By Brittney Megann (CEO & Head Socialista of Socials & Stilettos)

If you are a busy CEO like me, you already know that work-life balance is a struggle and that struggle is REAL. 

My name is Brittney Megann and I am the CEO & Head Socialista of Socials & Stilettos, a boutique social media, marketing, and PR agency based in Toronto, Ontario. Over the past 7 years of entrepreneurship, I have struggled quite a bit with the whole work/life balance thing. So much so, that there was even a time that I lost myself along the way. 

I get it, we’re ambitious and driven women surrounded by a world that screams “hustle mode” and “you can sleep when you’re dead”, but what kind of a life is that? I don’t know about you, but when I signed up for this whole entrepreneurship thing, I did it so that I can live a better life. One full of freedom and the ability to do what felt best for me and my body! 

The thing about entrepreneurship is that nobody tells you when to turn off your computer. Nobody gives you permission to give yourself a little bit of grace & do the things you love to do. 

So guess what girlfriend, today I’m going to share with you some of my BIGGEST lifestyle hacks for the busy CEOs and entrepreneurs just like me so that you can take back control of your life & start reaping all of the juicy benefits of being a CEO has to offer. Are you ready? Let’s jump in! 

#1 Set Your Office Hours 

This was a huge struggle for me in the beginning, especially being the workaholic that I am. I remember thinking “If I don’t answer this Instagram DM or website inquiry right away, I’m going to lose out on this client”… 

Girlfriend, let me tell you. Boundaries are crucial when it comes to work-life balance and your mental health. People don’t expect you to drop everything and reply right away, and I can promise you that the message/email inquiry will be there tomorrow. 

Setting yourself up with “office hours” and making them crystal clear with your clients & team is one of the best ways to ensure you are giving yourself enough time off to decompress and “reset” after each work day. 

#2 Move Your Body

This one is huge, especially for the CEOs who sit at a desk all day. Whether you are somebody who loves pilates or heavy lifting, finding something that gets your body moving is huge for not only your mental health but your physical health too. Even if it’s just 15-20 minutes, take that time for yourself! 

As my spirit animal Elle Woods would say “Exercise gives you endorphins, and endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don’t kill their husbands, they just don’t.”.

#3 Time Blocking

This one is HUGE! Especially if you find yourself with a never-ending “to-do” list like me. Whether you are someone who loves a traditional pen-and-paper style planner or a digital calendar type of girl, time blocking is one of the best ways to ensure you are being as productive as you possibly can throughout the day! 

If you haven’t heard of time blocking before, it’s essentially scheduling blocks of time in your calendar to work on tasks listed on your to-do list. Each week, I like to set a 10-minute timer and brain-dump everything that I need to work on for the week. Once the timer goes off, I go ahead and schedule each of my tasks in their own little time blocks on my google calendar. My biggest tip is to set reminders/alerts for yourself so that you actually stick to each task. 

It will take a little getting used to, but trust me when I say… It’s a game-changer!

#4 Staying Hydrated & Nourishing Your Body

When things are crazy busy, it can be so easy to fall into the “convenience” trap. For me, that means ordering Uber Eats or Skip The Dishes for a week straight. Sometimes that even looks like forgetting to hydrate or stop for lunch! 

There’s a saying “You can’t pour from an empty cup” and it couldn’t be truer! When you neglect taking care of your body in even the simplest ways, you will find yourself struggling to collect your thoughts and feel like you aren’t ever fully yourself throughout the day. 

Socialista Tip: Grab yourself a cute tumbler and carve some time out to prep your meals for the week! I don’t know what it is, but I find that I drink so much more water when I have a clear tumbler and a straw. Maybe it’s the psychology behind seeing it, I have no idea. But trust me when I say IT WORKS! 

#5 Take Time For Yourself 

Even if it’s just 30 minutes to do your makeup in the morning or a little bubble bath with your favourite essential oils at night. Take the time to do the things you love and leave you feeling good about yourself. 

If you find yourself feeling like you don’t know who you are because work has just taken over your entire life, I have a tip for you! Create a Pinterest board and look for things that make you excited. What images are you drawn towards? Maybe it’s photos of nail inspo or recipes. Whatever you find yourself pinning & saving to your boards are most likely things you are passionate about in some way, shape, or form. Take some time to romanticize your life with those things and see what makes your cup feel full, then do more of it! 

When it comes to being a busy CEO, time is of the essence and I get it… we only have 24 hours in a day. But here’s the thing, YOU need to come first. If you aren’t filling up your cup, nobody else will. To be the best CEO you can be, you have to put yourself first. Trust me when I say, your business will thank you later. 

