This is a guest post from Brionna Kennedy.

Whether you operate a restaurant or accounting business, it is important to keep your employees happy. If your employees are happy, they are much more likely to be productive and stay with the company longer. That is why it is so important to create a fun and productive work environment for your employees. Here are five tips on how to create a fun and productive work atmosphere.

Let Employees Share Their Feedback and Ideas

If you want your employees to feel important, you have to let them share their feedback and ideas. For example, if you have implemented a new email system, ask your employees how they feel about it. If you ask your employees for their feedback, they will feel appreciated and work harder for you.

Encourage Open and Direct Communication

It’s important to encourage open and direct communication in the workplace. Employees are much more likely to get along and work better together if they know how to properly communicate with one another. If you want your employees to practice open and direct communication, you have to model healthy communication. For example, if an employee does something you don’t like, you should call her into your office and discuss the problem with her openly.

Don’t Be Afraid to Have Fun

A productive work environment doesn’t have to be boring. If you allow your employees to have fun, they will actually be happier and more productive. For example, if your employees meet their sales goals, surprise them with a pizza party. You can also let them dress up for work on certain holidays such as Halloween or St. Patrick’s Day.

Reward Your Employees for Their Achievements

When your employees make certain accomplishments, give them service awards. If you give them awards for their efforts, they will feel appreciated and continue to do a great job. For example, if an employee exceeds his sales goals, give him a gift card to a restaurant or electronics store.

Make Staff Evaluations a Positive Experience

Staff evaluations shouldn’t be nerve-wracking; they should be positive experiences. During your staff evaluations, make sure to praise your employees for their efforts and thank them for their specific talents. If you need to tell an employee where he needs to improve, you should still make that a positive experience by giving him tips on how he can do better.

Brionna Kennedy is native to the Pacific Northwest, growing up in Washington, then moving down to Oregon for college. She enjoys writing on fashion and business, but any subject will do, she loves to learn about new topics. When she isn’t writing, she lives for the outdoors. Oregon has been the perfectsetting to indulge her love of kayaking, rock climbing, and hiking.

For instance, marketing… most people dread the idea of having to market themselves. I know I used to. Here are a few tips, all free, that will help you ease into marketing, and feel great about it as you go and grow:

1. Start a Facebook fan page. With this type of page, your business can have unlimited likes. It’s also opt-in, so you know every single follower you have is actively interested in whatever you’re sharing or selling. Keep your posts and promos authentic, value-added, and aligned with your core goals, and your fans will respect you for it. Over time, that respect builds into trust. With trust, positive and purposeful word-of-mouth grows, as does your bottom line.

2. Start a blog. Or write for other magazines or blogs in your field. Writing isn’t easy or for everyone, but it is a great way to get the word out about yourself or your product, and add value to the world and your audience. Win-win for sure. This article you’re reading right now is a perfect example. Genuinely helpful information, with your name and company attached. Simple as that. So is this one, helping you choose which free blog platform is right for you. I use WordPress and love it.

3. Start a YouTube channel. And make funny videos to pimp your product or service. People like to laugh. People watch funny videos. This Geico commercial, perfect example. Hilarious. Tons of views. Mental saturation of brand recognition rising with every set of eyeballs. Marketing achieved. With a little education and effort, you can do this too.

Just like anything else, there will be a learning curve with each of these things. With commitment over time, you will earn the results you’re after. My advice… throw your hat over the fence… start the page, start the blog, start the channel. Tossing it over, forces you to take action. To climb the wall. To do the work. It forces you to tap your courage and try when you would normally stay crippled with fear, overwhelm, or both. My bet… by the time you get over the wall, you really like wearing that hat.

Melanie Curtis is a life coach, writer, world traveler, art lover, movie-maker, homeowner, professional skydiver, fiancé, and Founder and CEO of Highcomms.com. Melanie goes huge in all aspects of her life, living her version of “the dream,” and helps other people live theirs too through coaching, education, transformative conversations, and no-nonsense accountability.

By Erik Severinghaus, founder of SimpleRelevance, an email personalization service based in Chicago.

What are your people hiding from you?

That’s a question we don’t ask ourselves enough. If you seek the true answer to that question in your company it will reveal a lot more about the culture you’ve created than any happy hours, processes, or perks you offer.

