Making Your Business Real

Now that you have started a new business, it's time to promote it.

1. Secure a URL for your business.  I use Go Daddy for my URL and
    web hosting.  www.godaddy.com

2. Establish an email account for your new URL (example:  me@myurl.com).

3. Establish a Google Voice Account. www.google.com/voice I didn't want to publish my mobile number for all to see and I wanted the ability to screen my business calls. 

4. Establish a "faux" website by creating a blog.  I found www.blogger.com to be very easy and intuitive to set up. 

5. Get business cards.  I use www.vistaprint.com.  They offer high-quality products at a fair price.   

     Thoughts?  Please share.

    

Your Brand is so much more than a logo.

A brand is the essence of the promise you make to customers, employees and other stakeholders.  Each touch point with your company is an opportunity to reinforce or undermine your brand.  Do each of your employees understand that he/she is a brand ambassador? 

 

Have you communicated to each employee specifically how to reinforce your brand promise in his/her job?  Is delivering on your brand promise integrated into your culture?  Is it part of hiring decisions?  On boarding?  Performance  reviews?  If not, it should be. 

 

Companies with strong brand ambassadors enjoy increased employee retention, higher customer satisfaction, reduced costs, increased profits and market share.¹

 

 Click here for the full report.

¹ Source:  People & Culture training course on strategic employee engagement 2009.

Do I really need a personal brand?

  YES!


Personal brands are a key element of success.

 

Personal brands allow us to differentiate ourselves by consistently articulating and leveraging our unique value proposition. 

If you’re not branding yourself, you run the risk of other people doing it for you.  Do you really want that?


How to get started on your personal brand.

Give these 5 questions a lot of thought.  They will clarify what you stand for and help craft your personal brand.

1.  What are your goals?  Where do you see yourself in 3, 5 or 10 years?

2.  What do you value?  What makes up your character?  What are your boundaries?  What values do you want to embody in your work?

3.  What motivates you? Are you motivated by personal fulfillment or external rewards?  Do you like helping others?

4.  What are you passionate about?  If you won the lottery tomorrow and didn't have to work, what would you love to do?

5.  What makes you remarkable?  What is your unique selling proposition?  What makes you, you?

Thoughts?  Suggestions?  Please share.