Perpetual Optimism in Business Is Indeed a Force Multiplier

The title of this piece is a quote by Colin Powell:

Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.

It is one of my favorites that is posted in a few places in my home and office. It reminds me to defer and shift back into what I consider the most productive mindset we can have - hope and optimism.

There are so many positive signs and silver linings that have emerged over the past few years. Yes, we have been through some of the toughest, most challenging times and for some - life changes. But in most of those cases we have had no control over what happens, only how we choose to deal with it and what we come away with.

We have had to adjust the sails of our attitude, shift our focus to what we can do, become more specialized and niche focused, harness new technology, trends and human capital all around us.

Entrepreneurs, small business owners and professionals have been force-fed a big dose of radical reality the past few years that has moved people where they need to be now. And there is good news.

The NFIB (National Foundation of Independent Businesses) reports:

Job creation plans leapt to a level not seen since before the recession and sales expectations improved.

The Hubspot Inbound Marketing Report yielded some encouraging marketing information with regard to future objectives for business:

•  60% of companies have adopted inbound marketing methodologies.
• 45% of B2B companies increased marketing budgets due to past inbound success.
• 79% of companies report a positive ROI (return on investment) from their blog for inbound marketing.
• Content creation stands apart from other tactics for its difficulty and its effectiveness.
• Good content creates buzz and attracts links.
• Marketers who commit to creating quality content improve their SEO (search engine optimization) positions.

Businesses that consistently take an honest inventory of all of their products, processes and productivity have the highest chance of sustainable success.

Honestly, ask yourself if you and your business have these imperatives in place. The more of these that are in place and working, the more optimism you will experience no matter what the circumstances are.

Bankable and Marketable Products and Services

Is there a niche, need and want for what you do that people will want to buy from YOU? Observe, test, survey and ask your network what’s trending and being talked about.

A Serve-Savvy Plan and Approach

Serve people to build trust and value. Stop being afraid to ask for business if you’ve earned it. You may not get the “yes”, but unless you ask, you’ll get nothing. Improve and practice your service skills and sales will follow.

Brand Magnetism and Clarity

Be very clear on what you do, whom you serve and how to market to your niche. Less is more. Invest in professionally branded logos, visuals and messaging that say “I’m serious.”

Technology and Relevance

Use, harness and leverage technology to serve your customers the way they most want to be engaged. Always innovate to save them time and energy to enhance their experience with you.

Blended Networking To Connect and Engage

Build relationships with the right people, both in person and online. Always connect with others. Engage people in thoughtful dialogue and share and create content that educates, helps and inspires.

Building and Spreading Good will, Good Cheer and Great Faith

This is the core of brand magnetism.  Showing your heart and soul in business is encouraged and preferred. You will stand out for it.

Worship and Adore Your Customers, Followers, Fans and Friends

Be as authentic, consistent and as value driven as possible and you will be rewarded with love, loyalty and legacy.

We are coming out of a stunning period of change and loss, but out of this cycle has emerged amazing ingenuity, innovation and creativity. People have shown resilience by going back to school, closing their skill gaps, starting small businesses out of their homes and getting second and third jobs to make ends meet.

Here’s a sobering look at some companies who were once market leaders who are gone, who apparently were not competitive enough, relevant or had enough ingenuity:

• Circuit City
• Borders
• Linens ‘n Things
• Ritz Camera
• KB Toys

Hampton, Supercuts, Subway and Jiffy Lube are thriving franchise brands and industries that are growing and keeping their focus on current demographic trends. Here are the top brands of 2013 that are always refining and innovating. They are amazing examples of what it takes to earn brand loyalty and sustainability.

Go through the above checklist and make sure as much of this is in place as possible and working for you.

Focus your energy on what you can control - and do it.

Optimism Concept Photo via Shutterstock

CrowdBrewed Brings Crowdfunding to Craft Brewing Industry

Beer drinkers now have more choices than standard brands like Bud, Miller or Coors. Small craft beers are a growing niche market creating opportunities for small craft brewers. These are small businesses creating a unique product for a very specific customer.

Enter CrowdBrewed.com. The crowdfunding site allows fans and supporters of the industry to contribute money to brewery projects similar to a process already used by sites like Kickstarter.com.

The new site currently has just three campaigns under way with a total of $122,585 in funding pledged for craft brewing businesses so far.

Of that money, $107,535 has been pledged to J. Wakefield Brewing to open J. Wakefield’s first brewery, in Miami.

