Going With Your Gut: Why You Shouldn't Rush Into a Career - by: Rachel Beider for Forbes

Many people don't have the clarity of knowing what they want to do after college, and so many just wing it. Today, more Americans have college degrees than ever before, with one-third holding a four-year degree, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Yet, the majority of college graduates do not find employment in their field. 

We frequently discuss and sometimes place blame on job market trends for how we fit into our changing world of work. But what is less often considered are the changes and fluctuations within ourselves that can drastically alter the course of our careers. Often this comes after a period of feeling stuck, overwhelmed or burned out.

Instead of rushing into a career, take the time to let it find you through self-exploration, travel and diverse immersive experiences. I know firsthand that life experiences can be the stepping stones that lead you to a career you are truly passionate about.

I earned a photography degree in 2005 and spent years in working every part-time photography job imaginable. To make ends meet, I also worked as a nanny, dog walker, server and bartender, as well as in retail shops and office jobs — all while hustling to get my own photography gigs. I was exhausted and work was inconsistent.

On a chilly day in March 2005, I helped an elderly man find his route on the subway. This simple act of kindness caught the attention of a tall, cute man in his twenties, who was heading in the same direction on the L train. I later learned his name was Danny. As I entered the train, I noticed Danny looking at me as I put my headphones in, smiling to myself. I took the opportunity during the ride to steal glimpses at him. I thought for a moment about speaking to him but reluctantly got off the train at my stop. He gave me a longing look, like he wanted to say something too.

As I walked home to my apartment in the East Village, I immediately regretted my decision to not be bolder and speak to him. Feeling frustrated, I decided to write a Missed Connections post on Craigslist. It was a long shot, but as a hopeless romantic, I felt I may as well give it a try. When he wrote back the same day, I was excited, nervous and overjoyed. After some back and forth emails, we quickly realized we were both the same age and has a lot in common. We spoke on the phone for a couple of hours and decided to meet at Yaffa Cafe on St. Marks. We stayed up late, locked in the kind of deep conversation rarely had with a stranger, talking about our lives, work, friends and families, and I felt immediately connected to him.

While my romantic relationship blossomed, professionally I felt extremely lost and depressed. The inconsistent work was exhausting and gave me anxiety. When Danny asked me to join him on a trip to India and Southeast Asia, I added shifts as a cocktail waitress to save for the trip, storing my pay in the remnants of old film development canisters that lined my book shelves.

Our trip was one adventure after the next, though physically quite taxing. After carrying a heavy backpack and sleeping in cheap hostels for months, I jumped at the chance to take a Thai massage class in Thailand. I had no idea I would fall in love with the flow and movement myself.

When we came home from our trip, I enrolled full-time at The Swedish Institute of Massage Therapy. My business and career that followed would not exist today if not for that Missed Connection post. While Danny and I ended up moving in different directions with our lives, meeting him carved the path to discovering a career I fell in love with instead.

That trip changed my life and opened me up to so many possibilities that were previously unimaginable. It took getting out of my comfort zone, taking a risk and admitting what was working and what wasn't working for me in my career. I discovered similarities between photography and massage, oddly enough. Certain qualities easily translated from one profession to the other. I love working with my hands, with people and not having a standard 9-to-5 desk job. The transition felt seamless, like it was meant to be.

Most successful entrepreneurs and individuals I've spoken to over the years didn't make a career change because they were excited or happy. It came from a place of frustration, annoyance, not feeling satisfied and wanting something to change. While listening to your inner voice to find your career, it's important to be open to new ideas and directions and have a willingness to take chances regardless of where you are. Let your career find you by staying open to opportunities as they arise. Your career path will likely change as you do.

Article Written by Rachel Beider as seen on Forbes.com

Rachel Beider in Huffington Post: 11 Ways to Involve Employees in Creating Company Culture

11 Ways To Involve Employees In Creating Company Culture 

via Huffington Post

There are a lot of different ways to create a company culture. One of them is getting employees involved in the process. This not only builds buy-in, it also improves engagement. The people influencing decisions are naturally going to choose activities or goals that interest them. So how can you creatively encourage employees to build their own company culture?

