Is Fear Killing your Brand?

If I could wave a magic wand and get rid of one thing that plagues most human beings, it would be worry. I hate worry, HATE IT!  It is an evil that must be challenged at every turn. Worry stops dreams before they start. Worry poisons passion. And worry is one of the leading causes of a malady that strikes down many otherwise healthy business owners. It’s called weakbranditis. Weakbranditis is a condition that occurs when people worry too much about what other people think. They worry whether or not people will like them. They worry they will come across too strongly, too girly, too anything and everything. In an effort to avoid the discomfort of possible rejection, they pull back, tone down or dilute the very things that would make their brands special and memorable. [Read more…]

Is your Business Between a Rock and a Hardplace?

This morning I decided to plant a lovely red geranium I received as a gift recently. I’m not much of a gardener, but I thought I could handle the simple task of digging a hole in the dirt. I retrieved my clean, pink gardening gloves (first clue I am not an avid gardener) and the toy spade from my daughter’s gardening kit (second clue I’m not a gardener). With tools in hand I set out to dig. [Read more…]

Is Your Brand Missing the Mark?

Do you ever feel like you are spinning your wheels in your business? You feel like you are working, working, working, but nothing, nothing, nothing is happening? You’ve been a good doobie. You’ve developed a good service or product. You are tweeting and posting on Facebook. Perhaps you’ve even stepped out of your comfort zone and started doing some pubic speaking, but still nothing is happening. You just can’t seem to get any leverage. You start to wonder if there’s something wrong with you. Why aren’t people responding? [Read more…]

Go Ahead and Cheat

Don’t you wish you could dig into a hot-fudge sundae and there would be no repercussions. You’d gain no weight, your blood sugar wouldn’t spike, your cholesterol would not be effected. It would be a world where cheating was not cheating. Wouldn’t that be nice? You could simply indulge and enjoy the warm fudgy goodness. It may not ever be the case that indulging your sweet tooth won’t negatively impact your health, however, there are times when cheating is not only ok, it’s highly encouraged. [Read more…]

The Treadmill Altar

If you are a woman entrepreneur, your plate is full. More than likely you are running your home, your business and possibly a gaggle of children to boot. In all the flurry of activity it is easy to put your own needs on the back burner. However, taking care of yourself should be priority number 1. Without your health and energy there will be no business, your house will be a mess and the kids will end up eating chicken nuggets most nights. Ok, so a few chicken nuggets is not the end of the world, but a regular diet of sub-par nutrition is not optimal. Neither is walking around in a haze because your mind and body are in a slump.

I have been active my whole life, but until recently I looked at exercise as a way only to keep my body healthy. I have now come to look at exercise as [Read more…]

Nurture your Business

For Mother’s Day this year our family spent a fun the day at the beach. It was a warm, sunny day so many other families were also there strolling in the sand. As I looked around, I saw moms changing diapers, chasing toddlers and playing frisbee with their teenagers. It struck me how good parenting is constant even if the specifics of the job description changes over time. Obviously, the immediate needs of a 3 year old are very different from those of a 13 year old, but the fundamentals do not change over time. Kid of all ages need love and guidance to thrive. They need to be nurtured. [Read more…]

Is Your Brand a Winner?

This past weekend was the running of the Kentucky Derby. I really didn’t give much thought to it until I ran into another mom who told me she was going to attend a Derby party that night. At first I had no idea what she was talking about, but once she explained it was a Kentucky Derby party I was really fascinated. I started peppering her with questions. Will you wear a hat? Will there be betting? Will there be a signature drink? “Well, of course!” she replied. Hats, wagers and mint juleps were all on the menu.

In recent years it seems like more and more people are throwing these kinds of home spectator parties. No longer do people just gather for the annual Superbowl. Theme parties spread the gamut from erudite election parties to glitzy Oscar parties complete with red carpet. All this partying has me thinking. Fun and frivolity aside, what is the deeper appeal of the spectator party and what does it have to do with branding? [Read more…]

To Do or Do To Do, That is the Brand Question.

We are so lucky to live at this time and in this society. Now more than ever there is an abundance of opportunity. However, with all this opportunity it is sometimes difficult to know which choices to make. If you are trying to decide between a good option and a bad one the choice is obvious, but what do you do when there is no obvious distinction between a good and bad idea? What if you have more than one appealing opportunity? How do you know what to do? [Read more…]

Make a Lean, Clean Business Machine

Ah, the flowers are blooming, the grass is growing and the birds are chirping. It is definitely spring. It’s time for baseball, strolls in the park and of course, spring cleaning. For some, the idea of spring cleaning is about as appealing as getting a tooth pulled. Others love the process of clearing the decks and getting everything spic and span. Whether you love it or hate it, doing a deep, thorough cleaning once in a while is a necessary and important process for both your home and your business.

One of the reasons people resist any kind of cleaning process is because it requires assessing where they currently are. Whatever choices you have made up to that point are reflected in your environment. If the shop has been carefully watched and managed, the cleaning process will be fairly easy with a simple tweak here and there. If overwhelm or complacency has sneaked in over time, the job will be much harder. You suddenly find yourself face to face with the results of your choices and sometimes that can be quite unpleasant. Perhaps you have slacked off in your marketing efforts and your client stream has dried up. As uncomfortable as this realization can be, however, it affords you the opportunity to course correct and get your business pointed in the right direction again. [Read more…]

The Pace of Business

Today is Marathon Day in Boston. Thousands of runners from around the world will come to run the 26.2 mile course from Hopkinton to Boston. This is the 116th year of the race, but in all those years I doubt the runners have ever encountered the heat they will today. The temperature is suppose to reach the high 80’s. Even the most seasoned runners have been advised to pace themselves carefully. Upon hearing the warnings, my young daughter asked me what it means to pace yourself. [Read more…]