Manny Larcher is the CEO of Stopwatch Creative, a marketing and operations agency helping hundreds of brands grow around the world. Stopwatch Creative helps its clients develop or improve their ideas and technology while implementing various marketing strategies to achieve goals.
They also incubate SaaS platforms, like Collaborate and Elevate, YourInfoDaily, and FirstCallRecovery to name a few.

Manny was recognized as one of the Top 20 Young Professionals in Columbus by CityPulse in 2020 and featured in Shoutout Atlanta.

Great questions for Manny:

• How can I maximize the efforts of my team?
• Are my marketing efforts really creating the action I want?
• Am I using the best and current tech stack or strategies for growth?

Click here to schedule 30 minutes with Manny.

via Collaborate and Elevate

“Putting off an easy thing makes it hard. Putting off a hard thing makes it impossible” ~ George Claude Lorimer

1. Use the Two-Minute Rule. The two-minute rule says that if you are planning an activity that can be done in less than two minutes, don’t continue planning; just do it.
2. Take a small first step. If you fear a task for whatever reason, consider working only 5 minutes and stop. When you start working the fear fades and you grab momentum to continue and finish the job.
3. Routines help. If you turn the repetitive and boring tasks into routines, you will do them with little effort, since they are habits that we do almost unconsciously. Trust me, routines simplify your life.
4. Make decisions. Sometimes you are unconsciously postponing a task because you don’t think about it. Take a few minutes to clarify what that task means and make a decision.
5. Track your time. Keep a journal about which tasks you perform each day and the time you spend on each. By recording how you spend your time, you create an internal commitment that makes you more responsible about how you use it.
6. Learn to say no. I bet many of the tasks you are postponing are commitments you got because you did not know how to say no.
7. Do not be afraid to leave. It may not be the right time to do something. Sometimes you believe you have to finish something just because you began. If over time, that project no longer makes sense or it is not important enough, just leave it and do other things.
8. Manage your energy, not your time. It is important to work at your best moments. If you are exhausted or cranky, your chances of procrastinating will increase considerably. To have a better attitude, take enough rest, control your nutrition, and exercise.
9. Use the Seinfeld strategy. Jerry Seinfeld uses this strategy to write jokes every day. If you have to do a task every day, get a calendar and mark with an X each day that you get it done. The goal is not to break the chain of X’s on the calendar.
10. Break the work into small and specific tasks. A large and complex project can be overwhelming. Dividing it into small tasks allows you to see the path and the resistance to confront it decreases.
11. Set a reward for completing the task that resists getting done. Motivate yourself thinking about what you are going to do after completing the task —something that you feel like doing, relaxing and not involving any effort. Define your own incentives.
12. Make it fun. If it is a boring task, try to find ways to make it fun. Games, Seinfeld strategy, Pomodoro technique, rewards on every major advance, etc.
13. Make it public. If it is a major challenge, make it public. Talk about it with your family and friends, post it on your social networks, blog about it... You will feel accountable and committed, and the job will be hard to postpone.
14. Use the right words. State your actions in a clear, concise, and motivating way. Words matter when you are facing a new task.
15. Use a short to-do list. A long list can ruin your sense of control and become a source of stress and frustration. The shorter your "next actions list", the easier it will be for you to focus on what you need to do.
16. Use the tools you like. Do not try to do everything with a sheet of paper and a pencil. Using attractive things can help you eagerly start a particular task.
17. Review your goals regularly. If a task is complicated, uncertain, or boring, but it is important to achieve a goal, keeping in mind that goal will help you not to procrastinate.
18. Work on your habits. If you know yourself and find out why you defer constantly certain jobs, you will be able to change your habits and lead them towards less procrastination and greater productivity.
19. Avoid distractions. The more temptations you have to do something else instead of what you have to do, the easier it will be to procrastinate. Keep your smartphone, notifications, and access to the internet off when facing hard tasks.

