How to Handle Rejection

A couple of years ago, I wrote an article comparing marketing to dating. As I sit her on Valentines Day, I think about relationships and rejection. In November, both my best friend and I went on journeys both evolving around one main purpose: building a relationship. While hers was joining match.com to find a boyfriend, mine was joining Boston Startup School to find a startup I'd like to work with. Whenever you put yourself in these situations, there's a lot of "It just wasn't a good fit", "It's not you, it's me." and the always awesome "I'll call you sometime." which really translates into "I'm never going to call you." If you find yourself in the rejection/relationship dilemma here are some tips to keeping sane.

Don't put all your eggs in one basket. When you're searching to build a relationship, something that seems good in writing doesn't always work out once face to face. If you have more things going on at once, the rejection of one won't sting as bad.

Ask why. If you don't ask why, it's hard to learn from the experience. It's not an easy thing to do, but it will help you grow. Recently, I went on an interview where I didn't get the job. I replied to the email asking for some feedback, which turned into grabbing some coffee.  He told me what I could do to improve and he gave me great advice and encouragement. Had I not asked for feedback, I would of never known what I needed to improve upon.

Lies will haunt you. My friend put on her match.com profile "No Way" where it asks if you smoke. This made me laugh. Why? Because I never see her without a cigarette in hand! Lies like this may get you initially where you want to be, but they will catch up with you down the road and it did for her. She was actually very stealth about not smoking before her dates, but made the mistake of keeping a pack of cigarettes in her purse. On a second date with a guy, she went to pull out her wallet and her pack of cigarettes came out of the purse. It was no shocker there was no third date!

Get by with a little help from your friends. If you have good friends, they will be there to encourage and see what they can do to help. Thanks to Boston Startup School, I've come to know the greatest support system. They don't just listen, they offer advice and help however they can. When dealing with some form of rejection, find a positive group of friends who will be there to share a beer with you, listen and help elevate you.

Dust yourself off and try again. Learn from the above and keep moving. Unless you're a complete wrong fit for what you're trying to achieve, take the lessons you learned and apply them to being a better you. My friend is now on her fourth date with a guy she likes and I'm in talks with 3 different companies. What does the future hold for us? I don't know, but if it's rejection I know I'll be just fine!

What are some positive ways you deal with rejection? Please feel free to share!

5 Networking Lessons I Learned from Bartending

‪If you’re looking to take your career to the next level, networking is a must. To be honest, networking is something I found a bit uncomfortable but necessary. How I got over it was drawing upon the lessons I learned as a bartender.‬

‪1.) Figure out who’s paying the bill. While I treated everyone well, (that’s just how the hospitality industry rolls!) figuring out who’s paying the bill pays off. When you go to an industry event, try to find that “bill payer” or shall we say host, and be on their radar. This can open you up to vast opportunities. For example, Fresh Tilled Soil hosts many events; seeking out their team can lead to more opportunities than just sitting in the audience.‬

‪2.) Talk to everyone... In bar tending, I tended to talk to everyone. First, to figure out who the bill payer was, second I am not a fan of uncomfortable or awkward silence and lastly because I know a simple conversation can lead to opportunity. In fact, I landed my first “professional” job at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island by serving the HR recruiter lunch. Through conversations, he found out I’m not a hospitality major (as many tend to think about JWU alumni) and I ended up landing a marketing internship!‬

‪3.) ...and be a good listener. It’s been said that your bartender is cheaper than therapy. That’s because good bartenders know listening is more important than talking. Listening is also good strategy when you don’t have much to say. If you’re shy, start off by introducing yourself and asking am open question such as “What brings you here tonight?” or “What do you do for work?” Hopefully, you can sit back and coast!‬

‪4.) A good deed goes along way. The best experiences in the hospitality industry are the unexpected surprises. Helping a fellow employee or giving a customer something extra with no agenda builds trust and credibility. In Boston, “Pay it forward” has become a sign of the times. When networking, pay it forward and help when you can. Some my greatest connections are thanks to people who had no self serving interest and believe me, I have not forgotten any of those people and if they need anything I am there to help.‬

‪4.) Never discuss sports, politics or religion. I know it’s a hard thing to do when one of those topics is in the news, but just don’t do it. When you are meeting someone for the first time, you don’t know anything beside what you can see. Just remember, you are there to network and make connections so unless your business involves one of the three, just stay away from those conversations. Sometimes these conversations will come up, just be neutral and find a way to change the conversation. Once you’re in like flynn and you transfer from network to friend, then feel free!‬

‪Like bartending, it’s the little details that will help you succeed at networking. Do your research, listen, be appropriate, pay it forward and you’ll be just fine!‬

How to Start a Successful Blog

There are many benefits to blogging: being a thought leader, increasing website traffic, engage your audience and more. Recently, one of my clients decided it was time to start benefitting from a blog and needed advice on how to get started on creating a successful blog. I set up some foundations with him and thought it might be beneficial to anyone freshly starting out in the blogosphere:

1. Know your audience. If you’re writing for your company’s blog, write for who you are trying to target. If you are trying reach a certain buyer persona, write to them. If you are looking to ramp up on hiring this year, create posts about company culture. Your blog should compliment your company's strategic goals. For example, if you have a product that you are looking to market towards Enterprise size companies, it would not be advantageous to create posts targeting a B2C audience.

2. Be Helpful. Why do most people read blogs? Some people read blogs for entertainment, but most are looking for an answer that solves their problems. When thinking of topics, think in the form of questions: How to, Why you Should, Top Tips. If you have pain points within your own company via customers inquiries; view this as an opportunity to address via a blog post.

3. Writers block? Find inspiration all around you! If you’re at a loss of what to write try to find inspiration via trending industry topics, news and seasonal events. Last May, I wrote a blog about Vidal Sassoon who had passed away that week. Am I in the salon industry? No, but I always thought Sassoon was as talented with branding and marketing as he was with hair. A good example of utilizing the season to create a blog post is MyEnergy’s post on energy conservation during the holidays.

4. Make a schedule. The one thing my client asked me, is how often, how will I remember to blog and what will I blog about? My advice to him was to make a schedule. I suggested this as a way to stay consistent as he is very busy and always on the go. We ended up setting up a spreadsheet via google drive and planning a month in advance.

5. Readability is key. As well as being relevant to your audience, your blog should be easy on the eyes. Long enough to be engaging and yet not too long that it takes too much of your readers time. I try to keep my blog within 350 to 500 words and break up the paragraphs enough that my posts are easy on the eyes.

If you can keep yourself organized and create engaging content that resonates to your buyer personas than you’re on the road to success!

Do you have any further tips on how to create an accomplished blog? Leave them in the comments!