Blog | Page 3 of 245 | She Owns It

How to Make a Side Hustle Work by Jackie Burke of #tiniluxjewelry

May 16, 2019 by Jackie Burke Leave a Comment

by Jackie Burke | Featured Contributor

I started my business, Tini Lux, as a side hustle. Tini Lux is the first line of fashion jewelry made with metals that are compatible with the human body. At the time, I had not worn earrings for years because they caused extremely painful reactions. I really wanted a pair that I could safely wear but couldn’t find anything. After some more research into jewelry materials and the current market I decided that I would start my own line!

I was working full time as an engineer when I made the decision to start my business. I had no business background, or jewelry background, but I believed in myself and my idea. I had some money saved and wanted to my business to be self funded. However, I didn’t feel comfortable leaving my job completely because I had no idea how long it would take for the business to reach a healthy revenue or to be profitable.

Not only was I working full time with Tini Lux as a side hustle, I also moved to a different state AND was planning a wedding during the first nine months after I launched. During this time period I learned a lot about time management and what it really means to be “busy.” There were some days and weeks when it all seemed manageable and others that I thought I was going to lose my mind.

Since I’m a little bit removed from that crazy time period now, I have had a chance to reflect on the side-hustle skills that I learned then. Here’s my advice for making a side hustle work without going crazy.

Block Time

The best decision I made was to set aside specific days and times during the week to work on my side hustle. Two days a week I came home from my day job and worked on my side hustle until it was time for bed. I also worked during the day every Saturday. Blocking off these times every week allowed me to be very focused while I was working on my business and also not feel guilty when I was not working on it.

When I started blocking out time I really realized how much time I used to waste on mindless activities. I used to love coming home from work a catching up on anything on Bravo or E!. But once I started my business I did not get as much joy from watching TV or scrolling Instagram because I knew it was taking time away from productive work that I could be doing.

Prioritize Your Life

My non-work priorities had to seriously shift when I started blocking out my time. I used have plenty of time in the morning to hit the gym and after work to go to dinner or catch up on social media and TV. For better and for worse those activities were put on hold when I started my side-hustle. I wish I could say that I maintained my five day a week fitness routine but that definitely did not happen. I try to fit a workout in whenever I can now, but I have not gotten back to my previous schedule. I don’t beat myself up about my fitness routine slipping though because I know I building something meaningful and that is my top priority right now.

Don’t Procrastinate

Whether it’s making a dentist appointment or answering a business email, get it done right away. When you put off doing something it just continues to take up space in your brain and on your to-do list. I also find that my anxiety around doing those things just builds and builds when I put it off. If something will take less than five minutes to do, I have gotten in the habit of doing it immediately or as soon as possible so that it does not linger and grow in my mind.

Accept (and Appreciate) Slower Growth

As I said before, I did not have a business background or jewelry background when I started my business. I had A LOT to learn when I started my business. At first I was frustrated that I could only put in a few hours a week of work on my business and knew that it was preventing me from growing the business as quickly as I wanted. Looking back now though, I appreciated the slow growth in the beginning because it gave me time to learn business skills and improve my product.

If you are thinking about starting a side business or have already done so, let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear your business ideas, your thoughts on side-hustling, and any tips you have picked up along the way.

How To Build A Thriving Offline Community by @AnnaMcAfee

May 15, 2019 by Anna McAfee Leave a Comment

Photo by William White on Unsplash

by Anna McAfee | Featured Contributor

Offline communities have immense value when building know-like-trust relationships. For brands and individuals they really help showcase more of who you are and what you do. Offline communities grow brand advocacy, build your audience and help retain customers. With so many events in the calendar though how can you make ours stand out, and create a community around your idea that will grow and thrive? The answer is in the planning and execution, and more importantly, in the intention.

Create an environment where people feel valued

The best in-real-life experiences should not be designed to sell, but be intended for the purpose of adding value. It should not simply be done with the view in mind to collect as many email addresses as possible for the sole purpose of marketing and selling. It should be about bringing people together to meet, learn, collaborate and share ideas. Creating a non-selling space where people feel valued and can interact without pressure to buy or pitch is key to brand community. A lot of people are fed up with being sold too so give them a reason to spend their valuable time with you. What topics are your ideal attendees interested in hearing about? It might be life balance, personal branding, or expanding their software skills. If you do decide on topics, offer a diverse range to attract new people continually and to ensure existing attendees don’t get bored.

Connect people under a common theme or idea

There are a significant number of options in any city’s events calendar, so why will people come to yours? The answer is in the way it is themed, communicated and promoted. Events designed around your brand should have a clear purpose and it is that purpose that people will buy into. LinkedInLocal has always been about getting to know the people behind the profiles, and that’s been significant for LinkedIn users as face to face connection for many beats online networking. CreativeMornings has always been pitched at the creative community. The Moth’s mission is to promote the art and craft of storytelling. Humans have an appetite for so many things, you just need to find that theme, tap into it, and spread the word.

Whatever your theme or idea, make it simple and easily communicated. Ensure its promoted in the right places in order to capture that audience. Find out where your target audience are hanging out. Use your social media channels, your own and partner websites. Tools such as Eventbrite, Facebook Events the upcoming LinkedIn events all offer free opportunities to spread the word too.

