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Category: Small Biz

Bode’s Top 5 from 2025

Kim Bode points to the words, "Top 5"

2025 was a year of reckoning for me both personally and professionally. I got to experience the joy that is perimenopause, continue navigating my ADHD, and I got to witness […]

The Trauma that Built Me

Kim Bode sits next to the quote, "Trauma may have built you, but it doesn't define you."

I have the phrase “find comfort in the uncomfortable” tattooed on my arm; it’s a reminder that growth happens in the uncomfortable, and while this is true, it’s also my […]

Own Your Quirks

Kim Bode points a stick at her dog, Joey. Text reads, "QUIRKS."

I am the most unathletic person you will ever meet. If you don’t believe me, watch the video of me rollerblading—it’s on my Instagram. I’m not giving you the link, […]

We Don’t Do Marketing

Kim Bode laughing

(If I hear this one more time, I’m gonna throat punch someone.) If I had a dollar for every time a technical or contracting company said, “We don’t do marketing*,” […]

Hire Slow

If I asked you what your hiring process is would you say: 1. Post job to Indeed/LinkedIn or other job boards, 2. Filter through applicants, 3. Schedule interviews, 4. Interview, […]

Back from Vacay Vibes

Ocean

Coming back from vacation is so overwhelming that it’s tempting to just never take one. That’s basically been my approach for 2022. To state the obvious, that is not healthy. […]

Exhausted

I spoke to several female business owners/professionals in the past few weeks and they all have one thing in common, they’re exhausted. Just absolutely burned out. Their mental health is […]

What are you so afraid of?

I’m irrationally mad about the “return to office” discussion/debate/controversy. It’s probably because it is bringing back memories from early on in my career when a bunch of old guys were […]

Cut yourself some slack

Coming back from a holiday weekend is kind of a nightmare. I woke up this a.m. completely overwhelmed with all the things I needed to get done and a foreboding […]

Find comfort in the uncomfortable

Many of you reading this know I have this saying tattooed on my arm, it is my reminder that growth is never easy and requires all of us to push […]

It’s time to rethink the 4-year degree

This blog probably won’t earn me a lot of friends in academia or in the parenting world, but hell it needs to be said. No matter what profession you are […]

Goodbyes are never easy

My most hated phrase of all time is, “hey do you have a second to chat?” There is never ANY good news that comes with that question. If you ask […]

How to crush an interview

It was time to update this blog, the original was written in 2018 and was recently trolled by someone who pointed out several spelling and grammatical errors (oops)…so I figured […]

Code of Ethics: Trump Administration

Public relation professionals are required to abide by a code of ethics. You can read the entire code here, but for the purpose of this blog, I want to highlight […]

It’s all about the hustle

PR seems like a sexy field, am I right? If your older like me, then you think of Samantha from Sex in the City and her high rolling lifestyle. She […]

Keep your monkey

We have a saying at our office, “keep the monkey.” Yeah, it’s weird, but here is the point. You’ve heard people say, “I have a monkey on my back.” They’re […]

We’re doing the best we can.

So, 2020 has been a bit of a challenge. I believe the word tossed around frequently is “unprecedented.” I’ve been talking to my small biz friends and we are all […]

Pivot Part 3: Planning and Action

I know we’re all sick of the word pivot, but I gotta finish the blog series so just hold on through this last part. If you’re new to this riveting […]

Pivot Part 2: Assess and Educate

Let’s get back to where we left off in Part 1: Pivot!, I wanted to go into more detail about the steps we took, the organizations that stepped up in […]

Pivot! What other choice do you have?

