Research tells us that fewer than 5% of all startups reach a million dollars in annual revenue and fewer than 1% reach $10M in annual revenue.
The 5% club is more exclusive than it should be, and I believe this is an execution problem versus an idea problem. Growth is not a one-dimensional challenge.
[Read more…] about Guest Blog: 5 Steps to Grow Your B2B Startup Beyond $1M
Are you a Chicagoan by birth or relocation?
I relocated here from Australia. I was attracted to opportunities in the US, and I chose Chicago because of its central location.
What about KeHE was appealing?
KeHE culture is amazing in the sense that it revolves around “serving to make lives better.” KeHE Cares is our philanthropic wing, which serves internal partners, external partners, and communities that are in need. KeHE is always looking for opportunities to help communities and our planet to make a positive difference in any way we can. All of us at KeHE share this passion and do our part.
What is the coolest thing you’ve developed or project you’ve worked on?
We built a recommendation engine that suggests replacements for items that are either not performing well or are not available for various reasons. The reason I think it is cool is not only because this is a new capability we have provided for our business partners, but also because it was our first foray into products using machine learning.
What is the hardest challenge that you’ve faced on your professional journey?
Switching careers from accounting to technology was difficult, as the software applications were completely new to me. I went from using the applications to developing them.
What do you think are the top issues facing the Illinois tech community?
Access to good talent, and the training and mentoring capabilities required to build a strong talent pool.
What is your earliest childhood memory of technology in your life?
The telephone since this was at a time when only certain people – like doctors – had access to them.
What did you want to be when you were in kindergarten?
I wanted to be a teacher, as I was always excited to explain what I learned in school to my family. I remember using the back of a door as a chalkboard!
What have been some of your favorite media of the last six months and why?
I love reading leadership articles which I subscribe to from Kellogg Insight. The topics are ones I can relate to. It enables me to follow and implement the same ideas to be a better leader and mentor my team.
What’s the best advice that you’ve ever received?
Aim high, but set realistic goals!
If you could have a dinner party with three famous and influential figures, dead or alive, who would they be and why?
Warren Buffet – I rigorously follow the stock market, and Buffet’s approach to investments has been my guiding light.
Sheryl Sandberg – She has been my role model in balancing career and family. She explains very well the need for women in leadership.
Indira Nooyi– She showed that women from different cultures can rise to the top of multinational organizations while still keeping their identity.
About KeHe
With more than 5,500 employee-owners and a 16-distribution center network across North America, we’re one of the largest and most respected national fresh, natural & organic and specialty food distributors. Where we go, we spread the word on healthy eating, sustainable living, and responsible business with integrity. And we back it up with a large distribution network and advanced performance metrics that assure goodness follows to our vendor partners and retail grocers.
“When a customer needs us, they will know right where to find us!”
There was a point in time not so long ago when simply taking your business online was the only way a business had to consider interacting with their consumers in the digital economy. The assumption was that if they built it, customers would come, regardless of the location.
But time moves quickly, and with technology no longer as a barrier to entry for companies looking to lead in the digital landscape, competition is fierce.
Vokal launched a new white paper today, “From Best Practices to Next Practices: Doing Digital Differently in 2020,” outlining how the digital economy is re-writing the rule book companies have been relying on to achieve growth and how, in order to compete, these companies must look ahead to digital next practices to grow products and increase the metrics that matter most.
Within this white paper, business leaders will find action steps, use cases, and recommendations that can be applied immediately to their business as they seek to gain insight into strategic areas for digital growth.
Agile is the Answer
Whether the cost to implement feels disproportionate to the results, a more nimble competitor (or start-up) is achieving better results and eating market share, or they have ideas, but simply do not know where to start. Companies must act as digital athletes and data reveal where the opportunities are and how to experiment with them.
Combined with tools and approaches such as AI, Machine Learning, growth marketing, and rapid prototyping, this leads to smarter digital investments that yield greater results.
The need for organizations to be nimble is more important than ever.
From 18 Month Roadmaps to Experimentation and Rapid Prototyping
It’s important to demonstrate how experimentation can answer questions, evolve, and adapt to new business challenges over time in order to spread a culture that embraces experimentation as a critical piece of moving the needle.
This means not only tracking successes, but combining teams so successes (and failures) are shared across your organization. This better enables your culture of innovation to operate outside of silos, at any given stage of the product life cycle, to not only uncover inspired opportunities for optimization, but also to do in a more capital efficient way.
The New Rules of Digital Change Everything
The new digital economy revolves around the learning mindset of an organization, and experimenting with new ideas and tracking statistically significant metrics. And while this phenomenon is transforming and redefining industries, many established brands still struggle leveraging their digital investments to achieve growth.
Our aim is to deliver a deeper understanding of the new conditions, the new rules, transitioning from what used to be the best practices into this area of digital next practices, and to show that it’s not too late to gain a better understanding of where they are on their digital growth journey to make adjustments to positively impact your business. This true positive change comes about through many repeated tests, a discerning eye for metrics, and the imagination and gumption to try something new.
We are confident that the takeaways from this paper will contribute to the growth of your business and the increased sophistication of your digital platforms.
