This has been a week of connecting with long time friends, colleagues and business partners. I’ve spoiled myself a little by having more than my once a week allotment of “personal” lunch dates. Since I’m in the fortunate position of having a few committed clients, I am able to take a tiny short breather on devoting 100% of my energy to business development. I still network on a daily basis, but it’s not the focus of my every waking moment – this week!

While I had not planned it, the focus of my week seems to have happily centered on stimulating conversations – with friends, colleagues and clients. I just left lunch with a former colleague – his contact name in my contact list is Bizio – a hold-over nickname from our old team – and I could not tell you why we called him that. I haven’t seen Biz in 5 or 6 years – but the time and distance didn’t matter – we picked up right where we left off. Lunch conversation started with the usual drill – family, kids, friends, jobs…. but then quickly moved to the fun stuff – swapping ideas about current economic, political and social trends.  While we tried to stay out of Doomsday “Hell in a hand basket” territory, of course, it drifted there. And Biz – thanks for the tip on the “Pitchforks are coming”  Ted Talk. It is on my watch list now! The point is – No matter how long it’s been since you’ve connected with a bright mind – give yourself the gift of time, some good food and a great sunny day on a patio  – and you’ll remember why you enjoyed working together so much and what a treasured time it was. Note to self – remember this when you find someone cool to work with – take the time to talk about non-work stuff. Stuff that is Creative. Stuff that isn’t Real.  Stuff that’s Important.

Yesterday – I had the great pleasure of two stimulating conversations – the first with a client and and the other with a recent former colleague. Both absolute leaders in their own right. Both on the cusp of a transition – different directions, but both about to make some kind of leap into a new world.  My client meeting was one of my favorite kind. We passed ideas back and forth, building on each other’s energy until we hit the “aha” moment – exactly where I needed this client to get to. I needed to hear his voice – his passion, his point of view – so that we could turn that into a series of articles. I had an image for the first hour of the 2 hour meeting – we carefully arranged kindling and tinder in a fire ring, then thoughtfully inserted accelerants. Then in the last 15 minutes, the match was lit and the fire went up.  Presto – we had it!  That’s my Raison D’etre – my reason for being. Working with people who are willing to push things to the edge, provoke change and diversity in action.  Nothing short of excellence.

Follow that with a lunch with a former colleague; in fact she was a senior leader whom I had the honor to serve several times in my tenure at the big blue box. She was a leader that demanded the best and the most out of the people who worked with her. Without this level of expectation, I would not have been able to make the impact that I did on the company, my team, or my career. So now, it’s a true treat to shed the personas of our old corporate roles. Now just colleagues who could both offer the other wisdom and inspiration. The conversation meandered between history and family, careers and mindsets, resumes, experiences and aspirations. Our conversation was a great reinforcement of my decision to make the leap to a new “Career”, and happy to see her enjoying her own journey towards finding what’s next. It’s good to have a familiar face as we both make the leap from comfort into the unknown.

My point is – when you don’t have an official forum for feedback that you’d get in a more traditional work setting, you need to create your own. Not just a group of friends who will applaud everything you do in the name of courage (Although that’s nice). I need to remember to seek out those who have expected great things out of me in the past – and ask them to continue in that role – Someone to push me to be the best leader I can be, rather than take the easy route.  Someone to remind me that mediocrity is a bigger failure than trying something new and falling on your face.  And someone to have crazy conversations about the future that might include robots, zombies and pitchforks.

 

 

I knew this day would come eventually – that day when I had to invest time in organizing my workspace so that I could actually find something that I needed. After returning home from a really great potential client meeting (yay!), I remember that I needed to take care of a small task. Of course, that task had been weighing on my mind for the last week or two but rather than add it to my daily to do list, it was floating around on my desk in the form of an invoice that needed to be paid.  Shame on me for the lack of to-do list hygiene, my mom would be raising her eyebrows at me if she were still around….

