RTC Blog
Bag the Habit Shares Secrets to Social Media Success
Bag the Habit is a small company, so social media is a group effort. We will often talk across our desks about what we want to post in the morning or spontaneously share images we saw while traveling around the city. But despite our informal approach, we have fixed social media principles that we apply to all content shared with the Bag the Habit community.
These guidelines didn’t originate as ‘strategy’ – they came about organically after we saw what worked, what didn’t, and what was the most enjoyable for us to create. This focus on enjoyment is our overriding principle – the more fun we are having, the more fun our audience will have! Just like our factory is a place to assemble bags, and our warehouse is a place to store things, social media is a distinct platform for fun, communication and play. Too much emphasis on promotion, advertising, or marketing in this space won’t work not just because people might get annoyed; it’s because that’s not what it is designed for.
3 Tips To A More Memorable Website
As the World Wide Web continues to grow, it has become increasingly challenging to grab users’ attention for more than 10-20 seconds—the average span of time - before they exit your site. That is, unless something grabs their attention. Below are three tactics I’ve used to captivate and grow my audience over the past 10+ years as a creative entrepreneur. I hope they will assist you on your entrepreneurial journey as well.
Making use of the Crowd: Alternative Funding for your Small Business
As a small business owner—if your business is too new, or your credit score doesn’t meet the bank’s standards—you might not qualify for a commercial bank loan. Fortunately, there are a variety of options available for small businesses owners, including CDFIs, microlenders and IDA programs. With crowdfunding and crowdlending, you don’t even have to leave your home to get the funding you need. But what are the differences between the two, and which method fits your business best?
Reflections on International Women's Day
More than 100 years after International Women’s Day was founded, there is still much work to be done. Although women make up about half the workforce in the United States, they own less than 30% of all businesses nationwide. I am sure you have heard the saying that when you educate a woman, you educate a nation. I’d like to add that when you educate a woman in business management, open doors to economic opportunities and bring down her barriers to financial services and capital, you are taking the smartest and most sensible step towards a sustainable, just and thriving economy.
When I was two years old, my mother fled Ethiopia to escape the terrible, murderous dictatorship of Mengistu Haile Mariam. She spent two years in a refugee camp in Kenya before making it to the United States, where she worked for 9 years as a waitress and a seamstress before she was able to save up enough money for me to join her.
I was 12 when I arrived in the United States. I did not speak a word of English and had no idea at the time that within 5 years I would attend Harvard University, or that 8 years later, I would be inspired by my mother’s late nights working as an entrepreneurial fashion designer and seamstress, to co-found an organization dedicated to the success of women in underserved communities who dream of a better life for their children.
How to Rebuild Main Street after Hurricane Sandy
Earlier this month, the New York Federal Reserve sponsored a public forum on Sandy Disaster Relief that brought together service providers from around the state of New Jersey—legal services, accounting services, lending services, business support services. I moderated a lending services panel of four lenders- New Jersey Community Capital, Intersect Fund, Greater Newark Enterprises Corporation (GNEC), and TD Bank.
These organizations were basically waving money at small business owners; I couldn’t believe the interest rates being quoted for businesses that survived Sandy—loans between 2 and 5 percent. I’ve been in business for over 30 years, and I have never seen interest rates like these. And qualifying for Sandy Recovery funding basically means, “Are you back in business after Sandy?” That’s pretty vague. It would also define most small businesses in this area.
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