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5 Lessons on Entrepreneurship I’ve Learned from other Women Entrepreneurs

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5 Lessons on Entrepreneurship

Women Entrepreneurs Houston – Over the course of my entrepreneurial journey, I have had the pleasure of meeting some pretty remarkable women who are all flourishing in some area or another in their respective fields.

On multiple occasions, I’ve interviewed women from varied backgrounds for my podcast SOB: Style of Business, connected with them in the gym, during events and collaborated on projects. From the upbeat marketing professional who has built her business on bringing people together through networking to the inspirational fitness entrepreneur who encourages everyone she comes into contact with to always give their best, there is something to be learned from watching the way these ladies operate in the world of business.

While each of them has their own strengths, talents and abilities, I’ve noticed several commonalities that continue to emerge time and time again.

In addition to the handful of lessons that I’ve listed below seeing a group of women support each other through thick and thin has been very inspiring and it motivates me to do the same. It’s been a privilege to regard these attributes as invaluable lessons in which we can all use to our advantage.


Lesson One: Fitness and mental health is extremely important

Whether it’s through quieting your mind during meditation or practicing breathing techniques during yoga making sure your fitness and mental health are taken care of our top priority. In order to excel in anything, having a strong mind and body will sustain you in every aspect of your business. Whether you find yourself in multiple brainstorming sessions with a client or having to haul in a boatload of supplies to your office space, having the strength on both fronts is key.


Lesson Two: There is no try

We all know running a business can be difficult and there are unexpected challenges but having the fortitude to persevere is beneficial for the long game. When obstacles come about you can either choose to move through whatever is holding you back or choose not to do anything at all.

One of the best lessons I’ve learned is this one. You either do it or you don’t. There is no try. Do you try to make it to work on time? You either do or you don’t. One thing I do know is that once you’ve stepped forward in making an effort you’ve made it through half the battle and the rest is a matter of things working out.


Lesson Three: Transitions are completely acceptable

In a world of change, things are bound to take on a different shape, form and even meaning. One thing I’ve taken away from being around other women entrepreneurs is that it’s okay to move on to something new. As we grow and mature, things that once captured our attention or inspired us can quickly turn into something of the past and it’s okay to move on.

For many of us, we get into a routine of always trying to help and please others that we forget about what makes us happy. When we finally realize that we’ve outgrown our space and it’s time to move on, we should accept the change in season and gracefully move forward with smiles on our faces. Transitions and change are a part of our personal growth and development.


Lesson Four: Enjoy what you do

Women Entrepreneurs Houston – We oftentimes start our careers with a sincere passion for making a difference and being able to contribute in ways that allow our creativity to blossom but years of our everyday routines can bring about indifference and a strong desire for a career overhaul.

As discussed above, transitions are okay. In fact, transitions give us an opportunity to start fresh and tap into other things we’re great at. One of the biggest takeaways from starting anything at all or starting something new is to actually enjoy what you do. If you don’t enjoy what you’re doing and you think the money will sustain your happiness you’re wrong. That song you’re singing to yourself will only play for so long before you’re begging for a new tune.


Lesson Five: Knowing your Why

Women Entrepreneurs Houston – Just as important as the other lessons, knowing your way is something that most of us don’t figure out until we’ve experienced enough to know what we don’t want. The reason why knowing the why is important is being clear about your goals will help you focus on what’s important and weed out all the crap that isn’t. We can also forget our why.

During times of burnout, I’ve learned it’s important to look inside myself to see if the work that I’m doing is something I enjoy. And more importantly, I had to ask myself why was I doing this type of work and if people were actually benefiting from my contributions. Whether your why is to open a yoga retreat center or to save money for a family vacation, the fact that you know your why is something solid you can rest upon even when distractions come about.

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6 Powerful Strategies for Building Self-Confidence and Positivity

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6 Powerful Strategies for Building Self Confidence

It’s certainly true that some people are naturally more confident than others, nobody is born with endless amounts of self-confidence. So, if you want to boost your self-esteem and become a more positive person, it is something you’ll have to work at.

Here are six simple tips that should provide inspiration on the journey to becoming a more confident person.