I plopped down my back pack, unpacked my laptop and kept it closed. Rather than checking emails, I knew I had to get this particular thing out the door and in the mailbox before the end of the day.  As I was sifting through the piles, muttering about my document retention policy (that I never got around to in early start up mode), I thought back to my working days before a computer. That’s right, boys and girls under the age of 30, there was a day when we carried notebooks and paper calendars. No electronics.  We wrote letters, not emails.  We left phone messages via pink call slips, not voice mails. We actually wrote memos to each other on memo paper. Did you know that CC stands for Carbon copy – which meant you inserted a sheet of carbon between the two sheets of paper at the IBM Selectric….  Booking a meeting took a carefully orchestrated series of phone conversations. On the other hand – we always answered our desk phones because we had no idea who was calling! We relied on each other to log it in our calendars via a pen or pencil – if the meeting was important enough, we’d type up a memo, copy it and put it in an interoffice envelope with a mail code to get it to the other person. Clearly, the reason why denizens of cubeville spend all their days in meeting rooms is the fault of the engineers at Microsoft Outlook.  If meetings weren’t so easy to arrange I’m sure we’d have less of them. I digress….

My point is that “back in the old-timey days” of the 1980’s – when my career started, everything was paper based. A desk full of papers was expected. How you filed them made the difference between neat and messy, between effective and incapable.  In the corporate banking culture – even before the days of privacy regulations, we were encouraged formally and informally to keep neat desks. A place for everything.

 

Swing through time and on the pendulum of technology change – my recent job at the Big Blue Box – I was so paper-free I rarely sat at my assigned desk. I worked out of my trusty backpack and survived through my phone and my laptop. I was known as a gypsy who was more likely to spend my days at a booth in the cafeteria than at the desk that was assigned to me. Through the use of tools like Sharepoint and network drives, I was able to store and access  99% of the information I needed without a scrap of paper.

And now I’m back in the middle – I do as much as I can electronically (Since there’s an app for nearly everything!), but a lot of small business is still done through papers, flyers, letters, brochures, and cards. It’s not like I’m going to spin up a sharepoint site just to store my documents and scan in everything, right?

The good news – I found the invoice near the top of the pile of papers on my little desk (It’s really little – like 30″X 45″ – an old family antique)…. and it’s now safely in the mail. The bad news – it was at the top of the pile and I am now no longer required to organize my desk….

 

Sounds like a great project for the weekend! Happy Friday everyone!

 

 

 

 

 

People often ask me what I do “all day” as I start up this business… if I take out my 94 year-young mother in law – I think most people really understand what a self employed person does “all day long” – WORK!

Here’s the difference between a Cubeville resident and a self employed small business owner – aside from client emergencies, I’m fully in control of my calendar.  I don’t have a staff meeting – unless you count the conversations I have with dogs about how they can’t bark while I’m on the conference call. I don’t have set lunch hour – unless you count that 4 minutes I spend assembling a turkey sandwich, then eat it on the way back to my office. I don’t have a “quitting time” unless you count that moment of quiet when I realize all of my other family members are downstairs watching Wheel of Fortune!

My work days are never the same from day to day, or so far from week to week – which is my favorite part of being self employed! Every single day is completely different than the one before it, and very different from the one that follows it. While it’s not as comfortable as every Wednesday one on one with my team routine (including that delicious Special K bar from the Cafeteria in Cubeville), it’s comforting to know that each day brings something new to think about.

Each day it’s like walking into a local seaside restaurant and asking about the “catch of the day” – and then deciding if I want to order it!  So for those who are truly curious about how I spent my day today – here’s the play by play:

5:15AM – Wake up and hangout until other creatures stir from slumber – think about what’s going on today. Eyes most still closed. Brain, though, is buzzing.

6:00AM – Head downstairs and let the dogs out, make coffee. Check email for exciting news from clients or partners. Check in with my kids on Facebook (they are also early birds at the old age of 21)

6:15 – Head back upstairs with Coffee for me and my husband. To be fair – he usually makes the coffee and brings it to me – he’s a sweetheart! 

6:30 – AM Daily Calendar review over coffee with the dogs and husband. Watch the weather. Bathe, get dressed

7:00 AM – head into office (20 feet from the master bedroom). And crank up the MacBook and check emails for real. Make my to do list for the day. Get a few easy things ut of the way, like pay my phone bill, sign up for a news service, follow a few new twitter accounts and retweet some cool things.

