What Five Years has Taught Me

Kathleen Riessen
Partner - Measured Intentions

How do you a grow a business in a bad economy? How should I find clients? What can I offer my clients? Why would I quit a perfectly good job to go out on my own? How can I juggle being a mom and a business owner?

These are just a few of the questions I asked myself five years ago as I began Measured Intentions. This June, we celebrated our fifth year in business. Read on to see the top five things I learned that could help you succeed in your career as a professional, whether or not you are a business owner.

       1.  Surround yourself with people smarter than you. Within the first few months of the business, I added a business partner that had a different skill set than mine. We did this again a year later. These partners helped define the business and carry it forward. In my case, these partners were equity stakeholders; however, they don’t need to be. They could be vendors that act as partners or they could be mentors or advisors for you.

       2.  Network. Be a well networked person. Don’t just attend events – get involved. I spent the first few years of the business attending all sorts of events both in and out of my industry. Now, I don’t have as much time so I am selective on what I attend; however, I still understand the power of networking and make time each week to maintain relationships and build new ones. Sometimes people are hesitant to talk to me at a function since I am a business owner. I was in your shoes not long ago so don’t be shy. I wouldn’t be at a function if I didn’t want to meet you.

       3.  Give more than you receive. Figure out how you can help others. They will work extra hard to help you. Often times in our business we connect people that can be mutually beneficial to each other. Most of the time it doesn’t result in any direct benefit for us but that is okay. It always pays off in some way over the long term and it makes us feel good.

       4.  Know Your Value. You must determine that you and what you offer are valuable before you can convince someone to buy from you. This takes a lot of self confidence and can easily be rocked. Trust me, it will be rocked, which leads me to my next point.

       5.  Keep going. There are days when you feel like throwing in the hat. When you wonder why you are doing this. When you wonder if you can pay the bills. Those are the days you put one foot in front of the other and keep going.

When I look back at the last five years, I see the steep learning curve and all that we have accomplished. I am sure that in the years to come, I will look back and say the same thing. If I remember the five points above, then I know I will continue to be successful.

Kathleen Riessen is a Partner at Measured Intentions, a marketing consulting firm in Urbandale, Iowa.  

Giants Among Us

Tom Cox
Vice-President of Digital Content
Meredith Corporation

Central Iowa is in a very sweet spot in the U.S. economy.  In addition to being ground zero for agricultural related industry and commodity production, our region is fortunate to be home to the corporate headquarters of the some very large publicly traded insurance, media and financial services companies, or to at least host their major operational centers.  Their campuses of gleaming buildings and manicured lawns, art installations and inspired architecture are sprinkled around downtown and increasingly around the western suburbs.

The thought of contemplating business relationships with these corporate giants is likely very appealing for many of the locally owned businesses that comprise the rolls of the West Des Moines Chamber.  It is however, important for owners and employees of local firms to remember one thing about their friends, neighbors and colleagues who work for these big firms; while these fine folks live in central Iowa and have homes and offices here, and send their kids to school here...they don't really work here.

What?

If you think about the major employers in our community, with the exception of primary health care delivery, almost none of them earn the bulk of their revenue from within the boundaries of our state.  That’s a good thing for the local economy, but it can be challenging for local firms as well.  The majority of the employees of the giants are busy all day long serving customers who live across the U.S. and around the world.  And, like all other major modern enterprises, these corporations are able to source goods and services from across the country and the world.  Personally, I take a phone call a week from any number of earnest sales representatives who would like me to outsource work halfway around the globe.

In my own case, when I go to work each day, unless I am travelling, I may sit downtown but am really in New York, or Atlanta, or Hartford, or Phoenix, or Portland, or any number of other places where we have business units or major vendor relationships.  I do occasionally get to spend budgeted dollars with local firms who directly benefit from having us in town.  But to compete for this, these small firms must continue to provide competitively priced services that go beyond having a local phone number.  All things being equal, it is nice to be able to see the people you work with without going to the airport, but it is no longer essential.