Create events that are open and inclusive

Truly diverse and inclusive events should be made available publicly unless you are offering it to your subscription-only community. But even exclusive events in the way that are promoted should always consider inclusivity and the message its sends to prospective attendees. For example, if you are using panels or speakers these should be diverse in order to attract the right crowd. Costs should also be kept low in order to remain inclusive, especially for short events of a few hours. Shutting people out with high ticket prices will turn some keen attendees away.

Be consistent and show up

Offline community is not about one event, its about creating several events so that people can build upon the ideas and get to know the people they meet regularly. You don’t build a house with one brick, you need several bricks added to one another over time in order build a trust and a solid community. Create an online space for theme to share ideas online too, through a Facebook or LinkedIn group. These groups will also act as a way for people to communicate and meet pre-event.

Share the love (and the workload)

With many events some organisers feel there is a prestige or exclusivity in being to sole host. It provides an opportunity to build their brand and create some social capital. In order for events to be sustainable though you must acknowledge the time it will take, and share the workload. Events solely build around one individual will never be well attended, as potential attendees are put off by what seems to be a very sales event. Diversity in event organisers not only shares the workload, they bring new ideas to the table. Events work well when collaboration is utilised among event organisers with a shared mindset and intention. Through new ideas and a shared mindset offline communities will grow and continue to add value to the audiences.

Remember not everyone will get it

Within any community or event there are always going to be people that simply don’t get it. They won’t understand why you would network outside your industry, or why they need to learn about storytelling. Don’t be disheartened. You’re creating events for your tribe, not the whole tribe. If you receive criticism from people who don’t get it, know you’re doing something right.

Offline, in real life communities can add a real and quality addition to your marketing, but they need to be designed with the right intention and with consistent execution.

6 Ideas To Connect With The Audience @XLConsultingGro

May 14, 2019 by Elaine Slatter Leave a Comment

by Elaine Slatter | Featured Contributor

Last week I was pacing up and down my kitchen rehearsing for an hour presentation on “standing out from the crowd”. A branding talk. My dilemma was how to connect with the audience.

I had all the facts, but since I wrote a script and was trying to follow it, the delivery was quite frankly, boring!

Then the lightbulb hit me. It was boring because there is no passion when you read from a script. And I definitely didn’t want to use Powerpoint only to see the audience on their phones or yawning because it was yet another slideshow. So here are some ideas I incorporated to connect with the audience.

Ditch the script and speak from the heart

When you do this, you are more natural and your passion for the subject matter shines through. It is a bit scary to abandon the script, but you have to trust you have the power of knowledge and belief in yourself.

My favorite speaker of all time is Professor Maja, a sociologist and women’s empowerment speaker. What makes her stand out is the power of what she says and how she says it. Then, it’s how she dresses! Yes, definitely NOT like a professor. Hop over to watch a clip from Prof. Maja’s TV spot on The Social talking about the “Imposter Syndrome” and you will see what I mean.

She shared with me that people tell her often that she doesn’t look professional…..but she has a unique style that makes her stand out and she stands her ground and doesn’t back off. And I love that about her, too. She is unapologetically herself and connects totally with her audience and you can too.

Hook and Hinge or Angle and Peg

Whaaat? These are techniques to pull the audience in right at the beginning and the best way to do this is to tell a story. In my audience, there were a few people I know well, so I used their stories to connect both to them, their friends and the whole audience. They weren’t scary, silly or embarrassing stories, they were branding stories related specifically to their companies.

Breakdown the Topic into Small Bites with Actionable Tips

Use the KISS formula (Keep It Simple, Stupid!) Your audience can’t possibly know what you know and they don’t want to know it all. So break it down into smaller bite-size pieces that are easy to swallow. You can always elaborate further by sending them a link to a free tip sheet or checklist after the presentation. In fact, that is an excellent way to follow up.

Use Examples

Again, you can use stories here, good stories and bad stories, but a story the audience will remember. My favorite branding story is Nike. Because quite honestly their logo is just a simple, curvy tick. Absolutely nothing remarkable about it at all. It only cost Nike under $20.00 to have the logo designed. It’s how they connected the logo and tagline “Just Do It” with a series of athletes who were “doing it”! And the comparison is if they can “Do It”, so can you!

Everyone can connect with that story because Nike is a household name and recognizable to everyone who has ever gone to a sports apparel store. And if you have kids, you definitely have been to that kind of store!

Give Local Examples

This is effective because your audience will instantly relate to a business in their local area. After the talk, members of the audience mentioned that was the part they loved the most.

That was very easy to do because I interviewed the owners of these businesses right there on the spot. We were sitting side by side on stools. I sent them the questions ahead of time so they had some idea of what I was going to ask, but the conversation flowed naturally and I noticed not one person was glancing out of the window or on their cell phone.

Have a Close

Wrap it up with a memorable summary and a call to action and you simply have done your job! Leave them with a few nuggets that they will remember for a total of 30 to 45 minutes max with a few minutes for questions and you are on your way to connecting.