A special acknowledgement for the collaboration it took to produce this piece: to Vokal’s leadership for their contribution, and to Reid Lappin who was involved in shaping the insights and recommendations found within.
Download your copy of the white paper here.
Uncle Sam wants you… to conduct research and development. That’s why there’s incentives to do so written into the U.S. tax code. In times like these, we’re all looking for ways to save some cash. The good news is you might already be eligible for these credits for something as simple as creating an internal workaround process to limit staff and consumer interaction. The process doesn’t need to be new to the world, just to your organization.
With all tax benefits come strict rules, but don’t let that deter you. Do your balance sheet a favor and find out if you qualify for R&D tax credits today.
The Importance of Information
TransUnion is a global information and insights company that fosters trust between businesses and consumers by ensuring that each person is reliably and safely represented in the marketplace. Because of our work, organizations can better understand consumers to make more informed decisions, and personalize their experiences.
As technology continues to change the way we interact within the marketplace, the importance of information becomes more evident, and ensuring efficiency strengthens our global reach. This is why our approach to technology is, in and of itself, a key part of what drives TransUnion’s success. Consumers and clients rely on us to look beyond the world as we know it and evolve our systems to explore the endless possibilities.
Because of this we are transforming our infrastructure through various cloud-enabled processes to deliver solutions at the demanding pace of the digital world – ultimately positioning us to innovate more rapidly, optimize operations, and create tomorrow’s solutions for our clients.
How is TransUnion evolving technology?
Like many technology-focused companies, we have an opportunity to streamline the sprawl and duplication of infrastructure that has occurred as we’ve doubled in size over the past five years. During that time, we have developed applications that create value for us. These will be reconfigured and optimized into a more modern application-program interface (API) based architecture.
We are reconstructing how networking is done with data in a cloud-enabled framework – making accessibility to our vast global insights automated and secure. Monitoring tools will allow us to understand how we can provide solutions that are right-sized for the businesses we serve. This opens up incredible opportunities to connect with the world around us in more rapid and collaborative ways.
Transforming technology impacts three major areas of our business, that when combined, creates a synergy of endless possibilities. For example:
Adapting to advanced technology
Advancements within technology have impacted all industries over time, requiring all of us to embrace the fast paced world we live in. New generations demand specific experiences on how they want to interact within the marketplace. To be successful at understanding the benefits of this evolving landscape, we must think about how our clients want to conduct business. Our client-centric approach allows us to adapt to advanced technology.
To continue this ongoing technology transformation, TransUnion has appointed Akshay Kumar as Executive Vice President of Global Technology Architecture & Strategy earlier this year. Read more about Kumar and his proven track record, here.
“TU has made a focused investment to speed up this migration,” Kumar shares. “Technology is changing and requiring us to be flexible for adapting to the future. And with that, clients look to us because we have an industry leading technology stack with a culture of customer focus, accountability, and performance.”
The opportunities are endless and we’re looking for innovators
We provide our associates the opportunity to advance their growth so they can learn new ways to increase efficiency and productivity. Supporting our teams by empowering them to bring their skills and help us better evolve our business. We want our team members to grow within the organization and we’ve committed to continually invest in our associates.
Our leadership team is also looking for ways to create meaningful experiences that cultivate exciting solutions. Roles are increasingly varied in function to encourage everyone to bring their curiosity to the table. As the future of technology continues to change, our approach on how we think about our internal functions need to evolve as well. Our associates are not limited to one type of position. Everyone is encouraged to take advantage of the resources we offer to truly create an environment that fosters innovation.
We continue to look for ways to connect with innovators and leaders who are drawn to the incredible opportunities that lie ahead. We’re hiring people who are motivated by being hands-on, have a persistent curiosity about the way users interact, and look forward to serving our communities. If creating the next wave of solutions excites you, then consider your next challenge on our Technology Team at TransUnion.
Click here to watch a quick introduction of Technology at TransUnion
Register here to stay in the loop for all TU career updates
Find open roles here
There are things you can do to improve application security even if you’re unable to recruit and retain an application security engineer.
In a previous post, I highlighted some of the challenges associated with hiring appsec people. We see companies struggle to hire a single appsec engineer, only to have them leave within a year without having accomplished their goals, or leaving a lasting positive impact on the organization. This can happen for a number of reasons:
Here’s some good news.
I’m willing to bet that your best appsec engineer candidate is already on your engineering team. You just don’t know it yet. And neither do they. After 17+ years of appsec experience, I see a repeating pattern. You can usually find one person who is interested in and passionate about application security – but they don’t consider themselves a security expert. Assuming they’re a good software engineer, this is a great opportunity.
In this person, you have someone with intimate knowledge of your environment, and the relationships needed to make security improvements. Half of the appsec battle is knowing what applications you have, how data flows through your environment, and where your known security issues are. The other half is having the credibility and leadership capabilities to prioritize changes and allocate engineering effort. Paying a penetration tester to maybe discover security issues that your engineering team already knows about is a waste of time and money. You’re better off giving your secret appsec engineer a voice and some power to get issues resolved.
How do you identify your secret appsec engineer?
