5 Ways Brands Can Show Up for Their Stakeholders Right Now

Photo: Retha Ferguson for Pexels

Brands across the globe are in the midst of deep values recalibrations due to the COVID-19 crisis. Voluntarily or involuntarily, they’re being challenged to look at why they exist and who they exist for in order to find ways they alone are positioned to serve.

It’s crucial that brands recognize that what matters has little to do with simply incorporating giveback missions and promoting sales and is more about providing what your core stakeholders (customers, teams, suppliers, etc.) need while being mindful of context, tone, and transparency. The brands that double down on their values in order to add value are most likely to find their way through the painful decisions they’ll have to make during this and any future crisis.

While the opportunities to contribute are endless, below are a few ways brands can think about showing up, strengthening loyalty, and building toward the future.

Through Information

Every individual with access to the internet is inundated with information at the moment, even without beginning to consider paid marketing. At a time when anxiety is running high, misinformation or poorly timed information can be damaging to your brand. Sometimes showing up means saying less.

Here are questions to ask: 

• How does your brand currently contribute to the spread of information? Is this information timely or necessary to share?

• Can your brand contribute positively by distributing sound information that’s useful (ex. resources, guidance, activities, recipes)?

• Do your paid ads feel disingenuous? Can you adapt the tone for relevancy? 

Through Compassion

With empathy taking over the marketing lexicon in the past couple of years, now is the opportunity for brands to truly put it into action. Ditching a need for polished perfection in preference for vulnerability can bring your brand closer to all of its stakeholders.

Here are three questions to ask: 

• Which of your stakeholders is most affected at this time? How can you support them?

• Is it possible to be honest with your customers about where your brand stands and how that’s evolving as time goes by?

• How can you reimagine your services, adjust your pricing model, or launch campaigns to serve your audience where they are?

Through Action

We’ve seen brands around the world pivot almost overnight to digital offerings, transform their factories, and more. Taking what’s core to your brand mission into account and then expanding that reality to continue to adapt is paramount. There’s more opportunity for experimentation and iteration than ever, but brands need to be willing to take their audience along for the journey.

Here are three questions to ask: 

• What’s a single action would your brand regret not taking right now?

• Can you reformat your offering to help on a macro level? Who can you collaborate with to touch new people and spread awareness?

• What content and experiences can you create that your audience is craving at this time?

Through Ideas 

It’s no surprise that innovation comes in times of deep pressure. The uniquely human capacity for imagination that’s born out of constraints is what’s allowed us to evolve and survive for thousands of years. More than ever this is an opportunity for our biggest ideas to emerge to help us navigate the seismic shifts appearing in our world today.

Here are three questions to ask: 

• What can you do now that has never felt possible before?

• Can you serve an additional audience that you may never have thought of reaching?

• What can you begin creating now that the world will continue to need when we emerge from this? Who can you collaborate with to bring these new ideas to life, in order to maximize impact?

Through Optimism 

Our strength as a global community relies on our ability to stay determined and hopeful that we can guide ourselves out of this. That doesn’t mean we should approach reality with a sense of naiveté or pretend we aren’t going through a global crisis, but it does mean we need the determination and faith that something brighter awaits in order to forge forward.

Here are three questions to ask: 

• What silver linings have appeared for you and your brand? How can you galvanize around them?

• What problems have appeared that your teams can dream up ideal solutions for?

• How can your brand cultivate and share messages of hope without undermining the gravity of the situation?

There’s no certainty in how long this pandemic will last, or what the true impact on our global community and economy will be, but the more determined brands are to keep asking tough questions the more new ideas will start to appear. Commitment and courage from every leader in sharing ideas out loud—first with themselves, then to colleagues, to audiences and the world will allow us to shape and enhance the evolved reality we want to live in. It’s the only thing that ever has.

About the Author: Lori is the founder of a big idea, a home for thoughtful brand building based in LA, where she works with emerging and growing mission-driven brands. She has a decade of experience working with legacy brands, media companies, startups, and social enterprises to develop and optimize marketing strategies. An idealist and a builder at heart, she began a big idea with a desire to give identity to the undeniable ideas we all have inside of us and create new brands that are built to last generations. She's currently offering free 1:1 strategy sessions to brands affected by COVID-19 - you can schedule by reaching out at lori@abigidea.com.

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Ask an Expert: How to Get Legal Protection for Your Small Business

We’ve been spending a lot of time at Create & Cultivate HQ discussing how we can best show up for and support our community during this uncertain time. Community is at our core, and connecting with others through one-of-a-kind experiences is what we love to do. While the world has changed, our mission has not. We’re committed to helping women create and cultivate the career of their dreams, which is why we’re proud to announce our new Ask an Expert series. We’re hosting discussions with experts, mentors, and influencers daily at 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm PST on Instagram Live to cure your craving for community and bring you the expert advice you’ve come to know and love from C&C. Follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram, check out our Ask an Expert highlight reel for the latest schedule, and hit the countdown to get a reminder so you don’t miss out!

“

Although we’re in the middle of a pandemic, there is going to be a large wave of new businesses. If you don’t take the time to protect your business now, you will end up spending 10-20x more money in the long run defending yourself.”

—Andrea Sager, a small business attorney

As a small business owner, or someone wanting to start a small business, there’s one part of your business you can’t ignore: LEGAL. In reality, it doesn’t matter what size business you are. No matter what stage you’re in, there are legal protections you must take into consideration if you want to keep the money you make. 

Enter: Andrea Sager, a small business attorney shaking up the legal industry with her Legalpreneur plan which provides all-access to her firm for small businesses. Every day, she works with business owners who are on the verge of losing everything because they don’t have the right legal protections in place. Don’t let that be you.

Below are three ways you can protect your business during this pandemic and beyond, according to Sager. 

Entity Protection

Sole Proprietor

It’s important for your business to operate as some type of legal entity. If you have not created a legal entity for your business, then by default, you are a sole proprietor. Sole proprietors get no legal protection for their business.

A sole proprietor is personally liable for the debts and obligations of their business. Personally liable means if your business owes a debt or is sued, then creditors can come after your personal bank account and personal assets. Operating as a sole proprietor is risky. It’s scary to be in a position where your personal assets are on the line. The good news is that setting up a legal entity will provide you with the protection you need. And it doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated.

Unlike a sole proprietor, legal entities provide personal liability protection for business owners. When you operate under a legal entity, if your business owes a debt or is sued, the creditors can only come after the business’s bank accounts and assets, not your personal bank accounts and assets. It’s nice to know that you’re not at risk of losing your house because your business fell behind on some payments. 

Limited Liability Company (LLC)

The most common legal entity small businesses operate under is a Limited Liability Company, a.k.a. an LLC. Operating under an LLC is usually the best legal business entity your business can operate under, because it is easy to setup and it provides great liability protection to its owners.

To set up an LLC, you must file paperwork with your state and pay a filing fee. Before you file the paperwork, you need to have a few things figured out so you’ll be able to complete the paperwork. Some of the things you need before filing your LLC are the name, a registered agent, and how it is going to be managed. Once you’re approved through your state, the LLC does not give you any federal trademark rights. Trademarks are discussed further below.

Corporations 

A corporation is typically not the best fit for a small business. Corporations have more fees and maintenance involved. However, if you plan on having investors, a corporation may be the best choice. 

Contracts

I’m sure you have heard the term “get it in writing.” That is always a good rule of thumb in business. Contracts essentially define a relationship between parties. Contracts are important whether your business sells goods or services. With goods, contracts define price, delivery, the refund policy, shipping, when and how payment is due, and quantity. Issues can arise in any of those areas so it’s important to have them defined in writing.

Services contracts may need additional terms to help protect you. Service contracts can define what exact services will be provided. Some services are dependent on client response. Service contracts can allow you to terminate the contract if the client isn’t being responsive. Sometimes the result of a service can be subjective. Service contracts can protect you from a client saying, “I’m not satisfied with the service and I’m not paying.” 

Why It’s Important to Have Terms and Conditions

If you run a website for your business, you’ll want to make sure you include terms and conditions. Terms and conditions are not required by law, but they’re are something you will want to include because it’s the contract between you and the visitors of your site. Terms and conditions can protect you if someone uses your website to make defamatory comments or infringe on someone else's intellectual property rights. Those are things you are not going to want your business to be liable for. There are lots of sample terms and conditions on the internet, however, it is best to have a licensed attorney draft terms and conditions for your website to fit the specific needs of your business. 

Why It’s Important to Have a Privacy Policy

If you collect any kind of personal information from your customers/clients then you will need to have a privacy policy in place. Personal information includes names, addresses, mobile telephone numbers, email addresses, and so forth. A lot of states have privacy laws that require you to disclose what personal information you store and how you use it. There can be big penalties for not complying with privacy laws. Like terms and conditions, there are lots of sample privacy policies on the internet, however, it is best to have a licensed attorney draft a policy that fits your business. 

Intellectual Property

There are three types of intellectual property: trademarks, copyrights, and patents. It’s important to understand the difference between these because they protect different aspects of your business. And whether you know it or not, many times intellectual property is the most value part of your business. 

Trademarks

A trademark is a word, symbol, or combination thereof that is intended to identify and distinguish one merchant from another. Essentially, trademarks allow consumers to distinguish who is offering what goods or services. You can apply for a federal trademark registration for goods or services that let consumers know your goods and services come from you, such as your business name, logo, slogan, podcast name, service name, product name, and many more. 

In order to obtain federal protection, meaning you are the only one that can use that term or logo throughout the United States, you must apply with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The trademark application process takes at least six months, and the average amount of time is nine months. Filing a trademark application can be difficult, so it’s best to work with a licensed trademark attorney when filing. 

Copyrights

Put simply, copyrights protect original works of authorship (content): podcast episodes, photos, videos, this blog post, books, songs, movies, and many more. The purpose of copyrights is to award creators for their creations by protecting the expressions of their ideas. 

The neat thing about copyrights is that you don’t have to obtain a registration to have rights. Once you create a work, and it meets the qualifications, it’s automatically protected by copyright law. However, you can register your copyright with the United States Copyright Office, which does have its benefits. First, having a copyright registration allows you to sue someone for copyright infringement in federal court. Additionally, a registration allows you to recover attorney’s fees in a copyright infringement lawsuit. Meaning, if you win an infringement lawsuit, the other side will probably have to pay for the cost of legal fees.

Although we’re in the middle of a pandemic, there is going to be a large wave of new businesses. If you don’t take the time to protect your business now, you will end up spending 10-20x more money in the long run defending yourself. Do what you can now to protect yourself.

About the Expert: Andrea Sager is a small business attorney shaking up the legal industry with her Legalpreneur plan that provides all-access to her firm for small businesses. After working for a large law firm working with large businesses, Andrea realized her true passion was helping small businesses embrace and protect their business and intellectual property. In just under 2 years, Andrea has become the go-to attorney for entrepreneurs, protecting everything from their brand names to their courses and blog posts.

Tune in daily at 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm PST, for new installments of Ask an Expert. 

Follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram, check out our Ask an Expert highlight reel for the schedule, and hit the countdown to get a reminder so you don’t miss out. See you there!

