Issue 01|January 2013
E
VOLUTION
E
Business, Tech and more
M AGAZINE
Vision or Mission
Do you know the difference between the two?
3
Reasons Google+
Should Be A Part Of Your
Social Media Strategy
Steel to Silicon
Pittsburgh, an almost forgotten city, is being reborn.
MARKETING TIPS TO EVOLVE YOUR BRAND IN 2013
Issue 01|January 2013|$4.99
E v o l v e
M e d i a
Business Trendsetter
Sally Ullman
Evolve Media Group
Coming February 2013 w w w. E v olv e M ed i a G r o u p In c . c o m
Evolution Magazine Publisher Execitive Director Managing Editor Editor Assistant Editor
DARNELL G DAVIS RAMY S MILLER PHILLIP HART JILLIAN STONE RACHEL LEWITT
National Directors
EVA LOUIS, PHOENIX, AZ RENEE WILBUR, PORTLAND, OR RUBEN LEDESMA JR, DALLAS, TX
Photographers* Graphic Designer Web Designer Evolution Contributors
RamySong Photography
RAMY S MILLER WAYNE SALAT EVOLUTION TEAM EVOLUTION TEAM KAREN JETT LORI THOMAS-DICKERT RAMON RAY SCOTT GINSBURG SLYVIA BROWDER SKIP FREEMAN
Turning Moments into Memories
Questions and feedback: PO Box 104, Stewartsville, NJ 08886 Phone: (347) 669 2EVO Email: info@EvoMag.co Online: www.EvoMag.co
Our partner organizations are vested businesses that are focused on building and improving the businesses in the Lehigh Valley and beyond. As partners, each will receive three inserts into the publication per year to showcase all that they are doing for businesses and business people within our communities. We encourage you to join these and other organizations to better your business opportunities. The members of these and other associate partners will receive a subscription to Evolution Magazine. * All stock photos courtesy of depositphotos.com
Specializing in
People, Places & Things 732-893-Ramy
www.RamySong.com
Welcome to Evolution Magazine I do what I do because I love it. I have been so blessed to have been able to take what I love and turn it into business. We are a magazine of business owners seeking to EMPOWER the lives of our peers, customers and clients. We have come together to provide information and opportunity that allows business owners and professionals to achieve the success they deeply desire to obtain. I chose the name Evolution Magazine because it spoke to the very core of what I desired for the businesses that this publication would come into contact with. Evolution - A process of continuous change from a lower, simpler, or worse to a higher, more complex, or better state.
Š Ramy Song Photography
My objective for Evolution Magazine is to become your partner in publishing and media services. Our focus is your exposure. I want to use the power of publishing to become a part of your company or organization and to get your message across in an important and informative manner. Evolution Magazine is a publication that is authentic to our readership and clientele, designed with cutting-edge elements and powerful content--this is our mission. As we begin our journey together this year, I want you to see your business Evolve into something great. I encourage you to step out in faith and believe that you are going to achieve success and Evolve with us in 2013. Sincerely,
CEO/ Evolve Media Group Inc. Publisher, Evolution Magazine
In This Edition:
3
Reasons Google+
Should Be A Part Of Your
Pg 27
Social Media Strategy
Steel to Silicon Pg 36 Pittsburgh, an almost forgotten city, is being reborn.
Vision or Mission Pg 26
Business Trendsetter Sally Ullman Pg 12
Do you know the difference between the two?
Evolving your Life
Introducing Our New Lifestyle Section
Pg 32
Thrive
Public Relations
Coming February 2013
w w w. E v o T h r i v e . c o m
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Ways Team Commitment Impacts Team Building By Scott Siders
The imporance of team commitiment is often overlooked by managaers when they’re devolping teams. They bring together employees with the right skill sets and give them a task, set goals and expect the best. But they forget about the role commitment plays in bulding teams to achieve personal , departmental, and organizational success. There are five questions mangagers should concider when evaluating the level of team committement .
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Do team members actually want to be part of the team? Do the team members perceive that they had a choice in deciding whether to work with the team? Although the type and size of a company, department dynamics, project type, and team member skills are among the many factors that contribute to putting teams together making participation feel mandatory can reduce team commitment. Motivation is a key component of creating team commitment; give members a reason to want to engage by empowering them to help set the direction, define goals, and make decisions. Team members are almost always more committed to a project when they are encouraged to "own" it by a manager who sets expectations and provides guidance then trusts the team to execute its own strategies.
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Do team members feel valued? Another way to increase team commitment is to communicate an employee’s individual value to the team and the entire team’s value to the organization. Managers can also strengthen team commitment if each member sees the value of the team in the development of their skills and career.
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Do team members believe the mission, vision, and goals of the team are important? Team members want to feel like they are part of something larger than themselves, and want to know how achieving the team’s goals fits into the overall mission of the organization. They also want to know their individual skills and contributions to the team are critical to accomplishing its objectives.
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Do team members know their roles and responsibilities? A manager must be able to clearly articulate expectations of team members and how fulfilling their specific roles and responsibilities will impact the success or failure of the team. Team commitment will be boosted by explicitly connecting individual performance with a shared expected outcome.
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Do team members receive recognition for accomplishing individual and team goals? Even seemingly small amounts of recognition along the way can make a big impact on team commitment and give team members the confidence, encouragement, and motivation to continue working hard to reach the desired goals. Rewarding performance at significant project milestones also improves morale. Managers who keep a pulse on the level of team commitment and ensure it always remains at a high level are rewarded by better productivity and greater success of the team and what they contribute to the entire organization. If you want to learn more about how team commitment impacts the process of building effective work teams, visit www.ThinkBlueThinking.com.
How to Find a Niche Market By Michelle Anne Leah Custodio
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In the world of marketing, there are plenty of ways to choose a market on which to focus. Choosing a niche market is typically the best approach to marketing success because of the vast amount of material that is already available. By choosing a specific niche, you can tailor your efforts to that group of people and likely be much more successful. While you may understand the importance of selecting a particular niche, you may be unsure of how to approach the process of choosing a market. Here are a few tips on how to choose a niche market for marketing purposes Look at Keyword Research One of the best tools you have at your disposal is keyword research. When you are interested in selecting a niche market, looking at keyword research data can provide you with a wealth of information. You can engage in keyword research by using one of the many online tools that are available. These tools can tell you how many people are searching for a particular keyword phrase and how many websites out there have content about this phrase. These tools can also give you suggestions on other related keywords that are close to the one you enter. This makes it possible for you to find a particular niche that has not been exploited by thousands of other online marketers. Look for Unfulfilled Needs When you find a niche that has potential; look also for some unfulfilled needs in that area. Do detailed research on the group of people included in the niche you are exploring. Find out what types of needs these people have and what types of products are already on the market. If you find a market that appears to have limited solutions to needs you may be able to create one for the people in the niche.
