IMM January/February New Year's Issue 2021

The New Year’s Issue + How to Compose Your Emails Like a Boss + Managing Work and Your Small Business + Navigating Social Media for Social Entrepreneurship

January/February 2021

Six Tips to Securing Publicity 10 New Year's Resolutions for Every Entrepreneur

Successful Habits for Your Everyday Life INNOVATIVEMINDSMEDIA.COM

LOOKING FOR A FELLOW WOMEN-BOSS TRIBE TO JOIN?

r u o y s ' It o t e tim e n i h s INNOVATIVE MINDS MEDIA MEMBERSHIP OPENS EARLY 2021. STAY TUNED FOR MORE DETAILS!

IMM

TABLE OF CONTENTS 08 07

Editor's Note

08

Words that Matter: Email Like A Boss

11

by Tania Marshall 10

Managing Work and Small Business

10

16

By Dominique Winfield

16 Six Tips to Securing

Publicity

By Micah Santiago 19

10 New Year's Resolutions for Every Entrepreneur

By Ashley Dapiaco

23

Successful Habits for Your Everyday Life

19

By Monique Johnson 28 Navigating Social

Media for Social Entrepreneurship

By Tiffany Poe

23

28

IMM Editor-in-Chief Matia Johnson-Buggs

Creative Director Executive Producer Contributing Editor Contributing Designer Senior Editor Design Editor Editorial Assistant Art Director Deputy Photo Editor Photo Assistants Staff Writers

Contributing Photographer

Contributing Writers

Contributing Illustrator

Dominic Guerrero Taylor Klein Marcus Daily Kelsey Carter Angela Mitchell Alma Myers Patti Lawrence Wesley Sherman Josephine Vasquez Gustavo Becker, Noah Scott Cassie O. Lopez, Tania Marshall, Tiffany Davis, Emilio Cruz, Derek Hough Jonah Denworth, Jeff Ho, Mariela Naplatanova, Jonah Marquese Tania Marshall, Dominique Winfield Micah Santiago, Ashley Dapiaco Monique Johnson, Tiffany Poe Santiago Holmes

EDITORIAL OFFICE P.O. Box 1565, Bowie, Maryland 20721 info@innovativemindsmedia.com IMM Magazine is published content created by Creative Expressions Group, Inc. www.innovativemindsmedia.com IMM Magazine | 05

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editor's note Whew! It has been one heck of a year! Can we just pause and congratulate ourselves on making it? Whether if you are an entrepreneur, or working full time, or doing both, kudos to you. 2020 may be coming to an end, but the challenges we faced this year continue — the COVID‑19 pandemic, intensifying political division, widening economic inequality, and the climate crisis, just to name a few.

While these challenges affect everyone — in every community — the fact remains, perseverance is key.

Amongst perseverance, I can vouch for all of the great entrepreneurs I have met this year who are nurturing their brand in spite of the hardships 2020 has brought.

CEO, Matia Johnson-Buggs, in her home in Largo, MD.

Introducing The Power of The Female Community, Innovatively

Networking, collaboration, and perseverance has become the motto for 2020 as several entrepreneurs worked on their brand and created connections. In this issue, we equip entrepreneurs with some great tools for 2021, including how to email like a boss and stop apologizing for having an opinion, securing publicity for your business, and also, New Year’s resolutions that every creative person and entrepreneur should have. We are also gearing up to launch our internship program for the spring, and also our membership which starts early 2021 -- as we build a creative community of women and collaboration.

So, here's to you CEO, for persevering. We have hopes that your 2021 will be even greater than your 2020!

Be blessed,

Want to be a part of a collective, collaborative community that supports you and your brand, your strengths, weaknesses, and encourages one another to keep going even when you feel like quitting? IMM is announcing our monthly membership for 2021, an innovative space for creative women, doing creative things! Information will be listed in early 2021.

Matia Johnson-Buggs

IMM Magazine | 0 7

HOW TO COMPOSE YOUR EMAILS LIKE A BOSS:

by Tania Marshall, Photo by John Adams Even CEOs need help in front of a computer. Use these six tips to compose your emails like the true boss entrepreneur you are, and stop apologizing for having an opinion!

When Working on a Tight Deadline Instead of: “The deadline for this is tomorrow, around __:__.” Write: “When do you think you can get this done?” or “It’d be preferable if you can get this done today so we can have more time to discuss if there are any changes that need to be made before the deadline tomorrow.”

When Wording the Email is Hard Instead of: *rewriting email for 40 minutes* Write: “It’d be easier to discuss in person.”

IMM Magazine | 08

When You've Procrastinated Instead of: “Sorry for the delay.” Write: “Thank you for your patience.”

When Your Schedule Matters Too Instead of: “No problem!” or “No worries!” Write: “Always happy to help!”

