Some New & Good Changes for Small Business Branding
There’s some pretty neat changes happening around here and I’m very excited about this decision. You see I’ve been wanting to pursue a road in life that is helping more people than just myself, and thankfully I’m now able to do this.
This is a bittersweet post.
Small Business Branding (SBB) has been a part of my life and my passion for a while now. I’ve ‘fallen in love’ with this community so making the decision to sell it wasn’t easy.
If you’ve known me for long you probably know that I’ve been a small business owner since back in 1996 when I owned and operated 5 retail stores. I made a huge decision to sell those retail stores so that I could create a life I wanted and so that I would have the freedom to spend more time with my husband and three kids.
I believe that there’s a time and a season for everything in our life. I ran those retail stores and SBB for a season and then it was time to move on. While I’ve made the decision to sell SBB I will still be a regular contributor around there.
This recent decision to sell SBB is going to help me move onto a new venture, one that will bring me closer to my genuine personality, my desire and passion to share my faith and do more for Mercy Ministries.
I’m excited to be able to start using my skills to help my church, my family and ministries. I currently go into a local children’s hospital on a weekly basis to deliver care packages, visit the children and just be there to be a voice of hope for them. I’m looking forward to doing even more and stepping out with boldness, doing things I’ve never done before and helping more people.
This is a new and exciting venture for me and I’m looking forward to being able to be truly genuine and share my faith on a regular basis. I’ve left Small Business Branding in the capable hands of Ken Chandler and I’m sure he won’t disappoint you. He’s got great ideas and I’m looking forward to still contributing.
Feel free to follow my journey into this huge leap of Faith! 
You can see what I’m up to over at www.DestinedUnity.com and like I said before, I fully plan on being a regular contributor still here at Small Business Branding.
Please give Ken a warm welcome, he already has some wonderful ideas in taking this site to another new level and I truly look forward to see what he does in the future.
SBB Small Spark Winner!
The winner of the February Challenge is Jeric! Congratulations! Be sure to email me at vera @ smallbusinessbranding.com within 3 days. Now onto the March challenge…
Jaimy Weiler Speaks From The Heart On Her Brand.
As part of my interview series with “Thought Leaders,” consultant , speaker and author, Jaimy Weiler from “One Heart Waking – Business and Executive Consulting” shares her wisdom with us. Jaimy and her company “One Heart Waking” are truly unique in their delivery of effect and balanced work environments.
Ed Roach: Considering the fact that a brand is essentially your reputation and adherence to brand values is critical in maintaining a brand that resonates with customers, what have you found in your consultation with businesses are the biggest barriers to living up to these established brand values?
Jaimy Weiler: Because new business comes to me predominantly through referral, I do strive to keep my brand values consistent as I deliver my services by focusing on “bringing simplicity, integrity and clarity of purpose to business, finance and life”. This is the tag line of One Heart Waking, and living to these values is the very essence of what I deliver.
Ed Roach: I have always believed that a very positive attitude coupled with a desire to lead instead of following is a strategy that will lead to realizing your goals. How much of a role does “attitude” play in reaching goals?
Jaimy Weiler: I believe that attitude is both fundamental and essential. It is the foundation from which our actions spring. My experience, with both myself and my clients, shows me that results follow attitude and action. A positive attitude creates more positive action, which then leads to more positive results. By the same mechanism, negative attitudes most often result in negative results, or, results that come with un-desired side-effects!
Ed Roach: You have a very unique approach in guiding businesses. What would you say is the one thing that makes your clients love you?
Jaimy Weiler: I would say that my clients sense at a deep level that I am truly ‘for’ them and the highest vision of themselves and their business. And, my confidence in what I do engenders mutual trust and respect In coming to me for traditional business consulting, which they receive, we also find the underlying and often hidden issues which may have for so long held them and/or the business back from its fullest success.
Ed Roach: When you evaluate a prospective client, what things do you watch for that would point to a good fit with your company – “One Heart Waking?”
Jaimy Weiler: The predominant characteristic that I watch for in determining whether I am a good fit for a prospective client, is their sincere and authentic desire for change. Along with this desire must be the openness and energy to implement changes which may go against the grain of past habits.
Ed Roach: What’s the nicest thing a client has ever said about you?
Jaimy Weiler: The nicest thing that a client ever said to me was that I helped them to clear away the obstacles and structural problems that had kept their highest business vision in a dream state in the future. And in experiencing the newness of their increased success, were inspired to take themselves and their business colleagues to an even more fulfilling level of service and achievement.
Ed Roach: Finally Jaimy, how would you define success? (For you personally)
Jaimy Weiler: I define success as bringing the best of me forward into my life, more and more every day. Success to me is showing up, present and ready to go, adjusting and growing as life unfolds before me.
Thank you Jaimy.
