Trusting Your Gut

10.17.2017 by Elizabeth // 1 Comment

Trusting Your Gut Last week I attended a lunch and learn event about scaling sales and marketing in a startup. It was a great event. AND as per the usual, one of the most common mantras I heard was “Trust your gut.” Every time I go with what’s logical and reasonable but doesn’t feel right, I seem to regret it.

When my business coach suggests I try something WAAAY out of my comfort zone – if it doesn’t feel right in my gut, we talk about it. Sometimes that uneasy-ness is calmed after I have more information, sometimes we decide it’s not the right fit and move on to the next idea.

When I’m networking with someone 1:1 and realize that their core business values don’t mesh with mine, that’s okay, but we probably won’t become major referral partners for one another.

When you settle for content or design work because you don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings because they’re the expert? Ugh, I’ve wasted a good chunk of money “trusting” someone.

Why is it that sometimes we don’t trust our gut?

This week my gut is telling me that the big blog post I should have gotten out last week isn’t working at all and needs to be scraped for parts (hoping it’ll get me one or two totally different posts).

My gut is also telling me that I need to set very clear timelines with clients because it seems everyone wants something done this week.

My gut is telling me I need to get a damn blog post out because I can’t ignore it two weeks in a row just because I’M BUSY!

And my gut is telling me that I’m not the only business owner that struggles with all of this. It’s one of the hardest parts of being a small business owner. Knowing when to say yes, when to say no and when to push “it” to next week.

How often do you trust your gut in business?

What Resources Do You Need?

10.06.2017 by Elizabeth // Leave a Comment

what resources do you need? I met with a new client the other day, they are very clear on what they can do and what they need to outsource. Multiple times they asked “Is this something you can do for me?” Which is GREAT.

I love a client who knows what they can and can’t do. And I love that I know what I can and can’t (or won’t) do. I am grateful to have a fantastic network of resources so when I’m not the right fit, 9 times out of 10, I can refer them to the perfect person to help.

I’m participating in a program with the City of Hillsboro right now and we’re talking about what services and resources are available to the startup community. I’m amazed at the variety of services and resources in our town. Did you know the Hillsboro Library has a Makers Space? Yeah, it’s awesome!

Too often I see people with specific needs not getting access to the resources that would be perfect for them. It’s frustrating. From what I’ve found, it seems to happen for a few of reasons…

People Don’t Know What They Need – “I need someone to setup and manage my social media and keep it on brand and in my voice” can be a different request than “I need social media help.”
People Don’t Know What’s Available – Did I mention the Makers Space? I just learned there’s a new co-working space in town too which might be perfect over the holidays when my house is over run with people and I need some quiet work time and to get out of the house for a few hours.
Services/Resources aren’t Promoting in the Right Places – Okay so you ofter the exact perfect service that small business owners needs. That’s GREAT. But how do they find you? Is it through referral partners? Is it through networking? Is it through your online presence? Don’t network just where it’s comfortable for YOU, network and spend time where your target market is hanging out.
Inconsistent or Unclear Messaging – Jargon doesn’t help when someone isn’t sure what they’re looking for. If you work with doctors then you should use medical terms. If you work with patients then you should STOP USING ACRONYMS I WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND. Make sure that your messaging is clear for your target market and that you aren’t alienating them by using too much jargon or have a message that’s not clear and straight to the point.

So how do you find the resources you need?

Ask

I can’t help you if I don’t know what you need. When I started my business over 6 years ago, I met with a friend who had recently started their business to figure out what logistics I needed to consider. I asked a lot of questions of friends and business owners to figure out where to find the resources I needed.

How do you connect with the people who need your services?

Talk to People

Again, I can’t help you if I don’t know what you need or what you’re up to. Make sure that people know what services you have available that work well with a specific audience. For some clients, they need a website right away, and for others they want to wait 6 months while they make some money to pay for said site.

As a business owner, how do you connect with the right clients or find the right resources to help your business grow?

