entrepreneurship

Marketing Tip for Instagram: Linkin.bio by Later

October 25, 2019 By Kat

This week, Later.com made an exciting announcement. They have a lite version of their Linkin.bio feature, which is available for free! Let’s back up and let me describe what this means.

On Instagram, for a regular user (who has less than 10k followers), there is only 1 clickable link which is the link in the user’s profile.

Example: in my author days, I posted a link to my book as the link in my Instagram bio.

But this one link is very limiting because nowadays I’m blogging a lot more. If I want to share my latest blogpost with my audience, I need to keep updating the link in my profile. This is a hassle to say the least. Especially if I want to automate the release of my content with a timed scheduler.

Now with the Linkin.bio lite version, you can share one link in your profile that will always work. It will lead to a page with your Instagram photos, where you can add clickable links for each photo as desired.

This is what the desktop version of Later.com looks like. You can choose which Instagram posts will have a link. In the interface, once it has a link associated with it, it says “Linked” on top of the photo. As you can see, I don’t have a link for all my posts (hence the photos look grayed out).

Once you’re done adding links where you need them, then update your Instagram bio to share the ONE link that leads to all the other links.

This is what my Instagram profile page looks like now, linking to https://linkin.bio/kat-kuan.

When a user taps on that link, it leads to a mobile-optimized webpage that looks similar to my grid of Instagram feed, but now each photo is clickable and launches to the appropriate website / YouTube link / article. Hooray for clickable links!

I do expect that this will drive more traffic to the content I’ve created on my blog, YouTube channel, podcast, LinkedIn articles, and even media features. Especially for new visitors to my Instagram profile who can browse my older content and the links will still work!

P.S. If you want to get rid of the Later branding, you can upgrade to a premium version.

P.P.S. The core product that Later offers is an automated scheduler for Instagram posts (to plan out your content ahead of time).

For more details on Later and their tools to help you market on Instagram, check out their website. Note: this post is not sponsored.

The Future of Retail

October 24, 2019 By Kat

The old retail world of big department stores and longstanding brands is being turned upside down on its head by new up-and-coming brands who are capturing the hearts (and wallets) of consumers, especially those of the Gen Z and millennial generations.

This is forcing many brands who have enjoyed decades of success to rethink their retail and marketing strategy. Stores are forced to innovate on what the consumer experience will be like and adapt to changing consumer tastes. Meanwhile, for successful online brands to further expand their footprint, they’re exploring new ways to engage with people in-person.

Enter Re:store.

The concept behind Re:store is to bring online brands that people love and give them an in-person physical presence so that their customers can interact with and feel the product in real life.

By housing all these brands under one roof, it makes it easier for shoppers to interact with many brands at once. And from the brand’s perspective, it’s more economical for them to experiment with a shared space instead of committing to a brick and mortar store or even a pop-up store.

I stumbled upon this store in Union Square in San Francisco and was intrigued by this concept. I took tons of photos of the whole space so you could see it. Enjoy!

re:store san francisco store — Storefront

When you walk in, to the right there is a nail bar! Wow. No one was there at the time, but I would have loved a retail experience where you can also get your nails done. With every brand that’s represented, there’s a little blurb that describes them.

Now here’s the rest of the store!

Each brand has a little section / some shelves.

On the descriptions, there’s also little stickers that denote different meanings like whether it’s sustainable fashion, supports a good cause, etc…

There’s jewelry too!

There’s an upstairs as well – 3 levels to be exact.

One of the stickers – IRL for the first time

On the third floor, they have a cool community space for events and such. They also said it was a free co-working space that was open to the public. Not sure if that’s changed since then, but if I lived closer, I would totally go work there!

For the calendar of future events, check out this link.

And last but not least, they also had a row of tablets for brands that have completely digital products. Each tablet was setup for a different brand, so you could sign up for a subscription for that brand – i.e. Masterclass, Calm meditation app, Imperfect Foods, and more.

