How To Build a Personal Brand That Impresses the World

With the rise of the internet, specifically social media, it has become more critical than ever to pay attention to your personal brand. Whether you’re actively involved in running an online business or merely want to put the best face forward for present and future employment, don’t ignore branding. Which social media property is best for building a brand? There is no one size fits all answer. It depends on the demographic you are trying to reach. Should you choose Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, or blogging? The answer is a solid yes - and maybe.

The Challenge

In addition to targeting the correct demographic, you will quickly become aware of the problem that trying to make best use of a handful of social media sites can be a full-time job. There’s a good chance that you should choose just one to start with. Eventually, you will have tweaked your profile, grown an audience, and established yourself as a presence on, say, Facebook. At that point you might want to incorporate an second social media outlet or you might be perfectly happy with the one you have.

Blogging-Content Creation

Let’s talk about blogging first. There are a few good reasons that everyone should consider blogging as the foundation of their overall branding campaign. A blog gives you an online property that you control completely. Have you pondered how quickly a social media outlet could disappear, taking all your hard work with it into a cyber void never to be seen again? Remember when MySpace was a big deal? Nothing but a pile of bones now. Most branding experts would recommend you create a blog as a home base and use social media to drive traffic to it. Don't have a lot of things to say yourself? Consider outsourcing it.

Define an Objective

What is the point in developing your personal brand? Ask yourself this question and seriously ponder the answer, which will differ depending upon whether you’re trying to raise employment exposure, start a business, sell more product, or try to stand out from competitors. Any of these are legitimate objectives, but you need to decide which one you’re going after.

Consistency

Perhaps more important than agonizing over which particular social media platform to use is to make it a goal to stay consistent across any that you do use. That means constancy of imagery, colors, slogans, and, most important of all, posting. You simply must post content consistently to do your brand any good. See the average posting frequency below for popular websites. These aren’t hard and fast rules but are a good guide:

Facebook and Google+ - 2 times daily
LinkedIn and Instagram - 1 time daily
Twitter and Pinterest - 5 times daily

Which Social Media is Best?

 

Obviously, there is no single hard and fast answer for which social media offers the best bang for your buck in brand building, but here are some facts to consider.

1. 71 percent of all adults online use Facebook, with the percentage of seniors increasing. Usage has been stable since 2013 with women the predominant force.

2. Twitter is especially popular with the under 50 and college-educated crowd. If your service or product targets that demographic, get tweeting.

3. Instagram is dominated by the 18-29 age group.

4. Pinterest would be a good choice if you have visual, art-oriented products to sell. Women are the vast majority of Pinterest users, and also make this the best social media platform to sell stuff to.

5. LinkedIn, to no one’s surprise, is the choice for higher income, college educated users.

The Bottom Line
When it comes to building your personal brand online, what you do is not as important as doing something. Take control. Get proactive. These days you’re not going to be taken seriously until you tend to that brand!

Want to take your productivity to the next level? Invest in our of our amazing planners.

from
https://startplanner.com/blogs/news/how-to-build-a-personal-brand-that-impresses-the-world

So you want to be an entrepreneur. But are you willing to sacrifice? Early mornings, late nights. What are you willing to give up?

Plenty of people want to be entrepreneurs. The word itself brings to mind an exciting life of creating new things, having a flexible working arrangement that allows you to travel the world, and making quite a bit of money. Of course, there’s much more to it than that, and if you want to succeed with entrepreneurship, there are several sacrifices you’ll need to make.

 

Financial Security

 

Few people are truly financially secure, as employees can lose their jobs at any time. Still, when you set out to build and run your own company, you have far less financially security than you would if you were working a 9-to-5 and collecting a salary.

When you have a job, you typically know how much money you’re going to make every month. You don’t need to worry about not making anything during a down week for your company. You could have benefits, such as health and dental insurance. When you start a company, you don’t have any guarantees. You could make millions or you could make nothing, and you’ll be paying your own insurance costs.

