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May 2018 Is The Great Newsletter Die-Off (And The Executioner Is GDPR) https://ift.tt/2x5x8QF Over the past few weeks, maybe 15 to 20 companies that I barely remember have reached out via email with one of the cheery versions of the same message: "Don't let it end like this!" "We still love you; do you love us?" "Click here to stay in touch!" What's happening is GDPR: the European Union's new General Data Protection Regulation. And what it's causing is a flood of emails from companies that currently have your contact information and may have been sending you newsletters in the past. GDPR requires active, clear consent for the use and even the storage of personal information such as email addresses. Consent from years ago isn't good enough. "Consent" that was actually a failure to uncheck a "Send me information" checkbox isn't good enough. Business via Forbes - Entrepreneurs https://ift.tt/dTEDZf May 23, 2018 at 11:46AM
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How Feeding A Love For Travel Is FEEDing The World https://ift.tt/2kl1JRe She’s the granddaughter of George H.W. Bush and the daughter-in-law of Ralph Lauren but what Lauren Bush Lauren is more than anything is an activist entrepreneur who’s helping to feed the world’s children. In 2007, she founded FEED with the goal of doing just that: feeding children in need. So far, by selling great-looking bags emblazoned with the company name, FEED has provided more than 100 million meals. The signature burlap bap continues to be a bestseller and an important conversation starter, but the company has evolved over the past decade, adding more products to their line and opening a FEED Shop & Cafe in Brooklyn, where each purchase of a coffee or baked good also provides one meal. FEED just launched its highly-anticipated travel collection – something supporters have been begging for – and it seemed like a good time to catch up with Lauren. I have been a huge fan of your bags from the beginning. I love the way they look but I especially love what they do. Can you share a little background of how and why you started FEED, and why you decided bags were the right product? The idea for FEED came about during my college years. After witnessing the devastating effects of hunger and poverty first-hand while traveling with the UN World Food Programme, I knew I wanted to do something more to help. I had studied and interned in fashion, and the idea of creating beautifully designed products that give back married both passions. Reusable totes were just gaining popularity as an eco-friendly alternative to paper or plastic, so the idea for the reversible FEED 1 Bag was really a lightbulb moment for me, inspired by the burlap bag that the WFP uses to transport food. Tell us about the bags themselves. Who designs them? How do you come up with different styles? Business via Forbes - Entrepreneurs https://ift.tt/dTEDZf May 23, 2018 at 11:46AM
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Evidence is mounting that the stock market could plunge into chaos this summer https://ift.tt/2IJ8lmX Getty Images / Scott Olson
The stock market has stabilized quite nicely after a 10% correction rocked major indexes earlier this year, so it's easy to understand why investor concern has ebbed. This can be seen in the spot price for the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) — also known as the stock market's fear gauge — which has declined precipitously, recently falling to its lowest level since January. But that placidity is masking a potentially jarring situation mounting under the surface. Open interest in call options that bet on a VIX increase and expire in July has surged in recent weeks, according to data compiled by Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Translation: Traders are piling into wagers that, by mid-summer, the VIX will spike into the rarefied air it experienced in February. And since the fear gauge trades inversely to the S&P 500 roughly 80% of the time, that could accompany a rough patch for stocks, as it did earlier this year. The dynamic outlined by BAML can be seen in this chart: Bank of America Merrill Lynch Digging even deeper into recent stock performance, BAML sees a strengthening US dollar fueling a rally in small-cap shares. Since the exports of larger, multi-national companies are negatively impacted by a stronger greenback, more domestically-focused firms tend to outperform when it's rising, which is exactly how things have played out lately. However, it's those same lagging mega-cap stocks that occupy the heaviest weightings in stock indexes, so any weakness they experience could be felt market-wide. If a stronger dollar persists — and other headwinds like the prospect of higher rates and slowing earnings growth continue to worsen — investors would be well-served to heed BAML's implied warning of a July selloff. And in ironic fashion, if traders do choose to hedge by buying VIX contracts, it will push the fear gauge even higher. In the end, it's a potentially self-fulfilling prophecy that the market needs to figure out — and fast. Markets Insider NOW WATCH: Jeff Bezos on breaking up and regulating Amazon See Also:
Business via Business Insider https://ift.tt/eKERsB May 23, 2018 at 11:42AM
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This Couple Created A Multi-Level Curriculum To Teach All Ages Financial Literacy https://ift.tt/2IF2grK Financial literary is an essential topic not often taught to individuals at an early age. More notably, the financial trials that plague misinformed kids eventually grow to haunt adults in a similar way. For a majority of kids growing up without a safety net or parents who’ve achieved true financial stability, the likelihood of falling into significant debt or damaging a credit score before reaching adulthood is extremely high. Such a lack of awareness and access to critical information causes many promising teens and young adults alike to become trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty. As a result, instead of pursing their dreams with confidence and aspiring to acquire the luxuries of life, being financially bound prevents their ability to attend college, sustain a career, and ultimately provide for their family. In an era of entrepreneurship, much emphasis is placed upon chasing checks and generating multiple streams of income. However, today’s generation of talented hustlers are rarely trained how to manage, save and invest their earnings to receive a greater pay off in the long-term. Even for professionals