Staying Loyal to Bham Small Businesses in Quarantine

Staying Loyal to Bham Small Businesses in Quarantine

At Forge we understand that now more than ever is a time when we need to lean on our Birmingham community for support and encouragement. How can we continue to support small businesses in Birmingham during this pandemic? Thankfully there are so many ways to show your love to a local business even when you’re quarantined. Please let us know how we can best support you by emailing us at info@workatforge.com.

 

Bham Now is offering FREE local business listings that include information on: how to order online (or via phone), virtual classes, curbside pickup, special offers. And we recently partnered with several local businesses for our International Women’s Day Celebration so we asked them how we can support them right now. Read on to see what you can do to help the small businesses around Birmingham.

 

Till

“The best way that people can support us is by shopping weekly to support our farmers during this time staying in. Our cart is open to shop Alabama proteins, produce, and pantry items Sunday-Wednesday and we deliver every Saturday! Our farmers are still growing nutritious foods and need the community’s support. Our simple and convenient solution is all at usetill.com.”

 

JuicedUp Essentials

“As the Pizitz Food Hall is closed, right now we are offering online gift cards that can be purchase now and used at a later time. Supporting us through purchasing gift cards would be awesome for us.”

 

Nourish

 

“We are in a great position as a meal delivery company to be able to serve so many that are home bound and not able to go to the grocery store and make food. We are continuing our subscription meal delivery on Sundays and have opened up a curbside pick up for 1 time orders at our facility as well (no contact) – email info@nourishmeals.com.”

 

Blueroot

 

“We’ve launched an option to order kitchen essentials – like proteins, grains, vegetables, dressings, and snacks – online for contact-free pick up. We’re partnering with Stone Hollow to provide access to fresh, local produce for those who want to purchase. We’ve teamed up with the Mayor’s office, Shipt, United Way, Pepper Place, PAC health, UAB, and so many others on Bham Strong >> through this public/private coalition, we’re preparing food to be delivered to our neighbors in need, identifying employment opportunities for those in our industry who are out of work, and providing tele-health support to communities in need (e.g. elderly).”

 

Botanica

 

“Help us get the word out that we launched our online site for people to buy plants and pots online would be super helpful! We’re also offering free curbside pick up and $5 local delivery in addition to USPS priority shipping.”

 

 

Ashley Macs

“We are open at Homewood, Cahaba Heights, Inverness and Riverchase from 10:30am-6:00pm. We have an abbreviated cafe menu   for take-out or curbside and ‘gourmet to go’ available for store or curbside pickup. Home delivery is also available! Follow us on Instagram for details and updates.”

 

 

True40

We started daily online (FREE) workouts today through our website: www.true40studio.com. There is an optional donation. We are also encouraging people to purchase a gift card or retail. To do so, they can reach out on Instagram (@true40downtownbham) OR they can email downtownbham@true40studio.com.

 

Susan Gordon Pottery

“This Friday, we will have a new kind of restock in addition to our usual restock: a ‘Ready to Ship’ section will be added to our website – this will feature items already created by my team and are ready to ship in a few business days! Most of these items can even still be personalized! A local pick up option is also available, just use code localpickup. We will have instructions sent to you via email on how to do our ‘curbside pottery pickup.'”

Cookie Fix

“It is our desire to accommodate our customers, and protect our team and others. The world needs a cookie and a hug right now, at least we can still provide a cookie! Open from 11 am- 4 pm daily. Baked and frozen dough to go is available! Online orders only at https://direct.chownow.com/order/13291/locations/18622  – Call us when you arrive to pick up your order, and we will meet you at the door. We will evaluate and make changes as this situation evolves. E-Gift cards can be purchased at https://cookiefix.instagift.com/

 

Behind The Scenes: 7 Things You Need To Know About Bham Now

Behind The Scenes: 7 Things You Need To Know About Bham Now

 

We love having the whole Bham Now team coworking out of Forge! They wrote this story on the history of Bham Now and why they choose to office in our coworking space. Read on!

 

Even if you’re a longtime fan of Bham Now, we bet you don’t know the story behind the company, what we do, who we are and where we’re headed. I sat down with Cindy Martin, Bham Now’s Founder and President, to get the scoop. Yes, I work there, so I’ll tell you the real story. Read on for all the details.

