Fun Stuff

Working from the Road – Remotely!

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I’m penning this article while sitting riding in my RV through the hills of West Virginia enroute to Kentucky. I’ve created a work scenario for myself that allows for this type of flexibility. “Back in the day”, very few people could work remotely unless they were writers and had typewriters, a travel luxury. Today, more and more companies/organizations are allowing their team to work from virtually anywhere. Now, as Jenn at Red Barn would say, it’s not all roses and unicorns this remote world I live in – but, it’s pretty darn close. Why I LOVE IT

  • I work on my time. In the end, as long as all the work gets done and clients are happy, does it really matter when the work gets completed or where? Absolutely not. In fact, I am far more creative when I’m not sitting in my office surrounded by stuff. Put me in my RV (I wrote 4 magazine articles this morning before 10 am), or outside in the woods and I’m creative as all get out!
  • Change of pace. Going back to the creative piece, sometimes different scenery can inspire or the lack of the stifling office piles of papers (well in my office anyway) gives you some freedom to think better. For me, getting away always improves my work output.
  • My team is huge, costs are low. I can have employees all over the world and I don’t have some massive brick and mortar to pay for. I can also give my clients a more competitive rate and pay my employees more and even offer them more perks.
  • My employees are happy. Happy employees mean happy customers means happy business owner. If one of my team members wants to take their laptop and go sit at a park for the day, they go. The only “No” is if there are scheduled staff meetings or meetings with clients. Although we’ve been known to have more than one meeting outside or even via Skype.

The Challenges

  • Sometimes you miss people. Now today, I’m in the RV with Dave – so I have people! But there are days when I don’t have any client appointments and I’m just tired of no human interaction. Same with my staff – good news is we are all conscious of that challenge and work with it. We may all get together at my house or all grab lunch – just for some humanizing!
  • Staying Organized. Big challenge for me, not my forte but I force myself. Between project management tools, lists, and cloud based everything, I seem to keep it together. You must embrace technology if you want it to work though.
  • Not everyone is a good remote worker. I learned this the hard way when hiring my team. I’ve learned that some people just love a cubicle (Gasp – not for me at all!).
  • Discipline. You should be disciplined working remotely – especially for me in the RV! I set work time and stick to it. But once my work is done – I’m done, I don’t sit in front of my laptop from 9-5 because I’m supposed to.
  • Getting away from work. When you don’t go to an office, your office follows you around. My discipline challenge is not working all the time vs. not working enough! At home, I leave my office and don’t go back in. The RV is a bit more challenging! I put away my laptop and papers into my bag and that’s me closing the door for the day.
  • Security. Making sure our data is secure in multiple locations has its challenges, but we just have processes to ensure we are internally compliant! So far (fingers crossed) we’ve done very well!

Business owners who allow their team to try working remotely might be pleasantly surprised of the outcomes! Happier employees, better productivity and increased revenues!

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To Dress Up or Not to Dress Up – Halloween Costume Office Tips

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Dressing up for Halloween can be a lot of fun, especially when you work in an office that\’s cool enough to celebrate the annual festivities. And while we don’t have an office to parade our costumes around in, enjoying the fun is certainly on the agenda in each of our respective home offices!

If you work outside the home, however, it’s a fine line between a fun costume that shows off your personality, and wearing a costume that makes everyone you work with feel extremely uncomfortable.

Here are five rules for celebrating Halloween at work that will ensure you have a good time – without becoming the office fright show or clown:

The boss sets the tone. If you ask the boss and the boss says no, then the answer is no. If the boss says, \”Hey everyone, let\’s have a costume contest!\” then it\’s probably in your best interest to put on a wig, or witches hat, and go for it. If Halloween is your thing, but Suzy in Accounting despises it, don\’t harass or tease her until she agrees to play along.

Keep your costume politically neutral. Even if you have strong political views, keep them out of the office – trust me – it’s just not going to end well.

Keep it classy. Although the typical office dress code might be taking a vacation day, it’s still a good rule of thumb to stay mostly within the guidelines – leave the Daisy Dukes and Richard Simmons outfits at home, and opt for something that’s more office appropriate.