settled into their career path and earning a sizable wage, the dangers of not understanding debt, credit or cash flow can cripple earning potential. While studying Literature at UC Santa Barbara, Pamela Capalad worked a summer job teaching financial literacy. Witnessing the value and effectiveness of her work, Capaland teamed up with her husband and educator Dyalekt and consolidated her teachings into what is now known as Pockets Change — a financial literacy curriculum that uses Hip Hop as a vehicle to educate kids about the important fundamentals of finance. The program is currently licensed by a growing list of schools, youth organizations and parents across the country. The teachings are designed to help kids grasp, plan and prepare for their financial future. Following a few years of working in wealth management, Capaland became a Certified Financial Planner, leveraging her knowledge and experience to launch a financial planning program for adults called Brunch and Budget. Gathering groups over brunch, the program pushes people to honestly evaluate their relationship with money to develop attainable financial goals and make smarter money decisions. Capaland offers attendees budget coaching, accounting assistance and personal financial advising. Starting with a small group of friends and associates, Brunch and Budget has since evolved into a traveling workshop that hits multiple cities throughout the year. Recognizing the different financial habits and patterns between clients tied to race and background, Capaland further develop a specialized training program for people of color. Dead Day Job Army is a year-long financial literacy initiative provides clients with affordable, accessible and high-quality financial planning. The program also breaks down systematic issues unique to people of color, while educating enrollees on ways to achieve financial freedom to generate wealth through tackling subjects such as cash flow management, income diversification, credit analysis, tax planning and investments. I spoke with Pamela and Dyalekt about the vision behind their movement, closing the wealth gap and the importance of educating people about financial literacy. Where did you passion for finance develop and describe how you arrived at launching Pockets Change? Pam: I got involved in finance by randomly taking a summer job teaching at a financial literacy camp for kids. It was inspiring, because I never received this type of information growing up and didn’t have access to people who were knowledgeable in the space. That experience made me realize that this was my mission in life, helping generations of kids become financially literate. To do that, I decided to go into the financial services industry to get a real background in finance and understand how it all works. I partnered up with a financial educator in California and we developed a financial literacy curriculum called Pockets Change. So, we developed this financial literacy curriculum while I was doing private wealth management work in New York City. My plan was to just do that for a couple of years, and then get out of it. But, it took a lot longer than two years. I transitioned from running the financial literacy company and doing wealth management into becoming a financial planning associate. So, every time I would put my teacher hat on and present the curriculum to people, they would say it was a great idea, but nobody wanted to get behind it. When I would introduce the curriculum to teachers, the kids in their class would ask a wide range financial questions, which made me also realize that we had to break each element down before being able to properly integrate the program into the schools. With this in mind, my partner and I decided to go back and do it ourselves. Dyalekt: I’m an emcee, playwright and educator. I say all of these things, because they all work together. I’ve done a lot of educational work taking the cultural components of Hip Hop and using them to provide people with practical knowledge. I also teamed up with other educators to develop a program that helped people with job prep, from perfecting their resume to getting ready for an interview. From there, we thought why not integrate my Hip Hop approach to the financial literacy curriculum and see if it works. What we’ve found is that there are different levels as to why it works so well. From the perspective of an educator, it works well because it’s fun. If you’re not having fun teaching and the information is not delivered in a way where people want to learn it, then it’s not going to register. Additionally, Hip Hop is about building community. When you mix Hip Hop with a mission to help students become better learners and better caretakers of their communities in a financial aspect, you have something powerful. In the communities that I work in, we often have very skewed and unhealthy views about finance. That’s why another focus for us is changing the relationship people have with their money. We take all of the research and stats we gather and build teachings around them to assure we’re addressing the real needs people have. By combining our backgrounds and experience, we bring the best of both worlds, and are able to provide a fun, informative and useful curriculum that breaks down the barriers that keep people from reaching financial freedom. At what point did you realize your experiences and teachings could not only serve kids but also serve your peers and older adults alike? Pam: Dyalekt is a rapper, and we’re always around people in the artist community. It quickly became clear to me that I was always the only financial person in the group. The artists would pull me aside at parties to ask me questions about IRA’s, credit card debt and things like that. I thought it would be helpful to create a space for them to learn and get advice in a more appropriate setting. Brunch and Budget came out of me finding a way to put people, particularly my friends, in a comfortable setting where they could freely and openly talk about their finances. I wanted to remove the stress, embarrassment and fear around it. After coming up with the idea, I quit my job at the end of 2014 and starting doing Brunch and Budget full-time in 2015. I built the brand around the idea of breaking bread with someone, finding common ground and helping them make smarter financial decisions. Most people aren’t comfortable discussing their finances openly with people, for a number of reasons — How do you get people to trust you and have these honest conversations? Pam: We want to provide guidance people can