By Karen Post, on May 6, 2012

This past weekend I attended the National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago. This show hosts over 100,000 attendees from over 100 countries.
The mix included suppliers, restaurateurs, the media and entrepreneurs, like myself, hoping to tap into this lucrative 600 billion market. For the past year I’ve been building restaurantbrandingroadmap, an e-learning product, a web site and business that serves up marketing and branding help to this niche market of independent restaurateurs. I hope to launch the first product within the next 60 days. To date I have built a membership model website and a robust blog.  At the same time I’ve been aggressively building a base of future buyers and fans via twitter, Facebook and my opt-in community. Part of my growth strategy is to get into the minds of my market, so I can better deliver on their unmet needs and to build a network of restaurant product and service providers that I can partner with to accelerate the project and monetize my efforts.

Attending any large tradeshow is a significant investment for a small company. To attend this show, I will spend about $3,000. before time costs. This covers travel expenses for two, show attendance fees, special business cards I printed that promote the restaurant product and an online subscription to watch the Tampa Bay Rays TV on my laptop so I don’t miss a game

A show this size can be overwhelming without a good game plan. So Lauren (My Chief Problem Solver) and I came up with ours to ensure a healthy ROI at the show.

1.) Before you go, set your accountable goals and your action plan to achieve them.

• For us it meant taking home 500 new contacts.
• Discover at least 10 promo partners.
• Make 5 media contacts.
• Identify at least 50 resources for content.
• Learn at least 20 new marketing ideas.

2.) Print something that you can hand out that speaks to why you are at the show.
For us, in addition to our Brain Tattoo Branding Business cards, we printed special cards that included our restaurant product, site and social media addresses.

3.) Identify targeted companies you want to meet and schedule your day.

4.) If you go with a colleague like I did, don’t hang out together all the time. Don’t sit next to each other at a session or on the shuttle. You can cover twice as much ground if you both go different ways.

5.) Don’t wait to get home to sort out your hot new contacts and ideas. Take action while stuff is fresh on your mind. Organize your thoughts and leads, contact your new friends in social media right away. The next morning we already had traction from our new contacts on our site and social media accounts.

6.) Take pictures and keep good notes of your journey, the people you meet and new resources. These pics will not only give you follow up material for your new contacts, they can be seeded in social media and in your blog.

7.) Stay focused on who you want to meet. This show had over 1800 exhibits, only about 20% mattered to me concerning business goals. Don’t forget your mission.

8.) Look professional, but dress comfortably. I usually wear my red glasses and some creative jacket or outfit. This seems to be a magnet for conversation and strangers get the vibe I’m a creative thinker.

9.) If you say you are going to follow up with someone after the show, do it! This is part of your brand. Keeping your promises.

10.) Stay at a cool hotel. The likelihood of meeting cool people will increase. We stayed at the Sax. I love this place, it’s hip, has good energy and is in the heart of lots of interesting and fun places. The House of Blues is next door.

11) Bring a ton of business cards, if there are 100,000 people at the show you you can easily burn through 1,000 cards.

12) Make sure you have downloaded all the apps to help you be productive.
-For us this was a QR scanner on your smart phone., so you can bookmark cool things. Many booths used this digital tool.
-Instagram to take and share photos.
-The NRAshow app to view the schedule and map layout quickly.

If you are interested in restaurant or hospitality branding, do check out my other blog. There will lots of great new posts concerning this exciting industry.

Brand on!

By Karen Post, on October 3, 2011

For many years I was the youngest in many business situations. I was younger than all my employees, having started my ad agency when I was 22. I was also the youngest to sit on important boards and I was considered by many to be a very young entrepreneur running two companies.

Then one day that changed. I’m not really sure exactly when this happened, but suddenly—while I still felt young, liked loud, new rock bands, trendy fashions —I turned 50! YIKES!!

My amazing life has raced through three decades and now I’m not the youngest any more, except when I go to an event at my mom’s senior living community and thank God, I am the youngest there.

What I am still is very young-minded, contemporary and a hip aging entrepreneur. I’m not sure I love the way that sounds, but until I can find that back-in-time retro aging potion at Walgreens, what is, is, and I’ve got to embrace my new place in life.

