Jessica Bertsch, Author at Powerhouse Planning

MARKETING BUZZ

Diversify Marketing Strategies with Workplace Inclusivity

By: Carolyn Rawson

Making a big impact as a brand means targeting a diverse market. But reaching a diverse market begins with inclusive etiquette in the workplace.

An inclusive work environment ensures a healthy mix of perspectives and a greater understanding of the customers your business has the potential to serve. It consists of employees of varying race, ethnicity, physical appearance, and abilities.

More and more companies are cluing into the fact that inclusivity is not only ethical but also an integral part of a healthy, attuned workforce.

Trends in inclusivity have the power to keep your employees motivated, challenged, and engaged—all while keeping your brand on the cutting edge of an increasingly heterogeneous market.

Here are some of the latest trends in inclusive business practices. Their implementation will attract a strong and diverse workforce, one that will understand your customers because of their strong, foundational respect for one another.

Training Employees to Recognize Unconscious Bias

Ongoing education is an important component of a healthy work environment. Many businesses already conduct seminars covering topics from sexual assault to personality assessments. Human resource teams should expand training to teach leaders and employees about unconscious bias.

In an environment where cooperation—not consternation—is key, preconceived stereotypes can become an obstacle. But acknowledging unconscious bias helps to break down these often-invisible barriers and make a diverse workforce more confident and cohesive.

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Jessica Bertsch2023-10-01T22:49:42-04:00October 1st, 2023|Marketing Buzz, PowerTips e-newsletter|

BUSINESS ETIQUETTE

Inclusivity in Marketing

By: Meredith Flory

Diversity is a term often used in workplace settings, referring to seeing or experiencing a wide range of human experiences and identities represented within a group of people. Marketing for many companies has become more diverse, in hopes of reflecting our communities better.

In fact, an oft-told celebrity story, such as in this 2021 CNN article, is how Meghan Markle wrote a letter to Proctor & Gamble as a child about how their marketing was aimed only at women and pointed out the sexism inherent in marketing cleaning supplies only to women. She has continued to work for women’s issues as an adult public figure.

Over the past few decades, consumers have witnessed a shift in marketing, with many household product companies increasing their diversity in advertising to reach beyond just white, suburban moms to anyone who might need these products for the home, with varying racial identities and family makeups being represented on screen.

While this is more in line with our society, it’s also good business sense to increase your customer base. But what’s the next step?

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Jessica Bertsch2023-10-01T22:49:05-04:00October 1st, 2023|Business Etiquette, PowerTips e-newsletter|

GIVING BACK & GETTING INVOLVED

Milspo-Owned Powerhouse Reflects on Year of Empowering the Homefront

By: Julie Kirchner

On a stormy September morning in 2022, a group of Powerhouse team members gathered in a hotel hospitality suite high above St. Pete beach. Powerhouse knows how to have fun together as a team, and no amount of rain could dampen the spirits of this group. The energy in the room was as palpable as the humidity. The company’s 10-year anniversary celebration had brought together Powerhouse freelancers and their spouses from all corners of the United States to commemorate the important milestone together. For many, it was our first time together in person, even having worked together remotely for years.

The focus of the agenda this particular morning was rooted in a core part of Powerhouse’s team culture—our mission to “Share the Goodness”—and the room quickly filled with stories, ideas, and plans to launch a program to help lift up other military spouses with career support. It was then that an official volunteer committee was formed, and Powerhouse’s Empowering the Homefront program was born.

Empowering the Homefront is a pilot program designed by Powerhouse Planning to empower and provide career support to military spouses. Through the program, military spouses have the opportunity to be selected through an application process to receive career kick-start prizes, including free resume makeovers, mentorship, and other career tools and support.

As a Coast Guard spouse, Jessica Bertsch knows firsthand the sacrifices and unique challenges military spouses face, which led to her creation of Powerhouse Planning, a company devoted to providing clients with remote team solutions through employment of skills and talents of military spouses and other remotely located individuals. We have lived and seen the amazing skills military spouses possess that are often underutilized as they support their spouses’ military careers, which require them to be flexible and adaptive.

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Jessica Bertsch2024-06-24T15:02:49-04:00October 1st, 2023|Giving Back & Getting Involved, PowerTips e-newsletter|

BUSINESS RESOURCES

With diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) becoming more and more important to consumers and employers alike, we’ve compiled a short list of online resources designed to give you a better understanding of what inclusive marketing is and how you can improve your own marketing campaigns.

For a broad overview of inclusive marketing, including information on what consumers are thinking about it, check out Amazon Ads’ guide.

Looking for resources to help you get started on making your marketing more inclusive? Google’s Inclusive Marketing site is for you! Complete with helpful tips, audience insights, and more, this site will give you a great base of knowledge from which to build.

For a great read on why inclusive marketing needs to become our default, check out Forbes.com’s article.

Want more? Powerhouse Planning can help. Contact us today for more information.

Jessica Bertsch2023-10-01T22:48:17-04:00October 1st, 2023|Business Resources, PowerTips e-newsletter|

New Powerhouse Team Member

Melissa is overjoyed to join the Powerhouse team as an office administrator. Having found success in team sports, she feels like she can contribute her energetic, loyal, and organized self in assisting with all the needs of the admin team. With over 15 years of customer service-based roles, she has found that leading with a positive attitude, being willing to take on any task, and always giving your best will lead to success! Raised in Oregon, she earned a B.S. in sociology while playing for the University of Oregon Division I women’s soccer team. Shortly after graduating, she married her husband, a newly commissioned Marine Corps pilot. After stops in San Diego and Corpus Christi, they landed in New England, where they currently reside with three active children. Melissa has over 20 years of milspouse experience with several different branches—the Marine Corps, Navy, Marine Corps Reserve, and currently Air National Guard. If Melissa had free time, she would love to be hiking outside or enjoying a freshly squeezed margarita.