It’s been a while since I’ve posted, been a little busy ensuring we survive this damn pandemic. Priorities, I suppose. The first week, we lost over $15,000 in revenue a […]

Weathering this storm

If I hear the word “unprecedented” one more time, I’m going to scream. We are being bombarded by news by the time we wake up to the time we finally […]

Small Business Hazard Ahead

As if running a small business wasn’t hard enough, now we’re dealing with a pandemic. At this point, no one has any idea what that will mean for second-stage companies […]

Interview WTFs: Observations & Tips

A growing business is a blessing and a challenge. Hiring is one of the hardest endeavors, regardless of business size. When you have an entry-level position you are hiring for, […]

The business owner support group

I had an interesting convo with my therapist the other day (more people should admit they see one, helps erase the stigma), we were chatting about the stress a business […]

Sunday Scaries

Am I the only one, who had never heard this saying, until recently? According to the internet, that is always right in all these types of things, the Sunday Scaries […]

What’s that smell? A lesson in teamwork

I was reminded the other day of the power of teamwork and what can be accomplished when we work together. Around 3:00 a.m. this past weekend, Joey (one of 7 […]

Fork out the dough, do right by your interns

My lovely friend, Adrienne Wallace, spoke about paid interns at her acceptance speech for PR Pro of the Year or Badass Superwoman of the Year (I forget the category) and […]

Get it over with, stop procrastinating

Ever find yourself scrolling through Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn…all the photos in your phone…the latest Ann Taylor sale…basically doing anything but tackling the looming project that is due? I’m convinced it […]

Listen up

One of the most important skills a person can possess is the ability to listen. In a world where phones are beeping, watches are buzzing and emails are popping up…we […]

Be comfortable with change

Be comfortable with change is the best piece of advice I can offer you. Life is going to throw a lot of curve balls your way, so line up to […]

Supporting small business

My favorite subject is small business and through the 8THIRTYFOUR Happy Hour Hustle podcast, WGVU Your Biz Your Town radio show with Shelley Irwin or this blog, I am constantly […]

The benefits of team retreats

The 8THIRTYFOUR team, took time out to reconnect, strategize and explore a small town in Northern Michigan this past week. Since we began implementing the Entrepreneurial Operating System® (EOS®), we […]

Leadership lessons from an accidental leader

Most entrepreneurs and business owners fail terribly a leading. No one tells you when you start your business, that you will someday have to manage an entire team. At the […]

Blogging lessons (11 years and counting)

We are blogging maniacs at 8THIRTYFOUR, we blog twice a week or more depending on breaking industry news. That is a lot of content to create, which means we have […]

Be the leader you wish you had

The worst bosses I ever had…were women. I know I am not alone, many share the same experiences. These experiences have driven me to be a better leader and to […]

Pessimism and success

I was labeled a pessimist the other day and my first reaction was to be defensive. Let’s be honest, pessimism is not viewed favorably; we are considered the Eeyores of […]

Cultivating client relationships

The most important relationships in your business are the ones you already have. We spend so much time searching for the next big thing, new project, new client…we miss or […]

Get writing!

If you are not writing, do you even exist? Kidding…sort of. In the world of business ownership, you have to write – emails, blogs, notes, strategies, press releases, newsletters…the list […]

Stop worrying about being liked

Why, as women, do we feel the need to be liked by everyone? Why are our feelings hurt when we aren’t included? Is high school still haunting us? I won’t […]

What the hell is mindfulness

I have heard the word mindfulness at least 15 times this week (ok, maybe it was 3 times), so I started wondering what the hell it is. Here is the […]

Don’t forget the soft skills

It seems all you hear  talk about these days is the need for skilled, STEM and high-tech candidates. A recent article by the Washington Post titled, Forget coding. It’s the soft […]

Becoming the best boss

I’ve made a lot of mistakes along this small business journey and leadership is at the top. No need to rehash for the purpose of this blog, don’t worry they […]

Make decisions in the present

Perhaps one of the most harmful things we can do as business owners is dwell on the past. It is hard to look forward and not backwards when we are […]

Consistency is annoying, but necessary

As entrepreneurs and business owners, our days are anything but consistent. It is a word we loathe, how can we possibly be consistent when everyday is full of surprises and […]

