New Powerhouse Team Member
Anna Reed is a mom of three, along with holding many other titles. She grew up in a small town in Wyoming, which gave her a unique perspective on life. She comes from a large family and grew up learning to work hard for what she wanted. Anna has always been a creative at heart and sought ways to channel that passion, from selling her art and creations around her neighborhood as a kid to designing and modeling her own clothing. She has worked in many career fields, from medical to entertainment, and is frequently (and probably jokingly) referred to as a jack of all trades because she is not afraid to try new things. Moving around the country with her family has created challenges and learning experiences not only with family but also with employment, requiring her to reinvent herself in each new location. She loves learning new things and adding skills to her repertoire, and she is grateful for each new opportunity. The biggest lesson she has learned through it all is to think outside the box and never give up, even when it seems like all options have been exhausted. Her hope is to always share her heart through her art and challenge others to see beauty in every situation.
Anna will be joining the Powerhouse team as a product model for one of our clients.
CEO SPOTLIGHT
From Mermaid to Tent Keeper, One Small Business Owner’s Hope to Bring Joy to Women Everywhere
By: Meredith Flory
Military spouses often find themselves needing to use their degrees, job training, and career experiences creatively. Aj Smit, the Armed Forces Insurance 2020 Lackland Air Force Base Spouse of the Year, certainly found a way to use her theater degree from the University of Northern Iowa and a dream from childhood to spread joy wherever she is stationed.
Smit has been a military spouse for eight years, living in Hawaii, Germany, Mississippi, and now Texas, but growing up in Northern Iowa she dreamed of the ocean. She remembers, “I always wanted to be a mermaid growing up, like people want to be a teacher or astronaut.” While she knew it probably wasn’t possible, she says, “[I] saved my birthday wish each year for this absurd thought, that I could be a mermaid someday.” She remembers wishing each birthday from ages 4 to 22, “Dear God, please let me become a mermaid. I don’t even need to breathe underwater, just the fins would be fantastic.” Then on her 23rd birthday, while looking for mermaid books, she “came across another article about a professional mermaid” and was immediately excited to find that, yes, in fact, people will pay you to be a mermaid. Soon after she got a monofin—a fin that both of your feet are attached to—and later added a tail, beginning her career as a professional mermaid.
She loves bringing “joy, whimsy and wonder to the world.” One of Smit’s early business avenues was performing for mermaid birthday parties. She explains, “At Hickam Air Force Base we could swim out farther down from where the kid’s party would be, and I would tell the adults where my treasure chest was so they could grab it from the hidden spot.” The chest would have books and treasures for the children, and Smit would know which child was the birthday child and call him or her by name as she swam into the party. She would lead games, swimming, and songs and “teach them to speak like dolphins (a lot of high-pitched yodeling, sorry parents), and they would just glow from happiness.”
As her career choice was unique, and military spouses move often, opening her own business seemed like the best way to continue performing. Because her talents and skills were focused on the arts, Smit’s challenge was the paperwork, record keeping, and other administrative duties required when running your own small business. She shares of growing as a businesswoman, “It’s something I’m always reminding myself of, and if people can take that from the get-go and be organized and make sure to keep your paperwork straight, everything else will be easier.”
Smit’s business, In-Joy Productions, has grown to include mermaid and fairy parties, storytelling, henna, and Red Tent events. (more…)
Did You Know?
Charting professional and business growth is at once one of the most exciting and terrifying parts of owning a small business. Everyone wants to ensure that they are building on their dream and successfully impacting their chosen field. Just remember there are countless parts to the professional success puzzle. For inspiration, ideas, and ways to have fun while building your small business, follow along with Powerhouse’s 20 Tips in 2020 series. Each month we’re offering 20 tips based on a different aspect of the small business enterprise. You just might find the one piece missing from completing your professional success story.
Ways to Measure Your Professional and Business Growth
By: Randi Cairns
It is quite easy to convince yourself that you need to be fully engaged and involved on every social media platform. That you need to follow every marketing expert out there. That you need to measure All. The. Things. There are two problems with that strategy: First, you don’t have time to do all that AND successfully run your business. And second, not every tool, trick, and measurement are relevant to all businesses—or even to your business all the time.
Of course, you want to be able to measure your business growth. But how do you do that strategically and in a way that results in useful information?
Decide what you will measure. Your options may feel overwhelming. There are metrics for pretty much everything—engagement, performance, retention, traffic, reach—you name it. Is information power? Yes. Is it also potentially crippling when you’ve got a million data points and no idea what to do with them? Also, yes.
Start with your goals. What does success look like for you and your business? How can you know if you’re growing or stagnant? Sales? Revenue? New customers? Social media fans? Your answer won’t be the same as that of others in a different industry or at a different stage of their company’s existence.
What will your key performance indicators (KPIs) be? In other words, what will you measure that tells you how well you’re achieving your business objectives? If you’re unsure where to start, begin with revenue (what you’re bringing in after accounting for discounts and returned merchandise), customer acquisition cost (the amount you spent on marketing divided by how many customers that yielded), and marketing return on investment (divide your marketing spend by your revenue). These three metrics will show you if your marketing activities are impacting your bottom line or if you need to think about another approach. (more…)
20 Business Etiquette Tips
By: Lindsey Stone
In business, the way you behave strongly influences how others see your level of professionalism. Doing or saying the wrong thing can negatively impact your career more than you may realize. By understanding the influence of business etiquette and recognizing what matters most, you can set yourself apart professionally.
Tip #1: Be Aware. Names are one of the first pieces of information we learn about someone, and remembering someone’s name is more beneficial than you think. If you have trouble remembering names, try repeating the name back to the individual as you interact. Writing down a name and job title with some brief notes about the circumstances in which you met can help for future connections and references as well.
Tip #2: Use Your Full Name. Introducing yourself by your full name distinguishes you from anyone else the individual may know with your same name. In addition, knowing your full name will make it easier for others to find you after the meeting or conference on sites like LinkedIn so you can stay connected and build your network.
Tip #3: Be Mindful. Do not walk into someone’s office without announcing yourself. Imagine how you feel when someone walks into your office without notice and interrupts your train of thought or important business call. Remember, the perfect time for you to talk about something may not be the ideal time for someone else. Take a minute to send an email to find out what time works for both of you.
Tip #4: Know Who Pays When. If you invited the client or coworkers to coffee, lunch, etc. for a work meeting, then you should pay. It does not matter if it is a quick meeting or note, the tab is your responsibility when you invite others somewhere.
Tip #5: Limit “Thank You.” Being polite is important, but in the professional world, it is more about minding your p’s and q’s and less about making sure to say thank you consistently. One confident and sincere thank you is sufficient, but being overly thankful may make you seem insecure or insincere. (more…)
POWERHOUSE SERVICE & SUCCESS
Client Profile: Alpha Omicron Pi Foundation
Powerhouse Service Provided: External Communications
“Jessica Bertsch and the Powerhouse team fully exceeded our expectations by planning our #GivingTuesday social media campaign within a very short timeframe. The creative and conceptual designs were excellent, and we enjoyed working with Jess and her team. Thank you for helping us reach our #GivingTuesday goal and laying the groundwork for future social media campaigns!”
– Courtney Stafford, Director of Advancement, Alpha Omicron Pi Foundation
