– Atlanta’s entrepreneurial ecosystem gathered in style over the past two weeks, thanks to Square’s Self-Made Atlanta Event Series, held at a variety of venues across Atlanta.
– Mayor Keisha Bottoms welcomed the crowd to the final Self-Made Atlanta Event featuring Atlanta’s Own, Killer Mike and Jack Dorsey, CEO and Chairman of Square, CEO of Twitter, and cofounder of both.
Atlanta, GA., June 11th, 2019 / Giselle Ave. Media — Square Inc. traveled to Atlanta to host a series of entertaining events aimed to empower, inform, and cultivate the bustling community of entrepreneurs across the City of Atlanta. The event series covered hand-selected panels covering a wide range of topic areas that catered to the everyday entrepreneur. The events were hosted at popular venues that host events and co-working spaces for rising entrepreneurs on a daily basis. Guests were invited to explore popular venues, while hearing from Founders of successful, Atlanta-made businesses.
Among topic areas included:
- Build a Site in a Night at Monday Night Brewing Garage
- See What Capital Can Do at WeWork Tower Place
- Make the Most of Your Appointments and Social Media at Switchyards
- Use Payroll to Hire and Retain Talent at Switchyards
- A Conversation with Killer Mike & Jack Dorsey
Key Takeaways
Overall, the series of events lefts guests– including myself– with a strong reinforcement of why we choose Atlanta to launch, grow, and scale our small business. Here are a few key takeaways gathered from the event series:
#1 Show up.
I’m a huge advocate for action based to-do lists. Showing up is the first key to being successful in life. Staying in your comfort zone will help you do just that: stay comfortable. But what about the next level? How will you get there without showing up? When I first got these invitations on my work email, I first thought: I’m unsure whether or not I should go. Will I have to go alone? Will the panels be helpful to my career path? I could have talked myself out of it all, but that’s not how you win in life. You have to show up. Take this advice as a virtual nudge to show up– for yourself, and for your dreams.
#2 Square offers a TON of low-cost features to help small business owners grow their business.
In addition to the popular fintech app, Cash App— (which is owned by Square)– Square offers a ton of low-cost resources to small business owners looking to cut costs. One of my favorite dining places, Gusto, was a featured guest panelist and spoke highly of how they use Square Cash register as apart of their daily operations. Just think: if a busy restaurant can use Square as a viable cash register solution for daily transactions, why can’t you? Whether you’re using invoices, or mobile payment processing; small businesses can really capitalize off the many free to low-cost features provided by Square.
You can even book our Signature Service, A Talk with Giselle, using Square Appointments!
Book Yours Today!
#3 Social media is your friend.
Post it. Share it. Tweet it. Do it for Insta-gram. Yes, social media is your friend. As a matter of fact, it’s your best friend!
What I love about creating on Giselle Ave. is our focus on using innovation to transform businesses into popular, household names. In addition to managing our popular lifestyle blog creating content like what you’re reading right now, we also offer services that help clients grow their brand, increase revenue, and tell their story. One of our service offerings includes Media Services such as Social Media Marketing, Brand Storytelling, and Social Media Management. One of the recurring themes of each panelist was their take on how they use social media to grow and scale their business. Social media is here to stay and you have two choices: pivot and stay in the game, or take losses for refusing to join the digital revolution happening right now on social media.
Want to see the proof? I shared this photo taken with Jasmine Crowe, Founder of Goodr Co. on my Linked In page from one of the Self-Made Events. Soonafter, I received a direct message from Square’s Headquarters, asking for permission to repost my image on Square’s company page! Their page has 149K followers, and my photo and quote from the event was publicly shared with their network of followers— organically!
Contact us here on Giselle Ave. to learn how we create compelling digital strategy that impacts brands– nationwide.
#4 Companies who fail to innovate will not last.
Square made Fast Company’s List of The World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2019, ranking #8. Nine years since launching, Square continues to innovate the way we make payment transactions. Honestly, the mere creation of taking their mission on the road is a CLEAR example of how Square is innovating what it means to be a tech company that is truly committed to servicing their clientele— in real life.
Square is SO committed, that their Founder & Founder of Twitter, tech billionaire Jack Dorsey, was humble enough to host a conversation with Killer Mike discussing the City of Atlanta, and Killer Mike’s approach to running a small business of his own.
I mean, that’s how you innovate!
Thankfully, Giselle Ave. was created to innovate what it means to practice public relations in the digital age. We are full-service brand, media, and marketing agency on a mission to redefine what it means to grow your brand, increase revenue, and tell your story online.
Companies who fail to innovate will not last.
That’s it, that’s the end of the takeaway.
#5 Entrepreneurship is a lifestyle, don’t be afraid to let go of the past to embrace your new life.
Last but not least, the greatest lesson of them all is the beauty in realizing entrepreneurship is a lifestyle. As a self-made entrepreneur myself, I was at ease to hear from the panelists who shared the recurring theme of letting go of the past, and embracing your new life.
When I asked the panelists what’s the most difficult thing they’ve had to sacrifice in order to grow into successful business owners? Here’s what they had to say, paraphrased:
“Well, you’re not going to be able to go BBQ with Bubba every weekend, or watch football all day. But if you’re serious about growing your business and being a success, you’ll have to let go of stuff like that and get around people who get it.”
“I attended a workshop recently and one of the speakers said something so brilliant. As entrepreneurs, we focus a lot on doing, doing, doing. While you’re busy doing, don’t forget to simply be. Be who you are and who you were before you became an entrepreneur. Being is just as important as doing.”
Overall, this event series was a real treat and I’m even more inspired to continue growing my business from the ground up, right here in the heart of the City. One thing is for sure, the South has something to say, and I’m happy to be apart of this transformative era of what it means to be a small business owner in America.
Job well-done Square.
Thanks for bringing this amazing event experience to Atlanta!
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Photography provided by Yell-Air Films.
For more information about our products and services on Giselle Ave. contact us via email at info@giselleave.com or give us a call at 770.687.3841.
To learn more about Square’s Self-Made Event Series and to see where the next stop is, visit the Official Event website.
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