1. Lead by example.

Start your next meeting by announcing a new team event or activity. Explain that you’d like to do events or activities on a monthly basis and that you’d appreciate everyone’s involvement. Get each individual to contribute ideas for fun activities to do as a company. This is an easy way to get the entire team to build a company culture and be involved in these types of decisions. - Russell Kommer, eSoftware Associates Inc

2. Put them in charge of events or activities.

Have employees create an activity or event schedule around certain types of cultural norms they want to integrate into the main culture. This empowers them and helps them feel more involved in the process. Plus, it helps you know exactly what they want to do. - Drew Hendricks, Buttercup

3. Ask team members to share stories.

Each week during our team meeting, I ask a question that lets people share something about their life. One of my favorites is, “If you could save one non-essential good from your home and had to leave everything else behind, what would you save?” I feel it’s a practice that fosters a culture in which everyone on the team feels very connected. - Mark Krassner, Expectful

4. Create a Facebook group.

My company is spread out over two locations, and as we grow, one of my favorite ways to keep in regular contact with all of the employees is via our Facebook group (for employees only). They share videos, pictures of their families and post events that they are hosting, like performances. This creates a fun company culture that is created and run by the employees. - Rachel Beider, Massage Greenpoint, Massage Williamsburg

5. Get out of the office.

Deep personal connections among team members require time away from the computer and out in the real world. Whether it’s food or drinks after work, a monthly outing or a quarterly retreat, having a chance to leave work at work and have real conversations with each other is key. Add a unique activity or environment, and you’re likely to see a big boost in relationships. - Ross Beyeler, Growth Spark

6. Hire the right people from the get-go.

Culture is built by the team organically over time and can’t be forced. As a leader, you set the loose guidelines, but your team is what brings it to life. The key to encouraging your ideal culture is hiring the right people for your company from the start. Employees that fit and agree with your vision are crucial. One bad egg can ruin culture, so keep it in mind whenever interviewing candidates. - Kyle Goguen, Pawstruck

7. Treat everyone to lunch.

Every Friday, we bring a catered lunch into the office. Because it’s only once a week, it’s something that most people are able to join. It’s an informal break where employees can chat, talk shop and in general forge stronger relationships with each other. Plus, everyone loves a free lunch! - Stan Garber, Scout RFP

8. Designate time for non-work-related conversation.

As a remote company, we have to be creative when it comes to facilitating company culture. We have special Slack channels designated for topics that aren’t work-related and encourage our team to take part in the conversation. This gives our team the chance to get to know one another on a personal level and take initiative with creating and building their own culture within the organization. - Jared Brown, Hubstaff Talent

9. Let them brainstorm alone.

I recently had my team meet without me to discuss their goals and ideas for the company. They’re compiling what they came up with on a vision board to review with me. I’ve found this gives them a forum to be creative, share ideas and feel invested in the direction of the company. - Leila Lewis, Be Inspired PR

10. Trust them with an assignment.

The only way your employees will truly buy into your company culture is if they take pride and ownership in what they do. They might be intimidated, but they’ll rise to the challenge knowing that you are trusting them with your business. Employees seldom want to disappoint their boss, so you can expect to see good results! - Duran Inci, Optimum7

11. Encourage individual freedom.

I like to give my individual teams the power to create their own schedules, internal dynamics and personal workflow. For example, our production team organically initiated daily walks around the block, which has now become a key opportunity for them to clear their minds while bonding on a personal level outside of the office. I’ve found this has even boosted overall productivity. - Justin Lefkovitch, Mirrored Media

These answers are provided by the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC recently launched BusinessCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses.

Rachel Beider in Forbes Magazine: When to Open a Second Location

When To Open A Second Location To Grow Your Small Business 

Article by: Marcia Layton Turner for Forbes

“When you are completely booked solid, you have only two options: raise your rates or expand (or both!)” says Rachel Beider, licensed massage therapist and owner of Massage Williamsburg, in Brooklyn, NY. Beider’s solution to growing a small business was to add a second location in Brooklyn, named Massage Greenpoint.

“After raising our prices, we still had long waitlists of clients,” she explains, “and I knew that many were coming from the neighborhood just north of ours.” So Beider found real estate a little farther north from her original studio and opened her doors. Massage Greenpoint has been open now for six months and is continuing to grow. “It is the best investment that I’ve made,” she says.