A Normal Schedule

 

If you research some of the most successful business owners in the world, one thing that they all have in common is that they spend a ton of time on their work. They are able to do so because of their passion for that work. This doesn’t mean that they spend every waking moment working and never have any fun, but they certainly work more than the average person.

You can’t create a successful company if you’re not willing to put in the work. There will be times when you need to get up at the crack of dawn or stay up past midnight to get things down on time and keep moving forward.

People Who Hold You Back

 

This can be one of the most difficult sacrifices to make, but it’s essential if you want to succeed in life. There’s a popular saying that you’re the average of the five people who you spend the most time with. If you’re spending your time with intelligent, ambitious people, then you’ll also build those traits in yourself. Their drive will be infectious, and you can all help each other succeed.

On the other hand, if you spend your time around lazy or directionless people who are content to go through life doing the bare minimum, their attitude will rub off on you. These are the type of people who will sidetrack you from your goals and try to get you to hang out even after you’ve told them you have an important project due.

You don’t necessarily need to cut people out of your life completely, but if you want to be an entrepreneur, you need the right people around you. That means you must start spending more time with the right people and keep the time you spend with bad influences to a minimum.

Making the Sacrifices

 

How you feel about these sacrifices tells you quite a bit about whether entrepreneurship is right for you. The reality is that someone who has the right traits to be an entrepreneur will have no problem sacrificing any of these things – in fact, they’ll want to sacrifice them for a better chance at success.

It’s all about what your dream is worth to you. There’s no shame in whatever path you choose, but if you’re going to pursue a life of entrepreneurship, you need to do it wholeheartedly.

Want to take your business planning to the next level? Invest in our most popular business planners.

 

from
https://startplanner.com/blogs/news/so-you-want-to-be-an-entrepreneur-but-are-you-willing-to-sacrifice-early-mornings-late-nights-what-are-you-willing-to-give-up

How To Get The Most Out Of Your Digital Marketing Budget- Why Outsourcing is a Better Value Than In House

Digital marketing is a powerful tool when it's done right and has the potential to revolutionize your business. Being able to reach out and find exactly the market that you're looking for, exactly when they're ready to buy is something that marketers of the past could only dream of. While digital marketing is beneficial for most businesses, if you don't handle it correctly, your budget could get blown out of the water quickly. If you are looking to live the "laptop lifestyle" then you will want to scale your organization quickly and efficiently.

One of the great debates that many companies have when implementing digital marketing is whether they should keep the activities in house or outsource them. Both methods have some value in the right situation, but most companies would benefit by outsourcing it to a qualified party. Why is outsourcing generally the best path to go down?

Employees Are Expensive

Perhaps the biggest argument in favor of taking the outsource path is that employees are extremely expensive. Every employee that you add, adds a large amount of money to the costs of the company. In many cases, business owners fail to realize just how much employees cost them.

If you're only looking at the wages of the employee, then you're not getting the whole picture. There are payroll taxes, unemployment taxes, health insurance, retirement benefits, lost time in productivity, and a host of other factors. All of these things add up quickly.

Competent Outsourcing

 

While some activities, you don't want to outsource, digital media does not fall into that category. There are many qualified services out there that can handle all of the digital advertising that you might need. In most cases, they can do just as good of a job as an in house person could for a fraction of the cost overall.

Digital media has become so complex and so specialized that it's difficult to keep up with all of the trends and changes. If you rely on one in house person to learn all of that, it can be challenging. Many digital media firms have teams of people that are dedicated to keeping up with the trends and the changes. It makes it much more feasible to stay on top of things in the digital world compared to just having one person handle it.

Take for instance, content marketing, seo and facebook ads. Can you have ONE PERSON who is skilled in all those things? Possibly but to get someone who is a SUPER PRO on all these things is a rarity. So since as entrepreneurs we want to get the most bang for our dollars, we often look to outsource to companies who have that expertise.