trust and break down the taboo of having these types of money conversations. We also want to tell people what to look out for. One of the valuable lessons I learned in wealth management was understanding how the financial system works, being able to identify the faults within the system, and being aware of how the system is predatory to people of color, and poor people in general. Through the process of building my client base with Brunch and Budget, one thing that I realized was that more than half of my ongoing clients were people of color, and I would have to plan for them differently than my white clients. I started to notice certain patterns that would shape our approach. My clients of color were often first generation college students, so they often battled with student loan debt and didn’t have a safety net from their parents. Instead, they were usually taking care of their parents and being the primary providers for their families. As a result, moving home was not an option. Or, if they did move home, they were helping out and their parents were moving in with them. They were paying their father’s rent, or paying their brother’s cell phone bill. Seeing these patterns, I wanted to find more data and understand more of the causes for why they are faced with these situations. From childhood to adulthood — How do your programs address financial literacy across generations? Dyalekt: Those are the three areas we focus on — kids, college-aged students and older adults. Pam’s financial planning teachings are clear and comprehensive for each segment. It costs a lot to do personal finance work. It’s difficult for a lot of people to afford it, and also very difficult getting people to believe it’s something they need. That’s why we’re addressing and solving these issues. We believe the most important step for a lot of people to understand is simply grasping that this is an area worth addressing. It shocks me to see how many people don’t understand what wealth is. For example, you can be the first in your family to earn a lot of money; you can be making all the money in the world, but everyone else is behind you and needs help. People will make $100,000 a year and also have parents with a home they can fall back on. They don’t understand what it’s like to make six figures, but you’re barely making bills because you have family you’re supporting or siblings who depend on you to survive. That’s one of the big things I try to point out — most kids in college don’t have the same ability to take a risk. There’s a much smaller margin for error. For kids with a safety net, or who have wealthy parents, they can drop out of college and likely be fine. They have the luxury to take time, figure out their next move and bounce back. Or, they can work a job with their parents and cruise by without worrying about their finances. There are millions of people who don’t have that luxury. We want to prepare those people and set them up to win regardless of their circumstance. Pam: We got the opportunity to cover the Prosperity Now Conference a few years ago, and the theme was closing the generational wealth gap. We were able to form a partnership with them because they needed us to translate the message in a more impactful way to a multi-generational audience. We took all of the research and presented it in a digestible way for everyone, while also sharing real-world stories that came with these statistics to amplify the message. One stat said that it takes 228 years for the average black family to catch up to the wealth of one white family today. If we continue down that road, the average wealth of a black family will be zero by 2053. We not only can offer these hard facts, but also be able to break them down in a way that people can understand both the problems and solutions. Explain the thinking behind Dead Day Job Army and the specific issues you work to address? Pam: One of the things we focus on with Dead Day Job Army is actually creating a competent financial plan. It’s important to truly understand your cash flow. This is a problem for everyone, but people of color often have a smaller margin for error, so they have to pay a lot closer attention to the inward and outward flow of money. We have them go through all of their expenses. We have them put together 12-month cashflow projections and help them track their spending. I also work with everyone individually to help develop their financial plan and address things like employee benefits, 401K plan and their IRA. We talk about what kind of insurance they need, and what kind of help their parents might need. Do their parents have an estate plan and why is estate planning so important to generating generational wealth? Having those types of conversations individually and within the group has proven to be extremely valuable. We originally wanted to do it in a group because we could make it more affordable and people could connect with each other. What we found as we were working in groups is that people were getting real about what they’re getting paid, what their rates are and so forth. Being able to share that information with each other is priceless. Subconsciously or consciously, especially as people of color, we’re always going to get low-balled. People are literally going to value us less in dollars. As a result, we’re fighting things from all aspects. On one side, you have expenses, which are going to be different and higher than our white counterparts potentially. On the other side, you face this subtle discrimination that’s hard to address because it’s not as evident on the surface. To be able to have such conversations in a safe space has been a great thing to come out of our program. Dyalekt: For most people, if you go to a Financial Planner and tell them you have to take care of your family and send money home, they would simply tell you to stop doing it. But, that’s usually not a realistic or effective solution. People being able to separate the fact that yes, there are several things going on that impact my finances and yes, I also need structure and a clearer understanding of how to manage my money — that’s what puts people in position to take control of their financial future. That balance allows people to truly understand why they make certain financial decisions, instead of just believing that they are bad at handling money. It’s about addressing the systemic factors, while also focusing on positive habit-building to keep people from making mistakes with their money. We want to empower people in a way that gives them the mindset necessary to overcome these