By Karen Post, on May 15, 2012

Recently I’ve been forgetting things. Last Friday I headed to Chicago. When I got to the ticket counter at the airport I had a flash, did I remember to pack my Apple power cord for my laptop?

No, I didn’t. And because I’ve bought so many of those silly $100 replacement cables and lost them too, I was not about to hit the road without it. So I quickly phoned up my driver to see if he could run back to my place, get it and bring it to me before my flight left. Like a champ, he said no problem.

So how does a list-obsessed traveler like me forget stuff like this? By moving too fast.

My trip to Chicago was fabulous. I spent three days at the restaurant show, did a lot of marketing for my new restaurant product, filmed a 6-minute live segment for FOX News that aired nationally, attended a series of excellent focus studies for one of my Chicago clients, met a bunch of great new business contacts and experienced a city that I adore.

Wednesday morning I’m up early to catch a flight back to Tampa. I’m showered and dressed and looking for my make-up and hair care stuff. It is nowhere in the room. I call the desk and ask if they have a gift shop where I can buy the basics, the store does not open until 8AM, my driver is picking me up at 7AM.

(To my guy readers, not having make-up is equivalent to not having pants on and going to a meeting.)

I have no make-up, no hair brush and no patience. I also have a business meeting as soon as I get off the plane in Tampa. I’m starting to stress.

I improvise. I find a fork in the kitchenette and do the best I can with my hair, thinking I’ll get to the airport and they will have a store to buy a brush and make-up.

With my sunglasses on, I race to O’Hare, get to my gate and look for a store. There are none other than food and magazine shops. I calmly walk to the plane quietly thinking I need to be rich enough to afford a make-up artist to travel with me, then this would never be a problem. I also thought having my own jet would be a lot better than standing in line with a bunch of screaming kids. I definitely need to work smarter or start buying more lottery tickets.

I find my seat and I’m now really concerned that if I show up to my 2:30 meeting looking like this, (no make-up on) my client will not only not recognize me, but they will be frightened.

My seatmate looks like a million bucks. She’s well dressed, her make-up is perfect and she’s relaxed. I compliment her and tell her my story of the missing make-up bag.

Then like an angel from the sky, my new friend Denise Sowder tells me she’s a beauty consultant and works for Mary Kay. She also said she had a suit case full of make-up products and samples. OMG. As soon as we landed, she saved the day. We found the nearest ladies room, I got a make-up lesson and all the products I needed.

What are the odds of that happening? A million to one.

 Lessons here.

• Slow down. Speed will not necessarily get you to the goal faster.
• Always carry toiletries in your carry-on bags. Not in a separate bag that you can leave somewhere. Turns out I left it at a research facility.
• Keep an extra set of power cords in your suitcase.
• Pay it forward. Keep your Karma bank account full. I’m placing a Mary Kay order with my new friend Denise. That plane trip and her kindness will not soon be forgotten.

For more on trips to Chicago, view:
5 inspirational ideas and 2 revelations from an adventure to Chicago

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 March 18, 2012

Have you called yourself recently? On all of your phones? If not, it’s a fast find and fix to improving your brand impression.

How do I know this? Because I was grossly guilty of phone message neglect.

Fortunately, I have good friends who tell me the truth.  Here’s a recent call I received.

“Hey Karen, Ms. Branding Diva your phone message stinks. It’s too long, you sound like you are in a tunnel under ground and teetering on having a bad day.”

She was right. This was a big disconnect from who I am and what my brand stands for. Here’s the really sad part, it’s been like that for a year, YIKES!

Five simple tips to a better telephone branded signal.
1) Be clear – Always state your full name.
2) Be brief – In our fast paced and busy world, short and to the point are best.
2) Have tone – Include some branded attitude, for me it’s energy and confidence.
3) Be current and relevant – Keep things fresh, consider changing your message with the seasons, the months or for no reason at all.
4) Provide a clear call to action – What do you want the caller to do? Leave their name and what they need? Or even better their American Express number?
5) Manage expectations – If you can’t check messages for along period of time, provide a timely route to you, request a text message or email from the caller.

Don’t ever, ever use the default, computer message. That clearly communicates nothing except you are unprofessional or so unorganized you can’t find the time to set up.

Bottom line, your phone message is often the first impression a new contact has with you. Make it a great one. And it does not hurt to make sure your visible phone and accessories are on board with your brand too. It’s all part of the personal branding package.

Still don’t have a smart phone? It’s 2012. Plus, being a tech dinosaur is no marketing edge.