Innovate with CollaborateandElevate.com so you can focus on what matters! See why over 200 businesses depend on us to connect them with opportunities ~ collaborateandelevate.com/membership/

by Quenton Harris

Tyler, the Creator has risen to prominence over the past decade with his unique, jazzy pop fusion style production and deep voice lyricism. Back in 2010, he tweeted a prediction that he would one day achieve top honors in his craft and bring home a Grammy.

This was met with controversy, the fanbase he had just couldn’t visualize an underground artist with an edgy and angry style winning such an award. However, he wouldn’t be discouraged, and continued to grind towards his goal. Fast forward to 2017, and the release of his 4th studio album ‘Flower Boy’, This project would serve as the turning point in his career, and his sound suddenly became more accessible and attractive to a mainstream audience.

Although he wouldn’t win with this project, It would earn him his first nomination for the coveted award. Being so close to the finish line only fueled his vigor when going into recording for his next work, ‘IGOR’; a record widely recognized as a 10, and the perfect example of how jazz and pop should be integrated into a hip hop format. It would go on the smash the charts debuting at #1 on billboard and selling 165,000 copies in just the first week. He earned yet another nomination, only this time he won! In his speech he would go on to mention his 2010 tweet and all the doubters he’d faced over the years. 

He is living proof of manifestation; though it only comes if you’re willing to put in the work behind the scenes.
 
Check out Tyler’s ‘IGOR’ -

Collaborate and Elevate, a platform created to connect others with opportunities, has announces that they have acquired 200 Customers in under 18 Months adopting their solution.    

New & Improved in real time, helping Small Business Owners,

Customers include Restaurants, Universities, Lawyers, Banks, Insurance Companies, Entertainment Companies, Accountants, Independent Financial Professionals and Consultants, Venture Capitalists, Mortgage Lenders, and Entrepreneurs in various industries -- all benefiting from the competitive intelligence that they provide, with companies of all asset sizes, ranging from under $100,000 to over $350 Million a year in revenue.

“Over the past year and half, our razor-sharp focus has created products for the audience we grew into caring about over the past few years. Prior to the pandemic, we only held free events which were sponsored with food and drinks, featuring numerous speakers doing good work in the community. When the pandemic began, it was evident that we needed to create a virtual offering for CollaborateandElevate.com, enabling us to add even more value to the professionals who routinely attended our events," said Manny Larcher, founder and CEO. "Our customers receive intelligence enabling them to engage with the best digital communication platforms, while benefiting from increased productivity from their team and customers. We are honored that today we are able to call more than 200 businesses customers part of the Collaborate and Elevate family and I look forward to continuing to grow our customer base exponentially in the days, weeks, months and years to come.”

Learn more and view testimonials online on collaborateandelevate.com

Collaborate and Elevate also routinely features entrepreneurs via the It's Bigger Than Business podcast and their YouTube channel. Watch one of their recent videos with Georges Duplessy, co-founder of Virtual Badge.

They cover various topics from Georges introducing to computer programming, learning Pascal, being born in Haiti and coming to Miami where he attended college studying computer science, working in Disaster and Damage Relief with companies like FEMA, and how that led to starting a company around improving the safety or others with Virtual Badge.

​Virtual Badge is helping professionals in the various industries including construction industry keep track of staff, contractors, and vendors. A B2B Enterprise SaaS identity platform for workforce and risk management. Our solution allows work sites to ensure end-to-end compliance for all of their employees and contractors.

In this new It's Bigger Than Business podcast episode, co-host Manny Larcher catches up with Georges Duplessy, co-founder of Virtual Badge. 

They cover various topics from Georges introducing to computer programming, learning Pascal, being born in Haiti and coming to Miami where he attended college studying computer science, working in Disaster and Damage Relief with companies like FEMA, and how that led to starting a  company around improving the safety or others with Virtual Badge. 