In March a high-profile CEO of a major technology company (who shall remain un-named) visited us and the rest of the startups working their tails off at 1871. For those who don’t know, 1871 is Chicago’s startup incubator, a co-working space where we’re lucky to feed off the energy of the city’s brightest young entrepreneurs. This CEO had some great thoughts to impart on us. He talked about the value of taking risks, and in finding new opportunities when those risks end in failure. He talked about the attributes that Chicago has that help nurture a bustling startup environment, including our world-class universities, a great quality of life, and Chicago’s venture capital base.

But I was struck most not by this man’s words, but by the actions of those around him. When he arrived at 1871, his handlers walked through 1871 to make sure all competitor products were put away before he arrived on the floor. Talk about shielding your superior from news they don’t like. Maybe he demands that his handlers do this for him. Maybe his people do this on their own to spare his wrath. Either way, this CEO is left operating in a bubble.

At SimpleRelevance I don’t believe we’ll ever have this problem. We invite alternative viewpoints. We question our status quo. I don’t want our people shielding true problems from each other (especially their superiors) by obfuscating what’s actually happening. Our challenges are just as important as our opportunities. In fact, we often find our best opportunities buried in those challenges. Hiding them is a double-edged sword that stops problems from being solved and doors from being opened.  Those of you at the top of the ladder, or leading the team, here’s a bit of advice. Every once in a while, do yourself a favor. Ask yourself, “What are they hiding from me?”

About Erik Severinghaus

Erik Severinghaus is the founder and CEO of SimpleRelevance, a Chicago-based company developing next generation tools to help companies personalize digital communication. Prior to that he received a patent while in IBM’s IT Optimization organization, and helped co-found iContact—a leading Email Service Provider. Find him on Google+ and follow him on Twitter.

One of Lyft’s cars sporting its signature pink moustache.

One of my favorite startups, GiveForward, has a great motto: Create Unexpected Joy. It’s something the company lives by with every customer interaction and product innovation.

A new arrival to Chicago does just that: Lyft. I was introduced to Lyft by a friend from SF, he mentioned the service was launching in Chicago and looking for early adopters. The app lets you request a driver from wherever you are in the city. The catch is that Lyft drivers are all regular people, not professional taxi cab drivers. They pick you up in their cars, which are marked by Lyft’s signature fuzzy pink moustache on the grill. The app tells you the driver’s name, shares a picture of the driver, as well as a photo of the car so you know what it looks like. Similar to Uber, you can follow drivers on a map to know how close they are. Potential Lyft drivers are all thoroughly screened with background checks, driving record checks, and regular car inspections.

After a ride is given, both passenger and drive rate each other. A “suggested donation” including tip pops up on the screen so you can pay for your ride. So far, the rides have been about 25-30% cheaper than a cab.

I am a self professed Lyft addict. I’ve taken lyft about 10 times in the last couple of weeks, shirking the unpleasant experience of hailing a cab, dealing with rude drivers, and not knowing whether they are a good driver. Lyft “creates unexpected joy” with every interaction because users have to have a certain open, fun personality: I’ve met Lyft drivers who are stonemasons, students making money while on summer break, wedding photographers, entrepreneurs, massage therapists…even a trader! (he gets bored just sitting in front of a computer screen all day). They are all chatty and down to earth. When you get into a Lyft, you know something special is happening, a relationship is being formed.

Not only do you feel good using the app because it’s cheaper (oh yeah) but you are also helping empower the local community and entrepreneurs within who use Lyft as a means to further their lives. They don’t view Lyft as a job the way cabbies do, they view it as a joy. They are not disgruntled, they are genuine.

I’ve told all of my friends about Lyft, and even the most skeptical are converted as soon as they try it. My fiance, a typically tough New Yorker, was extremely skeptical about its safety before he tried it. On one of our rides, the driver ended up bonding with him over a shared boss at a previous job. He was converted on the spot.

We look forward to taking Lyft because of the element of surprise: You never know what kind of car, person, or experience you’re going to have, but you know it will be positive.

(Disclaimer: Lyft is sponsoring our next Entrepreneurs Unpluggd event. But that’s ok because we hand pick sponsors to make sure they are companies we use and recommend to our audience because they are awesome).

