Empower Me! Blog
Read about the latest happenings at Empower Me! Corporation, new trends in business and career advice from 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.
Do you like this article and want to reprint or share? You can, as long as you include this in its entirety:
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.
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.
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.
Do you like this article and want to reprint or share? You can, as long as you include this in its entirety:
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.
6 Lessons Learned from the Life & Death of Whitney Houston
I usually make it a point to keep my blog celebrity-free unless it somehow relates to business or careers. I struggle to find the right words for this blog post. Words cannot express how deeply hurt I am by the passing of someone I’ve loved & respected since my teenage years. Did I cry? Hell yes, I did. Just as I did when Michael Jackson died (I’m still not over that). Not as a fan though. But as someone who rooted for Whitney, the person, to come back and be who she was destined to be (as a person, not an entertainer). My heart goes out to her baby Bobby Kristina, her mom Cissy Houston, her family and yes, Bobby Brown.
It’s still surreal, 24 hours later, “The Voice” is gone. If you’re a child of the 80′s you know “The Voice”. We all knew “THE VOICE“.
But I’m here to tell you, Whitney was not A VOICE. Her voice was her gift that she used to entertain. It turned into her job. She was a real person who struggled and was human. From the outside looking in, we all envied her, and admired the fact that her voice catapulted her to the top of her industry and opened doors and opportunities for her that paved the way for other women and artists. We commoditized her….her voice. She struggled, as many artists of her caliber struggle, as her fame grew. She made mistakes. But they were hers to bear. It was between her and God to deal with that. And in all of the finger pointing, blaming Bobby Brown, and poking fun, people lost sight that she was a PERSON with real feelings and real struggles and real weaknesses. She was someone’s mother, daughter, sister, friend. And the only person with a right to judge is God Himself.
I sat this morning watching her last interview with Oprah Winfrey and I have to say, I saw it in a totally different light. I really listened to what she was saying and confessing. Sure, we all speculated and judged. I know I did, even though I had always been pulling for her. Whitney and Bobby actually lived about 20 minutes from me when they lived in Atlanta. And I admit, there were times when I was annoyed by the antics and even made the occasional comment about wishing they’d leave so we could have peace in our town. But I didn’t understand…not until I re-watched that Oprah interview, how much pain she was really in. This wasn’t about Bobby leading her astray (she freely admitted she started doing stuff before him). And while her marriage to Bobby did contribute to her downward spiral, the public, her fans, the world set such high expectations and demands for her, she couldn’t handle it. She wanted out (by her own admission).
Those words made me really step back and digest until I really GOT IT. Here are 6 lessons I’ve taken away from the life and untimely death of the incomparable Whitney Houston. And I hope you too take these lessons and apply them to your career, business and life.
Lesson 1- Maintain your identity.
It is well documented that Whitney’s mom was adamant about delaying her debut in music until she was ready to handle it. Cissy knew what she was talking about. The entertainment business will eat you up if you let it. Artists often struggle to maintain a sense of normalcy in their lives once they get that first big hit. The public sets these expectations of what they think an artist should be. We see pop star, diva, world class entertainer. But that’s just their job, it’s not who they are. Their job is to entertain you, that’s it. When the houselights come up, you no longer are entitled to a piece of them. It irked me to no end to hear Oprah relay the sentiment of the fans that she disappointed them because they felt entitled to THE VOICE. As jacked up as it was, Whitney chose to buck that. While I wish she had chosen a different way to do it, I can’t be mad at her for rebelling. She just wanted to be Whitney and just sing. But the world changed that for her. And heaven help any public figure who wants to go a different route. The public rebels and tries to force the entertainer to remain the same for the life of their career. Don’t let anyone else dictate who you are or become. Make sure people understand the distinction between your job and you as a person…and respect it. And if your identity goes through changes and growth, which it should, go with it. Don’t let people sway you from growing.
Lesson 2- Embrace your talent/gift.