Alright, that was my fun experience checking out Re:store for the first time! If you’re in the area, drop by and see it for yourself!

If you’re a brand looking to partner with them (maybe get a spot in their store!), check out these membership details on how to apply.

Even though the world is becoming increasingly digital, there’s nothing quite like an in-person shopping experience.

What do you think the future of retail will look like?

The Moment of Inspiration

August 29, 2019 By Kat

I think we all have creative and spontaneous ideas that would be SO COOL if we just had the courage to go for them.

In recent years, I can recall very strong moments of inspiration where I felt called to create or write or draw or say something. The inspiration is so strong that it almost feels real. It feels within reaching distance. It feels within my abilities of that day, of that moment. It feels like THIS THING MUST HAPPEN. How could it not happen?? I must make it happen!

Life Happens

Despite this very strong urge or calling or nudge (which can last for hours or days sometimes), I end up getting distracted. There are things on my TODO list that are of higher importance or higher urgency. Something else is on fire. It must be taken care of first before I sit down to focus and go off into imagination land with my creative muscles.

So reluctantly, I take care of the tasks that need to be done to keep my life running, while in the back of my mind, I’d rather be working on my cool idea. Then life creeps in, the way it always does. Commitments come up. It’s time to sleep. It’s time to wake up. It’s time to cook a meal, but wait I need groceries first. Then I need to fill up on gas, and etc…

The energy and excitement of that idea just gradually dissipates. The idea doesn’t seem as urgent. The idea seems too fanciful. The idea seems like it can wait. The energy dies down to practically zero – where it becomes an idea shelved in the back of your mind as something you never got to because you were too “busy.”

Even if you did finally have a breather from all your tasks to clear some free time to work on your idea, you would probably get too antsy sitting down with a blank page. You’d find something else to distract yourself with – looking for a snack, cleaning up the house, laundry, etc…

These are all the ways we avoid working on our ideas.

Ideas Look for Human Bodies

From reading the book Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert (the acclaimed Eat, Pray, Love author), she talks about how these ideas float around from person to person looking for someone to carry it out in tangible form in the real world.

For example, she talked about a very specific book idea and storyline that came to her. She was going to write it out because it was so clear in her mind. For some reason, she didn’t have a chance to write it. Then over time, the idea became less and less important to her. After a while, she forgets about the idea. Then out of nowhere, another author pops up with this published book with the eerily SAME storyline.

By tracing back the timeline with this author, she realizes that the idea magically tried to come to her to be written, but when Elizabeth didn’t take action on it, the idea floated over to some other lady who did end up taking action on it. Hence, if you don’t act on the idea, the idea will probably get executed by someone else.

The Time to Act

That’s why it’s so important to act on that moment of inspiration – to just get up and start working on it. It’s a bad idea to sit there and start contemplating the pros and cons of whether you should take action or not. Overthinking the idea gives your ego room to discount the idea and rationalize why you shouldn’t act on it. So, no questions asked, go act on it and see what happens.

I wish I could say that I act on my ideas so perfectly every time, but of course, that’s not the case. But I wanted to write this article as a reminder to myself and all of you that those moments of inspiration are so important, yet so fleeting. So best to act when these magical moments descend upon you.

What an idea that’s been nagging at you?

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

The Questions You Ask

August 2, 2019 By Kat

I’ve been fortunate to have some great coffee / phone chats with people of different backgrounds, age ranges, and industries.

From these conversations, I made an observation that I wanted to share with you for when you are networking with people.

Depending on your background experiences, you may sometimes feel intimidated by the other person. Perhaps they have many more years of experience than you, and you feel like you have nothing to offer them. But what I’ve realized that you can always add value to a conversation by the questions you ask.

I think a great conversation is fueled by great questions, positive energy, and connection. I would describe a great question as something that provokes the other person to think deeply or in a new way.

If the other person is currently struggling with a challenge in their life, maybe you don’t have the answer or expertise to advise them on a solution. But you can always prompt them with questions that help them get closer to the answer.