challenges and acknowledge how to overcome them. It’s important to know how your credit score works, knowing how it’s design to trip you up and understanding what those rules are. It’s important to know how to talk with a collections agency and knowing how to address your debt in a different way than what you were taught. If we can optimize those things as much as possible, have people feel empowered to advocate for themselves, and equip them to take control of their income and expenses — that’s how we push people forward and put them on a path toward true financial progress. For individuals transitioning from being teenagers into college-aged adults — What are the things you believe they should be thinking about and looking out for? Pam: There’s a mindset level and a practical level. As educators, a lot of the work is undoing genetic memory and getting people to breakaway from the cycle of generational poverty. Most people think that because they have money now, and it may be gone later, they should just spend it while they have it. Especially when you grew up in poverty and suddenly accumulate a lot of money, or you’ve seen your parents get a windfall of money and have it taken away — that forms a certain instinct within you. Instead of saving, you spend out of fear that your money isn’t safe. Learning how to undo that mentality is a huge part of the work we do. Another practical lesson we teach is going through how to build a good credit score. While it will be a few years before high school kids should realistically think about opening a credit card, it opens their eyes to a system that is faultily designed to trip them up. You will not realize how faulty the credit system is as a high school kid, but you quickly realize it after opening a card in college. What do you mean I have a $2,000 limit, but can only spend 30%? What do you mean I have to have a credit card open to get another one? We want them to learn to question these things and access the information needed to know how this system works. You can never learn enough, there’s always more information to collect. On the adult side, when it comes to advocating for yourself, one thing I noticed is that we often get to a point where we simply don’t check anymore. Our paycheck comes, money goes out, and the cycle continues. We don’t want to see how much money we’re really spending. So, we also want to address the fears around checking and tracking your money to get people to release some of the judgment they place of themselves. Dyalekt: The area in which most people face the greatest challenges is in their mindset. The reason most people want to pay down their debt is that it reminds them of everything they’ve done wrong financially. You also just feel like your life won’t be stable or truly prosperous until you’re out of debt. That’s why it’s important to unlearn how we’ve been socialized to take debt personal and use all of our money to get out of it. When you’re young, you don’t really develop a clear understand of where money fits into your life. When you’re thinking about what career field you’re entering in the future, you’re not normally thinking about what companies usually pay on different levels and how you actually feel about that. Does that line up with the type of lifestyle you want to live? Does that provide the stability you need based on your family needs and expenses? These are thoughts or questions people are forced to face as they get older, and often times when it’s right in front of their face. By teaching people how the system works and how to operate within it, they feel more confident managing their money and develop a desire to do the research. How do you see your program evolving and what is the greater takeaway you want people to gain from the work you’re doing? Pam: The simple and somewhat cliche answer is that we want to close the generational wealth gap. When it comes to Dead Day Job Army, I want to address a couple of things in the financial planning world. There are 80,000 certified financial planners and 93% of them are white. One thing I’d like to do is get more financial planners of color involved to help their communities directly. When we figure out how to scale this and make it something that continues to be affordable and valuable for people, it’s then about figuring out how to evolve other people and other communities. We want this to become a way that people of all backgrounds can get a foundational financial plan and be able to move forward from that. Financial planning is not a luxury, it’s an expensive necessity. Everybody needs it, so we think about how we can make it inexpensive and more accessible. When it comes to generational wealth, there are two sides of it. We’re addressing the practitioner side of it. We’re addressing the human side of it. There are so many organizations putting the information out there, and our job is to stay on the ground and continue servicing the people who need this information. Dyalekt: A lot of organizations share the goal of ending oppression or eliminating financial inequity. The thing about those goals is that they are so large and have so many layers or variables, that you’re almost sure to never fully accomplish your goal. What we’d like to do is make sure that our goals are tangible and attainable. As a result, we have less of an idea about where we want things to go as a company and are more so focused on what we want people to achieve. What we’d like to do is create more large-scale seasonal programs that people can access while we work directly with smaller groups and provide useful insight for those who continue to work with us to have on-demand for years to come. Business via Forbes - Entrepreneurs https://ift.tt/dTEDZf May 23, 2018 at 11:39AM