Many business owners question whether it's time to open another location, wondering if they're creating new opportunities or spreading themselves too thin. While you can never know for certain before taking the leap, these entrepreneurs found that certain conditions were signs that the timing could be right.

Increasing Capacity

For Beider, capacity was the factor that most impacted her decision to open another location – her first was fully booked. She was confident that opening a second location would in no way cannibalize her first, and would allow the business to continue to grow.

Opening a second location improved customer service, by making it possible for more clients to book appointments. Since many clients were traveling south to Williamsburg, opening a location closer to their homes and offices also improved customer satisfaction.

Establishing Growth Criteria

While Beider used the fact that her business was consistently full as a sign that it was time to expand, Jeff Shapiro, owner of Spindle Fitness, set specific milestones that his business needed to hit before the company would consider opening additional locations. While the company’s goal was to become a multi-location business, Shapiro first wanted to achieve a positive cash flow and have trained staff in place, ready to train others.

Reducing Shipping Times and Expenses

In contrast, OnlineLabels.com wasn’t having capacity issues – the company could produce labels quickly - the impediment to growth was shipping cost and speed, explains CEO Dave Carmany. “To ensure people all across the country received our labels on a timely basis without having to pay premium shipping rates, we looked into opening a second location.” Its original space in Florida yields quick shipping to East Coast customers but slower delivery to the West Coast.

Evaluating the Cost of Expansion

“When we calculated what it would take to create a second manufacturing facility, hire a new set of employees, and cover the additional overhead that comes with having two locations, the benefits didn’t offset the costs. While our volume was increasing, it wasn’t at a quick enough pace to justify such a substantial business move.” Instead, OnlineLabels turned to its shipping carriers to negotiate deals that would speed delivery at reduced costs. Carmany admits it’s not a permanent solution, but it “bought our company time.”

Attracting New Business

Once you’ve decided the time is right to open another location, begin to communicate frequently with your current and potential customer base to prime the pump for future sales. Beider kept her community informed about the build-out of the second location via social media. She also emailed current clients and prospects with an offer to try out the second location. Finally, she had postcards printed up with a new client discount that she left at local stores, yoga studios, gyms, and other complementary businesses to help attract more clients. And they did.

Marcia Layton Turner writes frequently for and about small business. She is the author of The Unofficial Guide to Starting a Small Business and many others.

Interview with Rachel Beider for Business Collective

Image by Ben Chasteen for Epoch Times

Meet Rachel Beider, CEO of Massage Williamsburg + Massage Greenpoint

Rachel Beider is an entrepreneur, educator, speaker and mentor. She is the proud owner and CEO of two Brooklyn-based clinical massage studios, Massage Williamsburg and Massage Greenpoint. She has made her career about empowering women to start and grow their own practices, via her company Wellness Business Consulting. Follow her @rachelbeider.

Who is your hero? (In business, life, or both.)

My hero in business is Paul Newman. He was the ultimate multipotentialite, who excelled in multiple areas and committed himself and his life to philanthropy and political and social activism. He was an incredible entrepreneur, actor, race-car driver, investor, environmentalist and philanthropist.

What’s the single best piece of business advice (unorthodox tips welcome!) that helped shape who you are as an entrepreneur today, and why?

The single best piece of advice that I followed that shaped my career was to get out of my own way. I often found that I was so nervous or critical of myself and my ideas that I’d spend more time worrying about doing something than actually doing it. It was challenging, but I learned to address the things that I dreaded first to get them out of the way. What I’ve discovered is that the task I was fearful of was typically not nearly as bad as I thought, and it felt like such a major relief to get done.

What’s the biggest mistake you ever made in your business, and what did you learn from it that others can learn from too?

The biggest mistake that I’ve made in business was not delegating daily tasks soon enough and feeling burned out. I had to learn to ask others for help and truly depend on their strength, skills and wisdom, so that I could fully commit myself to the bigger picture. It can be scary at first to depend on others, especially when you’re used to doing everything a certain way at a certain standard of quality, but it is absolutely necessary for a business to grow and scale. If all information must pass through you as a business owner, you can never truly scale up.

