By Donna Gould, Open Heart Creative

We hear buzzwords like personal branding and brand storytelling tossed around a lot. We’re told how important it is to find our brand voice and to be authentic.

But what the heck does this really mean?

In the spirit of Halloween, let’s say it’s about stepping out from behind the mask. Authenticity is having the courage to be who you really are – not some idealized, airbrushed version – and the confidence to know you will attract customers who appreciate that.

A strong brand comes from a place of truth about what a business authentically represents. As a content strategist and brand storyteller, one of the first things I often do with clients is help them understand that it’s okay to say what they think. To tap into the emotional center – the beating heart – of their business and talk about their passion for what they do.

In her book Everybody Writes, Ann Handley says, “At its heart, a compelling brand story is a kind of gift that gives your audience a way to connect with you as one person to another.” Dropping your mask – even just a little – can go a long way towards deepening these connections.

Here are three things to keep in mind if you are looking to build a truly personal brand.

1. Be human. For me, this is the most important aspect of brand storytelling. In order for your customers to care about your story – and keep turning the pages, so to speak – you must be open, vulnerable, and ready to connect with the vulnerability of your audience. This takes work – and for many of us, it takes tremendous guts. You have to be willing to show up as a real person, not as a marketer or a business owner.

2. Keep it Real. Being “real” doesn’t mean sharing your entire life story or pouring your heart out on your website or blog. It does mean strengthening your connection to what you and others value about you. Get clear about the kind of relationship you want to have with your customers, and how you want them to feel after working with you or using your product or service. Give yourself permission to relate to your clients as living, breathing human beings – not a demographic.

3. Get Personal. A brand “voice” is basically the sense of personality or culture that’s projected in a company’s communications. If your marketing tends to focus only on selling product attributes or touting your expertise, think about how you can inject more of your personality into emails, blog posts, or sales copy. Tell a personal anecdote to illustrate a point. Share a problem and how you resolved it, or a mistake you made and what you learned from it. When you own your story and share it without apology, not only will you differentiate yourself from everyone else in the marketplace – you’ll inspire your customers and win their loyalty.

Care to share your personal branding tips? Comment below.

By Amanda S. Trigg   ast@lmllawyers.com

A friend's Facebook status recently said: "Teaching the 8 year old about Pokémon Go is grounds for divorce, right?" As a divorce lawyer, was I supposed to "like" this?  Answering it seemed out of the question. I have no idea whether, in the state where she lives, the unilateral decision to introduce a child to the maddening phenomenon of hunting and catching cyber creatures all day long, everywhere she goes, would be "extreme cruelty" or "irreconcilable differences" or any other legal reason for ending a marriage.   It was an occupational hazard, though, to seriously consider the what my answer would be.   After turning it over in my head for a few days, I decided that the answer was definitely, “possibly, yes!”

Before you ask, my teenager is playing Pokémon Go great enthusiasm and I admit that I will take a detour or make a special stop so he can catch them.   So this is not about whether I approve or disapprove of Pokémon Go (or whether I actually enjoying this regression to his early childhood love of Pikachu, which included a Pokémon themed birthday party).   The underlying question is whether my friend should have been consulted by her husband before he decided to enlighten their child about the game. 

We usually say that all major decisions involving a child's wellbeing must be jointly decided if parents have joint legal custody.   Until the 21^st century, that meant medical decisions, educational plans, religious upbringing and other big ticket items that would have long-term effects upon a child.   Discipline could be within the scope and if so, permission should be as well.  Pokémon Go raises questions of a child's independence, if you let him go out hunting in your neighborhood on foot or on bike.   For some parents, that is unthinkable or unprecedented due to real concern about unsupervised children’s safety.  Changing that standard should, in my opinion, be the subject of a conversation between the parents.  