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Meet The Music Exec Taking Bands From The Fringes To The Grammys https://ift.tt/2IIt3aN Alternative music doesn't usually top the pop charts. But whether it's Phoenix, Mumford & Sons, Childish Gambino or CHVRCHES, Glassnote Records has been at the forefront of crossover smashes. That's why I was excited to talk with music business luminary and Glassnote President, Daniel Glass. After heading majors like Universal and EMI, Glass set out to create the "best indie label" according to Rolling Stone. He treated me like family as I walked into his New York office, telling stories about the old Brooklyn neighborhood and our favorite Laurel Canyon songwriters. Here's our chat: Danny Ross: You've had huge crossover hits with rock, bluegrass and electronic bands. How did you do it? Daniel Glass: It's not an accident. When we identify artists, we look them in the eye and say, “Are they ambitious?” Because we see them as moving to the middle eventually. We don't want to stay on the fringes, we want to be on the radio and on SNL and on stage at the Grammys. We’re planning ahead now for Jade Bird to go to the next level, so we look at the great ones like SZA, Khalid, Maren Morris, Ed Sheeran. We aspire to that, and believe we should be there. Ross: So what do you make of pop music in 2018? Glass: You know, I'm not looking that fondly on this era to be honest. Everyone is moving to either L.A. or Nashville as creative centers. But you're getting a factory or laboratory feeling in the music, rather than an organic one. The mission is — "let me get a hook, a bridge, a break, a beat and put it together." But it's not working. And it's not working for career development. People want to hear something behind the artists. I think it's been a bit bland, watered-down music. It’s a little impersonal to me. Ross: Who is doing it right? Glass: Adele seems to ingratiate herself into the writing process enough, so that I believe it's Adele talking about the the boyfriend or whatever. And I think The Weeknd is an artist that actually is in the room because it's very personal what he writes — even though there are huge songwriters and producers on those records. Ross: So what songs are you listening to right now? Glass: A song called "Breathless" by William Prince, a first-nation Indian from Canada, and it's just a pearl. It was produced by Dave Cobb — you listen to it once and you know immediately. "Miracle" by CHVRCHES has the most mass-appeal potential of any song they've put out. They worked with Steve Mac who co-wrote "Shape of You." Plus, I went to see Carousel last night, and those songs are just incredible. "When you walk through a storm/ Hold your head up high/ Don't be afraid of the dark/ You'll never walk alone." I haven't seen that in 30 years! Ross: In the Spotify age, should an artist make more records or play more shows? Glass: What attracts us to the artists here initially is the live show — their musicianship or vocals. But I think people in this era over-tour, and they don't make enough records. I still think that recorded music is one of the most underrated parts of our business. It's now getting respect in the last few months because of the Spotify listing. But we were looked upon for the last 15 years as a diminishing loss-leader. Ross: But aren't musicians losing money making records? Glass: Some people say, "We're not going to make money on the record, so let's just put it out as an ad for the tour.” I find that awful thinking. Because the bands that were playing 18,000-seaters and release a mediocre record eventually step down to 9,000-seaters, then 3,000-seaters. So you need to put more challenging music out. Ross: Are you optimistic about the streaming age? Glass: I'm very optimistic. Artists and managers are smarter than they've ever been. So if you cut unfair deals, people are going to leave you or sue you. When you have a fraction of a penny as your new standard of measurement, you have to change, and I think that's empowering for a new songwriter or artist. We're a very fair label. We basically believe that if we do well, we should split it. Ross: But is the playlist culture a good thing? Glass: There are gatekeepers everywhere — on the label side, publishing, distribution. Gatekeepers pervade our industry. So you've just got to work them right, connect well and you'll get in. (continued on Page 2) Business via Forbes - Entrepreneurs https://ift.tt/dTEDZf May 23, 2018 at 11:39AM
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How To Stand Out As A Small Consultancy And Crush Goliaths https://ift.tt/2s6IYV8
I run into a lot of high-level consultants who have had the guts to leave their stodgy large corporations to start their own shops. They usually do so because they are fed up with the old fashioned processes and bureaucracy and believe they can do it better while experiencing more freedom and making more money. But I have started to notice some clear patterns and challenges they all run into, regardless of industry.
Despite their knowledge and expertise, these consultants all try to look and sound exactly like their larger counterparts, and end up looking like a less credible option instead. They know they are uniquely positioned, with their expertise and nimble capabilities as a boutique shop, but fear that their size is a disadvantage when going after their target market. So when it comes to their branding they play it safe. Even though they know they have to do or say something different to rise above the noise and get attention, they are afraid of losing credibility by being too different. They are left feeling cornered and torn on how to communicate their benefits and advantages. Yet I find it ironic that many of these high-end consultants, and other service providers in oversaturated, generic markets are attracted to our brand precisely because we are “too different.” There is no shortage of people offering branding and graphic design out there and they, too, are ironically afraid of losing credibility by being too different. That’s why they all look and sound the same. This is good news for consultants! You’ve got a huge opportunity to actually stand out. Big consultancies are slow moving ships that have antiquated brand messaging that can’t speak as honestly and freely as you can, coupled with old fashioned processes that cannot easily implement new technology. Compound those challenges with the fact that other consultants are most likely struggling with the same fear of scaring off clients by being too different, which results in that same generic, “me too” branding, and you have a chance to win big against direct, smaller competitors, and even the giant Goliath’s. Be Proud You’re A David I recently worked with an impressive consultant, whom I’ll call Mark. Mark worked in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) for many years at one of the big consultancies. Ten years ago, with a ton of experience and the right amount of chutzpah, he went out on his own to become a freelance consultant. Since then, Mark’s worked with some big clients and even landed a few huge ones, despite the fact he operates as a one-man consultancy. Large corporations bring Mark in to handle their M&A because he has a really great reputation. All of his clients come from referrals. He’s less expensive than the big consultancies, he’s a high-level expert, and he’s able to scale his