A few thoughts on how your business can get involved:

Businesses Helping Other Businesses

Reach out to another business in the effected town. Connect with a business that is similar to your business, for example banks helping banks, etc. Because you understand the industry, you might be able to help meet the needs of a business who was impacted better than anyone else. Look online, ask your employees, or ask members of your business networks to help you make connections in the affected area.

Businesses Collecting Donations

Employees love it when they feel like they can “give back” through a work-sponsored program. Show that you care, and host a donation drive at your office. Open it up to your entire street, or building. Help sponsor a project that your employees can run with and promote.

Businesses Giving Donations toward Storm Relief

This is obvious, but at times, we get distracted by our own problems and as time goes by, we someone else has it covered. Don’t let the opportunity to support others pass. You can give donations to non-profit organizations or do a pledge drive around the office and offer to match whatever donations come in. Your business will not only be helping the victims, but the donation may be an opportunity for a tax deduction. 

Businesses Sending Employees

There are stories being told every day about employees stepping up and donating their time to make a difference.  Allowing your employees to take time off to volunteer is not only extremely generous but will strengthen your team and boost morale.

Remember:  your company’s culture is developed with every choice you make. Creating a culture that promotes generosity will reinforce your customer service efforts and create a shared experience between your team.  Shared experiencess will promote better team work and communication.

Seeking out sources of advice, such as mentors and coaches, is a common practice in today’s culture. Sports teams depend on their coaches, students need teachers, our country is structured by our government. While the sports teams, students and US citizens could exercise their gifts and talents independently, having a trained, experienced leader giving input helps build consistency and strength in any organization or arena.

Surround Yourself with Experts

As actors are cast into new roles, they often spend hours studying the people who they’ll soon portray. Instead of taking on the role and searching for ideas in books and other movies, they instead spend time with the people who they will soon represent. Business owners should do the same thing as they look for ways to grow their business and get new ideas. Look for industry experts, and spend time with them. Shadow them for a day and ask for informational interviews. Don’t merely research online or at the library, but create opportunities to spend time with those more experienced and knowledgeable in your field.

Get a Business Coach

As evidenced by the Super Bowl winners each year, coaching is key when it comes to building a strong team. There is increasing evidence that coaching, regardless of the context, is one of the best ways to develop people. In the business arena, business coaches can come into your workplace, hear your idea, and then give you suggestions and tools to help get to the next level. Coaching is a great way to see if you’re off to a right start, or if there are areas to tweak to make your business more successful.

Outsource When Needed

As business owners, we often take on the responsibility of completing every task in the business ourselves. But as your business gets off of the ground, you must find ways to outsource tasks. All of us are built with a set of skills that we’re great at … and another set of skills that we need help with. As a business owner, you must recognize areas of challenge or things that you dislike (and therefore tend to procrastinate), and find ways to get help with those tasks. It could be help with accounting, organization, marketing or even sales. While it might seem like an investment at first, you’ll see big pay-offs in the end when you hire others to help you and free up your time to continue doing what you do best.

Wise Counsel – it can often help make or break your business. By allowing others to give you feedback or help with your business, you’ll set yourself up for success. Stay tuned for our last post in our Becoming an Entrepreneur series, Becoming an Entrepreneur: Time Management.

The Importance of Planning

Planning is critical to any business. You need to think through your idea, financial profitability, marketing strategies, competition, business work flow and more. Determining when you are going to work, and how much time you’ll have to devote to growing your business. This is especially important if you plan to continue working for an existing employer while launching your business. Creating a business plan and knowing your action steps will be one of the best things you do for your new business, and your family.

Know Your Audience

Every great business knows its target audience - what they think and feel, how they make decisions, what they buy and why, how they manage their schedules and the needs that you can meet. By gaining a full understanding of your audience, your planning efforts will be stronger and more targeted, and your time will be used much more efficiently.