What are some lifestyle hacks you have for other busy CEOs? Let us know in the comments below!

To stay connected with Brittney, make sure you follow @socialsandstilettos and @brittneymegann on Instagram. To learn more about how you can elevate your business and build an iconic brand, head over to www.socialsandstilettos.com. 

The post Lifestyle Hacks Every Busy CEO Needs to Know appeared first on Wonder Woman Mag.

How many hours you should work 

Students should labor 10-15 hours each week, according to Leslie. This gives full-time students enough time in class and on projects, as well as time to explore hobbies and form connections. 10-15 hours a week is sometimes insufficient for students who are responsible for their own money or those of their families. If this is the case, you may want to consider taking online classes, working with your advisors and instructors to strategically plan classes and assignments around your outside activities, and applying for grants, scholarships, or stipends via your school or other organizations. Leslie mentioned that many of these may be accessed online and have quite straightforward application processes.

Relating work with studies

According to Leslie, internships are a terrific way to network, gain experience, and learn more about your hobbies. While a paid internship with credit hours is ideal, many internships are unpaid. Check with your institution or university to see whether they provide stipends for students who work unpaid internships. Aside from chances directly relevant to your study, every employment can provide opportunity for skill development. You may work on developing your leadership, time management, and interpersonal interaction abilities. All of this provides you with vital experience that you may draw on in the future. You may apply these abilities right now to effectively manage other aspects of your life.

How not to feel overwhelmed

Overloading your mind and body can do considerable harm, leaving you more prone to physical and mental health issues. Chronic stress also prevents you from being your best self. While stress is unavoidable and not intrinsically harmful, it is critical to develop appropriate coping mechanisms. Going on a walk, calling a friend, deep breathing (try these techniques), coloring (check out some free printables here or color on your phone/tablet using a free app like Recolor), and just taking a shower are all things you can do when you’re feeling overwhelmed. All of these practical techniques are taught at her B.A.M – Balance Act Masterclass, which has a large following.

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When you don’t have the time or budget to head back to school, you may feel like you’re out of options. Luckily, there are a number of ways you can keep learning while at work.

Which is good, because continuing your education is important for advancing your career.

When you’re learning new things, you stay relevant in a fiercely competitive job market. You can strengthen your resume, giving yourself an edge to get a promotion or just learn a skill you’ve always wanted to have.

So, how can you continue to learn while working full-time? Here are a few ways to get started:

1. Find a Mentor

If you have a traditional job, you probably spend most of your waking hours in an office with other people. Whether you were assigned a mentor when you took the job or not, finding a senior-level employee to connect with can give you great insights, information and guidance.

A mentor is someone who has been in your shoes and experienced what you’re going through. Because they’ve developed past the stage you’re currently at, they can give you great advice on how to move forward. While this isn’t a traditional education and may not be something you can put on a resume, real-life advice can truly help advance your career.

Find someone within your office that you respect or you think can provide you with some helpful advice. Ask if they’d like to have lunch or even a cup of coffee, or simply ask them for guidance on a specific question. As you develop your relationship, you’ll get more and more tips.

2. Take an Online Certification

There are hundreds of online courses and certifications available online. No matter what you’re interested in, what skill you’d like to learn or what topic you’d like to master, you can find an online course to help you achieve that goal.

There are even certifications that help you advance your soft skills or management skills, if that is something you hope to improve. For example, the ISO 9001 certification is designed to help leaders improve their processes, engagement of their workforce, and decision-making.

Some certifications allow you to receive a small “designation” you can put on your LinkedIn page, website or even your resume. Just check the certification page to ensure you’re able to promote the designation before using any images you didn’t create. These certifications can help you get noticed by new hiring managers or put you closer to getting a promotion over your coworkers.

However, even online courses that don’t offer a clear certification can also be beneficial.

Check out websites like Skillshare, Udemy or Coursera to get started. With courses in everything from entrepreneurship to happiness, there’s something there for you.

3. Attend a Local Event or Workshop

Depending on the city in which you live, there are probably dozens of local events or workshops available to you. Whether it’s a networking event where you can meet new people or potential mentors, or a workshop that promises to teach you a new skill, getting involved in your community is a great way to get involved.

Sometimes companies within your city will sponsor events or workshops to help spread the word about their brand. Other times, these meetups are held by professional organizations or even public libraries. Frequently checking the events calendars of organizations in your area can allow you to plan which events you’d like to attend.

