skip to main | skip to sidebar
Logo
  • Meet GFM
  • Expertise
  • Portfolio
  • Buzz
  • Toolbox
  • Blog
  • Crisis Blog
  • Contact Us

Friday, July 30, 2010

Planning for the Inevitable

Four Things Business Owners Should Consider for Succession Planning

Entrepreneurs spend a lot of time talking about the trials and tribulations of trying to build a successful business, but rarely do you hear us espouse on the importance of planning for when we might exit our business. I am not talking about the infamous "exit strategy" and selling for multiples of EBITDA. I am gently referring to the inevitable "exit." I don’t care if you are 40 years old or 80 years young, if you are a business owner you should make sure you have planned for the worst. On average, 45% of a business owner’s net worth is tied up in the business (LIMRA International, Small Business Owners 2005 Report). While it may sound like a grim topic, the death of a small business owner could lead to internal turmoil, customer erosion and disruption in revenue flow. Quite simply -- planning just seems like the smart thing to do, but only 26% of small business owners have some type of succession plan in place. (LIMRA International, Small Business Owners 2005 Report)

So, where do you start? There are several important elements to help you plan for the unexpected and how you go about it depends upon the ownership structure of your business and your intentions. I am a far cry from a lawyer, but my partner and I have spent time talking about the options and putting plans into place. Some options you might consider include:

1. Have you granted a key manager a limited power of attorney so that he or she has the authority to make decisions and continue operating the business?

2. If you have a business partner(s), do you have a buy-sell agreement in place? You can look at a cross-purchase plan, in which each of you owns a life insurance policy on the other so that the partner can use the death benefit to purchase your share of the business. You can also consider an entity purchase or stock redemption plan.

3. Perhaps you should establish an advisory committee to act in the immediate days and months afterward? If your company has several executive level employees, this committee could be given the authority to make key decisions by consensus until a stronger team is in place.

4. Several entrepreneurs I know have established an employee stock ownership plan to insure that a buyer is available when the inevitable happens.

No one likes thinking about their mortality, and entrepreneurs are no exception. But these simple planning tools will ensure the continuation of the company you worked hard to build, while offering your staff, bankers, clients and partners an important sense of security.

Here’s to hoping we never have to put these plans into action.

~ Laura Love


Posted by Kristina at 10:27 AM
0 Comments
Labels: business owner, entrepreneur, exit strategy, GroundFloor Media, Laura Love, small business, succession planning

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Don't overlook this viable media tactic: Bylined/op-ed article

In June, I wrote about the importance of developing a communications plan and including key tactics in it for both traditional and non-traditional media. While there are numerous PR vehicles that organizations can implement as part of their strategy, it’s worth remembering a tried and true PR tactic that often gets overlooked – the bylined/op-ed article.


I would agree that sending out press releases and pitching targeted story ideas to the media (particularly as an exclusive) are powerful media tactics – especially when your strategy is on target. Yet with these tactics, you are banking on the editor/reporter to “bite” and write about it within the timeframe your client expects. However, in the instance of a bylined/op-ed piece, you are submitting a finished article to the media that is authored by a key spokesperson in your company and that hopefully has a longer shelf life.


Developing a bylined/op-ed article requires a sound strategy, and there are numerous benefits. Bylines and op-ed pieces allow you to position your company as an industry thought leader, differentiate your company from competitors, take a stance on issues important to your company and its mission, and communicate and control the message you want to deliver.


Many media outlets – including local community papers – accept and publish bylined/op-ed articles as a way to add perspective to their publications. Submitting one is rather easy: most newspapers have a general editorial e-mail address. The address is typically listed in the editorial section of the newspaper or online under the “contact us” section. If you can’t find an e-mail address, give the newspaper a call and ask there preferred method for receiving an op-ed.


Recently, we have found that even if the print addition is too “full” to accept an op-ed piece, the publication will often publish it online. There is still a benefit to this as you can re-purpose it across your social media networks and share with your company’s key constituencies, business partners, etc.


In the spirit of sharing, I wanted to provide a few examples of bylined/op-ed articles that GroundFloor Media has secured for its clients. Two of these were developed in direct response to published news (child poverty rates and an obesity survey) and one was part of a larger media strategy to support a client’s annual event.


Tennyson Center for Children: The Denver Post

LiveWell Colorado: The Denver Post

The Colorado Health Foundation*: The Gazette


*Additionally, The Denver Post, Summit Daily News and Fountain Valley News ran the piece.


