How to Grow Your Personal Brand

Today starts an on again, off again series called Branding.  This is not only for branding yourself, but for your business as well, if you have one, or want to start one.  According to the article in Entrepreneur Magazine, “7 ways to grow your personal brand in less than a week”, I need to grow this brand called Patricia L. Logan.  The reasons for improving my brand are:

Photo by PicMonkey.com

               

  1)      I do not want anyone to get the wrong idea about me or my company, P. Lynne Designs.  I want to be a truthful and authentic as possible.  If I did it, I need to own up to it and stay true to myself.  I have nothing to hide nor to prove to anyone how that comes off but to me and me alone.

2)      I want customers. 

3)      I want to connect.   

4)      I want to sell my craft/skills.  We all have them, even if it is nothing more than to be a good leader or a good-hearted person.  I want to say to a person, “you have a problem, I have a solution, and I want to help you solve your problem with skills that God has given me.”

5)      I want to influence people to think about new things, see new things, and find what is beyond their world of scope.

I am not getting anywhere, anymore, and I think, in fact, I know that it has to do with the way I have been marketing myself through my brand lately.

I want you to think back to something you tried for the first time. A product perhaps.  What was your initial reaction to it?  How was the advertising?  What happened when you tried it a second or third time?  Was it different than the first time you tried the product?   This is what I go through every time I look at my brand.  I want people to have a positive feeling about the brand of Patricia L. Logan and P. Lynne Designs.  You may not need me all the time, but each time you come to me for help, I want it to be the best experience I can possibly give to you.

What skills you need from me?

In a nutshell, I am a stationery designer.  This is an all-over-throw-around way of saying I make cards, invitations, scrapbooks, mini-books, graphic designer, and freelance writer, rolled up in an itty-bitty package (I’m 5’ so it cutely fits).  I am also an influencer.  I can mix in a little web design, but I would much rather send you to a true web designer if that is all you want.  Same with blog design. I will do it for my clients if it is part of a package I currently offer, but only if they ask.  I will also advise on what social media platforms they should get on.  (here is a hint:  you only need 2-3 that you get on all the time.)

So here are the recommendations for building your brand:

1. Research yourself:  Sound simple enough, right? Um, no.  To only see what Google says about you only hits the surface.  You have to dig deep.  I looked on PeopleLooker (not sponsored, By the way), and for $18 or so, you can pull up the report you need for yourself, but do not agree to this amount because you can hit the back button, and they will send it to you for $1. (PDF’s are $2.99), so for $3.99, you can see your incriminating bits on yourself.  So far, they have 3 addresses that I have not lived at (such as Naples, FL), an alias name I have never said I was (Who is this Patricia Cole person?) and they spot on with the criminal records, arrest records, judgements, and liens to which I have none.  For any type of credit report, I recommend Credit Karma or Credit Sesame to see where your credit is. I use Credit Karma.  Both services provide a free report.  While you at it, set up a Google alert on your name, so you are aware of any and all reports.
2. Get a website.  I may also add to this article’s recommendation and say a blog site as well.  Both are great and do allow you to set up an “about me” page.  An about me page allows you talk about you, but I have also read recently that does not mean to make it all about you and what you do.  You want to also say what you can do for your potential customer.  In other words, answer the question they have when they first come to your website or blog.  Example: “I need a good, funny Father’s Day Card”. Answer: “I provide cards for all occasions, including humorous holiday cards for Christmas, Easter, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, and Father’s Day.  There you go, you have solved a problem, and they do not have to email you to ask that question.  Use photos on the website and blog that are high-resolution.  Also, engage in your audience.  Have an inviting website or blog.
3. Think about your audience.  Who do you want to attract?  Moms, who skydive?  Dog lovers who live in China?  Disney Vacation Club fans?  Define them now.  What do you have to offer them?  People love to get giveaways.
4. Network, Network, Network.  The more people you meet the better.  More chances of talking about your brand.  Go to local events that cover your topic.  You might reach some influencers.
5. Be you.  This is what I mentioned earlier when I talked about improving my brand.  The more people who see the real you, the true you, and what your morals stand for, the more readers and buyers, repeat readers and buyers you will have.
6. Capture information.  Not sure what this article really means to this statement, but I think what it means is when you build your relationship with a client, customer, or reader, the better that person feels about joining your mailing list and bringing in other people.  They need to trust you that you are not going to scam them out of their money, or use it in other ways, besides what their information was intended for (such as informing them of new products or a cause you are campaigning for).
7. Make Friends with influential people online.  Did you know that in addition to making homemade products, I also am an influencer?  The only thing is I am only a small influencer.  What is an influencer?  An influencer is a person who influences or convince others to buy a product, put money towards a cause, or champion for someone who needs it and gets people to buy into what they are talking about. In order to get more likes, tweets, etc, having an influencer who has a bigger audience can help your business or personal brand.  Do not get any influencer, though.  Get one who knows your industry, and what you are trying to teach to the masses. You will get more viewers to your website. This is why networking is so important.