Don’t be afraid to try something new. If a workshop sparks your interest, go — even if it doesn’t directly apply to your career.

4. Read a Book

In college, you were probably assigned pages and pages of required reading. Whether or not you actually read them, it just wasn’t the same as getting to choose the books you were interested in. With so many entrepreneurs, business owners and career professionals creating best-sellers, reading can be a great way to learn something new.

If you’re already a reader, consider swapping your traditional novel for a book written by a professional you respect or admire. If you’re not sure where to start, ask friends, family members or coworkers if they have recommendations — or if they have a book you can borrow.

Reading doesn’t need to be expensive. With a traditional library card, you can borrow books and e-books for free.

5. Ask About Tuition Reimbursement

Not every company will offer to pay you back for college courses related to your career path, but some might. If you’re looking to take a class, get a certification or even get a degree that will help advance your career, your employer may be willing to help you with the cost.

Keep in mind that tuition reimbursement programs typically have requirements as to when you can leave the company or how well you need to perform within the classes. Even if maintaining a high GPA or staying with the company a few years after you graduate isn’t a big issue, you want to know about these requirements upfront.

If the cost of additional education is holding you back from returning to school, definitely talk with your employer about ways they may be willing to help.

6. Look for New Challenges

If you work at a company with many different departments, there is always something new you could be learning. If you’re hoping to move into a different area of business, your employer may be willing to temporarily put you on a new team or allow you to assist with or oversee a project that team is working on.

Helping other teams pick up the slack can help you learn new skills and discover what you’re interested in. Looking for new challenges within the office can also help benefit your entire company because you’re helping other teams complete their tasks and move forward. It’s a win-win situation for all.

Before you approach your boss about temporarily moving teams, consider how you would be able to get your own tasks done and what benefits you could bring to the other team. While your boss will probably want to help you succeed, they also need to consider the well-being of the company. Be prepared to provide logical explanations as to why this is a good move for everyone.

7. Join a Professional Community

Professional communities, like industry associations, are a great way to meet individuals with similar interests but different skills. While attending an event or workshop put on by one of these professional communities can introduce you to some of the community members, actually becoming a member yourself gives you access to a number of other materials.

Professional communities typically have meetings, private networking events and even online forums where you can learn new information about the industry you’re interested in. Making new connections, meeting like-minded people and hearing different perspectives on certain topics can also help you learn new things.

Keep in mind that some professional communities may have a membership fee. However, this cost may be something your employer is willing to pay for if you can explain the benefits to them.

8. Get Social on Social Media

We often think of social media as a way to connect with our friends and family, but it’s also a great education tool. From Twitter Chats to Facebook and LinkedIn Groups, social media provides an excellent outlet for individuals to get together and share their thoughts on a particular topic.

With Twitter Chats, a host asks a series of questions that each participant will answer. Participants are then encouraged to create a dialogue about different responses, giving them an opportunity to discuss potentially different perspectives or educate other individuals. Facebook and LinkedIn Groups allow members to ask their own questions and get answers from the community.

There are many different chats or groups available, depending on your industry or what you’d like to learn more about. Simply searching on the platform is usually enough to come across a few different social communities.

9. Attend a Conference

Conferences allow individuals from all over the country — or even the world — to come together to see business leaders, experts and professionals speak. While some conferences involve a series of speaking engagements, others also have workshops for attendees.

Tickets for certain conferences could run hundreds or even thousands of dollars. If you need to travel to attend the conference, this can become even pricier. However, many employers like to send company team members to large conferences to make their own connections and learn new things. Asking your employer if you can go may be enough to get them to cover the cost.

If your employer won’t send you to a conference or isn’t able to pay the price tag, look into conferences nearby. Some even accept volunteers, which would allow you to attend the conference for free.

Being in a traditional job doesn’t mean your education is over. There are many different ways to keep learning new things — you just need to know where to look.

Sarah Landrum ( The founder of Punched Clocks)

The post 9 Ways To Keep Learning And Advance Your Career appeared first on Wonder Woman Mag.

Once you’ve found your big idea, create a business plan that includes the following details:

• Your company mission
• Your competitive advantage
• Your target market
• Your ideal customers and their needs
• Your competition and how you compare
• Your strategy is to generate revenue, find investors, and make money
• Your long-term goals to grow your company over the next five years

Once you’ve researched and developed your business concept, created a business plan, chosen a name for your business, and decided on a location, here are four foundational steps to create a solid company structure:

Step #1: Choose the Proper Licenses

Before you can open your own company in your state, ensure that you are complying with all local, state, and federal laws, regulations, and taxes. Hire an experienced accountant or lawyer to help.

