This past weekend, I attended the West Point gala, Founder’s Day. The event is a celebration of Michigan graduates of the academy, as well as those who have just been accepted.

This year’s speaker was Colonel Greg Gadson of the United States Army and ’89 West Point graduate. To say his story is incredible is an understatement. On the night of May 7, 2007, while returning from a memorial service for two soldiers from his brigade, he lost both his legs and severely injured his right arm to a roadside bomb in Baghdad.

At the event he spoke on the power of a support network and never giving up. He then called on stage, his best friend, a fellow West Point grad who is battling ALS.

My point in sharing all of this with you is to remind all of us that regardless of adversity and challenges, there is always someone who has overcome more or is going through the unspeakable.

Some Monday morning fodder for all of us.

Also enjoy this photo of me completely fangirling all over Colonel Gadson. Thank you sir, for tolerating my babbling and weirdness.

Colonel Greg Gadson and his biggest fan

P.S. The event was planned by Michigan’s own, Jon Tellier of JetCo Solutions. Well done!

One of the best ways a company can gain awareness is visibility in the media. Public Relations and media coverage has changed over the years which is good and bad. The bad is there are less reporters, which means they have to shift through a lot more information and have limited time to write a story. The good is that publications are much more open to submissions.

Another thing to keep in mind is that press releases are not always warranted, sometimes a targeted pitch to the right reporter and publication is the best approach. So don’t waste your time writing up a press release when you can reach out with a story idea.

The best tip I can give you is to create a PR calendar that maps out story ideas, publications to target, reporters to reach out to and a timeline. If consistent media coverage is your goal, then you need to mine for stories within your organization but also create your own news.

Download the PR calendar template here. The first line is an example on how to fill out the calendar. If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me via kim@834design.com.

Be sure the stories are relevant to a wide audience and solve a problem.

Treats for the win.

Employees wanted to feel valued, in today’s world they are no longer working for just a paycheck. As a small business, benefits can be a large cost to undertake and there is no way you can compete with a larger company. So, get creative.

Instead of just offering health insurance, outline perks that are available to employees.

1. Summer Fridays. In the summer, depending on how busy the agency is, we have 1/2 days. This allows the team to enjoy the fleeting Michigan summer and start their weekend sooner. This is great for morale.
2. Learning Fridays. As you can see, we really like Fridays. Once a month, we have educational sessions where a staff member shares their knowledge on a subject with the rest of the team. It is a great way for us to learn from each other and build our team bond.
3. Profit-sharing. If the agency does well, the team benefits. At the end of the year, I assess our profits and bonuses are then paid out in January or February. It is not always a given, as the year may not have been profitable.
4. Flexibility. Employees are encouraged to change up their work environment and head to a coffee shop, bookstore or home to change things up. I trust that the team will get their shit done and if working from a different location assists in productivity, then great.
5. Team Outings. Whether it is lunch, a baseball game, dinner or something else, it is important to get away from the office setting and work on your team dynamic.

These are just a few examples of perks you can implement in your small business. Get creative and figure out ways to show your employees you care more than just a paycheck. If all else fails, bribe them with treats.

Get involved.

I met with a potential client this past week and we started talking about networking, being a connector and building valuable relationships. I know I have talked about this in the past, but it is worth a repeat.

If you are in sales or own a business and are the sole business developer, you need to understand it is about relationships not landing work. If your focus is only on the money, you won’t be successful.

Also stop randomly emailing, calling and using LinkedIn to sell – it only pisses people off (see former blog).

You need to be visible, which requires creativity and creating your own opportunities. People will take meetings from people they have know or have heard of. If you want something, give something.

Here is how I did it.

• Years ago, I approached WGVU and asked them if they would be interested in a monthly segment on The WGVU Morning Show With Shelley Irwin. The segment would feature community events, non-profits and small businesses. I had met the host Shelley a few times and figured what the heck. 8 years later, Your Biz Your Town is still going strong and it gives me the ability to profile great companies – some that may need 834.
• Personal branding – read up on it here and why it is important.
• If I am asked to speak, I do it. Even if it isn’t the right audience, practice makes perfect.  My first speaking engagement was at a nursing home where I talked about the history of Grand Rapids.
• I started a blog to share experiences on running a business, things I know, don’t know and people I think are badass. By profiling other businesses I have the opportunity to share their story and introduce them to 834.

