Archives for January 2012

You Talkin’ to Me?

January 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment

IStock_000013428086XSmallI recently heard an example of great branding on the radio. It was for a local auto repair shop that specializes in repairing European motors. The announcer got on and pointed out how they were different from their competitors who had lower prices, but less experienced technicians and also from their competitors who offered fancy chairs and lattes while you wait, but who had prices to match these extra luxuries. Their niche was a fair price and a good job for the regular guy.

You may think that everyone thinks of themselves as the regular guy, but that’s not true. I for one would be willing to spend a little extra money to sit in a nice clean room, with a comfortable chair sipping a frothy drink while someone worked on my car. And there are people who always want or need the lowest possible price. What this auto shop did so well was effectively target their ideal client. They did not try to appeal to each end of the spectrum and everything in between. As a result, they did not waste time and money reaching out to the wrong audience. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Bold Branding, Brand Building, Connecting with your Audience, Finding your Niche, Uncategorized

It’s such a pain…

January 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment

IStock_000017569099XSmallIt is now the 4th week of January. How are you doing with your New Year’s resolutions? How are you doing with moving forward with your goals for 2012? Are you still riding high on the energy of your intentions, or have you started bumping up against resistance and challenges that have slowed you down? Do you feel like you are zipping along your way, or are you waking up to the reality that time is moving on and you not?

Why is it that we are so often stymied in our efforts to grow or change our lives or businesses for the better? The answer is simple, we do not like feeling uncomfortable. Would you rather sit by the fire drinking hot cocoa or shovel the driveway? Would you rather sip margaritas on the beach or go to the gym? No brainer, right? However, you need to consider your bigger goal. Do you want a ripped body when you hit the beach, then you better hit the gym and sweat your fanny off. Do you want to go skiing with your family on the weekend? Then you better put on your ugly snow boots and start shoveling out your car. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Finding your support, Goal Setting, Overcoming challenges, Uncategorized

The Courage to Brand

January 16, 2012 By 4 Comments

IStock_000017350380XSmallMy five year old daughter came home from school crying the other day. It turns out they had been learning about Martin Luther King Jr. and she was upset he had been shot. After consoling her, we talked about how courageous King had been. Of course, my daughter was too young to understand why it took courage for King to speak his mind. However, as adults we know the huge amount of courage King had to possess to espouse his dream of hope and equality for all people.

Courage can be defined as “the ability to face danger, difficulty, uncertainty, or pain without being overcome by fear or being deflected from a chosen course of action.” I love the part about “without being deflected from a chosen course of action.” King knew the danger he was in by continuing his vocal campaign, but he kept on because he believed in the power of his message. He knew there were people who needed him to be their voice. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Bold Branding, Finding Your Voice, Overcoming challenges, Uncategorized

Can you pass the Kleenex test?

January 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment

IStock_000018351117XSmallAs it is winter now, it is also cold and flu season so there is a lot of coughing, sneezing and sniffling going on out there. One thing you will probably need to stock up on is your supply of Kleenex. Notice I did not say tissues. I said Kleenex. I have to confess that I didn’t even know tissues were called tissues until I was an adult. My whole life growing up I thought those things you blew your nose into were Kneenex. I had no idea Kleenex was a brand name. I thought it was a noun. In my mind Kleenex is synonymous with tissues, they are one in the same. Now that is some powerful branding!

Another example of this pheneomon is Coke. There are many places in the country where people call all cola drinks Coke whether they are actually drinking a Coke or a Pepsi or anything else. Coke is coke. It almost makes you feel sorry for the other guys. Their brands don’t even really exist in those circumstances. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Brand Building, Finding your Niche, Finding Your Voice, Personal Branding

Plan for Success

January 2, 2012 By Leave a Comment

IStock_000012686196XSmallAs the new year starts, our heads are full with resolutions of looking better, feeling better and being better. Imagining how we are going to look when we drop those nagging 20 pounds or how great we will feel when we finally get our home office cleaned out and organized, we are filled with energy and enthusiasm. However, come March we look back at the previous two months and wonder what happened? We are still hanging on to our not-so-beloved love handles and our home offices still look like a tornado passed through. What happened to all our good intentions?

Now I am a tried and true believer in the power of intentions, but having a clear intention is only half the equation to reaching your goals. Most of us have very clear ideas of what we’d like to see happen in the new year (usually, that clarity has something to do with a size 6 dress!), but something gets lost in the actual manifesting of the vision. The problem usually lies in not having a clearly laid out PLAN to follow outlining all the necessary steps to actually achieve your goal. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Goal Setting, Success Strategies, Winning Strategies