One common thread among them is passion for what they do and how it’s done. Each is ambitious and goal oriented. Each is confident and innovative, with a willingness to take a risk to achieve the rewards.

Colleen Barrett is the President Emerita and Corporate Secretary of Southwest Airlines. Turning a profit in the airline industry is not easy. When Colleen Barrett joined Southwest Airlines in 1978 as a corporate secretary her initiatives brought about the development of a customer focused culture that would grow Southwest into one of the largest airlines.

But not only are they among the biggest, but she has also turned Southwest into one of the most profitable carriers. This was achieved through her clever and forward-thing strategies.

By locking in long term fuel contracts, Barrett successfully protected the company against the record high oil prices seen in 2008. After partnering with Chase Bank, she oversaw the launch of a brand new Southwest Airlines credit card, known as the Rapid Rewards program. Industry insiders have stated it has turned out to be one of the most profitable co-branded credit cards within the airline category.

She puts her employees first and the payoff has made Southwest one of the country’s largest carriers.

“I don’t know how you can ever expect to have external customer service be exemplary if you’re not doing it internally,” Barrett said.

For Barrett it starts with a choice each day to show love and respect for everyone she and her employees come in contact with, all by design.

“We hire for attitude and we train for skills,” Barrett said. Jobseekers at Southwest need more than qualifications. Prospective employees must have an attitude that fits with the model workplace environment implemented by Barrett.

Penny Pritzker is being considered for Commerce Secretary in the Obama Administration, but her eye for business began more than 25 years ago.

Her resume includes experience in real estate, financial services, senior living and hospitality. Pritzker founded Vi, a provider of luxury living for senior adults and became a template for others to follow.

Pritzker served in the 2008 Obama campaign as a National Finance Chair, and later as a co-chair in 2012. President Obama would go on to appoint Pritzker to the Presidents Council for Jobs and Competitiveness. She maintains a very close working relationship with the President.

Pritzker has a passion for giving her time and energy to public education.

Married to Dr. Bryan Traubert, The Pritzker Traubert Family Foundation has provided funds and programs designed to enhance and improve public education and build leadership within the schools.

Zhang Xin has left an indelible mark on the real estate market in China. In 1995 she along with her husband Pan Shiyi gave birth to their dynasty with the founding of Soho China, which focuses exclusively on commercial real estate and providing businesses with world class hospitality for their offices, conferences, and other events. With a net worth of $3.6 billion, she is without a doubt one of the wealthiest within the industry.

Together the husband and wife team continue to aggressively seek and acquire real estate in Shanghai and Beijing. In turn communities and skylines are transformed.

Born of modest means in 1965 in Beijing, she would eventually be educated in England studying economics at the University of Sussex. After graduation from Cambridge University she honed her skills working for finance behemoths Goldman Sachs and travelers group.

Zhang Xin has a passion for eliminating poverty and her philanthropic spirit contribute mightily with a charity she cofounded in 2005, he SOHO China Foundation

No wonder she was selected as one of the “Ten Women to Watch in Asia” by the Wall Street Journal in 2007.

Shari Arison is the wealthiest woman in the Middle East according to Forbes magazine, with a net worth estimated to be in excess of $5.1 billion. Born in 1957 in the United States Arison’s father is businessman Ted Arison, the founder of Carnival Cruise Lines.

In 2007 Arison started Good Deeds Day in Israel. What started with 7000 participants has now swelled to include more than 250,000 people all doing good deeds in more than 50 countries worldwide.

Her motto is simple, She says, if we only “Think Good, Speak Good, and Do Good,” we can transform the world.

Denise Coll, President of Starwood’s North American Division believes in order to be successful you need to do something you love. She believes that you should challenge yourself and take risks to grow and to learn.

Coll was originally hired as Regional VP of Operations in 2004. Her responsibilities included the New England region and were expanded in 2006 to include all of North America.

Despite the economic calamity that defined 2008/09, Coll managed to increase the portfolio of Starwood from 447 two 553 hotels and reached double-digit growth for the period. As of 2013 there are now over 1,100 SPG properties worldwide. She is also largely responsible for the success of the Starwood credit card partnership with American Express.