7 Routines for Your Best Morning by @RelaxedMale

May 13, 2019 by Bryan Goodwin Leave a Comment

by Bryan Goodwin | Featured Contributor

Ah! Mornings. They can be great or they can be the bane of your day. This can vary from day to day or morning to morning. Many self-help people tell you to have a morning routine. Often these guru’s tell you what they do for their morning routine. Many times those routines are touted as the best morning routine for starting your day.

An important aspect is that they are right. It is the best routine for that particular person. It may not be the best routine for you. So with this topic being on morning routines, I wanted to share 7 different morning routines you can mix and match for your best start to the day.

Write Letters

This is a lost art. Ben Franklin and many of the smartest men around wrote letters. From before Ben’s time to recently many of the smartest people were prolific letter writers. For the longest times, these letters were the only form of long-distance communication there was. That is until E-mail came along.

Now with Email, it is easy to hash out a quick note and press send. No muss, no fuss, right? There is the problem of lack of connection though. Have you ever received a letter in the mail? Odd question for us older folks but for Millennials this is a rare event, and even more so, for the Gen Z that is now entering the workforce.

There is something different about receiving a letter in the mail, besides the unexpected surprise. As you read the letter, there is the connection that you get with the writer. The fact that the sender took the time to hand write that letter shows you that they care. The thought that is put into the words used. All of it impacts the recipient.

No, you don’t have to send this only to your Aunt Gladys. Your letters don’t even have to be a, “hey, how are you doing” type of letter. You can write a letter of gratitude to the waiter who served you your lunch yesterday. Write it and then drop it off while on you are out. The power of telling a person how much their effort affected you means a lot to them. Don’t believe me? How much does it mean to you when someone comments on your blog? That comment of encouragement means a lot. Now make it a personal handwritten thank you note and you have amped the gratitude up to 11.

Read a Chapter

Reading is a classic morning routine and can be incorporated into other activities. That is because the ”reading” is a bit fluid these days. Reading a book can also be an audiobook. If you use the audiobook version, you will be able to throw in walking, running, weight lifting, or just starting your day being still.

Reading is still one of the best ways to garner new knowledge and mindsets. If you can do this while doing something else, it is just that much better.

Practice Creating Some Art

We are all creators. No matter how you want to slice it. We have to create. It is who we are. Whether it is writing a letter or drawing squiggles on a note pad that is creating. One way you can reconnect with your inner creator is to just pick an art medium and create. I do pencil and paper and writing but there is also painting, carving, and more.

Spend an hour working on an art project. It doesn’t have to be a masterpiece but the more your work at it the better it will become. So take the time to let your imagination run. You won’t be considered silly. You will be smart and you have exercised a crucial part of your being.

Have the morning routine of being creatve

Image by Ylanite Koppens from Pixabay

Walk or Exercise

We need to move around. This is a given. If you sit, too much, you lose creativity and we often will struggle more when we are sedentary. Creativity is what helps you keep your edge. So Start the day with a bit of motion.

Be it nice strolls through the neighborhood or maybe you like to perform self-abuse by running. All of that is fine. Get the exercise your body needs and wants. Not only does the exercise help build strong bones and muscles. It also helps to strengthen your heart. The added heavily oxygenated blood flowing through your body also helps your brain to think better. So you have better ideas.

So get out there and start hoofing it, if any reason because it is a good start to the morning.

Say Your Affirmations

As you wake up you can also reinforce your mind with the thoughts and mindsets that will help you become successful and be more positive.

We know that the world can throw some trash around. It can be a challenge to not get the average day-to-day negativity on you from time to time. Yet when you affirm your beliefs with the truths and beliefs in your affirmation list, you are able to combat those negative beliefs better and with more resolution.

Why? Because you have already stated what you believe. You have only so much room each day and if you fill it up with positive thoughts and affirmations then the negative beliefs have nowhere to take root.

Have a Eureka Moment

You know where Eureka comes from right? If no, then here is an overview of the story.

Archimedes was a Greek mathematician and engineer who was tasked by a tyrant to find out if the Goldsmith he was using was duping him. The tyrant wasn’t sure is his crown wasn’t being shorted some gold. This was a real problem looking for a solution and Archimedes knew he had to find a way to prove that the crown wasn’t having alloys mixed with the gold.

One day Archimedes went to the bathhouse and as he sunk into the bath, he saw that he was changing the level of the water. He had stumbled on the solution to his issue and in his excitement, he leaped out of the tub and ran down the street naked screaming Eureka! Eureka!

There is something about stepping into a shower the first thing in the morning. Many believe that you are in a state of mind that is not entirely subconscious or is it fully conscious. That special state your two states of minds can share thoughts and that is why the best ideas come to you when in a shower. You relax. Your mental blocks haven’t been put into place and so new and interesting ideas form.

Therefore, if you are not a morning shower person it’s worth a try. The worst that happens is that you smell nice when you are done.

have a eureka moment as a morning routine

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

Make Your Bed

Finally, the last suggestion is one from your mom. Make your bed. Admiral McRaven best describes some of the benefits of making your bed right away. Right off the bat, you have accomplished something. It may not seem like a big thing but if your day is horrible, at least you can come home to a clean and made a bed.

