Inner Circle Media

Here at Inner Circle Media we’re somewhat resistant to formal job titles. In my previous life, I worked for a stuffy, corporate, hierarchical company where we had job titles like Senior Quality Liaison and International Documentation Coordinator. To me these titles were BS, and they often caused bickering and divisiveness because people would argue about who had what title. It was not uncommon to hear someone exclaim, “But why am I only a senior coordinator and not an associate or even a junior supervisor?!” (I’m so glad I never figured out the difference!)

So, when Catherine and I started Inner Circle, we decided to let our team members come up with their own job titles. That way, our team members can decide what they do best and how they’d like to define their role. And because they’re creating their own titles, they are all theirs. If they decide in six months that their title no longer fits their role, they can CHANGE IT.

This past week our brilliant new team member, Karl, was trying to figure out the title he’d like listed on his business cards. We suggested many possibilities – production assistant, web coder, digital developer – but none of them were quite sexy enough. So Karl created this handy little tool to generate his title. Personally, I love WEB CODE BOY. Give it a try, and let me know which one you like best.

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Share and Enjoy:

WARNING: If you want to read a blog post that justifies and commiserates with your dissatisfaction at work – then please do NOT read any further! This post is about how each of us is ultimately responsible for our own happiness at work. It’s not up to our bosses, managers, or co-workers to make us happy. If we’re not happy at work, we only have ourselves to blame. Yep, if you’re unhappy, it’s your own fault.
(Sorry, I warned you.)

Perhaps this sounds a bit harsh, but let’s take an honest look at ourselves. Each of us has a choice in tough situations. We can complain to our co-workers, feel angry, and drag our feet on the job, OR we can happily rise to the challenge, help our team, and feel satisfied in the work we’re doing together.

Let’s say my boss asks me to work on a last minute project. She says, “Hey, could you please jump in and help with this big, complicated website launch? By the way, it needs to be done by tomorrow morning…”

I have a choice in how I respond. If I choose to whine, procrastinate, get angry, who does this hurt? ME! Hmm, so that choice would just suck on many levels. So what’s the other choice? I know that by taking on the task, I can really help our company in a time of need – plus, my boss is sooo nice that she’d surely give me comp time if I worked all night

So maybe I’m just a freak-nerd who likes to enjoy my time at work (I definitely am), but I’ve learned that …

1) Being angry is a big waste of time, and life is short.
2) The people around us can sense the negativity we are putting out, and that’s no fun.
3) When we are negative, we are making the CHOICE to be unhappy. Worse yet, maybe it’s not even a truly conscious choice!

Here are my tips for finding happiness at work - even when projects are due, unhappy clients are calling, and your coworker is chirping about how she hates Mondays …

1. Catch yourself in the moment. Have you ever gotten angry about some little thing that happened at work and hours later you find yourself at home – or maybe even back at work the next day – still in a horrible mood? Well, I have. It’s really so easy to convince ourselves that we are completely justified in our unhappiness, isn’t it? In fact, most of the time we might not even realize that we are just unnecessarily hanging on to unhappiness; we have unconsciously gotten stuck! OK, so how do we get un-stuck? First we need to notice that we’re stuck, and then we can try to make a conscious choice to get unstuck. What if we could catch ourselves right in the moment that grumpiness sets in, and say, “Man, I’m so totally annoyed, but I’m going to choose to NOT go with that feeling. I’m going to do something different, because I WANT to be happy”? (Even if so-and-so is a complete pain in the rump – which may very well be the case.)

2. Do something different this time. OK, so maybe I’m feeling grumpy about a task that I’ve been assigned. I could whine and moan, or I could just do it. Yes indeed, instead of being unhappy about it, I could choose to meet the work head on, enjoy the challenge, and celebrate the fact that I’ve been given the chance to do my best (for our business AND internally for myself). Here’s another one: What if I’m feeling annoyed with a co-worker because THEY’RE complaining about work? Well, I can try to consider that maybe that co-worker doesn’t realize he’s gotten stuck in negativity, AND, since I know that sometimes I get stuck too– how can I hold it against them?!

Over the past few months, I’ve been talking with other Ann Arbor web companies and discovered an interesting trend – WE ALL TRYING TO HIRE THE EXACT SAME PERSON. Well, not exactly the same person, but we’re all trying to hire for the same job position.

