Meagan Kerlin

Most employers are aware of why it’s so important to strive for and maintain positive work environments. When they can achieve this, they will have better, happier employees who are more dedicated to working hard and accomplishing goals. But how can one cultivate a more positive environment? This involves much more than just being friendly with each other. It’s about building genuine respect and relationships, starting with eliminating gossip. The rumor mill and spreading gossip is a part of virtually every workplace, and it can be incredibly damaging. While employers cannot control every action and word of their employees, they can strive to make it very clear that disrespect for coworkers is not acceptable.

People often justify gossip by saying they were simply “venting” to someone who was willing to provide a listening ear. Employers can encourage their workers to discuss their frustrations by going directly to the person with whom they have a problem or allowing workers to speak directly with them without fear of punishment. It’s always better to deal with interpersonal issues head-on instead of turning to the rumor mill when things get difficult. After the initial frustration gets repeated a few times, the entire situation is typically misrepresented and inflamed to the point where it’s not reflective of what actually happened.

Employers can take strides to encourage employees to speak positively with and about one another. This does not mean that people cannot be honest or genuine with each other, but it does mean that even the most negative of issues are dealt with in a positive manner. Employees should also be encouraged to help each other, refuse to repeat negativity and even speak out when someone is repeatedly the source of negative and defamatory language.

One of the most important jobs that an employer has is to protect his or her employees. This includes protecting them from vicious and negative words and providing them with a work environment that is respectful and safe. Reducing gossip is not only a mark of a mature company with mature employees, it is good for the emotional and mental health of everyone who works there.

By Meagan Kerlin for Vertu Marketing LLC

If you don’t know where you’re going, how will you know when you get there? This is true both in life and in business, which is why it’s important to have clear and specific goals for both. You probably have professional goals for your career or your business, but it’s always smart to revisit those goals from time to time to make sure you’re on track. A careful and honest assessment of your goals and objectives for the future of your business may reveal the need to simplify your business goals.

Over time, it’s easy to lose track of why you started off in a specific direction or started pursuing a specific end goal. Business and life are complicated, and what worked originally may not be accurate or reasonable now. The same holds true for your goals — there is no harm or shame in adjusting your goals for your business. In fact, one of the most important changes that you can make is to simplify your business goals. For some, incremental goals may work, but it can also muddy the waters too. If you’re chasing too many things at once or you are having trouble articulating exactly what you hope to accomplish, it may be time to revisit some things.

It may be more beneficial and effective to set one big goal for your company. Setting several smaller goals may seem more feasible, but a simple objective that pertains to the entire team may help keep your people (and yourself) on track, allow you to streamline tasks and allow everyone to have a personal stake in reaching that one goal. The smaller things you will have to achieve to reach your main goal will flow naturally from that single benchmark.

If you need to simplify your business goals, you may want to start by taking an honest look at the goals you originally set for your company and where you are now. Do these goals still work? Are they still meaningful to yourself and your team? Do they still make sense in light of what your company has accomplished so far? These are just a few questions that can help you see the right way forward with your goal-setting process.

By Meagan Kerlin for Vertu Marketing LLC

No one is perfect, and even the most successful people have flaws and shortcomings that often stand between themselves and their goals. There are times when you will find that external factors are impeding your success, but other times, it may actually be YOU that is standing between yourself and your goals. How can you know when you’re standing in your own way? There are a few things you can do to develop habits of self-improvement and to maintain a goal of becoming your best self.

Your best self not a perfect person — no one can ever attain this goal. However, like everyone else, there are probably some things you can work on in your effort to improve, grow and succeed. Allowing yourself to change and develop is not always an easy process. In fact, growth can be quite painful. One thing you can do to become a better version of yourself is to try new things. It’s amazing what you can learn simply by allowing yourself to engage in a new experience. Complacency is the enemy, so think of a few things you need to do or have been wanting to try and go for it. 

