Pure, unadulterated strategy: marketing, brand positioning, & entrepreneurial wisdom. New trends with staying power. Old standbys with inarguable value.
What to embrace, what to avoid, and what to attempt — with steady discernment.
A few years ago, my friend Alex helped her sweetheart Brandon to open a brunch restaurant in Portland.
At first, they had zero customers. But within a few months—thanks to some glowing reviews in local newspapers, positive Yelp reviews, and a lot of hard work—they found themselves with a “good” type of problem:
They had too many customers.
At 9am when they oened their doors, some days, there’d be a line of people creeping around the block. With a tiny dining room—just eight tables—they couldn’t possibly seat everyone at once. The waiting area became cramped and hectic. Often, customers had to wait an hour—or more—before they could sit down and order their meal.
Alex noticed that most of the people in the waiting area looked extremely “hangry” (hungry and angry). Their eyes were glassy. They looked bored and disgruntled. They wanted waffles and bacon. Like, yesterday.
One day, a customer—who had been waiting over an hour—exploded at Alex and started yelling about how “ridiculous” everything was. It was completely inappropriate. Basically, a grown woman behaving like a toddler. Alex felt shaken and horrified. Later that night, she said to Brandon, “We need to figure out a way to make people feel happier while they’re waiting for a table. Because things are getting crazy out there. It’s a crisis zone!”
Alex and Brandon came up with a plan.
People feel bored? We’ll set up an area with Nintendo, books, coloring supplies, a chess board, and Tarot decks. They can entertain themselves for hours!
People feel thirsty? We’ll put out pitchers of water, and we’ll sell them coffee that they can sip while they’re waiting for a table.
People feel hungry? We’ll pass out teeny-tiny mini pancakes as a little snack. For free. Something to nibble on while they wait.
That week, Alex and Brandon revamped their waiting area and made all kinds of changes. Customers LOVED it. They couldn’t believe how cool it was. “OMG, you guys have 400 Nintendo games? For real?!” The sour faces disappeared. The entire atmosphere in the restaurant shifted. People started playing games, talking, laughing, and enjoying themselves instead of grumbling. Brunch crisis: averted.
The moral of the story:
When a frustrated customer lashes out, most entrepreneurs do one of two things: They apologize. Or they ignore the situation. But maybe there’s a third option…
Empathizing.
You can choose empathy. You can get inside your customer’s mind. Put yourself in their shoes. You can ask yourself, “What are they feeling? Are they tired? Hungry? Bored? Anxious? Feeling ignored?”
If you can empathize with your customer—really try to understand their feelings and their point of view—then you can come up with a plan to make them happier. (Just like Alex and Brandon did.)
The next time you get a fiery email, a mean blog comment, or a nasty Yelp review, instead of panicking… try empathizing. (TWEET THIS!)
Really try to see—and feel—the situation from that customer’s perspective. Imagine their scenario. Consider what you’d want if you were in the same scenario.
Be careful about giving advice. It can come back to haunt you.
My almost 4-year-old burned me pretty badly the other day.
The modern world does not do us any favors when it comes to presence and focus. I work very intentionally with my son to help him avoid overwhelm and concentrate on one task at a time. When he starts flipping through another book while I’m reading one to him, I gently take it from his hands. When he jumps from one game to another, I stop him and we make a game out of putting the first one away. When I’m speaking to him, I encourage him to look me in the eye and put down whatever he’s working on to ensure he’s listening.
“We have to focus on one thing at a time,” is my mantra for him.
The other day, we missed the freeway exit for his swim class. When he asked why we were going on little detour, I said, “Mommy missed our exit, honey. I wasn’t focusing, was I?” He nodded.
A few days later, I was driving him to preschool, my mind abuzz with the day’s to-do list. Sure enough, we drove straight through the light instead of turning right and had to double-back.
“Why are we turning around?” he asked.
“Because I got distracted and didn’t turn when I was supposed to.”
He gave me a stern look, “You weren’t focusing, Mommy.”
Out of the mouths of babes.
Multitasking is a myth.Science proves that we don’t really do tasks simultaneously: We’re just switching focus. And it takes longer to complete tasks that way because of stopping and starting. Efficiency goes out the window.
And yet, God love us, we still try.