We need experienced web programmers, especially those brilliant PHP and/or Ruby geeks who can jump right into projects, trouble shoot, and work well with a team. It’s also highly likely that these folks drink vast quantities of Mountain Dew, write code at 2 AM, and haven’t had a sun tan … ever. I say all this with kindness and admiration because our company depends on YOU. We want you join our team, and we promise to praise and reward your big analytical brains.

Seriously though – why are Ann Arbor web companies struggling to recruit for the same position? Why aren’t there enough good web programmers to go around? And how can we bring more of them here?

I think our local companies have an opportunity to band together and recruit more web programmers. Once they see that there are MANY career opportunities in Ann Arbor, they’ll be more likely to move here. They’ll understand that our region can offer them lots of job options and a career path where they quickly advance and easily change companies if need be. If you have ideas for how we can bring more experienced web programmers to the area, please comment on this post.

And for all you wonderful geeks looking for a new job, here are some Ann Arbor web firms who need you badly:

• Inner Circle Media (of course, I have to put us at the top of the list!)
• Dynamic Edge
• Ingenex Digital Marketing
• Igadea
• Boxcar Studio
• Linux Box
• MetaSpring (they’re looking for a designer right now, but always seeking great programmers)

I’ll keep adding to this list, so please let me know if you’d like your company added.

Here are my top 10 reasons to have a business blog:

1. Marketing – Talk about your areas of specialty, clients’ successes, and/or promotions.

2. Branding/Image – Create a “personality” or voice for your company.

3. Differentiation – Tell YOUR story. Be different & real.

4. Trust - Promote yourself as a trusted adviser; Connect with customers.

5. Low Cost / Cheap PR – Blogs are much less expensive than standard websites to create and update.

6. Writing Gigs – Great blog posts will promote you as a guest author, news contributor, or maybe even a book author.

7. Speaking Gigs – Industry leaders will recognize your brilliant thoughts and ask you to speak at conferences and meetings.

8. Customer Feedback – Comments on your blog posts allow customers to tell you how they feel (and you can respond).

9. Earn a Bit of $$ - If you employ Google Adwords, your blog can earn money for you. Simply sign up with Adwords to provide space for ads that are relevant and complimentary to your business. If you become an Amazon Affiliate, you can earn up to a 10 percent referral fee on books bought by Amazon customers who come from your blog.

10. Search Engine Optimization – Capture users in the long tail (highly specialized, low-traffic search terms that represent a significant amount of total searches); look fresh and relevant to Google

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And finally – here are some tips to avoid sucky blog syndrome…

1. Know and speak to thy audience. If you talk about the topics your target market cares about, they’re sure to listen and respond positively.

2. Present yourself as an expert – Be consistent & on topic. Decide how you’d like to present yourself through your blog and stick with it.

3. Don’t be too personal – i.e. I had the flu all last week. Let me tell you about my symptoms…

4. Be nice or don’t bother blogging. NO whiners, complainers, or digs at your competitors.

5. Use spell check and formatting to your advantage. Spelling matters. As with other websites, blogs are easier to skim and parse when they contain bold text, bullets, big messages, etc.

6. Allow comments (with your review + spam blockers). Blogs are only blogs if you allow an online conversation. While you may choose to block some inappropriate comments, it’s important that you let your readers speak to you and each other.

7. Link to important or relevant sites and other blogs. Act as a resource by connecting your readers with other sites and blogs that cover the issues important to your target market.

8. Create compelling content – not commercials. Tell a short story about one of your customers. As I’ve mentioned about good business karma, focus on helping others and your business will reap the benefits (plus, you’ll be creating a lot of good ju ju.)

On March 13th I’m talking about blogs with a group of Ann Arbor Chamber of Commerce members. Here are excerpts from that talk…
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“People don’t listen to companies, they listen to people.” Seth Godin

People like to do business with people they know. Whether you like it or not, your prospects won’t choose to work with you because you have the best brochure, the slickest sales pitch, or the prettiest proposal. They’re most likely to choose you because they feel a connection with you. A business blog is a great tool to help you make that connection and have an interactive conversation with your prospects and customers, as well as others who are interested in what you have to say (media contacts, employees, potential hires, partner companies, etc.).

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So, why don’t you have a business blog? Check all that apply:

• I don’t like to write.
• I don’t know how to come up with topics.
• A blog about my business would be SO boring.
• I’m afraid I’ll look silly or just not professional enough.
• I don’t have time.

If you answered – I don’t like to write, then remember blogs are NOT formal. You don’t have to follow a certain format. You’re not writing a thesis for a literature class. You’re having a conversation with people who care about your thoughts, advice, struggles, and successes. Have fun as you write. Be casual, helpful, brief yet poignant. Let people get to know you.