In California, for example, registering with the Secretary of State is a mandatory requirement. Registration is free but you must provide information about your business, such as its name and address as well as information about individuals authorized to represent your company.

Step #2: Get Insurance Coverage

You can avoid financial calamities and achieve your dreams by choosing appropriate business insurance. Small businesses must have insurance to protect them against unpredictable events, such as property damage or theft.

The type of insurance you need depends on the nature of your business. If, for example, you are a roofing contractor, then find affordable quotes for liability insurance to protect your company from accidents on the job site. This will financially protect you and your employees against costly accidents, such as slip-and-fall accidents, property damage, bodily injury, and medical expenses.

Step #3: Fund Your Business

Launching a business successfully requires complex calculations and careful planning about how much money you will need to start and run your company.

Here are some steps you can take to raise money for your startup

First, create a business account at your bank to deposit the capital raised for your company as well as revenues from selling your products and services.

Second, calculate how much money you need for all your overhead expenses.

Next, prepare documentation. When you’re looking to raise money, you will need a well-written presentation, an effective business plan, and a concise executive summary.

Then, research the best ways to fund your startup, including crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter or GoFundMe, loans from banks or family members, and grants from government programs. Also, consider capital from angel investors. 

Step #4: Build Your Team

To succeed you need an excellent leadership team of talented individuals who share your vision. Without a core team to run the business alongside you, your chances of success are slim.

Organizing this team may seem like too much effort or too expensive, but it is a highly effective strategy. Companies increasingly realize that investing in a core team is more profitable than outsourcing everything. Creating a leadership team will result in building a company that offers higher quality goods and provides better customer service based on a deeper understanding of customer needs.

How do you choose the right people for your team? Create a list of the qualities that you want in a team player. Entrepreneurs often spend a great deal of time going over resumes and interviewing people, but they rarely consider the soft skills that make up their best executive employees.

Besides assembling a core team who will work closely with you in your corporate office to manage your business, you should also assemble other types of teams.

Here are some other examples of other teams you could build, too:

• A remote worker team: These are technically skilled employees who work from home and communicate via the Internet. Your remote team might consist of programmers, website developers, and graphic designers.
• A freelancer team: This is a selection of independent contractors who work together on projects. You might assemble this team to collaborate on a single project. Or you might hire them for several projects to establish a lasting relationship.
• A virtual assistant team: This is a group of remote workers who help support company operations if you don’t want to hire too many full-time employees. They handle administrative tasks such as scheduling meetings, typing, making phone calls, and running business errands.

Things to Keep in Mind When Launching a New Business

From the beginning, make sure to develop a clear and comprehensive strategy, ensure that you conduct comprehensive market research, and learn powerful lessons from successful entrepreneurs who have already succeeded in a business like yours.

Lynn Ruthe is an experienced writer who specializes in the marketing and communications field for non-profits and small businesses.

Source: smallbizclub.com

The post Lynn Ruthe: 4 Basic Steps to Starting Your Own Small Business appeared first on Wonder Woman Mag.

Unfortunately, this has become the reality in todays’ hectic world, which has made it extremely hard for people to succeed in their job hunt. And this doesn’t mean that they are not good enough, or that they simply don’t want it bad enough. The reason can be actually more related to the Job-Searching process itself.

Think about it. If you can’t get realistic feedback on what you could have done better or what was the reason for you not getting to that interview, you simply cannot ‘learn from your mistakes’ as fully as you would have, and you often end up in that vicious cycle that can put you down for months.

As a Career Coach with years of experience in Recruitment and HR, I have spoken with a lot of people in a similar situation. They were all capable professionals, but yet somehow, they were struggling to get the job that they desired.

“What was the ‘extra spice’ that they needed?” – you would ask.

Well, as surprisingly as it may sound to some of you, they simply needed guidance. Yes, getting some advice from a person that has knowledge in the field and applying a few Tips and Tricks on your resume and interview techniques can actually go a long way when you are stuck in the Job-Searching process. Why? Because sometimes, even though you have the means, you need another person’s perspective to use them in the best way for you.

This is actually where the role of the Career Coach comes in. But let’s start from the basics:

What is a Career Coach?
According to the dictionary, a Career Coach is ‘someone whose job is to give people advice on changing or improving their careers’. Their actual role, however, can incorporate many specifics. They can help you with various steps of the Job-Hunting process, like structuring your resume in a more show-off-your- skills format, mentoring you on how to answer those troublesome interview FAQ or even showing you how to optimize your LinkedIn account.