8:00AM – start creating a presentation for a  proposal review meeting on Friday  –  a client who is looking to increase his B2B brand awareness with LinkedIn Marketing Campaign. Work on that for an hour and the realize I need to leave to go to my only meeting for the day. Pack up and hop on my scooter.

9:30 – Scoot to a local coffee shop for a meeting with the local Chamber of Commerce to get the scoop on member benefits – great decision to join this Chamber as well as my hometown chamber – will mean lots of great connections.

10:30  – hung out at the coffee shop to  finish up the proposal and sent it off to my co-conspirator on the project for his valuable input

11:30 – scooted over to grocery store to pick up lunch supplies. Headed home and made a lunch and chatted with my son about his day.

1:00 Worked on some materials for a non-profit organization – I’m giving a new board member orientation presentation this evening.

2:45 Chatted with my husband about materials we need for a project up at the cabin this weekend and some of his plans for the rest of the week.

3:45 Having returned to my office upstairs, I picked up an email from a client – he sent me the information I need to put together his Facebook page!  He calls my cell phone and we agree on a deliverable approach and timing – Excellent!

4:00 – Start writing this blog – realizing I just might be late for my 5:00 board orientation if I don’t get a move on.

4:30 – finish up wiring this blog an think to myself – Does anyone really care about how I spend my time? Well – I’m not sure – but if nothing else, I now have an archive of how I spent today, one of those typical work days in my life right now! I’m sure I’ll look back at this entry a year from now and either shake my head, laugh out loud, or cry. I’m not sure which one, but I do know I’m the luckiest person to have this opportunity in my life and determine my own destiny every single day!

4:32 – Consider adding pictures and grab one from my scooter pic archive -because no body reads a blog without a picture right?  Off to my Board meeting – Happy Hump day everyone!
4:59 pm- update! Boom! Made it on time! 

It’s a big 36 hours for our family – My twin sons are graduating from college this weekend – one tonight from the University of Minnesota, and the other from Illinois Institute of Technology tomorrow Morning! Logistics aside-  it’s an exciting time for everyone!  Completion of major accomplishments, starting new chapters, all the usual stuff you here in commencement speeches (and I’m sure we’ll hear it all! – Twice!).

The reality is this success came in small moments – while this last semester was challenging for each of them, it was 4 straight years of hard work and dedication to making the most of their classes that got them to today.  Every quiz, homework, paper, midterm, presentation, final. They all add up to this moment. And I’m happy to say that we celebrated those success along the way, rather than storing it all up for one big crescendo of a moment!  Ta Dah!

Today’s simple point – don’t forget to celebrate success each day – no matter how small. If you wait until that big moment, you might loose the point of how you got to that goal. The distant memory of getting the big idea, or of publishing your website for the first scary time. Launching your brand. It’s all worthy of a “Cheers!” in my book.

I hope to follow my own advice in my new venture – and if I don’t, I know you, intelligent readers will remind me! Happy Weekend and don’t forget to celebrate your success!

Seriously – I woke up yesterday morning to a dreary sky and with a tug in my brain that I originally thought was the deflation of my outstanding experiences last week. Top of my to-do list was to reach out to several very interested, very potential clients. Moment of truth time. If you’ve ever been in a sales or development role, you know the feeling, the voice in your head. It’s the voice that I need to ignore. The voice that says “you know, Jenny, you were just fooling yourself. Your product isn’t that great, you aren’t “all that”. If you make contact with the people on the fence about doing business with you, you’ll just affirm the fact that they don’t want to do business with you. It’s better that you just wait for them to reach out to you. That’s the safest path – no news means its still possible, and that’s way better than a flat out “no”, right?”

So, I took a deep breath and told the voice of what I call the “itty bitty shitty committee” (IBSC) to go straight to the depths of Hell.  I texted, emailed or voicemailed everyone whom I had promised to “pester” about a decision. I was cheerful and optimistic in my follow up. I had a potential client meeting that I had prepared  for and felt good about.

I walked in to that client meeting and lo and behold – he committed! Then, as I was on my way home, I got a phone call from another one – she was a “GO!”. Then not an hour later – I got another phone call – and he was ready to take action as well!