Being the best version of yourself also means not giving up on your dreams. Maybe you’ve left some of your long-held hopes for the future on the wayside because they seemed too out of reach or crazy. Maybe it’s time to revisit those dreams, and with a little tweaking and reimagining, you can start pursuing those goals again. This means setting aside your fear and doubts, but this is good for your personal development.

Your best self also means treating others well. It’s easy to get caught in a “me first” mentality when it comes to your career and professional life, but don’t get stuck there. Be kind. Respect the voices and talents of others. Be honest in all of your business dealings. Try hard and work diligently, even when you don’t think anyone is watching. As counterintuitive as it may seem, being the best that you can be may actually mean putting others before yourself.

By Meagan Kerlin for Vertu Marketing LLC

It’s inevitable — there is bound to be some conflict in your place of work at some point. When people work in close contact with others, there will probably be times when personalities collide and feelings get hurt. While it’s probably not possible to completely avoid all types of conflict, there are ways that you can reduce the chance of disagreements and give people the room they need to thrive and be themselves. One of the first steps to reducing conflict is to set people up to succeed. Lack of fulfillment and no chance of advancement can lead to pent-up frustration and hard feelings that can eventually boil over and come out at unexpected times.

Workplace conflict is a more common problem than many think. In fact, a significant amount of employee and employer time is taken up with managing problems between employees. Work often requires people with different viewpoints, goals and ideas to work together for a common goal, and that is often a recipe for disaster. It can be important to develop a workplace that focuses on mutual respect and cooperation. This is not a surefire way to prevent all conflict, but when you promote and encourage positive approaches to disagreements, it can lower the chance that you will find yourself or your employees in the middle of an all-out fight or ongoing contest of spats and snide remarks.

One key to making your workplace a more peaceful place to work is to be clear in your communication with others and with your employees. Communicating well reduces confusion, makes everyone clearly aware of their responsibilities and makes it less likely that there will be disputes that arise from subjective interpretation of your words. Clarity is important, whether you’re having a conversation with a co-worker or you’re giving instructions to your team.

It may not be possible to reduce all conflict in your workplace, but there are specific things you can do to make where you work a better, more productive and more peaceful place for yourself and others.

By Meagan Kerlin for Vertu Marketing LLC

If you’ve surfed Facebook or scrolled through Instagram, you have almost certainly seen a meme. These are photos, usually comical, with text overlaid on them that makes a funny or sarcastic statement. Memes are very much a part of online and social media culture, and it’s okay for businesses to use them to get more attention, engage with followers and even get a few laughs along the way. They may seem a little irreverent and slightly unprofessional — and that’s kind of the point. What better way to build a strong following than to show your company has a sense of humor?

While using a meme may seem like groundbreaking territory for your marketing campaign, it may help for you to note that many businesses have started noticing the benefit of memes and using them as well. One way that a simple picture can help your business is that it can build a bridge between you and your target customer, especially if that target customer is younger. It can make your company seem more accessible and open to conversation, which is an attractive quality for many potential clients.

Whether they realize it or not, may followers and consumers are looking for business to offer them something as far as engaging with them goes. While this often means sales or discounts, it sometimes means entertainment. When a meme can make a person stop and laugh, he or she will be more likely to share that photo from your Facebook page. This leads to more engagement, more people seeing your company name and, hopefully, more followers. Interjecting humor into how your company uses social media will set your business apart from the many others trying to get attention on Facebook and Instagram.

Memes are very popular right now, so this is a golden opportunity for you to try them out and see how they work. Chances are that you will be pleasantly surprised how far a little humor and levity can go when it comes to the success of your online marketing campaign.

By Meagan Kerlin for Vertu Marketing LLC

Marketing is a crucial part of building a brand, establishing a customer base and getting your company the exposure it needs. This means that you will have to develop a marketing strategy that suits the needs of your company, implements social media and more. However, the most thorough and well-intentioned marketing plan may not be very effective if you make certain mistakes. Before you move ahead, you may want to be sure that certain mistakes don’t tank your marketing plan.

