As a professional writer, even I know the significance of this quote in today’s online world…
“A picture is worth a thousand words.” Napolean Bonaparte
As CEO of LaunchMob Media, I’ll be updating you on LaunchMob’s third year. I’ll be busy but I hope you will join me as I continue on this journey to “launch” brands and build “mobs” for my clients through brand journalism. There are so many stories to tell…
Ken DeGilio, Founder/CEO & Chief Brand Storyteller
LaunchMob Media
(Featured Guest Article by Alexander Heyne, Founder, Milk the Pigeon & Modern Health Monk)
Everywhere you turn, in INC magazine, Entrepreneur and Forbes, you read stories of young 20 somethings who sell companies for 20 million dollars, poor artists who become overnight successes, and other anecdotes that make it look like a dream come true to become an entrepreneur.
The reality though, is something very different.
Here are five harsh truths about entrepreneurship.
For some reason, as a kid who worked hard, I figured I deserved the world. I would look at the people around me and think “I work way harder than these people, I deserve way more.”
There’s a funny thing about feeling you deserve something though. It’s a human invention. Tigers aren’t sitting around the jungle thinking “I’m starving and my pups are dying, I deserve some food, so send me it!”
No, if tigers are hungry and their pups are starving, they hunt and hunt and hunt until they catch food, or starve to death. The options and choices are quite easy. In other words, they do what it takes.
Many rookie entrepreneurs learn this quickly too – it doesn’t matter what you think you deserve, or where you want to be, the only thing that actually matters is that you put your ego aside and do whatever it takes to get the job done.
There are no guarantees.
Let’s face it. In school we’re bred to become good employees. To follow directions. To fill in the bubbles right. To pick the correct answers and think inside the box.
But once you get out of formal schooling, it’s a whole new world.
Suddenly, initiative and creativity are prized and rewarded – in fact, it’s almost backwards.
Good employees take orders, do things as you tell them (without questioning you), think inside the box, and are very good, predictable cogs in a machine.
As an entrepreneur, almost none of those things are important.
You have to be incredibly creative, hard working, a networker, a people person, a marketer, a salesman – in other words, irreplaceable. You have to wear many hats.
You have to be up for learning as many skills as you need to succeed. It’s not a walk in the park if you’re not passionate about what you’re doing or the mission you’re committed to.
It requires a totally different bucket of skills.
Another harsh truth – passion is incredibly important, however, it’s irrelevant to your customer. Your customer just wants something that solves their problem.
When I go into Best Buy, as a typical consumer, I could care less if you like selling me TVs. I just want a great TV for a great price. And no, I’m not a jerk – this is how virtually all customers are when they come into your shop.
‘Help meeeeeeee” they are saying. “Give me a good priceeeeeee” they demand.
So many entrepreneurs start a business because they can finally do work they are passionate about, but this sometimes backfires and becomes their overwhelming obsession.
They get so caught up in finding and living their passion that their business is slowly dying and surrendering because they forgot the only thing that actually mattered: the customer. The market. Demand.
These are all incredibly un-sexy, but I definitely put this in the top 5 reasons why new entrepreneurs fail. An overemphasis on making yourself happy, instead of the overemphasis on making the customer happy and satisfied.
Does that mean passion doesn’t matter? Hell no!
Passion is 10x more important when you work for yourself because you have to keep yourself motivated every single day. You control your income.
In a 9-5 (depending) it doesn’t matter what mood you show up in, as long as you show up, you get paid. Dozens of my corporate friends sit on Facebook half the day in their jobs and get paid.
When you’re on your own, passion is important. Just don’t forget that how much you’re passionate about solving your customers’ problems is king.
“You’ve got to want it as bad as you want to breathe.”
“Work until your eyes bleed.”
“You have to sacrifice everything you love in order to put in the hours.”
Have you heard all of these entrepreneurial pieces of advice?
Well I say they’re total bullshit.
They all give the illusion that every form of work is hard, and that only work that is hard is real work.
In my experience, whether or not the work is hard is all a matter of psychology and personal interest – going door to door 100x a day is fun for some really outgoing people who love the challenge. Another person might dread it, and the day drags on and on. Is it objectively hard work? Nope.
Hard work is really subjective. Hard is not the requirement. Work is.