When it comes to promoting your work, you may be tempted to try a million different tactics to see what sticks. After all, there’s a lot out there, right? We live in an age of marketing overwhelm.
You’re right to test and tweak. But not all at the same time! The truth is that you’ll just do a lot of things really badly – and not see results.
Quality over quantity wins. Every. Single. Time.
It’s better to focus on doing a few things really well, mastering them, if you want to see results for your revenue, visibility and impact.
To help you tackle your focus challenges and breathe easier while getting more results, please download a FREE taste from my upcoming MOMENTUM Pro self-study program by clicking the button below. This Playbook is titled Simplify Your Marketing Plan and it’s all about how to streamline and focus for results. I promise: You don’t have to do it all!
If you like this playbook and want a more streamlined, non-overwhelming, completely do-able way to master your marketing, check out MOMENTUM Pro! It’s all about focus, providing a step-by-step system to take one action at a time and gain clients, visibility and revenue.
Being an avid Crossfitter (going on 7 years now), I’ve learned a thing or two about getting my head on straight so my body will follow. And how false assumptions can only hurt your progress.
My fabulous coach (I use more colorful adjectives when she gives me too many burpees) devotes herself to ensuring we understand the intent behind all of our moves, so that we are not just blindly trying to complete reps, but that we do each rep right.Proper form is everything.
You can do a million reps of an exercise, but if you do them badly, you won’t see results. Period.
For years, I held on to false assumptions about which muscles should be activated when doing certain moves. And because of that, I plateaued. Despite lots of effort, I never got stronger, faster or better. And often, I would just hurt myself!
For example, when you do a deadlift (lifting a weighted barbell from the floor), most people think you use your back or even your arms to a certain extent. You actually need to activate your hamstrings and booty to lift more weight..
When you do a push-up, most people position their arms in the wrong spot and believe it’s all about arm strength, which is why they quickly fatigue. It’s not about arms, but about tightening your abs and butt.
When you squat, especially with weights, it’s not about your quads. It’s about your booty and core.
When you bench press, it not about using your arms. It’s about activating and pressing from your core.
The epiphany here is that if each rep is perfectly executed, you can actually do less and make more progress than if you do a thousand reps really, really badly. And side bonus: You don’t hurt yourself!
You’d be surprised how much more weight you can lift and how many more reps you can do when you activate the right muscles.
The same holds true for your business and brand success.
If you’re brutally honest, you may find you, too, hold many false assumptions that are halting your progress and keeping you from reaching your personal best – and potentially hurting yourself!
Profitability does not come from just signing new clients. It’s about managing expenses and correctly pricing your offerings or you could actually be losing money on every new deal.
It’s not about doing more and doing it all badly. It’s about focusing on fewer tactics and making sure you execute them with perfection.(TWEET THIS!)
Ready to learn proper form and technique so you can do less sales and marketing and yet attract more clients, fans and revenue? If so, please check out MOMENTUM Pro, a self-study digital course you will adore to help you focus, streamline and be more effective in generating sales. Sounds good, right?!
This week is Consumer Crazy Town. You know what I’m talking about: The post-Thanksgiving, shopping-binge, sale-frenzy that is Black Friday.
To be brutally honest with you, it kind of disgusts me. The unabashed display of consumer greed. The crowds lining up at 3 a.m (What the…?1?!) to save $300 on a new TV, trampling all over each other to get in the door. P.S. there is actual data showing that, for all that effort and pain, people don’t save as much as they think they do.
All I can think of is how these people’s children are seeing this behavior…and what they are learning from it. Yeah, they’re REALLY going to believe that you can’t buy love.
I’m ALL FOR a good deal. Believe me. The Nordstrom semi-annual sale. Finding an awesome piece of art at a garage sale. Scoring that cheap boutique sweater that becomes my staple for years. I just prefer sleeping in (or at least as much as my toddler will let me), enjoying time with my family and finding similar deals from the comfort of my own laptop.
With this commercial frenzy, comes the equally ambitious push to ditch megastores and instead shop small on #SmallBusinessSaturday.
Here are four ways you can support small businesses, not just on Small Business Saturday, but EVERY day:
Shop there! While you might adore them from afar, how many small boutiques and cozy local restaurants have you actually given regular business? And then one day–POOF!–they are closed and you just say, “Oh, that’s so sad!” Businesses can’t stay open without customers, so put your wallet where your mouth is.(TWEET THIS!) And this includes your favorite Etsy boutique or small online specialty retailer.
