She Owns It

Celebrating, Connecting, and Supporting Women Entrepreneurs

What Do Entrepreneurs Gain From Incorporating A Business? by @DeborahSweeney

by Leave a Comment

by  | Featured Contributor

Should you incorporate your business? Is it really necessary to incorporate if you want to run a business? As the leader of a business that specializes in document filing services, I hear the first question asked quite a bit by new and existing entrepreneurs alike. My answer is always a resounding ‘Yes!’ — and not just because it’s what I specialize in doing, either.

The second question is a little trickier to answer. In theory, you don’t have to incorporate a small business. Some entrepreneurs have side hustles that they choose not to incorporate. The reasons for this may vary. The gig, for instance, could be a side project you’re passionate about, but don’t make much money from or have a desire to expand into working on full-time. Another reason could be the incorporation process itself. This is often viewed as too time-consuming and boring to do… so entrepreneurs avoid doing it. However, entrepreneurs may not realize just how many benefits they’re missing out on simply because they chose not to incorporate.

Should you incorporate a business? Yes! Is it really necessary to incorporate? Also, yes! Let’s talk about all the great things you (and your business) gains from getting started.

Liability Protection

If you decide to form a limited liability company (LLC) or corporation for your business, these entities ensure that it receives liability protection.

What does this term mean, exactly? Liability protection maintains a separation between your professional and personal assets. If your business was delinquent on its debt, liability protection would ensure that personal assets, like houses and cars, were not impacted outside of the business.

Are there any entities that do not provide liability protection? The most prominent one is a sole proprietor. Many entrepreneurs incorporate under this entity due to its affordability. Acting as a sole proprietor also ensures that you, the business owner, are in control of the business. This kind of responsibility, however, means that any and everything that can happen — from accidents to product damages — holds you fully accountable. If the thought of unforeseen circumstances keeps you up at night, you may consider switching entities for liability protection.

Building Credibility

How do you feel after you’ve done business with a company that had an “Inc.” or “Corp.” in its name? There’s a bit of added trust that comes with shopping or investing with these types of businesses. Incorporating gives businesses an added boost credibility. This legitimizes the business, making it a win-win for both the company’s reputation and the trust customers are able to quickly establish with it.

Understanding The Structure Of Your Business

It’s not uncommon for an entrepreneur starting a business to ask themselves what type of business they want to own and operate. They have a pretty good idea of what their offerings will be and their given industry. What about the company’s legal structure?

Incorporating does more than provide liability protection, potential tax savings, and establish credibility for a small business. It also provides them with an entity that helps structure the company.

Let’s take a moment to compare and contrast what it means to incorporate as an LLC versus a corporation. An LLC provides a bit of added flexibility in its legal structure, such as the ability to choose an S Corporation as its tax entity. Forming an LLC is also ideal for small businesses that wish to stay small and independent. In the event that you choose to expand and would like to take the business public, you do not need to remain an LLC forever. You may change the entity to a public legal structure like a C Corporation when the time is right.

Corporations, on the other hand, are much more strict legal structures. Entrepreneurs that choose to incorporate as a corporation usually have big plans for their business, like raising capital, going public with an IPO, and expanding worldwide. A corporation would be the ideal entity for this kind of business structure. It allows entrepreneurs to accept money from investors, issue stock, and still keep the company protected through liability protection.

Incorporating Is Just The First Step!

Understanding the entity you want, and need, before incorporating your business ultimately provides it with a great foundation for success.

Don’t forget that you’ll need to check a few legal items off your to-do list after incorporating, too! Apply for basic business licenses that pertain to your company and its offerings, business insurance, an employer identification number (EIN), and any trademarks or copyrights necessary to protect your intellectual property.

———————————————————————

Deborah Sweeney – Legal Expert, CEO, MyCorporation.com – Calabasas, CA

As CEO of MyCorporation Business Services, Inc., Deborah Sweeney is an advocate for protecting personal and business assets for business owners and entrepreneurs. With her experience in the fields of corporate and intellectual property law, Deborah has evolved from lawyer to business owner. She has extensive experience in the start-up and entrepreneurial industry as she has been involved in the formation of hundreds of thousands of businesses for MyCorporation.com’s customers.

Ms. Sweeney received her JD & MBA degrees from Pepperdine University. She is active in the community and loves working with students and aspiring entrepreneurs. She serves on the Board of Regents at California Lutheran University and is a founding member of Partners of Pepperdine. Deborah has served as an adjunct professor at the University of West Los Angeles and San Fernando School of Law in the areas of corporate and intellectual property law. Ms. Sweeney is also well-recognized for her written work online as a contributing writer with top business and entrepreneurial blogging sites.  She is a regular contributor on Forbes, American Express, Social Media Today, and BlogHer among many others.

