How I am Building a Business Powered by Verizon

 

Though this post was created in partnership with Verizon, all of the tips and tools below are ones I truly love. 

 

Guys, I have some big news.

Two weeks ago I quietly launched my company Boston Content Strategy, cementing a long-standing dream to forge my own path within the industry I am so passionate about.

Taking a different approach to entrepreneurship (and as I love my job, boss, and coworkers) I will continue with my full-time job which is closely aligned with my firm’s objectives.

 

So how does this relate to Verizon?

When I began planning this massive undertaking, I knew it would singlehandedly be the most challenging thing I had taken on, ever.

I was excited (still am), obsessed (still am), and scared (still am but less so.)

 

How would I manage the deluge of client inquiries, fill in the org chart I had created with people just as passionate about storytelling as I, and run day-today operations?

After I handled the most important aspects (the paperwork, business plan), I began researching each tool needed, starting with my CRM, marketing automation tools, and communication apps for the freelancers and assistant I work with.

Here are a few of the first tools I decided on:

 

Hubspot CRM

Surprise, I landed with HubSpot after two weeks of trial and error with a host of other free and paid options.

While I (and many of my clients) already subscribe to the inbound methodology, it only made sense that at the conclusion of my research, Hubspot came out the clear winner.

Intuitive, easy, and handling both Marketing and Sales, Hubspot is an all in one solution that allows me to manage my client list, communicate with them at a strategic frequency, and simultaneously track the efficacy of both at a high speed through the Verizon network.

Evernote

At the recommendation of my mentors (who are high-powered CEO’s running multi-million dollar companies themselves) I journal each evening.

Highlighting the highs, lows, progress made, failures (there are many), non business related reflections, connections and more.

Evernote has been instrumental in charting my growth and recording my thought-process during this crucial period.

I also use it for standard shared to-do lists. I have my first employee, consultant and intern.

Being efficient and effective means delegating the smaller tasks I should not be wasting time worrying about and this is how I disseminate task lists outside of Slack.

 

Design & UX/UI by DesignCrowd

I wanted my website and logo to reflect my company objectives. Providing effective, impactful yet concise content to reach and inform my clients audiences.

DesignCrowd allowed me to get multiple variations and then select the one best suited to my preferences.

Often times during seminars and travel (I recently went to Cleveland for one of the world’s largest Marketing conferences) I used my Samsung 7 Edge powered by Verizon to snap inspiration for my design team.

Color schemes, images and more were collected and relayed to create my final vision (which will be evolving, I’m already mapping 2.0.)

 

Client Communications

While my CRM handles the ins and outs of my organic efforts on the business blog, there are still countless templates that needed to be created for the wide variety of proposals I would be sending.

BidSketch has been my go-to for creating and saving templated proposals based on client size and industry.

 

Business & Entrepreneurship Inspiration & Mentorship

Entrepreneur on Fire via Stitcher is a podcast I listen to daily.

Founders of companies small and massive talk about their failures, top tools and lessons on my 7 Edge during my commute, uninterrupted via the Verizon network.

Every morning it inspires me to push harder and further.

 

How to Start an LLC

A website dedicated to helping those go through the process of building their business from day one, to day one hundred.

I suggest heading over to How to Start an LLC even if you’re not sure of the business you wish to build. By the way, I was in no way compensated by their team!

 

I am excited about this venture as it is the culmination of over 7 years of building my valued audience (you, thank you) and the career I have built at WriterAccess.

 

Thank you for reading, and thank you to Verizon, because better truly does matter!

 

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