Keep it functional. Don’t wear something that prevents you from being able to do your job. Wearing vampire teeth all day might be amusing to you, but if your co-workers and customers can’t understand you, then it’s time to ditch them.

Don’t be disruptive. Having a parade around the office at lunch time is perfectly acceptable, how else are people supposed to judge your costumes? But avoid creating your own haunted house in your office or cubicle. It can get distracting to those trying to work around you, and even hinder your concentration.

One last tip, if you work with someone who has a deathly fear of spiders, clowns, or snakes, don\’t be a jerk and show up to work in a Halloween costume that will cause a panic attack. Some people do have very real phobias that they can\’t contain.

Celebrating the spooky season at work should be fun and light-hearted, not the cause of a heart attack! Have fun and make sure to send us some pics!

So, tell us, what’s your Halloween tradition at the office? Yea or Nay?

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Company Culture – It’s Why I Joined Red Barn

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If you’ve read my bio, you know that I’m not the “corporate type.” I’m much happier kicked back in jeans, a t-shirt and flip flops (or sneakers in cooler weather). And even though I’m technically a millennial, I’ve tried enough of the corporate world to know that it’s just not a fit for me.

I spent about 6 years working for a few different corporate companies, but I always felt restless and afraid to rock the boat for fear of getting fired. I could never put my finger on what was missing to make me happy though. At first, I thought it was money. So, I left my first corporate job after almost 5 years for something slightly different that paid more. I spent 2 miserable months at the new job trying to make it work. Guess what?! It wasn’t the money that was the problem. The people were nice enough too, but something just wasn’t working. So, with no plan on what I was going to do, I quit. I enjoyed 6 amazing weeks during the Summer lounging by my pool in between job interviews trying to find the perfect job.

Sadly, my summer staycation came to an end, but I was excited to start a new corporate job doing something very different from what I had done in the past. I’d be able to use a different skill set from my repertoire, and learn some new things as well. I really thought this was going to be my dream job. After a few months, I was bored out of my mind and that restless feeling had started to set in. I started my job hunt, again, waiting for something to come along that really felt right.

A few months later I came across an ad on Indeed for an operations position for a small marketing company. SPOILER ALERT: it was with Red Barn. The job sounded challenging, marketing was certainly something I hadn’t done before, and the real kicker – I got to work from home. After meeting with Cindy, I knew this was the job for me. And if you ask Cindy how the interview went, she’ll tell you I totally interviewed her! I was scared to start over yet again, so I had to make sure this was the right fit. Some people are intimated by Cindy, I get it, she’s a strong personality, but something just clicked. I knew I had found my home! Now it wasn’t all butterflies and unicorns at first as my BFF Kim likes to remind me. It took some time to fine tune my relationship with Cindy and learn how to work together. BUT, I finally realized what the missing piece was – Culture.

For me, I just didn’t fit in with the corporate model. And that’s OK – it’s not for everyone. But, having a company culture that allows me to be myself is. In the past, I had a set dress code, set work hours, and I never felt comfortable expressing my concerns or issues to my supervisors. Finding a company where I can work when I feel inspired, wear what I’m comfortable in, and have the confidence to tell my boss when she’s being a Jerk was the missing puzzle piece. I needed the flexibility and honestly that the culture at Red Barn offers.

So, I guess the moral of my story is – no matter how much money you make, how much you like the people you work with, at the end of the day it comes back to Company Culture. Employees will stick around longer if they feel appreciated, empowered, and like they are making a difference. And that directly affects their work and their interactions with customers.

If you want to share your company culture stories I’d love to hear them – good or bad – drop me an email!

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PTO – take every last second. That’s an order.

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I think we can all agree that having Paid Time Off (PTO) is a huge perk for employees. But if your employees aren’t using the time off, then it should be a red flag. Years ago, most companies thought that employees who didn’t use PTO were more productive, but after some research, it was determined that the opposite is true. Not taking PTO can take a physical and emotional toll on workers, and potentially make them unhappy and unproductive. In contrast, well-rested and recharged employees may view their workplace more positively. High employee morale has a positive impact on the workplace, company culture, and the bottom line.

