Amy Swift Crosby

Adaptation.

February 23, 2016 · By Amy Swift Crosby

Playboy, in an effort to reinvent, has made the decision to discontinue images of naked women. They’re just too easy to find everywhere else. Movie theaters are struggling because most of us would rather skip the crowds and watch things on demand at home. Instagram has made having a point of view as hassle free as it gets – no need to start a blog – just create an account and press play.

We are living in a time where it’s easy to blame digital for the elimination of entire categories. People blame a sharing economy – Air BnB and Uber – for putting their competitors out of business, or at least at a disadvantage. But digital is just the medium. What it’s done is teach us to think and interact with our worlds in a totally different way – and it’s been a bit like boiling a frog (sorry)…so gradual we aren’t even aware of how much we want short cuts, efficiencies, ease in our consumption.

Port this behavior over into your own business now. See if you’ve adapted to the very things that make you happy or bring you down about the experiences in your consumer world. Is your website responsive? Are you using tactics from five years ago to build your list, convert customers or drive new business?

All you have to do when it comes to relevance is look around. As brands reinvent, go out of business and new miracle utilities are born, the messages are as good as on the wall. Just look at the battle between the WSJ and NYT. As one pulls ahead, the other retools (and catches up) because they both know that a paper in the hand is worth a lot less than a subscriber online these days. You don’t have to invent an app that aggregates fitness sign ups or makes getting a blow out easier (as they already exist), but you do have to continually think of shortcuts on behalf of your customer.

Watch. Listen. Learn. Adapt.

Big Life

We Hate It When Our Friends become Successful.

February 16, 2016 · By Amy Swift Crosby

Well, no we don’t really, but we kinda do.

Here’s the theory on this: we don’t question ourselves when we see Beyonce with her mogul husband and adorable baby on a yacht in Turkey …because she’s too far from our stratosphere to make comparisons. What irks us most – what makes us privately question, berate and condemn ourselves – is the success of those around us, people who are most like us, and near our socioeconomic status – aka – our friends. Why? Because given the same resources and opportunities, she succeeded…and I didn’t.

“You’re wrong,” you’re saying right now, “I’m always happy for my friends!” Yes of course you are…but it’s a trigger, too. The science behind this makes perfect sense. It’s — proximity — more than anything else — that creates the “compare and despair” mentality. The truth is that as our friends become more successful and famous, they typically open doors for us as well – either financially, spiritually or literally. We like that. But let’s be real – it still stings a little to know that you’re the same age-ish, same education, same small town, same training, same opportunity…and not same popular / tax bracket / fame quotient.

Here’s a quickie to get you out of that jam should you find yourself blinded by the glare of unwanted jealousy / resentment / yearning / self-loathing:

When we long for things / status / success we don’t have, we grow poorer, no matter our resources. Every time we feel satisfied with what we have and where we are, we grow richer, however little we may actually have at the time.

I didn’t make that up. It’s from the philosopher Rousseau. No one’s saying don’t be ambitious or strive for more, but agree that what you have is what you wanted. And go from there. And console yourself that at least you and Bey weren’t besties since pre-K.

Small Business

Alone in the Field.

February 9, 2016 · By Amy Swift Crosby

We all find ourselves alone in a battle once in a while. Whether you’re on a team as part of a project, as the owner of the business trying to get something right with a vendor, a sales person, a retailer, a manufacturer, a partner – it’s not that fun, but not that uncommon, to find yourself alone at the table trying to persuade, convince, edit, modify, evolve or otherwise impact something that needs attention.

There are ways to do this that feel like a bulldozer. And ways to do this that feel like a gazelle. I aim for the latter, even though my emotions can feel like the former. Here’s how I try to approach a difference of vision when I feel alone in my convictions:

1. Take as much responsibility as possible for why things are the way they are. It may not feel natural, and it may not feel totally true deep down, but honestly look at how you got here. Usually there was a lapse in clear communication along the way. Condescension and “it’s me, not you” won’t work. You have to make this assessment genuinely. Others will sense it if not (and then, game-over.)

2. Don’t make anyone wrong for what they’ve done or haven’t done (unless you’re managing an employee, which is a different dynamic.) No one likes to feel wrong – not a friend, not a husband, not a partner, not a service provider – not one person ever in history. I’m hugely imperfect at this – but I try to see the rightness in what HAS happened, and take that tone to change what’s not working.

3. Most of us have a colleague or companion of sorts we can confide in. But here’s the key – try not to be temperamental, defensive or even bitchy in your complaining about the problem. The tone you take in unpacking and bemoaning and explaining it to your confidante will inform how you think about fixing it. Talk about it with the level of maturity you hope to use in solving it.

It takes a lot to fight battles among people who you like and respect. I don’t like to call it fighting really, but it’s defending or promoting an aspect that isn’t getting the attention it needs. But to be an effective champion for any change, you have to start with how YOU got the train to the station. And it can’t be a strategy – you have to see your part, and mean it when you say it. These ideas come from the head, but have to be led with the heart.

Here’s to being alone. It will happen. But if you’re lucky, you’ll have a quiet (but loyal) companion to help you through.

Small Business

Portraits.

February 3, 2016 · By Amy Swift Crosby

Jen blurry (art). Jen clear (commerce).

