theryancox.com

Work. Family. Self.

Imagine if you were asked by your boss to decide to choose two of the three in order to be really successful. Which two would you choose? Amy Jo Martin chose all three. She then proceeded to turn in her two-week notice and left her job deciding to be fearless and conquer all three. Let me ask a serious question: Are you automating your life? 

Think about the online+offline version of you. Using programs like Buffer are not the the only forms of automation. Routines become automation. How many of us check our Facebook on our phone before rolling out of bed? How many of us take a picture of our food and post it to Instagram or Oink before actually taking a bite? How many of us check-in on Foursquare before we actually look up to see if our friends are at the bar? We are beginning to automate our offline lives and we may not eve realize it. And the more automation grows, the more innovation dies.

As I was watching Amy’s TEDx Talk - Innovate your life, I couldn’t help but feel like she was talking to me. You know that time you feel like a song is being sung for you? When the episode of your favorite show is a dramatization of your yesterday? I had one of those moments. I’d lost my passion and purpose — and Amy was calling me out. I had stopped innovating my life and I was clearly automating it. Our parents will call it “going through the motions” — but they’d be wrong. We aren’t even going through the motions, we’re simply automating them.

After watching the video, I emailed Amy. I told her how awesome it was and how I’d long appreciated her since the ‘Random Acts of Shaqness’ days. Amidst all of the learning, don’t be short-sighted or afraid to tell those who you’ve learned from that you did. You’d be surprised the feedback you get. And after the email was sent (right before my U-8 basketball team practice, you can call me #CoachKnight), I made a decision. And you know who is holding me accountable for that decision (besides the Internet now)? My team, the Hornets. I am Innovating my life.

No more automation for me. I don’t care if I have to call you 100 times before you answer, I’m texting less. I don’t care how frugal I have to be, I’m getting out of student loan debt. And I don’t care how hard someone else thinks something is, I am going after what I want to do professionally, and I’ll be damn successful at it too. 

I’m only bound by the speed of my own actions. 

I’m going to inject more purpose into my business.

Amy said it best, “You CAN have it all, you just have to define what your all is.” I’ve defined my ALL. I’ve chosen I want to innovate my life — and innovate the hell out of it I will. Thanks for the push Amy.

I’m on a health kick. You most likely know that already. Follow-Through is my defining word of 2012. In conjunction with my new found health kick, I have finally acknowledged one very key fact: Accountability is one heck of a tool for follow-through. So Chris Theisen and I decided that we were going to hold each other accountable for our daily water intake. 

Thus, the #h2o12 hashtag was born.

My awesome accountant, and fitness+health nut Michelle Boyden aka Meeeeeechelle helped me land on the goal of trying to drink about a gallon of water a day. That’s roughly 11 refills of my favorite #IUBB cup.

I’m on Day 7 of the Ryan+Chris Challenge. And you’ll be happy to know, I’m allllllll over the follow-through.

Question is: Are you drinking enough water everyday? [Vote in the poll below]

follow-through: carrying some project or intention to full completion

I decided I was not going to do a New Years Resolution post, because the market is flooded with those and my blog doesn’t carry enough weight (yet) to rise above that noise. Be honest with yourself, how many of those did you read/see? I’m guessing the number is closer to ten than it is one. I hope that everyone sticks to their list of ‘New Year New Me’ and gets after it in 2012. Honestly, I do. I hope that all of you hit every goal you’ve given yourself.

In deciding how I was going to write this post, I hadn’t come any closer to choosing an idea, when my good friend Andrew Dumont (check out his blog here) tweeted this:

The Problem Isn’t Motivation -http://s.hbr.org/xmoWqu

 It was a Havard Business Review (HBR) blog post by Peter Bregman. Halfway through the post I saw the sentence that defined what 2012 was going to be for me, both personally and professionally:

No, Byron’s challenge isn’t motivation. It’s follow-through.

Eight words. Eight simple words that clearly defined my 2012. Follow-through. If you know anything about me, you know that I’m a go-getter. Motivation isn’t a problem I have. Whether it is self-motivation or motivating others — I’m pretty darn good at it if you ask me. So if motivation is not the elephant in the room, what is? What’s holding me back? What is the thorn in my craw? What was going to be my Yeaaaaa but or Maybe next year?

Follow-through.