Channel Your Ideas

As entrepreneurs we understand ”amazing ideas.” Any entrepreneur has a million of them, and often times there’s a new one each day! But as you get your business started, channel your ideas. Remember that not all of them are going to work out, and not all of them are feasible. While it’s great to keep the creative juices going, when it comes to execution, be reasonable with your time, budget and resources. Highlight some of your BEST ideas, and then go after those. But just remember that biting off more than you can chew and trying to “do it all” will not go well for you nor your business.

Do Your Research

Research is a key part of starting any business; you’ve got to know the climate out there! But as you research all aspects of your business and industry, pay special attention to the financial projections and your competitors. You need to know what your competitors are doing.  Once you have an idea of how their business runs, figure out what they’re doing right … and what they’re doing wrong. Your business will be successful as you identify areas of growth within your industry and offer something unique and specialized.

We cannot underestimate the importance of planning for your new small business. Stay tuned for our next post in our entrepreneur series, Becoming an Entrepreneur: Wise Counsel.

Today I am urgently seeking potential candidates to fill a full time position for a Creative/Copy Writer with a rapidly growing company in the Independence area. We are looking for a detail orientated, friendly, client focused team player who is looking for a position in which they can grow with our company.  

The ideal candidate will have the following skills:

• Marketing background with 5+ years experience 
• Use and understand Social Media
• Must understand key word strategies
• Must have experience writing blogs and press releases
• Ability to multi-task and work on a variety of projects simultaneously
• Must be able to communicate effectively in writing as well as verbally
• Must enjoy client interaction and be able to create good working relationships with our clients

In addition, the ideal candidate must be very organized, have a great personality and like to work with the public. We are looking for someone who is very flexible, adapts well to change and is ready to jump in and get the job done regardless of job description. Our customers come first and we look for employees who look for ways to “wow!” them.

If you or someone you would hire if the position was with your company is interested in this position, please have them forward their resume and samples of their work to me at rena@empoweredstrategies.com.

If your company is looking for ways to hire the right talent the first time, contact us today at info@empoweredstrategies.com.

Today’s post is for an SEO Coach with a rapidly growing company in the Kansas City area.  We are looking for a detail orientated, friendly, client focused team player who is looking for a position in which they can grow with our company.  This position is a contract position.  The right candidate will have the ability to work from our office or their home office.  

The ideal candidate will have the following skills:

• Technical training experience 
• Use and understand Social Media
• Ability to multi-task and work with a variety of different types and sizes of companies 
• Must be able to communicate effectively in writing as well as verbally
• Must enjoy client interaction and be able to create good working relationships with our clients
• Must have a valid drivers license and reliable transportation
• Business and/or marketing experience a plus!

In addition, the ideal candidate must be very organized, have a great personality and like to work with the public. We are looking for someone who is very flexible, adapts well to change and is ready to jump in and get the job done regardless of job description. Our customers come first and we look for employees who look for ways to “wow!” them.

If you or someone you would hire if the position was with your company is interested in this position, please have them forward their resume to me at rena@empoweredstrategies.com.

If your company is looking for ways to hire the right talent the first time, contact us today at info@empoweredstrategies.com.

Statistics show that many entrepreneurs begin their dream of owning their ow company early in their careers. While some start their businesses soon after college, many entrepreneurs have significant work experience, and have worked in their industries for at least six years before launching their own businesses.

Surprising Statistics of Entrepreneurs

While it might seem like the successful entrepreneur is single, young and career-focused based on what the media projects; a recent study by Kansas City’s Kauffman Foundationactually shows the contrary. Below are a few surprising statistics they found when studying successful entrepreneurs.

- Many entrepreneurs are middle-aged. (The average age is 40 years old)

- Most entrepreneurs are married and have children living at home.

- Entreprenuers have bachelors degrees (95%) and 47% hold advanced degrees.

- Entrepreneurs are also often more educated than their parents and come from mostly upper-lower-class to middle-class families.

- More than half of all entrepreneurs are the first in their families to begin a business.

- One random fact: entrepreneurs tend to be the middle child in a three-child household.

For more statistics, read the full Kauffman Foundation study.

Thinking of becoming an Entrepreneur?

