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Logos

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LogosEvery now and then things come in threes and it’s time to pay attention to them.  This time around it is logos.

Over the past month or so I’ve been presented with three brand new logos by various clients excited about a new brand or direction they are taking their business, only to be disappointed when they see the logo in action.

Here’s the deal – a logo has to work everywhere.  Not just on a card, or postcard that is designed by your graphic designer for print. It also has to work on your website, social media and other web presences.

Sizing

So while that “tall” logo looks really cool on your card, it takes up a lot of expensive real estate (or is mighty small) on your website/social media, etc.  Having something recognizable when it is used as a social media profile graphic may be an important consideration as well.  Take into account everywhere your logo will be used and design accordingly.  You’ll be much happier.

Color

The next consideration is color.  In the old print world, a pantone color used to be a pantone and that was that.  Now with the web and digital printing, many times CMYK color is “translated” (sometimes poorly) into RGB.  Add in the various different monitor settings and the color you started with may not be all that appealing to some of your users.  For best results, use websafe colors.

It’s simple and it’s not – be sure you work with a graphic designer who can help you take both the web and print into account and you’ll have results that you love and that really work.

Farming

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FarmingA friend asked me how my day was going and I told him it was one of those days when I had accomplished nothing of “value”.

And then realized that simply wasn’t true.  I spent the better portion of the day putting together quotes for new business and following up with prospective clients.

To which he said, “Oh, you’ve been farming – you have to plant seeds in order to have something to harvest later.”

And he’s right – everything I did today had value.  And putting it in that perspective made me happy with the day.

Without the seeds I planted today, nothing grows.

Sometimes it’s as simple as a new perspective.

Living With Messy

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MessyI’m not talking about doing a poor job.  Or living with actual mess.

I’m talking about being able to head in a particular direction creatively or in business or life only to realize things aren’t turning out the way you’d intended.

I used to make myself wrong, (or refuse to admit the error which made it that much worse to recover from) and that would make it even harder for me to take a chance the next time.

What I’m finding is that giving myself permission to be “messy” is giving me permission to experiment and expand.

It’s giving me permission to be bigger.

As a friend of mine said earlier today:  “Messy is the new beautiful.” ~ Randall G. Cauley

Are you giving yourself permission to be messy?

Resistance

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ResistanceResistance was the topic last night in a class I am taking – how to recognize resistance from a clear “no”.

I love this quote by Leonardo da Vinci:  “It is easier to resist at the beginning than at the end.”

It’s always made me think that one way to know when I’m unsure is to move forward and see how it feels – if it feels better, keep going – if it feels worse, stop.

What I’m realizing is that it may not be an accurate assessment – what if the “worse” is simply more resistance?

Always Open?

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Open for BusinessDuring a recent networking meeting the facilitator asked, “How do you official open and close your business each day [when you’re self-employed]?”  It made me start to think.  When you work for someone else you typically go to work, punch a time clock or in some other way officially begin and end.

Many evenings too numerous to mention found me still hunkered down over the computer, “open” for business – at least until this question had me begin to look at how I’d been operating.

I took on “opening” and “closing” my business each day, and found that I’m far more productive during my open hours than I was when I was “open” all of the time.  I know what I want to get accomplished in the time allotted and I have something to look forward to at the end of the day:  time off.

What are you looking forward to?

That One Thing

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To Do ListWe all have at least one – the thing we don’t want to do.  It’s been on the list for days, weeks, or even months, zapping our energy and occurring like it will take “too much” time.

Yesterday, I took mine on.  I didn’t allow myself to do anything else until it was done.  You’ll laugh to know that it took less than 30 minutes and cleared away a massive amount of guilt and concern.

I was more productive yesterday than I had been in days.

What is your “one thing”?  (Do it first.)

Are You Your Own Best Marketeer?

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One of the questions I ask regularly is: “Just because you CAN do it yourself, will you?” and perhaps equally relevant is “Should you?”

Social Marketing Requires SoulEvery day I talk with prospective clients who wonder why their marketing efforts are going unnoticed and I see many of the same mistakes being repeated.  Regardless of whether you engage someone to aid in this effort (which I recommend highly), here are a few things to keep in mind:

  1. Contribution – Contribution is to the web like location is to real estate.  We’re all busy and overloaded with information.  We’re looking for that bright/interesting spot in our day.  Tailor your posts, tweets and email content to be that.  If it’s all about you, it’s only a matter of time before we quit paying attention.
  2. Respect our time – We may not have time to read an entire post, so consider posting a relevant quote or tidbit that will stick with us – possibly even engage us to make time, or come back.  Hint:  “Read my blog post” is not this . . . instead, pick something from the blog post that may be of interest and use that instead.
  3. Vary your content – You get bored easily and so does everyone else.  If you’ve seen the same photo/link/video, etc. being posted by the masses, avoid the urge to follow the herd.  Remember that tasteful humor and interesting quotes can be as powerful (sometimes more so) than information.
  4. Be consistent – Create a monthly/quarterly “game plan” (this is where having “Weborization” – or similar – assistance can make all the difference) for the events and services you want to promote throughout the month/quarter and then make sure it shows up everywhere along with everything else.  Add your everyday tweets and posts as you go along making use of either the scheduling feature in Facebook or another social media tool.
  5. Be you – Your clients “bought you” when they selected your product or service.  If you are posting what you think they want instead of what appeals to you, you’re barking up the wrong tree.  If you like it, chances are they will.
  6. Add a graphic – A picture is still worth at least a thousand words – maybe more.
  7. Know when – There is always a point when you know you’ve gone as far as you can without a perspective change.  Two heads are always better than one, and this is particularly true with social media and the web.  Consider adding to your team in the form of a dedicated employee, trusted vendor, or both.  Hint:  Weborization loves doing this for businesses.  Contact us today.