Prioritize that one thing that makes you happy

With it being Friday, I want to remind you to put yourself and your happiness first. We get lost in our responsibilities, to-do lists, worries and commitments; losing focus often […]

The art of procrastination

Don’t have a heart attack, but I currently have 1,215 emails in my inbox. Are you hyperventilating? Take a deep breath, here’s a paper bag – I hear you can […]

So…you want to be an entrepreneur

I would never discourage anyone from starting their own business and going out on their own, but I do think it is important to have all the facts before making […]

The balance myth

I’ve been having a conversation with several other business owners regarding balance and finding that within your life. Can I just say, I think it is utter bullshit? When did […]

Superbowl: A lesson in leadership

I couldn’t help rooting for the Philadelphia Eagles last night, Nick Foles’ story is just amazing and who doesn’t love a great underdog story? As everyone by now knows, Foles almost […]

Evolving business habits

When starting a business the only thing you can think of is….$$$. How will you pay bills? Hire employees? Feed your dog? Fast forward and you are now a relatively […]

Throwing a message (not just a party)

Yesterday, 8THIRTYFOUR officially celebrated 11 years with our community, clients and staff. While our anniversary gave us an excuse to throw a party, our intent was much more powerful than […]

Learning to celebrate

Apparently 11 years is a milestone for a small business, or so I’ve been told. This week we are throwing a party to celebrate 8THIRTYFOUR’s eleventh anniversary, while also highlighting […]

Leadership cannot exist without truth

“Leadership that is not deeply rooted in a foundation of truth is leadership destined to fail.” – Mike Myatt of Innovation Excellence. As a leader, you are only as good […]

Small Biz Musings Top Blogs of 2017

My top blogs of 2017 were incredibly personal and a bit painful to write. I narrowed last year’s blogs down to the top 5. In each of these my passion […]

Creating a marketing plan

Strategies are hard. Where the hell do you even start? Whether you are the one responsible for creating a marketing plan or you are working with an agency, you need […]

2018 Planning

The holidays are a great time to sit back and strategize on your business for the coming year. The weeks leading up to Christmas are a great reprieve from email, […]

Forget the holiday cheer

The holidays, am I right? Just typing that I am exhausted. What is it about them that just mentally exhausts us and makes us ridiculously emotional? For a lot of […]

Employees & Social Media

The use of social media is a hot topic around our office lately. We have a social media policy at 8THIRTYFOUR, it is all of one paragraph and states that […]

Motivation in loss

How do you stay motivated when faced with overwhelming loss? Whether it is a death, personal failure, business failure or other; motivation can seem unattainable – especially when all you […]

Screwing up and moving on

I failed today in setting an example, in leading, in following our core values. I let frustration and stress get the better of me. Want to know the great thing […]

It can’t be perfect

It is hard to fight perfection. We are taught that we should always pursue it, even if it isn’t attainable. Why is that? If it is a lesson in failure […]

Booze & Politics

I had a friend send me the below the other day and I literally laughed out loud and then went and followed Smirnoff on all of their social channels. Whatever […]

Nitty Gritty PR

I am sitting here with perma-grin on my face after creating a presentation for the GVSU Public Relations Student Society of America. The group asked me to speak on the […]

Me Too: Utilizing Social Media for Advocacy

Me Too. A powerful two word phrase that has been spreading like wildfire on social media started up on Sunday night. With the Harvey Weinstein sexual assault allegations dominating headlines, […]

Millennials and brand loyalty

This article previously appeared in the Grand Rapids Business Journal on September 29, 2017. Peanut butter. Jam. Bread. Besides a craving for a sandwich, do you think of certain brands […]

Holiday marketing: Tis’ the season!