Share an Online Review: Social proof is a huge marketing boost for any business. If you love your new hoodie or had a fantastic meal, don’t just keep that joy all to yourself. Leave an online review to help that business succeed.
Give the Owner Feedback: I am notorious for falling in love with a local shop and, as an occupational hazard, giving them tips and pointing out issues. That’s how you know I care: when I point out your flaws (…just ask my husband.) You want your favorite haunt to succeed, right? Then let them know their menu is confusing, or the sweater pilled on the first day or that their store hours are not posted online. They may not know…and they need to know. You are not complaining if you do it with love – you are giving them feedback to help them keep more customers and stay alive.
Tell Your Friends: Instagram and Facebook are tailor-made for sharing your next savvy find or amazing local experience. Don’t feel like a cliché in sharing your morning latte or food porn IF you also tag the small business and give them more exposure. Better yet, send an email to 10 friends and tell them about it. If I find out you’re holding out on me by not telling me that shop has fabulous locally-made necklaces, I’ll be very mad at you. This works for B2B businesses, too. If a consultant or coach rocked your world, share the love. Word of mouth is priceless.
Just like you shouldn’t wait until Valentine’s Day to tell your honey, “I love you,” don’t wait until #SmallBusinessSaturday to support your favorite small business.(TWEET!)
Otherwise, they may not be around this time next year!
And if you’re a small business on a budget, here’s how I’d like to support YOU: My popular digital course, Brand Bootcamp, will be going away at year end to make room for some new offerings. You can still access all this juicy value that has helped small business owners attract more customers, clarify their sales messaging, and get more buzz for a Farewell Sale price of just $49. Click here to learn more. The course will have it’s final curtain call on December 31, so if this sounds like just what you need for 2018, please enjoy!
Social media offers fantastic opportunities to increase your brand visibility, drive sales and build an audience. For those who do it well, you can get away with using the platforms for free and accomplishing all your goals.
There are lots of experts who can help you do this well, such as Lilach Bullock, Jay Baer, and Amy Porterfield. But they will also educate you that investing some money into the process through ads or promotions can exponentially increase your reach and grow your audience.
In the past few years, I’ve experimented with Facebook ads to boost my brand and increase sales. While I would never claim to be a Facebook expert, I’ve learned three incredibly important lessons about how to make Facebook ads work for you.
3 Tips I’ve Learned Firsthand About Making Facebook Ads Work
Use Facebook Ads to Build Your List, Not Just Sell: Nordstrom can get away with simply offering a cute pair of red stilettos in their ad and having people click “Buy!” (ahem…guilty) That’s because it’s a product and I know their brand well. Initially, my old school advertising background kicked in and I mistakenly thought that I, too, could just promote a paid program in my ads and it would work. No. Even if you think your product is competitively priced, people may not know you yet…and you’re invading their personal News Feed with your ads. So, yeah, you’ve got to build trust. Duh. Using Facebook ads to promote a free offering FIRST (a cheat sheet, webinar or the like) works much better to pull people into your orbit and onto your list. You can then nurture them and create warm leads for when you’re ready to make the ask. Drive folks to a specific blog post (and offer a free download they can sign up for when they get there), offer a free guide or access to training videos. Anything they can easily sign up for with no risk.
Create a Marketing Funnel for Your Campaign: Social media does not work, as mentioned, for most unknown brands as AD = SALE. Plan the journey you want prospects to take. Perhaps you build a campaign to launch a new coaching program that includes: A) Free guide, B) Free webinar or Facebook Live event and C) Free consult. Think through the steps and plan ahead.
Leverage Lookalikes and Retargeting: Facebook has such cool features that enable you to laser-focus on your ideal client or customer. Mapping out who they are in crisp detail will make your ad efforts (in any medium, I might add) way more effective, trust me! Facebook allows you to create lookalike audiences of your existing email list and also retarget in many ways, including: website visitors, people who downloaded your previous offer or those who attended your last Facebook Live.
Once I learned these lessons, my Facebook ad results matched up to my expectations and I’ve gotten much savvier about how to effectively use them.