For more information on Jaimy Weiler visit her website OneHeartWaking.com, and pick up her book, “Light Through The Heart.” or email her at Jaimy@OneHeartWaking.com
10 Things I Hate About Branding
ONE:
Frankly it takes a lot of work to stay on top of my brand. If only I could just push a button like the Staples “Easy Button” ( which I have on my desk). I hate that I can’t!
TWO:
I hate having to remind businesses that their brand is more than their logo. I have every design shop and ad specialty shop to blame for the mis-information I guess. (I could be painting with big a brush too)
THREE:
I hate companies who don’t realize that branding is a top down initiative. Without the captain on board, who’s piloting the brand?
FOUR:
Just too many great books to read. I’m stuck on historical fiction right now and so slipping in books on branding is a tight fit – I hate that.
FIVE:
I hate those who confuse their brand message with their slogan. There is a difference. I guess since they are both important, I should be happy that they have anything.
SIX:
I hate followers. Why do some businesses still feel they must follow the leader in their category? A commenter to one of my articles recently lamented their displeasure at businesses who copy the leader’s image almost to the letter. Sheesh!
SEVEN:
I also hate people online who make the simple complicated in an attempt to screw a few dollars out of your pocket, only to reveal the obvious. If you see something online you want to get into, email the author – I’m sure they’ll help you.
EIGHT:
I love it when someone says, “Hey, you’re the branding guy!” I hate that it took so long.
NINE:
Sometimes I hate that consistency is worth so much to your brand. I get the itch like many of us to change things up a bit. BUT, my better judgement knows that that would diminish what I have achieved so far.
TEN:
Sometimes I hate focus groups when judging brand image. By their nature they look to criticize regardless if it is even necessary. Sometimes you just have to go with your gut. Was your brand built on consensus or instinct?
Thanks for letting me vent a small bit, I hate keeping it bottled up inside.
Winner Announced: CorelDRAW Graphics Suite x4
A Big thank you out to all who participated in this draw. I literally took all your names, put ‘em in a bowl, swished them all around and came up with a winner.
The winner is Regina Baker! Congratulations Regina! You’ll need to contact me within 3 business days to smallbusinessbranding @ gmail.com We have more giveaway’s coming so be sure to keep an eye out for them.
SBB Giveaway – CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4
Some fun news today! We have a special giveaway from Kelly Manuel who is the PR Manager at Corel. You can follow her on twitter here https://twitter.com/kellylm.
Kelly contacted me recently to do a cool giveaway for CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4 Valued at $429.00 USD. It was super easy for me to agree to host a giveaway here at the blog.
So here are some details about CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4.
1) You get 10,0000 high quality clipart images
2) 1000 high resolution digital images
3) 80 professionally designed templates
4) Over 1000 OpenType and international fonts including 75 Windows Glyph List 4 fonts and 10 single line engraving fonts
5) Over 2 
hours of training videos
Basically you can create very professional results with this product for your creative projects. I see also that you can tag your files which is pretty cool.
To Enter
1) Post a comment on why you’d love to have this
2) Contest ends and Winner will be announced Monday June 29th, 2009
3) Winner must pay for shipping costs
4) We will email the winner on Monday, prize must be claimed within 3 days or we will choose another winner
Also, for those who don’t win, you can download a free trial here.
What Does Your Website Design Say About You?
Thousands of people struggle to publish a website on the web every day.
Some want to make millions overnight while others want to start a legitimate home based business. Still others want to just find a voice by blogging.
The massive size of the web has made it a playground for the newbies and the experienced alike but with millions of people making up your potential audience, how do you differentiate your website from all the others?
No matter what your purpose is for having a website, you want it to look appealing and welcoming. The visitor needs a reason to stay to read what you have to offer otherwise they are just one more hit in your stats, never to be found again.
One way to get your website published quickly is to use a DIY web page builder or templates. Choose a design, add your copy, and hit the publish button.
You’re officially a webmaster!
But if you do not have an eye for design your page layout might confuse your reader about where they should look first. Or the graphics included in the templates might look unprofessional and not really convey your message to your readers very well.
Confusing a reader should not ever be part of your plan and if you are online to make money, customers need to be assured of your professionalism prior to buying from you. Using a below standard web page builder might just turn away people instead of bringing them closer to making a sale.
I always recommend using web design software to all my coaching students and others who are new to the online world. This one program has helped me grow my business immensely and has certainly paid for itself multiple times over during the years.
This is the king of DIY web builders. Every design and copy element on the page is within your control but the developers have already paid professional web designers to create the hundreds of templates available to use.
The actual layouts are very professional and pleasing to the eye, which will help navigate your reader through your site while also establishing you as an expert in your market.
Xsite Pro is a one-time investment but now business owners are not stuck using a sub par program getting sub par results. Xsite Pro gives you the professional website that you want – and need – to be successful online.
Is it time to take a review of your own website? What does it say about you?