1. Surround Yourself With Positive People

Positivity begets positivity. Make a conscious effort to surround yourself with positive, confident people, and it will soon rub off on you. Let them be your inspiration as you drive each other toward greatness.

2. Visualize Your Future

Anything is possible in this world, but you won’t get anywhere until you’ve pictured yourself achieving those dreams. Aside from giving you the self-confidence of knowing you can do it, this step will prepare you for those situations once they arrive.

3. Push Yourself Further

A lack of confidence is often characterized by self-doubting and a fear of taking on new challenges. Whether it’s doing something that scares you or learning a new skill, a continued sense of self-improvement will work wonders.

4. Deal With Rejection

Whether it’s your personal life or career, not everyone will agree with you or see value in your ideas. Make a conscious effort not to take things personally, and this immunity will ultimately lead to self-confidence.

5. Take Care Of Yourself

Self-care and self-confidence are very closely linked. Be sure to take care of your physical and emotional health to feel stronger and more positive than ever. Focus on becoming the best version of yourself to unlock heightened confidence.

6. Focus On Achievable Goals

Even if your goal is to accomplish something truly incredible, it’s important to create milestones along the way. Aside from providing guidance, having milestones in place removes the fear that the mountain ahead is unconquerable.

Being self-confident won’t suddenly protect you from all the negative thoughts and episodes of self-doubt, but it will bring positivity to your world. You’ve got this.

Keetria is an entrepreneur, wellness advocate, and brand strategy coach for creatives & entrepreneurs with 16 years of public relations expertise working with some of the world’s leading brands, startups, media personalities, and entertainers. If you would like to work together, don’t hesitate to reach out!

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Conquer the New Year with These 4 Top-notch Marketing Tools

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Marketing Tools

Digital Marketing is always evolving and there are always new and exciting tools being introduced in the market to make digital marketing more effective. If you have a business, you need to know which of these tools can help you be the best that you can be. The right tools can help you stay updated with the latest trends, help you get organized, and can optimize your efficiency. Here are some tools you need check out this 2018:

Flock

Flock is a communication app for teams. Flock allows you to bring your team together to chat, share information, meet via video conferencing and push efficiency by using its productivity features. You can even integrate all your apps in a single platform. Once you sign up, you can create one big team and hubs for smaller teams. Flock is also faster, slicker and has a more intuitive interface compared to other team communication tools.

Sendy

Sendy is one of the hottest tools in email marketing today. It’s a self-hosted email newsletter application backed by Amazon’s Simple Email Service. Sendy allows you to send attractive emails easily to your email audience and receive a detailed performance report afterward. And the best part is, it’s a lot cheaper than other email marketing apps in the market. You can send 20,000 emails for only $2! If you have less than that, let’s say you only have 10,000 subscribers, the cost can go down to $1. Now, that’s a deal you won’t find anywhere else.

Ptengine

Do you get frustrated when your website visitors suddenly leave and don’t convert? When you have a business website you want to find out why people are leaving your site. Ptengine is a heat map application that records every visit, click, scroll on your site and turns the data into a heat map to help you visualize at what point your customers are abandoning your site. Are they leaving because of usability problems? Pricing problems? Do they find the copy confusing? Once you’ve identified the issue, you can now make adjustments on your site and convert customers better.

Google Trends

Google Trends is a unique tool because it lets you know what people are searching for every day on Google Search. According to statistics, there are 3.5 billion users on Google Search daily and over 50,000 searches every second. Among the 50,000 searches, as much as 20% are from new users, which means that there’s always something new to discover. Google Trends can sift through all the searches and show you, by using keywords, what’s trending worldwide. It will give you an insight on what consumers are really looking for and predict market trends. To see the data, all you need to do is type a keyword or the industry name and press “Enter.” It’s that easy.

Now that you know some of the best tools you can use this year, give one of them a spin and let us know what you think.

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How to Gain Clarity When Starting a New Venture

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Summary:

In this 44th episode of SOB: Style of the Business podcast, the host Keetria has a solo discussion about ways to maintain clarity and not get distracted when starting a new business venture or project.

