The most important relationships in your business are the ones you already have. We spend so much time searching for the next big thing, new project, new client…we miss or take for granted what is right in front of us.

Since we started implementing the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) at 8THIRTYFOUR, we made it a priority to map out our processes and develop a scorecard in which we rate ourselves and our performance. A big part of that scorecard is client satisfaction, it is our goal to communicate continuously, effectively and responsively with our existing client base. If we are not keeping clients satisfied then we are not doing our job.

We make communication a priority, it is all about the relationship we have with our clients. Below are just a few of the items we incorporated into our process.

1. Quality content. This might not seem like such a big deal, but each month I sit down and I write a personal message to our clients and share agency, client, community and industry news. I handpick all of the content and then our crack designers, assemble it into an easy-to-read newsletter.
2. Customized reporting. We know that many of our our clients identified communication as a pain-point. In the past they had been burned by other companies that didn’t communicate their activities, results or priorities. Each month our clients receive a report that details our efforts for the last 30 days, how it aligns with their goals (they determine these in our initial strategy session), what the results were and what our recommendations moving forward for continued success. We then add some sweet graphs, a personal note and off it goes.
3. Party time. Quarterly we host an event at our office and invite 8THIRTYFOUR friends, family and clients to relax and enjoy whatever crazy theme we came up with. It is important we take the time to connect outside of work hours. By the way, mark your calendar for 8/3 at 4:00 p.m.
4. Be our guest. If you are following us on Instagram, you know we are out in the community almost every night of the week and we get lonely. We ask our clients to be our dates on a regular basis to galas, networking events, luncheons and more. If there is an event you are interested in, there is a good chance we are going.
5. Thank you. Sometimes a simple handwritten note speaks volumes. We take the time to tell our clients, in writing, what badasses they are.

We continually analyze and refine our process and are always open to suggestions. How do you communicate with your clients?

I failed today in setting an example, in leading, in following our core values. I let frustration and stress get the better of me. Want to know the great thing about it? I have another chance to get it right. Tomorrow is a new day.

Owning and running a business is tough and you are going to screw up. Admitting the mess ups and then moving on is the only choice you have.

We are human and we are not perfect and I’m telling you right now, it’s ok. Moving forward means taking the right steps to get past it.

1. Admit your failure. Once you acknowledge it, you can move on.
2. Do better. If you know what you screwed up, don’t make the same mistake again. Get in the right head space and tell yourself tomorrow is another day and another chance to get it right.
3. Fake it. Slap a smile on your face and set an example.
4. Reflect. Take time in the evening to really truly reflect, ask yourself: “What could I have done differently?”
5. Give yourself a break. No one is perfect and owning a business is really hard. There is a loneliness that is impossible to explain and you are going to have bad days and hard days and really, really shitty days.

Be nice to yourself and strive to do better, that is all anyone can ask of you.

It is hard to fight perfection. We are taught that we should always pursue it, even if it isn’t attainable. Why is that? If it is a lesson in failure then ok, but most often it sets us up for low self-esteem, feelings of inadequacies and disappointment.

As a business owner, we feel that we have to do it all. Let me use myself as an example.

I stop home everyday to let the dogs out, when I am there I clean, throw laundry in, pick-up, vacuum and try to reorganize. When I get home in the evening, I try to make a healthy meal, walk the dogs, feed the dogs, give them their meds and then spend some quality time with them. I then open my computer and start tackling all the items I never got a chance to get to…this blog usually being at the bottom of the list. Did I also mention I lay out my clothes for the next day?

Do you see what is missing (besides breathing)?  You time. We don’t give ourselves time to rest, or to just think. The guilt overwhelms us, if we aren’t working then we see it as failure and that certainly doesn’t fit into our picture of perfection. We always put others first, way before ourselves.

Screw it.

1. Leave the house a disaster, that is what weekends are for.
2. Get to know EatStreet.com, you don’t need to cook and clean-up every night.
3. Accept that you will never get it all done. That to-do list is never ending and always will be – you are a business owner, your work is never done.
4. Breathe and read a book, watch Game of Thrones, drink some wine/beer/vodka; just do something frivolous. Every minute of your day doesn’t have to be productive.
5. Lean on a partner or friend. If you don’t voice your doubts and confide in someone, then it is going to eat you alive. Feel free to email me, kim@834design.com, I’m always willing to lend an ear.