Grouping Tasks

One of the basic concepts of productivity is being able to group tasks together. When you group similar tasks together, you get in a groove and do each one more efficiently. If you stop and start and go back and forth between tasks all the time, you'll be much less efficient overall.

This basic concept is one of the major things that digital media companies have going for them compared to in house talent. For example, let's say that you have an in house person who is going to handle all of your digital media. In a typical day they will have to go through a myriad of tasks that are essentially unrelated. They might go from graphic design to analytics to writing content to making posts on social media all in a short period of time. When you look at each one of those tasks individually, they're not that much alike and require very different skill sets. By comparison, when you utilize outsourcing, all of those tasks could be allocated to an individual who is working on nothing but similar tasks all day. For example, all of the graphic design can be directed to a graphic designer within the outsourcing company. By doing this, the work is done much more efficiently.

Overall, you have a lot to gain by outsourcing your digital media work. You can save time, get better results and save money.

from
https://startplanner.com/blogs/news/how-to-get-the-most-out-of-your-digital-marketing-budget-why-outsourcing-is-a-better-value-than-in-house

It's totally OK to treat yo'self on Mother's Day!

 

Mother’s Day is just around the corner! If you are a Mom, we know you are always putting everyone else first! We know you barely have time to go to the bathroom yourself (let alone take a relaxing bubble bath)! Shuttling kids, feeding everyone, and managing everyones schedule to keep everything running without a hitch. 

Sweet motherhood! :) To all the Moms out there you are pretty amazing and we just want to say thank you for all your sacrifices and grace!  Even if you are not a mother, you know someone who is or you have a mother who did these very things while raising you! 
     
Here is a list of 10 ways that you can use your STARTplanner to save the day! Treat yourself or that special Mom in your life.

(So you don’t forget to pick the kids up at school... again.) 

(Cuz every now and then your littles want something besides pb&j)

(So you can save to buy yourself something pretty…Like running shoes, to keep up with your family.)

    

(If mama's sick, the household doesn’t stop, so you best keep on top of it! Can I get a "Holla"!)

(You can finally get rid of all your notes on the back of receipts and post-its EVERYWHERE! Keep rockin' those to-do's!)

(Trust us, it's better when you don’t have to go to the grocery store 87 times a week. We don't want anyone becoming "hangry" #learnedthehardway)

(Turn your dreams into your reality! It starts with setting SMART goals! You got this!)

(That baby book for your 17 year old that never got done? Let’s finally get that off your list.)

(Tell me that having your toes in the sand doesn’t sound amazing!? #yesplease) 

(It’s never a pretty picture when “Santa” forgets who's been naughty or nice ;) 

 

So, what are you waiting for!?! Treat yourself, or that special mom in your life, a planner. 

Don’t know which planner would be right for the mom in your life? We have gift cards available for purchase! Holla!

 

from
https://startplanner.com/blogs/news/its-totally-ok-to-treat-yoself-on-mothers-day

How To Plan A Business Dinner Party [Like A Lady Boss]

How do I throw a business dinner party? Have you been asked to throw a get together for your office? Need a bit of help planning it out? Don't worry. We got you. 

Much of its success will rest on how well you plan it. Follow these steps and you’ll be able to plan the perfect business dinner party.

1. Figure Out the Purpose of the Party and Who You’re Inviting

Are you throwing a business party to celebrate an important company event? Or is this a meeting with potential clients? The reason for the party will help you determine who you should invite – if it’s a celebration, you’ll probably want to invite everyone from the office, whereas if you’re looking to land a client, it is best to limit the part to a few people from your company and the client’s company.

2. Select a Few Potential Locations

Restaurants are the most common choice for dinner parties, and for good reason. When you have the party at a restaurant, you don’t need to worry about cooking anything, and there will be little, if any, cleanup on your part after.

Make a list of a few places that will work so that you have backups ready if one isn’t available or can’t accommodate you. Contact locations, give them an idea of what you need, and choose the one you like the most.