In her ‘free’ time, Deborah enjoys spending time with her husband and two sons, Benjamin (8) and Christopher (6). Deborah believes in the importance of family and credits the entrepreneurial business model for giving her the flexibility to enjoy both a career and motherhood. Follow her on Twitter @deborahsweeney and @mycorporation.

Affirmations Can Help Your Goals by @relaxedmale

by Leave a Comment

Affirmations Can Help Your Goals

by Bryan Goodwin | Featured Contributor 

March, whew! Time is flying one-fourth of the year is here and where are you at on your goals? Yeah, your goals, those tasks, and objectives that you want to complete before the year ends. So, how are you doing with those goals? Looking for your goal list right now aren’t ya. If you are like me, you hit February and your goals start to disappear from your memory. Even if you have, the goals listed in a journal or on post-it notes on your mirror.

Why do we forget?

Why do most people have such a difficult time remembering goals? Well, the answer is we are both creatures of habit and we get busy. Many times by February, we are having conferences we are trying to attend. There are impending deadlines that are looming. Then there is life and if you have kids in school, February is when the school routine starts to focus on the end of the school year. There are so many different activities and the kids need your attention. In addition, you are human, you want to believe you are Super Girl but sadly, you too have only so many hours in a day. Therefore, something often has to give. That something is often the focus on your goals.

Yet there are ways you can remember your goals even when you come to the February wall. Now, this does take a bit of practice if you haven’t done this before, the trick is to put your goals in with your affirmations.

The power of affirmations

Maybe you have heard of affirmation. Maybe you haven’t. If not affirmations are thoughts and beliefs that you reaffirm in your mind. Many people from the ’80s hear affirmations and they think of Stewart Smalley. This was a skit on the sketch show Saturday Night Live. Now the skit was to try to show the absurdity of using affirmations because at that time affirmations were kind of the fad of the self-help world. Many times it was thought that you just say positive thoughts to yourself and poof walla! You had a better life. Well, that is how it was often sold. There is some key point when not applied can cause you to be just a Stewart Smalley saying, “I’m Good enough. I’m smart enough, and doggone it people like me.”

Key points about affirmations

The biggest aspect of affirmations is you have to believe what you are saying. If you look in a mirror and all you see is a fat person, it isn’t going to do you any good to have the affirmation of, I am my ideal weight. If you don’t believe the affirmation it is not going to work. You can work to that affirmation though. You have to take baby steps but if you do see yourself as overweight and you are wanting to be content with that weight then start with a small bit of truth. Start with the best feature you have. You may start by looking in a mirror and say I have nice eyes. Keep that up until you can say you have a nice face. Eventually, you will expand to, “My body is alright”

You do have to see the truth in the affirmations before you get the benefit of it. If you say, “I choose Happiness and love no matter what the circumstances”, and you believe it then you will choose happiness even when the circumstance isn’t as favorable.

Another point is that the affirmation needs to be said in your own voice. Also depending on who you are it may be better if you personally read it aloud. You may even say it into a mirror but I don’t find that really necessary. It does need to be in your voice. You can read it yourself or you can record yourself saying the affirmations. Then play it back as you are driving or washing dishes.

A good app to do this is Think Up. It is for both Android and iOS. You are able to record your affirmations and then you can play it back with or without music.

Photo by Kalen Emsley on Unsplash

Personal note

I rarely do the playback me reading my affirmations and that is because I often lose focus on what is being said so I am not hearing each affirmation. When I read my affirmations, I am actively listening to each word and the power that it has. So take that for what it is worth. Maybe you are a better listener than me and you can pay attention to each affirmation as it is stated. If you can’t, do not sweat it. Just read the affirmations to yourself.

If you would like to find some great affirmations to use, there are lists all over the place. Here are a couple of sites that contain affirmations you can use.

50 Positive Affirmations

1,132 Positive affirmations

Affirmations and goals

Now here is the punchline for that whole affirmation overview. If you have the habit of reading your affirmations daily, then this a perfect opportunity for you to remember your goals. Insert your goals into your affirmation list. This way since you are paying attention to your affirmations you are also reading each day, and you are also hearing each of your goals be read aloud by you. This allows you to stay focused on those goals so they don’t fade out in February, or May, or September. So try this little trick. It that may help you keep your goal a bit longer so you have a better chance of achieving it and reaching the level of success you hope and dream for.

