $1.5 billion.

Judging by numbers, it seems as if consumers are wildly spending. In reality, more people are discount shopping this year as compared to last year’s budget. Fewer purchases are being made in department stores. Instead, customers are bargain hunting and shopping around for the best deals within a myriad of retailers. Helping shoppers find deals is use of tables and smartphones. Discount apps and mobile websites allow for consumers to peruse online inventory, redeem coupons and bid for items all without stepping foot in a retail store.

Even in the midst of economic rehabilitation in America, Valentine’s Day is a commercial holiday and a multi-billion dollar business that continues to see growth with no signs of decline. As long as there are new couples, secret admirers or spouses looking to keep the love flame burning, there will be Valentine’s Day gifts. Who says money can’t buy love?

The Pure and Simple Guide to Social Media and Marketing

by

Ivory Soap has a new ad campaign When Dirt Changes.

The ad reads: When Dirt Changes Its Formula, So Will We, Pure and Simple. The ad does a nice job of positioning a long standing brand as relevant today even in the face of so many new soap products.

The Pure and Simple tagline resonated with me. Unlike Ivory, so many of us change the foundation of what we do to keep up with the bright and shiny objects that occupy our space. What if we approached our social media tactics with a pure and simple mindset? Or our marketing? What would happen if we focused less on gadgets and numbers and more on the pure and simple formula of building relationships?

Having a pure and simple formula does not limit you to a single approach but provides you with a foundation that can be applied consistently. While there are specific marketing and social media tactics that can and should be applied, your foundation should acknowledge that the formula for developing relationships with people remains unchanged.

We can over complicate when we focus more on tactics, gadgets and tools  than on people. The pure and simple approach keeps us on track and the focus on what is truly important.

I would love to hear your thoughts. Do you think pure and simple has a place in today’s world? How do you stay on track with your efforts?

 

 

It’s Complicated! A Closer Look at Our Relationship with Money

by

A money changer device

Image via Wikipedia

This week we have been discussing Mrs. Teague, a woman who had a storehouse of content that she wanted to offer for free. She had definite attitudes about fee versus free. You can read part 1 here and the follow-up here.

In my discussion with Mrs. Teague I shared that I had no problem with anyone making a profit.  My disclosure prompted her to protest “But I’m a giver! Her sentiment seemed to imply that giving and profit are mutually exclusive.  This is one of the common beliefs I encounter that hint at our complex attitudes about money and in particular wealth.

I talk to so many small business owners who struggle with charging for their services. They do things for free, go beyond an established scope of work and very often charge too little for their services. They seem almost ashamed to make money, and are uncomfortable asking for it.

Money is not evil. It is inanimate and only has the power we assign to it. Having money does not make a person bad or less virtuous than those who have less. In this country we have these complex ideas about money. I have not heard anyone scream that they want less money but we have definitive ideas about how much is “too much” and how money should be spent when you live in abundance.

As a business owner you have to delve into your attitudes and relationship with money so that you can be a responsible steward of your life’s work. Getting to the root of any dysfunction can uncover attitudes that may be limiting you in multiple areas of your life.

Making a profit from your time and expertise does not make you a selfish, money grubbing charlatan. Profit is part of being a responsible business. Ensuring that you have a good and healthy cash flow says that you respect the precious gift which has been entrusted to you. Profit also allows you to be a giver. When you make money you can invest in other businesses goods and services, create jobs indirectly or directly and support the nonprofits and charities of your choice.

Unless you have taken a personal vow of poverty, your goal as a business owner should be to develop and sustain a profitable business.

Just as I am not against profit, I am not against free. With both, comes a responsibility to do what is right by your customers and your business.  If “free” is going to bankrupt your business, then it’s not a smart decision. You should also reconsider free if you cannot afford to offer true value without a price tag.  Even free comes with a cost and a decision as to how those costs are allocated – shared with the recipients or solely the burden of the giver.

Deciding on how much you want to profit is up to you. The first step is to understand your costs. Some businesses give so much that they struggle to cover the basics. MBO Partners has a great free online tool that will help you to determine your billable rate based on your costs and desired profit.

You can also begin to examine your attitude about money. Does money make you feel guilty, and if so why? Taking time to discover how you really feel about money provides an opportunity for you to become a much stronger financial manager, business owner and person.

Do you or someone you know struggle with making money or charge for services? How has it impacted your business and/or your relationships? Do you have any advice for others struggling with this issue?

Resources:

The Soul of Money: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and LifeConscious Finance: Uncover Your Hidden Money Beliefs and Transform the Role of Money in Your Life

 

Enhanced by Zemanta

Free Enterprise, Free Will

by

Free place to sleep

This is Part 2 in a series. In the last post we discussed a woman who wanted to provide a collection of free information. She had the option of giving or selling the information to active companies in her market who would provide both content and service. She refused because she was adamant that it should be given away rather than sold.

Readers Weigh In

Brad Shorr noted: “One of the beauties of the free market system is that people are free – free to give things away or charge for them, if they can. What is wrong is to condemn the whole idea of profits.” Meryl K. Evans agreed and pointed out that giving it away for free “could lead to an unfair situation if someone else takes advantage.” Sherwood MacRae cut to the heart of it asking, “Could it be that the attitude she appears to have is the reason she has not accomplished her objective?”

Capitalism – economic system in which individuals and firms are relatively free to compete with others for their own economic gain

Free is a Price

As many of you noted the beauty of a free market system is we are free to set a price, even if that price is zero. As much as Mrs. Teague protested capitalism she was an active participant. She was not running a business and had no desire to profit from her offering. There is nothing wrong with that at all. She was however, wrong in her judgment of other businesses that chose to exchange similar information for fee.

The Solution

Putting economic theories aside I focused on helping Mrs. Teague achieve her objective. The price point did not change the need to cover the basics of service, sales, and marketing. We had a product and a price and now had to work within her defined budget to get it to market.

An early idea was to give the content to the local library. The library was honored but could not accept it as they did not have the staff or resources to manage the information. Determined to move forward, Mrs. Teague decided to create her own website to host and distribute the information to visitors.

With a limited budget, the next step was determining the best and highest use of her dollars.  It was essential that site visitors had the ability to search by term or alphabetically. The search results would link them to the appropriate PDF which they could then download immediately. Usability was essential, and therefore the highest budget priority was the site and site functionality.

She wanted to hire a copywriter to write the site content. However, I advised her to write it on her own. She would only need a short intro text instructing users how to search and what was available. There would be no call to action, contact forms, opt-ins or need to develop an ongoing relationship with the visitor. She could gain inspiration from similar sites.

As of this writing, Mrs. Teague is working with a highly experienced web design company to get her new site up and running.

Free is a choice but one that comes with the same responsibilities of a higher price point. In other words, whether fee or free, it’s still business as usual.

Once we stripped away the emotion around fee or free, we were able to focus on executing on Mrs. Teague’s vision. Her problem was easily solved, but it’s not so easy for other business owners. Tune in for the last installment in this series as we take a look at the emotion of money.

Are you surprised that Mrs. Teague proceeded with her plan? What advice do you have for others considering if and what to charge? Please share your thoughts in the comments.

Enhanced by Zemanta