Another important mistake that I see business owners making is being so nurturing of others: their clients, family and friends. They often forget to nurture their business, which should be taken care of as its own entity.

What do you do during the first hour of your business day and why?

People typically don’t answer this truthfully, so I will tell you my honest answer. I spend the first hour of my day in bed, snuggling my dog, and eventually stretching out and catching up on emails on my cell phone. In the morning, I like the coziness and indulgence of working from bed and I cherish the warmth of spending time with the sweetest dog ever, my Cavalier King Charles, Winston.

What’s your best financial/cash-flow related tip for entrepreneurs just getting started?

Don’t spend money on anything that doesn’t directly lead to income at the beginning. It can also be helpful to get a 0% interest credit card, or a low interest line of credit. When starting a small business, don’t get yourself into more debt than you can pay off yourself within a year.

Quick: What’s ONE thing you recommend ALL aspiring or current entrepreneurs do right now to take their biz to the next level?

To take your business to the next level, consider what your major values are — what you want to make your life about. Think about what kind of world you want to leave for the future. When you want to get to the next level, do so with that ultimate goal in mind. This will help you stay true to your vision.

What’s your definition of success? How will you know when you’ve finally “succeeded” in your business?

I define success by having an abundance of life, love, joy and experiences. Success for me is a balance of feeling satisfied by the challenges of my work and fulfilled by the contributions that I can make in other’s lives. It’s about leaving work with enough energy to enjoy the time I spend with my family and friends, and often with more energy because I love my job and career. I feel the most successful when I watch my business grow and when I help other small business owners, via consulting, feel empowered and proud of their work, and achieve their dreams.

Article and Interview by YEC for Business Collective

Rachel Beider in Huffington Post: 17 Small Businesses Confess Their Tiny But Mighty💪 Social Media Strategy

"You can brag about follower counts but likes alone —don’t translate into purchases.

These 17 small businesses have figured out a Social Media strategy. Minus the marketing Oz behind the emerald curtain. (Wizard of Oz reference, FYI). Social Media is one of those “the best things in life are free“ for small businesses. It doesn’t cost much but time & creativity to start seeing results. And captivating your ideal clients like Dorothy’s ruby red shoes. 

You can create an online presence, locally, globally or even worldwide in a few clicks. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We first, must draw in the people who need your service. And that takes more than hopping on an app and posting, “I’m open for business”. 

How do you sell an intangible product online?

These service-based businesses have uncovered a strategy that works for their brand and sanity. In return, they’ve closed more deals and exploded their online/offline influence. Pay attention to what’s said here, they’ve given up their best-kept Social Media secret to help more businesses (like you) score the same results. 

They’ve discovered how to promote, grow the brand and engage with their audience because another FYI —profits happen more often when you’re NOT selling at all. 

You won’t be hearing from me until the end, I’ll let these 17 service-based businesses tell you for themselves. 

“You can use social media to turn strangers into friends, friends into customers and customers into salespeople.”— Seth Godin

PROMOTE LE BRAND

GIPHY

“Social media can be tricky, if you’re just going to post random pictures and the same ole-same ole do not waste your time there’s too much noise out there.” - Bryan Clayton

1. 

“Social media can be tricky, if you’re just going to post random pictures and the same ole-same ole do not waste your time there’s too much noise out there. However, if you’re going to invest time to make something new, funny, or informative people will pay attention to it. We created a meme account specifically focused for the lawn care industry on our Instagram. It’s one of the only accounts dedicated to poking fun at the lawn care industry and the nuances that go along with it. We have grown our following base to over 10,000 and people love the funny memes we make related to the lawn care industry. It’s a good way to build awareness about GreenPal and our community of lawn care services that are ready to hire at the touch of a button.” Bryan Clayton, CEO of GreenPal the Uber for Lawn Care

2.

“Instagram has been such a useful marketing tool for us. We’ve been using high-end photographers with thousands of followers and tagging them in our posts and have seen results with more followers and likes on certain photos. Instagram is one powerful, free tool. All you need is the manpower behind it to make it succeed!” Carly Moore, PR Manager, Bond Collective

“A huge part of my brand revolves around promoting my versatile personality, energy, and style.” - Jam Gamble

3.