Have you ever tried mixing your goals in with your affirmations? Have you had better success with your goals by doing so? Do you read your daily affirmations? If not please share why in the comments below. I would love to talk more about this.

Featured Image Photo by Marc Rafanell López on Unsplash

5 Reasons Why Supporting Other Women is the Smartest Move You’ll Make in Business (and Life) This Year by @andrea_schroll8

by Leave a Comment

Photo by Daria Shevtsova from Pexels

by Andrea Schroll

As driven, ambitious women, we want nothing more than to create a life of fulfillment and freedom, but let’s face it – we all have our hot mess moments. Moments we are trying to pour from that empty cup, rushing around trying to get it all done and still maintain some level of sanity to be a good mom, spouse, partner, friend…a functioning human being.

The same cycle; over and over again. Rinse and repeat.

And we keep going. One foot in front of the other, with the occasional stumble over our own two feet.

Welcome to the everyday grind and hustle of a determined, empowered woman. Am I right?

The truth is, at some point along your journey, this very same cycle may get the best of you, making it a challenge to maintain a positive, motivated, entrepreneurial spirit. This is the primary reason why supporting other women is the smartest move you’ll make in business and life in 2019.

Let me break it down for you.

1. Entrepreneurship can get lonely.

If you don’t engage or network with like-minded entrepreneurs, don’t have many social connections with people who understand your entrepreneurial mindset or lifestyle and/or you don’t totally have support network of people who have your back no matter how many times your business goals change, things can get pretty lonely as a boss babe. One sure shot way of making sure you’re not living la vida lonely is to start connecting and supporting other women – in business and in life. Real, authentic connections can totally change the game and make for a more positive, fruitful business experience. Invest the time in supporting and empowering other women who are on the same path as you. And one of the best things about this is that you can do it for free.

2. It’s easy to isolate, get lost on social media and breed inaction.

Going down the rabbit hole of scrolling social media, comparing yourself to other women, online shopping as a coping mechanism or distraction and not being productive are just a few of the primary barriers to getting things done and building your empire. The thing is, all of these things are easier – a whole lot easier than stepping out of your comfort zone and taking a leap of faith toward building your social network within your business. While all of the shiny distractions can offer instant gratification and secondary gain (avoidance, excuses, etc), they will not benefit your business or your life. So break the cycle, create a game plan, build your squad and be on your way to a more fulfilling year in business.

3. Building relationships and community will increase confidence.

Remember your last hot mess moment? Well, what good is it if you don’t have other women to share it with. If you think you’re alone in whatever struggle you may be facing from time to time, you’re not. There are millions of women just like you waiting to connect with someone who is also perfectly imperfect. I encourage you to reach out and connect with others in a way that feels good to you. A strong community of women who build each other up may likely be the confidence boost you’ve been searching for, and exactly what you need to crush your goals this year.

4. You’ll be happier and more productive.

Supporting other women actually does have the power to transform your life. When you’re kind to someone else, you’re also being kind to yourself. Being mean or judgmental expels a great deal of negative energy, and rarely works in your favor (if ever). That negative energy can be completely exhausting, but most people don’t even realize it. Having the certainty to pay someone else a compliment is a huge testament to your character. At the end of the day, there is no competition. Once you see this, harness your strengths and support others, you can truly allow yourself to grow into your happiness. Your motivation will increase and you will become more productive; ultimately tackling your personal and professional goals with more enjoyment and less stress.

5. Personal growth, awareness and inspiration.

When you connect, collaborate and support other women, you begin to recognize your own strengths and quickly learn about what motivates you. This internal revelation will be so powerful and will highlight your true, authentic qualities, giving you the perfect opportunity for personal development and growth. There is so much to learn from one another. Letting go of your ego and having an open mind can open up monumental possibilities. Be open to learning from others’ and their experiences, and don’t hesitate to ask for help. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness — quite the opposite, in fact. Show your inner strength and reach out for support when you need it. So often, we are clouded by external validation, judgment, opinions, etc. Now is your chance to step into your light as an empowered, supportive woman. Put forth your positive characteristics and you’ll inspire others to do the same — it really is contagious.

 

——————————————————————————

Andrea Schroll is a licensed psychotherapist, business mentor and the founder of Soul-Hustle – a multidimensional brand centered on female empowerment in entrepreneurship. As a spiritual entrepreneur, Andrea blends cognitive psychology, intuition, mindfulness practices, linguistic finesse, and heart and soul into her work to help people shift their habits, energy and success with life changing results.