Playing Pokémon Go requires use of a cell phone with internet access and locator services.  When to give a child access to portable technology definitely constitutes a major decision;  just ask any divorced parent who has fought over when the kids get their own cell phones.   Other parents struggle over what video games to let their children play based upon the manufacturer’s ratings.  Pokémon Go is the perfect storm because it indicates a child’s presence on the internet, including his/her location so that “nearby” game features are revealed.  What could more obviously impact a child’s long-term well-being in 2016?   Again, therefore, letting a child be out in cyberspace as a gamer should be discussed between parents. 

Connecting the dots, I believe that a deliberate refusal to communicate about children can be part of a pattern of behavior which could lead to the conclusion that the adults have irreconcilable differences, at least.  For that reason, one parent’s decision to let a child play a game like Pokémon Go could, combined with other behavior, possibly be grounds for divorce.  The friend who originally posted this, by the way, knows I am quoting her in  this blog. 

Now that I’ve settled this in my mind, I want to know whether a Pokémon, once caught, is marital property and whether once trained they have higher value for purposes of dividing that property in a divorce.   But right now, it’s time to go hunt for Pokémon.  

This post first appeared on www.letstalkaboutdivorce.com, the blog for the Family Law Department of Lesnevich, Marzano-Lesnevich & Trigg, LLC.  If you or someone you know has questions about marriage, family law or divorce, please contact me. 201-488-1161 or ast@lmllawyers.com  I will always  treat BCPWN referrals with great care.   

By Mirel Goldstein

The connection between creativity and fear is not a new discussion, but it is always an interesting one.

Recently a client talked about his fears of failure if he actualizes his long-time dream of being a professional podcaster. We came to understand that he wasn't only afraid  of having his work unappreciated or unsuccessful, but was equally concerned about relinquishing a long-held fantasy of one day "wowing" everyone with a bigger and better production than they could ever expect from him, without having to go through the grind of working his way up step by step towards success. It was a wish to show his parents and the world, once and for all, that he could do it, whatever "it" was.  

Another client found herself deeply depressed when the financial dream she had scripted her life around had finally come to fruition; it was an anti-climactic disappointment that left her feeling empty and dead.

Others struggle with grand ideas that they never seem to be able to turn into something real. One client explains it like this: "I'm afraid of the disconnect between the way I imagine things in my head and how it will turn out in real life". Trying to actualize our ideas means accepting the gap between what we can imagine in our minds and how much of this can actually be conveyed externally. It's a hard loss to stomach, for some.

 about unconscious anxieties that get evoked by the creative process.

In particular, she touches on anxieties like: 

•  Fear of stealing ideas from someone else

• Fear of being envied or punished

•  Fear of not having "enough" in oneself

• Terror that things will never come together

• Worry that once something is published, nothing else will ever be produced

• Concerns about how good and big one's production is

• Worries about needing to placate others who may be envious or angry, showing them we aren't displacing them by quoting them or including them somehow.

In my experience, fear of being revealed as a fraud or impostor seems to be a way that many writers/creatives describe some of what is at the heart of their anxieties about creating. Many other psychologists, researchers, and writers who are not psychoanalysts have also touched on these very same kinds of anxieties, often in different words and different ways. One of my favorite conversations is this one, in which Brene Brown interviews Liz Gilbert, author of Big Magic: Creative Magic Beyond Fear:

http://brenebrown.com/2013/12/17/daring-interview-series-meet-elizabeth-gilbert/

Liz Gilbert names some of the fears that get in the way of her creativity (as well as her tricks for working past these fears):

Fear of criticism, fear of failure, fear of ridicule, fear that I am washed up, fear that I am and have always been a fraud, fear that I will get a nasty review in The New York Times…

Sound familiar?

We each have our own idiosyncratic fears, secrets, vulnerabilities, and places of shame, and sometimes the fear and shame gets the best of us, while at other times creativity trumps. And sometimes, when we're lucky, we can manage to pull them together and use the creative process in the service of mastery of our fears and vulnerabilities. But the only way to get there is to try, and if not now, when?