3. Send Out the Invitations

You can send invitations to guests by mail or email. Make sure to include the location, the date, and the time of the business party. It’s best to send invitations about two weeks in advance, as this will give your guests time to plan. You should also provide instructions on how guests can RSVP and the deadline for doing so, as you’ll need to know how many people are coming.

4. Finalize the Location

After you’ve gotten the RSVPs back, contact the location that you chose to confirm the number of guests. If you only have a small number of guests, you may be able to make a reservation at your restaurant of choice instead of reserving the entire dining area. On the other hand, if you have quite a few confirmed guests, you’ll need the entire place.

You may want to set the menu with the restaurant in advance. Make sure that there are options available for guests with allergies and dietary restrictions. You wouldn’t want your guests that can’t eat gluten to have no meal options available.

5. Set Up a Seating Chart

For large business dinner parties, you’ll want to set up a seating chart so there’s not chaos when people get there. A seating chart will keep the proceedings organized. If there are any guests of honor, seat them at the head of the table.

6. Get There Early

You should be at the venue at least 30 minutes before the dinner party starts so you can confirm that everything is going according to plan. It’s also important that you’re there so you can greet guests when they arrive, and there may be guests who arrive early. As people show up, encourage them to mingle and make introductions between those who haven’t met before. Once everyone has arrived, you can relax and enjoy the party.

It’s tough to keep every step of the planning process in your head. To keep your planning on track and ensure that you don’t forget anything, use a daily or weekly planner from STARTplanner. You can find one that fits your needs and your style. When you write down your business dinner party plans, you’ll know what you’ve already done and what you need to do before the date of the party.

 

from
https://startplanner.com/blogs/news/how-to-plan-a-business-dinner-party-like-a-lady-boss

Best Gifts for Wedding Photographers To Give The Bride Before the Wedding

As a photographer, it is always good business to present a bride and groom with some type of gift before their big day. This is a great way to thank them for their business and also helps to keep you in their minds when they are ready to take future pictures. They will also be only too happy to recommend your services to their other friends who may be getting married in the future. Some great gifts to offer to the happy couple could include:

A Discount for Future Bookings
One of the most appreciated gifts a photographer can give his wedding clients is a gift certificate or coupon for future use. The expiration date should be at least a few years from their wedding date to be truly effective. The pictures taken then can be of their first anniversary, their first child, or even a family reunion photo. Whatever the case, this will entice the happy couple to book their wedding photographer for more great pictures of other important milestones.

A Frame for the Main Wedding Photo to be Displayed In
After the large, main photo that will be displayed next to the guest book is developed and ready, choose a beautiful, matted frame for it to go in. Attempt to get an overall picture of the preferences of the happy couple. If they seem to like a modern look, give them a modern, streamlined frame. If they are more traditional, a carved wooden frame would probably be most appropriate.

Tabletop Easels
An array of tabletop easels will allow them to display all types of photos of the two individuals all over the reception area. They can show photos of themselves as small children, teens, and especially pictures of the couple after they met and got to know each other. These easels can then be re-used in their new home.

A Family Photo Album
Another great gift that will just go on giving is a large family photo album. The beginning pictures can be of their courtship and marriage, followed by honeymoon photos, pictures of their new home,and then photos of babies and children as they are added to the family. These are pictures that even you as the photographer can place within the pages. Be sure to have the bride's and groom's names stamped on the outside cover. This will be a favorite conversation piece in their home for many years to come.

Wedding Picture Frames
An assortment of large and small frames will also be appropriate. Again, keep the personal tastes of the happy couple in mind when selecting. For a more personal touch, have the names of the happy couple and the wedding date inscribed onto the new frames. One large wedding frame that holds several smaller photos is also a great gift idea.

Happily Hitched Planner

Wedding Photographers are loving our Happily Hitched Planner as the perfect wedding gift. They help the bride stay organized and sane, so she can walk down the aisle knowing that she knocked this wedding planning out of the park.