How divorce coaching empowers women following a relationship breakdown by Lilly Parks of @naked_recovery

by Leave a Comment

by Lilly Parks

The good news is that the divorce rates in the US have started dropping since 1990, and have followed a downward trend since then. And thanks to millennials who are doing things differently, the rates will likely continue to decline. This is according to a sociology professor at the University of Maryland, Philip Cohen, in his analysis of the American Community Survey (ACS) data.

Still, the divorce coaching industry is thriving, but not for reasons that you’d normally associate with it.

Divorce coaches make a living out of helping people, cope with the breakdown of a relationship. They also empower these men and women to become better. This makes divorce coaching a rewarding business, what with a bigger cause behind it. But the real reason that lawyers work with divorce coaches is that they’re the ones who take care of the non-legal work that lawyers and their legal staff generally don’t do.

It’s easy to associate divorce coaching as something similar to therapy, which is not exactly far off. But these independent third parties provide more than just encouragement, guidance, and motivation. Their work also covers pre-divorce, during a divorce, and after divorce.

The roles divorce coaches play

Before a divorce

  • Assess a marriage to identify if there’s still hope to work on the marriage or if a separation or divorce is the only solution
  • Assess the counseling needs of parents and children
  • If the decision to get a divorce is final, prepare clients for the upcoming journey

During a divorce

  • Help clients work through their financial and personal needs
  • Encourage sound decision-making by providing clear information about the divorce proceedings to clarify thoughts and concerns
  • Help a client build a personal support system

After a divorce

  • Help set goals for the future
  • Share the positives of divorce based on their own experiences since some divorce coaches have gone through divorce themselves

How divorce coaching helps and empowers women

  • Hand-holding

While your friends and family can provide support, relying on them comes with its own emotional baggage. Family members could be pushing you to take your ex to the cleaners or suggest many ways that you can hurt the other party.

As an independent third party, a divorce coach can create a non-judgmental, patient, safe, and supportive environment for you to get down to what really matters without pressure. Emotions are also excluded.

  • Overcome separation

And the emotional turmoil that comes with it.

Grieving the loss of a relationship is one of the many things that women go through following a breakup or divorce. A divorce coach will help you deal with the loss and then help you build your support system.

One of the first things they look into is the immense confusion you are experiencing and then help address your overwhelming emotions and fears.

Part of their job is to discuss major concerns, such as:

  • How can you manage financially?
  • What will happen to your children?
  • How do you break the bad news to your children?
  • How do you deal with co-parenting?

With a seasoned divorce coach, you will be able to navigate through the financial, legal, and practical challenges of divorce.

  • Grow and learn

There are lessons to be learned following a divorce. But unless someone is guiding you to the right path, you may not see those important lessons. You could get stuck in the grief stage, never to move on from there. You could choose to use alcohol, drugs, and food to cope with the fallout rather than take good care of yourself.

The right divorce coach can help you appreciate the good side of such a horrific experience.

It is possible that you chose the wrong partner. You made mistakes that contributed to the breakdown of a relationship. By identifying what went wrong, you’ll know better next time.

  • Help reboot and create a new life

After a divorce, the focus of coaches is to help a client establish a vision and goals for the future, both for the short-term and long-term.

This is how divorce coaching empowers women, especially women who experienced self-discovery and happiness following a relationship breakdown.

Short-term goals may include going on a divorce retreat to learn about mindfulness and meditation. Many women who went on a retreat post-separation came home with a new perspective. They got to know who they really are, which is the greatest gift you can give to yourself. Another goal is to travel a lot, which some women say has helped them re-evaluate their values in life.

A good example of a long-term goal is to live a healthy lifestyle. A study that appeared in the Journal of Women’s Health showed that 80,000 women became healthier after a divorce.

A divorce coach can help you set similar goals for yourself.

If you want to take back your power, you will find a guide and supporter in them.

Once you’ve rediscovered yourself, you can start building a new life, a new career, and a new you.

 

—————————————————————————————–

Lilly Parks is a Divorce Angel and part of the dynamic Naked Divorce team. She is committed to helping her clients find the path towards healing and has been providing assistance to those who are going through the difficult trauma of divorce for more than 5 years.

Entrepreneurs: How to Not Get ‘Owned’ by Social Media by @thedriftingdesk

by 1 Comment

by Lisa Jordie

We all know unplugging from social media every so often is important for our sanity, but what happens if using social media is part of your job? Social media marketing was all fun and games until the platforms started being villainized. And, in some ways, rightfully so.

Many sociologists, academics and scientists are quick to point out the need to ‘unplug’ from social media to reconnect with humans, free up your time and stop contributing to the seemingly insidious nature of these tools.

