You Are Worth More Than You Think!

I wish people regarded themselves in a better light sometimes. I’m in line at the grocery store recently and a man was speaking with what sounded like his boss on the phone. “OK, I understand if you want to give him the project.” He hung up and looked dejected. Why didn’t he fight harder?

The same thing happened to another woman I know. She has a great business but she fails to go after the “whale” contracts, sticking with small referral business. Why? When I asked her, she said she didn’t have a big corporate office. As a result, and before trying, she assumed the company wouldn’t want to hire a small fish….

We all have value. Assuming a big whale contract would want a big corporate office to contract with is wrong. Not fighting for the project you want is wrong. Many large companies want independent thinkers, not corporations, to contract with. Assuming you can’t or won’t get a contract, or lying down when someone says ‘no’, are bad habits that should be broken.

It’s very important to know your value and to know when to fight and when to say ‘no’. If you don’t understand the importance of these three elements, I highly encourage you to connect with me on Twitter to continue the conversation.

In the meantime, think about your value. What makes you and your service unique?

Until tomorrow,

Velma Trayham

Promoting Growth, Not Kindness.....

There are two types of clients that any and all business owners have to deal with. Those who pay you to do your job, council when needed, and help promote growth. Then there are those clients who pay you, never challenge what isn’t working, and sit and listen to them blab on about how great they are or how things don’t change….. yada, yada, yada!

The challenge in being kind lies with the second type of client. It is not your job to be kind to clients, although there is a way of saying certain things, but rather it is your responsibility to be honest and deliver the raw truth so you can promote growth.

You’re providing a service to help your clients, not to befriend them. Clients can become very upset when you do this. They may even drop you for a while. Don’t give in and be kind. Instead, restate what you said. Mean what you say and say what you mean. Many publicity people worry about being kind and shy away from what will actually work. In the end, the client doesn’t see results and will end up being mad at you anyway. So, do your job and don’t sway from your objectives in exchange for being nice or being popular.

You want to work with clients who are ready and willing to hear the truth and to do whatever it takes to improve their visibility. You don’t want to work with clients who expect you to be the ‘yes’ man or women. This said, below are my tips for delivering ‘”unkind” advice.

1. Don’t be sorry… be about shine. Don’t ever apologize to a client if you have nothing to apologize for. They may want to hear ‘sorry’ but this isn’t something they are entitled to hear. Remember this.

2. Back up your words with facts and data. It’s hard for clients to blow off your points if you can back them up.

3. Have an exit strategy. If you know a client isn’t willing to change, figure out how you are going to exit the relationship within the contract’s terms.

Until tomorrow,
Velma Trayham

You’re Thinking Your Way to Failure

I know this man who is afraid to succeed. He doesn’t know this, but it is true. He over analyzes every opportunity and seeks out mentor after mentor. His plan is lacking any action. I believe he is so afraid that he is going to fail that he makes a million and one excuses to not take any action but only seek consulting.  This man is thinking his way to failure.

Over the years I have come across other people like this. That is why I am dedicating today’s blog to beating out failure by avoiding the following ‘thinking’ pitfalls.

1.       If you use the past to predict the future know that growth is impossible. If you have failed somewhere in your past, let it go. Otherwise, you will fail again in the future. Dallas Buyers Clubs was rejected time and time and time again. The producers kept the dream alive and both actors in the movie received Oscars this year!

2.       If you love to stall on things then there is a great chance you have missed the boat of opportunity more than once. Avoid this by setting up mini-milestones and commitments for large undertakings.

3.       You compare yourself to others. Unless you are a twin, this move is deadly when it comes to success. You are unique. You have different circumstances, resources and educational experiences when compared to others.  Avoid the cookie-cutter syndrome by putting yourself first and expecting others to follow you – not the other way around!

Until Monday,

Coco the CEO 

Are You A Business Diva?

Here it is, the moment of truth…. Are you a business diva? I wanted to write this blog after dealing with so many women in the workplace today. People say men can be hard to do business with. Maybe. But nothing compares to a diva woman in the workplace, especially if she is the boss. How can I say this? Well, I own several companies and guess what… I am a woman!

I deal with other women day in and day out and I am sad to say there is an ignorant demographic of women business owners out there that I deem as divas. These are women who are not successful but holding on. They have an attitude that stumps their ability to grow as a woman and a business owner because they are too busy not helping others or leading with grace. 

