Rachel Beider in Thrive Global: How Are Your New Year Goals Progressing?Tips To Stay on Track

The new year is well underway, and if you're like most people, you're probably still staring at that list of resolutions you made for 2018. Goals don't achieve themselves, though; you have to work at them every single day if you want to reach your desired outcome – and if you fall behind or make a mistake, you need to be willing to pick yourself up and keep trying.

If you find yourself struggling to stay on top of your annual goals, take a step back. Examine your plans and processes, and see if there's an easier way to bring your dreams within reach. Fifteen members of Young Entrepreneur Council offered their best practical advice for achieving your goals this year.

1. Set Fewer Goals 

While it can be tempting to set numerous significant personal and professional goals, the more goals you are pursuing, the less focused you will be on accomplishing any one of them. By setting fewer goals, you will be able to better focus on achieving them, and in turn, will be more likely ultimately succeed. - Adam Mendler, Beverly Hills Chairs

2. Set Realistic Monthly Goals for the Year 

If you're trying to go from 0 to 100, you'll probably fail. I would look at a big picture goal for 2018 and then break it down into smaller monthly goals. Each time you create a new habit and succeed at a monthly goal, you're getting closer to your long-term goal but your also compounding momentum and you're really positioning yourself for success. Don't bite off more than you can chew. - Brett Maloley, ladder.fit

3. Focus on Behavioral Changes 

On a piece of paper, write down a list of things you need to keep doing, stop doing, and try doing. On another sheet, write down what you need to increase, reduce and maintain. Now every morning, look at these two lists as soon as you wake up. This will make your goals achievable by reinforcing it with concrete and measurable behavioral changes that you can start right away. - Raad Ahmed, LawTrades

4. Tackle the Hard Ones First

There are certain goals and tasks that we all like to avoid. One way to increase productivity and also get the year off to a good start is to tackle a handful of undesirable tasks and goals within the first month of the year. This way there is a feeling of accomplishment that can carry through the remaining 11 months. - Ryan Bradley, Koester & Bradley, LLP

5. Do a Social Media Detox to Purge Negative Influences and Boost Positive Ones 

Use social media wisely to help inspire you, not annoy you. Our daily habits become who we are. So follow people that are already doing the habits you want to pick up on and let them motivate you to crush your goals. Take a look at your Facebook likes. Unlike anything that doesn't pertain to the person you want to be tomorrow and do the same on Instagram and Twitter. - Syed Balkhi, OptinMonster

6. Allow Yourself to Fail (But Don't Give Up) 

If one of your goals for the new year is to stick to good habits, such as a diet or exercise regimen, you need to understand that failing to stick to your goal once is not an excuse to give up entirely. You haven't truly failed until you completely give up, so the best way you ensure that you will stick to your goals is to give yourself permission to keep trying. - Bryce Welker, CPA Exam Guy

7. Manually Track Your Goals 

Once you've made the necessary steps to achieving your goals and know which behaviors to modify, you can manually track your behaviors to ensure that you're not self-sabotaging. Whenever something no longer works, change your mind. Whatever you modify must serve the purpose of helping you achieve your goal. If it doesn't, don't push yourself to finish. - Cody McLain, SupportNinja

8. 'StickK' to Your Resolutions 

I’m personally employing a great new tool called stickK. It was developed by two Yale professors and an MBA student and utilizes cutting-edge behavioral economics to help people achieve goals. Each user creates a “commitment contract.” You’re encouraged to put money on the line that you will sacrifice if you fail to meet your commitment. - Thomas Smale, FE International

9. Analyze the Benefits of Accomplishing Your Goal (and the Consequences of Not Doing It) 

When you want to accomplish a goal, don’t just “try.” Make a decision, become clear about exactly what you want, analyze the benefits of doing it and the consequences of not doing it, and take massive action to make sure you accomplish it. - Rachel Beider, Massage Greenpoint

10. Find an Accountability Partner

Find someone who you confide in and make them your accountability partner. Define your goals for the year and put them in writing. Keep them as specific as possible. Goals tend to fail when you keep them broad. Give that list to your accountability partner and set aside a monthly check-in with them to review steps you've taken to push towards your goals. - Brandon Houston, Switch Video

11. Break Your Main Goal Down 

Think of your main goal like the fabric on an umbrella. After you set it, create "spokes." What are the mini-actions and goals you can accomplish in order to get your big goal accomplished? If your big goal is daunting or dependent on one thing, you're more likely to fall off, forget or give it up. By creating mini-goals and actions, the journey is also successful. - Jen Brown, The Engaging Educator

12. Set S.M.A.R.T. Goals 

SMART stands for "Specific, Measurable, Assignable, Realistic, Time-Related." SMART goals help you define clear goals with a timeline. Instead of saying, "go to the gym more this year," a SMART goal would be "I will go to the gym for at least 45 minutes three times per week until 1/1/2019." SMART goals will help you stay on track this year. - Brandon Stapper, Crown Growth

13. Start with the End in Mind 

As you're charging hard for those 2018 goals, it's important to have a crystal clear vision of how they relate to the overall mission and the goals transcending this New Year. Doing this will also help bring others into the 2018 planning and make it easier to comprehend the "why" of those goals. - Michael Spinosa, Unleashed Technologies

14. Develop a Template from Past Achievements 

It's important to set realistic goals and constantly strive to meet those. However, remember what helped you reach past goals. Was it writing down notes? Was it continually tracking your progress? Using another person to hold you accountable? Everyone is a bit different when it comes goal setting and execution, but success breeds success. - Shawn Schulze, Names.org

Article seen on Thrive Global

Quoted in Business.com : 12 Things Business Owners Pay Too Much For

Running a business is going to cost a lot whatever you do, but too many businesses spend unnecessary amounts in these areas.