At its root definition, follow-through is basic and easy to understand. However in application, it might as well be something like this:

Follow-through, in layman’s terms is completing a task. Not motivating yourself to complete a task, it requires the defined action of completing a task. Lets use the all-encompassing To-Do List as an example. You’ve might of heard me say a time or two: “To-Do Lists are meant to be done, not added to.”

Huh. I guess the advice you give truly is the hardest advice to take.

So here it is, my Follow-Through List for 2012:

1. Get my fat ass in shape. A picture is worth a thousands words, and I have about that many curse words for myself when I catch a glimpse in the mirror. I’m not doing it for any other reason but this one: health. I want to be able to know that I’m healthy, and by looking in the mirror see I’m healthy and fit. I miss playing soccer (and lots of it), I miss having more energy than most, I miss finishing first in races, I miss going to the pool — I just miss shit. All of that comes with being a more healthy and fit Ryan. I’ve got p90x 2 and no excuses. Trust me, I’ve exasperated every possible one.
2. Learning to code. I spent the ages of 23-27 being the ‘ideas’ guy. Hell, I even got a start-up funded out of it. But the point is I need to stop creating a bunch of ideas, and following-through on one. Not some, just one. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t get jealous of others successes. (I know, I know - not a good character trait) But luckily for me its very controlled and its one hell of a motivator. There is that word again…It seems I have plenty of motivation, so lets get some actionable follow-through and learn code. The stack I’m learning is: HTML, CSS, Ruby on Rails. I was complaining to Jared Brown, my good friend and the devhead behind this blog, about being tired of being dependent on other people for code. He asked me, “What do you want to build Ryan?” I explained to him the types of things that interested me and he replied, “You want to build web apps. Ruby on Rails is the best language for that.” Knowing that HTML and CSS were required skills, I was set.
3. Have fun.

So there you have it. Public Accountability at its finest. No smoke and mirrors, nothing but brutal self-honesty and call-outs. Its time I took back the parts of my life I was motivating myself for, but wasn’t following-through on shit. I think that the problem-solution is more so than just ‘talking about it vs. being about it.’ I’m done talking or being about all of it. Do it > talk it | be it.

I like to keep things simple when I can….So what is the one thing you’re going to do in 2012? Mine’s simple. Follow-through. 

If this blog post had a theme song, it would be Olivia Newton John’s Physical. Good. Now that you’ve got THAT song in your head, let’s get started.

 Know you need to fine-tune your website design but keep putting it off? Or regularly find yourself bugging friends on the interwebs whenever you need something done that you don’t know how to do? Here’s a thought:  Make a New Year’s resolution for your business – learn how to code.

 If I had a dollar for every post that I see on a social network asking about web development, coding, WordPress issues, changing WordPress themes, etc., I would be one wealthy chick. And, at the risk of sounding like a hardass (which I am), I have some pretty definitive feelings about business practices in general — and business practices as they relate to website design or refinement are no different. And, before you judge me for being too harsh, let me clarify: there’s a difference between occasionally asking for help and doing it on a regular basis. You know the people I’m talking about. I know you do.

 My philosophy when it comes to business is really pretty simple. It boils down to this:

  Know what you’re good at. Do that.

For the things you’re not good at, suck it up. Hire someone who does and pay them what they’re worth to do the job right.

 Or, if you can’t do that afford to do that, there’s one other route and that’s what this post is about. Quit whining, quit bugging your friends, quit expecting quality work at freemium prices. Learn to do what you need and don’t know – and what you don’t want to pay for (or can’t pay for) – and quit asking people to do it for free. Or on the cheap.

 I know, that sounds harsh. And make no mistake, I know what it’s like to be a small business owner, to watch pennies and try to wear a lot of hats. I, too, am a small business owner. But when does the day come that you invest in yourself? That old “cobbler’s children don’t have any shoes” adage only gets you so far. And if you want to be successful, sometimes you have to invest in your business, your image, your website, your education …. you name it.

 Do you know these people? Consultants or small business owners who are constantly whining about all the things they don’t know how to do, or not whining but incessantly asking others for help? While on one hand, I’m empathic and want to help, on the other, it makes me wonder how these folks can serve their clients. For instance, if you’re a consultant consulting with small business owners about PR and social media and digital marketing strategy, but you have a crummy website, how is it you expect people to hire you? If you sell strategy or write web content for clients or handle social media community building, and expect your clients to pay you for those services, how is it that you’re not interested in paying someone to build your website (as just one example) the way it needs to be built? Especially if what you’re selling – those strategic services – revolve around online marketing and the importance of a killer website. Do you see the irony?