When You're Waiting on Someone/Something Instead of: “Just wanted to check in.” Write: “When can I expect an update?”

When You've Made a Small Error Instead of: “Ahh sorry! My bad. Totally missed that.”

Write: “Nice catch! Updated file attached. Thanks for letting me know!” >>

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ATHENA ORGANICS

MANAGING WORK

&

Your Small Business For the creative woman who is juggling her day job and passion projects, this is for you!

B y IMM Magazine | 10

D o m i n i q u e

W i n f i e l d

When it comes to managing your 5 to 9, (the hours you work on your #smallbiz AFTER you clock out from work) it is no easy task! Want to make launching even harder? Get up, shower, and head to your 9-5 day job! When 40 hours of your time is already taken each week, it can pose unique challenges to maintaining your startup life. We know it’s scary, risky, and sometimes not feasible to quit your fulltime job and dive headfirst into entrepreneurship. Try out these small tips below to help you weather the storm when you're maintaining your day job:

01 02 03 04

Take Advantage of the Courses: Most jobs have continuing professional education courses set aside for you. This can be transferred into your business. Take advantage of these learning opportunities and build up your customer service and computer skills so you can add them to your entrepreneurial resume.

Schedule Time to Work on Your Business: For most of us, the first thing we want to do after a long day at the office is plop down in front of the TV and browse on Instagram – and turning around and putting in more hours on a side business is probably the last thing you want to do. If you’re launching a business, you should be passionate about it. But after 8 hours in the office and another commuting home? No one can blame you for being a little burnt out. Note to self? Schedule at least 30 minutes everyday during that 5-day workweek, to handle some small steps and organizational items.

Have a Plan for Leaving Your Day Job: The rule of thumb is to stay encouraged. It's likely going to take 6 to 12 months of working on your new business before you'll see any real results. Meaning, it's time for you to start setting aside money for the long run NOW, for emergency expenses, and to help cover you when you're no longer working a full-time job.

Have a Plan for Leaving Your Day Job: Being broke ain't sexy. Make a plan of savings before you quit your day job. We have this idea of the die-hard entrepreneur – toiling away at all hours of the morning and night, investing every ounce of blood, sweat, and tears into their passion project.....

The reality is, you can only give to your business as much as you have, and burnout isn’t as sexy as it seems. That means it’s vital to prioritize self-care on a weekly basis. Make a point to replenish your spirit and your sleep tank, take a spa day, go have a picnic in the park, go ice skating, or go on a weekend getaway...anything so you can refresh your spirit and keep giving your all to your small business with a full tank of gas. >>

IMM Magazine | 11

Revolutionize your skin.

TAKE A "ME" DAY

EXCLUSIVE

SixTips to Securing Publicity

Getting your business noticed should be at the forefront of your list. Use these six tips to help you navigate being seen.

Why do some companies succeed in

You'll notice that many are similar or

generating publicity while others

identical to steps you went through

don't? It's been proved time and time

when developing your marketing plan:

again that no matter how large or small your business is, the key to

STEP 1: Write the Vision:

securing publicity is identifying your

Write

target market and developing a well

down, and even post it up, so that you

WRITTEN BY MICAH SANTIAGO

thought out public relations campaign

can see it in front of you on a daily

PHOTOS BY JONAH

and plan.

basis. This sums up in a few sentences

positioning

statement

what makes your business different

DENWORTH To get your company noticed, follow these six steps: IMM Magazine | 16

your

from your competition.

EXCLUSIVE

STEP 2. List Your Objectives:

email or call them and ask the specific reporter or producer

What do you hope to achieve for your company through the

who covers your area so you can contact them directly. Your

publicity plan you put into action? List your top five goals in

local library will have media reference books that list contact

order of priority. Be specific, and always set deadlines.

names and numbers. Make your own media directory, listing

Using a clothing boutique as an example, some goals may be

names, addresses, and telephone numbers. Separate TV, radio,

to:

and print sources.

A. Increase your store traffic, which will translate into increased sales.

STEP 5. Develop Story Angles:

B. Create a high profile for your store within the community.

Keeping in mind the media you're approaching, make a list of story ideas you can pitch to them. Develop story angles you

STEP 3. Identify Your Target Audience:

would want to read about or see on TV. Think back to the last

Are they male or female? What is the targeted age range?

story about a company that kept your attention. What angle

What are their lifestyles, incomes, and buying habits? Where

and interest was in that story and others that caught your eye?

do they live? Identifying your target audience is key in small

Plan an hour brainstorming session with a business associate

business. Knowing who your customers are is vital to how

or your interns to come up with fresh ideas.

you will move and sell your products or services.

