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CoWorking is Cutting Edge ( and Cool! A Primer. ) by @SBSLEducSoltns

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Coworking is a remarkable concept that will enable many additional citizens to pursue their callings in entrepreneurship without the pratfalls of the prior 2 eras, the blue & white collar industrial ages.

 

No longer will the price tag, complexity, or fear of having to sign a multi-year lease, or rent to (eventually) own agreement be a stumbling block to the dream to be in control of your income stream(s); you’re now sharing costs & concurrently joining an entrepreneurial tribe.

 

What is coworking?!

 

This is a superb definition

 

Think it over: We’ve really only had this option for little more than a decade. Running parallel to the astonishing rise of social media & the proliferation of smart devices, co-working grew from humble beginnings.

 

At this point, choosing to become a member of an existing co working space, whether it’s new, or well established, tags you as a late ‘early adopter’ or at the onset of the ‘early majority’ class(es) of business owner/professional.

 

Intrigued to know more?  Please click here.

 

Options for your business’ physical presence

 

All things being equal, there are 4 choices:

 

  • Work from home.  The flexibility of merging personal & professional lives under 1 roof always has appeal. Yet, if you’re a mom-preneur, have other neighborly commitments, or are easily distracted by the mass media, you might want to ask the hard question: will you be productive, or will you be ‘’busy’ ?

 

  • The ‘coffee shop’ = office.  Whether its an independent cafe, Starbucks, or Panera Bread, maybe you arrive early in the AM, order coffee & bagel, set up your notebook/tablet in the far corner near an outlet, & start working; that remains viable for some amongst us.

  • Conventional ‘bricks & mortar’.  Some business models & professions simply must have their own physical space:  Medical office/clinic? Restaurant/bar? Retail, esp. a clothing store?

 

  • And, then, there’s coworking. This article breaks down common options that most any space in your metro area will, or already is, offering.

 

Click to Tweet

 

“We break down walls so that we can breakthrough in our businesses!”

 

— Cynthia Chiam

 

Plusses of Coworking

 

Choose from the 4 above; none are ‘wrong’ – each option will appeal to someone & that someone might be you. However, let’s focus on the benefits of coworking.

 

You quite likely will …

  • Save a significant amount
  • Opt into various perks ( who doesn’t love ‘complimentary’ coffee?!? )
  • Find flexibility ( month to month arrangements are commonplace )
  • Learn how easy it can be to ‘barter’ services &/or products with your community/tribe

 

What if …

 

… co working hasn’t yet come to my area?

Take heart: many visionaries haven’t yet pushed outside the top 25 metros.

As always, there’s a trail of ‘breadcrumbs’ that the profit motive will enable, bringing facilities to your city.

 

One pioneer shares his vision – click here to read a short Q&A w/ him.

 

How Does Co Working fit into the Gig Economy?

 

Jim Collins, in his terrific book, ‘Great by Choice’, taught us to be able to zoom in & zoom out.

 

Let’s zoom out …

 

… & answer this Q.

 

  • 1st, co working is similarly flexible.  Do your research & check as many options as exist in your area; most spaces heartily welcome entrepreneurs who don’t want to sign multi-year deals.
  • 2nd, the Gig economy spotlights project ( ‘gig’ ) based ‘work’; so does a co-working space. You can run this type of business easily & find much joy in the process
  • Next, this economy encourages interdependence, as does the coworking option. Your ‘benefits’ ( insurance, investment vehicle/s ) could very well come in a barter agreement with a sales pro who offers them to solopreneurs & sits right next to you in the space.
  • Last, your ability to be cash flow positive is accelerated; you can keep your prices aligned with your ideal avatars & earn more without having to pay steep lease or rent payments.

Suggested Profiles

 

Using hashtag #coworking as a starting point, I suggest 3 Twitter handles worth a follow:

 

Deskmag

 

kowrkdotcom

 

New Worker Magazine

 

If you happen to be in, or looking to move to, central OH …

… the options are a plenty! Here’s a quick primer on some tip top choices:

 

CoHatch

 

Brickhouse Blue

 

Haven Collective

 

&  Serendipity Labs

 

Fantastic ‘All in 1’ Resources

 

As with any topic, the internet is a treasure trove of goodness, when used for altruistic means.

 

Co-working is no exception to this mantra. Here are a handful:

 

https://www.visualcapitalist.com/visualizing-rise-co-working-spaces/

* the BEST. The infographic on the above from December 2018 is amazing!

 

Top 60 CoWorking Blogs, Websites, & …

 

From coworking spaces to who is …

 

In the Gig Economy, Coworking spaces …

 

In short …

 

  • What exactly is coworking? Let’s explore.
  • 4 options you have for locating your business.
  • The positives of choosing coworking
  • Coworking’s a big trend, yet it’s not everywhere yet. It will be, though. Stay tuned!
  • Coworking & the Gig Economy are ‘fellow travelers’ = deeply interrelated.
  • The Twitterverse, unsurprisingly, has valuable handles worth following

 

Thank YOU for reading!