No matter what you do, you have to keep showing up. You have to do the work, regardless of whether or not it’s hard. Some days it will be. Some days it won’t.
Sometimes it just takes a shift of mindset to love the work. Sometimes no matter what you do, the work sucks.
Rather than thinking you have to put yourself through hell as an entrepreneur, just remind yourself of the commandments 1-10 for being an entrepreneur:
Do the work.
Being an entrepreneur means failure. Period.
If you aren’t failing in life and work, you aren’t trying new things.
Rather than viewing failure as a stone wall which you can’t pass, view it as what it is: an experiment.
You try an experiment, you collect data. You collect data, you make new calculated moves. Rinse and repeat.
If there were ever a formula for becoming a successful entrepreneur, it would be this: run as many experiments as possible.
Let’s say to want to figure out a way to market a new invention you’ve made. It’s a robotic nanny that automatically does the dishes for you (I could use one). You know it’s useful, you just don’t know who’d buy it.
So you come up with a list of experiments and a hypothesis:
A. Rich people would like them
B. Busy people would like them
C. Executives would like them
Then you choose a specific experiment to undertake:
A. Marketing to rich people online
B. Marketing to rich people in person at trade shows
C. Marketing to rich people in person by selling B2B
D. Marketing to rich people in person by selling B2C
You do an experiment, and you collect day. Ditch what doesn’t work, go with what does.
Some of your experiments will fail. Some will succeed. But ultimately you are taking the guesswork out and getting important data for the future.
Being an entrepreneur means becoming best friends with failure.
The life of an entrepreneur is not easy. But for many people they simply describe it as a “calling” – without which, they wouldn’t be happy. For many people, it’s not a choice, but an obligation. A compulsion. Destiny.
Hopefully these five truths won’t scare you away from finding your work, but will help confirm in your mind that this is indeed what you want to be doing.
————————————
Bio: Alexander runs Milk the Pigeon, a site geared towards lost 20 somethings who want to find freedom through entrepreneurship, and Modern Health Monk, a health site for people who have health problems caused by 21st century life.
There are some great lessons to learn when Internet marketing, networking, public relations and social media collide. I wanted to challenge you to think about your brand’s story and how you can use Social PR to help tell your story. I wanted to share a few lessons and provide an example of this using my recent experience with the launch of Lake Nona Networks.
Lake Nona Networks, a new networking group, met for the first time on Wednesday, January 16, 2013 at Nona Tap Room in the Lake Nona community of Orlando, Florida. This is a new networking meetup for entrepreneurs and professionals in Lake Nona, also known as Medical City, a new neoclassical community with a focus on health and wellness in southeast Orlando.
Here is the social media release: http://www.prlog.org/12053738-lake-nona-networks-announces-its-first-meetup.html
We can all agree that professional networking is a very important aspect of growing a business and we can also agree that gaining positive publicity is also critical for building our company’s profile in our community. So, to get the meetup promoted I created a Social Media Release to connect with my current online network.
It’s important to create a media release to establish the details in an online format that we can use to easily communicate to our own online networks – our online communities, bloggers and others in our community. We do this while building trust within our own communities. It’s designed to contain your all updated links, photos and videos, if available.
The shift from a traditional press release to a social media release is about taking advantage of our own circles of influence first. While it’s important to gain media attention, it’s not always the primary goal. I remember faxing press releases to media outlets in an effort to “get ink.” Now you can use services like PRWeb and Vocus to manage and distribute your media releases. While it might be critical to get the word out and promote the event through traditional media, it’s also very important to create credibility and build trust in your own circles first. It’s the core of word of mouth marketing and your Social Media Release is now the tool you can use for that. Use these tools to build your online communities and tell your own story!
Social Media Releases are built for the benefit of your online communities. Here are six tips to make this process more effective:
Getting Started
I highly recommend PitchEngine as a tool for your social media news release but there are many others. You can tell I created mine using the free service, PRlog, but notice the intrusive ads and boring layout. If you are trying to get your message out there in a professional manner, PitchEngine provides a great service for a minimal monthly cost. This is one I created for one of my clients last year:
Why Reports Still Matter…
This goes back to having a marketing goal and strategy for every project you create. If you aren’t tracking and measuring your success, you’ll never be able to improve or grow your marketing efforts. I have some success tips for developing your marketing goals I’ll share in a future blog post.
