FIRST THOUGHT: Responding to Negativity

It only takes a brief time at a job before you’re faced with a Negative Nelly or a Vexed Victor. She’s that colleague who catches you in the restroom for a five-minute complaint fest. He’s that customer who’s steaming mad about an accidental snafu and is just as unhappy with the solution. Chronic criticizers have a way of seizing their way into our inner dialogue. Today, remind yourself that you can’t always adjust someone’s attitude for the better, but you can offer a compassionate ear for a short while. Just make sure to bolster your boundaries too.

WOMEN IN NUMBERS: 37 Percent

You don’t need to step outside your home to let others affect your mood; just open up your smartphone’s web browser. And while you’re there, you may as well do some shopping. After all, more Americans are purchasing goods through their phones every day. According to Forbes, in 2018, the United States will post one of the strongest mobile-commerce rates in the world, with U.S. mobile-based commerce expected to expand by 37 percent.

WOMAN TO WATCH: Alexi Venneri, Co-founder and CEO of Digital Air Strike

If there’s one woman who has a rock-solid negativity force field, it’s today’s Woman to Watch, Alexi Venneri. She’s in the business of digital media, an industry in which customer engagement and satisfaction don’t operate during the traditional 9-to-5 work hours of the past. As the co-founder and CEO of Digital Air Strike, Alexi’s got to be on her game at all times. And she’s done precisely that for her entire career and for the past eight-plus years in Digital Air Strike’s home of the Grand Canyon State.

Digital Air Strike is as unflinching as it sounds. It’s a leading social-media marketing and reputation-management company, meaning Alexi and her perceptive and quick-acting team can navigate even the most fraught situations. Digital Air Strike is all about providing clients with top-tier services and products (including the industry’s first and most sought-after mobile app) that deliver some serious competitive advantage. If only we could hire them for our personal lives, am I right?

Digital Air Strike helps businesses leverage their social-media channels to not only get more followers, but to actually engage with them in authentic ways that help maximize their brand awareness and, of course, increase their profit. The name of the game is ROI, aka return on investment, and Alexi is nothing less than a rock star at boosting ROI for her clients.

And those clients are definitely raving about Digital Air Strike’s powerful tools and Alexi’s expertise, often remarking on her ability to juggle multiple high-level projects while also making clients feel heard and seen. Indeed, Alexi is a master of gracefully ruling the C-suite. Before Digital Air Strike, she held the title of president of a national advertising agency, and was a vice president at Dealertrack, a provider of on-demand software for the auto biz.

Alexi’s time as the director of guest relations and marketing for the Seattle Mariners baseball team also inspired this well-rounded CEO to write a book titled Balls! 6 Rules for Winning the Business Game, which was noted for offering the keys to sustained business growth and success. Some essential traits Alexi says successful companies embrace include being loud enough to attract attention while also remaining authentic and lovable. As Alexi says, “Sometimes it only takes one good idea to make a huge difference!”

Are you staring at your laptop, totally confused about what to write for your first Facebook post on your small-business page? Check out the six things you need to know to make sure your small business is booming on social media in the link here or on www.OnTheDotWoman.com.

QUITE THE QUOTE

Alexi Venneri would surely agree with this sentiment from PepsiCo exec John Phillips, who said:

“We will continue to see a convergence of the digital and physical world. Those who conquer that trend will be market leaders.”

This is Melinda Garvey signing off until next time. Remember, ladies, empowered women empower other women. Share On the Dot so more women can have a voice. Thanks for getting ready with us.

To learn more about our conversation, check us out at OnTheDotWoman.com and talk to us @OnTheDotWoman on Twitter and Instagram. We’d love to hear your voice.