Business costs are unavoidable, but some costs in business are way higher than necessary. Paying too much for rent, marketing or travel can cost your business its flexibility and reduce your working capital that helps get you through the lean months. Knowing where you can trim the fat will allow your company to run more efficiently and prevent you from feeling a pinch month to month.

We asked 12 entrepreneurs from YEC to weigh in on the most surprising things that business owners are paying too much for.

1. Credit card processing

"Business owners should regularly check how much their credit card processing fees are, and negotiate their rates. Often, when you do more volume, you can ask for a lowered rate. Processing is a competitive market." – Rachel Beider, Massage Greenpoint 

2. Inefficient employees

"Payroll most likely takes up the largest share of expenses in a business. A small business owner should seek employees that are returning five to 10 times what they are getting paid, but sometimes employees are barely returning one times their salary. If this is the case, employers should consider bringing in more productive employees (even if that means paying more) or simply outsource to freelancers." – Alejandro Rioja, Flux Chargers

3. Large office

"Many businesses spend more than they need to on renting office space. Additionally, they buy all kinds of equipment and furniture for the office. This can add up to thousands of dollars and recurring expenses. Consider if you could get by on a much smaller space or even a home office. In the digital world, paying for lots of physical space is usually not necessary." – Shawn Porat, Scorely

4. Web design

"Whether it's creating a landing page for your business, an online storefront or a web portfolio, chances are that you're paying too much for your website's design. The truth that many web designers and freelancers don't want you to know is that a professional-looking website can be made for next to nothing thanks to services like WordPress." – Bryce Welker, CPA Exam Guy

5. Content creation and SEO

"As someone who has been in the world of content creation, blogging and online marketing for more than 20 years now, I can tell you most people are doing it wrong. Even worse, many brands and businesses are paying way too much money on ineffective and lousy content and marketing companies. For some reason, businesses would rather overpay an agency than find someone who knows what they are doing." – Zac Johnson, Blogging.org

6. Ineffective marketing

"There is no dearth of entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses that don't know what marketing entails, and they're often at the receiving end of marketing companies out to make quick bucks. While impressive logos, websites, brochures and the likes are part of the parcel, not many companies focus on creating awareness, attracting attention and building relationships." – Derek Robinson, Top Notch Dezigns

7. Untargeted advertising

"Many businesses advertise without doing sufficient testing of the results. Placing ads – whether Google AdWords, Facebook ads or display ads in your local newspaper – is not always effective. If you're not carefully measuring the ROI, you could be wasting thousands of dollars per year. This is now truer than ever, as many people tune out traditional ads." – Kalin Kassabov, ProTexting

8. Video conferencing

"Back in the day, it might have made sense to spend a lot of money on a video conferencing room if you did a lot of business overseas. But these days, with tools like Zoom and Highfive, there are just so many less expensive options. There's no need to break the bank for this technology anymore." – Jared Atchison, WPForms

9. Document management

"There is no way that leasing a fancy copy machine and paying for photocopies should be a strong business model. It is, though, and the costs associated with these services are very high. To alleviate these costs, invest in good equipment, a paperless office and maintenance. Businesses do not win by leasing." – Ryan Bradley, Koester & Bradley LLP

10. Software development

"Software engineer salaries in major urban markets – such as San Francisco, New York and Boston – are approaching $200,000, or roughly $15,000 a month, for a fully loaded engineer. There are so many better options, especially since the adoption of Slack, Jira and other collaboration tools. Great talent can be leveraged for 30 percent of the price when considering nearshore markets (in the same time zone)." – Brian Samson, True North

11. Travel

"As business owners, we tend to see travel as part of the job – a necessary evil. But when you look at most trips taken at the company's expense and break down the ROI, cost and opportunity cost, I am positive you will find that your time and money would have been better spent staying put in your office and handling business from there. Working harder doesn't always mean that you're working smarter!" – Marc Lobliner, Tiger Fitness

12. Unhealthy habits

"A sick day for employees might be an excuse to binge on Netflix and catch up on sleep. A sick day for an entrepreneur forces them into never-ending catch-up as they reschedule meetings, deliverables and initiatives. Neglecting your health through poor eating, lack of fitness and general stress relief will eventually take you out of commission for days or weeks, which can be more costly than anything." – Ross Beyeler, Growth Spark

Article Seen on Business.com

New York city is looking to make 500 small loans to women-owned businesses in the next three years: Rachel in WWD

By Kali Hays on March 8, 2018

New York city is looking to make 500 small loans to women-owned businesses in the next three years.
New York City is trying to get more small loans in the hands of women looking to expand their own businesses.