Now, I have no idea how to voodoo behind Facebook ads work–and I’m not the gal who wants to DIY this type of thing as I have no interest in being a Facebook Ads expert. That’s why I turned to experts to help me, including most recently the FABULOUS Devani Freeman and in the past, Tammy Martin and Gavin Bell. Seriously worth the investment.
With these tips, you can hopefully skip some of the learning curve I had to climb and get to success faster!
People often perceive marketers as liars or con artists, saying anything and everything to get you to buy their stuff.
When I see others in my chosen profession deceiving the public, my blood pressure goes up. I want to throttle soda companies that try to pretend their products are “healthy” somehow (this includes so-called “water drinks” that are loaded with sugar). When I get a piece of direct mail that looks like an official legal document, all I can think of that naïve person who might actually think they’ve done something wrong.
Makes me want to smack somebody. Hard.
I once got a direct mailer that essentially made it sound like my credit cards would all be shut down unless I responded to their offer. Sickening.
And don’t get me started on telemarketing companies that prey on the elderly. My dad is 89 years old and we’ve luckily intercepted calls for him where they made him think his computer was hacked, tried to con him into another timeshare condo or assured him they had a “can’t miss” investment opportunity.
My profession and other honest marketers like myself take a hit every time some jerky jerk decides to engage in false advertising or find the semantic loopholes. (“What did we do wrong? We said it only has 100 calories! We don’t have to mention how much sodium, chemicals or sugar is in it, too. Legally, we can say it’s a ‘healthier alternative!’”)
It’s about communicating real value. If you are targeting the right people who have a very real need, then it will not be a hard sell, as long as you’re clear and compelling.
You can choose to play the game in one of two ways. And you must decide now what kind of marketer (and human) you will be:
Trick people with lies and hyperbole.Trick, scare, or scam them into action and then deal with the aftermath of regret and anger.
Treat people with the truth. Delight them by making it compelling, valuable and authentic and, if it’s a good fit, they won’t be able to resist. Savor the loyalty and connection.
Wall Street and our current consumer-driven culture may disagree with me, but I’ll give you one guess as to which approach is more sustainable, scalable and better for humanity.
Guess what every successful entrepreneur and business owner have in common?
The key to their success is not merely:
More funding
Innate marketing and sales ability
The right connections
An Ivy league education
or, even the BEST quality product, service, or offering (though that sure helps)
No, what they all have in common….is that they know when to ask for help. (Tweet this!)
Richard Branson, the genius behind Virgin, advises entrepreneurs to not shy about asking for help, like he did:
“I reached out to people who possessed the skills I lacked and asked them for help.”
Marie Forleo, internet marketing expert and community builder, shares that “everything is figure-outable”, her mantra for building her empire:
“If I don’t know how to do something, I’m pretty sure there’s someone else on the planet who does. I Google. I pick up the phone. I ask for help from everyone I know.”
Howard Schultz built Starbucks as an ambitious dream…and even rejoined the company to to right the ship when it started going off the rails. His secret?:
“One of the most undervalued characteristics (of success) is being vulnerable and
asking for help.“
You’re amazing at what you do. You have such value and talent to offer.
But if you’re still struggling with how to build a breakout brand….how to clarify your value, attract the right ideal clients and customers, manage your marketing overwhelm – or promote yourself with more grace, ease and authenticity so that you can reach your goals…
Ask me for help.
Here’s how you can ask me for help! Let’s spend 90 minutes together hashing out your marketing plan, brand strategy, promotional challenges or more in a Brand Booster Session. Click here for details.
Previously in Part 2 of the Red Slice origin story…
My entrepreneurial journey – and my life- came screeching to a halt when I almost died from a ruptured brain aneurysm.There are just some crises you can’t build into your business plan! But, guess what? The sky didn’t fall. In fact, it opened up to a whole new way of living and doing business that would change me forever – and can hopefully change you for the better, too.
OK, so I’d survived a ruptured brain aneurysm. It was amazing to me how quickly people can rally around you after a crisis and pick up the slack. Armed with moxie, and a healthy dose of ignorance about the severity of it all, I thought I’d be back to work in seven weeks, when in reality, it took many months to focus on healing, recovery and therapy.