Jessica Bertsch2024-01-26T13:36:18-05:00September 29th, 2023|Powerhouse News|

LEADERSHIP SPOTLIGHT

Growing Community with Liza Rodewald of Instant Teams

By: Carolyn Rawson

Co-founded by software engineer Liza Rodewald in 2016, Instant Teams’ talent marketplace has consistently grown and facilitated more than 5,000 direct hires. Beyond their remarkable success, we wanted to know more about the launch of their new app, Twelve Million Plus, and how it’s designed to support the military spouse community.

Liza Rodewald was busy writing government software when she met and married her husband, an active-duty Army officer. Immediately enveloped in military life, she found herself surrounded by fellow military spouses wanting to know how she remained so gainfully employed. For most military families, moves are frequent, making it challenging for dependents to find and maintain jobs.

Approaching her, they would often ask, “How are you working from home? What are you doing? I’ve been struggling with getting a job for so many years . . .”

Liza sympathized, admiring their tenacity. “I love the fact that military spouses build community,” she says. “They are productive with their time, they are appreciative of opportunities, they want to keep [those opportunities], and they’re going to perform.”

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Jessica Bertsch2024-06-24T15:05:49-04:00July 1st, 2023|Leadership Highlight, PowerTips e-newsletter|

POWERHOUSE OUT & ABOUT

Powerhouse President and CEO Jessica Bertsch will once again be lending her expertise to the annual PILLAR conference. PILLAR is a once-a-year online retreat designed for military spouses of all branches of service. Full of wisdom, tips, and sympathetic ears, PILLAR is a fantastic way to grow your military spouse community and get access to information and resources available to you. For more information on PILLAR’s founders, check out this interview we did with them last year.

If you are a military spouse and have not already registered for PILLAR 2023, don’t wait! Spots fill up quickly. Save your spot today. We promise you won’t be disappointed.

Jessica Bertsch2023-07-03T09:21:49-04:00July 1st, 2023|PowerTips e-newsletter|

Did You Know?

According to statista.com, online sales were responsible for $5.2 trillion dollars in global sales in 2021. While online commerce exploded during the pandemic, it is still growing and is expected to become an $8.1 trillion dollar industry by 2026. In 2023 alone, online purchases are projected to account for 22% of all retail purchases.

In addition to the importance of online commerce to business growth over the next few years, social media isn’t going anywhere. In fact, it is expected to increase in importance over the next five to ten years. So, if you don’t have an online business presence yet, now is the time to get on board.

Two other hot topics in business growth include creating/offering hybrid work solutions (or fully remote work scenarios) and utilizing AI applications. With the rise of AI technology like ChatGPT, companies will be looking to increase effectiveness without a lot of overhead costs. A word of caution: Some companies aren’t sure about the efficiency of remote work, and AI technology currently does not offer capabilities such as copyright.

At Powerhouse, we have perfected the remote team solution and the ability to help you grow your business for less than the cost of a full-time employee. Interested in learning more? Check out our website or contact us today.

Jessica Bertsch2023-06-09T11:19:43-04:00July 1st, 2023|PowerTips e-newsletter|

BUSINESS RESOURCES

Business growth starts with a plan—and is followed by lots of hard work. For ideas on how to grow your business, we’ve compiled a short list here. As always, Powerhouse Planning is well equipped to help you grow your business through our total remote team solution.

For proven business growth strategies (with examples) check out this Terakeet.com article. While the article isn’t geared specifically toward small businesses, it does give a great overview of the strategic thinking behind business growth and the elements to consider when crafting a growth plan.

The Harvard Business Review’s oldie-but-goodie article “The Five Stages of Small Business Growth” is a thorough overview of the life cycle of a business development plan, complete with charts and explanations that still ring true. It’s a good primer on what goes into developing a business strategy.

If you are in the retail industry, check out Thryv’s top tips for short-term business growth that might just turn into long-term gains. This super quick read may jump-start your business growth brainstorming.

Want more? Powerhouse Planning can help. From free resources, such as this one on building partnerships, to full-scale business growth services, we’ve got you covered. Contact us today for more information.

Jessica Bertsch2023-06-09T10:39:06-04:00July 1st, 2023|Business Resources, PowerTips e-newsletter|

BUSINESS ETIQUETTE

The Case for Common Courtesy

By: Heatherlynn Akins

Just a quick Google search for “business growth + business etiquette” results in page after page of sites dedicated to how important business etiquette is to grow your business successfully. Click on any site that comes up in that same search and no matter how it’s worded, it all boils down to this: If you want to succeed, you must practice common courtesy,

As GCFGlobal puts it, common courtesy is all about “adopt[ing] the ‘you’ attitude—consider[ing] others’ needs and feelings first.” Really, as small business owners, no matter what our industry is, we are in the business of customer service. If our clients don’t like us, we don’t retain them, and they don’t refer others to us. First impressions matter, as do second and third and twenty-third. By practicing common courtesy, we are creating a professional atmosphere that makes our clients feel respected and our employees feel heard and important—and that translates to business growth and success.

Though business etiquette changes given the times (especially given the technological advancements of recent decades), social mores, and culture, what remains timeless is treating others with dignity and respect. So, what are some easy things you can do to improve the common courtesy culture in your organization? Consider the following tips:

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Jessica Bertsch2023-06-25T19:28:07-04:00July 1st, 2023|Business Etiquette, PowerTips e-newsletter|