Through its WE Fund: Crowd partnership with Kiva, a crowdfunding web site focused on women entrepreneurs worldwide, the city said it’s helped funnel more than $280,000 in zero-interest loans to 40 women in New York since it launched in November, with the loans being a combination of city funds and thousands of outside contributors.

The mayor’s office said the average WE Fund loan is about $5,500 and that 80 percent of the loans have gone to minority entrepreneurs and 35 percent to immigrant entrepreneurs.

“This is about increasing the earning power of women and making sure that women are leading the next generation of home-grown companies,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen said the program started after the mayor’s office “heard women entrepreneurs say loud and clear that they needed more access to capital to get their businesses off the ground.”

The effort looks to be working. Alexis Krase was able to raise $10,000 in little more than two weeks for her Brooklyn store offering plus-sized women’s apparel, Plus Bklyn, after a friend told her about the WE Fund loan program. While the larger portion of the money came from the city, a majority of it was crowdfunded from 124 lenders that contributed less than $100 each. With the money, Krase was able to meet with a local patternmaker last weekend and expects to have an in-house line at Plus Bklyn in a few months.

The friend who initially told her about WE Fund, Rachel Beide, also received $10,000 through the program, with 99 micro-lenders and a larger portion of support from the city going to fund the opening of a third location for her decade-old business Massage Williamsburg. Beide says on her crowdfunding page that her biggest obstacle as a small business “is access to funding at non-predatory lending rates.”

Personal loans from banks have interest rates that range from 6 to about 36 percent, according to stats from NerdWallet, often making it impossible or too risky for a small business owner or someone hoping to start one to access funding.

With the We Fund, New York and Kiva are planning to make a total of 500 loans over three years.

“It doesn’t take much capital for women entrepreneurs to build thriving businesses that support our city’s local economy, communities, and families,” Gregg Bishop, commissioner of the city’s Department of Small Business Services, said: “And it hasn’t taken much time for the city to change the lives of 40 entrepreneurs through WE Fund: Crowd. At this rate, we are well on our way to achieve our goal of reaching 500 businesses over three years and building a more inclusive city.”

As seen in WWD

Rachel Beider Featured in Forbes: 6 Successful Women Share How They Defeated 'Impostor Syndrome'

Sometimes, entrepreneurs can be their own worst enemies. For example, they may start to doubt themselves and think they don't deserve the successes they've enjoyed because they "don't know what they're doing," or think that others in their shoes have far more experience and qualifications. This phenomenon is known as impostor syndrome, and it can really put a damper on an otherwise thriving business.

Women entrepreneurs are particularly susceptible to impostor syndrome, especially when they're working in a field dominated by men. They may feel like they are inadequate, haven't earned their accolades, or simply aren't doing enough -- even if none of that is true.

Fortunately, members of Young Entrepreneur Council have been through it all and come out the other side, more confident and successful than ever. We asked six of them to share their experiences and advice for their fellow female business owners who want to stop feeling like a fraud in their field.

1. Start Asking Yourself More Positive Questions 

I often felt pangs of impostor syndrome as my company grew larger. I found myself questioning if I was really the best person to handle such growth, and felt anxious regularly. I learned to change the question: Rather than asking myself if I was capable, I started asking myself, "What's great about this?" Changing the question put me in a better headspace to perform well, rather than making decisions from a place of fear or anxiety. - Rachel Beider, Massage Greenpoint, Massage Williamsburg

2. Change Your Focus From Yourself To Others 

As a female founder, a woman in tech and mother of five, I am regularly asked how I make it work -- that I must either not be placing enough attention on my kids or my business. I once had a potential investor state they "weren't sure how they felt about me being a mom." I've had people question my founder role since I was on maternity leave when my company was started. It can be easy to start questioning your own value and position when you constantly have to confront misogyny, trolls and sexism. By turning off the white noise of negativity and changing your focus from yourself and turn it toward others helps tremendously. When I think about the jobs I have created, the women founders I have mentored and the clients' lives we've changed, it is easy to ignore the negative self-talk. - Jennifer Mellon, 

3. Remember What You Have To Offer The World 

When I started my apparel company, I was only 21 years old in a field that was dominated by mostly men two to three times my age. As my company grew, I questioned what I was doing running it. At that age, I let passion trump my fear and propel me forward. As I've gotten older and branched into other fields, I often find myself in rooms where I am the youngest, the least experienced or the only woman. What helps me is knowing there are thousands of women who have made it that felt exactly the same way.Their necessity to give something important to the world overcame their own self-doubt. I keep a list of these women to remind me that I'm not alone, that the fear is normal, and that the greatest gift I can give to the world is to shine, even when I can't see the way. - Dalia MacPhee, DALIA MACPHEE