Takeaway moment: 

If you follow these steps in building your brand, you will have more sales and more people who can be in your corner to help your brand. 

Again, I got this article from Entrepreneur Magazine because I am also build up my brand. I found this information helpful when makes me an influencer.  I want you to succeed in whatever business you desire to be in. When placed in the right position, your personal and business brand will grow and draw in new people every day.    

What is it that Parents Want us Kids to know? Words to Live by Before Graduation.

(c) Clipartfest.com

On today’s What’s up Wednesday, I decided to take a question I answered in Quora again.  I had answered one a few months ago, and this question is something that every child and young adult should learn about (ages 0-17; 18-25). 

Why?  Because I feel that today’s young people have no idea what is expected of them.  I will post my answer from Quora and because this is a blog post, I will explain a little further what was meant by my answer.  (Note:  I also decided that now is the time to address this year’s graduation class of 2017.  Congratulations, everyone.)

1. To listen and make a decision based on what you were taught by your parents. This is a given, after all, these are the people who are raising or who have raised you.  This leads up to and including:
2. To have a voice and to stand up for your beliefs, but also understand the other person’s side as well. In other words, have compassion.  You can always try to have a person believe what you believe in, but they also reason why their values (that’s the term I am looking for) is the way they are. (By the way, always have a good reason why your belief is your belief - do not leave a person hanging.)
3. To be self-sufficient
4. To be honest. 
5. To learn something new and different.
6. To learn that the world does not owe you a thing in life.
7. To care for someone other than yourself.
8. To learn that everything is not about you and what you want.
9. To learn that you cannot get what you want all the time.
10. To forgive and forget ... But that does not mean you have to be around that person.   Negative people can bring a person down.  If someone keeps doing the same thing over and over again, maybe it is about time you part ways.  Still, love them, but apart from them.
11. Learn to be happy and to make your own happiness.  Do not depend on a person to give you the happiness you need in life.  People will always disappoint you if you look at it that way.  Once you find it, never let anyone take your joy. 
12. To dream and not be lead by someone’s expectations of you.  Also on that note, never let someone take your dreams.  If you have a dream of owning a potato chip factory, learn what it takes to own one, and work towards that goal.  Never give up on a dream.
13. To pray to God or whoever you see as a higher power other than yourself.  It is good to have a spiritual practice of some kind.  I read inspirational passages that contain scriptures from the bible.  If I do not understand it, I turn in my bible to get a better understanding of that passage.  I question every scripture I read on the internet with my actual page turning bible.  Also, praying helps bring clarity to that chaos.  I also turn to my pastor for a better understanding of that passage.  Find like-minded people to help you understand helps too.
14. That no matter what, we will always love you for being you. Do not change a thing.  Children, in general, need to know that they are loved no matter what mistakes they make in life.  They are learning how to be adults, while we, as adults are learning how to best guide them.   
15. To know how to read and do math well.  When you know how to read well, you can read contracts, understand a bill, even understand the new rules to Candy Crush.  Math skills allow you to know when your payment on a job is wrong (see negotiation skills), how much medicine to take, or how to follow a simple recipe (yeah, I know millennials don’t cook, but work with me for a minute-See #2).  
16. Do not rely on technology. At the moment you need it, it will fail on you.  I love my computer, phone, and tablet as much as the next person, but I found out that I do not know how to spell as well as I used to.  Why?  Because I rely on spell check on MS Word, Grammarly for my grammar correction, and a calculator to double check my math.  I know these things, but what happens when the lights go out, the gadgets need charging or Windows 10 decides it needs to update, which is every other week.  There is always pen and paper.
17. Learn how to do math the old-school way.
18. Learn the basics of your language and while you are at it, learn a new one. be proficient in both.  Both #17 and 18 goes back to #16 and technology.  In fact, numbers 15-19 go hand and hand.
19. Learn to negotiate, the right way. Weigh all your options before giving your final answer to something that will affect the rest of your life.
20. To treat everyone with respect and the same will be returned.
21. Patience
22. And finally, to smile and to speak when spoken to.