Why not? Vintage wine gets better with years. So I’m going to turn my modern maturity, earned wisdom and even my new challenges into super-charged fuel that takes me to even higher places in business and in life.

So stay tuned for upcoming blogs addressing–

When your mind says Go! And your body says No!
Forever young—keeping your competitive edge sharp
It’s never too late to start a business, start over or start a party

By Karen Post, on September 24, 2011

Every Saturday I salute someone or a group that deserves a little extra attention for his or her good deeds, achievements, creative solutions, witty comments or meaningful acts of customer love.

This week my hat goes off to Martin Lindstrom, one of my good friends and fellow marketing visionaries.  Martin and I met in 2003 via the Internet (not from match.com but from me reaching out and complimenting his writing), than later that year we hung out when he and I were both in New York City.

Martin is one of the smartest cats I know and he has been very successfully building a global brand for himself as a marketing and brand guru and bestselling author. If you’ve not read his works you should. They are all excellent resources combining research, case studies and creative forward thinking.

His new book Brandwashed: Tricks Companies Use to Manipulate our Minds and Persuade us to Buy is why he deserves an extra round of applause today. The book (with the forward written by film director and producer Morgan Spurlock) jumps out of the circle of what you should do with your brand to what is going on in the world of  “at all costs, get that consumer to buy”. Which was a bold move since he often works on the side of the consumer hunter.

Martin’s approach around his latest book is fresh, a bit shocking and very insightful, because as marketers we all have to continue to create, converse and captivate this brandwashed society. So to better understand what’s going on in the sandbox is a good thing.

I just received my Brandwashed book so this is not a review, but encouragement to grab a copy as I’ve never read a book Martin wrote that I did not love and learn from.

On a side note, while writing Brandwashed, Martin went on total brand detox. Which meant for one year he did not buy one new branded anything. He used what he had or consumed alternative non branded generic options. Phew, that alone needs a moment of special recognition.

Martin continues to push the envelope, the box and the marketing mindset to the edge challenging us all to better understand the world and the consuming residents who live here.

Congrats! Martin!

By Karen Post, on April 1, 2011

Have you ever felt like you have reached your limits? Whether it shows in your writing, business creation or time management – you are not alone! Below, learn how to develop strategies that will make you feel more productive, take your adventure to the next level and keep you in line – we’ll even tackle the stuff that keeps you up at night. Let Karen Post and the Oddpodz team lead the way.

1 – Does branding countries, government programs and leaders really matter? 3 part series that includes insight, strategy and recommendations.
2 – How to quickly sway opinion, sell product & make a point – with wordplay Metaphors can make a difference.
3 – Energize your entrepreneurial engine. Attend 3-day conference in Tampa. Engage in networking opportunities with students from all over the country as well as business professionals.
4 – Entrepreneur essentials – Bandwidth limits, saying no and time off. There are only so many hours in a day, what will you do with them?

For last weeks wrap up, click here.

Also, don’t forget to check out:
Slimy scam, smart business model or insightful day?
3 smart chicks, 10 ideas to breed more loyal blog readers
Greenwashing and other recycled business sins

By Karen Post, on February 16, 2011

I’m excited, anxious and very proud.

About a month ago, I got a call from a major Saudi company inviting me to address 300 of their team members on branding. They are the national airline; the Saudi Arabian Airlines. They learned about me through my Google ranking and were convinced I knew my stuff from my websites, videos and blogs.

I was surprised as Saudi still practices many gender divisions. And they selected me, a woman business expert on branding.

I had to immediately report to my contact – the VP of marketing and a member of the company for over 32 years. He was knowledgeable, kind and equally enthusiastic about the new business relationship.

We ironed out a deal, discussed their objectives and my program: Why brand? Which focuses on touch points, social media,  customer experiences, and all the details that go with it.

While I thought I was pretty worldly, I was really in the dark concerning this country and their culture. As many of you will have opportunities to do business around the globe, I’m pleased to share what I’ve learned in preparing for the trip so far and will blog regularly from abroad. After my trip to the Middle East I will head to NYC for 6 days and will share more insight from my journey there.

Marketing lessons.

• If you can do business abroad, make sure your web site reflects that.
• When a lead calls you, qualify them immediately. Discuss budget, objectives, terms.

