This past Tuesday, we had the privilege of speaking with Gigi Nicholas, owner of The Gifted Word. She shared her story and discussed lessons she has learned along the way in addition to sharing her expert advice on business writing. It was an engaging and interactive discussion.
We not only heard Gigi’s story, but everyone in attendance shared what they have been challenged with as business owners. We discussed how business writing and Gigi’s management style tips may increase small business effectiveness.
Here are a few takeaways from our session:
- When starting a business, discern what skills and experiences you have; then, become an expert at those skills and jump in!
- As you are starting a business, immediately set standards for yourself, your team, and of your customers. Trust your ethics and your gut reaction if a service is not working, or if a customer is causing you to feel uncomfortable. A customer can terminate your employment with them, but you can also “fire” your customer.
- When dealing with conflict, practice conflict resolution skills before making any rash decisions. Be direct, positive, and honest while explaining the conflict at hand and what needs to happen for resolution.
- When starting a business, it may feel like you need to be an expert at everything. In reality, you are only able to be an expert at one or two things- so focus on those things. Don’t place yourself in an uncomfortable, unmanageable situation. This only creates conflict with the customer, as well as places too much stress on yourself.
- When working with business writing, specifically blog posts and newsletters, maintain consistency and create valuable educational content. This will allow your readers to enjoy and utilize your posts and creates an expectation for your readers that your information is valuable and worth their time.
- Finally, when creating content for websites, social media platforms, blogs, and other online publications, incorporate a personal touch. This humanizes the content, which connects more with your reader.
For more information on The Gifted Word, to connect with Gigi, or on Brews + Biz, feel free to connect with me. We hope to see you at upcoming Boone EDC events!