by Dina Giolitto

Your brand is an extension of your company’s mission and values. Your company exists for a specific purpose–whether it’s to provide environmentally friendly cleaning products or a healthy meal for families. Your brand is the visual concept and reinforcement of your mission and values. Now is the time to evaluate what your company mission and values are.

Company mission

Disney’s is to “make people happy.” Boeing’s is “to push the leading edge of aviation, taking huge challenges doing what others cannot do.” 3M’s is “to solve unsolved problems innovatively.” What is your company’s mission? First, it’s important to understand what a mission is and what it represents for your company. Then you’ll be able to better determine what your company mission is, or what it should be. Since the mission can act as a strong marketing and branding tool for clients, establishing an effective mission is imperative to your company’s success.

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Popularity: 64% [?]

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Recently, Heidi Richards, founder of WE Magazine for Women, listed this blog in her “101 Women Bloggers to Watch” roundup!

THANK YOU, Heidi, for including Entrepreneur’s Breakfast. It’s an honor and a pleasure to be associated with such an enterprising woman as yourself, as well as mentioned in the same breath as this group of empowered and dynamic professional women.

WE Magazine is a veritable smorgasbord of must-have tips, tricks and tools to help the modern woman make informed decisions in both her personal and professional life. Women who read WE are bosses, business owners, mothers, lovers, sisters, daughters, friends. They’re coaches, crafters, consultants, artists, athletes, health enthusiasts, hobbyists, and technology gurus.

Most of all, women who read and contribute to WE Magazine have a passion for living and for making a difference in the world!

To read the complete cast of amazing woman bloggers on Heidi’s Hot List, click here.

Popularity: 100% [?]

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by Dina Giolitto

It’s tempting, when the news headlines are screaming about government financial bailouts, to just sit there with your mouth hanging open as you ponder what might happen to your 401K.

However, in tough times, the LAST thing you should be doing is waiting for further instructions.

If you were a Boy Scout (and even if you weren’t), then you’re no doubt familiar with their catch phrase: “Be prepared.” That’s about the best advice anyone can give. And it’s especially relevant when managing a business.

When people start to clutch their purse strings more tightly, and supply and demand turns on its head, here’s what you need to do RIGHT NOW to ensure that your company stays afloat in trying times.

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Popularity: 95% [?]

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If there’s any time to dream up a theme for your marketing, it’s NOW, before the holidays hit. Yes, we’re only just approaching fall… but before you know it, the malls will be decked with holly and teeming with Santa Clauses. Are you prepared for the deluge of competition?

Large corporations begin planning for their holiday campaign launches in the thick of summer!

Here’s a Christmas toy catalog cover that I worked on “back in the day.” I’m quite certain that the air conditioning in my cubicle was kicking when I wrote this.

Your holiday marketing event needn’t be an expensive or time-consuming affair. With a little creative input from you, Wordfeeder.com can help you launch a holiday campaign like this to drive more business in December!

So, the holiday season looms, and with competition fierce in a tough economy, it’s time to get out there, get known, and get more clients. Here are some holiday ideas you can implement in a hurry…………

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Popularity: 67% [?]

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If you work from home, you know the kind of day I mean. You made the calls. You revised those drafts. You sent out the emails. Where is everybody!?

As much as you used to relish a slow day when you were corporate, it’s a little different when you’re playing boss to yourself. Your mind gets to wandering. Should I head out to the park? Should I hit the mall? Should I… file for unemployment?

For a freelance writer, designer or web marketer who works from home, a day without contact from the outside world can bring on anything from sluggishness and inertia to a panic attack. Such fun games the mind will play when the two of you are left alone for long periods of time! But here’s a little secret about slow days. They’re the perfect opportunity to catch up on everything that went out of your head the minute the phone stopped ringing.

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Popularity: 23% [?]