 Again, it’s not my intention to disrespect small business owners who often don’t have a lot of money to allocate to things like design and web development. But I’m also tired of the perpetual cycle of people asking for things for free and always expecting that someone else can – and will - solve their problems. Without ever ponying up any real money – or even trade of services– in return.

 I’ve got a solution. Instead of wishing you knew more or asking friends for help, here’s your chance to take control.

 Enroll in Codecademy’s Learn to Code Program. It’s as painless as signing up here. When you do, each week a new interactive programming lesson will be sent to you. Badda bing, badda boom. Problem solved. Just. Learn. It. Yourself.

Dudes, it’s FREE. And this is your chance to learn from a lot of very smart people and cross one thing off that list of Things I Don’t Know How to Do But Wish I Did. So the only thing you’ll need to invest in yourself and your website – at least when it comes the coding part -  is your time. Surely you’re worth that.

 And you know what? That’s a brilliant idea. Even if it happens to be mine. The world isn’t getting any less technical. So, instead of asking for technical advice, let’s channel Olivia and get … technical.

 For the record, lest you think me championing never helping other people – that’s not what this blog post is about. I’m all about lending a hand and doing things on a regular basis to help others out. That’s part of living a good life. What I’m specifically suggesting here is not not helping others – it’s really about helping yourself. And if this kind of help with your website is something you find yourself regularly in need of, then maybe it’s time to learn to help yourself. Even just a little.

 Oh, by the way, I’m signed up and will be right there with you, every week. Because in my world, there’s no such thing as being ‘too technical.’ I can’t wait. Will I see you there?

P.S. When I discovered Codeyear this morning at about 11am, there were 44,837 people signed up for the course. At 3:15pm, there were 51,353 people signed up. And by 5:06 pm, which is when this post was uploaded, there were 55,373 people who decided to take matters into their own hands in 2012. Almost 10 thousand people in 6 hours … Holy Catballs!

_____

Shelly Kramer is the CEO of V3 Integrated Marketing. She’s a digital marketing strategist, and owner of a full service digital agency headquartered in Kansas City, MO.  What they do? It’s simple — if it’s on the web, Shelly and her team at V3 do it. She’s got a love of words, a propensity for data and analyses, is possessed of a twisted sense of humor and appreciates quick repartee more than most. The icing on the cake? Her well-published love of beer. Find her blog, stalk her on LinkedIn or find her on Twitter.

There isn’t a lot that I can say I wouldn’t do. Let’s remove my personal two caveats: 1) Bad people stuff — killing someone, stealing, etc.. and 2) Life-risking adventures — bungee jumping, skydiving, etc.. Sans those two categories, the list is remarkably small.

So small in fact, that like the list of all of the food that I’d eat, I could name everything in 30 seconds.

Writing a public post about why Gini, in fact, should hire me — well, thats a no brainer. I find that a lot of things that happen, especially the more unexpected or unbelievable they are, tend to fall into the, “That must of been Cox” category. I have a pension for doing things most others wouldn’t. I am not much of a follower, and the context of the word ‘normal’ scares me to death. 

My very first kiss was from a girl three years older than me and who my friends, rightfully so, bet me that I had no chance of kissing. My very first start-up company that was funded, small-time in comparison to what you’re thinking, was funded from a first meeting in which I had my feet propped up on the table. My very first BIG client I landed, was fresh out of a failed start-up, bad blood, and a less than stellar professional reputation (based on the first two).

There are three takeaways we’ve learned from that short history recap:

1. I don’t scare easily.
2. I go after what I want, passionately.
3. I don’t stop until I get it.

<Fast forward music that plays during the transition part of the movie>

Gini Dietrich has been a pretty good friend of mine, digitally, seeings as how we have never actually met in person yet. (I explained why our first meet’n’greet failed here) Gini (pronounced Gin-ee) has been someone I’ve pinged for both personal and professional advice. (More so the professional) She’s also a writer whom I’ve been enamored with since reading my first Gini blog. I liken my admiration for her to this simple phrase: I want to be her, the business owner, when I grow up. She has surrounded herself with a phenomenal team (#highfive to some really awesome business professionals: Lisa Gerber, Molli Megasko, Crister DelaCruz, Patti Knight), she is highly regarded in her field, she is a phenomenal public speaker — but the most *important* thing of all: she’s one of the ‘good guys’ in business. 