In her interview, Whitney talked a lot about feeling the need to tone down her stardom to appease her husband. Many people, especially women, feel ashamed of their talent when they’re excelling at a faster rate than their partners. They purposely choose to dumb down or downplay their talent. Whitney admitted this. I was a bit angry and disappointed to hear her admit this. I learned a long time ago to never, ever, dim my light to make other people feel better about themselves. If God has given you a talent or a gift, then you must use it and share it with the world. It’s OK to shine your light as bright as God has allowed it to be. I fully believe that if she understood this, and embraced her talent, she wouldn’t have felt the need to dim her own light for someone else. And she wouldn’t have sought to hide the pain in drugs. Just my opinion, and no, that’s not a dig at Bobby. The impulse to fall back can come with a spouse, friends or family members. And it can even come with co-workers. Well check this out. My star is rising..not like Whitney’s level, but it’s slowly rising. I’m not dimming a damn thing. Embrace and accept my gift or keep it moving.
Lesson 3- Don’t try to please everyone.
This is especially true about people you don’t know. People like Whitney, Michael, Beyonce, (I can go on) find themselves trying to please everyone by being who the world expects them to be. Be who you are. You have to know when and where to draw the line. Again, being a public figure doesn’t give people free license to their entire life. I’ve never believed in that public figure=no private life crap. A job is a job. It’s not supposed to define you. Some of you would be pissed off if someone asked you to perform work duties when you’re clearly off the clock. It’s no different with entertainers. They are not your trained circus acts that have to always be on. Cut them some slack. Not everyone is going to be happy all the time and you can’t please everyone. When you try, you end up losing who you are. Learn to say NO and be OK with the fact that some people won’t like it.
Lesson 4- Surround yourself with the right people.
Yes men bring no value to you. I can’t claim I know who was or wasn’t around Whitney. I do know her mom fought like hell to bring her back. But when you reach a certain financial status, you find yourself surrounded with people who have their own best interest at heart. Agents, attorneys, accountants, leeches, lackeys and all sorts of people latch on to your rising star so they can get all they can as they come along for your ride. Nobody wants to be around during the bad times. But everyone sure wants to be around when the champagne flows. Money and power, when uncontrolled, leads to mismanagement and toxic situations. Sometimes we find out too late that people are up to no good. And when you’re surrounded by too many people, it’s easy for the bad elements to slip through the cracks. No matter what industry you’re in, keep you inner circle tight and well vetted. Get rid of anyone who’s going to always appease your ego. Don’t lose touch with those who’ve been around from the beginning and who have your best interest at heart. And if the leech happens to be a family member or friend, get rid of them and don’t feel guilty.
Lesson 5- Own and control your brand from the beginning.
See, ya’ll couldn’t handle the truth about Whitney. She was a straight up Jersey girl through and through and she admitted that. But because Clive Davis and Arista painted this image of America’s Pop Princess, the world was outraged when she married Bobby Brown and decided to start being just Whitney. And the public really couldn’t deal when she started her descent. It got too real for you, so many chose to make jokes or just dismiss her altogether. I’m a firm believer that life works in cycles and sometimes you must hit those valleys in order to learn and move on to the next great thing. But when you’re a celebrity, you’re not afforded that privilege. People create this image of you and anything that steps outside of that comfort zone causes them to panic and react negatively. Had Whitney or her people taken more control over her brand in the very beginning, maybe it wouldn’t have been such a culture shock for many when things changed. Never put yourself in a position to constantly have to prove who you are or what you bring to the table. Never give that much power to handlers who create an image that really isn’t you. Don’t be afraid to be authentically you. Be up front in the beginning with who you are and only show what people need to know. Don’t live your personal life in the public eye (you can take that cue from Beyonce and Jay-Z). Separate your personal and your business and demand people honor that.
Lesson 6- When shit moves way too fast for your liking, slow it down until you can handle it better.
It’s hard to know the trajectory your career will take. In life, everything is a gamble. Sometimes it pays off, sometimes it doesn’t. But you have to be ready to handle what comes your way. Life can change in a split second and unfortunately some people get thrust into a spotlight they’re not ready to handle. Because they have people around them talking about once in a life time opportunities and how they need to seize the moment, entertainers (and other for that matter) find themselves signing their lives away and giving themselves to the public and lose control of their careers. This is why I’m always leery about child stars and athletes drafted straight from high school. And if you don’t have proper representation to explain things to you, you leave yourself open to all kinds of nonsense…all in the name of fame. So make sure you listen to that inner voice. If it’s telling you slow down, do it. Don’t do or allow yourself to be talked into doing anything you’re not ready for.
