Moving Into Your Fear: The Key to Your Career Evolution

A common inquiry I receive is how to move towards doing things (at work) that truly get your juices flowing and adrenaline rushing (like, say when you first started a new school, or job, etc.)  I find that the secret to staying inspired and on top of my game, is by always moving into new and unique opportunities that appeal to *me* and that are flanked with a side of *healthy discomfort*.  Once I recognize both of these elements, I know this is an opportunity for me to evolve but to do so I am going to have to endure some growing pain(s).

It is human nature for all of us to get entrenched in executing competencies in which we feel safe and comfortable and very, very familiar.  Of course, there are obvious reasons for this practice: it’s what we become known for and people around us simply expect the same ‘output’ from us day in and day out.

So, what happens when you find yourself yearning for a fresh experience or role in the ‘ol daily grind:

• Perhaps you are curious to put on a sales hat for your company or your own business and experiment with a totally radical way of attracting your customers

•  Or maybe you watch others roll out a show stopping presentation and you think to yourself—‘Hey, I’d love to be a dynamo public speaker like them’

•  Or maybe instead of managing the client side of your business, you want to jump over to the creative, production department

Here are some simple ways to begin to move into the discomfort of possibly being seen as not totally perfect as your try on new skills:

1)      Identify a few people in your network who seem to be masters of this new skill/experience you are looking to try on yourself.

2) Propose lunch or a drink after work with these folks so that you can find out more information and tips on how you can move into this new realm yourself.

3) Compile a simple list of steps you need to take to move you towards your new end goal

4) Figure out ways that you can begin to practice this new skill(s).

5) Ask for feedback and be prepared for the fact that it is going to take time to feel comfortable and proficient again in this new practice.

 *If you take nothing else away from this blog, remember this:

Healthy fear will always be a by-product of moving into the unknown. It will never go away. The key is to move into the fear with the knowledge that it will lead you to the sweet reward of inspired and gratifying work.  Being on top of your game is not easy work, and it is a path taken by few. So, what’s next on YOUR radar champ?

My Miraculous Week: Thanks to a Tweet

Have you ever had one of those weeks where you have to pinch yourself to make sure it’s really your own skin that you are embodying?  I am just wrapping one of those weeks and I am so filled with gratitude and wonder about it all—I decided I would let you all into this wonderful place that has been my work life this week.

I believe in sharing both my victories and my setbacks because it helps break down any assumptions or false ideas we have about how certain events come about.  What a lot of my clients tell me that they most appreciate about me is that I am working right alongside them trying to make progress in my career and that no one person has the right formula for what is going to work for either of us.  It’s all about sharing our experiences and figuring out where and how to make that next best step forward for our own selves.

For me, this past week was forever altered in the most delightful way, with a simple Tweet.

So as some of you may know, alongside my work with my clients, I am developing my ‘on air’ media personality with a hope of eventually having my own television show where I get to share my work with a global audience.  Over the last year, I have served as a Leadership Expert on a morning television talk show on a monthly basis.  This incredible opportunity helped me find my media voice and has allowed me to practice and continue to hone my ‘on air/live’ presentation skills.  Not so easy!

As is my personality, I am now hungry for the next rung in the ladder if you will to help me push my big crazy dream of my show down the road. So, I simply asked my network to help me (take note: build, nurture and call on a network and amazing things happen).  In a matter of an hour after tweeting a request for connections in #BroadcastMedia—two of my colleagues contacted me and put me in touch with these two GIANTS in their industry and this is what came of my connection with them:

1)  An Executive Producer of 20/20 and Good Morning America in NYC: Once I finally got to speak to this generous man live—he said to me, “Katie, as you can imagine, I see a lot of tapes, I mean a lot and I don’t usually think much of what I see, but I have to say with your TV segments—I think you have some……. potential.”  Don’t you just love that line? I will never forget it.  He put me in touch with an agent who has directed me to pursue a local radio show that will then get syndicated and go from there.

2)  A NPR Producer: She and I met this morning, immediately following the information above and she is now guiding me through how to create my own content on a YouTube Channel so that I can submit those clips to a Clear Channel, etc. She thinks I should be the next “Frasier Crane”. How awesome is that?