Is the Price Right? We Help You Figure It Out

Photo: Smith House Photography

Innovation often comes out of the darkest times. Uber is just one example of the super successful businesses that launched just after the financial crisis of 2008, and we have no doubt that the next big thing will come out of the COVID-19 crisis.

Has your brain been swirling with ideas during quarantine? Have you found whitespace that you know you can fill? Has being laid off given you the courage you need to finally launch that business you’ve been dreaming of? Create & Cultivate is here to help get your business idea off the ground.

Quarantine is the perfect time to lay out the plans for your dream. While your friends are learning to bake bread, knit, or do yoga, you are laying the foundations for your future (you go, girl!).

Once you’ve got that product idea all figured out, you’ve started your business plan, and you came up with a killer brand name; you’re going to face a super difficult question: Is the price right? Ask people to pay too much for your product or service and they will stop buying. Ask too little and your profit margin slides or customers assume your product is poor quality.

An “optimum price” factors in all your costs and maximizes your margins while remaining attractive to customers. Here’s how to set your prices, and be sure to scroll to the end to shop our Create & Cultivate Marketplace The Launch Your Business Bundle with a step-by-step guide to trademarking your business, a legal checklist for startups, panel videos from past C&C events, and so much more! 

KNOW THE MARKET

You need to find out how much customers will pay, as well as how much competitors charge. Simply matching a price is dangerous, though - you need to be sure all your costs - both direct and indirect - are covered.

CHOOSE THE BEST PRICING TECHNIQUE

Cost-plus pricing involves adding a mark-up percentage to costs; this will vary between products, businesses, and sectors. Value-based pricing is determined by how much value your customers attach to your product. Decide what your pricing strategy is before making a calculation.

WORK OUT YOUR COSTS

Include all direct costs, including money spent developing a product or service. Then, calculate your variable costs (for materials, packaging, etc). Work out what percentage of your fixed costs (overheads such as rent, rates, and wages) the product needs to cover. Add all of these costs together and divide by volume to produce a unit break-even figure.

CONSIDER COST-PLUS PRICING

You will need to add a margin or mark-up to your break-even point. If the price looks too high, trim your costs and reduce the price accordingly. Be aware of the limitations of cost-plus pricing, because it works on the assumption you will sell all units. If you don’t, your profit is lower.

SET A VALUE-BASED PRICE

You’ll need to know your market well to set a value-based price. For example, the cost to bring a hairdryer to market might be $10. But you might be able to charge customers $25 if this is the market value.

THINK ABOUT OTHER FACTORS

Can you keep margins modest on some products in order to achieve higher margin sales on others? You might need to calculate different prices for different territories, markets, or sales you make online.

STAY ON YOUR TOES

Prices can seldom be fixed for long. Your costs, customers, and competitors can change, so you will have to shift your prices to keep up with the market. Keep an eye on what’s going on and talk to your customers regularly to make sure your prices remain optimal.

Starting a business and need more guidance?

Add the Create & Cultivate Marketplace The Launch Your Business Bundle to your cart, or get unlimited access to our entire library of downloads and videos when you join Insiders.

Ask an Expert: What to Do When Your Revenue Is Significantly Slashed, According to a CEO

We’ve been spending a lot of time at Create & Cultivate HQ discussing how we can best show up for and support our community during this uncertain time. Community is at our core, and connecting with others through one-of-a-kind experiences is what we love to do. While the world has changed, our mission has not. We’re committed to helping women create and cultivate the career of their dreams, which is why we’re proud to announce our new Ask an Expert series. We’re hosting discussions with experts, mentors, and influencers daily at 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm PST on Instagram Live to cure your craving for community and bring you the expert advice you’ve come to know and love from C&C. Follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram, check out our Ask an Expert highlight reel for the latest schedule, and hit the countdown to get a reminder so you don’t miss out!

“

I haven’t taken a paycheck since February, its more important to me to think about the company long term.”

—Dr. Heather D. Rogers, founder and CEO, Doctor Rogers RESTORE

In this edition of our Ask an Expert series, Dr. Heather D. Rogers, the founder and CEO of Doctor Rogers RESTORE, joined us on Instagram Live to chat about everything from how to keep your business alive to how to get your best at-home skin.

For the uninitiated, Dr. Rogers is a dermatologist and CEO who is managing both her practice and her business in the midst of this crisis. She is seeing patients, hand packing orders, and wearing more hats than ever before—all while giving up her salary.

Scroll on for some highlights from the conversation—including why you should focus on your mission—and follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram to tune into the next one.

Your Brand Pillars Matter

“Being a brand right now, you really have to have very clear ideas of what your pillars are. Don’t start a company unless you can say why you are different and what you bring to the marketplace in three sentences. If you’re trying to bring something better to market and help people, that is something there is always space for.”

Less Is More When It Comes to At-Home Skincare

“When you’re at home, don’t overdo your skincare. Don’t do 15 masks a week, don’t over-exfoliate. Make sure you wash your face, moisturize your face, and wear sunscreen.”

“You should wear sunscreen even if you don’t go outside. When you’re inside, if you’re by a window, you will get UVA, which will break down collagen and give you brown spots—I always recommend a zinc-based sunscreen.”

“When your skin is agitated, less is more.”

Give and Get Support (We All Need It)

“I haven’t taken a paycheck since February, its more important to me to think about the company long term.”

“The really big banks are not going to help you here, you need to find the small banks that you can build a relationship with who will really go to bat for you.”

“We started a campaign called Help the Healers to give our products to healthcare workers. It feels good for us to do it, it helps the healthcare workers, and its also creating content.”

“I’ve been working really hard to be responsive to needs without being reactive because everyone needs a little more help right now. You need to thank your staff every day and recognize what they are doing every day.”

Tune in daily at 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm PST, for new installments of Ask an Expert. 

Follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram, check out our Ask an Expert highlight reel for the schedule, and hit the countdown to get a reminder so you don’t miss out. See you there!

Pro Tip: 3 Ways to Land Your Dream Clients Online When You Decide to Go Freelance

Photo: Vlada Karpovich from Pexels

“I’m fully booked out with clients — I can’t believe I’m now making more than my 9-5 job!”

This was the email I received from one of my students who had recently completed our online courses and made the leap into freelancing full-time. It’s an incredibly exciting moment in your freelancing career when you’ve figured out how to land your dream clients while doing work that you’re truly passionate about.

Five years ago, I made that same leap myself, starting my own online graphic design studio. It’s also allowed me to travel the world full-time while running my business remotely (15 countries and counting!), and I’ve now taught thousands of women how to do the same.

One of the things I always tell my students is that the key to a financially thriving freelancing business is maintaining a strong client base so that you can generate consistent income. But are you wondering how to get clients as a freelancer?

Aside from the financial freedom of being your own boss, freelancing also allows you the flexibility to work remotely from anywhere: whether that’s from your adorable home office, your favorite local coffee shop, or a co-working space in an exotic location like Bali. Sounds dreamy, right?

If you’re considering freelancing full-time, here are three ways you can find your dream clients online and finally have that financial freedom that has you craving to work from anywhere!

1. Build a Client-Magnetizing Website

Let’s imagine that your dream is to be a successful cupcake baker. Your cupcakes are incredibly delicious, so you decide you want to start a business selling them. It would be a little unprofessional to sell your cupcakes straight out of your home kitchen, right? To have a thriving cupcake business, you need a bakery to showcase your brand and a place for customers to make their orders.

The same goes for your freelancing business. Instead of needing a physical storefront though, you need what I like to call a “virtual storefront.”

This is your client-magnetizing business website, and it’s one of the most crucial elements to attracting your dream clients.

Your website should showcase the following:

• The services you offer

• Who you’re offering them to (who are your dream clients?)

• The benefits and value of working with you

• Your portfolio (any examples of your work)

It’s extremely important to have a website before you begin trying to find clients, and I can’t stress this enough. This is a business you’re building, which means it’s important for you to look like one!

“Aside from the financial freedom of being your own boss, freelancing also allows you the flexibility to work remotely from anywhere: whether that’s from your adorable home office, your favorite local coffee shop, or a co-working space in an exotic location like Bali. Sounds dreamy, right?”

2. Use Social Networks to Get Clients... For Free!

I want to bust a common myth here: Once you launch your website, you’ll instantly have an influx of clients begging to work with you. FALSE.

If nobody knows about your website (and your amazing business!), how are they supposed to find you? The key to finding your dream clients as a freelancer is to tap into your own network, then utilize social networking platforms to drive free traffic to your website.

Some of my favorite social networking platforms for finding clients are:

• Facebook (specifically Facebook groups)

• Instagram

• Networking apps like Bumble Biz

You want to make sure that you have your website linked in your profile and that your profile and content clearly showcases your business. Engage authentically with your dream clients like commenting with insightful answers, offer up bits of your expertise, and finally, inquire about working with them.

3. Create a Sales Funnel to Turn Potential Customers into Raving Clients

Now that you’ve got eyes on your business website, it’s time to turn those visitors into paying clients! This is your client sales funnel—and it’s important that this process is professional and efficient so that clients actually want to work with you. That is the goal after all.

Start with a complimentary consultation call, which will allow you to understand what results your potential clients are looking for. This gives you the opportunity to pitch your services as the solution!

It’s also much easier to get a feel for a potential client’s personality and communication style to make sure this person is, in fact, your dream client.

Next, is following up your call with a formal proposal, which will include things like the project timeframe, cost, and a detailed breakdown of the services that are included. Finally, have your client sign a contract to lay out the legal terms and conditions of the project. Boom—dream client officially landed!

Guess what? By utilizing these steps, you’ll be taking the proactive and professional approach to landing your dream clients that most newbie freelancers shy away from doing. I guarantee you’ll soon find yourself saying, “I’m fully booked out with clients!” in your freelancing business too. We all have to start somewhere in our client-finding search, and that somewhere for you? It starts today.

About the Author: Cassie Torrecillas is the CEO and co-founder of the Bucketlist Bombshells, an online educational community that equips millennial women with the confidence, skills, and business foundation to start a service-based online business, giving them the freedom to work remotely from anywhere in the world. She’s been featured on Forbes and CNBC as she and her business partner lead their community of over 70,000 location-independent female entrepreneurs. If you’re curious about starting your own online business, sign up for their free course here.

This post was published on May 21, 2019, and has since been updated.

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3 Free Online Classes Every Business Owner Could Benefit From

Photo: Christina Morillo for Pexels

As a small business owner, what are your resources? Do you feel like you have everything you need by way of information or inspiration? What if you simply want to be better at business? More nuanced. Or learn a new skill?

We all could stand to take a course or two, to keep ourselves on track and create the optimal business paths for ourselves, especially now that most of us are staying home to flatten the coronavirus curve. After all it was Albert Einstein who said, "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." Luckily, there are a number of free online courses to enroll in to continue learning, growing, and honing your skills. 

With many top universities—including Duke and Northwestern—offering free courses online right now, you can gather insights from the experts who are at the forefront of innovation with courses that can take you, your team, and your organization to the next level. They are making it super simple to connect to the future of business—and open yourself up to a transformative experience. 

Here are three online courses any business owner would benefit from taking right now. 