RIP Whitney Houston. You will be missed.
Til next time,
Adrienne Graham
Remembering singing ‘Saving All My Love’ down in my friend’s basement as a teen
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.
Do you like this article and want to reprint or share? You can, as long as you include this in its entirety:
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.
You Better Be Worth the Cost
OK, so this isn’t a post about being better than anyone or trying to sell anything to anyone…although you know I’m currently pushing my book. LOL But I’ve been seeing this for quite some time and while I’ve hinted at it, I never really spoke my mind on it. In fact, I’ve had to be careful to not have this conversation with my own clients.
I don’t bash people. I don’t get off on that. But I will call out foul play when I see it. Especially when people are being taken advantage of and when fools rush in to circumstances that leave them worse off than they began with. I’m one that will warn you all the way. What good is pointing out not to fall into the well when I don’t point to exactly where the well is so you can avoid it?
Yesterday I got an email newsletter from Angela Jia Kim of Savor the Success, someone I respect and sort of follow the progress of her businesses. And I have to say she was spot on. She said something I think a lot of us with built-in bullshit detectors have been thinking and saying for the longest, but never put it out there. The gist of her post was that people are tired of these high cost, 6-7 figure so-called coaches who are self-proclaimed kings & queens of the world. Now this was a legitimate gripe and I agreed. But then she also promoted several coaches that she knew personally. Her blog, her post, who am I to call foul. Like I said, I agreed with her. She was much nicer than I would have been.
Kudos to you Angela! You’ve never responded to my emails to you, but I won’t hold it against you.
Have you noticed everyone and their mommas are now coaches? There is nothing wrong with coaches. Don’t get me wrong. But not everyone who calls themselves one is. And the worst ones are the so-called “business coaches” who, once you sign up with them, focus on fixing your marketing and social media. WTF!! What ever happened to actually working on the BUSINESS? You can’t market or grow what’s broken. I’ve interviewed quite a few when I felt stuck and ready to move it to the next level. And I got frustrated because they all sounded the same, offered the same, and focused on marketing or “changing my mindset”. NEXT! Hell I know I need to market, I’m focused on success. Now I want to GROW the business and be like Oprah. lol Show me how to do THAT. If I wanted a shrink I’d hire one.
Now if your specialty happens to be marketing or social media, fine, then say that. But don’t dupe people into believing your are actual business coach that will help them fix or grow their business. If I’m having problems with hiring staff or employee turnover, I’m not going to a marketing coach. If I’m trying to get more funding for my business, I’m not going to a marketing coach. Unfortunately, many of these business coaches are nothing more than glorified marketing or copyediting specialists who threw up a coach shingle. Again, if that’s your specialty, run with it. But be truthful.
I blame those high-level, I’ve been on TV, I’ve hung out with celebrities type coaches. Because they package these how to be a coach systems (can’t be mad at free enterprise..some have even made it to Inc 500 status…although now I question why I want to be on that list) and they show people HOW TO MARKET THEMSELVES AS AND BE COACHES not HOW TO RUN & GROW A BUSINESS. And that’s where the problem lies. I don’t want a coach to show me how to be a coach. I’m a business growth strategist, not a business coach. I already know how to use social media (my brand is doing very well, thank you). And I have people to market for me. So we have nothing left to talk about. I expect a business coach to help me with specific areas of my business, not tell me to market more or better. And I certainly don’t need them to tell me to go teach other people how to market.
Every time I’ve asked coaches can they help me with my specific type of business, I get the same crap. Oh, we’ve worked with a wide variety of businesses. Yeah, but have you worked with one like MY business? I’m trying to grow an empire here. I want to roll with the big dogs. And no offense to any small business owner, but I’m not trying to be a one-woman show here. I have huge aspirations and it’s not just about dollars for me. I’m shooting for a level that had it not been for the poor suckers who paid all that money to take these coaching programs, they (rich coaches) wouldn’t even see it. In other words, I don’t want to sell people a bunch of worthless junk that they’ll probably never use, make them attend a bunch of calls and workshops only to find themselves back at square one when it’s over just to make some money for myself. When people come to me, I want them to walk away with a plan and achieve measurable results.
