When someone asks, “What do you do?” how valuable is your answer? A run of the mill, “I am a financial advisor” or “I run a consulting firm” response has the person who asked knowing almost less about you than before they asked. You gave them a phone book response. You were about as personable and memorable as a business directory. AND you’ve forced them to jump to a … [Read more...]
My love affair with social media
I’ve been battling a bad cold for the past few days and I could not sit at my computer long enough to send a Tweet - thank goodness for BlackBerries! As you can imagine, I had a lot of time to think between making my next batch of green tea and watching the Olympics in bed (Go Canada!). One question that came to mind was, “what would the world be like without the internet, … [Read more...]
Employee Brand Differentiation
Differentiating oneself in the workforce today may hold the key for many employees who are keenly interested and highly motivated to survive downsizing. While it may take extra effort, the payoff can be exponentially greater both short and long range; for the employee and the company. With discipline, determination, and drive, employees can make their mark strategically, … [Read more...]
What Kind of Brand Do You Have?
If you were to act with conduct that causes extensive negative public relations, would your entire company disintegrate? How closely tied are your individual actions to your company’s brand and well-being? In general, if an individual at a corporation caused trouble, that position in the company would be replaced, the company would manage the bad PR, and everyone would move on. … [Read more...]
Top 10 US Cities to Capture Small Business Recovery Act Dollars
Uncle Sam wants small business entrepreneurs to lead the nation to economic recovery--and has billions of dollars to make it happen. Small business owners are in line to receive low-interest loans and government contracts through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). To secure your little corner of the recovery, you'll need to be at the right place with the right … [Read more...]
You’re Driven, But Where Are You Driving?
Most of the professional women I coach, whether entrepreneurs or corporate executives, are driven. I recognize certain characteristics that accompany this drive. Very often these type A personalities are totally focused on the work at hand and tend to be more reactive than proactive. Head down and nose to the grindstone. Does this sound familiar? If this is true for … [Read more...]
It’s important to be your own best customer
If you have a business, are involved in commerce in any way, you have customers. Customers are the people who pay money for the products or services or combination of products and services that your business offers. [Even if you are involved in a barter-type commerce, each side of a barter or trade is the other's customer.] This is not news to any of us with small or … [Read more...]
When is a “brand” not just a brand?
Any business person worth their salt will tell you that branding is important. People have to be able to recognize your products or services on sight. Some brands are symbols or images, some are just words and others are a combination of words and images. As an example, when I see the name General Mills, I instantly think of Cherrios. Can't help myself. I know that the … [Read more...]
Who wants to double or triple their website traffic almost immediately?
Are you getting the most out of your online marketing? The Entrepreneur’s Guide to the Search Engine Marketing Plan So many people pose to be marketing experts, when in fact, some may actually be, but in my experience, I’ve come to find that most are full of hot air. They claim you will get thousands of visitors and increase your conversion rates by 100% if you purchase … [Read more...]
Publicity and creating brands
Many small business owners think, “There’s nothing really that special about my business that makes it stand out from everyone else’s business. How do other businesses get publicity and create brands or company identities?” Once I talk to them a bit and find out about the products and services they offer, customer service, location, etc, I usually find an angle that would … [Read more...]