University of California, Berkley: The Foundations Of Happiness At Work

We all know that happier employees are more productive and innovative. But, what does happiness mean? How can we create it at work? And how can we analyze the effects of happiness on our businesses? This course is here to answer those questions. Whether you’re hiring your first employee or want to make sure you have the best possible company culture, this course is a must for any business owner. Learn from the very best on how to bring happiness into the workplace.

Enroll for free. Course starts April 29, 2020.

Northwestern University: Social Media Marketing Specialization

Social media is essential to marketing these days, but it turns out many businesses don’t use this tool effectively. Whether you are struggling to gain followers, not sure what content to post, or don’t understand how to read the analytics, this social media course will help you grow your business. From content to engagement, this 6 part series covers it all. Step your marketing game up and make your time spent on Instagram worth your while.

Enroll for free. Course starts April 29, 2020.

Duke University: Entrepreneurial Finance: Strategy and Innovation

Creating a financial strategy for your business can feel really overwhelming if you lack the right tools. If you are looking to raise capital, need help build a cap table, or analyze market risk, this course pack is for you. This will give you real tools you can use in every phase of your business. A good founder should have their finger on the pulse of the financials of their business, regardless of the help you hire. Make sure you have all the tools you need from the best minds at Duke University.

Enroll for free. Course starts April 29, 2020.

This post was published on March 3, 2018, and has since been updated.

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How Brick-and-Mortar Businesses Can Pivot to Sell on Social Media During COVID-19

Photo: Lisa Fotios for Pexels

Just because your physical doors are closed doesn’t mean your virtual ones aren’t open.

Instead of sitting back, kicking your feet up while binge-watching Netflix, consider making some changes in your business right now. The best part? If you go online now, you’ll be ahead of the game for the future and set your business up for success as we further enter the digital world.

Ready to get online? Here are the five things every brick-and-mortar business could be doing right now—and no, you don’t need to discount every product just to make ends meet!

1. Make It Personal

First, make sure your marketing materials include creative, thoughtful, and personalized touches. Uncertain times call for personal connection, right? So be sure to include something that will stand out to your customer.

Here’s an example: My fiance and I ordered takeout from a local Greek restaurant. When they came to the car with our food, they gave us a squirt of hand sanitizer so we could eat some fries on the way home. Who doesn’t want to dig in while they’re still warm and not have to worry about getting sick?! 

2. Go Virtual

Second, the one that should be a bit more obvious, go online! Everyone’s showing up virtually, so you should be, too. This is the time to get hooked on Zoom, Instagram, and Facebook Live. If you’re offering a service, now’s the time to get creative and provide virtual support. If you’re offering a product, start showing, selling, and shipping using live video.

If your events keep getting pushed back, instead of canceling, switch them to online events. Own a clothing boutique? Perfect. Host a “live” fashion show. Or maybe you sell stationery, crafts, or flowers—why not sell your items live, but make it even more interesting with a three-day challenge where everyone crafts at home with you? Get your community involved not only to try to drive sales but also to give something back to your community! 

3. Discounts, Anyone?

Third, discounts. I know I said don’t discount every product in your inventory, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do any discounts at all. This is a time when many people aren’t making money, so they’re typically not wanting to spend money. What better way to convince them than special (and strategic) offers?

You can do this in a way where you’re selling more but not seeing a dip in profit—meaning, don’t discount just for the sake of offering discounts. Instead, you can bundle items, make a major flash sale with “almost out-of-season” pieces, or offer to match a credit. If someone pays you $30, match them 50% of their payment in credit towards future purchases. Just don’t forget to set a maximum.

If you want to make it even more appealing, you can switch things up and offer a give-back program. Donate a portion of all proceeds, match purchase prices, or accept donations. And remember, if you’re passionate about something, the better it will do. I donated $100 from every course sale in March 2020 to a woman in need, totaling over $6,000 in donations.

4. Time to Advertise

Fourth, surprise, surprise! Many don’t know this, but online advertising costs are cut in half right now. Two words: take advantage. If you don’t have an online offer that you can get creative with right off the bat, consider just running ads for your quality content and focus on building your email list for when this is over.

5. Cut Through the Noise

Last but not least, cut through the noise. Offer an element of fun to help get people through these difficult times.

Try doing a social media scavenger hunt and ask your followers to find a post where you talked about XYZ, or encourage them to watch today’s story and answer a riddle. Facilitate a little “playtime,” your audience will appreciate it. 

The best thing you can do during this time is to be human. One thing we truly need to survive is connection, and that’s what’s missing for many right now. So get online, offer weekly video segments around trends and pop culture, make quizzes, introduce your staff in fun ways, and be a beam of positivity. Remember, there’s always an opportunity to help those in need. 

About the Author: Shannon Lutz is the owner of The Social Bungalow, and the go-to marketing strategist for female entrepreneurs devoted to making a purpose-driven impact while earning a wildest-dreams-status income. The Social Bungalow is a clever, creative, and collaborative online education space dedicated to helping women market their expertise and structure their businesses for big-picture profit. She said “peace out” to a 10-year corporate marketing career where she assisted in building multi-million-dollar businesses and marketing A-list celebrities (*cough* ARod & JLo *cough*). Now, she uses this marketing-prowess to turn solopreneurs into 6- and 7-figure CEOs.

Ask an Expert: How to Handle Your Money in This Crisis, According to a Wealth Advisor

We’ve been spending a lot of time at Create & Cultivate HQ discussing how we can best show up for and support our community during this uncertain time. Community is at our core, and connecting with others through one-of-a-kind experiences is what we love to do. While the world has changed, our mission has not. We’re committed to helping women create and cultivate the career of their dreams, which is why we’re proud to announce our new Ask an Expert series. We’re hosting discussions with experts, mentors, and influencers daily at 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm PST on Instagram Live to cure your craving for community and bring you the expert advice you’ve come to know and love from C&C. Follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram, check out our Ask an Expert highlight reel for the latest schedule, and hit the countdown to get a reminder so you don’t miss out!

“The best way to ease our fears and anxiety about money is to get involved. Ask questions. Know what you’re dealing with.”

—Roxana Maddahi, Wealth Advisor at Steel Peak Wealth Management

With money anxiety at an all-time high in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, one thing is certain (despite the volatile state of the markets): We need to close the financial literacy gap for women. According to the 2019 Women, Money, and Power Study, commissioned by Allianz Life Insurance Company, 57% of women wish they were more confident in their financial decision making.

Enter Roxana Maddahi, a wealth advisor at Steel Peak Wealth Management who’s passionate about helping women take the lead in financial planning and helping us realize that it’s not as intimidating as it may seem. In this installment of our Instagram Live Ask an Expert series, we tapped Maddahi to weigh in on how we should be handling our money during COVID-19.

Scroll on for some highlights from the conversation and be sure to follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram to tune into the next one.

Q: I’m currently experiencing a lot of anxiety around money during COVID 19. What can I do to ease my concerns?

A: It’s normal to have anxiety around money right now—26 million people have lost their jobs, most businesses have slowed down, and we have no idea when this will all end.

My advice is: Get involved with your money. Get online access to your bank accounts, your retirement funds, your student loan providers—and talk to the people that help handle your money.

Call your CPA and tell them that you want to be involved and a part of the conversation. Call your financial advisor and let them know what you need, what your goals are, and what your desires are. Don’t be scared, don’t be nervous. There’s no harm in being aggressive and making sure that you’re part of the conversation.

The best way to ease our fears and anxiety about money is to get involved. Ask questions. Know what you’re dealing with.

Q: I’m not invested, where do I start? Is now a good time to be making investments anyway?

A: I do think it is the right time to invest if you’re not invested already. If you want to invest in the stock market, you want to have a timeline of at least five years because markets tend to go up and down and you want to allow for time if there is a pullback (like we’ve seen recently, for example.)

The great thing about investing that’s happened in recent years is that there are very few barriers to getting invested in quality investments. Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) allow you to invest in a theme of stocks, making it easy to diversify your overall portfolio. I personally invest my own assets in ETFs because they tend to be less volatile.

Q: What about other future planning like retirement and education savings?

A: It’s a great time to explore what your options are if you’re looking ahead to retirement or starting to save for your kid’s education.

For saving for retirement, make sure you’re looking at a qualified retirement plan—a 401k, IRA, a SepIRA. The benefit is that they allow you to put money away before tax, so it’s subtracted from your taxable income. The money that you can put in it now, the more that it will grow and that can be very powerful.

For saving for a kid’s education, I like the 529 plans. They’re easy and accessible and allow you to grow your money without paying taxes on it. You’re able to invest your money, let it grow, and then not pay capital gains tax on it.

The caveat with the 529 plans are that they can only be used for education—for college tuition, books, room and board, and now even private school. If you use them for anything else (say, your kid decides not to go to college), then you have to pay a 10% penalty plus tax if you don’t use this money for education.

Q: Where is the most important area for small business owners to focus their financial energy right now and why?

A: Continue to invest in your employees. If you haven’t already, I would take advantage of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to continue to pay your employees.

Everyone who owns a small business knows how difficult it is to hire people, to train people, and to have a group of people that works well together. If you can’t afford to pay your employees full salaries, think about what you can do to keep them onboard until we see that rebound.

You want to be able to crush it after this is all over, so I highly recommend investing as much as you can in your employees and doing all you can to keep them motivated and going during this process.

About the Expert: Roxana Maddahi is a wealth advisor at Steel Peak Wealth Management. She helps millennials plan their financial lives and invest for their futures. She’s on a mission to help women take the lead in financial planning and realize that it’s not as intimidating as it seems.

Tune in daily at 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm PST, for new installments of Ask an Expert. 

Follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram, check out our Ask an Expert highlight reel for the schedule, and hit the countdown to get a reminder so you don’t miss out. See you there!

Set Aside 30 Minutes This Week to Do *This* and Keep Your Small Biz On Track

Photo: Christina Morillo for Pexels

Most people we know move gradually make the move from side-hustle to full-time gig. It’s a great plan to be sure that you’re able to support yourself financially while you’re laying the groundwork for your new business, but it can often lead to a bit of a messy overlap between your personal and business funds. (Trust us, we’ve been there.)

You may keep pushing off getting organized until the proverbial “tomorrow” and let the task of figuring it out fall to the bottom of your to-do list. You end up losing money because of missing receipts and not planning for tax deadlines. Follow the four steps below to make getting organized easier, painless, and maybe even a little fun, all in just 30 minutes.

Step 1: Open a separate bank account for your business ASAP

Is this something that you legally need to do for your business? Maybe. Is this something that you financially need to do for your business? Absolutely.

Even if you’re starting out as a sole proprietor, which is the default structure for anyone who earns income from self-employment, you should set up a separate bank account. Why? Because even if that’s the only thing that you do to get your money organized, you’ll be miles ahead of everyone else in the organization game. You won’t need to sift through a bunch of personal transactions to find business deductions and you won’t lose precious time looking through all of those same personal transactions to see if your client has paid you.

Don’t overcomplicate your business or waste any more time looking at a hodgepodge of transactions, hoping that you’re not missing something. Take 15 minutes to set up a separate account and you’ll be one big step closer to organized money management (congratulations!).