The point of all this is to remember that being near the corporate giants is only an advantage if you are either able to provide a service where relationships and closeness matter, or where your local cost is truly advantageous to the client firm.  Certainly one distinct advantage local firms have is that it is easier to get that first opportunity for a meeting with the folks who they see at school functions or rub elbows with at civic events.  And herein lies a secret... managers like me who have some small part in the overall budgeting process really do like to source locally, but proximity is often far from the top factor in play.  The billions of dollars in earnings the giants bring home each year is a lot of money, but the profits from that are not derived by spending freely or without strict observance to shareholder demands and the "strategic sourcing" of vendor relationships; locally, regionally, nationally and globally.  So when contemplating doing business with the giants among us, find your reason for why being local matters.

Tom Cox is the Vice President of Digital Content for Meredith Corporation's Local Media Group (which owns no Iowa television stations).  He resides in West Des Moines with his wife, Liz, and three children who attend West Des Moines schools. 

Relationship Building through Networking

Lu Anne Gafford
Vice President - Bankers Trust Clive

Networking is a word that may have different meanings to different people.  For me it is an essential element to help develop my business AND personal relationships.  Notice I said personal too?  Many keep their business and personal so separated, and I do too to a certain extent.  I have developed quite a few friendships from my networking and that to me is worth something that you can’t place a price tag on like you can with a business relationship.  My friendships have also led to several new business relationships too.  The reason I believe is because I have proved to the individuals who are the decision makers that I am someone they can trust and that can speak volumes in these days we live in.

Networking isn't meant to be a situation where you gather as many business cards as you can at an event and leave it at that.  It is meant to develop a relationship to gain business.  But before you can gain the business of a prospect, you have to gain their respect.  Respect in how you behave, how you respond to follow after an event, in the integrity of your business and if they do decide to do business with you, how well you follow through on your delivery of your service or product.  You may have a great company you work for or one that has had some struggles, but if you yourself do not have integrity then you may not ever have a chance at securing that relationship or worse yet you may lose a client because of your lack thereof. 

I think it is great to see the Des Moines area business community offering a Young Professionals organization.  It is a great outlet for all to learn from one another at what may be a successful process or what hasn't worked so well.  It is a great learning environment and I am jealous that I was not afforded the same opportunity in my beginning networking days.  I challenge each of you to make the most of the different events and opportunities that your Board arranges.  Go to these events and try to connect with three new individuals.  Don’t always go looking for the same familiar faces and stay right by their side.  Find new faces to connect with.  Get to know them, I mean really know them.  Ask questions of their personal background, hobbies, families etc.  Try to connect with them.  Remember, they are a person first and the face of the business second.  I also want to encourage everyone to get involved with an organization that has all ages involved too.  This is where you can learn from someone who has had many successes and failures in networking world.  You cannot expect to have all good all of the time.  In fact, it is through the failures I think that we all learn the most from.  I know I have had my share of experiences and I think these situations have helped to develop and form me into a better networker.  Try to get to know someone who has networked for a while.  Ask them to share their secrets or successes.  Maybe they would be willing to mentor you.  I have done a little this and I have placed my own spin on some of the examples I have gained from these conversations.  We are all unique, but we have the same desire to belong or be connected, so get out there and network and I’ll see you around at a future event.  Come introduce yourself to me and let’s get to know one another. 

Happy networking and I look forward to meeting you at future events.

Do For Two Years...



Adam Carroll
Author, Financial Educator,
Business Owner


One of the pieces of advice I’m fond of giving is do for two years what most people won’t do, and you’ll be able to do for the rest of your life what most people can’t do. 

It sort of begs two questions:

        1.  What won’t most people do?

        2.  What can’t most people do?

Answering the first question takes a little more explanation than the second, so I’m going to take them out of order.  It doesn’t take much brainstorming to make a detailed list of the things that most people can’t do.

They can’t --

take extended vacations, take lots of time off, spend serious quality time without being distracted by money, work, the to-do list, etc., do everything they want in life while they’re still young enough to enjoy it, drive their dream vehicle, invest for the future, own their home outright, own vacation homes, get to visit vacation homes, start a business, financially help their neighbors, church, or family.  The list could go on and on...

The bottom line is that the majority of things that people can’t do are almost entirely related to their ability to pay for these “luxuries” without it seriously affecting their lifestyle.  However, by answering the first question -- “what won’t most people do?” we can uncover what it takes to make nearly all of the items on the above list possible.

So, what won’t most people do?

