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According to Accenture Strategy — a survey of 1,001 college graduates from 2013-2014 — 47 percent say their internship led to a job. That number is trending up — especially for communication majors.
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(From Rhonda Abrams — Special for USA Today)
Independent bookstores are a dying breed, right? Amazon and ebooks killed them, correct? And aren’t all independent small businesses similarly doomed?
As Mark Twain might have said, “Reports of their death are greatly exaggerated.”
Here’s news that’s almost certain to surprise you: Independent bookstores are thriving.
STORY FROM CHASE
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April 30, Independent Bookstore Day, is right around the corner, and all brick-and-mortar small retailers can learn a lot from these poster children of small business survival. Head out to your local indie bookstore, buy a book or two (or three), and take careful note of what these smart, resourceful and creative small business owners have figured out.
Many people imagine independent bookstores as a beleaguered group, destined to disappear. Not so. Sixty new independent bookstores opened in 2015; 59 new ones in 2014. In the most recent Census Bureau estimates, bookstore sales rose 7.2% this past February compared with February 2015, to $732 million, marking the sixth consecutive monthly increase.
What? Hasn’t Amazon killed them all off? No, instead, independent bookstores banded together, changed their product mix, added events, and launched an aggressive campaign to rally support.
“A lot of independents came back up in the ashes of the Borders collapse (in 2011),” said Paul Mulvihill, co-owner of Green Apple Books in San Francisco. “We just opened a second store a year and a half ago, which we had never done.”
Mulvihill was the driving force behind the creation of Independent Bookstore Day, inspired by the success of Record Store Day (and yes, there are still independent record stores, too). The high sales and support for each year’s Small Business Saturday (the Saturday after Thanksgiving) demonstrated that shoppers want to show their love for local, independent stores.
Launched first in California, after two successful years, Independent Bookstore Day went national in 2015. This year, 400 bookstores will participate. Canadian independent bookstores created a similar event, also on April 30.
“It’s a way for all the stores to tout their strengths on the same day,” said Mulvihill. As Independent Bookstore Day expanded, authors and others jumped in, making appearances and even creating products only available at independent bookstores.
“You can get exclusive items from publishers and authors that will never be for sale on Amazon,” Mulvihill explained. This year, only at independents, you can buy a Curious George toy wearing a “Read with me” T-shirt, or get a “Draw me!” coloring book for kids 6-12 or an Anthony Bourdain illustrated guide to making the perfect hamburger. For the full list — and to find your local bookstore — go to the Independent Bookstore Day website.
“We have events and activities, crafts, raffles and live music, anything we can think of to make it fun,” said Mulvihill about activities at his store. In 2014, author Dave Eggers sat at a table and dispensed relationship advice.
So, what’s the secret of independent bookstores’ unlikely success?
One crucial element is the burgeoning “shop local” movement — good news for all small retailers. “We’ve been talking for 10 or 15 years about shopping local,” said Mulvihill. He has seen a big uptick in support from political and civic leaders. “For the first time last year, (San Francisco) Mayor Lee launched a shop local movement. City Hall is getting involved in spreading that message because it’s important to the local economy and to the tourist economy.”
Some business students recently studied Green Apple to gain insight as to why bookstores are thriving. Their findings came down to four factors:
• Community. Customers want vibrant and strong local communities. “People vote with every purchase with their wallet,” said Mulvihill.
• Discovery. “An algorithm that says, ‘If you like this you might like that,’ is not the same as either being left alone to browse the store and stumble onto something you didn’t know you wanted, or talking to an experienced bookseller who knows if you liked this you’ll like that.”
• Beauty. This success factor came as a bit of a surprise to Mulvihill. “People like our store for being beautiful in a certain way.”
• Duty. “Customers realize ‘if I don’t support this store it’s going to be gone, and I don’t want my retail corridor to be without a bookstore.’”
I’ll have more about what small businesses can learn about survival and success from independent bookstores in an upcoming column.