Step 2: Create a list of deductions you can take

There are so many deductions you can take, but it's hard to catch everything. Create a list of things you can deduct to ensure you're not missing anything. Tape the list to a folder and store your receipts in there until you can get them entered into whatever bookkeeping system you use.

Everyone will have different expenses, but a good list to get started with is:

• Web hosting

• Vehicle mileage

• Work travel

• Courses, seminars, licensing, and business-related books

• Shipping and packaging

• Office supplies and equipment

• Health insurance premiums

Step 3: Know what tax forms you need to file, and when

The first few months of starting a business will fly by and you’ll be left scrambling the night before filing deadlines if you don’t pay attention to some key forms and dates.

To get this started here is some basic information for sole proprietors:

Who has to file? Generally, anyone who has net earnings from self-employment of $400 or more needs to report this income at the end of the year. And anyone who is expected to owe more than $1,000 in taxes at the end of the year needs to make quarterly estimated income tax payments.

What form do I file? Most people start their business as a sole proprietor, and the forms that you need to file at the end of the year are Schedule C or Schedule C-EZ (profit and loss from business) and Schedule SE (self-employment tax).

When do I file quarterly estimated tax payments? Keep track of estimated payment deadlines or you’ll face a penalty come tax time. Deadlines for taxes on income received each quarter are April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15 (of the following year).

Step 4: Set a weekly money date

This won’t be your most fun date, but it’ll probably your most profitable. Set a time to check in every week and make sure that your money is on track. If you do this weekly, it’ll become so easy and quick. Once you have this done, you've earned a glass of wine and a great stress-free weekend.  Some things to do weekly are:

• Send any invoices that are due

• Look at who hasn’t paid and send reminders (+ cash any checks!)

• Pay any outstanding bills

• Pay yourself weekly salary/stipend

Bonus step: Set up a bookkeeping system

Look at you, you overachiever. You’ve got this organization thing down and you want a bonus step? You can feel even more legit and in control of your money by setting up an easy bookkeeping system. This doesn’t have to take a long time and it doesn’t need to cost a lot. There is a range of easy to use programs out there (some are even free!) that are better than that excel sheet you’re using. 

Remember—better to get organized now than to create problems for yourself and your business in the future.

This post was originally published on February 7, 2018, and has since been updated.

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5 Strategies for Working From Home With Children From a Successful Entrepreneur

Photo: Courtesy of Karrie Brady

With working-from-home becoming a new norm around the world, many parents have had to transition to a whole new work-life balance.

Between daycares, nannies, and sitters now being unavailable, to schools transitioning to online classes, while others are canceling classes altogether—parents are left to navigate a whole new work-from-home balance with their children. With a lot more on everyone’s plate at home, this can cause a great deal of stress for your work and your little ones.

With the risk of increased burnout and stress navigating this new normal, I’m here to share a few of my favorite tips from my own experience as an entrepreneur and mom so you can come out on the other end, stronger than ever before. 

Here are five tips for creating the space and strategy you need to build a successful work-life balance right now.

1. Make a Plan

Schedule and batch your work around your child’s napping and sleeping schedule. This will be a savior for when unexpected deadlines come up or for when you need dedicated time set aside to get some of your core projects done.

Batching your work also creates a healthy balance for the time dedicated to work and the time devoted to your family. For example, I try to avoid conference calls in the morning when my daughter is having breakfast. That way, I can stay present and be with her before I start my workday.

Also, don’t underestimate the power of getting up before your kids to start the day with some peaceful, uninterrupted work! Sometimes you just need some quiet time to get stuff done.

“

It’s okay to have help, you don’t have to do it alone, I promise.

”

—Karrie Brady

2. Create a Dedicated Work Space

It can be tough working from home while your children are also home all day. That’s why it’s so essential to have a dedicated room, office, or even a simple space for your work. This helps to remove distractions when you do have team or client calls, webinars, etc., and this can help create healthy boundaries with your little ones in terms of where they can “play,” and where you work.

3. Hire Help in Your Business

Hire help. Yesterday. Whether that’s a virtual assistant, copywriter, or operations lead, hire someone who can help you streamline your processes and give you back the time you need to spend on your business. Outsourcing is a very under-utilized tool by most people, but moms especially. It’s okay to have help, you don’t have to do it alone, I promise.

4. Create Non-Negotiable Boundaries

For a lot of companies that are navigating this work-from-home dynamic for the first time with their employees, lines can become blurry in terms of how “available” you’re expected to be and when you can and should “leave” work. This is when it’s crucial to create non-negotiable boundaries for yourself and your work. Try to create “working hours” around the time you want to have to yourself and quality time with your family. Not only will you and your family benefit from this consistent, quality time that you’re getting together, but your work will benefit, too.

“T

he best way to navigate this new norm is to welcome each day with grace. Not every day is going to be the same.

”

—Karrie Brady

5. Batch Your Work Schedule

Try to focus on relevant and specific tasks for a blocked period of time. I recommend batching creative projects on different days to stay in a creative energy and mindset. By batching your tasks, you’re able to stay in the same energy and mindset while accomplishing more because you’re not multitasking.

To balance the time I spend on my business and with my family, I have to make both schedules work together. So I organize conference calls around my daughter’s nap schedule, and once she goes to bed for the night, I continue my work until a set time to wrap up any loose ties before the end of the night. It’s not a typical 9-5 routine, but I get to devote time to successfully completing tasks in my business and spending quality time with my family.

To be honest, the best way to navigate this new norm is to welcome each day with grace. Not every day is going to be the same, but if you have a rough plan and routine in place, you’ll be in good shape to create a healthy balance between thriving in your business and your home life.

About the Author: Karrie Brady is a speaker, educator, and sales expert specializing in sales and marketing. She’s worked with over 500 entrepreneurs, helping them leave their 9-5s, build their savings to six-figures, and cumulatively make over $2,000,000 online. Karrie’s passion is helping entrepreneurs combine soul-level connection and radical profit. Raising babies and building businesses, this mama has sold millions in the online space and is ready to help you do the same.

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Pro Tip: The Free Tools I Use Every Day as a Freelancer

Photo: Create & Cultivate

Freelance isn’t free, but that doesn’t mean we don’t appreciate a free resource as much as the next person—especially when you consider that, when you’re a freelancer, you become financially responsible for all of your business expenses. We’re talking about your tech (your hardware and your software), your office space, your health insurance, your advertising and marketing—everything.

Ahead, Audrey Adair, a seasoned freelance communications professional and founder of The Scope, breaks down the free resources that she continues to use on a daily basis. From a free email service that’s so much more than just email to a stock image database that offers high-quality photography without a premium price tag, scroll on for free resources that’ll help you get the job done.

Gmail

Where would I be without Gmail?

More than just email, Gmail also provides access to 15 GB of cloud data storage, a calendar, a suite of office resources like Google Docs and Sheets, and the ability to converse with friends and colleagues through Hangouts.

My favorite tools are Google Docs and Sheets because they save updates in real-time and I don’t have to worry about whether or not I packed my drive with me when I travel because it’s all saved on the cloud. It’s also great for collaborating with others and allows you the capability to work on a single document in real-time through the internet.

Upgrade Options: $6 / $12 / $25 per month payment options give you access to even more storage space and the option to have a personalized email address.

Canva

I don’t know about you, but I could just never figure out Adobe Photoshop. I tried and tried, but never used it enough to remember all that goes into it. I’m also much better at creating with words than I’ve ever been at art.

Enter: Canva.

Canva is a free online graphic creating platform that provides you with access to thousands of templates and design ideas for anything you could possibly think of.

I’ve used it for YouTube thumbnails, Instagram posts and IGTV cover photos.

There are some features that are pay per use, meaning you can more than likely find a free option but if you want to use a specific art file you may need to pay for it. But most files I’ve seen are $1 to use so it’s still an incredibly affordable option and SO easy to use.

Upgrade Options: $12.95 per month per team member makes Canva a collaborative space for coworkers and unlocks access to artwork and customization features.

Planoly

I use Planoly to help plan and schedule my Instagram posts and absolutely love it.

It helps save so much time and hassle being able to save all of my IG content in a single place, write out the captions and schedule when content will go live.

I’ll spend an hour or so planning content in the app and then voila, it’s done and I can go about my business for the rest of the week. 

Upgrade Options: Planoly has several payment options starting as low as $7 per month that covers management of multiple accounts and the capability to upload unlimited photos to your planning grid.

Mailchimp

I didn’t understand the importance and value of a solid email list until I started The Scope and Mailchimp is an awesome tool for anyone looking to grow and manage their list.

Free up to your first 2,000 email subscribers, Mailchimp grants access to different email templates and analytics like open/click rates and demographics.

Upgrade Options: Mailchimp offers two different payment plans: Grow and Pro. The Grow plan starts at $9.99 per month and increases as your list and needs for the platform grow.

Social Media

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn and YouTube.

These are the five primary social media platforms I use on a daily basis to help promote my businesses and stay connected with fellow freelancers, entrepreneurs and potential readers and the best part - using them is absolutely free.

While we have all felt the woes of algorithm and home feed changes on these platforms over the years, we have to remember that they’re all free and it’s up to us to either adapt with the changes or find our audiences elsewhere.

Burst

There are so many stock image databases out there but Burst is the one I return to time and time again.

I don’t always have visuals to back the content I like to cover on The Scope, and Burst is easy to navigate and usually has exactly what I’m looking for. It’s also great to pull from for new client proposals or social media posts.

I also like that they provide photographer information on photos so you can opt to see more of their personal work.

About the author: Audrey Adair is a seasoned freelance communications professional and founder of The Scope, a platform providing resources and community to freelancers and the self-employed. Connect with The Scope on Instagram and join their email list to receive your free resource, The Freelancer Starter Kit.

This post was originally published on May 7, 2019, and has since been updated.

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3 Zero-Cost Ways for Small Businesses to Stay Connected With Customers During COVID-19

Photo: Smith House Photography

In times of crisis, businesses are put to the test—supply chains are disrupted and profit margins are compromised—and the COVID-19 pandemic is certainly no exception. By shuttering offices, canceling events, and clearing out public spaces like restaurants, malls, salons, and fitness studios, the coronavirus’ impact on businesses—especially those that don’t have the resources of Fortune 500 companies—can’t be overstated. In other words, small businesses need our support now more than ever.

That’s why we've partnered with our friends at Messenger from Facebook to share simple, zero-cost ways you can boost your business and drive sales by staying connected with your customers during the COVID-19 crisis. No matter the size of your company, whether you’re a freelance graphic designer or a local coffee shop owner with several employees on the payroll, Messenger is here to support you every step of the way with free, easy-to-use messaging tools. 

Ahead, we're sharing some zero-cost ways you can amplify your small business right now, from providing customers with important information to setting up automated responses to frequently asked questions such as store closures, business hours, and more. In the coming weeks and months, we’ll be sharing more ways for small business owners to boost their business with Messenger, so be sure to keep an eye on this space for the next installment in the series. Trust us, you won’t want to miss it!

During these uncertain times, it’s crucial to let your customer’s know that you’re still available to connect with them virtually. To stay in touch, be sure to turn on Page Messaging. That way, you can easily chat with your community and field everything from customer service requests to questions about your products or services.

Pro tip: You can let your customers know that you're available to be reached by Messenger by creating a post on your page with the Send Message CTA. To do this, create your post and choose "Get Messages" before publishing. 