To read more insights about creativity, see my post Frontier States and the Creative Process

More insights about relationships issues, anxiety, and the therapy process are available at http://goldsteintherapy.com/blog-html/

In my work as Content Director for BCPWN communications, and as a marketing consultant on other business-to-business companies, I’ve come across a multitude of articles on productivity.  It’s a hot topic and one that has peaked my interest over the years, especially as an entrepreneur who essentially runs a virtual public relations agency, working from my home.

I know there are many of you in a similar work situation.

Perhaps you have remote independent contractors or interns that help to support your business endeavors.  Or have to keep track of your time.  What kinds of tools and applications do you use to keep yourself organized and keep people communicating effectively?

I’ll admit, it’s taken me a little while to learn what works best for my work style and lifestyle but I’m happy with a few tools in my toolbox that have helped to keep my business dealings and me productive, practical and organized.  I’ll share a few of them with you here today:

- Google for Business:  From my business email account that is anchored in Gmail to my Gmail calendar, I’ve been very pleased with how user-friendly Google for Business has been. The best part for me is how EASY it is to search for emails, documents and messages.

- Dropbox: Stop what you’re doing now and sign up for Dropbox. Spring for the $99 all access pass.  It’s worth it and your business will thank you. I use it not only for sharing large files with clients and media but as a backup for iPhone photos, as a central sharing location for the community club of which I’m President and as a backup to my most important personal and business files. It’s all in the cloud.

- Wunderlist: Admittedly, I use this iPhone app more for personal reasons but I do have a few folders for clients and blog posts. It’s essentially a centralized location for a series of lists.  And is pretty fantastic.

- BestParking:  For those of you who find yourself traveling to clients in cities with expensive parking (NYC), this is a must-have app to find the best prices possible nearest to your final destination. I never drive into the city without first plugging in where I’m headed to in BestParking.

What apps or programs keep you and your business on track? Comment below.

Lisa Pisano

President, Groupe a la Mode LLC

lisa@groupealamode.com

MEDIA ALERT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Bergen County Professional Women’s Network Presents

 Women-Owned Business

A Critical Component of the Economic Future - Spotlight on New Jersey

Featured Guest Speaker:

NJ Congressional Candidate, Josh Gottheimer

Friday, August 5, 2016 – 12noon – Allendale, NJ

Ridgewood, NJ (August 2, 2016) New Jersey’s 230,000 plus women-owned businesses, the 260,000 plus jobs they have created, and the roughly $45 billion they contribute to New Jersey’s economy are a vital, and growing, engine driving growth in the state.

According to a recent study by American Express that ranked the “economic clout” of women-owned businesses in each state, New Jersey ranked 41^st.

Bergen County Professional Women’s Network (BCPWN) will host a luncheon presentation this week featuring an interview style chat with speaker and advocate Josh Gottheimer. Gender topics to be discussed include:

• How women can investigate wage discrimination without fear of retribution;
• Expanding childcare tax credits, which are essential for working families;
• Improving access to capital for women-owned businesses;
• Expanding federal contracting opportunities for women-owned businesses;
• Ensuring that women and families have access to paid family and medical leave

Commenting on the event, Mary E. Adams, Executive Director of BCPWN said, "Although we cannot discuss politics at these events, I feel strongly about helping women succeed in business and I think Josh Gottheimer has some terrific ideas to help support that. He will have a positive impact on our community."

Event Details:

About Josh Gottheimer:

As a husband and father to a six-year-old daughter, Josh Gottheimer understands the success of women directly affects the strength of our economy and America’s working families.

Gottheimer is a candidate for Congress in New Jersey's 5th district. He started his career in public service as a speechwriter for President Bill Clinton. Prior to announcing his candidacy, he was General Manager for Corporate Strategy at Microsoft. Gottheimer has also worked at the Federal Communications Commission as its first Director of Public-Private Initiatives, Director of Strategic Communications at Ford Motor Company, and Senior Advisor to the Chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. .

Gottheimer lives in Wyckoff, NJ with his wife Marla, a former federal prosecutor, and their two young children Ellie and Ben. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and received a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School.