Among Rhonda Abrams‘ recent books is the 6th edition of Successful Business Plan: Secrets & Strategies. Register for her free newsletter at PlanningShop.com. Twitter: @RhondaAbrams.
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By Andrew Hindes (From PR News)
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| Andrew Hindes |
Picture this: You’ve just applied for your dream PR job and everything seems to be falling into place. The company likes your resume enough to call you in for an initial interview. You nail it, so they bring you back to meet the senior executives, who also give you the thumbs up. But just when you think you’re home free, the recruiter utters two words that strike terror in your heart (cue the shower-scene music from Psycho): writing test.
Having graduated college—and perhaps even embarked on a successful professional career—you may have thought your test-taking days were safely behind you. But in today’s highly competitive job market, agencies and corporate PR departments expect candidates to possess a wide range of skills, including the ability to churn out basic press materials. That’s where the dreaded pre-employment writing assessment comes in.
“Writing tests are a very important part of the interview process for us,” says Dawn Miller, CEO of Miller PR, a bicoastal firm which reps digital and entertainment brands. “Typically we ask the applicant to prepare a press release, a pitch, a bio or a company boilerplate, depending on the candidate and the skills required for the position we’re looking to fill.”
And it’s not just recent college grads whose writing chops are being evaluated. “We use writing tests for every single hire—at every level,” says Amy Bermar, president of Corporate Ink, a Boston-based agency specializing in technology clients. “We began this more than 15 years ago, after the unhappy discovery that someone ‘senior enough’ to know how to write actually didn’t write very well at all.”
So whether you’re just entering the job market or you’re a seasoned pro considering a career move, here are five tips to help you navigate the PR writing test:
Following these guidelines should help you prepare for whatever writing test a prospective employer throws at you.
But just in case, you might want to bring along a couple of No. 2 pencils, too.
Interested in more PR writing content? Check out PR News’ Writer’s Guidebook, which gives actionable tips on writing for press releases, social media and SEO.
Andrew Hindes is a seasoned PR copywriter and the president of The In-House Writer, which provides PR writing workshops and pre-employment writing assessments for public relations firms and corporate communications departments. He can be reached at andrew@theinhousewriter.com. You can follow him on Twitter @inhousewriter.
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Posted: April 9, 2016
This story originally ran on PR Daily in April, 2015.
Not long ago, public relations success meant getting your company or client’s name mentioned in a local newspaper. For a PR pro, the clear path to making that happen usually involved writing a press release.
Things have changed.
Today the PR practitioner’s role has left the press office and has gone global. A win can mean anything from a media placement to a clever tweet to strategic content—plus countless other possibilities that amplify a brand’s message.
What skills do you need to thrive in today’s ever-changing PR world?
1. Ability to work a reporter beat. An essential skill for today’s PR pro is the ability to identify and evaluate stories within their brand. This is exactly what a beat reporter does for a news outlet. PR pros who can develop compelling stories within their market will be head and shoulders above their counterparts. As more and more content gets pushed out by brands, only the very best material will be embraced by the target audience.
2. Content creation skills. PR is built on a foundation of good storytelling. At the very minimum, PR practitioners should be able to write content in a variety of formats including news style, first-person blogs and listicles. More important, they should know how to produce rich multimedia content—such as photos, videos and graphics—so their content stands out in the age of scrolling social media feeds.
3. Strategic thinking ability. The days of high-level management handling strategy while staff members execute tactics are long gone. In today’s PR environment, everyone at every level of PR is expected to understand and help achieve their company’s business goals. PR pros who can think about the big picture while flawlessly executing their work will stand out among the rest.
As the public relations industry transforms, so should you. Find conferences, webinars and other learning opportunities to keep your skills evolving so you can stay at the top of your PR game.
Lisa Arledge Powell is president of MediaSource , a public relations firm that specializes in Brand Journalism, named Best Health Care Agency in both 2013 and 2014 in Ragan’s Health Care PR & Marketing Awards . She’s on Twitter at @LisaArledge .