Be Y.O.U. All Of The Time:

“A huge part of my brand revolves around promoting my versatile personality, energy, and style. Being a self proclaimed #S layerofTheMic it’s imperative that I use Twitter and Instagram to post videos of me in action: public speaking, performing at events, and connecting with my audience/potential clients.  I’m getting BOOKED! The amount of booking requests I’ve received when my potential client says, “Honestly, your energy is off the charts! I’ve heard you’re the woman for the job —just from what I’ve seen via social media.” They’ve even started to use my hashtag! #SlayerofTheMic. Now that’s success. “ - Jam Gamble #SlayerofTheMic and Connector of People, Ideas, and Energy

4.

“Currently, Twitter is the number one platform I’m using. Not only is it great for reaching new audiences, but it has also proven useful for building relationships with media and influencers, which has helped get my site’s name out there more. As for growing my audience, I’ve recently found offering relevant giveaways to be a great means of reaching new followers. Last month, we did a gift card giveaway that ran a month long. One of the ways to enter was to follow us on Twitter (@CutCableToday), which netted us 200 new followers. I plan on continuing our giveaway strategy and eventually expanding to Facebook.” - Chris Brantner, founder of CutCableToday.com

5.

Find Your Place In The Social World:

“I find podcasting on BlogTalkRadio, and putting out an e-newsletter through Constant Contact are the most powerful social media tools for my business. LinkedIn gives me the chance to connect with my target audience and position myself as a thought leader. Podcasting allows me a greater reach and connects me to leaders around the world. It also helps me build relationships with other gurus around the world. These relationships have led to my inclusion in online webinars, summits, and programs.” - Diane Helbig, Growth Accelerator

GROW LE BRAND

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“Many friends and colleagues told me I shouldn’t bother using paid advertising and I should just ‘hustle’ in online forums, groups and communities to find paying clients. But I made the decision early on that I didn’t have time for that.” - Amanda Davies

6.

“Facebook is without doubt the most powerful marketing tool around. I have grown my business as a solopreneur to multiple 6-figures in just over 12 months by using Facebook advertising alone. Many friends and colleagues told me I shouldn’t bother using paid advertising and I should just ‘hustle’ in online forums, groups and communities to find paying clients. But I made the decision early on that I didn’t have time for that (I was still working in my 9-5 job at that stage) and it’s unsustainable if you want to grow and scale your business to mighty levels. Using highly targeted ads that are put in front of the right people at the right time, has grown my list by thousands of customers and sold out my programs. The financial results speak for themselves. You also have the ability to re-target potential customers who have already shown an interest in your business, which puts you ahead of the game to an even greater scale. The power is in the targeting.” - Amanda Davies, Psychologist + Coach at lightpurposeliving.com

“There are 40 million active small business pages but only 2 million of those businesses pay for advertising.” 

7.

Give The People What They Want:

“Facebook is successful for us because of the visual nature of photos and videos. It allows us to engage with a target audience of Disney and travel lovers across the country. Our main Facebook page has 120,000 organic likes and well over 1,000,000 post likes. The interaction that occurs helps us build a relationship with our “fans” thus creating a virtual bond. One of the things we do that is showing results is being relevant. We’re one of the first on the web to announce any BIG Disney theme park news. It gives us credibility and our Facebook page becomes the place to be to find out the latest and greatest news. Additionally, we ask our fans what they want more of. Catering to them is important as opposed to merely guessing what they want.” Greg Antonelle, Mickey Travels LLC

“A high click-through rate is often more valuable than “likes” or comments. Tips, FAQs, and informational articles that are of incredible value to families everywhere are posted on our Facebook fan page.” - Simplify Experts

8.

“Over the past year, over 15% of their web traffic has come from Facebook, where we post regularly. Although engagement and followership on Facebook isn’t huge, a lot of Facebook users that see the content click through to the website. A high click-through rate is often more valuable than “likes” or comments. Tips, FAQs, and informational articles that are of incredible value to families everywhere are posted on the fan page. So our general strategy is: write relevant, quality blog content, share that content through social media channels where your customers already live, and get them to want to visit your website to read on.” Simplify Experts, Professional Organizers

“We regularly ask our clients to post reviews and this practice has produced measurably results.” - Matthew Weiss

9.