The simplest way is to ask. Talk to your team and understand where their interests lie. Ask them if they’re interested in appsec, and offer to send them to training and conferences. Early in my career, I had a boss who saw my passion for appsec and paid for me to go to my first OWASP conference in 2004. My primary role was as a support engineer on our WAF product, but I ended up also functioning as a security champion, finding and escalating security issues to our R&D team. After I knew my boss supported me, I doubled my appsec efforts, my abilities increased, and my career trajectory was set.
Another way is to offer appsec training to your engineers to see who enjoys it and excels. Carve delivers Threat Model training to dozens of engineering teams over the course of a year. This training is highly engaging and interactive – not your typical powerpoint slide show. In any class, you’ll quickly identify the people who are attending because they were told, and the people who are genuinely interested and engaged on the topic of application security. Occasionally, you come across the vocal skeptical engineer who thinks everything is fine, and that application security is a waste of time. This person, with the right leadership, can sometimes be turned into your biggest application security asset.
Here is a challenge for you. Over the next few weeks, talk to your team, and find these two people:
Dear 1871 community,
I’m reaching out to you today not just from my position as a CEO in the Chicago tech community, but also as a leader of a team who is distraught and fearful, and as a mom of a 7-year-old son who does not yet have the context or the experience or the language to understand why so many people are hurting.
[Read more…] about A Letter to Our Community from 1871 CEO Betsy Ziegler
Given the circumstances of the last few months, the following seven Chicago companies are looking for candidates who are driven but flexible.
Their teams help customers file their taxes, create 3D training models, pay employees more seamlessly and more. But core product offerings alone aren’t enough to entice talented job seekers.
At DoorDash, CSC Corptax and SurePayroll, employees get opportunities beyond their job description: volunteering at nonprofits like Feed My Starving Children, ongoing learning opportunities and company-wide field research.
Current onboarding customs may not include in-office handshakes and first-day lunch outings. But research shows that company culture, as well as organizational culture, matters. In 2017, employee experience platform Kazoo found that 49 percent of employees surveyed said company culture influenced their employee experience more than their physical workspace or technology at their disposal. Below, professionals from seven Chicago companies shared some of the reasons they’re excited to go to work each day.
We love working with our customers to give back to our communities! We spoke to Built In Chicago about how we can make a difference together:
What they do: CSC Corptax has provided customers with technology-based tax solutions since 1975. The team’s software solutions include data and entity management, tax planning and tax compliance services.
One thing that would surprise people about CSC Corptax: Each year, more than 500 CSC Corptax employees and customers pack meals for global nonprofit Feed My Starving Children at the company’s CONNECT user conference. “Last year we packed a record 132,480 meals, bringing our total to more than 700,000 meals so far,” Director of Software Development Ganesh Kumar said. “There’s nothing quite like connecting with customers while doing something so meaningful.”
One trait all team members share: Flexibility. “As an individual, you need to be able to switch gears and reprioritize tasks, especially in the current tax environment,” Kumar said. “Our response to COVID-19 shows how we’re able to pivot to manage change.” Case in point: the entire company was able to work from home without impacting operations.
As if our 2020 wasn’t challenging enough, we are now confronted by another crisis that we must address. We are all feeling a lot of pain, anger, frustration, sadness and yes, fear. Especially because, with respect to race relations in the U.S., the progress feels both significant and still not enough at the same time. Nobody needs to be told how to properly treat another human being, and that’s not going to happen here – clearly racism and the killing by police of George Floyd, among others, similarly over time, are unacceptable to us. We stand by all peaceful protesters of these senseless events, and we are anxious for justice to be served, properly and swiftly!
DigitalOcean’s values start with community and end with love. We are expanding our Hub for Good program to support nonprofits, projects, and startups that are actively fighting for a range of causes that include reducing inequalities, promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth, and productive employment for all.
When we initially launched Hub for Good in April, the program was designed to support relief efforts during the height of COVID-19. We are proud to have received over 1,000 applications to date, helped launch almost 600 projects, and have donated over $150,000 in infrastructure. Hub for Good started as a space where our community came together to build and share projects and resources with missions centered around COVID-19 relief efforts.
Now, we are broadening, indefinitely, our Hub for Good program to assist with other challenges our community is facing and, based on the extension, will commit up to $500,000 in infrastructure credits. We stand for equality and justice and want to donate our infrastructure to help our community build solutions to help the world better address both.
We are proud to support those who are making a difference and inspiring even more action. We hope you’ll join us in our mission to uplift our community, bring us all closer together, and make the positive impact on our world that we need so urgently now.
We’re in the process of making these changes to the Hub for Good page. Stay tuned to learn more about these updates, and how to get involved and spread the word.
Stay strong and stay safe and, most importantly, stay focused on the good we all can do!
First, we’d like to give a heartfelt thank you to all the attendees who came along with us on the adventure of ScaleUp Chicago 2020 — we are all navigating the new terrain of virtual events and conferences together. And, as we do so, 1871 is thrilled to have been able to bring our spring conference to you right in comfort of your home! For those who were not able to attend, we missed you and there’s always next year.
Great Place to Work’s best work places in Chicago 2020 features the top 40 small and medium size companies; Centro comes in at number 4!
