 February 10, 2011 Vol. III, Issue 3 Published twice a month. You are on our list because you signed up for this ezine. To change your subscription, see link at the end of this email. Sign me up for this ezine.In This IssueWelcome to the ezine for evolving women entrepreneurs. - A Note from Marcy Please add ezine@marcystahl.com to your whitelist or address book in your email program, so that you have no trouble receiving future issues! Problems viewing this in your email program? Read it online.Note from Marcy
Time is speeding up for me. Partly, I'm getting older. I no longer feel that I have endless time. Remember how summer break seemed to last forever in elementary school? Boy, are those days gone! And partly, as I get clearer about my business vision, as I release my resistance and anxiety around my business, everything I do speeds up. Writing an ezine article or a talk used to take me several hours; now it's much quicker. Sending off an email to someone I don't know - that used to take hours (or days) of agonizing over it - now I just type it out and hit 'send'. I am more productive, so I'm getting more done, which means my to-do list gets longer. I'm celebrating my increase in productivity AND learning how to stay out of overwhelm. How do you manage your schedule? How do you stay out of overwhelm? I'd love to hear your tips and ideas! Your partner in success with ease, Marcy Stahl Upcoming Events2/17/2011. I'm speaking on a topic most entrepreneurs struggle with - understanding your money story and how those beliefs affect your business results - on Kerry's Network on Blog Talk Radio. See the details and join us at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/kerrys-network/2011/02/17/is-money-your-honey-uncovering-your-money-mindset 2/17/2011. Are you a direct selling consultant who's serious about moving into leadership? Are you worried about your recruiting skills? If you're ready to learn how to recruit successfully and feel more relaxed than ever while you earn more, then check out the 8-week Moving Up! group program for women just like you. Learn more and register here. Feature ArticleYour Personal Brand: What Do People Think of, When They Think of You?
This is your brand. For me, branding has always seemed a bit mysterious. I felt like: Yes, I can see that Coke has a brand or Volvo has a brand, but little old me? Do solopreneurs even have brands? As it turns out, we EACH have a brand - our personal brand (also sometimes called a micro-brand). In my life, I have several: there's my brand as an aunt (good at word games, likes to go to movies and shop); my brand as a sister and daughter; my brand as a friend; and my brand in my business, to clients and colleagues. Everyone in my life has their own perspective of who Marcy is and what Marcy stands for. You ALWAYS have a brand - the question is whether you are consciously creating it, or ignoring it. Why consciously create your brand?Because you CURRENTLY DO have a brand, whether you want to or not, and you ALWAYS WILL have one. When you consciously create it, you have the opportunity to create a powerful alignment between you and your clients. Your brand tells your potential customers what to expect from their experience with you. That information can be powerfully persuasive to either jump on your bandwagon, or say no thanks, I like this other wagon better. When your brand aligns with what your potential customers want to experience in their lives or businesses, your path to claiming them as a client is smoothed. What does alignment look like?It's based on values. I read a great article in the Washington Post about one of our NFL Redkins' players: Brian Orakpo, and his branding. In off-the-field training about the importance of branding, the trainer Don Yaeger "asks each player to come up with five words that describe how they'd like to be perceived by fans, and then teaches players how to incorporate those concepts into their interviews and public appearances. 'Brian was one of those guys who was as thoughtful about this as anyone I've worked with,' Yaeger says. Orakpo's five words: accountable, competitor, humble, leader, versatile. 'Brian was great,' Yaeger says. 'He was one of the guys who realized they can impact their off-the-field revenue by having a brand that other people want to be aligned with.'" How do you figure out your brand?1. It needs to be reasonably consistent with your work. If you're creative, your brand needs to include creativity, flair, innovation, or similar values. If your work is in accounting or book-keeping, dependability and consistency will be important. People are turned off when they have an expectation that is not just unmet, but also turns out to the opposite of what is offered to them. My family has used a wonderful photographer for years. When we first met her, her physical appearance was so bland, I thought she looked like an office worker with no fashion sense as opposed to a creative artist! Her look (which is part of her brand) did not inspire confidence in me that she could take dynamic and engaging portraits. Turns out that she could and did, but she was not supporting that message through her personal appearance. 