I won’t be asked to deliver coffee here. I will be expected to knock out blog posts, craft engaging social media updates, recognize trends in customer support and research leads. My handwriting will eventually be on the walls made of glass and white board, alongside of thoughts scribbled by my coworkers and other M@dison building tenants.

Here are the top 3 reasons I’m glad I interned with a startup:

Atmosphere

I love the non-traditional office feel of the M@dison. Long desks that encourage conversation replace cubicles. Stark white walls are swapped with abstract wallpaper and textured walls. There is no dress code. My new teammates move with urgency in jeans and Stik sweatshirts. They are friendly, clever and enthusiastic people. I’ve gotten three high fives since I began writing this. Working with a startup allows for real-world experience in an environment that promotes interaction, new ideas and personal expression.

Connections and Care

It was clear the first day that my co-workers want me to have a good experience learning and working here. This is largely because being a member of a small team and having a haphazard set of responsibilities means my performance has direct impact. But beyond that, I think startups genuinely want their interns to succeed. My theoretical self tells me it is because they see themselves in the wide eyes of blank-slated interns.

Supply of Inspiration

I’ve quickly determined that startups are run by dreamers. The young people I work with see the value in pursuing an idea, and because of this are motivated, hardworking and passionate. They show up early and stay late. Opinions and ideas flew across the table like wildfire at our Monday meeting while discussing the aesthetics of our site. These people are here because they want to be, and because of that I can’t imagine a better place to work.

Despite the benefits above and those unlisted, it is indisputable that there are opportunities startups don’t provide that large businesses do. The most notable of these is training. The freedom to create tasks at a startup can act as both a positive and negative. It provides an intern with the opportunity to generate new ideas and mold their position to reflect personal strengths. However, often times the most effective way to learn is through observation. Starting a business from the ground up means my co-workers don’t have the time to sit me down on a daily basis and delegate tasks, or walk me through how to do them. I won’t be delivering coffee here, but my hand will not be held, either.

Thus begins my crash course in entrepreneurship.

The post Three reasons to seek out startup internships appeared first on Stik Blog.

1. Provide excellent service from the start. This may seem obvious, but the better your customer service is, the better your customer ratings will be. This applies not just specifically to customer service ratings, but also to overall ratings. Focus above all on meeting your customers’ needs and on making them feel good, and they will return the favor by writing favorable reviews.

2. Remain level-headed. While it may be frustrating to receive negative feedback, you must avoid getting too emotional; responding angrily to negative customer reviews will only exacerbate the problem. Whether your response is public or private, it is always best to be patient, polite, and diplomatic. If you have trouble keeping your cool, it might be a good idea to appoint a trusted employee to handle customer reviews.

3. Take criticism as an opportunity rather than as an insult. No one likes receiving negative reviews. However, they do provide important insight into how you can improve your business. Try to remember that receiving some negative reviews may be inevitable, but they do lend authenticity to your business profile. Treat customer reviews seriously, implement constructive feedback, and take advantage of the free market research to make your business better than ever!

4. Always seek out reviews, particularly from your happiest clients. Positive reviews have a snowball effect. As you accumulate more positive reviews, you will attract more business, and this cycle will cause both your customer base and your reviews to grow exponentially. By asking customers for reviews, particularly those customers who are most pleased with your service, you can catalyze this process and take full advantage of the network effect.

The post Four ways to make sure your business shines online appeared first on Stik Blog.

What are co-working spaces?

Co-working spaces are far more than just offices shared by several startups and small businesses. They are powerful collaborative communities that leverage shared office facilities, private spaces, and pooled professional resources to help all co-workers achieve maximum efficiency.

What are some advantages and disadvantages of co-working spaces?

Co-working spaces provide many advantages for startups and small businesses.
1. Cost-savings: sharing office space allows you to share expenses, which minimizes costs and gives you access to superior facilities that you could not have otherwise afforded.
2. Flexibility: a co-working arrangement is much easier to get out of than is a standard lease, and this gives you the mobility to expand or relocate your business without the headache and expense of breaking a lease.
3. Simplified taxes: it is much easier to deduct co-working expenses than “home office” expenses, the relevant laws and regulations are far less complex, and the deductions are less likely to elicit an audit.
4. Enhanced professional network: perhaps the greatest advantage of a co-working space is the close proximity to other like-minded entrepreneurs. By offering advice, and by sharing insight gleaned from experience, you and your co-workers can create a dynamic, fruitful, and mutually-beneficial work environment.

Co-working spaces also have their obvious disadvantages. There can be a lack of privacy, the cultures of different startups may not be entirely compatible, and there will likely be a steady stream of unfamiliar faces appearing in the office, making security a concern. It is up to you to decide whether or not the benefits outweigh the potential disadvantages.

How can you find a co-working space?

The Internet is a great place to start. Sites like Deskwanted, ShareDesk, and SharedOfficeSpace.com are excellent resources. But perhaps the best way to find co-working spaces is personal referrals. Leveraging the valuable insight of someone you know and trust, you can find a co-working space that can help propel your small business to the next level.

The post Is coworking space right for your small business? appeared first on Stik Blog.

Folks paid $1,000 to attend this conference, but we’re giving you the goods for free. Check out more info at stik.com/google-premium and see the whole presentation here:

[scribd id=83413125 key=key-tvucvggyhstz2ct1l4r mode=list]

The post Google+ & Social Search – Stik.com Co-Founders Present at LeadsCon appeared first on Stik Blog.

Add your unique URL (http://www.stik.com/INSERTNAME) to your signature line and encourage the people you interact with to view and add to your recommendations.