Show Notes:

  • Focus on what you want to gain momentum.
  • Why do you want what you desire?
  • When you know why you want something, you can put the right actions forth.
  • Do the things that align with your goals.

3 Key Points:

  1. Focus on what you want to obtain.
  2. Understand the reason why you want what you want.
  3. Do the things that align with what you want.

Tweetable Quotes:

–   “The more that you focus and concentrate on what you want, the more…you bring

in similar thoughts or ideas that are related to what you want.” – Keetria.

–   “Know why you want what you want.” – Keetria.

–   “Once you know your “why,” then you can put forth the action to actually achieve

your goals.” – Keetria.

Resources Mentioned:

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Best Online Resources for Aspiring Public Speakers

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Aspiring Public Speakers

Being a public speaker can be much more than just a hobby, a side hustle or something you do to further your business image. Many people make a career of it, speaking at various venues around the country and even around the world. While confidence in public speaking comes naturally to some, there’s still a lot of skill involved in giving public talks. If you want to improve your public speaking skills, there are some fantastic resources that you can learn from. Here are some of the best online resources you can enjoy if you want to become an incredible public speaker.


TED Talks

TED talks are not just interesting, they’re also great resources for learning about public speaking. Watching TED talks on any topic that interests you gives you a chance to watch how some of the best public speakers do it. There are also plenty of talks that focus on public speaking or related topics. Some of the highlights you might want to watch include ‘TED’s secret to great public speaking’, ‘How to speak so that people want to listen’ by Julian Treasure, Amy Cuddy’s ‘Your body language may shape who you are’, and ‘How I beat stage fright’ by Joe Kowan.


Toastmasters International

Toastmasters is a huge public speaking group, which has hundreds of thousands of members around the world. The Toastmasters International online resources are helpful for anyone looking for tips on public speaking. They have lots of articles you can read that cover plenty of topics with practical advice. Of course, you can also join a Toastmasters group if you have a local chapter. You can learn from other members and, of course, by getting up and giving some talks yourself. There are more than 15,000 clubs across 135 countries, so you can probably find one that works for you.


National Speakers Association

The National Speakers Association offers resources for professional speakers – and aspiring professional speakers too. Their website features some handy resources and a calendar of events. By joining the NSA, you get a host of benefits, such as virtual courses, community access, Speaker magazine, and plenty of tools and resources. You can also earn a Certified Speaking Professional designation if you want to prove that you’re an expert in public speaking.


Executive Speech Coach Blog By Patricia Fripp

There is a huge number of blogs covering the topic of public speaking. Patricia Fripp’s is one of the best resources available. Her blog covers a range of topics, many of which relate to doing better business. For example, a recent post covers how to sound intelligent in a speech or sales presentation. Many posts are accompanied by videos, which gives you a more visual way to learn more about doing well in speaking engagements. She also has a brother – Robert Fripp – who is not only a professional guitarist but also a public speaker.

Become an expert public speaker with these resources and start building your public profile. Of course, you also need to make sure that you have something to say.

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3 Great Ways To Encourage Youth Entrepreneurship

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Youth Entrepreneurship

Today’s youth represents tomorrow’s movers and shakers, so it’s hugely beneficial to encourage youth entrepreneurship. In a world where few people know exactly what they want to do when they leave high school, providing platforms for entrepreneurial flair to flourish is likely to have an incredibly positive impact on the world of business. 

To make things possible for the next generation, here are some of the best ways to promote youth entrepreneurship.

Encourage thinking, discussion and creativity.

Being a successful entrepreneur isn’t just about having ideas or being able to manage a team of people. To make it to the top, you have to have a diverse skill set and an innate desire to ask questions and find solutions. 

As adults, we should be encouraging children and teens to engage in open discussion, indulge their inquisitive nature, and carry out research. Every person is different, and divergent thinking is something to embrace, rather than discourage. It’s useful to debate, question other people’s opinions and ideas and learn to solve problems. 

Young people tend to be more confident about voicing their opinions when they feel safe, and this is why it’s important to provide safe platforms and environments in which to speak. School and college debating classes are an excellent example, and will undoubtedly prepare budding entrepreneurs for boardrooms and event spaces.

Real-life experiences.