Shawn Achor, author of The Happiness Advantage and Before Happiness and founder of the consulting firm GoodThink, found that when \”the brain can think positively, productivity improves by 31 percent, sales increase by 37 percent, and creativity and revenues can triple.\”. The U.S. Travel Association’s Project: Time Off found that employees who take all their vacation time increase their chances of getting promoted and getting a raise by 6.5 percent, compared with people who leave 11 or more days of paid vacation unused.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t use all my PTO – even though Cindy tries to make me. Surveys discovered that the reason many employees don’t use all their vacation time is because they worry that no one else can do their job. Now, I’m not saying no one else at Red Barn can do my job, but I have a tough time giving up control. Before you start rolling your eyes thinking I’m a moron for choosing work over a Margarita and the beach – I do take at least 2 vacations a year. I just may sneak in checking my email at least once or twice a day.

A few companies made the news a year or two ago when they decided to offer their employees unlimited vacation. You might remember hearing about it, but you may not have heard the results on how it went. The company Mammoth decided to give it a try, and while the employees ranked it as the third highest employee benefit, each employee averaged the same amount of days off as when they had an accrual system.

But that’s really not the important take away from the vacation policy. It conveyed three things to the employees:

1. The company views its staff holistically–acknowledging that employees have demands and interests beyond work that can’t always be scheduled in advance.
2. Unlimited vacation policies convey trust, and put the responsibility for making sure the work gets done on the employee before they take time off
3. Unlimited vacation treats employees as individuals. Time off is a personal issue – everyone needs a different amount, and it changes from year to year.

While you might not be ready to go down the unlimited route yet, encouraging employees to take their allotted time off to relax, reboot, and enjoy some time away from the office should be on the To Do list.

Curious what sparked this blog topic? Shoot me an email and I’ll send you some photos from the island paradise I just returned from!

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Be an Innovator – please.

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Well so-and-so is doing this, shouldn’t I? I hear this a lot. Everything from ABC company wrote a blog on this topic to XYZ company’s website has this – shouldn’t we do the same.

Just because someone else – or a bunch of someone else’s (is that even grammatically correct?) is doing something that doesn’t mean it’s working. Plus – do you really want to be like everyone else? Where is your unique value prop if you are just like ABC and/or XYZ company?

Let’s back up.

Every piece of content you put out there should have purpose. Meaning it should serve YOUR purpose. It should serve your WHY (go read Simon Sinek’s book –Start with WHY. Go ahead – buy it now, read it tonight) What may serve someone else’s purpose may not serve yours.

It’s ok to be different, in fact we encourage you to be different. Will some folks in your industry raise an eyebrow and say, “What are they thinking?” – perhaps. But isn’t that what people said about Walt Disney, Einstein and Henry Ford? Yes, the masses thought these three were off their proverbial rockers.

When it comes to marketing – dare to be different. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t test your copy, do some market research. We all know some big marketing fails – where people tried to be innovators and it was just a nasty mess. Here’s some epic ones if you want a good chuckle – or perhaps you’ll just cringe and feel bad for the CMO or Marketing firm that got fired. There needs to be some filter – and some testing! Most of these fails weren’t really market tested – well that’s my gut. If they were, the obvious would have slapped them in the face.

Take baby steps. Maybe it’s doing weekly emails vs. monthly. Or diving into Instagram Live or being really transparent about your team and what happens behind the scenes! Innovate! Trust me – marketing is all about getting noticed. Innovators get noticed. Test it out – if it’s working, expand upon it. If it isn’t – pull back.

Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

How do we know it’s ok to innovate? We kind of live that model here at the Red Barn. We are always trying new stuff. What’s the worst that could happen? We need a do-over? Our goal is to tell our client’s stories, to make them stand out from their competition. We have to innovate or else we can’t accomplish our goal. We may follow some best practices – like having processes and procedures, following what Google wants today – but the rest is always a new idea and a new day!

Hogwash ABC and XYZ company – we’re doing it our way and we won’t end up on the top marketing fails list in the process!

Cheers!
CD

Be an Innovator – please. Read More »

Grab a microphone

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I’m sure you’ve heard the saying “Perception is Reality” – and for the most part it’s true. People believe what they perceive to be truth. When it comes to personal branding – nothing is farther from the truth.

