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Adria felt like she had hit a plateau in her business; her podcast numbers had stalled, and all of the marketing she was putting her precious time into wasn’t growing her list. More importantly, every client inquiry call she had felt like a drag because these potential clients weren’t even sure that they needed her.
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Nancy was coming up on her one-year anniversary of her third self-published book.
While launching her book the year prior, she admitted that she hadn’t been diligent about putting herself -- and the book -- out there. During the few weeks that followed the launch, she was featured on several podcast interviews with small audiences. Not bad… except for the fact that half of these shows served audiences outside of her target market. So they weren’t the best use of her time.
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I sat in the backseat of my parent’s car and scrolled through my email inbox while my father pumped gas. It was August 2012 and I was less than one month out from leaving to Italy for a semester abroad. At 3:15pm, an email from Natalie Sisson to her list about her $100 Change initiative, whose list I had just signed up for the week before, popped into my inbox. After quickly reading through it, I knew I had something useful to offer her.
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When I was looking for a VA, your agency stood out because your packages were all named after black, female activists, like Shirley Chisholm, Nina Simone, and Dr. Frances Cress Welsing. What inspired you to title your services this way?
This all comes from who I am as a person. My friends and family call me an old soul. Since I was young, I’ve been very observant and intentional. I wanted to translate that intentionality into my business in an authentic way, and I think that’s why it hasn’t backfired. I want them to think, “She’s friendly, she’s cool, and she has a large respect for the people who came before her.”
An example would be Shirley Chisholm and her political impact. I’ve taken so much from her saying, “They don’t give you a spot at the table. Pull up your own chair.”
When I entered the virtual assistant world, it didn’t resonate with me. It seemed like all of the assistants were Boss Babes or Boss Chicks -- all of those categories that are so easy to fall into -- but it’s not necessarily reflective of who you are as a person -- so I wanted to be really intentional with my messaging so I could make it clear.
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March 8th, 2018 marked the 107th International Women’s Day. Anyone with something to say about gender equality had a chance to raise awareness, throw their opinions into the ring, and generate buzz for their nonprofit, business, personal brand, or community.
And that’s the true power of awareness days -- that you can build on the already generated momentum to do good while building authentic buzz.
There are so many creative ways do just that, and that’s why I decided to put together a list of awareness days in 2018, which I’ll continue to build on throughout the year.
If you want to get marketing inspiration for content creation and pitching angles for awareness days like these, sign up to get weekly #marketinginspo from me here. :)
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“I love your bag!” I exclaimed in the Starbucks at the Lihue Airport. It was a handwoven duffel bag with colorful embroidery.
She smiled wide. “Thanks!” She replied, “It’s by this amazing brand that does a lot of work with indigenous women, particularly in Peru. They’re fantastic.”
New brands appear in the socially conscious business space every week, but not all of them are talked about with this level of excitement.
It was more than just “buzz” for the business. It was buzz backed by genuine enthusiasm.
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“Our CEO has a saying. He doesn’t care how late you stay or how early you come in. He just wants you to work as hard as you need to feel like you’ve made an impact on as many lives as you want for that day.”
Clearly, Paul Yoo’s words have sunk in. Chloe Obico, Marketing Specialist for This Bar Saves Lives, and I are having a conversation at eight in the evening.
With a growing team of just over fifteen people and a global brand that’s recently added domestic giving in the US, there is a lot to be done.
Luckily, Chloe describes her team as one that’s always helping each other out and stepping up when they need to, even when it’s outside their comfort zone or expertise.
Plus, having actors without business backgrounds as founders seems to have instilled a sense of making it happen and being willing to learn into the company culture.
I talked with Chloe about the current landscape of social enterprises, the responsible practices of This Bar Saves Lives, and how she’s grown as a professional while working in a mission-driven company.
My obsession with kindness started with a sand mandala.
I had seen a flyer at my local library branch for an event where a bunch of monks were visiting to construct one, so on a Saturday morning, I got into my car and drove over to see what it was all about.
I remember the cliche calm I felt as I walked into that room and witnessed monks on their hands and knees carefully arranging the grains of sand. The design was intricate and vibrant, and I remember thinking what a pity it was that in a few short hours, it would be purposely blown away.
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In 2016, Cyber Monday alone broke their sales record with $3.45 billion in sales. Black Friday, in comparison, clocked in at $655.8 billion with about 1k spent per shopper.
In short, if you’ve got something to sell, the long weekend after Thanksgiving is a critical time to do it. If you’re a social enterprise, though, you’re interested in more than just profits. You’re interested in giving back, too.
Enter #GivingTuesday.
#GivingTuesday, created by 92Y, a cultural center in NYC, falls on the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving and uses social media and collaboration to engage in small acts of kindness through the donation of time, services, and money. The movement has grown significantly since its inception in 2012 and raised $177 million online in 2016 alone.
If you want to participate but are at a loss for how your small business can give back on #GivingTuesday, here are 7 creative examples.
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I’m sure you’ve been hearing a lot of talk about net neutrality. From my newsfeed, I can tell that the people in my world are generally not in favor of what’s going on.
But what is net neutrality (NN) really, and what’s currently happening to it?
I got you. Here’s your quick breakdown if you’ve been curious but haven’t had time to do research.
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