Three clients confirmed in one day. Three clients who will be part of my very special Founders Club (they may not know it yet, but they will soon!). Three clients who will help me understand even more the “why” behind this business and help me craft my value prop, my process and my brand. Three clients who have taken a risk on me as an unknown entity and my plan is to over deliver on their expectations.

I started this business specifically so I can help small business owners who don’t have a marketing department, a sales department, or an anything department.  Just the “Chief Everything Officer” looking back at you in the mirror every morning.  I’m proud to help these new clients and hope that I don’t disappoint them in any way!

Watch out world, LittleBox Social is on the map! I can’t wait to show off the results of my work with them! Coming soon to a facebook page or a twitter news feed near you!

I’m a long-time To-do list enthusiast; I’ve been making lists my whole life – at work, at home – I keep them in archives and neatly cross things off of them so that I can read them if I need to. I try to keep them organized so if I ever need to figure out when the last time I cleaned out the fish tank was, I can do it quickly (inevitably this spawns a “poor fishies” response with that task moving to the top of my list.)

I learned this amazing skill from the Chief list maker in my family  – my mom.  She would take any scrap of paper and make use of the available space and make a list. The usual suspects – grocery lists, Target run lists, errand lists, Saturday Morning activity lists.  Her preferred tools –  scrap paper recycled from some other activity, ripped into ¼ sheets and a trusty ball point pen.

Then there were the specialized lists based on current activities: Camping? A meal plan for each day as well as a supply list intersected with equipment. Traveling? Packing list for each kid/adult with special attention paid to individual requirements (Comic books for the kids, novels for the adults; Socks – always extra socks). Fundraising party in the works? Invitation lists, seating charts, menu planning, Stocking the bar down to the umbrellas and garnishes.  Those usually used whole sheets of paper and sometimes even warranted fresh, never used paper. That’s when I knew it was a big deal.

 

My father had the same list habit, with a more formal approach. Since he was a scientist, he was very methodical with his planning. His lists were contained in notebooks rather than the back of a flyer for the school PTA meeting.  While my mother’s notes were written in a loopy cursive of a teacher with a degree in Art and Design, my father’s lists looked like they were produced on a drafting table. And some were – Building a cabin? Lumber yard supply lists, equipment rental contacts, nails, screws, tools. Learning how to make sourdough bread? A list of supplies and timeframe for each of the protracted steps. Lists were integrated into nearly every part of our life.

And it worked for us to keep family stuff straight. Not to the same degree as the overscheduled family lives today. Instead, I view it as a way to make sure that all the logistical stuff was taken care of so we could have fun! My family’s parties were popular because we could focus on the people rather than a missing ingredient for the meal. Our cabin was built because we thought of all the materials tools that we needed to bring instead of taking precious time to head to the nearest hardware store (19 miles away).  In other words, I grew up viewing lists as a way to add precious time back to the family.

I was also a Girl Scout until I reached the inevitable “Care more about mixed gender social activities than selling cookies and earning badges” age – which hit me at 13 or 14 years old. Girl Scouts are also list makers. Badge requirements, craft lists, song lists, outdoor survival tips, service requirements. The Girl Scout handbook is full of great lists!

Obviously, I thought everybody operated this way  – until I went to Language camp with some of my school mates in 8^th grade and found some of my friends lacking some basic necessities.  I thought – “didn’t you follow the recommended packing list?” Sheesh – that was the beginning of an eye opener that lasted many years.

I made lists in school, babysitting activities, my first job at McDonalds, High School focused on the countdown list of days until graduation. Activities for my friends and I to experience  – I know we wrote some strange things down – Hypnosis, staying up all night, listening to records in reverse, boys we liked, girls we hated….  What most people just talked or gossiped about, I think I made written lists.

My experience with my family of list makers told me was: if you write it down it gets done. If it gets done you are happy. Remove the middle step and you get: if you write it down you will be happy.

