Is your Brand a Brown Box or a Thoughtful Gift?

April 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Content is king, right? That’s what we are told over and over again. While I believe you need to have quality services and products to offer your clients, I don’t believe great content is a panacea for drawing in and converting eager clients. Substantive content is vital to building a valuable and trustworthy brand, however, it isn’t necessarily what is going to grab the attention of your audience.  What you need to go along with your relevant content is enticing packaging.

There, I’ve said it. You can all start throwing your tomatoes now. I know for many people the idea of glorifying packaging is exactly what they dislike about marketing. They feel it devalues the core of the message or product they are creating and selling. As consumers we sometimes [Read more…]

Filed Under: Bold Branding, Brand Building, Careful Packaging, Image Management, Importance of Image Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Put a little Spring into your Brand Step.

April 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment

One of the pillars of good branding is consistency. Consistency makes your brand stick in the minds of your audience. The more consistent you are with your brand message and image, the more recognizable and memorable your brand becomes. When you are consistent, you develop a reputation for being reliable. However, we need to be careful we don’t let the reliability of our brands allow them to get boring. Sure, reliability and consistency are the foundations of successful branding, but let’s face it, if that’s all you have going for your brand it’s about as exciting as an old shoe. If you really want to entice your audience you are going to have to trade in those clunky loafers for some sexy sandals.

Here are some of my tips for putting some spice in the soul of your brand: [Read more…]

Filed Under: Bold Branding, Brand Building, Personal Branding Tagged With: , , , , ,

A Change is Gonna Come

March 26, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Tis March and the weather in New England has been predictably unpredictable. This year, however, the unpredictability has been extreme. Last week it was 80 degrees in Boston and the kids in our town were stuck taking the state standardized tests in a school building without air conditioning. I, along with everyone else, was also caught off guard by the warm weather. Tomorrow night the temperature is suppose to drop down into the 20’s! Every morning is a new adventure.

In New England we are used to fluctuations in the weather, but this year has been a real roller coaster ride. It is one thing when the weather throws you for a loop, but how do you handle it when your business climate fluctuates? How do you stay cool with unexpected heat? How do you get the fire burning when things suddenly turn cold? While you can’t know every twist and turn in the road, there are strategies you can employ to stop those speed bumps from stripping the underbelly of your engine. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Business Building Strategies, Overcoming challenges, Winning Strategies Tagged With: , ,

Open Wide

March 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment

There is a very funny phenomenon that happens when people first start taking voice lessons. They have a tendency to try to sing with their mouths closed! It’s a very strange thing. The whole point of lessons is to open up the instrument and learn how to let the voice soar. You would think if someone is willing to invest the time and money to actually take singing lessons it would be natural to open up and sing.  However, I have seen the contrary many, many times in my own teaching and watching other singers in master classes. Why is this so?

First, people are NOT AWARE they are not opening their mouths fully. Often when one sings with a partially closed mouth the voice actually sounds quite large on the inside. The sad truth is, however, the sound is getting trapped inside the singer’s body, rumbling around inside their throat, their mouth and their ears. It is not being projected out. As a result, the sound from the outside is small and muffled.

Secondly, in spite of the fact the student has invested in lessons and thus shown a genuine interest in learning to sing, they are AFRAID to let their voice out. Again, I have seen it many times, especially in young singers. The first time they open their mouth and let their voice really rip, they instinctively recoil at the bigness of their own sound.

Finally, a reason some singers do not open their mouths when they sing is they do not have the strength or coordination built up in their bodies to support their sound fully. Therefore, they are forced to “hold on” to their sound. They do not have the support mechanism in place to sustain the opening and project out. It is a technical and structural issue.

As budding business owners we are trying to find and project our voices too. Our stage is the marketplace. However, both the singer and the entrepreneur are trying to reach and entice their target audience. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Business Building Strategies, Finding Your Voice, Projecting your Voice, Risk Taking, Success Strategies, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , ,

Think Like a Woman, Act Like a Woman

March 12, 2012 By 2 Comments

This month marks International Women’s Month where we celebrate the accomplishments of women and inspire women to be their best. This past weekend I had the privilege of speaking at an Empowered Women’s Seminar where we all shared our expertise and encouragement. It was very satisfying and exciting. However, one thing that stood out to me was the topic of safety. As many of the women in the group were business women who consult and sometimes travel to different locations for work, the issue of keeping yourself safe on the job came up. It struck me in that moment once again, how different men and women really are. I somewhat doubt an issue of personal safety would have been at the forefront of a business seminar for men. For women, however, no matter how successful you are, it is still a real concern. When I came home I mentioned that part of the seminar to my husband and he said, “That’s something I don’t usually think about.” Of course not, it’s just not something men think about as much.

Have you ever heard or seen the slogan “Think like a man, act like a woman?”  I have always been slightly uncomfortable with that slogan, but it wasn’t until I heard my husband’s response that I figured out why. As women, we are NOT men.  We are not female versions of men. We are women, completely different beasts. We do not have the same issues, the same bodies, the same minds, or exactly the same drives. Sure we share some things, but there are many, many things we don’t share. I love men and I don’t think women are better than men. On the contrary, I think it’s important to honor and leverage what makes each of us unique. Therefore, it is not my goal to think like a man, but rather to think like an intelligent woman. A man doesn’t worry so much about personal safety, however, a smart woman does. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Business Building Strategies, Success Strategies, Uncategorized, Winning Strategies, Women in Business Tagged With: , , ,

Eat only what’s delicious.

