The Art of Collaboration
By Cheval John
Disclaimer: I am an Amazon Affiliate and I make a commission based on the recommendation of a book
Is it possible to work together without meeting each other in person?
In this day and age, the answer is yes.
Technology has made it easier for anyone to collaborate on projects from anywhere in the world.
They don’t have to fly to one location to work together like they did before the evolution of technology.
That is why most businesses are allowing their employees to work from home because they see the savings in not letting them working in one place.
It doesn’t hurt if they meet in person once or possibly twice a year to deepen the friendship with their colleagues.
Examples of companies or people who are using technology to their advantage to collaborate on projects without first meeting in person are Brian Fanzo and Rachel Miller, Basecamp and Erin Baebler/Lara Galloway.
1. Brian Fanzo and Rachel Miller
Brian Fanzo and Rachel Miller are considered one of the best people who knows how to interact with their community on social media.
Mr. Fanzo is the Chief Digital Strategist and Partner at Broadsuite Media Group while Ms. Miller is the Chief Social Listener for Pipeliner CRM.
They host a Twitter chat called, #sbizhour, previously known as #sshour.
#Sbizhour deals with how businesses can be better at interacting with their customers and building a community.
The chat has been around for a year and has gained a lot of attention in the world of Twitter because it trends on the social media platform most of the time.
What is really cool about the both of them is that they have never met in person yet.
“Rumor” is that they will finally meet in person this year.
2. Basecamp
Basecamp, formerly known as 37 Signals, is one of the most interesting software companies in the world.
They started out as a web design company when it was founded in 1999.
One of the ways they marketed themselves was by starting a blog called “Signal vs Noise” in 2000 and sharing their experience about running a business, their thoughts on the industry, etc.
You can argue that they started their blog at the right time because blogging was in it’s beta stages.
As documented in their book, “ReWork,” they could not find the right software to get their work done.
So they decided to create their own software called Basecamp.
Once they showed Basecamp to their clients, they told them that they needed this for their businesses.
In the world of entrepreneurship, you have to know when to pivot your company because of market changes.
If you stay with the old business model, then you will end up losing out and your company will suffer for it.
Jason Fried, one of the original founders, and David Heinemeier Hannson recognized the change and pivoted Basecamp to solely being a software company in 2004.
As of now, the company has 36 employees.
What sets them apart is that the majority of their employees are located in different parts of the world while the rest of them including the founders are based in Chicago.
They don’t have to worry about communicating with each other on projects because they use their own products.
That is one of the best ways to sell your product to customers because you are using it yourself.
And if you want to learn from them, get their book, ReWork.
I can guarantee that you will love it (I have read the book over 13 times).
3. Lara Galloway and Erin Baebler
Many are recognizing the importance of entrepreneurship.
It is more evident that women are seeing the importance of running their own business.
According to the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), there are more than 9.1 million companies owned by women.
My guess is that 1/3 of them are owned by “mompreneurs,” a women who is an entrepreneur and a mother
They see that running a business is the best path to securing their own destiny.
Mompreneurs might have difficulty in being both a business owner and a mother at the same time because they don’t want to feel like they are neglecting their duties in being a parent and vice-versa.
Lara Galloway and Erin Baebler understands the challenges of being a mompreneur.
As a result from their experience, they co-authored the book, “Moms Mean Business,” which achieved Amazon Best-Seller status.
What is really unique is that the both of them did not meet in person while they co-authored the book.
Ms. Galloway explained how they got the book written on my podcast, “What’s The Word?”
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The only time they met in person was when they launched the book.
So if a person believe that they can’t collaborate on a project with someone they have not met in person, I hope they will follow the examples listed above.
Because the internet have made the world a borderless society.
And it is highly possible to build great friendships and collaborate without first meeting in person.
Creating More Options For Your Future
By Cheval John
Disclaimer: I am an Amazon Affiliate and I receive a commission based off of recommendations of books.
I remembered the day I “received” my first college degree.
The atmosphere was really cool on that May of 2008 evening.
Mind you, I had already graduated with my Associates Degree in December of 2007.
The community college system decided to hold one ceremony for people who had graduated the previous fall, about to graduate in the spring and summer time.
For four years, I was working towards obtaining the first degree which led to me receiving my Bachelor’s Degree in 2009.
I had started college late at the age where most was receiving their degrees.
I was so focused on getting the degree as quick as I could that I prolonged the process of earning the degree.
I had seen many people who was making the money at their dream job thanks to the degree that they held.
It was standard for anyone who had a degree to obtain the great job with a great salary.
I was so ready to get out of the quote and quote part time job and joining the workforce where I thought people were working at a “stable” job.