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Look at Willingness to Buy As you are trying to select a niche market you should also take into consideration if these people are willing to buy what you may be able to offer. If the people in a particular niche market have a need, they may be willing to pay something to get help with the problem. However, certain target markets will not be willing to put any money into finding a solution. As a business owner, look for a target market that has the ability to spend money on a solution that you have to offer. EvoMag.co/ January, 2013
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HABITS OF HIGHLY UNSUCCESSFUL NETWORKERS By Scott Ginsberg
N
etworking is a term that didn't exist (academically) until almost 40 years ago. It's a word uttered in and around the business world every day, yet is unclear to most as to how it actually works. Still, it's a fundamental tool to the success of any business.
Habit #1: Attitude
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Much like the development of any skill, networking begins with attitude. Unfortunately, Highly Horrible Networkers have the wrong attitude. If you've ever attended a networking function before, perhaps you've encountered businesspeople who act in the following ways: • The hard sell – they believe networking is about one thing and one thing only: selling products and services to everyone in the room. • Business only – they're not there to make friends. They're not there to have fun. And they're certainly not interested in developing mutually valuable relationships. • It's all about me – they don't take the time to help and share with others, but rather focus on their own needs. In
other
words,
they
can't
By definition, the term networking is the development and maintenance of mutually valuable relationships. It's not schmoozing; it's not just handing out business cards, selling, marketing or small talk. Those activities are part of networking, but unfortunately, many people's misunderstanding of the term causes them network ineffectively.
The following are The 7 Habits of Highly Horrible Networkers™, and they can stand in your way of developing mutually valuable relationships. So, next time you attend your Chamber or Association meeting, keep these ideas in mind so you can offer the most value to your fellow networkers.
Habit #2: Dig Your Well WHEN You're Thirsty
Habit #3: Dealin' the Deck
Habit #3 is a dangerous one, and it happens all the time. Have you ever seen people distribute 173 of their business cards during the first 5 minutes of the event? They move as quickly as possible from one person to the next. They don't make eye contact, they don't ask to exchange cards – they just deal them out.
Enter the Highly Horrible Networkers, who only network because:
“Here's my card, call me if you need a designer! See ya later.”
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1. They need new customers 2. They have a new product or service to sell 3. Their boss forced them to do so
Take my friend Lawrence, for example. He's quite successful in the insurance business; however he recently approached me about using networking to obtain some hot leads.
spell
‘N-E-T-W-O-R-K-I-N-G’ without ‘I.’ “My numbers are down. My boss is Attitude is fundamental to effective networking. In fact, it's the most important habit to understand.
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One of my favorite networking books by Harvey McKay is Dig Your Well Before You're Thirsty, it's probably the most well-known text on this subject. The key to McKay's work is making friends, establishing contacts and developing relationships – before you need them. Getting what you want by helping others get what they want first
on my back. I gotta get out there and start networking…or else! What do you suggest?” “Networking takes time,” I explained, “and you can't expect to come into loads of business or dozens of potential clients without developing the relationships first.” As you already learned, networking is the development and maintenance of mutually valuable relationships…over time. If you try to dig your well WHEN you're thirsty, you may never find a drink.
But…I…never even got your name! You muse. This is guaranteed to make people feel puny and insignificant. Notice these Highly Horrible Networkers don't spend time actually meeting and establishing rapport with new people; but rather concentrate on giving out as many cards as possible. It's quantity over quality, right? Wrong! Dealin' the Deck is one of the most common networking pet peeves. Whenever I give my program The Habits of Highly Horrible Networkers™, I walk out into the audience for a quick demonstration of this habit. I grab a stack of business cards and quickly jump from table to table tossing out dozens of them without as much looking at the audience members I'm handing them to. Unfortunately during one speech, it backfired. Literally.
Last year, I was demonstrating Highly Horrible Habit #3 when speaking at a local business meeting. While hopping from table to table as dozens of cards flew through the air and into people's laps and salads, someone yelled out. I stopped dead in my tracks. I looked back at the head table and noticed that one of my cards landed in the centerpiece… …which was a candle! I threw down the microphone, lunged at the table and snatched the burning business card from the candle! As I toppled over the chair in front of me I shook the flames off my half burnt card and regained my balance to a roaring applause/laughter from the audience. “And…uh…this just goes to show you ladies and gentleman,” I fumbled, “when you deal the deck of business cards without eye contact or consideration… uh…people may as well set them on fire – because they're not going to read them anyway!”
Habit #4: Unprofessional Information
It's remarkable how often some business cards will contain unprofessional information. Have you ever received someone's card with one of those ambiguous, offensive and questionable email addresses with AOL, Hotmail or Yahoo? Not only are those email servers frustrating and ineffective for business communication, but just imagine how it looks when someone has to send business emails to:
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HotLips98@aol.com KaylasMommyRules@yahoo.com Isellcars2U@hotmail.com
I have nothing against AOL, Hotmail or Yahoo. But if possible, always send and receive emails using the address of your organization's website, i.e. scott@hellomynameisscott.com. If you must use free servers like MSN, SBC and the like, choose a simple username that doesn't question your professionalism, i.e. jackgateman@yahoo.com.
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Habit #5: Sitting with the Wrong Company I'll never forget my first Chamber meeting. One afternoon I sat down with six other local businesspeople for our monthly networking lunch. Naturally, the first thing I did was look at everyone's nametags, not only to learn their names but to examine the effectiveness of their nametags' design and placement).
Reciprocating self-disclosure is the most effective way to build rapport and ultimately develop trust. The people you want to do business with are those with whom you have built that rapport and trust. So, small talk is not for suckers. Debra Fine, author of The Fine Art of Small Talk put it best when she said: “Small talk is the biggest talk we do.”
Habit #7: Limitations
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Finally, Highly Horrible Networkers believe there is only one specific time and place for networking. It's called “A Room with A Sign Posted Outside That Says So” In other words, they only network when someone forces them Highly Horrible networkers not only to. They don't believe networking attend meetings with their friends and/ opportunities in places like elevators, or coworkers, but they talk and sit with busses, supermarkets or parks. them the entire time! These are people with whom they've worked 5 days a That's it? A measly half hour for week, 8 hours a day for the past 3 years! networking? Doesn't give you much This is not a good technique to maximize time, does it? your company's visibility. The truth about networking is that it This habit creates an elitist, unfriendly can happen anytime, anywhere. There attitude. And think how uncomfortable is a time and a place for networking – this makes the one or two people sitting it's called ANY time, and ANY place! at the table who don't work for that YIELD BETTER company! It's unfair to them because BUSINESS RESULTS they're unable to meet a diverse group of people with whom to develop mutually valuable relationships! But these were the nametags I saw: ADM Financial, ADM Financial, ADM Financial, ADM Financial, ADM Financial, ADM Financial, Scott, (Company name changed to protect the victims).
Remember: If you're sitting with YOUR company – you're sitting with the WRONG company.
Habit #6: Small Talk is for Suckers!