To put it simply, they won’t live on less.  Parkinsons Law states that our expenses will generally rise to meet income.  For most Americans, this is true.  If we made $50,000 last year and will make $60,000 this year, our expenses will somehow work their way up to the $60,000 mark (if not higher). 

Living on less requires working with a spending plan and sticking to it.  It requires one of those things that everyone struggles with -- delayed gratification.  I often tell people in my programs -- “you can have everything you want in life, you just can’t have it right now.”

People won’t drive a less-than brand new car when it makes little financial sense to finance a vehicle for 7 years that depreciates 30% when you drive it off the lot.

People won’t save first and spend last.  They do the exact opposite and then wonder why they have no money in the bank when they need it.

Listen, I’m a huge fan of living the lifestyle you were meant to live.  I believe it wholeheartedly.  That being said, I’m not a fan of living that lifestyle for a year and then being so completely upside down with your finances that everyday is a struggle.

Just think about what you’re willing to do for two years, and then knock it out.  You’ll be amazed what most people can’t do, all the while you’re doing it.

Other things you can do for two years:

1.  Live with a roommate (or multiple roommates) to save money on expenses to pay down debt. 

2.  Drive the same car you’ve been driving for the past several years.  Trust me, the new car smell smells all the sweeter when there’s no payments.

3.  Work a second job somewhere that’s fun and rewarding.  Use that money to payoff/paydown debt faster. 

4.  Make taking your lunch a habit and going out for lunch a treat.  OR, eat lunch at home everyday and spend your lunch hour imagining what it will be like to be completely debt free.

5.  No movie buying -- only renting from redbox or netflix.

6.  See if you can buy almost everything you need (outside of food and clothing) from Craigslist.  Slightly used!

7.  When you eat out, eat with a coupon -- You’ll easily save $15 with buy one get one offers.  Put that money towards your debt load.

The reason most recent graduates are broke from go is they are over leveraged on the debt side.  They borrow money at a break-neck speed for four years (or more) and then sit back and accept the fact that they have 10-15 years to pay them back.  Instead, be the person that “does for two years what no one else will do” and live the life you’ve imagined!

Feb. 2nd (next week already!) - New View After Hours Event at KSMA

Check out Kapatiran Suntukan Martial Arts on February 2 from 5:30 to 7:00pm. We will give a brief demonstration showing some of the cool things we do as well as give away a week of classes for you and a friend (you need someone to try and hit, right?) to two lucky winners, so bring your busy-ness cards. We will also have grub from The General Store Eatery and beverages.  See you there!

Jay Carstensen

Lead Instructor

Kapatiran Suntukan Martial Arts

4930 Franklin Avenue

Des Moines, Iowa 50310

515-255-9698

jay@ksma.us

http://ksma.us/desmoines.html

How do you Tweet? Things I learned from 'Tweet N Eat'

So, I’m not in sales.  But I went to the West Des Moines Chamber’s ‘Tweet N Eat’ lunch and learn, because my personal Twitter account is…well, sad.

I forget about my account for weeks at a time.  When I do tweet, the entertainment level is mediocre at best.  That is, unless I’m retweeting something.  Nine times out of ten, it’s about stellar things New View is doing (Hint, hint!). 

Yesterday’s panel of professionals whom use Twitter for business were really helpful.  Not only did I learn how to tweet a bit more strategically, I learned I can branch out from my often-used hash tags.  That’s about as advanced as I’ve gotten in the year (or more) I’ve been on Twitter.

Whether for business or professional use, here’s what I learned:

1. Encourage a call to action! – This tip rang out most to me.  Twitter can’t and won’t do anything for you if you don’t motivate your followers to do something, right?  Whether you encourage followers to visit your business or simply reply back to your post with an answer to your question, you need to encourage action.  Be interactive on Twitter, not just active.

2. Give out your username or “handle” as often as you can.  – I have noticed more and more business cards are including Facebook and/or Twitter icons – but rarely do I actually see their specific username (How can I follow you, if I don’t know your username?).   Sure, I could go home or get out my phone and search for your name or company name.  But let’s face it, Millennials, we’re lazy.  We want it and we want it now. 

3.  “If you follow me—I’ll follow you. – There’s more to this.  You can simply request to “follow” someone and hope they will “follow” you back.  But no one in business will ever tell you they got somewhere because of hope.  Sorry, the truth hurts (Wanting and hoping better breed some motivation to take some action otherwise your dreams are going down like my 5^th grade “Invention Convention” attempt.  I called it “The Reminder Machine,” but it didn’t actually require anything you’d think a “machine” would.  It was basically some fabric and post-its.  But I digress…). Do everything you can to ensure those you “follow” will reciprocate.