In a video on the site, Jonathan Wakefield, brewmaster and founder explains his company’s history:

CrowdBrewed.com is owned and managed by Evisor Inc. Securities, part of the North Capital Private Securities Corporation a private investment brokerage firm.

On its official website the company explains:

In addition to just breweries, CrowdBrewed supports the entire ecosystem of beer. CrowdBrewed welcomes any subset to the industry such as hops farms, craft beer gardens, craft beer festivals, bottling plants and even pubs that support craft beer.

Other campaigns already launched on the site include:

• Pigskin Brewing Company of Columbus, OH, with $15,020.00 pledged as of the end of its campaign September 19, and
• Orbit Brewing Co. of San Diego, which just launched its campaign in October and hopes to use funding for investment in the company’s tap room.

The site charges a flat 5 percent success fee from each successful campaign and no funds are deducted from donors for campaigns that do not reach their goals.

Campaigns are permitted to offer a product or other reward in return for different levels of contribution.

Beer Photo via Shutterstock

Blunders That Will Sink Your Web Design Project

If you’re involved in online business, chances are you’ve already had a taste of the web design process. But now, more than ever, with so many websites vying for customers’ attention, it’s important to hone your skills and take your projects to the next level.

The latest web design for business requires an understanding of the changing online world including the evolution of mobile Web access. With more competition, there’s a need for greater consideration about what sets your Web presence apart. And with the growing number of skill sets required, there’s also a need for more collaboration with highly skilled web design teams.

Forgetting About Responsive Web Design

When considering your new online business presence, think about responsive web design as well. Annie Pilon explains this is the process of designing a site that “responds to” or re-sizes itself to the size of the device used to view it.

Why is this important?

Well, with an increasing number of different devices and different screen sizes, it’s more important than ever that your Web presence is versatile. Whether viewed on an over-sized desktop computer monitor, a laptop, a 10-inch tablet, a 7-inch tablet or a 4-inch smartphone screen, your website should be functional for visitors.

The idea is to have one site that displays effectively no matter what device your visitor might be using to view it. Ignoring the importance of responsive web design might mean creating a site only some of your visitors can see.

Ignoring the Importance of Strategy

With all the websites online, it’s easy for your site to be overlooked. Having the right web design strategy will insure you are targeting the right audience.It will also make sure the Web site you create truly meets your online business goals.

Erin Everhart, director of digital marketing at 352, a digital agency providing design, development and marketing solutions, suggests a few important tips:

• Establish your goals: Make sure you understand the main thing you want your website to accomplish.
• Define Your Audience: Determine who your website should appeal to. What are you trying to reach?
• Establish your brand. Define the message you want your website to send and explain this clearly to your web design team.
• Design for your users:  Make sure the information on your site is organized in a way that will make it easy for your users to understand and benefit.
• Track your results: Use online analytics tools to figure out how you’re doing. This is an important consideration too.

Ignoring strategy in your design could mean producing a website that’s all wrong for your audience. It’s a waste of time and money for your business.

Neglecting or Mistreating Your Web Design Team

Your web design team is a key component to your success. So neglecting or mistreating them is a good way to doom your web design project before it ever gets off the ground.

Do yourself and your online business a favor. Avoid doing things that will drive your web design team crazy:

• Remember that your web design team has other clients so don’t be unrealistic about their availability.
• Make sure you gather all necessary materials for your web design project promptly: This would include photos, videos descriptions and more.
• Don’t be inaccessible for questions and then demand immediate completion of projects you haven’t given adequate feedback about.

Mistreat your web design team at your own risk. Your success is in their hands.

Forgetting About the Importance of Inspiration

Great web design comes not only from functionality but also from great aesthetics.

As Matt Mansfield explains:

From colors and shapes to layout and navigation, design can make or break the online experience. A well-designed Web presence can attract, hold and help convert your target customers while a poor design can drive away visitors like nothing else.

Whether your actually a web designer or just trying to work with designers on a website for your business, a sense of design can always help, Mansfield says.

Do enhance your sense of good design. You might consider taking a class, looking at other designs you appreciate online or checking out some books on design.

Mansfield recommends four of his favorite graphic design books to give you inspiration.

Neglecting Other Design Tools

Finally, there are many web design tools out there for you to consider.

Certainly, a web design team is one option, if you have the budget. But also consider tools like Google Sites and Wix.com, which recently announced its intention to become a public company. There are also tools like Google Web Designer, intended to help create rich media advertisements for your online business.