Yes I’m well aware Gini is a girl, not a guy. My point being this: she is as nice of a person as she is great professional. There are people in the Digital Marketing, Social Media, and PR spaces that I consider #FARmentors — people that I glean information and lessons from everyday while from afar. Some may not know that I do, but I consider them experts worth following in their field. And one of the first people I see them engaging with, and entertaining thoughts of happiness, is Gini. That is actually how I first came across her some 4+ years ago. You see, I indicated her as someone worth getting to know, and someone I wanted to “be like” when I had my own business. Learn from the best — isn’t that the old saying?

• Has she pissed people off? I’m sure she has.
• Do some people dislike her? Hey, no one is perfect.
• Has she failed before? I think she’d be the first person to say UMM YEA RYAN.

But all of that is secondary. Good > Bad | Win > Lose | Kind > Asshole

I didn’t spend the first part of this blog puffing up Gini out of anticipation that was going to land me any kind of a job. I was simply setting the table for why I wanted to work for her. I’ve been given the advice from every mentor I’ve ever had, and every business book I’ve ever read — surround yourself with smarter people. Find people that have what you want, and learn from them how they got it, and how you can create your own path to get it. No two paths are ever the same, and no path should follow a previous path step-by-step. Your story isn’t the same as theirs, so stop trying to rewrite it. You’ll end up failing, and rather miserably. 

Gini should hire me because it’ll make her life a lot easier once she has. I’m a tireless worker, I’ve sharpened my teeth learning the ropes of Digital Marketing and PR, and last but not least - I don’t take no for an answer. I don’t need to auto-fill the rest of this paragraph with meaningless cliches: 

• I’m the first one in, last one out
• If I don’t know how to do it, I’ll find a way to learn it on the fly
• I’ve built up credibility in the market
• I will do something until I’ve gotten it right

Actions speak a whole heck of a lot louder than words, spoken or written. I place my eggs in the “if you are active enough, potential employers will notice all of those otherwise thoughtless cliches themselves,” basket. Having someone notice a work habit or credibility marker, is infinitely more helpful than explaining it yourself. A wise woman once said, Behave Like a Level 5 Employee. So that is what I aim to do, each and every day.

Whether Gini ever hires me or not, has as much to do with “company fit” and “opportunities available” as it does “great resume” and “interviews well.” We are in the waining hours of 2011. Your current and future employers know a lot more about you than most people currently realize. You see, the biggest takeaway isn’t necessarily that Gini will ever hire me. The biggest takeaway is that I had confidence in myself to make it public, and Gini knows I’m going to keep myself on her radar for as long as it takes.

No matter how you much you think the cards are stacked against you, keep after your dreams. Both the big ones, and the small.

Persistence is a stubborn one. (No curse word there, you’re welcome Gini)

I got an email from Ryan asking if I’d write a guest post about anything for the relaunch of his blog. Anything? That’s a lot of things… and I’m an opportunist, so I figured I’d write about how my kid’s school has it all wrong in a place they are unlikely to read.

Just this year the administrators at my son and daughter’s K-8 private school added an icon to their email signature “Fan us on Facebook”.

No. Fanning the school that your children currently attend is a terrible idea in about 83 bajillion ways. Let me outline the first six reasons.

1. Although you are a parent the school is not your place. If it’s a private school then it’s a place you send checks to, if it’s a public school it’s probably a place you send checks to as well. That’s all it needs to be. If your child’s school brings you enough joy that you want to share that with every other adult you know on Facebook an intervention may be in order.
2. Your children are entitled to their own lives. They don’t need their great aunt’s quilting circle to be kept abreast of school activities via a shared timeline. Imagine if your child had a facebook timeline completely devoted to your activities… creepy huh?
3. Strangers just got access to your kids. I’m not super worried about pedophiles and kidnappers the same way I’m not super worried about home invasions. All the same, I lock the door. If you are friends with your children on facebook (why would you be?) then you’ve just showed all those friends of friends where your children go to school and what their schedules are. Do you want the world to have that information? [EDIT: Between writing and editing this post I came across a headline in my back yard: Man, 19, charged with sexually assaulting 14 girls; allegedly hunted victims through Facebook]
4. Your friends who are childless will loathe you even more. I love my kids but I often get the sense that they are very in the way for my single friends. Now I’m going to have the pancake breakfast showing up on my Facebook timeline? Moms, you’re losing friends because your children’s activities are a snore-fest. Get your own life (and see #2).
5. Do school administrators need access to your timeline? Is there any part of your life that can remain adult after having children? I understand that for most of us important friendships are forged with other parents of our school aged children so it might be tempting to fan the school on Facebook. However, don’t you ever just want to say something like, “My daughter’s knitting teacher is an idiot” and have no repercussions? Get ready to put on your game face if you’re busy connecting with the social on your social networks.
6. Think about how Facebook can help an elementary school without overexposing it’s students. If, like me, you think it probably can’t then that’s a damn good reason to stay far away from what will surely be a big mess.

