Author Archives: Sean Gardner

Success and Social Media…with Fernanda De Hoyos-Walther

by

Relevance and longevity in any field requires you to see things as a marathon, not a sprint. The work you do in the beginning can pay off greatly down the road. Fernanda De Hoyos-Walther knows this very well. She invested the time to become not only an avid endurance runner, but a lawyer, serious news hound, and social good advocate. I asked her four short sentences and she finished them. I immediately got a great idea of what drives her continuous passion for excellence. 

 
Social media is effective at…engagement and interaction. In my experience it engages people to communicate and interact while building bridges that wouldn't exist otherwise. It’s  very effective to create new communities of people with shared interests that sooner or later will contribute in larger scale to another community or group.  Aside from marketing benefits, I believe its effective at uniting people who together become more productive, efficient and knowledgeable than they would if they were alone.
 

I love running because…the consistency and balance that it brings to life, it challenges me every day: commitment, discipline, and a lot of concentration. I feel empowered when I run because it forces me to dig deep and push forth when I think I can’t give anything more.  I am a  better version of myself because I run. Running is always there for me to help me with my daily happenings, and magically makes my worries disappear. 

 

Being a lawyer allows me to…walk in someone else' shoes. I can understand the pro’s and cons of almost any situation. I also feel more assertive when speaking my mind. But by far, the best thing about it are the collaborations and interactions with a variety of national and international organizations that reach out to people in need. 

 

Success is…the ability or recognize our gifts and realistically approach life within the set of circumstances that we are given, and thrive, and put a lot of effort into any endeavor and make a positive difference in someone’s life. Success is measured by many with standards that might be not reachable for everyone and that is why you have to keep it in perspective. I commonly hear that you have to have your dream job to be happy or have this or do that. But it is very different from one person to another. Take some young, U.S. based entrepreneurs with a lot of debt but with a lot of charisma and great ideas, well, to them success might consist of paying off debt, developing those ideas and making a great company that employs a lot of people. They might make a great living, have a family, give back to community and have fun in the process. Now, compare them with aspiring entrepreneurs living in an African village. For them, the inability to be able to obtain clean water, and the illnesses that result from poor sanitation, keeps him poor. If we understand that Africa has abundant water resources that are not being efficiently utilized, then we can understand that to them, success would be to find a way to get water to where it is needed most. If they can somehow can help their village get access to water, then he would succeed.

 

You can connect with Fernanda De Hoyos-Walther on LinkedIn or follow her on Twitter.

 

5 Great Ways To Pitch Your Ideas (VIDEO)

by

For most people, pitching ideas is always a struggle. It was the case with me for years. Whenever I met with angel investors, community groups, or even mentors, I often asked myself: how long should my pitch be: 30 seconds, 2 minutes, or longer? Do I use humor, or stick with a "just the facts" approach? So many questions, but the answers were never clear cut. 

 

Though I am much better myself, I know that there is always room for improvement. Writer and tech extraordinaire Ivo Lukas recently wrote that one should not be intimidated by the process, but must be willing to get out there and learn from it. "Whether you are bootstrapping or pitching to get venture capitalists/angel investors," she reasons, "you must keep in mind two things about your business pitch: keep your story simple and sweet."

 

And as you will see in a second, there are five golden rules to a fantastic, effective pitch: (1) keep it under two minutes; (2) know your audience, and know the ask; (3) talk about the problem you are solving, in one sentence; (4) provide two reasons why your approach is unique; and (5) leave your audience with one memorable, repeatable story.

 

WATCH:

Now get out there and pitch your story! Greatness awaits.

Want Success in Social Media? Give What You Want to Receive

by

For the last 5 years, whatever success I have had in social media – retweets, +1s, likes, shares, or even endorsements and contracts – comes from being an authentic giver. So I completely agree with Jeanette Jenkins' statement below.

I set aside time to help social media newbies because so many did that for me when I was new to Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin in 2009. I didn't even know how to tweet for 6 months. No kidding. 2009 was a truly interesting year for me behind the scenes. I did the necessary reading and analysis, and I practiced until I found a style of my own, but trust me, I had lots of help. 

Whenever I speak at conferences or attend informal tweet-ups, I get asked about what it takes to do well in the social space. My answer is the same: generosity. But its not enough to simply be a giver; you have to surround yourself with them. Seriously. Always look forward to making their acquaintance. Those who are genuinely happy for others' success, and those who believe (and demonstrate) that character and integrity are what you do one hundred percent of the time.

In Summer 2009, I had a conversation with a close friend who has tremendously impacted my career. She said to me: "Sean, social media is powerful. So don't misuse it by doing something that defeats the purpose of the medium. Have close friends, people who you know are in your corner, but always value the growth that comes with effective and consistent networking and outreach. Always see the wisdom of being a connector, and a giver." 

Her words ring true today as they did when she first uttered them.

So what I am saying here is not a secret strategy or an unknown tip. Giving works. I like to retweet the words of Paul Steele and Christel Quek to constantly remind myself of what's important: that whether online or off, you give what you want to receive. Generosity is a quality that always pays well.