My end goal in sharing this with you all is to prove to you that small miracles truly do happen every day. By simply sharing your story and asking your community if they, ‘know someone’—doors fly open and in no time at all-a dream becomes your reality.

I would love to know if my story resonates with you and if you have had any similar experiences in everyday miracle making.  Do tell!

Small Business Educational Resouces for Portlanders

Not a day goes by where I don’t engage with an entrepreneur in various stages of development who is hungry for the various resources that will help take their business to the next level.  Sometimes we are a great fit as coach and coachee, and sometimes they need some extra oompha/structure/guidance to get them where they want to be tomorrow.  Here is a fabulous list from Neighborhood Notes of the various educational opportunities that are available in Portland for entrepreneurs:

SEMpdx Although there are plenty of laggards out there, search engine marketing(SEM) is hardly some obscure industry; in reality, it’s easily the largest segment of online advertising. Google raked in $36.5 billion in advertising revenues last year, a 29 percent growth over the previous year, and SEMpdx is your local industry resource with a mission “to inform and educate area businesses on the benefits of SEM to bottom line revenue.” Search Engine Marketing Professionals of Portland offers monthly events where professional talent comes together to learn and share ideas. Most monthly events are open to anyone who wants to attend and prices range from $20-55, with discounts for members and registering early, plus SEMpdx’s big search marketing and social media conference, the annual SearchFest now in its sixth year, is coming up on Feb. 24.

CAKE

Consulting And Knowledge Exchange has a simple goal: “We believe everyone should follow their dreams and if that dream is to own a business, we want to help.” A fresh (now in its sixth week) organization, CAKE helps by organizing “a weekly series of Portland-based, donation-driven, down-and-dirty small business workshops and parties” where guest speakers serve up recipes on brainstorming, branding, market research and more in a casual environment—cake is actually served at every “party.” Feel free to donate to the cause, ask tough questions you want answered, or even workshop your own project while picking up “scrappy business hacks for each topic” on Wednesdays from 6-8:30 p.m.

I Heart Art: Portland

A collaborative project between PNCA, the Museum of Contemporary Craft, and Etsy and its Portland team, I Heart Art PDX provides “advocacy, education and support for Portland’s vibrant community of makers.” Outreach and education programs hope to stimulate growth through professional development workshops (developing business skills) while encouraging collaboration and community with salon discussions (informative conversations on varied topics) and mixer match speed-networking (“the intersection of speed dating and sales networking” where artists practice pitching while networking). Currently confirming its 2012 lineup of events, I Heart Art PDX will announce a new schedule of events, which are often free or cost as little at $10, later this month.

Voice for Oregon Innovation & Sustainability (VOIS)

An organization with a slight political learning, VOIS “envisions a prosperous economy driven by innovation, environmental stewardship and social justice.” Believing “there is no better vehicle for social change than a healthy business,” VOIS is a vocal advocate of local business and sustainability and brings together like minds at monthly happy hour networking events while its calendar (provided by Sustainable Business Oregon) promotes many green gatherings and educational opportunities, often free or with recommended donation, in Portland and the surrounding areas.

Mercy Corps Northwest

Offering a wide swath of classes and events, Mercy Corps teaches everything from standard six-week, business foundation courses to one-to-three hour business seminars and counseling sessions, where experts to teach topics like technology, marketing, finance, law, and business strategy. Six-week courses fill up fast and cost $150, while seminars allow you the flexibility of paying per course ($20) or saving with multi-seminar packages ($60 for four seminars or $100 for an unlimited annual pass).

Oregon Entrepreneurs Network (OEN)

OEN is the largest entrepreneur assistance organization in the state of Oregon offering “access to valuable information and responsive assistance from experienced mentors.” With a calendar of networking events, seminars and webinars, and workshops, OEN offers opportunities like CEO roundtables or casual PubTalks to a series of startup workshops, online resources, and opportunities to get in front of angel and investment networks. With considerable discounts for members, PubTalks cost $15 and $30 while workshops or seminars are $32 and $70, for members and non-members respectively.

Free Consultation Services and Multi-Week Courses

 Portland offers many interesting and affordable education opportunities for small business owners.

Government-run or supported organizations offer plenty of free resources and affordable education opportunities.