I share this with you, so you understand that to get something, you must give something. Always provide value and you will reap the benefits.

A recent Inc. article stated that high value work is now done more by teams than individuals with “type A” characteristics. The article went on to say that to solve complex problems, you don’t need the best people. You need the best teams, and that means changing the way we evaluate, recruit, manage, and train employees. Put simply, working in a team takes different skills than working alone.

Building the best team involves the following.

1. Diversity. We hear this word often, but do we truly understand what it means or what it takes to build a diverse team? If companies only hire those from similar backgrounds, how will this add benefit in the long run? Inc. points out that instead of looking for comfort, you should be creating an environment where people expect to have their perspectives challenged by people who look, talk, and think differently.
2. Sharing the stage. The article refers to this as social sensitivity. What it means is each team member has the ability to share their ideas, feedback and feels comfortable doing so. Basically, no assholes allowed. The article also pointed out that strong team performance depends on the number of women in the group. The women of 834, find this extremely interesting…and also we told you so.
3. Interaction. Time together is key. Gathering around a table and talking, brainstorming and tossing around concepts is what makes a strong team. So often we lose the human aspect of communication and resort to email, telephone or gchats/messenger/texts, etc. High quality interaction builds higher levels of trust and produces more creative work.

Creating the right team culture means changing the way you find and recruit talent. Stop looking at degrees, schools and previous positions. Ask yourself the following questions.

• How will they fit into our company culture?
• Can they work in a team environment?
• Do they respect others?
• Is their background diverse?

Companies need to change the way they approach success and that starts at the team level.

Source: Inc. Magazine

So often the importance of company culture is overlooked. In the past few months, I have put emphasis on mapping 834’s culture out, but not all companies see the need to define their culture. Take Uber for example, they are facing a media firestorm and branding crisis due to their toxic culture.

How does company culture fail? It can be chalked up to multiple small things that continue to pile up.

• Leadership hasn’t set the tone or example. Culture starts from the top and trickles down. In our culture map, we defined what leadership looks and acts like. If you have ambiguous phrases like “embody the brand” – no one knows what the hell that means. Be specific!
• Address issues when they arise. If you see something happening that is not in line with your defined culture then have a process for dealing with it. If you ignore the issues or don’t give individuals the power to fix it, it will only get worse.
• Keep culture front and center. At our bi-weekly strategy meetings we address any issues that come up. We review 834’s culture map on a quarterly basis to ensure it is still relevant. Culture will change and evolve over time, which means you need to be aware of where you are at and where you are going.

If you reach the level of a shitshow that Uber is currently dealing with, then you need to own up to the mistakes and outline the plan moving forward. It amazes me that companies refuse to do that.

There is a lot in the works at 834 right now, it is exciting, thrilling, unknown and scary. But so what. Everything in life is terrifying if you think about it long enough. You can literally talk yourself out of anything. Stop it.

What is life without risk? If we quit exploring new tools, strategies and business ideas then 834 will no longer be the brand I created 10 years ago – a brand that is about pushing the envelope, finding new and better ways of doing things and then implementing the shit out of it.

Some of the most successful individuals failed before they ever ‘made it’. Great shit comes out of failure:

1. Failure is important. As long as you are learning from mistakes, you are continually growing your knowledge and experience. Don’t wonder ‘what if?’
2. It gets easier. Eventually failure will get easier. Once you have done it 15 to 20 times, you know how to get up and move on.
3. Success is born from failure. Failures help us define what success looks like, which is something you will constantly be moving towards.

You are not alone. Take Thomas Edison for example, his first thousand or more attempts at getting the light bulb to work were failures. In spite of all of his failures, Edison was a prolific inventor who had amassed several patents by the time he died, including the light bulb and the movie projector.

If you don’t fail, you’re not trying and if you’re not trying then you’re not really living, are you?

Source: Business.com, Entrepreneur.com

We have a saying around our office, “Presentation is just as important as strategy.” What I mean by that is we could have an amazing marketing strategy that we put together for a client, but if we present it in Word with no logo, graphics or imagery it looks amateurish. We want to stand out from our competitors and we do that through great design.

Invest the money to develop collateral that embodies your company and will speak to your customers.

Take the following for example.

