I love to share and teach through telling stories. My stories are often short blurbs told through blogs and images. For years, when writing blog posts, I have proudly stated for that I write like I speak.  I believe in writing in this voice and firmly maintain that on many levels it facilitates a two-way conversation between my readers and me.  My readers often tell me it’s an almost seamless cross over from reading my blog to talking to me in person. I love that and it’s not something I want to change.

Having said that, in everything you do there are times when you realize you have to go back to the basics.  Right now, for me, that involves boning up on my basic grammar. I am, admittedly, a social media junky – blogs, Facebook and Twitter. I love the constant communication and ease of use, but I hate what it’s done to my writing!

When I first started using these tools (mostly Twitter and Facebook), I cringed at every misspelling and poor wording.  I’d tell myself I’m smarter and better educated than that – get it together!  Somewhere along the line, I stopped caring as much. Was it when I saw other very smart people making the same mistakes or when I realized people understood the meaning of what I was saying even if it was written awkwardly?  I’m not sure, but it certain has come back to haunt me!

A friend contacted me about an opportunity in which he thought I’d be interested.  I immediately jumped on it and sent out an introductory email to his acquaintance.  I then heard back from my friend that he was told my email was riddled with typos and I wouldn’t be getting a response.  I couldn’t believe it and was shocked.  Then I got a sinking feeling in my stomach and the word “Grammar” loomed over my head.

Proper use of grammar has always been a weakness. I can either have a dearth or a plethora of commas in my writing.  I have finished sentences with the word for and other similar such mistakes.  This time, though it was a direct wake up call.  I’m a very smart girl and I hate looking dumb but it’s even worse if I drag someone else’s reputation down with me.

I took steps to remedy the situation as best I could.  There are times when you still need your Mom to help you in a jam, especially when she was an English Major and teacher!  I sent her a copy of what I sent out.  We went over everything line by line. I kicked myself the whole way through, as I knew most of what she was telling me.  I then sent two apology notes. One to my friend expressing dismay and apologies for any embarrassment this may have caused him.  The other was to his acquaintance, in which I owned up to my mistakes and asked that he not use this experience to taint any other references my friend may make.  I received a thank-you note back from both of them.

So going forward, I will still use my “speaking” voice when I write, but I am going to work on cleaning up the framework.  I also need to take into close consideration who my final reader is.  In this case, it was not someone in the social media world, but a more formal connection.  I am also looking for a good, basic, remedial grammar book (open to suggestions here).  I never want to be embarrassed like that again!  My take away from all this is two fold: 1) Always remember to and for whom you are writing and 2) Grammar – the rules DO still count!!

Since my last post I put my Grandmother house on the market, sold it in a week, travelled 21 days in a row for work and then threw in a couple of extra days for good measure, committed to a lease in the Baltimore area, started packing and now looking for work in Baltimore!  When it rains it pours!!

But I haven’t forgotten about you all and I have posts spinning in my brain literally jumping to get out.  Bear with me for a few more weeks and all will be back to normal!  Thank-you for hanging with me!!

All of you children of the 70’s sing with me now:

“Who are the people in your neighborhood, in your neighborhood, in your neighborhood!”

I’ve spent the last two weeks with my head down, nose to the grindstone, trying to get a house not only on the market but also ready for an open house!  Between packing, cleaning and syncing schedules with a painter, my whole world has been consumed with this one goal.  My neighborhood, let alone the rest of the world, could have washed away and I never would have noticed – I was that focused!  Unfortunately, those of us who run small business can often fall into this same mind set.

As a small business owner we have goals and benchmarks at the forefront of our minds.  We have a path to follow and a determination to get there.  We put our heads down and get to work.  And therein lies the problem – we put our heads down.  We are so focused on our goals that the rest of the world ceases to exist.  We miss out on numerous ideas, opportunities and collaborations!

I finally came up for air this past weekend and started looking around.  Now if I was Elmo, I’d have seen that my neighborhood has a grocer, postman, doctor, teacher and librarian.  The beauty and simplicity of Elmo is that he is three and learning.  He hasn’t reached an age where he’s so busy he tries to shut the world out.  He learns, creates and interacts with each of these neighbors. He is an active, social member of his neighborhood.