One of the first things I coach people on when they are trying to build out their personal brand is to hop on the speaking gig roller coaster. Yes, that means you will have to speak in public. If you need help with that take a class with Dale Carnegie or join the Toastmasters gang – but public speaking and effective communication is a must have if you want to be successful.
You know what I always say – “People buy from people they KNOW, LIKE and TRUST”.

More often than not, when you see someone speak at an event or you watch a TED Talk you ASSUME they are experts, if not at least extremely knowledgeable in their field. Your perception of them is that they know what they are talking about and are sharing it with you to help you gain that same knowledge.

Now, don’t get me wrong there are folks out there who spout off words that have no truth or sustenance, but trust me, someone perceived it as truthful.

So, what does this all mean?

One of the quickest ways to build your brand, gain brand evangelists and to heck – sell more of whatever it is your company does – is to grab a microphone and share a story.

Here are some tips:

  1. Don’t sell during your presentations. No one wants to be sold to – they want to learn and be entertained.
  2. Pick topics that are relevant to your audience and will give some immediate results – meaning when they finish listening they can take some type of action that will benefit them.
  3. Don’t read a script. It’s ok to write a speech or have speaking notes – but don’t get up there and read word for word.
  4. Practice and ad lib
    Don’t be a PowerPoint BORE! Use PowerPoint for visuals – but don’t use tons of words. You want people to focus on you, not the screen.
  5. Be engaging. Make sure you don’t have a monotone voice – practice and record yourself speaking OR take a class like I mentioned above.
  6. Watch your non-verbal communication. Be a bit animated – but not a circus clown

Public speaking is a great way to boost your credibility and get you in front of people who are interested in your expertise. If you want to increase your personal brand, increase your revenue and have some fun – grab a microphone and tell the world your stories!

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Is Google Plus Dead?

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Originally launched in 2011 Google Plus (Google +) was set to be the next big thing in social media with the expectation of overshadowing Facebook. We’d seen it happen before when Facebook overtook MySpace in the social media popularity contest so it was possible it could happen again.

My first introduction to social media was MySpace. Whoa…I think I just aged myself a little bit there but I digress. Anyway, MySpace was the place where you could change your background settings and songs and make your page uniquely you anytime you felt like it. You could shuffle around your top 8 friends daily depending on your mood! How could it get any better? Introduce, Facebook.

Since the inception of Facebook in 2004 the platform has undergone huge changes. While some have been skeptical we all know the only thing constant in life is change and Facebook has never shied away from making changes good, bad or otherwise. So how did Facebook overtake MySpace in social media popularity? I’m glad you asked. According to former MySpace CEO Mike Jones, MySpace was just the introduction to social media while Facebook works to perfect the social media world. One of the biggest differences noted was that MySpace didn’t allow users to use their real name but rather a pseudonym while Facebook encouraged users to post their real names to better to connect with others.

When Google Plus was launched, Facebook had already been active for 6 years with millions of users worldwide making them a formidable social media opponent. There were now personal and business pages, sponsored ads and groups to join. So where would Google Plus fall into the mix? Initially Google Plus was designed to integrate all Google services to allow the users to be more transparent with the people they communicated with the most through a variety of ways including Hangouts and Circles which are currently still active. The idea was that you could arrange your circles to communicate with certain people through posts, videos or blogs etc.

Similar to Facebook, with Google Plus you can check into a location and let your followers know where you have been or what you have been up to. One of the most popular uses was Google photo’s which has since been separated from Google Plus and is its own program. So, in a nutshell, why is Google Plus still active and is it worth it to spend time and energy on?

In a word, yes. While Google Plus may not be the most active social media site the hidden perk is SEO. Search Engine Optimization. When you post on Google Plus you increase your SEO on Google and increased SEO is always a good idea. Key words, photos and tags will help direct traffic to your posts which if linked, will direct back to your website or whatever you are posting about. Talk about a win-win. Facebook may be the leader in being social, but Google Plus is the winner for SEO. According to a Stone Temple Consulting study, 90% of users with a Google+ profile have never posted to the network. So you may wonder, how can it work, how is it beneficial if people don’t post to it? From a study conducted by Statistic Brain 70% of brands have a presence on Google Plus proving that for business purposes it is a useful tool.