 

1. How Bham Now came to be.

 

According to Cindy Martin (CM), “Bham Now is Birmingham’s modern media. Our mission is to help connect people in Birmingham and to help celebrate the city’s renaissance by reflecting all the positive energy that’s happening in the Greater Birmingham Area.”

 

Where’d you get the idea for Bham Now?

 

CM: We saw a need in the marketplace from two constituents.

One is the general populace—I was continually hearing people say “I don’t know what to do in Birmingham; I don’t know where to go to find out what’s happening in Bham.” There was really a desire to know “how do I get involved.”

On the business front, we saw a need for local businesses to share their messages using content (storytelling, video, behind the scenes tours) because that is how consumers respond today. But businesses don’t necessarily have the resources or acumen to create content in a way that resonates or know how to measure effectiveness.

So we pieced those two things together to create Bham Now.

 

Much of the team works out of Forge now, but how did you start?

 

 

CM: At the very beginning, we all worked out of our houses. It was a handful of interns from local colleges and me with some tech support from my husband.

Planning for Bham Now started 4 years ago.

I had lots of media and internet business experience over the past 25+ years, and had given a lot of thought to what would be the next big wave in digital media.

Bham Now: In case y’all didn’t know, Cindy was CEO of AL.com from its founding in 1997 to its merger with state newspapers in 2012.

CM: When I spoke with a few people whose business acumen I respect, their input was “you don’t need a business plan; just start doing it.” This was some of the best advice I got.

 

 

What made you choose to grow your team at Forge, and how has that shaped the business?

 

 

CM: Kim Lee was getting the Forge co-working space started about the same time as Bham Now.  Our younger team members wanted a place to meet up and collaborate and Forge was the perfect solution!

It has offered Bham Now a beautiful, motivational and collaborative environment right in the middle of the downtown action. You can tell from all the pictures in this piece and from our Instagram how much fun the team has exploring all things Birmingham. Forge is the perfect launching pad for all that.

Since Bham Now has been growing so much, it has allowed our rent expense to grow as we add people which is a huge benefit for a start-up company.

You don’t always know what your needs will be 2 or 3 years down the road.  Forge provides options so you can grow as your business requires without taking on too much too soon.

 

 

2. We’re passionate about Birmingham.

 

 

CM: There’s a lot to love about Bham Now.

First, sharing the resurgence of Birmingham with new food, new bars, new jobs…Amazon coming to town…there are so many positives happening right now in the Greater Birmingham area. Instead of focusing on negatives such as crime and politics, we focus on what’s up-lifting. This positive energy begets more positive energy.

Second, supporting local businesses, being out and about and meeting so many business people in the Birmingham area—established as well as up-and-coming businesses. There’s a lot of joy from that and being able to provide a service they wouldn’t have otherwise. We’re locally owned and operated so we’re deeply invested in Birmingham’s success.

 

 

3. Bham Now is backed by a dynamic, creative and diverse team.

 

 

CM: I love working with our team. We have lots of young folks—watching them grow and having them be part of the development and growth of the company is rewarding from a career development standpoint.

Bham Now currently employs 19 people. Four work in business development and the rest are content producers, including writers, photographers and videographers.

 

4. Bham Now’s reach and growth are impressive.

 

CM: We reach over 30% of the Greater Birmingham market, which means more than 300k people in this market visit us every month. We have over 134k social followers.

The growth year over year has been tremendous, and we continue to look for talent to grow the team. We look for people who care about Birmingham and have a passion for media and creative excellence. A sense of humor helps too!

We have a unique business model. Part of the goal is to build a sustainable local media model and to create new jobs in Birmingham. So far it’s working.

 

 

5. Bham Now connects Birminghamians, businesses and organizations.

 

CM: Bham Now combines two constituents’ needs: the Greater Birmingham populace who wants to know what’s going on, what’s opening, how to get involved in local businesses and nonprofits, and the business community’s desire to share their story with fun, engaging content. We do all this in a way that reaches what we call “millennial-minded people.”

We have a pretty broad definition of “millennial-minded.” We’re referring to anyone who’s active, out and about and involved in Birmingham. We’re also thinking of the actual Millennial generation, which is poised to have the most spending power of any other group of people in the population across the country.

They’re also the future leaders, forming what Birmingham will be in the coming decades. While I’m not a millennial, I thought “why not partner with millennials who are up and coming and give them access to do it even better, with more knowledge, more resources and more info than we had.”