Asking good questions is a great way to form a bond with someone because you’re not preaching advice to them (which they probably don’t need to hear anyways). It’s encouraging them to self-reflect and come to a conclusion on their own. It’s more like looking at a problem together, instead of pretending to have all the answers for them or trying to fix a problem for them.

It’s a more empathetic way to build a relationship because it emphasizes listening carefully and responding in a supportive way.

What do you think?

What a Toddler Taught Me About Business

July 26, 2019 By Kat

Owning my own business has taught me so many life lessons, and there can be a teachable moment within every encounter – a new client, collaborator, friend, family member, etc… Even when you least expect it.

This story happened a long time ago actually, last December. I was giving a Christmas gift to my nephew, who is a toddler. It was a dinosaur themed lego set – the Duplo ones with really big pieces for young kids.

Anyhow, he unwrapped the gift, and then opened the box to play with the legos. The lego pieces came in these sealed little plastic baggies. And he outstretched his little arm, held out the bag to me, said “Help pleez!”

At the time, he didn’t have a big vocabulary, but he knew how to ask for help. And that was the lesson I needed to learn.

Up until that point, I was trying to do everything in my business on my own. My own marketing – videos, social media, blog. Finding speaking opportunities and personal styling clients, doing sales calls, managing the administrative stuff and finances, while trying to juggle promotion for my book as well. There was just so much going on.

After that moment my nephew asked for help, his words kept ringing in my head. The words are so simple. Yet as adults, it is so hard for us to ask for help.

It wasn’t an overnight thing, but I started to ask more people for help. I started collaborating more. I was open to accepting help instead of being stubborn and trying to do it all on my own.

And probably the biggest step was to ask for support, in those tough times of my business, to say that I needed help.

Somehow, we’re conditioned to think we need to figure it all out on our own. But we don’t. We don’t even have to hold it together all the time. It’s a humbling realization, and it requires putting our egos aside. It’s okay that we need each other. And it’s okay to ask for help.

To my dear nephew, thank you for reminding me of this important lesson. And yes, I’d be happy to open that bag of legos for you.

If you enjoyed this post, you can check out other articles of my business journey here.

Photo by Caleb Woods on Unsplash

My Word of the Year for 2019

January 27, 2019 By Kat

I wanted to pick out a word-of-the-year. One thing to focus on for the year. But I couldn’t decide which word to pick!

Top contenders:

Massive action – phrase borrowed from Tony Robbins on how to take charge of your life and achieve your goals.
Focus – self-explanatory, we could all use more focus and less distractions.

However, I realized that “massive action” was not working for me because I kept trying to pile more things onto my plate and keep moving in many directions, making little progress on any one thing.

I also realized that “focus” was too narrow of a word for me. It didn’t excite or motivate me that much. The word made me think of limited options and a smaller focus area. It wasn’t very invigorating to wake up and feel like you must focus for the day. Felt more obligatory for me personally.

But then I was listening to this amazing motivational YouTube video Live Your Dreams over and over again. Then I decided on my word for 2019.

Courage

I believe that the word “courage” will steer me in the right direction at each step of the way during this year. Courage means doing the hard thing. Doing a single hard thing can give you more progress than doing 100 easy things in the wrong directions.

Oftentimes the “hard thing” is the right thing to do, and probably the thing that we fear and dread the most. But that’s when we stand to have the biggest gain both in potential external results but also in who we become as a person.

If I have to measure each day, then I’ll need to ask myself, if I did things that required courage each day. It freaks me out thinking that I’ll need to face a fear each day, but if I don’t, what is at stake? If I don’t face a fear today, if I just stay in my comfort zone, then I’ll likely stay the same. I won’t have grown that day.