So make that bed as you get up. Read a book while you are exercising. Then again, maybe you want to meditate and then read your affirmations while watching the sunrise. Your morning ritual is dependent upon you. What do you want to accomplish?

The Two Books You Need Right Now To Grow Your Business by @CasiYost

May 10, 2019 by Casi Yost Leave a Comment

by Casi Yost | Featured Contributor

I first heard about these two books over podcasts. Are you surprised? By now you shouldn’t be.

The first is the “Artists Way” by Julia Cameron

This book is what allowed me to creatively break through to get to the mindset where I needed to be to actually take myself and my business seriously.

The premise of this book is that it helps you to unlock your creativity. Lets be real honest here – as soon as we get into high school and then move into college, the creativity is beat right out of us. The real world doesn’t like when we don’t conform, so our creative thinking goes right out the window.

OR we’re too distracted by trying to make money, party, look good on social media, etc., to actually take time to be creative. Because well, that is a “waste of time,” when you could be doing something to make you money. Right?

So wrong.

Some of the top athletes, CEO’s and most successful people in their fields take time to just sit and think.

Don’t believe me? Ryan Holiday does this, major companies and Silicon Valley have what are called “think tanks,” where they creatively come up with solutions to problems or create ideas for things to make money.

You can’t expect to grow your business if you don’t designate time to dream big and come up with new ideas.

And no, the five minutes in the shower don’t count. You need large amounts of dedicated time DAILY to do this. I do this three times a day.

WHAT? But you’re busy! You work and have two jobs!

I know. I fit it in. Right in the morning, when I drive to work and when I drive home. Those are my 2.5 hours a day to think.

You don’t have to have this much time, but because I live so far away from my work, I have this “luxury.”

So how did the “Artists Way” help me in the first place?

Morning Pages. Total breakthrough machine.

How it works is that you write and don’t stop until you have filled three pages each morning. Yes in the morning.

This allows you to brain dump anything that is blocking you from thinking clearly, get your ideas out so they aren’t bouncing around and blocking you once again. It allows you to work through feelings, ideas, whatever.

It helped me because I have ideas and don’t know how to execute them. I need to talk them through and writing them out allows me to look at my idea from point a to point z because its on paper!

There are so many advantages from doing just the morning pages, but there are other excersize’s people can do.

Don’t take my word for it. When you research top performers like Tim Ferris, you notice there is a trend where the most successful people in their industries do something similar to this.

the book the daily stoic, an iphone, pen and lipgloss on a table

Now, the other book is totally in another area: Philosophy.

Don’t zone out on me here. I totally thought the same thing too.

“Ugh, really? Do I have to?”

Yes. It is digestible. My favorite author of all time as you know by now is Ryan Holiday. He has written so many good books that honestly helped me re-frame my mindset, but I’ll talk about that in another post.

This book, “The Daily Stoic” has one piece of wisdom for you each day and it seriously sets the tone for how I think about problems.

The way I use the information from the book is this:

If I approach my problems from a different perspective and different angle, maybe I will have a better outlook, suffer less, and use my problems as a stepping stone or opportunity.

This book allows you to re-frame the way you think so that you can approach problems and life in a way that sets you up for success. Totally amazing right?

This is the one thing I keep telling people: you need to change your mindset about how you approach your business.

Why? If you do the same thing over and over with the same results, why don’t you do it a different way? Maybe you’d get what you wanted: success.

the book the daily stoic on a couch with an iphone and pillows

So… this book and other books I talk about (Gary Vaynerchuck and Crushing It) totally do that.

If you want to grow your business, you have to invest in yourself and your business intelligence. You want to know your stuff right? Well start learning, and don’t stop.

I wrote a “short” overview of all the things I’ve done to grow my business HERE in case you’re interested in looking at that too!

Have any books you think I should read? Drop them below:

Thanks for reading friends!

XO,

Casi

The Future of Women in Business and Politics by @DrRKayGreen

May 8, 2019 by Kay Green Leave a Comment

by Dr. R. Kay Green | Featured Contributor

When it comes to women leaders, be they business owners or politicians, we still have a lot of work to do.

Certainly, we have made strides in recent years. A recent study shows that 40 percent of businesses are owned by women, a large leap from 29 percent in 2007. There are 25 women serving on the U.S. Senate, a historic high for America, and 102 women serve as voting members of the House of Representatives currently in the 116th Congress.

But for all the work we have done when it comes to getting equality, more is still needed. Glass ceilings and pay gaps still very much exist, and more work is needed for women in business and politics to truly be seen as equals.

For example, the study on women-owned businesses noted that while the number of businesses are growing, revenue is not growing at the same rate. In other words, women are making significantly less than their male counterparts.

How will we solve this?

Obviously, real change has to happen at a societal level. But there are things that women can do when they are in leadership positions, particularly when running businesses, to help set a good example and move progress along.

The first and most obvious step is to charge what you are worth. Do not let anyone haggle you down or make you feel like your work is worth less because of who you are. Do not be afraid to ask your colleagues how much they charge, so that you can make sure that you are charging the industry standard.