team of freelancers up or down as he needs. Despite all these advantages, Mark still has a ceiling on his income. There are only so many days in the year for Mark to work and even though he's bringing in freelancers from time to time, he’s spending lots of time putting the team together. Even if he works with the same people often, there's waste. Mark is what I’d call a sharp shooter; small consultancy, super high efficacy. He’s not trying to be like a large consultancy either. But he doesn’t want to remain a one-person shop where the whole of his business is dependent on his personal reputation. And Mark’s not alone. I speak to more and more independent, high-level consultants like Mark who want a brand in the middle; a boutique, high-level consultancy with a small group of experts. The big challenge for all of them, though, is how to build a brand that stands out, has the credibility to get big companies to hire them, and demonstrate they’re more than a one-man band capable of handling large clients with huge projects. And while it’s a big challenge to them, it’s pretty clear to me. Rather than try to come off as another Goliath, own the benefits of being a David. This means highlighting why the size of their company is a value add, not a liability. For example, small shops are predominately a team of high-level experts, not a large pyramid where a significant portion of client payments pad the pockets of the owners at the top. If you’re a sharp-shooter who’s in this position, you need to own the fact that you’re better, but not cheaper. “Cheap expert” is an oxymoron! In fact, sometimes you want to be more expensive to show clients they are paying for a very high-level of value. Wouldn't they rather have a team of six executive-level owners, versus a team of 20 where 15 of them are junior staff who have never done a project like this (which is what many large consultancies offer)? Demonstrate how technology makes you more flexible and nimble than the big agencies. Nowadays, an individual can have teams and partnerships with other small boutique agencies all over the world, seamlessly working with them in real time. This has changed the game, opening up opportunities for nimble boutique agencies to compete with the large corporate consultancies that previously dominated. To Be David You Have To Stop Acting Like Goliath Mark has the same problem a lot of freelance consultants have: he has a strong reputation without the long-term brand credibility of a big consultancy. He wants to be able to scale his business and he’s struggling with how to convey the necessary impressive reputation while maintaining the value of his smaller shop flexibility. If you’re in Mark’s shoes, my advice here is pretty straight-forward. First, position yourself as one premium hire rather than 15 juniors. This is usually a value proposition you can and should be operating in because it’s the easiest for large companies to understand. Quality versus quantity. The second, though, might be a little harder. You need to own your area of expertise. Less is more, here. Like I tell all my clients—high-end merger and acquisition consultants included—you need to be willing to specialize. You cannot play this game if you don’t. (If you need help on figuring out where and how to specialize take this Crash Course in branding.) You have to be willing to own a message that is clear and succinct. Demonstrate restraint in your copy and your messaging so you're not trying to explain everything up front—which is the mistake everybody makes. Then, of course, you need a brand design that's not going to look like a smaller version of your super corporate competitors, but also isn't going to look so edgy and cool that you miss the mark. Having the guts to own a brand that's a little outside of what big corporate companies look like will give you the edge you’re looking for. But you have to O-W-N it! There’s no going halfway with something like this. Consultants fear this position, so they have websites and brands that end up being “for everyone” and forgettable as a result. Consultants who truly want to stand out know they have to do better. They also know some corporate companies will not get it. When your positioning demonstrates you are on the brink of a new way of doing business, you must realize it’s okay if some stuffier companies don’t hire you. You want to attract the clients who do get it. Because if you simply trying to be a smaller, cheaper version of Bain or McKinsey—which is what most consultants are doing—you’ve already lost. Why am I so confident in this position? Big Is No Longer Seen As Best The advantage I’m describing for consultants is that the Davids of the world can pivot where the Goliaths can't. That's your value-add, and that's how you need to position your brand. There’s no inherent value in big anymore and in some cases it can even be suspect. Despite your specific industry or specific offering, if you are a high-level consultant who works with corporate companies, you're likely wondering how to scale to the next level. It’s pretty simple when you lean into your differences as advantages. Small. Boutique. High-level. Responsive and hands on. Tech savvy and forward thinking… these are qualities the Goliaths are trying desperately to convey in their rebrands and new marketing starting decades ago with marketing campaigns like Charles Schwab's “talk to Chuck”. But however effective such advertising might be at hooking in new clients, it can’t deliver these types of values compared to a real David. The overhead alone makes it impossible. You couldn’t have done this 10 years ago. The market, the technology, and the mindsets didn’t allow for brands who were small, nimble, and edgy to operate on the scale they can today. The mistake many consultant make is that they still try to emulate the big guys. It just doesn't work, not anymore. At the end of the day, what you really want is the credibility a big consultancy has earned, not their size. Don’t confuse the two. The right strategy is to to own the value-add the big guys can't. And build your credibility around that. Who really wants to be Goliath anyway? Business via Forbes - Entrepreneurs https://ift.tt/dTEDZf May 23, 2018 at 11:39AM
