PR on a budget: Strategies for small businesses

In a rush to gain positive brand image, many businesses today resort to public relations (PR) to increase their market reach and to boost the sales of their products or services. Of this, a common misconception is that companies need to shell out a huge budget to get their message out to the public.

If this how you perceive PR, think again. Here are some budget-friendly PR strategies to help your business:

Build good relationships. The key in creating a good communications strategy is to connect with the right people. Even if you do not own a robust media list, companies today can still gain connections by making friends with industry influencers. To achieve this, you must identify the appropriate outlets and reporters who cover your industry and market. Reach out by inviting them for coffee or dinner. Make friends and build long-term relationships.

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Draft a good story. Journalists want a good story. Hence, it is important to focus on your story angles and message before pitching them to the media. According to Rion Harman, head of marketing for MakeSpace, an on-demand storage and delivery service, companies need to be straightforward with their goal, purpose and vision. It is through this that entrepreneurs can draft a PR strategy that contains timely and interesting stories.

Distribute multimedia releases. Long-term strategic planning is pertinent to reach a large number of media outlets via digital and traditional media. Know the right media outlets and journalists who might be interested in your story and try to adapt to their type of medium, whether they are in radio, TV, or online. Therefore, it is important to send your press releases in different formats.
 Storytelling and human relationships are the heart of PR. Therefore, it is important to maximize all your opportunities to get your story out to the public.

Image source: frontline-online.net

Emile Haddad is a Seattle-based business coach who promotes awareness of ‘the heart of the business’ by bridging the gap between the commercial and the cultural dynamics found in a given organizational setting. Learn more about leadership and success by subscribing to this blog.

Working With and Understanding Millennial Employees

Millennials were born sometime in the early 1980s and the mid-1990s. Generally, this generation has been brought up by parents who taught them that they could achieve whatever they wanted and that they should always be the best at what they do. This resulted in a generation that is notorious for a sense of entitlement and poor work ethic.

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They show up at work with cool haircuts, the latest gadgets, a surfeit of energy, and a tendency to multi-task. Most middle-aged people have trouble working with them, but some human resource experts have finally decoded how to have better working relationships with millennials.

Experts have learned that millennials have a thirst for immediate feedback. Since they grew up in an environment where they received constant support and encouragement, millennials work better when their leaders overcommunicate. Holding regular meetings and providing regular feedback, whether good or bad, is an initiative of a higher-up that most millennials look forward to.

Millennials are growing up in a rapidly evolving world where information circulates the world in a second. These changes teach millennials that there is a constant need for improvement. Employers can take advantage of the unique cultures of the information age by providing millennials trainings where they can learn new skills. Millennials tend to become life-long learners and this attitude can open up some training opportunities.

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Lastly, millennials are also used to having almost answered through some quick strikes to the keyboard. This makes them thirsty for the ‘why’ in everything. Make sure you explain everything to millennials, especially when you’re about to give them a task.

Emile Haddad understands the value of every person in a workplace and adjusting to cultures of new generations of employees. Learn more about how you could better work with people of varying backgrounds in this Twitter page.

Injecting creativity into the company's DNA

Fostering a culture of creativity is not just a requirement for advertising agencies or art-related ventures. Any company can benefit from having a creative and innovative team, no matter what industry it's in, because these characteristics extend beyond having artistic skill into having the ability to come up with unique and inventive solutions to problems.

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To motivate more creative thought, leaders should be open to their team about the company's goals and how each member contributes to achieving these objectives. When employees see the bigger picture and are made aware of how they fit into the puzzle, they can be emboldened to actively think of ways to help the company reach its objectives instead of just waiting for orders. Meeting up with the team regularly and being open to suggestions and really executing good ones encourages members to become innovative.

That said, giving the opportunity to be creative may mean that team members need time to explore the solutions they want to propose. If an employee wants to work on a project or look into a means of streamlining processes that may benefit the company, leaders should consider allowing them some time to fine-tune these, especially if these can prove advantageous to the business in the long run. These may not always succeed, and in those cases it can serve as a learning experience for everyone but if it does succeed, everyone can reap rewards.