Neglecting the many web design tools out there can mean missing out on the opportunity to design a better, more effective website at lower cost.

What web design mistakes have you experienced?

Blunder Photo via Shutterstock

Is an Open-Plan Office a Bad Idea for Your Business?

Within the next few years, an increasing number of workers will find themselves working without walls. Across the country, businesses are switching from the “cubicle farm” concept that has been popular for the past few decades to a new open-plan office that removes partitions and encourages collaboration. The looming question and debate is whether an open-plan office is a bad idea for your business? Let’s take a look.

When it comes to an office without walls, the trend actually borrows from a concept our parents and grandparents likely recall. As office environments come full-circle, however, many critics are already finding problems with the concept. While many businesses likely won’t change their minds because of the money-saving features of the open-office plan, a brief look back through the history of office space might explain what we can expect from this new trend.

The History

In the 1950s and early 1960s, most workers sat at desks lined up in rows with no walls or partitions between them. Whether these workers were part of secretarial pools who tapped away on typewriter keys or technicians who reviewed plans all day, workers were challenged to focus on the task at hand while visual and audio distractions surrounded them.

The cubicle concept was created in 1967 by a research corporation who had spent seven years studying the office environment as it had evolved during the 20th century. The corporation studied the many issues plaguing workers in the workplace, concluding that while the amount of information employees were required to analyze and process had increased, the office environment had stayed the same.

Cubicles were chosen because the walls and attached furniture were relatively easy to move, while also not taking up too much space. The walls provided space to post items and hooks could easily be hung over the top to hold coats and purses. Originally called “Action Office,” these cubicle-based office plans took off quickly and remained in place until a few years ago, when the walls began coming down.

The Issues

The cost savings and attractiveness of an open-office plan make it hard to resist. But studies into productivity issues with open-plan offices have produced results not much better than the results of those studies in the 60s. One of many studies, purchased in the Journal of Environmental Psychology, found that in a study of 44,000 open-plan office workers, dissatisfaction was high, primarily due to noise and loss of privacy. The researchers noted that while the trend is being sold as encouraging collaboration, no research literature exists that proves this.

Many of these studies have found that any benefits gained from removing office walls are by far eclipsed by the pitfalls of dissatisfied workers who are unable to concentrate. However, for many growing businesses, all of those benefits and pitfalls are eclipsed by the cost savings that can be achieved by squeezing more employees into less space.

Your Workplace

Despite the fact that 81 percent of employers surveyed have already adopted an open-office plan, there are businesses still utilizing cubicles and old-fashioned walls. Even more workplaces are adapting a work-from-home policy that allows those workers who do show up every day to enjoy a little more privacy.

Whether an open-plan office is best for your business depends on your own environment. Some businesses employ workers who do complex tasks in isolation while others employ teams of workers who collaborate on projects throughout the day. The vast majority of businesses will have a combination of these job types, with some employees requiring privacy at times interspersed with periods of collaboration throughout the day.

For that reason, ingenious hybrid models have emerged, with some businesses opting to have a combination of walled offices, standing workstations, open work areas, and even recliners and couches. Using a mobile device, workers can move to the desired area throughout the day as their needs shift.

One company has come up with an innovative solution to the open-office backlash. Design company KI created movable walls that provide businesses a variety of options for office spaces, allowing them to simply remove a wall when they need more collaboration. This flexibility is great for offices that are growing and transitioning on a regular basis.

As popular as the open-plan office has become, it is an option that is not best for every worker. Before making such a drastic change, consider the environment Facebook created at its Menlo Park office, which is a combination of workspaces that allow for both privacy and collaboration. This type of hybrid environment will likely be the best solution for many growing businesses.

Is an Open-Plan Office a Bad Idea for Your Business?

Within the next few years, an increasing number of workers will find themselves working without walls. Across the country, businesses are switching from the “cubicle farm” concept that has been popular for the past few decades to a new open-plan office that removes partitions and encourages collaboration. The looming question and debate is whether an open-plan office is a bad idea for your business? Let’s take a look.

When it comes to an office without walls, the trend actually borrows from a concept our parents and grandparents likely recall. As office environments come full-circle, however, many critics are already finding problems with the concept. While many businesses likely won’t change their minds because of the money-saving features of the open-office plan, a brief look back through the history of office space might explain what we can expect from this new trend.

