Project: Talk To The Hand

The ‘90s. 

Is the fashion worth recycling? No. Do we have a Pandora station dedicated to ‘90s Hip hop? Yes. Do we revert ‘90s vernacular? Duh.

A most memorable catchphrase the youth used (and overused) when encountering topics, conversations, peoples or obstacles they did not want to face the circumstances:

Talk to the hand!!!

However, it gets better - because this colloquialism was not just uttered. The hand was lifted, and the head was dramatically turned away, “Talk to the hand…because the face just can’t understand.”

While this catchphrase may have died and become obsolete and extinct one thing has held on steadfast.

So that is the body language. It may not be so overt. It may not be so dramatic. But it gets the best of us when we clock in and we work alongside co-workers who far too often we see as the opposing force. Co-workers are team members but when every encounter provokes topics and conversations that seem like insurmountable obstacles our body language soon assumes a talk to the hand pose.

We become stiff. We avoid meeting their eyes; we roll our eyes. We avoid them in the halls. We give them our back.

Perhaps you’ve been on the receiving end. Perhaps you’ve been the generous benefactor.

What causes this alienation?

It stems from unsolicited advice. We all know the type: The person who is too eager to offer advice.

Here are a few quick questions to ask yourself when you think you have something wise and witty to say. This guideline that will help you know when people are more likely to be receptive to information. It might take you awhile to redeem yourself, but it is time for your team to pull together. Here’s a good place to start:

• Is there a problem or is it just an opportunity for you to express your opinion?

• Will it inspire your people?

• Will it enhance the work culture?

• Will it build your team’s relationship?

• Will it open the doors for creative collaboration?

• Will it encourage your team’s strengths?

• Will it be a wise use of your time?

• Will it utilize the tools your company provides?

• Will it benefit your community?

• Will it give an opportunity for a teammate to play devil’s advocate?

• Will it be okay if it fails?

• Will it encourage people to step up to be leaders?

Are you ready to lead your team to a new formula of FAQ's?

If you have any questions for us, we are always eager to encourage and inspire!

-The Green Couch

Project: It's Focus Time!

There are innumerable things that can distract us in life, or depending on our personalities, that we can use to distract others.

For some of us we are very intentional about our time and how we use it to get to the finish line.

However, if our eyes are on the finish line, are we paying enough attention to the projects at hand?

Are we allowing the finish line to be one of the distractions? Is the deadline distracting us from quality over quantity?

It is time to prioritize our focus and be intentional in the small details, so there are no loopholes to our structure, and the integrity of our work is something of which we can be proud.

It is time to check ourselves before we check off our tasks:

Do only what needs to be done. That is not an excuse to be lazy or do the bare minimum, but do not do as much as you can just because you are capable of doing it. If it can wait until tomorrow, let it wait. Do what you are supposed to do today, and do it well. Do not let things that can be done tomorrow distract you from today’s perfection.

Schedule everything that requires your presence. Never overestimate your memory. It is far too easy to overstress yourself mentally, but it is worse when you overbook yourself. It is impossible to be in two places at once or take two calls simultaneously. Color code everything in your virtual calendar for billing, meetings and any information that needs your attention. Use specific colors for team meetings, internal meetings, joint meetings, external meetings, phone conferences, etc. Your brain is already over stimulated, so you need a visual of what is going on to hold you accountable.

Use as few contact methods as possible. The more methods you allow people to reach you, the more methods there will be for miscommunication. If you email with one person, try to email consistently with them, at least for the remainder of that entire project. It is much easier to track the progression of the conversation as well.

Be on time, every time. And not just to the office or to a meeting. Be on time with your presentations, with your proposals, with your projections. Whatever your work entails, be on time, as it frees up space mentally and physically for the next batch of work to resume. Not only that, but it is the professional thing to do. You know, what you were hired to do?

Enjoy what you do. If, like in school, the only thing you like about your job is recess or lunch, then it is time to reassess what you do. If you cannot love what you do, your focus is clouded through desperation to get out. Not a victorious finish line.

Ready to reevaluate your workweek and focus on the in-the-now "focus time" and not just the finish line?

-The Green Couch Project

Project: Staking Your Domain

We all desire a sense of acceptance: A sense of home, a sense of inclusion and connection. And so we seek for places of like-mindedness, never realizing that we can be the ones who model these places of welcome.

We have the power to create a niche, to decide what it is that people need and how we can serve them, then offer it to them.

We have the power to facilitate them and lead them from one ladder ring to the next. We can give them the sense of acceptance and encourages them to build a stronger sense of home within themselves and create a stronger outreach.

We have the power to stake our own domain and invite others to be a part of it. And we don’t even have to take issue with zoning regulations.

Creating a safe online presence where people can land 24/7 is vital in a generation where the Internet is over saturated with misleading information.