 

 

6. Our content provides value to Birmingham and to our clients.

 

 

Bham Now: One of the things you might not know about Bham Now is that we have a unique combo of about 30% “sponsored” and 70% “earned” media.

Sponsored media includes paid offerings where we work with clients to produce particular content campaigns for them. Earned means it’s not backed by a particular company. Here’s what Cindy had to say about these offerings:

CM: We’re continuing to expand Bham Now’s offerings to provide more value to the Birmingham population and to our clients. Examples include multimedia campaigns, with a full-time videographer (you can see him above, jumping into the rooftop pool at Forge). You can’t ever say you have it (marketing and media) with a checkmark. It’s a constant evolution and learning process, and I really enjoy that.

Our campaigns are more than an article—each Bham Now sponsored campaign is uniquely crafted for the client, backed by expert photography, videography and social media presence. Plus, it gets the secret “pepper sauce” of creativity from the Bham Now team.

 

 

There’s a lot of work across all of Bham Now’s distribution channels. We manage each of them uniquely to communicate with the audience in a way that’s meaningful to them. It’s different on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and in our newsletters.

Our 100% Google rating means that Bham Now’s content jumps right to the top when you search for something to do in Birmingham. It is also a benefit to our sponsors who see their content from Bham Now live through Google for a long time. And, 60% of our traffic comes from non-social media, which means it’s coming from Google, Apple News and directly to our site.

This is a really important point and distinguishes us from social influencers. In fact, one of our national clients came to us because the marketing software they use showed that Bham Now has the largest engagement across all channels plus the added benefit of search engine excellence.

Currently we have over 60 active clients on Bham Now, from local makers to large businesses like EBSCO to tourism companies like Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors’ Bureau.

Because of this range, we have offers that cover the gamut, from one-time social campaigns to multi-year media consulting and execution.

 

 

7. You can get involved with Bham Now, too.

 

Bham Now: Of course you can follow us on any or all of our channels: Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter | Newsletter. Hint: You gotta try our newsletter. It’s fun and includes puppies. 😉

Write to us with story leads, to ask about sponsorship opportunities, or to let us know you’d like to work with us at hello@bhamnow.com.

If it’s exciting for Bham, you’ll find it on Bham Now.

In business? You need to know Ryan Robinett’s Birmingham-based company Multiply.

In business? You need to know Ryan Robinett’s Birmingham-based company Multiply.

Our friends at Bham Now recently wrote this piece about Forge member Ryan Robinett with Multiply.

 

 

No matter what business you’re in, sales is part of it. That’s why you need to know Ryan Robinett, Principal and Founder of Birmingham-based Multiply.

A firm believer that “good salespeople are built, not born,” Robinett helps companies do more than they ever thought possible with the sales teams they have. Check out Multiply, or keep reading to find out more.

 

1. Who is Ryan Robinett?

 

 

Born and raised in Mountain Brook, where he and his wife are raising their two children, Ryan’s an Auburn grad with an MBA from UAB. After four and a half years at Accenture, he spent 12 years with Computer Technology Solutions (CTS).

When he joined in 2006, “CTS was a smallish IT professional services firm with one office in Birmingham.” He played a number of roles while helping to grow the company to a thriving regional firm.

Before long, Ryan was head of the Birmingham headquarters, then went to start and grow a new office in Chattanooga.

CTS’ success was noticed by CGI, a multibillion-dollar corporation based in Montreal, who bought them in 2017. At first, Ryan served as a VP operating in four states, but found he wasn’t enjoying his work as much as he wanted to.

So, he did what any good entrepreneurially-minded person does: he pivoted. This is where Multiply enters the story.

When Ryan asked himself what he most wanted to do next, he realized he wanted to help companies scale using the three-pronged approach that had worked for him at CTS.

 

“I boiled it down to three things that I really like—putting people in a position to be successful, equipping people to be successful and then seeing them achieve personal results which create corporate gains.”

Ryan Robinett, Principal of Multiply

 

2. What is Multiply?

 

 

Whether it’s helping a salesperson succeed, building a thriving team or helping existing sales teams, Multiply helps companies grow.

 

 

Helping companies scale

 

 

“Multiply is all about helping companies scale, which solves a universal problem.

I’ve helped companies that have eight employees, and I also work with some of the largest companies in Birmingham.

I assist them with organizational alignment as it relates to their messaging, their sales processes and the human capital management around preparing their sales team.”