I was soaking it all in and realizing that I was one step closer to finally joining the workforce and being able to finally achieve financial independence.
As the graduation ceremony went on, the speaker, who was a professor at the community college system, spoke about the different reasons of having a college degree.
One of the reasons he gave was the fact that you had more “options.”
Now when I heard that, it hit me like a ton of bricks.
Sure I already knew the importance of a college degree.
I spent time looking at all of the statistics of the earning potential of those who held a college degree.
Like this one by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 2008 report via the American Radio Works.com website which stated that a person who held an associate degree had a median earning of $42,000 while a person who held a bachelor’s degree had median earnings of $55,700 dollars.
The same report indicated that a person with a Master’s Degree had an earning of $91,000 and a doctorate degree holder would have a median earning of $100,000.
With those numbers, I had felt that I had finally achieved the goal of earning a college degree.
And according to the professor who had spoke about having more “options” because of the degree, I was thinking that I was very close to breaking out of the “unstable” part-time jobs.
Many did not foresee what was about to happen later in 2008.
Everyone was living the life because of the U.S. economy being stable.
The ones who were working in the stable jobs had the degrees and also seemingly had more options.
That statement of having more options with a college degree would not remain true thanks to the sudden “Great Recession” that took everyone by surprise.
The housing bubble burst.
Lehman Brothers went under and Fannie Mae was also under.
Stocks drop to a point that it caused panic in Wall Street.
The ones who were living the high life and were at their respective companies were suddenly out of work.
They did not see the sudden layoff coming.
The so-called “American Dream” of where people have the stable job and the white picket fence was over.
Even with the stock market rebounding, companies are still not hiring.
That is leaving many to wonder when the “middle class” was going to return so that everything will return back to normal.
What they don’t realize is that we are in the “New Normal.*”
They don’t understand that the jobs are permanently gone because companies are shipping most of the jobs overseas because it is saving them money.
I can say for certain that I saw this first hand when a newspaper shut down the sports reporter position after the original person left.
They saw it as an efficient way to save the paper more money.
What many should be doing right now is to create their own work and be in control of their destiny.
According to this article by Vivian Giang of Business Insider.com, 40% of the American workforce will be freelancers by 2020.
So if they are at the stable job and are making a living, they should create a side business so when they do get laid off, they will have something to supplement their income.
Nick Loper, who runs Side Hustle Nation.com, certainly has done a lot of side-hustle work over the years.
He has been an editor for authors, interviewed other people who have created side businesses that eventually led to their full time entrepreneurial journey on his Side Hustle Nation podcast, have written 6 books including repurposing his last two books from his podcast, “The Side Hustle Path Parts 1 and 2,” etc.
You must create your own work, whether it is on the side or full time.
The reason is you will have more options when the sudden layoff hits you.
Are you prepared for the New Normal? Have you created a side business? You can leave a comment below.
*Term New Normal was first said I believe by Hank Blank
It’s Alright To Be a Dreamer
By Cheval John
Photo Courtesy of Dreamer’s Podcast.com
Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate and I receive a commission based off of recommendations of books.
You might have an idea for a product or service that can change the world for the better.
When you share it with people like your friends or family, 9 times out of 10, they will tell you that it is impossible and that you should go for a job that will allow you to have a salary.
It happens especially when parents tell their college offspring to go for a major that will allow them to gain a fast track into getting a great entry-level job.
When you decide that you want to follow your dreams, endless possibilities awaits you.
The same people will tell you that you are crazy and that you are a dreamer because you did not go down the “safe” and established route.
If you feel that you are alone because you are following your dreams, don’t despair.
The reason being is that they have been people throughout history who dared to follow their vision and as a result, changed the world as we know it.
People like Henry Ford, Andrew Carnegie, Steve Jobs, the Wright Brothers, Bill Gates, etc.
And the best news is that they are still people today who have waken up to the reality that life is short and that they should go after their dreams.
That is what exactly what Joe Pardo did when he launched the Dreamer’s Podcast in May of 2014.
He interviews people who have dreams of either running a business, becoming a dancer, etc.
I had the honor of making a guest appearance on his podcast to share about how I started this website and also shared my dreams of spending a year on each continent of the world except for Antartica.
In return, Mr. Pardo shared on my show, “What’s The Word?” how he came up with the name of his podcast and his new book, “Joe Pardo’s 31 Life-Changing Concepts.”
You can listen to the interview here.
Even though, Mr. Pardo is not running an actual business, he is taking control of his destiny because of his podcast.
Now if he did not built his brand through the podcast, he would have been in a dire position like so many people who got laid off from their companies.
Layoffs are still happening as we speak.