4. Build And Participate In A Support Network 

I can get in my own head pretty easily. I need outside help to get out of the impostor syndrome loop. Having friends who understand what I'm working on and my ability level is crucial. They're able to tell me that I'm on track because they're right there with me. The reverse is true, too. I'm able to tell friends who work on similar projects that they know what they're doing, that they're doing things the same way I would, that they are going to make it through their impostor syndrome. Participating in a support network makes a world of difference for me. - Thursday Bram, The Responsible Communication Style Guide

5. Let Your Accomplishments Speak For Themselves 

You have to achieve your goals, and then celebrate and showcase your accomplishments. No matter how hard you are on yourself, the big successes you have will speak for themselves. You will create recognition in a positive way and have people view you as an innovative leader. Starting a company and having three little kids at home really forces you to prioritize and make the most out of each hour in your day. I do not let anyone else's doubts in my head to distract me or hold me back. I always think about pushing forward, and as much as I take pride and great care of my family, I am also proud and accomplished to have a successful company. This actually makes me a better mom and wife, being able to do what I love and make something great out of it. - Sarah Yeverovich, Empowered Staffing

6. Find Your Mantra And Repeat It Over And Over Until You Believe It 

Impostor syndrome was fierce in my head. "They are going to find out I'm a fraud and kick me out of their circle of influence." That mindset kept me from soaring for a long time. And then, something finally changed. I started a mantra of, "You were made for this. Now rock it." And I started to actually believe it. Granted, I had to say it 1,345,678 times to start feeling it, but it worked. The truth is, you are a rock star and you were made for this. So go do your thing, because it's going to be incredible. - Kim Walsh-Phillips, Elite Digital Group 

Original Article in Forbes

4 Ways to Get to Know Your Customers Well

Most businesses assume they know their customers, but if they were honest about it, they’re actually just familiar with the brand image they portray. If you want to serve your clients properly and provide value that’s most meaningful to them, you have to find out who they really are.

Get to Know Your Customers

The obstacle that prevents many firms from knowing their customers well is that they regard them as business entities, instead of organizations composed of actual people with personalities and identities.

If you’re going to serve your customers properly and add genuine value to their bottom line, you have to understand who they are on a directly personal level. Here are four strategies to help you do that.

Collaborate With Them

If you want to learn what it looks like to know and understand your customers, one of the best things you can do is study what other successful companies are doing. Bliss Media, one of Australia’s most successful digital marketing agencies, has a formula that works for its team … and might just work for you.

“Our approach is collaborative and adaptive,” Bliss Media states when it describes its process. “We want clients to be immersed in the project and creative process. Through activities like hands-on workshops, focus groups, user-journey mapping and user experience testing, we learn your business, and together uncover new customer insights. Our process includes our clients at key points from beginning to end.”

In other words, if you want to know your customers, involve them in what you’re doing. Not only does this help you build rapport, but it also gives your market some ownership in the process.

Utilize Social Media

Social media yields a treasure trove of opportunities for companies that are serious about understanding who their customers are. Unfortunately, many firms don’t fully utilize the information that’s right their at their fingertips.

Maintaining social media profiles and sending out posts every week is good, but outreach shouldn’t be your only tactic. Networks like Facebook and Twitter also have powerful analytics platforms built into their systems. These empower you to collect valuable insights with regard to demographics, interests, buying habits, and engagement with content.

Ask for Feedback

Massage Greenpoint in Brooklyn has found that a direct approach often works best. One of this company’s preferred methods of getting to know customers is by reaching out after client visits.

“We love the Listen360 customer feedback software, as it sends out a brief and easy-to-use survey after every appointment,” CEO Rachel Beider says. “We can immediately see who our promoters are and who had a less-than-perfect experience, which gives us an opportunity to reach out before we might lose that person as a customer.”

Research the History of the Business

For B2B businesses that have other companies as clients, it’s often helpful to research the history of the customer. You may have access to a lot of information about the firm as it stands today, but learning where it’s come from can help you get a better feel for the personality, flavor, and character of the operation behind closed doors.

Serve Your Customers’ Needs

It’s not enough simply to find out who your customers are. Once you’ve done your discovery and developed an intimate understanding of their needs, wants, interests, and background, you have to act upon the intelligence you’ve gathered to serve your clients’ needs in specific and tangible ways.

Customers want to work with businesses that add value to their lives. The easiest way to add value is by satisfying need, fulfilling a desire, or solving a pain point. Finding out how to fulfill these duties with more accuracy will strengthen your bond with your target market.

As seen in TG DAILY

By: Mariana Seiffert, 15th February 2018

Create an Unforgettable Customer Experience Without Breaking the Bank

In today’s marketplace, it’s all about creating themost positive experience for your customers. Youneed to engage with them in a way that is unforgettable and helps them remember your business the next time they are in need of theproducts and services your company offers.