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Building the Bike while Riding it

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While in a meeting with one of my favorite clients working on several big projects – all of which have multiple moving parts – my client exclaimed “I feel like I’m building the bike and riding it at the same time!”.

Translation: He felt as if he was figuring out the project while actually doing the project. He was a tad overwhelmed but had a sense of calm that he was made the right decision.

Life isn’t always perfect. We don’t always have the time to plot and plan every detail before we start a business, take on a new client or begin a project. Sometimes life hands you an amazing opportunity and you just have to say, “I’m in – and I’ll figure it out as I go along”.

So how do you know when to risk it and when to back away? Well, there isn’t an easy answer and I am the queen of the risk takers – but here is how I do it:

1. Do I actually have the skill set to do this job/project/business and can it be successful?
2. Do I have the time? What are my personal resources that I can commit?
3. Do I have good resources? Who can help me – where can I pull in the troops?
4. Can I make money?
5. Have I done ENOUGH due diligence and market research that tells me this could work if the stars align?
6. Am I emotionally ready for the challenge of the unknown? This kind of goes back to #2

In the end – it really comes down to you and what you are willing to commit and what are you willing to outsource. You know the saying “You will miss 100% of the shots you do not take” – so sometimes you do need to build the bike while riding it.

What’s the worst thing that could happen if you say “Yes”. If the answer to that is within your comfort zone and the answers to the 6 questions above are “Yes” – build and ride. If not – take a pass, you won’t enjoy the process and in the end the money won’t be worth it. You won’t have the emotional fortitude to survive the ups and downs.

The next time your organizational OCD kicks in and you have the urge to say not in my lifetime to an opportunity – step back for a second. You wouldn’t want to pass up the gig of a lifetime!

Do you have a great bicycle story? We would love to hear it!

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Managing Social Media — Why Can’t It Be A Little.. Easier?

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Many businesses see social media as a “necessary evil” — Something you have to do because everyone else is doing it. After all, if you’re not using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest etc., you’re missing out. While that’s true, it gives us a sad face every time we think about businesses seeing social media as a chore, because, done right, it can be easy, and powerful.

It’s all about having a plan — Now, before you click away in disgust at having to plan something else, it’s not a big plan. We’re not talking a high-fallutin’ plan for a Rube Goldberg-esque style machine, just a simple, common sense approach to make things easy, and, perhaps, a little more joyful.

Don’t believe us? Read on…

Who’s going to have the responsibility for social media? First things first, who do you want to handle your social media accounts? Now, that could be one of your people who have a great understanding of the right approach, tools, and techniques to use — Or, you could outsource it to a creative marketing agency who has your brand\’s best interests at heart. Like… Us, for example? (we aren’t always subtle)

Anyway, you need to have someone who is going to have responsibility for your social media, who can review and post everything you need, and who can speak with your company’s voice. They need to understand and love your customers.

Where do you post? Different types of business will get the most advantage from different social platforms. You probably won’t find much of an audience for your recipes on LinkedIn, and folks on Pinterest probably aren’t going to be thrilled by your course on chartered accountancy. But, once you can match your message to your social media, that’s when things get real interesting.

  • Facebook — Pretty much everyone uses Facebook — Over 20% of all pages seen on the web are on Facebook. You need to be there, simple as that.
  • Twitter — With millions of people using Twitter, and the opportunity to easily go viral with the right message, Twitter is also pretty much essential.
  • Pinterest — Do you have a visually appealing product, service, or brand? If so, Pinterest is a great place to get traction.
    Instagram — Like Pinterest, Instagram is perfect for pretty products.
  • LinkedIn — Marketing more to professionals and business people? This is your natural choice.
  • YouTube — Although not seen as a “traditional” social network, YouTube gets billions of hits every month. Make an amazing video and watch your views skyrocket.
  • Google Plus — Yes, there are still people and businesses using Google Plus, don’t disregard it and ps. it could help with your Google ranking.