WHAT EMPLOYEES ARE SAYINGIt’s the energy they put into their people. You hear so often now the importance of having good employees, but Centro supports us to be GREAT employees.
To determine the 2020 Best Workplaces in Chicago, Great Place to Work® analyzed confidential survey feedback from over 27,000 employees in the Chicago Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Employees responded to over 60 survey questions describing the extent to which their organization creates a Great Place to Work For All™. Eighty-five percent of the evaluation is based on what employees say about their experiences of trust and reaching their full human potential as part of their organization, no matter who they are or what they do. Great Place to Work analyzes these experiences relative to each organization’s size, workforce make up, and what’s typical in their industry and in the Chicago Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The remaining 15 percent of the rank is based on an assessment of all employees’ daily experiences of innovation, the company’s values, and the effectiveness of their leaders, to ensure they’re consistently experienced.
To be considered, companies had to meet the Great Place to Work-Certified standard. To ensure companies had a sufficient presence in the Chicago Metropolitan Statistical Area, at least 4% of the survey respondents at large companies and at least 20% and a minimum of 10 of the survey respondents in small and medium companies needed to be from the Chicago Metropolitan Statistical Area. Companies with 10 to 999 people were considered for the small and medium category; companies with 1,000 employees or more were considered for the large category.
This ranking was finalized prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and does not reflect companies’ roles or responses to their people or communities in addressing the impact of the coronavirus.
The year 2020 will likely be remembered as the point of origin for a massive change in the e-commerce landscape. Brick and mortar locations closed their doors, and consumer shopping habits changed overnight in the wake of the novel coronavirus. Businesses that sell their products online, understandably, felt the sudden pang of anxiety over the unknown implications of a national shelter in place mandate.
The following weeks have seen a roller coaster of market shifts, vague announcements from industry leaders like Amazon & Walmart about the distinction between essential vs nonessential products, and uncertainty around fulfillment bandwidth nationwide. Logical Media Group partners with companies representing a variety of industries and products, some deemed essential and some not. COVID-19 has changed the nature of our relationship with our clients, as each day presents new questions and concerns about the viability of driving revenue through digital marketing.
Panic and anxiety have set the economic tone of the pandemic thus far, but for e-commerce companies there has been another side of the coin, and a shiny one at that. In reviewing March and April performance data, Logical has seen an overwhelmingly positive impact for our e-commerce clients. Within the Grocery & Gourmet category, we have seen a four digit (2,000% +) increase in revenue on Google Advertising. Food that can be delivered to your door was always going to be the big winner here, though. See how other categories are fairing below:
* Data pulled from Logical Media Group Google Advertising MCC
This chart represents the change in performance trends in Google Advertising spend alone for Logical Media Group e-commerce clients, organized by category, between March 15th, 2020 – April 27th, 2020 compared to January 31st, 2020 – March 14th, 2020. The boost is substantial for groceries, but our clients in every industry have experienced growth in purchases and revenue. The consistent decrease in Average Order Value is indicative of a change in consumer purchasing habits, with shoppers making smaller purchases more frequently. This could be attributed to more conversative spending choices, or a wait-and-see approach to shelter in place policies.Another thing to note is Logical clients in the Grocery and Dietary Supplements began offering free shipping at the onset of quarantine, lowering the average AOV.
* Data pulled from Logical Media Group Google Advertising MCC
Here is the same client data now organized by the various “channels” within Google Advertising. Search and Shopping see positive growth, to be expected with the aforementioned spike in e-commerce conversion rates. Display ads, traditionally associated with top funnel brand awareness, have seen an unprecedented increase in purchases, revenue and AOV. Throw out all preconceived notions of what may or may not work for your business during the COVID pandemic — it is possible to achieve growth on any channel in any industry.Effects of Coronavirus Around the Industry In addition to our client success stories, we can look around the industry for expanded data sets. Bazaarvoice, an e-commerce thought leader, recently published data by category from their own customer data. You can see a dramatic increase in page views across categories that aren’t related to critical pandemic survival (e.g. groceries).
Of particular interest to e-commerce focused businesses will be their findings on actual order revenue within that same time period.
Categories that are seeing success aren’t necessarily the obvious ones, either. Hardware and Sporting goods have enjoyed substantial growth as consumer behavior shifts towards extended time at home. The anecdotal evidence behind this isn’t overly complicated: folks home from work are going to take the opportunity to work on their homes.
There are a few other factors, most notably unemployment percentages and expendable income per household, that will determine the long-term scalability of investing ad dollars in this category. The good news is that ad investments are flexible and impermanent, very much like a hot iron that requires striking when an opportunity presents itself.
On April 13, Amazon lifted all shipping restrictions on nonessential inventory to allow third‑party sellers to resume sending inventory to its FBA warehouses. Additionally, Amazon has continued to issue new purchase orders after implying that nonessential PO’s would be halted. While Logical recommends practicality and caution in any investment strategy, consistent market monitoring is a part of the value we provide our clients. With two growing brands, both relatively new to the Amazon marketplace, an opportunity is upon us to make our mark. Our priorities for client are simple:
Ad spend will, of course, be used to generate a return, and the highest one possible at that. The secondary benefits, however, can’t be forgotten in this equation. Logical is proud to partner with Sellics,an industry leader in Amazon reporting and analysis tools. They break down the process by which Amazon determines category rankings into a much simpler concept: The Self-Perpetuating Flywheel.
