the story is in the telling

The Whole ‘Have It All’ Thing. 

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We all know the old conversation – the “how to have it all” question. It’s been at every women’s conference for the past 30 years. Of course it reinvents itself all the time with new books about happiness or leaning in, but the conversation among women has long surpassed how to “have it all”. Mostly because “all” needs to be redefined. Now, it’s much more about how can I make what I have, matter the most. To do this we ask the everyday questions; how can work be interesting, efficient, impactful- – forward-moving? How do I spend time with my child in the most stimulating, meaningful, and truthful way? How do I not just pass my partner in the hallway or ask him to pass the salt. How do I wake-up to what’s right there — to what IS in my universe? How can driving to soccer practice, a phone call with a client, a playdate, a meeting that may feel just a little too far away, feel amazingly GOOD? How to find presence in the quotidian? How to find the awe?

There’s science on this, which is kind of a relief because I think we’d all like some reassurance that “all” is whatever you have right now. And if whatever you have right now is everything, then how do you touch, feel, taste and absorb all of your everything?

 So thrilled to host author and filmmaker Betsy Chasse in LA June 1st! #theresabetterway.

The Dip vs. The Dive

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DipvsDiveThe Dip, which Seth Godin coined, is that momentary “low” of despair. It is the cyclical point in a relationship, business, or season that makes you question, reflect, scratch your head and ask if there’s a good reason to go on doing it. There usually is. The Dive is something else, something I use in my own life to distinguish from The Dip. The Dive is just how it sounds – a jump, head first, where there’s no turning back. The Dive is that moment in a relationship when you realize you’ve already walked out, even though your physical body is still there. Or, when a business owner becomes ‘done’ for whatever reason. She wants out and there is no argument that could change her mind.
An old friend of mine in New York, the yogi author, teacher, speaker and thought leader Elena Brower, recently closed her Manhattan studio. Why? Email. 
 
Certainly it was more than the administrative mud of too many emails, but that about says it all. She was simply tired of the business of having a brick and mortar business. We all get that, whether we traffic in bricks or clicks. The exhaustion of running something can takes its toll and it’s okay to shut it down, even when it’s healthy.
There is this overriding mantra in our minds that we have to build it, grow it, sell it –  but you don’t. You are allowed to walk away because your life mission changes, and the business no longer fist in. But first, before you do anything drastic, make sure you’re not just in a “dip”. Here’s how you tell:
1. Over and over, the back end feels overwhelmingly out of sync with the joy on the front end.
2. There’s something else (personal or professional) that continues to knock on the door of your mind – and won’t let go.
3. You can make up the income readily through another channel.
I’m all for diving. And if you do, make it a clean, beautiful, strong dive. No apologies. You’ll come up out of the water having done it with sincerity, integrity and strength, and there’s a lot of enviable entrepreneurial DNA in that.
Amy

The Power of Disengagement

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db268e1c-d333-4f16-bfe2-6382a91d95abFull engagement looks a little something like this:

Working side by side with your business partner, husband, staff, assistant- for months on end with little to no breaks. You work diligently on a proposal, then a project, then a wrap up- all at full speed with no stops. You write, blog, post, measure, create — for weeks and months — and then repeat. And yet again, not too many pauses. This represents all of our stories- or all of us who work hard at being great at something.

When you’re in full throttle engagement, sh!t gets done. Things move. The pieces come together and do what they’re meant to. But when engagement has no end in sight, it’s like holding a bridge pose in yoga for an indefinite length of time- with a teacher talking on her cell phone outside the room. In other words there’s no horizon- you can’t measure output because you don’t know how to manage it in service of an end point. We love when there’s someone holding the “end” for all of us — so no one has to wonder.

There is a lot of power in engagement, but there is also a lot of power in disengagement- like a vacation. I took one recently and had several epiphanies I’m normally too busy to acknowledge or explore. What’s even better was that I wasn’t busy making notes about how to make this place better, which I’m often plagued with at restaurants, on airplanes, in meetings, etc. The Auberge Resort experience took me out of my day-to-day mind. It was transportive. That counts for something when your life is big, with lots of moving parts.