Sure, one day without growth is no big deal. But if you multiple that by 7 days in a week, spent hiding and procrastinating from your fears, that’s one week of your life gone by that you didn’t grow. And then a month passes by, and you didn’t grow. You make more excuses about why it’s “safe” to stay where it’s comfortable. And then years pass by, and you’ve settled for even more things and you’ve come up with a laundry list of why it’s too hard to change now. And then life send you a wake-up call that you are ill prepared for because this whole time, you didn’t grow into a stronger, better person. You’re essentially the same person as you were 5 years ago.

The Movie: Revolutionary Road

Another way to think about this sobering thought is illustrated in the movie: Revolutionary Road. (This movie reunited Kate Winslet and Leonardo DioCaprio on the big screen since Titanic. Omg I just had to watch it! It’s available on Amazon Prime if you’re interested.)

It’s about April and Frank Wheeler (played by Kate and Leo respectively), who are a married couple in the 1950s living with 2 young kids in Connecticut. They live in a picture-perfect neighborhood in a picture-perfect house. He goes to an office job, while she stays at home to take care of the house and kids. The problem is that their life is on autopilot. They had ambitions when they were younger (her to be an actress, him to go back to Paris – a city he loved) but then they settled into married suburban life and those dreams got put on the backburner. They get so numb with their life and by staying static, and as the movie unfolds, they actually find that there are consequences. I won’t go into details in case you want to go watch it.

Honestly, it was a depressing movie, but I can’t help but find how truthful it is. Staying still in life is so tempting because it seems safe (it’s what you already know and are familiar with), but it is actually the riskiest option. But we can’t see the consequences until the long term, and by then, it may be too late to change our choices.

Many people are dead now. Many people are allowing their dreams to die. Many people have allowed their ideas to lie dormant and collect dust. Many people have all this talent and ability that they allow to be buried inside of them, that they will take to their graves. Because they didn’t have the courage to be who they are.”
Les Brown

Thoughts on Courage

Courage is hard. There’s so many uncertainties and things to fear and worry about in the world.

Does it mean that valiant people are not afraid? No, it means they experience that fear and they move forward.”
Les Brown

What I’ve been trying to do is feel the fear. To feel the trembling fear when I’m about to do something I’m scared to do. And then to acknowledge it and DECIDE that I will do it anyways. And the quicker I do it, the less painful it will be because I won’t have to agonize over all the worst case scenarios.

Cowards die many times before their deaths, The valiant never taste of death but once.”
Shakespeare (Julius Caesar)

I’m far from perfect, and still very much working on being brave. It’s daunting because just as every day is a new day, every day you’re faced with a choice of whether you will be brave or not. And I hope that for me and you, we both decide to be brave.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNgIvxZ4m8U

Disclaimer: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Slowing Down to Speed Up

January 15, 2019 By Kat

I used to have a tendency to live life a million miles a minute. If there was a blank spot in my calendar, where I wasn’t physically meeting someone, I would fill it up with something else. I didn’t account for driving to/from places, and I didn’t account for being tired from going to an event or driving somewhere farther away. So I would pile in many things into my schedule for a single day, and when that day came, as I was rushing from place to place, I would get so tired and wonder why I agreed to all of those things in the first place.

For awhile now, I’ve been working on slowing down my life. Although my mind is very curious and wants to try and experience all these great things, it’s hard for my body to keep up. I realize that scheduling so many things into my calendar wasn’t giving me time to rest or even sit down and breathe. And I needed that alone time to process what just happened or to think about what I wanted to do next.

Having such a full schedule also robs us of the chance for spontaneity in life. On one hand, having a full day of plans already booked is great and time-efficient, but on the other hand, there’s something wonderfully glorious about a blank day with nothing on the calendar. I love those types of days because they are full of possibilities and full of surprises and joy.

I’m not saying that we should just slow down to a sloth’s pace and be couch potatoes for life. I just believe that slowing down to rest helps us get back out there and do our work at a much faster pace. By recharging (before we burn out), we can re-energize and be productive, and then go back to resting – like a sinusoidal curve.

