Successful Blog

Everything Counts When Building a Professional Brand

by

by
Deb Bixler

cooltext443809602_strategy

Branding As A Professional

There is a lot of talk about branding. Branding online and off needs to be consistent. That goes without saying!

What about your brand as a professional?

A recent experience drove home to me the importance of my brand as a professional.

I had my business brochures reprinted. An order of a thousand brochures lasts about a year.

When I picked them up and took one out of the box it jumped out at me….

They were folded wrong. A small error of alignment left a white line along the edge of the trifold brochure. The office boy giving me the order could not even see the error when I said that they were folded wrong.

He told me to take a few and then the supervisor would call me with some options. I left feeling like I was being too picky. Over the course of a week or so, I showed the poorly folded brochure to dozens of people.

When I asked “Can you see anything wrong with this brochure?” most would study it with intense scrutiny and then point out something stupid like the color of my shirt or the position of my fingers. After I pointed out the white line, they would say, “That’s no big deal.”

Professionalism in BusinessOnly 1:10 even saw the error without me pointing it out.

After a week or so the printing company called with a settlement offer. Take $70 off the order and keep them as is or do a total reprint free. The order was $250. I was really torn as to what to do.

The printing error really bugged me but no one noticed. I decided to change my terminology in getting opinions.

“This brochure has a printing error. Can you see it?”

My hope was that they would look at the bigger picture and not the details. Same thing… only about 1:10 could actually see it! Everyone I told about the money compensation offer said the same thing: “Take the discount and keep them!”

The Artistic Eye Sees More

I realized that anyone who noticed the fold error was either artistic or in a technology-based business that utilizes graphics on a daily basis.

So I took the brochures to school. I teach culinary school. Chefs are artists!

The first half-dozen aspiring young chefs immediately saw the error. Ahhh…. validation, finally!

One young lady said, “If it bothers you, you should definitely get them reprinted!”

An astute student from my menu design class said: “Isn’t this what you tell us about branding? You always brand yourself as a professional, why would you even consider keeping them!?”

Brand As A Home Business Professional

I provide training for home business consultants. I teach them how to treat their business like a profession. That is the trademark that I operate under.

No matter how small your business when you apply the strategies used by professionals in corporate jobs you will get the same results working from home.

At culinary school I stress maintaining professionalism in the restaurant kitchen…. I briefly forgot to treat my own brand as a professional.

Professionalism is a brand that is carried through out your business, whether it be brochures or online graphics. Never sacrifice your professionalism for money!

I got the reprint and put the rejects in the recycling barrel!

Author’s Bio:
Deb Bixler retired from the corporate world using the proven business systems that made her a success working for others by incorporated them into her home business. In only 9 months Deb replaced her full time income with the sales and commissions from her home party plan business. Find her on Twitter at: http://www.Twitter.com/debbixler

Thank you, Deb!
I would have made the same choice you did.

— ME “Liz” Strauss

Ask People What They’re Thinking

by

I Can’t Read Your Mind

cooltext443794242_influence

When I was younger, maybe ten or eleven, I used to wonder about what other people were thinking. I’d sit in my desk at school and imagine I was another person, sitting in that person’s desk, thinking what that person was thinking. At times, I’d wonder whether that person ever did the same thing — sat in his or her desk wondering what I was thinking.

As I got older, maybe 15 or 16, I began to ask people what they were thinking. Some people answer that they had been thinking the most amazing things.Some people would say they had been thinking absolutely nothing. Seemed a strange thing that a person could think nothing.

I didn’t realize until I was older still that people often answered that question with something they might have decided I was expecting or something that they devised on the spot because what they were thinking didn’t seem worthy or relevant.

What Are You Thinking?

Over a quiet moment at a romantic first-date dinner, a young man asked “What are you thinking?” and my answer was, “I was thinking about the bread.” Not exactly the most charming response to my date. It was a long complicated set of thoughts that had brought from thoughts of meals shared with people I cared about to how it’s called “breaking bread.”

He was affronted that my thoughts seemed less than romantic and not at all about the moment … with him.

I tried to explain how the bread related. The more I said the more irrelevant my words sounded even to me.

My thoughts had been soft yet suddenly I was feeling small and wrong for moment’s mental connection that happened without intention … the way connections between ideas happen for me.

We never became a couple. We showed no signs of an ability to communicate on the simplest things.

He wanted me to be thinking what he was thinking at that moment and I wasn’t. Had he not asked he might have assumed I was … I expect that eventually would have had equally bad results.

Ask People What They’re Thinking

I’m thinking on that story now because I realized this morning, how often I see people take a wrong turn by deciding what someone else is thinking. Misled by their silence or a nondescript comment we invent their world view by putting our thoughts into their mind. You can only imagine what scenarios we’ve been able to conjure out of what people were nowhere near thinking at all.

Eventually I’ve learned it’s easier, faster, and less worrisome to ask people what they are thinking and then leave room for asking them why. And what my friends are thinking is always interesting, valuable, and worth hearing — much more than I might have imagined — and when I’m listening often the source of new thoughts of my own.

