Three years ago today I launched Brand Excitement here in Hudson County, New Jersey. At the time I was till working a full-time job, had just graduated from Rising Tide Capital’s Community Business Academy (one day before) and felt empowered, for the first time, to make a real go at being a business owner.

I started part-time. Building my clientele and visibility up as I began. I had already started planting seeds the year before and had garnered enough visibility from a pilot-run business to get into O, The Oprah Magazine and get into a few local newspapers. From that “social proof” I launched on January 8 with the plans of going full time. By June 15, 2010 I had resigned from my corporate job at Mattlin Mandell and was in business full time. It was a whirlwind.

The first year was getting to know what it was like to be in business. The second year, getting to know what my clients truly wanted and the third year has been understanding how to grow, hire help and continue to serve my clients. I’ll admit, I have dropped a lot of balls, but fortunately the failures are greatly outweighed by the successes. We’ve won awards from Rising Tide Capital and American Express/Count Me In and have received recognition for our work and reputation right up the chain, all the way to Evan Carmichael, making his list of the top 25 Brand Experts on Twitter.

As we turn 3 (entering our fourth year) we are full of anticipation and excitement. People are starting to “get it” and branding is no longer a corporate term. Small businesses and entrepreneurs are grabbing hold of this concept and understanding just how critical it is to “brand” a business and not just build a business. As we progress through the year we’ll be releasing new products, launching new programs and planning events that catapult our community like never before. As we say in our newsletter each week… Excitement Drives Everything!

I was having breakfast today with my good friend Jodi Krizer Graber, a nutrition and body extraordinnaire here in New York and we started to discuss the investments we’ve made in our businesses.

Jodi and I have both been part of several mastermind groups and coaching programs, networking groups and social circles and it seems the “lure” to continue is never ending. What we started to discuss, initially as an aside conversation, is that pull that marketers use to keep you plugged into something. That something can be the newest program or product or even the events that promote or support them.

We’ve both been there, done that, read the book, rode the plane, train and automobile (literally) in pursuit, but one thing we’ve both discovered is that to be successful IN business you actually have to be IN business. On the greatest level, you need to be there for your clients. You need to be available to support them, and meet them, and love them.

When my last mastermind concluding many people were surprised that I didn’t renew or start with a new group right away. Now, I do believe there’s tremendous growth in connecting with a group of motivated peers that can strengthen what you currently know and help you understand what you don’t. BUT, eventually, you need to unplug, and get your butt to working. Fellow New Yorker Woody Allen once said “80% of success is showing up” and we see a lot of business owners just not showing up for the work!

I understand the temptation of this. I’m a lifelong learner, so if I could just park myself at the library all day I would, but I wouldn’t make any money. Even today, I received an email in my inbox from Ali Brown for a home study program of her shine event, which  I wasn’t able to attend last year due to a scheduling conflict. The lure was there. The “early bird” special even meant that I could take $100 off the already amazing price.

Tempting.

I already have Ali Brown’s MMBW (which she’s taken off the market, sorry) and if I base my next purchase on that purchase alone, it will be money well spent. I trust her information enough to be an affiliate of hers. But do I need another program, at this place in my business? Yes, it may help me to grow from my current six figures to multiple six figures… but perhaps if I do the things I KNOW I should already be doing, I’d reach that growth as well…

This is what Jodi and I were discussing at breakfast. Business minds never rest. I’ve been invited to a few events this year and am really being careful of where I plug in, so that I don’t unplug from my biggest money generator for Brand Excitement… ME. Can you relate?

Seventeen. That’s the magic number today. It was 17 years ago today that I packed up a suitcase and trunk (do people even use those anymore?) and hopped on a plane that brought me to my new home — New York City. I was 24 years old and at the time I thought it was such a simple thing to do. I had no job offer, no big bank account and about $800 in savings. I didn’t really like New York City for another 3 years but I came here because I was bored in Chicago and figured at least there was something new about New York City!

That first day when I arrived I had just two friends here, my great girl friend Sheryl Roberts and a new friend Daniel Soriano. Both are still great friends today, 17 years later. At that time I didn’t imagine that I would still be here 17 years later. For me New York was just a pit stop on the journey of life… one that would last 2-3 years max. I now realize that I have been in this place for almost as long as I was in Chicago. Since then I’ve even persuaded some of my fellow Chicagoans to move here (and those that did are having amazing careers, fabulous lives and glowing futures). There’s something about this place!

When you’re new to a place, or when you need to get known (such as in business) you need to get the word out there that you exist. Moving to a new place, or changing the game on your home turf can be tough. When it comes to business, I always recommend press releases. The great thing about a press release is that it can introduce you to your local and regional market in a flash. Today’s article gives you a whole bunch of reasons to write on for your business soon.

Plus, and this is special, my friend Angelo has just completed beta testing for a software program that allows you to build an app for your business at less than $200. See the brand booster for details.

Until next week…

I hope you’ve had a fabulous Thanksgiving weekend if you’re here in the United States. (If you’re not, I hope you had a great work week.) I’ve had a tradition for the past 10 years to celebrate with my second family here in New York — a group of friends from my home town, Chicago, and our new friends here in New York City. For 10 years we’ve had a potluck Thanksgiving culminating in a make-or-break game of Taboo. This year my team won. I was proud to add 4 points to the score. We had a blast.

My second family has about 30 members – bigger than my biological family. Such a blessing!