For more tips and tricks, here’s a guide to Page Messaging.

While your brick-and-mortar may be closed during the COVID-19 crisis, leveraging Messenger Instant Replies is an easy way to virtually stay connected with your customers. With Instant Replies, you can let customers know that you'll get back to them soon or simply thank them for contacting your Page.

Not only is instant messaging convenient, but it can also help your small business build relationships and inspire trust with customers. In fact, a Facebook-commissioned study found that 66% of people said being able to send a message to a business made them feel more confident in the brand.

To get started, here’s a step-by-step guide to setting up Instant Replies.

Communicating with customers is more important now than ever before—but seeing as we’re in the midst of a pandemic that has disrupted nearly every aspect of our every day lives, you may not be able to personally reply to each and every message that your business receives via Messenger (as much you may like to!).

To ensure that your customers receive a timely response even when you’re not available, you can set up Saved Replies to automatically (and immediately!) answer frequently asked questions like, “What time do you open on Monday?,” “Is your store currently closed?,” “What’s your phone number?” and more.

You can also let them know that you’re unavailable by utilizing Away Messages. Letting them know that you’re away will help will keep them up-to-date on your availability and manage their expectations for when to expect a reply.

You can schedule your Page's messaging status to match your business hours or manually change your Page's messaging status to away whenever necessary. You can also personalize your Away Message so that you can let them know when you’ll be back online and available to chat or answer any questions they might have.

To get started, here’s a step-by-step guide to setting up Saved Replies and utilizing Away Messages.

Want to learn how to get started with Messenger for your business? Take this free course from Facebook Blueprint for a deeper dive.

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Ask an Expert: How to Develop a Content Marketing Strategy That Resonates During COVID-19

We’ve been spending a lot of time at Create & Cultivate HQ discussing how we can best show up for and support our community during this uncertain time. Community is at our core, and connecting with others through one-of-a-kind experiences is what we love to do. While the world has changed, our mission has not. We’re committed to helping women create and cultivate the career of their dreams, which is why we’re proud to announce our new Ask an Expert series. We’re hosting discussions with experts, mentors, and influencers daily at 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm PST on Instagram Live to cure your craving for community and bring you the expert advice you’ve come to know and love from C&C. Follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram, check out our Ask an Expert highlight reel for the latest schedule, and hit the countdown to get a reminder so you don’t miss out!

Photo: Vlada Karpovich for Pexels

We’re in the midst of a pandemic, and there is no doubt that emotions are running high. As a marketing agency, it’s our job at Elevate My Brand to know when to adjust and pivot our own, as well as our client’s, marketing strategies. Because of all that’s happening with COVID19, you’ll likely have to adjust your messaging and be strategic in the way you approach your audience. Here’s how.

Step Up Your PR

While now may not be the time to be pushing sales, it’s a great time to step up your PR presence and get your name out there. Times are uncertain, but if anything is true, it’s that we’re all in this together. When COVID-19 started to unfold, the first thing I thought was, “How can I be of service to those who are struggling?”

As a small business owner myself, I saw it as my responsibility to use my expertise to help those around me. So, I wrote an article on 5 Marketing Tips to Stay Profitable During the COVID-19 Pandemic and our team worked their PR magic to push that article everywhere, with one goal: to reach and help as many people as possible during this difficult time. But one and done doesn’t cut it anymore, so we also penned the follow-up article, How to Elevate Your Brand, Strategize, and Execute in These Strange Days to give the next steps and a more positive future-looking perspective on how to approach things now that we’ve been in it for a few weeks. Things are changing rapidly, it’s your duty to support your community with whatever gifts you have. When you start there, you can’t go wrong and it’s clear that you aren’t tone-deaf or tackily selling.

With everyone shifting their focus to digital, now is also a great time to push your message out on socials via content collaborations. Instagram Lives have skyrocketed in popularity, with many large platforms hosting live takeovers, such as Create & Cultivate’s Ask An Expert series, which you have hopefully had a chance to see! Since we’ve all been #WFH, social media usage and engagement have increased over 30% so take advantage of this and reach out to as many sources as possible to see if they are willing to share your message.

Not only will you be helping your community, but you’ll be building brand awareness as well. This means that when things do open back up, you’ll have built some new top of mind awareness that will help you get back on top quicker. 

Adjust Scheduled Content

Running on a schedule makes life so much easier, I know. But in a time like this when life is so unpredictable, it’s important to step back and take things day by day and that includes your marketing strategy as well. If you scheduled content to go out on your social channels and blogs, you’ll definitely want to take a look at it and see if it’s still appropriate for the times. At Elevate My Brand, we have had to pivot a little bit with our blog posts, pushing back topics to make room for content having to do with COVID-19. Sometimes, adjusting your content is as easy as changing a caption for a photograph. Want to post that picture of your product with a group of people? Be sure to let your audience know that this photo was taken pre-quarantine so your followers don’t get upset that you’re not following social distancing rules. 

It takes a lot of work to properly plan and execute a successful marketing strategy, and you don’t want all that hard work to go to waste. While scheduled events and meetings may have been disrupted by COVID-19, that doesn’t mean that they should be canceled. We’re lucky to have technology on our side so that most of these scheduled events can be converted, rather than having to be canceled. Each year I host a women’s networking event called our Elevate Spring Salon, which is a schmooze and booze that supports a different non-profit each quarter. Obviously we can’t proceed as planned, but we have decided to convert the event to digital which should still give us a community feel, support the cause that we’re standing behind and, continue building brand awareness and visibility. P.S. fun isn’t canceled, it’s just converted. 

Don’t Be Tone Deaf 

As I mentioned earlier, emotions are running high right now. Everyone is reacting to the situation in a different way, so it’s crucial that you take note of your audience’s heightened sensitivity during this time. Listen to your community. What is it that they want and need right now? With social media and surveying tools like Survey Monkey, you can actually ask, what a concept! 

Ultimately, you have to trust your instincts. Maybe it’s not the time to push that ad or sell that product. Now’s the time to be authentic and really showcase your brand values. Funny, positive and uplifting content is always welcome, just be sure that you’re being sensitive to the current situation and adding value, not just acting as if nothing has changed. 

We’re going to be in this for a while, even after shelter-in-place orders are lifted. So the faster you can shift your messaging and positioning, the more successful you will be long term, and the less of an uphill battle you’re brand will have when this is truly over.

About the Expert: Laurel Mintz, J.D., M.B.A. is the CEO and founder of award-winning, Los Angeles-based digital marketing agency Elevate My Brand. Laurel’s gift is connecting with people and their stories. After all, companies are made up of people, and stories are just narratives that are the foundation of great marketing. Laurel’s energy has been the driving force behind the agency’s growth since it launched in 2009. Her awards include the 2017 Patrick Soon-Shiong Innovation Award, the 2016 Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Company award, the Los Angeles Business Journal 2016 Women In Business Award, and more. 

Tune in daily at 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm PST, for new installments of Ask an Expert. 

Follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram, check out our Ask an Expert highlight reel for the schedule, and hit the countdown to get a reminder so you don’t miss out. See you there!

Ask an Expert: Why Tapping Into Consumer Sentiment Is Key to Success in COVID-19

We’ve been spending a lot of time at Create & Cultivate HQ discussing how we can best show up for and support our community during this uncertain time. Community is at our core, and connecting with others through one-of-a-kind experiences is what we love to do. While the world has changed, our mission has not. We’re committed to helping women create and cultivate the career of their dreams, which is why we’re proud to announce our new Ask an Expert series. We’re hosting discussions with experts, mentors, and influencers daily at 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm PST on Instagram Live to cure your craving for community and bring you the expert advice you’ve come to know and love from C&C. Follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram, check out our Ask an Expert highlight reel for the latest schedule, and hit the countdown to get a reminder so you don’t miss out!

Photo: Courtesy of Jenny Gorenstein

As a brand, it is more important now than ever to listen to and connect with your consumers. We are all isolated and feeling alone in the midst of the chaos of COVID-19. Consumer needs are changing, the economy is heading for a downturn, and there is no way to get face to face with customers, so we have to step up our virtual communities.

In this installment of our Ask an Expert live series, we tapped Jenny Gorenstein, the chief growth officer at Foria, to talk us through how forging connections now can carry brands through COVID-19 and allow them to thrive on the other side. Scroll on to read some of the best advice from the conversation and be sure to follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram to join us for the next one.

Now Is Not the Time to Push Products

“There is no playbook for how to market through a pandemic. We are leading with compassion now more than ever about how we are showing up in people’s inbox and on people’s feeds.”

“It’s not about pushing product right now.”

“Don’t focus on your own brand’s initiatives, show up through goodwill.”

“People just want to know how they can feel more connected to themselves and others and that’s the content we’re putting out right now”

Digital Content Is Key

“We’re all always on our phones. We’re addicted to our phones. That is how we are connecting now. From a brand perspective, there’s a lot of ways to meaningfully connect. Don’t put out things that are overproduced, show up raw, and give things that allow that person-to-person connection. Let people into your homes. Tap into influencers who already have the trust of others and are helping people get through.”

“We scrapped all of our marketing plans, which hurt because you take months building those plans, but we want to create content in the moment. We’re working harder than we ever have because we can’t plan.”

“You want to show up in a way that is resonant with what people are going through and what their life looks like.”

“We have a really playful brand and are leaning into that.”

“We do a lot of content that allows people to pause and take notice of nature around them and that is doing well right now. This is nature’s greatest reset, were all feeling more connected to the outdoors than ever.”

Work With Influencers and Reach Their Communities

“If you don’t have a budget for influencers, that’s okay. I think the organic route is the way to start anyway.”

“Start with gifting product. First and foremost, you want to make sure they love your product and your brand before working together. Try: Affiliate networks and giveaways.” 

“Think about promotions you can do that keep your profit margins but make your products more accessible. If people are curious that gives them a reason to try and once you have them you can get a consumer for life.”

Embrace the New Normal

“Success can come in so many forms you can use Instagram as a means to drive business, you can use Instagram as a means to drive engagement or you can use Instagram as a means to educate.”

“The world of tech has opened up the most amazing toolbox for brands to create dynamic conversations.”

“Lead with the people behind the brand. Lead with heart. Lead with compassion.”

About the Expert: Jenny Gorenstein has focused her career on building innovative and iconic brands and media companies. Prior to joining Foria, she spent 15 years launching InStyle.com's digital ad business from the ground up, helping to grow Refinery29 from $0 to $100M in revenue, and joining pre-IPO Snapchat to take it’s retail business to the next level. Always drawn to mission-driven and early-stage startups, Jenny is passionate about driving cultural currency and sustainable revenue growth. She is a people and idea connector.

Tune in daily at 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm PST, for new installments of Ask an Expert. 

Follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram, check out our Ask an Expert highlight reel for the schedule, and hit the countdown to get a reminder so you don’t miss out. See you there!