Talking about money is often seen as taboo, but it is these sort of systems that allow things like the pay gap to continue. By being open and honest with friends about how much you make, you can ensure that you are not charging too much or not enough.

Beyond money, we need to support each other. Do not tear other women down for how they look or dress. This only perpetuates the system that values us based on looks alone.

Be a mentor for and seek mentorship from women around you. By connecting with each other, we can empower and be empowered, and make sure that the next generation of women know that they are worth just as much as their male counterparts. They will be treated better because they will know that they deserve it.

Finally, learn to value yourself. This ties into charging what you are worth and not feeling the need to cut down other women, but it can mean so much more than that. Because when we value ourselves, we are able to recognize when things are unfair, and we are able to speak out about it because we know that we deserve better.

Women do not need to apologize for taking up space or existing. We have just as much of a right to live, and to lead, as anyone.

There is a future for women in business and politics where we are treated equal. But it is not the kind of future that can happen overnight. Examine yourself and your biases, and do not be afraid to ask the people around you to do the same. Surround yourself by people who support you, and lead by example.

No matter what you do, whether you are running your own business or running for office, be bold, be brave, and be unapologetically you.

———————————————————————-

Dr. R. Kay Green – Marketing Expert from RKG Marketing Solutions Inc. from Atlanta, GA.

Dr. R. Kay Green is the CEO/President of RKG Marketing Solutions Inc. With over 190,000+ Twitter followers, 35,000+ Facebook Likes, and the Top 1% LinkedIn profile designation, Dr. Kay, a self-motivated trailblazer, is the Quintessential “New-Age” Professional Woman, and PhD Marketing Pro. She earned a Doctorate of Business Administration in Marketing, and has completed PhD coursework in Leadership and Organization Change. She also holds a Master of Business Administration in Marketing and Management, a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing, and an Associate of Arts in Marketing Management.

She is affiliated with several prestigious universities and has instructed over 350 courses online. A popular speaker on Marketing and Business topics, Dr. Green is currently featured on Huffington Post, Black Enterprise, Black News, The Network Journal, Business Review USA, Digital Journal, College View, Business New Hampshire Magazine, Bay State Banner, Reader’s Circle, North Dallas Gazette, Harlem News, Top News Today, One News Page, NE Informer, Women in Business PR News, Consumer News Today, Women PR News, San Francisco Chronicle, Houston Chronicle, Chicago Daily Herald, The Miami Herald, and Book News Articles.

Twitter – Facebook – LinkedIn

Dog Is Good Delivers Dogvergnügen and Steals Best of Show at SuiteWorld 2019

May 7, 2019 by Melissa Stewart Leave a Comment

Photo credit: Dog Is Good

by Melissa Stewart

This was my second year at SuiteWorld and while I was wowed by last year’s keynotes from Rachel Zoe, Chief Executive Officer, Rachel Zoe, Inc. and Kara Goldin, Founder & CEO, Hint Inc., it was a little booth the Oracle/NetSuite put together that stole the show and my heart. Did I mention there were puppies?!

Yes, I was inspired by the Women’s Leadership general session. I loved last year’s women’s luncheon and was so glad to see they had expanded it into an entire general session this year. Listening to the speakers and the panel discussions sparked multiple “aha moments” and I recorded the entire session so I could go back and listen again and again. I love that SuiteWorld is growing and expanding these sessions and can’t wait to see what they do in 2020!

But when amazing speakers like Pamela Yanchik Connealy , CFO & COO of Kiva, stepped off stage and I was left to wander the SuiteWorld floor, I couldn’t help but find myself back at the Dog Is Good booth. I was drawn not only to the puppies but also the story.

D.I.G. Founders Gila and Jon Kurtz had an idea and recognized a need in the marketplace. I met Gila at SuiteWorld, all smiles and interacting with the attendees flooding their booth. I had to know more about her company and how D.I.G. uses NetSuite to grow their business.

Keep reading and get to know more about the “dog lifestyle” company delivering Dogvergnügen (The joy you feel in the presence of Dog) to the world.

Can you tell us a little about your story? Where did the idea come from?

I had been training dogs professionally for about 3 years when the Navy moved us to the NWst (Jon is now a retired US Navy Capt). We were seeing the humanization of pets moving from trend to lifestyle and wanted to be involved in the pet space but we did not want to create more pet products. While attending a continuing education conference, I discovered a vendor in the exhibit all selling tee-shirts. However, there was nothing compelling- the tees were all white unisex shirts and all said the same thing with an image of a particular breed…” I love my…” i recall standing there and thinking- dogs played such a huge part of my life and the lives of my clients. To articulate “I love my dalmatian” felt too simplistic to describe the role my dog played in my life and there was nothing stylish about the tees being offered. When I returned home, Jon and I talked about it and he noted there was nothing out there for the dog lover. It was then that we decided we should just try to create something ourselves.

Describe the first 90 days in your business?

The first 90 days involved determining who we were and what we were going to be about, designing our logo and website, researching products and manufacturing, and getting everything lined up to move into the first stage of selling- direct to consumer. This was a part-time effort.

We struggled with a logo to fit the personality of the brand. It also took some time to figure out who we were as a company…what were we good at? how did we want to be perceived? The pet space is a big one and we had to develop our unique proposition and positioning.