About BCPWN:

The Bergen County Professional Women’s Network was founded in 2011 when 4 women joined together to establish a network of women executives, entrepreneurs and professionals. While there are many non-professional women’s organizations in Bergen County, there was a tremendous need for opportunities for women in executive leadership roles to connect. Today the BCPWN is a dynamic and growing organization of senior-level women representing a wide spectrum of professions. Our members look first within the network for connections they may need, and actively promote the success of fellow members where appropriate. For more information, visit www.bcpwn.com

Contact:

Mary E. Adams

Executive Director, Bergen County Professional Women’s Network

mary@eventgrp.com

201.445.7007 (office)

Day of Contact (8/5): Lisa Pisano - 201.390.6582 (mobile)

A friend's Facebook status recently said: "Teaching the 8 year old about Pokémon Go is grounds for divorce, right?" As a divorce lawyer, was I supposed to "like" this?  Answering it seemed out of the question. I have no idea whether, in the state where she lives, the unilateral decision to introduce a child to the maddening phenomenon of hunting and catching cyber creatures all day long, everywhere she goes, would be "extreme cruelty" or "irreconcilable differences" or any other legal reason for ending a marriage.   It was an occupational hazard, though, to seriously consider the what my answer would be.   After turning it over in my head for a few days, I decided that the answer was definitely, “possibly, yes!”

Before you ask, my teenager is playing Pokémon Go great enthusiasm and I admit that I will take a detour or make a special stop so he can catch them.   So this is not about whether I approve or disapprove of Pokémon Go (or whether I actually enjoying this regression to his early childhood love of Pikachu, which included a Pokémon themed birthday party).   The underlying question is whether my friend should have been consulted by her husband before he decided to enlighten their child about the game. 

We usually say that all major decisions involving a child's wellbeing must be jointly decided if parents have joint legal custody.   Until the 21^st century, that meant medical decisions, educational plans, religious upbringing and other big ticket items that would have long-term effects upon a child.   Discipline could be within the scope and if so, permission should be as well.  Pokémon Go raises questions of a child's independence, if you let him go out hunting in your neighborhood on foot or on bike.   For some parents, that is unthinkable or unprecedented due to real concern about unsupervised children’s safety.  Changing that standard should, in my opinion, be the subject of a conversation between the parents.  

Playing Pokémon Go requires use of a cell phone with internet access and locator services.  When to give a child access to portable technology definitely constitutes a major decision;  just ask any divorced parent who has fought over when the kids get their own cell phones.   Other parents struggle over what video games to let their children play based upon the manufacturer’s ratings.  Pokémon Go is the perfect storm because it indicates a child’s presence on the internet, including his/her location so that “nearby” game features are revealed.  What could more obviously impact a child’s long-term well-being in 2016?   Again, therefore, letting a child be out in cyberspace as a gamer should be discussed between parents. 

Connecting the dots, I believe that a deliberate refusal to communicate about children can be part of a pattern of behavior which could lead to the conclusion that the adults have irreconcilable differences, at least.  For that reason, one parent’s decision to let a child play a game like Pokémon Go could, combined with other behavior, possibly be grounds for divorce.  The friend who originally posted this, by the way, knows I am quoting her in  this blog. 

Now that I’ve settled this in my mind, I want to know whether a Pokémon, once caught, is marital property and whether once trained they have higher value for purposes of dividing that property in a divorce.   But right now, it’s time to go hunt for Pokémon.  

Originally posted on www.letstalkaboutdivorce.com, on July 18, 2016.  All copyright reserved. 

When I was working in the Public Relations department in-house at Liz Claiborne Inc. many years ago, it was customary to plan our holiday gift mailing to key members of the media, as well as send Season’s Greetings by way of corporate holiday cards to our various vendors, partners and colleagues.

We would spend THOUSANDS of dollars on pristine packaging, beautiful gift items and work diligently for weeks on snappy card sentiments with clever phrasing and eye-catching designs.