You can learn a lot from textbooks and lectures, but real life often provides the most powerful and memorable lessons. If you’ve been contacted by a teenager who expresses an interest in what you do, or a local school or college wants to collaborate with you, consider opening up opportunities that enable young people to gain experience of the working day. Let them sit and watch, observe and digest what’s going on and encourage them to join in. 

We tend to have a vision of entrepreneurialism from TV programs and books, but the real world is often very different. Experiences can teach you more about what’s involved in business, but they can also ignite passions and foster ambition. 

If you’re a business owner eager to encourage new talent to thrive, you can provide access to real-life experiences by offering work placements, on-the-job training, apprenticeships, and internships.

Practical skills.

It’s not possible to learn everything you need to know about life in the big bad world after school or college in the classroom. A high school graduate may emerge with an excellent grasp on Pythagoras’ theorem, but could they manage accounts? 

As a business owner looking for the next leading lights, it pays to encourage the development of practical skills that will equip individuals for an entrepreneurial journey. This can be done through skills workshops, training programs, and even courses that are open to students and those looking to pursue a career in business.

As adults, we have to encourage the next generation to fulfill its potential. Whether you’re a business leader, a freelancer, a creative thinker, or a company executive, you can play your part in encouraging youth entrepreneurship and nurturing the stars of tomorrow.

Keetria is an entrepreneur, wellness advocate, and brand strategy coach for creatives & entrepreneurs with 16 years of public relations expertise working with some of the world’s leading brands, startups, media personalities, and entertainers. If you would like to work together, don’t hesitate to reach out!

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Powerful Ways to Make the Most of Your Brainstorming Session

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Most of Your Brainstorming Session

Coming up with new ideas takes work. And if you’re tasked to come up with fresh ideas frequently, it can be easy for you to hit a brick wall. This is when brainstorming sessions are essential. Brainstorming is the process of collecting as many ideas as you can and filtering them to get the best ones. During a brainstorming session, every idea should be heard. The goal is to just let the creative juices flow and gather as many ideas as possible without criticism. Remember that there are no bad ideas during brainstorming.

Here are five ways how you can make the most of your brainstorming session:

  1. Be clear about your objective

For a brainstorming session to be effective, make sure that you communicate your objective clearly. A well-defined objective will prevent your team from losing focus and going astray. It’s futile to gather your team, hustle them in a room, and ask them to throw ideas without a goal in mind. Effective brainstorming needs a plan and a plan must have an objective.

  1. Start the session relaxed

The mind works best when it’s rested and relaxed so start your brainstorming session on a light note. Encourage easy conversation and allow your team members to speak out. Everyone is encouraged to participate. The goal is to get people unstuck and urge them to come up with thoughts and ideas. When the mood is light, ideas are bound to flow.

  1. Time the session

To get the thought process rolling, make sure to time your session. A clock is a good reminder that there’s a deadline and this will help propel your team to think quickly. You can keep the session to as short as five minutes or it can run to as long as 45 minutes. Make sure that you make your session long enough for ideas to flow freely.

  1. Write everything down

Make sure that all ideas, good or bad, are noted down. Use a whiteboard so that your team members can see all the ideas that have been shared and add more suggestions. Do not judge or favor any idea and just welcome everything: big ideas, bold ideas, and even totally ridiculous ones. Brainstorming sessions are all about quantity, not quality.

  1. Evaluate the ideas

After you have gathered all the ideas, the next step is to evaluate them one by one and separate the good from the bad. Remove all duplicate ideas and assess all the remaining ideas one by one. Is the idea fresh? Is it unique? Does it provide a solution? In choosing the best idea, you need to go back to the objective and ask yourself if an idea meets your objective.

Brainstorming sessions are one the effective ways to come up with new ideas. If used wisely, it can a very effective tool to come up with great ideas and help take your company to the next level.

Keetria is an entrepreneur, wellness advocate, and brand strategy coach for creatives & entrepreneurs with 16 years of public relations expertise working with some of the world’s leading brands, startups, media personalities, and entertainers. If you would like to work together, don’t hesitate to reach out!