The point is, give yourself a freaking break. No one is doing it all or has it all – so don’t play the perfection game.

Quitters never prosper. Don’t be a quitter.

We’ve all heard it before, but when is it time to throw in the towel?

As a small business owner, when do you know that you have done enough? When do you determine it is time to part ways with a client,  difficult colleague, or an employee? We make these decisions more often in our personal lives than we do in our professional world. Why is that?

Small business owners are very solution-focused, we have to be. You can’t cut and run at the first sign of an issue, we think things to death until we develop a plan to move forward. Just ask our significant others, they love this about us.

I am here to tell you – sometimes shit just isn’t going to work and it is ok to quit. I feel like there is a reason shit rhymes with quit. Maybe they are meant to go hand-in-hand.

You will know in your gut the decision you need to make. Here are a few reminders on why quitting is important.

1. Your health is affected. Sleep is f**ked up. If you are tossing and turning all night long and having dreams about whatever the situation is, it is affecting your health. Apparently sleep is necessary – who knew? Is your Anxiety off the charts? Constant burning in your stomach? Headaches? Pressure on your chest? Let’s just say I have been there and it doesn’t go away by ignoring the situation. If anything it gets worse over time.
2. You’re miserable. Do you dread interaction with this individual? Does your stomach do a flip just thinking about it? Why keep that in your life? What good is that doing you or anyone else?
3. The wrong reasons. Are you trying to make the relationship work for the wrong reasons? Many of us will keep at it because we don’t want to be labeled a quitter. If you are having a hard time defending or finding reason, then it is a sure sign it is time to move on.
4. Priorities or vision has changed. If you have a client that doesn’t fit where you are headed as a company, then it is time to part ways. Don’t drag it out, rip off the band-aid.
5. The future is uncertain. Can you honestly see the relationship going anywhere? Plenty of relationships run their course over time, such as college or high school friends. Why should this be any different?

It’s cool to be a quitter. Don’t let anyone tell you differently, small business owners will never be known for taking the easy way out.

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?

It will be 10 years for 834 Design & Marketing this fall. Some of those years I would like to forget, there was a lot of failure, frustration and drinking 🥃. People keep telling me that 10 years is a milestone, quite honestly…I’m just happy I managed to retain most of my sanity.

I was just asked the other day what it takes to be a business owner. Besides being slightly off your rocker, I came up with the below.

1. Self-awareness. Know your strengths and weaknesses and don’t be afraid to admit them. Every single employee at 834, has strengths or abilities I don’t possess. I hired them because they are smart, capable and driven. If you feel threatened by that, then you shouldn’t be leading or running a business.
2. Willingness. You will do whatever needs to be done. That means, every employee you hire or plan to hire is doing a job you have done at some point. This also applies to interns. If you ask them to take out garbage or run a vacuum, then you sure as hell better be willing to do it yourself. It is a team effort and if you position yourself on a throne, no one will respect you and they sure as hell won’t work hard for you.
3. Toughness. You are going to get the shit kicked out of you throughout your business journey. I threw in the towel at one point and went to work for a client, it lasted 9 months. It was also the best thing that I could ever have done, because I realized I am not cut out for the corporate world or working for someone else. See #1, self-awareness.
4. Embrace humility. I am self-deprecating to a fault. I do it because it seems to set people at ease and I don’t want anyone to ever think that I walk around like an egotistical asshole. In fact, just in the last few years, I finally allowed myself to admit that I am good at my job and that 834 is a great company. My point is, never think you are better than anyone else, not your competitors, not your employees, not your waiter…no one.
5. Seek out crazy. Find other business owners, because no one else will understand what you are going through. Not your spouse, friends or family. This is a lonely, scary, exhilarating journey and you will need support.
6. Trust your gut. The times I have ignored my gut, I have made some really stupid calls. If you really listen to your instincts, you will be better off.