Our efforts were not done in vain – our editorial contacts would often commend our group for the thoughtfully packaged sentiments and our relationships remained strong and thriving, all thanks to a little holiday cheer sent via NYC bicycle messenger.

Fast forward 15 years later, and I’ve continued to apply the holiday cards and gifts to my work as an independent consultant with my Public Relations firm, Groupe a la Mode LLC.

Now, let’s be very clear about something – my budget is FAR LESS than that of the Liz Claiborne days.  But the impact is just about the same.

Over the past few years that I’ve been in business on my own, I’ve made a point to keep a list of previous clients, current clients and prospects. Around the holidays, I send custom cards to them, while select clients also receive a personal gift. 

It’s a personal touch that I bring to my business, and being in PR, it shows current and prospective clients the way I approach client relations, branding, etc. while at the same time, is just a nice thing to do.

Of course, the added bonus is when the phone rings or the email hits the inbox in early January with a new business lead – which I’m happy to report, has been the case for the past three years. In fact, I landed my biggest client engagement yet, all thanks to keeping in close touch over the years with a former fashion industry colleague via these holiday cards!

It may be the middle of the summer, but it’s not too early to start planning – both from a budget standpoint and a creative standpoint – what your holiday outreach might look like.  Take advantage of the summer slowdown to canvass your existing and previous client lists, vendors, contacts and your prospects and start to pull together your target list.  Then, find a graphic designer (there are many here at BCPWN!) or scour the web for an online card design service and take it away.

I know of some business owners who take advantage of more off-beat times to send greetings – some at Halloween, others at Thanksgiving.  Some even on April Fool’s Day!  Do whatever you think is right for your brand and your business to stand out in the mind of your clients and potential clients or contacts.

Lisa Pisano

President, Groupe a la Mode LLC

201-390-6582

lisa@groupealamode.com

Today is a personal story that came out of an extremely painful experience. Early on

in my business, I learned the hard way how to put together a successful speaking event for a group of professionals.

I prepared for two weeks, got together great content, and was eager to answer any and all questions from the audience.  I was on fire!

Once I got up on stage, it didn’t take long for my enthusiasm to be squashed.  I made three critical mistakes that day that sent me home with zero leads to follow up with afterwards.

I started my talk with the usual introduction, and then moved into content.  As I was going though each of my points, the hands started to go up.  Questions started flying my way, and I was actually quite happy with the way I was able to handle and fully answer them.  The crowd loved it!  The questions started to come even more fast and furious.  

Soon after, there were so many questions, the room started to talk amongst themselves.  Then, things got so out of control with side conversations, that another business consultant felt the need to jump in with their expertise and appease the hungry crowd.

I lost control of my room. I never got to finish my presentation AND now another consultant was wooing my audience! Nice opportunity for that chick, right?

I left there feeling terrible.  My talk ran out of time, and people told me what a great presentation I had, but I heard from no one afterwards.

Hard lesson learned.  Here are three keys ways to conduct a successful talk, lead the room, and walk out with gaggles of follow-up appointments.

Step 1:  Always command the room:  Drive your audience to look where you want them to look.  Instruct them to take out a piece of paper and write down key points, get buy-in by asking them questions they will respond "yes" to.  Get them raising their hands. This establishes you as the leader of the pack.

Step 2:  Delay the Q&A:  Have you ever owned fish?  If you keep feeding them, they will keep eating!  This is no different than your audience.  Think of your “free” advice during Q&A like fish food.  Your audience will consume it, and always ask for more…as long as you allow them to do so!  If you answer all of their questions, then why would they need you going forward?

Step 3:  Turn audience questions into a one-on-one conversations:  Drive all questions to the back of the room after your talk.  Invite people to schedule some complimentary time with you.  Bring your calendar, an assistant, and schedule time with them before they leave the room. This way you don’t have to chase people, and fling endless emails back and forth trying to coordinate schedules. Everyone’s situation is different, and carving out special time to be focused and attentive to their issues is a much better way to serve your people. Be sure to get them scheduled before they leave the room.  Because once they leave, you are now an afterthought.  You will be competing with the 50 zillion other things that will come across their radar.