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Highly Horrible Networkers forget about the small talk. It's a waste of their time. They don't ask or answer about “new and exciting things happening at work” or “how Thanksgiving was,” they simply jump right into (what they believe to be) the most important part of the discussion: selling 17 of their products before the salad arrives.
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Business Trendsetter Sally Ullman
O
ver the past year, I have had the opportunity to connect and feature several business owners that are doing fantastic things. This month’s “Business Trendsetter” is no different. January’s Trendsetter comes to us from the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, and is a true diamond in the rough. I would like to introduce photographer Sally Ullman of Sally Ullman Photography. One of the unique things I picked up about Sally was her true love for photography; more than just taking the picture and getting paid, it was such a passion for understanding how a picture can make or break a moment. It was not until I had the chance to sit down and talk with her that I began to truly understand the term “Visual Branding.” After that conversation, my view of a photograph would be forever changed. In an age where everything seems to be digital, there are people still taking the time to learn a craft and perfect what they do. Sally is one of those people! After receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communication Design in 1976 from Kutztown University, Sally immediately began her career as a professional photographer; first through advertising photography and graphic design, then through photojournalism. She has won several awards for her talent which includeThe Philadelphia Art Director’s Award for Excellence in Food Photography, The Benjamin Franklin Gold Award, and a listing in Who’s Who in American Photographers. In addition to these great awards Sally has been published in many books, magazines, and advertising promotions. Sally is truly a Trendsetter and we welcome you to visit her website to take a look for yourself. I am more than sure that you will agree with me. Sally’s outlook is always positive--always EVOLVING: watching her in action, you can tell that it so rewarding for her to pursue her passions through helping others pursue theirs! And that is what makes Sally Ullman a Business Trendsetter.
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Sally Ann Ullman PHOTOGRAPHY
Photographs copywrite-SallyUllmanPhotography
Email Marketing M
How Email Marketing Can Improve Your Website Traffic
any businesses treat email marketing as an outbound strategy; procuring a list and sending out messages with hopes for a good response. Ideally, email marketing should be inbound and offering clear value to customers encouraging them to come back for repeat business - as well as repeat website traffic.
Inbound email marketing can effectively grow your site’s traffic in two ways: through attraction and retention. Getting into your prospects’ inboxes is the first step, and staying there seals the deal. Think of email marketing as a relationship with your customers to keep them engaging with your brand, clicking through to your site and sharing your content with others which generates the extra traffic that drives sales. Attraction YouTube videos aren’t the only online content that can go viral and generate traffic. Blog posts, articles and even your email content can spread to a wider audience if you’re delivering relevant value to the inbox. Making your emails shareable can increase your traffic growth as subscribers share your content with others, attracting new subscribers who will also convert to new site visitors.
Think about it: the average internet user visits at least 85 web pages in a day, according to data from Nielson. Once a visitor leaves your page, you’re as good as forgotten unless they bookmark you or remember to come back later. Email marketing increases your chances of being remembered by putting your name in their inboxes on a regular basis to jog their memory.
Viral email content is about the value you send to the inbox. Don’t just pitch your product or service; engage subscribers in a conversation with information that’s relevant to their interests. Survey subscribers about their interests to send targeted content they’ll want to share.
Sending a follow up series (auto responders) or a broadcast newsletter are proactive ways to start a conversation that keeps you in front of your subscribers and invites them back for more. They’ll likely visit your site again depending on the value your messages offer.
Include sharing links for social networks in your emails in addition to encouraging subscribers to forward your content to others. When your articles are worth reading or your deals are relevant, your subscribers can generate more traffic for you by sharing your content with their networks you may not have otherwise penetrated.
Your emails’ click through rates will measure your success at getting subscribers to return to your site. The trick is getting them to open your emails and click through to your site in your messages. Here are some tips to get them opening and clicking: • Spend time crafting your subject lines to get your emails opened. Ask a question or tease your message content to pique your readers’ curiosity. • Phrase your call to action to inspire subscribers to click to your site and make sure it’s placed visibly in your email. Don’t scare them off with your wording - a gentle nudge to “Find out more” often performs better than abrasive calls to “Buy now!”
Retention More traffic means higher search ranking, and higher search ranking means more business. Repeat traffic is especially good for your site’s reputation. This is where email marketing comes in, encouraging repeat traffic to your site by placing you in your customers’ inboxes so they’ll remember who you are.
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Need readers for your blog? Turn your blog content into a newsletter sent as a weekly or monthly digest, but don’t publish full articles. Use a teasing lead instead to entice subscribers to click through for the full article. Once you’re in the inbox, the trick is staying there to keep subscribers clicking and engaging with your content. Stumped on how to build the relationship? Here’s a hint: It’s all about the value. Value makes your emails worth reading and worth sharing; that will drive the traffic and it all starts with the relevance you send to the inbox.
About Rebekah Henson Rebekah Henson is an Education Marketing Associate at AWeber, the leading email marketing service provider for small businesses. Rebekah draws from her content creation background to provide targeted advice on how small business owners can better connect with customers through email marketing. In addition to writing for the AWeber blog, Rebekah regularly appears on sites such as Marketing Land, 60 Second Marketer, Business2Community and Convince and Convert.
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Content Marketing Developing a Plan That Works
I
f you are a producer of content, developing a strategy is similar to developing a strategy for marketing your business. In fact, your content needs to be marketed just as strategically as your product or service. Content is a key component in driving your marketing for your business. So let’s compare your marketing strategy with your content strategy. If you want to develop a strategy for marketing your business you must first know your target market. Is your market B2B? Then you’ll need to know if the businesses you market to are small businesses, corporations, startup businesses, or, perhaps, organizations that run like a business. Perhaps your market is B2C. If consumers are your target then you need to know what types of consumers. Are they farmers? Fisherman? Housewives? Men?
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Maybe they are teenagers. Are they athletic teens or academic teens? Or maybe they are techie teens. You have to narrow down your target market to understand exactly what makes them tick. Once you know that, you’ll have a better understanding how to sell to them. Content strategy is similar; you need to understand your audience. If they are businesses in what industry are they? If they are consumers...what do they like? What are their buying habits? Where do they hang out? Much research is needed when marketing either through content or traditional methods. OK. So now you know who your target market is. How do you position your marketing activities to reach them? How do you make them care about what you are selling? You have to know what they care about so you can create your product or service around their needs.
Content creation takes the same strategy. How do you get them to read your content? How do you engage them in the first sentence so they’ll read more? You do this in the same way you market to them...find their pain points and help them resolve their pain. Now you know generally who your target market is and generally how to reach them. But who are they specifically and how do you determine their pain points? This is where you would ask yourself what personas make up your target market? Asking yourself these questions moves you into the specifics of each person involved in the buying process and what they care about. Again, comparing it with marketing, you need to find out what they feel, think, eat, wear, love, hate, and so on to be able to develop that marketing message or content message that will impact them at their pain point.
