A New Year, A New You

I recently attended a business lecture with Pamela Toussaint as the speaker. It was very facinating and extremely motivating. As Pamela is an image consultant, the main topic was branding, or creating your brand. I used to think of a brand as a company name or logo or something. As an artist however, my brand would be ME. This goes for anyone who is looking for a job. When you are applying to a company, you are essentially selling YOURSELF aka your BRAND. So what differentiates you from the crowd? What unique things can you bring to the table? Essentially, what is your unique value? I thought that I would take a moment to share some of the key points that were made.I found them to be inspiring and hope that they will inspire you as well.

1. You should be able to describe your brand in three words. What three words describe you? What sets you apart from everyone else with your degree or credentials?
2. The three things that a company will hire on are professionalism, high energy and self confidence. If you don't feel that you have some of these, then fake it till you make it. ;)

To create a compelling brand you must:
1. Discover what your passion is.
2. Differentiate yourself from others.
3. Engage others with similar interests.
4. Network! Most jobs aren't advertised. You often will find jobs through people that you either know or have met via networking. LinkedIn is a great networking tool!
5. Leverage. Make sure that people know about you. Speak at an event, write and article, keep a blog going, etc.
6. Evolve and stay current with new technology.
7. Create an action plan by taking steps to enhance your brand such as learning new skills. We should never be afraid or hestitant to learn, unlearn and relearn at all times.
8. Create a networking strategy:
         - Figure out a 30 second 'elevator pitch' for your brand that includes who you are, what your brand is and what you do for others.
         - Attend conferences, volunteer, networking meets, speak, host, etc

Here are some networking tips that she gave us:
         - plan ahead! research attendees if you can and figure out who you want to meet.
         - dress the part
         - arrive early. Most of the best networking happens before the doors even open.
         - do a visual self-check in a mirror beforehand and then enter the room with confidence
         - have a nice ice breaker comment
         - establish connection.( If you've researched people ahead of time then you can make this  
        connection easier as you'll know whether you have a same city, college or hobby in common.)

Part of my 2013 New Year's Resolutions is being more pro-active in my business. Pamela's advice has inspired me to reach these goals and to define my 'brand'. Have you already used some of these tips? What three words would you use to describe yourself or your brand?

Hope that this blog post has inspired you to take action as well! Have a wonderful week!!

New Year's Resolutions

Happy New Year everyone!!

With the new year comes the usual tradition of vowing to remove all old habits and create new ones. Otherwise known as creating resolutions. All diet books and nasty tasting, overly processed low- sugar, low-fat foods will be flying off of the shelves in the next few weeks and people will be reading self-help books with frantic desperation in their eyes as they munch their salads. This is just our usual routine.

This year I have made quite a few New Year's goals for myself. Most of them relating to my art and the creative life that I am striving to acheive for myself. First and foremost, I would like to have a website. Amazingly, I have yet to create one even though this is one of the most important business tools that one can have right after business cards. I would like to have a website that not just has a gallery of my work, but also links to my online shops, twitter account, etc as well as an online shop where you can purchase my jewelry and/or artwork directly. I have only looked into a few of those sites where you 'make your own website' but many of them seem rather limiting. They either allow you to create an online shop, or they allow you to create a website with a gallery. Often they don't seem to combine the two. Has anyone found a website that allows you to do both? Usually these 'do-it-yourself' sites are cheaper than hiring a web designer. However, sometimes they seem so complex that you'd probably have to hire one anyway.

Another goal of mine is to create a more regimented schedule for my business life. I have been much better about balancing my day job and my art, but its only improved my ability to create art. I'm floundering terribly as far as keeping up with my online presence. This is changing this year. I have to think like a drill sergeant and keep a schedule. Does anyone have any tips? How do you keep yourself on top of your business requirements when you are self-employed?


What are some of your goals or resolutions for 2013? What steps are you taking to make them happen?

Have a wonderful day everyone!! I look forward to hearing some of your ideas, goals and tips!