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Join Me for a 4-Month Exercise in Productivity & Profit Building

The above sounds so corporate-bland, doesn’t it? All it means is that I’m setting a goal for myself to make X amount of income by the end of 2008.

The goal will continue on indefinitely, but December 31, 2008 will be the “check point” where I assess how it’s coming along, and if I can meet or maybe even exceed my goal. If I find that I’m in excess of my goal, super! Maybe I’ll set a higher goal and then try to reach that next.

If I miss my target income, then I’ll know that what I need to do is hire teams of people and set up automated systems that do the work for me - so that I CAN use my time more profitably.

Are you with me here? Do you want to try it?

Let me explain this process. It’s not new, I did not invent it; it’s just something that’s a really smart thing to do but we all tend to forget.

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Popularity: 59% [?]

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Okay, so the Wayback Machine is not nearly as cool as Christopher Lloyd’s DeLorean… but I must admit, having an archive that “takes you back” to prior versions of your website can come in handy.

The Wayback Machine is also known as the “internet archive” and you can find it at http://www.archive.org/index.php. It’s great for those days when you’re feeling sentimental and want to “go back in time” to see how far your website has evolved.

I’ll give you a peek at the “awfulness” that was Wordfeeder.com circa 2004:

http://web.archive.org/web/20040208163833/http://www.wordfeeder.com/

YIKES! Look at that wretched template that I borrowed from Trellix… and how about that godawful pun at the bottom of the page?

(Go ahead and try it; type your URL right into the box at the top right of the page… and see how far you’ve come in the world of business website design!)

One thing I must emphasize: the Wayback Machine has a much greater value than looking at old versions of your website and laughing your head off. I’ve found it to be a lifesaver when you accidentally delete a page from your server and want to “recover” old copy and/or images that have been lost.

Even if the copy isn’t an exact duplicate of what you needed, having an earlier version is still MUCH better than having to start from scratch.

The Wayback Machine is also useful for when you want to learn more about people who you might be working with in the future.

Bookmark The Wayback Machine so you’ll have it when you need it.

Popularity: 33% [?]

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I don’t know about you, but I resisted setting up a profile on Facebook for the longest time. I mean, who has time for such frivolous activities?

Not to mention, I had tried setting up a page for Wordfeeder.com on Myspace - but I found that something was decidedly missing. “Thanks for the add! Thanks for the add!” (Okay, now what?)

I finally caved in and started using Facebook about a month ago. And I must confess, the mere act of “getting back in touch” with people has resulted in a few copywriting gigs that may not have materialized otherwise.

Facebook IS different than Myspace. The best way for you to find out how different, is obviously to stop reading this and start using it. But in case you need more convincing, let me share with you some things you can do to promote interest in YOU and what you do.

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Popularity: 43% [?]

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by Dina Giolitto

Suppose you paid thousands to have a professionally branded website designed from scratch. What’s the one element that can make or break your sales? The words! Yes, you’ve heard it before - your message to the customer means everything.

Oh, you already know that? Well, that’s terrific. And now let me tell you something you probably didn’t know. Remember the part where your designer asked you if you wanted “search engine optimization” - and you said no thanks, because your bank account had just been drained?

THAT is where you went astray, and lost out on myriad opportunities to get your brand and message in front of all those clamoring, salivating prospects. And that’s what’s REALLY keeping you and the people who want to buy your stuff from ever crossing paths.

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Popularity: 33% [?]

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by David B. Bohl

When we are young, we are invincible. There is nothing we cannot accomplish - no mountain too high to climb, no weight too heavy to bear. We believe we can do anything. If you do not believe it, go right now and try to give your teenager some words of wisdom and you will see exactly what I mean.

So when do we lose our invincibility? What happens to us over time that causes us to put limits on what we believe is possible? Most likely, someone along the way told us we were not good enough for them - that we did not have the skills, the brains, or the looks they wanted. We learned to judge ourselves, and came up wanting.

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Popularity: 71% [?]

Tags: 2 Comments