September Pop Culture Round Up

09.29.2017 by Elizabeth // Leave a Comment

September Pop Culture Round Up September means the Emmy’s (if you’re a TV junkie like me) and the beginning of the fall tv season. But before new shows began this week I found some great pop culture to keep me motivated…

Listening

I was chatting with my brother over Labor Day weekend and he suggested that I check out House of Carbs – and he was right. I had downloaded an episode to try before he mentioned the pod. It’s a great bit of food news and travel food news each week. If you wake up in the morning and the TV is on Food Network from the night before, this podcast is for you…

I hadn’t listened to much of the Nerdist this summer but the live show from ID10T Fest was great, as was the interview with Tatiana Maslany. My friend Mary Lou, with a fabulous podcast herself, mentioned her new favorite podcast – My Dad Wrote a Porno. Yup. It’s exactly what it sounds like. And it’s HYSTERICAL! The guy reads the “book” his dad wrote with two friends who make comments every other sentence. I haven’t listened as much as I want to because I can NOT listen while driving…

And for a complete 180, I really enjoyed the Pod Save America interview with Hillary Clinton and her interview on Fresh Air…

Reading

How do you make time to read each day? I have been on a string of books that are too easy to put down and not keeping me enthralled. Maybe it’s the books I’ve chosen, or maybe it’s that Twitter is such drama these days. I need a better system for reading.

Currently I’m reading What Happened, the Hillary Clinton book. I’m really enjoying it – her insights on being a woman in politics are fascinating to me. I’m learning and appreciating her a lot more than I have before.

My book and comic book piles are OUT of control – I need a power outage so I’m forced to read for about a week…

Watching

Why am I not reading? Because every spare moment there’s something to WATCH! This summer had a lot of great female characters – Huzzah!

I finally watched the final season of Orphan Black. This is a show best binge watched – too many characters and crazy plot lines to keep track of weekly. The final season wrapped up the story well, although I sort of wished I had watched the whole series at once, I had a few “wait, who’s that again?” moments.

I finished The Sinner last week and appreciated that they pulled it all together. My sister in law texted me a couple of weeks ago and thought I had finished the series – she asked if it ended well because it’s SUPER WEIRD. Neither of us knew at the time how it would end, but we were both satisfied with the ending – even it if took some very dark and twisted turns to get there…

A few years ago I watched Top of the Lake with Emmy favorite Elisabeth Moss. So when I heard that Top of the Lake: China Girl was happening AND it featured Brienne of Tarth herself – Gwendolyn Christie – I was IN. I tend to limit my dark/weird/creepy sex crime shows to one at a time but I ended up with Top of the Lake and The Sinner wrapping up at the same time. I’m glad I had The Good Place on Netflix to cleanse my palette. Anyway, TOTL: China Girl was really good, not amazing like the first season, but the intertwining of the season and plots was great. I’m a TV nerd not a film student, but this season felt like it needed one more run through editing – a lot of scenes just ended or transitioned awkwardly. And holy Nicole Kidman – she was a fantastic addition!

I loved The Good Place last year and am so happy it’s back! The premiere was fantastic and I’m so excited for where it will take us this season! AND I’m really enjoying this season of You’re the Worst which is the BEST and you should be watching it.

The Emmy’s

I didn’t really plan to write about The Emmy’s, but I have some opinions and a lot of I TOLD YOU SO’s.

First of all, if you haven’t watched The Handmaids Tale, please stop reading this and go get a free month of Hulu to watch it! Every award they won was deserved. And if you watched The Leftovers then you REALLY know what an amazing actress Ann Dowd is and that she deserved that Emmy for all her work in the past year.

I also was on board with Big Little Lies winning – that show was great and so was Nicole Kidman. (who you can see in a very different maternal role in Top of the Lake: China Girl) You should watch it. Also – one of the kids is Young Sheldon (which my husband predicts will have a short lifespan).

My favorite episode of Master of None this season was Thanksgiving which won Lena Waithe a writing Emmy (the first for an African American Woman). It was a wonderful bottleneck episode that you should watch.

Finally, if you haven’t watched The Night Of yet, you need to. It’s great.

What’s your pop culture consumption look like this month? What new shows are you excited about? How do you make time to read and not watch so much TV?