The Law Offices of Justin B. Stivers February 2019

The Law Offices of Justin B. Stivers February 2019

Justin B.Stivers T H E L AW O F F I C E S O F A P R O B AT E F I R M

305-422-1614

www.ProbateFirm.com

February 2019

Growth vs. Relationships

The Dichotomy Between the Two

The more I practice law, the more I see the inherent conflict in how lawyers relate to our clients. On the one hand, we work with people and provide customer service, and on the other, we are trying to grow a business. How can we focus on meeting the specific needs of our individual clients while seeking to provide our services to the broadest spectrum of the population as possible? The two ideas seem to be at odds. While there are probably many different ways to approach this, I think it’s important to strive for balance. Here’s how I go about it. My approach to how our firm does business is very process-oriented, but I certainly care about my clients. It’s important to walk them through each step of our process so that they are in the loop, but sometimes this presents another issue: The more information we give, the more control a client is going to naturally assume over their case. And while it is crucial that clients understand the many moving parts relative to their needs, it’s just as pivotal for them to let the attorneys do our job. As a lawyer, my goal is the same as the client’s — to achieve results. Most of our clients are with us for 5–8 months, so we’re definitely going to develop a relationship with them, but these connections are strictly professional. While there is indeed a range of emotions our clients go through, the best way to care for them is to do our job at a high-

performance level. Constant communication and professionalism go a long way towards getting desirable results. When it comes to growth, keeping our relationships professional allows me to scale my business effectively. I can lend a listening ear, and I often do lend support that way, but navigating emotional complexities is not my expertise. The best way for my firm to get results is to make sure we focus our energy on executing our legal duties. Our obligation is to our clients, first and foremost. We build deeper connections in other ways — such as this newsletter — or through in-person conversations. Our clients experience stress because they are going through a time in their lives when they need legal help. We can help alleviate that stress by creating streamlined systems

for them. The loss of a loved one is hard enough, but the legal wrangling that comes afterward can be a heavy burden that often doesn’t allow proper mourning. Funeral plans, probate court, and family arguments can take up a significant amount of time, and they can draw the focus away from honoring the deceased. We help by making sure that the experience of dealing with a lawyer isn’t one of those constant pain points. My job is to eliminate as much stress as possible and to help families move forward in life. I want to help as many people as I can so that growth and relationships work together, not against each other.

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The best way for my firm to get results is to make sure we focus our energy on executing our legal duties.

_Justin B. Stivers

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Hyperlocal Advertising for the Broad Modern Business Marketing Starts Right Next Door

The Reason Employees Are Quitting in Droves

According to a survey conducted by Randstad, 60 percent of American employees either quit or strongly considered quitting their jobs last year. That’s a number that should terrify any business owner. However, instead of panicking, consider this record-breaking moment in U.S. employment history an invitation to take a long, hard look at your organization. Are members of your team waiting for the perfect moment to bail? And if so, why? It’s not because the majority of employees are ruthless careerists or disloyal money-grubbers. If we look at Mental Health America’s 2018 Workplace Health Survey, it mostly boils down to the fact that over half of American employees feel unappreciated, unsupported, and disrespected by management. In fact, 21 percent of respondents said that instead of being paid what they deserve, they’re nickel-and- dimed when raise season arrives, and 77 percent believed that instead of being lifted up for their accomplishments, employees were forced to toil away in the corner, feeling invisible. Sadly, scarcely more than 34 percent of respondents believed they could rely on the support of their managers and colleagues. The numbers paint a disheartening picture of the average workplace. If you’ve been a manager for a long time, it can be difficult to imagine how frustrated an undervalued member of your team can feel and how these feelings can spread throughout your organization, leaving all your employees discontent. It’s imperative to listen and respond to your employees’ concerns. It takes more than instituting an open-door policy and relaxing work requirements — two characteristics of healthy workplaces, as rated by respondents. You need to commit resources to eliminating the problem. Start with the highest-level leaders of your business. Work with them on how to interact with the rest of your team in more human, empathetic, and responsive ways. Training and assessments are a good start, but you may also need to revamp the mentality and core values of your company. In a world where finding a new job is easier than ever, managers cannot afford to ignore the needs of their employees. Evolve and acknowledge the emotions in your workplace or risk losing all that you’ve invested in your top performers.

