Happy Women’s Month from the Me&B Team - we are all about women empowerment so this is one of our favourite months of the year!

To celebrate Women’s Month, Kelly and Betina have been helping empower other local, women run (and ruled) businesses by sharing some insightful advice/tips/tricks on the Me&B Instagram page. We've wrapped all these fabulous tips into one blog post - consider it as a gift, from Me&B to you!

We'll be adding more tips/tricks as Women's Month goes on and we would love if anyone in our community has any others they would like to share - drop them in the comments and spread the love.

Tip 1: Believe in yourself

Confidence and passion were the duo’s first, and most important tip for the month. Few great things come from projects that are not driven with passion and confidence. We know, sometimes it can be really tough to put yourself out there and back your business/idea/pitch (hello Imposter Syndrome), but sometimes you really have to just fake it till you make it. 

B said it best: “If you have confidence, it will come through in everything you are doing”.

Tip 2: Use technology to make it easy

Apps we're love at Me&B: 

• Wave accounting: this platform is designed for smaller brands like us who need help with the more technical sides of business like invoices, accounting, billing etc
  
• Coschedule: our marketing tool that ensures that we keep creating and sharing the best social media content we can
  
• Shopify: our website and warehouse run smoothly thanks to Shopify and all its fantastic features
  
• VSCO: a great app to help get your photos looking Insta-ready

Tip 3: Know your strengths (and own them)

There are so many benefits to figuring out exactly what you excel at, these are just two that we've noticed within our team:

• Encourages clarity and confidence: If you understand your strengths you typically have a better grasp of what makes you unique and how you can positively impact your team/brand/business/life
• Boosts productivity:  Clarity and confidence is integral to success - when each team member has clarity about what they do well and they’re placed in a position to use their strengths, productivity soars! 

It's okay to accept that you may not be the best at everything (we are all human after all), but that's what makes surrounding yourself with strong, powerful, diverse, skilled individuals so integral to success. Rome wasn't built in a day, and it sure wasn't a solo job!

Tip 4: “Progress is actually better than perfection”

This is a quote we all tend to live by in the Me&B office.

Nobody is perfect, nobody will ever be perfect and to be fair - there is not much fun to be had in perfection. Making mistakes and failing is all part of the process, if you can stand up stronger after failing at something then you, your brand and your team are truly better for it.

Don't let the quest for perfection paralyse you!

Tip 5: Google is your BFF

It is no secret in our office that Google is our go to! Our entire team are all clued up on Google Sheets and Google Drive. We love the ease that Google brings to sharing documents/files/keeping up to date with it all.

In addition to the great services/apps/platforms that Google has on offer for businesses, it is also a great platform to get some answers. From tutorials on website coding to trend forecasting, Google has saved the day in the Me&B office many times!

Tip 6: Find a Hype Girl (or be your own)

We all need to have someone in our corner rooting for us, and sometimes you have to be that person for yourself!

Surrounding yourself with people who care about you and want to see you succeed can be make or break - so find a team of people (it could be your mom, your sister, your local barista - the possibilities are endless) who view your own success as their personal wins. We know this isn't always easy, so while you're on that journey trying to find your tribe - be your own hype girl.

Tip 7: Connection is key

One of the best ways to grow your business, your circle and yourself is to connect with others in your industry. There are some truly fabulous ladies (and gents) in the local scene that are so ready to connect. 

We know it can be daunting to start, so here are Kelly's tips on reaching out:

• Engage with their posts: a kind comment, a share or even a like goes a long way
• Be bold: you'll never know where you stand with someone else unless you reach out and ask (more often than not, they are just as eager to connect as you)
• Make space: if you're a brand/business/individual that already holds a significant space in your industry, why not help create room for others!

Stay tuned for more tips/tricks this month!