Communication lessons.

• Even if your contact speaks great English, don’t assume they can read all your emails.
• Don’t use local slang, speak clearly and in a concise manner.
• Speak to others involved in the project. For me, it was the other speakers, John Tschohl,
  Steve Martin, James Belasco and Gerrie Smith with a UK firm called Honour that  has a history of working with the client. All provided so much valuable insight and they are now my new global friends.

Travel lessons.

• You must have a visa to enter Saudi. This takes some time. For a couple hundred dollars, I engaged a DC firm to facilitate the process. A1passport and Visa Express was great to work with. They handle everything. They take your documents to the embassy and secure the visa.
• Get to know military time.
• Pack your international electricity plugs for your computer.
• For limited over seas flights, don’t risk missing it, get to NYC a day early, just in case.

Cultural lessons.

• Do your homework. Understand and respect your client’s values and traditions
• Talk to others who have journeyed there. In this case, other women.
• Modify your content, so its effective, yet not offensive . Go light on US examples, include world case studies.
• Jump in their shoes. Be relevant.

More next week!

Check out our other marketing blogs too.

By Karen Post, on January 24, 2011

Karen has joined the daily blogging club! Use the RSS feed to get everyday insight or sign up for the Oddpodz ezine, which is a summary of blog posts that is sent out bi weekly.

Here is a wrap-up of the last 15 days:

1 – In Mystery of pricing exposed. How much would you pay to look smarter?, Karen Post highlights the fact that we tend to forget: behind every decision we make, there is a price. From this standpoint, ask yourself ‘How much am I ready to pay for a particular situation?’ In order to do so, Karen recommends Eduardo Porter’s book The Price of Everything: Solving the Mystery of Why We Pay What We Do. Check out Karen’s literature choice and the awesome trailer, here.

2 – In You know you are engaged when you take your laptop and Seth Godin to the bathroom, Karen shares with us 4 tips she learned from the Seth Godin’s recent webinar she attended (and could not get away from…!). Engagement is one of the primary sources of success. Even during challenging times, do your best to keep engaging in what really matters. The four tips also discuss guest bloggers, blogging frequency, Twitter and not giving up. Learn from Seth and Karen here.

3 – In 10-steps to making writing your blog easier, Karen gives great tips to help each and every one of us to enhance our blogging experience. Keeping up with a consistent daily post is harder than what we can expect. Try out Karen’s 10 ta-do’s and bring your A game when blogging. Check out Karen’s list here.

4 – In The #1 strategy that is giving me more money, influence and balance, Karen discusses her focus on trying to align all of her business ventures. These strategies can be good for your business as well. See how she does it with Oddpodz here.

5 – In 3 productivity tips to prevent eye strain & pain from your computer, Karen shares a few tips on how help your eyes if, like the average business worker, you spend more than 8 hours a day, 7 days a week, in front of a computer screen. See what Karen does to avoid painful eyes and how to stay productive here.

6 – We have all asked for feedback on a project and found that good feedback does not always necessarily mean nice feedback. In Hard candy advice. Why sweet is not always better, Karen tells us about the feedback she received from a recognized author concerning her book proposal. Although it might not have been nice to hear, she definitely received helpful tips. See how she used her advisor’s insights to the fullest here.

7 – In 4-simple habits of champion goal-getters, Karen lists 4 qualities that a well-driven person should have. From setting clear objectives, to surrounding themselves with focused people, some day-to-day habits are essential for anyone who attempts to be a successful goal-getter. See what makes Karen a goal-getter here.

8 – Productivity is a powerful thing. In Save at least 5 hours a week. Subscribe to RSS feeds, Karen tells us how to increase our weekly productivity and to save precious hours. Stop surfing the web looking for pieces of information you want from your favorite websites. Make the news come to you – learn to use RSS feeds here.

9 – In Feet and footers should both be sexy, Karen mentions one of her pet peeves: feet! And also the footers on web designs. Have you checked your website/blog footers lately? You might want to reevaluate and see if they’re eye catching. But before doing so, see what Karen thinks about feet and footers here.

