Wow. Thank you.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the love and support we felt firsthand at our 834 Summer S’moirée. You came, you partied, you drank sangria.
In the past year, 834 has grown more than we could ever have anticipated and it is because of all of YOU. The Grand Rapids business community embraced us and provided the foundation to flourish over the past nine years, growing from a one-person firm to an eight-person team — approximately 300 percent in the last two years alone (someone else did the math). We have great clients, an amazing team and lots of fun. It’s truly unbelievable.
We are humbled beyond words for the love we felt as you toasted s’mores and enjoyed fare in our new(ish) space.
Our door is always open to you — our friends, our partners and our family. Thank you for accepting our quirkiness, brashness and slightly-off sense of humor.
Simply, thank you.
#Team834
Simply, Thank You
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If you ever need proof that personal brand matters...Kim got to see the @nasaartemis II launch in person as a direct result of her Big Deal Energyâ„¢.
You need to work hard, show up authentically, and provide value. That was her message to a room full of students and young professionals at @western_michigan_pmi`s theProject Collegiate Competition.
The Big Deal Energyâ„¢ Workshop is on June 23. Register at the link in bio.
Employers think Gen Z is lazy, entitled, and will quit the second things get hard. That perception is keeping you out of the room before you ever get a chance to prove otherwise.
The good news is, you can flip the script, but it will take some serious work and a personal brand, or as Kim Bode refers to it: Big Deal Energyâ„¢.
Kim is speaking at theProjectâ„¢ Collegiate Event, hosted by the Project Management Institute Western Michigan Chapter on April 14. She`ll cover how to build a personal brand that actually sounds like you (not ChatGPT) and how you can show your value through social, content and networking.
Link in bio to learn more.
We are so focused on unraveling the cause that we lost sight of the people in the center of it. Kim`s recent piece in the @smallbusinessassocofmichigan`s FOCUS Magazine on the Hard Cost of Soft Skills struck a nerve.
Everyone has an opinion on who`s to blame for where the skills gap is, but nobody is actually fixing it. It`s why we`re having this conversation.
Join us on April 28, link in bio.
Last week, we got to see history. The kind you remember where you were when it happened.
Kim was there on April 1 for the @nasa Artemis II launch - the first crewed flight around the moon in more than 50 years.
We don`t take moments or opportunities like this for granted.
No one talks about how lonely it is to own a business. The tough decisions land on you, the business doesn`t pause when you need a break, and nobody - not your employees or your spouse - really gets it.
If you know a business owner, tell them they`re doing a good job. It matters more than you know.
The growth stage is the hardest part of building a business.
Kim was recently quoted in @corpmagazine on what she sees running the Women`s Entrepreneurial Fellowship: women who have built something, survived the hardest part, and are still doing everything themselves. The natural tendency to be humble and attached to their work creates unique business challenges for women; they put up walls because they can`t be vulnerable.
Meanwhile, when a woman CEO needs growth capital, she compiles three years of tax returns before a bank will schedule a meeting, while her male competitor closes the same deal over drinks.
When women have access to the right resources, they grow and invest back. Full article at the link in bio.
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