The best and most important way to do this is staking your domain. Your domain name, that is. It’s your online address, so make it easy to memorize and worth memorizing.

You are competing with innumerable domain names and websites so it’s rare you have opportunity to imagine, pick and purchase the web address you desire, but that shouldn’t deter you from fulfilling your purpose:

• Don’t Be Too Clever

Now is not the time to be creative. Now is the time to be competitive and succinct. Try to stay as close to your company name as possible and keep it short. Make it memorable, remember!

• Consider Your Brand

As The Green Couch Project we were fortunate enough to secure the domain name thegreencouchproject.com. However, in the event it wasn’t, it would be a great disservice and disconnect for us to have used purplecouchpotatoes.com

• Consider SEO

The only way this is effective is if there is a direct association between the SEO keyword in your domain name and the chosen SEO keyword in your website text (which should be used repeatedly). 

• Avoid The Shift Key

If those searching for you are required to use the shift key, you can count on them forgetting it. In other words, if possible try not to use symbols; e.g., dashes, etc.

• Save Room For Misspellings

If your business name is something that is often is interpreted differently in spelling, considering purchasing all common misspelling for your domain. That way, no matter how people search your company, you will not lose traffic.

•  Build Upon It

Now that you have it [your domain], don’t let it lie dormant. Hire someone to build a website around your domain so that you can attract the right community. 

•  Flaunt It

Share the domain name. Invite people to interact. Upload pictures. Stay connected. You have online presence; you have power. What will you do with it? Let us know! We’re always eager to hear from our readers and fellow risk-takers. You’ve spilled your gutsy online and built a domain. It’s time to spill your gutsy with us!

-The Green Couch

Project: Humble Pie Is Best Served Warm

So fresh out of the oven with a dollop of ice cream or real whip cream that it melts in your mouth.

That’s the way you eat a slice of dessert pie.

And that’s the only kind of pie we like to talk about. Because when it comes to humble pie we’d rather serve a slice of justice to others rather than have the tables turn and have a plate of humble pie serving staring us straight in the gut.

But we get in the way of life with our actions, and words and we make mistakes. Some of use more than others. The biggest mistake of all? Not owning up to them. And when you do that in a company, the negative consequences trickle down the pipeline and drastically alter morale, efficiency and ultimately the outward public presence.

Own up to your mistakes as soon as you notice them:

1) Apologize to those directly involved.

Here are the appropriate methods: In person, written letter and in an email. Don’t let time go in which misunderstandings, gossips, insubordination and bitterness can fester.

Your team morale depends on open dialogue and complete honesty.

2) Don’t be sorry; be different.

Be genuine. Don’t be “humble” and eat your pie just dbecause you’re caught.

Learn from this mistake and make it your priority to ensure it doesn’t happen again. Safeguard your company, whether it’s in your processes, HR enforced or routine pep talks.

3) Mawwiage is what bwings us togethew!

Ever attend a wedding ceremony and reception where the bride and groom express their love by feeding each other cake in a very unceremonious manner by smashing cake in one another’s face?

Well, a humble pie should never be indulged in such a manner. Whether you are forced to eat it or watch someone eat it, it can be a come-together moment for your company. When someone owns up to their faults and mistakes, they are allowing for complete transparency and vulnerability. Both of which are strengths, not weaknesses.

So, is there any pie that you need to eat, any people you need to talk to and any team morale that you need to build up?

-The Green Couch

Project: The Gig is Up

For some, “gig” is a word that alludes to a secretive endeavor. Think reconnaissance. Under the books. Hide and seek.

Others, it’s a music feature.

But for those who are trying to make their ends meet, who are trying to get their books out of the red and into the black, their gig means a side job. Their weekend job. Their start up.

So when the day comes when they are told the gig is up, it’s a good day.

Because this time when they’re told the gig is up, it doesn’t mean they’re found out, it means they’ve been found. Both by someone else – an audience, and by themselves.

They’ve been spotted as a recognizable and reputable brand. They are wanted. They have something; they are solving something. They are the someone they know they are supposed to be. They are utilizing the skillset they were intended to, in an atmosphere that is most conducive to society.

No more a pet project, side job, an income loss; it’s now your primary source of income, but more importantly it’s your source of happiness.

It’s freedom.

The gig is up, so now what? What’s a girl or guy to do?

