Emerson Built That

Abbey Woodcock is a writer, creative and owner of a co-working space in beautiful upstate New York called Freelance Co-Op, which is an online and physical coworking space that connects creative freelancers with the resources they need to be professional business owners that are in control of their own story and their own success.

We talk about  coworking, community, freelancing, and the business of creativity. She says, "a successful life is fueled by passion." I could not agree more.

I talk to Abbey in-depth about coworking spaces:

• and building community
• are more than just waffle stations and amazing lighting
• can help a freelancer build a business
• bringing back professionals to rural areas on big city salaries
• are not just found in big cities

We also discuss that there needs to be a marriage between business and creativity, because they are not mutually exclusive.

In this episode we also discuss how small towns can be test cases. Professionals can relocate to these towns or come back home, because of community. If there is a community of successful, motivated and creative people waiting for them, there is a reason to come and grow, infuse resources and cultivate new business. People who experiment and take risks will keep growing.

Abbey is also author of the book, What They Hear When You Write. A book where you can learn any client's voice and create authentic, effective copy. Plus she’s a chainsaw instructor.

Find Abbey: Freelance Co-Op, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Book

Check it out: Reconnect Oneida County, Team Rubicon Disaster Response

One of my favorite terms is "hot mess." It's just so... expressive and makes saying someone is stressed sound a lot more fun. However, this should not be taken lightly. I am not one to show my stress on the outside that often, so I often internalize. I do believe that many entrepreneurs do this, in order to keep a calmness in their business. Sometimes not showing your stress, minimizes it in some bizarre way.

On this episode I talk about channeling your inner hot mess and how to get through it, so you can move on to bigger and better things. So how can you, as an entrepreneur do this? Here are three ways to channel your inner hot mess:

1. Never let them see you sweat
2. Build a tribe of people
3. Put it in perspective, is this short term or long term

As entrepreneurs, we get a lot thrown at us. Don't think you are alone, we've all been there, upset staff, angry customers, vendors to be paid, factors out of our control. Yet, you can still be in control of your inner hot mess with just a few quick tips.

Dr. Zhen Sullivan, Professor of Business Management and I talk the new generation of entrepreneurs. She teaches Entrepreneurship to students at Kean University in New Jersey. We talk about many things including:

• A new startup culture out there
• We are in an innovation driven economy
• Big ideas and why sometimes they are small
• The essentials of business are social media and the internet

Budding and aspiring entrepreneurs "expect the internet to be so fair, to be such an enabler and equalizer, and it's part of the ingredients; they are very essential."

She offers two nuggets of advice for budding entrepreneurs:

1. Know the industry before you start a business in it. Consider working for another company in the industry first before diving in. 
2. Be ready to eat cans of beans! And just beans! Entrepreneurs have to do it all, and give up a lot in the process, including time and food. 

We also dive into why she thinks writing a business plan is an essential part of planning a business.

1. If entrepreneurs are looking for funding, they need to back up why investors should invest.
2. Understand the planning process. Creating a business plan she says is like a "car inspection." It is a "comprehensive review which can expose blind spots and weaknesses."

Dr. Sullivan says, "entrepreneurs tend to be very brave and take risks; they jump into action." I can definitely relate to that one. Take a listen to see what scares and excites the new generation. 

Publications: 

• Zhen Z. Sullivan, Patricia J. Holahan, and Jing Ma. (2020) Adopting Technological Innovations in Work Organizations: The Role of Attitude, Subjective Norm, and Procedural Fairness, International Journal of Business Information Systems, forthcoming.
• Patricia J. Holahan, Zhen Z. Sullivan and Stephen K. Markham. (2014) Product Development as Core Competence, Journal of Product Innovation Management, 31(2), 329–345.
• Blake J. Lesselroth, Patricia J. Holahan, Kathleen Adams, Zhen Z. Sullivan, Victoria L. Church, Susan Woods, Robert Felder, Shawn Adams and David A. Dorr. (2011) Primary Care Provider Perceptions and Use of a Novel Medication Reconciliation Technology, Informatics in Primary Care, 2(19), 105-118.

Dr. Sullivan is an adjunct professor of Business Management at Kean University in New Jersey where she has been teaching entrepreneurship since 2014. Prior to her life in academia, Dr. Sullivan worked as a project manager at Lucent Technologies. In 2011, Dr. Sullivan received her PhD in Technology Management from Stevens Institute of Technology. She wishes to bring more "street smarts" to the higher education of entrepreneurship.

Do it for yourself, not others. Well, OK maybe your parents! I never enjoyed reading as a child, I always had cliff notes on hand for book reports. But as I got older, I realized I do not have to read about history and science, I could read anything I wanted. Thus, I found a love for reading and my love for writing followed.

One summer a few years ago, my family and I moved across the country to enjoy an amazing experience in a cramped apartment in the heart of Chelsea, New York. It was there that I had an AHA moment, that I may not be able to retire one day owning my company and I needed to start thinking about other options. I found myself wandering the streets in a most creative way and writing notes on snippets of paper shoved into my pockets and purse, of a book I would write when I returned home.

I decided to write my book as a homage, something I would always remember, should I one day not own my company. I wanted to write the book while I was in the thick of things, not after it was all complete.

So consider writing a book of your own (any topic) for three reasons:
1. Journaling / all of your thoughts are right there on the paper, telling a story, fiction or non-fiction
2. Something you will always have / a keepsake that takes a lot of work, but it is worth it.
3. Marketing piece / you will be an author, so use that title to your advantage and the message or story in your book.