If you search Entrepreneur Magazine’s website for “To do list”, there are dozens of articles/posts on effective to do lists. Top 3 reasons, Top 5 tips, Four effective ways, on and on. Writers are taught in the first class they attend: Write what you know. Business 101 should include something similar: Do what you are good at. I’m a list maker and I’m darn good at it. I do it every day (even on Mother’s day). It’s not something I chose, it’s just something I do. It provides me structure and eventually freedom from the pressure of deadlines.  I am grateful for the exposure early and often in life.
Thanks Mom and Dad!

I say both! Today, I’m visiting a friend in Wheaton, IL as we head to Chicago to pick up one of my kids from college (he’s graduating next week!). We’re in town, having lunch and I look around and see many small business that are thriving. Locally owned and operated restaurants, shops, boutiques – open with plenty of customer traffic. And I have to wonder what the difference is between this community of businesses and similar towns that have town centers that have been taken over by chain stores and restaurants.

I can make some assumptions -average income base, support from the local politicians, the attitude and preferences of the local planning and zoning officials. All those things go into creating a community. However, I do think the citizens and their understanding of how patronizing a small business can benefit their community plays a big part.  I’m fascinated and compelled by the #shoplocal movement. You’ll see more about that over on the LittleBox Blog eventually.But in the meantime, I’m going to sit back, relax and enjoy the company of my dear dear friend who I don’t see often enough. And I’ll try not to do “market research” while we are enjoying our time together!

thanks for showing me around Lovely downtown Wheaton, Amy!!

First off – I need to express my gratitude for the overwhelmingly positive response to the launch of LittleBox Social! Between my regular blog readers, Facebook friends, LinkedIn connections and Twitter followers, I feel like I have a whole stadium of folks cheering me on – and I can’t begin to tell you how motivating that is! I’ve experienced moments of isolation and doubt in the last few weeks, but if I ever need a boost – I look back at your comments and know that you are there.  Even if you are skeptical or just curious, I know you are watching, and that accountability helps drive me towards success!

The other thing that has made this week (and it’s only Wednesday) amazing  – I’ve had some client meetings – yes – real live potential clients!  People that actually need this

service I’m offering; people that reached out to me to ask how the whole process works and to find out how I can help them! While it’s way too early to call these deals signed, sealed and delivered, the validation of this Big Idea gives me confidence that I’m on the right track! Cue the Obvious and overused Sally Field Oscars Gif:
Even more important than that boost of confidence is that I’m meeting some talented business owners with some truly compelling stories. One of the reasons I departed “cubeville” is that I felt I was too far removed from impacting the customer experience. Like so far removed I could barely even see the customer in my work. And in the end – I know that’s what motivates me. The opportunity to help people tell their stories to the world – that’s a gift! It’s too early in the process for me to divulge any details – but I can’t wait to help them shout their stories from the rooftop!

Here’s what’s so striking – while the people I met yesterday had somewhat traditional titles – Jewelry Designer and Financial Advisor; in just a brief conversation, I learned their backstories and more about WHY they are small business owners. Both opened up about their “journey” in a way that inspired me to help them. In these conversations, I started creating solutions for them that I had never thought of – on the spot and in real time. Ways to use Social Media platforms not just to drive more business, but also to help them establish their reputation as a business and community leader. You ever have a meeting where you felt more energized than when you started? Oh so rare for me in my Cubeville Days. While I was taking down notes about the “to do’s” ahead of me, it didn’t drain my energy, it sparked it!

Bottom line:  These conversations and that process is helping me clarify the “Why?” for me creating LittleBox Social! Not an epiphany or a ta-da moment, but instead as I listened to myself in these conversations, I gained an appreciation for my own passion. I heard myself describe creative ways of marketing their story, of creating new views of their product and of focusing on what really excites them. And even though I was asking for their business, it felt like I was offering to be their partner. That, my friends, is the absolute sweet spot for me. The Raison D’Etre – Making a difference for others, adding value to a community, fostering innovation and inspiration, getting work done for others so that they may have a better life.  LittleBox Social gives me the opportunity to do this every day with people in my neighborhood. I can’t ever forget it or take it for granted!

Ok – friends here it is!!  It’s time to reveal my first Big Idea on a new way of making a living! Are you ready?  I hope so, because it’s been your support that has helped me propel through this phase so quickly! Remember my criteria?

