In Your Success Zone Blog

Venturing into the Dark Forest - and Back Again

About 4 months ago, I embarked on "discovering my brand" so that I could serve more Creative Entrepreneurs with my services and products. I began working with a brilliant small business and branding consultant named Whitney Greer. Little did I know what a creative and confronting process this would be!

To me "discovering my brand" is another phrase for going into the "Dark Forest of the Unknown". There are reasons that I haven't gone there before.

Thank goodness Whitney HAS been into the Dark Forest with others before and knows how to get me back home at the end of each conversation. She gives me exercises to do each week and helps me see beyond my blind spots into clarity.

She recently described her process as helping people realize what they do well and talk about it clearly so that it communicates effectively to others. What a gift it is to be seen and valued!

Now that we are fairly deep into the branding process and my "core messages" are becoming clearer, I am stepping up to owning them. I have faced challenges of 

• the fear of being seen and known for my true self,
• clinging to limiting definitions of myself from the past, and  
• judging myself for past disappointments.

As I face these challenges through working with Whitney and on my own to reprogram my limiting beliefs, I find that I

• know more about myself and my work,
• feel more confident about sharing my work with others, and
• am developing some good ideas about how to go about doing that sharing. 

My branding journey perfectly describes the process of being a Creative Entrepreneur - setting off on a journey into an unexplored land; facing challenges with creative instincts; experiencing confusion and doubting success, but perservering anyway; and finally seeing the end goal within reach! 

Here's to each of you who uses your creativity every day in your work and life. I salute your courage, strength, and stamina. Journey on, Creative Entrepreneur!

Puppies Promote Website

The New York Times reports that a litter of six Shibu Ina puppies is bringing unprecedented attention to UStream.com, a website for free live video streaming on the Internet. 

More than 6 million viewers have watched the puppies on UStream since their owners began their live webcast on October 8th. The popularity of this video stream has surprised the co-founders of UStream and delighted viewers around the world.

I love this story and find watching the puppies so soothing. I just love their little bellies. Plus I don't have to feed or clean them up! 

Wonder what cute and cuddly something I can find to promote my website!?!

The Practical Artist

I recently visited the Morse Museum of American Art, which houses the largest collection of work by Louis Comfort Tiffany in the world. Tiffany, son of the founder of the luxury retailer Tiffany & Co., began as a fine artist and became an artisan and taste maker during the Industrial Revolution in the US. 

Born to wealth, Louis (pronounced "Louie" like the French kings) Tiffany followed his own creative inspiration becoming wealthy and influential in his own right. He began as a painter, did interior design, and became well-known for the stained glass windows and lamps created by his company, Tiffany Studios.

Louis Tiffany was committed to expressing beauty in an age when hand-made objects were giving way to those made by machine. He thought that he could reveal beauty to more people by using glass rather than painting, so turned his attention to this medium. He made extensive innovations in the coloration of glass and its use as an art form.

Tiffany and his studio artisans became painters in glass.

Tiffany Studios produced windows for churches, newly rich industrialists, and World Exhibitions.A businessman as well as an artist, Tiffany made glass art in the form of lamps that could be purchased and enjoyed by the new middle class. Tiffany lamps ranged in price from $45 to $450 (approximately $1,000 to $10,000 in today's money).

The glass lamp shades were beautiful representations of flowers and dragonflies. The bases were bronze castings of plant forms. The bases and shades could be interchanged so that the purchaser could have the combination she wanted in her home.

Today the glass that Tiffany and his studio produced still beckons with its natural beauty, creativity, and superb craftsmanship. Tiffany fulfilled his vision of creating and sharing beauty through color and light.

What Barak Obama Can Teach Us about Marketing

This post is not about politics or who to vote for on November 4th. It is about identifying with your market and speaking authentically and directly to those you want to serve in your business.

As a Creative Entrepreneur I'm passionate about expressing my ideas. I want my readers to understand what I'm talking about. I want them to hop on board with my idea and come along for the ride.

But sometimes I'm take turns they can't follow. They can't find the hand-hold to get on my trolley as it's moving down the street and are left on the curb wondering where it went.

That's not my goal, so I'm learning to
- think about who I want to serve by bringing to mind specific names and faces of clients and friends I have helped
- imagine what is grabbing their attention in their business today

- start with their major concern - their big attention-getter

- take small steps in explaining my ideas about how I can help to address their concern

- be as authentic and of as much value as I can be

- realize that by identifying who I best serve and how I can best serve them, I am doing my job

- ask for feedback about whether what I'm saying is really addressing what my readers are grappling with

- acknowledge that my work is to empower my readers to find their own solutions and succeed at their life and work.

Which brings me to Barak Obama's acceptance speech last night at the Democratic National Convention. Brilliant, absolutely brilliant. No matter your politics, if you saw and heard his speech, you know who Obama wants to serve and how he proposes to do that.

It's the middle- and working-class American who

- is struggling with job loss

- is concerned about educating his children

- wants affordable health care insurance

- thinks the war in Iraq was a mistake or has gone on too long and

- wants a safe and prosperous America for herself and her children.

Obama delivered his speech with passion and authenticity. He got his audience on his trolley and rolling down the street. And then he took it up a gear by acknowledging a deeper desire of his audience - to be heard and to matter. He said in essence, "It's not about me. It's about the promise of this country. And you and your vote matter." Masterful.

What can you take away from Obama's speech for your business? Here are some ideas:

- ask your best clients/customers how your product or service has helped solved a problem for them

- write down their answers and look for common themes about their concerns and your solution

- when you talk to a potential client or customer, tell her/him a story of how your product/service has already helped a client/customer with a similar concern

- allow yourself to get very clear about the kind of person who benefits the most from working or buying from you - specificity counts in effectively marketing your business today

- realize that it's not about you, it's about your client/customer. You are the conductor of your trolley (business), but ultimately it's your client/customer's perception of whether you can help her get where she wants to go that counts.

For an example of these ideas in play, go here.

New Girl Talk

At the Chix in Business lunch yesterday, Melissa Richards of New Marketing Mix spoke about how to market on a shoestring. In 25 minutes, Melissa took us on a tour of low or no-cost internet services, including social networking, publicity sites, and surveys to measure customer satisfaction.

Deidre Hughey, of Dancing Elephants Achievement Group (Sales Training) asked a question about tracking web traffic and open page statistics. They then began talking about the nuances of what did and didn't count as unique website visitors. It struck me that I was hearing the "new girl talk". No longer are "geeky" stats the domain of guys. Girls do it too as they run their businesses on- and off-line.

Of course we also do traditional girl talk - family, partners, fashion, the Sex in the City movie, food, and how to juggle it all. Open rate statistics seems a far cry from the recipe swaps and church circles of my mother's generation. But maybe it's just an evolution what we do best - nurture relationships, take the pulse of what's happening in the community, and serve those we care about.

Girls (and Chix) ROCK!!!