When we slow down, we become more intentional with our time. We may realize that certain things cause us stress or anxiety, so we can adjust or remove those things from our schedule. Then we can have more energy for things that we want to focus on – for that particular time in our life. And the things we want to focus on will also change over time like a sinusoidal curve. There are seasons of life where we focus more heavily on career, then we focus more on health, then family/friends, then back to career, etc..

So in a world where “being busy” can sometimes be a status symbol, I am rejecting that notion. To me, not being busy is a luxury. We don’t need to fill up all our time with activities. We don’t have to be 100% productive all the time. We don’t have to do everything we’ve ever wanted to try in this immediate moment. Instead of cramming 10 things into 1 day, we could aim to do 3 things slowly and but enjoy them in the process.

What speed are you operating at these days?

It is a mistake to think that moving fast is the same as actually going somewhere.”
Steve Goodier

How to Host a Webinar

January 10, 2019 By Kat

One of my goals for 2019 was to work on my public speaking skills by doing monthly speaking events. But finding speaking events is not necessarily straightforward, so to reduce dependencies, I decided to take it upon myself to host a webinar (an online talk) each month for the whole year, with a different topic each month.

Advantages

The thing with having a webinar, unlike hosting an in-person event, is that there’s no pressure for a certain number of people to come. Whoever wants to come can come! And if they don’t, that’s okay too. Takes some of the pressure off, so I could focus on my speaking part.

First Webinar

I just hosted my first webinar last weekend and the topic was: Making Your Dreams Com True in 2019! I was very happy with how it went. There was 10 of us and we had guided reflection time so we could write / plan out our goals and also talk about them too. It was really great connecting with like-minded folks and being able to share openly about struggles and also tips for chasing our dreams. I can’t wait for the next one!!

Which Technology to Use?

I had to do some research to figure out what technology to use for the webinar. I wanted a low or no-cost option because this is really an experiment, so I had to rule out the platforms that had monthly fees.

GoToWebinar is a popular platform that I’ve seen a bunch of online entrepreneurs use, but when I checked out the pricing, I was like hmmm no, too expensive for me now – it was $90/mo for the cheapest plan. I wouldn’t use it frequently enough for it to remotely pay off.
YouTube Live is another option by just livestreaming on your YouTube channel. It didn’t feel as intimate though, feels more out in the public (which could matter for the participants of the webinar), so I didn’t go with this option. This is a free option, but you just have to meet certain eligibility requirements before livestream is enabled for your channel. Meaning, I don’t think it’s available for brand new channels.
Instagram Live and Facebook Live are also options, but again they don’t feel as intimate. I think people also tend to causally drop in and drop off on those live feeds, if they happen to be scrolling in the app at that time.
Zoom is something I’ve used quite a few times already for video conference calls in groups. They have a free plan, but they also have a paid plan if you want more features (see pricing). They also have a paid plan of $40/mo for “Zoom webinars” with some fancy features to moderate the group and stuff. It would probably make more sense when your business is at a bigger scale.

Picking Zoom

So after all that, I decided to go with a Zoom call. It’s not exactly like a webinar format with a host and participants, but it’s more like a group conference call. It actually worked out quite well for our group size. People could turn on their video and microphone and chime in.

A Zoom call does have limitations though. The free version limits your group calls to 40 minutes. We did end up signing off the call, and then signing back in at the 40 minute mark lol. A tiny hassle. And there is a limit to 100 people per call too.

For your purposes, it’ll depend on what your needs are, what audience size you have, and what type of engagement you want with them. If you’re starting off, I would test out the waters with some free options first.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Pick a date and time for your webinar. Put it into your calendar so you don’t flake out.
Create an image to promote the webinar (refer to my tutorial on creating graphics with Canva).

Announce it on social media, your newsletter, and to friends & family. I mentioned that the webinar login instructions would be sent out to my mailing list, so I directed people towards signing up for that.
I created a new “meeting” within Zoom, and gave it a title and time.

A Zoom web link will be provided, or people can dial in with their phone as well. These instructions are located in the Zoom meeting description page, when you click on the “Copy the Invitation” link.

