Posts Tagged ‘business’

This year, I am finally getting to attend two conferences I have wanted to attend for a very long time – Blogworld in October and PubCon in November.

Even more exciting? I will be speaking at PubCon on a panel – November 10th – Navigating The Complex Social Media Marketing World. I will be discussing the different key social media tools and the best ways to get the most from them – and which tools to use depending on your industry. I will be on a panel with some brilliant minds and am very excited to be a part of this event! If you’re coming to the event – I really hope to see you at my panel!

I am still waiting to hear if I will be speaking at Blogworld…but should know soon. *Update: I will not be speaking but will still be there…*

Either way, since I’m very Type A -  even 3 months out, I am already putting together my “must do, must see and must meet” list for both events!

1. For Blogworld, I am attending with @Vetlovingpetshb and staying at THEhotel, flying in the day before and leaving the day after. Have you been to this hotel before? Recommendations of places to eat/shop visit?
2. For Pubcon, I am not sure where I will be staying – that one is left to be determined. So if you have connections for this one, let me know
3. If you have been before to either event – what are the must see and do’s? I want to know what events are the best, which areas of the expo I can’t miss and if there are any other secrets I should know!
4. Are you going this year? If so, let me know so that I can plan time to meet as many people as possible. My readers are on the top of my list. Just add a comment and let me know which event you are attending

Finally, I am still looking for a sponsor for the hotel/flight for each event – so if you are interested in talking with me about what that means, send me an email and we can chat

taken by dimnikolov - from flickr

<rant>I have a serious issue with the lack of formality that has become acceptable in recent society.

Less than 15 years ago, if you attended a play, dined at a 4 star restaurant, flew first class, etc; you dressed for the occasion. Last year, I went to see Wicked at the Pantages theater in LA. It was an amazing performance – moving and very well done. But I was rather annoyed with some of the attendees. They technically did nothing wrong, but seeing more than a quarter of the attendees in t-shirts, jeans and tennis shoes or flip flops seriously ticked me off. Why? Because just 12 years prior, I attended Phantom of the Opera in San Francisco and casual was not there…women in cocktail dresses, men in suits…the theater oozed glamor. Now, it’s like going to the movies, with a much pricier ticket! Dinners are the same way. Restaurants like Ruth Chris, Morton’s and Maestro’s all have signs out front – proper attired required. This used to mean, at a minimum, dressy jeans and a nice blouse for women and dress jeans and a button up for men. But, in the last few times my husband and I went to dinner at these restaurants, it seemed that shorts and flip flops were now “proper attire”…and I was properly appalled.

Dressing up for an event or a dinner has a reason: it shows respect for the performers, the other guests and the location. It says that you appreciate the value and that you respect where you are and what you are doing. Now it seems that “casual” is an acceptable attire no matter the venue, and I am both bothered and confused.

Let’s take a step back and look at this from a business perspective: Imagine if a client of yours walked into your office, where the  dress was business formal, in their sweats. What would you think? You would probably think they either had zero respect for you and your time, or that they just don’t care about why they were coming to see you. You would be bothered and probably lose some of the desire to work with them.

The way that you dress speaks volumes about who you are – and how you feel about yourself and society. And, there is absolutely zero reason that you can’t dress appropriately. Almost every clothing store, from Target to Barney’s caries business and formal dress clothes, which means that there is something for every budget. And, if you can afford a play ticket or a 4 star restaurant, you can certainly afford to dress up a bit. You don’t need designers and overprices closed to say “I care”, you just need a little more formality.

Does anyone else see this trend? What do you think of the casualness that has taken over society?</rant>

<rant begin> I understand that with age comes wisdom, but age is not the only factor to consider when determining someones experience. I can’t count the number of times that I have talked with people over twitter, email and phone, then met them in person and had the same reaction – shock at my age.

I am young, 25, and as I have learned, this can be a serious disadvantage. In fact, it has been such an interference that I am looking forward to the day I turn 30. When I speak with people over the phone or they read my work, most assume that I am in my early 30′s (I guess I come across older in voice/writing?)…but, when they meet me in person and see that I am not in my 30′s, it is as if a cold wind has blown in and all of a sudden their mood changes. They start asking about my experience again, wonder when I graduated college, how I learned what I learned…all questions that my portfolio and site answer, but they begin to doubt me. Their entire belief towards me shifts in one fell swoop. I can’t prove that this has lost me business – as no one has ever come out and told me “we want someone older”, but I feel like it has been a serious interference, and is definitely frustrating. I hate having to try and explain myself – to try and clarify that yes I am young, but I am the same person that just a day ago you were enamored with and loved my work.

Why should my age matter? If what you are looking for what I would do well, and you had faith in me based on my portfolio, writing and conversation – why does my age change any of this? </rant over>

What do you think about age? Have you had an experience where your age was a problem?