If you answered – I don’t know how to come up with topics, then think about the business topics you are passionate about. You should write about topics that get you fired up, where you have an opinion or some specific expertise. Also make sure to create blog post titles with SEO in mind – i.e. use search terms that your target market uses. Here’s a sample blog topic that would appeal to readers and Google – “Michigan Roofing: Ways to Prevent Common Weather-Related Problems.”

If you answered – a blog about my business would be SO boring, then perhaps you’re not thinking about your business in the right light. The problems you solve are of great interest to someone (or many people). For example, if you’re an insurance agent you may worry that folks will find your services dull. Here’s a possible blog title that would garner a lot of attention – “Term vs. Universal Life Insurance – What the heck is the difference?”

If you answered – I’m afraid I’ll look silly or just not professional enough, then you’re taking yourself too seriously. People choose to work with people who are HUMAN, compassionate, caring, honest, thoughtful. Your blog won’t make you look silly (unless you want to look silly). It will make you look REAL.

If you answered – I don’t have time, then set small goals at first. Agree that you’ll post in your blog on a weekly basis and spend no more than 30 minutes on your first post. Set aside half an hour on Friday mornings for blogging. Take yourself to a coffee shop with your laptop or paper notebook. This is the time for you to think, write, have fun.

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I’ll follow with another post related to the reasons you certainly SHOULD have a business blog.

In the past 2 months, Inner Circle Media was honored with a Silver Addy Award and recognized by Corp! Magazine in their “Best of Michigan Business” competition (in the Marketing & PR Company category). Gosh, we sure are thankful when people like our work enough to give us awards!

First, let’s talk about the Addy… (By the way, that’s a photo of Carrie at the event)

Each year the American Advertising Federation receives 60,000 entries for its Addy Awards Competition. The Ann Arbor Ad Club calls for entries from local creative firms and determines winners who will compete on the regional and national level. We entered the web site we developed for Soul Tracks in the category of “Interactive Media: Web Site, Consumer HTML.” Soul Tracks is the premier online destination for soul music enthusiasts. Interestingly, Soul Tracks was started by Chris Rizik, co-founder and Board member of Ardesta, who’s passion for soul music is contagious. Boasting over a million hits a year, Soul Tracks is a vibrant web community with many contributors.

When designing SoulTracks.com, we focused on both aesthetics and flexibility. As all you web developers know, there’s always a worry that when the client takes over the upkeep of a website, the aesthetics of the user interface will quickly slide downhill. With SoulTracks.com we knew we had to build a pretty website that would stay pretty even when new content (photos, ads, videos, news, etc.) was added daily. Inner Circle built the new site on the Drupal content management framework which allows contributors to continuously add new information – like free mp3 downloads, new artist photos, bios, album updates, critical reviews, and soul music news. Drupal also allows Soul Tracks staff to manage an increasing number of advertisers.

Keeping all this in mind, we entered SoulTracks.com in the Addy competition because the site is a great example of an well-designed, technically astute website that lets our client easily manage a booming online community. We thought it deserved recognition as an example of a truly INTERACTIVE website where the content is always changing. We were right – our entry was awarded a Silver Addy and we were invited to attend the Addy Award Gala, which took place at the beautiful Rackham building on the University of Michigan campus, just a short walk from ICM’s office.

Carrie and I attended the gala, and gained keen insight into what else is going on design-wise in Ann Arbor. We learned some important things at the gala:

• Ann Arbor has some major design talent. We were super impressed with the work displayed in the Addy gallery: standouts (our favorites) include Heidi Woodward Sheffield’s work for the Ann Arbor Book Festival; Scott Pryor of Pryor Design‘s sales promotion for ele Cake Co.; and Perich Advertising + Design’s entire advertising campaign for the Detroit Institute of Arts.
• The Addy Awards are based on design, not function, and this is especially true in the web site categories. Winning (Addy-worthy) entries included beautiful, expansive photography and simple, clean home page designs. Addys don’t give extra credit for functionality or recognize the power of an online community. We’re not saying that this is the Addy’s role: we could enter our sites for other awards that look more at the technical side, but it was an important lesson for us.
• They ran out of dessert. Carrie and I were devastated to find that very early in the evening, the dessert table was empty and never refreshed again. Katherine’s Catering provided the food, which was delicious, and the wine and beer selection, as well as the jazz trio, were a great enhancement to the festivities, but no chocolate for us was sad indeed.
• The price tag was a bit steep: $50 for Ad Club members (or $60 for nonmembers). The event was a great opportunity to meet other creative types in the Ann Arbor community, but I wonder if attendance would be boosted if the entrance fee was lower.