That’s why we asked 12 successful entrepreneurs from Young Entrepreneur Council the following question:

Q. What is one way you can create an unforgettablecustomer experience without making a huge financial investment?

1. Be friendly, truthful, and respond quickly

Seriously, a lot of time all you have to do is be quick to respond, friendly and truthful. Those are all free, except maybe responding quickly. But youneed to have a system in place to respond via email within the same day (ideally within the same hour). You need to have instilled into everyone at the company that they be truthful and friendly to clients. —Peter Boyd, PaperStreet Web Design

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2. Make eye contact

Simply making eye contact during conversations with clients immediately opens a human connection. It’s amazing how frequently we move through the world without truly connecting with people. —Rachel Beider, Massage Greenpoint, Massage Williamsburg

3. Personalize the response

When customers reach out for help or support, it’s often because they are facing some type of problem. Rather than using a generic response, my team takes the time to respond to customers by name, acknowledge their concerns, and assure them their problem will be taken care of promptly. Being the one to initiate follow-up goes a long way in ensuring customerhappiness. —Mark Krassner, Expectful

4. Build rapport

If you want to connect with people, then it pays to know a little bit about them. Building rapport and talking to clients or customers on a personal level displays your commitment and authenticity. It’s cheaper to keep anexisting customer than acquire a new one, so building a long-lasting relationship should always be a focus of your customer relations. —Kristopher Jones, LSEO.com

5. Smile and mean it

Customers don’t actually expect as much as you think. They’ve been put in a position where they accept unfriendly customer experiences to some degree. However, simple things—like smiling and meaning it—make anincredible difference and don’t cost anything. —Serenity Gibbons, Calendar.com

6. Create a ‘surprise and delight’ moment

A cheap but impactful way to create an unforgettable customerexperience is to create a “surprise and delight” moment for your customers. It can be something very small that they are not expecting. It should be thoughtful, but doesn’t have to be much. Some examples are freebies included in their order or a personalized “thank you” note. —Baruch Labunski, Rank Secure

Article By YEC Members on Allbusiness.com

15 Tools and Practices for the Successful Management of Remote Employees

More and more companies are offering employees the option to work remotely. Not only does this give employees more freedom and flexibility, it also allows business to secure top talent from around the world. These remote teams need special attention when it comes to managing employees as the distance can often make it hard to connect.

Here are 15 tools, resources and company practices that entrepreneurs find indispensable to successfully managing their remote teams.

A. Time Management Software

Time management software is essential. You really can’t rely on the honor system when managing a remote team. Effective time management software can help you monitor productivity, track hours and much more, to ensure your remote workers are performing consistently and continuously. - Andrew Schrage, Money Crashers Personal Finance

A. Zoom Video Conference

Zoom has single-handedly changed the way I work with my remote team. In the beginning of my remote experience, we tried to handle all communication through Slack or Trello. We found that deep collaboration suffered when relying solely on these tools. Zoom changed this by combining the reliability of legacy conferencing with cool/useful features that new age startups love. - Lawrence Watkins, Great Black Speakers

A. In-Person Retreats

Our company has always been composed of remote team members ... but each year we have at least one in-person retreat. Not only do we power through important topics and company issues, but it also opens so many doors of communication between each team member. We experience a huge boost in productivity that lasts months after we’ve all gone home. - Nathalie Lussier, AmbitionAlly

A. Reflective Conversations

It’s important to have frequent communications related to day-to-day tasks within the company. In addition to Slack and regular huddles, it’s also critical to set aside time for conversations that are just focused on “reflection” within the company. Whether it’s on a regular basis or after key milestones/projects, make sure the team has a chance to voice these insights collectively. - Ross Beyeler, Growth Spark

A. Set Communication Times

Establish a protocol that works on when to have one-on-ones and team meetings. Ensure that these are regular but that don’t become a burden to your remote team. Also, make sure to add them to company updates so they feel included in everything. This can be done through tools such as Slack or Skype. - Andrew O’Connor, American Addiction Centers

A. A VoIP Service

You want to stay in constant contact with your scattered Fellowship of the Brand. If that’s the case, you’ll need a digital communication option that works in any situation and any place you can connect to WiFi — yes, even the skeevy Motel 6 that was the only motel your site’s IT guy could find off of Route 66. You’ll have to understand that your wayward remote employees chose the nomadic lifestyle. - Baruch Labunski, Rank Secure

A. Localized Emergency Response Plans

With a distributed team, tracking who may be affected by a natural disaster can be harder. Putting in the time in advance to have up-to-date contact information (beyond a cell phone) is a good first step. Putting more concrete plans into place (as well as encouraging your employees to put their own personal emergency response plan into place) can help keep a distributed team functioning long term. - Thursday Bram, The Responsible Communication Style Guide

A. Weekly Phone Calls

Programs like Slack and Skype are great for getting in touch with remote team members instantly, but there are limits to what can be communicated through these platforms. Skype is a bit better since you can chat using VoIP, but most people use built-in microphones or headsets that can sound garbled. The best form of communication in these situations is a regular phone call every week to catch up. - Bryce Welker, Beat The CPA

A. Set Hours

I have team members all over the U.S., and working around time zones and schedules can be tricky. We’ve implemented a block of set hours for every person on our team. We use that time to collaborate as a team, bounce ideas back and forth, catch up on project status, etc. It’s important to have time everyday where all of your employees are available to you and to each other. - Leila Lewis, Be Inspired PR

A. Asana

Asana has been a great tool for us. We have a relatively flat remote team hierarchy, so we rely on Asana to assign tasks and keep each other accountable. It’s a collaborative project management tool that gives transparency throughout the entire organization. - Jared Atchison, WPForms

A. Confluence Wiki

Our team is spread across four continents in five time zones. To keep everyone on the same page, we use a Confluence Wiki. It’s like Wikipedia for our company. Meeting notes, project specs, brainstorming sessions and ongoing processes are all held there in different, interlinking areas. Maintaining one wiki also allows to bring on new talent faster (and it reduces email). - Brian David Crane, Caller Smart Inc.