When do you need a Career Coach?
Contrary to what you might be thinking, you don’t need a Career Coach only when you are stuck with finding a new job. Yes, they can be extremely valuable during those times, but you might need some expert advice even before you actually start applying. For example, as I am a Career Coach that specializes in helping millennials, I have had many clients that simply don’t know where to start looking for a job or how to build a resume. Of course, they can probably find some answers on the Internet, but I have found that still most of them prefer the personalized help of a professional, rather than reading a few general articles or watching the success stories of bloggers that have managed to secure the ‘job of their dreams’.

Nevertheless, trusting a Career Coach to help you is a personal choice and only you can decide when (if at all) it will be the right time for you to use their services. Which brings me to my next point:

How to choose a Career Coach?
This is actually pretty straight forward – you just need to find the Coach that you click with. It is important that they use the right techniques for yourself that will both motivate you when you need to sit down and do the work and will provide you with the information that you need when you are stuck. Me and many coaches out there do a free consultation where you have the opportunity to get to know ‘the person behind the coach’ (as I like to call it) and decide whether they will be the right fit for you. What is more, it is a good idea to check the materials the Coach offers for free (e.g. on an Instagram account with various tips and tricks, which is in my case) and make up your mind from there.

Why should you hire a Career Coach?
Now that you know what a Career Coach is, you have probably started to wonder if it is something that you can benefit from. Well, let me chase any doubts that you might still have by stating a few, but important advantages of having a Career Coach by your side on your next career journey:

1. You will finally get the 3P’s feedback (proper, professional and personalized)
2. You will learn key skills that are crucial for today’s working environment
3. You will learn how to build a relevant resume that will make you stand out from the crowd
4. You will learn how best to prepare for an interview and how to answer those FAQs that you are always afraid of
5. You will build confidence and learn how to define and leverage your USP (unique selling point)

Career Coaching can be controversial. For some people, it is just the right kind of guidance that they need, for others, it can be something that is too far away from them and they are not ready for. No matter which side you are on, however, I think everyone can agree on one thing: Both you and your Career Coach have the same goal – to make you succeed in getting that job.

Article By: Desi Arsova

⇒Read the magazine

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After all, the life of an entrepreneur is a competitive and challenging one. The key to making the most out of your life experiences from a professional perspective is learning how to find the lessons in each of the business challenges you face. Using your prior experience, you will be better suited to lead any company or startup successfully.

The Power Of Life Experience

For most of us, life is a journey that changes and evolves depending on which paths we choose to take. To find someone who took their experiences and transformed them into an opportunity for growth, we don’t need to look very far. Mark Green is an American politician and doctor from the state of Tennessee, who currently serves as a member of the Republican party.

Before he ran for office, he was a CEO for a healthcare business, and before that, he served as an emergency physician in Operation Red Dawn, which facilitated the capture of Saddam Hussein.

As you can imagine, an experience as significant as that one had to have an impact on the way Mark perceived his life, and the challenges that lay ahead of him. However, rather than be overcome by his experience, he used the events that happened in his life to inform the decisions he made in his future, and he’s now accomplishing incredible things.

What Can You Learn From Life Experiences?

So, what skills can you learn by simply becoming a student of life’s lessons? The answer to that question will change depending on who you ask. However, some of the most common things we believe any person can learn include the following:

• The ability to problem solve: Finding yourself in a difficult position in life leaves you with two options. Either you can simply give into the circumstances at hand and allow them to dictate where your life goes next, or you can find a way to take control and determine your next move. If you manage to overcome an issue in your life by making a specific choice, then you’ll start to develop your problem-solving skills, and these are talents you can take with you through every aspect of your life.
• The courage to take risks: Sometimes, no matter what we do in life, we’ll find ourselves at a crossroads where we need to make a dangerous, potentially life-altering decision. At this point, you need to take a risk and commit to a business decision. Being able to stand by your choices is a powerful thing, and a skill that will make it easier for you to take risks and overcome your fear in the future.
• The power to give yourself a break: Finally, it’s important to remember that we can’t always get everything right. The decisions that we make in life are often made according to the information that we have at any given time. You can only do the best you can with the data that’s available to you. That means that if something goes wrong, you shouldn’t beat yourself up over it. Take it as an opportunity to learn another of life’s lessons, and move on with a better understanding of the world.