If we took as many selfies of our businesses as we did of our faces, we might make more honest assessments of what needs to change. But we fear feedback – giving it, receiving it. We’re sometimes even scared of the people who work for us, but don’t want to admit it. We shudder at the thought of auditing people and processes because that means disruption, potentially being wrong, hurting feelings, being criticized. Our small companies often function on rocket fuel – adrenalin from an exciting client, a pitch, an opportunity, the “what-if’s” that make every day as a creative or entrepreneur or talent so fun and full of hope.

Pausing is hard. Forward motion is easier. But have you ever just stood and looked yourself in the eye – for an uncomfortable amount of time? Looking into your own eyes, you see things. Personal things. Memories. Curiosities. Tendencies. Truths. When I created SMARTY in 2008, I was running on the adrenalin of leaving another women’s network as the editor in chief, wild-eyed and sleep deprived from the rigors of childbirth and breastfeeding, and the excitement of corralling a small team of people who could help me launch a different kind of business network for women. But we moved with such speed (ahem, seat-of-our-pants-ness) that I rarely took the time to assess our state of the union. Looking at P&L’s is one part of a businesses story – but really the overall picture was hard to capture. I wanted to look smarty in the eye and ponder it – but that would take too long and I was fielding too many potential land mines that I just Kept. It. Moving. I didn’t take selfies when I should have (which is why the model is now changing!).
If we can effectively turn the camera on our businesses – we could get past the discomfort of the long gaze and transcend beyond survival into relevance.

Here’s to more starring at ourselves in the mirror (no filter). The entrepreneurial selfie requires a deeper look. And one that takes feedback.

Small Business

The Process Is The Answer.

January 26, 2016 · By Amy Swift Crosby

Sometimes you have to pull the wagon and know you're going somewhere good (despite the trailer park.). Image thanks to @denisebovee

Most of us view our days and processes as increments of time toward a finish line, an answer or at least a conclusion.
“If I do this, then X will happen, and I’ll get / feel / know / earn Y.”

That’s natural. I think great meditators and highly conscious people are some of the only ones who don’t do this – as they are wise enough to view the process as the answer, the time as the finish line, and the end of the day as the simple conclusion of the question. But it’s hard to argue that importing your MailChimp contacts or making images for the website or pitching work is as conclusive or exciting as getting funded for an internet show, landing Podcast sponsorship, getting a call from Maria Shriver about….well, anything. One is process toward an end goal, the other is a goal realized.

So how to stay equanimous – and as joyful in the process as in the fireworks? Know that it’s mostly process. And knowing that, make it part of your life’s work – part of a bigger contribution, part of an impact that can only be seen for about a mile, but that resonates for miles and miles. Because it does. That blog you wrote/product you made/speech you gave/video you made? It changed someone’s view. And her family benefited. And her child had a idea because of it. And she slept better that night. And woke up ready to tackle her own miracle. And so forth. You cannot know – it’s impossible – your ultimate, cascading, winding, surprising impact is infinite. But being “in” the process of impact at the very least is a brightening reminder of WHY you do what you do. Let the answer remain elusive. And do it anyway.
This isn’t to say profits don’t matter, strategy doesn’t matter – yes the fundamentals of business are the infrastructure for impact to prevail. Tighten those up! Make them resilient and smart.

Then, do your work.

Deep-ish thoughts on a Tuesday. Why not.

Small Business

I Can’t Believe Anyone Thinks This Still Works.

January 19, 2016 · By Amy Swift Crosby

Special? No. Nothing special about this.

The first is an oldie but goodie.

1. A random phone number from upstate New York calls to tell you, “Amy Swift! You’ve won a cruise! Just stay on the line to collect your prize with our customer service specialist!” Who thinks this still works…and if it does, and only on the elderly or infirm, are you really getting an ROI on this mockery of direct sales?!

2. The second is a new tactic that goes like this (at least when he calls me):
“Hey Amy it’s Rob calling back from First Finance” …dude calling back? We’ve never – ever – talked… “Just wanted to follow up on that small business loan we talked about” oh yes that we talked about…never “and make sure you make the deadline to get your paperwork in…” …oh yes! All my paperwork that I don’t have…
This familiar, level-jumper approach is designed to fool someone (it’s hard to imagine who) into thinking we have an established relationship. It’s pretty hilarious to hear these people play the ‘casual, busy agent just doing his job and I promise you we aren’t strangers’ routine.

3. The third is the lowly sandwich board. All a sandwich board does for an establishment is make it look like it’s the kind of place with Ladies Night or Dollar Taco Tuesdays. And maybe that’s the mission and audience. But most establishments use it as a way to hook a passerby into a meal or drink – and many are probably decent places. Unfortunately the fold-over-sidewalk-sign discredits before the conversation even begins. Why? ‘Cause mostly it’s tacky, in neon writing, and leads with price.

As much as a certain type of guy will still make comments when you walk down the street or as he passes by in his Camaro, a certain kind of business will always think mediocre strategies will yield extraordinary results. But we’re all getting smarter, more exhausted by the marketing noise, and so much less tolerant of idiotry.
It all used to upset me. #whybother #stopwastingmytime #dontcallmycellphone There’s a lot to be upset about in the world. Bad marketing should be the least of it. But for me, it pushes buttons. Isn’t it nice, as a small business owner, to put something more thoughtful into the world? Gosh we’re awesome (nothing like a little superiority to get you going on a Tuesday.)

Go forth …and say it better!