Thank you for all of the thinking that you do. The world needs it and I do too. Want a smarter, higher performing team? Want better relationships?
Keep thinking.
Keep asking people what their thinking.
Keep listening when they tell you.
It’s irresistible when you do.

Be irresistible.
–ME “Liz” Strauss

The Secret to Progress You Can Start Today

by

by
Rosemary O’Neill

There is one tiny change you can make to your daily life that will have a huge impact on your success. In work, in relationships, and in family life. Lean closer, because I’m going to have to whisper it.

Look back.

The Secret to Progress You Can Start Today

My car has one of those built-in video screens so that I can see what’s behind me when I’m backing up. Skateboards, basketballs, and even the occasional kid have all survived my driveway because of this rear-vision feature.

We’re all told constantly to plan, set goals, look ahead. And in these next few weeks you’ll be barraged with people telling you to sit down and create a roadmap for 2013.

But before you do that, it’s essential to grab a cup of coffee and review 2012. How can we ever savor life, see our progress, and learn from our mistakes and successes if we don’t ever take a moment to look for them?

Daily Gratitude

At the end of every day, as you’re settled in bed and closing your eyes, take a couple of minutes to think back and be grateful for the day just passed. Give yourself a high five for any accomplishments.

Weekly Review

At the end of every week (I do it on Sunday afternoon), sit down and actually write out your successes. Write down lessons you learned during the week. Write down things you meant to do but didn’t and figure out why. Write down things that happened that made you feel awesome.

Monthly Check-in

At the end of the month, glance through your weekly review notes, as a reminder of your progress and things you’ve learned. It will solidify the lessons learned and give you a boost going into the coming month.

Yearly Wrap-up

Almost everyone starts the year with some sort of vision or goals (let’s not say resolutions anymore, ok?). But do you ever sit down at the end of the year and see how you did? So maybe you didn’t finish that novel, but you did publish your blog three times a week. It’s ok to celebrate that. And since you have your weekly reviews in front of you, you can really see and remember everything. Before I started writing these things down, I wouldn’t have remembered some of the minor victories that really stack up.

Do you take time to look back? Do you have any review tips to share?

Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for social strata — a top ten company to work for on the Internet . Check out the Social Strata blog. You can find Rosemary on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee

Thank you, Rosemary!

You’re irresistible!

ME “Liz” Strauss

15 Tips to Effectively Use Social Media for Small Business

by

by
Brian Jenkins

cooltext443809602_strategy

Why Small Businesses Struggle with Social Media and What They Can do about it

A recent survey conducted by Manta, the popular online community for small businesses, showed that 90 percent of small business owners are involved in networking online. Of those, 74 percent believe networking online is just as, if not more, valuable than networking in person. Almost 50 percent of the small business owners surveyed believe that targeting and gaining prospective customers is the most valuable benefit of networking online.

However, the large number of online and social media channels that exist makes it challenging for small business owners to effectively navigate and properly use them.

  • 58 percent of small business owners say they have a difficult time finding value in using Facebook for promoting their business. Pinterest and Groupon, two popular consumer websites, have proven to be ineffective for small businesses.
  • Many small business owners struggle with social media because they don’t have the budget to hire a social media marketing expert or they don’t have staff members with enough free time to learn how to effectively use social media.
  • Many of the online articles that provide social media tips for small business owners are not specific enough, and what’s worse, many of the articles contradict each other, making it very difficult for small business owners to confidently create a social media marketing plan.
  • Many small business owners fail to gain an audience through social media platforms and increase sales because they either don’t have a substantial amount of content or enough engaging content to keep folks interested.
  • Unfortunately, many small businesses simply don’t try to engage people at social media sites; they instead annoy prospective customers by bombarding them with promotional messages. Many small businesses fail to nurture social media relationships. Instead, they’re just looking for a quick sale.

15 Tips to Effectively Use Social Media for Small Business

  1. One of the best ways to learn how to use social media is to learn how other small businesses, especially those in your niche, use it successfully. Follow some successful brands on Twitter and see how they engage their audiences.
  2. Work on becoming an authority in your niche at social media websites.
  3. Increase your online popularity with how-to videos. Create a custom channel on YouTube; video thumbnails in search results attract people more than text does. Videos also help you get to the top of search results. Most people spend significantly more time watching video than reading web pages. Provide how-to tips that your competitors don’t provide. Create a collection of short instructional videos about your products or services which include testimonials from happy customers. Make sure your videos are three minutes or less.
  4. Be social with Twitter, Facebook, and other social media sites; don’t just announce products and services.
  5. Run competitions on Twitter and Facebook.
  6. Ask bold or interesting questions to provoke a reaction from your Twitter followers.
  7. Encourage people to retweet your content.
  8. Use Facebook to show visitors what you’re passionate about.
  9. Create a custom welcome tab on your Facebook page. Use a call-of-action to encourage non-fans to become fans. After you get the “Like,” offer a valuable free item in exchange for their name and email address.
  10. At your Facebook page or blog, create a list of interesting questions and provide insightful answers to the questions online. Provide new questions and answers every day.
  11. Work to obtain links to your site from authoritative blogs in your niche or a related niche. Offering to write guest posts is one why to do this.
  12. Providing content that solves your visitors’ problems builds trust and the content may get linked to and shared with others.
  13. Start a blog and ask visitors to participate. Effective blogs include bold headings and plenty of images. Provide a call-to-action at the bottom of every blog post. Ask visitors to leave a comment, share the blog post at one of their favorite social media sites, or click on a link for information about a product.
  14. Post funny photographs or humorous short stories that are relevant to your business.
  15. Be responsive to your audience. Business is all about relationships, so be generous to people and take a genuine interest in them.