A. Podio Software

I love Podio management software to keep our team all on the same page. It’s awesome to have all of our information in one central location so that when issues arise, we can come together as a team to handle them. Podio also helps us work collaboratively on projects, as it allows for flexibility with communication styles and accountability for deadlines and tasks. - Rachel Beider, Massage Greenpoint, Massage Williamsburg

A. Slack

Slack makes communication so much faster and efficient it eliminates the need to work out of the same location. It takes the best of real life communication and technology. For example, it’s clear if you’re interrupting someone on Slack because they can press the “snooze” button but in real life, it’s not always so clear. In many ways, Slack has revolutionized work communication. - Syed Balkhi, OptinMonster

A. Skype

Skype works exceptionally well with international remote workers and provides a low-cost way to stay on top of what everyone is doing. It’s reliable and provides file transfers, video, audio, as well as messaging capability. - Peter Daisyme, Due

A. Google Docs

Google’s suite of office applications makes collaborative editing a breeze. Team members can work on the same document or spreadsheet simultaneously or take it in turns. It’s easy to limit access to the people who need it. Docs and Sheets are much more efficient and productive than collaborating over email threads with documents in multiple versions being passed between workers. - Justin Blanchard, ServerMania Inc.

Article Seen on Huffpo via the YEC

11 Easy Tasks a Virtual Assistant Can Do to Help You Become More Productive

Your time is valuable. What is one way to leverage a virtual assistant to streamline your tasks and make yourself more productive?

1. Email Triage

Having a virtual assistant who can answer customer support emails and manage your inbox is a lifesaver! You’ll want to work closely the first few weeks to set parameters, but allow them to handle easy requests like booking appointments, sending information and declining requests to “meet for coffee.” Over time you’ll be in your inbox less and less, freeing up valuable time.

– Kelly Azevedo, She’s Got Systems

2. Bookkeeping

Bookkeeping is one of the most important tasks a virtual assistant can help manage. Having someone keep tabs on bills, invoicing, payroll and other financial matters is imperative. By outsourcing your bookkeeping system to a virtual assistant, you can free up significant time each week. Not only are bills paid on time, but you increase the likelihood of finding financial inaccuracies sooner.

– Dave Nevogt, Hubstaff.com

3. Delegation of All Admin Tasks

Give your smaller tasks and admin to your virtual assistant: setting appointments, tidying inboxes, creating reminders. These are great uses of a virtual assistant. If you end up in a lot of remote calls, having them on board to take minutes and make key action notes is a great way to free up your mental space for the meetings.

– Nicole Munoz, Start Ranking Now

4. Organization

I utilize a VA for simple yet somewhat tedious tasks that require time and organization. I will create and share a screencast video of a process for ongoing tasks that need to be constantly organized, and I will send that along with full instructions to the VA. This way there is no confusion and I can be confident knowing that tasks that take time from my schedule will be completed properly.

– Stanley Meytin, True Film Production

5. Social Media Content Creation

Social media requires daily attention to grow your followers. You could have a virtual assistant focus on creating image overlays for Facebook using Canva.com and pinnable images on Pinterest.

– Syed Balkhi, OptinMonster

6. Any Tasks That Fit Skills

I’ve found that virtual assistants are very flexible to take on all types of roles, including typing up all strategic documents, transcribing video conferences and handling all types of administrative work that frees me up to focus on bigger picture items.

– Zach Binder, Ranklab

7. Project Management and Follow-Ups

I use a virtual assistant whose job it is to follow up on all delegated tasks, make sure tasks are not overdue and send out follow-ups when employees or freelancers are behind on their tasks. Instead of having to spend a lot of my time following up on tasks assigned to others and making sure that tasks and projects are moving along, the virtual assistant will take care of that, making them invaluable.

– Marcela De Vivo, Brilliance

8. Appointments, Orders and Digital Paperwork

I use a virtual assistant to handle all my personal and professional appointments, do any product ordering or online shopping I need done, and fill in, file and take care of any digital paperwork. This saves me so much time and is well worth having this kind of support.

– Peter Daisyme, Due

9. Tasks You Do Not Need to Be Doing

There’s a good chance you already know what they are. It could be trying to move a graphic a pixel over on your website or trying to schedule and post things to WordPress. Get someone to handle the simple tasks so you can free yourself up to do more big-picture thinking.

