Reflections, tools, and truths for the self-employed life—because doing it solo doesn’t mean doing it alone.
If you’re like me, you have changed your approach to networking over the last seven months. As we have learned in our chapter, we can all find new clients by watching out for each other on Facebook. But Social networks are multifaceted tools being used to create awareness, promote, and build relationships!
With social distancing becoming the norm, networking has moved to online platforms, but it is still an essential tool for building relationships. To be successful, you must have the right mindset, where you focus on how you can help others, not how they can help you. This approach builds mutually beneficial relationships, which is the goal of networking. You can start by nurturing existing relationships, checking in on close friends, family, and colleagues. To meet new people, you can target specific groups or be open to random connections. Allocating just 30 minutes a day to LinkedIn can be an effective way to network online by skimming your feed, commenting on relevant articles, and sending personalized messages to your connections.
A follow up email or call isn’t about trying to sell additional products or services. The best follow-up is one that adds value to the recipient.
Branding is long-term focused, rather than special promotions or a discounts. The tactics for staying top-of-mind 6 or 12 months from now are different than getting them to notice you right now.
Since so many people are working from now, and Brenits Creative is a 100% remote-work team, I wanted to share the four things that I have been doing consistently for 20 years.
Human beings have base fears such as the need for protection,...
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.”
Meetings are a necessary evil in our business. Between staff...
From Netflix's "Ba-Dummm!" to the "ba-da-DA-Dum" of Intel, or...
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.
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.
I think maybe people get hung up on wording. If you were to replace the word “branding” with “reputation” instead, I think I might get your attention. You care about your reputation, right?