My neighborhood isn’t the same as Elmo’s, it’s a little more complex.  It’s multi-feathered so to speak.  It consists of artists, etsy, photographers, marketers, online forums and quality service providers.  Through being an aware and active member of my neighborhood I’ve seen creative works that sparked marketing ideas for my business, collaborated with others to create content and learned new processes that I plan to integrate into my own systems of operation.  I don’t necessarily have to actively interact with all my neighbors.  Just by being aware of them and their work sparks new creative ideas as well as spotting consumer trends.  It also teaches me the best way to approach each individual neighbor when I see someplace I can help.  Not everyone likes to be approached the same way.  Some are write out the proposal formal, while others are lets grab coffee social – it depends on the neighbor.

While it’s true the saying “Birds of a feather flock together.”  You’ll notice I said my neighborhood was multi-feathered.  Pay attention – this is important!  When we refuse to let new and different people into our neighborhood our information and learning get stale.  We can no longer grow and progress past where we currently are.  We’ve all seen businesses or people like this.  They’ve been so busy diligently working with their heads down, that when they do finally look up, they have no idea what road they are on let alone neighborhood!  Their whole world washed away when they weren’t looking.  Pick your head up and take a look around.  Who are the people in your neighborhood?

It was the winter of 1988.  I was 16 years old, living in New Zealand and a virgin.  A Rocky Horror Picture Show virgin.  For the uninitiated, that means I had yet to have my first Rocky Horror experience.  I knew nothing about the rice, toast and water guns.  Not even an inkling of the costumes both in and out of the audience!  All I knew was, I had the ok from my host parents to go the theater in downtown Wellington for the live midnight show!  Seriously what 16 year old wouldn’t have jumped all over that?!?  We piled 7 or 8 of us into a small sedan and away we went!

The Rocky Horror Picture Show was released in 1975 to a resounding thud!  I kid you not, the cult classic almost never got off the ground.  It was relaunched as a midnight movie in NYC in the spring of 1976.  There was something magical about the midnight timing.  It was soon noted that the movie had a following of regulars – fans, if you will.  Somewhere along the line, these fans where shouting out lines, dancing in the aisle and dressing up as characters.

By 1979, mainly because of the fan interaction, the movie was a viral phenomenon.  (Imagine that – something going viral before the age of internet…)  Everyone wanted to be in on it and have the Rocky Horror experience. Rocky Horror became the phenomenon it is because the theater owners were brave enough to allow the fans to take ownership of the movie experience.

Today, social media is what everyone is buzzing about in the marketing world.  Marketers talk about how the brand story can no longer be solely defined by the company.  You must now allow customers/fans to have a part in the story telling.  They talk about not only encouraging, but finding ways to promote fan interactions – be it by twitter, facebook or blogging.

Fan interaction is not a new thing.  Rocky Horror would never have become what it is without it.  Any marketer today would give their left ear to have the fanatical, interactive, word of mouth spreading, fans Rocky Horror had in it’s heyday!  What is new are the tools fans use and the speed of how things can go viral.

Are you allowing your fans to own part of your experience?  Today, as in the past, it takes brave, smart leadership to allow chapters of your brand story to be told by your fans – the growth of your company depends on it.

I’ve been thinking about bathrooms lately.  Bathrooms speak volumes about your business!  It gives an intimate look into your thought process and perceived work ethic and can be easily overlooked by a busy business owner.  (Stay with me – I promise this will make sense!!)

It was Monday morning and I was busy cleaning and getting ready for an afternoon meeting.  Time was getting short and I was running through my head what absolutely needed to be done and what could get away “with a wink and a promise”.  Looking at the rug in the meeting room I knew I could literally sweep the dirt under it and my client would never ever know.  Likewise I could put all the unread newspapers under the couch and she’d be none the wiser (neither of which I did by the way).  But what I knew, without fail, was the bathroom had to get a complete head to toe cleaning.  I also knew, it was highly likely that my client would never even catch a glimpse of my bathroom.  That didn’t matter, the bathroom had to spotless.

