The Wake Up Call

October 6, 2014Nina KovnerENGAGE, GROW

The Universe is not short on wake up calls. We are just quick to hit the snooze button.   -Brene Brown

 

Here is the audio version of this post. Thank you so much for listening.

Many of us have had them. Some of us don’t know we have. And some of us just hit the snooze button when they happen.

Wake up calls happen all the time, in business and in life. The opportunity for us is to listen for them and to them, if we want to create an awesome biz + life.

Wake Up Call #1
A few team members are asking for raises all within a few days of each other. To me, that is a sign of something deeper. Meaning, it’s time to connect with those team members to see where they are in their career and life. Something is behind the desire for a raise. What is it?

 Wake Up Call #2
A slew of social posts about a particular company seem to be gaining momentum and people are just not happy. Will that be a wake up call, or is that company not even listening?

Wake Up Call #3
People begin not showing up to meetings, or come in late to work. Do we build resentment or decide to dig deeper into why that is.

Wake Up Call #4
Sales begin to slowly drop, less new clients are coming in, and staff is leaving. Do we see that as a wake up call or do we hit the snooze button and blame the month, season, weather or staff member.

Wake Up Call #5
A series of not so awesome YELP reviews are posted about a business. All saying similar things. The front desk staff is not nice, nobody answers the phone, the bathrooms are dirty. A wake up call? You bet. But only if the business is listening.

Wake Up Call #6
A feeling of stress and overwhelm continue to fill our bodies. Is this a wake up call? You bet it is. It’s time to look at our lives and begin to create space to breathe and get to the source of the stress and overwhelm so it can be fixed.

Awareness is the key in listening for wake up calls. It is so much easier to hit the snooze button versus dealing with issues, problems or wake up calls. It takes a ton of courage to listen for them and deal with them. And until we do, be prepared for that alarm to keep ringing.

Do you have any wake up calls you have ignored only to have them come back bigger and louder? I would love to hear your thoughts. I’m listening.

(shared with LOVE from Nina)

The Bad Ass Barbers of Instagram

The Bad Ass Barbers of Instagram

September 1, 2014Nina KovnerENGAGE, GROW

“Your culture is your brand.”

Tony Hsieh, Founder + CEO, Zappos

 

 

The Bad Ass Barbers of Instagram

 

Here is the audio version of the post, thank you so much for listening.

There is so much awesomeness happening on Instagram, thus my obsession with the platform and writing about it. One of my obsessions at the moment, well, not just at the moment but every day, is the bad ass barbers of Instagram. I am so freaking inspired by how they create awesome each day, so here is my take on what they are doing right and how you can learn from them to help you create more awesome in your biz.

1. Culture
Culture is everything. And the barber community has nailed it. They work together, play together, celebrate their communities, and use the same language. They have a shared passion and work ethic. They live their culture. And it shows.

2. Brand Identity + Messaging
This is the one area that continues to blow my mind. The look, feel, sounds and sights are so insanely consistent. From logos, to colors, to fonts, words, sounds, styles, shapes, tools, merch, storytelling via content, and most importantly, culture, these bad ass barbers not only understand branding, it is clear they value and respect how it can create awesome in their business.

3. Engagement
As my biz hero Gary Vee says, “Best marketing strategy ever? Care.” And these barbers care. The reason I know this is based on their engagement on Instagram. They listen, they respond, they give shout outs, they love and support each other, they build relationships and in turn, they have tens of thousands of passionate followers.

4. Generosity
These bad ass barbers are collectively very generous with their lives and minds. They share tips, offer education, host events and more. As Winston Churchill once said, “We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.”

5. Passion
Well, this one goes without saying. However, what I will say is many of us may say we are passionate, but does it show through our online and offline presence? Can it be felt through a screen and through the stories we tell from the content we share?

Generation C, the connected customer, as defined by the genius Brian Solis, is passionate about shared experiences. About stories, about culture, about going behind the scenes. And these bad ass barbers get that. Do you?

If you want to learn how to create more awesome on Instagram, follow these bad-asses, I do, and I am so grateful they exist.

Famous
StayGold31
AnthonyTheBarber916
Pacinos
TheNomadBarber

Oh, and while we are here, here are just a few of my other FAVES creating awesome with men’s hair on Instagram. Follow them.

JustinThomasHair
SugarSkulls
Mikeyyyyyyyy_
KevinLuchmun
AndrewDoesHair

Love + Awesomeness-

Nina

Busy

I Can’t Get To The Phone Right Now…

July 28, 2014Nina KovnerENGAGE, GROW

“Never be so busy as to not think of others.” 

 

 Mother Teresa

Busy

(image via meditateinkansas.org)

Here is the audio version of this post. Thank you so much for listening.

It seems simple enough. Yet, the lack of it seems to be an epidemic, and it can also be a competitive advantage. What am I speaking of? Caring.

Here are some ways to show we care…
1. Show up for ourselves, our family, team + community

2. Respond

  • To phone calls

  • To texts

  • To emails

  • To social shout outs

3. Be on time (and end on time)

4. Respect others time

5. Do what we say we are going to do

6.  Be honest

7. Make eye contact

8. Be authentic

9.  Keep our promises

10. Own our mistakes

Many of us are guilty of using the “busy” excuse. And that is exactly what it is, an excuse. We choose where to put our time and energy. If it matters, we will not be too busy.