2. It needs to reflect your core personal values. If you love fun and laughter, that should be part of your brand, even if you're thinking: laughter isn't why my clients come to me! They come for my great (body work, skin care products, whatever). Wrong! Part of the reason they come to YOU, vs. someone else in the same business, will undoubtedly be your sense of fun. 3. It needs to be something that your customers want to be aligned with. When you have a great brand, people want it for themselves! People who buy Gucci want to revel in luxury. People who buy Volvos want to feel safe and secure. Your people will experience your brand and feel like you've got something going on that they want. In Brian Orakpo's case, he "hopes his brand translates to companies and organizations that care about health, hard work and clean living." Your brand will translate to prospects and clients that care about ... what? You've already got your brand - even if you haven't planned it out. So why not consciously create your authentic brand that truly reflects your core values and attracts the clients you are meant to have? CALL TO ACTION1. What is your current brand? If you're not sure, ask 5 colleagues, friends and family members to tell you. Email them and ask them to write down 5 words or phrases that come to mind when they think of you. You'll have a lot of fun reading the responses, and I bet you'll be surprised at how consistent the answers are. 2.What are your core values? Try writing down several on your own first. If you want some additional ideas, see http://tinyurl.com/personalvalues 3. What do you want your business to stand for? Excellent customer service? Reliability? Innovation? Quality? 4. Given the way people perceive you now (the results of part 1.) and the way you want your business to be perceived (the results of part 3.), is there any disconnect? Are there any values you need to add in? Your authentic brand will be a divinely-right combination of your inner values, what your business stands for, and what your clients want to be aligned with. When you consciously create that, you'll iron out any disconnects, fill in the missing pieces, and you'll become even more magnetic to YOUR tribe - the people you're here to serve. Are you ready to attract more clients in 2011 than you did in 2010? Creating a strong personal brand for you and your business is an important part of that. It's one of the 8 steps I use with my clients as they claim their deeply held vision of what they're here to share, understand who their community is and how to connect with them, and replace SELLING with relaxed yet compelling CONNECTING CONVERSATIONS. If you want MORE in 2011 than you received in 2010, then contact me for a complimentary Success Session by clicking here. Here's what a recent Success Solutions participant had to say about their experience. "I felt that the time that we spent discussing my business and where I am poised to go with it was worth every minute. You know what you are doing and it is obvious that you have spent many hours (probably as obsessively as I have) in developing your services/product in to a truly elegant offering. I SOOOO appreciate the investment of your time and expertise in this little mini-session. It has already paid off, as far as starting to redirect my thought patterns and my expectations." Gwynne C. Mason, Owner © 2011 Marcy Stahl WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete description with it: Marcy Stahl motivates women entrepreneurs to move from having only a trickle of clients to an abundant full flow of more clients, more money, and more decision-making power. If you're ready to empower yourself AND boost your business, if you want to share YOUR passion with more people, schedule your free 45-minute Marcy Stahl Success Solutions Session by clicking here http://www.marcystahl.com/contact-marcy.html About MarcyMarcy Stahl is an entrepreneur whose purpose in life is helping women entrepreneurs achieve world domination, by earning more money and creating more decision-making power. Because the world will only be a better place when more women are in charge! She effectively guides her clients to move from struggle and lack, to abundance and ease, by creating effective systems and marketing strategies. She uses this same powerful success system to help direct sales consultants improve their recruiting and leadership skills. To learn more about her services, visit http://www.marcystahl.com/contact-marcy.html and sign up for your free 30-minute Marcy Stahl Success Strategy Session (and get great free resources, too!) Your FeedbackI'm always interested in your feedback on the topics in this ezine. I'd be delighted to hear from you about your experiences as they related to any of our ezine topics, your thoughts on the ezine itself, as well as topics you'd like to see in future issues. Send an email to ezine@marcystahl.com and let me know what's on your mind. I appreciate your perspective. If you know other women entrepreneurs who want to THRIVE, instead of simply surviving, please forward this newsletter to them. I respect your privacy and do not give out or sell our subscribers' names or email addresses. Copyright © 2011 Marcy Stahl
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Hi there,
What do people think of when they think of you? Your sense of humor, your fashion sense, your common sense, your enthusiasm?