These steps are what keep audiences engaged, and gives them an opportunity to speak candidly about their situation once everyone has left the building.  Being the great listener you are, now you can turn a room full of strangers into your best clients. 

Have you been looking at the calendar in dis-belief that we’re almost halfway through the year?  And have you looked at your revenue numbers wondering, how am I going to hit my goals?

As I was clicking through at lightening speed with my remote this past weekend, and stumbled onto the movie Field of Dreams (with Kevin Costner). 

Do you remember that catchy phase from this movie?

It’s also a HUGE pet peeve of mine when it comes to business.

“Build it and they will come.”

Much like what most business owners think when they start their businesses – I know I did!

We soon realize it takes more than a field of dreams to have a consistent revenue stream.

Remember?  You set everything up for people to come knocking down your door.

But that didn’t last long.

You look out the window…nope, no one lining up.

Then you start to stare at the ceiling.  You move your chair around your office, still gazing upward. Waiting for clients to drop from the sky, of course!

Everyone is looking for the secret sauce when it comes to creating more revenue for themselves.  And it takes something a wee bit different than just building it.

And it’s not as difficult as you think. 

If you dedicate at least one hour a day to money-generating activities, you can get that revenue rolling.

But why aren’t more business owners able to pull it off?

Here’s the problem:

1.    Most business owners aren’t clear what a money-generating activity is

2.    You are constantly distracted and robbed from creating focused time

Here’s how to get started with an action plan for revenue:

1.    Focused time – create one hour with zero distractions. No phone calls, texts, Facebook, or emails.  Leave your home for the library if you have to, and literally un-plug.  Tell your loved ones what you are up to so they honor it.  It’s only an hour…you will survive…and so will everyone else…I promise!

2.    Set a timer – Put 60 minutes on the clock. Once your time is up, it’s pencils down.  Get used to this!  The point is to start training you to avoid procrastination, getting caught up in perfection, or delaying your decision-making.  This is a strength that every successful CEO possesses – the more you do this, the more successful you will be.

3.    Check In With Former Clients – did you know it costs six times more marketing dollars to get a new client than to sell a prior client? Check in with your favorite people and see how you can serve them based on where they are today – things change rapidly – get back up to speed on their frustrations and challenges. 

4.    MGAs – Choose and complete as many money-generating activity within one hour.  Choose from this list:

·       Reserve your attendance at a networking event

·       Book a speaking event, workshop

·       Schedule complimentary initial sales calls

·       Call list of follow-ups

·       Contact referrals

·       Reach out to potential referral partners

·       Process payments

·       Track your numbers

Call To Action:

Maybe your company doesn’t have a huge budget to spend on marketing initiatives. That’s okay. As long as you’re developing great content that is created in a way that can be made into “snackable” pieces people can consume over a period of days or weeks.

Here’s how.

1. Create one substantial piece of content that your clients would read, for example an eBook with problem solving tips and processes. Develop a landing page for the eBook to capture email addresses and lead information.
2. Each chapter from the eBook could also become a blog article that links back to the eBook using a call to action like “To learn more, download our free eBook.”
3. Since people consume content in different ways, consider short video tips from each chapter and post them on your video channel. Leverage the same call to action using in the blogs; but, create a unique URL for the videos to track link effectiveness in your website analytics.
4. Infographics are another popular way to display data in a fun way. Organize data from the eBook into separate infographics.
5. Share each piece of content on social media over a period of weeks, in client emails, within online ad campaigns, in staff email signatures, and more.

There are dozens of other leftovers you can make from a large piece, such as slide decks, podcasts, cheat sheets, checklists, how to’s, webinars, and so much more.

Make your marketing party memorable. Create a theme and then develop “snackable” pieces from the whole.

What summer “snackables” can you create from your company’s marketing assets?