STEP 6. Make the Pitch: STEP 4. Identify Your Target Media:

Put your thoughts on paper, and send them to the reporter in a

List the newsletters, magazines, TV, or radio programs in

"pitch letter." Start with a question or an interesting fact that

your area that would be appropriate outlets.

relates your business to the target medium's audience. Make

Make a

complete list of the media you want to target, then either

sure your letter includes all of your contact information. >>

IMM Magazine | 17

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CHEERS TO 2021, CEO! HERE ARE 10 RESOLUTIONS EVERY ENTREPRENEUR NEEDS...

Stop Wearing 100 Hats & Get Yourself Some Help In 2020, we glorified burnout and sadly got it mistaken with being "booked and busy." Guess what, CEO? That type of vibe ain't cute. In 2021, maximize your profits and hire some help, whether it be applying for grants to widen your business and hiring workers, or hiring interns who can help you on a semester basis.

Find You An Accountant...

ASAP First of all, if you don’t have one, then hiring a good accountant should be your NUMBER ONE resolution. This can help you balance the books of your business, and also gets you influential business advice that you may not have had in 2020. Let's be business savvy and financially savvy, all in one year!

Open that IRA Account In 2020, you probably had the intention of pulling together a real personal savings account, but you just haven’t gotten around to it. Now there's no more excuses. Visit your local bank and make that investment in yourself. Take action now, and talk to your accountant or a financial planner, who can help you figure out how to start saving today. Your future self will thank you.

Resurrect Some of Your Abandoned Projects With the intense feeling of being overwhelmed, a lot of entrepreneurs and creatives have abandoned projects they've really cared about.

We can blame burnout for this. Now that you are aiming to clean up your slate a bit, revisit some projects that were abandoned in 2020. There's no time like the present to get some clarity!

Update that Outdated Website Now that you aren't spreading yourself as thin as you used to, how about updating that website that's been out of date for six months? A lot of us entrepreneurs and creatives forget that our website is the first stop shop in attracting clients and customers. How would you feel if a potential client, or (God-forbid), an investor visited your website and was met with broken links and outdated information? Yikes! CEO, take the time to update it now and going forward, everyone will be a lot happier!

IMM Magazine | 20

RESOLUTIONS CONTINUED....TAKE NOTES! Face Your Fears So we ALL have things that we are afraid of...dating as far back as the early 1990s, when we begged our parents to leave the hallway light on so we wouldn't be scared of things that go bump in the night. Well, now we are adults and it's time to start tackling the things that scare us, including starting that small business we've been dreaming about. So go ahead, face that fear!

Resurrect and Research Old Customer Data

Improve Customer Satisfaction

Periodically examining your customer data is essential to identifying trends in your industry and market, so that you can adjust your business model accordingly. Why not put in a little research time? Some helpful points to look at is customer purchasing choices, spending amounts, and website analytics such as clickthrough rates and conversion rates.

Okay, you've spent the whole year learning your audience and pushing out content, selling products and services. Now it's time to do a checkin. Do a customer survey and ask your audience those hard questions. A survey is also a great way to collect testimonials or reviews. These short opinions make powerful content for any website or marketing campaign.

Refine and Tailor Your Creative Content Okay, so you launched that brand and have been working hard on updating content on a regular basis. Now, take it one step further and do some research on your audience. What are the hot trends? What value does your brand add to the lives of your audience? Learn how they eat, live, breathe, and start refining your content to captivate your audience, a little further.

Experiment with Video Marketing Social media tools like Instagram Stories, Instagram TV, and Facebook Live make live streaming seamless and easy. Streaming is a great opening into video because it doesn’t require scripts, multiple takes, or editing. Take customers behind the scenes of your business so they can see how you operate, host a Q&A, interview a customer, or film a dayin-the-life video. You can even use gateways like StreamYard. Your followers will enjoy seeing a new side of your business. >>

IMM Magazine | 21

A L L O R A AUTUMN WINTER '21 IN STORE NOW ALLORA.COM

Successful Habits for Your Everyday Life

By Monique Johnson

IMM Magazine | 23

Ready to move into the new year with some "uumph"?

Do. By placing your clients first, you lead by example,

Although 2020 built resiliency in us all, many creatives

which is also highlighting a great quality to what your

and entrepreneurs are looking for 2021 to bring

brand is really all about.

successful habits that can catapult their careers to the next level. View our top list for successful habits below

Join Clubhouse: To ensure that you are moving some entrepreneurial

and start 2021 off right!

action into your social life, take a moment and download

Share Your Vision: A leader with vision has a clear idea of what they need to be doing, where they are going, how to get there and what success might look like. Be sure to articulate your vision clearly and passionately when working with your clients, while also ensuring your team understands your vision and shares the same passion to turn those dreams into realities.

the Clubhouse app. What is Clubhouse you might ask?