My favoritist (I know it isn’t a word), time of the year is Christmas. I love everything about the holiday season – the gift wrapping, decorations, parties, food, gift-giving and […]

Brand statements: Just say something already

Recently Anheuser-Busch released a statement on the NFL ‘kneeling’ controversy and in 110 or so words said absolutely nothing. At Anheuser-Busch we have a long heritage of supporting the institutions […]

The value of core values

The definition of core values according to dictionary.com is the below: Core values are the fundamental beliefs of a person or organization. … Core values also help companies to determine if they are […]

The idea of a job tryout

Is it too easy to land a job? And I am not talking about those companies that do 6 hour interviews – that is ridiculous and I am not sure […]

Change is scary

I’m sure I have written on this before, but I don’t care. It’s my blog and I’ll write if I want to. My firm of 10 years just moved into […]

It’s ok to ask for help

I made the decision to go see a business coach/counselor/therapist – whatever you want to call it….and it was the best. Granted, I’ve gone once but I’m clearly already cured. […]

Is gratitude extinct?

Is gratitude lost in todays society, never to be found again? Am I jaded in thinking that younger professionals want things handed to them without first working for it? It […]

Behind closed doors

Behind closed doors and in private we are constantly thinking, worrying, fretting and planning. This is what business owners don’t tell you: The termination of an employee is not a […]

Let’s negotiate

Negotiation is a part of every aspect of our life. In your personal life it could be trying to get your spouse to do a chore or run an errand. […]

Lets stop apologizing

As women we are programmed to be apologetic. “Sorry i’m late.” “Sorry this seat is taken.” “Sorry to bother you.” “Sorry to interrupt.” Can we just knock it off already? […]

Everyone wants to be a leader

Everyone wants to be a leader, until you are and then you most definitely don’t. There are a lot of misconceptions on leadership, like you will have minions to do […]

It’s cool to be a quitter

Quitters never prosper. Don’t be a quitter. We’ve all heard it before, but when is it time to throw in the towel? As a small business owner, when do you […]

Setting boundaries

When do you put the phone away for the night? When do you close your laptop? Boundaries is something a small business owner will never have. We don’t shut it […]

The value in speaking

To be clear, I mean public speaking not just talking out loud. Although I do excel at that regardless if I have an audience. This week, actually today, I am […]

Show me the money

Jerry Maguire, eat your heart out. As a business owner you need to constantly ask yourself, “is this a good investment?” or “what is the ROI?” Marketing is one of […]

No time off for you

Before starting a business, ask yourself the question “Do I value time away from the grind?” There is no wrong answer to this question. The fact is, we all need […]

The crazy that is small business

It will be 10 years for 834 Design & Marketing this fall. Some of those years I would like to forget, there was a lot of failure, frustration and drinking […]

Invest the time into your new employee

As 834 continues to grow (along with my anxiety), we naturally add more employees. Our culture is a unique one, or so I have heard, and integrating a new employee […]

What does your brand champion?

What do you support? Do you stay neutral? Stay out of any political discourse? Many companies choose to quietly support or not support certain organizations in their community or remain […]

Hearing your employees

I always think it is ironic I write these blogs about management, when I often struggle to find my way. I guess I figure, when I am researching, reading and […]

It sure is lonely

Being a business owner is incredibly lonely. I am reminded of this daily, when I have no one but myself to turn to when it comes to tough decisions. No […]

#MPC17 – Networking

Is it important to be seen? To network? The answer is quite simply, yes. 834’s Lansing partner, Vanguard Public Affairs, and I are taking in the Michigan Policy Conference on […]

Being the leader your team deserves

If your team is struggling, that is on you. Don’t look to place the blame on someone else, it is your team. Leadership starts at the top. I was reminded […]

KPI and other acronyms that frighten me

When I first heard of KPIs (thanks Sue), I immediately felt dumb. I mean, what the hell is a key performance indicator? Also, why are there acronyms for everything? Sarcasm […]

Getting back on track

I just got back from being gone for 15 days. It was the longest I have traveled away from 834, my team and my dogs. It was amazing, scary, frustrating […]

5 ways to stay positive

Mondays, am I right? Seems like I never escape one without feeling overwhelmed, stressed and pissy. I usually go home, drink a bottle of wine and reflect on all the […]