I had to overcome quite a few cognitive deficits: information overwhelm, prioritization, short-term memory, even vocabulary recall. All perfectly normal after-effects–and all skills I needed to do my work.
In addition, I lacked confidence to jump back into my life again. My hair had been shaved off, my eyesight was temporarily impaired and I was still regaining my strength. My husband, God love him, was my rock through it all. But he was not going to be able to jump-start me back to work.
Finally, after about six months (which is a miraculous timeframe for this type of injury), I was ready to dip my toe back into work and rebuild my business. But how to do it?
Networking again played a key role. The connections I’d worked so hard to build, both professionally and personally, saved me. I had to get comfortable asking for help–and see it as a sign of strength and resourcefulness, not weakness. People wanted to help. So I asked people to drive me places, accompany me to events, and get me back out there. I decided that if I started acting brave, maybe I’d start feeling brave–and I needed cheerleading and support or I’d lose my nerve all together. Had I not spent the time to build and nurture that community, before I needed it, I’d have been in a world of pain.
And soon, my network spread the word that I was back in the game and ready for action again.
LESSON ONE: Build your community and tribe before you need it. Tend to it. Nurture it. If you start only when you need it, it’s already too late. (Tweet!)
A NEW APPROACH, BUSINESS MODEL + SUCCESS
Fast forwarding through recovery, I started the difficult task of embracing the New Me. My brain now worked overtime on tasks that had once come easy to me so I had to adapt and find new strategies. What would this mean to my work, which was all about my IP and executive brain functions? My therapists suggested choosing a simple, structured project to start.
Which I did not heed. My first project back was unstructured and complicated. I cried daily.
But I got through it and gained confidence back in the process. Networking continued to help me get my name back out there. I ran a few workshops with a colleague. I started blogging and guest writing articles again. And slowly but surely, folks realized Red Slice was back.
During this “gentle” time of figuring things out and taking on limited clients, I finally got serious about writing a book, a dream I’d had since I was a little girl. Having this time to chase long-procrastinated dreams was a gift. I’m not sure I would have otherwise taken the time.
Soon, I published my first book and started booking more business. Client work was still a struggle, but I surrounded myself with understanding partners who helped me with some of my deficits on the back end.
In the next two years, I took on some big projects. At one point, I had a dream project with a software company…and simultaneously, a hellacious project with another big company. I finally realized that my passion was for the early strategic phase, where I could ferret out big insights and package them into an amazing brand strategy and story.
The rest of the project, however, was less fun. I basically functioned as a project manager, overseeing implementation. This phase made me want to poke my eyes out.
A wise coach gave me permission. She said, “If you don’t like doing that work, Maria, stop doing it!” And that was it. I was free! I revamped my messaging, repackaged my offerings to just focus on brand strategy and upped my rates. I was happy to give client’s a firm foundation and then refer out the tactical work so I could move on.
It was scary to narrow my focus to attract the right clients and do the work I love. But, hey, it was advice I’d been giving my clients all this time–I just hadn’t followed it myself!
And guess what happened?More of the right clients came to my door, I was happier, more relaxed and working from my heart.
Life’s too short to do work you hate. And it’s downright insane if you as an entrepreneur are the one deciding which work you do!
LESSON TWO: Don’t be afraid to focus, reinvent and make your business work for YOU (Tweet!)
BETTER PRIORITIZATION…ON AND OFF THE FIELD
This life-changing event not only transformed my work but my life. I was no longer the same person I was before the aneurysm. I couldn’t possibly be.
It wasn’t just having a “near-death experience” or even the psychological and cognitive changes that occurred due to the injury. Powerful lessons punched me dead in the face so there was no way I couldn’t pay attention.
I had always wanted my work to be more meaningful and now I had the chance to change lives. After much cajoling from others, I was finally ready to share my experience and lessons learned through a book. It was my heart’s mission and responsibility to take my amazing recovery and help others who were not so lucky. I wrote Rebooting My Brain in late 2011 and suddenly found myself playing the role of brain injury awareness advocate, speaking and volunteering to represent the patient point of view.
My cognitive challenges forced me to make significant work (and life) changes. I had no choice but to learn how to better focus on one thing at a time, stay present, and go easy on myself. My fatigue and overwhelm would not allow for manic multitasking and overscheduling anymore.
