Build Your Brand

Jon Katz & Seth Godin Challenge the Publishing Industry

There are interesting things going on in the world of book publishing.  Over here,  Jon Katz is partnering with the owner of the Battenkill Bookstore to sell his latest book and to encourage people to patronize independent book stores. 

If you scroll through Katz' s blog posts,  you can follow the developing story.  To date,  using his blog,  YouTube and Facebook platforms,  and the web site for the book store,  over 300 copies of  Going Home - Finding Peace When Pets Die  have been sold.  In a relatively short time period.

One of those pre-sold books is mine. 

I called the Battenkill Bookstore last week and spoke with a charming woman about placing an order and we worked through the transaction details in less than 10 minutes. 

I've been reading Jon Katz's books for quite some time;  keeping up with what he's doing on his blog and web site and am looking forward to reading his newest book. 

Over here,  Seth Godin,  in partnership with Amazon,  has just announced that a limited number of his latest book  (11,000) will be sold.   And,  if you take the time to read his post,  he explains his rational for this promotion.  

I'm on Godin's  opt-in list for The Domino Project.   I've been on it since it's inception.   Which is how I know about Godin's new book,  We Are All Weird.  

And,  because  I like the fact that Seth Godin is typically ahead of the curve when it comes to where Things Are Headed,  I didn't hesitate to place my online order this morning for one of those 11,000 limited edition copies. 

If I base my own purchasing habits on what both Katz and Godin represent  (coming up with innovative ways to capture market share among readers),  there will always (I hope),  be room for  a productive blend of hard cover,  soft cover, and digital print media.  

You know.  Books.  In.  Different.  Formats.  But.  Still.  Books.

Original thought,  compelling new ideas and a committed readership.  We desperately need all three. 

Hopelessly Hooked on Books

Books.  Piles of books.  Three sit on my desk, one waiting to be reviewed;  two I'm reading with another three or four stacked in my bedroom waiting their turn. 

Books are my crack,  my hopeless addiction;  my therapy, my pure entertainment, my inspiration;  my feel good,  safe escape when escape is called for.  When I am stalled in other areas of my life, you can bet that the one thing I'm still doing is reading books,  ordering books,  going to libraries,  prowling the aisles of Barnes & Noble,  ordering books from Amazon, and hunting out the smaller, independent book stores when I can. 

Launch - How To Quickly Propel Your Business Beyond The Competition, by Michael A Stelzner.

Doc, by Mary Doria Russell.

Life from Scratch, by Melissa Ford.

Going Home - Finding Peace When Pets Die, by Jon Katz.

There are stories behind all of these books.  Two of them, Stelzner's and Ford's books, were ordered off of Amzaon's web site.   Read Launch  over a month ago and just got Life from Scratch in the mail yesterday.   

Interestingly enough, the first of these two books is a "how to" tutorial - proof that anyone can harness what they're passionate about and build a sustainable business online using online and offline systems to first build brand awareness and then to roll out a product. 

The second book,  Life From Scratch,  is an illustration of what Stelzner writes about, regardless of whether Ford was even aware of Stelzner's book. 

Doc literally fell into my hands last week as I cruised the new fiction shelf in the library.  As I posted on Facebook two days ago,  it is meticulously researched and beautifully written.   For a language - lover (that would be me), this book is like a glass of aged malt scotch.  It goes down with a richness that needs to be s-l-o-w-l-y savored. 

Going Home is in "pre-launch."  It's official sell date in September 27 or September 29th.  Yesterday,  I called the Battenkill Bookstore and placed my order.  Like Launch and Life From Scratch,  Katz's latest book is an example of how some books are coming to the attention of readers using Social Media. 

Using his blog, YouTube channel and Facebook presence,  Katz has created awareness for his latest book with an audience already familiar with his books.  And, as a supporter of independent book stores, he started talking about this book to his fans by suggesting that they consider ordering it through the Battenkill Bookstore. 

More than 300 of us have taken him up on this.  So far.