Trends to Watch in the final 365 days of the Decade by @SBSLEducSoltns

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by SJ Barakony | Featured Contributor

 

2019 awaits. How ready are you & your business for these 13 trends?

 

Can you believe it?! Yes, its true: we’re less than 2 weeks away from another New Years’ Day; so, let’s dedicate a toast to our businesses, our families, & friends!

Not only that … did you notice?  It’s also the last year of the first decade of the ‘new’ century.

 

Where were you on 01 Jan, 2010?

 

Was your business even open?

How did you communicate with your clientele?

Have you rebranded since then?

 

…  That’s NINE years ago, believe that!

 

The Mindset of the Futurist

 

“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”  — Buckminster Fuller

 

#quotestoliveby #futurist 

( Click to Tweet the above )

 

Many thought leaders, chief amongst them the futurists, visionaries, and creative disrupters, know of Fuller. He laid this cornerstone of thought and its now part of his legacy, to be embraced by generations not yet born. It is from this core thesis that we’ll push ahead – unveiling a market basket of trends that your business will be impacted by in some manner in 2019 ( & beyond. )

 

 

A Bakers’ Dozen

 

Laying out 13 that I, as a futurist, am personally invested in tracking; each of these are invigorating and, in the hands of the benevolent & bold, will usher in as yet unknown amounts of potential energy to our nation(s), states/provinces, and localities:

 

Mobile revolution

Smart Cities

Blockchain / Crypto currencies

Gig Economy ( Conceptual Age )

Automation ( AI, Machine Learning, Robots )

Autonomous Vehicles \ Drones

Holistic Wellness ( > sickcare )

Decentralized [ social & news ] media

Self directed education & learning ( schooling & credential seeking )

Communities / tribes

Social enterprises ( modern mutual aid societies )

Principles > politics

Holocracy ( future of ‘work’/places )

 

 

In pursuit of a deeper understanding of the bright future which awaits

 

Even a rudimentary understanding of 1, some, or perhaps all of the 13 trends shared above won’t be embraced at deeper levels of awareness, acceptance, and consciousness without continually reading, listening ( podcasts, audio books ), & watching ( videos, webinars )

 

Two #mustread books in this space are linked below, to further illuminate your path.

I wholeheartedly suggest investing in them as a holiday/Christmas present for yourself & for those whom you hold most dear.

 

A Whole New Mind

The Code of the Extraordinary Mind

 

Suggested Follows out in the ‘Twitter’verse

 

Futurist Rankings by Ross Dawson

Generations Timeline – After the Millennials by Anne Boysen

Gold vs. Cryptos: Invest or divest … Here … from Gerald Celente

4 questions to test your intellectual humility via Daniel Pink

 

 

Don’t Argue, nor Debate

 

Instead, as we see, hear, and experience more & more creative disruption which impacts our professional sphere ( inc. our business’ cashflow, income streams, etc. ), shall we abandon the negativity, time loss, & win/lose (or worse, lose/lose) outcomes from arguing & debating?

I propose an equivalent swap of the above two non futurist, consumerist terms for those that produce & add value:   Discussion & rational discourse.

 

As 2019 dawns, I thoughtfully (channeling one of my many informal mentors, Mr. Dale Carnegie), throw down a challenge:

 

Whether with yourself ( self talk ), your staff, clientele/customers, or a prospect, engage in thought provoking win/win discussion or a structured rational discourse with him/her/them in the next several weeks

 

Word Play: Choices to make to embrace the transformation underway in our workplaces  

 

As we ascend the ladder from unconscious incompetence on up to unconscious competence, let’s fully embrace how exciting each of these trends will be in our ongoing entrepreneurial journeys & resolve to learn new words

Some which are becoming anchored to the past as these 13 futuristic trends continue to evolve, expand, & replicate:  ‘employee’ ; ‘hierarchy’ ; ‘college for all’ ; ‘health care’ ; ‘cash’.

Does this indicate that these (let alone others) will disappear forever? Not necessarily. Yet, the early adopters in our business networks will already grasp the above, and quite a number more will eventually ‘see’ as you have/will!

 

 

Websites, articles, blogs, & organizations: Learn More & Take Action

 

Define. Learn. (then) Do.

We’ve defined a vision for 2019 & beyond. With numerous resources are embedded in the post already, let’s expand your learning zone:, what if you want to self educate even more?!

 

Ever more important, investing time in additional concrete steps to ‘future’ prep your business venture would be wise. I’m applauding you proactively, if you choose to do so!