~ Jen Wills





Posted by Jennifer at 4:58 AM
0 Comments
Labels: communications plan, LiveWell Colorado, PR plan, PR tactics, The Children's Hospital, The Colorado Health Foundation

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Perfect is Overrated

As the self-proclaimed perfectionist at GFM (and I think everyone else has noticed, too), I was actually relieved to see Seth Godin proclaim in his blog that “Perfect is overrated” and “Perfect doesn’t scale, either.” He makes a great point…


The questions we ask each other every day shape the answers we receive. For instance, if I ask one of our team members, “How is the media pitching going?” – s/he is likely to tell me about the challenges s/he is having getting media to bite on the story at hand. However, if I ask, “What’s up?” – I’m much more likely to hear about the positive things going on in their lives and accounts.


We shouldn’t expect perfection, and we shouldn’t set people up to always have to tell us what’s not perfect. Life is too short, and there are too many small victories to celebrate to always dwell on the challenges. So here’s to focusing on the positive and forgiving imperfection!


~Ramonna


Posted by Anonymous at 2:07 AM
0 Comments

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Moving Forward or Backward

The impact of Internet on the way we process information

Last week Nicholas Carr, author of The Shallows: What the Internet is doing to our brains, was in Denver for a reading at the Tattered Cover. I was first introduced to Carr via his Rough Type blog. Before his book tour and high-profile reviews in the New York Times and elsewhere, he would often write about cloud computing, privacy issues and other tech concerns covered in his earlier book, Does IT Matter?

The Shallows expands beyond technology services and leadership to discuss the impact of technology, namely the Internet, on the way we think and consume information. Wow! Who knew that all of my Google alerts, Skype calls, eBay messages, Digsby and Outlook updates could be changing the way I think? Actually, I did.

For the past few years, each new application that I added to my computer or iPhone would make me stop (sometimes abruptly) to figure out a new way to manage my online life – resulting in new distractions and also impacting my offline time. Rarely would I have uninterrupted time to dedicate to work or personal projects, unless of course, I committed the desperate move of turning off all of my gadgets.

Why are we so easily distracted by our technology?

Carr addresses this question in The Shallows and begins his discussion back in the 15th Century with the development of the printing press. Carr argues that the rise of the Internet in late-20th Century was equally as significant as the introduction of the printing press. The Internet inundates us with distractions and we are now faced with a barrage of information.

This juggling act provides greater access to information than ever before, but also relegates us to a constant state of short-term information management. We are no longer encouraged to engage in deeper thought or introspection, making it harder for us to commit all of this information to long-term memory and distinguish between trivial vs. important details.

So, how do we get back to a place where we can take the positives of both the book and Internet to create greater balance? Carr suggests personal discipline, but also increasing awareness of the Internet as a tool and not as a way of life. I realize though that not everyone has the option to disconnect – particularly in the PR world where reporters are often on deadline and news is available 24 hours a day. But, if we cherish more offline time, Carr recommended that we back away from our keyboards and practice calmer thinking, while also using the Internet as a ready-reference for information and channel to connect instantly with friends, family and peers.

So, in that vein, I’m writing this blog post while on vacation in Crested Butte. Yes, it would have been nice if I had finished it while still in the office, but baby steps. I’ve now turned off my e-mail alerts, declined all meetings and have a frothy latte in front of me while I reflect on Carr’s comments from last week and share them with you all. Tomorrow, I’ll try not to turn on my computer at all – wish me luck!

~ Kimmie Greene



Posted by Kimmie Greene at 8:46 AM
0 Comments
Labels: email, GroundFloor Media, Internet, Nicholas Carr, Social Media, technology, The Shallows

Friday, July 09, 2010

Social Media in the Health Care World

GroundFloor Media works with a number of clients in the health care arena. As with all of our clients across widely varying industries, social media is a big topic of conversation with the health care groups we advise. However, health care organizations face a number of somewhat unique challenges when it comes to social media – including HIPAA (privacy) and security concerns, as well as making sure that any medical information shared online is understood to be general information as opposed to specific medical advice. Therefore, it is very understandable when health care organizations have reservations about jumping into the world of social media.

With this in mind I am always on the lookout for best practices and articles related to the use of social media in the health care field. I recently came across a couple of interesting reports regarding the use of social media – Experian Simmons’ 2010 Social Networking Report and another by the Nielsen Co. research firm – both of which reinforced for me how important it is for all of our clients – health care or otherwise – to find ways to overcome the perceived barriers and engage in this “brave new online world.” Both studies cited impressive numbers regarding the continued rise in popularity of social media sites. For instance, according to the Experian Simmons study:
• 66 percent of online Americans use social networking sites today, up from just 20 percent in 2007.

• Two-thirds of all online adults today have visited a social networking site in the last 30 days, up from 53 percent in 2008 and 20 percent in 2007.