Years ago, I went to a newly opened hair salon.  They had beautiful signage, obviously thought about the decor and layout and made every effort to insure a great customer experience.  Until it got to the bathroom….  In the bathroom so many extra robes were hanging from the door it made it difficult to open and close, some of the bulbs were burnt out and the pedal garbage can was broken so you had to open it with your hands.  I was just happy I didn’t have to contend with the bathroom doing double duty as a storage room full to the ceiling with boxes.  With this one experience my perception of this salon changed.  Where before, I was impressed with their attention to detail – their lack of attention in the bathroom had me wondering where else things had fallen through the cracks.  Now I was on the alert and subconsciously looking for areas to find fault.  Before my bathroom experience, the small flaws wouldn’t have even hit on my radar.

Now if you think I’m making to much of a big deal over this, I bring before you Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods casinos.  Their business is all about the experience.  The lavish decorating didn’t stop at the bathroom door.  The huge mirrors, upholstered chairs and thoughtful lighting is carried all the way into the room and it is always spotlessly clean.  These bathrooms even have actual, breathing bathroom attendants – when was the last time you saw a bathroom attendant!  Their business model is to promote escape and luxury.  Now imagine your at the one of the casinos and the bathroom you walk into was the same as your local McDonald’s.  Your experience and perception of the casino has now changed hasn’t it?

(PS: This is not a slam against McDonald’s bathrooms!!  As any world traveler knows – they almost always have the cleanest, free bathrooms in the world – and yes it is part of their marketing and customer experience strategy!)

My point is:  Every business has a “bathroom” – a place that is accessible to all clients but where few may actually enter.  Once a client accesses these areas, it’s vitally important for the overall company experience and message to show through.  People can and will make judgements on your company and service based on your “bathroom”.  Go run and take a look at your bathroom – is it passing the test?

A quick visit to their website and you will find the words – goals, outgoing, upbeat, energetic and fun – permeate the site.  Here’s the really cool thing – had I only ever gone to their Facebook fan page, blog or Twitter feed I still would have received that message.

I want to revisit that thought.  Think of one of your favorite brands.  What words come to mind?  Do these words come from the root of who they are?  To more clearly demonstrate what I mean, I took three brands (Apple, Harley Davidson and Richard Branson’s Virgin) and matched them up to their core words – many of them taken directly off of their own websites.  Here’s what I found:

Apple – creative, fun, user friendly, cool, revolutionary

Harley Davidson – rebel, American, tough, distinct, power, bold

Richard Branson’s Virgin – rule breaker, innovative, quality, fun

Now step back and think about it.  These companies use the words that define them to clearly send out their message.  They stay true to their definitions and use them as a guide to help them see what paths to take.  The definitions of themselves are their core and everything else radiates from that point.  Those words are the foundation for everything that follows.  Defining yourself is a fabulous thing!  It helps you narrow down the choices when making decisions.  The choice is either part of who you are or it isn’t.

Now take a look at your own business.  What words define you?  Are you being true to that definition?  Do you keep that definition in the forefront of your mind when you make new business decisions?  I think you’ll find that if you have a clear definition and stay true to that definition, the decisions that follow will be much easier to make.  Now go grab pen and paper and start defining!

There is an old saying in business – “You can’t sell it if you don’t show it.”  Let’s look at this in relation to the photography business.  A majority of photographers will find that their clients gravitate to the 8×10 and smaller print sizes.  It’s what they grew up with – in their head they carry a picture of what that looks like.  Now say you really, really want to sell 20×24 and larger wall prints.  They are featured in your pricing brochure yet no one seems to buy.  To make those sales happen somewhere in your studio you have to display that size print in a way that your client can envision it in their home.