Sure, unplugging may mean you miss a cute Snap of your adorable nephew wearing virtual bunny ears, but what if your job requires using social media? There’s no way to simply delete your accounts for many entrepreneurs who utilize the platforms to:

  • Find and connect with clients
  • Promote and market their brand via ads
  • Answer questions from customers
  • Countless other opportunities

In his book, Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked, author Adam Atler says of social media platforms,

“They’re distracting because they remind us of the world beyond the immediate conversation…”

So, say you agree that you’d like to spend less time on your phone and on social media, but you are still an entrepreneur who needs to use these tools for your business. Here are some sure-fire ways to not get owned by social media:

Disable App Notifications

Do you really need to get a notification that your old boss loved a picture you posted last year? Or that that dude you met once at a baseball game just checked into an airport in Missouri?

These are all notifications you can look at once you open these apps on your own time.

Since we already know these social media platforms are psychologically and strategically designed to keep reminding us that they exist, disabling app notifications goes a long way!

Remove Apps From Your Phone

If the temptation to use social media apps is still too great even without constant and real-time notifications, consider removing the apps all together.

Although you can access the apps on your computer for business-related tasks, some platforms just don’t function the same on desktops. Trying installing the apps on a tablet and using this instead of your phone.

Using a tablet for social media apps is also a great way to be able to separate business and personal accounts as well. Say goodbye to constantly logging in and out of separate accounts!

Create Separate Accounts

This. Is. Pivotal.

Switching gears quickly is part of the game if you are an entrepreneur, but it can be mentally straining to go from responding to a message with pictures the bounty of sweet Aunt Sandra’s vegetable garden to responding to message from a confused client who needs clarification on one of your business processes.

This may mean making a quirky name for your personal account and your ‘real’ name for your business account. So be it. Separating your personal and business social media accounts will also make it easier to stay organized with your business.

Set a Schedule

Instead of being available on social media all of the time, set a schedule with specific times during the day when you check in to and publish on these apps. Using a Social Media Manager tool is incredibly helpful to auto-schedule posts as well (and is a huge productivity booster).

Live

Get out and live your life:

  • Take a painting class.
  • Hike with your dog.
  • Knit a boho-style macrame plant hanger.
  • Whatever. Just live.

Most importantly, give yourself time away not just from social media, but from your job.
This is why you’ve worked so hard. To live a fulfilling life. So go enjoy it..away from electronic devices..even if it’s in small doses.

How do you set boundaries with social media as an entrepreneur?

 

———————————————————————————-

Lisa Jordie has been a blogger and freelance writer for hire since 2014 when she ditched her cubicle for a more flexible lifestyle. She offers work from home, blogging and freelancing tips at TheDriftingDesk.com.

6 Science-Backed Activities For Leaders To Become More Zen In Life by @AngeKYoumatter

by Leave a Comment

by Angela Kambouris | Featured Contributor

Whether it’s mothers trying to separate teens from their screens to the busy executive going from conference calls to meditation, the evolution of technology impacts all facets of life. The digital world is permeating the fabric of life and its time to redefine the future of living.

As of December 2018, there are over 2.32 billion monthly active users worldwide on Facebook. There were 1.15 billion mobile daily active users. The average time spent per Facebook visit is 20 minutes and every 60 seconds, 510,000 comments are posted.

The average American spends 24 hours a week online. E-marketer trends forecasted that US adults would spend an average of 3 hours, 35 minutes per day on mobile devices in 2018 and by 2019 mobile will surpass TV as the medium attracting the most minutes in the US.

Smartphones and apps have changed the way we work, communicate and play. Technology is a double-edged sword. It brings people together, makes it easier for people to collaborate however the negative impact can be soul-destroying. People’s physical health is being compromised due to poor eating habits, working more late hours, exercising less through to posture issues, headaches, and the quality and quantity of sleep and emotional wellbeing being impacted.

It’s time to take back your overrun attention and life. Let’s dive into 6 actionable activities that support you to get your focus back, live more consciously and build a more mindful life.

Work Smart Rule

The Pareto principle, 80/20 rule is well known for 20% of your work is going to account for 80% of your results. If you apply this universal truth to business and life, you invest 20% of the time on the tasks that yield 80% of the results. Leveraging the principle involves in asking quality questions to decipher what you are investing your time in:

  • What have l done that has moved me closer to my vision?
  • What have l invested my time in that has had a negative or no impact on moving me towards my vision?
  • What would be the steps that l would need to take to move one step closer to my vision?
  • What would be the first thing l would implement to bring me closer?