“Many prospective clients will use Google/Yelp/Facebook to find and vet our services. Having many positive reviews stationed there gives us a competitive advantage. The most powerful word in the English language is “ask? We regularly ask our clients to post reviews and this practice has produced measurably results. We “push” our reviews URL to prospective clients that are considering retaining us.” Matthew Weiss, President of Weiss & Associates, PC

10. 

“Twitter is the only completely open platform where anyone can see my posts. To grow my reach, credibility, and mailing list, I use key hashtags on tweets of my blog articles and I run the weekly #PeopleSkills global Twitter chat which trends every Sunday. Hosting a Twitter chat has helped to show my expertise. I leverage the chat and all my Twitter activity for workshop announcements and for my upcoming book and associated workshops on leadership and morale. The open design of Twitter is the greatest no cost neon sign ever invented.“ - Kate Nasser, President, CAS, Inc., The People Skills Coach™

“Posting consistently has been key to engagement growth.” - Kunle Bristow

11.

“Instagram is by far my favorite platform. I create memes that relay news that will happen 5 years into the future or forecasts what will happen within 20 years. Instead of what’s in the news today. In addition to providing commentary on our human future —I also re-purpose these memes on Twitter and that has increased my engagement on both platforms. Posting consistently has been key to engagement growth and I have seen an increase in my (website) opt-ins as we continue to tape episodes of our web television series Futurism Weekly.” - Kunle Bristow, Managing Director / Anchor Futurism Weekly

ENGAGE LE AUDIENCE

12.

Networking Social After-Party:

“We have a ruthless social media connection policy. As a busy networking professional attending daily real-life events, we insist on connecting with a new contact on ALL their social media platforms WITHIN TWELVE HOURS. Why? We’ve identified this as the ideal window for facial recognition leading to smooth professional connections. Using this approach, we’ve been able to massively boost our outreach, particularly on LinkedIn, with demonstrable and quantifiable successes coming out of this approach. Continuing the conversation on Social Media within this time span, we’ve struck while the iron is hot. So far, I can think of four deals that have come out of this. Sometimes, it’s difficult to come home from a networking event and have to spend time connecting - but I’ve seen the results. They’re real. This policy is bearing fruit.” Sarah Sajedi, Director of Research & Development at ERA Environmental Solutions

“Breaking the post length rules.” - Janis Isaman 

13.

“On my Facebook page, I can post articles and lengthier opinions that accentuate a point of view and my voice. Breaking the post length rules as most of my posts are “too long”. But the longer they are, the more engagement improves.” - Janis Isaman, My Body Couture movement specialist & coach

“Rather than using the machine gun approach, spamming hundreds of people and hoping a small percentage reply, the one thing we do is contact directly, with a thoughtful and very personalized message.” - Steve Acho

14.

“LinkedIn has by far been the best social platform for our B2B technology staffing company. Like all good social platforms, it allows one to get deep context for other professionals, including showing mutual connections. Rather than using the machine gun approach, spamming hundreds of people and hoping a small percentage reply, the one thing we do that has shown the best results is take the time to target specific people, and contact directly, with a thoughtful and very personalized message. It’s extremely time-consuming to do well, but last month I went from cold email to contract with a $4B company in 24 hours.” Steve Acho, Founder & CEO of a technology staffing tool company

Another LinkedIn Maneuver... 

15. 

“LinkedIn is the best means ever created to help OTHER people look good in the context of business. Instead of lauding my own accomplishments, I use LinkedIn to highlight those who book me to speak at their conferences or events, as well as friends and colleagues in business who are accomplishing great things. Start highlighting other people (be sure you tag them to let them know) via LinkedIn, and watch your likes, shares, and comments grow.” - Spencer X Smith, Speaker

16.

“I primarily use Instagram to promote my massage therapy studios in Brooklyn. Instagram is awesome because you can geolocate new potential clients by searching for nearby images recently (publicly) posted. It has become a great place for us to look for clients including: local gyms, yoga studios, Pilates studios, etc. We know these are our ideal clients because they care about their health, active, local, and likely sore from working out so hard. We reach out by writing words of encouragement and support on their gym selfies or progress pics. Which feel personal and at the same time let them know that we are here for them if they need us! This has resulted in tons of new clients for my studios (we only opened a few months ago).” Rachel Beider, Massage Expert CEO of Massage Williamsburg

“I get new followers all the time that are actually organically interested in my brand.” - Luna Matatas

17.