First, I interrupt this post with my lesson for the day: Even if you are on a roll when writing, stop and save. This post had to be written twice…the first version I was so involved in that I never even stopped to pause (let alone save) and one glitch in wordpress…poof! gone! So save. save. save. and save again. Now back to your regularly scheduled blog post*

Last week, I bookmarked a great post from Steve Woodruff about an idea he had for saving money and space on printer ink. He was frustrated with the fact that a large part of the cost was in the packaging – a package which was silly and unnecessary. The idea was great – and I loved that he shared it with the world.

Of course, it got me thinking about all the random ideas for things I have floating around in my head. And thinking about all the random ideas floating around in your head. We all have them – those ideas that we think are silly, ridiculous and crazy. The ones that we think people would laugh if we told them. But the reality is, 99% of ideas are thought of as crazy when they are first mentioned – it usually isn’t until it works that people begin to give it merit.

Unfortunately, a lot of us are also afraid to share the ideas in case someone steals them. We don’t want other people taking our ideas and using them as their own. We want our ideas to be ours! But, if they are just sitting in your head, they aren’t helping anyone. So I say we share them! Put them out there for the world to hear, see and use. Because the nice thing about the web, once it’s there it can never disappear…so your idea is always going to be your idea. And who knows? Maybe someone will want to use it and give you credit for it! I say we stand up and share.

So, in the comments, let’s share some crazy ideas that we have (they can be half developed, rambling sentences or just random “what if…” scenarios) and see what happens! I want to know what ideas you have for making things easier, better, more efficient, less expensive, more user friendly, less wasteful, etc…

I’ll go first:
I think that we need to develop one cross browser coding language/control. It is unbelievably frustrating to have to deal with testing a server in all browsers (mainly IE) and I think that if all the browsers could just come together and decide on one way to work – it would eliminate a huge percentage of web issues and cut down on development time for coding.

Your turn!

Pop the bubbly, break out the glasses and let’s have a toast!

Image courtesy of D Sharon Pruitt from Flickr

I can’t believe that it has already been a year since I first opened the (virtual) business doors of Wright Creativity! This has been such a fantastic year, and I am so excited about how my business is grown and am still as much in love with what I am doing as I was the day I signed the paperwork.

But, this is not about me, as my business would be nothing without my readers and my clients. It is you who I appreciate. It is you who I owe my thanks. It is you who pushed me to take a leap of faith and start this in the first place. It is you who has been supportive, appreciative and most importantly, has referred me and worked with me!

I have learned a lot from my readers and my clients in the last year. I have learned…

• To be more patient. I have always struggled with this one (ask my mother), and I am proud to say that I, while not perfect yet, have definitely learned how to be more patient with people.
• To understand the needs of clients. I used to just listen to what people said – now I have actually learned to hear it. This is a huge change as it has given me clearer understandings and a better grasp on how to make projects right.
• How to price projects. Every designer struggles with how to price a project, and I certainly was no exception. It takes time to be able to trust that your price is fair, and especially hard to not undervalue yourself. But, I can proudly say I am confident in my pricing now!
• To ask for help. It is hard to admit when you can’t do something, or that someone else would be better than you. Luckily, I have been able to learn this lesson without too many hits to my ego, and have many great contacts for when I need help.
• That vacations are okay. When I first started, I was terrified I was going to miss a phone call or a potential client email if I didn’t permanently have my phone attached to my hip. I have now learned (after a couple amazing tech free vacations) that the world will not explode should I miss an email, and that life does go on.

So, thank you all again for your support and help in making this business so wonderful! I am not exactly sure where the next year will lead – but I know that I am excited about it and am more than ready to take on the next challenges of owning my business!

Image courtesy of betsystreeter on Flickr

Imagine what it was like when you were young – or even better, take some time and talk to someone about the age of 5. Ask them what they did today, ask them what they think about things, see the new perspective you are provided. Children think about things differently. Maybe it’s the fact that they haven’t heard “you can’t” and “don’t do that” every day for years. Maybe it’s because they still feel free to dream and imagine that anything is possible. We all remember that innocence – when we understood the rules of life because they just made sense, not because someone told us that was how to live. Somewhere down the road, we lose that. We start living by what others tell us, rather than what we know is right, rather than what we honestly feel and believe. We trade our instincts and honesty for cars, homes and “success”. We’ve stopped doing things because we love them and do them for the paycheck and the popularity. Kindergartners get that life should be enjoyed, loved and appreciated. People are meant to be your friends and you should care about others as much as yourself.

Robert Fulghum wrote,

Most of what I really need to know about how to live and what to do, and how to be, I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sandbox at nursery school.