Consumers buy because they have a need or want and you will need to develop a message that will engage them. Understanding this will help you develop your content. So how can you be intentional and consistent with your content marketing? The most important thing (as with a marketing strategy) is to be prepared. Develop a calendar spreadsheet to plan your content. This calendar would be similar to those that publishers develop to plan out their year of editorial content. Your content management will be more effective if you carefully think it through. Is there an event you want to leverage? Do you want to use your content in multiple formats such as an e-newsletter or e-book? Do you want to focus on the personas of the specific individuals within your target market? Decide ahead of time the who, what, when, where and how or your content and the chances of being successful in your content marketing will improve. EvoMag.co/ January, 2013
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Video Marketing
Why Your Business Needs Video on Your Website By Marta Countess
The Internet has become an essential means of engaging communication for successful businesses. For most savvy business owners, a website is one of the first line items in your marketing plan
S
o once the site is up and running, the next step is to put the web to work for you and your business. That means you must engage. How much time and resource is enough? The answer depends on what you want to accomplish. Your webmaster will encourage you to stay on top of your website. Publish regular updates, specials, maybe even a blog. But the latest research also points to an emerging trendVIDEO. The marriage of Google and YouTube makes online video very enticing to search engines, and helps drive traffic to sites that embrace it. Thus, there's a fantastic opportunity for your business to raise its profile and be seen in the middle of your crowded business sector. There's something special about moving pictures that really makes people take notice. Video allows you to convey your personality, tone, and voice. It's an introduction to you and your business. So how do you get started? You have two options: (1) do it yourself or (2) hire a professional. If you want to go it alone get an entry level video camera. You can use the video camera on your phone to practice. Once you’re ready get a simple, point and shoot Flip cam or Sony Bloggie (or whichever brand you prefer). Some come with a basic tripod you can use to hold the camera still on your desk. Pick a nice background to sit in front of, aim, shoot, and fire off your message.
Speaking of that message, think about what you want to say but don't overscript it. Speak naturally and look right into the camera. We often suggest starting with the basics, simply introducing yourself. Or answer questions commonly asked about you or your business. If your web visitors like your answers, the phone should ring, and you can close the sale. Step up your game once you see there is value in your efforts. Hire a video professional who can help you polish your effort. Professional producers, with professional video equipment can both coach and capture you at your very best. They will often get video of you doing what you do best giving your future customers a keen sense of what you and your business can do for them. So ask yourself...are you currently making the necessary investments in your social media strategy? Is your website engaging? Does it include video? If your answer is no, you're not following the trend. Social media, including video, will move on with or without you. Be an early adopter, and let your video sell you and your business.
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Marketing &
QuickBooks
By Maria Smith
W
hen you see the word “QuickBooks” you usually don’t think of the word “marketing”. Did you know that QuickBooks is a great tool that helps when it comes to marketing? QuickBooks has some tools to help business owners with marketing:
Also, it is important to keep an eye on your company snapshot section. Always look at your monthly, quarterly, and yearly numbers in comparison to the prior year, which gives a business owner insight as to how they compare to last year’s numbers .
1. The Lead Center- Provides information on your lead, status of the lead, converts the lead into a customer within QuickBooks, a “to do” list, and notes. Reports can be printed easily in Excel format. 2. The Calendar- Nice addition that keeps track of meetings, and your to do list. 3. Marketing Campaigns – This option tracks the amount of sales the campaign has brought to your business and tracks it over a specific time period. 4. Customer Snapshot- Tracks what service or product has been most popular with a specific customer. Also provides important information like sales history (invoices, etc.) and length of time they have been a client.
An important option is the ability to offer payment options to your clients to give them more ease in doing business with you. The ease of payment options will help greatly. Merchant services can be used within QuickBooks. Having billing options available to your clients helps when it comes to marketing your services.
These are just few basic tools, some of which can only be found in QuickBooks 2012, that can help you plan your business marketing.
Remember after making QuickBooks an important part of running your day-to-day business it is important to have a good backup system. It can be a physical back-up or a cloud backup and is highly recommended to create both forms of backup. It can be one of the most important things you do for your computer and your business.
Another way QuickBooks can help is by creating specific reports on customers which can be used for sending information to your customers. Be sure to keep it updated with changes in your customers’ information. This works well when sending postcards during specific times of year for certain services such as when a photographer might consider sending postcards before the holiday season to promote photos for holiday cards.
Another very important thing QuickBooks helps you do is track your expenses when it comes to marketing. It also helps you with the planning of expenditures when projecting expenses for the upcoming years. Planning is key and being able to see the numbers will help be smart about how you spend your money.
A Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor can help answer any questions on how to best use these features in QuickBooks. Many offer QuickBooks consulting & coaching, bookkeeping and seminars. They can also provide remote consulting so you can work in the comfort of your own office.
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EvoMag.co/ January, 2013
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10
Tips to Help Business Owners in Challenging Times
I
n challenging times, when business decisions have considerable personal and economic impact, it helps to have knowledgeable advice from a network of professionals who can help owners overcome challenges and lay the groundwork for future success. Consider the following ten tips to help small and family business owners in challenging times.
Have a thoughtful, well-written business plan and stick to it Rather than getting caught up in daily operations of your business, set clear, realistic goals and objectives. Consider strategies that address the long-term plans of your business and how you plan to retire. Seek out a network of business advisors By pulling together an informal board of directors made up of business owners in similarly-sized companies dealing with similar short-and long-term issues, owners can realize opportunities within their businesses that they may not have been able to see themselves, and they can work together to solve each others’ most pressing issues. Find a financial professional with experience in serving small businesses Choose an experienced, local financial professional, trained to meet business owner needs, whom you trust with your business and personal aspirations and who will help you with your plan for reaching your short and long-term goals. Know your core customers and delight them Understand your customers. Segment them and know where profitable business comes from. Make the extra effort to know how you can keep and grow your base of recurring customers. Define and communicate your unique value in the market What do you do that no one else is doing? How is your service better than other services? Why should customers see you instead of your competition? Take a look at the competition; some may have changed their approach or exited the business. Develop a unique message that articulates your unique value proposition.
Hire better and offer good benefits Typically, the pool of talented, highly-trained, and educated people grows in a down economy as more and more people lose jobs. Find and hire strong talent. Offer voluntary benefits – those that you, as owner, offer to employees at a typically lower cost than they could obtain themselves. Voluntary benefits can be provided at no direct cost to you and reward employees. Revisit your overhead expenses and trim the fat Which overhead expenses can be reduced or eliminated? Can you reduce credit card fees? Discuss a reduction with your current provider. Consider tapping your whole life insurance policy’s cash value, if stuck for credit Businesses hold whole life insurance policies for key person insurance, succession planning, and buy-sell arrangements. Whole life insurance builds cash value, guaranteed. A business can take a loan from its whole life insurance policy. The policy continues to receive dividends, which – although not guaranteed – can increase the policy’s death benefit and cash value or provide a source of income to pay some or all of the premiums due.* Diversify into a complementary business A bad economy may cause business owners to retreat to their core business, but in doing so you might miss a chance to leverage your existing infrastructure. This is a time to understand the profitability of each line of your business. Ask yourself if there is a complementary option that might bring in more profits or heighten the visibility of the company overall. For example, an owner of a coffee shop could expand into some light catering for area business functions. Develop an exit strategy and succession plan Are you approaching retirement and intending to sell your business for retirement income? An experienced financial professional can help you put a succession plan in place. Your customers depend on your business. Your business depends on you. In challenging times, or anytime, an experienced local financial professional can help you and your business interests.