And if bold styling is part of your image, consider a retro hand set (like pictured above) to plug into your iPad, iPhone or other smart phones and a cool, matching phone protector. I’ve usually sport the Branding Diva® red set —phone case, handset and fire engine hot lipstick.  It’s an excellent conversation starter at coffee shops and airport lounges, after all that’s where new business often starts.

Got to go catch a call! Talk soon! Brand on!

By Karen Post, on September 14, 2010

www.cashboard.com

Time tracking, expenses, invoicing, estimates, and online payments done your way. Cashboard does it all, and does it for free.

• Send PDF invoices, estimates, and receipts.
• Accept payments online – no more waiting for checks.
• Track expenses and re-bill them to your clients.
• Track billable and non-billable hours for yourself, your employees, and contractors.
• Kee p your clients in the loop and let them know where their money is being spent.
• Fully customize Cashboard’s appearance to look like your own project management and billing solution.
• Integrate smoothly with 37signals’ Basecamp
• No software to install, no money down,
• no long-term contracts to sign – ever.
• Free version
• $0 for life
• 1 Active Employee
• 1 Active Client per month
• 2 Active Projects
• Unlimited Estimates
• Brandable interface
• Bank-grade 128 bit SSL encryption

By Karen Post, on May 25, 2010

Online Professional Branding is an informative way of demonstrating one’s expertise via an easily accessible online platform or website. Your Online Professional Brand gives you the opportunity to showcase your expertise to your colleagues, employers and clients. It demonstrates that you think critically, generate proactive solutions and, most of all, have a great deal of passion for your field.

Here are a few places that you can build your online professional brand:
LinkedIn- You can use this service to connect with other professionals, share business news and join groups in your industry.
Slideshare- You can post presentations that showcase your expertise here.
Your website- Build a website with an address that contains your full name.

Learn more about this concept with this ebook:
Professional Online Branding: A New Dynamic To Your Resume

By Karen Post, on May 20, 2010

One of the best and oldest networking tools is a 3.5” x 2” piece of cardstock aka “the business card.” Whether you are just starting out and money is tight or you want to change your business card, businesscardland.com is the place for you.

Business Card Land provides you with templates and print design options. All you have to purchase is business card paper. Once you have the business card paper, follow these steps:

1. Select the design template you like best
2. Decide if you want full bleed or no bleed printing
3. Choose the size of your business card
4. Fill in the information you want to appear on your business card
5. PRINT your free business card

It’s easy and free and you’re sure to see results using one of the oldest yet most efficient networking tools in the book.

To start designing your business card, visit Business Card Land today.

By Karen Post, on May 20, 2010

Freebinar is a free webinar service whose goal is “to provide a free, world class webinar service that competes with the best paid services available.” Freebinar allows you to host as many webinars as desired, with no time limit and no installations, downloads or set-up. It is the only free webinar service that allows up to 150 attendees, which truly makes Freebinar Skype on steroids.

To learn more and sign up, visit Freebinar today.

By Karen Post, on May 11, 2010

Creating an email campaign for your client list can be monkey business, but not anymore thanks to MailChimp. MailChimp is an email marketing company that offers many services including sophisticated technology to manage your client lists, cutting edge HTML email campaigns and the ability to track the success of your campaigns. The best part of MailChimp is the price…it’s FREE!

Given the convenience, ease of use and the price, MailChimp is the perfect solution for any and all businesses.

So, stop monkeyin’ around with your email campaign and visit MailChimp today to create your account!

By Karen Post, on May 11, 2010

Are you interested in learning more about a particular software program, website design, or marketing? What if you could learn these things for FREE? Check out the HP Learning Center.

HP offers online courses that are available on-demand or on a weekly basis. Here are a list of some of their most popular classes.

• Professional digital photography made simple
• Facebook and Twitter: getting started
• Windows Vista: tune up your PC
• Intermediate website design
  

These courses are great for entrepreneurs on the go who don’t have time to sit in a physical classroom or dig through shelves in a bookstore.

Happy learning!

By Karen Post, on April 29, 2010

Have you ever designed a great looking brochure that desperately needs a particular picture?  You don’t have to pay a site like iStock photo.

Freedigitalphotos.net is an excellent source for downloading FREE stock photos for corporate or personal use. There is no registration required to download photos; however, there is a small fee for high resolution images. Visitors are encouraged to sign-up and members are given access to lightboxes and can email photos to friends.

One interesting feature about this website is that both amateur and professional photographers are invited to share their pictures through the website. They are given their own portfolio page, so visitors can get to know the person behind the camera. High-resolution versions of their photographs are also available for sale.

Happy downloading!