– Ismael Wrixen, FE International

10. Calls and Scheduling

My company has depended on virtual assistants to answer our calls for years. Before I was able to afford front-desk associates, I relied on virtual assistants to book all of my appointments so that I never missed a call while I was in a session. Now, we still use their services for client relationship management, reminder calls and appointment bookings when my front desk is unavailable.

– Rachel Beider, Massage Greenpoint, Massage Williamsburg

11. Routine, Repetitive and Time-Consuming Tasks

If you don’t have an assistant, you probably are an assistant to yourself. Getting one could be an excellent way to magically get more hours in this mythical 40-hour work week. If you already do 80 hours per week, that’s the time to review your workload, identify repeatable tasks and delegate them to a virtual assistant. Start with the most time-consuming and often-recurring chores.

– Andrey Kudievskiy, Distillery

Article Originally Posted in Noobpreneur

My article for Business Collective on The Rise of Workplace Wellness and How You Can Take Advantage

Your customers and clients may be experiencing more stress these days, giving your small business an opportunity to cater to their wellness needs.

Stress has always been a driving force in the wellness industry, but we seem to have moved past just personal stress to a collective, politically-induced stress. No longer are people simply seeking to remedy relationship or financial troubles; stress about politics and the security of the future is becoming more and more common. As a business consultant for wellness practices and the owner of two massage studios in New York City, I have seen this trend unfold firsthand.

Like many, I was exhausted by last year’s tumultuous election, so imagine my surprise when I learned that it was actually great for business. I first noticed an uptick in client bookings in the fall of 2016 and my sessions — which are typically pretty quiet — became more lively as clients voiced their worries and concerns about politics. Stress and anxiety commonly manifest themselves in physical ailments like muscle tension, TMJ (jaw tension from teeth clenching), headaches, insomnia and fatigue, which are problems we treat frequently.

I had a feeling that trying to deduce electoral math and being glued to Facebook, cable news and Twitter were physically impacting my clients and the demand for my business. The numbers proved me right: We saw a 20% increase in new clients in Q4 of last year and in the week after the inauguration, we saw an additional 50% surge in bookings — and there’s no sign of it slowing down. The demand has been so high that we’re adding additional employees to our roster.

At the same time, I saw a growing trend in the corporate world as blue chip companies like Aetna and Facebook adopted progressive workplace wellness programs, and media mogul Arianna Huffington launched Thrive Global, a wellness company dedicated to helping companies and employees reduce burnout. At a time when people were dealing with a new kind of post-election stress, I felt wellness was reaching an audience that hadn’t previously been tuned in.

Growing a business isn’t without trial and error, and there are specific challenges that small practices should keep in mind when catering to stressed out clients. Keep these tips in mind to capitalize on the latest wellness trend:

Don’t Be Afraid of the Big Fish

Just because your business is small, that doesn’t mean you can’t work with a large company or corporation. Small businesses can reach new audiences and build partnerships by offering services to large companies and coordinating office wellness events. We have partnered with Red Bull, WeWork and Whole Foods to offer chair massages to employees for on-site stress relief.

Companies are interested in the benefits of having wellness services at work, which can keep insurance costs down and boost employee productivity. With just a few practitioners, your business can reach a new customer base that wouldn’t otherwise discover your practice. When approaching a new partner, make sure to tailor your approach and market the specific benefits that they can expect from working with you.

Diversify, Diversify, Diversify

At a time when customers are becoming savvier in the wellness space, it’s important to diversify your services. Consider including massage, reflexology, acupuncture, aromatherapy, reiki and alternative wellness treatments. Before seeking new talent, look at the expertise you already have in house: Many practitioners are trained in multiple disciplines but don’t always promote all of their areas of expertise.

You Absolutely Cannot Skimp on Talent

This is imperative. For small businesses to stand out in the wellness space, it’s critical to hire excellent staff members who can provide high-quality care. This is important for all service-based industries, but even more so for practitioners who have close relationships with their clients. This is the easiest way to keep retention rates up and your clients coming back.

To make sure that your guests are getting the most out of their experience, consider using client feedback software or post-treatment surveys. A great practitioner will have a consistently high client retention rate.

Focus on Consistency

One of the biggest challenges small businesses will face as they grow in the wellness space is maintaining consistency and a high caliber of customer service. Our clients know exactly what to expect from each visit, so we are confident they will want to return. Having a clear manual of operations goes a long way in helping keep things running smoothly, and I always encourage clients to speak up if they are unhappy with their service.

Aim to Exceed Client Expectations

When your goal is to help your clients cope with pain and stress, I encourage my team to aim to exceed a client’s expectations. Just because you provide excellent service, that doesn’t mean their ailment will vanish, so we provide clients with additional information and therapy for self-care at home. I’ll frequently recommend specific stretches or strengthening exercises that become integral to a client’s daily routine. We also collaborate with other practitioners, such as acupuncturists, chiropractors, physical therapists and pilates instructors. It’s important to create an atmosphere where practitioners feel like they can and should go the extra mile for their clients.

Though there is uncertainty about the future, it appears that the trend toward wellness is here to stay.

