Forge News and Updates |
You may be wondering, where do I begin? If you are new to the entrepreneur world or just looking for a way to improve your business more, you came to the right place. Forge wants to promote your business in whatever way we can, that is why we have compiled a list (in no particular order) on some resources to help you and your business succeed.
1. The Elevation Academy
The Elevation Academy is an online digital marketing resource that is available 24-hours a day. It is available to you, yes you! It provides training and knowledge on social media, email marketing, website development and marketing strategy for small businesses, brands and organizations. Their courses are designed to help you begin or to refresh your brand’s marketing with strong foundational information and skills. When you join The Academy, you become part of a community of small business owners and entrepreneurs seeking to elevate their marketing.
https://theelevationacademy.mykajabi.com/
2. Profit to Prosperity
Profit to Prosperity was started by Stevie Jones and is a way to clarify and manage the finances of a thriving business on your own. Through her program, members are given full access to financial resource library, live group coaching program and community that was created to support female entrepreneurs, professionals and business owners. The group focuses on business financial foundations, so that members can be set up for long-term growth.
https://balanced-by-stevie.mykajabi.com/profittoprosperity
3. Create Foundations
Create Birmingham is all about investing in imagination and invention. Through their programs, they both construct and support diverse avenues for commercial and nonprofit creative success. Create provides a multitude of programs and coaching methods to help you run your business or nonprofit more effectively. Embracing your creative side and identifying potential weaknesses in your business or nonprofit before they get out of hand.
4. Co. Starters
As a part of Create Birmingham, Co. Starters seeks to equip aspiring entrepreneurs with the skills and ideas to put their plans into action. It applies the lean business model methods that is popular with high-growth startups and businesses of all kinds. This program will train you to turn a passion into a thriving and sustainable small business or nonprofit.
https://createbirmingham.org/programs/co-starters/
5. Connect
The best way to grow your business is to grow your network. Birmingham’s newest virtual network, Connect, is designed to do just that. It is a weekly meeting that enables you to meet other individuals. We have both virtual and in-person meetings and breakfasts that focus on growing your network and your business.
https://workatforge.com/connect/
6. Legal to English
Legal to English is a new online community with resources for business owners brought to you by Gatehouse Law. At Gatehouse, we know it is true that every business needs legal, but we recognize that not every business is ready for a lawyer.Every entrepreneur should have access to quality information about the legal that impacts their business every day no matter what stage they are in their journey. Legal to English is a community driven source of information and support from our lawyers and the entrepreneurs who work with us. Legal to English will provide you with clear guidance and steps to protect your business where you are right now and give you clear answers in an “it depends” world.
https://www.legaltoenglish.org/
If you are looking for a place to network and grow your business even more, book a tour of Forge today! See how our memberships can help fit your needs. Click the link HERE.
Forge News and Updates |
Coworking offers a wide variety of benefits, many of which cannot be found in other work environments. At Forge, we strive to create an environment where you and your business can grow. Here are our top 7 tips on how to get the most out of coworking here at Forge!
1. Engage with Others
Take advantage of a space that allows you to network with others by having conversations with those around you, attending member events and learning what others do. Engaging with others promotes both growth for your business and you personally.
2. Set a Consistent Schedule
With scheduled work hours you can work around your most productive time. Forge is open 24/7- providing the morning bird and the night owl all with equal opportunities. With a wide range of when you can work, pick a time to so that you can have a consistent work schedule and enable yourself to balance life better.
3. Attend Member Events
We have a multitude of opportunities for you to meet others and enjoy doing so. Our member happy hours, breakfasts and lunches connect you with new faces and help you form connections in your workspace. We have so many members make connections with fellow members that help their business grow and we love to see it!
4. Use the Phone Booths to Take Calls
Here at Forge, we have three phone booths available for you to take your calls in. Hop in a phone booth for a Zoom meeting or phone call as needed! This allows you the privacy of your own space and you never have to worry about being interrupted.
5. Conference Rooms
Wow your clients in our beautifully designed conference rooms, and no longer have to meet in crowded coffee shops. Our 5 different sized conference rooms are perfect for holding meetings, whether one-on-one or larger group sizes. A benefit of being a member of Forge is getting discounted conference rooms rates! Easily book a room on our website.