A few weeks ago this was brought back home to me when I was reading a post called Show, Don’t Tell on Jonathan Fields’ blog – Awake at the Wheel.  He was commenting on how the ipad that is being released by Apple won’t have flash.  I had registered that the new ipad wouldn’t have flash but I hadn’t really pictured what that would mean.  In his post Jonathan posted an image from The Flash Blog that showed me quite clearly what that meant.  Before it was words and talk that I heard but didn’t connect.  With this one visual I finally got it.

Where does Mabel’s Labels fit in all this?  Not long after I read Jonathan’s post the crew at Mabel’s Labels posted this fun video.  One of the benefits they tout is that their – “labels are designed to stick – no matter what!”  To prove this they started creating fun videos challenging that statement.  They attach their labels to something and run it through its paces.  One such challenge is to run the labels over with a car, another to drop them off a roof, but my favorite by far is when they attach them to a hockey puck and have kids use the puck in practice.  Love it!!  The Mabel’s Label crew completely understands the show it to sell it theory and put it into action in a fun creative way.

*Disclaimer – I know I’ve mentioned Mabel’s Labels in the past.  However I have no connection to them.  Well.. my sister does buy them for her kids, which is how I found out about them in the first place.  Or maybe it’s just that I have a thing for Canadian companies.  Looking at my twitter followers – I’m HUGE in Canada.  Possibly it’s all my connections to North Sydney, Nova Scotia… Nahh really don’t think so. *

I knew of Lululemon, but they didn’t really hit on my radar until I did some research for my Inner Girl Athlete and Under Armour post.  In that post, if you recall, I mentioned how Under Armour had a position open for a Women’s Marketing Manager and that I had applied for the position (still no word there).  In doing my homework I researched other women’s athletic apparel makers, including Title Nine and Lululemon.  I also started following their Twitter feeds and became a fan on Facebook.  Not only did Lululemon blow me away, but I’m quickly becoming a super fan when I’ve never spent a dime with them or own a single piece of their apparel!!

When it comes to having a clear vision of who they are and how to communicate that vision with their “guests” they have it nailed!  A quick visit to their website and you will find the words – goals, outgoing, upbeat, energetic and fun – permeate the site.  Here’s the really cool thing – had I only ever gone to their Facebook fan page, blog or Twitter feed I still would have received that message.

Their message isn’t just about putting out the word but actively living the lifestyle they preach.  Lululemon runs challenges that they not only promote but actively engage in as well.  For the month of February they ran “A Challenge a Day”.  A couple of my favorite challenges were #21 – leave a positive message in a public place and #22 – hold downward dog for 5 minutes.  They posted the challenge with images of themselves participating in the challenge.  Fans then participated by commenting on how they met the challenge.  The challenges spread Lululemon’s overall message in a fun, upbeat way.

Here is how Lululemon knocks the socks off with their Social Media efforts.  They very, very actively listen and take part in the conversation people are having about them.  They are constantly looking for feedback on their products.  You can give your input in several different ways – a form off their website, an in store form or comments on their Facebook fan page.  And I know they are listening.   Look at their fan page, someone from Lululemon almost always comments on the customer feedback.  They let the commenter know they will pass the word on to the designers, etc…  Usually Whitney does the honors.  I love that I know Whitney is taking care of me should I have an issue.  I now no longer feel like one of many but like I have a personal connection – an inside line so to speak.  Mind you I’ve never met Whitney but I know she hears me.

Lastly, in terms of using Social Media in a way that I love, Lululemon posts on their fan page new products.  I know many people do that, but here is where Lululemon stands out – they attach a small story to it.  They give you a review – what the product is – ie rain jacket etc.., an image of a real person (usually someone in their office) with the person’s measurements so you can envision how it fits on you and then they tell you why they made it.  I love knowing their thoughts behind the piece – it lets me feel like I have a peek into the inner works of the company – I then can feel like I own a piece of the process – especially if some part of the new design came from feedback I gave them! (check it out here)

There are so many other ways that Lululemon makes a complete circle with their message and I urge you to check out their site, blog and facebook fan page to make the connections for yourself.  Now I’m off to find one of their retail stores to experience the message in real time!