Portland Development Commission (PDC)

Created by Portland voters in 1958, PDC strives to make Portland a livable city, providing small business support in the form online resources, like handbooks and checklists, as well as information on finance, improvement, and development programs. Related to PDC is the Bureau of Development Services Small Business Assistance Team that can help you determine “a property’s legal use and what would be required to use it or remodel it for your business.” And another supportive arm of the city is the Small Business Advisory Council, an advocate for the “formation, growth and prosperity” of small businesses, plus publishes the Small Business Bill of Rights.

Small Business Administration (SBA) and Small Business Development Center (SBDC)

The national SBA has a Portland office offering “information on small business loans, grants, bonds and other financial assistance” as well as a calendar of workshops and events and other resources. Some single-day seminars are free while others cost $30-55 depending on duration while three- and four-week course in QuickBooks cost $95 and $120 respectively. Connected to this is the Oregon SBDC, a partnership between the national government and colleges throughout Oregon, that offers free, confidential consulting services, “including analyzing cash flow, marketing, international trade, valuing a business, and intellectual property concerns,” plus low-cost training opportunities (from free, single day events to multi-sessions courses that cost $195 or more) at community colleges in the Portland metro area via webinars. Portland Community College’s CLIMB (Continuous Learning for Individuals, Management and Business) SBDC is part of this network featuring an Entrepreneur Development Series in 10 intensive workshops.

SCORE

Resource partners with the U.S. SBA, Portland’s SCORE chapter—there’s also a Vancouver, Wash., location—is an independent nonprofit offering free counseling and resources for business professionals, plus a wide variety of half- and full-day workshops for affordable prices, which range from $55-85.

Contents: My Big Dream Job & how I am getting started….

Greetings friends and fans,

Today is the day I have decided to share with you all the grand plans I have for myself professionally for two glaring reasons. First, I think it will be helpful for those of you who have similar ambitions and are curious as to the process and methods by which I am going about reaching this overarching, awesome and universal goal.  And, secondly, because I need your support, humor and overall feedback on how I am doing and what you think I should do differently, etc. If it takes me 30 years to reach this goal, so be it, but in the mean time, let’s begin….

Drum roll please, I feel deep in the core of who I am that I will eventually end up with my own television show.  Yes, that’s right, and I am talking, move to Los Angeles, syndicated, cable type of show.  This is just something that seems like a logical evolution for myself given my drive, the messages I want to share with the world and frankly the type of lifetime goal that I feel up to taking on.  Now, when I share this LOFTY goal, people either go silent or smile, rather glibly, I might add. I can see their mind working, they are thinking to themselves, “Oh, good Lord, listen to the ego on this one??” or the ones I choose to embrace as friends are those who say things like, “I’d watch ya” or “You rock on with your bad self Katie”, or my FAVORITE is my own father, whose best response to all of this is, “Katie, you have never been short on dreams”.

I figure, the best I can do is shooting to make this dream a reality and in the short-term have fun and continue to expand my business and who knows where I”ll actually land. However, for those of you who are curious as to how one goes from where I currently stand in the world, both professionally and personally, to joining the ranks of Ellen DeGeneres, Rachael Ray, Anderson Cooper of the Goddess of all that is, Oprah, this is what I am beginning to work on based on the amazing professionals I have consulted with in the last few days:

1) Developing my online presence by branding myself as a media personality via my personal Facebook Page and Twitter account and dedicating my Legacy Builder Coaching website, FB Page and Twitter Account to just my corporate work. Basically, beginning to distinguish myself between these two identities. (Thanks to Maggie Palmer of MKP Creative & Jill Daniel of Pasta Queen Public Relations for that advice)

2) Begin to blog on a weekly basis (here I am!)

3) Hire a Writing Coach (@BrookeWarner in San Francisco) to hold me accountable to completing an e-book by years end to begin to establish my platform.

Okay, that’s it for now….let me know what you think this sounds, etc. I need your help!

Test Your Entrepreneurial Readiness

40% of small businesses fail in the first year and of those that survive, 80% fail within 5 years.  Based on my experience of working alongside early entrepreneurs, I have created the following questions to consider when determining your own entrepreneurial readiness.  As a result you will begin to understand the long-term commitment that you are getting involved with by starting your own business.  Please begin by considering these questions and then sending your responses (at least 5 sentences each) to me at Katie@LegacyBuilderCoaching.com, prior to your complimentary consultation:

1)    Please provide three specific examples that prove that you are a highly motivated person who has pursued and attained your goals independently in the past.