Photo credit: Dog Is Good

How did Dog Is Good go from idea to selling in hundreds of retail locations across the US and internationally?

Initially, we came up with a name and had a few ball caps embroidered so we could apply for a trademark, but we did not launch the concept immediately. The navy would move us down to southern California before we took real action. I had worn a Dog is Good hat to a dog training session. When my client wanted to know where she could purchase a dozen of them, we had validation that the message resonated. At this point we started moving into action and started a business.

We knew we wanted to create a brand and the fastest, most cost effective way to launch was to create apparel we could test at markets. We sold items direct to consumers at local events and used the feedback to work on our messaging. A year later, we decided to take the leap and exhibit at a trade show to sell wholesale to retailers. We picked up only a half dozen customers, but it was exciting and we still have a few of those original buyers from 2008. Getting into hundreds of retailers was a combination of honing our message, creating the right products, finding leads through trade shows and many, many hours cold-calling to introduce the brand.

Photo credit: Dog Is Good

Can you tell us a little bit about the structure of our operation?

We built the brand to become everything- products, services, and experiences.

-We sell wholesale into retail establishments in numerous verticals that include: gift, pet, outdoor retail, resort, hardware… any retailer who has a customer with a dog can carry our brand and we have programs to support their needs.

We launched a business opportunity called the Dog is Good Pop Up Shop. This provides dog loving entrepreneurs an opportunity to have their own mobile business ( no brick and mortar) using the DIG brand and the support of our team. We now have over 60 individuals operating Pop- Up shops around the country and have built a strong community to help them grow and prosper. We plan to add 100 in 2019, to bring the overall total to 150 by the end of the year.

-We have a robust licensing program with over 30 licensees – These companies use our designs on their products and sell them through their own distribution channels. This makes it possible to find Dog is Good at locations in pretty much any retail vertical and in stores from Advance Auto Parts to Albertsons to Nordstrom!

-WE launched an education platform called, Fur Covered Wisdom for people seeking personal growth.

Photo credit: Dog Is Good

Now you have been out awhile, is it what you thought it would be like? (expectations versus reality)

The expectation of owning a running a company has evolved along with our personal growth over the years. We are not unique in the experiences we have shared building a successful business. We have had exhilarating moments and moments that down right sucked. It is a journey and the only thing we really ever expected was that we would commit to our vision, show up everyday as the best leaders possible, and focus on how we and our brand could serve others. Each day we are grateful that our messaging and brand has touched so many lives.

Did you start with Netsuite?

No, we did not start with Netsuite. Like most small business start ups, we launched with Quick-books. Over a few years we struggled with systems that did not communicate, for example webstore integration with accounting. A goal back in 2012 was to find a system that we could scale and work with without issue for years to come. After looking at the pros and cons of many ERPs and accounting systems, Netsuite, though not an inexpensive proposition for us, was the only one we found to meet the criteria we had set.

Photo credit: Dog Is Good

What do you use Netsuite for in your business?

It’s basically part of everything we do with the exception of employee management/payroll and some of our CRM. It is our accounting system, drives process for the entire “order-to-cash” process, it is our inventory management system, purchasing, Sales force management, and CRM. We have only scratched the surface of the capabilities.

What advice would you give to those considering venturing out to Build their own Business?

Have full clarity around the vision of what you want to create- know what success looks like to you and integrate your life as part of your big picture vision for your business. It is easy to become consumed by growing a new business. Additionally, focus on sales and know your numbers every day. All the marketing, creation, and “fun stuff”- don’t yield immediate ROI- so everyday emphasis needs to be on sales.

Gila Kurtz of Dog is Good at SuiteWorld 2019

Photo credit: Dog Is Good

What made you decide to exhibit at Suiteworld this year?

The team at Netsuite wanted to showcase the Dog is Good brand through an experiential activation for the attendees. We wanted to support the Netsuite Team at the booth and help to share the experience with the attendees.

Who gets the credit for the wildly successful “puppies at a booth” concept?

Netsuite reached out to a local rescue group to bring the puppies in for the attendees- They came from Waggin Train in Las Vegas. Although they were available for adoption, none were adopted out at the conference. There is a specific process involved to safely place a puppy in an adoptive home. While everyone there wanted one, it did not make sense for many- as they would have to make flight arrangements etc… The rescue group knew that the pups would be adopted in the local community by the weekend as they had several applications in for them. The pups were 10-12 weeks old- a great experience for the pups too, as they benefited from all the socialization.

Photo credit: Dog Is Good

What were the highlights of your Suiteworld experience?

There were many highlights. Netsuite hosts the most amazing conference, complete with relevant workshops and access to important vendors. Everything we experienced was spectacular, but watching the reaction of people to the brand and the puppies were the most fun.

Everything about who we are as a brand was visible in the reactions of attendees. The impact that dogs have on humans is significant. Interestingly, our brand made an impact without even showing any Dog is Good product. And that’s fitting, because as we work toward the goal of being recognized as an “experiential brand”, this Netsuite display really communicated what we share with consumers every day – the experience of “how great it feels to be with Dog.”