Ask an Expert: How to Create Compelling Content and Grow Your Instagram, According to a VP Influencer Marketing

We’ve been spending a lot of time at Create & Cultivate HQ discussing how we can best show up for and support our community during this uncertain time. Community is at our core, and connecting with others through one-of-a-kind experiences is what we love to do. While the world has changed, our mission has not. We’re committed to helping women create and cultivate the career of their dreams, which is why we’re proud to announce our new Ask an Expert series. We’re hosting discussions with experts, mentors, and influencers daily at 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm PST on Instagram Live to cure your craving for community and bring you the expert advice you’ve come to know and love from C&C. Follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram, check out our Ask an Expert highlight reel for the latest schedule, and hit the countdown to get a reminder so you don’t miss out!

“

The longer you wait, the harder it is to grow.”

—Rachel Zeilic, VP of Influencer Marketing at WhoWhatWear

With engagement on social up 30% since social isolation started, now might just be the perfect time to be growing your Instagram or finally figuring out wtf to do with TikTok. But in the midst of a crisis, creating good (and respectful) content can feel really difficult. In comes, Rachel Zeilic, VP of Influencer Marketing at WhoWhatWear, to answer all your questions.

Wondering what to post, when to post, what to pay for, or if TikTok is the right move for your brand? Rachel drops lots of advice on our IG LIVE on how to navigate social media in the midst of COVID-19. Tune into this Ask An Expert to make sure you don’t miss a single tip. We bet you’re already scrolling through Instagram, might as well scroll with purpose and grow your brand.

We Want Your (Respectful) Content

“Don’t make any assumptions. Don’t say, Now that we’re all working from home, because that isn’t true for a lot of people.”

“There really is a space for audiences to turning to influencers for comfort for information for distraction, they have a lot of time on their hands right now and time is a precious commodity so let’s serve them.”

“Stay away from anything that is like ‘this is a must-have’ because, if it’s not groceries or masks, it isn’t a must-have.”

“Some things that are performing really well right now is comfy chic, working from home outfits, beauty routines, anything affordable, people are still interested in spring trends, and they also want some escapism.”

“Now is also a time to give things away for free. Even if you’re a brand who could be doing well giving some at-home DIY recipes, people will really appreciate that and remember that when commerce opens up again. More than ever they will remember the brands who stepped up and are giving to the community.”

“This is the first time really in a long time where influencers’ lifestyles are really close to their followers’ lifestyles. They aren’t jetting around the world or wearing designer outfits. So this is a really great time for influencers to connect with their followers in a really relatable way.”

Get On TikTok

“TikTok is not like Snapchat or other platforms where they were popular but there was never really brand integration. TikTok is really different, the way it’s built is really engineered to be successful for brand campaigns. Particularly one feature, the hashtag challenges. That is incredible for creating UGC (user-generated content). To me UGC is gold. If your customer loves you so much that they are creating content, they aren’t an influencer, they aren’t getting paid, if they love the product so much they are creating content that is gold.”

 “I think working with TikTok and ‘TikTokers’ absolutely should be part of your campaign given that the demographic aligns, it is a predominantly Gen Z audience. Also the KPIs of the campaign, you need to understand that currently TikTokers or influencers can’t link out anywhere, so if you’re expecting to see immediate sell-through from your campaign, TikTok is not the place to do it. But its great of awareness, you can reach massive audiences.”

“With regards to brands starting their own accounts on TikTok, it really depends if you can do it in a way that’s native to the platform. It’s really not going to work if you’re using the same kind of content you use on Instagram and other platforms. You should only be investing your time into growing a brand account on TikTok if you can do it in the way that is organic to TikTok.”

“The longer you wait, the harder it is to grow.”

Embrace Pay-to-Play

“Yes, it is a pay-to-play world. That being said, relationships and organic strategy are important to stretch your dollars.”

“It’s worth spending a little money on a consultant who can help you know how to spend your social budget.”

“Influencers assets on paid social perform so much better than campaign assets.” 

“A lot of influencers have dropped their pricing or are more flexible on pricing right now.”

“Paid social pricing is down right now as well. You can make your budget stretch so much further right now.”

Insta Tips & Tricks

“We’ve been saying to influencers, Instead of getting a picture and then thinking, ‘Ugh what is my caption going to be?,’ why don’t you write the caption first and tell a story and then reverse that and think of an image that can convey that story?’ I don’t think they all have to be long, and they shouldn’t be long if you don’t have something to say. But every brand has a story to tell and every influencer has a story to tell and I think that can be great. It’s like micro-blogging.”

Tools to try:

• Planoly

• Unum

• VSCO

• Tezza 

“You should post as often as you can while creating quality content and without seeing a dip in engagement rate. The more you post the more your engagement will be spread out.”

About The Expert: Rachel Zeilic is an O.G. in influencer marketing, starting way back in 2007. She is currently the VP of influencer marketing at WhoWhatWear, running influencer campaigns for everyone from Walmart to Gucci. Before that she was creative Director of Majorelle at Revolve, and before that she founded two labels, Stylestalker and The Jetset Diaries.

Tune in daily at 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm PST, for new installments of Ask an Expert. 

Follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram, check out our Ask an Expert highlight reel for the schedule, and hit the countdown to get a reminder so you don’t miss out. See you there!

Opinion: When Life Gives You a Pandemic, Scrap Everything

About The Author: Sarah Moret is the Founder & CEO of Curie, a venture-backed direct-to-consumer clean body care brand. In this piece, she discussed the business decisions she's made in response to COVID-19, and how staying focused on your customers is the key to success in times of uncertainty.

Photo: Courtesy of Curie

COVID-19 has had a never-before-seen level of impact on our lives. This pandemic is, literally, reshaping the world as we know it. As a CEO and small business owner, this has had a huge impact. Not only has my personal life changed overnight, but professionally, a year’s worth of carefully laid plans around product launches, brand strategy, and partnerships were completely turned upside down seemingly overnight. COVID-19 walked into our conference room and erased the whiteboard.

My company, Curie, is a direct-to-consumer brand that sells clean, performance-based body care products. Fitness studio partnerships were a huge part of our 2020 strategy. We were scheduled to announce a partnership with a major national fitness chain the week of April 1 and had another large partnership in the works. With gyms, fitness studios and retail stores all off the table, for the time being, we immediately shifted gears.

“Out went our entire social media and content calendar. In came an even deeper obsession with our customers and what they wanted.”

When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade, right? There’s no recipe for this situation. Scrap it, start over. Out went our entire social media and content calendar. In came an even deeper obsession with our customers and what they wanted.

Now is a good time to engage with your community in a way that isn’t strictly focused on selling products. People are home, relying on screens for work, connection, distraction and more willing than ever to share their thoughts. What our customers told us is that they wanted interactive digital content. Instagram Live workouts, how-to-tutorials, tips, and funny content simply meant to make them smile. I made a conscious business decision to focus on building relationships rather than growing sales.

If you rely on physical spaces, like we do with our retailers and fitness studios, this temporary shelter-in-place has had an even greater impact on your business. A solution is to move toward virtual partnerships and campaigns with other brands. These are a fantastic way to leverage other audiences with which you wouldn’t typically connect. This led us to Better Together, a community campaign we launched with 35 other female-founded brands that included a universal discount code, a charitable donation, and a massive giveaway. It was organized virtually overnight by Nichole Powell, CEO of Kinfield. Partnering with other like-minded companies is a great way to provide a benefit to existing customers while also tapping into new audiences. For Curie, the Better Together campaign contributed to over 50% of our revenue during the week it was live. 

Right now, there are plenty of things that are going wrong in our businesses, but identify what is working, and invest your team’s time and focus on that. For us, our DTC website stayed relatively flat during the first week of shelter-in-place in California and other states, but our Amazon.com business was booming. We leaned into this shift, putting all of our SKUs (stock-keeping units) on Amazon.com. When Amazon lengthened their shipping times for what they deemed “non-essential products,” like deodorant, we pivoted our strategy. We made shipping free for all orders on our online store and started fulfilling Amazon orders out of our own warehouse to decrease transit times. Since we had previously used the low-cost FBA (fulfilled by Amazon) service for these orders, this meant a 30% increase to our shipping cost, which we decided was the right thing to do to keep our customers happy (and fresh!) during this time. Give yourself permission to throw out “the plan.” 

“Things have changed, our world has changed, and the faster you can adapt to these changes, the better you will be able to serve your customers.”

Think about what your company has to offer. Does it still meet your customer’s needs? As COVID-19 spread in the United States, hand sanitizer, overnight, became an essential part of people’s daily routine. Coincidentally, we had just wrapped up the development of a new product: a moisturizing, natural hand sanitizer. We originally planned to sell this product to our fitness studio partners versus direct-to-consumer, but clearly, needs had changed. At the beginning of March, we got on the phone with our suppliers and were able to move the launch date for the hand sanitizer up six months. We will be launching this product in a few weeks and will be gifting 10% of our initial inventory to those on the frontline: delivery men and women, grocery store workers, doctors, and nurses. Things have changed, our world has changed, and the faster you can adapt to these changes, the better you will be able to serve your customers.

Lastly, never underestimate the impact of giving back in small ways. As Paul Graham once said, “Do things that don’t scale.” During this time, that especially rings true. I personally wrote 100 hand-written postcards to our most loyal customers. There were no marketing ploys and no offers involved. Simply short and sweet notes to show my gratitude and wish them well. My team also sent care packages to people who are stepping up in the community, such as fitness instructors that are leading virtual workouts online. Everyone could use a little extra love right now.

The economic uncertainty we are all experiencing right now is out of our control, but what you can control is your response. Keep your focus on doing right by your customers and don’t be afraid to throw out the plan. 

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Ask an Expert: How to Develop Your Brand Voice, Personification, and Tag Line

We’ve been spending a lot of time at Create & Cultivate HQ discussing how we can best show up for and support our community during this uncertain time. Community is at our core, and connecting with others through one-of-a-kind experiences is what we love to do. While the world has changed, our mission has not. We’re committed to helping women create and cultivate the career of their dreams, which is why we’re proud to announce our new Ask an Expert series. We’re hosting discussions with experts, mentors, and influencers daily at 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm PST on Instagram Live to cure your craving for community and bring you the expert advice you’ve come to know and love from C&C. Follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram, check out our Ask an Expert highlight reel for the latest schedule, and hit the countdown to get a reminder so you don’t miss out!

Photo: cottonbro for Pexels

Branding is more important now than ever before with COVID-19. While it may not be the time to be pushing sales, it’s certainly the time to put your best foot forward and showcase your brand values in order to build a community. In order to market successfully during this time, you have to be able to connect with people and their stories. After all, companies are made up of people, and stories are just narratives that are the foundation of great marketing. 

“Buyers make most of their decisions by relying on their two second first impressions based on stored memories, images and feelings.” This quote from Malcolm Gladwell’s book “Blink,” powerfully expresses how your customers think. In layman's terms, you only get one chance to make a first impression. To find out how to do it right, scroll on to learn more about branding, including developing your tag line and voice.

What Is Branding? 

To begin, it’s crucial that you understand what branding is and what it is not. Branding is not telling people who you are, it’s managing what other people say you are. What will your audience associate with your brand? It’s up to you to create this emotional connection through your branding.

Specifically, branding is the look and feel of a brand, the characteristics, values, tag lines, logos, energy, etc. Branding includes all the ways your company shows up in the world and how you hope a consumer will relate and engage with it on an emotional level.