 Image source: pixabay.com

Finally, essential to making creativity a part of the company's DNA is to create a workspace that inspires employees. Instead of keeping employees in claustrophobia-inducing cubicles, consider a beautiful, well-lit open space that encourages creativity and collaboration. Some companies have well-stocked pantries, freedom walls, and even lounges to reinvigorate team members when they feel like they're burning out. After all, when employees are happy to go to work, their creative juices get running, and they can do great things.

Emile Haddad of Seattle is business coach who believes that creativity, leadership, and accountability are essential to a company's success. Visit this blog for more insights on entrepreneurial success.

REPOST: 25 Entrepreneurs on Work Ethic and Passion

Successful entrepreneurs have gone through very difficult situations before they bagged all the marbles. The following are uplifting quotations from some of the most established businessmen in history to help careerists achieve similar success.

If there is one statement entrepreneurs hear heard time and time again it is that they are going to fail. That may sound extremely pessimistic, but there is quite a bit of truth in that statement.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, approximately half of all small businesses fail within the first five years. In addition, the National Federation of Independent Business’ Education Foundation estimated “that over the lifetime of a business, 39% are profitable, 30% break even, and 30% lose money.”


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Of course, that doesn’t mean you should give-up on your dreams. As any entrepreneur will inform you, failure is a part of the journey. It’s just a speed bump on the road to success. That’s why most entrepreneurs willingly put in an insane amount of hours each week without receiving a hefty paycheck (at least to begin with). They do it because they are driven by passion, not money.

Since being an entrepreneur has it’s fair share of highs and lows, sometimes you need a little inspiration during those moments when all hope seems lost. Those are the times that you should turn to some of the greatest entrepreneurial minds to offer a much-deserved pep talk to remind you that all of your hard work and dedication is worth the fight.

Without further ado here are uplifting quotes, in no particular order, from 25 entrepreneurs on work ethic and passion:

1. “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” – Steve Jobs, Co-founder of Apple

2. “Entrepreneurship is about turning what excites you in life into capital, so that you can do more of it and move forward with it.” – Sir Richard Branson, Founder of the Virgin Group

3. “Anything can be done, as long as you truly believe it.” – Ashley Qualls, Founder of WhateverLife.com

4. “We led with our conviction rather than rational, because rational said it was impossible.” – Daniel Ek, Founder of Spotify

5. “Nothing worth having comes easy. Relationships (of all kinds) take work. Customers take work. Building a team takes work. If it’s easy, it’s often not worth having and almost never a competitive advantage.” – Rand Fishkin, Wizard of Moz

6. “One of the huge mistakes people make is that they try to force an interest on themselves. You don’t choose your passions; your passions choose you.” – Jeff Bezos, Founder of Amazon

7. “One can steal ideas, but no one can steal execution or passion.” – Timothy Ferriss, Author of “The 4-Hour Workweek”

8. “Live your passion. What does that mean, anyway? It means that when you get up for work every morning, every single morning, you are pumped because you get to talk about or work with or do the thing that interests you the most in the world. You don’t live for vacations because you don’t need a break from what you’re doing—working, playing, and relaxing are one and the same. You don’t even pay attention to how many hours you’re working because to you, it’s not really work. You’re making money, but you’d do whatever it is you’re doing for free.” – Gary Vaynerchuk, Co-founder/CEO of VaynerMedia

9. “If you’re passionate about something and you work hard, then I think you will be successful.” – Pierre Omidyar, Founder/Chairman of eBay

10. “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” – Walt Disney, Co-founder of Walt Disney

11. “Every single person I know who is successful at what they do is successful because they love doing it.” – Joe Penna, Creator of MysteryGuitarMan

12. “The first thing is to have a vision that’s meaningful to both employees and customers. For Zappos it’s about customer service. You need to be truly passionate about your business. The goal shouldn’t be just to make money; I think you need to figure out something you would do even if you didn’t make any money from it. You’re going to have hard times growing your business, and if you’re passionate about it, that’s what’s going to get you through those hard times.” - Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos

13. “If you just work on stuff that you like and you’re passionate about, you don’t have to have a master plan with how things will play out.” – Mark Zuckerberg, Co-founder/CEO of Facebook

14. “You must fall in love with what you do, because being an entrepreneur is a lot of hard work, and overcoming a lot of adversity. From that love will come the dedication that will get you out of bed at 4 a.m. because of a great idea you just had and get you to work till 11 p.m. and not feel tired.” – Ken Field, real estate magnate