• 43 percent of those who access social media sites report that they visit them multiple times per day.

And according to Nielsen:
• The number of global consumers visiting social network or blog sites increased by 24 percent in the last year.

• The average visitor spent 66 percent more time on these sites in April 2010 than in April 2009, almost six hours in April 2010 versus three and a half hours a year ago.

There are several outstanding examples of health care organizations that are really setting the bar when it comes to the use of social media. Perhaps not surprisingly, one of those is the Mayo Clinic. Under the direction of Lee Aase, Mayo Clinic's manager of social media and syndication, Mayo has developed a very impressive social media presence with numerous blogs, as well as a presence on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

However, Mayo is by no means the only great example. Two colleagues recently shared the following examples of health care organizations getting it “right”:
• Philadelphia’s Fox Chase Cancer Center’s “Love Versus Cancer” campaign

• UAB is the Place to Be

Both highlight how health care organizations can get really creative – and make a big impact – with social media. Do they spark any ideas for you?

~Amanda Brannum


Posted by Alexis Anzalone Anderson at 12:32 PM
0 Comments

Thursday, July 01, 2010

Social Media Reality Check

Taking a Practical Approach to ‘Outta the Box’ Thinking 

Participating in creative “blue sky” brainstorms is one of my favorite parts of my job. I love hearing my colleagues’ ideas while also watching them react and dissect the ideas I throw against the preverbal wall. Lately many of GroundFloor Media’s (GFM) brainstorms have focused solely on the social media efforts of our clients, and as we start to look ahead to 2011 for many of our accounts, the emphasis on creating dynamic digital strategies continues to grow.

Through this process however, I am reminded that sometimes we, as creative PR and marketing professionals, need to step back for a moment and make sure that our ideas are still rooted in practicality—budget, team bandwidth, resources and the target audiences’ needs and expectations. At GFM that often means aligning ourselves with brilliant partners in the areas where we are not experts so that when we dream up a “crazy” idea about launching an augmented reality iPhone application, someone can walk us through the true cost associated with building and maintaining such a complex technology.

It is easy to get swept up in the excitement around the newest and sexiest social media tools—hey, it happens to the best of us. So below I’ve reflected on recent examples of when it was necessary to “pause” the high-speed social media brainstorm train to make sure the we were actually staying on track to the final (i.e. the client) destination.

Mobile
“Let’s launch an iPhone app” is a phrase uttered during countless brainstorms today. However, do you really understand the cost, commitment and content that are needed to develop a truly unique and experiential application? Are the majority of your end-users even using Smartphones? Do they want to access information about your company, product or service while on the go? These are basic questions you should ask, as they provide a general framework of the research you need to do before leaping into a mobile application recommendation.

Hyperlocal
“We should launch a Foursquare promotion!” Hyperlocal tools and news sources like Foursquare, Gowalla and Examiner.com are fun to use and are expanding to offer many exciting tools for marketers. But like the example above, is a company really ready for a full-blown Foursquare “Mayor” promotion if customers aren’t even engaged with them on Twitter or Facebook yet? It’s important to make sure that we aren’t pushing our clients into phase two or three of a social media program before they’ve fully committed to phase one. A better use of time might be to really focus for another six to nine months on creating a flurry of organic and steady engagement on the “basic” social media platforms before diving into the more niche applications that are frequently visited by early adopters.

Private Communities
“If you build it they will come,” is a famous phrase, but not always relevant in the world of private online communities and groups. Custom social networks such as Ning.com (now a paid service) and LinkedIn Groups offer people an online area to gather and interact within a moderated setting. But before you dive in to create one it’s imperative that you really think about the bandwidth and resources it takes to keep a custom community updated and relevant. Can someone log in daily to respond to posts and questions? Will original content be created weekly and will it be different enough to stand apart from your other social media efforts on Facebook, Twitter or a company website? Is your audience passionate about connecting with other likeminded people about your product or service? Custom communities offer a “sky is the limit” approach to marketing creativity, but realistically you want to make sure enough people will be there to listen to make it worth the investment.

As a social media enthusiast, my goal is to learn about and embrace, albeit just personally at times, as many social media tools as I can. Teammates and clients alike rely on personal enthusiasts in the social media space to keep them up to speed on the latest trends in order to help shape future programs. However, as PR practitioners, we must take responsibility for bringing a practical approach to our creative recommendations—which sometimes means saying “no” to a trend or tool we’ve been eager to put into practice. In the long run, everyone benefits from a social media reality check before diving in.