• If you haven’t already explored who you are and why it matters, you start here, because though it may be a one-man show, every one needs a side-kick. This interactive workbook is the almost pocket-sized strategist all newfound, or renewing entrepreneurs need:

Getbrandstarter.com

• If you need business inspiration you can begin by browsing The Project Blog: Written with risk-takers in mind – those who may have many light bulbs burning or those who have yet to shine – The Project Blog is a resource for budding entrepreneurs. Through educating and empowering words, we hope that our posts will inspire you to write your story too. Enjoy the journey and join in on The Green Couch mission to speak, follow and fulfill your dreams. #SpillYourGutsy

thegreencouchproject.blogspot.com

• If you need to bounce your ideas off of someone else’s, there is a reason it’s called a brand new idea - their ideas should inspire you to brand yours…They sign pinky promises, spill their gutsy and share how they continue to speak follow and fulfill business dreams. Sitting on The Couch, they take us along for the journey and reflect on their initial risk-taking moment, re-discovering their love, passion and vision - and then fall in love all over again. Remembering the thrill of the risk, the highs, the lows and the rewards, they refocus and find themselves walking away with renewed purpose.

thegreencouchproject.com/stories.php

• If you have an amazing story, if you have had ups and downs and more downs, then you tell someone, and you can tell it on The Green Couch. It’s time to spill your gutsy. To get it out and tell the world that as a risk-taker you’re just like them, they’re just like you. What made you want to be an entrepreneur? Venture out on your own? Build a brand? What makes you a risk-taker? What makes you get up in the morning? Stay up all night?

The next generation of dreamers depends on us following ours today. No matter how old we get, no matter how long we’re in the business, an entrepreneur never stops growing. What if you could reach the masses just by sitting on a couch? You can. Others have. Now it’s your turn.

thegreencouchproject.com/contact.php

-The Green Couch

Want to be featured in The Green Couch Project Newsletter? 

Email momina@thegreencouchproject… Get ready to #spillyourgutsy and snap a selfie!

Project: The Trust Fall

Friends and Family!

Everyone who has ever had a cell phone through a major carrier (isn’t that everyone, you’re probably thinking. Haven’t we all traded in our landlines for handhelds?) has heard this cellular campaign rhetoric before. You get to pick a limited amount of friends and family members to make unlimited calls and texts messages.

Of course, if that gets leaked, it is a tell-all to who’s who in your life - a few of your favorite people in life. Maybe they are just your I.C.E contacts? Of course like a Netflix queue, we have the privilege of adjusting those we call our top priority people.

However, sometimes out of those five friends and family (or however few or many we may choose) we decide to take a risk, take the plunge and pursue the vision we have. We decide to open shop.

Whether it is developing an app.

Or breaking ground for a new shopping complex.

We take the trust fall.

But because we are a family we often make a trust fail.

Hive fives do not cut it:

Now, maybe business used to be conducted with a firm handshake – and if only things were that honest and simple. However, imagine if you were in a family, would that handshake translate to a high five? Even so, don’t take for granted the love, birth to the present life-long relationship and subsequent character reference that you have with a family member or friend good enough to go off of.

You need paper trails. You need John Hancocks. You need digital files.

You need to protect both of your interests.

1) Define leadership:

Sure, there’s always someone who will give the shirt off his or her back. And, sure, on the flip side, if the plane has the potential of crashing you have to put your mask on before you can help someone else. So it is all about give and take. Still, one of you has to take the role of leadership more seriously. Otherwise, you will have apathy on some parts or alphas butting heads.

Without a clearly defined leader, you will not have a clearly defined business plan or direction.

2) Family time is family time:

Learn to set business parameters. Home. Work. Play.

Also, there will be times you have to distance yourself from each other. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing.

Don’t let your basketball court squabbles come into your conference room at work.

Don’t let your shredded documents from work become confetti at your kid’s birthday parties.

If your cell phone is used concurrently as your work phone, use discretion.

You do not get ahead by putting in more hours. You get ahead by putting more in your hours.

Also, when it comes to friends and family, it is always been about the quality. The quality of those whom we spend time with and the quality of time we spend with them.

So the hours you are at work with them, use them wisely. Because the hours you are not at work are the hours that made you feel you could trust them enough to have a business.

That made you feel passionate to pursue your vision. That made you excited to start a business that would make you jump out of bed.

That is the kind of family time you need to structure.

3) Mom & Pop & Sons:

A Mom & Pop store. A Father & Sons Establishment.

Either way, it is more than making a name for yourself; it is about making a legacy. You do not have to own an entity that employees thousands, you do not have to own a megaphone or have your face plastered on a billboard.

You have to see a problem, come up with a solution and start to resolve it. You have to make a difference and open the door for those behind you so they can continue to follow through.

You may have started with your family, but it is essential that you maintain your business in such a way that you protect it for your business family.

The trust fall takes at least two people.

Shake on it, hug it out, high five all the day long. Call each other up on the ol’ friends and family plan.

Just make sure you sign on some dotted line, somewhere. Make sure you are honest and up front. Make sure you protect each other. So make sure that you not only have each other’s backs, but you are protecting the backbone of the community. Both now and that of the future.

Going into business with those you love may be hard, and it is not for everyone. However, you do not have to have your trust fail you.

Are you a risk-taker? Did you take the trust fall with your family and loved ones?

Tell us your story!

-The Green Couch