10 – In A crazy combination that works. Bad spelling+psycho cats=$30M in cash, Karen tells us about a crazy success story. Ben Huh, former journalist, bought a website: I Can Has Cheezburger and turned this misspelled domain name into a venture that just raised $30M! See how Ben did it here.

11 – In How to scale up the experience you deliver in 4 dramatic steps, Karen deals with a notion that is really important in the start-up world: scalability. How can a company use all the space available to communicate and sell their products? Learn more about scaling-up your business here.

12 – Want to be a standout brand? Avoid these 5 costly mistakes discusses tips every business should follow if they want to standout from the pack. To become a memorable brand, Karen Post talks about what to do and what not to do here.

By Karen Post, on January 17, 2011

Need to know something important? And get some feedback on a critical project?
Getting the best advice on anything is always a tricky task. Many of us gravitate to asking our friends. This is generally not wise and a big waste of time.

• Your friends hopefully like you, so they will say nice things about you.
• Your friends are also often not experts in what you are asking them for advice on.
• And free advice is also often aligned with quality (you get what you pay for).

A couple of weeks ago I was wrapping up a very important book proposal. This was a second chance to score with a big publisher. My first submission was kicked back (with important publisher/editor suggestions) that I needed to add or change. I knew it was now or never. While I felt good about my revised draft, I was not willing to risk the result (or my investment to date over 100 hours) without running it by a proven expert.

I remembered a coach I had worked with in the past who had written some books with this same publisher that I was having dialogue with through my agent. I shot him an email, explained the situation. He agreed to provide a read through and some counsel for $1000. In making my decision, I looked at what this book deal was worth to me, certainly that figure times at least a 100 times, and I knew this consultant/expert had the experience I needed with this publisher and many publishers.

So I fired off my draft with an email summarizing many things that I thought were important for the consultant to know. He fired back a short email. “Karen, you need to be more concise in your emails, I don’t need all of that. And your first draft gets a C”. He also provided very concise bullet points on what I needed to improve.

Our subsequent conversations were also very direct, no sweet candy coating, in fact, they were Sergeant-like blunt.

I got to work. I didn’t get emotional about him not blowing sunshine up my skirt or feeding my ego, which my friends would have done if I asked them for feedback.

After 8 intense days of focus and reworking my proposal, following my consultants advice, I sent him back the new draft.

This time he responded, “Excellent! Well written. Fascinating chapter angles. This is ready to send to the publisher”. The consultant also offered to write my forward and any testimonials. WOW! This consultant has written 30 titles in 9 languages. That said a lot.

Was it a joy and pleasure working with this very smart dude? NO. It was not like paling with my buddies.

Did his contribution significantly increase my work product value and the likelihood of me winning a great contract. Oh YES!

For more advice, check out: Mind freeze, is there a fast way to thaw your thoughts?

By Karen Post, on January 3, 2011

2010 was an amazing year for me. I had a killer year – revenues rocked, I grew my mental capacity, along with my waistline, and I learned a bunch of new skills.

All were positive as they added and challenged my adventure, bottom line and awareness journey. Here’s my recap and what I took away.

Most meaningful moments
1) When I witnessed the BP explosion flying to Baton Rouge, LA for a meeting.
Takeaway-Life is short and at any given moment it can change.

2) When my mom watched me play tennis for the first time and I won. I’ve been playing for ten years.
Takeaway-Even when you are 50, parent’s involvement still matter.

Proudest moments
1) When I discovered I was the #1 Google search for branding speaker.
Takeaway- Content writing has value.

2) When I lead the launch of a global green brand called Earthwise.
Takeaway-Branding, Twitter and hard work payoff.

3) The progress we made on Oddpodz.
Takeaway-If something is a long tail venture, do the best you can, keep pushing, keep learning and don’t give up.

4) I scored over 25 major media new stories (FOX over 10 times, NY Times, Forbes, Miami Herald).
Takeaway-You must be assertive, reach out to the media often, with newsworthy ideas, and then do an awesome job adding to their show, whether it’s print, TV, radio or online.

Best business changes
1) Hired my sister to manage my books.
Takeaway- How did I ever do it without her? This business relationship has strengthened our bond and drastically reduced my tax challenges.