The future of social media

I had a friend pose a question to me this past week on the future of social media. Will it remain an important tool for marketers? Has fake news, spam […]

A day in the life of a business owner

I was reading a recent Inc Magazine article and they interviewed multiple entrepreneurs such as Reddit, IPSY, SLACK and Shark Tank about how they spend their day. I thought, what a […]

How to give a memorable interview

We are in the process of hiring our summer interns for 834 which means lots and lots of interviews. Every interview we give is treated as important as if we […]

Marketing love: Southwest Airlines

I have long been a fan of Southwest Airlines. Besides the fact that their boarding process is genius, prices are on point and the staff always seems pretty damn nice […]

The snowflake test

We have all heard the saying “special snowflakes”, most often this is referring to a certain age group or generation. The connotation is not meant to be positive, rather it […]

Pitching your client

It still astounds me that PR professionals send mass emails when sharing client news. I didn’t think this was the norm anymore, until I was on the phone with my […]

In the face of adversity

This past weekend, I attended the West Point gala, Founder’s Day. The event is a celebration of Michigan graduates of the academy, as well as those who have just been […]

Building a PR calendar

One of the best ways a company can gain awareness is visibility in the media. Public Relations and media coverage has changed over the years which is good and bad. […]

Why employee benefits are important

Employees wanted to feel valued, in today’s world they are no longer working for just a paycheck. As a small business, benefits can be a large cost to undertake and […]

Make your own opportunities

I met with a potential client this past week and we started talking about networking, being a connector and building valuable relationships. I know I have talked about this in […]

Building a killer team

A recent Inc. article stated that high value work is now done more by teams than individuals with “type A” characteristics. The article went on to say that to solve complex problems, […]

The importance of company culture

So often the importance of company culture is overlooked. In the past few months, I have put emphasis on mapping 834’s culture out, but not all companies see the need […]

Are you risk adverse?

There is a lot in the works at 834 right now, it is exciting, thrilling, unknown and scary. But so what. Everything in life is terrifying if you think about […]

How important is design?

We have a saying around our office, “Presentation is just as important as strategy.” What I mean by that is we could have an amazing marketing strategy that we put […]

For the love of small business

Oh small businesses how do I love thee. I remember the early days of running 834, when it was myself, Bentley the wonder dog, my computer and a can-do attitude. […]

Stop trolling!

In the past few months I have been solicited multiple times through LinkedIn, email or phone. These individuals always have a great partnership opportunity for 834 and it is always […]

Grieve

Grief is a funny thing. They say time heals all things and perhaps that is true but at the time it is crushing, suffocating and unbearable. Loss leaves an empty, […]

Disagreement is part of teamwork

If everyone agreed, what would be the point of teamwork? Idea exchange is messy, loud and conflicting and that is how it should be. Too often, in this politically correct […]

Why you should quit your job

This past week I met with a young woman in her 20s that was considering starting her own business, primarily because she didn’t see another option. Her degree was not […]

The age of transparency

We live in an age where every tweet, post, gram and snap are available for the masses to see. Privacy is at a premium and those at the helm of […]

It is your choice

This past weekend was emotionally charged for a large portion of America and the world. There is no doubt that our nation is in a transition period and we have […]

Hosting a successful meeting

No lie, this is mapped out in our standard operating procedures. I absolutely hate meetings to have meetings, you can feel the productivity just sucked out of your day. Meetings […]

5 ways to improve your business now

“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” – Albert Einstein As a business owner you need to constantly adapt, innovate and be willing to […]

Sunday night prep

Mondays seem to hang over our heads mocking and taunting us as we enjoy football and relaxing on Sunday before heading back to work. As a business owner, prepping for […]

Make marketing your focus in 2017

Repeat after me: 2017 is going to be a great year for you, a phenomenal year, the best year ever. As a business owner, you set lofty goals for your […]

Take a deep breath. You got this.