According to the Houston Business Journal, Halliburton and Baker Hughes has cut thousands of jobs which included 350 in the state of Texas.
They claimed that it was not because of the upcoming merger of the two companies but the dropped cost of oil in the marketplace.
Sometimes, it is best if the circumstances leads to a person to follow their dreams and become either a freelancer, independent contractor, consultant, etc.
If you are the lucky ones who have not been laid off, but still have the desire to follow your dreams, then I would suggest to start your business on the side.
It will give you time to grow your business into a self-sustaining company and also make your dreams a reality.
#BlogChat, One of The Largest Chats On Twitter
By Cheval John
This post is part of Nina Amir’s National Book Blogging Month (NaBoBloMo).
I am currently behind in this challenge.
So I am going to blog from the middle of the chapters for my new book, “8 Ways To Stand Out On Twitter: How Engaging With Your Audience Can Get You Above The Noise ” and work my way backwards.
It will be a series of posts regarding the second part of the book entitled, “Top Ten Twitter Chats That Will Enlightened You.”
Without further ado, here is today’s post.
We all have seen the explosion of blogs since it beta stage in the late 90s and early 2000s.
They are very useful because it allows anyone to share their passion that interests them and in the process builds an audience.
Businesses have seen the importance of blogging due to the fact that it drives traffic to their respective sites.
They have seen that the blog traffic increases their SEO rankings on the internet which positions them as an authority in their respective industries.
That is why many people like Robert Scoble, Darrin Rowse and Brian Clark have gained a huge following because of their blogs.
The thing is that it had become much harder for anyone to stand out from the crowd with their blogs because it has become over-saturated.
According to WP Virtuoso 2013 report, they were 152,000,000 blogs in the world.
That number has increased tremendously because that same report has indicated that 172,000 blogs are added every day.
If that is the case and the report was in 2013, then my guess is that the number of blogs has increased to about 245,000,000.
So how do you stand out from the crowd with your blog if they are about 245,000,000 in the world on every single topic?
One of the ways is to gain advice from blogging experts who have grown their blogs and have built a strong community.
That is where #blogchat comes in.
#Blogchat was started by Mack Collier, speaker, podcaster and and the author of Amazon Best-Selling book, “Think Like A Rock Star,”in 2009.
It is one of the largest chats on Twitter.
The chat happens every Sunday night at 9 p.m. eastern, 8 p.m. central
I can say that it is very lively and informative.
I talked to Mr. Collier about why he decided to start #blogchat and the evolution of the chat since it began 6 years ago.
To find out more about Mr. Collier and #blogchat, visit his website at www.mackcollier.com.
Cheval John: How did you came up with the idea for #blogchat?
Mack Collier: #blogchat started in March of 2009 by accident. I was often getting into deep conversations with others about blogging and marketing issues but realized that there was no way to keep track of the conversation after the fact. So one Sunday night I threw out a question about blogging, but I decided to add the ‘#Blogchat’ hashtag to my question so that people could add it when they replied and we could all easily keep up with the conversation via the hashtag. It was very popular, there were like 200 tweets in an hour, so I decided to do it again at the same time the next Sunday night and 6 years later here we are!
Cheval John: Did you envisioned the chat to become one of the most popular on Twitter?
Mack Collier: No, I just wanted to create an easier way for me and my friends to have conversations about blogging. After a year or 2, it kinda took on a life of it’s own. It’s now one of the oldest chats on Twitter, one of the biggest. It’s even been live at South By Southwest! The community has always been very supportive and helpful. I think that’s a key reason why the chat is so popular.
Cheval John: As the chat celebrated it’s 6th year anniversary, what lessons have you learned from hosting the chat
Mack Collier: It is a LOT of work to maintain a Twitter chat. In some ways, I think the longer you do it the more difficult it becomes. I’m at a point now with #Blogchat that after 6 years we’ve covered just about every conceivable blogging topic. But at the same, I want to make sure every topic has value for the members because they deserve it. So you really have to LOVE the topic of the chat and serving others or you won’t stick with it. Within the past year there’s been multiple times where I’ve started to announce that I was going to end #Blogchat, but every time, I get ready to someone will send me a note saying how much it means to them and that spurs me on to keep doing it.
Cheval John: Why do you think that people should participate in Twitter chats including your chat?
Mack Collier: Twitter chats always have been wonderful ways to learn and to meet other people. That will never change. The people that get the most out of Twitter chats tend to be the people that contribute to the chats instead of joining with an expectation of using the chat to promote themselves. That never works. You should join a chat to learn. And if you see the conversation go in a way where you can add something of value, do so. You’ll find that people will connect with you and start following you.
