Folks, it’s been a hell of a year, and you can take that in whichever way is most accurate for you. As we look forward it’s important to keep those leads coming, but year end is a notoriously challenging time to maintain stability for digital agencies. This week let’s talk about how to make sure clients and prospects don’t leave you hanging.
As a small team, we’re all about working smarter here at the Bureau. We use a lot of different tools to keep the ship running smoothly, from CRMs to project management. But when it comes down to it, relationships are what really make things work. So if there’s something that gives people a bad impression of you, should you keep using it even if it boosts your productivity? This week we’re talking about a surprisingly controversial piece of popular software and the message it might send that you aren't expecting.
If anything good came out of the COVID era (aside from a more pants-optional lifestyle), it was the widespread adoption of virtual meeting platforms. They had been around for years before 2020, but taking a Zoom meeting was definitely the exception in the Before Times. Let’s compare our options!
It’s the best time of the year, but it can also be the most tricky to navigate. There’s no better opportunity to boost your team unity, but for remote workers it can all feel a little hollow. Let’s talk about how to make the holidays happy for everyone.
Can you believe 2023 is almost over? It’s crazy to think that this year simultaneously felt like two weeks and a whole decade. As I look back on everything that has happened and all that the Bureau has accomplished together, I want to express my gratitude for all our wonderful members and the wisdom they have shared.
Calm down, everybody! I'll definitely celebrate accomplishments and be grateful to all who helped, but I also want to acknowledge that not every moment has been a cause for giving thanks. It's in the honest acceptance of our challenges, alongside our successes, that we find true growth and resilience. So, let's gather around this virtual table with open hearts, ready to share not just our triumphs but also the lessons learned from the hurdles we've faced. Here's to a holiday season that honors our whole journey, with all its complexities and flavors.
Meetings should be a safe space to share ideas and build consensus, but they can have a darker side. When one person dominates the conversation it stifles creativity and wastes time. This week we’re covering how to deal with over-talkers.
According to ChatGPT we won't be tired of hearing about AI until 2027. So let's keep going. And this post isn't all about creative prompts and whether AI will eventually take our jobs. Nope, quite the opposite. This week we're going to discuss one of the last ways you might expect AI to be able to help your work life. By helping us connect on a more personal level with our fellow humans.
It’s everyone’s favorite part of year-end -- planning for the holid-- oh, wait. It’s planning next year’s budget! That’s fun too, right? RIGHT? In all seriousness, budgeting for the next year should be a good opportunity for a little course correction, careful optimism and a reevaluation of your business goals. Let’s get to it!
Another spooky season has come and gone, and with it the last vestiges of my new year’s resolution to eat better. November and December are basically a wash, right? But while my diet may be on its last legs, the Bureau is more vibrant and active than ever. I love hearing all about our members’ successes, seeing them help one another with struggles, and the atmosphere of creativity that permeates our discussions.
Here we go again!
Greetings current and future Citizens of the Bureauverse! It's that time of the year when your faithful Bureau team has been burning the midnight oil, the candle at both ends and working around the clock to bring you what’s next. It’s an annual dance where we look at the biggest challenges that are impacting the community, sprinkle in a little fun and excitement, and create an event playlist that we hope will get you moving. Take a look!
We love talking about ideas, inspiration and motivation at the Bureau, but sometimes we need to get down to the nuts and bolts of running a business. And there’s nothing more basic than money. Last week in the Bureau Slack there was a great conversation about what kind of billing utilization strategies will keep the shop in the green without the team seeing red.
Fall is harvest time, when all the hard work of planting and weeding pays off with crisp apples, rich pumpkin pie and all kinds of other goodies (gotta stop writing these when I’m hungry). I love seeing how the work of our Bureau members pays off as they see their people and company grow and mature. We share a lot of these stories in the Bureau Slack, along with tools and resources to help one another succeed.
Last week we talked about how to gracefully leave your job to move on to a new opportunity. This week, we’re exploring the other side of the coin - letting someone go. It’s an uncomfortable topic but a very real part of the business world that we all have to navigate in one way or another eventually. Just like there is a right way to leave your job, there are also some steps you can take to make sure that if you do have to fire someone you do it with empathy and tact.
Difficult topics are often the most valuable ones to address, and few things are tougher than leaving a job and keeping relationships intact. But when you know it's time to go, there's a good way to handle it. Let’s see how to take care of business without burning any bridges.
We’ve covered the pros and cons of this popular strategy, and now it’s time to talk about how to make it work best for you. If you’ve decided it’s a good way to keep the prospects rolling in, here are a few hints to get the most out of it.
Last week we took a look at referral programs and why you might want to start one. It’s a useful marketing tool and has a lot of advantages. To make the right choice, though, you need to think about downsides as well. So this week let’s talk about the pitfalls to look out for.
Just like a hit movie, running a successful company requires effective marketing and sales, which can be hard to get right -- especially if you’re setting up a new shop. That’s why personal recommendations can be a great tool for building up that client base. Over the next few posts, we'll be talking about the pros and cons of agency referral programs. We'll even share some best practices for launching one before we're done.
Where did the summer go? These months seem to slip by so quickly, and we’ve been really busy holding Bureau events and sharing our favorite resources (and memes) in the Bureau Slack. Connecting with leaders across the country is my favorite part of working at the Bureau, and every week I send out an informational newsletter that dives into one hot topic and includes some of those useful resources we share. I hope you’ll consider signing up for the newsletter here, but we’ve also collected the best of those links right here.
If there’s one thing I learned from square dancing lessons (aside from the importance of the right belt buckle), it’s that you always want to make sure you start things on the right foot. You and your clients deserve to have a good working relationship, and it all hinges on creating and maintaining the right expectations. Let’s see how it works.