6. Sign up for Connect
Connect is a virtual networking event that allows you to connect with other business leaders in Birmingham. Do this all from the comfort of your own home or from our coworking space. These weekly meetings allow you to introduce your business to the group, hear from others and most importantly CONNECT!
7. Take Advantage of the Location of Forge
Located in the heart of Downtown Birmingham we are within walking distance of amazing restaurants, coffee shops and companies. Being just steps away from the Pizitz Food Hall allows you to treat yourself or your clients!
Forge is a coworking business focused on creating a professional, clean and exciting work environment to encourage the productivity of all of our members.
If your business is looking for creative opportunities to expand your business and get out of your home office, schedule a tour of Forge!
Forge News and Updates |
Here at Forge, we want to create an environment that fosters collaboration, innovation, and productivity. We believe that our services, staff, and space offer all of our members a unique working experience where we invite them to be the best version of themselves.
At Forge, we value your time and efforts as much, if not more, than you. However, coworking spaces can be distracting and loud at times, and we want our space to contribute to your work, not takeaway or distract you from it.
With that said, we love that Forge offers members open spaces to connect, work, and collaborate, but we must remember the etiquette of coworking space. Whether you’re a coworking space expert or a newbie, we believe these are great reminders of proper behavior and etiquette for any coworking space.
1. Use your headphones
We love that you’re listening to you Monday morning pump up playlists – music is motivating guys! However, I don’t think Gabriel from Chicago wants to hear your country rap blaring through your phone speakers. We also love that you’re talking to your grandma for the 3rd time this morning trying to help her take a screenshot on her iPad; however, the whole office doesn’t need a tutorial on screenshots. We want you guys to have the freedom to listen to music, podcasts, take calls, etc., but we respectfully ask that you do so via headphones or not utilizing speaker phone.
2. Don’t overstay your welcome
We love when you utilize conference spaces or working areas; however, we urge you to stay for your allotted time and not overuse it – these spaces are shared for a reason. We all have that one friend who tends to unintentionally stays their welcome. While we love their company, we do not really know how to kindly ask them to leave. Don’t be this friend. We’re not expecting that you leave before your time ends, but we encourage you to be mindful of how long you’ve been in rooms or phone booths.
The phone booths are the perfect little getaway for phone calls, but we ask that when you’re done to not stay hidden away for too long, online shopping is a dark hole – we get it. We only request that you are aware of your time in phone booths, plus online shopping can happen at your desk (it’s much easier on a laptop too!).
3. Keep your space tidy
Remember when you were a kid, and your mom was always on you about cleaning up after yourself or cleaning your room and making it presentable? Well, we ask the same of you when you use our space. Sometimes, if I left it messy for long enough, my mom would come behind me and tidy up or clean-up after me. At Forge, we are not going to be your moms – you have great ones already so no need for us! Jokes aside, all we ask is that you keep your working areas free from too much clutter, throw away your trash, and make sure the space is clean for the next person.
4. Be considerate
Coworking spaces are awesome (yes, we are a little biased). We want all of our members and guests to feel welcomed and loved. You play a role in that as well. We simply ask that you be considerate of other people, everyone’s time, our spaces, and the staff here.
We love that you’re here, and we hope that your experience goes above and beyond your expectations. We are going to do everything we can to make sure your time here is as comfortable and easy as possible. While we are doing our part, we kindly ask that you do yours, as a member, and remember these coworking space etiquettes.
Forge is a wonderful place to work and connect or network, even if virtually (thanks COVID), and we are so excited you are here! Please reach out to us if you need anything! We love that you chose us to be your working home!
Forge News and Updates |
This past week at Forge we had the pleasure of hosting our first in-person event since the pandemic. And even better is that it was a Lunch and Learn with one of Forge’s members Kameron Monet!
Instagram is a great platform to promote your business, reach your target audience and show the behind the scenes of running your business. One of Kameron’s favorite tools to use on Instagram is Reels! Kameron shared how she creates various types of Reels to connect with her audience in a fun, creative and effective way!