Ryan Robinett, Principal of Multiply

 

Want to learn more? Visit Multiply at www.askmultiply.com.

 

Year 1 was a great one for Multiply, and there’s more ahead

 

Multiply’s had a great first year, serving Birmingham-based public utility companies, research institutions, financial institutions and more.

 

“I was part of a team that built a great services firm and formed Multiply based on the things I liked to do the most while scaling that company.

I look at 2019 as my first year for Multiply. I started in summer of 2018 and moved to Forge in December 2018. My first customers signed in January, which made for a great 1st year.”

Ryan Robinett, Principal of Multiply

 

Years 2+ promise to bring even more success: one thing to look for is the rollout of a tech solution that will sit in front of companies’ CRM (customer relationship management) software, that enables companies to better equip and manage their sales teams.

 

3. While Ryan Robinett’s a one-man show, he’s not alone.

 

 

While Ryan might consider adding employees someday, for now, he’s the only member of Multiply.

Because he works at Forge, though, he never has to work alone. Located at The Pizitz, Forge provides shared workspaces as well as office spaces for small businesses.

 

“When I was working in an office by myself, I couldn’t wait to hire people because I was lonely. Now I still work by myself, but Forge gives me the opportunity to have a coworker experience.

The other Forge workers and I share our day—the good things, the bad things. It checks the boxes of not just working alone, and you have people you develop camaraderie with and enjoy being around.”

Ryan Robinett, Principal of Multiply

 

 

Ryan likes that his Forge coworkers are all in different lines of work than he is, giving everyone the opportunity to learn new things and bounce ideas off of each other. Robinett also credits working in the shared space for increasing his productivity.

“There’s a motivation when you see people every day, and you want to tell them that your day is good,” Robinett said.

 

4. Ryan Robinett’s Birmingham-area favorites

We always love to ask people about their Birmingham-area faves, and Ryan didn’t disappoint with the top three things he and his family enjoy the most about the area.

 

Restaurant: Parish Seafood & Oyster House in Trussville

 

Haven’t heard of it? Ryan and his family like it that way. Parish’s is a dress-down kind of place where they’re not likely to run into the types of people who like to be seen out and about, and the seafood’s great.

 

Outdoor spot: Fishing two miles out on the Gulf of Mexico in a kayak

 

 

We realize this is a liberal interpretation of Birmingham-area, but we’ll go with it—because for some people, the beach is, in fact, an extension of their back yard, even if you have to drive a few hours to get there.

Ryan’s basically happiest when he’s out catching sharks or fish bigger than his kayak, and yes, he’s a fan of the Netflix series “Chasing Monsters.”

You can also catch him fishing at Lake Martin.

 

Local sports: all things UAB and The Birmingham Barons

 

As the incoming President of UAB’s Alumni Association, Ryan’s a fan of UAB sports, period. Well, that and Auburn football.

Also, he went to the first Barons game at the old stadium in Hoover, and the first one at Regions Field.

5. Have you ever thought about coworking?

 

If you’re currently trying to run your latest gig out of your recliner or your kitchen table, you may want to give coworking a try in 2020. It just might change your life.

 

Learn more about coworking at Forge!

Kim Lee Nominated for BBJ CEO Awards

Kim Lee Nominated for BBJ CEO Awards

 

We are thrilled that our Founder and CEO, Kim Lee, was nominated for the 2019 CEO Awards in the Rising Stars category by the Birmingham Business Journal. The BBJ asked Kim some questions about her journey as an entrepreneur- read on!

 

What’s the top factor that has allowed you to have a successful career?

“The people who have supported me along the way. Especially my family. There have been some very hard times along this journey, they have always lifted me up and reminded me of what the Lord has called me to do.”

 

What was the most pivotal moment in your career? What happened and how did you respond?

“Signing the lease for Forge at The Pizitz. Until then, Forge was still in idea stage. Once I signed the lease, the business instantly shifted from an idea to a real business. Every entrepreneur has this shift. It’s scary and exciting at the same time!”

 

What’s an interesting fact about you that most people don’t know?

“I have a master’s in counseling, I planned to work with juvenile delinquents. After graduation, unable to find a job in this field I started working for a window washing company in operations. This is where I realized my love for business as a service.”

 

What are you most proud of in your career?

“Creating a space and community where entrepreneurs and small business owners have a place where their business can grow and thrive. At Forge our day is made when one of our members tells us a story of how Forge has made a direct impact in their business.”