 

 

Trends Research

Future Frontiers

A-speakers

Mind Valley

 

Future Today

AdWeek.com

Visual Capitalist

Futurism Blogs

 

In short …

 

  • 9 years down, 1 to go in the decade #ThinkItOver
  • Suggested Twitterverse follows
  • A bakers’ dozen trends
  • The futurist rankings & further resources to dig into
  • Don’t argue, debate, or fight the existing; discuss & set time for rational discourse
  • Word swaps:  let’s ‘play’ on a 2020’s field
  • What’s coming is exciting & transformational; fear not!  Embrace. Encourage. Uplift.

 

Thank YOU for reading!

& …

Building a Business through Community by @WhaleyBookkeep

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by Melissa Whaley | Featured Contributor 

I am an extrovert, which can be quite a challenge when working from home with a toddler. It became even more of a challenge when I moved over 400 miles away from my hometown so my husband could pursue a master’s degree.  Isolation and loneliness can easily set-in when working from home, but I managed to use technology to my advantage and build a community that moves with me.

This is about my story but, I will leave you with a few key takeaways that I’ve learned while building my business through community.

business community

 

Before joining a few key Facebook groups, my business was pretty stagnant.

I had one or two part-time clients and I wasn’t terribly motivated to put myself out there and grow. Once I got active networking with other women business owners, I was inspired and motivated to get my butt in gear and make my business a serious thing. I can definitively say that 75% of my new clients this year have come from my relationships inside Facebook groups.

When I first started using Facebook groups they had nothing to do with business. I was in local mom groups, interest groups, and a few buy/sell/trade groups. Then a friend invited me to join her Facebook group for lady entrepreneurs, and everything changed.

Jessica Rea introduced me to her Ladypreneur Community and it opened my eyes to a whole new way to network with other women. They were struggling through the same things I was and offered their support when I was frustrated or in need of guidance. I could also offer support to those who needed my expertise, taxes and bookkeeping. It was in answering people’s questions without any agenda that I found myself getting more and more new client inquiries.

I eventually found other great Facebook groups that grew my network and community more. I was able to connect with other bookkeepers who were working from home and talk about our unique challenges. I was able to find a group of seasoned tax pros where I could ask questions when I got stuck on something.

I have learned about marketing, design, and better business processes all from the people I have met in Facebook groups. It was, and still is, an incredible the wealth of knowledge and community I was able to tap into.

Here are a few things I have learned from being an active and contributing member of Facebook Groups:

Not every group is the right fit.

There are literally thousands of groups out there targeted to entrepreneurs and business owners, don’t feel like you have to join them all. Also you may need to test drive a few groups to find the one (or couple) that you really jive with. If you find that you aren’t benefiting from a particular group, then leave. You don’t have to be in a group just because someone said you should.

Facebook groups are for networking, not marketing.

Every group has it’s own unique set of rules, but please don’t be that obnoxious girl that is trying to promote her business without actually providing value to the group. Take the time to get to know other people in the group, build relationships, and share knowledge freely.

Make sure people know what you do.

When you join a new group, take time to introduce yourself according to the group guidelines.  Also be sure that if someone clicks onto your personal profile that they can find your business info. Whether it is linking your business page to your personal profile, or just putting a link into the description of your profile and cover photo (thanks Jessica for that trick). Groups are linked to your personal profile, not your business page, so don’t make it difficult for people to find out more about what you do.

business community friends

I feel so much less isolated now that I have a community to go to when I need interaction. I have developed genuine friendships with people that I have met in Facebook groups. I have completely changed the way I run my business because of the information and relationships that came from groups.

How have Facebook groups or other communities help you build your business?

————————————————–

Melissa WhaelyHello there, I’m Melissa Whaley, owner of Whaley Bookkeeping.  I specialize in virtual bookkeeping and tax preparation for entrepreneurs. It excites me to help people understand and take control of their finances, especially in their businesses. I believe that anyone is capable of success if their passions are accompanied with the right tools. I love working with new business owners to help them set-up systems that will take the stress out their finances.

I am a licensed tax preparer in the state of California and have been helping small business owners since 2009. I am a Wave Accounting Pro, Quickbooks Online ProAdvisor, and Freshbooks Bookkeeper.

You will often find me drinking a cup of coffee while hanging out in  Facebook Groups, or on my YouTube channel making videos to help Etsy sellers with their bookkeeping. In my personal life I am married to a wonderful husband, have a 6 year old daughter and a 1 year old son.

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You Are More Than A Number by @toninelsonbiz

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Photo Credit: sperkyajachtu via Compfight cc

Photo Credit: sperkyajachtu via Compfight cc

by Toni Nelson | Featured Contributor

You are more than a number

One of the reasons I’m passionate about building a list of email subscribers is because I love building a community where everyone benefits. It’s like getting asked over to a dinner party where you get to know each other better.

When I was in the wedding industry I learned that one of the best ways to build relationships with brides was to have them on my email list.

