Archive for February 20th, 2012

February 20, 2012 Posted by: Adrienne Graham

Am I a Person or a Brand?

The basic rules apply across the board whether your a business, a career person or a celebrity. People place a heavy emphasis on your overall brand because that is how they relate to you. And usually, whenever something doesn’t match up, people – the public – get antsy about it. I have always been in favor of having your brand represent you and your business, product or career, but not to the point where you couldn’t still be a person outside of the brand.

For the career person, their brand, which includes their performance on the job, their skills, and expertise, ties heavily into them as a person. There usually isn’t a specific product or service that is separate from them. Maintaining their brand is quite easy provided they maintain a level of respect, caution and common sense in everything they do. People at entry level jobs may not believe they have an actual brand, but they do. How they carry themselves is reflective of their brand. For example, my son is a hard, dedicated worker. Every employer he’s worked for has been quick to notice this and praise him for it. It’s not a bad attribute to have, but unfortunately it can backfire. Whenever there were extra shifts or extra work was available, they’d call him first because they knew he wouldn’t say no. He ended up putting in a whole lot of extra hours and that almost affected his health at one point. He has since learned how to manage his time better and when to say no. His work ethic shaped his brand.

The higher up the corporate ladder you go, the more focused your brand becomes. And at that point, you really do have all eyes on you. So it’s important to understand that if you plan to move up the corporate ladder, you have to carefully cultivate and manage your brand reputation. The greater your role, the more you stand to lose if you make just one mistake. Recovery and forgiveness is harder the more powerful you become.

Celebrities are also heavily tied into their brands. Right now, Lady Gaga is the best example of a growing brand. Known for her music, she was not content to leave it there. She had been working steadily to build a brand that goes far beyond music, and into business. She has recently launched a new web startup and has her hand in various endorsement deals and business ventures. One could say her music opened the door for her to do what she loved, then she used the rewards from that to build her own empire. I’ll admit, when I first learned about the business side of Gaga, I was shocked. I’m not a fan (no disrespect to her) but I was quite impressed that she wasn’t allowing herself to get pigeon-holed by her music, like some artists do. Think of the late Whitney Houston. Her brand was completely opposite of her true identity and she suffered for it because instead of differentiating or even diversifying, she went with it. It’s a smart move to come out the gate letting people know not to confuse your talent with your brand. Artists and athletes especially have to be careful. Otherwise they can find themselves typecast and unable to capitalize on their success into other opportunities.

Entrepreneurs have to be very careful about their brands. I’ll use myself as an example. For years I was known for my recruiting skills. When I decided I had enough and wanted to move on and try other things, I got a lot of push back from people. They thought I was insane for wanting to start a publishing and media company. When I decided to launch my training institute, they thought I once again lost my mind. I worked so hard to get people to see me as something other than a recruiter, that I painted myself into a corner. All of a sudden, I became the advice lady. Never mind that my brand message was to wake people up to understand that they have the power to grow in any economy, under any circumstance. It became more about what advice I’d be giving each day. I had to step back and tinker with my formula over the last few years. The problem I had was instead of getting people to believe in the brand, the company, I worked hard at getting people to believe in me as a person. Some would say that’s where I messed up. While people started trusting in me, they started to want to only work with me. So it became harder to build a team and have them build a rapport with clients.

Call it an execution error on my end, but I had gotten people so used to brand Adrienne, that they didn’t look at brand Empower Me. I had the same problem with my recruiting firm. Because I had done so well with recruiting in the past, people knew my reputation and only wanted to work with me. So as I built my team, I would have to practically beg clients to let my people handle things. You can’t build a company successfully while you’re still doing all the work you did when you started the company. Clients confuse you with the brand and things can get sticky. Be careful how you introduce clients and the public to your business. You are the face of the company, but don’t end up the essence of the company. Otherwise when you step back or out of the picture, clients may choose to go somewhere else. It’s important to get your whole team involved in building the brand. It’s not about just one person, it’s about the experience clients walk away with after working with or buying from your company. That’s what determines how well your brand does.

Whether you’re a corporate climber, entrepreneur or on your way to celebrity status, be mindful of how you build your brand. Train people from the beginning what to expect, and make it a team effort.

Til next time,

Adrienne Graham
I’ve got people for that.

Check out my new book Get Recruited: Secrets from a Top Recruiter on Using Unconventional Tactics to Get Noticed in an Inconvenient Economy in paperback or on Kindle! While you’re at it, order your paperback copy of No, You Can’t Pick My Brain. Or if you can’t wait, get it on Amazon Kindle.

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Adrienne Graham is the Founder & CEO of Empower Me! Corporation (www.empowerme.org). She is a strategist that helps people grow their career, business or network in any economy. She is the voice behind Views from the Top Radio Show, and the creative visionary behind Empower Me! Institute and Empower Me! Magazine. Her writing and shows focus on Career Management, Networking Strategies, Entrepreneurial Success and Small Business Management. You can also find her causing a ruckus on Forbes.com.

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February 20, 2012 Posted by: Adrienne Graham

My New Virtual Life- No More Stuff!

2011 was an interesting time for me. It was a year of lots of change- some good, some bad. When we rang in 2011, I declared that I was going to play bigger. I was going to move boldly forward into growing my businesses and make definitive statements that would support my decisions to play bigger. Up until last year, I had always had a home office, but I started feeling closed in and like I needed to grow up with the business. To hear all of the business coaches and experts tell it, in order for my businesses to be real I had to be bigger and play bigger. In fact, one such expert said “you have to make a statement to the universe that you’re ready to play in the big leagues and take your business to the next level“. What a crock!