Source: Sellics.com
Many factors are built into each of these heavily simplified flywheel portions, but the point is that Amazon and its algorithm smile upon brands that participate in all aspects of that flywheel. Putting ad dollars behind your product listings, generating sales and subsequent reviews are a crucial part of any growth strategy.
The obstacles and potential pitfalls are well documented and will absolutely require consistent attention.
While these factors likely aren’t going anywhere, neither is our window of opportunity to introduce your brand to a brand new audience and fill your top funnel.
The role of e‑commerce, Amazon in particular, is currently as critical for the growth of digitally focused brands as it will ever be. Despite the uncertainty that clouds the entire marketplace, we have little reason to believe that the dramatic shift to online shopping will have anything other than a positive impact on marketplaces long term.
Amazon has taken steps to secure its fulfillment and supply chain operations by seeking to hire 100,000 new employees for their warehouses during the pandemic. If that light at the end of the tunnel isn’t bright enough, sellers which use FBA have once again been given approval to send inventory to Amazon warehouses nationwide on April 13th. As operational functionality slowly stabilizes, Logical expects to see a sustained growth pattern in e-commerce marketing across all categories.
So, you’re one of the millions of people out of work. It’s hard and you’re likely experiencing the stages of grief. It’s emotional, and you are not alone. Our jobs contribute to our personal identities, and when drastic changes happen due to external circumstances, it impacts us in many ways.
The current global situation reminds us that the only constant is change. When you are ready to get back in the game, know that new opportunities await! Everything happens for a reason, and with each door that closes, a new one opens.
How do you find that so-called “open door”–or should I say, the right open door–for you? Review potential questions you may have and answers/ideas to combat the hurdles and uncertainties that may enter your brain as you get back into the job hunt:
“I don’t see any jobs open right now that actually fall into my interests and expertise. What do I do?”
This time is a gift. Use it to boost your resume with online certifications, education, and e-learning. Is there something you’ve been itching to learn more about? Master some Google tools with Google’s Skillshop, or check out Centro’s Digital Media Essentials training here. Self-improvement, one of Centro’s core principles, is a lifelong endeavor. The more skills you showcase, the more appealing you’ll be to recruiters, and the more confident you’ll feel overall.
“I’m interviewing but nobody even wants me. I should just give up.”
Never give up! Keep practicing storytelling, pitching, and articulating your skill set—you can have all the accolades in the world and the most pristine experience on-paper, but you need to be able to weave and tell a compelling personal story! You may be in a tough spot, but do you still showcase a positive attitude? How are you persevering through adversity to leverage your unique skill set? Own YOUR story, make it special, and perfect the way you share it.
“I’ve been out of practice. The thought of interviewing after all this time scares me. How can I get some practice before the “real” thing?”
Interviewing can be scary. You are being evaluated and for lack of a better word, “judged,” based on a piece of paper and first impression. But remember, just as you are being evaluated—you are equally evaluating the employer. This must be a two-way street to ensure compatibility. In order to “dust off the rust” and feel prepped and confident, ask a trusted professional and/or friend to quiz you virtually with questions.
Practice telling your stories and answering questions on-the-fly. Since interviewing will be done virtually for the foreseeable future, this helps you articulate your accomplishments proficiently, via webcam. Don’t forget to also check out interview tips from the pros, such as LinkedIn’s recent article about the “6 Interview Skills that Will Get You Hired” or these remote interviewing tips.
“I’ve gotten an offer, but the pay is way lower than the standard I have set for myself. They said when crisis mode ends, things will change, but how can I trust that’s the case?”
The economy is currently in struggle. Trust that you have worth but remember to look at the opportunity as a whole and not just the salary. Ask questions about health plans and other benefits, work flexibility, mental health support, family programs, growth opportunities, office culture, etc. Take time to sit down and consider what’s most important in your life.
“I’m sending out resumes everywhere but I’m getting no responses.”
Reset your expectations. Don’t abandon career goals, hopes, and dreams. Instead, think about what other jobs fall within your wheelhouse of skills and interests. The job market may not be ideal, but an unlikely opportunity could turn into something you never knew you wanted or push you into learning something new.
“What good does networking do me if the people I’m talking to aren’t in the position to hire someone? Also, how do I network when I’m quarantined…?”
Networking is always your friend. Check out what Goldman Sach’s recruiters have to say about networking and events during uncertain times. Set up networking conversations and manage your time wisely. This is an opportunity to learn more about someone, what they do, the company they are at, etc.
If the conversation goes in a direction that potentially solidifies your desire to work at their company, or in their line of work, it never hurts to ask them to keep you in mind when their company begins hiring.
You can say something similar to, “I know you aren’t hiring currently and I’m fully aware of the challenges companies are facing at this time with COVID-19, but if you hear anything in the industry or at your company about a need to hire someone with my skill set, please do keep me in mind.” A shameless plug can lead to a world of opportunity. After your initial conversation, don’t forget to keep in touch to keep yourself top of mind! A thank you note for their time will go a long way.