Provided by Lisa Chickilly, a financial representative with Lehigh Valley Financial Group, who represents MassMutual and other companies; courtesy of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) *Access to cash values through borrowing or partial surrenders will reduce the policy’s cash value and death benefit, increase the chance the policy will lapse, and may result in a tax liability if the policy terminates before the death of the insured.
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© 2011 Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, Springfield, MA 01111-0001 All rights reserved. www.massmutual.com The whole life series (WL-2007 and WL-NC-2007) are level-premium, participating, permanent life insurance policies issued by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, Springfield, MA 01111-0001. CRN201402-156982
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Mastermind Groups Your Gateway To Networking Success
By Darnell G. Davis
R
unning a small business, especially from home or a small office with little to no staff, can be a very lonely place. I say that from experience. I have also learned that there is a big difference between working 'in' your business and working 'on' your business. Everyone’s ultimate goal is to develop a strong and flourishing enterprise. Owners need to be able to attract people and other businesses to use their products and/or services. Owners of micro and small businesses have a oneup in the market place these days which makes them extremely competitive, however it is harder to sell themselves. Taking your products and services to the marketplace can be achieved more successfully by using a MasterMind group. You will build strong relationships that can support you to accomplish what you are wanting from your business. A tight nit group will begin to focus you, keep you accountable and move you forward by giving you the skills and contacts necessary to develop you and your business. This is 'working on' your business!
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In this world were social media is “King” learning how to use social media as a marketing tool opens your company up to really create business relationships in an easier format than ever before. Utilizing this tool will help you get through the know, like and trust part of relationship building faster than any other method. Simply put, it is a way to stay in touch with the masses and not have to worry about your own personality flaws when it comes to meeting new people. If your goal is to establish a solid referral source, find yourself a good MasterMind group. Be sure to know your niche in the market place and build your contact from there. This method of relationship building is great, but don’t spread your wings too far at the beginning. You should focus on where your clients are going to be. Once you have entered into the get-to-know-you, begin to like and, as a result, trust stage of the relationship process, you begin to see a lot of great changes in your business simply because people begin to refer business to you.
Over the course of the past year I have started a few MasterMind groups of my own. I have found that MasterMinding is the best way to build strong relationships with a small group of other business people. These business entrepreneurs will really get to know you, know your products and services and support you to achieve what you want to achieve.
E
Network, Build, Achieve
volution Business Network www.EvolutionBusinessNetwork.com
6 Secrets for Six Pack Abs and Successful Job Hunting By Skip Freeman
I
n the fashion industry “six-pack” abdominal muscles (abs) are referred to as the “moneymaker muscles.” Pick up any fashion magazine today and you’ll quickly notice that all the male (and even some of the female) models, in addition to being in obviously excellent physical condition, sport impressive “sixpack” abs—regardless of the product they are modeling. “Moneymaker Muscles” of the Business World
In many ways, like fashion models, job seekers who are professionally “slim and trim,” and in obviously excellent “shape,” have a distinct advantage over those who are not.
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I’ll explain this in more detail below, but first, let me ask you a question: Have you ever wondered how fashion models manage to get, and then maintain, such finely toned bodies? There are six secrets to getting (and keeping!) “six-pack” abs: • Stay lean (little or no body fat!) • Maintain a steady metabolism • Work out regularly and correctly with weights • View the abs as being an integral component of a “core” group of related muscles • Maintain repetition in an exercise regimen • Maintain variety in a regular exercise program
Now, let’s look at each of these six secrets to see how they apply to both fashion models and job seekers. One of the best-kept secrets in developing “six-pack” abs is the fact that you must first ensure that your total body fat is maintained at about 10%. No matter how many sit-ups, leg lifts or stomach crunches you do, if there’s too much fat overlaying the muscles the abs will never be seen no matter how developed they become. The same goes for you when it comes to landing a new job. Everything you present must be lean. If they are covered with a “layer of fat,” they will never be seen, heard or read!
For example, if you are launching a direct mail campaign, send out just three letters a day. By the end of the week, you will have reached out to 15 companies and 60 companies by the end of the month. Work Out Regularly and Correctly with Weights Abdominal and cardiovascular exercise alone will not develop impressive “sixpack” abs. An appropriate, effective weight-lifting routine needs to be woven into the entire process. When it comes to job-hunting, you “bulk up” your “career muscles” by having quantifiable accomplishments and achievements. For example, what have you done to make company money, to save a company money, or both? Express this in terms of dollars, numbers or percentages. The Core
Make job-hunting efforts lean Slim down your résumé, your cover letter, and the answers to interview questions. Create a clean résumé with plenty of effective white space and “Twitter”-like bullet points that carry impact, in order to expose the “six-pack” abs of your career to the reader. Tone down your answers to the interview questions. Make sure the questions are brief, concise and very much to the point. Maintain a Steady Metabolism As people who sport “six-pack” abs keep their metabolism steady and even by eating smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day; as a job hunter you should take the same basic approach by maintaining a steady pace.
As I said above, “six-pack” abs-sporting models develop their entire core group of muscles, not just their abs. Likewise, the core of an effective job-hunting campaign consists of all aspects of your marketing approach and materials. For example, I have seen candidates spend days on their résumés just to blow an opportunity by using an ineffective thank you letter/note; being ill-prepared for an interview, or by leaving bland, boring, lame voice mail messages!
Maintain Variety Doing sit-ups alone will not develop the abs into “money making muscle” for models, and today one job-hunting technique will seldom land you the “money making” job. In a powerful and effective career search, you must utilize all channels to market, including: • A direct mail campaign (which is working the best right now) • Picking up the telephone • Effective networking Selectively do apply for positions online but do not let this be your only job hunting approach. As we’ve seen, it takes a lot of hard work and unwavering dedication to establish and maintain a strict regimen of, often times, repetitive exercises and key tasks. Believe me when I tell you that the same general approach and principles apply to becoming and staying a top, successful job seeker in today’s extremely challenging job market. If you’re not now practicing the six principles outlined in this article that will brand you as a top candidate, then your next move is obvious, isn’t it? And who knows, maybe now that you know the secrets of developing physical “sixpack” abs, you might also decide to start working on those for yourself!