2)    Please explain how you are you going to set and manage your own goals and projects for your business.

3)    Please explain the process that you will use to hold yourself accountable to reaching your goals.

4)    Part of running a small business means having to work with unreasonable and unlikable clients, vendors and partners. Please explain how you effectively work with people who have very different personalities and styles than you?

5)    Please explain your decision-making process.

6)    Please explain how you will maintain the physical and emotional stamina to run your own business, in addition to maintaining your family and other responsibilities.

7)    Please provide examples of how you are an excellent planner, organizer and doer.

8)    Please explain how your business is going to impact your family, in both positive and negative ways and how you plan to deal with these changes.

9)    Please explain how you have overcome failures, rejection and chronic adversity in your previous personal and professional ventures.

10) Please explain how will avoid taking on too much yourself, thus avoiding burn out?

Sizzling Strategic Thinking Tips for Your Business

Ever get the feeling you have seen and heard it all when it comes to ‘Business 101’? It all just starts to sounds the same?  Me too! Here’s the great news, I attended a seminar last week as part of The Link’s ‘A Seat At The Table’ Executive Development Program around ‘Strategic Thinking’ and the facilitator, Doug Mendenhall of Get Spark!, knocked it out of the park for me.

Here’s what I walked away thinking more deeply about:

1)      People hate to be sold to, but they love to buy ….a compelling story about your particular service or product. What’s compelling about your offerings? The more compelling you are to be bought; the easier it is to sell.

 

2)      To be compelling means that people believe that you are trusting. Thus, the key is establishing authority in their minds. Find something that is compelling that you can become an authority on.

 

3)      The key to thinking strategically about your business, is to begin the start of each day with no agenda other than thinking through what you have learned to date and applying those lessons to creating your next iteration.

 

4)      An iteration is a plan for an intended outcome, whether that means getting the buy in from your executive team or moving product off a shelf.  Your goal should be to identify the key variables that determine your sales effectiveness and continually experiment with refining an iteration that can be measured and result in you reaching your sales goals.

 

5)      The key is to ditch the experimented iteration as soon as you have given it sufficient time to be tested and find that the results are not sufficient and move on to your next more disciplined and evolved iteration.

 

6)      If I were to ask you what 1 thing you could do each day that makes the largest impact in your business, what would it be? If you don’t know, send me an email at katie@legacybuildercoaching.com and we will arrange a complimentary consultation to uncover your one thing.

 

7)      Are people running to you or from you in your business? If they are running, you should focus on your presence because you can create who you want to be in a minute by simply deciding who you want to be, creating that presence, committing to it and practicing it.

 

8)      In order to create momentum for your strategic focus, keep in mind this simple and universal formula.  Build 5 positives, i.e. things that are happening today that are contributing to your forward momentum, with 1 critique, i.e. a driving variable that could shift your progress ahead.

 

9)      Rather than being your business’s ‘Chief Doing Officer’, work on becoming your own ‘Chief Thinking Officer’

 

10)   Don’t focus on CHANGING, think about CREATING a new way of achieving your intended outcomes. It’s so much easier that way!

 

Thank you Doug Mendenhall of Get Spark! and Cindy Tortorici of The Link’s ‘A Seat At The Table’ Executive Development Program.

 

Your 2011 Recipe For Your Best Year Yet

Ingredients:

• VISION: “the specific ultimate destination that is ‘YOUR BEST YEAR YET’  that will serve as your torch along your journey when in need of inspiration/re-grouping etc.

• DRIVE: “burning desires yet unmet & the knowledge that there is more you could be doing and being for yourself, others and the world”

• SWAGGER: “the ability to pull off feats that at first glance might seem insurmountable, willing to take the risk of faking it until you really make it, an innate belief in yourself that you can and will achieve _______”

• DILIGENCE: “the hard work, patience and humility that will be required along the way to achieving _______”

• COMMUNITY: “accountability partners, a coach, girlfriends, boyfriends-whomever will provide consistent feedback, encouragement and honest ‘truth telling’ for you along your journey.”

Directions:

1) Kindly write down who you want to become in 2011. Be sure to understand why this is so important to you (critical piece).  Also, when I say ‘become’, I am asking you to tell yourself what it is you want to achieve, attain, transform in yourself, in your work/personal life, in your relationships, etc.

