Career From Your Personal Brand?

Jessica Simpson is an excellent example of someone who made a new career using their personal brand. She began as a singer and dabbled in acting. Eventually she launched her clothing brand, Jessica Simpson and it took off from there. She has a range of clothing, purses, and shoes. Fashion has become her main career focus now, and she has became the top earning celebrity fashion designer today. Her brand has surpassed 1 billion dollars in sales a year, something no other celebrity fashion line has ever done. Simpson herself is earning more than ever as a designer versus her days in entertainment.

Be Humble aka Smart

Something I regularly have to remind myself, is something that is probably common sense to most people. You have to start small. I have big dreams and goals, but not the patience to match. When I want something, I usually know exactly what I want, down to every little detail. Sometimes the thought of starting small upsets me. That's not what I want at all. You have to work towards your dreams, and that's not always fun. Sometimes businesses try to be too big from get go and fail. They put so much into it without the resources to cover it. For example, an amusement park opened in a neighboring city this past year. It opened at full price, even though it wasn't complete. There wasn't a single roller coaster yet, only things you'd find at the fair. The roller coasters were coming, and the park promised to grow and have more, larger attractions. The price was the same, even though the best parts weren't there. The food and "extras" weren't thought out very well either. It caused a lot of head ache and people felt slightly robbed. The crowds they thought they'd draw in consisted of maybe       twenty people on a Saturday night. Not good. They spent 3 million dollars on a roller coaster from Italy, and the laborers to assemble it. Before they even began setting up, people were against the park, but after seeing what they offered, their prices, and the fact it wasn't even complete, they were really against it. The park brought brought in virtually no money, so sponsors pulled out. Now the park is closed down, businesses affiliated are having to auction the parks items off to try to collect money owed, and employees were left without pay they earned. The park tried to be a big amusement park from the beginning, even though they knew they were merely a county fair. In the end, they paid big time for it.

Too Soon?

Sometimes brilliant ideas come along and their biggest downfall is they were ahead of their time. There's an old saying with start ups, "Being early is the same as being wrong." One that comes to mind is Xpage.com. Xpage was around during my middle school years, so early 2000's. Xpage was a social media site that gave users their own "page" to design to fit their personalities that other users could visit and leave messages. The problem was, technology wasn't advanced enough, so Xpage didn't have much to offer in the way of customization. The site never took off with the older crowd, tens or adults. It seemed to attract the middle school group, but only held their attention for so long. Dial up Internet was what most homes still had at the time, so loading and customizing pages did require patience and for no family members to need the home phone line. Smart phones weren't a thing yet, so this social media site was limited to users updated from a home or school computer. IT did, however, pave the way for Myspace to come along when technology was slightly more advanced and it attracted the attention of kids and adults, and offered more customization, communication, and media. Myspace was huge, but even it was still just a little too early. Facebook came at the just perfect time and won over Myspace users with its much more advanced site. Besides attracting kids and adults, Facebook attracted businesses who began advertising, conducting business, and communicating with consumers. Many businesses were able to start up via Facebook only. It's now a huge, multi billion dollar company that's not going anywhere anytime soon. Facebook is big part of daily life for many people now, something Xpage just couldn't be years before.

Idea Tracking

We all know how it works.. You get your best ideas in the shower, walking through the grocery store, sitting at the doctor, etc. We always say we'll remember them and obviously never do. It sounds pretty obvious to write it down when have the thought, but most of us don't. I carry my cell phone around with me daily, so I've began texting ideas, lists, random thoughts, even conversations that I want to remember, to myself. I've tried using the notebook that comes on phones, but it doesn't work for me. Texting them to myself has proven to work for me. I also keep a bullet journal at home, which I review daily. It's very organized, and I add the important things from my texts to my journal. A lot of times you'll have an idea when you find a need, so try to write it down as soon as you can! Sometimes I only have a vague, generalized idea. I'll write that down, and draw lines coming from it and brainstorm the details or how to improve on the original idea.

The Best, But Most Overlooked, Marketing Tip

According to Jason Falls of CafePress, the most important trick to marketing (and often the most overlooked by even the most savvy business owners) is proactive listening. With the use of social media, it's easier now than ever to really see what the people want and where they want it. Many companies use their customer service to answer questions and handle complaints. You can use this medium to actively search for where your product or service is needed, individuals looking to purchase, or ways to better your existing products. Don't always wait for the customers to come to you; go out and find them! If you don't put yourself at the top, a competitor will. Through proactive listening you can find problems people find with the way other companies handle issues and implement better ways in your company. Giving the customer what they want is a great way to attract business.

The Thin Line Between Cute and Practical

I have driven by this sign a dozen times. Each time I see the sign, but I can't make out what in the world it says. I knew something was opening soon, but what? From what I could gather it kind of said, "Fros", so maybe something to do with hair? Maybe ethnic hair, thus the "Fros"? I finally had to turn around one morning and pull up close to see what this sign actually said. Ahh, Blissfully Sweet &.. Wait, what?? Is that "Fros" with a ice cream bar in the middle, or does the ice cream stand for an "I" and it says "Frios"? What are frios? On that note, what are fros? I conclude from the word "Sweet" and the ice cream decal it has something to do with dessert, but I'm still pretty confused. The font for Blissfully Sweet is really lovely, but from the road it is impossible to make out what it says. The use of the ice cream bar helps deduct what this place might be, but makes it a little hard to understand that second word. Almost impossible for the naked eye to see, I do spot "gourmet pops" below ""Fros".. "Frios"?.. I don't know. Maybe they should have opted for something a little less cute so it could be legible. Gourmet pops is written so small and so light you almost don't notice it from three feet away, much less from the road. The Ice cream bar could be on it's own instead of in the middle of the word.. Cursive? No. Just no. Cute is great, but more importantly, people need to know who you are and what you're about.

Cupcakes & Coffee

I have a dream/goal to open my own coffee shop with my sister, with our primary focus being specialty cupcakes and various coffee drinks, and a few choices for the non-coffee drinkers. The plan is to offer themed cupcakes by season or holiday, ex. high school football, Christmas, back-to-school, etc. Also options for vegan, gluten free, low carb, etc. for that crowd. Children will have their own section to choose from cupcakes made just for them and topped with a toy or other special treat. Guests are invited to sit and enjoy their treats at the tables and chairs while reading a book from the wall, accessing the WiFi, or participate in anything special going on at the shop. Children can choose (with parents permission!) to sit in the bean bag chairs and play games or read. The city of Albertville has been growing even more with the addition of a new shopping center, with retail, food, pet stores, and salons. There isn't a single coffee shop in the area though. A high traffic area like this would be the perfect location for us. Image the hundreds of shoppers spending a Saturday out running around with family or friends. They will likely enjoy a place to take a break and refuel without filling up on a big meal, or enjoy grabbing a nice iced coffee. Parents could bring their children in for an after-school or birthday treat. I would love to work hand in hand with the other small businesses in the area and offer discounts or promotions when you shop with us both, which will encourage you to stop in and try a half-priced coffee with the coupon you picked up while getting your hair done, for example. It's a thriving area and I feel a business like ours would benefit everyone.