You Have More Competition than Your Direct Competition

If you were considering opening a coffee shop, who would you consider your “direct competition”? Starbucks? Caribou? Dunn Bros? Dunkin Donuts?  Who would you consider your “indirect competition”?  A bakery?  A fast food joint? A gas station?  All of them!! There was a time when most individuals would go to their favorite coffee house and java would […]

Do You Know What Your Brand’s “Only-ness” Is?

When it comes to turning your business idea into a marketable service or product, many entrepreneurs struggle with where to begin.   Taking your “big idea” from concept to market is a monumental endeavor. Most of us expect to make a significant investment of time and money but we aren’t always prepared for the actual amount […]

Does Your Brand’s Packaging Matter?

You bet your boots packaging matters. People are visual creatures by nature. Thus, we are simply drawn to things that look beautiful or that we view as aesthetically pleasing (or interesting). So what exactly happens when we find ourselves perusing an aisle with hundreds of products staring back at us? We start to compare, remember […]

Hire People Smarter Than Yourself…

Some of my recent blog themes have been written around “getting a Yes” and “making the ask”, two really important professional skills to hone and ones that I have been using regularly as I go about establishing my “brand chat” interview series. Each time I reach out to one of my favorite brand crushes I […]

How Are You Playing Your Brand’s Deck of Cards?

Much like poker, which is a game of chance, many small businesses knowingly embrace the concept of risk when they launch; it seems to be part of many a founder’s DNA. However, similar to poker, being a successful entrepreneur takes a whole lot of skill too. The bummer is that there is no basic primer […]

Is Your Brand Disruptive?

Being disruptive is quite the buzz phrase these days. The premise for disruptive branding is that people are so overwhelmed with, well, everything, that they don’t actually notice anything unless you are able to disrupt them from their sea of the same experiences. Big brands and entrepreneurs alike should always be seeking the best ways […]

Keeping Your Finger on the Pulse of Your Business

When was the last time you took your brand’s pulse? Running a business no matter its size is all-consuming. Believe me, I know. I live and breathe my work too. Keeping pace with the speed that is necessary to keep a company chugging along with all its pieces and parts certainly has me in marathon […]

Your Website Matters…

Today we live in the era of the Internet, the most powerful, most accessible, dynamic communication system created to date (don’t blink!). Most of us turn immediately to the proverbial “web” for answers to the simplest questions, to find products and services or to research something (or someone). For most businesses, a website is one […]

What's All the Fuss About Logos?

Your logo says a lot about your company. It’s the cornerstone of your brand. It’s to your business what your face is to you. It’s how you are recognized. It visually reflects your brand’s point of view. So, it needs to be memorable. It needs to reflect your brand “literally”. It’s your image and image […]

How Does Your Brand Get (and Keep) Your Customer’s Attention?

We all know that great products and customer service will make your business stand out. However that is typically only evident after a customer has made a purchase. The challenge, no matter what kind of business you run, is to find ways to stand out and attract those new customers to begin with. Plus doing […]