Cheval John: Why should businesses take advantage of engaging in Twitter chats
Mack Collier: If nothing else, Twitter chats are a great way to learn about current and potential customers. Think of it as ‘people watching’ in an online setting. You can “lurk” on a relevant chat and get a sense of what current or potential customers think about the products and services you offer. Plus, they are great ways to learn. For example, it might be a good idea to have your social media team check out a weekly social media chat on Twitter. They will probably learn something and it can help them get up to date on their industry.
Cheval John: You had guests from regular people to A-listers, should anyone who are hosting Twitter chats go after the A-listers or should you mix it up with so-called big names and not so-big names?
Mack Collier: The most important thing is to select guests that are knowledgeable, and who will take co-hosting seriously. I’ve invited some co-hosts that just showed up and acted like they were just there to answer any questions. Others took co-hosting seriously and came prepared and drove the conversation. Two I can think of that did this were Brian Solis and Darren Rowse (ProBlogger). Darren actually made an introductory video just for #blogchat that he played as his #Blogchat started, I thought that was a wonderful touch to connect with the audience. And Brian’s chat was probably the biggest #blogchat ever, I think it had like 37 Million impressions and well over 2,000 tweets in 60 mins. Both were incredibly prepared and I mention them because even though both have huge followings and could have ‘mailed it in’, they both put in the work to be prepared and they both wowed #blogchat.
Cheval John: Why should anyone host a Twitter chat?
Mack Collier: I don’t think anyone SHOULD host a Twitter chat. It is a LOT of work and when I talk to others that have started their own Twitter chat, usually after a month or two they start thinking about getting sponsors for their chats. The reason why is because they see all the time they have to put into the chat and feel like they should be getting something out of it! So it IS a lot of hard work. You should only start a chat around a topic you are really passionate about.
Cheval John: What is your advice for anyone who are starting out with their own Twitter chat?
Mack Collier: Same as above, pick a topic you love, one you would talk about once a week whether or not anyone else showed up. Do that, and then when new people start showing up to chat with you, make sure you make them feel welcome and appreciated. Your chat’s growth is determined by whether or not others see value in the chat. When people show up and get involved, THANK them.
Cheval John: Who do you think is hosting a Twitter chat the right way and why?
Mack Collier: We both enjoy participating in #bizheroes and I think Kelly Hungerford has done a fantastic job with that chat. She created it from a Point of View “POV” of “What business and life skills would Paper.li users want to learn?’. Then she picked experts to help teach those skills to the #bizheroes community. Other than #blogchat, it’s the only chat I attend on a weekly basis. There are several chats that I check in on once a month or so, but I rarely miss #bizheroes, it’s wonderful.
Leaving A Legacy For Your Readers
by Cheval John
Everyone wants to be remembered for the great work that they do.
They are determined to find the calling that will set them up to be in the position to leave a legacy.
That is why when they first set out on their first career, they feel that they are in the right calling for their life.
Things will be going well for a while until they have that pivotal realization that they are not in the right career.
Most of the time, the realization of being in the wrong career happens in their 40s and they suffer a mid-life crisis.
While some realize that they are not in their right careers in their mid-twenties.
The good news is that it is never too late to change careers.
Ken Dunn was very fortunate to come to the epiphany that he was not in the right career.
He spent fourteen years as a police officer doing private investigative work.
Though he was “enjoying” his work as a police officer, he knew that they was a bigger calling for him to leave his mark on the world.
He ventured into the entrepreneurial world and in the process had a seven figure business.
He then wanted to share his experience of running a business and had written his first book.
He went and found a publisher and a marketer who had claimed that they would be able to get his book to best-seller list as he explained to me in the interview on my podcast, What’s The Word?. #paraphrased
So he spent the $80,000 that they were charging.
Unfortunately, the book did not achieved best-seller list and they were a whole lot of errors.
That bad experience with a publisher led him to do more research in the world of publishing and led to his company “Next Century Publishing” which he rebranded it into the Reader’s Legacy Inc.
The company has been very successful over the years because it is almost like a social media site.
Meaning that the author has their own page and they can interact with their fans on a consistent basis.
It is like the Twitter of book promotion.
Because of this innovative way to market your books, he received a lot of media attention from the likes of Fox News, Entrepreneur.com and the Huffington Post.
Plus he recently held the first annual Reader’s Legacy Choice Awards held last month with speakers like Dorie Clark, Kimanzi Constable and Shannon O’Keeffe.
You can say that he has found his true calling and is leaving a legacy for the next generation of authors.
By the way, he relauched his first book into best-seller’s status and has written four other books as well.
So if you feel that it is too late to change course in your true career, don’t give up hope.
Eventually your true career will find you and you will be destined to leave a great legacy that will make the world a better place.
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