Kameron is a YouTuber, influencer and lawyer – a queen to say the least. During her Lunch and Learn she dove into how to grow your business or personal brand using Instagram reels.
Benefits Of Using Reels
She highlighted 4 of the benefits of using the reels feature on Instagram.
- You can create fun, unique and engaging short videos.
- Instagram prioritizes reels
- It increases engagement from your followers through video content
- They have a longer “shelf life” and continue to get views even for weeks after the original post
Instagram provides many different tools to help users create and edit their reels content. These aid in pushing content to the forefront of of reels. Kameron included Important things to remember when creating reels
- Adding humor or creating a more serious topic into something comical can attract more attention.
- Use trendy songs and sounds (these can be found by googling “viral Tik Tok sounds or music now”)
- Always have a call to action- whether that be in your caption or the video itself.
- Don’t be afraid to repurpose content- it is okay to reuse photos from the same day or videos you took months in advance
Always keep in mind that the type of following you have is more important than the number of followers. This may look different for everyone, but remembering that you would rather have a handful of loyal followers who actively engage with your content than hundreds of bystanders who are not supporting you personally or your business.
Creating a Reel
- In the Instagram app click create where you would usually begin a normal post or story
- From there it will give you the option to create a reel
- Once you click that, it will open up to allow you to use multiple tools including adjusting the length, adding audio, a timer to align your videos and effects to change the overall appearance.
- MOST IMPORTANTLY- always save your reel and once you take it off of your feed and only have it in your reels tab you cannot undo this action.
Remember, people buy from people so don’t be afraid to share the story behind your business!
If you were unable to attend the event the YouTube video can be found HERE!
In addition, Forge is running a Summer Special for new members! If you join in the month of May or June you can buy one month of Coworking or Dedicated Desk space and receive an entire month FREE! Book a tour today!
Forge News and Updates |
Do you enjoy working from home? Even though many of us like the concept of working from home, it’s common for people to feel disconnected from their colleagues and isolated.
We know the WFH crowd is looking for ways to stay productive in the same rooms in which we sleep, eat and play… while maintaining a feeling of connection with coworkers.
“Before the coronavirus, an estimated 43% of Americans worked from home at least some of the time.”
– Gallup
1. Keep a morning routine.
If you normally start the day off with a workout, walk, quick meditation or taking a shower, keep that routine. Don’t start responding to email or Slack when you first wake up! Get up and have a morning routine like you normally would if you were going into the office.
2. Choose a dedicated workspace in your home.
Even though we hate to admit it, productivity suffers when we work from bed. Be sure to set up a designated work area at a desk or even at your kitchen table instead of lounging in bed. It will help to cue your body that it’s time to be productive!
3. Set up in a spot with some natural light.
A 2018 study found that people working in naturally-lit spaces reported less eye strain, headaches and drowsiness. And a recent poll of workers showed that we all crave natural light in our workspace more than perks like gyms or cafeterias, per Harvard Business Review.
Work near a window at home- it could even help you sleep better at night!
4. Pick up the phone and turn your camera on.
As much as you may not want to pick up the phone or turn on your laptop camera, you’ll get more done if you connect with coworkers vocally and visually. Consider calling your coworker instead of writing a super long email sometimes. Even though you’re working from home, it’s important to keep building those relationships.
5. Take a walk at lunch!
A 2020 study found participants reporting “better concentration and less fatigue in the afternoon” after just 15 minutes spent strolling in the park. Most of us know that taking a walk is good for us but it’s often overlooked when you have other tasks on your plate.
6. Adjust the sound.
For a lot of people, it’s too quiet at home. There’s no office buzz going on around them, and they miss it. For others, playing music — especially with headphones in — can help cut out the noise from family members or roommates who might also be working or schooling from home.
7. Be patient with yourself.
Try to be flexible and understanding as you find your rhythm and dial into working from home. Even if working from home is only a temporary arrangement for you, you’ll be glad you did.
If you’re tired of working from home, we have the Summer Special just for you! Join in the month of May or June, buy one month get one month FREE!