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This week’s blog comes from:
Dale Carnegie Training Newsletter
By Anita Zinsmeister, President — anita.zinsmeister@dalecarnegie.com
Dale Carnegie® Training of Central & Southern New Jersey
In the demanding and competitive business world, you need an edge that sets you apart from other workers. You must constantly develop new techniques to maintain your work performance. Don’t let yourself get overwhelmed by setbacks you may encounter – just stay in control of your level of performance by focusing on self-improvement.Executive Summary: Take charge of your priorities in the workplace. Get organized, know how many tasks you can take on at any one time, and be prepared to delegate. Studies show that it takes 30 days to develop a habit. Spend a few minutes every day on these tips — print them out, add them to your calendar, or set a reminder — and soon they will become second nature.
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For more visit; http://rhondaonline.com/
This appeared in the Courier Post on March 13, 2016…
Proposals are both a sales document and the basis of what’s going to be your contract or agreement. So, you need to entice the customer without misrepresenting what you are going to be able to deliver. In summary, here’s how:
“Finally,” Abrams says, “be brief and make your proposal look good. Most proposals for consulting work need only be one to three pages long, and make your proposal and supporting documents look professional and polished. The quality of your proposal should reflect your quality of work.
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Matt Tarpey of CareerBuilder.com’s column appeared in the Courier-Post on March 6, 2015. Here is a summary of “eight less-than common occupations that offer competitive salaries”:
1. Astronomers – 2015 Jobs = 1,945/Average hourly earnings=$52.48
2. Forest fire inspectors and prevention specialists – 2015 jobs =2,105/Average hourly earning = $20.15
3. Genetic counselors – 2015 jobs = 2,451/Average hourly earnings = $34.33
4. Theatrical and performance makeup artists – 2015 jobs = 2,752/Average hourly earnings = $31.47
5. Historians – 2015 jobs = 3,407/Average hourly earnings = $29.45
6. Commercial divers – 2015 jobs = 3,519/Average hourly earnings = $24.19
7. Transit and railroad police – 2015 jobs = 3,902/Average hourly earnings = $25.53
8. Broadcast news analysts – 2015 jobs = 4,316/Average hourly earnings = $39.19
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This week’s blog comes from:
Dale Carnegie Training Newsletter
By Anita Zinsmeister, President — anita.zinsmeister@dalecarnegie.com
Dale Carnegie® Training of Central & Southern New Jersey
If you’ve had the privilege of being supported by an amazing mentor, what was it about this person that made such an impact? Perhaps their guidance enabled you to set and achieve goals much more quickly than had you tried without their wisdom.
With Valentine’s Day around the corner and in the spirit of ‘paying it forward,’ I challenge you to consider becoming a career mentor to someone in need. Many researchers agree that mentoring can be associated with a wide range of positive outcomes including facilitating career development among employees1. In addition, self-confidence grows commensurately with professional mentoring.
Once you’ve decided to mentor, follow these steps to make your mentorship more meaningful.
Partner up and set expectations. Both you and your mentee will set yourselves up for success by setting clear expectations from the get-go. You can easily learn what the mentee hopes to derive from your mentorship by asking questions. Dale Carnegie’s 15th Human Relations principle is to, ‘Let the other person do a great deal of the talking.’ Once you’ve actively listened to the mentee’s responses, you can set expectations including how frequently you meet and how you will track activities and goal attainment.
Pursue on a personal level. Mediocre advice is meaningless. To maximize your mentor/mentee relationship, you must show a sincere interest in your mentee. Dale Carnegie’s 4th principle is to, ‘Become genuinely interested in other people.’ Getting to know your mentee on a deeper, personal level will reinforce her trust in you and deepen the relationship. If the mentee says her presentation went well, don’t stop there. Ask what she thinks she did best and what she would do over if she could. Then, applaud her for a job well-done and give advice for how to improve upon where she fell short.