Here is one of the screenshots from my online reports…
So, what are you waiting for?
Create your own social media release and share it here! If you have questions about how to get started or how to use any of the tools above, leave a comment below.
Surfr App Campaign Hits the Internet Waves
Yesterday, I interviewed Nicholas Mohnacky, creator of the new Surfr App and business development director at Pixil Agency, a full-service digital agency located in Palm Beach, Florida. His awesome Kickstarter campaign, which launched last night, includes a killer strategic brand execution with a solid brand identity, dude. This is a surfer app, right?
Crowdfunding has changed how we do business.
Crowdfunding brings power to the people by allowing the audience to engage with a brand directly, decide if they want to be part of it and join a community of like-minded brand loyalists from day one.
“The old bromides – “the 800 lb. gorilla way, that size matters, you rule over others, and people are subservient to organizations” – no longer work. Instead, she says, “I think the 21st century is about working with others. There’s a notion that individuals can come together and create value, create scale. Each of us as an individual recognizes the value we bring: I’m not a cog in a machine; I bring creativity and vision.” (Clark, Why Kickstarter and TEDx are the Future of Business, Forbes)
View my virtual interview with Nick Mohnacky as he answers the following questions to give you a unique insight about creating your own Kickstarter campaign to launch your brand. Even if you aren’t launching your brand on Kickstarter.com, Nick’s insight will help you create a more effective kickoff and a more effective brand, overall.
Why did you create Surfr app? What inspired you to create the Surfr app?
What is it and why did you develop this app?
How did you decide on the name Surfr?
What made you decide to launch on Kickstarter.com?
What were the challenges that you faced in creating your Kickstarter campaign?
How much time did it take you to complete the Kickstarter promo?
Your campaign goal is $50K – Discuss your marketing goals for Kickstarter campaign. What do you hope to really accomplish through this crowdfunding campaign?
How did you come up with the incentives?
How have you created a following for Surfr App prior to the launch?
Here’s the video interview:
Check out the Surfr App campaign on Kickstarter here:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/751994518/surfr-app
Some Resources:
Forbes’ Why Kickstarter and TEDx are the Future of Business
Tim Ferriss on Kickstarter: How to Raise $100,000 in 10 Days…
The Launch of the Brand Interview!
I hope you appreciated Nick’s insight. If you’d like to see more Brand Launch Interviews, let me know below in the comments. If you have a brand you are launching and you have an innovative approach to share, let me know. I’d love to interview you, too!
Hang ten,
Orlando Ken
Make Something Happen.
Some of my clients, business associates and friends are all gearing up to launch or to expand their businesses in 2013. I am also launching three new online resources to help entrepreneurs with their web content, PR and personal branding in 2013. So, I wanted my first blog post of 2013 to mark the move from ideation into brand execution.
In the rush of our daily lives, we get too busy with what we are doing to take the time to plan, develop and execute the most effective brand strategy. Knowing that you, my colleagues and friends, are currently in that “brand shift,” I wanted to provide some tips and tools to help you through that shift. I hope you’ll use these seven tactics to help nurture and grow your brands.
1. Audit Your Brand.
Take the time to audit your brand right now before you make any changes. If you haven’t taken the time lately to inspect your brand, you should make this a priority. Look online and offline for how people perceive your brand. Identify and inspect all your touch points from your business cards to your website to ensure consistencies in all your words, visual and other elements that are creating your unique brand. Be your own Brand Police and take the time to delete old images or create new videos, graphics or other designs.
Some immediate actions you should take:
1. Review your Google Analytics – document today’s current stats.
2. Google your brand and your key employees – what are the first page results? If you’re not happy with the results, you can take steps now to change this.
3. Take screenshots of your homepage, social media sites, and other graphic designs and create your business Pinterest business page.
4. Review your company’s YouTube page and check to see if you’ve been tagged in any other online videos.
5. Collect and review all your printed samples from business cards, flyers, direct mail and POP displays. Do they properly reflect your professional brand?
6. Read your own brand stories on your website. Think about the impact of your brand stories and your founder’s story. Are they effective? Are they engaging?