March 5, 2012 By 10 Comments

I recently read an article about something called the “Snob Diet.” The idea is to be discriminating about what you eat. Instead of eating low-fat, processed “diet” food, you actually eat real, full-fat, scrumptious food. When you eat the real thing, the idea is, you are more satisfied so you actually eat less and lose weight. If you are like 99% of most of us, you are probably watching what you eat on a daily basis in an effort to stay as trim and healthy as possible, so the idea of indulging with Häagen Dazs may seem like diet suicide. But before you throw out the brie with the bath water, take a second look at the Snob Diet. It’s not about stuffing your face in a trans-fat frenzy, it’s about the experience of deeply enjoying the process of eating.

As business owners we would do well to pay attention to the Snob Diet. Whether we are talking about eating or the process of shopping, most people have a strong desire to have quality experiences. As consumers we are bombarded with garbage, with a lot of loud junk. We long for the experience that will transcend the noise and fill us with meaningful nourishment. As business owners we need to ask ourselves not only what is the best product we can provide, but also what is the best EXPERIENCE we can give our customers. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Authentic Branding, Bold Branding, Brand Building, Business Building Strategies, Connecting with your Audience, Finding your Niche Tagged With: , ,

Fail to Impress

February 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment

One of our most important jobs as entrepreneurs is attracting clients. As a result we do all kinds of things to capture the attention of our audience. We want to make a big impression so we will be remembered and, hopefully, even referred.  However, while it’s good to make a positive impression, being impressive should not be the ultimate goal when it comes attracting your ideal clients. A far better and much more effective approach is to create an authentic brand that speaks to the hearts of your audience.

Remember the old story of the wind and the sun competing to see who can get a man to take off his jacket first? The wind howls and tries to blow the man’s jacket off, but the harder the wind blows the tighter the man clings to his jacket. The sun, on the other hand, beams its rays of light and warmth on the man. He gets so toasty he takes his jacket right off. I suspect he even enjoys the warmth and the glow of the sun.

It’s like that with branding as well. If you are merely impressive, you are like the wind. You may blow long and hard, but you are not getting your clients to open up to all the wonderful things you have to offer. In order for you to get your audience to open up to you and your services, you must warm them up and connect with them on an emotional level. The best way to do this is [Read more…]

Filed Under: Authentic Branding, Connecting with your Audience, Personal Branding, Risk Taking, Uncategorized

Water your own lawn.

February 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment

My morning routine usually consists of an hour workout at the gym. When I’m on the treadmill or elliptical machine I have on my ipod and bring along something to read if I’m not doing a hard run. Usually, my reading material is some kind of marketing, business or personal development book. Sometimes, however, I’ll turn on the tv if I really need to be distracted from my workout. I don’t watch the news when I run because I’ve noticed it slows me down, however, at 6 a.m. there aren’t a lot of options. I usually end up catching something on Bravo. Yesterday it was the “Real Housewives of Orange County.” Ok, it’s a far cry from The Power of Focus which I’m reading now, but believe it or not, I came away with a really good piece of advice from the show. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Business Building Strategies, Overcoming challenges, Simplicity, Clarity & Focus, Success Strategies, Uncategorized, Winning Strategies

Are you holding on by a thread?

February 13, 2012 By Leave a Comment

If you are a woman entrepreneur you are probably very familiar with the feeling of being overwhelmed, especially if you also happen to be a mom. There are so many things to keep track of, sometimes it feels like your head is literally going to spin off.  Not only are you in charge of your business, you are also the CEO of your house and family. You may be handling everything from doing the books for your business to trying to excavate your yard for rocks for your kid’s big penguin project. ( We got an “A” thank you very much.) How on earth can you stay focused and feel productive when you are being pulled in a hundred different directions?

Here are some suggestions I give to my clients and that I also follow to stay sane. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Overcoming challenges, Simplicity, Clarity & Focus, Success Strategies, Winning Strategies

Are You Churning Butter?

February 7, 2012 By Leave a Comment

In his book The Slight Edge author Jeff Olson tells the parable to two frogs who get stuck in a bucket of cream. Once in the bucket they realize they are in literally over their heads and have no way to get out. The first frog resigns himself to his fate and gives up voluntarily sinking to the bottom of the bucket to drawn. The second frog says, no way not me. He paddles his little heart out going in circles until he is too tired to continue. Just as he is about to allow himself to sink to his death his foot touches something hard and he is able to push against it to just out of the bucket.  Unknowingly, the little frog has turned the cream into butter with all his paddling.

When we first decide to pursue entrepreneurship we often feel like we’ve hit pay dirt. We’ve maybe left an unfulfilling job to follow our dream or maybe we are enticed the by idea of financial freedom. We jump in feet first to the big luscious bucket of entrepreneurial cream and feel drunk with possibilities, but when reality of our choice starts to sink in we panic. What at first seems like a windfall, now seems like a trap. We are flooded with “what if’s” and “how on earth.” How are we going to make a profit when all our money is collateral? How are we going to keep a solid connection with our kids when we are now need to work on weekends? How on earth are we going to get every damn thing done!! [Read more…]

Filed Under: Finding your flow, Overcoming challenges, Success Strategies, Uncategorized
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