However, before you can even begin to market your brand out into the world, you must start by building a strong foundation. Here’s how. 

How to Define Your Brand 

Branding Exercise

When establishing your personal or corporate brand, it’s critical to begin by defining what you want your brand to be. This starts with developing a name and logo that speaks to your target market and evokes a specific emotion, adjective or sensory experience. You can go about this in many ways.  When working with a new client, one of the first things we do is take them through a branding exercise that we call “word vomit” that looks a little bit like this: 

1. Write down a list of words, potential names and/or concepts that you might want to start with (this is if you don’t already have your company name).

2. Write down a list of adjectives and emotions you want your potential client to feel when they see your logo or hear your brand name.

3. Go out and find 5-10 logos you like and 5-10 logos you don’t like and describe in detail why you do or don’t like them. The creative process is so subjective, so before we start throwing ideas at the wall, it's crucial that we know what your aesthetic is. Knowing what you don’t like is as important as knowing what you do like.

4. Similarly, determine a list of colors you like and don’t like and types of designs you do and don’t like e.g. I do like minimalist fonts, but I don’t like figures in logos.

This exercise allows you to get clear on your brand values, decide which words you want associated with your brand and, almost as importantly, which words and sentiments you don’t want associated with your brand. This type of exercise can help with buy in and can also spark creativity and should be a lot of fun. 

At the end of the day you get what you pay for, so remember, this logo will live on your business cards, web site, and all marketing materials that you will create for your company, which are the first things a prospect sees, even before they get to know you. So putting your best brand effort first is key.

Brand Book

Let’s just get this out of the way—yes, you absolutely need a brand book. A brand book is a document that outlines every detail about your brand. It’s basically your brand’s DNA. At its most fundamental level, a brand book must include your mission and vision, your logo and colors, your typography, and sample imagery. The best brand book, however, has more than the basics. 

As important as it is to define your brand, it’s equally important to define what your brand is not. What words or phrases are off limits? In order to stay on brand, you must know what it means to be off brand. 

I said it once and I’ll say it again: Branding is not telling people who you are, it’s managing what other people say you are. In order to do this, you must know a little bit about your target audience. What do they like? With your target audience in mind, how can you shape your branding into something they can appreciate and recognize? 

Ultimately, your brand is the foundation for all things marketing, so it’s critical that you get it right from the start and build a lexicon around it so that as you build and scale, the original ethos of the brand remains intact. 

About the Expert: Laurel Mintz, J.D., M.B.A. is the CEO and founder of award-winning, Los Angeles-based digital marketing agency Elevate My Brand. Laurel’s gift is connecting with people and their stories. After all, companies are made up of people, and stories are just narratives that are the foundation of great marketing. Laurel’s energy has been the driving force behind the agency’s growth since it launched in 2009. Her awards include the 2017 Patrick Soon-Shiong Innovation Award, the 2016 Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Company award, the Los Angeles Business Journal 2016 Women In Business Award, and more. Need help figuring out how to do this for your brand? I can’t wait to talk. Reach out today to get started.

Tune in daily at 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm PST, for new installments of Ask an Expert. 

Follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram, check out our Ask an Expert highlight reel for the schedule, and hit the countdown to get a reminder so you don’t miss out. See you there!

The Do's and Don't's of Instagram Stories Engagement

Photo: Smith House Photography

We get it—the algorithm sucks. But that shouldn't deter you from perfecting your feed, going live, or posting to stories. As the old saying goes, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. There are so many ways you can outsmart it or simply jump on their bandwagon and create content around trends and viral hashtags.

Ahead, we’re sharing the do’s and don’t of Instagram Stories engagement to help you create compelling content that will grow your audience and keep them there. Want more ways to outsmart the algorithm? Download our The Grow Your Instagram Bundle and discover everything you need to know to get your grid right from creating compelling captions to winning at Instagram stories.

DO have planned “features” that you roll out on a bi-weekly or weekly schedule with similar content your users can look forward to. DON'T post the same feature's constantly.

DO use thoughtfully designed templates and frames. DON'T rely solely on Instagram's formats. 

DO experiment with IGS features such as: stickers, polls, questionnaires but DON'T Rely on them to carry your strategy.

DO post stories every day or at least three times a week.

DO post around five frames each time (more frames is too much and people are not watching until the end).

DO post content your followers like or need (“how to” tips, outfit inspirations, polls about products preferences, etc.)

DO mix up your post types! Video one post, perhaps a quiz the next, and follow it with a satirical chaser.

DO save your best stories with the highest engagement in your highlights, and use a consistent look for the cover.

DO re-share content that you’ve been tagged in. User-generated content is always a good idea. It shows your community that you are trustworthy and have a product that people love. 

DO use hashtags and tag people/brands in your stories that pertain to it. Show behind-the-scenes because it usually garners a lot of attention. People want to know what it’s like at a photoshoot or at an event. 

DO have fun with it. These only last for 24 hours so you don't have to be as polished. Show behind-the-scenes content. Instagram is always introducing fun new story features (questions, polls, GIFs, etc.) so use them! Ask questions and experiment. 

DO show your brand/the team's personality and get personal. Maybe how the founder uses the brand's products or even a 'story takeover for a day by one of the team members to show what her day is like. 

DO give them a reason to want to share your stories. Post something really helpful on Saturday, that is not sales-sy, but is in the spirit of genuinely wanting to help. 

DON'T use the same template each time! Mix it up to keep it interesting. This is where you can be creative and see what works best. After all, they disappear, and you don't have to keep them in your highlights.

DON'T just use your stories for advertising. People like to be entertained by your stories, and might also mistake it for a sponsored story. 

DON’T make stories too long. Stick to around 10-12 a day. Any more than that and it’s too much content to soak in and truly appreciate.

DON’T forget your audience and who you are sharing with. You want to keep your followers (or potential followers) intrigued to watch everything you’ve shared.

DON’T not use stories. It’s an amazing way to connect with your followers and bring on new ones!

DON’T just repurpose existing content. If you're filming a video for IGTV, use the BTS content on Instagram stories. Don't worry about being too buttoned up. Have more fun with story content that won't be as permanent. Don't make it too long, sometimes fewer frames is better. 

DON’T post the same thing you post on your feed—people get bored.

Want to outsmart the algorithm?

Add our The Grow Your Instagram Bundle to your cart, or get unlimited access to our entire library of downloads and videos when you join Insiders.

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Ask an Expert: How to Sell Through Video, According to a Business Coach

We’ve been spending a lot of time at Create & Cultivate HQ discussing how we can best show up for and support our community during this uncertain time. Community is at our core, and connecting with others through one-of-a-kind experiences is what we love to do. While the world has changed, our mission has not. We’re committed to helping women create and cultivate the career of their dreams, which is why we’re proud to announce our new Ask an Expert series. We’re hosting discussions with experts, mentors, and influencers daily at 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm PST on Instagram Live to cure your craving for community and bring you the expert advice you’ve come to know and love from C&C. Follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram, check out our Ask an Expert highlight reel for the latest schedule, and hit the countdown to get a reminder so you don’t miss out!

“It is an 80% higher conversion rate when you share services and products on video rather than standard text posts.”

—Tiffany Carter, founder of ProjectME

During COVID-19, you have to step up your social media game—and, according to business coach, Tiffany Carter, video is essential for engaging your followers. Whether you are going live on Instagram, pumping out some quick stories, or posting vids directly to your page, if you aren’t using video, you’re not making the most of your social channels.

In this installment of our Instagram Live Ask an Expert series, we asked the founder of ProjectME to walk us through her best tips for turning videos into conversions. If you’re afraid to go live, show your face on camera, or even just make your videos worth watching, scroll on for her best tips, and be sure to follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram to tune into the next conversation.

Video Is A Must!

“It is an 80% higher conversion rate when you share services and products on video rather than standard text posts.”

“You need to do video every day in your stories.”

“Its vulnerable to be our silly, goofy, awkward selves, but that converts the best.”

Use The EASE Method

E - Energy and Engagement

“You cannot fake energy. Get into the highest possible energy state you can get in for that moment. Do jumping jacks, put on fun music, call a friend to hype you up, whatever it takes”

“Look at the screen as though it is your best friend and use those same mannerisms you would use in real life.”

“The first ten seconds are crucial, especially for pre-recorded videos. It determines if someone will click on or off. Do not start a video with ‘hey, guys,’ it’s basic, it doesn’t work, it’s not engaging.“

A - Authority and Confidence

“You need to establish yourself as the authority in your niche.”

“What we tend to do [when we lack confidence] are weird things like looking down, not getting close to the video, or hair twirling. These nervous habits don’t translate.”

S – Storytelling

“Stories sell. People remember stories.”

“Have a story, it can be a mirco-story, but have a story prepared to share in your videos, something funny, or something that worked really well for you, have some kind of story.”

E - Execution

“You have to tell people what in the hell to do or they don’t do it.”

“If you want people to comment below, don’t only ask them a question but tell them to comment below, point to the comment section.”

“If you’re not so sick of yourself that you’re thinking I can’t say this again or I can’t listen to my voice anymore, then you’re not saying it enough.”

The 3 Es of Content

Good content should do at least one of these three things:

• Educate your people

• Enlighten them

• Entertain them

About The Expert. Tiffany Carter takes the mystery out of making big money while doing something you love. She uses a magnetic combination of her clear-cut communication style that she developed as a TV news broadcaster for NBC and CBS, her business savvy and proven strategies as a multi-millionaire entrepreneur, and her intuitive ability to connect with women on a deeper level, to uncover what’s blocking you from achieving your dream life.

Tune in daily at 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm PST, for new installments of Ask an Expert. 

Follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram, check out our Ask an Expert highlight reel for the schedule, and hit the countdown to get a reminder so you don’t miss out. See you there!

How 2 Best Friends Turned $1400 Into a Wildly Successful (and Profitable) Business

We know how daunting it can be to start a new business, especially if you’re disrupting an industry or creating an entirely new one. When there is no path to follow, the biggest question is, where do I start? There is so much to do, but before you get ahead of yourself, let’s start at the beginning. To kick-start the process, and ease some of those first-time founder nerves, we’re asking successful entrepreneurs to share their story in our new series, From Scratch. But this isn’t your typical day in the life. We’re getting down to the nitty-gritty from writing a business plan (or not) to sourcing manufacturers and how much they pay themselves, we’re not holding back.

Photo: Courtesy of Witty Rentals

What would you do with $700? For most of us, especially right now, it would go into savings or paying bills, but it could also the beginning of a new business. Wait, what? Yes, you heard right. Chelsea Bradford and Tiffany Garcia only had $700 each when they had the lightbulb moment to launch their event rental company. Now, Witty Rentals is a super successful (and profitable) business—you’ve probably seen a lot of their stylish furniture at our Create & Cultivate events. Of course, it didn’t happen overnight but first, let’s give you a quick recap on how it all began.

After meeting as teenagers through a growth group, the pair became fast friends. Even with Garcia leaving to study abroad in her homeland of Sweden, and Bradford moving away for college, the pair kept in touch as long-distance pen pals. They were eventually reunited when they got married and served as each other’s bridesmaids. Now, fifteen years later, they have three little ones between them and a successful business between them.