How do you know if you are a business diva? I’ve listed some signs below;

1. You complain.  Life is imperfect. People can’t read your mind. If you are not providing tools or constructive criticism to help others, you are setting them up for failure and your complaints only validate this to yourself. Complaints never helped anyone grow.  Learn from your complaints in order to help your own company grow and correct a fellow woman or peer. 

2. Your verbiage is ‘off the chain’. Ever notice how some women help themselves look stupid by not having a grasp on the basic English language? I once spoke with a woman who used “irregardless” over and over when putting someone else down. This isn’t even a word! Years later, frustrated employees mocked their boss by putting up a voicemail with animation on YouTube with an “irregardless” remix. Don’t let your ignorance come back to bite you. Speak elegantly and know the meaning of words. Otherwise, you are a diva and not a true business owner. 

3. Don’t make friends with employees. I say this because I see women do this. They make friends with their employees, or worse- clients, and then when it comes time to play the role of the boss they bring up personal situations. This is terrible and classifies you as a diva.  You shouldn’t be friends with your employees or your clients in the first place. More so, you shouldn’t throw personal situations or occurrences up to them when dealing with a business matter.

Until next time, 

Coco the CEO 

Running A Company and Weight Loss.

Here’s a fun saying, ““Running a successful business is a lot like losing weight; the principles are simple, but the practice is difficult.” I heard this and laughed because it is so true. Everyone thinks they can run a business but the practice itself is difficult.

I want to talk about walking the walk today because there is more to owning a business then just clicking the start key and being rich! No one cares how many emails you have, how many other people are calling you when you are on the phone with them, how many projects, cold calls, or pitches you have on your schedule – they only care about their results. If you are not striving for results, you’re dead in the water. And, it may take months, if not a year, to start seeing results. No turn-key success here.

You also have to practice being pleasant in some not so nice situations. You will have to be kind to clients who are less than horrible. You will have to bend rules to make deals happen. You will have to strive for success when everyone else is betting on your failure.

My point for tonight’s blog is to not give up. Like a weight loss goal, the longer you try and the harder you apply yourself- you will get there. You might not lose 100 pounds over three months and you certainly will not make a million dollars in a day, but as long as you are practicing what you preach- you will reach the end of the rainbow.

Until tomorrow,

Coco the CEO

4 Facebook Tricks for Companies that WORK!

Many people and businesses use Facebook wrong. They put up a post here and there and then wonder why they don’t see traction or ROI. Well, usually the posts are not vetted with marketing tests and that is why there is no real ROI or brand engagement.

Here are my top four tricks for Facebook use in direct relation to business ROI and brand engagement;

1. Test the time of day you post. Test engagement means posting the same message at different hours of the day for a week. This test is standard in the marketing area and help you navigate the impact of your Facebook feed during different times throughout the day (and night). The only way to ensure optimal engagement is through old-fashioned trial and error because every company has a different target demographic.

2. Ask for input. This helps your demographic not only take ownership of your brand in a way, but it can help you from spending money where it doesn’t need to be spent! Whether you customers to vote on a new logo or product color, use their input to reasonably guide the direction of your next business decision.

3. Pictures are shared more than content. This is a fact. Your pictures are worth more than a million words so make sure you include a photo or graphic with your content to help your post stand out.

4. Be your own biggest fan. Facebook is where you want to promote yourself without limits. Be bold, talk yourself up, and post relevant information and graphics. Your customers will engage with you more often when you are confident about your services and products.

Until tomorrow,

Coco the CEO

Failure - A Way to Win!

Failure is going to happen in business. From failing to meet a customer’s expectations to failing at your overall operations, on some scale- you will fail. It is where you go after the failure, and what you do, that really counts.

I’ve failed countless times. Some of my greatest business lessons came out of this failure and not out of my college classes. While failure can be expensive, learning from it always possesses value.

Here’s how you can turn your failures into a ‘win’;

1. Accept responsibility for your mistakes instead of making excuses.

2. Apologize. Many thinks in life are easy to accept once an apology is offered. Refusing to say “I’m sorry” is what adds salt into your customers’ wounds. In fact, examine the apology Starbucks offers to clients when mistakes are made by clicking here: http://starbuckspassion.tumblr.com/post/925449418/the-importance-of-good-customer-service

3. Don’t repeat the mistakes once you acknowledge them.

Being humble is a part of business. You will not please all of the people all of the time. We are not, as humans, perfect. However, taking ownership of our being human and making mistakes can help you learn from failure and prevent further missteps.

Until next time,

Coco the CEO