Small businesses that have had success with social media have found that what works online is much like works offline — offering specific value that’s relevant to their customers, friends, and fans.

What tips might you add for small business success with social media?

Author’s Bio: Brian Jenkins writes about a variety of topics related to careers and education, including careers in marketing, for the Riley Guide.

Thank you, Brian! Great advice!

— ME “Liz” Strauss

Do You Own What You Know?

by

2016 GeniusShared Read from Liz StraussIt’s Time to Own What You Know

I’ve been getting more and more chances to talk with you about what you’re doing and I see so much that adds up to so much. It’s hard to miss how many of us are making things happen in huge and outstanding ways. The pile of accomplishment between us is higher than 23 school buses stacked up toward the sky.

One question troubles me … Why do so many of us seem aware of everyone’s accomplishments except their own?
It’s important to own what you know.

Take Ten Minutes to Catch Up With Yourself

When I ask you what you’re doing, do you discount the far road you come?

Everyone of us came to be who we are without a practice session or a lesson plan. We’re learning to build our future as we live each day. What we forget is that our lives aren’t dependent on what the guy next to us does.

Does the guy next to you seem to have more ideas? Does the woman down the street have a more impressive blog or a longer client list? When we concentrate on what we’re not doing, soon enough the world gets out of control and we start feeling less than small.

Would you do me a favor? Take ten minutes to reflect on where you were a few months ago. You know more about yourself, your life, and if you look to your strengths, you also know more about what you can do.

If you never reflect on what you’ve accomplished in the last few months, you could still be walking into a room thinking you’re the person you were in 2010 or maybe even who you were in 2014, rather than the person who’s done all you’ve done since then.

Take 10 minutes to catch up with yourself.
What have you done in the last year that you’ve not owned up to?

Owning your accomplishments is irresistible.

Be irresistible.
–ME “Liz” Strauss

 This post was updated in July 2016 by Jane Boyd & Liz Strauss. It has been listed as a suggested resource in a recent GeniusShared newsletter article by Liz entitled Owning Your Voice.

5 Twitter Advantages for Your Small Business

by

by
Rosemary O’Neill

5 Twitter Advantages for your Small Business

Are you still trying to make sense of Twitter?

As an onlooker, it appears much the same way the New York Stock Exchange looks from the observation window–messy, chaotic, and disorganized. But stand a moment and keep looking, because you will start to see groups of people gathered around specific topics. Over here, a loud tribe of Kardashian followers (we’ll just step around them) and over there in the far corner, an intense crowd of small business owners.

They pop in to conduct their transaction and then move back to their desks on the trading floor.

What’s great about Twitter is that anyone can step out onto the floor and mix it up in the trading scrum.

Use Twitter as a Small Business Advantage

  1. Network and share your expertise – join a regular Twitter chat (check out the massive list of chats here). At the appointed time, go to Tweetchat.com and type in the hashtag for the chat. Follow the conversation and add your own thoughts. With regular participation, you can form a strong network. I highly recommend the #SOBCon chat!
  2. Build relationships to support your PR efforts – it’s an open secret that journalists like to hang out on Twitter. Your faxed press release will get tossed in the recycle bin, but it’s very easy to learn insider information on media likes/dislikes, beats, and current projects on Twitter. One place to start is Twellow’s news and media category (http://www.twellow.com/categories/news).
  3. Find leads – yes, you can actually find real people who might want to be your customer on Twitter. Use Twitter’s advanced search to find people who are searching for “help” plus your keyword, and then offer assistance. The important thing to remember is that you’re providing help, not a sales pitch. That’s the fast route to loserville.
  4. Be available to your customers – Twitter is the open phone line, and although all of your customers might not be on Twitter, the ones who are will appreciate having access to you. Just be sure to subscribe to alerts so you can hear the phone ring when someone mentions you or sends a direct message.
  5. Show your human side – Mix in some personality to your business Tweets, and use it as one more way to humanize your business. Not to share a steady stream of cat pictures, but sharing your passion for motorcycles or movies can be a great conversation starter.

Are you still procrastinating on jumping into Twitter? Share your fears here and maybe we can work together to get you out onto the trading floor.

Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for social strata — a top ten company to work for on the Internet . Check out the Social Strata blog. You can find Rosemary on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee

Thank you, Rosemary!

You’re irresistible!

ME “Liz” Strauss