Published on 9/6 in Business Collective

14 Unconventional Ways to Increase Social Media Engagement

I contributed to this Influencive Article about unconventional ways to increase social engagement:

With the number of social media users expected to reach 2.46 billion this year, no sane marketer can ignore these platforms for growing a business’ target audience, client base and revenue. But how can you stand out from the competition?

Aside from the obvious advice such as generating high-quality content geared toward your target audience, there are other, more unconventional tactics to differentiate your brand. Below, 15 members of the Young Entrepreneur Council give their best advice on social media engagement.

#1 Tag Someone You Love

When we post something relevant, we ask our followers to tag someone they love. When they do this, it helps give someone they care about the warm and fuzzies, and it has a viral contingent for us. Strategically doing posts like this a few times a month helped grow our Instagram channel to almost 50k highly engaged followers in a year. —Mark Krassner,Expectful

#2 Get People Riled Up

People love to be a part of a conversation. Give them a reason to. Ask questions where they can voice their opinion and engage. Think of topics that are hot buttons, such as Chevy vs. Ford in the automotive world. What things in your industry draw opinion preference people want to talk about? —Jeff Cayley, Worldwide Cyclery

#3 Use Direct Messenger

Allowing the messenger service to be used and leaving it open throughout different parts of the day has been great. I schedule time to talk directly with prospects and it’s turned into greater engagement once they realize they can chat like this and get an immediate response. —Peter Daisyme, Due

#4 Be Punny

I engage in wordplay as often as possible. Using puns appropriately is a great way to make the content creative, and your followers appreciate the time it took to think about what you are saying. Putting extra effort into the words you use is a small, scalable change that makes an enormous impact. A good pun elicits an emotion or feeling of amusement that resonates with your viewer. —Matthew Capala, Search Decoder

#5 Do Facebook Live AMAs

I began a series of 100 episodes of Facebook Live Ask Me Anything, which has helped me more than double my engagement with followers. During these AMAs, the questions asked by fellow entrepreneurs and those in the world of digital marketing always expand into something bigger due to responses by others. This strategy works because it’s ultimately based on educating over just conversing. —Kristopher Jones, LSEO.com

#6 Ask Interesting Questions

Rather than always providing lots of content, I find that people engage with our social media when we post intriguing questions that people want to answer. Hearing our online community provide insight and share their experience is a really nice way to stay connected and learn more about our clients. —Rachel Beider, Massage Greenpoint, Massage Williamsburg

#7 Use Facebook Groups

Use Facebook Groups to let your followers connect and interact with one another. It’s essentially like a built-in discussion forum for your audience. This basically allows you to increase engagement with your brand without having to do much legwork at all. You may want to monitor the discussions from time to time, though, just to see what’s being said. —Andrew Schrage, Money Crashers Personal Finance

#8 Post Unrelated Stories and Pictures

We are a tech company. However, we create several posts in our social media strategy that has nothing to do with technology—mainly related to lifestyle and events. These posts really help us win followers. We recently posted about healthcare and technology, earning a lot of followers and generating likes from existing followers. —Piyush Jain, SIMpalm

#9 Ask for Expertise

People like to think they are smart—it’s a pretty natural feeling to enjoy. So, if you’re trying to increase engagement with your social posts, get people to think they are experts. Ask somewhat broad questions and let people weigh in, but try and get something out of it. If you can grab an email address in exchange for people voicing their favorite tips and tricks, then you’ve won. —Bryce Welker, Crush The CPA Exam

#10 Hold a Facebook Caption Contest

Our company hosts a weekly photo caption contest on Facebook. Our social media manager scours photos related to our industry, then posts an amusing one on Facebook each Friday. People write funny captions and the five most “liked” captions are voted on. The winner earns free products. This contest has grown to thousands of responses each week and has created a huge community in itself! —Diego Orjuela, Cables & Sensors

#11 Tag People or Companies

A great way to reach additional people with social media posts—e.g. Facebook, LinkedIn—is to strategically tag people with certain levels of influence, etc., to posts. This alerts them to the post and they are more prompted to share it. Furthermore, if you tag someone on LinkedIn, LinkedIn will proactively share your post to that person’s connections. —Adelyn Zhou, TOPBOTS

#12 Use Instagram Live

Instagram Live is a really intriguing method to engage followers. Being raw and unedited in front of your followers demonstrates your willingness to step up at any time, and it gives them a behind-the-scenes feel, which is exciting. —Abhilash Patel, Abhilash.co

#13 Post a Binary Puzzle for Engineers

Instead of posting the usual boring “congratulations” with upcoming holidays, we designed an old-fashioned binary code card that our core audience loved. It’s not for everyone and apparently worked well in a technology-focused community. It was a fun and unusual way to ask people to solve a puzzle without actually doing that! —Andrey Kudievskiy, Distillery

#14 Offer Thought Leadership

The common idea right now is that to achieve a following, you have to be proactive and say things just for attention. But if you live by that sword, you die by it. I have unconventionally decided to never tweet and to instead express my views in thought pieces where I am more fully able to express myself and my ideas. —Paul Grossinger, Gaingels