2) Invested in expert coaching.
Takeaway-When you fly a company with a small, virtual team, you need professional, high-level paid sounding boards. Asking friends and business colleagues who like you will slow down your progress.

3) Getting rid of my big office.
Takeaway-I’m not an office girl. I’m most productive when I work in my cave, on the street and by my rules.

Biggest lessons
1) Email is not the best way to communicate.
Takeaway- If you put it in writing it can live on and bit you back.

2) Hiring great people takes time, testing and more testing.
Takeaway-Hiring great people takes time, testing and more testing.

Things I still don’t understand
1) How the Gap could have launched such as ugly, new logo.
Takeaway- Even big companies do really stupid things.

2) Why Brett Farve took so long to retire and is such a public cry baby.
Takeaway-There’s a lot I don’t know, especially about guys.

2) Why Tony Robbin’s Show got canceled and The Jersey Shore is breaking rating records.
Takeaway-A lot of people will buy things I would not.

Coolest things
1) Toking oxygen and drinking champagne at the St Regis Spa in Aspen.
Takeaway- Money is not the end all, but sure pays for some crazy fun.

2) Going to see Late Night with Jimmy Fallon in NYC and Second City in Chicago.
Takeaway-Comedy is as important as food, my bed and black shoes.

3)  Hanging out with a hot former Russian hockey player & slamming shots of horseradish-infused vodka  while enjoying crepes and caviar was quite the fun night. And best part of it is – I’m here and he’s way over there.
Takeaway-Simple, random and kind of crazy encounters with no expectations are pretty amazing moments in life. I’m keeping my eyes open for more.

NEXT YEAR I’ve got my eyes on a few new adventures too.

I’d like to attend the American Music Awards, Saturday Night Live or Fashion Week in NY.

I like to have a major new book under my belt.

And meet any of these inspiring folks and have a coffee, like Lady GaGA, Tony Robbins, Michael Phelps or Richard Branson.

I’d also like to be featured in the Wall Street Journal.

How was your year? And what’s next for you to step up your success?!

Don’t forget to check out: Leadership = the quality of your presence.

By Karen Post, on September 3, 2010

Sorry I can’t help you. 9 reasons why passing on cash and new business will make you richer. This blog post is important to every business owner. And it’s a really  fun one for me to write, since I recently cruised on an Amtrak train to Aspen from Denver (77 bucks and a priceless experience).

No we can’t do lunch either.

originally posted 9.2.10
This is way cool! I’m in an awesome, relaxing environment and working too.
Plugged in, computer on my lap,  beautiful views of the mountains and bears, a glass of wine, jamming to Amy Winehouse and wearing my Bose headphones, so the screaming kid two rows in front to me does not even bug me. No consistent Internet, but that’s OK, a break from it is healthy.

All week I’ll be blogging from the road. Thanks for coming along for the ride.

Now back to “No, I can’t help you”.
Saying no thank you to a gig, a sweet opportunity or some cool cash is no easy job, especially if you’ve got bills that need attention and staffers to pay. New business prospects in any category can be so seductive. It often feels like a new admirer, or sometimes a life raft or better yet, a way to breathe, like my inhaler if you’ve got asthma like me.

Why the rush of adrenaline and excitement? Because as entrepreneurs many of us are programmed to think that any cash flow is good cash flow and without it, you could be another dead fish sinking up the shore of economy. Whoever started that thinking is likely broke and wondering what happened. The fact is, not all business and opportunity are created equal. There is smart money from great customers and there is toxic money that will wear you down and be a time sucking, distracting poison that will also slow down your journey to achieve success. The key is knowing the difference and having the ability to say “no thank you”, when it’s not the right fit.

Last week a prospect contacted me. She had discovered my consulting web site via a Google search. Her first note to me indicated she was an accomplished doctor, who had a new book and needed everything, brand name, brand program, blah, blah, blah etc. I responded ASAP and we scheduled an initial phone chat. I’ve learned many years ago, that before you jump to a person-to-person meeting, first talk on the phone, be armed with some qualifying questions (what is your schedule for this project, do you have a budget, who else is doing this?tell me about your support team etc.) do a lot of listening, and in advance check the prospect out online.

Our call followed and was productive. We had good chemistry, she explained her product and where she wanted to go with it. It was a diet product that I had an affinity to (the wellness space) and there seemed to be a large enough opportunity to continue to invest time with her.