I'd like to think that there's room enough for all of this.  For ordering books online,  for public libraries, for Barnes & Noble and for independent book stores.  

I need them all.

For simple convenience when the ease of online ordering fits into my day,  for the physical pleasure of browsing the stacks, talking to librarians about books, or losing myself in the commercial aisles of a Barnes & Noble, and for the intimacies that smaller book stores provide. 

I'd like to think that the rest of the world feels the same. 

 

 

 

 

Artisan Jewelry by Little Green Apple

You might think that little green apples don't have much to do with exquisite, hand-crafted, one-of-a-kind jewelry.

But.

Don't tell  Mary Anne Green that.   She's got a thriving jewelry stand at the Fairport Farmer's Market.  You can find her along what I call the 'back 40" aisle - the vendor stands  that back up to the Fairport Credit Union's parking lot. 

The sign makes it easy to find her.

 

And, she's got a group of raving fans who absolutely ADORE what she makes.  Like me.  And my friend who shops the market every Saturday.  And many more women who wander up to her table that first time and fall in love with Mary's jewelry.

There's a  LOT to see. 

If you don't see what you want,  talk with Mary.  She made my friend an ankle bracelet because my friend asked her if she could do that.  And, Mary could.  And, she did.

This bracelet is one of my favorite pieces.  Mary collected the stones from a beach up in the Adirondacks.  Isn't it stunning?  And, it's the only one.  I didn't buy it when I first saw it.  Think I'll go back next Saturday to see if Mary still has it. 

This is Mary.  I'm not sure why she closed her eyes when my husband took her picture.  Maybe she's shy and likes to let her jewelry speak for her. 

What do you suppose her necklaces are saying?

Are any of these bracelets talking to YOU?

See the necklace in the photograph below -- the one that has three pearl stones with the antique pin?  Well,  it had SO much to say to me that I just had to buy it.

Jewelry's like that,  you know.  If you listen,  it will speak to you.   And, about the only place that Mary's  jewelry may have the chance to speak to you is at the Fairport Farmer's Market.  At least for now.

The market is Mary's store.  She doesn't have a web site.   Or an email address on her business cards.   She does have a Facebook page that her daughter put up for her. 

So.  If you like the photos  I've posted,  there are a LOT of Saturdays to come between now and mid-November when the market shuts down for the winter.  

Come out to Fairport and see if Mary's stunning, one-of-a-kind jewelry has anything to say to you!

"Wisdom in a Traffic Jam" -- Yes, This is a Book Review!

Remember that song:  "Hello, it's me and it's been a while?"   Somehow, with all of the efforts I'm putting into my dog blog and then my family's annual Adirondack vacation,  I've neglected to put in some time here. 

Thought I'd get two things done at once to make up for my absence.   Write a post that introduces you to someone I first met in 2005 and do a book review of her very first book!  Let's get the show on the road. 

 

Wisdom in a Traffic Jam, by Angella Luyk

The typical profit and loss statement for the janitorial industry is pretty bleak.  Most companies grow by just one-to-two percent annually.  “Many,” says Angella Luyk, the CEO of Midnight Janitorial, “ see only a marginal amount of money or end the year with a deficit. They end up chasing their tails.” 

She knows what she’s talking about.  In 2005, she started a commercial cleaning company with her husband, Harry.  Angella assumed the role of CEO and Harry became the CFO.  Together they grew a company that defied the odds and went on to achieve stellar success. 

They worked hard that first year and saw a 20% growth in business by year's end.   Deciding that an annual growth of 25-30% would be a realistic, manageable target goal,  they put together a business plan to meet that percentage.  And each did what they do best. 

And for each year to come, they met that target goal. 

In 2007 Midnight Janitorial was a Rochester Business Ethics award finalist, and a 2008 winner. Additionally, the company was named 2008 New York State Employer of the year (one of five companies in twenty years to win from Rochester).

And then, Angella wrote a book. 