Bottom line: Be your own Brand Police and take a real, unbiased look at how people perceive your brand. Take action now.
2. Remember to Tell Your Brand Story.
Forget advertising, customers want to hear your authentic brand story. Don’t have one? Take the time and effort to craft your brand stories. From your CEO story, founder’s story, backstory, specific brand stories, and customer stories, this is your chance to connect with your future customers through the power of storytelling. If they don’t understand your brand story, they’ll move on to the next company. Take the time to tell an authentic, engaging story. Watch for more resources to help you with your brand story in future blog posts and resources.
Bottom line: Tell the right story and tell the story right.
3. Develop Your Content Plan.
As you tell your brand stories, you’ll want to create a new Editorial Calendar for 2013. Don’t forget your new blogging strategy. Remember: “Companies that blog 15 or more times per month get five times more traffic than companies that don’t blog,” HubSpot’s Marketing Benchmarks from 7,000+ Businesses. Now is a great time to reach out to your influencers and ask them if you can write a guest blog post for their blog. It will drive traffic to your site and they’ll appreciate your fresh, new viewpoints.
Discuss your visual plan with your graphic designer. My suggestion is to simplify and create brand meaning in everything that you do.
Build your content team and use a professional platform to collect and distribute this important brand content.
Check out the blog post on the five best free content marketing ebooks of 2012 from Julliet Stott, guest blogger, Econsultancy: http://econsultancy.com/us/blog/11367-the-five-best-free-content-marketing-ebooks-from-2012.
Bottom line: Your brand content plan is one of the most important strategies you’ll have to effectively communicate your brand message to your audience. Earn your social currency.
4. Update Your Marketing Plan.
The new year is a great time to review your marketing plan and analyze your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and your success stories from your 2012 marketing plan. If you haven’t created your marketing goals and objectives for 2013, get busy because your competitors are waiting to take your business. Construct SMART marketing goals and think about your marketing benchmarks in the process. Are you able to build your brand vision and tell your brand story through your strategic marketing plan?
Bottom line: Make your marketing goals are measurable and contain a specific timeframe or prepare to spend more money.
5. Jump In and Get Social.
Social media continues to be a key influencer in growing your brand. In fact, more companies are spending more of their online advertising dollars to grow their brand presence using social media. My suggestion is to keep developing your community with your strongest social media tool and commit to taking it to the next level by testing new ads or a developing a new special promotion, for example. I would also suggest that you learn one new social media vehicle as soon as possible. If you haven’t tried Pinterest or if you’ve neglected your YouTube channel, now is the time to learn some new social media tricks for 2013.
This is a great time to commit to perfecting your team’s Social Media skills in 2013. Resist quick fixes and self-proclaimed “social media gurus.” Instead, invest your time in learning from the best. Review Neal Schaffer’s blog post, The 20 Best Social Media Books from 2012 to Read in 2013: http://windmillnetworking.com/2012/12/21/best-social-media-books-2012/?goback=%2Egde_66275_member_198840353.
Your first stop should be to craft your company’s Linkedin business page and keep it updated with timely and relevant company updates.
Bottom line: Invest in building real relationships with your audience through your social media strategy. Learn from the best and start today!
6. Up Your PR Game.
Remember, it’s best to launch your brand with word of mouth marketing and pubic relations and then build it with advertising. First, develop your media contacts and pitch them on something you are doing right now to promote the category of your buinsess. Think how you are making a difference with your clients/customers rather than what new product or sevice you have. If you haven’t pitched the media lately or don’t know your industry’s journalists and expert bloggers, today’s the day to get out your black book and start updating your media lists. Don’t forget, your own customers and clients want to know what’s new with your business too.
Expand your online press room with new press releases, updated videos and professional pictures so you’ll always be prepared for the next media opportunity. I highly suggest PitchEngine.com to help you host your online press room.
Bottom line: The power of positive media buzz is priceless. Build trust with the media and it will pay off for your brand.
7. Grow Your Personal Brand.
It’s 2013 and it’s time to make a bigger investment in your personal brand. In today’s world, people are making decisions about your company based on your personal brand.
95% of those surveyed decided whether or not to invest in a company.”
While we can’t all be like Richard Branson, we can take the time to interact and develop meaningful relationships within our own communities.