Make a list of people in your network. If you’re a recent grad, think about your favorite professors, or any professionals you respect, are comfortable with and look up to. Think of old internship supervisors, old managers, coworkers, pals that are employed, family members, friends, friends of friends of friends, etc.—make a personal goal to reach out to a certain number of people per day.
How does this look virtually? Seek out connections on LinkedIn or reach out via email. Be clear and specific with your ask—why are you reaching out, how are you, connected, and how much time are you asking for? Then, you can Zoom call, Facetime, or call them via phone. We are lucky to have a multitude of ways to connect with people even when it can’t be in-person at the nearest Starbucks. Make it happen!
Looking to explore more interviewing, networking, digital resources, and more? Centro’s here for you! Check out our blog or connect with us via our Centro Prep Facebook Community.
You are going to overcome this challenge, and we are all going to make it to the other side of this pandemic with an amazing story to tell! Take some deep breaths, hang in there, and stay well!
So, you’re one of the millions of people out of work. It’s hard and you’re likely experiencing the stages of grief. It’s emotional, and you are not alone. Our jobs contribute to our personal identities, and when drastic changes happen due to external circumstances, it impacts us in many ways.
The current global situation reminds us that the only constant is change. When you are ready to get back in the game, know that new opportunities await! Everything happens for a reason, and with each door that closes, a new one opens.
How do you find that so-called “open door”–or should I say, the right open door–for you? Review potential questions you may have and answers/ideas to combat the hurdles and uncertainties that may enter your brain as you get back into the job hunt:
“I don’t see any jobs open right now that actually fall into my interests and expertise. What do I do?”
This time is a gift. Use it to boost your resume with online certifications, education, and e-learning. Is there something you’ve been itching to learn more about? Master some Google tools with Google’s Skillshop, or check out Centro’s Digital Media Essentials training here. Self-improvement, one of Centro’s core principles, is a lifelong endeavor. The more skills you showcase, the more appealing you’ll be to recruiters, and the more confident you’ll feel overall.
“I’m interviewing but nobody even wants me. I should just give up.”
Never give up! Keep practicing storytelling, pitching, and articulating your skill set—you can have all the accolades in the world and the most pristine experience on-paper, but you need to be able to weave and tell a compelling personal story! You may be in a tough spot, but do you still showcase a positive attitude? How are you persevering through adversity to leverage your unique skill set? Own YOUR story, make it special, and perfect the way you share it.
“I’ve been out of practice. The thought of interviewing after all this time scares me. How can I get some practice before the “real” thing?”
Interviewing can be scary. You are being evaluated and for lack of a better word, “judged,” based on a piece of paper and first impression. But remember, just as you are being evaluated—you are equally evaluating the employer. This must be a two-way street to ensure compatibility. In order to “dust off the rust” and feel prepped and confident, ask a trusted professional and/or friend to quiz you virtually with questions.
Practice telling your stories and answering questions on-the-fly. Since interviewing will be done virtually for the foreseeable future, this helps you articulate your accomplishments proficiently, via webcam. Don’t forget to also check out interview tips from the pros, such as LinkedIn’s recent article about the “6 Interview Skills that Will Get You Hired” or these remote interviewing tips.
“I’ve gotten an offer, but the pay is way lower than the standard I have set for myself. They said when crisis mode ends, things will change, but how can I trust that’s the case?”
The economy is currently in struggle. Trust that you have worth but remember to look at the opportunity as a whole and not just the salary. Ask questions about health plans and other benefits, work flexibility, mental health support, family programs, growth opportunities, office culture, etc. Take time to sit down and consider what’s most important in your life.
“I’m sending out resumes everywhere but I’m getting no responses.”
Reset your expectations. Don’t abandon career goals, hopes, and dreams. Instead, think about what other jobs fall within your wheelhouse of skills and interests. The job market may not be ideal, but an unlikely opportunity could turn into something you never knew you wanted or push you into learning something new.
“What good does networking do me if the people I’m talking to aren’t in the position to hire someone? Also, how do I network when I’m quarantined…?”
Networking is always your friend. Check out what Goldman Sach’s recruiters have to say about networking and events during uncertain times. Set up networking conversations and manage your time wisely. This is an opportunity to learn more about someone, what they do, the company they are at, etc.
If the conversation goes in a direction that potentially solidifies your desire to work at their company, or in their line of work, it never hurts to ask them to keep you in mind when their company begins hiring.
You can say something similar to, “I know you aren’t hiring currently and I’m fully aware of the challenges companies are facing at this time with COVID-19, but if you hear anything in the industry or at your company about a need to hire someone with my skill set, please do keep me in mind.” A shameless plug can lead to a world of opportunity. After your initial conversation, don’t forget to keep in touch to keep yourself top of mind! A thank you note for their time will go a long way.
Make a list of people in your network. If you’re a recent grad, think about your favorite professors, or any professionals you respect, are comfortable with and look up to. Think of old internship supervisors, old managers, coworkers, pals that are employed, family members, friends, friends of friends of friends, etc.—make a personal goal to reach out to a certain number of people per day.