This post is not the one I planned to write next.  It was on the list of post ideas, but not slated to be the next one up.  However, three recent conversations with other photographers made realize now was the time!

Over the past two months I’ve had conversations with other photographers about what’s working, what’s not and just general frustrations that go along with running your own business.  What really surprised and stuck with me is in three separate conversations I heard -

“I have ideas, lots and lots of ideas.  I just don’t know how to wrap my head around them and figure out what to do with them!”

I so get it.  There are times that my brain is spinning with so many ideas I can’t seem to think straight.  What I’ve learned to do is to grab a piece of paper and write them down – just get them out of my head!  I write down every single idea – now matter how silly or grandiose it may seem at the time.  Sometimes it’s just a quick sketch and I always write my ideas in pencil.  Why pencil I don’t know, it a feel thing for me – it feels better to leave it loose and in pencil.

This system worked but not as well as I hoped.  You see I would write on what ever random piece of paper I could find.  Next I learned I had to put them all into one binder so they didn’t get lost on my desk.  Then I was finding that I’d wake up in the middle of the night with this incredible idea but no paper was by the bed.  I convinced myself it was such an awesome idea that there was no way I’d forget it in the morning – yeah not so much.  Finally now I have a small red sketch book that I carry everywhere with me – even if it’s from the bedroom to the kitchen.  I’ve also learned that if the book is in the room but not next to the bed at night… you guessed it, I won’t get out of bed to get it…

So now what do I do with all these ideas?  Periodically, I take my idea book and start writing each idea individually on 5×7 index cards.  Once I get them all written out I categorize them.  Does this idea belong under sales or management?  My main categories are management, marketing, sales, products/programs and what is the experience.  What is the experience can be – what do I want my packaging to look like and how do I want my clients to feel as they are opening the packaging or how do I want my business cards feel in my clients hands.  You get the idea.

The reason I love the index cards so much is, now I can shuffle them – move them around in order of importance or see that one has to happen before another.  I can see that x marketing idea is perfect for my new y product, etc… Because I have an overall vision of where I’m taking my business I can now also see what isn’t going to bring me forward to the next step.  Alternatively, I can see ideas that are ahead of me.  I’m not ready for them yet – be it financially, technically, whatever the case may be.  They now become goals and I can set mile markers for me to reach them.  I never ever trash an idea completely, if I don’t think I can use it now I put it back in the pile.  I may later see it in a different light or maybe it’ll spark something completely new.

In closing I have to restate – you need to know what your overall vision of your business is.  Without out knowing my vision I can still organize my ideas but I won’t really know which one is going to bring me closer to where I want to be.  Ideas without focus are ideas that don’t have a clear action plan!

With this statement, a million different questions popped in to my head; who is their best client, who do they want to serve etc… Basic marketing questions. With each question she didn’t have a clear answer but she could tell me what she wasn’t – what she didn’t like about the current branding. As dinner conversations go, we moved on to a different topic and didn’t get to delve in as deep as I would have liked.

If you read my previous post – Your Story is Your Brand – you would know that I work off the basis that every company has a story, a vision to help lead them. In a recent blog post Bernadette Doyle stated it beautifully.

Vision is a powerful thing.

It’s one of the most important tools you have to move you from where your business currently is, to where you want it to be. If you have a picture in your mind of what you want your business to look like, you’ll find that it’s much easier to bring this vision into being.

If you don’t know where you want to go, how will you know what to do? You don’t jump into your car and start driving, with no destination in mind. Before you start the engine, you have in your mind where you want to go so you know whether to turn left or right at the bottom of the driveway. The same principle applies to your business.

I believe, whenever someone goes into business, they have a vision whether they are conscious of it or not.  It’s actually very common for people to not know how to put their vision into words, but I can bet you they know exactly what they’re not.  I would love to sit down with the above couple and have them list everything they know they’re not.  Doing this doing this exercise will help them narrow down and focus on who they and their company are, giving them a more direct route to where they want to go.  Sometimes listing what your not brings a clearer more focused vision of what you are.