young-blonde-in-attractive-high-fashion-black-clothes
March 11, 2013

The Glamour Myth

Everyone seems to be a social media expert these days.

Everyone seems to know about viral content, what will work on Facebook, and what will get lots of hits on Youtube.

It’s annoying. Really. Because after years of working as an Internet Marketing consultant, I’m learning that the more I know, the more I don’t know. And everyday new pretenders emerge acting like they’re experts just because their video got a few thousand hits or their Facebook page got a few thousand fans.

You think that makes you an expert? Think again. - Read More -

Black and White
February 6, 2013

Professionally Human

I stole the following from Chris Garrett‘s newsletter. It was a great snippet. I get so many newsletters that I hardly ever read them, and this one got my attention. I’m hoping a link to his page gives me permission to copy-paste this on my blog.

—begin paste—

Five Elements that Make You Professionally Human

So, if it’s not about being a hard as nails super-competitor, what is it about? - Read More -

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December 31, 2012

New Year, New Chapter

One of my “New Year’s Resolutions” this 2012 was to relaunch my website. So I did. Today is December 31, 2012. I guess that still counts. Right?

I touched on why it took so long for me in the previous post (written last Sept). But today I’d like to talk about something else. It’s somewhat of an announcement:

After 8 years of being 100% self-employed (except for a short stint at a non-profit), I now have a full time job- doing what I love most (Internet Marketing for Small businesses and Startups!), for an amazing company.

For the most part, I was living the dream. Work at my own pace and schedule, work from my underwear (of course never letting my clients feel that), spend as much time as possible with my wife and son, have an amazing employee who I only see via Skype, be able to take my laptop anywhere in the world and still produce great work. The income was great, the people I met were terrific, but somewhere in my mind was a question: how far can you take this and how much can you grow? Also, I was juggling many clients rather than doing One Thing.

Then, an opportunity came knocking at my door. A chance to work with amazing  and really really smart people, in the only Space in the world I am interested in (the startup community). The chance to do One Thing, with One Team, for One Venture and do it really well. I want to grow. And I want to see how far I can take everything I already know, while adding new knowledge along the way that I can only get by focusing my life more.

The cost? Well I have to trade in my “work in my underwear” badge. I’ll have to reset my life into neat compartments (which at this point is a welcome thought. 4-5 clients on retainer and a few one-offs can drive you mad). A little freedom for a lot of growth. That’s where 2013 and beyond will take me, and now that this website is launched, I’ll take you along on the ride.

Now that I don’t have to worry about self-promotion, getting new clients, and having to rummage through my work archives to create case studies, I can just focus on blogging. I’ll be blogging about:

  • Getting Traffic
  • Content Marketing
  • Email Marketing
  • Social Media
  • Branding
  • Copywriting
  • Design
  • …and a million other things for Small businesses (and startups).

Have fun reading.

ship-thy-ideas
September 28, 2012

It will Never Be Perfect

I shouldn’t be a victim of this, really. But I admit it. I am.

Victim of what? Waiting for the right time to ship. In particular, I’m talking about my website. It’s been so long since I had it up and running.

While I explain to you the “reasons” (more like excuses) why I didn’t put it up, I will use myself as an example of what not to do. So here it goes: common pitfalls entrepreneurs / designers / consultants have with their own brand.

  1. Waiting for it to be perfect. It never will be. Better a work-in-progress that actually takes off, than a constant struggle to get it right- which no one will ever see. Aside from that, it’s 2012. (Post?) Social Media era. People actually want to see it unfold, that makes for a good story.
  2. Not eating your frogs. “Eat your frog first”- is an expression made by productivity gurus. It means to start off by doing things you hate the most so that it’s done and over with and you have a clear head to think about things you’re passionate about. If you don’t eat your frogs, you won’t be able to do either (stuff you hate and stuff you like). You’ll just end up doing stuff you MUST do and never leave emergency mode.
  3. I always had enough clients. Yes this is true. I didn’t put my website up because I didn’t need to. I’ve been blessed to have client after client come to me purely based on referrals. It’s been this way for years and there are times when I’m so overloaded with work the last thing I thought of was my personal branding / self-promotion. BUT… this is a myth. “You never not need marketing”. Yes that is grammatically hurtful, but there’s no better way to put it. Even when you’ve hit full capacity, marketing can allow you to be more selective, command a higher price, or guarantee a very long waitlist. There are many doors it can open for you. So while I am grateful for the divine intervention, I know this is the right thing for me to do.

That’s it. Three reasons for now and I hope you can see yourself in some of them. There’s a thin line between reasons and excuses. I just made that line a little clearer, and that’s why this site has launched.

Welcome.

PS IT will be VERY raw. I will take point #1 to the extreme.