Make sure you are passionate about the topic, and don't get discouraged with publishing, you can self publish!

My book, I Crumpled My Paper, Now What?

I talk with Archana Mundhe, software engineer turned food blogger and author. She launched her blog Ministry of Curry in 2016 with the vision of preserving her family’s stories and recipes while making cooking simple and fun for novice and expert cooks alike. In four short years she has gained a loyal fan base and wrote her first cookbook, The Essential Indian Instant Pot Cookbook, which also happens to be an Amazon best seller book.

Archanna has also been featured on Dr. Oz, Oprah.com, People, Brit + Co, Food 52, The Washington Post, Epicurious and more.  She built her mini empire on her two words, culture and love. We discuss the following and more:

• Starting a business after working in the corporate world
• Writing a cookbook is one of the hardest, but most rewarding experiences, and advice for those aspiring to
• Building relationships with your audience, followers, and fellow bloggers without expecting anything in return
• It’s not about the number of followers, it is about the engagement of the followers you have
• Creating content while considering SEO yet staying authentic
• Growing social media through hard work and love

What Archana has accomplished, takes bloggers years to accomplish, and some never even achieve the success she has. She is humble, hardworking and dedicated to creating recipes and content for those wanting to create a delicious meal. Her willingness to engage with her fans, followers, and colleagues is most noteworthy and it is no wonder that she is so well received.

Links to Archana: Website, Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Cookbook

I talk with Becca Goldberg, creative and founder of Suite Paperie. Becca is extremely talented and started her business at the young age of 23 when rent in NYC was the biggest expense to worry about. Becca owns a stationery company where she custom designs everything from wedding and party invitations to party favors to corporate packaging, and even art directs and styles cookbooks on the side.

She built her business on kindness and determination. From riffing with clients about whether to include spices on paper (true story) or nerding out over the slightest details.  Principles and other things we talk about:

• Social media is a game changer
• Be scrappy enough to figure things out
• Stay hyper focused yet be able to jump from one thing to the next to get the juices flowing
• Check your ego at the door, and no job is too small in your company to do yourself
• Not be willing to fail
• Clients can become friends
• Business plans are not required
• Creative burnout is real and how to combat it

From being an entrepreneur in a high touch luxury business to using kindness as a tool to grow in every area of business, Becca has that spunk that is required of creativepreneurs.

Links to Becca: Website, Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, Cookbook

It is so easy to be starstruck. We have fulfilled orders for musicians, athletes, actors and actresses. Obviously, it never got old. There is a difference between fulfilling a celebrity's order and actually working with one to promote your products, services, brand, business.

I worked with our PR agency to woo celebrities and also worked on our own to achieve a contract with a celebrity to promote our product. I learned along the way many things, including: celebrities are gaining from the arrangement and so should you. Businesses have just as much leverage as a celebrity, and don't shortchange your worth for the glitz surrounding the deal.

If you are thinking about working with a celebrity to promote your business and possibly enter into a product or service collaboration, consider the following:

1. Find a celebrity that you feel 100% comfortable promoting your brand and collaborating with, as what they stand for is also something you can get behind.

2. Have everything in writing. You have expectations of them to promote the brand, and they have expectations of your business, from mostly a financial standpoint. Also have a get out clause, should they get bad press for something. Protect yourself!

3. The experience should be organic and authentic, so your potential and existing customers will believe the relationship. They don't want to think you just bought your way into the deal, they want to believe it!

Don't forget to have fun with it, as these deals are usually short lived. But they make for great stories.

Peggy Boyd started Surgical Alternative as a new college graduate. Her tremendous success over the past two decades has been due to perseverance and determination. Entrepreneurship for Peggy was "A grain of sand that just grew and grew into an agitation and developed eventually into a pearl."

We don't talk checklists, we talk about what it is really like to run a business. Real talk, real examples and we go over all of this as well:

• Working on your business and not just in it
• Working with your spouse and setting boundaries
• Aha moments
• Building a business the old fashioned way through word of mouth
• Pivoting from one business to the next, and entering a niche market 
• How to recession proof and virus proof your business
• Being a mompreneur without guilt and capitalizing on its perks

Peggy said, "If it was easy, everyone would be doing it." 

Links to find Peggy: Website, Facebook, Instagram

There is no recipe for a successful business. The ingredients are somewhat known but the measurements definitely vary.

The recipe for a company culture is as simple or as intricate as you make it, and the place where you build your success can truly be a delectable one.

How can food have a positive impact on your company culture? We will talk grab and go, sit and linger and celebratory toasts. I also offer my favorite ideas for foodie themed team builders: try the no bake bake challenge.

We will talk food as a way of 1. reward, 2. growing personal relationships at work, 3. building trust, and 4. growing collaboration. Food can bring your team together in a delicious way! I throw in my love of donuts and cupcakes too! 

We think all leaders should know how to lead in a time of crisis; however, that is only the case if they have at least this one critical element in their leadership toolbox, and that is empathy. You don't have to have gone through the exact experience as an employee to respect and care for their situation. Empathy is more than relating.

Takeaway from the episode how to be an empathetic leader by listening (silence is uncomfy but OK), read cues, and have tissues, lots and lots of tissues on hand.

Never let them see you cry (at work) is a thing of the past. Now leaders can be better prepared. Waterproof mascara and tissues are a great option for staff, but even better is knowing that your boss is there for you.