One mistake people often make is assuming simply because they write something that people will read it. This is not necessarily true. If you write a blog, a Facebook post or even a new Instagram post, make sure people know. It can be the smartest, best thing you’ve ever written it, but this doesn’t mean it doesn’t need to be promoted — don’t be afraid to get your stuff out there. Another thing that’s important to note is that over time your products, promotions, opinions and even your company operations may have changed. This doesn’t mean you have to delete everything that’s outdated, but you will want to add updates to old posts that may confuse readers.

One common marketing mistake is to assume people only want to see new content all the time. While people certainly don’t want to be bored or read the same thing over and over, it doesn’t mean you have to create new content on a daily basis. Some of the most successful marketing plans recycle old material, repackage it, reproduce it or reintroduce it in new and exciting ways. You don’t have to recreate the wheel — you just have to show it to people in a new light.

Don’t overlook the benefit of the free or inexpensive tools available to you. Common marketing mistakes include failing to send out newsletters by email and failing to use Facebook and Instagram to their full potential. These are a just a few, simple ways that you can start to build rapport with your followers and begin to establish brand recognition. With a little homework and hard work, you can avoid marketing mistakes that can have a negative impact on your efforts.

By Meagan Kerlin for Vertu Marketing LLC

Working from home can have it’s benefits — you can sleep in a bit, knowing that you won’t have to fight rush hour traffic. You can get coffee or a snack whenever you want, and you can even stay in your pajamas all day. These are good things and some of the many benefits of working remotely, but after awhile, these are some of the same things that can contribute to a lack of motivation for those who work remotely. Some of the “benefits” of working from home can eventually lead to a sense of apathy and general laziness toward job-related tasks.

In order to successfully work from home, a person will have to work hard to keep his or her motivation high. This requires a decent amount of self-discipline and willingness to stay focused — even when there is laundry to be folded in the next room and a TV with Netflix. Working from home is not all sunshine and rainbows, and it’s helpful for people who work remotely to build certain habits that can help them stay focused and keep succeeding at their jobs.

One way a remote employee can fight complacency is to set an alarm and get up at a certain time every morning. It also helps to get dressed in “real” clothes, just as if he or she was planning to head out of the house at some point in the day. Remote employees often have flexible schedules, but trying to maintain a relatively regular work schedule can also help a person get work done. Setting a timer or number of tasks to accomplish in one day can help tremendously as well.

Those who work remotely enjoy many benefits, but they also have to be vigilant about their motivation levels and stay aware of ways they may be slipping. With hard work, diligence and enough determination, a person can successful build an impressive career from the comfort of a kitchen table or home office.

By Meagan Kerlin for Vertu Marketing LLC

Many of the most successful businesses started from a simple hobby. Perhaps you have something that you’ve been doing on the side, and you wonder if this is something that you could ever do for a living. It’s not always easy turning a hobby into a paying job, and you may want to prepare yourself for what is ahead if this is something that you hope to do. Your side hustle won’t magically transform into a money-making machine overnight, but it may be possible that you could find great success with something that started out as a side job.

It’s helpful to remember that starting a business is not easy. There will be times that you will feel frustrated, overwhelmed and discouraged. You may also have to walk through a time where you are putting in a lot of work without seeing a lot of return. This is just one of the many realities of operating a business — are you willing to put in the work, even if you do not turn a profit right away? Do you love your hobby or side hustle enough to put in a lot of hours in the beginning?

One thing that can be helpful as you start a business is to set reasonable goals. Don’t go in only focused on the end goal — to make money. Focus on small things you can do now, and keep moving forward. It’s not going to be an overnight success story, and you may even feel like you are just spinning your wheels sometimes. Just keep checking little goals off your list, and you’ll look up one day and be surprised by how far you’ve come.

As you work to turn your hobby into a meaningful source of income, it’s helpful to have reasonable expectations for what that process will look like. This will probably not be an easy journey, but it can be well worth it to turn something you love doing into your job.

By Meagan Kerlin for Vertu Marketing LLC