Virtual Badge is helping professionals in the  various industries including construction industry keep track of staff, contractors, and vendors.  A B2B Enterprise SaaS identity platform for workforce and risk management. Our solution allows work sites to ensure end-to-end compliance for all of their employees and contractors. 

About ​Startup Showdown - Tech Startup Pitch Competition with $120,000 Investment Prize Every Month

The Startup Showdown series is hosted by Panoramic Ventures, the venture capital investing team of BIP Capital, one of the most active VC firms in the Southeast. Panoramic is led by highly successful entrepreneurs and investors Paul Judge and Mark Buffington.

You can also watch the interview via YouTube and subscribe to our channel!

Glyvolner "Gly" Gabriel is a first generation Haitian-American from Newark, NJ. He is also the first in his family to graduate from college, graduating from Harvard University with a degree in Biomedical Sciences and Engineering. He then forayed into "Wall Street," working as an analyst in the Global Capital Markets at Morgan Stanley.

Subsequently, Gly backpacked throughout Latin America, visiting 14 countries over the span of 13 months. It was during this trip that he discovered his life’s mission – to help people live happy, healthy, & fulfilling lives.

After returning, Gly founded New Norm Media, a video marketing & consulting agency that worked with conscious & purpose-driven businesses. But after achieving some initial traction in the business, he knew that in order for him to truly fulfill his mission in a way that was aligned with his unique skills and passions, he would need to pivot.Unlocking Possibilities from Harvard to Wall Street with Gly Gabriel and Manny Larcher

So now Gly focuses on helping professionals (especially of color) unlock their full potential, figure out the next steps in their life & career, and then actually make it happen. Gly believes that our dreams (both personal & professional) are possible, and through his unique “Be, Do, Have” model, he coaches these professionals on how to start to live life on their own terms.

Listen to the podcast on ItsBiggerThanBusiness.com (audio available on all platforms) and watch the interview below:

by Stopwatch Creative

Do This First Before You Spend Or Invest In Advertising

This is the biggest mistake businesses make before they put together their advertising campaigns.

And it’s easy to fix.

A new prospect reach out to us looking for some help.

Their current online advertising campaigns were not working. And they needed to fix things before they ran out of all of their money.

Sound familiar?

We began by asking him about his ideal customer profile. They told us that their team spent about 30 minutes or so developing a general description, with some demographic information.

Not a very good start.

Our next series of questions had to do with the transformation his customer profile was looking for, specifically in these five areas:

Your Ideal Customer Profile or ICP is looking for transformation in their business and life. A different future from their present situation. How do they want things to change? Or, what does your product or service give or do for them in terms of transformation?
 
These are the five before/after states we shared with him for thinking deeper about transformation:
 
1.    Have - What do they have that they won’t have afterwards?

2.    Feel - How do they feel, their emotional state, before and after? 

3.    Average Day - What’s their average day like now versus afterwards? Use a story or narrative to describe it.

4.    Status - What’s the story they tell about themselves right now versus afterwards?

5.    Good versus evil - What’s the greater philosophical evil your product or service allows them to defeat? 
    
The team obviously hadn’t done any of this work. As we further shared, when you can clearly communicate the transformation your prospects will experience from working with you or buying your product/service, you’ll have them wanting to know more. 
 
You’ll have moved from “selling” mode to “advisor” or “guide” mode.
 
You’ll be the guide to their transforming their lives. And your advertising will be more effective.
 
Our overall detailed process to complete this takes at least several hours, and sometimes more. 
 
When you have your ICP thinking “Finally, someone who understands me” when they see your advertisement, you’ve nailed it!
 
Now that's moving from selling to advising or guiding. A much better place in which to be.

View case studies and previous work, and learn more and schedule a free consultation with Stopwatch Creative online on stopwatchcreative.com

Spotlight series: We love highlighting companies who are doing amazing work around the world. Today, we wanted to introduce you to Blank Slate Monument - a company making ​A Tribute to African American History in the Face of the Confederacy.