Now let’s talk about Corp! Magazine’s “Best of Michigan Business” Award…

Corp! magazine asked 1000 readers which companies they considered the “best” in Michigan. Those kind readers chose Inner Circle Media as one of the “best” in the “Marketing & PR” category. It was not clear to us how they categorized winning companies, as our firm could have fit in the “Technology Firms” or “Small Business” categories too. Winners were featured in the January/February 2008 edition of Corp! magazine and at a breakfast event in Troy, MI last week. Several other Ann Arbor companies made the list including:

• Accent Reduction Institute (Small Business $1-10 Million- also an ICM client)
• Busch’s (Grocers)
• University of Michigan Health System (Health Care Provider)
• Uproar Communications (Marketing & PR)
• Milliken Realty Company (Real Estate-Commercial/Industrial)
• Gandy Dancer (Restaurants)
• Running Fit (Retailers)
• Menlo Innovations (Small Business)
• Ardesta (Technology Firms)
• Fry, Inc. (Technology Firms)

Congrats to all the companies who made the “Best of Michigan Business” list. We should all be proud of our combined accomplishments and our efforts to build and grow great companies in the Great Lakes State.

Here’s an interesting Harvard Business Review article by Boris Groysberg (I found it on the BNET website). In his article, Groysberg says when star performers switch companies, they often fail to be star performers at the new company – except if they’re women. Groysberg found in his study that women are more successful in transitioning from one company to another. Here are the top reasons why:

• Men typically form in-house bonds at their company, while women are better at building external relationships and networks with customers, mentors, colleagues, partners, vendors, etc. outside their own company. When they leave one company and go on to the next, they take these strong connections with them.
  

• Men typically consider compensation first when selecting a new position. Women are more likely to evaluate a variety of factors when considering a new job –especially cultural fit, values, and managerial style. Women often choose to work at companies that are receptive to female talent, open to a range of personal styles, and impartial in their performance measurement systems. Because women select new jobs based on a strong personal fit, they are more likely to find success in those jobs.

If this topic interests you like it does me, then this might interest you too (especially if you live in Ann Arbor / Southeast Michigan). We are forming a new women’s group called the Women’s Exchange of Washtenaw. Our focus is on helping women build and lead strong companies. The first WXW event will be held in early May. We’ll feature a panel of high-powered business women (a C-level corporate leader, a successful company founder, and a soon-to-be successful entrepreneur). Unlike many other local business groups, we’ll also have break out sessions where all participants will discuss struggles and solutions common to growing and leading companies. The event will end with the happiest of happy hours (my favorite). Topics and agendas for future WXW events will be determined based on the outcome of this first event.

Please let me know if you want to know more and/or get involved. More info will follow on this blog, on the Chamber website, and in the press soon.

In this election year, the candidates are harping on some major issues, including global warming and the environment. As a resident of Ann Arbor, I see and hear all about “green” efforts in construction and read about the values of buying local, organic food. As just one person out of 6 billion, how can I make a difference? Yes, I recycle as much as possible, use reusable bags to tote my lunch back and forth to the office, and try to carpool or walk as much as possible, but how can I make a bigger impact?

Then I took a better look at our office practices, and realized that as a company, we employ easy, everyday solutions to help reduce, reuse and recycle. We’re always on the lookout to improve our processes and decrease our consumption.

Here’s just a few ways our small office has gone green:

1. We installed a Culligan Reverse Osmosis filter in our sink. Instead of offering clients water bottles, we offer them crisp, clean-tasting water in a reusable cup or mug.

2. We use General Organic Services to clean our office; they use non-toxic products, HEPA filtered vacuums, reusable microfiber cloths, and more to clean offices and homes, and their service and value are excellent.

3. We love alternative transportation! Between the six team members, we carpool, ride the bus, walk or bike to work. No one comes in a car solo downtown, and we logged tons of miles in the Commuter Challenge for the getDowntown program. When we go to meetings, we either walk or share a ride, and we always walk to lunch–we are lucky to have so many great restaurants (like Jerusalem Garden, Seva, Sabor Latino, No Thai!, Cafe Habana, Arbor Brewing Company, Kosmo’s) and coffee shops (Espresso Royale, Primo) near our office. We also walk to the Farmer’s Market in Kerrytown to buy locally-grown produce and frequent Michigan farmers’ goods at places like Arbor Farms and Fresh Seasons Market.

