You could say that Daniel Stewart and Alex Wier of Augusta, Ga., ad ageny Wier/Stewart are entrepreneurial soul mates.

“Most people will tell you business partnerships fail, but we had the same idea of what we wanted to do to be happy and the same idea of what wealth was, so we courted each other,” said Daniel Stewart, Studio Director of Wier/Stewart.

“We decided that we didn’t want to wake up in the morning, realizing we were just chasing money. My idea of wealth is being able to go to the grocery store and get whatever food I want without looking at the price,” added Wier/Stewart Creative Director, Alex Wier.

The team at Wier/Stewart lives by the mantra of finding happiness in your work and shared tips on how to find such happiness at the Southern Coterie Summit in Athens, Ga., on Aug. 1.

Stewart and Wier were joined by Wier/Stewart Agency Development Director, Lee Heffernan, who previously worked in New York City marketing women’s television stations to advertisers and designing the Martha Stewart Pets market campaign. The team’s synergy and family-like business relationship was apparent from the moment they took the stage.

Together they drafted 12 steps to help rising entrepreneurs love what they do as sole proprietors and in business partnerships.

Check Your Attitude: Sometimes your attitude is the only thing you have control over. Clients appreciate a good attitude because it makes achieving a mutual goal easier and bad attitudes are apparent from workplace morale. When hiring, be wary of bad attitude red flags because if someone does have a bad attitude, they’re not going to suddenly get a better one.

Set Your Goals: Think five years from now and plan every step to get there. Many small businesses fail because they become complacent. Imagine what your business could do if it got a big break and plan to make it happen.

Assemble Your Crew: Don’t try to do everything yourself. Find people who are good at doing what you need to be done and don’t be afraid to delegate. Get people who are dedicated to the same things you are. If you’re worried about hiring someone, give the potential employee a trial period before hiring. But in gathering your team, you have to be okay with people making mistakes. Just make sure they have a positive attitude and want to get better.

Have a Revenue Model: Hourly rates can put you in a corner because someone may only want to pay you for two hours when it’s really a ten hour job. Consider having clients commit to a minimum number of hours, or set up flat rates for specific tasks. Don’t be afraid to ask to be paid what you’re worth.

Develop Your Process: Do a good amount of work on the front end to establish yourself as an expert in your field. Have several meetings with the client to establish what they want the finished product to look like before you begin work. And if the client wants you to do something that you wouldn’t be proud to showcase, offer alternative solutions so you can both agree on a professional end result.

Know What Works: Don’t be afraid to try new things and push the envelope, but know the basics of what works so you have something to fall back on.

Solve the Problem: The client may not know what the root problem is, but it’s your job to figure it out. Show people things they didn’t know they wanted. Think of creative ways to achieve their goals and help them reach new audiences.

Find the Void: Look for unique ways to capitalize. Think about your competition and evaluate what they’re doing, and, most importantly, what they’re not doing because that could be your ticket to a new opportunity. Be innovative with your business by finding the marketplace void.

Do Something Different: Step away from the traditional and think of ways you can incorporate new technologies into the client’s goals. Build better mousetraps everywhere you can.

Self-Promote: Do fun and creative things to get your business noticed. Try guerrilla advertising or fun office window decorations to attract passers-by.

Fire a Client: That’s right. Fire a client. If a client is unnecessarily difficult to work with and is making you hate your job, which means you’re not doing your best work, fire them. More than likely, if they treat you poorly, they treat others poorly, so potential future clients won’t think badly of you for firing them. In fact, firing a client commands a certain level of respect from people.

Plan for Growth: The No. 1 reason small businesses fail is because they didn’t plan for growth. Plan for the big order and the high profile client. And if a client asks you, “Can you get this done?” the answer is should always be “yes.”

About the Southern Coterie Summit: The Southern Coterie Summit, or Southern C Summit, is a conference series that brings the together “best of Southern brands, bloggers, businesses and an assortment of Southern creatives to collaborate, create and innovate.” The conference is an extension of The Southern Coterie: The Social Network of the South. For more information on the next conference in Nashville, Tenn., on Oct. 17, check out the Southern Coterie Summit website.

Mandy Shunnarah is a freelance writer and editor, and an aspiring novelist. When she’s not writing, she can be found reading, learning to letterpress, watching Downton Abbey and Game of Thrones, and finding stray cats to cuddle with. Follow her on Twitter at @fixedbaroque and @awhitewrites.  

When you think of good branding, the Kardashian family probably isn’t what comes to mind. But at the Southern Coterie Summit in Athens, GA, on August 1, that’s exactly how Shameeka Ayers, founder of blog and brand The Broke Socialite, kicked off the conference.

“Everything I needed to know about building my brand, I learned from the Kardashians. Yes, those Kardashians. They’re doing something right because they’re grossing $73 million a year. Now, that’s good branding!” said Ayers.

And she’s right. Before her sex tape faux pas, no one cared what Kim wore or who she dated, much less cared about the goings-on of the entire Kardashian/Jenner clan. So how did the Kardashians go from rich nobodys to overnight celebrities with their only claim to fame a leaked sex tape?

“It’s all because of Kris Jenner,” said Ayers. “Kris cleaned up the sex tape fiasco by making Kim out to be a princess. She used her powers as a junkyard dog to take Kim’s mess and spin it into success for the whole family.”

Ayers went on to say how everyone needs a junkyard dog, someone to stick up for you no matter what kind of mess you’re in, because that’s the secret to branding success. “And if you don’t have a junkyard dog, be your own. Protect your brand, perpetuate your brand, own your brand. Don’t take BS and do what it takes to further your brand,” Ayers added.

Ayers illustrated her point by playing “This Is Why I’m Hot” and suggesting that everyone adopt a theme song that gives them the confidence to own their brand amidst competition, naysayers, and media.