Clubhouse is a new, influential platform that's invite-only a voice-based social media app where users can enter into different rooms to listen or participate in a conversation.

They’re able to see who else is there, and can also see their profiles. The person who made the room is the one who bestows speaking privileges to participants. Oprah is perhaps the most famous person to have been seen on

Lead By Example:

Clubhouse. Movie stars like Kevin Hart, Chris Rock, and

As a leader, the best way to build credibility and gain the

Jared Leto have also been spotted on it. It has many

respect of others is to set the right examples. Working

benefits to it, networking being included! Clubhouse can

around the clock?

be downloaded from any app store, Google, or Apple

Don't.

Leave time for yourself to

decompress. Paying attention to quality customer service?

IMM Magazine | 24

platforms.

Demonstrate Integrity

Make Difficult Decisions

A leader with integrity draws on their values to guide their

To be an effective leader, the ability to make fast, difficult

decisions, behavior, and dealings with others. They have a

decisions with limited information is crucial to your business.

strong

and

When facing a tough decision, start by determining different

communicate honestly and openly, as well as honestly and

outcomes. Consider the likely consequences of your decision

directly with others.

and any available alternatives. Make your final decision with

sense

of

character,

keep

their

promises,

conviction, take responsibility for it and follow it through.

Communicate Effectively Know what you mean, and mean what you say. Try to be as

Setting Phone to Airplane Mode

clean cut as possible, without beating around the bush.

If you're constantly available, you don't make time for yourself

Sometimes you just have to "keep it real." The ability to

when you need that alone time. Take some time and unplug

communicate clearly, concisely and tactfully is a crucial

from the world...no really, this time! Put your phone on airplane

leadership skill. Communication involves more than just

mode and unwind, have a bubble bath, go to the movies on a

listening attentively to others and responding appropriately. It

solo date, take a walk in the park, or go see a friend whom you

also includes sharing valuable information, listening, and not

haven't seen in a while. Also, set realistic expectations when

always talking, and asking intelligent questions.

you are available. Put on your out of office on email, and make your business hours known on your website. If a business

Delegating Tasks

partner sends you a text after those hours, politely remind them

You can't be everywhere at once, or do everything at the same

of when you are in business and not to contact you outside of

time. Delegate some tasks to either workers, interns, or even

those hours. Remember, health is WEALTH! >>

push it off until you can get your schedule together.

IMM Magazine |  26

NAVIGATING SOCIAL MEDIA FOR SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Did you know that focusing on building

See below for a few ways on maximizing

your company's social media presence is

your engagement rate and growing your

the number one cause of stress? *Insert

audience:

awkward pause*!

Social media can be a beast. Even learning how to tame it can be Having a great social media presence can hard. Try these entrepreneurhelp your business grow like hotcakes. friendly tips to navigate your platforms.

However, this will only happen after

WRITTEN BY TIFFANY POE PHOTOS BY JONAH MARQUESE IMM Magazine | 28

Let them know you are human: You just posted something really cool and now you have a few comments. What's the next step?

ENGAGE.

Respond.

you've developed a steady following and

Create

learned how to give your audience the

comment and respond to your fan. This

content they really desire.

is how you develop loyal "customers"

a

conversation.

Like

and exude great customer service.

the

Produce valuable content:

Get Creative with it:

You also want to ensure you are producing the most

This one also falls under producing valuable content. Get

valuable content - not only into your blog but also on your creative and check out some pretty funny Holidays and social networking accounts. Having the best, relevant tailor them to your business. Are you a makeup artist and content helps showcase your business and website, which

it's "National Chocolate Day?" You can pay homage to this

brings in more customers and more money.

by highlighting your top "Chocolate-Based Beauty Products Too Sweet To Pass Up." Are you a clothing boutique that

Optimize your social media accounts:

frequently sends out merchandise to customers and it's

Optimizing your social media accounts means using

"National Thank Your Mailman Day"? Record video

keywords. Use the keywords that go hand in hand with snippets of your employees showing your appreciation to your business. Think of what your customers are looking

your local post office workers. Make it personable and

up on Google or other search engines, and use those

above all, make it creative!

keywords in your posts.

Don't Trip!

Add your social media icons to your professional emails:

And last but not least, don't trip! Need to take a break?

Think about it: You send out emails all day long. If you Then, do so.

We can't be successful, emotionally and

have your social media icons in your email, people will

mentally healthy entrepreneurs when we are glued to our

likely get curious and start to check out your pages and

phones and social media platforms. Spend a day doing

eventually, your website. This is a great way to grow your

something fun or relaxing, and then come back when you're

social media presence.

refreshed! >> IMM Magazine | 29

Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.

ANÄIS NIN

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WE WOULD LOVE TO FEATURE YOU!

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