When should you post? You know where to post, but do you know when to post? Once you understand when your customers are likely to be using social media, you can take advantage of that, and share delicious bits of information, just when they need it. They’ll be wowed by your ideas, share them on themselves, and suddenly you’ve got a viral social media presence. Nice!

Get to scheduling. One of the main pains businesses have with social media is having to send out all their posts manually, to all the different platforms. Well, good news, friends. There are some great scheduling tools out there to make posting and sharing a breeze. Two that we love are Hootsuite and Buffer. Both are awesome at letting you queue up posts, then setting things off and letting them post on your behalf.

Be careful though, lots of social media is about reacting, responding, and posting in real time — That’s what gets you engagement. So, don’t just rely on scheduling tools, build them into your overall social media approach.

And there you have it, the basics you need to get in place for easier social media success — That wasn’t so bad now, was it?

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If You Can’t Keep Top Talent, It Could Be Your Culture

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You posted the perfect job ad, read through dozens of resumes and narrowed them down. You shortlisted some great candidates, interviewed them, and found a standout applicant — You knew they could take your business to the next level. So you hired them, with high expectations and excitement for the future.

Six weeks later, they’re in your office with a resignation letter. Through your disappointment, you ask “Why are you leaving?” They respond “I’m not sure I’m a good fit.” Translation — Your company culture might not be working, and you need to do something about it.

What is company “culture?” Lots of experts talk about company culture, but what does it actually mean. Think of it as the “default emotional state” of your company. It’s how working in your business makes people feel. Does their business environment excite, motivate, and inspire them? Does it feel oppressive and authoritarian? Does it present the right mix of challenges, problem solving, and support?

Why does culture matter? Culture matters because it has a huge impact on how your people feel. It impacts morale, productivity, hiring, quality of work, autonomy, and so much more. In fact, the better a company’s culture, the more it contributes to your bottom line. The University of Warwick found that, “Happy workers are 12% more productive than the average worker, and unhappy workers are 10% less productive. In fact, unhappy employees cost American business over $300 billion each year.”

Ask your employees what they feel the current company culture is. You probably already have a pretty good idea of how the company culture feels to you, but you need the perspective of the people who really matter — Your employees. If you’re concerned about your culture, talk to your people about it. Discuss it in one to ones, let them know that whatever they say is fine. Don’t assign any blame — Listen, and understand.

Understand where your company culture comes from. Lots of things go into building a company culture, but the main one is this — It mainly comes from the people at the top of the business. If they’re exciting, inspiring, and approachable, the culture will be too. If they thrive on conflict and authority, that will permeate down through the business. It’s called Leadership and you need to lead from the top down.

That means if you want to change the culture and make your business an awesome place to work, change has to start in the leadership team. It’s a bitter pill, but a necessary one.

Talk to your team about what they want the culture to be. Once you understand how your staff currently see your company culture, and where it comes from, you can work to change it. Talk to people about what their ideal company culture looks like.

What would motivate them to enjoy coming to work more? What changes do they want to see in attitude, approaches, and management styles? How can you make doing their job easier and more pleasurable? Listen to all of it. No-one knows how to improve culture better than your people.

Create a plan. Now you know what your people’s priorities are, you should get a plan in place to change things. You’ll need strong commitment from your leadership team, a project manager who deeply understands culture change, a project team who can get things done, and a review and feedback group who can check actions are having the desired impact.

Actions you can take might include:

  • Improving employment perks — Give your employees the right benefits — Healthcare, time off, retirement planning etc.
  • Give employees control over their time — The ability to work from home, a sensible work / life balance, autonomy to work how they want.
  • Build confidence and trust — Encourage an “open door” policy, positive feedback, and collaboration within and across departments and teams.
  • Provide a better working environment — Relaxed, informal break spaces, a flatter management structure, a relaxed working environment, fun team events and parties.

Enhance your culture. And now, it’s a case of just getting that stuff done. Make changes to your culture, get metrics in place to measure success, track how you’re progressing, and see employee morale and productivity improve.

That way, the next time you spend thousands of dollars on hiring and training, you’ll have the reassurance that your employees are more likely to stay, and your company is likely a “good fit.” And that’s great for everyone.

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