These simple gifts do not have to be expensive, but they should reflect the business relationship you have with them. Veer away from inappropriate items or items that are too personal. Being considerate in matters such as this will provide you with ongoing business and great relationships for years.

from
https://startplanner.com/blogs/news/best-gifts-for-wedding-photographers-to-give-the-bride-before-the-wedding

Why I Love My Planner

Every day we are constantly encouraged by our users and how they are taking strides to live a more purposeful and balanced life. With hard work, perseverance, clear action steps, and a little organization, you will be crushin' those goals in no time! 

    

We love when people share with us how their planner is helping them achieve their goals. YOU are why we do what we do! And your WINS are what keep us going and we love to celebrate with you. We just couldn't keep all these wins to ourself though! We hope these testimonials will encourage you today as much as they have encouraged us:)

      

"My planner has helped me prepare, organize and launch my small business! I call her my partner in HUSTLE! 😉 #pillowswag #bossbabe" - Wendy Ledesma-Fragoso

My name is Vanessa Moody and I am officially in love with the Hustle start planner! The Hustle has helped me keep my busy life in order. I am a wife, mother, nurse, student, sister, aunt, friend, etc. The list goes on. There is no way that I could keep it all straight without a planner.

     

Between doctors appointments for the husband & daughter, I care for my mother in law newly diagnosed with Alzheimer's, she has many appointments and finishing a second degree in nursing I need to write all things down. The Hustle allows me to focus one day at a time, but I can also plan things out throughout the year. The Hustle has it all, I plan everyday life, family vacations, write grocery lists and do my daily devotional and gratitude blurb- in one place. I love the Hustle!! I love the Start planner company and the acknowledgment that they show to customers! You guys ROCK!! Thank you for being great!

So my planner has been incredibly helpful getting my kiddo's 4th birthday party pulled together. I have not been anywhere near as stressed this year using the "Let's Party" worksheet and my Daily Hustle. I've been able to plan out when I need to do what instead haphazardly throwing it all together last year.

     

The monthly budget sheet has also helped me to see where I'm throwing money away, which is important to me because I'm a single mom and a grad school student. So what little money I have needs to be well managed. Since I got my Hustle in January, I've found myself stressing less about money because it is so easy to see what is going where and where I need to cut my spending. This has helped me to save up the extra money I needed to give my kiddo a great birthday party without being worried about being able to afford it.

     

I'm still working on finding a groove for making it work for school, but we are getting there. It has helped me to see where I've been wasting time. Being a stay-at-home mom and full time college student makes it rough to always have a set time to do what I need to get done, but I would sacrifice my "To Do" list to spend some time with my minion any day because she why whole world. She's my motivation for going to school and bettering myself so she knows she can do anything.

     

(P.S. Yes, I still have the box it shipped in. It's where I store my Hustle when I'm not using it to help protect it from the frequent spills and anything else that might damage it.)

My Hustle Business Planner has been such a valuable daily tool in structuring my time and tasks.

     

For several years I had been using two separate planners. One for home and one for business. This year I decided to find a business planner that was not only elegant in design, but one where I could organize my goals, daily, weekly, and monthly activities, finances, and business schedules, as well as home organization all together in one planner.

    

I found what I needed with Start Planner's Hustle Business. I also love all the added extras of planning vacations, shopping lists, projects, etc. All the essentials we need to keep the vision before our eyes.

    

Time Management has been a huge challenge for me, but since using my planner throughout each day, I have really noticed a big difference in my productivity.

The page layouts and design are so inspiring, it's encouraging just to sit down every night to review and plan the next day, week and month.

    

I appreciate all the time and effort that went into creating these beautifully structured planners. Jenny, Kristy and Staff....Thank you all, for being the blessings you always are!

These are just a few of the many stories we receive from our users. We would love for you to share with us in the comment section below what you love most about your planner and how it's helping you achieve a more balanced life: )

from
https://startplanner.com/blogs/news/why-i-love-my-planner