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Meet Lauren Armes: The Aussie Entrepreneur With Worldwide Wellness In Her Sights https://ift.tt/2s3WsS4 With just six months remaining on her UK visa, it was crunch time for Australian native and Welltodo founder Lauren Armes. Having moved across the world for a marketing role within an architecture firm, she spotted, in the nick of time, a gap in the market for a UK-based digital publication covering consumer trends in the wellness industry. Today, Welltodo, the wider wellness industry and Armes are all unrecognizable from the company’s launch four years ago. The former, now profitable, offers wellness news, insights, training, careers and events. The wellness industry is now worth over $3.72 trillion, representing more than 5 per cent of all global economic output. Armes, meanwhile, is a successful business mentor, coach and columnist – and will be speaking on her trials and tribulations at the International Business Festival next month. Philip Salter: What are the biggest challenges faced by today? Lauren Armes: We’ve grown organically and without any outside investment, so naturally our challenge has been reaching our audience and prioritizing opportunities based on limited resources. Our biggest opportunity today is overseas expansion, and how we replicate our UK success in other markets. We recently launched our event series in Asia, focusing on Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia, where wellness is picking up momentum. Salter: How are you approaching international expansion? Armes: Having an online audience enabled us to create internationally relevant content, but it was only half of the puzzle. We had to translate that content into ticket sales for our international events, which relied on nurturing relationships through our market director on the ground. We’ve learnt that things take a lot longer than expected, but that there is an advantage to taking your time, reiterating and constantly responding to new information – rather than assuming all will operate as it does in the UK. Salter: How has tech made an impact on your business? Armes: Welltodo was founded around digital content, but this has also fed into the offline work we do. We created an online community with an interest in the business of wellness, and this translated into the success of our Founder Series and annual Welltodo Summit. Engaging with industry thought-leaders online, particularly through social media, enabled us to more clearly define our proposition and isolate the key problems we could solve in the marketplace through business coaching, online learning, recruitment and directory services. Salter: Access to skilled workers remains a perpetual challenge for entrepreneurs. What is Welltodo’s approach to attracting the next generation of talent? Armes: We incorporate a jobs marketplace into our own offering, working with brands in the wellness sphere to attract talented candidates with passion for the industry. There’s a growing tribe of individuals who see the global growth trajectory and want to transition into wellness, so our pool of talent is expanding. We then tap into this pool ourselves when looking to make new hires, while offering existing employees benefits like career coaching and access to a gym. Salter: What are your ambitions for the future? Armes: We want to make ourselves indispensable to the global wellness industry, and support millions worldwide to launch, grow a career or scale a business within it. Our success will depend on people questioning their own professional fulfillment and recognizing the opportunities that exist within this industry as consumers become more discerning about the products and services they consume. Collectively we’re here to support the continued growth of wellness and see more people translate a passion for wellbeing into a profitable and successful career. Business via Forbes - Entrepreneurs https://ift.tt/dTEDZf May 23, 2018 at 11:39AM
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Why Arlan Hamilton Created A $36 Million Fund For Black Women https://ift.tt/2IIJRu0 Recently Arlan Hamilton, founder and managing partner of the venture firm, Backstage Capital announced via Twitter and the United State of Women conference that their newest $36 million fund will invest exclusively in black women-led startups and entrepreneurs. Hamilton’s firm specializes in funding non-visible groups within the tech sector like women, people of color, and LGBT founders and has invested more than 40 million in over 80 companies led by underrepresented founders. Black women start-ups and entrepreneurs are leading the pack when it comes to being marginalized within tech funding, only receiving 0.2% of all funding and less than 3% of VC dollars in 2018.
Hamilton and her team at Backstage Capital intend to change that percentage by introducing the $36 million fund which will invest in Black women founders $1 million dollars at a time. The decision to create the fund was simple according to Hamilton, there is simply not enough funding being given to black women founders although they are the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs and Hamilton believes it’s about damn time for that to change. I spoke with Hamilton about her motivation behind creating the fund and her plans to expand Backstage Capital. Dominique Fluker: You've announced recently that your new fund will invest $36 million exclusively in black women-led startups. What led you to create this fund specifically for black women startups and founders? Arlan Hamilton: The numbers speak for themselves. Black women are invested in .2% of the time, so one-fifth of 1% of the time in venture capital a black woman receives an investment. When they receive that investment, they receive on average $36,000.00 versus $1.3 million that their white male counterpart would receive. These numbers are from 2012 to 2014, and they've gotten slightly better over the past few years, but not fast enough. I think it's time that there is a fund that invests a significant amount of money in black women, bullishly and unapologetically to move the needle and to set an example. Fluker: Discuss the impact that you hope to make with this new fund. Why it is important to invest solely in black women founders at this time? Hamilton: While Backstage Capital will continue to invest in several categories of underrepresented founders, including women across the board, people of color no matter their gender, and orientation, the focus of the $1 million investments into black women is a personal mission of mine. I also believe that black women are going to make me rich because they are gravely underestimated, and they are creating companies and running companies of massive scale that is being overlooked and ignored. I think that I am able to see two and three years into the future at any given time when it comes to the way that venture works, and