What does it mean to be an entrepreneur? These eight innocent words are like loaded dice.

The word entrepreneur immediately brings to mind some obvious choices: Steve Jobs, Oprah Winfrey, Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates. Melinda Gates has also earned her own place at the table with her philanthropic and global development efforts via the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

These folks are true forces of nature.

What landed them in this spot?

Talk to any successful entrepreneur and you will notice familiar traits. Entrepreneurs are driven by passion, not money. According to Tony Hsieh, founder and CEO of Zappos, “Chase the vision, not the money, the money will follow you.”

There is a myriad of research, articles and opinions citing successful traits of an entrepreneur. Most are variations of the same them:

• Passion
• Imagination
• Vision
• Tenacity
• Self Confidence
• Resilience

All packed with determination, perseverance and huge dollop of grit.

Lest you think it a glamorous endeavor, being an entrepreneur also means late nights, early mornings and everything in between. But the rewards of watching your vision come to life and grow supercede all else.

According to Eric T Wagner to be a successful entrepreneur is to, “Think Big and be Bold.” We would tend to agree.

Do you have what it takes?

One of the things that makes marketing rock is the combination of science, art and a whole lot of planning. Clients that come to Front Porch Marketing typically have marketing goals they are trying to achieve. Sometimes they are WOG’s (wildly outrageous goals), sometimes they are motivational or aspirational.

Regardless of the size or type of goal, without a brand strategy and marketing plan, it is just a dream.

You are planning a trip from Dallas, Texas to Taos, New Mexico. You have plugged it into your GPS and you have selected the route with the shortest drive time. You know how long it is going to take to get there and what it is going to cost.

The STRATEGY: (your why) Family of four wants to have a safe trip to Taos, New Mexico, and enjoy time together.

The TACTICS: (your how) Travel by car in 16 hours, spending $200 on gas. You have your plan!

Not so fast.

What tools do you need to be successful? A driver’s license, a car, food, water, lodging and gas. There are a lot of vehicle models just as there are endless marketing tools (branding, social media, radio, TV, direct mail, print, e-mail marketing, e-commerce, in-store POP, affiliations, cross-promotions, customer loyalty, on and on).

The vehicle selection for a road trip is important, as is the selection of your marketing tools. Having a budget upfront can be helpful in determining tool selection. Who doesn’t want to drive a Bugatti Veyron to Taos, but is that the best tool for the goal?

Always tie your tactics and tools back to your goal and strategy. The performance and constant analysis of your tools is the science of marketing. There are tangible metrics and formulas for each tool ranging from frequency, reach, engagement and ROI.

When and how you use your tools is the art.

Ask the tough questions. What else do you need to know to be successful? For the Taos trip you might ask: Are there other destinations you want to visit along the way? What is the weather forecast? What are the traffic patterns? What is the longest stretch of highway between gas stations? Even the most expensive and sophisticated vehicle without fuel is just a heavy piece of metal.

Ask every question that will help or prevent you from achieving your goal. Then ask 10 more and PLAN accordingly.

Our Chief Rocker enjoying the opening festivities with Megan and Landon Wood of Lily Jade.

Branding and marketing are more art than science.

In fact, it’s one of the reasons it’s so rewarding. There is no “one size fits all.”

Blogging could be a necessary part of your digital strategy. It’s the perfect way to deliver messages near and dear to your brand and engage your audience.

So, when we heard about the first annual The Hundred Event, we didn’t think twice about participating ourselves.

Hosted by four lovelies, Grace Patton, Bridget Hunt, Lauren Knight and Megan Graham, the event brought together a talented group of small business owners and bloggers intent on learning and sharing best practices. There is a distinct entrepreneurial spirit in this group. People came from all over to partake in the delicious food, warm ambiance and shared knowledge.

We discussed many blogging styles. What do they have in common? Imagery is key to them all. Whether it’s still or video – good photography is non negotiable.

Here are a few of my favorite photography takeaways and recommendations, compliments of Jenni Dawson of J.Noel Photography:

• If you have a good camera, shoot in manual.
• If you don’t know how to use that great camera, invest in the Extremely Essential Camera Skills Tutorial and learn how.
• Afterlight is a handy app for photography on the go. It’s super easy and really adds a textural element to pictures taken on your phone.
• Pic Tap Go is perhaps my favorite app. It costs $1.99 and is worth every penny. There are several filters to choose from. Pic Tap Go saves your “recipes” for future use.

Enjoying the Peacock Alley Block Party under the super moon.
Lauren Knight, Laura Busby, Beth Dotolo
Photos courtesy of Awake Photography

This 4th of July, my family was on the lake. For the first time, we went out to the middle of the lake in a boat to watch the fireworks. It was exciting to be on the water and have a 360 view of the sky lighting up in celebration of our country. My two young boys snuggled up with me looking up at the sky and eventually fell asleep in my arms (that hasn’t happened since they were babies). For me, it was a perfection. For them, not so much …

Is your brand, product or service perfect? Of course! No one ever says, “My baby has imperfections.” If customers view your brand as less-than perfect, there is a perception challenge. Your customer’s perception is your business’s reality.

The Dove’s “Real Beauty Sketches” Ad Campaign of 2013 is one of my all-time favorites! A woman describes herself to a forensic artist and strangers who have met the woman that day do the same. The result is two images that are very different. The tagline is, “You are more beautiful than you think.”