I recommended that the next step be, that we meet in person. However, before then, I needed to see an executive summary to be clear on her goals and assess if they had their ducks in a row. Being a branding or any kind of consultant is a collaborative effort. If the client is a train wreck, the program results will likely be similar. We scheduled an in person meeting for that following Friday. I followed up with an email clearly outlining what I needed to see and included a non-disclosure agreement, so she would be comfortable sharing her business plan.

I got no reply from her or confirmation that our 2nd meeting was set after my email. I sent her a second email and still no reply. Then 24 hours before our scheduled follow up meeting, she resurfaces with her executive summary. By that time, I had already booked the Friday time shot, so I offered an alternative time next week. After reviewing her documents, I also got a sense that this was a business operating in a bit of a fog zone. No hard research. No business plan. No business financial model. No target market. And unrealistic view and budget of what it takes to launch a brand and produce significant income results. These deficiencies are not deal killers,  as long as they are open to getting some professional assistance in filling in the missing pieces. One of my favorite business planning tools is called Business Plan Pro. This PaloAltoSoftware is easy to use and priced for the entrepreneur. I highly recommend tapping in to a resources like this to help create your business plan. But no matter what, if a client does not know where they want to go, what their goals are, it will be a high-risk road to get them there (flag 1).

Additionally in my email back to her, I shared a range of costs for my branding and marketing firm to produce the marketing pieces and provide the consulting that she was requesting. The 2nd meeting was scheduled for Tues. and I needed to drive about an hour from my office to get there. Monday night I received a reply to my rough budget range, the questions about the holes in her plan and some inquiries about her 50/50 business partner. Her reply concerning the business plan was stretchy at best. Her detail about her business partner was also suspicious to me. He was 50/50, but not a funding source, not medial authority and his area of expertise a bit fishy too, financial advisor and astrologist. His web site was even more troubling, cheesy and no screaming signs of marketing guru-ness (flag 2). The entire reply was a collection of more red flags. It went from the initial reach out of “we need everything, branding wise” to “we have no money until we sell the book” and need some initial consulting (flag 3). These new discoveries seemed unfortunate. Because, I really liked the doctor, admired her achievements and love anything that helps people feel good and be healthy.

It was evaluation time for me. Do I meet with her and her partner on Tues. or punt?
Here are the 5 questions one should ask when evaluating an opportunity.  No matter how appealing the cash is, if you answer NO to more than three, pass, punt and abort all efforts and get back to something that will get you closer to your most important goals.

1) Do you believe in and love the category? Yes, I did.

2) Will the work be fun? Could be.

3) Within 6 months will you be fairly rewarded for the value you contribute? No.

4) Is there a leader who can make decisions? For me, committees or a 50/50 partnership are no better than a bad nightmare.

5) Does the company or prospect know where they are going? And have accountable goals documented? No.

6) Do they (today) have the funds to pay for your value? No.

7) Do you believe they have their ducks in a row? No.

What is your gut telling you,  go for it? No.

9) Will taking on this project be a direct stepping stone to one of your top 3 goals in life? No. Are there less than 3 big and bright red flags? NO.

Mine red flags: 5 day before a reply after our first call to confirm meeting, a light weight business plan, no funds, betting on a brand to be their business and a 50/50 business partner that I was not clear on their contributions. This one is likely a no brainy for you to know what I did. However, it’s not surprising when it’s a real prospect, with some real green cash, and a smooth talking prospect—it not so clear or easy.

If your time, (which we all have only so much of) could be better allocated to something that is going to get you closer to your real goals, then. . . Just say NO to business you should not be doing. Focus on the right stuff that matters, stick to your plan, your standards and enjoy your success.

I wish this doctor and all startups well. And maybe this one will pull it off and I will have missed a great opportunity. That’s OK, there is a ton of right fit business out there, use your energy on finding and serving them and you’ll be a richer entrepreneur for it.

I’m loving this train ride. I should be in Aspen in few hours. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on how to identify, other pass, punt and abort prospects too.

Also view: Can you feel broke, frugal and affluent all in 1 week?

By Karen Post, on February 25, 2008