Whether you’re the CEO of a major tech-savvy corporation or a freelancer, your eyes should be set on your next marketing move in this digital age. While spinning signs on sidewalks and flying banners from the backs of airplanes may be considered staples of public outreach to some, the tides are shifting to more targeted ways of reaching your future clientele. Virtually any business can benefit from utilizing hyperlocal advertising and its many strategic facets. Hyperlocal advertising refers to the process of hyperspecific or niche marketing campaigns implemented for a certain focus area. This can manifest in many comprehensive forms, depending on the specific needs of the business. A local mom and pop restaurant may choose to take advantage of hyperlocal advertising by sending ads to potential customers within a 5-mile radius during the hours they are most likely to be hungry, on their lunch breaks, or when they are otherwise free to stop in for a bite to eat. Alternatively, a major car dealership in a metropolitan area could target their potential audience by running ads during local professional sports games. So how does this work for YOUR business? It all depends on your desired campaign for your targeted region. Assuming you’re well-informed about your current demographics or the demographics you’re hoping to reach, there are several methods to effectively implement hyperlocal advertising tactics. By using GPS and IP addresses, you'll be able to target ads to specific cities, streets, and even buildings by inputting their coordinates. After you’ve narrowed it down, you can choose which areas work best for your goals. A mechanic shop expanding to a new city may cast a wider net, while a high-end jeweler may target areas with higher incomes. With hyperlocal strategies, your advertisements can be catered on a variety of digital platforms, like social media, streaming services, and apps. These new-age technologies will give you more exposure and patronage for your ever-expanding business!

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Why Your Business Needs to Implement Two-Factor Authentication Now, Not Later

HAVE A Laugh Here’s where two-factor authentication (2FA) comes in. 2FA forces users to input more than one field of identification to access their account. If you’ve ever used your PIN at an ATM, you’ve already used 2FA, but many other forms exist. When logging into your email, Google can send an alert to your phone that includes a login number, which you type on your PC to gain access to your account. Banks often couple passwords with one of your security questions. Whatever the tactic, it’s much sturdier than your average password. It’s still not foolproof, but it’s an excellent first-line defense against hackers. A survey by Paychex recently found that 68 percent of small business leaders remain unworried about their digital security. If you need proof, you can just look at the passwords they and their employees use. According to SecureAuth, a staggering 81 percent of Americans use the same passwords for multiple accounts, the majority of which are unimaginative old standbys like “1234567,” “qwerty,” and “password.” These trends, compounded by the fact that passwords generally aren’t very airtight, turn the typical login and password combination into a paper shield for hackers. Even stronger passwords that include multiple uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and other characters often only take a few hours to crack with an advanced brute-force tool. Once they’re cracked, they’re often posted on the darknet or sold to the highest bidder.

However, implementing 2FA into your own business isn’t the easiest proposition. You’ll either need to create a custom solution — a big headache that may not be worth it for your small business — or hire a technical company suited for the job. This doesn’t have to be expensive. It’s worth noting, though, that whenever you bring in an outside party, it’s a potential failure point for your cybersecurity. It’s vital to vet them properly and ensure they practice what they preach. 2FA can’t be the beginning and end of your cybersecurity strategy, but consider it a large first step toward protecting your livelihood. Trust us — when the digital wolves come knocking at your door, you’ll be glad you installed the door in the first place.

PUZZLE

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Inside This Edition

1.

Can You Grow a Business and Care about People?

2.

Why Employees Are Quitting in Droves

Better Targeted Ads for Your Local Customers

3.

2FA Is Essential to Business Security

Have a Laugh

4.

How to Create a Culture of Love

Create a Culture of Love in Your Company 2 Tactics That Will Create Loyal Employees Company growth is the top priority for many entrepreneurs. If a business stagnates, it will eventually fail. However, when leaders focus solely on finding the best ways to reach new customers, they often overlook an integral part of running a cohesive company. While an operational-minded approach will do wonders for the efficiency of your business, behind every company’s success are the employees who made it possible. That’s why this Valentine's Day is the perfect time to create a culture of love in your company. FAMILY One of the best things you can do is invest in what matters most to your employees: their families. A familiar problem for many business owners is that their families can fall by the wayside amid the complications of running an organization. Your employees can also face this struggle. The chaos of trying to raise children while balancing a career and a personal life is a significant stressor. As the leader of your company, you can help ease these burdens. A date night for an anniversary, spontaneous time off, or even added vacation

time are all simple gestures that go a long way to create a company culture where your employees feel loved. AUTONOMY A dangerous pitfall for many entrepreneurs is developing a detachment between their own work life and the work lives of their team members. During the growth of the business, owners can fall into the age-old employee-boss mindset, and that hierarchy often creates a rigid environment. The moment an employee starts to look at their manager as a boss is also when they start to see their work as a job rather than a career they’re excited about. Trust and autonomy are essential to developing a productive professional relationship, and offering your employees remote work, flexible schedules, and the freedom to take control of their workdays are great ways to establish reciprocal relationships and foster entrepreneurial mindsets. Try some of these tactics at your company this February to create a culture of love where your employees and customers thrive.

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