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Jul 28 2015

If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.

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As an entrepreneur, ‘collaborating’ and ‘delegating’ are important functions to help your business flourish. By establishing reliable and compatible relationships with professional individuals – and eliminating the need to micromanage – it will be easier for you to push your business to the next level. However, when working outside of your own area of expertise, collaborations and partnerships can sometimes prove challenging.  By clearly establishing rules with your potential consultant or project, you can save yourself many headaches and financial grief.

Compatible Work Style

When working with someone new, make sure that they are able to achieve your project outcomes, while simultaneously complementing your personal workstyle. Don’t just decide to work with someone by solely looking at their past work. Discuss their personal workstyle, weekly availability, and professional charges for cost overrun. It is important for you to take time to learn about the person you are working with, make sure you understand how they work, and ensure there is synergy in how you can carry forth projects.

Transparent Communication

The terms of any work relationship should always have to be made clear from the start. Nobody wants to work with someone who backtracks on their promise. That’s why outlining the scope of your project in a clearly written agreement, contract, or a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), having it signed by both parties, can save you a lot of grief. By having your work relationship written out on paper, you and the person you are working with will have a better understanding of what working together really looks like, thereby avoiding any unnecessary guess work and professional conflict. Also, it doesn’t matter whether the person you are working is a family member or a friend – write out the terms of the work relationship anyways. There is nothing worse, than getting into an argument with someone you truly care about, simply because there was disagreement on how you were going to work together.

Clear Resolution Process

Disputes are not always negative experiences, especially when you look at them as opportunities of growth and reflection. However, they become negative when it is clear that no real resolution process has been outlined to determine what should happen next. Disagreements can quickly exacerbate when parties start to react emotionally to one another, instead of responding calmly and in a respectful manner to each other. That’s why, prior to starting a partnership, it is important to sit down with your prospective partner and draft up clear resolution practices. Pre-established rules signed off by both parties will smoothen the resolution process, and provide clear guidance on how to quickly and constructively resolve conflict.

Written by Marisol and Silvia Fornoni, Founders of JDC.

JDC supports socially conscious organizations with finding sustainable ways to tell their stories using visual design, engaging content and non-traditional media. We help you with anything from organizing fundraising campaigns to web design and social media management.

http://www.joint-development.com

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Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Marisol and Silvia Fornoni · Tagged: alone, Canadian Small Business Women, Clear Resolution Process, collaborating, communication, delegating, disagreements, disputes, entrepreneur, fast, financial grief, JDC, Joint Development Centre, Marisol and Silvia Fornoni, Memorandum of Understanding, micromanage, professional, project, together, work style

Jun 28 2015

Don’t Feel Overwhelmed By Your Social Media Networks

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As a business owner, engaging on social media can often feel quite overwhelming. With continuously changing newsfeeds, tweets and posts, and so little time to go through everything, it is very easy to feel frustrated with real-time online content.

Quite honestly, we’d rather forget about this part of online marketing too. I mean, there’s nothing better than looking out a window, instead of having your eyes glued to a (small) electronic screen. Unfortunately, our ideal job as a professional window gazer will have to wait for now.

Seeing as this is no longer the 20th century, social media networks have significantly changed how we as people communicate and do business. Whether we like it or not, social media is here to stay. No matter how uncomfortable or overwhelming it might make us feel, we have to use it to further maximize our business potential.

So, here are three easy steps to lower your social media anxiety:

  1. Master One Social Media Platform At a Time

Each platform is going to have its challenges, limitations and advantages. It is important to take the time to understand each platform’s functions, as well as the company’s ability to integrate new features to better suit market demands. For instance, did you know that because Facebook is currently gaining ground on Youtube video posts it is ready to promote your video posts over you picture posts? Or did you know that Instagram users are 58 times more likely to like, comment, or share a brand’s post than Facebook users, and 120 times more likely than Twitter users?

Really mastering how to use a social media platform, and understanding its significant tech changes, is important to the well-being of you, your business and your clients. Don’t rush into it, take your time and learn through observation and research.

  1. Scheduling is Your Best Friend

Quality content is Queen when it comes to social media. Have thousands of followers doesn’t guarantee engagement, especially if your content is not relevant, hard to read or outdated. This is why you should take a time or day a week to sit down and research trends, events or news related to your sector or field of business. Combine this with your company’s latest product events and promotions, and you should more than enough material to start scheduling posts for the following week.

By using tools such as Hootsuite, Sprout Social or Buffer, your life will be a whole lot easier. Schedule the time and day for your posts (and in some cases even the perfect target market), and forget about the days  when you wondered if you have the time to post online.

  1. Make Time to Engage with Your Followers

Social media is called ‘social’ for a reason. That’s why I like to recommend clients to set time aside to engage with their followers. Retweet, share or repost followers’ interesting, relevant posts. Interact, connect, follow-back and ask for feedback whenever possible. By doing so, you’re actively building brand-recognition and working towards customer loyalty and trust.

Most importantly, be respectful and have fun while engaging with others online. Give your business that unique voice that only you can give it.

Written by Marisol and Silvia Fornoni, Founders of JDC.

JDC supports socially conscious organizations with finding sustainable ways to tell their stories using visual design, engaging content and non-traditional media. We help you with anything from organizing fundraising campaigns to web design and social media management.

http://www.joint-development.com

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

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Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Marisol and Silvia Fornoni · Tagged: advantages, advice, buffer, business, business owner, Canadian Small Business Women, challenges, engage, Facebook, followers, functions, hootsuite, Joint Development Centre, limitations, Marisol and Silvia Formoni, marketing, master, Networks, online marketing, platform, posts, repost, retweet, scheduling, share, social media, Sprout Social, Teach Me Social, time line, tweets, women, YouTube

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