Lessons In Life Lead To Clever Business

For business owners to thrive in today’s saturated marketplace, they need to be able to come up with quick solutions to complex problems, take risks, and forgive themselves when things go wrong.

Ultimately, great business owners need to have the courage to do things that no-one else can, and usually, you’ll find this courage by tapping into the experiences that have helped you to grow throughout your life.

At the same time, you’ll find that the more lessons you learn in life, the more you hone your gut instincts, so that you can make decisions based on “informed guesses.” As you continue to learn and develop, your confidence will grow, and you’ll find that you can trust yourself – regardless of how many mistakes you make on the road to success.

The more you open yourself up to experience, the more opportunities you’ll have to become a great business owner.

By: https://businessfirstfamily.com/

The post How To Use Life Experiences To Benefit Your Business appeared first on Wonder Woman Mag.

Let’s start with the great news: you landed a client! Now comes the nerve wracking part: showing up ready to execute on what you said you could do for them. To come to the meeting as your best self, you need to prepare ahead of time. Here are a few simple ways you can do exactly that. With the right prep, you’ll feel confident and ready to be the business woman you know you are.

OUTLINE YOUR PLAN

No one likes to waste time, or worse, have their time wasted. That’s why it’s critical that you outline your plan before the client meeting. You can do this for your own sake, taking personal notes to stay on track and hit all the important points.

Conversely, you can create an agenda or welcome packet to share with your client, suggests Randle Browning, Skillcrush contributor. She explains, “Documentation is important in making a good impression. Besides helping you stay on track and cover all the important odds and ends—from your hourly rate to design ideas to a project timeline—an agenda or welcome packet shows you have a plan and you are good at communicating it to others.”

Within this welcome packet, you should include important details like typical procedures, payment protocols, project milestones and any other information that’s pertinent to your business and this particular client. To take it one step further, be sure to customize it to the client using their logo, name and other company information where possible.

REFRESH YOUR BUSINESS ATTIRE

Just like in an interview, you always want to be overdressed for a client meeting—never underdressed. Dressing the part takes more than just choosing nice clothes, however. If this is your first client meeting, there’s a good chance you’ll need to dust off your favorite business-friendly pieces before tossing them on.

To make the best impression, get your business clothing professionally cleaned ahead of time. First and foremost, a dry cleaner will ensure that your clothes are fresh and crisp—not wrinkly or covered in lint. Not to mention, delicate dress materials, like silk, will fare better and your clothes will get the true deep clean they need after sitting in the closet, suggest dry cleaning experts.

As you prepare your outfit for the day, consider the client, the location and your brand. While you want to dress in business attire, a coffee shop meeting may dictate less formal attire than one in an office.

PREPARE SOME FREE ADVICE

The client will be paying for your services but there’s no better way to prove how helpful you can be by offering some free advice. Katy Cowan, Co-founder of Boomerang, says that this helps you build trust right away: “You’ll instantly build rapport and trust, not just because you’re showing that you care and that you’ve done your research—but because you’re also demonstrating your expertise. This means you’ll be well on your way to building a solid working relationship with them.”

Consider what little nugget of information you can throw into the conversation ahead of time. Remember that there may be a chance to do this naturally within the conversation as well, so don’t stress over coming up with something great ahead of time. Keep it in the back of your mind and wait for an opportunity to shine during the meeting.

BE READY TO SHOW YOUR ENTHUSIASM

Having an air of professionalism is always important, but don’t hold back your excitement about the project, says Allie Siarto, photographer. She explains to Under30CEO: “Clients want to work with companies and people who are genuinely excited about the products and services that they create. Forget about nerves—if you have an offering that you’re truly excited to talk about, your excitement will rub off on the potential client as well. Don’t hold back.”

Enthusiasm comes through in your tone of voice, body movements, and facial expressions. The best way to prepare ahead of time is to make sure you have a great morning leading up to the meeting. If needed, use a morning routine that puts you in a confident and present mindset so you can give your best to your client.

PREPARE FOR YOUR BIG CLIENT MEETING

Use these simple tips to make sure you knock your first client meeting out of the park. When you prepare the talking points ahead of time, prep your favorite business attire, and stay in the moment, you’ll walk away feeling ready to kick off the project and land another client.

https://www.lostgenygirl.com/

–Jessica Thiefels is an entrepreneur and founder and CEO of Jessica Thiefels Consulting. She’s been writing for more than 10 years and has been featured in top publications like Forbes. She also writes for Business Insider, Virgin, Glassdoor and more. Follow her on Twitter@JThiefelsand connect onLinkedIn.

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