How does this look virtually? Seek out connections on LinkedIn or reach out via email. Be clear and specific with your ask—why are you reaching out, how are you, connected, and how much time are you asking for? Then, you can Zoom call, Facetime, or call them via phone. We are lucky to have a multitude of ways to connect with people even when it can’t be in-person at the nearest Starbucks. Make it happen!
Looking to explore more interviewing, networking, digital resources, and more? Centro’s here for you! Check out our blog or connect with us via our Centro Prep Facebook Community.
You are going to overcome this challenge, and we are all going to make it to the other side of this pandemic with an amazing story to tell! Take some deep breaths, hang in there, and stay well!
The year 2020 will likely be remembered as the point of origin for a massive change in the e-commerce landscape. Brick and mortar locations closed their doors, and consumer shopping habits changed overnight in the wake of the novel coronavirus. Businesses that sell their products online, understandably, felt the sudden pang of anxiety over the unknown implications of a national shelter in place mandate.
The following weeks have seen a roller coaster of market shifts, vague announcements from industry leaders like Amazon & Walmart about the distinction between essential vs nonessential products, and uncertainty around fulfillment bandwidth nationwide. Logical Media Group partners with companies representing a variety of industries and products, some deemed essential and some not. COVID-19 has changed the nature of our relationship with our clients, as each day presents new questions and concerns about the viability of driving revenue through digital marketing.
Panic and anxiety have set the economic tone of the pandemic thus far, but for e-commerce companies there has been another side of the coin, and a shiny one at that. In reviewing March and April performance data, Logical has seen an overwhelmingly positive impact for our e-commerce clients. Within the Grocery & Gourmet category, we have seen a four digit (2,000% +) increase in revenue on Google Advertising. Food that can be delivered to your door was always going to be the big winner here, though. See how other categories are fairing below:
* Data pulled from Logical Media Group Google Advertising MCC
This chart represents the change in performance trends in Google Advertising spend alone for Logical Media Group e-commerce clients, organized by category, between March 15th, 2020 – April 27th, 2020 compared to January 31st, 2020 – March 14th, 2020. The boost is substantial for groceries, but our clients in every industry have experienced growth in purchases and revenue. The consistent decrease in Average Order Value is indicative of a change in consumer purchasing habits, with shoppers making smaller purchases more frequently. This could be attributed to more conversative spending choices, or a wait-and-see approach to shelter in place policies.Another thing to note is Logical clients in the Grocery and Dietary Supplements began offering free shipping at the onset of quarantine, lowering the average AOV.
* Data pulled from Logical Media Group Google Advertising MCC
Here is the same client data now organized by the various “channels” within Google Advertising. Search and Shopping see positive growth, to be expected with the aforementioned spike in e-commerce conversion rates. Display ads, traditionally associated with top funnel brand awareness, have seen an unprecedented increase in purchases, revenue and AOV. Throw out all preconceived notions of what may or may not work for your business during the COVID pandemic — it is possible to achieve growth on any channel in any industry.Effects of Coronavirus Around the Industry In addition to our client success stories, we can look around the industry for expanded data sets. Bazaarvoice, an e-commerce thought leader, recently published data by category from their own customer data. You can see a dramatic increase in page views across categories that aren’t related to critical pandemic survival (e.g. groceries).
Of particular interest to e-commerce focused businesses will be their findings on actual order revenue within that same time period.
Categories that are seeing success aren’t necessarily the obvious ones, either. Hardware and Sporting goods have enjoyed substantial growth as consumer behavior shifts towards extended time at home. The anecdotal evidence behind this isn’t overly complicated: folks home from work are going to take the opportunity to work on their homes.
There are a few other factors, most notably unemployment percentages and expendable income per household, that will determine the long-term scalability of investing ad dollars in this category. The good news is that ad investments are flexible and impermanent, very much like a hot iron that requires striking when an opportunity presents itself.
On April 13, Amazon lifted all shipping restrictions on nonessential inventory to allow third‑party sellers to resume sending inventory to its FBA warehouses. Additionally, Amazon has continued to issue new purchase orders after implying that nonessential PO’s would be halted. While Logical recommends practicality and caution in any investment strategy, consistent market monitoring is a part of the value we provide our clients. With two growing brands, both relatively new to the Amazon marketplace, an opportunity is upon us to make our mark. Our priorities for client are simple:
Ad spend will, of course, be used to generate a return, and the highest one possible at that. The secondary benefits, however, can’t be forgotten in this equation. Logical is proud to partner with Sellics,an industry leader in Amazon reporting and analysis tools. They break down the process by which Amazon determines category rankings into a much simpler concept: The Self-Perpetuating Flywheel.
Source: Sellics.com
Many factors are built into each of these heavily simplified flywheel portions, but the point is that Amazon and its algorithm smile upon brands that participate in all aspects of that flywheel. Putting ad dollars behind your product listings, generating sales and subsequent reviews are a crucial part of any growth strategy.
The obstacles and potential pitfalls are well documented and will absolutely require consistent attention.
While these factors likely aren’t going anywhere, neither is our window of opportunity to introduce your brand to a brand new audience and fill your top funnel.