4. We always print double-sided when a physical copy is needed, we have a water saving toilet, we turn off our lights when the sun shines in our front windows, and we all use reusable coffee mugs for our caffeine fixes.

Take a look at the methods your office uses, and I’m sure you will find simple, small ways to save energy, water and fuel. If your office does something cool, let me know!

Why and how to make Southeast Michigan a worldwide hub for web developers

I got a phone call a few weeks ago from a Detroit man who wanted us to help his e-commerce website get better placement in the search engines. He didn’t want to completely revamp the website; he just wanted advice on search engine marketing. I told him that while my company performs SEO services, they’re usually part of a total website overhaul. When I referred him to a few local companies who focus on only SEO/SEM, he said, “Gosh, Ann Arbor sure does have A LOT of web companies. That city is like a web design MECCA.”

I thought about that concept – that our city and surrounding region is actually becoming a hub for web companies – and decided that our local web development community should brand and promote the region as a web development mecca.

Here’s why:

1. Global business opportunities: We already have some stellar local web development companies from large to small, those who develop huge e-commerce sites to those of us who build online communities. We could pull together to highlight the local web development industry, call attention to our combined capabilities, and bolster our reputation as a national and global mecca for web development.

2. Diversify or die: Clearly Michigan needs to diversify. We all know that the auto industry is no longer sustaining us. The State is currently promoting other industries including advanced automotive and manufacturing, alternative energy, homeland security, and life sciences. But the State isn’t doing much to highlight our IT industry – which is odd because I can think of at least 25 web and software firms who are prospering. No, they’re not firms employing 500 people; they may have just 10, 20, or 50 people, but they’re growing- by taking advantage of business opportunities around the State, country, and across the world. The State could benefit by promoting and learning from the successes of these small, agile, entrepreneurial firms.

Fine, enough pontificating. So, how could we make Ann Arbor a web development hub? Here are some thoughts:

1. Bring us BRAINS!

We have a deep pool of talent coming from our local colleges and universities – University of Michigan, Eastern Michigan University, local colleges (Albion, Adrian, Sienna Heights, Concordia) and WCC’s Internet Professional program. When I say “talent pool,” I’m not just talking about software engineers and MBAs. I’m talking about people who can communicate, write, speak, and build relationships with other people. I’m talking about people with the skill set to become great project managers, production assistants, creative directors, multimedia developers, Ruby on Rails programmers, and IT sales experts. We need to keep these smart folks in Southeast Michigan with fun, rewarding JOBS and long, prosperous CAREER PATHS. How can we create the jobs? Between the larger web companies (Google, Organic, Fry Multimedia, Enlighten…) and the numerous smaller companies (web design firms, web-based application and database development companies, SEO/SEM consultants), I think we could and do create quite a few jobs. Our firm plans to expand from 6 to 8 team members this year, which doesn’t seem like much, but if every web firm is expanding by 20%, that’s substantial!

2. Keep those BRAINS!

The way we keep talented, creative professionals is provide them with fun, affordable places to live (I’ll save my thoughts on this for another post), and provide them with long, prosperous CAREER PATHS. No, they don’t expect to work at the same company for their entire career. But they do need stepping stones on their career path – which is what all those web companies I mentioned above can provide. For example, we may train someone as a production assistant; that person might go to Pure Visibility as a technical manager, and then on to Fry as their Director of Technical Sales. If we don’t provide young professionals with career paths, they will go to other cities and states that do. (And just so we’re clear, the project managers we train within our company have transferable skills that could be applied to all kinds of other industries – our project managers might leave our company to help some of those Michigan-based alternative energy companies manage their projects, and that would be A-OK with me.)

3. Local Companies Collaborate

You’ve probably heard the buzzword “open innovation” a few too many times in the past week, but I’m going to say it again. Open innovation, Web 2.0 development and collaboration instead of competition are the concepts that could help our companies develop quicker/cheaper/better web-based applications and allow us to compete on a global scale. The way we’ll become a global center for web development is by building our community, networking, sitting down for coffee, hosting national and international events, sharing our thoughts and ideas with each other, and teaming up to accomplish great things. They say in some cases “the sum is greater than the parts,” and in Ann Arbor’s case, our combined efforts could make our community the place where web experts reside and web companies grow.