15. “Ideas are easy. Implementation is hard.” – Guy Kawasaki, Co-founder of Alltop

16. “Work like hell. I mean you just have to put in 80 to 100 hour weeks every week. [This] improves the odds of success. If other people are putting in 40 hour work weeks and you’re putting in 100 hour work weeks, then even if you’re doing the same thing you know that… you will achieve in 4 months what it takes them a year to achieve.” – Elon Musk, CEO/CTO of SpaceX & CEO of Tesla Motors

17. “Find your one thing and do that one thing better than anyone else.” – Jason Goldberg, Founder of Fab

18. “A mediocre idea that guarantees enthusiasm will go further than a great idea that inspires no one.” – Mary Kay Ash, Founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics, Inc.

19. “We were working at Odeo, but we weren’t as passionate about the podcasting service as we should have been. We weren’t using it, and that was a problem. Twitter got started because Ev gave us some freedom to think along different lines.” – Biz Stone, Co-founder of Twitter & Jelly

20. “I never took a day off in my twenties. Not one.” – Bill Gates, Co-founder of Microsoft

21. “In my experience, there’s only one thing that will always steer you toward success: That’s to have a vision and to stick with it… Once I have a vision for a new venture, I’m going to ride that vision until the wheels come off. There are always going to bumps in the road, but I try not to let them faze me.” – Russell Simmons, Co-founder of Def Jam & Phat Farm

22. “I try not to make any decisions that I’m not excited about.” – Jake Nickell, Co-founder/CEO of Threadless

23. “Don’t get caught up in how many hours you work. Judge success based on having goals and measuring your results. Hard work, and lots of it, is certainly needed, but focus on what you get done. What do you need to do to deliver for your client? To land the next customer? To expand within your customers? . . . .” – Mark Cuban, Owner of the Dallas Mavericks, Co-owner of 2929 Entertainment, Chairman of AXS TV, & Owner of Landmark Theaters

24. “With every obstacle that has happened to me in my life, my brain immediately says, ‘Where is the hidden blessing?’ In starting a business and growing a business, every day is learning how to manage obstacles.” - Sara Blakely, Founder of SPANX

25. “When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.” – Henry Ford, Founder of the Ford Motor Company

If you’re an entrepreneur, what are some of your favorite quotes involving work ethic and passion?

Emile Haddad is a Seattle, Washington-based business coach who has taught many professionals the skills they need to achieve success. For more on his accomplishments, click here.

Age of innocence and innovation: Not every work day is marked by brilliance

Multiple sectors are on a high with innovation, naturally because it is the best way to secure long-term business viability. Moreover, innovation nowadays is coming around to an overarching intention of promoting public good. Green technology is on the rise to allay anxieties about climate change and environmental degradation. Medicine, in particular, has an inherent breakneck R&D mandate to defeat the ravages of dreaded diseases and epidemics. The sector, however, is a case for building innovation on the details----the management of medical facilities, which is not so much concerned with breakthrough cures as with improving hospital experience, can be more profitable and efficient.

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Corporate cultures, then, are embedding the innovative mindset within the walls of the workplace for some good old intrapreneurship. Joint ventures and public-private partnerships are well and good for funding the ideas of others, but a company that can file its own patents for a novel idea will definitely rule the market. The largest example is Google, with its sprawling campus of inspirational air. Employees are encouraged to go off at certain periods in search for the next big thing, at paid company hours.

Image Source: businessinsider.com

Even then, the jewels of thought are washed ashore only as often. Google does not roll out a stellar new product every month, which would have meant that brilliant employee pitches are coming in every day and being piloted with supreme speed. But it's the small things in the Google environment of products that give clues about the company's inherent dynamism. A new Gmail format is just as telling as Google Glass of the hum of in-house activity.

Image Source: ideachampions.com

Every work day has to be productive, but it can't always be easy going. Cultures of innovation take long to build, with pre-requisites such as competent professionals motivated by the right compensation packages, open leadership, and flexible business processes that allow the injection of new, viable ideas when they come up.

Emile Haddad is a Seattle-based business consultant with modern insights on leadership and innovation. Visit this blog for new ideas about professional life and entrepreneurship.