Literally abut every 3 days or so, I come up with a new idea; either for my existing businesses, or for entirely new ones. If I decided to pursue each and every one of them, I'd be looking at executing approximately 121.6 new ideas each year (and my family would have disowned me). I have to admit - even I (Miss Optimist-Overly Exciteable-Serial Executor) couldn't even pull that off. But still, it's great to push yourself and to have measurable goals while properly managing your expectations. Right at the beginning of this year, I settled on a new project strategy that I would apply in 2014: Small, Medium and Large. Whether you liken it to a fast food value meal, or clothing sizes or THE SIZE OF THE LATEST SNOW STORM TO HIT THE EAST COAST, the 'Small, Medium and Large' concept is easy to relate to and, most importantly, to digest without too much trepidation. Here's how I'm applying it: I'm synthesizing (I don't think I've used this term since 4th grade English), my zillion project ideas into about a dozen or so, then deciding which ones really can wait (or be tossed). Then, I'm sorting the remaining by order of magnitude: the mondo project, the respectably sized project, and the one easiest one that will take little resources to mount. Breaking them down this way instantly made me feel less overwhelmed and like making them happen was actually doable. Such a simple perspective, but immensely helpful for some reason. I'm getting ready to announce my Small Project this week and I'm excited about it because: (a) it's going to be FUN and valuable; but also (b) it's only the beginning of February and I've already planned and launched a project. Yay me. Have you thought about organizing your projects this way? Show me what you got! … [Read more...] about Small, Medium and Large: A Manageable Project Strategy for the Ambitious
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Pro Tip: Do Whatever You Need to Do to Get the Content Online
Since my path has taken me from journalism to law to blogging to event production to marketing, it took me a good while before I settled into the fact that I am a Content Marketer. Granted, the 'title' didn't necessarily exist before now, but now that it's here, I've made friends with it. Some days I'm jealous of business owners I know who sell pies or jewelry or stationery - they have something concrete that they make with their hands, that; (1) people understand and (2) has a set unit value that they can quantify, which allows for a whole slew of other benefits (and I'm sure they'd say, stressors). I often think, "what I wouldn't give for inventory!" I'd buy my pie ingredients, bake them, sell them. Rinse and repeat. No generating a new pie recipe every single day (unless I wanted to), which would not only be exhausting but would be an insurmountable mission. My entire focus would be to perfect my pie. Imagine! But this content marketing thing is a constant hustle. Each day you've got to create new content that's interesting or entertaining and that is 'shareable' and now is not limited to words but extends to images and video. The creatives are the ones that win at this game because they (we?) never run out of inspiration or perspective. Still, we can run into roadblocks, especially when you throw in a dose of perfectionism. Ahem. Guilty. Fortunately (for you), I've got several personal examples of this (unfortunate for me): The Elephant In My Blog Room is....video. Now I adore video. I majored in Television Production in college and felt the most alive in the studio. Put me in front of a professional camera and I'm a star. Once, while shooting a commercial for a brand, a producer called me: "One-Take Stacey" because I feel so comfortable and rarely need to do a second take. That's easy peasy for me...as long as someone ELSE is doing the shooting and editing! When it comes to shooting my own video, at home, and then EDIT IT is terrifying for me and also paralyzing. So I avoid it. And it's a shame. Two Christmases ago I shot my first haul video and was so stressed out that it looked amateurish that I deleted it. On several occasions, sweet and talented friends have 'shown' me how they do it, but I cannot get the hang of it. I've attended several workshops and I get all the fundamentals, but at the end of the day, I want it to look awesome. And so I continue to avoid it and make excuses about why I don't vlog. A couple of weeks ago, I was at a summit as part of a campaign I'm working on with The Century Council and there was a workshop on video presented by professional videographers. A large part of their talk was dedicated to showing us the various kinds of equipment we could use to instantly improve the quality of our 'homemade' vids. I was intrigued and obsessing over the details. I decided I wanted the Mac Daddy microphone but was discouraged by the price tag. And Emily, the videographer said to me: "You … [Read more...] about Pro Tip: Do Whatever You Need to Do to Get the Content Online
Who Would Your Brand Be If It Was a Person?
