4 Solid Ways to Turn Your Brand Into a Profit Machine
18/07/16 How to Brand Your Juju # , , , , ,

4 Solid Ways to Turn Your Brand Into a Profit Machine

As an entrepreneur, you’re pulled in a hundred different directions. It’s easy to be swept away by the moment, day after day… attending to the crisis at hand, selling to the prospect who’s right in front of you, or ticking that next thing off the list.

 

Time for long-term planning? Not so much.

 

Alex Charfen, developer of the Entrepreneurial Personality Type (EPT) and one of my favorite online gurus, recently posted a video in his EPT Facebook group about the 50% Future Focus Rule. Charfen says that in order for entrepreneurs to scale and grow businesses, we must spend at least 50% of our time in strategic, long-term planning.

 

Here’s something you may not have considered:

 

Branding is one of the most powerful strategies for long-term profit.

 

So if you’re seeing your brand as a function of design or an exercise in story telling, it’s time for a mindset shift.

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Ever Try Too Hard?
20/05/16 Personal Juju , Uncategorized # , , , ,

Ever Try Too Hard?

I haven’t been my consistent wordy self on the blog for the past few weeks, because I’ve been trying.

 

I’ve had my head down, trying to make something work.

Pushing. Pressing. Testing. Tweaking. Wiggling. Testing.

Sighing. Crying. Laughing. Singing. Then sighing and crying again…

 

I did my very first yoga video just after I turned 40, almost ten years ago. It was Baron Baptiste’s “Journey into Power.” Everything about yoga was new and weird and amazing for me, and for long moments I just sat and stared at Baron.

 

But when he said, “Don’t try hard; try easy, “ I had to stop and rewind.
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The Devil is in the Discount. Why You Should NEVER Lower Your Rate.
11/01/16 How to Brand Your Juju , Uncategorized # , , , ,

The Devil is in the Discount. Why You Should NEVER Lower Your Rate.

In the late 90’s, I was managing a premium brand for Jacuzzi and we had a giant web project up for bid. It was a complicated project, requiring the development and management of standardized websites for franchise hot tub dealers in 63 countries.

 

I had a brilliant young woman submit a proposal for the job, and I knew I wanted to hire her. She was sharp and determined and her solutions were creative and well-strategized.

 

But her proposal was out of my budget range.

 

I asked her to come to my office to discuss the proposal – to see if there was a way we could work together within my budget. I knew in my gut that she was the best solution for our issue at hand, and I intended to hire her. I was fully prepared to give up some of the services in the proposal – to minimize the bells and whistles – in exchange for the peace of mind I would receive in working with a true professional who was highly motivated to do the job.

 

She wanted the job.

 

I wanted her work.

 

When we sat down at the table and I presented my budget limitations, her automatic reply was:

 

“I can give you a 25% discount. I’d really like to work with you.”

 

In a split second, it changed the way I felt about her. I wondered – if she would give up so easily on her hourly rate – whether or not she really had other clients, and why she was clamoring for work.

 

I wondered if I’d misjudged her value.

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My Favorite Mistake. And How to Make the Most of Yours.
21/12/15 How to Brand Your Juju # , , , ,

My Favorite Mistake. And How to Make the Most of Yours.

When was the last time you said, “Ooops,” or “Oh, sh&*!” after hitting send? The last time you sent out a letter with a glaring error? Spelled someone’s name wrong? Made a promise you didn’t properly research? Ticked someone off with the way you worded something? Sent something to the wrong person?

 

If you wear a marketing hat long enough, you’re bound to make some marketing blunders. It happens to the best of us. The real question is: How did you handle it?

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If Your Brand Was a Person, Who Would it Be?
14/12/15 How to Brand Your Juju # , , , , ,

If Your Brand Was a Person, Who Would it Be?

Think about your favorite three brands. Just close your eyes, and allow your top three brands to pop into your head.

 

There are, undoubtedly, a host of reasons you’re attracted to these brands. But whether you realize it or not, one of the things you’re likely most attracted to are their personalities.

 

I meet a lot of small business owners who believe that logos, colors and fonts drive brands.

 

When we first begin to “brand,” these are the things we focus on. I hear entrepreneurs say, “I just hired a designer to do my brand,” or “I just branded my website.”

 

This approach leaves a tremendous amount of unfinished business on the table. And one of the juiciest pieces it overlooks is brand personality.

 

I challenge my clients to answer this question: If your brand was a person, who would it be?

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