 

What is your biggest pet peeve?

“I really, really don’t like hearing people chew their food.”

 

What do you do outside of the office? What are your top hobbies?

“Our kids are at a great stage, they each have activities that they love. We have a basketball player, soccer player and dancer. One of my greatest joys is watching my kids do what they love. My hobbies are gardening, skiing and wake surfing.”

 

If you were CEO of Birmingham, what one change would you make to the metro area?

“I am excited about the new ride sharing program, Via. I would work to create more opportunities for public transportation. I would also continue to create incentives that make Birmingham an attractive place to locate your business.”

 

What’s your sales pitch for why someone should move to metro Birmingham?

“Top three things I love about Birmingham (besides the people) 1. Birmingham is beautiful! 2. Affordability for a city that is on the rise 3. Excellent schools. And then of course, there is the food!”

 

 

14 Secrets to Online Marketing for Entrepreneurs

14 Secrets to Online Marketing for Entrepreneurs

Josh Rhodes has led many organizations but currently he is the CEO of Agent Leads. They generate leads for real estate agents and mortgage brokers. Josh is a founding Forge member and we asked him to share his online marketing tips at one of our past Lunch & Learn events. Here’s a recap of what Josh taught us…

 

Josh Rhodes Agent Leads

 

 

  1. Focus on getting the right offer, right medium and right audience.

You have to know your customer! And your audience dictates your offer. Know what channel you can use to interrupt someone’s life so they’ll buy your product or service.

 

2. The anatomy of good marketing starts with the story you tell.

The story doesn’t have to be long! It could simply be two pictures side by side- showing a before and after. You can tell the origin of your company, origin of your product or a customer success story.

 

3. Know that people are always buying for different reasons and you need to sell a bunch before you think you’ve got their motives figured out.

Just understand that people have many reasons for buying something- maybe because someone told them to or they wanted to try something new. Not always because your product looked really cool.

 

4. Get outside of your own assumptions of what the market wants.

You do not represent your customer so don’t assume that your customer wants the same exact things that you do. Josh’s company, Big Lead Gen, has taken over 10,000 phone calls with customers. Now they can understand their customer’s pains and needs…and finish their sentences!

 

 

5. Don’t build baseball fields in corn fields!

You can’t just build something and assume that people will come. You have to work to attract traffic and convert sales.

 

 

6. Understand traffic.

Traffic means the eyeballs and impressions that see your offer. There is cold, warm and hot traffic. Micro commitments from your sales funnel help customers move from cold to warm and warm to hot. Hot means they’ve got their credit card out and they’re ready to buy!

 

7. Think about your business through the lens of a funnel instead of a website.

Every business has a sales funnel- whether or not you realize it. Having a beautiful website is becoming less and less important. It’s much more important to move people through your sales funnel with micro commitments. This will change the way you market your business!

 

8. Automation trumps determination.

 

(Josh said he stole #8 and #9 from Casey Graham- creator of The 7 Figure CEO Podcast) You are only one person. You have to leverage automation. You will run out of time if you try to do it all by yourself.

 

 

9. Nail it, then scale it.

 

Don’t try to automate something you haven’t dominated yet. Get the repeatable unit scalable. Don’t try to cut corners- spend time refining the repeatable unit. Make sure you can sell with your eyes closed.

 

10. Leverage the power of contrast!

 

Before and after pictures are immensely helpful. Use success stories from customers.

 

11. Find the villain in your industry. If there’s not one, create it!

Attack the incumbent! Act like it’s only you two in the boxing ring. Josh gave the example of his own company as they are working in the real estate industry. Zillow is their villain! Customers relate to that.

 

12. Model the masters.

 

In our day and age, why would you ever try to start from scratch? Create your stuff based off what others in your industry are doing. But don’t plagiarize.

 

 

13. One One One Formula

 

This means focusing on one skill, one piece of technology/tool, one funnel/framework. Every business endeavor is energized by this formula! Attract traffic with your skill and convert sales with your funnel or framework.

 

14. Hire a coach….and not a free one.

 

If you want to go to the next level, you should pay for it. If you want fast forwarding for your business, you need to hire someone who has already been there.

 

We hope these marketing secrets have taught you something new or inspired you to try something new with your business! Thanks to Josh Rhodes for sharing his wisdom.

 

Click Here to Download your copy of 14 Secrets of Online Marketing

 

 

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