The role of e‑commerce, Amazon in particular, is currently as critical for the growth of digitally focused brands as it will ever be. Despite the uncertainty that clouds the entire marketplace, we have little reason to believe that the dramatic shift to online shopping will have anything other than a positive impact on marketplaces long term.
Amazon has taken steps to secure its fulfillment and supply chain operations by seeking to hire 100,000 new employees for their warehouses during the pandemic. If that light at the end of the tunnel isn’t bright enough, sellers which use FBA have once again been given approval to send inventory to Amazon warehouses nationwide on April 13th. As operational functionality slowly stabilizes, Logical expects to see a sustained growth pattern in e-commerce marketing across all categories.
Funders include the Searle Funds at the Chicago Community Trust, Walder Foundation and Bank of America
Per the cliché, “truth is stranger than fiction”, who could have predicted the catalyst to bring the longest bull market in recorded history to an abrupt about face would be a virus with a name synonymous with a popular imported beer.
Just prior to the historic sell off, much attention was being focused on the recently passed SECURE Act which promises to change the landscape of today’s retirement plans over the coming years. One of the provisions in the SECURE act involves an investment concept in existence for decades that has been rarely utilized by plan sponsors. Known as “guaranteed income” programs, the SECURE Act provides safe harbor protection for employers offering such a program in their retirement plans.
When the permanent pension was the norm, a retiree with a pension could know that a check was coming in every month for as long as they were alive. Guaranteed income programs emulate these desirable features of the permanent pension within a 401(k) plan.
Those who have chosen a program that provides the assurances of guaranteed income for life would likely be more inclined to stay the course and remain invested when the inevitable bear market occurs, confident that their income in retirement would not be impacted during declines in the market. Staying the course should lead to better long-term investment outcomes based upon historical data on the markets over the last three decades:
Over the last 30 years through Friday, 3/20/20, an investor who missed the 10 best days of returns would have earned just 6.20% instead of 8.84% annualized over the 30-year period. If the investor missed the best 30 days, they would have earned only 2.95%. In missing the 30 best days, a dollar would have grown to just $2.39 instead of $12.67 by staying fully invested. *-
Another reason to consider offering guaranteed income programs in a 401(k) plan, is that they mitigate two key risks that retirees face:
1. Sequence of return risk
2. Longevity risk
Click on the following link to see an article that describes these two risks in detail: https://www.illinoistech.org/news/news.asp?id=490451.
For over three decades, as a Senior Retirement Plan Consultant, I have focused on assisting employers and their retirement plan participants to accumulate assets for their retirement. Call me today to discuss how guaranteed income programs, combined with the strength of UBS, can help assist your employees to retire with dignity and in the lifestyle that they envision.
Direct: 847-277-2123
Email: thomas.kret@ubs.com
*Sources: Northern Trust Research, Bloomberg. Charts show the annualized compound return and growth of $1 using daily return data on the S&P 500 Index over the past 30 years ending 03/20/2020 assuming the (0,5,10,20,30) best returning days are excluded from the sample.
Chicago – May 19, 2020 — Centro (https://www.centro.net), a global provider of advertising technology, today announced the release of new products and upgrades that help advertisers with automation and visualization for campaign reporting, workflow management and forecasting. The advanced tools give brands and agencies more control of their campaigns. These are available in Centro’s Basis, the industry’s most comprehensive, automated, and intelligent digital media platform—and the only software solution of its kind to consolidate digital operations across programmatic, direct, search, and social campaigns. Learn more at https://www2.centro.net/basis.
Digital media professionals showcase results and prioritize actions through these product upgrades within Basis:
“Connecting Basis to Google Data Studio is a game-changer for media teams and agencies that want to showcase their value. Rather than spending time transferring data from one system to another, our team is focused on communicating insights and results to our clients,” said Sarah Bergen, ad operations specialist, VI Marketing and Branding. “VI Marketing was an early adopter of Basis because it empowers us to build strong digital media capabilities differentiated by automation, comprehensiveness, agility and intelligence.”
“Centro’s product development balances the need for agencies to have powerful and scaled ad buying and activation with automated execution and workflow of all the other important elements of their business,” said Tyler Kelly, president, Centro. “Our latest additions to Basis focus on visualization, to make it faster and easier for media professionals to comprehend what is happening in their business— and synthesize their knowledge into insights for their clients or advertising stakeholders.”
Value to customers
Without automation, tasks such as reporting, creating presentations, media planning and campaign adjustment are typically manual processes that are both time-consuming and prone to errors. Adding visualization to these tasks enhances the quality of work users put into campaigns. The latest Basis improvements add to its qualities in delivering data in a simple and easy-to-understand manner via dashboards, performance screens, business and campaign insights, private marketplace details, tactic editors and more.
About Centro
Centro (https://www.centro.net) is a provider of enterprise-class software for digital advertising organizations. Its technology platform, Basis, is the first of its kind SaaS advertising solution unifying programmatic and direct media buying, along with workflow automation, cross-channel campaign planning, universal reporting and business intelligence. It boosts media, team and business performance by enabling advertisers to plan, buy and analyze real-time bidding (RTB), direct, search and social campaigns in a single platform. Headquartered in Chicago with 44 offices covering North America, South America and Europe, Centro has received numerous accolades for its commitment to employees and workplace culture.
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