Never stop dreaming and never give up. Perseverance and just being damn stubborn has carried me through when times were hardest. If you fail, try again. Business owners aren’t afraid of failure, they embrace it and learn from it.

I was reading a recent Inc Magazine article and they interviewed multiple entrepreneurs such as Reddit, IPSY, SLACK and Shark Tank about how they spend their day.

I thought, what a great idea! I will share a day in the life of a business owner…me.

9:00 p.m.
Go to bed. Sit in bed and check social networks then open WordBrain to remind myself how stupid words are and then send last minute emails to drive my staff insane. I then set my alarm for 6:00 a.m. to get up early to workout.

10:30 p.m. – 6:00 a.m.
Alarm goes off at 6:00 a.m., hit snooze until 7:30 a.m. Roll out of bed and head to the Keurig. Head upstairs to my dressing room to make myself into a human. Yell at Alexa to read me the news. Instantly become depressed from the news. Leave to make the 4 minute drive to work.

8:00 a.m.
Drink 2 cups of coffee and check in with the team. Talk about my dogs for 15 minutes until everyone stops listening to me. I then head into my office and check emails.

9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Outline items that need to be completed that day, check Basecamp (our project management system) to see what staff is working on and if there are any pressing deadlines.

10:30 a.m.
Team check-in. Everyone discusses top 3 priorities to ensure we are all on the same page and nothing gets dropped.

11:30 a.m.
Realize I am dying of hunger. Ask the team what they are in the mood for, discuss for the next hour then order nothing.

1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Client meetings, either onsite or at 834 offices. Make 10th pot of coffee.

3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Feel nauseous from all the coffee I inhaled, begin drinking water. Write several blogs, answer emails, check on public relations activities and think about happy hour. Begin texting everyone to see who will drink with me.

5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
If no networking event that evening, go home. Drink a bottle of wine and work on multiple projects.

8:00 p.m.
Elmira the dogs…all 4 of them.

9:00 p.m.
Hmm…I think I might read my book on the Third Reich to switch up my routine. A little light reading before bedtime.

Before you go reading up on other ‘successful’ people’s routines, remember that what works for them may not work for you. They might get up at 4:00 a.m. to run 15 miles, clean their house, meditate or save the world…but who cares? We need to stop comparing ourselves to others and not give a shit what other people think.

*This was written as complete satire and truth.

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.

Dear Graduate,

What an exciting time for you! This past weekend you graduated, celebrated with friends and family and toasted the accomplishment of receiving a degree. After a 4.5 hour ceremony you walked across that stage, shook the hands of lots of people wearing robes and weird hats and took your diploma and entered into the real world.

Now that you have ‘officially’ entered the real world, let me give you some real world advice. If you decided to wait until the Monday after graduation to look for a job and are suddenly filled with a sense of desperation and terror…well, you are an idiot. Your sense of urgency and lack of planning does not constitute an emergency for anyone else.

Please take the below nuggets of advice to heart, once you are done crying to your parents about how mean that one lady was on the internet you can go out and be semi-successful

• 4. That is how many years ago you should have been setting up internships, reaching out to potential mentors and researching the industry you hope to some day be a part of.
• 2. That is the minimum of internships you should have done in college….and if you expected payment and a ribbon for doing what you absolutely need to do to succeed…well real life is going to be hella hard on you.
• 1. The site you should have set up that showcases your writing, experience, references and blogging capabilities.
• 3. The number of student orgs you should be involved in to build a personal network that will support you through career searches and moves.
• 1. The length of time (1 year) that you should begin searching for a job, reaching out to local companies and sitting down with local leaders.
• 1.5 mil. The amount of thank you notes you will write over your  years in college. Thank you notes better be your norm, because the world doesn’t exist to serve you.

I hope you take this to heart, dear graduate. I am a small business owner and if you expect me to find time to chat with you about wanting to join my team then you should know my company is 834, not 854, 438 and my name is Kim, not Jill or To Whom It May Concern.

You were taught research skills in college, use them or expect life to be very, very hard.

Sincerely,

The person that won’t return your calls, answer your emails or respond to your mailed resume and portfolio.