The first day back after the holidays can be overwhelming. If you are like me, I tried to avoid even thinking about work while I was off, which proved to […]

Why guilt?

Why is it that guilt is an accepted and normal part of a small business owner’s life? I was taking time this past week to reflect on what I would […]

Should you diversify in the new year?

Don’t worry this isn’t another blog about resolutions that we all know you will never keep. Save yourself the trip to the gym and instead let’s focus on business diversification. […]

Want media coverage? Get creative.

There is no such thing as traditional PR anymore, I mean sure I can write up a press release and send to the masses and wait for my phone to […]

Support small by shopping small

As a small business I am a big supporter of shopping local, that being said I also hate shopping so if I can’t buy it online, I won’t buy it. […]

5 reasons to start a blog

I think everyone should have a blog, whether it is personal or company focused. I started Small Biz Musings, so I could talk about my journey as a business owner […]

Facing a difficult decision

In a previous post I wrote about adapting to change and surviving it. This morning I stumbled upon an article in Inc. that talked about the questions you should ask […]

Embracing change

I suck at change, which is rather ironic when you are a small business owner. Change is the norm. Over the years, I have adapted several ‘coping’ mechanisms to offset […]

Project management tips

We hear people say it all the time, how busy they are and how they can barely keep their head above water. Trust me, I get it. 834 is in […]

How to crush an interview

With growth comes hiring, with new hires comes lots and lots of interviews. How do you stand out from the crowd? How do you leave a good impression? As a […]

Michigan small business resources

In my blog last week I talked about the power of small businesses. It is no secret running a business is hard, most of us are not qualified to manage […]

Small businesses are driving Michigan’s economy

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), small businesses represent 99.7 percent of all employer firms. Since 1995, small businesses have generated 64 percent of new jobs, and paid […]

Do employees ask for too much?

My first job was working in the facilities planning department at a university, I was a glorified assistant/secretary and it was definitely not what I went to school for. I […]

Lessons from the Big Apple

It dawned on me after just returning from meetings in the Big Apple, that I am incredibly fucking blessed. 834 is the little engine that could, here’s why: Several years […]

Take Control of Your Schedule

Every week, I have a Sunday night freak out. I start worrying about the coming week, the stuff I didn’t get done on the weekend, the meetings I have to attend, […]

Taking emotion out of the equation

Making difficult decisions is part of being a business owner, whether it is parting ways with a client, admitting you screwed up or having unpleasant conversations with an employee. Running […]

The community factor

I wanted to start this blog out with “The problem with young-ins nowadays is…” but then I thought better of it. When I was just beginning my career I had no […]

Ensuring success: employee onboarding

We currently have a position open at our company and I started thinking about our employee onboarding process and integrating a new person into the 834 culture. Just this year, I […]

Get yourself some perspective

As I sit here writing this, I am staring out across a large body of water from my campsite in the Manistee National Forest. Seriously…look at this view! Holy shit […]

Growth is F**king hard.

You often hear how hard the startup stage is for a new business but not a lot of people address the headaches of growth. Personally, I think the growth stage […]

Leadership Lessons – Culture

One of the biggest issues I have struggled with as 834 continues to grow is culture. How do we maintain our existing culture when adding new employees into the mix? […]

Leadership: Someone is always watching

Most of us crave leadership, we want to be looked upon as an expert and someone that others look up to. But what does it take? You don’t wake up one […]

So…if you get hit by a bus

business succession plans

A bit morbid of a subject but something, as a business owner, you absolutely have to think about. This is especially relevant if you are the sole proprietor. After owning […]

Tax Time…Hell Time…Why?

This same time every year, I question my decision to run my own business. Why? Because…taxes. When you are paying out an unGodly amount at the end of the year, […]

Small business is hard.

I remember thinking, just last week, I wish someone had a small business handbook that gave you step by step instructions on running your company. When I started 834 back […]