Wow. “Be present.” “Focus.” “Leave breathing room in your schedule.”
Not a bad way to live, let alone work, eh?
All of these changes led to a flourishing business once again. I built a solid reputation, enjoyed national media appearances, and published more books. And I even found a way, despite the high-risk due to my health issues, to have my first child at 41 years old, a beautiful baby boy.
So where are things right now?
Life is full. Somehow, someway, I managed to accomplish many of the goals I had set for myself way back when. I just got to them through a slightly delayed and circuitous route than expected!
Every day, I’m still learning and growing. I’ve added MOMENTUM, an exclusive coaching program to my offerings (Check it out! It starts October 6!), and am working on my next book. And I’m enjoying every precious moment with my husband, son, family and friends.
If only I could go back and tell that eager beaver to just relax. Everything you want can fall into place eventually, no matter what curveballs life throws at you.
I’ve learned that if you focus on your strengths, rather than defining yourself by your weaknesses, you can find creative ways to get to your goals in the end.
LESSON THREE: Despite setbacks, focus on your strengths + find new ways to your goals (Tweet!)
Did you enjoy my origin story? What was the most valuable lesson you can apply to your own life and work? Tweet me @redslice or comment on my Facebook page and use #BIZORIGIN to let me know!
Previously in Part 1 of the Red Slice origin story…
After leaving the security of corporate comfort, I embarked on my consulting business in my new home city of Seattle. Savvy, authentic networking and a rock-solid brand strategy accelerated my early growth, resulting in wonderfully interesting small business clients and a lucrative corporate gig.
If you missed Part 1, including my three powerful lessons learned, read it here.
Get ready for Part 2!
SURROUNDING MYSELF WITH EXPERTS
Having alwaysbeen surrounded by structure and process, the free-fall of entrepreneurship felt like fumbling around in the dark–every day. Quickly, I tried to get my legal and financial ducks in a row. Do I need to register as an S-Corp or LLC? What kinds of taxes do I need to pay? How do I manage my invoices and expenses? Ugh.
A new lawyer friend hooked me up with her firm for invaluable legal advice that should have cost thousands but didn’t and so I got the right counsel on risks and requirements I didn’t even know about. They developed my contracts at a bargain price and I filed for an LLC by downloading a free PDF online called, “How to File for a Washington LLC.” The paperwork. The tax requirements. The fees. It was all so damn confusing.
I promptly hired an accountant to help me with everything financial. Nothing fancy, she helped me set up my first QuickBooks and educated me almost weekly on what I needed to know. It felt like every day, I came up with more questions on how this whole “business ownership” thing worked. And I majored in business!
LESSON ONE: No one is an island, nor an expert in everything. Stop trying to be a hero and ask for help from experts who know better. (Tweet!)
PRICING RIGHT
Nothing paralyzes new business owners like pricing. I knew what similar consultants charged for my corporate client base, and I was comfortable with that rate because those clients have budget. But for my second client segment, small businesses and entrepreneurs, it was a different story. I had to figure out how to serve them with offerings that would still give me a healthy profit for my expertise and time.
I admit I didn’t do a very good job of this at first. At the time, my business model was that of a virtual agency. I would hire subcontractors to help me complete all aspects of a brand project. But I was horrible at project cost estimation and factoring in their rates, as well as the right markup. So once again, I turned to others: Experienced consultants who generously shared their spreadsheets with me; Partners who educated me on this new (to me) market; Ideal clients, who openly shared their budget realities with me.
It took me awhile to land on the right rates and project proposals. I seemed to underestimate how long everything would take me and then never billed those extra hours to the client. Many of my subcontractors made more money than I did from my projects! My nagging self-doubt made me undervalue my expertise and give too much away. I mean, I loved this stuff. It came easy for me, as I’d been doing it for close to 15 years at the time.
I had to learn that value is not about physical time and effort, but the results the client ultimately reaps. What is the impact on their business? My work often results in clients’ increasing their sales and/or saving thousands of dollars in wasted time and effort, not to mention softer benefits such as strategic alignment, message clarity, market awareness, and re-igniting their passion–surely this meaningful work should be valued accordingly. It was a tough lesson to learn, but I’m so glad I did.