Rather than write about Midnight Janitorial, Angella writes about her personal philosophy for starting any business and then describes all of the things that she did that led to the incredible success of her company.  Everything that Angella did can be applied to the majority of traditional business models. 

If you have ever wanted to pick someone’s brain about what it takes to start a business, Wisdom in a Traffic Jam, by Angella Luyk, is the book for you.

By her own admission, Angella was naïve about some business practices when she started her company.  And, she doesn’t hesitate to describe some of the things that happened to her – all with the intent of making sure that none of this happens to you. 

For example, she arrives at one of her very first professional networking events wearing shorts and a shirt.  After making quite the startling entrance – everyone else is wearing standard business attire – Angella realizes her mistake and also realizes that she’ll look even worse if she turns around and leaves. 

She handles this with her trademark humor and is able to turn it into a learning experience for herself and for anyone in her reading audience who is as inexperienced as she was then. 

While Angella may have needed some tips about successful networking when she was just starting out, she was fully prepared at putting together an appropriate business plan before she introduced herself to the business community at large.  She focuses on the practical applications of putting that plan together in Chapter One.  Everything that she outlines is easily transferable to a business that you may be thinking about starting. 

The chapters about networking and branding are two you will want to read more than once.  If you think you are already a pro at this, consider one fact that Angella forgets to mention in her book.  She becomes so proficient at networking in her local community and in developing her brand, that she grows her business on referrals alone. 

That’s a powerful statement.  How many of you would like to be able to make the same claim?  You’ll be off to a good start after you’ve read Chapter 5 – The Secrets to Getting Your Name Out There.

What you’ll discover as you read Wisdom in a Traffic Jam, is that Angella has included some of her professional colleagues’ insights as well.  Want to hear how one financial advisor set her sights on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Africa and how that trip almost magically came about?  Maybe you’d like to read about how a guy in the auto industry decides to build his professional brand around what women say is important to them in car repairs.

These inspiring stories are just two that are woven into the book.  You’ll also get valuable tips and suggestions about how to have an online presence, effective sales strategies, goal setting and much more. 

Angella’s conversational writing style makes you feel as if she’s talking directly to you.  The result is that she delivers her message in a light-hearted, unabashed celebration of belief in whoever is reading her book. 

Starting a business isn’t easy nor does success happen quickly.  But, if you want to take the plunge by starting your business with a cheer leader in your back pocket to keep you on track, buy Wisdom in a Traffic Jam today.  Then, as Angella writes,  “ Share your wisdom with everyone and the world will be a wiser place.” 

Please note:  I am an affiliate for Wisdom in a Traffic Jam and will receive some monetary compensation if you buy ths book from any of the links in the post or by clicking on the badge in my sidebar. 

 

 

 

 

An Open Letter to Blog Spammers - Please Take Note

Dear ______ dot com:

First of all,  I have to say I am a bit flattered that you chose to hunker yourself down in front of my blog for two nights in a row to post this one line on 32 of my posts: 

               They hoped the climber would be able to hold on until rescuers reached him.

Thank you for not leaving porn.  Rather, you've left a sentence that leaves the door open for wondering if 1) you're a frustrated writer trying to write your first best seller 2) you're writing your memoirs in the third person and, in a fit of "getting stuck," you decided to write this one sentence over and over and over AND over again until your writer's block became unstuck.

I can appreciate that.   I find myself doing this very same thing ... In. A. Word. Doc.  That. No. One.  Else.  Sees.

In fact,  after deleting your comment for the 10th time (two days ago),  I found myself making up the rest of the story about this "climber" holding on until rescuers reached him.

Who are "they" and who is "the climber?"

Perhaps "they" are the rest of the adventurers on this ...on this what?  Did they go on a peace-keeping mission to a third world country?  Did they go on a mountain climbing expedition that took two years to plan out down to the smallest detail, including the life-saving techniques that they would have to employ if one of "them" met with an accident? 