Her IT background and Six Sigma strategies are at the foundation of how Coll has operated the business steadily increasing productivity at Starwood.

She motivates people to challenge themselves to provide opportunities to grow. As Stephen Covey said, “Live out your imagination, not your history.”

Bottom Line

There are now 20 female CEOs at the 500 biggest US corporations. And while it still may be harder for women to get ahead in business these five women prove that through hard work, determination and purpose, anything is possible.

Locating Your Space

• Desktime- This SaaS company helps coworking operators and coworkers themselves come together and schedule work times at locations that work best for them. For people looking for a “day desk” and for business owners that just want to rent out an occasional space, Desktime is a must.

• LiquidSpace-In my experience, LiquidSpace can be a little pricey, but they boast a large inventory of spaces to choose from; and not just coworking spaces either. Many of their locations offer executive suites and large meeting rooms.

• ShareDesk- Similar to Desktime, ShareDesk offers a solution to business owners and searchers alike. Between the shared spaces, corporate offices, lounges, and labs, ShareDesk can probably find a good fit near you.

• Coworking Wiki- Neat, organized, and up to date (mostly). The coworking directory has a ton of information for shared spaces all around the world. The wiki (I’ve found) to be most helpful in locating the space, then doing your own research on the space via their site yourself.

• WorkSnug- While WorkSnug has many of the same characteristics of the other directories, what sets them apart is their augmented reality app. Users can view locations, reviews, and other details while searching for spaces with their smartphone.

• Google Coworking Group-The Google coworking group is a little hit or miss when it comes to finding a place near you. They have several updates to the forum every month, but these aren’t always about new coworking spaces. Sometimes they’re simple inquiries about where to find spaces, or showing off a new coworking blog post. All the same, it’s worth a try if you strike out at other directories.

Get To Searchin’

Your turn. If you haven’t already, browse through the sites above and see what cool spots are near you. Hopefully these directories will help you find that same serendipity I’ve found while working at coworking spaces. If you have your own unique coworking story, let me know in the comments below!

Image courtesy of Wikimedia

About- Jared Carrizales is co-founder of a search marketing firm in Dallas, Heroic Search. Jared’s growing SEO resume includes experience overseeing link building campaigns, website audits, and project management.

Website

The Internet has never been more important than it is to today’s society. All prospective customers are going to use Google, Bing, or something similar to look up a company before even doing business with them. Incidentally, this means that a website is absolutely crucial. And it can’t merely be slapped together using your own wit and savvy (unless, of course, you’re an expert in design and programming). You will need to invest in a good website so that your customers have a place to go to when they search cyberspace.

Social Networking Profiles

It has come to the point where we cannot hope to make a reputable business without having a social media presence. Facebook and Twitter are by far the most popular options. They help ensure that owners and operators have a dialogue with their customer base. Customers are placing an increasing value on this communique.

Name Tags

Appearing professional in cyberspace is one thing, but ensuring that you look professional when your potential clientele is arguably more so. There are few simple things that can help bring this about than name tags. Name tags facilitate a friendly atmosphere with customers. It’s essentially an invitation to get personal with you and your employees. Furthermore, it take a lot of stress off of anyone trying to remember names!

Physical Address

Companies without a physical address tend to suffer for it as the company starts up. Why? Because people associate having an address with stability and permanence. Most aren’t going to want to deal with a company that could be gone within a short amount of time. Having a physical address means that you’ve decided to put forth the effort of remaining a more permanent fixture. It shows customers that your serious about what you do.

Brionna Kennedy is native to the Pacific Northwest, growing up in Washington, then moving down to Oregon for college. She is a freelance writer, and co-owner of a dog grooming business in Portland. When looking for all of her new business needs, from name tags to accounting advice, Brionna recommends doing online research, and seeking other local businesses.

On my way to my own dream of doing a TEDtalk!

Last year I was feeling stagnant. I had ideas I was working on to expand my business, but wasn’t 100% sure how to spark to the growth I craved. As someone who thrives on the known and feels daunted by the unknown, I felt blocked for sure.

One thing I definitely believe in is that when you put energy/effort in a direction, things will happen. Period. Thing was, I had been putting energy/effort into my company for a while, but I’d been doing it all on my own. The solopreneur syndrome where you don’t trust anyone to do anything as well as you, so you never ask anyone for any help, ever. You never release control of any part of your business thinking that’s the best approach, when in actuality, it’s the exact reason your growth has stopped. Sound familiar?