“Kris being an opportunist made Kim successful, but what keeps Kim successful is that she owns her brand. Kim walks into a room like ‘This Is Why I’m Hot’ is playing in her head and doesn’t slouch or apologize,” explained Ayers.

There’s power in self-confidence, working hard, and having a 15-second elevator pitch for your brand.

“If you don’t believe in your brand, neither will anyone else,” Ayers said. “You have to be infectious.”

Meanwhile, Kris Jenner is keeping the window of opportunity open for the Kardashian/Jenner clan by maximizing every favorable circumstance she can find and forging partnerships. Kris has strategically aligned the Kardashian brand with similar brands and like minds.

“Kris convinced Sketchers that people would believe those high-heeled tennis shoes would give you a Kim booty. But we all know Kim doesn’t wear Sketchers. Then Kris did the same thing with Sears for the Kardashian clothing line, with perfumers, and more,” Ayers said.

For the not-yet-famous, building strategic partnerships may include doing things in trade or complimentary. It’s nearly impossible to further a brand by isolation, so don’t be afraid to work with similar brands.

Last, though far from least, engage with followers online, but do so responsibly.

“Social media is a dialogue. Don’t just post information; expect to engage with your followers. If done right, it’ll be the game changer for your brand, so don’t be afraid to post,” said Ayers, who concluded by adding, “As my granddaddy used to say, ‘It’s a poor dog that don’t wag its own tail.’”

Now it’s your turn to learn from the Kardashians and wag your own tail as your own junkyard dog to become the entrepreneur you dreamed you’d be.

About the Southern Coterie Summit: The Southern Coterie Summit, or Southern C Summit, is a conference series that brings the together “best of Southern brands, bloggers, businesses and an assortment of Southern creatives to collaborate, create and innovate.” The conference is an extension of The Southern Coterie: The Social Network of the South. For more information on the next conference in Nashville, Tenn., on Oct. 17, check out the Southern Coterie Summit website.

About Shameeka Ayers: Shameeka Ayers knows something about going from “want-repreneur” to entrepreneur. She is the created of blog and brand The Broke Socialite, which combines her love of social media and PR. She’s the author of the novella Instantly! How Quickly I Realized I Hate My Job, and the founder of the nationally acclaimed Sugar Coma dessert festival. Check out The Broke Socialite blog, and follow The Blog Socialite on Facebook and Twitter.

Mandy Shunnarah is a freelance writer and editor, and an aspiring novelist. When she’s not writing, she can be found reading, learning to letterpress, watching Downton Abbey and Game of Thrones, and finding stray cats to cuddle with. Follow her on Twitter at @fixedbaroque and @awhitewrites.  

They call it a virtual front porch for Southerners and people who love the South.

In 2011 St. Simons Island, Ga., residents Cheri Leavy and Whitney Long decided to launch a Tumblr blog about the South. But with so many Southern-themed blogs out there, Leavy and Long knew they had to find a way to set their site apart from others. In January 2012 they added a weekly newsletter.  In July of that year, inspired by their love for connecting with people, Leavy and Long launched a social network that would allow users to interact with one another.

The Southern Coterie was born.

Better known at The Southern C, The Southern Coterie is meant to be the social network of the South, Leavy and Long say. Through the site users can share blog posts, photographs, videos, recipes and more about Southern culture.

“We have created a virtual front porch for Southerners and all those who love the South,” Long says. “It’s like dropping by your neighbor’s house and chatting but at The Southern C, your friends can be from around the country.  It’s a unique site that offers the opportunity for conversations between a variety of members about a common interest – the South.”

The Southern C is the place for sharing your grandmother’s famous recipe for pimento cheese and learning about the hottest restaurants in Charleston. It’s the place to talk football or find the perfect spot for a seaside wedding on 30-A. And whether you want  to listen to the Blind Boys of Alabama sing their rendition of “Amazing Grace” or just catch up with your favorite Southern blogger, Leavy and Long want The Southern C to be your go-to site.

This year Leavy and Long decided to take the fun offline with The Southern C Summit, a series of conferences for Southern bloggers, brands, and businesses.

“The Summit Series is a live event designed to offer attendees an opportunity to network and develop business relationships, while engaging in meaningful conversations in an intimate setting,” Leavy says. “It is a great opportunity for writers, bloggers and journalists to learn new media marketing to promote their efforts and the seventh largest magazine in the nation, Southern Living, has editors participating and networking in a casual atmosphere.”

The first summit was held in May at Jekyll Island, Ga., and featured panel discussions on blogging, workshops on how to pitch stories to media, and presentations on brand building through storytelling.

“Seeing all of our hard work come together for a successful event was very rewarding,” Long says. “And by successful, I mean people connecting, collaborating and creating together – be it a blogger with a business or brand or a business owner finding out about a quality southern product and now carrying it in their store as a result.”

Long adds: “The educational sessions were top-notch with useful takeaway info on a variety of topics that related to our attendees.  We wanted to make it a truly inspiring and learning event and from the feedback, we accomplished that.”

The next summit is set for Aug. 1 and will be held in Athens, Ga. In October, The Southern C Summit will hit the road and travel to Nashville, Tenn.

Scheduled presenters for the August summit include Southern Living executive food editor Hunter Lewis, Shameka Ayers of the popular blog The Broke Socialite, and Robin Wheeler, a sales lead at Twitter.

“Much like on Jekyll Island in May, our gathering of Southern creatives in Athens offers invaluable opportunities for creating connections and collaborations with others all while networking with other knowledgeable, inspiring and successful women,” Long says.  “We have once again assembled a talented and qualified team of speakers to lead the educational sessions and panels so attendees will leave inspired and ready to take their blog, business or brand to a whole new level.”

Learn more and register for The Southern C Summit here.