How interesting would it be if brands could do this? If executives and employees could describe their products and services and customers do the same. How would the pictures differ?

In 2009, Domino’s Pizza had a perceptions issue. What did they do? They listened, responded and communicated how they were changing, resulting is amazing business results. Watch this Domino’s Pizza Turnaround.

Perception is reality.

Three ways to do a brand perception reality check:

1. Outside Business Consultants
2. Customer Intercepts, Focus Groups & Surveys
3. Social Media

Outside Business Consultants come in many forms; research firms, advertising, marketing and PR agencies, executive coaches, assessments, mystery shoppers to name a few. The value an outside partner can bring to your business is an objective view of your customer’s perception

Customer intercepts, focus groups or surveys are feelings and attitudes of your product or service. When asked, people will give you insights on areas to improve or let you know to stay the course. A very simple first step is a suggestion box in retail locations. You can get some really great ideas!

Social Media has opened the customer conversations wide open! Leverage this opportunity to listen, watch, collect and engage with your audience. People have immediate access to your brand to share in a public forum their likes, dislikes and desires for your product and services. Are you listening? Are you taking action? Social media allows you to respond immediately to customer feedback.

Listening to your customers and being open to feedback is an important business strategy to ensure your products and services are aligned with your customers’ perceptions.

My oldest son’s journal entry on my perfect 4th of July night: “On 4th July at night we did not get to see that much fireworks.” It was not his best 4th of July, our perceptions of the evening differed greatly, but perception is reality.

The other day, I saw a quote a friend had posted from Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, “Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.” This is so true and I live this with our clients every day!

A brand is more than just advertising or a logo or social media or a tag line – it’s how your customers perceive your business. And everything a company does, whether intentional or not, shapes the perception of their brand.

Creating a strong brand identity is critical in this day and age when a world of information is at our fingertips and we are given many different options for purchasing the same product. Some of the most successful brands are those that give you a reason to like them and not just the product. Brand is more than just your product – it’s also your reputation.

In order to build a strong brand, the following objectives must be achieved:

• Have a vision – know where your brand is going. At the end of the day, what do you want your brand to be when it grows up? What’s its highest calling?
• Have a personality – what are the four adjectives that describe your brand
• Find your unique position in the marketplace – define your target audience, the frame of reference and your competitive set
• Define the club that your customers want to be aligned with and know why they want to be affiliated with your brand

Once you have defined these critical things, make sure you have internal buy in. Is your team convicted about them? Is everything you are doing internally and externally communicating your brand strategies? Are your customers or clients connected to your brand strategies?

Once you have asked yourselves these questions and are living it inside and outside your company, here’s what to do next:

• Have a branding and marketing strategy – recognize market trends and respond to consumer demands to get ahead.
• Deliver a consistent and unique message. Make sure your message aligns with your brand’s values and personality.
• Be creative! You want to stand out from the competition and creativity and innovation will get you noticed.
• Know your competition.
• Manage your reputation – It’s hard work to build up your reputation but even harder work to maintain it. Make sure you are listening to what people are saying about your brand. People are most likely to do business with companies they like and trust.
• Make sure you are everywhere your customers are looking.

A strong brand is invaluable to win the battle for customers. It’s important to spend time investing in building your brand. After all, your brand is what your customers come to expect from you. It’s the foundation of your marketing strategy and something you don’t want to be without!

It is all rockin’ on the porch!

team

noun

: a group of people who compete in a sport, game, etc., against another group

: a group of people who work together

: a group of two or more animals used to pull a wagon, cart, etc.

²team

adjective

: of or performed by a team <a team effort>; also : marked by devotion to teamwork rather than individual achievement <a team player>

verb

: to bring together (two people or things)

This past week marked the first team retreat for Front Porch Marketing. Led by our Chief Rocker, our event was an inspiring forum for creativity, innovation, processes and process improvement (oh, and world domination).

It made me ponder a little bit about what teams look like in today’s business environment.

As you can see from the definitions above, the word “team” is a noun, adjective or verb. But, what does that mean to us?

There are huge benefits in working as a team. When teams work well, each member feels they are contributing towards a shared goal. The shared knowledge and camaraderie forges (or frays) are the ties that link us together.

There is also a shared accountability for the success or failure of each project.

But, what do teams look like today? By definition, all of us are part of a team of some sort. For small businesses, there is an ebb and flow to the group. Some work in virtual teams, i.e. depending on the goal, project or time of year, individuals or groups come in and out of a project/initiative/account. This creates an efficient working structure and high value to the customer/client.

Whatever your team looks like, just remember – we’re all in it together!

I know, I know, it is about time!

We are finally launching our blog where our team will share our perspective on current events, new technology, branding and marketing insights, thoughts and wacky ideas that we hope you will find entertaining.

We also hope you can learn a lil’ bit more about us, who we are, what we do and the impact we have on businesses today.

We encourage you to be part of the discussion and subscribe by e-mail or RSS. Also, join our Facebook and Twitter discussions or follow us on Instagram.  

We are Off Our Rocker, that’s what makes us who we are.

We take our work and business seriously, sometimes maybe too much so, but ourselves, well … not so much.

Rock on!