Help! How do I use Snapchat?

That was my plea to my best friend who heads up marketing for a fairly big kids clothing brand. Her reply, I have no idea! We were both totally baffled, feeling both incredibly old and totally brain dead every time we tried to use the app. Basically, if you're over the age of 25 you've probably never used Snapchat even though the app has been around since 2011 (I have vague memories of a former assistant talking to me about this app where pictures disappeared within 24 hours..). In the beginning, it was mostly used for dating and entertainment (hello, pictures/videos disappear "forever" after a certain amount of time, essentially the perfect app for sending d$@*k pics), now it's a mainstream marketing tool used by major companies (Cosmopolitan, MTV, ESPN) to reach out to their audience and with roughly 8 billion (yep, it's nuts) videos viewed daily it's kind of a big deal. Because of that and my major writing phobia, I decided I needed to get myself and my business onto Snapchat since a portion of my demographic is in the millennial age range that uses the app. After a few sad, failed attempts to use it, I hit the interwebs for the answers. Below are some of the most useful articles I found on both how to use the app and why I'd even want to. So, start reading and get yourself and your biz on Snapchat. If you're so inclined, feel free to follow me on Snapchat here. Happy snapping!

Very good tutorials to figure how the hell Snapchat works:

• http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-use-snapchat-2015-12
• http://www.wired.com/2016/04/how-to-use-snapchat-guide-millennials/

Some good ideas for how to use Snapchat for your business:

• https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/270663 and https://socialmediaweek.org/blog/2016/04/ways-small-businesses-use-snapchat/
• https://www.shopify.com/blog/75307013-snapchat-marketing-the-key-to-discovering-and-engaging-your-most-loyal-fans

Some Snapchat facts:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrdW4iP-U40

Some people you I think use Snapchat really really well:

• Everlane - https://www.snapchat.com/add/everlane
• P.F. Candle Co. - https://www.snapchat.com/add/pfcandleco
• Gary Vaynerchuk - https://www.snapchat.com/add/garyvee

Hitting a Wall in Your Business? June 2016 Meeting Topic

Many of our meetings involve discussions of strategies and struggles. We offer each other camaraderie, support, advice, and feedback on the daily work of being in business. This month, we got into something a bit bigger - what happens when you feel called to make a bigger change?

Sometimes business growth is fairly straightforward; you know what you need to do, and you just need to get on with it. But occasionally, you'll hit a wall. Patiently putting one foot in front of the other is failing to produce the results you want, or need. You're frustrated, and stuck. 

Signs it's time for major change:

• You're not bringing in enough money to support your personal or business goals, and your current strategies aren't getting you there fast enough
• Things feel too hard - you don't have any more patience or effort to give, and are feeling burnt out, or overwhelmed
• There is something about your work that you dread, and keep avoiding
• Your personal goals or needs have changed
• You're no longer feeling passionate or inspired by your work

What now?

Transformation in business is challenging, because it often involves giving up something, and sometimes we are really attached to whatever it is we're afraid to give up, or to give up on. And it can get even harder and more complicated when money is on the line. Some tips for navigating change that came up during our discussion:

• Look at what is thriving in your business. Find ways to amplify those aspects. (for help in figuring that out, remember the Pareto Principal, a.k.a. the 80/20 rule)
• Find something you can stop doing. Delegate something you hate, or that isn't in line with your biggest strengths. Discontinue a product or service that drains a lot of your energy, but doesn't add enough to your bottom line
• Ask your peers for help - sometimes they can see truths that you can't yet

Commit to transformation

Allowing yourself to struggle through necessary change can be kinder than keeping yourself safe in stagnation. Give yourself permission to take bigger risks, and permission to possibly fail.

For discussion in a group

• What wall or ceiling are you hitting?
• Where do you feel the most constrained by your current business model?
• What are you unwilling to give up? What would you love to give up?
• What do you want more of? Less of?
• What has impressed you about big changes you've seen other businesses or people make?

Let us know what big changes you are making! If you already made a big change, what felt true before the change that doesn't feel true now? What do you wish you had known?

Collaborations - The Good, The Bad, The Contractual Obligations

In April, we opened up our monthly meeting to a larger group of makers and shakers in the Bay Area community and invited them to come and share their experiences and hear more about how to navigate collaborations between artists or with stores.

Ideally every collaboration starts and ends as friends, or at the very least, colleagues. But navigating collaborations can run the gamut of experience.

Here are just a few of the ideas that came up at the meeting to make collaborations go smoothly.

• Charge a design fee - If a client is coming to you to create a custom piece, this may entail all kinds of hidden time costs including redesigning packaging, scaling their logo, product testing, etc. Be prepared to charge for it.

• Have a contract - This is a useful tool to determine who is responsible for what, and also can include deadlines and calls to action for both entities

• Negotiate the price - collaborations with stores are essentially like custom work - aka, super-rewarding, but also more time and labor-intensive. Make sure that the collaboration will be worth the money it brings in.

• If you are collaborating with another artist, make sure you spell out who will be responsible for purchasing materials, tracking costs and making sure that everything is spread evenly {editor’s note - Splitwise is a great app for tracking expenses as a group, and Creative Business League uses this regularly}

• Recognize when it’s a collaboration, and when you are essentially contracting with another artist to produce parts that you need for your work. Credit them accordingly.

• Make sure that the marketing and promotion is spread evenly and is utilized effectively

What has your experience been with collaborations? Do you have hints and tips to share?