2) Next, write down a list of what being that person will mean as far as what you want to accomplish.  Meaning: how will you know when you have become that person?

3) Begin to sketch out a route from where you stand TODAY to where you will be on DECEMBER 31st, 2011. Thoughtfully include plans for the guaranteed potholes, dead-ends, etc (remember: if it was easy, you’d be there already).

4) Assess what type of tools, knowledge, resources you will need for this journey from the very practical and concrete to the very abstract and ubiquitous.

5) Identify which 10 key people in your life might best be able to help you attain/find/master the items you listed in #9. Give some forethought into how you might be of service to them (personally or professionally) and set up a mutually rewarding partnership.

6) Plug all of Steps 1-5 into a written form that works for you (business plan, detailed calendar, narrative, journal).

7) Chunk #6 down to monthly, weekly (and possibly even daily) goals/steps that you record in the calendar form that you use daily.

8) Identify an accountability partner who has similarly ambitious plans for their 2011 and schedule consistent but brief phone calls to report your progress.

9) Do not forget to *CELEBRATE/REWARD* yourself along the way for all of your outstanding achievements.

GO YOU!!!

Chef’s Note: Please keep me in the loop along your journey to completing this recipe of your lessons learned, etc.

 

 

How to Become Your Own Leading Lady

I was privileged to moderate a panel with three leading business women earlier this week, entitled ‘Ladies Who Lead’ at the Seattle Ladies Who Launch Global Conference. These women were Sunny Kobe Cook, Founder of Sleep Country, USA (the first mattress chain); Cathi Hatch, Founder and CEO of Zino Society and Cindy Tortorici, Founder and CEO of The Link For Women.

The three spheres of influence that result in becoming a Leading Lady (or man of course) are: formulating your vision, cultivating your influential voice, and developing your own community of peers, experts and mentors.

I designed this panel with the assistance of my own mentor, Cindy Tortorici.  We both provide coaching services to aspiring entrepreneurs and executive women and these three areas represent the consistent learning needs of our clients.  Oftentimes, aspiring leaders are bombarded with a focus on their technical skills and the ‘here and now’ of their job, and are not given the opportunity to take a step back from their operations to consider long term growth strategies and personal leadership development.

Here are some tips for doing so:

1) When working on formulating your vision it is critical that you are able to state what your vision  is in one sentence and without any industry jargon or vocabulary that is not well known (think K.I.S.S.). Think BIG—perhaps the sky may not be your limit.  Take risks—and dare yourself to take yourself out your industry box.  Be a FUTURIST-make sure you survey future trends for your industry so to be sure your area thought leader.

2) When cultivating your influential voice you are going to need to uncover a place where you can receive objective feedback on how you are received as a speaker and how effective and compelling you are at delivering ideas.  Toastmasters is the best place for this kind of practice. Join a chapter today if you have not already done so—it is absolutely priceless. Then, seek out as many opportunities where you can address audiences as this is the only way that you will continue to hone your speaking skills.  If you cannot passionately and persuasively deliver your vision to you colleagues and customers—your vision may never come to fruition.

3)  It is imperative that you develop your own community of peers, experts and mentors. Often times, professionals think that by just fraternizing with like minded colleagues they are receiving all the support and resource sharing that they need. This is not true-we all need our own villages. We need to seek out experts who enlighten us to their areas of overlapping expertise to challenge our thinking and refresh and update our outlooks. Finally, we all need a mentor, someone who has accomplished what you yourself are also setting out to do.  The speakers noted that there were many men and women whom they had looked to as mentors but that relationship had never been explicitly defined with the word ‘mentor’.  This is a critical lesson, as many people feel sheepish about asking their role model to take on that role.   I encourage you to not feel as though you cannot ask as long as you are conscientious of their limited time and energy that they can devote to your development.  Once you have identified these people in your life, you will have the full spectrum of community that you need to help in hoisting you towards your vision.

What else do you need to becoming your own Leading Lady or Man?