- Alexis Anzalone  


Posted by Alexis Anzalone Anderson at 8:18 AM
0 Comments
Newer Posts Older Posts Home
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

CONTACT THE GFM BLOG TEAM

Like all blogs, we thrive on feedback, so don't be shy! If you have a comment, a suggestion or a question, please leave us a comment or shoot us an email at pr@groundfloormedia.com. You can also read more about GFM at http://www.groundfloormedia.com/.

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER


follow GroundFloorPR on Twitter

GET THE GFM RSS FEED

Posts
Atom
Posts
All Comments
Atom
All Comments

THE BLOG ARCHIVE

  • ►  2012 (60)
    • ►  July 2012 (7)
    • ►  June 2012 (13)
    • ►  May 2012 (8)
    • ►  April 2012 (7)
    • ►  March 2012 (19)
    • ►  February 2012 (3)
    • ►  January 2012 (3)
  • ►  2011 (72)
    • ►  December 2011 (4)
    • ►  November 2011 (4)
    • ►  October 2011 (6)
    • ►  September 2011 (2)
    • ►  August 2011 (3)
    • ►  July 2011 (6)
    • ►  June 2011 (5)
    • ►  May 2011 (6)
    • ►  April 2011 (7)
    • ►  March 2011 (18)
    • ►  February 2011 (4)
    • ►  January 2011 (7)
  • ▼  2010 (62)
    • ►  December 2010 (7)
    • ►  November 2010 (5)
    • ►  October 2010 (7)
    • ►  September 2010 (6)
    • ►  August 2010 (6)
    • ▼  July 2010 (6)
      • Planning for the Inevitable
      • Don't overlook this viable media tactic: Bylined/o...
      • Perfect is Overrated
      • Moving Forward or Backward
      • Social Media in the Health Care World
      • Social Media Reality Check
    • ►  June 2010 (5)
    • ►  May 2010 (3)
    • ►  April 2010 (6)
    • ►  March 2010 (3)
    • ►  February 2010 (4)
    • ►  January 2010 (4)
  • ►  2009 (49)
    • ►  December 2009 (5)
    • ►  November 2009 (6)
    • ►  October 2009 (5)
    • ►  September 2009 (1)
    • ►  August 2009 (1)
    • ►  July 2009 (2)
    • ►  June 2009 (3)
    • ►  May 2009 (5)
    • ►  April 2009 (6)
    • ►  March 2009 (6)
    • ►  February 2009 (5)
    • ►  January 2009 (4)
  • ►  2008 (75)
    • ►  December 2008 (5)
    • ►  November 2008 (6)
    • ►  October 2008 (9)
    • ►  September 2008 (4)
    • ►  August 2008 (4)
    • ►  July 2008 (10)
    • ►  June 2008 (9)
    • ►  May 2008 (9)
    • ►  April 2008 (12)
    • ►  March 2008 (4)
    • ►  February 2008 (2)
    • ►  January 2008 (1)
  • ►  2007 (12)
    • ►  December 2007 (2)
    • ►  November 2007 (4)
    • ►  August 2007 (1)
    • ►  May 2007 (2)
    • ►  March 2007 (2)
    • ►  January 2007 (1)
  • ►  2006 (25)
    • ►  December 2006 (3)
    • ►  November 2006 (1)
    • ►  October 2006 (2)
    • ►  September 2006 (3)
    • ►  August 2006 (3)
    • ►  July 2006 (13)
Colorado Community Service Crisis Communications Denver Events Denver PR Firm Denver Public Relations Digital Snapshot Facebook Food/Beverage Industry GFM Client News GFM Events GFM News GFM in Action Get Connected Get Giving Get Grounded GroundFloor Media Media relations PR PR Industry PR Tips PRGN Social Media TED2011 cause marketing communications plan crisis plan digital PR health care location based marketing public relations

BLOGROLL

  • Aaron Stannard
  • Brian Solis
  • Buchanan Public Relations
  • Cherryflava
  • Chris Brogan
  • COMMON Blog
  • CooperKatz & Company, Inc.
  • Currie Communications
  • Denver PR Blog
  • HMA Public Relations
  • HWB Communications
  • IdeaLaunch
  • L.C. Williams & Associates (LCWA)
  • Mashable
  • New Media Cowboy
  • Newser
  • Pacifico
  • PR Measurement Blog
  • PR-Squared
  • Scatterbox at StevenSilvers.com
  • Scobleizer
  • Seth Godin's Blog
  • Social Media B2B
  • Social Media Observer
  • Steve Rubel
  • Stevens Strategic Communications
  • Strategic Public Relations
  • TEDx Posterous
  • The Castle Group
  • The Denver Egotist
  • The Future Buzz
  • The Urban Eye
  • VPE Public Relations
  • WebInkNow
  • Xenophon Strategies