LESSON TWO: Your expertise is valuable. Even if it comes easy to you. If someone else needs it to move forward, you have the right to be compensated well for it (Tweet!)
THE BRAND BUILDS… AND THEN CRISIS HITS
There I was, cranking away on my big corporate client and talking to others. It was big impact work that paid well, but I really fell in love with small business entrepreneurs. I had always enjoyed the San Francisco start-up vibe and many of these folks had that same drive–but for work that also fed their souls. The boutique owner. The cupcake shop. The jewelry designer. The life coach. The leadership consultant. The photographer. They all inspired me! I longed to find a way to make this client segment more profitable in some way. In the meantime, I was making a name for myself, attending networking events, writing online articles and doing a few (unpaid) speaking engagements. I started an email newsletter, and began blogging regularly. People began to recognize my brand! Sure, I had to write many proposals for work that never went anywhere, but the point was that Red Slice was gaining traction.
Added to this new business, I was still trying to do it all: yoga, acting, making new friends, seeing the sights of my new home city, writing freelance wine articles. We were brand-new, first-time homeowners and just adopted a dog. I clearly remember confiding to my bestie, a coach for women entrepreneurs: “It’s all great stuff, but I just feel more overwhelmed and stressed than ever!” And she said, “Maria, you thrive on change but I think even you have hit your limit. Then she shared this gem…
LESSON THREE: “You can do it all but you don’t have to do it all RIGHT NOW!” (Tweet!)
But by then, it was too late. It all came crashing down.
After a theatre audition, I was struck by a blinding, sudden headache that was like a drill boring into my skull. My neck and back muscles seized up, nausea flooded me and I had no idea what was happening. After collecting myself, I promptly made a doctor’s appointment. He chalked it up to all the stress and advised me to monitor my blood pressure daily, do physical therapy, yoga and acupuncture and report back to him in about a month.
Did I pull back? No. Silly, right? The yoga, acupuncture and PT just became more to-do’s on my list. I suffered from a few debilitating migraines over the next month and planned to go see the doctor again – when I had time. And then, I collapsed, unconscious on the bathroom floor. Luckily, my husband saved my life by calling 911. Or I’d be dead.
A ruptured brain aneurysm had brought all my business–and life–plans to halt.
I won’t bore you with the details, as a) I wrote a book about this and b) spoiler alert: I survived. What I will say is that some sort of crisis WILL hit your life or your business; something random for which you can never, ever prepare.
It happened to me. Even though clients needed deliverables and my task list was not complete. Even though I thought it was ALL SO IMPORTANT.
And guess what? The sky didn’t fall.
The sky actually opened up. It opened up a whole new way of living, relating and doing my work in the world – and you can learn to do the same.
Tune in for Part Three to learn how I revved up my business again and then reinvented itto better suit my life…right here!
Like this origin story so far? What major setbacks has your business faced? Tweet me @redslice or comment on my Facebook page and use #BIZORIGIN to let me know!
Starting a business is not easy. Maintaining it for over nine years (gasp!) can be downright unbelievable. People always ask me, “How did you start?”
Recently, I cleared out some old folders and came across every yearly plan from 2008 on. As one does when decluttering, I got lost in nostalgia, chuckling to myself about all the things I thought I knew – and how far I’d come.
Inspired, I decided to share with you a three-part look at THE RED SLICE ORIGIN STORY and the valuable lessons that can also help your business grow. Full credit for this idea goes to my friend, Melissa Cassera, who recently published a spine-tingling blog mini-series about her business start.
Please sit back, grab some popcorn (or a lovely Cabernet) and learn from my entrepreneurial adventure!
THE SEEDS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP ARE SOWN
2006. Newly married, I was living in San Francisco and directing global marketing campaigns for a billion-dollar software company. Corporate life was all I’d ever known, working at a big consulting firm, a small ad agency, and a multinational entertainment powerhouse. In 1999, I’d come to SF to chase the dot.com dream and did my first stint at a (failed) startup, which was the riskiest thing I’d ever done. But I was still working for someone else for a steady paycheck and full benefits and had never known life without such security.