Want to hear how they did it? Read on to hear more about how these best friends started their business from scratch with just $1400, the lessons they learned along the way, and advice for new founders on how to start a small business from scratch—because good news stories are exactly what we all need right now!

Photo: Courtesy of Witty Rentals

On their lightbulb moment…

Chelsea Bradford: When we dreamed up Witty six years ago; Tiffany had a bit of experience in the event industry working for a coordinator and saw a gap in the market she wanted to fill: modern furniture rentals in the San Diego area. I, on the other hand, had zero experience in the industry. I had a Fine Arts degree in ceramics and had my own small business of ceramics, but was interested in design so with our powers combined and a whopping $700 investment each, we started collecting furniture in the garage of Tiffany's parents' house and by some miracle, people actually rented our stuff.

On writing a business plan…

Haha! This would have been a great idea, but we were very ignorant about what starting a business actually meant when we started. We can say with 100% certainty, that we were winging it! I don't think either of us expected it to grow to what it is today, but we have been so happy with the slow and organic growth that we've had. Never taking out loans or taking on investors... the growth came as we were ready for it. Since we didn't have a business plan or any help in the first few years, the "take it as it comes" approach was what kept us sane.

On coming up with the name…

Tiffany found the name in a book and something about it stuck with her. I loved the name immediately, it was playful and unique at the time. Now there are a lot more “Witty” companies in the industry, but my advice for choosing a name now would be to try and be unique, do your research, and make sure there isn't something similar in your area—and try to stand out!

“We can say with 100% certainty, that we were winging it!”

On setting up the business…

The first thing we did was create an email address and it was definitely a Gmail account because we didn’t know any different. Instagram came next. I think we started with @w_i_t_t_y… haha not super professional. Next was probably a domain, website and business license. There's so much you learn during this process that no one tells you such as having to list your fictitious business name in the paper and random things like that.

Other than those few things though, we didn't do much else in those early years besides collecting furniture. If I could give a word of advice to a business just starting out, it would be to present yourself as a real business early on even if you don't even remotely have your shit together. The way you present yourself in the early days will help create the client base that will get you off the ground.

On doing the research…

We researched other rental companies in our area, there was really only two other boutique event rental companies at the time, so we reached out to both of them and visited their warehouses. We talked to them about how and when they started and got some great advice. We wanted to offer something different from what was available in our area, so being able to see what these companies offered helped us shape the direction we wanted to go, as well as build some valuable relationships for the future. One thing we’ve loved about this industry is that there’s plenty of events to cater to which makes it less competitive and we love how friendly our “competitors” have been.”

On finding the right space…

We started collecting in a two-car garage with $0 overhead which is really the only way we were able to start. After about a year and a half, we moved into our first warehouse, 2,200 sq ft, which felt massive. Scared of the cost, we asked some florist friends of ours (hey Bloom Babes!) if they wanted to split the space with us and they were happy to do so—it ended up benefiting both of us greatly. We eventually outgrew our portion and had to take over the whole thing and luckily the Bloom Babes were ready for their own space as well, so we split ways on great terms. Two years in that space and it was time to find something bigger. Now we're in about 6,800 sq ft and looking for another space! The growth has been fun yet sustainable which is the pace we needed.

“The two of us didn’t have huge aspirations or goals in the beginning and so starting small and slow is what we were capable of keeping up with. ”

On self-funding and boostrapping the business…

We were able to start Witty with a total initial investment of $1400 between the two of us and then two years of reinvesting everything that we made, not taking a cent for ourselves. We knew this would give the business the best opportunity for growth and we’re positive we wouldn't be where we are today if we would have tried to pay ourselves early on.

As for what we would recommend to a startup... this is such a personal decision based on what your goal is for the business. The two of us didn't have huge aspirations or goals in the beginning and so starting small and slow is what we were capable of keeping up with. On the other hand, we have friends in the industry who dumped $100K into buying inventory and they have far exceeded our growth in a short period of time.

From the beginning they have had different goals for their companies and that path has worked to help them meet those goals. Really digging deep and asking yourself what you're hoping to achieve, how fast are you wanting to recoup that investment, and what your overall long term goals are for the business will help shape this decision.

On paying themselves a wage…

After two years of not paying ourselves anything, then a year of only paying ourselves for the deliveries we did, we finally started paying ourselves... get ready... $1,000 a month. I know, we were loaded (please pick up on that sarcasm). After about six months of realizing that the business was still okay, we bumped it to $1500, then $2000, then $2500. At this point, we felt like we had really made it! We could justify paying ourselves a collective $5K a month, plus paying rent and paying our handful of employees… just out here living the American dream!

We've since increased our salary slightly but in full transparency, we still believe that making sure the company has the liquid funds to function is far more important than having more dollars in our pockets and the company becoming business broke. We've never put a percentage on it, we decide the number based on what we feel the business can offer as well as what our families can live on without struggling.

Photo: Courtesy of Witty Rentals

On hiring the right team…

We are a team of five, including Tiffany and myself. Neither of us has ever been a “boss” before, so this has been quite the adventure trying to learn how to hire, fire, and manage. To be honest, we don't like it, but it comes with the territory I suppose. We have been fortunate to have incredibly patient employees who give us grace through our struggles communicating, organizing thoughts, managing... and we are so incredibly fortunate to have them. A bit of advice we recently learned from an industry friend is to hire slow and fire fast. Meaning take your time with multiple interviews, then have a working interview... make sure the employee is a good fit with your existing team before bringing them on. Then if you feel that someone isn't a good fit, don't wait around, find someone else.

On hiring an accountant…

We have been incredibly fortunate in that Tiffany's mother-in-law is a CPA (certified public accountant) and has done our bookkeeping and taxes up to this point. She is an actual angel on earth. As of 2020, we have switched our bookkeeping over to Bench.com to take a bit off of her plate and it has been a great resource for us, super user friendly and great customer service.

On the biggest learning curve…

The biggest learning curve has been knowing where to spend money. Something that we've struggled with for a long time (and still do if we're being honest) is knowing that just because something is pretty or we like it, doesn't mean it will rent. We have to think about every item in our collection as if it is paying rent to be in our warehouse, so if it doesn't pull its weight, it's got to go! When sourcing, we try to keep this in mind: Will clients have a use for this? Will they like it? Does it fit with our existing aesthetic? If the answers are yes, then we can pull the trigger and purchase the item. And if not, well then we can admire it from afar.

“Save, save, save. Then you can really invest in what’s going to make a positive financial impact on your business.”

On having a business coach…

We've never had a business coach, but this is something that we have given some serious thought. I think it would help us in so many ways; from employee management to big picture goals, finances and budgeting. We do think it could help us organize all of the important things that race around our heads on a daily basis and implement ways to get each thing accomplished.

On PR and marketing…

Instagram. I mean, seriously... what business doesn't rely on that platform these days. Instagram is definitely how we got started, but then the dreaded algorithm had to go and eff everyone up. Among other avenues, we now rely a lot on word-of-mouth and testimonials. Reviews can do wonders for a small business so we've put a lot of effort into having overwhelmingly positive experiences with clients and requesting feedback from them after their event. We look at it like this—when was the last time you bought something important and didn't read the reviews on it? And if you did read the reviews, which ones helped sway you to purchase that item? Those are the reviews we hope to get from our clients and we feel like they have absolutely helped sway interested clients into booking with us.

On the one thing, they didn’t do (but wish they had)…

We did everything the hard way. You'd think that the first thing two lanky young girls would do when having to move insanely heavy furniture all the time would be to invest in some dolly's or some kind of straps to make our lives easier... but no. There's that cute saying "work smarter, not harder", let’s just say it took us a long time to work smarter. Another perfect example of this is it took us four years to implement canned responses in our emails. That’s four years of writing the same email over and over and over again, wasting countless hours when the answer was so simple. Our advice? Find ways to simplify and automate processes within your business. You'll thank yourself later.

Photo: Courtesy of Witty Rentals

On their best business advice…

Chelsea: We've learned over the years that it's not in our nature to be business owners. I am an introvert, I love my downtime, I can confidently say that I'm lazy by nature, it's hard for me to self-motivate, I procrastinate—give me four seasons of a show and a bag of chips and I'm your girl (as two loads of laundry currently sit unfolded in the basket (I'll get to them later, okay?). But I didn't let that stop me. I just found the perfect counterpart. Someone who encourages me and motivates me to be a better version of myself. And I hope she'd say that I balance her out in all of the right ways as well.

My advice would be, don't try to do it alone. Whatever it is you want to start, have a partner, find someone who has strengths that you don't have—the yin to your yang. I know for a fact that we wouldn't be here today if just one or the other of us started this alone. We've relied on each other heavily every step of the way and we still do today.

Tiffany: Yes, I agree. Finding a business partner who has different strengths and qualities than you is crucial. I would say that I am more of a dreamer/visionary type. I love to think about big picture ideas or steps we can take in the business to encourage growth. Put a spreadsheet in front of me and I literally shut down inside. This is why Chelsea balances me so well because she could create spreadsheets all day long and they bring her so much joy.

I also think part of why our business relationship works are because neither of us is super stubborn. If we disagree on things we are both willing to communicate and comprise easily. If you are considering starting a business I think it's important to take your time and be very selective with who you go into business with. Also, creating a partnership agreement and specific roles for each other is crucial so that you are both in charge of separate roles within the business. 

On their one piece of financial advice…

Use your savings account. You never know when you'll have an unexpected expense or need to make a big purchase. One example for us was buying a large number of chairs unexpectedly. If we had to put $20k on a credit card that would have been our absolute last choice, but luckily, we had saved for just that. Save, save, save. Then you can really invest in what's going to make a positive financial impact on your business.

Oh, and another thing would be to charge for your services. Don't offer a discount just because you think you should. Make sure you're charging enough, not lowballing the market or being taken advantage of. Do your homework and see what others in your industry are doing around you, and hey even if you want to charge a bit more because that’s the quality of your work, go for it. You're worth it.

Photo: Courtesy of Witty Rentals

On the advice, they’d give themselves…

Save more! Our long term goal has always been to buy a property and be able to store our collection there instead of dumping thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars down the drain for rent. If we were really motivated, we could have done it already, but we haven't given it our all, so we're still renting.

On working with a co-founder…

Tiffany: People say never go into business with friends or family. I can understand why people say that—you don't want your relationship to crumble if the business does, or maybe you'll start to hate each other down the road—and trust me, I've seen that happen in this industry specifically. But for us, it's been all about communication. Our partnership is just like a marriage, you have to work at it and make sure that things are talked about and your feelings are being seen and heard. Again, this is where our differences have helped us monumentally. Chelsea despises confrontation.

Chelsea: Yeah, I'll do anything to avoid it, and it's in my nature to sweep it under the rug. Tiffany has been our saving grace in this area, forcing me to share how I'm feeling, telling me point blank if I've hurt hers. And because of that, we have been able to maintain a friendship above and beyond the business.

Tiffany: That’s true, but at the same time Chelsea's ability to compromise prevents us from getting into needless conflict, so she really does help us balance each other out. She’s definitely more than a business partner, like my second life partner, haha.

Visit Witty Rentals and learn more about their unique furniture rental company at wittyrentals.com.

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