Personal Branding is Not Optional
I had the opportunity this past week to speak to a group of entrepreneurs about personal branding. As you might imagine, I was delighted to share my experience and its significance with the large crowd. Much like a prizefighter, I was warming up back stage, as I was getting ready to deliver a knock out …
Why High Praise Stinks
“Perfect for Wedding Photographers” is the quote that killed my interest in Animoto Pro. My creative director had sent me a note about Animoto a couple of weeks back. I next saw it advertised on the Mashable Tech site last Sunday night, because I was trying to figure out how to teach Siri to tweet …
It’s Easy To Hate Small Business Owners
The same way it’s easy to hate the homecoming queen or class president in high school, it’s easy to resent the business owner who succeeds at what other people see as a Sisyphus-like task. Taking in the reasons why someone else succeeds is like trying to swallow a bitter pill. Are some people just born …
Why You Lose It
In Manhattan Beach last week, I sat first row in the Getting Things Done productivity seminar, bent on mastering David Allen’s system that I’ve been studying for about five years. I’m local in Los Angeles, but many people had flown in and paid nearly $600 for six hours of “creating a mind like water.” Yes, …
Sweet Spot: The Intersection of Passion, Purpose & Skills
Do you like sweets? When I was a kid I used to tell my mom I couldn’t finish my dinner because there was a special part of my stomach that was just for dessert. My rule now that I’m an adult is to keep sweets out of the house so I’m forced to walk and …
Personal Branding and Intrapreneurship: A Match Made in Heaven?
Have you ever thought of being an intrapreneur? And no, I don’t mean entrepreneur – but they’re close.
While an entrepreneur ventures out on their own to pursue an idea, an intrapreneur does this within the organization where they already work. It could be creating a new product, coming up with an innovative idea, or …
All Good Brands Prefer Setting a Higher Standard
As an interpreter of clues in the world of branding, I often feel like a forensic anthropologist. There’s this uncanny habit I have of scanning the new brand landscape and spotting the bright sparks that are showing up, staking out their territory and making a difference. It’s easy to spot the bright power sparks. Here’s …
A Cup of Coffee to Winning More Business
Today’s technology has changed the way buyers make purchasing decisions.
At this point in the game, if you’re not rolling your eyes and saying, “Duh!”, then we need to talk.
Even though many understand the shifts in buyer behavior, there are a surprising number of people and businesses who have yet to modify sales techniques …
Why Should an Entrepreneur Brand Themself?
As I write articles on how an entrepreneur should brand themself, I’ve been receiving questions on WHY an entrepreneur should focus on personal branding. Here are some of the reasons why every entrepreneur should focus on personal branding:
Why brand yourself?You are the face of your brand/company
As an entrepreneur, you are the main …
Personal Brands: Ugly Entrepreneurs
Making sausage next to a stockyard is prettier than entrepreneurs behave. Often chaotic, angry, distracted by shiny objects, chasing money, yelling at employees – let’s visit with the tribe of ugly entrepreneurs.
Vanderbilt, Carnegie, Rockefeller, and Huntington were all really ugly people. Maybe not in the face but definitely in the way they behaved toward …