There were so many things I saw from behind the lens that I wanted to share with them to make their weddings visually appealing an run smoothly. My desire to help them lead me to become a certified wedding planner. Trust me that was not on my list of things to do but I wanted to make sure I was writing and sharing the correct information. I didn’t offer wedding planning services but armed with this information I could send out email tips, write blog posts and really connect with them.

When I wrote my first book last year Sexy, Savvy and Successful: A Woman’s Guide On How To Start A Business, Gain Financial Freedom and Buy More Shoes! I didn’t realize it would change my whole business.

For almost 30 years I’ve been doing what comes naturally to me and that is helping people start and grow their business.

So what does this have to do with numbers? When I Founded The Mine System Of Learning I had to start from scratch growing my list of email subscribers.

If you are just starting a new business you understand exactly what I mean. What I have to say blind sided me was when I would meet with a possible business partner and they would say they loved that I had such a wealth of knowledge and experience and would love to work with me but I needed a list of at least 5,000 subscribers. That was a prerequisite to partnering with them. That being said there were some who said the list had to be at least 3,000.

The interesting thing I found was that although I didn’t have that number requirement I was still being sent promotional emails by them!

I’ve never grown my businesses based on the number of my email subscribers, the number of comments on my blog or my dress size. Ok the last one doesn’t matter at all but you get my drift.  I choose to focus on the person and what I can offer them.

You may have a list of 300 people but if those people are responsive they are worth more than having 3,000 people who aren’t.

It doesn’t matter what your “numbers” are. You are worth more than that.

Of course you want to grow your list we all do so I’m going to share some ways to bring traffic to your site so you can start building your list of email subscribers.

First: Have an opt-in form with a great give away on your website. You could be taking all this time and spending countless dollars but if you aren’t even attempting to capture your visitors email addresses you are throwing money down the drain.

Second get active on forums. One of the first things I did when I started my videography and photography business was to find forums and start getting active. This is where I’m supposed to tell you that I was doing that strategically but the truth of the matter is all I wanted to do was make connections. It wasn’t until later on that I realized I had to become a marketing expert and had stumbled on to something that worked.

You see getting on forums and trying to help other people who’ve been where you are makes you feel good. For all those people that told you “no” you have the power to tell someone “yes”. Feels really good doesn’t it?

Third was to find sites I could be on that were free or low cost. If you are a wedding planner, florist, bridal consultant, DJ or event planner I would highly recommend putting your free listing on WeddingWire.com.   It’s a great place to start advertising. As time goes on you can upgrade to their paid program which is what I did with much success.

Fourth put your listing on merchantcircle.com This may be more localized but it’s another way for you to gain exposure.

Fifth: this may seem like a no brainer but make sure your website is listed with Yahoo, Bing and Google to start.

Sixth: I know you might roll your eyes at this one but you need to start creating GOOD quality videos to expand your reach. Start off small by making videos that are under a minute. In a previous post I mentioned 7 tips for face-to-face videos go back and check that out again.

Seventh: Get active on social media. I know you are savvy and know this but I still had to mention it. Tweet about your blog posts and offers but tweet about other things as well. One of my favorite things to tweet about is apple news. I love my iphone and IMAC and when I come across something interesting I share it. I also share other business and tech related topics.   This makes you more visible and helps you build a community.

When it comes to bringing traffic to your site you are in control.

Building your list of email subscribers doesn’t have to be difficult. Bringing traffic to your site doesn’t have to be overwhelming.

I want to help you get more traffic to your site so you can build that email list of subscribers so join me for my FREE course on 15 Days To More Website Traffic.

See what nuggets of information you can pick up and start putting to use in your marketing strategy.

By the way don’t feel rejected by the word “no”. Instead let it empower you to get that “yes” that I know you deserve.

Be Savvy and Successful!

———————————————————————————–

Toni Nelson – P Factor Marketing , Business Training

Toni NelsonI’m Toni Nelson. My first business was started almost 30 years ago out of a desire to be home more for my daughter. Since that time I’ve helped others start and grow their business. Seeking to empower women I wrote my first book: Sexy, Savvy and Successful! – A Woman’s Guide On How To Start A Business, Gain Financial Freedom and Buy More Shoes! After reading my book people kept asking me what they needed to do next. How could they get training? That’s when I became the Founder of The Mine System Of Learning. I wanted to produce courses to help people gain or sharpen their skills so they could claim ownership of their business and say, “Yes! It’s MINE”!

My second book: The Secret Equation To Attracting More Clients – Marketing + P Factor + Video = $$$$ helps businesses find out what makes them different so they can stand out from the competition and attract more clients.

As an Award winning Videographer and Photographer I’ve been published in such places as DIY Bride, Kiss My Tule and the Florida Wedding Atlas. My video expertise has been featured on The American Express Open Forum.

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