This is where I share what I’m thinking, seeing, and learning as I work with founders, solopreneurs, and small teams—across brand strategy, marketing, focus, and building a business that actually works. You’ll find long-form insights alongside timely notes and announcements, all designed to help you make clearer decisions, reduce unnecessary complexity, and move forward with confidence.
Every business owner faces a series of challenges. We wear many hats and make a lot of different decisions each day, as you know. Depending on where you are in your business lifecycle – the start-up phase, a mature business or a relaunch – we might share similar...
I attend a fair amount of networking events every month. As an entrepreneur providing expertise, doing it (mostly) on my own, I get most of my new business leads through referrals. So going to 7 to 10 gatherings per month to meet other entrepreneurs - some of whom...
Sometimes it feels like there’s a lot on my plate. I run my own business, sit on two boards, serve as leadership for my referral networking group, and I teach. Most importantly, I’m a husband and father. I have a lot of stuff that needs to get done every day. But I’m never overwhelmed enough to say, “my plate is overfull.”
Most business owners have an idea of what they want their company to look like. However, their employees can’t necessarily see that same vision for what the future can be. If you are struggling with writing a clear mission statement and vision statement, then you should try to write a Vivid Vision first.
Meetings are a necessary evil in our business. Between staff meetings, project planning and review meetings, vendor meetings, and of course client meetings, its any wonder we get real work done at all. But one thing I have learned in almost 25 years in the creative...
There’s only one thing worse than a cheap logo, and that’s a cheap looking logo. Even if your average consumer can’t communicate why your logo makes them feel embarrassed, disgusted, or confused, they’re still going to have that reaction anyway.
From Netflix's "Ba-Dummm!" to the "ba-da-DA-Dum" of Intel, or even the three roars of the MGM lion we associate certain sounds with brands in the same way that we do their visual logos. These "audio-logos" are so recognizable that you probably heard them in your head...
No business can afford to rest on its laurels. While your company may be keeping up with economic and market changes, is your brand keeping up? Does your website communicate to your target audience how you’re keeping up?
You may be trying to decide if you should rebrand your business, or just update your website. Here are 10 factors to consider helping you make your decision.
By the end of 2015, after nearly eight years as an in-house creative director—and over two decades in the field—I found myself self-employed for the second time in my career. Now, as I enter my fourth year as a brand and creative strategy consultant, I recognize how the lessons I learned in-house have directly contributed to my success as a business owner. Looking back, I can also see that my consulting mindset and teaching instincts played a crucial role in leading in-house creative teams effectively.
By the end of 2015, after being an in-house creative director for nearly 8 years and working in this field for over 20 years, I found myself self-employed for the second time in my career. Now, as I enter my fourth year as a brand and creative strategy consultant, I...
Many small business owners I talk to already understand that branding is essential to their business, but a surprisingly high number of them don’t really know why.
The Vision, Mission, and Values statements guide the behaviors of people in an organization. The Vision statement describes where the organization wants to be in the future; the Mission statement describes what the organization needs to do now to achieve the Vision.
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