Finding the Sparkle within You and Your Startup

It’s almost here! The New Year is tomorrow. That great, mysterious, intriguing, exciting Unknown; the hopes of an entire year being thought about and planned. Perhaps you want your anticipation of the coming year to be as sparkliciously exciting as your expectations. Good news! Mindset is everything. A "sparkly" or "fireworks-inspired" mindset filled with hope can add so much positivity to an entire year's list of goals and to-dos.

I was about to not post this article in fear of the sparkle, in fear of just being seen as the sparkly girl with no substance, because I always lead with data and substance, these pieces are my most difficult. HOWEVER, I was thinking back at some memories that have inspired my life and 3 of them that stand out are ones that include fireworks. Those memories, I remember thinking over and over again in my head, "don't forget this", "don't forget this moment", and "let the fireworks burn my eyeballs with this memory". They were: (1) fireworks I experienced over the river in Florence during my magical summer of study abroad where I visited over 10 countries, including the Holy Land, and met my aunts and uncles for the first time (and only time) in Torino, Italia; (2) Again, in Roma, Italia, when my kids and I spent Christmas & New Years in Rome right before covid shut down the world, we counted down the new year with strangers and hugged everyone on the bridge we were standing on; and (3) fireworks during our multiple trips to Disneyland when my kids were tiny because having a special needs son in a wheelchair/walker was tough, to say the least, but Disney was our escape from the doctors' appointments and new diagnosis. Sooooo, sparkles and fireworks were what brought me joy in the mundane, hope in what was to come, and a desire to remember the memories.

While I was pondering this year's end, I was inspired to bring some sparkle into the dialogue of founders, startups, and businesses. I came up with, from talking to a bunch of my portfolio companies during the break while wishing them a happy holiday, these are 5 tips for each category: (1) for founders to find a bit of sparkle within them, (2) within their teams and (3) amongst their customers/partnerships. Enjoy. They are easy to implement and execute because founders just don't have time and they love to test things - so sparkle and test away and let me know how it goes!

For startup founders, find the sparkle within you with these 5 tips:

1_ CELEBRATE WHAT YOU HAVE ACCOMPLISHED. Write down all of the achievements you made this year - I know you will fill a page, then take your favorite color marker and circle the ones you are most proud of. Spend some time journaling why those made you the proudest and find the sparkle they bring NOW. Connect the dots to what is on your plate today to be inspired.

2_ SPRINKLE SOME SPARKLE IN YOUR SURROUNDINGS. Add some sparkle to your home office or office. This can be a sparkly frame or whatever sets your sparkle off - like a succulent plant or words of affirmation?

3_ REMEMBER THE TIMES YOU SPARKLED. In other words, remember the good times; those memories that every time you think about them or see a pic, they make you smile that awesome, yummy smile. Scroll through our phone (I know you are already doing that every night) and put your favs in an album to be inspired by the great times.?

4_ SPARE SOME TIME TO MAKE YOUR LINKED-IN SPARKLE. A bit of work on your LinkedIn profile, content, business page, comments, strategy, photos, and links, makes all the difference in the world. Here are a few quick tips you can do on your couch on Jan 1.

• Refresh your LinkedIn profile banner for the new year. This could be a new image with a new job pic, a city pic, your passion (walking on the beach, a pic of mountains because you love to hike), or a Canva design with your business info.
• New LinkedIn headshot or just change the background of your existing one to your fav color to make it pop.
• Write a LinkedIn article about your favorite topic, what you get asked the most from colleagues, your experience, or just your 2022 insights. Your voice and knowledge are important and so valuable and I am waiting to see how you show up in your power.
• Start a LinkedIn newsletter. If you have been writing and posting a ton, think about starting a newsletter to focus on your areas of expertise and create a following around 4-5 topics. You will not regret it and your followers will love it!?
• Feature any new articles/newsletters at the top of your profile. This is an easy one if you have not done a featured article before or your featured articles are over 3 months old. Refresh and renew the prime real estate at the top of your profile.
• Add a media or URL to your experience section to help people stop scrolling. This is the number one tip I give anyone I am helping with their LinkedIn presence, within your experience section, add something to help people STOP SCROLLING past pertinent information about your career. Check it out on other people's profiles, if they don't have them, you scroll past all of the work experiences pretty fast, but if they have an interesting article or video posted, you might be more inclined to click and learn more about that person.

5_ SPEND SOME TIME IN YOUR FAVORITE PLACE. Take the time to rekindle that sparkle within you by spending some quality time in your favorite place and just be. My favorite place is walking on the beach or in my backyard (I know, simple, but so enjoyable) or at Disneyland (I have tried this season with no luck, but I am going to keep on trying). This can be a long time (days) or even a short time (minutes), just identify the joy-creation place and be in it for as long as you can. Guilt-free. Distraction-free. All YOU.