• Sales presentations should be customized to each potential customer you are going to chat with – include their logo, add in graphs that are relevant to their industry. Let the graphics tell the story.
• Your website is the first place people go to find out more information about you, with social media being a close second. Is the content, photos, design updated?
• When you meet someone, the first thing you hand them is your business card. Did you order them through VistaPrint or did you work with a designer to develop a template? What is the message you want to send?
• In our industry, proposals are a constant and we want to stand out. We have custom letterhead and a cover page that presents our company in a professional and eye-catching manner.
• Social media is an important tool for businesses. Do you have a cover image for Facebook and LinkedIn? Customizing those images allows companies to share an important message to visitors.

These are just a few examples of how design affects multiple facets of a business. Creative isn’t one and done, it should be ongoing to keep your brand fresh and relevant.

Oh small businesses how do I love thee. I remember the early days of running 834, when it was myself, Bentley the wonder dog, my computer and a can-do attitude. The world was my oyster and I was going to make it my bitch.

Then reality set in, how would I get my name out? What organizations should I join? How do I manage social media? How will potential clients find me?

As 834 continues to grow so does our client base, but my love and passion for small business has only intensified. Understanding where a business needs to focus it’s time and money as it relates to marketing is why we have been around for 10 years.

When starting out, here are my suggestions on what to focus on.

1. Social media: this is a great way for you to connect to potential customers and supporters. Understanding how to utilize your networks is the key. What content do you post? How should you structure a post? What are your competitors doing well?
2. Email marketing: creating a tool for ongoing communication and news sharing is key. Who should be on your list? What should be included in an email newsletter? How do I design it?
3. Website: I am hoping you have a site, if not – get one. A website is the first place a potential client will go to find out more information about your company, social media is a close second. Do you know what keywords you should be weaving into your copy to ensure you are found through search engines? How do you ensure that your site is optimized for search engines? What about blogging?

Social, email and your website are all examples of inbound marketing and they are all incredibly important to growing your business. I know this firsthand as the founder of 834. In the coming months, my team will be launching small business specific tools that will allow you to compete with the big dogs on a small dog budget.

Stay tuned.

In the past few months I have been solicited multiple times through LinkedIn, email or phone. These individuals always have a great partnership opportunity for 834 and it is always mutually beneficial. Just today I got a job offer. Seriously?

Listen up, cold emailing/LinkedIn connecting or calling is NEVER going to work in your favor and it is time you learned a few things about sales.

• If you are connecting over social media, then engage with the person you are reaching out to. I accept anyone’s request to connect on LinkedIn, but that sure as hell doesn’t mean I now want to grab coffee and learn all about how YOU can help grow my business. If I don’t know you from Tom, Dick or Harry (and I don’t even know those guys) then what makes you think I am craving an awkward interaction with you at a local coffee shop? Study my profile, learn more about 834, read my posts and then figure out the best way to reach out.
• Know your audience. For fuck sake, if you reach out to me about printing services am I even the right contact? Did you go to my website and see if there is a creative director or designer on staff? If so, don’t you think it would make more sense to start there? Also, stop with the canned messages – “So glad we could connect. I am looking forward to learning more about your business.” No you’re not, you don’t actually give a shit.
• Mutually beneficial is really a thing, but you aren’t using it right. When I am targeting a potential client, I don’t send them a LinkedIn message and then pat myself on the back for a job well done. That is lazy, you are lazy. I figure out how to provide value to that company/person such as free publicity, a ticket to an upcoming event or I send a handwritten note that congratulates them on a recent accomplishment. Did you notice what is missing from my list? I didn’t ask them for anything, I gave instead.
• Network, network, network. If your company serves a certain industry, then attend events that attract those companies. Talk to people, hand out business cards and send them note that says: “Hey, it was great to meet you and learn about SOMETHING INTERESTING THEY SAID. Looking forward to connecting at the next event.” Did you notice what is missing from my list? I didn’t ask them to buy from me or to listen to my really shitty sales pitch.
• Get involved. Join a board, organization, volunteer…do something. Part of selling is building a network and constantly growing and cultivating it.

As Jeffrey Gitomer said, “If they like you, and they believe you, and they trust you, and they have confidence in you…then they MAY buy from you.”

Stop being lazy, your tactics are not working and never will. Put in the time and effort.

Oh, and stop trying to sell me life insurance, financial services or some dumb partnership opportunity. If you really want to win me over, then introduce me to someone who needs my services and buy me wine with plenty of ice.