When the Hustle Hurts Advice from a recovering hustler Some of us are not made to work for other people. Some of us are or would be better off being our own bosses. With the technology available to us today, this is becoming more possible than it might have ever been. But we still have to make that transition from working within a company, to finding success for ourselves. One of the popular ways that many are pursuing, myself included in this bunch, is to establish a blog or a website and hustle, hustle, hustle until you make it. When we start a project that might lead to what we perceive to be our happiness, it’s like catching a glimpse at the light at the end of the tunnel. Once you see that light, you’ll do anything to get there. I’ve mentioned before that…
Self Doubt, An Entrepreneur’s Constant Companion I know that as soon as I publish this post, there will be someone saying that this isn’t true for them. I maintain that you are either not being true to yourself, or you’re too fool hardy. Either way, if that’s what you believe, then this post is not for you. It’s for the rest of us, the dreamers. Starting a business has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life – it is quite literally, a dream come true. But that doesn’t mean that it’s been all sunshine and daisies. Everyone always talks about starting a business, but what about after the paperwork is filed? I’ve been up and running for about six months now and I’ve noticed a few things, about myself…
When Writing for Charity It Pays to Be Authentic. About three years ago, I was working for an online donation platform and for the first time in my life I was really charged with helping people gather donations. For me, it was weird. I never liked talking about money, let alone telling people how to collect more of it. But there I was. And a new world opened up to me. I learned just how much donations are needed, what they can provide for those in need, and how quickly they can dry up. Specifically I was tasked in business development to branch out and sell our platform to a new niche of nonprofits. I decided that since I was passionate about helping animals, that I would contact animal shelters across the state of Pennsylvania (where I happen to live). Researching, and reaching out to these shelters, I was confronted…
Tips for Making Sure You Bring Your Interview A Game From a Serial Interviewer Seriously, I’ve had six jobs in seven years, and a number of interviews in between. It’s what happens when you graduate during a recession like the muck and mire of 2010. I was lucky enough to have not only two parents in business, who had done quite a bit of interviewing candidates for positions, but my mom (gifter of my McKeating heritage and middle name) has mentored many in the art of the interview. Ahh if only her powers of interviewing could have helped find the right job….oh wait! They did! Every job that I’ve had has taught me something important and taken me one step closer to where I am today – the owner of my own business. Interviewing is important. I can’t stress it…
Keywords and Phrases An Introduction If you, or your company have a website, it’s pretty safe to assume that you have heard of keywords and/or keyword phrases, the little nuts and bolts that make up your website’s search engine optimization or SEO. But, SEO and the way it works has changed and continues to evolve, so what do these words mean for your website today? To understand this, let’s take a quick look back and see where they started. Then Historically, these words and phrases were the way that search engines categorized and evaluated your website. They were specifically chosen, and written into the code or the backend instructions for each page, image and blog post. In other words you chose which words you wanted the Google’s and Yahoo’s of the world to pay attention to, or to grade…
Some Words Truly are Better Left Unsaid Can make you both more meaningful and mindful. Recently, I had the pleasure of reading a Buffer article written by Carolyn Kopprasch. In this article, she explained that Buffer did some research and determined that there are in fact words that are better left unsaid. Carolyn explained one of her favorite “happiness hacks”, telling readers that it is as simple as cutting words like “actually” and “but” out of your vocabulary…and by extension, your work emails. Buffer rightly dubs these pesky little words that can convey a meaning you never remotely intended, as detractors. They detract from the meaning that you are trying to convey. Or, in other words, they distract and confuse your readers. I’ve bought into this research and have begun cutting these words out of my vocabulary. It’s…
The Secret to Happiness Lies in a Simple Quote: Comparison is the Thief of Joy – Theodore Roosevelt This simple quote, is bursting of profound beautiful wisdom. Spoken by former president Theodore Roosevelt, these words are the secret to happiness, for which some people spend a lifetime searching. These three little words are the cure for melancholy, loneliness, and jealousy. This quote might not be the cure for clinical depression, but it is a source of joy and an inspiration for many who find themselves delving back into the sea of negative emotions. Almost every time that I feeling unhappy or devoid of joy, I can identify some person or situation to which I am comparing myself. It might sound overly simple and easy to scoff at, but I ask you to search, to explore the times when you feel a lack of joy. I hazard to guess that you…
If You Are Going to Bill Yourself as a Social Media Marketer, Take the Time to Build Your Own Channels If you are going to bill yourself as an expert in social media marketing, which you are doing if you are asking a company or individual to pay you for these services, take the time to build your own channels and you will be able to put your money where your mouth is. Understandably I only have just over 3,000 followers on Twitter and only about 600 followers on Instagram, so it might seem silly for me to make this point…but I’m investing the time and effort into my own channels so that when I need to proposition a new client, I can point to my own channels as proof of my ability. If you have a number of clients with statistics that you can…
McKeating Advice on Growth Hacking Everything in Moderation In a past post I mentioned my grandfather, Dr. Phil McKeating, the man who built our family on strong principles and life lessons. He’s the inspiration for my business and many of the ways in which I live my life today. We learned a lot of lessons from him, and through his children after he had passed. It was the way he had raised them, that many of my cousins, myself included, got to know him as he passed when we were still pretty young. One of the lessons that stuck with me, was how he believed in moderation. I apply his thoughts on moderation to a great many things in life – Growth Hacking being one of them. “Everything in Moderation” Allow me to tell a quick story to drive home this important lesson. Phil McKeating was…
What’s the One Social Media Growth Hack Not to Do? Yes, there is one that you should avoid like the plague. If you want to grow your social media success but value your audience, and their time, there is one social media growth hack that you should not do. It might sound over dramatic but you really should avoid linking your social media accounts like that plague. Growth hacking is on the rise. And why not? Who doesn’t want to save time, streamline processes and do less work? With the focus on this efficiency with a quotient for growth, there are more and more ways to save time while doing more. Social media has become a hot topic within this new area of study. Not all are evil Some tactics are great, especially when used in moderation. For example, scheduling your social media posts. Drafting and…