By being specific, you will determine the very step you need to execute daily to become the most productive version of you. By organizing your daily tasks, you prioritize the key bite-sized chunks, you focus on the tasks with the highest payoffs and you tackle your top 20% of tasks first.  When you execute those tasks, your brain release dopamine, the feel-good hormone. By cultivating small achievements, you propel yourself to greater success.

Zen Time

The practice of mindfulness and meditation has been around for thousands of years. In more recent times, the business world has embraced these practices because research supports how these practices can change the wiring and makeup of your brain. Companies such as Google, Salesforce,  and Toyota have understood the personal benefits of mindfulness to support business objectives.

Training the mind to focus is becoming more critical than ever as your attention is being pulled in 1000 different directions at once. Learning the basics of mindfulness and meditation through courses, books, apps, and YouTube videos is readily available. Commitment to a daily practice, starting with dedicated time in your day to learning to be present. This can be a sitting meditation using an app such as Headspace or practice being in the moment when going for a walk.

The Art of Now

Being in the moment can be a reminder for you to be more mindful of wherever you happen to be. When emotions, thoughts or desires arise, you notice them, be kind to them and allow them to be just as they are. When you embrace the moment with an open mind, you merely observe without judgment. By being in the moment, research supports that by fine-tuning your ability to be present, you decrease your stress responses and increase your positive emotions. When you make room for the full range of your human experience, you will live with more inner peace.

Self-inquiry

Another way is to focus on the inner orchestra of your body by scanning from head to toe. Notice which part of the body you connect with and notice what you feel. Another way is to focus on one part of your body and notice the physical sensations you can feel. When you focus on bodily sensation you release tension that perhaps you were not aware of before. When you bring attention to areas of discomfort within the body you decrease symptoms of stress and improve psychological well-being.

Purposeful Action

Multi-tasking is a mere illusion and addictive. Your brain convinces you that it loves to multitask when in fact training your mind to focus on one thing at a time allows you to produce more meaningful results. When you commit to your actions being purposeful and deliberate, you slow everything down. You shut down your mental autopilot to allow the logical part of your brain steps into the driver’s seat.

Act of Nature

In our modern work, distraction is running rife. Being able to disconnect and go into nature, whether it be a walk, hike or just sitting, you re-sensitize yourself to the life and beauty around you.  Environmental Health and Preventative Medicine published a study that found participants that walked in a forest had lower blood pressure and levels of cortisol (referred to as the stress hormone) afterward than those who strolled through a city environment.

Shinrin-Yoku or “forest bathing” was developed in Japan during the 1980’s, designed to combat stress from overwork. Today, it has become a cornerstone of preventive health care and healing in Japanese medicine. By simply being in nature, connecting through your senses of sight, hearing, tastes, smell and touch. By opening your senses, it bridges the gap between you and nature.

Your repeated experiences will shape your thinking and the way you live your life. What your practice, grows stronger.

What kind of leader are you? by @SaabyConsulting

by Leave a Comment

What Kind of Leader are You?

As small business owners, we barely have time to keep the business running, let alone worry about what kind of leaders we are.

If you are thinking about how to grow your business, and you should be, now is the time to consider what kind of leader you are.  Even if you have never explored any research on leadership practices, I think most of us would acknowledge that while a good leader is critical to achieving a high level of morale at an organization, more often than not, leadership is frequently based on nepotism, favoritism and an ever- changing model of inconsistent rewards and inappropriate and poorly understood punishments.

Business growth is a team effort.

If your team isn’t on board with the organization’s goals and objectives, or worse, you haven’t even told them the organization has goals and objectives, rest assured, your efforts will fail.

Leadership is a process and even if you don’t think you were born to leader, you can certainly learn to be one.

Before you go on a mad hunt for leadership articles on the Internet or spend tons of money on books to read about leadership (wondering when you will find the time to read them) or signing up for boot camps on leadership – stop and take a deep breath.  You have more knowledge than you realize about leadership.

Start with a leader you have experience with.  What did you like about them?  Did you ever wonder why they conducted meetings at 7:30am?  Why some people always seemed to advance while seemingly not doing very much work?  And some people, no matter how hard they work, never seemed to get the recognition they deserve?  Did you have a clear set of goals on how to do your job?

These are just a few of the questions you can ask about a leader you may have had.  Maybe you had a leader, or a person you admired in a leadership role.  What about them gave rise to your admiration?

The point here is that the first step in becoming a leader is doing an assessment that defines what you think a good leader should be, where you think you are as a leader and where you want to be.

A critical aspect of leadership is your interaction with others.  It could be family, or colleagues, or subordinates or people you have business relationships with.  Use good judgement here but take some time to ask the people in each of these groups what they think about either your current leadership style, or what kind of leader they think you might be.  Be prepared.  It’s very likely that what other people think about your leadership skills is NOT what you think you are projecting.