How To Plot Your Career Change

Determine Your Ideal Profession & Life-style This is the most difficult stumbling point for people who are not enjoying their current work and who also feel blocked around what might bring greater satisfaction.  I encourage people to be patient and know that this process will likely take longer than they’d like but that their current situation is not permanent and will eventually change.  It is also important to take the time to step back and look at their entire life situation and determine what other aspects of their ‘whole’ life might be lacking in fulfillment.  These areas are: Work and Education, Relationships, Personal Growth and Health and Leisure.   Through this process, many people find that their unhappiness at their day job is bleeding into other aspects of their life and that there are areas that they can change for the better immediately.  For example, a client named Susan realized that she had completely given up on her dating life waiting for Mr. Right, as well as sticking to a regular exercise regimen, because she was feeling so dissatisfied with her current job.   Her unhappiness at work was becoming an energy drain in other aspects of her life. As she began evaluating what type of job would be more ideal, she also committed to exercising three days a week and making an effort to say “yes” to dating, even if the guy didn’t immediately have Prince Charming potential–at least she was getting out and having fun meeting people, which increased her energy.  Over time, Susan’s improved sense of overall health and personal happiness also helped to propel her commitment to pursue her career transition.   

Do Your Homework Once you have identified one or even a few desired professions-collect as much information as you can about them through online research, recently published books and journals, and most importantly informational interviews with people who are currently in that industry.  Many people are aware that LinkedIn is a free online resource where you can search within your greater network of your friends or colleagues for their acquaintances who are working in your industry of interest.  Ask your colleague or friend for an introduction and then request a brief 20 minute telephone call or a meeting over coffee.  These people can be your best ‘real world’ resources for what employers will be looking for when you are ready to make a move. It is critical to understand whether the industry is growing, what they are looking for as far as talent, and whether you will need to acquire a specialized type of education or certification or job experience to be considered for the profession.    

Formulate Your Strategy Once you have a solid idea of what type of skills, experience and/or training you will need to make your career transition, I then work with clients on sketching out a strategic action plan.  Some of these beginning actions might include: opening up lines of communication with previous bosses so that they are ready and willing to act as solid references, updating your resume and any online profiles, and evaluating whether you are prepared for relocation and/or having to take a pay cut to enter into your preferred industry at a lower level than where you currently stand at your company.  One of my clients’ Eric wanted to transition from working in the financial services market into a medical device sales position.  He had learned from the informational interviews that sales companies were going to want to see concrete examples of his desire to win, self-direction and proven public speaking skills.  So, Eric sought out opportunities at his current workplace such as presenting at large staff meetings, proposing a new initiative to improve client confidentiality concerns, and  dedicated himself to improving the ‘areas for development’ that were raised in his last performance review.  Eric also learned more about what he needed to prove along the way of his interviewing process with a variety of different sales companies and eventually made his transition after almost a year’s time.  

Be Prepared to Sell Yourself The concept of selling oneself can be very anxiety producing and uncomfortable for many people.  One can best overcome these concerns by focusing their efforts on learning as much as they can about what it takes to be successful in their targeted profession.  Having this ‘curious focus’ takes the pressure off of the individual to always be talking about themself and allows them to approach potential leads and eventual employers with a clear understanding of how they will be an asset to that particular industry and that specific company.  For example, Dan had been working in the editorial world for 8 years and was eager to make a transition into work that was more personally meaningful.  He set his sights on sports marketing but was very apprehensive about how he would break into such a popular industry and how he would overcome his discomfort with the concept of networking.  He began by learning everything he could about the industry as a whole as well as what companies had offices in his hometown of Chicago and how they differed. Next, he found out about a specific networking group for marketing professionals, through an informational interview and eventually began attending their events. Over time, Dan built up contacts within the sports management field as well as the confidence that he would be able to convince an employer that he would be an asset to their particular company and composed a portfolio of his work that highlighted his selling points.   

Ramp up Your Life Outside of Work! It is equally important to be sure to balance out the other aspects of our lives: Personal Growth/Health, Relationships and Leisure, while we plot our professional transformation.  While your professional situation may not change as quickly as you would like it to, it doesn’t mean you can’t have a life! So, try to focus on what can be controlled in your life—and ramp up your personal life.  For example, push yourself to accomplish something you might not have ever imagined for yourself like: completing a triathlon, joining a music band or writing a short story.  Oftentimes, people end up opening doors to their desired path when they are not even looking.  An example is a woman named Patty who was determined to break into the wine import industry but had not had any success in setting up an informational interview or making a personal connection so to learn more about the field.  She followed my ‘homework’ and finally pursued a long postponed hobby—starting to practice yoga.  Within two weeks of joining a yoga studio, she discovered that the studio’s owner was a big time wine importer and generously invited Patty down to his business to shadow him for a day once his wife made the connection. You never know where your ‘breaks’ are going to come from!