Here are a few personal branding tactics to get you started:
• Read the classic personal branding article by Tom Peters, The Brand Called You;
• Secure your domain name for your full name;
• Write your own book;
• Register for your next upcoming professional conference;
• Rethink your own personal blogging strategy;
• Rewrite, edit and update your Linkedin Profile;
• Join a new Meetup group and network with other professionals in your city;
• Attend Dan Schawbel’s new personal branding class: http://web1.udemy.com/personalbranding/.
Bottom line: Personal branding counts. Today you are the CEO of the brand called You.
The End.
Well, it’s not the end; it’s just the beginning of a successful year for your brand. The next step is yours. These are just few brand tactics to help you create a more meaningful brand strategy. I hope you’ll take the time to implement these important steps to grow your brand.
I invite you to ask questions, make comments and leave your success stories below.
Let’s launch these brands!
Keep Hustling,
Orlando Ken
It’s funny how one small event or circumstance can either change or help reinforce your direction to help you reach your overall vision.
I recently helped out a nonprofit organization that develops websites for other nonprofits at little or no charge. Great organization! If you want the link, I’ll add it later or ask me. Today, I got a nice thank-you note in the mail and in the message the person stated that they would like to assist an organization that happens to be my past client, one that I was planning on completing more work. So, as I scratched my head thought about how to best learn and continue to monetize from that learning experience.
In today’s world, competition comes to us from all levels and fast – even when you don’t think there could be.
So, why is this important to a CEO or brand manager? A brand is built on a strong foundation with a clear vision about what your company does, how it’s different and why it matters to your customers. It’s also about knowing when and how to adapt, grow and provide solutions; It’s not just providing a quick fix with services or products in today’s world.
That thank-you note reinforced to me that my company is not just about providing a website solution, it’s a mission to help to those who want to provide meaning for their customers or clients. This is about helping entrepreneurs and businesses so they have that clarity but in the end it’s about telling a brand story to the customer.
Brand clarity begins with a strong vision for your brand. Do you have one?
Social Entrepreneurship. It’s not a new word but it makes you feel really great when you say it, right? You might think of Oprah, Bill Gates and Bono as social entrepreneurs but I wanted to focus on my story and provide an insight to you about what motivates me.
A few phrases come to mind: “Anything is possible!” “Make a difference.” “Help others “ and “Do what you love.” I’ve been intrigued with “social entrepreneurs” since I was a kid. From helping with local charity events and our church fundraisers to helping with marketing on national philanthropies, I never thought I would end up being an executive director for nonprofits as a career. I served for nearly a decade – giving back to my community and working hard to innovate for a bigger purpose. This has always been a way for me to be part of my community and create meaningful connections while making change. To be honest, my dedication and hard work drained me of my creativity and energy; and as a result from that experience I went back into marketing communications and branding as my current profession. It seems this year though, as I continue with the growth of LaunchMob, some of my work centers on helping nonprofits, for obvious reasons.
A few months ago, I did a presentation here in Orlando on connecting companies together with causes through mobilizing social entrepreneurs using social media. This event made me realize that I had come full circle with my own effort to help companies with their marketing and my desire to help nonprofits tell their story. It’s a powerful experience when you find your unique path. So whether it’s cause branding or helping causes brand, I understand my purpose as a social entrepreneur. There are two organizations that have my focus: One Brick and HopeMob. I’ll be writing more about my experiences with One Brick. Until then, join me on Facebook to get involved here in Orlando: https://www.facebook.com/OneBrickOrlando.
This past year, Shaun King, founder of HopeMob, has given me motivation as a social entrepreneur. Today is a big day for that organization as they prepare to relaunch HopeMob to try to help more people. Find out more tonight at: www.hopemob.com.
HopeMob is about bringing together generous people using social media and figuring out how to connect the needs with the people that care. Shaun’s leading the troops on an adventure with a gallant mission: “Swarming the world with hope – one story at a time.”
My advice for social entrepreneurs and branders: Do what you are passionate about. Make a difference. Tell authentic stories.
And this is why Social Entrepreneurship and Branding are Cousins…
It’s all about telling your story. Helping others. And being part of something bigger than you. That’s the connection with branding that you need to understand. Not everyone is going to be driven by social entrepreneurship but it is a great lesson in branding in how to be authentic, to learn to follow your passion and to tell engaging stories.