There is literally tons of reference material about leadership and the qualities of a leader, so I will leave you to sift through all that.  Here are some good ideas about how to build your leadership at work and at home.

  • The best leaders base their success on the success of the team.
  • The best leaders take ownership when things go wrong and give credit to the team when things go right.
  • The best leaders build a following by leading transparently – being open about their own struggles, empathizing with others and setting clear expectations for their followers.

What kind of leader are you?  Would love to hear your thoughts.  Keep me posted on your leadership journey.

 

Follow me on Social Media

Website

Twitter

Facebook

Linkedin

 

My Fast Class in Business Law by Jackie Burke of #tiniluxjewelry

by Leave a Comment

by Jackie Burke | Featured Contributor 

This month was one of the most challenging and exciting months I have had as an entrepreneur. I had a fast class in business law and realized that I had been burying my head in the sand for too long.

Here’s the backstory: I launched my company, Tini Lux, in November 2017. My company is the first company to sell fashion earrings designed specifically for people with sensitive ears and metal allergies. It has truly defined a new category in jewelry. Prior to Tini Lux, earrings were given labels like “hypoallergenic” and “nickel free,” both of which were essentially meaningless because there are many reasons why earrings can reactions. Now, Tini Lux is a go-to, trusted source for people who want to be 100% sure that their earrings will not cause painful reactions.

When I launched my business, many well meaning people (without business experience) told me that if I could not patent my idea then I would never be successful. I believe this myth comes from watching Shark Tank, where the Sharks regularly ask the entrepreneurs if they have a patent on their invention.

My brand, while innovative and category defining, was not patent-able. That did not deter me though. I could list thousands of brands that do not have patents that are still very, very successful. I knew that the challenge was to build a brand and a destination that people could trust, and if I could do that then the success would follow (and it has).

What I did not realize though, is that although a patent might not be necessary for my company, there were other legal considerations that I was ignoring, like copyrights and trademarks. This all came to a head when I found out that my exact designs were being sold by another designer at Nordstrom! When I found this out I felt frustrated, disgusted, and violated. I am an avid follower of Diet Prada and The Fashion Law had read many articles about designers being ripped off, but I never expected it to happen to me.

I did my research and learned that from a legal standpoint what happened was a copyright infringement.  Jewelry designs are considered artwork under US copyright law.  A person becomes the owner of the copyright of original artwork the moment it is published. So, since my designs were original, I technically owned the copyright and both Nordstrom and this other designer were infringing on it.  Although I did own the copyright technically, in order to bring legal action against these other companies, I needed to officially register my copyright.

I immediately registered my copyrights for all of my original designs and trademarked my business name for my category of goods (jewelry). I contacted both companies with cease-and-desist letters and fortunately my copyrighted designs were removed immediately.  Although it is frustrating that they profited off of my work, I now feel more prepared and am more motivated to continue my efforts.

Now, on top of being a legally registered LLC, I have a registered trademark and copyrights for my original work. Hopefully this will deter other potential copy-cats, but if something like this happens in the future I will now be ready for action.  I am also choosing to be flattered by another designed copying me rather than be angry. After all, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Why blogging is your business’ secret weapon by @CasiYost

by Leave a Comment

by Casi Yost | Featured Contributor

Blogging seems to have become a dirty word with business owners. That and SEO are scary things to most people. I firmly believe they are critical to growing your business and give you an edge considering your competitors don’t want to do them either.

I have a few reasons why you need to be blogging yesterday and what it actually does for your business:

  • Grows your Know / Like / Trust value with customers and peers
  • SEO: Casts a larger net to capture more keywords
  • Become an authority to help others
  • Repurpose content to use on other social media platforms
  • Helps you answer customers frequently asked questions

 

Know/Like/Trust:

 

Your customers want to know who the person is behind the website and brand. They can’t unless you’re constantly engaging them, showing them your expertise and providing new content. The way that I like to do this is create blog posts for other photographers on the gear I use, how I manage my workflow and other tips I can give to help them with their business. For couples, I have discussed how to elope in Oregon, the details of planning the timeline for your wedding, etc. These blog posts allow them to see that I care and that I know what I’m doing.

 

SEO:

 

When your customers type something into a search bar, you want to be able to rank for all of those keywords, right? Well blog post titles are exactly what should pop up on those searches. So when you make your blog posts, they should be targeted to answer questions that they might pose. All the questions. Take time to research what they are searching for, and answer those questions in posts. It will cast a huge keyword net and capture more people that way.

