An important skill set to own in your life is your time management. Whether you're running a business, climbing the corporate ladder, or chasing your dreams, mastering your time can be the key to success in both your professional and personal life.

As someone who took a risk when I started my own business in 2019, I know firsthand the chaotic world of deadlines, meetings, and endless to-do lists. I pride myself on my time-management and organization skills and am happy to share a few tips to help you master this yourself. 

Andrew Exler Consulting was “officially” launched 1 year ago.

On paper, I have had the most successful year of my career, but that was not my goal in year 1. I knew my first full-year in business would be filled with peaks & valleys. I knew I would experience great wins, while also preparing myself to know that not everything would go as planned. I gave myself “cushion” to fail, understanding that when you fail, the only way to go is up.

As I look back on year 1 and prepare for year 2, here are a few things I learned along the way.

2020 has been a tough year for a lot of people, we know that. However, for MANY people, tough times aren’t exclusive to 2020.

KINDNESS IS KEY!

I always allowed a toxic environment to surround & consume me throughout my life. I figured it was ok to associate with a person who is always negative. I figured it was normal to have words of negativity in my regular vocabulary. It wasn’t until I took a step-back on my life to see the big picture.

I was allowing daily experiences, negative people, and negative words impact my daily life. In early 2019, I decided that I was going to make a strong effort to rid myself, personally, of toxicity. It tooks small steps to remove certain negative aspects from my life. I made it my focus to eliminate:

• Toxic Environments/Culture

• Toxic People

• Toxic Vocabulary

Read more to learn how you can rid yourself of toxicity.

Life shouldn't be easy.

It’s important to own & celebrate your failures. If you can accept failing, you have already taken a step towards success.

Ask for help. Learn every step of the way.

This edition of #TheGroundFloor is exciting as it is the first podcast edition. I’m thankful to my friend, Matt Scoletti, for having me on his podcast called “Livin The Dream”.

In this podcast we talk about:

• What it takes to be happy

• Esports (& Lost Tribe Esports)

• Depression

• Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh

• My New Summer

• Life

• & more!

Enjoy this week’s edition of #TheGroundFloor!

Have you ever had a coach of some sort in your life? Have you ever been a coach? There are opportunities to take those experiences & transfer them into your professional life.

Guest Contributor, Tyler Pepe is a Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer at the start-up nonprofit, My New Summer. Before COVID-19 impacted the world and changed his plans, Tyler was completing graduate work in Organizational Behavior and Development at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya in Israel. While abroad Tyler served as Head Coach and Captain of the undefeated Herzliya Stars in the inaugural season of the Israel Lacrosse League. Prior to this Tyler spent 5 years as a Regional Director at BBYO.

I am very excited to welcome Tyler to #TheGroundFloor as he talks about winning at work

What is your dream job? Do you have what it takes to land your dream job at 26 years old?

#TheGroundFloor is thrilled to welcome guest contributor, Jesse Goleman, for this week’s edition. Jesse landed his dream job at 26 and he shares his secrets in this week’s blog!

Jesse is currently the goalkeeper coach at Northeastern University and the owner of Goleline, a strength and conditioning company tailored to the needs of goalkeepers. Jesse also currently holds the position of Director of Goalkeeping at Valeo FC. Jesse founded Goleline in the summer of 2019. Prior to that, Jesse has coached at Centenary University (NJ), Chatham University, Seton Hill University and Carlow University. During his assistant coaching stints, Jesse has coached over 20 all-conference selections, and one conference player of the year. In 2016, he was also on the coaching staff of the year. Jesse has also served in positions including Campus Recreation Coordinator at Centenary University, Youth & Teen Athletics Coordinator at the Pittsburgh JCC and Fitness Director at The X Health & Fitness Club in Pittsburgh.

In the first video blog interview of #TheGroundFloor, Andrew Exler sits down with David Kaplan, General Assignment Reporter at WTAE in Pittsburgh. David shares a bit of his story growing up & how he got into his career.

David highlights the advice he wish he could go back and tell his younger self, especially noting that everything will work out in the end.

If you’ve been following along to my business endeavors recently, you may think that things are moving a mile a minute for me. That’s because they are. Busy is a good thing.

The last 7 months of my life have been something I have strived for my entire professional career. I always wanted to have the independence to do what I thought was right, especially as it relates to my business & my professional choices. Currently, I am essentially working in three full-time roles with Andrew Exler Consulting, Lost Tribe Esports & My New Summer. The decision to take my career in this direction is one of the best decisions I have ever made.

Enjoy this week’s post in #TheGroundFloor to learn how I got here!

#TheGroundFloor is thrilled to welcome guest contributor, Ethen Ostroff, aka “The TikTok Lawyer”, for this week’s edition.

With over 212,000 followers and more than 6 MILLION likes on TikTok, Ethen has built his strong personal brand utilizing social media while continuing his full-time role as an Associate at Ostroff Law.

I am very excited to welcome Ethen to #TheGroundFloor as he shares his story where he discusses what it takes to start a personal brand.

