So, 2020 has been a bit of a challenge. I believe the word tossed around frequently is “unprecedented.”

I’ve been talking to my small biz friends and we are all feeling a bit overwhelmed, now this isn’t a new feeling for any of us, but we are in uncharted waters and making decisions we thought we would never be presented with.

I talked about how I pivoted the business to ensure there was a business, but no one could have anticipated that 6 months later we would still be dealing with this and the mental health toll it is taking on all of us.

I’ve all but given up on sleeping since all I do is dream (more like a nightmare) about everything we’re dealing with. Here is just a sampling of what small business owners are dealing with.

• Work from home fatigue
• Going back to work safely
• Understanding liability around COVID-19
• Keeping employees protected
• Ensuring employees are happy
• Ensuring employees have all the resources to do their job whether remote or in the office
• Maintaining positivity at all times (until you can finish off a bottle or two of wine on the weekend)
• Supporting and listening
• Financial woes
• Unreliability of the USPS
• Business development
• Talent attraction and retention

That is by no means a complete list, but it’s what I could name off the top of my head.

The amount of crushing pressure business owners are under right now is ridiculous. We have had to become master EO interpreters, therapists, cleaning supply procurement specialists, negotiators, hypemen, half glass full people, mindreaders, master problem solvers, solution providers, Zoom prodigies…and the list goes on.

I guess what I want you to take away from this blog, we’re feeling really f*cking alone right now and quite frankly we feel singlehandedly responsible for keeping our doors open and our employees happy and it’s really, really exhausting.

Reach out to a business owner, or if you are employed by a business owner – maybe tell them you appreciate them because they’re doing the best they can.

We are blogging maniacs at 8THIRTYFOUR, we blog twice a week or more depending on breaking industry news. That is a lot of content to create, which means we have learned a thing or two along the way.

Here are some of our blogging non-negotiables.

1. It’s all about the relationship. Readers need to feel a personal connection to a brand, and that means you gotta give a little of yourself to build loyalty. We blog a lot about marketing, PR, digital, design…but we also talk about our favorite patios, stuff we do to unwind and more. Communication is all about building relationships, and to do that you have to foster a connection on a deeper level.
2. Provide value. Think ‘how-tos’ or checklists. Just recently we wrote a blog about the best times to post to social media, broken down by network. Readers could download an infographic, that they could use as a guide when scheduling social media. See…value.
3. Be funny (no pressure). Don’t take yourself too seriously, brands that incorporate humor into their content come across as more relatable and engaging.
4. Share the responsibility. No one person in our company is expected to generate all the content and we often will collaborate on blogs with each person inputting their piece.
5. Share real world results. Any company can talk about how great they are, it is when you show results of a project or campaign that readers will take notice.

These are just a few of the things we have learned from 11 years of blogging. What do you think?

At some point in the lifespan of your small business, you have to grow up. What do I mean by this? You stop living in a reactive, chaotic environment and you become more strategic and structured.

When you first start your business, you are desperate for clients/customers. You don’t have the luxury of turning down business, you are just hoping to pay bills and keep the lights on.

Now that you are all grown up, it is time to start running your business that way.

1. Buyer personas are a great way to identify the best customers for your business. Buyer personas (sometimes referred to as marketing personas) are fictional, generalized representations of your ideal customers. Segment your audience by age group, interests and other relevant demographics. This provides great insight into buying decisions, behaviors etc. Once you understand this, you can target your marketing and the tools you use to reach your customers.
2. Internal processes need to be defined; as you add employees they need to be on the same page. How will services be delivered? How will you communicate with your clients/customers? Spend time outlining all the actions you take in a day and start creating systems. Set up a SOP (standard operating procedures) binder – this way as you grow, you maintain your culture and way of doing things.
3. Write up your job description; what do you want to do as the company grows? How will your position change? You will no longer be accounting, human resources, marketing…the list goes on. Your talents best lie in other areas of the business, you will need to let go to grow.