Jessica Gottlieb is a Mom in Los Angeles. You probably shouldn’t take any of her advice.

I’ve rewritten this opening sentence 23 times now. Unfortunately, not 1 of the 23 attempts hit the note at the pitch that was destined to be that last note. I’m an emotional person to my core, plain and simple. If you’ve ever met me, or know me at all — you know that to be an understatement. Understatement of the century most likely. So if I’m being over-dramatic on something that seems so simple to you, well, tough.

Coxymoney had became a name I was known for. That “social identity” had become an indicator and had people recognize me simply by hearing it. 

“Oh you’re Coxymoney!”

If I had a dollar for every time I heard that, well, I’d have grocery money covered for all of 2012. I think whole-heartedly, we gravitate towards things. People, Issues, Personas, the list goes on and on. I had definitely gravitated towards the Persona “Coxymoney.” 

The Merriam-Webster definition of persona: the personality that a person projects in public. 

That is exactly what the Coxymoney persona was — my personality, projected in public. I have a BIG personality. I’ve never hid that fact, and it is a fact that has been true since I came out of my mothers womb and slap hands with the doctor. I enjoy the HECK out of life. I mean, why wouldn’t you? We all have our demons, we all have are “why me” moments — but if you have the ability to read this, your life is already more fortunate than half of the people of this world. So if you had ever met “Coxymoney” in his element, I sure as heck hope that is the takeaway you had.

The short answer for the change is that I wanted more memories to be tied to my actual name, not a persona. When I started into the Social Media world six years ago, I was coming from the AIM generation. Apu2255, SoccerStud13, AFSoccer13, Coxbsu — all were personas I had in my teens and early 20’s. So when it came time to pick a new social identity, the first that came to mind was Coxymoney.

Now contrary to popular belief, Coxymoney actually had nothing to do with money. I got that nickname some 17 years ago from my family babysitters boyfriend. I don’t remember his name — but the neighborhood kids and I thought he was a God. He was cool, he rode a motorcycle, and he’d play football with us. To us, he was who we wanted to be when we grew up. Well I happened to be one of the better neighborhood kids at sports. I’ve been an athlete all of my life, and a rather good one at that. When we would play two-hand touch football, he’d always play quarterback. And whenever my team needed a big play, he’d always tell us in the huddle, “Cox I need you to catch this one.” (I’ve been known as Cox more so than Ryan most of my life.) He’d throw it, and I’d always catch it. To which he’d let, “Wooooooo, that’a’kid Coxymoney! You Money son!” 

The nickname has stuck with me ever since those backyard football games. Now as you get older, you stop using nicknames — and usually just call someone by there name, or a version of their first or last name. Consequently, that is why Coxymoney had stuck, to some degree, all this time. 

I tell that story only to give a little bit of context to the “why did he choose that,” only because there were a few people that seemingly had negative assumptions as to the how and why of it all. 

So when I finally decided I was going to make the change, I went to the person I trust the most in my professional life. Gini Dietrich. Gini and I’s story is a very interesting one. I started following her on Twitter almost 5 years ago. She had like 15,000 followers (at the time), lived in Chicago, was pretty, and was in the Marketing and PR world. So I began engaging her on a daily basis, and tried to strike up a friendship. I made a trip up to Chicago with a (now defunct) start-up I had at the time to look at space and tried to setup “Oh hello friend” meetings with Gini and another digital-only (at the time) friend Mari Luangrath. Mari and I got to meet face-to-face and she even brought me a cupcake. (If you are in Chicago, check out @FoiledCupcakes) Gini and I were set to ride bikes, but my schedule got messed up and I (still regret to this day) had to cancel. When I got back to Indianapolis, I started to dig around on her, Gini, in more depth and soon realized that not only was she IN that space, but she was a BIG DEAL in that space. (Insert #facepalm) 

The reason I detailed that part of the story, is because I’ve long held Gini to a very trustworthy and high standard. So whenever I have a decision I think is right, I ping Gini and she gives me her honest, no BS opinion. She never says No, and she always helps. EVERY. TIME. You have no idea how valuable that is to a young(er) business professional — to have someone like Gini in your corner.