Luckily, I saw this happening… I realized that the autonomy I thought was helping, was actually holding me back.

So what to do, right?

Despite the fact that I didn’t know exactly what to do to spark new growth, I made a commitment to start talking. To put myself and my challenge out there. To engage in deliberate conversations. When someone would ask me generically how things were going, I shared where I really was at. I shared more. I shared that I wanted to grow, wasn’t sure how, and was totally open to ideas.

With this approach, I opened the door to new inspirations and opportunities that were only possible from collaboration with others.

This week I got to talk to 150 high school seniors on how to go after their dreams and life a live they truly love. It was AWESOME. I expanded myself, my experience, my business possibilities, my personal happiness, etc etc etc… and I truly felt like I made a difference. The ultimate win-win.

And it all became possible because last year over burgers and beers, I was willing to say more.

Go for it, guys. Start talking. And enjoy the opportunities that come your way!

Any thoughts, insights, or experiences with this, would love to hear in the comments below!

Melanie Curtis is a life coach, writer, world traveler, art lover, movie-maker, homeowner, professional skydiver, fiancé, and Founder and CEO of Highcomms.com. Melanie goes huge in all aspects of her life, living her version of “the dream,” and helps other people live theirs too through coaching, education, transformative conversations, and no-nonsense accountability.

We are looking for you!!

Tim and I have enjoyed growing Entrepreneurs Unpluggd over the years from a single event featuring 5 Chicago entrepreneurs to monthly events with over 3000 attendees in just 3 years, a blog with growing traffic, and a biweekly newsletter to thousands of entrepreneurs across the US. Recently, we launched a new startup, and we simply don’t have the resources to devote to growing our beloved EU.

(This is where you come in!)

We’re looking for someone to come in and help us run EU: someone who can hustle, has vision, and can move as quickly as we can in bringing great content about entrepreneurship to the web. You will ideally be in Chicago and can be any age, gender, or level of experience: we’re looking for someone with ambition who can help grow our brand to the next level.

You’ll receive mentorship from the founders, learn a ton about running an online/offline business, and be compensated for your efforts. You are also a self starter:  you figure things out on your own, come up with great ideas, and function well working remotely.

If you’re interested or know someone who is, send an email to stella@entrepreneursunpluggd.com

We can’t wait to meet you!

It’s not uncommon to get the random “you should check out X” or “they are doing Y but look similar” suggestion now and then. It usually comes up in an email exchange or conversation with people in your startup community. In fact, if nobody else was doing your idea it  would be cause for concern! This type of “support” is highly encouraged. We’re all supposed to be helping each other. Right?

For young companies that have been shipping code, talking to customers, and gaining some traction for several months the seemingly innocuous stream of these exchanges can be a bit daunting. You are focused, but you can get distracted going on these temporary fact-finding missions as they come up. The key to remaining focused is to apply the knowledge you’ve learned from this random “tip” in a rational way. Translation: Don’t take your ball and go home at the next sign of danger. Or, just as worse, play a costly game of cognitive dissonance and let your emotional drive and bias crowd out the reality of market forces that exist in your competitive space.

I recently attended a talk on Social Entrepreneurship and it got me thinking about this topic. The presenters offered two examples of products that innovated the fundraising industry. There have been plenty of clones since, but these products set the standard.

Girl Scout Cookies and Charity Wristbands

These products are nothing THAT remarkable on the surface. Overpriced, average tasting cookies. Pieces of colorful rubber with words on them. Girl Scouts of America got the packaging right. They had cute kids sell the cookies. Livestrong Foundation tapped into a movement and turned the wristbands into a form of social currency.

I’m not suggesting you start lowering the bar of excellence for your product. Nor am I urging you to follow the crowd and hope you can ride the next wave. What I am suggesting here is to have a healthy disposition when you start seeing your space change and evolve. Take it all in, be rational, and have confidence in your packaging. It’s quite simply the DNA that drives your distribution model.

Next time you get a “support tip” from the community, take it graciously, look at it, and then think “Girl Scout Cookies and Charity Wristbands.”