right now I see that there are many black women who are being underestimated in this very moment and who by supporting them and backing them with a $1 million check, I will reap the rewards and the benefits of that in two to three years and beyond. Fluker: In a sector where only 0.2% of black women are receiving funding, how can other VC firms do their part to change those percentages? Hamilton: They hopefully will look at funds like Backstage Capital, Cross Culture, Monique Woodard's funds, Charles Hudson's fund, Shontel Pierceson's fund, Kesha Cash's fund and so on and so forth and look at the trend and look at how those funds got in so early and now are backing some of the most interesting, intriguing and successful founders that we're seeing right now. They got in five, three, two years ago when no one was paying attention, and today we're seeing what those companies are becoming. A great example would be Morgan DeBaun at Blavity who Monique Woodard backed early. Another example would be Jessica Matthews at Uncharted Power, Jewel Burks at Partpic, and so on and so forth. Now, if I can continue to help other funds meet these founders early, then we all win. The founders win, the other fund managers win, and Backstage wins. I think that even if you're not meeting them through me, that hiring black and brown women today as analysts, as apprentices, as associates, as partners are the only way to move forward in a quick manner. Anything less is lazy, obtuse, and losing. Fluker: What are your plans to expand Backstage Capital and continue to back underrepresented founders? Hamilton: In addition to announcing our $36 million history-making fund, we have other announcements in store throughout the summer that will continue to show Silicon Valley that it's not only possible to back underrepresented founders in a meaningful way, but it is paramount. Both of those announcements I think will send waves through Silicon Valley just as this fund announcement has in the past couple of weeks. Business via Forbes - Entrepreneurs https://ift.tt/dTEDZf May 23, 2018 at 11:39AM
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EazyO Startup, Led By Founder Over 50, Aims To Transform Poolside Food Service https://ift.tt/2IJIXSg Necessity may get top billing as the mother of invention, but frustration does a fine job as well. That was the case for financial services industry veteran Brett Benza, who founded his first standalone entrepreneurial venture, the EazyO beach food-ordering app, after age 50. Irked by the challenges of ordering food from beach or poolside at sprawling hotels, Benza developed the idea for a mobile app with geolocation that enables guests at participating resorts to tap their smartphones to order and pay for hotel or concession delivery to their beach chairs. Those trying to relax in the sun can avoid chasing down servers, waiting for a menu or a check, standing in line at a snack stand, or wondering how long it will take the waiter to find them. “I decided there just had to be a better way to do this,” said founder and CEO Benza, who started developing the idea nearly three years ago. “We are an ordering platform that enables these large venues that serve large geographic areas to be more productive, and for the guests to have a better and easier time ordering,” he said. So far, his Miami Beach company works with a dozen resorts, including the Fontainebleau Miami Beach, and several public beaches, enabling delivery of food and beverages and, in some cases, gift-shop items like sun screen, hats and games. EazyO also supports room service at a large condo building with a grocery store on premises. Business via Forbes - Entrepreneurs https://ift.tt/dTEDZf May 23, 2018 at 11:39AM
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It's Time To Take The Cult Out Of Culture https://ift.tt/2LkMgg5 I’m about to make a statement for which I’ll take endless grief. You may vehemently disagree, and I can understand that. But I’m compelled to share my conclusion, after 25 years in executive search and building four companies. Here it is. Culture fit is one of the most overused and overhyped concepts in business today. Yep. For years, I bought into the conventional wisdom. I thought that culture was incredibly important and I worked endlessly to find people who “fit” my companies’ cultures and-more recently-my clients’ cultures. Now, 25 years into the game, I have a rueful confession: I still haven’t found a reliable way to assess a candidate for culture fit. More importantly, I’m convinced that striving to build a strong culture can backfire. Here’s what I do know: The fixation on culture fit often is at odds with building a team comprised of diverse backgrounds, thoughts, and ideas. When a team--consisting primarily of a certain gender, from a certain race, who went to a certain school--recruits for “fit,” they’re likely going to hire more of the same. And that’s not just bad for diversity itself; it’s bad for business. More diversity drives more profits. So what to do? Rather than recruit for culture fit, I’m convinced that it’s far better to recruit for DNA match. What is DNA? It’s the 3 or 4 characteristics that your top-performers possess. These qualities become the soul of your company. DNA is a powerful concept when you commit to never again hiring someone who doesn’t possess them in spades. No exceptions. And when you exit those mis-hires who snuck thru the recruiting process but demonstrate a lack of them. When I started my first company Career Central in 1996, my leadership team and I pinpointed 3 qualities that we knew our employees needed to possess: tirelessness, selflessness, and fearlessness. This was our DNA. Because we assembled a diverse--but like-minded--folks, we had near-perfect retention despite being located in the very hot Silicon Valley job market of in the late 1990’s. DNA can be defined and modeled. Articulating it was one of the first things I’ve done in the companies I started. And my most successful clients do the same. Culture is elusive. Culture, on the other hand, means different things to different people. It’s squishy. Do you want to entrust your most important business decision—hiring--to a subjective concept that everyone sees in their own way? If you think there’s a consensus about the meaning of culture, try Googling it. The opening section of “organizational culture” on Wikipedia contains 6 separate definitions from leading academics. Business via Forbes - Entrepreneurs https://ift.tt/dTEDZf May 23, 2018 at 11:39AM |
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