So with all of that being said, I explained to Gini I was thinking about changing it, and asked her if I should? Her response was pretty simple: 

“I’ve been thinking about this since last night. You know what I think you should do? Just transfer @coxymoney.”

(Cue crescendo music) 

So there you have it. @Coxymoney will now be known as @ryanleecox. 

All of the business professionals I trust in my most inner of circles: Gini Dietrich, Shelly Kramer, Lorraine Ball, Tim Kopp, Andrew Dumont, Shannon Holato, Stacey Acevero, Jared Brown — to give you 8 as an example, have their social persona/identity tied to their actual name.

Sometimes even a Leader needs to Follow a Smart trend. 

Oh, and by the way — Thank you very much Gini. You’ve been a mentor I can ping with what must seem as the stupidest or craziest questions sometimes, yet you always offer your help. I want you to know how thankful I am. Truly thankful Gini.

When my good friend Ryan Cox asked me to write him a guest post for a blog that he’s finally getting off the ground, I jumped at the chance to write a no-bullshit post for someone I truly think is super-intelligent and will go plenty of places in the business world. After my excitement was calmed, shame set in as I have had several attempts at getting a personal blog off the ground, none of which were really successful. After I finish writing this blog post, I declare war on Ryan and will commit to a personal blog, even if it kills me. Now back to your regularly scheduled programming…

10 Things I Learned From the Business World 

1. Having a personal blog was absolutely, positively necessary. Without one, you don’t have a place to practice writing, share your personal thoughts on your industry, and give a different perspective to topics you’re writing for your brand or corporate blog. 

2. If someone can, they absolutely will, squeeze something out of you for free. Just like we love going to football games and getting free foam fingers before you go in, everyone in the world likes free stuff. And even if they aren’t interested in your product, they’ll take the freebies associated with it. 

3. Social media is an unbelievably powerful thing. Like most other things, social media for brands started out as an experiment. Now, the potential for both positive and negative things to bloom through social media are as finicky as a kid who doesn’t want to eat their broccoli. I’ve witnessed both sides of the spectrum: videos go viral, or a brands reputation gets permanently damaged because of an ill-timed tweet. It’s like a mythical fire-breathing dragon, this social media stuff. 

4. If you don’t have the latest iPhone iPad Android Netbook thingamabobber, you are a n00b. In addition, if you don’t have more than one of these devices on you at any given time, you will be dubbed a super-n00b. 

5. Some seriously interesting people exist in the business world. Never have I met such a variety of intelligent and motivated people who truly believe in their brand or business. Every day I find a new “influencer” and think to myself “how can I be more like them?” It’s really admirable the things we create – whether it’s a product or a service or maybe just an idea. 

6. Being in business means constantly evolving. And I mean constantly. It’s never enough to read a textbook from cover to cover and say “I’m done.” Once you’re done, you should be asking “How can I apply this?” “How can I make this better?” and “What does this imply for the future?” 

7. If you ever want to turn it off, something might be wrong. Sure, sometimes I get burnt out and need a little vacation. But I’m writing this even as I’m on vacation right now, and later on in my vacation I’m positive I’ll be on Twitter and checking email. If you truly have a passion for something, it’s going to be hard to put it down, because you won’t want to miss out on something. And maybe that’s the way it should be. 

8. Conferences are the most fun you will ever have in your business life – guaranteed. When I was younger I thought conferences and seminars were as boring as a Sunday with no NASCAR. But once I got the opportunity to attend a few, I was hooked. Amazing insights from credible speakers, and networking with other like-minded professionals opens up so many doors: professional friendships, help when you need it, and even a client or two along the way. 

9. If you’re not a coffee lover, you will soon become one. Nothing like the busy business world to convert coffee into your best friend.

10. You gotta think like Steve Jobs: Keep innovating, and keep creating. 

These are really only a few of the things I have learned in the business world. What have you learned? 

Stacey Acevero is the Social Media Community Manager at Vocus.