Maintain Repetition Just as 10 sit-ups a day won’t develop a “six-pack,” neither will just one connection with a company spark an interview. These days hiring managers are frazzled, sometimes beyond belief. To say that some are stretched very thin is to engage in gross understatement, and responding to your communication usually is not on their list of “top 100” things to do that day. It takes repetition to break through the clutter, to gain “mindshare” of the hiring manager, and to help them understand why they should speak with you.
EvoMag.co/ January, 2013
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Is That Your Vision or Mission? By Karen Jett
The Mission Statement answers the question: What do we do? A frequent format for the mission statement is: ABC Company provides services / products to (marketing segment).
I
f you read much business literature at all, it’s easy to become confused about some of the basic building blocks of business. I’m referring specifically to the mission and vision statements. Why are they confusing? • They seem simple, and yet can be surprisingly difficult to effectively write • They appear to be irrelevant and unimportant compared to the actual business of doing business • Business authors cannot agree on a definition to the point where you may see similar definitions for both the mission and the vision statement. Patrick Lencioni in his new book The Advantage trumps the whole issue by not using the terms at all. While this can be effective, reality is that these words are commonly bandied about. So, I’m going to share my definition of the use of these words based on extensive reading and the underlying definitions of the words themselves.
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The Vision Statement answers the questions: • Why do you do what you do? • Why did you start your business? Was it to create a better mouse trap? To eradicate the mouse population? Or to find a humane way to remove unwanted visitors in our homes? These are three different answers that each tell me something different about your company and why you are in business. In a future article I will go deeper into this issue. For now, just be aware that for some a vision statement is something that given enough time the company can and will achieve. In that case, as you approach achieving your vision, it is time to create a new vision statement. On the other hand, some companies select visions that are very big and are more inspirational in nature. Since the vision is not achievable, the vision may only need to change if the underlying premise is no longer relevant.
A mission statement may change over time as the world changes around you. However, it will not change frequently. You are more likely to tweak your message over time than to have a complete re-write. The mission statement is important because it gives you the focus to stay within your core business area when identifying strategies and tactics. If the opportunity you are exploring is not covered by your mission statement there are 2 possible explanations: • Your mission statement is written too narrowly • You are about to chase a shiny bauble (the more likely reason) At the end of the day, I really don’t care what you call either document. You may give them any title you like including Mary and Joe. What I do care about is that you take the time to answer both underlying questions and that the written statements are meaningful and able to provide guidance to decision making for years to come.
3
Reasons Google+ Should be a
Part of Your Social Media Strategy By Lori Thomas -Dieckarht
G
oogle+ has been gaining momentum in recent 2. Where You Land in Searches months, especially with the newest additions of events, I think this is the #1 reason to add Google+ to your social media hangouts, and changes in the way ‘search’ is affected. strategy — your content and your website will be prioritized in the results of searching on Google. For example, if I’m in If Google+ is not already a part of your social media strategy, one of your circles on Google+ and you search for something there are a few good reasons why you should give some serious using Google as your search engine, any relevant content I thought to adding it. I’ve added Google+ to my growing list of have posted will be prioritized in the Google search results. social networking sites and have found it to be a great benefit. This is a valuable tool for your business and your website 3 Reasons to add Google+ once you’ve connected with people and made them a part of your circles. Other social networks already utilize this feature, 1. More Engagement but with the latest changes Google+ made, the results are While Facebook and Twitter continue to beat Google+ in somewhat favored. terms of users, it’s actually a good thing because the people who are using Google+ are there for a reason. There are less 3. It Broadens Your Consumer Audience things to distract users from seeing your posts and interacting While Facebook has the LIKE button that is limited to the use with you, which means more engagement and social sharing of Facebook, Google+ uses a +1 button that is open to anyone of your posts. searching on Google. This is important as Google is still the most widely used website with over a billion monthly users. While doing some research on the topic, I came across an article that discusses this very reason. The author indicates What does that mean for your business? The +1 button opens that the same posts made on a Facebook page generally up your available consumer audience to people who may perform lower than they do on Google+, even though there never have come across you, your business, your website, or are more “fans” on the Facebook page. your product/service.
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CUSTOMER
FOCUSED MARKETING
7 Marketing Best Practices for Leveraging CRM in Your Business
By Ramon Ray
T
here are a lot of things small businesses like us need to do to ensure our business grows. Many of these things are related to customers and sales and marketing. Marketing automation (CRM) vendor Act On Software and Forrester teamed up and came up with 7 things that every small business needs to do.
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Use more online vs. offline marketing strategies in order to reach buyers and prospects, compete more broadly, and nurture existing customers. A full 32% of top performers professed online marketing to be a gamechanger that allows them to reach more audiences and compete more broadly. Only 20% of bottom performers felt the same. And, 68% of bottom performers perceived online marketing as a tool no more important than offline marketing activities, often perceiving online marketing as inappropriate for their brand or ineffective in reaching their customers. Also, 71% of companies using marketing automation were top performers (OR IS IT Top performers are faster early technology adopters, 71% vs 19% have invested in MA). And top performers engage in more active (verses passive) activities.
2
Focus on customer lifetime value over customer acquisition costs. Today’s most successful companies are approaching new customer acquisition with a “lifetime value” perspective, understanding that over the lifespan of the company/ customer relationship, products may be purchased over and over again, and services may be re-subscribed to.
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3
Use a combination of strategies, including email, web and social media programs, allowing you to reach customers/prospects through multiple communication points.
4
Nurture customer prospects carefully and wait until the right time to pass leads on to sales; many businesses miss important windows of opportunities here. More than half of top performers nurture leads for 4-12 weeks before passing them on to sales, whereas bottom performers tend to pass off leads much faster. In fact, 43% of them reported passing leads off in less than one month, and the vast majority of those claimed to do so immediately. Interestingly, another 25% of bottom performers reported holding on to leads for more than three months.
5
Measure programs and campaigns, taking advantage of the many types of metrics at our disposal today. Top performers are significantly more likely to measure virtually everything they can, while bottom performers are far less likely to collect lead metrics at all. A full 44% of them claimed they measured nothing, offering valuable insight into the disparity between the two groups. Simply put, if you can’t measure and analyze it, you can’t improve upon it.
6
Increase collaboration between sales and marketing, work together to set revenue targets and goals, and define the programs and strategies that will work.
7
Maintain marketing budgets during tough times, take advantage of opportunities, and don’t delay things like geographic expansion and hiring. Top performers invest nearly 2 times more than under-performers (40% vs 25%). And this has remained true even during the economic slowdown; top performers were far less likely to reduce spending during the current economic downturn, with only one-third reporting a reduction in overall marketing budgets. Conversely, 56% of bottom performers cut their marketing budgets, most often decreasing investments in partnerships and channels–twice the number of topperformers. One-third of top performers increased hiring to take advantage of opportunities, where only 15% of bottom performers did so.
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EvoMag.co/ January, 2013
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Should Your Small Business Have A Marketing Plan?
By Slyvia Browder
R
ecently, I offered a marketing plan review as a door prize for a local business group. When I approached the winner to exchange information, she wispered that she didn’t have a written one; she had it stored in her head. Then she asked if a marketing plan was even necessary.