4. When someone takes the time to give you/your business a shout out on Twitter, you should reply! – It’s polite and no matter what people say (including me), we Millennials really do enjoy and appreciate manners.

5. How you use your Twitter account needs to be based on your industry type and customer demographic. – A marketing consultant will not use Twitter for their business in quite the same way a restaurant owner will.   The marketing consultant may post links to interesting or insightful business articles that they feel their existing or potential clients would find useful.  The restaurant owner may post Saturday’s food and drink specials, in order to draw a bigger crowd that night.

The tips I learned from the panel were endless.   While I can’t possibly share them all, I do want to share a few last things:

·         No matter what type of business you use your Twitter account for, balance in your tweets, some should be links to business articles and some should be more personal.
·         Ensure some of your  tweets link to articles and business related material

·         In an increasingly tech-savvy world, it’s very important to find new ways to create connections with your patrons

Question:  Do you tweet?  If so – do you have any great tips to share?

Panelists from the ‘Tweet N Eat’ lunch and learn:

Phil James, Good Milkshake LLC -- @goodmilkshake

Katie Bradshaw, Jasper Winery --@jasperwinery

Jeff Garrison, EOS -- @jcgarrison

Jeremiah Terhark, DSM Daily -- @dsmdaily

Josh Poindexter, DSM Daily  -- @dsmdaily

Moderator:  Danny Beyer -- @DannyBeyerIA

Lindsey Mathews
New View Board Member & Outreach Committee Chair
Project Delivery Coordinator
Shive-Hattery Inc.

The fuzzy line between social and professional networking

Most of us know (or quickly figured out); Facebook and business do not mix.  An electronic diary of sorts, Facebook is probably sharing more than you are aware of. 
If you’re in search of career opportunities, having your personal and social lives blaring about to the entire world can muddy the waters of landing your dream job. 

A majority of us witnessed the viral up-rising of Facebook while in college; we latched on and never looked back. We wake up in the morning, grab a cup of coffee, and connect to the world-wide web.  Facebook, email, instant messengers, and other social networking sites keep us connected twenty-four hours a day. 

When was the last time you did not connect to the web? I bet you can’t remember. Nearly 266 million people access the internet in North America alone (as cited in “Internet Usage,” 2010). That’s nearly 78% of the entire population [North America]. 

Depending on your career aspirations or your business’s vertical, Facebook can be an effective way to network professionally.  According to Neal Schaffer (2010), companies are spending almost 20% of their total marketing budgets on social media.  

What does this mean for you as a career professional? It means there is an increased likelihood of potential employers and businesses seeing your social networking profiles.

Unless you want your future boss to see a photo of the night you decided to moonlight as a karaoke professional after one-too-many margaritas, I’d keep the social networking for your eyes (and your friend’s) only. 

Tips for maintaining a “clean” social networking profile:

·         Use social sites such as Facebook only to build relationships with your friends

·         Limit the amount of images/photos you and your friends post

·         Examine your profile carefully and decide what you want potential employers  and  business contacts to see

If you need assistance and information on up-and-coming professional networking sites, SmallBizBee.com (2010) recommends the following 40 top social networking sites for small businesses and career professionals (here’s the top 5):

1.    LinkedIn

2.    Meet the Boss

3.    PartnerUp

4.    Qupacity

5.    Ryze

Internet usage statistics; the internet big picture. (2010, June 30). Retrieved on May 18, 2011, from http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm

Schaffer, Neal. (2010, December 14). LinkedIn vs. Facebook for business in 2011-The battle begins. Retrieved on May 18, 2011, from http://socialmediatoday.com/nealschaffer/252062/linkedin-vs-facebook-business-2011-battle-begins

The ultimate list: 40 social networking sites specifically for small business, entrepreneurs, and startups. (2010, February 2). Retrieved on May 18, 2011, from http://smallbizbee.com/index/2010/02/02/ultimate-list-40-social-networking/

Kari Ratkovich

Freelance Social Media/Writing Consultant

Kari.Ratkovich@gmail.com