I was listening to the MGN Radio podcast over the weekend. The special guest was Nicole Garner of The Garner Circle. The irony was that I had just had a conversation with Nicole for the first time the day before because I was interested in learning about her marketing services. She came highly recommended by a bunch of people when I crowdsourced on Facebook for marketing professionals. During the podcast, Nicole talked about her career trajectory and her business philosophies; one if particular stood out to me: she felt it was so important for every business owner to give their brand a persona. Why Your Brand Needs a Soul Would your brand be a middle-aged women who liked jazz music? A teenage boy who is obsessed with skateboarding? The point is to know your brand inside and out and to give it a personality and a soul that you can communicate to others. There's nothing worse that asking someone what their brand is about and them telling you what it is they do. Really, anyone (or at least several people) can perform the service that you are providing, but only you can give it that special swagger. Also important is that thinking of your brand as a person will also shed light on who your target audience is, among other critical considerations. As someone obsessed with brands and their strategy, this really rung a bell. The really interesting thing is that your brand's persona may actually look nothing like you (whether or not it should is a different question). I'm still marinating on what an actual human representation of Blogalicious or Justice Fergie Lifestyle Media would look like. Though, I'm having fun picturing those of household brands that I know and love: Doritos = I imagine a grunge male daredevil college kid with a sense of humor Coach = a 40-something woman from New England who rides horses and is extremely polished (and a little uptight) Beats by Dre = urban millenial (male or female; white or black) with a huge ego and their parent's money :-) Your turn! … [Read more...] about Who Would Your Brand Be If It Was a Person?
5 Strategies for Transitioning From Your Day Job to Your Side Business
{re-posted from MommyNoire.com} It’s a New Year! I’m a sucker for blank slates. Whether it be cracking open a brand new notebook or opening up WordPress to compose a new blog post, the thought of starting anew is insanely invigorating for me. The start of January evokes the same feeling. With each new year comes the prospect of new opportunity, and for so many women I talk to, rebranding clients or otherwise, that includes the chance to reinvent themselves or their businesses based on where their true passion lies. Exactly one year ago, I found myself embarking on what was quite possibly the biggest reinvention journey of my life to date: I was officially self-employed after a decade of practicing law for a private firm and the federal government. It was both a thrill and incredibly terrifying! When it came to my spirit and my sanity, the career change was 100% necessary; I was experiencing burnout at work from juggling family with career, and it was reflecting in my attitude and performance both on the job and at home – a bad look all around! And so, with much thought and planning with my husband, I took the plunge. That sounds so daring and sexy doesn’t it? Truth be told, a lot of preparation, discussion, strategizing, and failed attempts at all of the above resulted in me finally being able to draft my resignation letter. By far, the number one comment I heard from people was: “You’re so lucky! I wish I could do that too, but I have no idea how.” I’m here to tell you that ‘luck’ has nothing to do with it. What’s that old saying? “Luck is where preparation meets opportunity.” I couldn’t agree more – laying the groundwork and then timing your reinvention thoughtfully is critical. Twelve months later, I can point to 5 specific strategies that made my transition successful: 1. Treat Your Day Job As Your First Investor. I’m not sure where I first heard this but it made perfect sense to me! We often worry about seeking funding from family and friends for our ventures and passion projects while ignoring the solid paycheck we are currently receiving at our day jobs. Set aside a portion of your current paycheck to serve as startup capital for your future project or side business. Those savings can also come in handy for living expenses while you get your new gig off of the ground. 2. Experiment. This was a huge one for me. I launched my blogs and my businesses while working. {For a great resource, check out Tai Goodwin’s Launch While Working site.} Doing this allowed me to try a few different ventures before finding those that had viability (and that I was truly passionate about). Because I was still working my full-time job, I had the luxury of experimenting with various business models without impacting my family’s budget. 3. Lay the Foundation. Once you isolate the project or business that you want to seriously pursue, take the time needed to build a solid foundation. It took me a while to realize that there really is no … [Read more...] about 5 Strategies for Transitioning From Your Day Job to Your Side Business
The Importance of Impromptu Conversations
It's so important to speak to new people, to share your thoughts - to be open. You really never know what can come of it. Just when you are feeling hesitant about attending an event or going out with a group of people that you don't know all that well, consider reconsidering. It's those unexpected connections and unfamiliar conversations that give way to original perspectives and perhaps uncomfortable revelations. I'm babbling. I know. I'm thinking about a random conversation I had last week at Altitude Summit. I was introduced to a friend of a friend - someone who isn't even a blogger - and we struck up an easy conversation. But because she wasn't a blogger or a designer or even interested in social media, I was forced to go beyond the usual: "What's your blog about?" or "Is it your first time at ALT?" that I'd asked about 99 times as an ice breaker over the 3 days I was there. We talked about her being a chef, which naturally raised my foodie tendencies and we ended up in a long and passionate conversation about personal and professional aspirations and ideas that once were and exciting possibilities. I'm gonna go ahead and apologize right now for my vagueness but that conversation has stuck with me. For the past year or so I've been so busy being busy and growing my businesses that I sort of forgot all about this dream that I had so seriously wanted to pursue at one point ~ until this perfect stranger reminded me of it. Out of all the conversations I had at the conference last week, that one has stood out the most. image credit: JesseStallone.com … [Read more...] about The Importance of Impromptu Conversations