I sent out the webinar instructions to people on my mailing list so they could have access.
I started prepping the content – first with an outline, then with practicing it and creating slides. I used Google Slides to make a simple presentation.
I did a webinar dry-run to test out the technology. I gave the link to my fiance and he hopped on the call so we could test it out: test out sharing the screen, playing my presentation, the audio and my computer microphone, the group chat feature, etc..
I did some more reminder social media posts and a reminder to my mailing list again.
Then I did the webinar!! Woohoo!

Backup Plan

Technology doesn’t always work when we want it to, and I know other people have had technical difficulties with their webinars (on much larger scale with more complicated technology, but still). So having a backup plan is always good. I had a backup plan of using YouTube live in case the Zoom call didn’t work. But luckily I didn’t need it!

All went smoothly with the Zoom call and I’m looking forward to the next one in February!! Hope you can join me for that one! You can also join my mailing list so you don’t miss out. I’ll be announcing the next topic soon!

The Biggest Mistake

January 3, 2019 By Kat

I think the biggest mistake we can make in our lifetime is to think that we don’t matter. The mistake of diminishing ourselves and feeling like “oh if I don’t show up, it won’t matter. No one will even notice that I’m not there.”

In the past, I doubted myself and if my presence somewhere was even useful or not. I was hard on myself because sometimes I didn’t say much or feel like I was contributing much. But you know what? I realized how just “showing up” is enough. You don’t need to be the life of the party, you don’t need to be the best storyteller in the room or make everyone laugh. You just need to show up. Even having positive vibes already boosts the energy level of the whole room.

In building my business and sharing my journey, at times I felt like I was creating blogposts and videos that were disappearing into the void, like I had no idea whether anyone was reading it or getting any value from it. But in those moments of self-doubt, people would come along and give me a nudge. They would tell me that I matter, that my voice, my work, and my creativity matter. And that would help me stand a little taller and realize that what I do matters, and that I shall continue moving forward. So to all those people who kept reminding me of this, thank you from bottom of my heart.

And hence, I wanted to pass along that message to you. You matter. Your voice matters. Your life matters. Your choices matter. And your happiness matters. If it’s hard for you to grasp, I would say that’s normal. But my hope for you is that you eventually come to believe it with your whole heart. It’s an ongoing work in progress for me as well.

Many people don’t realize how much of an impact they have on others around them. They diminish their impact on their circle of influence – friends, family, work, community, etc.. They feel quite small about themselves or don’t allow themselves to fully dream about what their biggest and most powerful life could be. They don’t realize how much light they would shed on others if they stepped into their fullest and best selves.

Two Takeaways

So if you see potential in someone, let them know what you see in them and let them know they matter. I can’t fully express how good it feels when you feel seen in this way.

Second, and probably even harder, acknowledge that you matter. It feels egotistical and self-centered to feel like your life matters, but it’s true. And when we believe that about ourselves, then we start to act in a way like our life has purpose, that we are worth investing in ourselves and worth taking care of. And in nourishing our body and soul, we start to come alive.

“The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire.”
– Ferdinand Foch

September Favorites

October 9, 2018 By Kat

These are my favorites for the month of September 2018!

1. Pur Water filter – 18 cup capacity.

2. Crest White strips

3. Everlane Cotton Box-Cut Pocket Tee – Muted Pink. I got size XXS.

4. The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer. I listened to the audiobook version.

5. KKW beauty

Nude Creme Lipstick – Nude 5

Nude Lip Liner – Nude 2

I also mentioned the EM cosmetics brand Rose Nude Infinite Lip Cloud.

6. Morning motivation YouTube videos

Just do a youtube search on “morning motivation.” Example: Live Your Dreams.

Thanks for reading and watching!

Keep an eye out for my blogpost soon about the author talk with Kevin Kwan from the book Crazy Rich Asians.

And register to vote if you haven’t already!!

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I enjoy these items regardless and want to share them with you!