The Netsuite team also set us up with a number of interviews with popular podcasts and print publications. Having an activation like this available at a conference or trade show has lasting benefits.

Photo credit: Dog Is Good

Will we being seeing puppies, I mean Dog is Good, at Suiteworld 2020?

We hope so!

Photo credit: Dog Is Good

How can people get in touch with you?

Jon and I ( husband wife team): gila@dogisgood.com jon@dogisgood.com

People can find us at:

Dog is Good and on social media channels:

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

How to Get Rid of Impostor Syndrome by @mominbusiness_

May 6, 2019 by Vanessa Cast Leave a Comment

How to Get Rid of Impostor Syndrome

Have you ever feel like everything you have is because of luck?

Like some sort of random events took you where you are right now.

You have that constant feeling of being underprepared… like you are not good enough and people are going to find the “truth” behind your success.

Well, let me tell you that this feeling is completely normal and there are a lot of successful people who have suffered from Impostor Syndrome.

You’re not alone

Maybe you have heard about some of these awesome women 😉

Sigourney Weaver – “Have I ever doubted myself? Have I ever not? I feel self-doubt whether I’m doing something hard or easy.” —Esquire, January 2010

Jodie Foster – On winning an Oscar for her role in The Accused: “I thought it was a big fluke. The same way when I walked on the campus at Yale, I thought everybody would find out, and then they’d take the Oscar back.” —60 Minutes, December 1999

Maya Angelou – “I have written 11 books, but each time I think, ‘uh oh, they’re going to find out now. I’ve run a game on everybody, and they’re going to find me out.’”

Impostor Syndrome didn’t stop these women and it’s not gonna stop you.

What can you do about it?

First of all, keep in mind that you are 100% responsible for your success or failure, of course, luck it’s important but… have you noticed that the harder you work the luckier you get.

You need to stop putting the focus on you, and put the focus on the people you are trying to help… your community.

Once you put all the effort on solving other people problems, impostor syndrome disappears.

When you working hard, there is no time for any shitty syndrome.

Focus on providing value and you’ll be fine.

One Last Thing…

It’s Impostor Syndrome, that’s it, it’s just a feeling that has a name, once you understand that it’s just Impostor Syndrome, all the worries vanish.

It’s amazing how you can cure immediately by just putting a name to what you are feeling.

There are multiple tips or hacks to help you overcome impostor syndrome

Move into action and stop worrying about it.

Put the focus off you, help others and provide value.

Lady, you are the real deal!

I wish you happiness, love and the courage to live your life according to your priorities ♥

Five ways to overcome doubt and start your own business – Doubt is the serial killer of dreams – it’s time to lock it away for good! by @MelittaCampbell

May 3, 2019 by Guest Post Leave a Comment

by Melitta Campbell

Starting a new business is exciting!

It’s also a time when your doubts and insecurities can go into overdrive.

This is normal. It’s important for you to understand that. All entrepreneurs experience some level of doubt and fear when starting out. The important thing is not to let your fears hold you back.

I know that’s easier said than done, but follow these five steps you’ll stand a good chance!

Just about every personal development, leadership and mindset guru agrees that everything you want lies on the other side of your comfort zone, so let’s not delay things any further…

1. Visualise Your Better Future

For some reason we humans love to dwell on the negative:

What if I don’t find any clients?
What will my friends say if I fail?
What if I mess everything up?

…But what if everything goes right?!

All the successful entrepreneurs and business owners I’ve spoken to all have one thing in common – their vision was bigger than their fears; so they went for it.

The fact is, if you are starting a new venture, if you are continually putting yourself out there in new situations, and if you are committed to learning and growing – you are going to fail sometimes. But that’s OK. Failure isn’t the opposite of success; it’s one of the fastest routes to it.

The first step in getting over your fears is to give yourself a compelling reason why you should make the effort and go through the (short-lived) discomfort. You can do this by creating an exciting vision for your future.

What will your life be like in 10 years time, once you succeed with your new business?

Imagine driving up to your home – what is it like? When you walk inside, who is there waiting for you, and what plans do you have? What difference have you made to your clients’ lives?

Allow yourself to dream big and create a vision of your success and play it in your mind like a movie of your future. Play this movie to yourself at least once a day and you’ll start to your perspective changing and your fears reduce in significance.

2. Sort Fact from Fiction

While having a strong reason to start your business, will help put your fears in perspective, it still might not be enough to quash your fears and get you started.

To do that, it helps to break your fears down, and take an objective look at them. This way, you will see more clearly what are the real concerns to be addressed and what are fictional fears.

Brainstorm all your worries and write them down. If you are like most aspiring entrepreneurs, you’ll need a large sheet of paper for this exercise!

Next, draw three columns naming them: My fear, Rational Thought, and Possible Actions. Then work through each fear accordingly. For example:

As Susan Jeffers points out in her book ‘Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway’, everyone is afraid when facing the unknown. Therefore, getting to know your fears and taking appropriate steps is an important part of putting your feelings of doubt behind you.

3. Build a Success Circle

When aspiring entrepreneurs start out, they don’t usually have many successful entrepreneurs or business owners in their network. As a result, they are often discussing their dreams and ambitions with people who don’t understand their vision and who quickly become worried or sceptical. This does not help when you have plenty of your own doubts already.