Push pause when appropriate. Just because you have more experience than your mentee does not mean you must always have all of the answers. Be honest when you do not and commit to procuring the information; then deliver it. Be aware that sometimes, people just need to vent—especially if they applied a new skill and struggled. Put yourself in their shoes so you are more cognizant of when to offer advice vs. when you need to sit back and listen attentively.
Practice empathy and act accordingly. Strong mentors have high emotional intelligence levels. Scientists Peter Salovey and John D. Mayer first coined “emotional intelligence” as, “a form of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and action.” One aspect of emotional intelligence is being self-aware which enables you to manage your own negative emotions so that you forgo projecting them onto other people. Knowing thyself first will enable you to better understand how your mentee’s experiences have shaped her, and how best to frame solid advice that will last a lifetime.
This post is brought to you by the good folks at Dale Carnegie Training of Central & Southern New Jersey. We would love to connect with you on Facebook and Twitter @CarnegieJersey.
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This week’s blog comes from:
Dale Carnegie Training Newsletter
By Anita Zinsmeister, President — anita.zinsmeister@dalecarnegie.com
Dale Carnegie® Training of Central & Southern New Jersey
Like many of you, I receive an absolute avalanche of unsolicited sales inquiries from companies large and small. In nearly every case, the entreaties badly miss the mark. In the case of the small fry who pitch me, I tend to let it go since they’re so resource-constrained to begin with.
But considering the marketing budgets of big companies, I have no second thoughts whatsoever happily deleting their e-mails, videos, and e-newsletters, as well as tossing their snail mail in the circular file.
Years of bombardment by misguided marketers has given me one thing, however: the knowledge to list the top nine marketing mistakes most large companies make in attempting to sell their wares to me:
1.) They talk at me. One insurance company bombards me weekly with digital advertisements telling me they have a passion for protecting my business. They then proceed to tell me I really should set a first meeting with a local representative. Why would I do that when the company has done absolutely nothing to convince me they know my needs or wants?
2.) They don’t understand my role. I’d be a rich man if I earned a dollar for every piece of mail or spam from large providers asking me if I’d thought about my firm’s copier needs, back-end web architecture, or HVAC requirements. Happily, I have very competent professionals handling those areas. If you don’t take the time to figure out my role, don’t bother contacting me.
3.) They butcher my name. Calling me Scott, Sam, or Shirley earns a salesperson an immediate one way ticket to Palookaville. It’s not only insulting; it foreshadows the type of attention the larger organization will pay to my needs (were I foolish enough to engage their services).
4.) They don’t do their homework. Large commercial realtors routinely bombard me with amazing new spaces that have just come on the market and are absolutely ideal for Peppercomm. Had these eager beavers only conducted due diligence, they’d know we’re at the front-end of a 10-year lease and have no interest whatsoever in looking at new space.
5.) They don’t personalize their pitch. This is especially true of car companies who try to connect with me in every conceivable way and on every possible channel. None, though, bothers to address my wants and needs as the owner of a 100-person business, or why as a small business owner I should consider buying their auto over a competitor’s. Haven’t these large marketers heard of one-to-one marketing?
6.) They make false assumptions. Many large trade organizations often invite me to attend their amazing workshops, seminars, or conferences. Sadly, I’m not interested in project management, business opportunities in emerging markets, or gleaning insights from rock stars in the world of telephony. Why invite the head of a marketing communications firm to any of the above without first knowing if I even care?
7.) They use the wrong channels. If a large company really wants to connect with me, they’ll take the time to find out where I consume information. Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn where I’m quite active and react to one of my tweets, blogs, or columns with additional thoughts. Or share an article I might enjoy. If you build trust, you’ll earn my consideration.