SHOULD YOUR SMALL BUSINESS HAVE A MARKETING PLAN? Absolutely! In fact, as a small business consultant, I’ve encountered numerous clients who repeatedly make the same mistake… failing to have a business or marketing plan in place. In a recent survey, I asked 200 respondents of the many issues facing their businesses, which common road blocks hindered their business growth. An overwhelming 32% said “No Marketing Plan” was a potential reason for lack of sales and growth.
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WHY A MARKETING PLAN? A marketing plan is a road map that details a route you should take to successfully promote and expand your business. It is critical to the success of a business, in fact, to all businesses! If a small business wants to achieve its potential, a marketing plan must be implemented! Marketing is more than just ordering business cards or creating a flyer, it’s how you communicate with your current and potential clients. It is important to get your name out in the business community and differentiate your products and services from that of your competitor.
If you don’t market your products or services, how will people know that you are a serious business owner or worse, in business? With a marketing plan, you will have a game plan in place. A marketing plan is an integral and valuable tool for determining the success of your business and the overall direction that your product or service should be taking. It should: • Clarify the impact and results of past marketing decisions. • Elucidate the external market that a company is competing. • Include deadlines for meeting those targets. • Prepare a budget for all marketing activities. • Set objectives and provide a path for future marketing efforts. • Require accountability and measures for all activities.
Target Market Potential customers who have issues or problems which your products or services can fulfill. Generally, people in this segment possess common characteristics and a relatively high tendency to purchase a particular product or service. Included in a target market are demographic, geographic and psychographic characteristics. Executive Summary A brief summary which includes the main points of the plan; generally shared with people you approach with your plan, such as investors or lenders who may want to read a synthesized version to determine if they are interested in it before taking the time to read it in depth. Situation Analysis The evaluation of operations to determine the reasons for the gap between what was or is expected, and what has happened or will happen. SWOT Analysis A formal outline to identify and frame a company’s’ growth opportunities; SWOT is an acronym for an organization’s internal Strengths and Weaknesses and external Opportunities and Threats.
7 KEY COMPONENTS Market Research Gather information about your target market to include competition, business, and industry environment. When researching, answer the following questions: • Who are your customers? • What do they want or need? • What is important to them? • Who are your competitors? What are their strengths and weaknesses? • What is your businesses environment, locally, regionally, and nationally? • Is your industry doing well?
Marketing Strategy A process that allows a company to concentrate its limited resources on the greatest opportunities to increase sales and achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. Budget Estimates tied to specific allocation of revenues. A budget is required to have a successful marketing plan. • Yearly marketing budget • Expected return after www.EvoMag.Co investment • Breakdown of expected expenditures In conclusion, as you can see, a marketing plan serves as your road map. It is critical for the success of your business.
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Evolving your Life
"Brand New" is Evolution Magazine's Lifestyle theme for January 2013 and, appropriately so, considering the new year, all of our recent resolutions, and especially Evolution Magazine's carte blanche launch into Lifestyle. This month's Lifestyle issue features products, services, ideas, and philosophies from companies and people who are not 'on' the cutting edge--they 'are' the cutting edge. We've brought you ingenuity, innovation, and improvement, irrespective of chronological "newness." Simply, this edition showcases creative and fresh approaches that re-imagine and re-define familiar industries and ideas. We visit a city which has had a new beginning. We check out new twists on "plain" old-fashioned jeans. We even re-invent how to tell time. It's my sincerest hope and pleasure that you enjoy every word, photo, and concept. That you will change with us, and with the turning of these pages, as we venture into the new year, 2013. Cheers,
Š Ramy Song Photography
Phillip Hart Managing Editor
Culture: 3Sixteen Coffee Kits Collaboration Based in New York City, 3sixteen produces premium clothing and accessories founded principally upon their core philosophy "What we make is who we are." Consequently, their raw selvedge jeans are respected by denim-heads and executive tailors nationwide. Aaron Houtsch, a tailor by trade in Allentown, PA, has high regard for the company. "The kind of quality materials and construction these guys have is just awesome. They are true jeans." Always carrying the theme of virtue and vice, 3sixteen merges impeccable craftsmanship with practical innovation, as seen in their waxed canvas totes and their coffee travel kit, a collaborative effort with Handsome Coffee Roasters and Teranishi Handcrafted. Each coffee travel kit starts with a custom Chromexcel leather bag hand-stitched in Vashon, WA. "The leather is infused with waxes, oils and grease in an 89 step process over 28 days," says 3sixteen, and it is "perfect leather for a travel coffee kit like this because of its waterresistant properties." The bags are then stocked with an Aeropress, filters, a hand grinder, digital scale, and a 12oz bag of HCR's freshly roasted coffee beans. 3sixteen is emphatic about telling a story through their products and logo; the coffee travel kit bags are branded with 3sixteen's signature logo which has been customized to integrate HCR and Teranishi. Only 20 coffee travel kits were made. Check out their website and NYC showroom for more details. www.3sixteen.com
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Luxury: Retelling the Story of Time
Emerging from Maximillian Büsser's childhood passion for assembling model plane kits, 3 years development, over 300 unique components, and over 40 contributing friends' efforts, comes the aviation tribute Horological Machine No4 Thunderbolt. Maximillian Büsser & Friends collaborates artists, artisans, and professionals (all friends) to craft their radical wristwatches. "By nurturing teams of talented individuals, harnessing their passion and creativity, and crediting each individual's essential role, MB&F uses their synergy to become much greater than the sum of its parts." Out of this exponential creativity comes the HM4, which does more than just tell time--it tells a story. www.mbandf.com Style: Naked and Infamous Jeans, Glowing in Cananda The mad scientists at Naked & Famous Denim are at it again, especially heading into the new year. The Montreal outfit always pushes the envelope by material and by design. A variety of twills and weaves are sourced exclusively from legendary and prestigious denim mills in Japan. N&F have featured kevlar denim blends and currently offer jeans woven with linen, silk, and stainless steel. Hot off the presses for Fall/Winter '12/'13 are their Skinny Guy Glow-In-The-Dark jeans. “The jeans will glow intensely under a blacklight!” says Kari Svarc, N&F Denim Enthusiast. Into each pair is baked a phosphorescent coating which absorbs ultraviolet light then slowly releases it with an emanating, green glow. Perfect for the next time you’re clubbing in Quebec. www nakedandfamousdenim.com
Corporate: Private Hop from NYC to LA and Back with BlackJet For your next board meeting or longweekend jetset, consider Blackjet, the recently opened private jet, seat-booking broker. A membership, which mingles you with the likes of investment firms, athletes, and even Will Smith, will set you back a few grand and provide you access to private, cross-country flights for relatively affordable fares. All that, and a guaranteed 10-second seating confirmation, online or via a smartphone application. "It's about saving time." Actually, it's about whatever you want when you're flying private. And knowing how Uber's Black-Car business has held fast with their level of consistent luxury service, you can expect Uber co-founder and Blackjet lead investor, Garrett Camp, to stand by his "time-saving" quote as the company flies above and beyond. Blackjet is currently accepting membership requests. www.blackjet.com
Off The
Cuff
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Address: 889 N. Graham St. Allentown, PA Phone: (484) 893-0583 Email: info@offthecufflv.com
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Food: Living Bsitro, Signapore
Located next door to Betel Box hostel, the Living Bistro is a one-stop shop for all things rustic Singapore. Head chef "Uncle Ben" has been preparing award-winning Peranakan cuisine for over 28 years. Traditional dishes of cabbage roll and pork with spicy sauce, as well as their unique contemporary counterparts (local favorites include Laksa Goreng and Sotong Hitam), have been served to passers-through, celebrities, and royal dignitaries alike. The family-friendly atmosphere offers banquet facilities, an events room, and a collection of merchandise Singaporeana. www.betelbox.com/bistro
Food: Down The Stairs, Tokyo This new breed of restaurant, colloquially called "chef-less" by the owner, is a casual variant of culture-rich fine dining. The layout was born out of utilitarian efficiency to serve company employees. The open dining room/kitchen is staffed by Arts & Science and operated alongside their other boutiques which feature coffee, clothing, home and outdoor goods. A local favorite dish is the PhD's Chicken Ginger Curry lunch box. www.arts-science.com
Food: Perla in the Rough, New York City Consistently rated among the best 2012 new openings in the US this year, the West Village, New York City restaurant blends cozy, rustic nostalgia with fresh style, pretty waitresses, and excellent execution. Case-in-point, chef Michael Toscano, previous sous chef of Mario Batali at the legendary Babbo; he delivers the premium Italian nose-to-tail wholesomeness you'd expect, with heavy accompaniment of homemade pastas to boot. Perla is now accepting reservations. www.perlanyc.com
EvoMag.co/ January, 2013
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Steel to Silicon Pittsburgh, an almost forgotten city, is being reborn.