Maria Ross: Chief Marketing Diva

This is my second interview in my ‘Profiles of Inspiration” interview series. This fabulous interview is with Maria Ross, Chief Marketing Diva of Red Slice based in Seattle.  Maria’s first book, Branding Basics for Small Business, was released today! NOW FOR SALE at www.brandingbasics.info.

1) What is your ultimate vision for Red Slice and do you consider this vision part of your ultimate legacy?

 I didn’t start Red Slice intending to build a big global branding agency or anything. I just wanted to do work I like with people I like who are passionate, friendly, smart and respectful. I was jaded by some past experiences in high tech marketing where executives were making the wrong decisions, not thinking about the long term, and who were just plain disrespectful or arrogant about people’s time and efforts. I was sick of it, so I decided to be my own boss and only work with people I selected. In this way, I can constantly build my legacy of going the extra mile, delivering quality work, and helping others build a strong company and offer value. When you come from that place of mutual respect and passion, you can climb mountains for people and know the effort will be appreciated and rewarded. I also wanted to help “clean up the marketing and brand pollution” that is out there, and help people realize that they need to be smarter about their branding. Now I’m on a mission to make entrepreneurs realize that a brand is more than a logo – and I think I’m really succeeding in that mission. My official mission is to help companies “engage, inform and delight” their customers and that is my personal missions as well.

2) What are the core values of Red Slice and do those values correlate with you personally?

Red Slice is me and I am Red Slice, so everything from my Guiding Principles to my Mission are my personal ones as well. My mission is to Engage, Inform and Delight. Whether I help a business do this for their customers – or I personally do this when speaking, teaching, writing, or even acting (another passion of mine), it’s about making a connection and evoking an emotion. If more companies did business from this brand perspective, you might have more Apple’s and Nike’s in the world. In addition my Guiding Principles are: Work Hard, Play Hard; Do what you say you will do; Treat everyone with respect and honesty; The devil is in the details; Be prepared; With blessings come responsibility. Especially with that last one, I try to use my good fortune to benefit causes I care about, like animal welfare, child welfare, and getting medical help to war-torn countries. If I can use entrepreneurial success to support the causes close to my heart, then that is an amazing gift.

3) How much thought/planning/designing went into differentiating Red Slice from your competitors?

Quite a bit. I could have gone the route of calling myself “Maria Ross Consulting” but coming from an ad agency background, that just seemed so boring to me. I wanted to create a business that was memorable, fresh, fun and innovative. If I’m going to help companies stand out, then I need to walk my talk, right?! Everyone and their mother seems to be a consultant these days so I wanted to find a way to package up my unique skills and experiences in a way many people were not. I also tout specific differentiators all the time, like the fact that I’ve worked on both the client and agency sides and have worked on both B2B and B2C brands – which gives me a more holistic perspective. Finally, I do not shy away from talking about my writing and acting passions: that creative edge is another differentiator for me. How many people are creative Type A personalities?! Many people told me not to do this, but I figured that again, I could attract the people I wanted to work with if I represented myself authentically. It’s a nice Litmus test!

4) Congratulations on the recent publication of your book, Branding Basics!  What was the best part about the experience thus far?

Thanks! I’m so excited to package up all my advice and unique experiences to help people build their own strong brands and looks at branding in a more fundamental way. This was actually an unexpected opportunity but when it knocks, you really just have to answer. And I’m so proud of myself for taking advantage of the unexpected turn and publishing this book, which has been a dream since I started writing stories at 6 years old. It also feels good to pass on all these examples, good and bad, from my own work experiences and use them for the benefit of others. I really believe small business owners have such a unique opportunity to build a strong brand but they just go about it the wrong way. They think it stops at the visual design, or they cut corners, or they don’t think bigger about how every single, solitary interaction with a customer is a chance to seal your brand onto their hearts. Amazing things happen when you build a business based on passion and value – the profits soon follow when it’s done right. The book can be ordered at http://www.brandingbasics.com and is also available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble.com , Borders.com and even in Kindle format!