Are" they" smugglers taking their ill-gotten gains down the narrow trail that leads to their next rondevous spot when one of "them"  fell off the side of the trail, landing on a narrow ledge, where he now lays clinging to life and cursing God that he ever got involved with this motely collection of thugs?

Are "they" and "him" all male? 

And, what about "the climber?"  Who's the hero (or idiot, depending on your point of view) who got picked to be the rescuer?

As you can see, there's a lot you're leaving out here.   But, please.  Don't feel obligated to add to this one sentence in any way, ever again, because what you need to take note of is that no one (except me and whoever monitors spam where this blog is hosted) will ever see it.

Here's what happens immediately after you post a comment on my blog.

Well, not immediately,  but fairly soon after.

Your comment is put into an email notification that TypePad sends to me.  I get: 

1.  Your commenter name

2.  Your commenter email address

3.  Your commenter URL

4.  Your IP address

And, I also get the comment that you thought you were leaving on my post(s).

What happens next is completely up to me.  I get to decide if your post gets published,  deleted or marked as spam.  And,  I wonder if you can figure out what happens next?

So.  I hope I've helped to clear some things up for you.  Just in case you happen to visit my blog again tonight. 

 

 

 

 

 

Follow Your Heart

Why is it that this simple directive "Follow Your Hear" gets way-laid, side-stepped,  misplaced, trampled on,  deliberately kicked or carelessly tossed aside? 

Did we become complacent? Forgetfull? Lazy? 

Did we just forget to pay attention as we got caught up in the daily minutia of making meals, getting laundry done, walking dogs, getting kids off to school and ourselves off to work; juggling mowing the lawn with grocery shopping,  getting together with girlfriends,  going to the gym three days a week, and checking that homework assignments get done? 

Did we start with one plan and forget to factor in that some things change with time? 

Jobs become obsolete.  Kids grow up.  We get old ...er.  If we've been paying attention all along,  we manage to stay close to what we fell in love with such a long time ago.  Not just "what" but "who."

The "what we love" is the easy part.  Books. The ocean.  Twilight.  Being physically fit.  Road trips.   Camp fires.  The Adirondacks in August.

The "who,"  family and friends,  husbands, wives,  lovers, sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, grandparents, neighbors ... is what makes our hearts sing and sometimes splinters it into so many pieces that we despair of ever breathing normally again.

Sometimes, those broken pieces can be reconfigured into a banadaged heart that beats just a little stronger.  And, in time,  when we take those bandages off,  we can smile at the scar because it's healed the hurt places.

So, to all my blogger friends who have slammed into unimaginable sorrow and hold the pieces of their hearts in paint-spattered hands,  hold fast to what you know and follow your heart. 

 

 

 

Catching Up After a Long Blogger's Absence

It's not a coincidence that as I put the final, finishing touches on a house project, that the shell of a special interest blog is almost done.  Somehow, the house project: stripping 40-plus year old wallpaper off of bedroom walls before painting them and the design and initial content for my dog web site, just happened to take place almost simultaneously.

Start stripping wall paper.  Get free report re-configured into a PDF format and hooked into aweber.  Strip some more wall paper.  Think about what's going on the sidebar.  Strip more wallpaper.  Spend some time getting familiar with a different dashboard.

Strip more paper.  Try to keep calm and centered when some technical issues come up.   Take breaks. Clean up. Get the dogs out. 

The actual wall paper stripping took 3-4 days including one long weekend.  The prep work to the walls before we painted took another 2-3 days.

Milestones were easy to see on the house project.  Every day's different and still the same.  What I temporarily lost was the discipline of creating regualar blogging time.   It's a different kind of writing than writing articles or chapters for books.  The same but different.

The bedroom is a rich kind of peach color with subtle pink tones.  Kind of like a light terra cotta.  White - a bright white - trim.  Clean open space.  Now, the challenge becomes keeping that space open  - no clutter. No junk.  Thirty-six boxes of books went out to the second floor of the garage. Some of them will come back. But. Some of them will not. 

