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Stop the Insanity!
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Entrepreneurship implies ‘newness’: new products, new services, new companies, new audiences or types of customers served ... new ways of doing things and new ways of looking at existing concepts. New, however, doesn’t have to be ‘brand new’ or completely unique. Newness can also come from making your offering in an existing product or service category discernibly different, more competitive, more intuitive, easier or more fun to use or simply better in some easily identifiable, quantifiable (and beneficial!) way. A 'me too' strategy won't take you to the top. More of the same is, well ... more of the same.‘Sameness’ is not a goal that successful entrepreneurs strive for. Better or, ideally, best certainly is. Always, always, always build a competitive benefit into your offering, your company or your own personal brand to ideally position it (and you) for success in the new year. .... Lori Martinek
 Evolving brands — and businesses — thrive. Static brands die. Change for the sake of change is not the prescription. Considered brand evolution is.
An evolving brand stays strong and on target. It keeps pace with the marketplace and with competitors. Most importantly, it stay relevant to changing market needs. Successful entrepreneurs look for opportunity in the marketplace and act on it. Serial entrepreneurs repeat the process, over and over again. Businesses that fail to evolve and adapt will be left behind by the marketplace and the customers who do business in it. This is especially true in today’s highly competitive markets, where change occurs more frequently, more rapidly and with far less fanfare. A strong, evolving brand stays on strategy, but evolves in ways that keep it fresh, meaningful and top of mind. That same brand, however, never strays too far from its core message to prevent its ‘reason for being’, from being compromised. If a brand’s original purpose or use has changed drastically, more than an evolution may be called for. Major changes in customer needs or wants, the introduction of new technology and products, or the entry of a new competitor or a unique business model will require a brand re-assessment and a potential change in strategy. Stubborn brands that refuse to acknowledge change can not succeed in the long run. ... Lori Martinek
Attention women entrepreneurs: Mark your calendars for February 9, 2009 ... when yours truly and eight other Phoenix are business leaders, new business development counselors, serial entrepreneurs and mentors will lead the charge to arm Arizona's women entrepreneurs with the skills they need to succeed in a challenging economy.
It's the 5th Annual Womens Small Business Bootcamp, which will be held at the Scottsdale Chapparal Resort in Scottsdale, AZ. On tap: real-world, practical tips and info ... shared stories ... advice from 'inside the boardroom' ... and an opportunity to rub shoulders with the speakers and other event partners at an after-hours event. I'll be presenting Get in the Big Game: Creating a Winning Online Brand and networking throughout the day to promote the benefits of Club E and its hot new Vet-Match ... and eFactory ... programs.
Check out topics and speaker profiles here and sign up soon. Workshops fill up on a first-come, first-served basis ... and nearly 300 women attended last year's event ... Lori Martinek
 Listen to my radio interview with Troy Janisch from the Startup Nation radio network on How To Make Your Business Shine. It's a preview of what you'll find in my new book, Be the Bulb!, which will be published by Herlife Publishing in February 2009.
 Here is the secret to success that no one tells you: It makes you Fearless.
Once you have figured out what it takes to be successful, you are armed and ready. And once you have realized your first success ... no matter how large or how small it may be ... you learn something: You realize that you can be successful again and again, and under just about any set of circumstances, And it makes you FEARLESS.
Being Fearless makes you more open to opportunity and risk taking, and when you are open to opportunity and comfortable with risk, you are 100% more likely to succeed.
Be Fearless. Start that business. Build that business. Take that risk. Grasp that opportunity. And put yourself in the path of the people who can help you succeed. Every day ... Lori Martinek
Marketing is fun. It's creative, exciting and invigorating. When the ideas are flowing, it's so EASY to see the potential ... and to get excited about what can and will be. Success is within reach. You just KNOW it!
Marketing is also work. It has to be. No successful brand was ever built without a strategy, and no campaign is likely to succeed without a lot of thought and planning regarding targeting ... positioning ... the competition ... the industry ... potential, promise, Reason Why's .. and then, only then, moving on to develop a communications strategy that SPEAKS to the highest potential prospects with a message that is meaningful to them ... in a voice that they can relate to ... and through media that actually reach them. That's a long sentence and there's a good reason for it: That's a lot that has to get done before the fun part begins . It's a foundation that has to be built to create a strategy that sells ... and works. Sizzle is sexy. Sales are sexier. Do you want to be known for being quick and clever ... or for being quick and clever AND extraordinarily successful? One lasts for fifteen minutes. The other lasts a lifetime ....
Here's the number-one piece of advice that I give to my clients ... and to other business owners that I meet ... whether they are established and already hugely successful ... or just getting out of the gate on their newest venture: Slow down and take a good look around (cowboys and cowgirls included ...). Do your homework and PLAN for success. Build a strategy with the chops to take all of the marbles. Then let's sit down and have a good time throwing some slogans around ..... You're right. That is the fun part.
Making it all of it fun, every day ... Lori
There has never been a better time to be a new or aspiring Veteran business owner ... a Vetpreneur, as we like to call them. The SBA's Patriot Express Loan Program (http://www.sba.gov/patriotexpress/) provides loans of up to $500,000 to help Veterans and their spouses start or buy businesses. Starter loans can provide up to $25,000 collateral free. Talk about seed money .... The Federal government LOVES partnering ... when Vets and non-Vet entrepreneurs join forces to start and build businesses together. It's a win-win situation: Cash-strapped entrepreneurs with a big idea or sharp business skills can team up with loan-eligible Veterans who are looking to start a business ... but don't have an idea or the experience it takes to get it off the ground. Think of the possibilities! AND ... The Club E-Factory provides the ideal environment for Vets and entrepreneurs to collaborate ... team ... and succeed ... in an amenity-rich, creative, high-tech office environment that is conducive to fast starts and brilliant success! Club E is the place to partner ... produce ... and profit, through partnership. Learn more at www.clubefactory.com (look under focus groups) and by signing up to receive information on upcoming Partnering and Patriot Express workshops. It's all good ... and getting better every day! .... Lori
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