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How to Draw Useful Tips from Notable Speakers, Coaches and Mentors

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How to Draw Useful Tips for Notable Industry Professionals
 

As an entrepreneur who is always interested in learning from experts and leaders in other industries, I am familiar with the vast amount of material available from well-known coaches and mentors. There is an overwhelming load of information and advice on a daily basis. So much, in fact, anyone seeking to hone their skills and need tips or advice on a particular subject can easily obtain this information online.

Here are 5 ways you can take advantage of your Internet connection to learn from leading professionals across multiple industries. Whether you’re just starting out or have been working in your line of business for several years, there lies a significant advantage in listening to other people’s perspectives on an assortment of topics, especially when it comes from someone who has the background and knowledge on the subject at hand.

Check out the tips below on how you can glean advice that will contribute to your overall worldview, increase your knowledge, or just learn something that you might not have known before.

Blogs & YouTube 

Many of the prominent and well-known speakers, personal development coaches and influencers have personal websites or Youtube channels where they regularly upload content. This material may consist of helpful blog posts or articles which will give you an idea about their perspective. If it’s a Youtube video, most of the time it’s a clip of them speaking at a conference, talk or seminar where they often provide their audiences with valuable information.

Either way, take the time to scour over your favorite speaker’s online content. If you’re unable to attend their events, checking out what they have available online for free is an excellent way to learn something new or to get their take on certain topics.

Newsletters

While some speakers and mentors post new content on their websites on a regular basis, others use newsletters that are mostly exclusive to those individuals who have signed up to receive their content. From experience, I’ve found the information provided in newsletters very helpful, and within my weekly newsletter, even though most of the content is not exclusive to my subscribers, I always include a recap of the recent articles on my blog.

One suggestion is to subscribe to a handful of newsletters of insiders or influencers within the industry you would like to learn more about. Subscribing to a variety of newsletters will not only give you a different perspective but also allow you to sift and sort through helpful tips and the information you need to get you further along. 

Teleseminars

Teleseminar is another great way to learn something. If you’ve subscribed to a newsletter, you might have already received an invite to join or participate. Similar to the newsletters, sometimes you have to be a subscriber to the speaker’s or mentor’s newsletter to receive the invite. Professionals on Facebook and Instagram also promote their teleseminars for free and use these as a vehicle to offer their paid services.

While some teleseminars cost a fee to join, there are plenty available each month with minimal to no sign-up fee. Whatever your industry, check to see if your speaker of choice is hosting a teleseminar anytime soon.

Blinkist

It’s been some time since I’ve read a book on Blinkist but as I write this, it instantly reminds me of how useful their service truly is. Services similar link Blinkist thrives because they allow us to consume the main gist and most valuable information in a minimal amount of time. Maybe you’re interested in a 300-page book but don’t have a chance to read it. Blinkist pulls the book’s main content and cuts it down to the minutes for reading or audio consumption.

With my present schedule, I’m unable to read as much as I’d like but I find having the option to scan for relevant info or to learn more about a topic without having to dedicate hours to thoroughly reading a book handy. When the time doesn’t permit you to soak up as much knowledge as you’d like to check out Blinkist’s library to see if they have books written by your favorite speaker or coach – you’d be surprised as to what you’ll find.

Keetria is an entrepreneur, wellness advocate, and brand strategy coach for creatives & entrepreneurs with 16 years of public relations expertise working with some of the world’s leading brands, startups, media personalities, and entertainers. If you would like to work together, don’t hesitate to reach out!

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4 Documentaries Any Entrepreneur Can Learn Something From

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Films are designed to entertain us, but also to inform us. When it comes to documentaries, these qualifiers are usually reversed — information comes first with entertainment being inserted via cinematography, editing and storytelling techniques.

To be informed is to be at the top of your game…at least, that’s the case for entrepreneurs. These four documentaries are guaranteed to teach entrepreneurs valuable lessons about business and success, as well as providing some much needed entertainment along the way.

  1. Something Ventured

If you want to get a company going, you likely won’t only be funneling money you make into the endeavor. Investors are an important part of the process, though they’re often overlooked when we talk about businesses. Giants like Apple and Intel may be self-sufficient today, but they wouldn’t be here without investors believing in the business from an early age.