Better Than New

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Kintsugi - The Process of Gold Repair“When the Japanese mend broken objects, they aggrandize the damage by filling the cracks with gold.  They believe that when something’s suffered damage and has a history it becomes more beautiful.”  ~ Barbara Bloom

This process is called Kintsugi – read more about it here.

What a different mindset from the “if it’s broken it has no value” meme that is currently embraced today.  It brings up so many interesting topics for consideration:  how we strive to attain (and own) flawless perfection, how more and more things are replaced before being repaired (or are unable to be repaired), and what might be available if we created the process of repair as a meditation – really looking at the break and what it reveals about the design/object/process.

And yet there is always a point in time when it simply makes no other sense than to start over.  I face this regularly as clients bring old, outdated site architecture to me wanting a revamp.

I’ve also been considering The Slow Web which creates the concept of disengaging from the constant barrage of stimuli available to us in favor of being present – of choosing how much, and what we do, when.

Consider that the true failing is having only one answer/solution/process, or perhaps even falling into the trap of relying on the same one all or most of the time.

As always, it’s about perspective and being present. And just because it works for me, does that guarantee it works for my client?

Where do you rely on the same response, solution, or reaction?  And what would be possible if every interaction was a considerate creation instead?

Turn Pro

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Turning Pro by Stephen Pressfield“Life is short. It’s the one you have, friends. Tick tock. Turn pro.” ~ Todd Henry

These words (part of a blog post you can find here) really affected me last week.  At the time I was dealing with having failed at something I thought I really wanted.

And as I read the post and really thought about it, I realized I had been treating the venture like a pastime – nothing more – no real “grit” behind it as Todd so perfectly articulates.   (It’s funny how life shows us what is really going on if we’re willing to look.)

So for the past few days I’ve been examining and making choices . . . choosing what is worthy of “turning pro” with and what is not.  And looking at whether the things I’m unwilling to generate “pro” energy with really have a place in my life.  I suspect you already know the answer, just as I do.

What have you not been turning pro about in your life?  And what would turning pro make available?

When Do You Work On Your Business?

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Just say no to inAnd yes, I purposefully said ON as opposed to IN.

For most small business owners, working in our businesses is almost never a problem – it’s taking the time, as Seth Godin so eloquently put it, to “focus on what you need to do today to win tomorrow.” (~ Seth Godin – find his blog post here) which includes working on our businesses.

When I don’t take the time to support my business with all the things I recommend to you every day, I don’t have the results I want tomorrow.

And yes, it takes some discipline to do this, and what does it look like?  Here are five simple ideas I’ve come up with:

  1. Schedule at least 4 hours each week to work on your business – put the time on the calendar and don’t let anything else have a higher priority.
  2. Do at least one thing to increase your visibility – create the social media account you’ve been talking about, make some posts to one you already have (Facebook now allows you to create and schedule your posts in advance which makes this really simple now), write a blog post or create (and send) that email marketing piece.
  3. Review your email/RSS subscriptions – delete any you are no longer reading (and those you read and wish you didn’t) and add one or two that truly add to your value as an expert, just by reading them.
  4. Take on cleaning and clearing loose ends – I find that the things I’ve had on my list deserve one of two resolutions:  1) get them done (no matter how much you hate doing whatever it is), or 2) officially let it go (it’s the “official” part that makes the difference) – if it’s waited this long, how important is it (really)?
  5. Delegate something – yes, this is perhaps the hardest one of all, and perhaps the healthiest.  Yes, it may take them a bit more time initially, and think of what you can begin to do with the time you free up.

Beginning this week, I am setting aside time to work on my business.  This week the day was Monday.  I woke up really excited this morning – excited about my business and the ideas I have – and it’s been a great day.  I even heard from a former client who wants a quote.  I’ll be sharing my results and look forward to hearing about yours as well.

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Exploration

Do you have a project in mind…perhaps a new product/service or a revamp of something already in existence?

Maybe you’d be interested in a review of your current site.

I’m always happy to have a conversation about weborizing.

Contact me.

Weborization/Tylerica Systems,LLC
1801 Copper Point Ln
Pflugerville,TX 78660

Austin: 512.522.8750
Houston: 832.862.7200
info@weborization.com