• Enhance my local community
• Use a skill set that I have, and has some stretch for me to grow
• Look towards the future – “goes after” the millennial group and younger

The name of the business: LittleBox Social

LittleBox  – Small Business – think of it as the antithesis of Big Box Business,  and

Social – as in Social Media.

Bottom line: Helping small business owners attract and retain customers using social media strategies. Unleash potential for local entrepreneurs – I truly believe amazing things come in little boxes.  I’ll help them wherever they land on the spectrum of social media usage – from helping start ups develop channel strategy and content calendars to working with legacy businesses refine their strategy and refreshing their channels and messaging.   Or even better, teach these community leaders and their teams how to efficiently tackle the opportunity. I have so many great ideas in this space-  they are literally busting out of my brain!

This Big Idea came to me about a year ago when the MN chapter of the ARCS Foundation started really dabbling in Social media – we knew there was potential to engage members, future members, and donors, but we didn’t really have a plan, or extra arms and legs to do the work.  We were lucky enough to have an smart intern put together a strategy, but that still left us with relying on a busy board member to do the actual content creation. Of course, it fell to the bottom of everyone’s to-do list for the organization. And then, I saw that same thing happen in our 15 sister chapters across the nation. I remember thinking: Now that’s a market need, I’d be happy to throw a few dollars at this problem if I could find someone to help.

Several months passed and I started studying how large companies leveraged social media more closely – from promoting special products to building a loyalty to responding to customer issues and general PR. I knew (from my Big Box experience) that these results were from a team of professionals whose “Day job” was to create the strategy and execute the plan. And again, I knew that small business didn’t have the resources to do this on their own, it was likely a “hobby” for some of the more social media savvy entrepreneurs.

Then, I actually started talking to small business owners – like really small business owners- single stores run by Mom and Pop, small restaurants, salons, hardware stroes – authentic Main Street players. And like the our non-profit, most reported that they knew they needed to “do something about this social media thing”.  When I asked them about millenials and growth – they all reported that “YES!” they need to figure that out. But didn’t know how.

And out of that – the seed for LittleBox Social was planted.  And it started to grow. Remember the “Whole Board”? Earlier this year, I started checking those items off, one by one. I did enough research to know that there was a viable business model. I confirmed that a domain name was available for my desired business name, and bought it.  That was the point at which I knew I was approaching the ledge, and the next move I needed to make was to commit to this effort full time.  I sat on that for about 30 days before I made my next move. Consider it my cooling off period to make sure that I wasn’t being foolish.

30 days later, I took another hard look at the business model and took the leap – this one had a little more investment – I actually registered the name “LittleBox Advisors, LLC” with Secretary of State. That company name allows for me to do consulting work on the side as well, so LittleBox Social is a “Division” of the LLC. I hired a trademark attorney to help with that process. I hired a couple of graphic designers to work on a logo.

And after all of that – when I was really at the ledge and had all but committed to doing this. All of the work had been done on off hours, weekends, etc.. It was time to fully invest and quit my day job. That day was March 22^nd.   It’s been 42 days since that moment of leaping over the edge.  Only 21 days since I actually started this venture full time.

Not bad for a soft launch! As I mentioned in an earlier post, not everything is perfect. The website needs some work, and I have exactly 23 things on my to do list for today.  But we are launched! I received some advice early in this process. For every day you delay a launch, you delay revenue. Don’t be afraid to go to market when it’s hot – you’ll figure out the details as you go!  So when opportunity knocked via a Robbinsdale Chamber of Commerce meeting last week, I knew I had to launch!

Speaking of launch – please check out my website, like my page, follow my twitter, etc. etc!

Website: www.littleboxsocial.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/littleboxsocial

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LittleBoxSocial

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/LittleBoxsocial

Again, I am grateful for this opportunity and the support that you all have given me – including my steadfast partner in life. Without my husband Scott’s encouragement and rational advice, I would not have made this leap!

Lastly – I would be remiss if I didn’t close with “the ask” – if you know of a small business who could use a little extra help with social media – let me know!  I love making connections and helping out great causes and businesses.