 

Become an Authority:

 

When you blog, you allow people to see you are an expert in your field. Your peers as well as customers will come to you for answers and as a result, you increase your brand loyalty. We all want that right? Well you have to give your customers, peers and everyone else reasons why they should trust you. Being consistent and giving good content is the way to do that.

 

Repurpose Content:

 

Ever feel like you are fighting an uphill battle when it comes to creating good content for all the platforms? Well when you create a blog post, you can use that in your emails, direct people to your website by linking it on facebook, etc. Pinterest is huge and having your blog posts constantly looping in Pinterest is a great way to repurpose content, especially what I call “evergreen” content. Evergreen content is content that can be useful no matter how old it is. Things like “what photography gear I use for weddings” is an example because this probably won’t change from year to year, and it’s helpful for new photographers. Repurposing content and recycling won’t make your viewers and clients get annoyed, because most likely they may not see the post, they might have forgotten, or you have a large number of new customers that haven’t seen it.

 

Helps to FAQ’s from customers and peers:

 

I get about six or seven DM’s a day from other photographers asking about my gear, or what I have done to grow my business, and this is great! However, my answers never change. If they do, I update my blog post. I want to give the same consistent, and well thought answer to everyone. So what I can do is direct them to that blog post and they can re-read it as much as they want. Plus it has pretty pictures and links to other resources, but that’s beside the point. Why is this critical? It saves you time and allows you to maintain a great relationship by giving them a good answer.

How to get people to read your post?  Use social media! As soon as I make a new blog post, I:

 

  • Put a link to my post on my personal and business Facebook page
  • Put a link on LinkedIn. It’s algorithm is super user friendly and similar to what Facebook and Instagram were like five years ago
  • Talk about it in your Instagram stories while you’re at it
  • Put the link in your bio on your Instagram page
  • Send the new blog post out to your email list
  • Share the post with people you think would be interested

 

So save yourself time, invest in blogging because it will do more for your business than you realize. If you don’t feel like you’re a great writer, have someone proofread. As long as what you are delivering is good content and not fluff, you will see how it helps you and your customers.

 

Let me know what you think! Share this and message me with questions on all my social media accounts!

 

XO,

Casi

5 things you need PRIOR to applying for speaking engagements by @KerryHeaps

by Leave a Comment

by Kerry Heaps  | Featured Contributor

Almost every event that you apply to will require the five following items. Any topic that you are an expert on, you should have the following items in place.

A Topic(s) that is eye catching.  The topic of your speech is very important. It’s the first thing most Meeting Planners see in your submission.   Your topic should be catchy, drive home a point and should be applicable in today’s market. If you’re struggling creating a title, start jotting down a few samples on paper. And try replacing some of the words with buzz words or action words. This will get you started on creating a topic that stands out.

A Summary. Your summary is just that, a few sentences or short paragraph describing what you are going to talk about. It’s important to note that your description, should you be chosen to speak, is typically copied verbatim into the marketing materials of the event. Meeting Planners typically will not change anything that you have put in, as you are the expert on this topic. Your description and 3-5 takeaways should match what you teach at the event. Attendees typically will complain if they sign up for a workshop and the instructor teaches everything but what was in the workshop outline. Make sure whatever you put in your description is what you plan on teaching.

3-5 takeaways. Finally, for each topic and description you will need to provide three to five takeaways or learning objectives. What will the Attendees learn by attending your keynote or Workshop? Meeting Planners like to see a specific format, such as:  attendees will learn how to, attendees will walk away knowing how to implement, or attendees will learn the difference between, etc. Have a minimum of three and no more than five takeaways, it’s very rare for a meeting planner to ask for more than five. Make sure the learning objectives that you built into your description match the takeaways.

An updated Bio.  Your bio or Entrepreneurs resume should be kept up-to-date, highlighting your great achievements, you should consistently be adding to it throughout the year. If you haven’t added anything to your bio this year, start looking at potential achievements. For example, if there is an award or contest within your industry that you can apply for and win, compete. If you can get a writing column, or the potential to get featured on a major media outlet, go after it. These are the things that you should be adding to your bio on a consistent basis. Try to review your bio every 6 months, adding new accomplishments and deleting items that are over five years old.

A current head shot.  Finally, your head shot. Meeting Planners want to see an updated head shot, when you walk through the door you should match your photo. Meeting Planners do not like to receive photos that are not recent, as this can cause confusion when you’re being introduced, and you look nothing like the photo in the brochure. I recommend having head shots taken once every 6 to 12 months, it’s an investment in your speaking business.