For startups, find the sparkle within your team with these 5 tips:

1_ LISTEN TO THE UNIQUE SPARKLES. Have you ever gotten back on zooms or meetings and the "how were your holidays" is super short and really no one is listening? LISTEN. REALLY LISTEN. You might be surprised at what 2-5 minutes of listening to someone's vacation tells you about what makes them sparkle. Connecting that to their impactful work at your startup will make for a happier and healthier workforce.

2_ FIND THE POTENTIAL ENERGY FOR OPTIMAL SPARKLE. This is my inner scientist coming out, but it's totally true. The law of science says, 'Energy can be neither created nor be destroyed, but it transforms from one form to another'. For the purposes of a sparkler or a forework, chemical energy in a sparkler/firework is converted to kinetic energy in the explosion of the firework. A startup team working on an impactful solution has multiple people with potential energy, the leaders identify those people and set them in action and create opportunities wherein their potential energy changes into kinetic energy; from a dull chemical reaction to a sparkly explosion of activity. Startup leaders can help a team build on that energy and deliver results and milestones.

3_ SHARE THE ENTHUSIASM. Inspiring, motivating, and aligning human capital assets in a startup makes the entire team sparkle. Leadership is everyone's business, so lead from within and amongst.

• Inspiration comes in a form of a healthy work environment that is unique to each team member, encouraging self-development and professional development, and bringing empathy into business decisions and processes for deeper relationship-building.
• Motivation can take the posture of encouraging teamwork to solve problems, creating operating principles like "we assume best intent" or "ask the team before seeking outside support".
• Alignment comes in clear communication about expectations, vision, and goals from the founder to the team and within the team. This also builds huge amounts of trust, especially in early-stage startups where there is a ton of uncertainty about fundraising and deliverables.

4_ CODE THE STRENGTHS WITHIN YOUR TEAM. If you don't know how everyone "sparkles" in their own unique way, spend some time in 2023 doing strengths finders for the entire team. There are free resources on Gallup's website , there is a short, easy-to-read book, and if you want some extra facilitation, send me a DM.

5_ WRITE 5 WORDS THAT INSPIRE. 5 words that characterized 2022 and 5 words to bring hope to 2023 for each of your team members.

For startups businesses, find the SPARKLE in your customers & partners with these 5 tips:

1_ CO-CREATE THE SPARKLE WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS. Considering an expansion of products or new services to offer existing customers? Ask what they think, and create a group of insider or VIP customers you ask these creation or recreation questions to. Should we add new flavors or new packaging? Should we go after more of the same customers or diversity? What would they like to see in new products or services? In software development, would they like to pilot earlier to be able to co-create with the developers?

2_ REFRESH FOR A SPARKLY FRESH NEW LOOK. New year, new you, and new customers. Make sure your website is up to date with all that is new, new products, and a bit of a refresh. This could get new customers or make existing customers sparkle in their love of your products and services.?

3_ GET YOUR CUSTOMERS TO SPARKLE ABOUT YOUR OFFERINGS. Customer outreach. Get their feedback, post their testimonials, and ask them to speak to them about the feedback to make the sparkle last longer.

4_ SHARE SPARKLE WITH OTHERS. Share some holiday sparkle with others by sending them a new years holiday card. You might have not been able to get a Christmas/Hanukkah card out but it’s not too late. This can be sent to customers, partners, community advocates, sponsors, donors, or anyone whose company has benefited from their generosity. Here are a couple of templates of holiday sentiments?

• Holiday greetings to you and the ones you spend it with! May this time of year shine light on your blessings and bring new ones in the year to come.
• Happy holidays! Sending you hope, light, and joy for continued success and a bright and healthy 2023.
• Happy holidays to everyone in our extended [business name] family! No updates, announcements, flyers, or brochures; simply warmth, joy, and peace from our crew to yours!
• The end of the year brings no greater joy than the opportunity to express how grateful we are for our customers and partners. Happy holidays to all of you, and may your new year be filled with happiness and success.
• This time of year, our thoughts turn gratefully to our customers, partners, and suppliers who make our success possible. We thank you for all that you do and wish you all the best this holiday season and beyond.

5_ DELIGHT CUSTOMERS WITH INCREASED EMPATHY. This will create more loyalty, and more trust between a startup and its customers, albeit BtoC or BtoB. Voice of the Customer (VoC) is optimal in creating more empathy within your team and ultimately, more empathy towards the customers. Helping customers better understand your products and services transforms buyers into promoters, as well as helping them get immediate (and often greater) value from their interactions.

With the New Year around the corner, everyone is getting their resolutions ready to go.?Before you dive right into the grind of resolutions, goals, and milestones, light a sparkler in honor of creating more sparkle in your business. It's a simple thing to remember when thinking about the New Year and the first week of 2023. Keep on sparkling!