Our society is continuing to face a pandemic that we never imagined we could experience. Sadly, this means that summer camps around North America have started to announce that they are cancelling their summers due to COVID-19. I’ll say this with full confidence - camp counselors will make the best employees.

Introducing “My New Summer: An Alternative Summer Experience for Camp Staff”. Once I heard about the possibility of camps being cancelled this summer, I was heartbroken. I began to think about the thousands of staff members who have had their summer plans abruptly changed. Now, I want to help and I ask you to join me.

Are you one of those staff members currently trying to figure out new plans for summer 2020? Are you looking for a job, internship or a mentor to talk to? Go to www.mynewsummer.com and fill out the information form to be connected to other like-minded individuals who will do their best to help you find your place this summer and beyond. Make sure to join the LinkedIn group!

Are you hiring or looking to help? Whether you are looking to hire for a full-time position or a seasonal job, please join the My New Summer LinkedIn group to connect with thousands of individuals looking for assistance.

Right now, the best thing we can do is help each other. No strings attached. Let’s act quickly to make this work for everyone. Please contact me with questions at andrew@andrewexler.com.

#TheGroundFloor is thrilled to welcome guest contributor, Zach Schwartz, for this week’s edition! Zach is an integral part of our young leadership at Tree of Life Synagogue & all around the community in Pittsburgh. Since the attack on the Jewish community on October 27, 2018, Zach has stepped up to be a key piece in the healing process of our community.

Zach was born and raised in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, PA. He is a political and government affairs professional who has managed numerous political campaigns at every level and every branch government and has worked for a multitude of diversified organizations. Zach currently lives in his home in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh.

I am very excited to welcome Zach to #TheGroundFloor where he discusses a very important topic that we should all focus on, compassion.

In partnership with Growth10 (G10), I am happy to present my next collaboration with Co-Founder, Tom Healy, discussing 5 mistakes that small businesses make on social media. You may recall our last piece, “Why Your Business Should Be On Social Media”. Growth10 is the #1 community for entrepreneurs and as their mission states, Growth10 wants to help entrepreneurs grow faster and have a greater impact on the world. Enjoy this week's blog which includes a video conversation with Tom, as well as a link for a FREE 7-day trial with Growth10!

As part of your G10 membership, you will be providing a needs-based scholarship for an entrepreneur to be in the G10 Community. I am a proud member & contributor of the Growth10 community and look forward to providing more excellent content for Tom and the G10 family!

#TheGroundFloor is thrilled to welcome guest contributor, David Green, for this week’s edition! David is a Senior Account Executive with the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Join David for this week’s blog post where he discusses, “the beauty in the process”, as he details his journey to growth, both personally & professionally.

#TheGroundFloor is excited to welcome guest contributor, Jordyn Kay! Jordyn is the Director of Staff Engagement at a place that is very close to my heart, Emma Kaufmann Camp.

Join Jordyn in this week’s blog post where she details her approach on what it takes to be a leader, with some helpful tips!

It appears that social distancing is going to continue through at least the month of April & it is important to continue to take care of yourself. Some days fly by while others drag on. Days are molding together and sometimes weeks are flying by. Right now, your best bet is to physically & mentally prepare for another month of isolation.

The ENTIRE world had to adjust their normal routines. WHEN this all passes (not “if”), we are going to find ourselves living in a world that may seem totally different. What has helped you get through this thus far?

Enjoy this week’s post in #TheGroundFloor for some additional tips & insight to help keep you moving forward!

Working from home is not for everyone. You’ve probably heard someone once say that their job would be “impossible to work remotely”, yet you are now seeing just about every business in the working industry put procedures in place to make remote work possible to keep their businesses afloat.

As someone who experienced the trials and tribulations of a remote work environment over the years, I have gotten a grasp on some “best practices” to a remote working lifestyle. Read more in this week’s blog post in #TheGroundFloor!

When starting your own business, it’s easy to make every excuse not to take the time to step-back and review your progress. Thanks to some great advice, I’ve made sure to journal how far I have come in business & life.

Are you ready to start tracking how far you’ve come or have you already started? Whether it be in regard to your business, education, career progress, leadership positions, etc., it is key to track where you are.

Enjoy this weeks blog post of #TheGroundFloor with some my top tips when it comes to knowing where you are!

What does it mean to “burn a bridge”? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Too often in my career I have heard horror stories of professionals burning bridges with their former employers, network connections, potential employers and everything in-between. I ask why? Why do some professionals burn bridges? What is the gain?⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀

Dive-in to this week’s #blog post of #TheGroundFloor to learn more!

Volunteering is a great way to form a stronger sense of place, whether in your own neighborhood or a new part of town. As I have been continuing my journey of starting my own business, I have made a strong effort to build relationships with others who are in similar situations as I am, both locally and nationally.

I have a great friend named Carly Ellis, Founder of Street Lark. Carly & I decided to dive-in to a new opportunity we call, “Learning Through Volunteering”, where we volunteer portions of our time to work with and learn about various non-profit organizations.

We’re excited to kick things off with 412 Food Rescue, which is a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit fighting both food waste and food insecurity. Enjoy this week’s #blog post of #TheGroundFloor to hear all about our experience!