By Phillip Hart For years I lived an hour North of Pittsburgh,” says Sebastian Crane, a previous Pittsburgh local. “I was determined to find fault with and dislike it--the depressed, in-the-middle-of-nowhere city. Instead, my love for the city grew progressively.” These remarks on the city are not uncommon, nor unwarranted: easy to get in and get out (although, once there, a map is necessary), high-culture, varied diversity, and the makings of an underdog-become-champion story.
There has also been strong neighborhood development and vitalization: Pittsburgh has many distinct neighborhoods, each with unique character and geography (the city sits upon the “Three Rivers” in a hilly area).
There is a lot happening and looking forward in Pittsburgh, both in renovation of old cultural gems and the blossoming of new business and livability. “It is still one of my favorites to visit--especially after ‘hating’ it for all this time,” laughs Famously known for its extensive steel production under Bessemer, Crane, “and Brian O’Neill nailed it”: Pittsburgh was netted the infamous reputation of a dead, dirty, and dull city after the steel and electronics industry implosion. “The Paris of Appalachia” some have called Pittsburgh derisively, because it’s still the largest city along this However, in recent times, the city previously dubbed “hell with gorgeous mountain chain that needs a better press agent. the lid blown off” has shifted production monumentally towards Sometimes we’re so afraid of what others think, we’re afraid education, healthcare, and technology. Univeresity of Pittsburgh to say who we are. This city is not Midwestern. It’s not East Medical Center has ranked in US News & World Report’s “Honor Coast. It’s just Pittsburgh, and there’s no place like it. That’s Roll” for 10 years, and employs 48,000. The tech industry especially both its blessing and its curse. has become a boom: every year the city awards grant dollars to the winner of its “best of” new tech business competition. Consequently, Pittsburgh has earned the new moniker “Silicon Valley of the East.”
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Culture:
Dance, opera, and countless theatre companies are found locally, as well as the Pittsburgh Zoo and Botanical Gardens, and a range of museums from the Carnegies to Andy Warhol.
Business:
Along with an upswing of robotics and nuclear engineering companies, Google and Smith Micro Software have recognized the technology momentum and recently taken up offices to join over 1600 local tech companies. Aggregated annual payroll is over $10.8 billion (€8.15bn).
Education:
The city hosts Carnegie Mellon University, Duquesne University, and the University of Pittsburgh; the greater Pittssburgh region, many more, also of fine national quality. The University of Pittsburgh employs 10,700 and is home to various Gothic architectural highlights.
Music:
Pittsburgh has been rated best US music city, supported by the top-notch Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and pervasive, rustic jazz culture.
Livability:
High-culture, world-class healthcare, and excellent regional accessibility have helped to rank Pittsburgh the most livable US city in 2005, 2009, and 2011, and between 26th and 29th worldwide by “The Economist.” Cost of housing is about 55% of the national average.
Sports:
The city is home to a loyal sports culture, especially in American Football, with 1 professional and 2 NCAA Division 1 teams. Professional baseball is housed in the highly-regarded PNC Park, just a short walk from the Cultural District across the Roberto Clemente Bridge.
Food:
Pittsburgh is heavily influenced by Polish cuisine. Pierogi are a local must-have. Notable eateries to visit: • Quaker Steak & Lube: Buffalo wings • Fuel & Fuddle: Beer club • Le Mont: 5-Star Diamond rating, atop Mt. Washington, overlooks the city, excellent at night • Primanti Brothers: Pommes frites (French fries) and coleslaw on pastrami and cheese
Make the World More Beautiful When I was a little girl my parents would read aloud the children’s story Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney. In this book, a grandmother recounts to her grandchildren that there are three things that they must do to live a fulfilling life. • The first is to travel the world. • The second, to live by the sea. I have visited countries and experienced cultures. I have spent time exploring neighborhoods, meeting people, enjoying cuisine, and seeing art. I have lived on an island, working with impoverished students studying environmental science. All fantastic. But Miss Rumphius’ final piece of advice, is to make the world more beautiful. She chooses to plant lupines in Maine. I have decided to apply as a Teach For America Corps member. I have been extremely fortunate to receive an excellent public school education and feel as though every single child across America should be entitled to this same right. The lack of education equality across America is something that angers me, but also fuels my desire to make a difference. I believe that change stems from education and given the chance to assist in the process can only lead to a brighter, more beautiful future. The poverty stretching across our nation and the students who are deprived of a strong education is unjust. As a citizen who has had the opportunity to receive a good education, I believe it is my duty to give back to others. I hope to give children in low-income communities the same opportunities I have experienced. Success is determined by reaching even just one student in a classroom, and providing not just knowledge, but the belief that he or she can learn and achieve, and pass that onto the next student after them. I have a burning desire to create social change, and in my eyes, as well as Miss Rumphius, this is a chance to make the world a whole lot more beautiful. Warmest Wishes,
Steph Solomont EvoMag.co/ January, 2013
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