The History

In the 1950s and early 1960s, most workers sat at desks lined up in rows with no walls or partitions between them. Whether these workers were part of secretarial pools who tapped away on typewriter keys or technicians who reviewed plans all day, workers were challenged to focus on the task at hand while visual and audio distractions surrounded them.

The cubicle concept was created in 1967 by a research corporation who had spent seven years studying the office environment as it had evolved during the 20th century. The corporation studied the many issues plaguing workers in the workplace, concluding that while the amount of information employees were required to analyze and process had increased, the office environment had stayed the same.

Cubicles were chosen because the walls and attached furniture were relatively easy to move, while also not taking up too much space. The walls provided space to post items and hooks could easily be hung over the top to hold coats and purses. Originally called “Action Office,” these cubicle-based office plans took off quickly and remained in place until a few years ago, when the walls began coming down.

The Issues

The cost savings and attractiveness of an open-office plan make it hard to resist. But studies into productivity issues with open-plan offices have produced results not much better than the results of those studies in the 60s. One of many studies, purchased in the Journal of Environmental Psychology, found that in a study of 44,000 open-plan office workers, dissatisfaction was high, primarily due to noise and loss of privacy. The researchers noted that while the trend is being sold as encouraging collaboration, no research literature exists that proves this.

Many of these studies have found that any benefits gained from removing office walls are by far eclipsed by the pitfalls of dissatisfied workers who are unable to concentrate. However, for many growing businesses, all of those benefits and pitfalls are eclipsed by the cost savings that can be achieved by squeezing more employees into less space.

Your Workplace

Despite the fact that 81 percent of employers surveyed have already adopted an open-office plan, there are businesses still utilizing cubicles and old-fashioned walls. Even more workplaces are adapting a work-from-home policy that allows those workers who do show up every day to enjoy a little more privacy.

Whether an open-plan office is best for your business depends on your own environment. Some businesses employ workers who do complex tasks in isolation while others employ teams of workers who collaborate on projects throughout the day. The vast majority of businesses will have a combination of these job types, with some employees requiring privacy at times interspersed with periods of collaboration throughout the day.

For that reason, ingenious hybrid models have emerged, with some businesses opting to have a combination of walled offices, standing workstations, open work areas, and even recliners and couches. Using a mobile device, workers can move to the desired area throughout the day as their needs shift.

One company has come up with an innovative solution to the open-office backlash. Design company KI created movable walls that provide businesses a variety of options for office spaces, allowing them to simply remove a wall when they need more collaboration. This flexibility is great for offices that are growing and transitioning on a regular basis.

As popular as the open-plan office has become, it is an option that is not best for every worker. Before making such a drastic change, consider the environment Facebook created at its Menlo Park office, which is a combination of workspaces that allow for both privacy and collaboration. This type of hybrid environment will likely be the best solution for many growing businesses.

Are You Signed Up to Receive Twitter Alerts During a Disaster?

The social network wants to be everywhere- yes, that is the recent craze. The impact Twitter has made in today’s modern times is completely irreversible. It has paved the way to communicate easily, globally with those we want to communicate with.

Due to its vast reach and ability to provide updated information in real time, Twitter has been the conduit to all kinds of assistance. Among the heap of innovations, social media has continued to make its importance felt at every aspect of our life - including disaster emergencies.

New Twitter Alerts

Twitter, in particular, has once again made its magic felt by expressing their strong desire to be with us in the case of an emergency. Yes, you heard it right.  Twitter recently announced Twitter Alerts:

If you sign up to receive an account’s Twitter Alerts, you will receive a notification directly to your phone whenever that account marks a Tweet as an alert. Notifications are delivered via SMS, and if you use Twitter for iPhone or Twitter for Android, you’ll also receive a push notification. Alerts also appear differently on your home timeline from regular Tweets; they will be indicated with an orange bell.

Twitter is offering a way for subscribers to sign up for a Twitter Alerts program so that they can receive emergency alert tweets as well as directives from organizations through Twitter’s mobile app and message system.

What Are Twitter Alerts All About?

The new Twitter Alerts system enables public institutions and organizations to send out emergency tweet messages and push notifications during times of crisis. In addition to the notifications and texts, the Twitter Alert signal will appear as an orange bell icon in the Twitter stream (as pictured in the first image above).

Only authoritative and authorized agencies and organizations are allowed to use the new Twitter Alerts service and are allowed to do so only at times of immediate crisis and urgency. For instance, during a natural disaster, local agencies can direct citizens towards clean water, safety and other survival resources.