The recommendations and reviews you’ve received from your customers will speak volumes to those considering enlisting your service. So make that connection easy for them.

Scroll through these screenshots to see how I did it.

[slideshow]

For Microsoft Outlook 2010 users, the steps are easy:

• Click “File” in the top toolbar on the left
• Choose the “Options” on the left
• In that box, click on “Signatures…” box on the right
• Choose to create a new signature by clicking, “New…”
• Enter a name for your new signature, like “standard,” and click OK
• In the next window,  add your desired text with link to your Stik.com profile:
• Highlight text and click on the link icon above the editing box on the right
• Enter your Stik.com profile URL in the Address field and click OK
• Choose what type of email correspondence you’d like to use this signature for (i.e. new messages, replies) and click OK

When you compose a new email, the signature will automatically appear.

Stik to who know!

Nathan Labenz
Stik.com Co-Founder
Visit me at Stik.com

The post Boost Your Recommendations and Reviews with Your Email Signature (Outlook 2010) appeared first on Stik Blog.

Through a partnership with the networking website Stik.com, Rotary clubs around the world, including the Macomb Rotary Club and Sterling Heights Rotary Club, have started the Pennies for Polio campaign.

Read the full article on Patch.com»

OR

Check out the campaign at www.stik.com/rotary.

The post Rotary Partners with Stik.com to Raise ‘Pennies for Polio’ at No Cost to Supporters appeared first on Stik Blog.

As speculation built that Facebook would be launching a major media service, I worried that Facebook might be focusing on the wrong opportunities:

For the economy as a whole, more media means more advertising opportunities. That’s great for Facebook’s short-term bottom line, but not so great for the rest of us. We don’t like the advertising we have. Too often, it’s an annoying shouting match between competing brands: banks and insurance companies, reeling from a loss of consumer trust, trying desperately to win us back.

Facebook’s great potential is in better advertising. Yet, the social network appears to be ignoring some important foundational steps in that direction.

You can read both posts to learn about the projects that I think Facebook should be giving more time and attention.  I’m not suggesting anything too radical — rather, I am mostly encouraging Facebook to open a few game-changing advertising tools that it has previously tested for general public use.

The big announcements are now behind us, and the tech press is swooning over Facebook’s new gadgets, but we’ll have to let the dust settle before we know if the new tools are as suitable to commerce as they are to media.  To Facebook’s credit, they have opened up a whole new set of flexible tools for developers that should make Stik.com and other high-value social sites better in one way or another.

Hat tips to:

• Umair Haque, for leading the “better, not more” school of thought and for noting the post on Twitter
• Jackie Cohen at AllFacebook for accommodating me during the busiest week of the year for her

The post F8 Previews in Review appeared first on Stik Blog.

Add your unique URL (http://www.stik.com/INSERTNAME) to your signature line and encourage the people you interact with to view and add to your recommendations.

The recommendations and reviews you’ve received from your customers will speak volumes to those considering enlisting your service. So make that connection easy for them.

Scroll through these screenshots to see how I did it.

[slideshow]

For Gmail users, the steps are easy.

• Go to your “Mail settings” by clicking the options wheel in the upper right hand corner
• Make sure you’re in “General” settings and scroll down to signature box and select the option for signature
• Add your desired text with link to Stik.com profile (highlight any text and click the link symbol, then copy and past your unique Stik.com profile URL in the box)
• Click “Save Changes” and you’re done

When you compose a new email, the signature will automatically appear.

Stik to who know!

Nathan Labenz
Stik.com Co-Founder
Visit me at Stik.com

The post Boost Recommendations and Reviews with Your Email Signature (gmail) appeared first on Stik Blog.

Add your unique URL (http://www.stik.com/INSERTNAME) to your signature line and encourage the people you interact with to view and add to your recommendations.

The recommendations and reviews you’ve received from your customers will speak volumes to those considering enlisting your service. So make that connection easy for them.

Scroll through these screenshots to see how I did it.

[slideshow]

For Yahoo users, the steps are easy:

• Choose “Mail Options from the options tab at the top of the screen
• Click on “Signature” in the left column
• Choose to “Show a signature on all outgoing messages” and make sure you select the “Rich Text” option on the right
• Add your desired text with link to Stik.com profile (highlight text and click on the link symbol, then enter your Stik.com profile URL in the box)
• Click “Save Changes” and you’re done

When you compose a new email, the signature will automatically appear.

Stik to who know!

Nathan Labenz
Stik.com Co-Founder
Visit me at Stik.com

The post Boost Recommendations and Reviews with Your Email Signature (Yahoo) appeared first on Stik Blog.

Add your unique URL (http://www.stik.com/INSERTNAME) to your signature line and encourage the people you interact with to view and add to your recommendations.

The recommendations and reviews you’ve received from your customers will speak volumes to those considering enlisting your service. So make that connection easy for them.

Scroll through these screenshots to see how I did it.

[slideshow]

For Hotmail users, the steps are easy:

• Choose options from the drop-down tab underneath your name at the top right of the screen
• Click on “Signature” in the left column
• Choose to “Mail” from the left tab to get to your mail options
• Then select “Message Font and Signature”
• In the “Personal signature” box, add your desired text with link to Stik.com profile (highlight text and click on the “add hyperlink” symbol, then enter your Stik.com profile URL)
• Click “Save” and you’re done

When you compose a new email, the signature will automatically appear.

Stik to who know!

Nathan Labenz
Stik.com Co-Founder
Visit me at Stik.com

The post Boost Recommendations and Reviews with Your Email Signature (Hotmail) appeared first on Stik Blog.