Checking out your competition

/0 Comments/in , ,

Are you giving your competitors your time and attention?

You should be.

I think it’s wise to know and understand what they offer. Not so you can copy it…or even surpass it. But so you can differentiate what sets YOU apart. How are YOU different? The difference doesn’t have to be a reinvention of the wheel, it can be as simple as…I do this process this way and it’s rocking my clients’ socks.

There’s also opportunity to learn. What do you admire about how they do it? Does it inspire you? Push you to up your game? These are all good things.

Side note…I hate the word competitors because I visualize pissy behaviour which rarely, if ever, is the case. At least in my industry. Everyone is just out there busting their butts to be their best at what they do and deliver a service or product that jacks them up.

My point is do it. Give them time and attention.

As much as networking with people in your community and future client pool benefits you, networking with those in your industry also has great value.

Just don’t let them in your heart. I think at some point that happens to all of us. You push the comparison in there when you’re feeling self-doubt or insecure and then you start weighing how you measure up…or don’t.

Stop that shit.

It’s destructive and can be paralyzing. Give it a few minutes if you have to and then MOVE ON.

Remind yourself, every damn day if you have to, what YOU offer. How YOU are different. Click To Tweet And most importantly, how YOU make your Clients feel. I guarantee every small business owner and entrepreneur is doing something unique that sets them apart.

Took me a while to get there, if I had questions, I asked a stranger online. Why? Intimidated. Scared to ask for help…even from my mentor sometimes. Being the new old lady on the block made me stay in my bubble for quite some time. Now I’m confident that I’m good at what I do for my Clients. We partner well. And getting to know others in my industry has provided me with opportunity for growth, some referrals, and some really sweet connections and resources.

You can’t beat that.

So give competitors your time and attention. It’s worth it.

 

Authenticity in social media, is that even a real thing?

/2 Comments/in

Everyone talks about it but is it really going on?

I’ve always considered myself pretty authentic. I say what I mean and mean what I say…pretty much to a fault.

HOWEVER, social media puts that authenticity into question, even for those of us who think authentic will be carved in our gravestone.

Because if I really think about it….no I most definitely do not put all of me out there. I don’t put relationship issues, sicknesses, or drama out. I put my highlight reel.

It’s not in an intentional

“hey look at us all loving life and shit! Yay us! You want to be us!”

way. It’s so not.

I just find repeatedly seeing negative, fear mongering, passive aggressive and poor me statuses/posts/shares don’t do anyone any good. Sure, once in a while it may make someone feel like they aren’t alone in their struggles which is helpful, but all the time is just not helping anyone.

Am I not being authentic because I’m not showing the miserable moments in life or sharing my problems?

Can authenticity and social media co-exist? Click To Tweet
I think so. We just have to remember we’re only seeing one part of what makes up that individual. There’s more to that package on the other side of the computer.

Always.

Hey Partner

/0 Comments/in , ,

I get that it’s hard to trust someone with  something as close to your heart as your business is.

Especially when you feel so grey as to how to direct them so they can possibly understand your message…your brand.

You’re not creative.
You have no idea what your website should look like.
All you really know is how you feel about what you do, what you offer, what you’ve got going on.

FRICKIN AWESOME!

I don’t see all those points as a strike against creating a site that sells you and that represents YOU. At all. So long as you know what your business looks like, how you want your potential clients to feel about it…that’s what we need.

Because that’s the heart and I so dig that. All I need is for you to tell me – NO SHAME – what you’d love your business to be. The why you started. It may not be there yet, that doesn’t matter. Build it and they will come? Ya, that. Click To Tweet

Don’t be intimated that you don’t have a clue about web design. You don’t have to. Just like I don’t need to be able to create your product or service. That’s what this whole deal is about.

Consider me a partner. In a total non-John-Wayne-kind-of-way.

I promise we’ll get there. I’ll ask you a million questions, some may make you uncomfortable, but we’ll get there.

wait…uncomfortable??! Forget it, I’m out!

Hold up. Uncomfortable almost always means growth and getting to where you want to be, so let's embrace it. Click To Tweet All I mean is that I’m going to ask you to really think about why you want a website. Things like this…

How do you want your potential client/customer to feel?

excited?

calm?

educated?

motivated?

What voice are you using?

professional?

personable?

funny?

dry as shit?  (<—we’re going to need to talk about that one)

Ok…so I’ll cut the awkward feel-y BS…just know that I get it. Starting is hard. Reaching out for help in your solo venture is hard.

I KNOW IT. 

But what have you got to lose, let’s do this partner 🙂

Contact Brenda

 

What do you want to be when you grow up?

/2 Comments/in ,

I’ve never had the answer to that question. Ever. And if I were to be 100% honest, I still don’t.

Did you have one of those School Day Treasures books growing up? I think they were from Regal. Well every school year had a spot to write what you wanted to be when you grew up.

2016-02-02 11.50.40

All my entries were “don’t know”, nurse, or veterinarian. Coincidentally, that’s what two of my best friends wanted to be.

They truly DID want to be those professions. They had some seed of it planted in their very being.

Either I never had a seed or I just didn’t water it, but I can truly say I’ve never had the strong push towards a certain career. I’ve always just started something and ended up loving it.

Except Subway. And I even loved it until they wanted me to wear a visor. Seriously…who wears a visor???!

When I was probably 5 years old, a friend and I buried a dead mouse in a Mr. Bones candy coffin. (I’m a farm kid so gross is second nature to me. 🙂 ) As an adult I did spend a few years pining over becoming an Embalmer and Funeral Director, so maybe that was my seed? If so, that seed has now been buried, I will never be an Embalmer or a Funeral Director.

So if I had to fill in the “What do you want to be when you grow up?” form today? I’d still draw a blank, knowing that I love what I do today, but there is always something bigger waiting for me behind that next corner…and then the next, and the next.

What would  you check off? Same as when you were a kid? A new graduate from high school? University?