Users who sign up with the new Twitter Alerts program will receive smartphone notifications and text messages assuming that they agree to hand over their mobile phone number.  Some of the participants are Tokyo’s Disaster Prevention Service, the World Health Organization and the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

This innovation showed its potential as a lifeline during Hurricane Sandy when residents on the Eastern U.S. seaboard informed others of the progress of the storm and pursued assistance on the mobile network.

FEMA Administrator, Craig Fugate said:

. . .the service is at the cutting edge of disaster management in the age smartphones. . .today we have a two-way street where residents are informed about hazards in real time and emergency managers receive immediate feedback on the consequences of a disaster.

A Huge Thanks

This is something Twitter is not experimenting with for the first time. Just a year ago, Twitter launched Lifeline in Japan.  Lifeline offers a similar alert system to make people aware of tremors. But this time, Twitter Alerts has expanded the reach worldwide. On the actual Twitter site, designated Twitter Alerts will appear differently on your Tweet timeline along with an orange bell beneath the Tweet.

But as it gains popularity, chances are that possibly, pranksters might abuse the service and spread misinformation and rumors on it. But to stop that from becoming a frequent practice, Twitter has maintained a strict attitude towards monitoring its content and resources to ensure its accuracy.

Social media has given us multiple opportunities for thanks and it is now proving itself an important part of our life.

Images: Twitter

Are You Signed Up to Receive Twitter Alerts During a Disaster?

The social network wants to be everywhere- yes, that is the recent craze. The impact Twitter has made in today’s modern times is completely irreversible. It has paved the way to communicate easily, globally with those we want to communicate with.

Due to its vast reach and ability to provide updated information in real time, Twitter has been the conduit to all kinds of assistance. Among the heap of innovations, social media has continued to make its importance felt at every aspect of our life - including disaster emergencies.

New Twitter Alerts

Twitter, in particular, has once again made its magic felt by expressing their strong desire to be with us in the case of an emergency. Yes, you heard it right.  Twitter recently announced Twitter Alerts:

If you sign up to receive an account’s Twitter Alerts, you will receive a notification directly to your phone whenever that account marks a Tweet as an alert. Notifications are delivered via SMS, and if you use Twitter for iPhone or Twitter for Android, you’ll also receive a push notification. Alerts also appear differently on your home timeline from regular Tweets; they will be indicated with an orange bell.

Twitter is offering a way for subscribers to sign up for a Twitter Alerts program so that they can receive emergency alert tweets as well as directives from organizations through Twitter’s mobile app and message system.

What Are Twitter Alerts All About?

The new Twitter Alerts system enables public institutions and organizations to send out emergency tweet messages and push notifications during times of crisis. In addition to the notifications and texts, the Twitter Alert signal will appear as an orange bell icon in the Twitter stream (as pictured in the first image above).

Only authoritative and authorized agencies and organizations are allowed to use the new Twitter Alerts service and are allowed to do so only at times of immediate crisis and urgency. For instance, during a natural disaster, local agencies can direct citizens towards clean water, safety and other survival resources.

Users who sign up with the new Twitter Alerts program will receive smartphone notifications and text messages assuming that they agree to hand over their mobile phone number.  Some of the participants are Tokyo’s Disaster Prevention Service, the World Health Organization and the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

This innovation showed its potential as a lifeline during Hurricane Sandy when residents on the Eastern U.S. seaboard informed others of the progress of the storm and pursued assistance on the mobile network.

FEMA Administrator, Craig Fugate said:

. . .the service is at the cutting edge of disaster management in the age smartphones. . .today we have a two-way street where residents are informed about hazards in real time and emergency managers receive immediate feedback on the consequences of a disaster.

A Huge Thanks

This is something Twitter is not experimenting with for the first time. Just a year ago, Twitter launched Lifeline in Japan.  Lifeline offers a similar alert system to make people aware of tremors. But this time, Twitter Alerts has expanded the reach worldwide. On the actual Twitter site, designated Twitter Alerts will appear differently on your Tweet timeline along with an orange bell beneath the Tweet.

But as it gains popularity, chances are that possibly, pranksters might abuse the service and spread misinformation and rumors on it. But to stop that from becoming a frequent practice, Twitter has maintained a strict attitude towards monitoring its content and resources to ensure its accuracy.

Social media has given us multiple opportunities for thanks and it is now proving itself an important part of our life.

Images: Twitter