Organic Reach Is Not Dead:

“My brand is colourful and friendly - Instagram allows me to project these flavours through my photos on the platform. It keeps the visual attraction of my brand and content in tact. The followers on Instagram seem to be more responsive then other platforms, so I get new followers all the time that are actually organically interested in my brand. While my follower count is low, each of those followers are meaningful. I use the platform with customer service principles in mind. If someone sees a workshop they want to take and comments “omg I want to go to this”, I respond directly to their comment on the page and invite them to DM me to order. Instead of sending them to the registration form on my website. This interaction feels personal. The fact that I’m offering a service that is sensitive and shame-prone, building a personal connection encourages people to feel safer. The PR part of my marketing is more important to me at this stage than solely basing my marketing decisions on reach.” - Luna Matatas, Sexpert

Follow The Yellow Brick Road... 

After hearing from over 100 business owners (in the making of this article) confess their favorite platform of tried & true strategies, I am exhausted but most importantly —thankful for those who shared their online marketing secrets. THE RESULTS ARE IN Social Media is your best chance at reaching the people who need YOU, my precious." From Tennile Cooper for Huffington Post

Rachel Beider in Forbes Magazine: How Small Businesses can Capitalize on the Growing Wellness Trend

How Small Businesses can Capitalize on the Growing Wellness Trend

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.

ADVERTISING

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.

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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.

Article By: Rachel Beider as seen in Forbes

Rachel Beider in Entrepreneur Magazine

Being a Trusted Leader: What You Need to Know As Your Company Grows

The first step is to avoid any "us. vs. them" mentality.

The family-like environment of a new business can be a powerful thing. It allows both employees and leaders to come into work each day feeling as though they’re there to make a difference. By being a team, employees feel the company is stronger.

“When I first started Overit, it was just a small marketing agency,” Dan Dinsmore, the founder and CEO of Overit, in Albany, N.Y., told me. “I was involved in everything and got to interact with employees on a daily basis.”

But, as startups begin to evolve, that relationship may be hard to maintain, as Dinsmore said he discovered. In order to take his company to the next level, he needed to hire middle managers to oversee operations. Doing that, however, created a distinct divide between him and his employees.

“It started to feel like an ‘us versus them’ environment,” Dinsmore pointed out. “That wasn't the kind of company I wanted to build.”

To get things back on track, Dinsmore said he needed to rethink his company and how he could once again be a trusted leader. It took a lot of work to rebuild a culture of transparency and honesty.

Luckily, it’s possible to avoid that “us versus them” mentality altogether. Here are four strategies for keeping your startup employees and leadership united:

1. Admit your mistakes.

One of the hardest things for a leader to do is to own up when he or she is wrong. The feeling is that any mistake will be viewed as weakness or incompetence. But, in order to be a trusted leader, being accountable for failure is a necessity.

“Right out of college, I was an assistant receptionist for a big-time entertainment executive in New York,” recalled Kirsten Helvey, now the chief operating officer of Cornerstone OnDemand in Santa Monica, Calif. “One day, I got his lunch order wrong.”

It wasn’t long before Helvey’s boss called her and screamed at her for the mistake. Despite the fact that any of his other assistants could have corrected the issue, he wanted to make sure she knew she’d messed up. “At that point," Helvey went on to say, “All trust was broken: his trust in my ability as his assistant and mine in his temperament as a manager.”

Related: What Employees Are Saying When They Say They Don't Trust Leaders

Luckily, her boss had a change of heart. About 30 minutes later, he called Helvey back. He apologized for his behavior and said there was no excuse to speak to her that way. The incident turned into a life lesson Helvey uses now that she’s part of the C-suite.

“It showed me that even if you’re at the top, you can still mess up and damage the trust between you and your employees. But, if you hold yourself accountable and make amends to the people your mistake has impacted, you can recover, grow and even strengthen that relationship.”