Have you noticed that the weekend has been filled with holiday shopping deals? Friday was Black Friday, yesterday was Small Business Saturday and tomorrow is Cyber Monday. Every retailer and business on the market is competing for the dollars in your pocket and analysts are waiting for the dust to settle to find out who came out on top.

This got me to thinking about the distinction between top brands and what gets our attention. The best brands keep their hand on the pulse of our changing needs and emotions and are able to do so consistently. How do you rank on clearly defining your brand difference? See how to create S.P.A.C.E. in your business in today’s exercise.

Also be sure to pay attention to this week’s Brand Booster. This week’s resource will help you to build strong search results for your website by looking at your keyword density. Enjoy your day!

Until next week…

This week was spectacular! It was Global Entrepreneurship week and the city was brimming with events for entrepreneurs to meet and mingle, learn, inspire and grow. On Wednesday I had the honor of speaking on a panel discussion with 3 other speakers: Stevie Clifton, co-founder of Animoto, Luca Cusolito of Creative Enabler, venture capitalist Robert Semmens of NY Angels and Jay Savulich of Rising Tide Capital. It was a fun and lively discussion and I really enjoyed sharing the highs and lows of my business since I launched two years ago.

Luca Cusolito of Creative Enabler, Stevie Clifton of Animoto, me and Jay Savulich of Rising Tide Capital for Global Entrepreneurship Week Jersey City

There has been a lot of networking this week, a lot of great things come out of that and some really wrong things come out of that. Unfortunately, some people don’t have a clue when it comes to brand etiquette so today that is the focus of my article. Take a look and see if you’re breaking some of these simple rules. Can you pass the test?

Until next time.

Create a brand explosion!

Good morning!

So much going on today. Today is the New York City Marathon. I like to wake up and watch the news coverage as people prepare to take off, fulfill their dreams and test their bodies. I’ve never done a marathon before, but have many friends that have. Some do it for money, some do it for the love of the sport and some do it to for the sense of achievement it gives. Kinda like why we decide to go into business right?

I also like this day because I got an extra hour of sleep. It’s the one day of the year where I actually can say “I just need one more hour” and it actually be possible! It’s like magic!

I’m gearing up and preparing for events in and around the city next week for Global Entrepreneurship week. This year I’ve been asked to appear on a panel of experts including one of the founders of the award winning software Animoto. I’ve been told the event will be recorded, and I hope to share it with you in a few weeks.

In the meantime, I’ll also be attending some other events and possibly exhibiting at one. The first time I planned an event, which was just last year, I was terrified. Since then I’ve come to be quite comfortable with them and have a few core things I put in place so that I don’t get nervous. I’m sharing that with you in today’s newsletter.

Have fun today!

Good morning!

This weekend has been a blast for me. My cousin Kim celebrated her
50th birthday, and that meant I partied waaaay longer than I’m used to
(I was up almost 24 hours!). One thing about Darren’s side of the family —
they party party hard!

(With my cousin Kim celebrating her 50th - People flew in from across the U.S.)

I’m still recuperating and plan to do nothing today but kick my feet
up and relaxing. I didn’t relax too much though, for today’s article I give
some useful insight into real brand value, and the brand booster resource
has a link to get you some great photos for your website or blog.

Enjoy!

Good morning! This week has been such an inspiring one for me filled with people and events that really fuel my passions. First, my friend Jeri Quinn hosted a class called Up Your Game; Conversations that Matter – a class fully devoted to changing the way we view business from a mindset of seeing all of our talents as assets and using those to deepen our relationships with one another — while growing our businesses.

Then, on Thursday, I watched the documentary on Oprah called Miss Representation. I had been forewarned that it would be full of deep insight, emotion and tears as it shone a light on how much further we as women need to go to change our world… and our position in it. I was deeply moved and it further validated my decision to launch the Global Organization for Women in Branding. I’m so close now. Just a few more weeks.

In today’s newsletter I talk about how we all can be connected and how we can truly be involved and invested in each other. I listed 5 simple things that can change the way we work in the world. I hope you enjoy it. Also, I’ve shared a great video resource to move your marketing forward. You must be using video in today’s transparent market!

Build strong brands. Enjoy your Sunday!

It’s an idea I’ve had for just a few months now, and I’m really excited about it. I think there just isn’t enough resources out there that tell a compelling story about how brands become big successes. Almost every brand starts out small. It starts with just one person, or at times, a handful of people, who have a vision to do things differently. I think it’s what drives our economy, and more and more statistics are showing that small businesses have a huge opportunity to make a big difference.

I think I have enough ideas and enough content to actually put a valuable book together. Now that I have the title (it came to me while riding the subway this morning) I just have to create the outline and get things moving. I’d LOVE to complete this book by the end of the year, so that I launch it in the new year. Do you think I can do it? Do you have any resources to help me do it? I’m going to need a lot of guidance, and I know there are a lot of programs out there so if you have any recommendations please let me know, ok?

Ciao for now.

I do. Having two offices makes it twice the fun. On my office floor in New York there are about 8 businesses. It’s a tight knit group, as we pass each other often in the hall and scheduling the conference room. Each year we also make sure to develop community, catch up, share in each other’s successes and welcome in the summer. It’s fun.

Here are some pictures from our little shin-dig this year. In a few weeks I also have the New Jersey par-tay. Stay tuned.