Creativity has a hard time finding itself when it's falling over clutter.  Time to get my head back in the game.

 

Why I Started This Blog

Almost a year ago,  I  wrote my first blog post to reach out to women who were re-inventing themselves.   If you want to read the more detailed explanation of why  I decided to start this blog,  you can click on this line of text.  And, to check out my special interest blog,  on the abilites that dogs have to change  your life, I invite you to visit:  HealingRescueDogs to see what I'm doing.

And, to read my recently published articles,  you can click here.

A Friday Potpouri of Women Business Owners

This post's outrageous disregard for SEO (how many people do you suppose are madly googling "potpouri?" )  owes itself to the fact that it's time for a bit of fun and nonsense that feeds my delight with other people's "stuff."  

Other people's "stuff" that will, in turn, feed my creative muse.

One of my most favorite blogs to visit is one  that belongs to Linda Lawrence.  I've known Linda for a long time now even though the times when we see each other are at the area arts festivals that she "vendors at."   I get lost in the colors and love to hear all of the ways that she finds to revel in teasing out her own muse.

From glass-blown jewelry to vintage clothing. 

One of the newest "blogs on the block"  features vintage apparel snapped up by the daughter of another friend of mine.   Morgan's got a passion for fashion and she's just begun to put her unique look together online.   Lately, I've been stopping by to see what she's picked up and how she's creating different looks.  

She's just added an etsy shop and that's a fun, whirwind tour of all of her finds.

Interestingly enough,  I just finished reading  A Vintage Affair, by Isabel Wolff.  This was purely escape reading - is there any other kind?   This book is a fabulous "companion piece" to Morgan's blog. 

From vintage clothing to fairies and pixie dust.

If you need to endulge yourself in pure whimsey and pretend (and don't we all need some of that?),   plan on spending a lot of time in Donna Antonucci's fantasy fairy land.   I've known Donna for so long that I can't quite remember how we  met.   Her talent touches my soul and makes me smile.

These three women  found ways to successfully brand themselves as artists and business owners.  Linda and Donna have been at this a while and their brands are anchored in  consistency,  perserverance  and  a fearless  conviction that they had something - "some stuff" - that was worth their time to develop. 

Morgan's fledgling online business is  at the opposite end of branding.  She's truly "the new kid on the block."   Her conviction and passion are just as fearless.   And her journey is only just beginning.

All three women hunkered down in their passions with a complete disregard for practicalities.  That they have unquestionable talent is obvious.   That they chose to take "the path less chosen" when they started out is something that needs to be recognised and celebrated, especially today, when so many women despair of finding an outlet for their own passions that can be developed into a sustainable business. 

So.  If you find yourself at a crossroads or if you've smacked into a wall and you're stuck,  take time out to explore what Linda, Donna and Morgan are doing.  There's always a detour to take or a window to open.  You'll know it when you see it.  Trust me.

 

Guest Post by Carol Bryant

Anatomy of a Grieving Dog Mom

By: Carol Bryant, Social Media/PR Director and Dog Writer, FIDO Friendly magazine

There’s a hole in my heart where whole used to be. Those were the first words that came to mind when I sat down today to write this piece about grief, the power it spews into one’s life whether we want it or not. The great Emily Dickinson wrote so many passages about death, yet one resonates over and over, “Forever is composed of nows.” It certainly is. Are you loving someone today? Missing someone today? Wanting something today? Right now, you hold the forever that is the feeling.  Right now.

And today,  now,  my forever is grief.

It’s an odd thing grief. We fear it, dismiss it, try and avoid it, occasionally have brushes with it, and most often times without warning, it invites itself into our lives. No welcome mat but it comes nonetheless. Good ole Emily said it best, “Because I could not stop for death, He kindly stopped for me.” So when Lucy Maloney  asked if she could have the honor of immortalizing my Brandy Noel in replica form with one of her miniatures, I hesitated.