I am not a parent yet, but these are the things I want my nephews and niece to know in life.

America should be the home of all...

Ok, strange title I know that, and I may get some comments after you finish reading what I have to say on the subject.   There should no reason why any American should be starving, have lack of healthcare, lack of a job, and lack of a home.  I should repeat it, but I will not.  If you want it repeated, re-read the last line.
I am an American, and I feel blessed to be one.  I could be in some third-world, dodging bullets, waiting for some westerner, like an American, British, or French person to rescue me, and trying to find food.   Instead I live in a house, drive a car, and I can go pretty much where I want to go in this country, but there are those in this country who feel like they are being treated like a third-class citizen.
This post is not about anyone's right to do something, nor it is about the government and the current president, who I support, but that does not mean that I agree with everything that he or his cabinet does.  I will save that post for another day.  I will not turn this blog into a political arena.
What I will say is this:  If your situation is on the downside, why are you there?  There are so many ways that a person can get out of a situation, but maybe you were never shown how to get to what you want.  I do not know you or your situation.  I am not going to ask you that question.   What I am going to do as as you a futuristic question, what are you doing to get yourself out of the situation?   Do you have any ideas on how you are going to make it?  
For instance, I was working at customer call centers for a number of years, but I kept getting fired from these positions.  So instead of staying in that industry (not that I did not like the positions), I concentrated on getting a degree in Marketing, and graduated in 2003 with a bachelor's degree on the subject.  I decided to put it to somewhat good use by becoming an independent consultant with Longaberger and finally decided to use my passion and love for creating scrapbooks and cards in 2010.  does that mean that I do not have struggles?  I still do, and I temporary do get help, but I do not plan on staying that way.  I hope that this is the year that I do get to make more than just a an order or two, or someone hiring me to type something for them every once in a while.   I also have a business coach who is teaching me to draw money from my blogs and to do other things.
This is what I am talking about.  Find something that makes you happy and to bring you income.   it does not matter if you think that the government cares or does not care, the point here is do something that allows you not to depend on them every. single. month.   If creating a business is not your thing, do something temporary until you can have income enough to open up a bank or credit union account.  Take pride in yourself.   This is directed towards my race, African Americans, especially people my age and younger:  It is not a white thing to be educated, intelligent, and have pride in yourself to do good.   To have a sense of not being told how to spend your money and where to spend it, to get things the legal way, to respect something you believe in, and not taking something that was not yours to take in the first place, including a life is a beautiful thing.
So that's it.   I know it is hard, and life has never been easy for me or anyone else.  Heck, even the wealthy have their problems.  Life is not all about material things anyway.  We as humans just make it that way.  It is how you can make it in this world, to help others, and to do what is right by God and mankind.   To that end, I will talk to you later, so be blessed today and always.