VIEW SLIDESHOW8.) They aren’t transparent. I recently received an engraved invitation from a well-known mutual fund company. They were inviting me to an “educational” dinner at a five-star Manhattan eatery for free! They were also quick to add that the mailer was not a sales solicitation of any kind. Yeah, sure. And, Barry Bonds never ingested steroids. Be upfront. Tell me you’d like me to consider your services and intend to explain why at an upcoming shindig. Maybe I’ll attend as opposed to dumping your two-faced mailer in the garbage.
9.) They never offer to help me. After my firm was named best workplace by Crain’s New York Business, I was deluged by e-mails and letters that began: “Congratulations on being named the single best workplace in New York City. Since you want to stay on top, we know you’ll want to know more about our (fill-in product or service).” Had these very same firms come to me and offered to, say, help me network within their influential circles, I’d definitely take a first meeting (and maybe even consider buying their product or retaining their services). Alas, big companies don’t like to invest their time in nurturing relationships with smaller organizations.
As everyone knows, the entrepreneurial market is white hot at the moment. And like sharks circling prey, large companies are trying to figure out how best to connect with us. There really ought to be a tutorial for these predators because most are missing the mark by a mile. If a shark was half as sloppy in its hunting, the poor thing would die of starvation.
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These tips from strategic counselor Rhonda Abrams first appeared early last year. They bear repeating. Abrams contact information appears below:
What do you want to achieve in 2015 for your small business? The beginning of January is the time for New Year’s resolutions, so here are my top 10 resolutions for small business owners and entrepreneurs.
You may be thrilled to find any source of income, but some types of customers contribute more significantly to your long-term financial well-being. Focus foremost on customers who have the need and capacity to buy from you repeatedly rather than one-off purchasers.
Social media can eat up your day even when it’s for a business purpose. Establish a time limit—I’d say 30 minutes maximum—schedule it for a specific time each day and then click off and get back to work. To limit your time on social media, schedule your social media posts in advance using a social media management tool. We use Hootsuite. Others are Buffer andTweetDeck.
Recent studies have shown that using an electronic light-emitting device (such as a tablet or smartphone) before you go to sleep at night significantly reduces both the quality and quantity of your sleep. You need your rest to be at your best. So if you want to relax before bed, pick up a good old-fashioned print book. (You remember those, don’t you?)
Your business may not growing sufficiently because you are trying to do too much yourself. It’s difficult to find good employees and contractors, but a great worker can truly help you grow your company significantly. Examine your operation for routine tasks that take too much of your time, and look for areas of business growth you need outside expertise to achieve.
Sure, we all think we’re going to sell our small business one day and have enough to buy a beach house in Hawaii. But don’t bet everything on that. Instead, every year make sure you put as much money as you can in a retirement account—certainly the full amount that you can shelter from current taxes.
Health is basic to all our other endeavors. If your body and mind are not healthy, you won’t have the energy or capability to achieve business success. Make sure you carve out enough time to exercise, eat healthfully and get enough sleep. These are business necessities, not just personal indulgences.
Attend conferences and workshops. Take classes. Watch instructional videos. Read. Your business depends on your brain, so make sure you are continually expanding it. The world is changing, technology is improving and your industry is evolving, so you need to know what’s going on to constantly improve your skill set.
In the crush of work—or from the fear of finding out bad news—many entrepreneurs hesitate to look too deeply and regularly into their financial reports: profit and loss, cash flow, aging accounts receivable and payable. Every week, perhaps on Monday or Friday, spend at least 30 minutes reviewing your financials.
Every morning make a “to do” list and keep it in front of you. Keep it reasonable and (mostly) achievable. Use a project management tool to stay on top of your tasks. In our office, we use Asana; others use Basecamp. Use these tools not only to track your tasks, but the progress of your staff and consultants.
You can’t get paid if you don’t send a bill, yet many self-employed consultants are too busy to get their invoices out on time. Better yet, accept credit card payments at the time of service or sales to eliminate invoicing.
Here’s wishing you and your small business a happy, healthy and prosperous 2015.
Copyright, Rhonda Abrams, 2015
This article originally ran in USA Today on January 2, 2015
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