2. Delegate.

As a leader, you may find it difficult to let go of control of any aspect of your company. But, to be a trusted leader, being able to delegate is a must. Otherwise, employees may believe that leaders doubt their capabilities.

“When I first hired employees for my small business, I found that it was challenging for me to let go of certain tasks and trust that my employees could handle them,” said Rachel Beider, CEO and founder of Massage Williamsburg and Massage Greenpoint, in New York City. “I was used to doing everything myself and at a certain standard.”

However, it wasn’t long before her micromanaging began to take a toll. “I think it drove everyone a little crazy at first,” Beider said. “We weren't being as productive as we should have been at that time.”

Once she decided to take a step back, however, things began to run more smoothly,  she said. Her employees began to feel trusted, and she was able to concentrate on the company’s growth and long-term goals.

To make delegating easier, take a moment and think: Is there anyone else who can successfully do this task? If the answer is yes, pass it on to that person and focus on big-picture strategies.

3. Empower your employees to ask for feedback.

Things move fast at a growing startup. There is always something to do, and sometimes, providing employees with feedback gets overlooked. But that in turn causes them to feel forgotten by their leaders.

After working in a fast-paced company, following college, Steffen Maier soon learned this lesson firsthand. Whenever his manager actually did find time to give him feedback, months had typically passed since the project was completed. This time gap left him unsure of his own personal career progress.

“The interesting thing is that after I left my job to pursue a master’s degree in strategic entrepreneurship, I was surprised to find that many of my peers had faced a similar experience," said Maier, now the co-founder of Impraise in New York.

As a result, he and a few others teamed up to create Impraise, a platform designed to make it easy for employees to ask for and receive feedback. Using this or similar tools allows employees to continue to feel supported and connected with trusted leaders.

4. Put trust above all else.

Never forget that a huge part of organizational trust is communication and honesty -- without them, employees find it impossible to know where they stand. And that creates a division between those in the know and those who aren’t.

“For us, success begins with trust,” said Tom Morselli, senior vice-president of people operations at PulsePoint in New York. “Trust in our leadership, trust in our mission and trust amongst the team: It takes hard work and must be earned by ‘walking the walk,’ keeping promises, following through and aligning one’s leadership style with the company’s core values.”

All of that happens through clear and consistent communication at all levels of the company. Luckily, there are multiple, easy-to-use tools that help keep teams connect. One option is Simpplr. The platform offers organizations an intranet that promotes and maintains productive information-sharing. It gives employees access to company news and a way to formally and informally interact with one other.

Employees should also recognize, however, that all of that talk needs a follow-up.

“The most empathetic and best-intended talk is hollow if it isn’t followed by action,” Morselli pointedout “Trust erodes quickly if you consistently fail to meet your commitments.”

HEATHER R. HUHMAN       

Waldorf, Md.-based Heather R. Huhman is a career expert, experienced hiring manager and president of Come Recommended, a content-marketing and digital-PR consultancy for job-search and human-resources technologies. She is the...

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Meet Rachel, Founder of Wellness Business Consulting

Rachel Beider is the head consultant at Wellness Business Consulting, est 2014. As a successful small business owner of a wellness practice, Rachel saw a growing need within the community for strategic business advise and planning. Being a business owner or running an independent practice can feel very isolating and often overwhelming. Clients come to her for guidance on starting, managing, or growing their practices. Rachel's 2015 client list includes a busy Yoga Studio in Brooklyn, a Luxury Spa in Long Island City, a Beauty Salon in Greenpoint, a Clinical Psychology Practice in Williamsburg, a Skin Spa in Brooklyn, a Language Instructor in NYC, an Acupuncturist in Chelsea, a Child Advocacy Group in Sunset Park, and a Nutritional Counselor in the Lower East Side. Rachel's own practice, Massage Williamsburg, has seen over 11,000 individual massage clients in Brooklyn, and works with over 30 Licensed Massage Therapists. Aside from being a business consultant, Rachel is a licensed massage therapist, is a Board Member at Pacific College, empowers laboring women as a birth doula, and holds certifications in Prenatal Massage from Swedish Institute, Aromatherapy from NY Institute of Aromatherapy, and in Perfumery from Cinquieme Sens via Pratt.