My creative urges had led me back into acting and writing, alongside my day job. I landed (unpaid) gigs writing food and wine articles (yum) for local magazines and websites, and soon began my own blog. I wanted to write about many things: theatre, business, culture, marketing, wine, food, film…there were so many facets to my personality. I named this personal blog Red Slice, to represent this redhead’s many “slices” of interest. It was liberating to express my creativity again. Like I had come home to myself.
Right before I got married, I left my big global firm to be a marketing director for a smaller software company. My amazing team and I remain great friends to this day. But the company itself left a bit to be desired. I was restless.
In 2007, we moved to Seattle for my husband’s job. By then, you must understand, I had lived through three layoffs during the tech bust. I no longer viewed “working for someone else” as the secure proposition I once did. Rocked by my experiences, I expanded my career thinking. I was also getting older and really fed up with corporate political B.S. Most of my time and energy was spent on bureaucratic B.S, rather than doing actual good work.
I flirted with consulting and daydreamed aboutworking with clients Iliked, doing work I loved. While I’d done freelance consulting between layoffs, permanent entrepreneurship was not in my blood. My two grandfathers, both Italian immigrants, had owned businesses at one stage or another, but my dad had sailed steady, loving his decades-long engineering career with the same firm. Stability was everything to me.
Luckily, my small software company kindly allowed me to work from Seattle. As this extrovert adjusted to working on my own, setting (mostly) my own hours, an addiction formed. A freedom addiction.
LESSON #1: Leading a life where you call the shots and every ounce of work you do benefits YOU is positively addictive. There is no freedom quite like entrepreneurial freedom, even though you’re working harder than you ever have in your life. (TWEET!)
For fun in my off-hours, I built a crappy little consulting website in GoDaddy and, naturally, called it Red Slice. I liked the name: It stood out from the crowd, intrigued people and also had a double meaning of helping my clients’ brands stand out, like anything “red” often does. I would offer clients “slices” of services to fit their needs.
Then, fate gave me a big push. In early 2008, my company laid off the entire marketing department in prep for a sale. The day we got the final notice, I flipped the switch on the crappy website and sent an email to everyone I knew: Red Slice, the marketing and brand consultancy was born!
NAILING MY BRAND, FINDING MY VOICE
While the visuals were horrendous, I focused more on the brand strategy and the messaging, naturally! I wanted a fresh, focused, innovative brand and to offer my full breadth of skills earned from many years in communications, branding and marketing. I got to say what I wanted to say, in my own sassy voice, without corporate jargon. #Freedom.
A treasured agency contact from my corporate days offered to design me a better website for free, and his team came up with the fruit imagery you see today. While my website has evolved since then, they nailed it on their very first design because I had done a great job of articulating my brand strategy, value and vibe before they even got started. Some old corporate colleagues scoffed that clients “wouldn’t take me seriously” if I mentioned my writing and acting on my business website. I doubted myself, but bravely stood my ground: I wanted my brand to showcase my unique blend of practical business savvy and playful creativity.
LESSON #2: Nail down your brand strategy before you even think about a logo, website or marketing tactics – unless you like wasting hours of time, burning piles of money (TWEET!)
NETWORKING PAYS OFF
Lacking any sort of professional Seattle network, I joined a Ladies Who Launch incubator. There, I met a ton of cool, smart women, including Melody, the woman who’d become a dear friend, brainstorming partner and personal escort into the world of independent business owners – a client base I’d never even considered. She got me my very first small client!
I asked friends to introduce me to folks they knew in Seattle and met them on coffee blind dates. I networked like crazy with the few other contacts I DID have, and it got me into meetings to eventually become a subcontractor for a consulting firm doing work at Microsoft. So two months into my new venture, I had a super fun small business client and a large, well-paying corporate client.
LESSON #3: Networking is your biggest business booster and it doesn’t have to be icky. It should be part of any marketing plan. Network with people you genuinely like and who knows what doors will open (TWEET!)
I quickly realized that the large project put me right back into corporate bureaucracy again so I began exploring the small business community. It was like discovering this wonderful subculture I never knew existed when I was in my corporate bubble.
But that exploration came to a screeching halt when, just eight months into my new business, crisis struck.
Nothing would ever be the same…
Tune in for Part Two to learn what nearly crushed me and my business for good..right here!
Like this origin story? How did your business start out? Tweet me @redslice or comment on my Facebook page and use #BIZORIGIN to let me know!
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