When Acadia was first starting, it was based on a remote employee model. I was not only a professional but a mother, wife, friend, and neighbor. Using my experience, I built Acadia realizing that at-home professionals, specifically women with children, had the potential to be a really valuable resource. Working remotely was mutually beneficial for both the employees and Acadia. While this model became very successful, collaboration was always a challenge. “I will never forget the day that Google Docs became available," I said, "it was a game changer for the way we could share information and collaborate.” New technologies have allowed for a greater level of communication, making it easier to grow and utilize talents from around the country. 

You’ve come to terms with the fact that you don’t have the bandwidth or capabilities to take on some of your company’s necessary marketing work.  So now what?  There are many marketing agencies that will claim to have the skills to help your company, but it's important to not just pick the first one you find. In this blog post, I'll expand on the most vital factors to keep in mind as you go through the marketing agency evaluation process.

It doesn’t matter what industry you're in - manufacturing, technical or industrial or something else - at some point, we all need to select software for our company. If you're looking to purchase or implement software, it's typically because you don’t yet have a system or you've outgrown your current software or manual processes. Whatever your case may be, there are many choices in the market today.

I just returned from a national sales conference in Florida. This particular conference brings together over 200 sales and marketing professionals who focus on helping businesses in the manufacturing, industrial and technology sectors. It's always a great opportunity to share best practices, hear from guest speakers and share in both the successes and challenges we all face helping clients develop business. Over the course of three days, we immersed ourselves in role-plays and workshops. Throughout it all, a number of messages resonated, especially as they pertain to the business development goals of my clients and prospective clients in manufacturing and industrial services. Here are my three main takeaways.  

By now, hopefully, we've all stopped writing "2015" on everything. The new year is going strong, winter's finally arrived, and we're probably all working hard to use what we learned last year. Here's what I learned - tools can make or break you in the B2B space. Tools, you say? Building a dog house? No - I'm talking about apps, programs, software, websites, and so on. After making this list at the end of 2015, I've successfully narrowed down my tool suite and am saving time and energy that I can devote to our clients.

Running a small business is like giving birth - except the labor pains never go away.