5) What are you most proud of as it relates to your work at Red Slice?

Helping businesses “clean up” their messages or visual branding to properly tell the story they had in mind all along. That “A Ha!” moment is always a thrill for me. I work with fabulous designers and writers who can bring a vision to life: they just needed me to translate the vision in a way that could be understood. I love when clients say, “Yes! That’s exactly what I wanted to communicate!” or when they see how they have not been doing themselves any favors with selfish messaging: talking about what THEY do, rather than what CUSTOMERS want to hear. And I love the gems that form when we’re brainstorming. Business owners have the power to create their brand – they just don’t always know how to approach it or where to start. I feel like a guide in that respect and I love it.

6) How are you reaching your target market? 

Amazingly, all of my clients have been referrals, but I started heavily using my blog and social media to influence people. I’m a writer by nature, so the blog was a great way for me to reach my audience and deliver value. I also had to build my business from scratch, as I had just moved to Seattle and was only here 3 months before hanging my shingle. So I had to try a lot of networking groups (some fit, some didn’t), connect online, leverage Linked In, etc. My business is a referral business, so I don’t believe blind mailers will net me new clients – but that’s a brand choice I have made. I also have some dream companies in mind I’d like to work with that are in my radar – when I have time to pursue them!

With referrals, initially, I was getting a lot of “Can we have coffee so I can pick your brain?” I did this a lot at first and realized I was giving away something for nothing. My product is my brain! It’s my experiences and advice and I learned early on you can’t just always give that away. So going back to the “pick the clients I want to work with” if someone can commit to a paid initial meeting, then a) I know they are serious and have budget (if they don’t have budget, you can’t waste your precious time!) and b) I could feel good about putting a little extra research and work into that meeting so it really was valuable for them. Often, these initial meetings do convert to sales because you are putting your best foot forward and they see the value of why they need you.

To be honest, this still morphs and grows for me. I tested different things at first. I initially meant to pursue companies like the ones I’d worked for, but then got into the vibrant entrepreneurial small business community. Now I’ve righted the ship a bit, so to speak and balance the two.  Small businesses are so much fun, but they can’t always spend in a way where you can be super successful for them.

7) What do you most dislike about being a business owner and how do you deal with that aspect of business?

I’m an extrovert, so being alone is awful: no one to bounce ideas, catch you if you fall, stay up to date on Quick Books! So I network a lot and meet people out for coffee. My partners that I work with are amazing and I love to brainstorm with them. I’d say the hardest part is dealing with taxes and the books – I’m not a numbers person and the tax laws are so damn confusing, it kills me. I spend so much time trying to make sure I’m not breaking any rules!

8) What do you most enjoy about being a business owner and how much time do you get to spend doing that part of your job?

Flexibility and freedom! Being able to go get a coffee in the middle of the day, or hang out with my dog or set my own schedule. It’s hard because you have to, well, “set your own schedule” and its easy to get distracted (especially with Social Media!) but I am someone who needs a bit of structure so I make it for myself. I set days of the week for client time when I can, hours for networking, try to only go to 1 or 2 events a week, etc. I need to make time to remember I’m working for myself for a reason and not let my own business consume too much of me. I set strict boundaries on weekend time (don’t log in if I can avoid it or unless there is a deadline) and try to leave my home office for the night when my husband comes home. If you don’t set those boundaries, you will lose yourself in all the freedom!

9) Where do you find inspiration as a business owner?

Everywhere! From individual entrepreneurs who come to speak at networking events, to those I am just lucky enough to meet in at such groups. I get inspired by reading stories in the press of people who are following their passion and turning it into profit. I get inspiration from the big companies who do branding “the right way” and I know my efforts are not in vain. I have also tapped into some great women locally who are super sounding boards, who do really cool things, and who are blazing trails and making things happen. I get inspired by activity, progress and creativity – as well as by those who are Zen about their career, take time to breathe and enjoy life’s simple pleasures. It can be easy for small business owners to get caught up in a competitive Rat Race of their own if they are not too careful – I had to step away from some people and groups because of that. So surround yourself with people that are doing things the way you want to be doing them – not just those who are selling out, selling their soul, or working themselves to death to be successful!