What’s your experience with social entrepreneurs and cause marketing? Share your story, I’d love to hear it.
Keep Hustling,
Orlando Ken
There’s no doubt Johnny Cupcakes is 100% original. From his one-of-a-kind designs to the bakery theme of his stores, Johnny Cupcakes brings his passion for creativity, design and humor together to bring the “Big Guy” (the chubby cupcake-loving boy) to life.
You won’t find Johnny Cupcakes selling cupcakes, except on April Fool’s Day, at his clothing stores. What you will find is Johnny Earle AKA Johnny Cupcakes selling his authentic brand of shirts to a new generation of brand fans who pay tribute to authenticity by supporting these limited edition creative designs.
Johnny Cupcakes
Through Full Sail University, I was able to meet Johnny Cupcakes and hear his authentic stories: childhood pranks, early business prowess selling whoopee cushions, and his current business ventures. This was billed as his Coffin Tour and Pop Up Shop, crossing the country stopping in different cities to not just sell shirts but to really meet and talk to his fans. And he did just that in Orlando, staying there until 3am talking to students and doing magic tricks while signing shirts.
Johnny connects with his audience because he presents who he really is and he cares about everyone listening to his stories. He was spontaneous and very honest about his success, a result of years of hard work and fun. One of his mantras was included in his sometimes random presentation: Do More of What Makes You Happy. It is even printed on all his shirts now.
This was a more focused Johnny than when he toured in 2011. The last time I got to speak to Johnny he was excited about being on the Full Sail University campus and expressed to me how great it was to be in a place that valued creativity. But his style hasn’t changed because of his success as he still wanted to be able to connect with everyone in the room. I was able to talk to Johnny and let him know that I appreciated his words of wisdom and thanked him for sharing his personal stories (I’ll save his lessons for a future post). When I told him I taught at Full Sail, he gave me more books to give to my students after signing my new Halloween shirt.
I’m inspired by the creativity, passion and entrepreneurial soul that Johnny Cupcakes brings to the game. As a CEO and fellow creative entrepreneur, he challenges me to raise the bar and also to give back to others in the same way he reaches out to everyone. I appreciate his authenticity and openness about his journey. There’s really no other better recipe that than for a meaningful brand.
Now, when I say Trick o’ Treat I’m going to think of my Johnny Cupcakes shirt and his inspiring speech to “Do more of what makes you happy.” Trick O’ Treat, LaunchMobsters!
If you have a Johnny Cupcakes story or picture you can share, I encourage you to post it here.
(This will be edited later as I’m currently under the influence of Candy Corn, Pumpkin Cupcakes and Snickers Candy Bars.)
Today, with the help of Mashable, we celebrate the digital revolution that is currently underway. Mashable launched Social Media Day in 2010. Since that time, Social Media use has grown tremendously and so have the Social Media Day events. It has been officially declared in 17 cities worldwide and by three U.S. states. Last year, I hosted a Social Media Meetup at Urban ReThink in Orlando, Florida. It’s incredible to think a year has passed so fast but also to think how much more mainstream Social Media is today.
This year tens of thousands of people are participating in events all over the world. From small Meetup events, like the one being planned in Orlando, to huge events featuring speakers and performances like those in New York and San Francisco.
Here’s a message from Pete Cashmore, CEO and Founder of Mashable, a Technorati Top 10 Blog worldwide…
You can follow today’s events on Twitter using the #smday hashtag and you can connect with other Social Media enthusiasts by checking out a Social Media Day Meetup near you.
http://www.blogdash.com/full_profile/?claim_code=bfc0ac3ebbfd7afa0cda8f829ea57be7
More to follow on College Hunks Hauling Junk and how they’ve built a national brand with a strong corporate culture…
Until then… From our friends at College Hunks Hauling Junk “We need at least 250 votes to qualify for a $250,000 Grant! Go to www.missionsmallbusiness.com Search “College Hunks”. Press the button to vote!” Thanks!
Source: Uploaded by user via Ken on Pinterest
© 2013 LaunchMob Media. All Rights Reserved.
Orlando Web Design | Designed using 