Evolving your business over the years is the most important task you will have, it is also the hardest. There will be frustrations, sleepless nights and so much change. It is all part of the journey, just know you are not alone. We are all experiencing it.

Apparently 11 years is a milestone for a small business, or so I’ve been told. This week we are throwing a party to celebrate 8THIRTYFOUR’s eleventh anniversary, while also highlighting all things small business.

As a business owner, you tend to be pretty pessimistic, you are always waiting for the other shoe to drop; for the next big surprise. Money, employees, bills, invoices, contracts, taxes, culture, clients, failure, mistakes – if you could see my brain as a word cloud…all of those items would be in it (along with dogs, dogs, dogs and more dogs).

It is hard for me to accept a congrats or way to go when I can’t see past the mistakes and hurdles. How do you feel successful when there are so many things you have messed up? So many things you could have done better?

The lesson in all of this, is that it isn’t about me. It is about those that have supported, worked for and embraced us in the community. This anniversary is about you, just like everything we do. I don’t think any business owner is ever truly satisfied where their company is and maybe that is what makes us keep striving to better ourselves, our company and those we serve.

If I were asked to list the lessons I’ve learned in the past decade, it would include the below.

1. Failure is part of running a business, so you better get used to it and you better figure out how to learn from it and move on.
2. There is no professional and personal work life balance.
3. Spoil the ones you love, always be overly generous. Send thank you notes, celebrate milestones with them, let those you care about know you are thinking of them.
4. Surround yourself with lots of dogs, in fact six seems like a great number.
5. Go on adventures with your life partner, whether that is an eighteen hour car ride with six dogs or a trip to Spain with your best friends.
6. Spend time in the woods, nothing puts things in perspective like trees, water, bugs and your furkids.
7. You are going to piss someone off. You can’t keep everyone happy and at the end of the day you have to do what is best for the business.
8. Hire people that possess skills you do not and will take the company where it needs to be.
9. Never stop reading and learning.
10. Take the time to think big picture and don’t be afraid of change.

Thanks for supporting 8THIRTYFOUR on this journey and thanks for always being there for me. It does not go unnoticed.

To be clear, I mean public speaking not just talking out loud. Although I do excel at that regardless if I have an audience.

This week, actually today, I am talking to a group of professionals at OrgPro on measuring ROI on marketing efforts as well as personal branding. The latter is my most favorite topic in the world, see here and here and here.

For those of you that can’t possibly imagine getting up in front of a group of people…suck it up. If you are a business owner or have anything to do with business development, community engagement or marketing – you need to be front and center with your peers. Honestly, if you are trying to grow your network then you need to position yourself as a leader and you do that by being the one standing and talking…not sitting (just so we are clear).

Here are a few ways to get started.

1. Event attendance. If you want to speak in front of a certain group of people, then you need to actually attend the orgs/associations events. Get to know the president, event chair and other board members. When chatting with them, let them know that you would love to see a speaker on such and such topic. Follow-up at a later day and volunteer to either speak or pull together a panel.
2. Write. If you are not writing or blogging about what you do or what your specialty is, then why would anyone ask you to speak? You have to illustrate you are an expert or at least know what the hell you are talking about. Reach out to local publications, submit op-ed pieces, blog for another site – do something.
3. Sit on a board. Getting involved in an association or peer group gives you the unique opportunity to assist with programming. You obviously don’t want to be self-promotional but you can volunteer when it is a fit.
4. Reach out to your local Chamber. If you are a member of your local Chamber, then reach out to their events staff and let them know you are interested in presenting on a few different subjects. They may not have something right away, but they now know you are interested.
5. Pull together your own peer group. A few years ago, I started a group along with two other women that discussed leadership. We were responsible for the topic each month, but we invited a variety of different people to participate. Why not do the same? If you love finance, then create a group that talks about numbers. Position yourself as a leader and the rest will follow.

The more organizations, associations and community happenings you are involved in the larger your network will become and opportunities will then present themselves. Remember, personal branding?

Jerry Maguire, eat your heart out.