Did I want to resurface those feelings? Would people think I was ‘weird’ for wanting to have this forever keepsake? Would this set me back to day one when I let my baby girl’s frail, disease-ravaged body free to soar and me left alone without her physical presence? None of that mattered, I deduced. This is a gift for me. Some of us visit cemeteries.  Some light a candle in memory of; others we suffer in silence because, after all, ‘it’s just an animal.’  Nod your head if somewhere along life’s highway you’ve had that comment thwarted your way.

"There's no wrong way to grieve," my grief counselor told me. “You saw a grief counselor because your dog died?” Uh, okayyyyy. Yep, some people validate themselves and their ability to master the art of grieving by tossing eye rolls and handing out sneers like napkins at a cocktail party. <thumps hand to forehead> Oh wait, that’s right anger is a part of the process.  Some wounds run deep.

So I sent a locket of hair to Lucy Maloney with some photographs of a life well lived and forever painfully missed. 

 

It costs two postage stamps to send grief these days.  Not bad.

I figured I would I see something resembling my Brandy in microscope thimble-sized form come back to me where I’d keep it in a closet until the day came I could face her likeness without melting into a puddle of hurt.

What did arrive changed me.  Me, who knows all about grief,  has mastered the art of suffering through it and while not kicking it’s choke hold on me, overcame and carries it with her like a shield of sorts. A wounded warrior. The mailman delivered hope. Hope costs a few more than 2 stamps by the way.

I called a family member to come open the box for me.  Same as the day I had to let my baby go at the vet. Please don’t make me do this alone.

What  surfaced was nothing short of a complete likeness of my Brandy Noel.  Her fur intertwined with the process Lucy uses to make miracles come to life.  She stands more than several inches high,  she certainly isn’t thimble sized,  but the gaze in her eyes, the ever so slight tilt of her head, the love in who she always shall be, those are the magical qualities in Lucy Maloney’s work that were brought to life.  Many a tear fell that day and continue to do so.  It’s my grief, after all.

“Are you going to sleep with it?” “Put it next to her ashes?” These are some things people asked me.  Contrary to popular belief, no I’m not sitting home with an Ouija board summoning her spirit nor immortalizing her with a dedicatory wing of the house. But even if I were, am I not a fully functioning adult? Don’t I pay taxes and live and laugh, earn an income and rescue stray dogs? Don’t I have the right as a human being to hurt and deal as I see fit? What is wrong with this world to diminish the handling of one’s grief?

My Brandy is home in the closest sense I will ever have her until again we meet. Lucy Maloney is a maker of miracles and far above the craft her hands create. She is sort of a Clarence to George Bailey. Well, at least to me. For that, I am forever indebted.

As for my hurt, if you’ve loved and lost someone, you are walking that path with me. I view my grief as a suitcase. Some days it’s a cosmetics bag full and others it’s Samsonite gorilla sized. Sometimes I feel like I’m on a carousel in the airport waiting for the form my grief will take. Do I wait days or weeks before I tear up and ache so very much or is today a carry on kind of day where I just take it with me? In any event, I know my luggage always arrives and never gets lost. I’ve learned losing a loved one means gaining a new identity. Victim of grief, survivor of hurt, and eventually carrier of pain.

I was one of those people, by the way, who said “never again. I cannot get this close to an animal like this.” He sits at my feet daily and his name is Dexter, by the way. My never again. Thankfully I think with my heart and then ask my brain to double check my work. I could never not love this way again.

“It came to me that every time I lose a dog they take a piece of my heart with them.  And every new dog that comes into my life gifts me with a piece of their heart.  If I live long enough, all the components of my heart will be a dog, and I will become as generous and loving as they.” Anonymous wrote that.  I bet they’ve grieved a suitcase full, too.

 

Carol Bryant | Writer and Social Media/PR Director
FIDO Friendly Magazine

Nominee, 2010 Dog Writers Association of America award
As heard on Oprah Radio: Gayle King Show radio interview
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