OK I’m not saying that I wasn’t supposed to play bigger because I am. But I found myself moving in directions I clearly was not ready for, and that made absolutely no sense for my businesses. Last January, I made the decision to move out of my home office and got an actual office. You might have seen pictures and video I’ve posted in my new office. I convinced myself that I was much more productive there (which some days I really was) and that it was crucial to have it to meet clients. But I have to tell you, I felt like that was a big fat lie. But I ignored it and moved on. Then I took a look at my operations and equipment. I did a complete upgrade, which I don’t apologize for because that decision was instrumental in me later making my decision to go virtual. My upgrade included a brand new Mac (for me), extra laptops for staff (I didn’t yet have), printers, some web/cloud based programs and upgraded to Android.

Next up, I had to declare to the universe that I was serious about playing bigger, so I paid for the building management to add my company name to the lobby directory. You might have seen that picture too. The day it went up I was so proud. I kept telling myself I’m playing with the big boys now. But within a week, for some reason I was feeling weird about it. Once again, I shrugged it off and decided I needed to add more staff. The first rule as a recruiter I stress to my hiring managers is that there should be an actual need to hire. Well I didn’t follow my own lead. As I look back, I think my decision was more laziness on my end because there were tasks I simply didn’t want to manage myself. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes you must delegate out tasks. That’s what business owners and CEOs do. But on reflection, I really didn’t need to make the hires. I was moving way ahead of myself.

All was well until May when I decided to get an iPad (I know, it sounds crazy, right?). I had already had the Macbook and Android but somehow when I added the iPad, it all started clicking for me. As I began playing around with it and really getting my mind wrapped around all of the things I could do on the road, at home, in the airport or whatever with my mobile technology, I started feeling like maybe I made a mistake. As the months moved on, I spent less time in my office and more time at home, in my original home office and at various Starbucks. Actually, as I was writing and creating content, my deck was my go to place to create. By the time October came around, I decided I didn’t need an office outside of my home. In all honesty, I do some of my best work on the road or somewhere where I don’t feel chained or obligated. Towards the end, the office was a heavy albatross around my neck and stifled my creativity.

By the end of the year, I moved completely back home and severely downsized my staff. It was a painful move for me because I didn’t like having to let go of people, but I couldn’t justify the cost. As far as the office, I wanted to be legit and have a real office, but in the end, I really didn’t need it. I knew that when my assistant was spending more time in the office than I was, it was time to let it go. Financially, it didn’t make sense. Looking back I think the office was more vanity than necessity.

Now that I’m completely mobile I have this freedom. I no longer have a dedicated place to meet clients, but guess what? I don’t need it! For the longest I had been using Skype and conference calls, and now I use Google+ Hangouts. Whether I use my Macbook, iPad or Android, I can do a video call from anywhere. My home office is really just a place for me to do my radio show and a few business tasks. But I love that I can just pick up and go to a Starbucks, or work while I travel, or just work from home. It’s winter, so my deck is off limits, but I’m eagerly looking forward to the spring. I have mi-fi service, which means I can work from anywhere (literally). I use Dropbox so that wherever I am and no matter which device, I can access documents I need to work with. My business is always at my fingertips and I love it!

I’m almost completely paperless. PDF is a beautiful thing and thanks to apps, I can keep as paperless as I need to be. Just about every app I have on iPad is also on my Android. I use DocuSign for getting contracts and important documents signed. I use Xerox Mobile Printback if I need to have documents printed from my Dropbox (which I use to store documents). I use QuickOffice and OnLive Desktop when I need to edit documents. eFax.com allows me to get my faxes sent to me. Dragon Dictate allows me to record and dictate thoughts, strategies and ideas for writing projects. WordPress has an app that I can use to compose blog posts for my site. Even the US Postal Service has an app I use for postage and shipping. I can access my payroll online through Intuit Online Payroll and accept payments via Square, Paypal or Intuit Go Payment. I can manage my social media activities and of course I have other tools on there for online banking, reading magazines, QR codes, books and even Comcast Xfinity Mobile (soon I’ll be able to stream shows). Let’s not forget my bible and TBN, which I had installed on there, when I need to get into the Word. And who needs white boards when I have one on my iPad!

I have over 100 apps on both of my devices and my Macbook is light and portable. I even got MagicJack (which I don’t have to use with an actual phone) because I can use it as a speakerphone on my computer. I can do videos and my radio show from anywhere as long as I have my phone or ipad and an internet connection. Google has made my life even easier with the calendar, Google Voice, Gmail, and Google Docs. I love that all my devices are synced. So I’m not worried about losing anything. Even my book orders are processed virtually with no inventory necessary. I admit though, I was going through the expense of printing and ordering books to keep in my garage. But now, I rarely process an order where I have to go to the post office to mail it out myself. I often joke to my family that now I can live my dream of getting rid of my house and get a decked out RV so I can live on the road. Well, I’ll tell you this much. I’m nowhere close to that (I love being able to take hot showers, sleep in my own bed and watch cable). But I love that I can jump in the car with my sister or my mom and take an impromptu road trip and not have to lug around tons of papers and heavy equipment. It can be a pain in the butt having to unpack the laptop bag at the airport. Now all my devices weigh next to nothing.

Will I ever be completely mobile and paperless? That’s what I’m shooting for. And eventually I’ll be bold enough to get that RV. These days I just want to be free. I don’t want to be tied down to anything. I’m proving that you can grow a successful company and be mobile. I don’t regret getting an office and attempting to grow my businesses out. It was a great learning experience. But in times like these, lean is best. Next up, I’ll be getting all of the books in my library in digital format and scaling back on my clothes. I don’t need as much as I used to. Less is more, and definitely more effective.

Til next time,

Adrienne Graham
I want to be rich, yet live the simple life.

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