This is the basis of Something Ventured. The documentary covers Apple, Intel and Atari and the investors who believed in them enough to funnel money into the business. Obviously, their initial faith paid off.

  1. Jiro Dreams of Sushi

While this documentary isn’t directly related to business topics, it does contain a lesson that all entrepreneurs need to learn. This film covers the life of Jiro Ono, an 85-year-old man who is considered to be the greatest sushi chef in the world. His restaurant in Tokyo is acclaimed, mostly due to Jiro’s dedication to his craft. Jiro goes out of his way to make sure his sushi will be the best, going as far to massage an octopus for an hour to enhance the quality of its texture.

So what’s the takeaway? Anything worth doing is worth doing right. If you’re passionate about your dream, you’ll do anything for it AND be as dedicated as necessary to make it come true.

  1. She++

This is definitely one to look into if you’re a female entrepreneur. If you thought being a professional woman was hard as it is, imagine being a woman interested in a field like tech or gaming. These industries are notorious for being boy’s clubs, and women are just now beginning to find their footing within them.

This Vimeo documentary focuses on women in tech who are taking the industry by storm. When any industry stagnates based on discrimination, creativity is lost and innovation is abandoned.

  1. Freakonomics – The Movie

Freakonomics is a book that’s on many an entrepreneur’s shelf, but just as many haven’t seen the documentary based on this best seller. Knowing what motivates people is essential when you’re an entrepreneur. This is how you sell a product or service, market it to the public and develop the bones for your initial idea. Freakonomics takes this idea and makes it fascinating and entertaining with intelligent and amusing studies that go into the mind of the consumer.

Why limit yourself to only four documentaries about entrepreneurship? Pop open your Netflix or open up your Amazon bookmark and see what other suggestions you can find. Never stop learning and never stop watching.

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Business Meeting Mistakes Many Entrepreneurs Make

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businessmeeting

You can’t call yourself an entrepreneur if you haven’t gone to at least one business meeting. Business meetings are a useful tool and standard part of business. They allow you to share ideas, knowledge and projections with a team of people or your staff so that everyone is on the same page.

As an entrepreneur, you’re likely to be the one heading these meetings, which means you’ve got some responsibilities here to set the tone and lead the team. If you can’t successfully accomplish this? Your meeting is in trouble.

The best way to fix this problem is by knowing what mistakes NOT to make before ever setting foot into your meeting location. Here are a few that are common, but that should be avoided at all costs.

Not Being Prepared

This is one of the biggest meeting sins: not being prepared before starting the meeting. As the meeting leader, it’s your job to make sure that you know exactly what you’re talking about. You need to be able to answer questions correctly and inform the team as accurately as possible.

Whether you can achieve this by writing an outline or using notecards, know that you HAVE to make sure you’re prepared to the best of your ability. There’s no faking it until you make it in meetings — if you aren’t prepared, it WILL be obvious.

Being Robotic

On a similar note, there is such a thing as being TOO prepared. Let’s say you write down all these important facts and figures on notecards and read them off to your team. Someone asks you a question about the information…but you totally draw a blank and have no idea what to say.

You can’t just go into a meeting with hard facts — you also have to have comprehension and confidence. Be able to talk about what you want to discuss fluidly and accurately at the same time. Be prepared to answer questions that you may not be totally confident in.

No Purpose In Mind

It’s great to have weekly staff meetings…but why? Do you have an objective every time you call your staff together?

You should. Whether it’s something as simple as refining an existing business practice or talking about a new partnership, every meeting should have a clear purpose and talk about a problem to solve. Without an agenda, you’re really just rambling co-workers.

You Don’t Listen

Finally, one of the worst things you can do in a business meeting is make it all about yourself. When you bring people together, the idea is that you can all communicate and share ideas with one another. Many bosses decide to use business meetings to push their own thoughts and agenda, but that’s not respecting their employees.

Even if you have explicit directives you want to give employees, make sure that they also have time to share their thoughts. Listen to what they have to say. Even in cases where you disagree, employees appreciate knowing that you listened and thought about what they had to stay instead of not caring to listen at all.

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