Have you disengaged lately? I recommend it — not only because it’s fun and makes life interesting, but because it’s good for business, too.

 

Amy

 

It’s good to be loved…

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As any business owner knows, it’s always nice to be recognized for what you’re doing in the world. Laura Dunn is a blogger who writes for the Huffington Post  – currently doing a series of profiles on amazing women in business. Her articles include Q&A and features on great women to watch and learn from {and of course support too}. 

I feel so honored to be featured to talk not only about SMARTY but the great women who’ve inspired me to get where I am today.
And @lauraemilyd – thanks again, it was so great connecting with you!
-Amy

Apple – User (and Worker) Friendly

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We can learn a lot from looking at Apple and their business models. Not only have they made great strides with creating products and being innovators but they do something all us small business owners can use too. It’s all about a good retail hiring strategy.

We’ve all walked into one of those giant apple stores and interacted with one of the Geniuses. They all seem to meet the same qualifications, friendly, accessible, knowledgeable, smart but not cocky, happy but not annoyingly so? It seems if you were to plop them in Portland, Brooklyn, Austin… they would meet the creativity in progress requirements. Why is it that Apple has got it all together especially in the Genius department?

Although it’s a close second, skill set is not the first requirement for being hired. First they hire for culture for their store personnel.

For smaller organizations this is key. You may not be number one on Interbrand’s Best Global Brands but maybe this is why Apple is. If someone you hire doesn’t have the personality, work ethic, mission orientation, it’s not going to work — no matter how pretty their resume is!

Skills are teachable — disposition ain’t!

 

Stay Smarty People

The Bird Theory

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Stephanie Barrymore smallI learned something about birds that was kinda interesting recently. They see best in black and white, so when you first get a feeder, the best way to let them know it’s there and ready to feast on is to put seeds that are black and white inside. Despite being a bit messier, it’s the fastest way for them to see it, and the best way to build your “bird posse”. After that, add seed that leaves fewer shells, and in any color you like.

Clients and customers are the same way. The marketplace is crowded – we have to be crystal clear with our message, our offering, our value – we have to make it black and white to even get people’s attention. If it isn’t absolutely clear, it’s a client who keeps clicking….right on past your products or service.

Once you have a client or customer, as everyone knows, it’s a lot easier to keep ’em! So how do you drive the flock? Having a sales person is one way.

Check out some of our virtual offerings coming up in the next few weeks – especially our SALES webinar with Stephanie Barrymore. She’s going to tackle some amazing questions about structuring relationships with sales people – specifically if you’re a service provider. She’ll answer:

– When is it time to hire a sales person?
– How do you structure the relationship financially?
– How do you hire the right person – based on experience or rolodex?
– How do you manage them and set metrics for success?
– When do you let them go or determine it’s not working?
– How much training do they need?
– What kind of uptick in revenue can you expect and how long will it take?

I like what Stephanie’s presenting because we so often get it for product people, but hardly ever for service professionals.

 

Amy

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About Me

photo of Amy Swift Crosby

I’m a brand strategist and copy writer. I mostly work with partner agencies or directly with the leadership or founding team at a brand. My primary mission is to connect design and messaging solutions to business missions. I work with start-ups and Fortune 500 companies, across beauty, hospitality, wellness/fitness, CPG and retail. This blog reflects my personal writing and explores our humanity – often as it relates to work, space, time and language. You can review my portfolio here or connect with me here.

Photo - Andrew Stiles

The Brandsmiths Podcast



Brand Strategists Hilary Laffer and Amy Swift Crosby tackle business questions with candid, (mostly) serious and definitely unscripted workshopping sessions. Guests – from small business owners to CEOs, executive directors and founders – bring their head-scratchers, hunches and conundrums to Hilary, the owner of a boutique creative agency in Los Angeles, and Amy, a copy writer.

 

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