If you’re feeling the itch to launch your own business, yet trying to figure out how to balance your family and spouse, take heart! Especially for those who are married with children, it looks like you might just be in the perfect situation to begin your dream job!

Our next post in the series “Becoming an Entrepreneur” will discuss the steps to take as you develop your business plan.

Today’s post is for an Accounting Position with a growing Financial and Tax Advisory firm in the Blue Springs area.  We are looking for a detail orientated, friendly, client focused team player who is looking for a position in which they can grow with our company.  This position is a contract position (in the short term).  The right candidate will have the ability to work from our office or their home office.  

The ideal candidate will have the following skills:

• Quick Books Pro Advisor certification
• Accounting degree and/or 3+ years of experience
• Experience with payroll tax filings
• Ability to handle a variety of different types and sizes of companies simultaneously
• Must be able to communicate effectively in writing as well as verbally
• Must enjoy client interaction and be able to create good working relationships with our clients

In addition, the ideal candidate must be very organized, have a great personality and like to work with the public. We are looking for someone who is very flexible, adapts well to change and is ready to jump in and get the job done regardless of job description. Our customers come first and we look for employees who look for ways to “wow!” them.

If you or someone you would hire if the position was with your company is interested in this position, please have them forward their resume to me at rena@empoweredstrategies.com.

If your company is looking for ways to hire the right talent the first time, contact us today at info@empoweredstrategies.com.

We are looking for an energetic, friendly, team player who is looking for a position in which they can grow with our company.

The ideal candidate will have the following skills:

•  Be highly organized with a keen attention to detail
• Driven to provide the highest level of customer service
• Social Media experience and an interest to learn more (this position will run all of our social media campaigns including our Blog, Facebook and Twitter)
• Experience designing and executing basic marketing campaigns
• Quick Books knowledge and experience

We are looking for someone who is excited about working in a position where they can grow with the company, likes new challenges and tasks, adapts well to change and is ready to jump in and get the job done regardless of job description. 

This position will be be 20-30 hours a week, Monday through Friday. 

Please contact Rena at rena@empoweredstrategies.com or 319-325-0104 if you or someone you know is interested in applying for this exciting opportunity.

Our first job posting is with a growing, independent, full service auto repair company with two locations in Kansas City, MO and Overland Park, KS. We are looking for an energetic, friendly, team player who is looking for a position in which they can grow with our company. This position is full time and will office in our Kansas City office located near the I470 and I435 interchange. The ideal candidate will have the following skills:

* Quick Books knowledge and experience (this position completes all accounting functions for both of our locations)
* Social Media experience and an interest to learn more (this position will run all of our social media campaigns including our Blog, Facebook and Twitter)
* Ability to create Excel spreadsheets
* Experience designing and executing basic marketing campaigns
* Excellent typing skills and ability to use Microsoft Office Suite

In addition, the ideal candidate must be very organized, have a great personality and like to work with the public. We are looking for someone who is very flexible, adapts well to change and is ready to jump in and get the job done regardless of job description. Our customers come first and we look for employees who look for ways to “wow!” them.

We also offer a comprehensive benefits package which includes:

* Paid Holidays
* Insurance
* Dental
* Disability
* Discount on car repairs

• Location: Kansas City, MO
• Compensation: $12.00 – $15.00 per hour
• Principals only. Recruiters, please don’t contact this job poster.

Please forward your resume and cover letter to:  Rena@empoweredstrategies.com or contact us for more information about how Empowered Business Strategies can help impove your team’s productivity.

In an attempt to stay in front of the curve, I am encouraging all of my corporate coaching, executive coaching, and group coaching clients  that they should be asking for social media handles from every client, prospect and strategic partner. Many of my clients are challenged by the current business environment because they don’t have email addresses of their clients. Imagine how challenging it will be for these businesses as we move away from “interruption marketing” and move to marketing strategies that are primarily driven by social media or are  ”by invitation.” 

Social Media is proving to be a powerful engine for driving business to your business. Don’t hesitate to join the party.