And here’s my other gripe. If I’m paying thousands to work with YOU, why are you pawning me off on one of your trained associates? That’s false advertising. I came to YOU because you marketed YOUR experience and skills to me. You marketed YOU, not your business/company. When I go into Macy’s I know I’m not meeting with Mr. Macy. That’s a given. When I buy from Amazon, I know I’m not getting a personalized transaction from Jeff Bezos. So why the hell are you false advertising that I’ll be working with you, then when I say I want to work with you, the price triples? No freakin’ way. False advertising.
I even have to be careful to let people know there’s a difference between Adrienne Graham and Empower Me! Corporation. You may not always work directly with ME. I tell you up front when you will and when you won’t. I’m the CEO of the company. I can’t wear all of the hats and service all of the clients 24/7. I’m not supposed to.
Coaches, you have two options. Either you create your company/brand as an entity to stand on it’s own, where people come there for the service regardless of who provides it or you honor your “advertising” and work with people yourself. At least tell people up front that they won’t be working directly with you. I understand the one to many concept, the team concept, etc. But you’re not clearly defining it for the people you’re marketing to. And I’m not even saying you can’t charge what you think you’re worth. But you better have the stuff to justify those price tags.
And while we’re on false advertising, I am so sick of this fear based marketing. I wrote a blog post not too long ago about this. We live in a tough economic time and people are desperate. But that doesn’t absolve them of doing their due diligence. I can sit here and blame the coaches all day long. The fact is, they’ve done their job…well. They spun such convincing copy that it hooked their clients in to spend tons of money that could be better spent elsewhere. Here’s my issue. You don’t turn to a coach for last minute help. You shouldn’t be at a point where you need this to survive. I’ve heard people say I’ve invested my last $3,000 so I need this to work. You can’t do that. I understand you need to turn your business around, but get someone who actually has experience in that. Never count on a coach to be your savior. Never count on them to give you a magic pill (or system, or book, or course) that will save your business. And especially never count on them to do the work for you.
Do your research. Make sure you check a coach out, get some real references (not all of those testimonials are legit), and follow your gut. If you know you can’t afford it, wait until you can. By that time, you might not even need a coach any more. A good coach will tell you when they can’t work with you and why. There are some good ones out there. And you don’t have to spend $100K to work with them.
Til next time,
Adrienne Graham
Beware of false prophets…or is that profits?
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.
Do you like this article and want to reprint or share? You can, as long as you include this in its entirety:
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.
Can You Join Me Tonight at 7PM EST?
I’ll let you pick my brain…
OK well maybe not literally. But I do have some great news.
Tonight at 7PM EST I will be hosting my first ever Google+ Hangout for my book reading and Q&A that I will also be livestreaming. Did you get all that?
My much anticipated book No, You Can’t Pick My Brain, It Costs Too Much, which was born of a wildfire conversation on Forbes.com last year is finally available, and I’m celebrating. I’m hosting a live Google+ Hangout where I’ll be taking questions and reading excerpts of the book. But it’s not about me. It’s about sharing stories of others who have been silently suffering.
Because Hangouts only allows me to open the doors to 9 people at a time (I know, right!) I’ll also be livestreaming this event via my UStream channel for the general public to watch. It’ll be streaming in real time on that channel, and you may also find it directly on this website (no fuss, no muss). I’ll be taking questions via email, in the Hangout and on my Twitter stream using the hashtag #pickmybrain.
So make sure you connect with me on Google+ so that you can have a chance to join the Hangout. Please know, not everyone will make it on the Hangout. We’re broadcasting for one hour. Will we go over? Who knows, anything can happen. But plan on being there about an hour.
And we’ll continue the conversation over on my Amazon page, where I’ve created a forum to share you brain picking stories and advice.
See you this evening!
Til next time,
Adrienne Graham
I said I’ll see you this evening!
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.
Do you like this article and want to reprint or share? You can, as long as you include this in its entirety:
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.
Adrienne's Pinterests
So very proud of Kathy Ireland. Role model entrepreneur.
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Women tech founders. Gotta love it!
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ClassyCareerGirl.com is a wonderful site. Keep your eye on it.
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Book Adrienne to Speak