For balance, seek out people who have succeeded in business, or who are actively working towards ambitious goals. They are far more likely to have relevant insights and to provide you with the constructive feedback and encouragement needed to boost your motivation to get started.

A great way to find them is at networking events or business training. Aim to add one or two people you find inspiring to your network, and grow your success circle over time.

As Tom Rath points out in his book Vital Friends, just one good friend who gets you and encourages you, can drastically change your life and your results.

4. Practice Gratitude

Practicing daily gratitude is a reasonably simple habit, yet it has the power to transform every area of your life.

Among its many benefits, gratitude has the power to make your fears evaporate. As Sandy Gallagher CEO of the Proctor Gallagher Institute concluded, it’s not possible to hold feelings of fear and gratitude at the same time.

At the end of each day, write down 3-5 things you are grateful for. These could be simple things like the smile the bus driver gave you that lifted your spirits, or big things like a new client. You can even be grateful for something that went wrong and the lesson you learned from it.

If you haven’t practiced gratitude for a while, it might not be so easy at first, but hang in there, you’ll soon get in the swing of things. And when you do, you’ll feel the benefits fast!

5. Dream Big, Plan Small

After shrinking your fears down to size, it’s time to take action! Action is not only the antedote to fear, but it also confirms your intentions.

As John F. Kennedy famously pointed out: “Every accomplishment starts with the decision try”.

Take that big vision you created in step 1 and make that your 10-year goal. Then start breaking it down into logical steps. This can mostly be high-level, but plan your next 90 days in detail and schedule time for each action. Then make the decision to start.

It doesn’t matter how small you start, it may even be a tiny shuffle in the right direction, but it’s important to do something. Then use that small success, to fuel your next step and so on.

Before you know it you’ll be up and running and wondering why you ever doubted yourself in the first place!

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Melitta is a Business Coach and Mentor with a passion for using her 25+ years business, communication and marketing experience to help women confidently build a business they love. Originally from Wales, she now lives in a chalet overlooking the Swiss-Alps with her two daughters and husband.

Smart Cities, Small Businesses and Innovation by @SaabyConsulting

May 1, 2019 by Karen Jensen Leave a Comment

We all want to live and work in a Smart City, right?

There are images of Smart Cities everywhere, from Alphabet’s (Google’s parent company) Quayside to smart cities around the world.

What makes a city Smart? And how small businesses benefit from getting SmartER.

There is no single definition for what a Smart City is – what we have now are many incredible ideas of what information and emerging technologies can do to solve environmental, economic and social issues.

Smart City transportation will be more on demand, will reduce carbon emissions, reduce traffic accidents and fatalities and help smart citizens locate parking spaces.
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are integrating solutions for affordable housing, water accessibility, education an many other concepts into the new built environments of Smart Cities.
The DOLL lab in Denmark is a living lab where public and private sectors can test new technologies in lighting and collaborate on best practice technologies for Smart Cities.

But how can small businesses can become SmartER?

Start with innovative thinking and data analysis. Get everything you can together about your business – from financial statements and payrolls to marketing and advertising budgets to office locations. Thinking SmartER is about efficiency and optimization of resources. Large streams of data are now available about virtually everything. Add those relevant streams to the data you have on your own business to build a powerful understanding of your business, your industry and potential markets.

Consider accessing the global market for your goods and services. Small businesses have access to new markets all over the World. Look at emerging and existing markets – is there a place for your goods or services? Import/export is a two-way street – is there a company in emerging or existing markets that wants to come to the United States and do business that you can partner with?

Take a stand on how you do business and what is happening in your supply chain. You may have heard of this as People, Planet and Profits. I call it Organic Profits. There really is enough for everyone. Do you have the right policies in place to prevent harassment in the workplace? Are you building a diverse workforce? Especially for service businesses – are you building programs to keep your employees connected? Tele-work, flex hours and collaborate work spaces are all ways you can build a collaborative workplace culture. Do you have gender pay inequality issues? Have you looked? Bias creeps up on us, even when we think we have erased it.

Think green in every phase of your business. As organizations, we all produce waste. There are things we can do – go paper free in the office. If you are still saving printed bank statements, you could consider cloud storage instead. Even an external drive for all “paper” documents. Are you recycling in the office? Lead by example in green solutions – talk about what you are doing and encourage workforce participation.

Leveraging connections and building relationships. Small businesses are stronger when we work together. Bartering is a great way to access services and build networks. We all need each other to survive. Bartering has tax implications, so be sure to do the research on this.

Have you looked at how emerging technologies could optimize your business? From just in time manufacturing to automated customer service, emerging technologies should be of special interest for small businesses. These are new technologies for all of us – take a look at some of the best practices and at least consider how you can explore these new capabilities. The small businesses that start integrating these technologies sooner, rather than later, are the ones who are going to be ahead of the game.

At some point, I hope we will all be living well in Smart Cities. But being smartER isn’t about a place – it’s about a new way of thinking and being open to possibilities.

Good luck on your SmartER journey!

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https://arm23.com/2018/02/14/examples-of-smart-cities/