As a business owner you need to constantly ask yourself, “is this a good investment?” or “what is the ROI?” Marketing is one of those activities that proves more difficult to show return on investment, which is why it is usually the first to get chopped. I’m here to tell you not to do that.

According to The CMO Survey from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, only 31 percent feel they can prove the long-term impact of marketing spend quantitatively. Proving ROI is hard, but not impossible and we frankly love doing it. No really, we freaking love it.

Here is the deal; when determining return on investment for marketing activities, keep in mind the multiple variables that influence outcome. Brand awareness, customer lifetime value and touch points (over 7 are recommended) are all ROI factors. The easiest way to measure ROI is through analytics, which requires companies to invest in digital marketing such as SEO, SEM and social media. Traditional efforts such as billboards and print advertising are not trackable unless tied to inbound marketing.

Measuring and optimizing metrics on each marketing channel such as, email, social media and website provides early indicators of success (or failure) of marketing campaigns to better track and predict their cumulative impact on customers’ purchasing decisions in the long run.

With Google Analytics alone you can see:

• How many people are visiting your site
• Where your visitors live
• Which devices they are viewing your site from.
• Which websites are sending you referral traffic
• Which marketing tactics are driving the most traffic to your site
• Which pages on your website are the most popular
• How many visitors you have converted into leads or customers
• Where your converting visitors come from and go on your website
• How you can improve your website’s speed
• What blog content your visitors like the most

All of this information shows what marketing efforts are working and what isn’t. This then allows you to change your approach to increase ROI and concentrate efforts where the most impact is. What goals do you have set up for your company? What do you consider success?

We have gotten lazy. Gone are the days when many of us were expected to wear a suit to work; which is not a bad thing.  I love being able to express myself through my wardrobe, accessories and shoes.

Business casual has become the norm and in the marketing agency world, for the most part it is acceptable. Don’t get me wrong, effort is still required. I see more jeans, beanies, leggings and plaid then I care to.

I still believe that you dress for the job you want and how you want to be treated. If you want to be taken seriously in the business world then you need to consider the audience you are in front of, not what you feel comfortable in.

If I am visiting one of our manufacturing clients and know I will be walking the floor, then I am in pants/jeans, boots and a flowy shirt and cardigan. I seriously cannot get enough of cardigans – don’t mock me.

Here are my wardrobe staple recommendations, from a business owner to a potential employee.

1. Blazer. Purchase a black and navy blazer. This can literally be worn with anything – skirt, jeans, pants, etc. Keep one at the office for a back-up, that way if a client stops in unexpectedly you can throw it on.
2. Cardigan. And know this isn’t just for women. Lots of men wear sweaters. I have a gray cardigan that I throw over short sleeve shirts and wear with a skirt, dress or pants.
3. Black or navy pants. I love color, but also realize that having red pants (which I do) means that I can’t wear it with a lot. You can still dress it up with lots of color whether a necklace or bright shirt.
4. Dress or skirt. I realize this is a little vague but the type of dress you buy (cover your private parts) depends on your body type. I like a good sheath dress which I like to pair with a cardigan or blazer.

It is important to feel comfortable and confident in what you are wearing, but put some effort in. Do your hair, throw on a professional outfit and go conquer the world.

You may not want to be, but you are judged by what you wear.

Does Twitter really have a place in business? Are you really going to suggest it as part of a marketing strategy?

Short answer: Yes.

Here is the deal, just a few short years ago (or yesterday) we were all debating the legitimacy of any social media and yet … we are all using it. So, yes, that weird 140-character maximum medium does have a purpose, and below are 5 reasons why:

Brand presentation: Having your brand exist in the Twittersphere is just another opportunity for potential customers, influencers or media to find you. Just like Facebook, there is a profile header that you can customize with current offers, mission statements or imagery.

SEO: We have all heard the rather nerdy (sorry) search engine companies preach on content strategies that support search engine optimization. Having a Twitter profile with location, bio, web address and contact info will drive people to your website. It is also another opportunity to tell your brand story.

Read the full story at the Grand Rapids Business Journal.