I wonder what would happen if we were honest and instead of saying “OMG, I am so sorry, I got too busy”, we said, “You know what, you and your issue, or our meeting, or that phone call, or that email was just not very important to me.” Would we be more accountable to each other if we were forced to be honest? Something to think about.

If you find yourself saying I just can’t keep up with all my emails, Facebook messages, etc. than maybe you need to look at your systems, processes and resources. If you want to create an awesome business, caring (not saying you care, but showing you care) is one of the best ways to create an awesome business.

In the world of time management, is it time that manages us or us who manage time? Who decides what we say yes to and what we say no to?

Life happens, things come up, oversights happen, but when it becomes the norm, and not the exception, it’s a problem. If you want to build trust, relationships, and a business, it’s time to admit there’s a problem and make a decision to change it.

As always, the choice is ours.

Love + Awesomeness-
Nina

The Standoff.1

The Standoff

July 14, 2014Nina KovnerENGAGE, GROW

“News doesn’t break, it tweets.”

 Paul Saffo

The Standoff.1Here is the audio version of this post. Thank you so much for listening.

So let me set the scene. It’s a Tuesday morning. I am just returning home from my early morning Pilates class. I see cops. A crew of them, in the lobby of my building.

Nothing seems strange, so I go about my morning. Walk the dogs, make myself another Americano, and catch up on Facebook and Instagram.

Having just hired Ashely, my newest awesomeness creator, she was to meet me at the Passion Squared Loft at 9am. I get a text at 8:50 (love people who are on time, and by on time I mean early) saying “I am here, but the cops just escorted me out of the lobby.” OMG I said, I will be right down. Thinking we can grab a quick ice tea at Coffee Bean (yes, I am cheating on Starbucks cause I am obsessed with Coffee Bean’s ice and their straws match my hair color). But to my surprise, as I walked out to get her, I saw cops, and my street being closed down. The cop said, “you can go to Coffee Bean, but you will not be able to come back.” So we headed back upstairs and got to work.

The Standoff

This is when things got nuts. We heard siren after siren, and started looking out the window of my 9th floor loft. Still having NO idea WTF was happening in my building.

So what did we do? What everyone does today, we took to Twitter. And Instagram. And sure enough, we found out exactly what was happening. There was an alleged felony fugitive on the 5th floor. A resident. Who may or may not have been armed. Who was served with a warrant and refused to surrender. So for 8 hours, we waited, with the SWAT team, Bomb Squad, LAPD and LAFD. It was a real life standoff. Like on TV. IN MY BUILDING!

But that is not the point of this blog. The point is where we went for information. How much we relied on the social web, and not news stations (online or off), no, they knew pretty much noting.

It was Twitter, and Instagram, connecting with both official and unofficial tweets and Instagrams. It was about finding and sharing experiences using hashtags such as #DTLA and #LAPD. That’s how it works now. We have access to 24/7 LIVE information, as it happens, thanks to the social web.

So what does that mean for your business? A few things. You can continue to have a “standoff” with the social + digital web. Choosing not to engage on YELP because there are crazy’s on there, or choosing not to engage with an online booking platform like Schedulicity because of fear of losing control of your schedule (which you don’t BTW), or choosing not to find time to Instagram, or Facebook for your business. You can choose to not do any of those things, just as long as you know, each day you wait is a day closer to becoming an irrelevant, un-discoverable business.

Johnny_snips is booked a month out, he’s young and just getting started. AndrewDoesHair delivers a ton of awesome education and launched an awesome product ADH Dry. Larisadoll is passionate about sharing her beautiful, creative colors and can’t take a new client until August 2015. These are just three of several examples of incredibly talented & focused hairdressers who are passionate about building community and engaging on  Instagram. They create a ton of value. They care.

The world has changed. Business has changed. The choice you need to make is if you will change too. The choice, as always, is yours.

PS: A BIG shout out of thanks to the LAPD and LAFD, they were amazing. The suspect surrendered peacefully and all is well in the world. And to my new awesomeness creator at Passion Squared, Ashley, thank you for being so amazing on your first day. You rock!

Love + Awesomeness-

Nina

The Hook

April 28, 2014Nina KovnerGROW

Make every detail perfect, and limit the number of details to perfect.  -Jack Dorsey,  Co-Founder, Twitter

 

Here is the audio version of this post. Thank you so much for listening.

As I have wandered through several small businesses over the last month, something has stuck out to me that I felt inspired to share. Something so small, and many times overlooked, yet something that tells me so much about how much the business pays attention to the customer experience and to be honest, if they actually care about me.

What is this thing? A hook. Yes, a hook, in the bathroom. You know, a hook to hang my bag, purse, whatever. Do you really want me to put my purse on the floor? Really?

One of my biz mentors Robert Cromeans has always said, “It’s the little things.” And he is right. It is.

Every little detail that I experience with and about your brand matters. Both online and off. The look, smell, color, energy, vibe, sounds, all of it matters. So as the awesome quote from Jack Dorey says above, “make every detail perfect and limit the details to perfect.”

So today, I challenge you to take a walk around your business, both online and off, and check out your details. And while you are at it, be sure there is a hook in the bathroom.

(shared with LOVE from Nina)