These are the things I learned:

• Share everything.
• Play fair.
• Don’t hit people.
• Put things back where you found them.
• Clean up your own mess.
• Don’t take things that aren’t yours.
• Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody.
• Wash your hands before you eat.
• Flush.
• Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
• Live a balanced life.
• Learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.
• Take a nap every afternoon.
• When you go out into the world, watch for traffic, hold hands and stick together.
• Be aware of wonder.
• Remember the little seed in the plastic cup? The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that. Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the plastic cup — they all die. So do we.
• And then remember the book about Dick and Jane and the first word you learned, the biggest word of all: look.

Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation. Ecology and politics and sane living.

Think what a better world it would be if we all — the whole world — had cookies and milk about 3 o’clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankets for a nap. Or if we had a basic policy in our nation and other nations to always put things back where we found them and cleaned up our own messes. And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.

At the end of the day, if we took a step back and let more of the “kindergartner” in us run the business, I think we would see a change for the better.

I love reading other peoples blogs for many reasons, but at the top of my list is all the great content they think of that I didn’t. Today, Cracked.com’s post about the things they should have taught you in school was on the top of my “damn, I wish I thought of this first” list. The entirety of the post is good (although partially NSFW), but there was one section that really captured my attention. Here’s a little snippet:

# 6: Business: Success = Meeting the Right People

All of those successful people you see around town, with their convertibles and huge televisions? Approximately 100 percent of them got where they are because they had three things. All three are absolutely essential, but one of them is almost never mentioned. They are:

• Talent
• Hard Work
• Randomly Meeting the Right People and Not Pissing Them Off

The autobiographies of famous people will do everything they can to downplay that third part, because it has the element of sheer luck. People get offended when you mention it, because they think it somehow undermines the first two.

The rest of the section goes on to explain a few famous people who were discovered from pure luck – and one whom could have been, but was a total jerk to almost everyone.

What I found so interesting about this post – and why I wanted to share it – is because a lot of people feel weird/uncomfortable asking for connections. I believe that the fear comes from having to admit that you need people. I think that many of us want to believe that we can do everything on our own, that we don’t need a push up, a hand out or help reaching the right people. We all want to believe that hard work and persistence is all you need to succeed. Unfortunately, this just isn’t the case. Hard work only gets you so far if you can never get your product into the hands of the right buyers. And no matter how amazingly talented you are, if no one ever sees that talent, you’ll never get noticed. Which is why, I think it is so silly that more of us don’t ask for connections.

Personally, I work hard to think of people that I know that would benefit from knowing each other and then connecting them. I want people to be successful – I want their businesses to grow – I want them to have the chance to be randomly discovered. The nice part is, introductions are super easy with technology. One email to both people, explaining why you want to connect them and why they need to meet, is all it can take to change someone’s life.

But, you can’t always rely on some one else to talk about you. Sometimes, you need to give them the prompt – ask for the referral, the contacts or the connections. This too can be done very easily, and as long as you do it the right way, can be very successful. Make sure when you are asking for a contact or connection, you always:

1. Do it very politely. This would be a favor, make sure you tell the person how much you appreciate them.
2. Explain why. Don’t just beg for connections, explain why you are asking them and why you deserve to get connected.
3. Don’t bug people. Ask once. Then drop it. People don’t have to help, and you reminding and bugging them will just make them want to help less.

We live in a world of virtual connections and less than 6 degrees of separation. I think it’s high time that we start using these connections more effectively and helping each other a lot more often.

Who can you introduce to each other? What is stopping you?

I want to hear you shout from the rooftops, brag your little hearts out and share with the world:

• What was your biggest accomplishment through the first half of 2010?
• What is your goal for the 2nd half of 2010?

Ready…GO!

We interrupt your regularly scheduled blog posts from Wright Creativity to fill you in on a couple new things going on!

1. I have officially moved my facebook business page from being under Kirsten Wright to Wright Creativity. So please, click on over and “like” my page…you know you want to! Oh, and by the way…there is a special offer over there you won’t want to miss
2. I have submitted a proposal to speak at blogworld and am very nervous, but will let everyone know the minute I find out.
3. Phone Photo Friday is in full swing, so if you are a reader and haven’t sent in one of your favorite pics you’ve taken with your cell phone…well, why not? You don’t have to fill out the form, just snap the pic and email it to me (kirsten(at)wrightcreativity.com)
4. I have an opening for a new blog management client starting in July. Because I work so in depth with each client, I haven’t had the time available to take on a new client until now! If you or someone you know is looking for some extra help getting started or keeping moving with their blog, you know where to go
5. Coming soon, I will be running a very special contest for all of my subscribers. It involves a 15% discount and one of my design services…so be sure to stay tuned, and make sure to send your friends so they can participate too (it might just be around an upcoming holiday in July).

…Tomorrow we will be back to your regularly scheduled content