Are Your Ready to Discover How to Light Up Your Stage by "Bringing Sexy Back" to Your Marriage?

Well, you definitely want to listen in today as we talk with SheroEntrepreneuer & Entreprenerial Rock Star, Gail Crowder.

As you know I love, love, love discovering and speaking to brilliant, trailblazing women who  are called to serve a need and fill a void and don't hesitate to answer the call to fill it. My guest today Gail Crowder is no exception.

Happy Mother, Happy Wife, Happy Home, Happy Life!

To me, rocking your stage as a Married Christian Woman is about having proper balance in all areas of your life, a lesson I have learned the hard way for sure. Achieving success in your career or entrepreneurial endeavors, mean nothing if you don't have balance and fulfillment at home. So, it would seem to me that if you are someone who is married, home matters would be important. Specifically when it comes to your spouse.

You want to listen to this conversation if you are:

• A Married Christian Woman Entrepreneur facing challenges in your marriage that are threatening success in your entrepreneurial endeavors
• Looking for a way to rekindle the flames of love and intimacy in your marriage
• Want to be inspired by the story of trail blazing women like Gail who are called to do something great (and not always accepted), so you can find the courage to do the same

Because, in this inspiring and informative 39 minute conversation, you'll discover:

• 3 practical and powerful ways to not only bring sexy back to your marriage, but success in all other areas of your life
• The #1 thing you should absolutely do in your marriage to secure it's success
• How you can join Gail's movement and attend her events to help you reignite the spark in your marriage and success in your life
• Real talk, candid and practical advice on how to navigate the challenges in your marriage that are too taboo to discuss in traditional churches or christian women conferences
• And so much more...

Click Here to Listen to "How to Rock Your Stage & Bring Sexy Back to Your Marriage"

Click Here to Listen and Learn More

Small business owners, freelancers, entrepreneurs, home business owners, etc., truly have the luxury to deduct damn near their whole lifestyle. It just depends on how you spin in. When you are starting a business, finding ways to save money is a great benefit. Today’s tips will show you 5 ways you can save money in your business this Summer:

1. If you’re working from home but need to meet with clients and cannot afford office space, you may want to try having a breakfast meeting or lunch meeting at places like Panera Bread who offers free WiFi. You will double your savings because the gas you use to get to and from your meeting and the meal you purchased during your meeting are all tax deductible. [Read More]

Testimonials tell the story of Leads can Lead to Success with A little investment and persistence

Have you really wanted success? Has success seemed to elude you? Have you ever wondered why other people have been enjoying more than you do?

It is not because you are not smart. It is not because you are a bad person. It is because other people have plugged into systems which generate them cash flow.

How well do you think sand sells in the desert? Do you think that the Eskimo needs to buy more ice? I know those seem like obvious questions, but they are relevant. In business especially when dealing with Home Based Business people the successful ones are focused on one activity. That activity is acquiring the next customer or business partner.

So when one them is approached with another opportunity, their usual response is how is this going to help me fulfill my main purpose of acquiring the next customer or business partner. This is where being able to offer a tool or service that will help the home based entrepreneur get what they want.

The question on your end might be “How does this help me fulfill my purpose of getting my main product sold and getting people to join my organization?” The way it helps you is that it helps you to build a relationship with your potential prospect. While you are reaching out and building relationship why not earn some extra money. In the video you will see several people who have been having outstanding success offering lead generating tools for a 1 time fee. Watch the video and see if it something that will be helpful for your venture. If it is you can get started at http://uc.ispaiddaily.com

Up-Grade Ultimate Cycler Testimonials By... by 1leadsbroker

About the Author

Clarence Coggins is an Internet Market. He has extensive experience with applying Web 2.0 technology in the promotion of business and educational ventures. He also works a Leads Broker with the Silver Fox Leads Factory to contact him you can email thebestleadscompanyintheworld@gmail.com or call him at 973-943-4073.

http://www.businesscreditamerica.com/business-credit-services/

 Okay. Now, I hope that you all can see that. But the thing about the business credit score, what it is and how is it affecting your business? Now, I've broken it down into three categories because these are your most important categories. You have your PAYDEX score, you have your business credit rating, and then you have your bank rating. And talking about the PAYDEX score, a lot of people are concerned about their PAYDEX score, which is 80 or above. However, the PAYDEX score is only good for trade vendors and net vendors. So, if you really don't need those type of companies, you're just trying to get funding for another project, or whatever, this really wouldn't be an impact on you because you're not trying to get trade credit or Net 30. Net 30, Net 7, Net 15, they have different wants, such as Net Vendor credit and stuff, and Trade credit. That's basically like your Seton, ULine, Grainger. And what ends up happening most of the time, we buy from these companies just to get them to report on our business credit, to get a PAYDEX score. However, the thing about it, the majority of the stuff we buy, we usually don't need it for our business.

 And so, we got stuck in this... This is mainly part of the tier system method where they teach you, set the company up, buy some Net 30s then buy another round of Net 30s, then apply for some gas cards, then attempt to apply for some unsecured cards. Usually, the tier system... I can truly attest to this, it usually will take you anywhere from nine months to a year or longer. Depends on how active you are in your business. Okay, so that's what the PAYDEX score. The PAYDEX rating is 80 or above, meaning that you're good a payer. You pay good on time, okay, and it's just mainly for vendor credit.

 Now, your business credit rating. Your business credit rating, this is important. This is an important factor because this determines if you get business loans or business credit cards. So that's what the business credit rating is. That's the reason that you'd see me on the video always telling you to update your financials. Make sure you do the UCCs, things like that. That's what affects your business credit rating. And then I told you about the different banks to go to in my ebook that tell you where to go and get those secured bank cards and stuff, because that will help with their business credit rating.

 Now, this is one that most people aren't aware of and not too many people speak of it, maybe because they don't. But the bank rating... Now the bank rating actually deals with... Well, your business bank rating. It actually deals with the activity of the business checking account in which you should have... When you're setting up a corporation, usually what I teach on, with the corporation, with C corporations, you wanna to have three accounts. You wanna have a business checking account, a business savings, and a business expense account. And in my ebook, I explain to you why you want to have those accounts set up like that. But the business banking ratings this year, is where it goes off the activity. How many deposits have been in the account? How often are you depositing money into the account? How long does the deposit stay in there? And the larger the amount of money you deposit in the bank, and the longer it stays, the higher your rating. So, the larger the amount, the longer it stays, the higher your rating.

 So, this is your bank rating. This is what really determines the amount of money they're gonna loan you. This here determines whether you're gonna get approved for unsecured credit cards and/or loans with a business credit rating. But this here, determines the amount of money. So those are the two differences there. So, you have your PAYDEX score, which is talking about your trade credit or your vendors. Your trade vendors, which describe you as Net 30s, you're Net 7s, you're net 15. Then you have the business credit rating, and this is what determines you being approved for loans or credit cards, unsecured or secured, okay. But your bank rating, that's dealing with the activity on those business bank accounts, okay. So, the more money you have in it, the longer it stays in it, determines the amount of money they're gonna loan you, future-wise. So, this is just a basic video I wanted to break down to you guys, so you can understand. If you are looking at companies, and they are not explaining this process to you, to actually help decide whether you should let them help you or you should do it on your own, then you don't need them because they should be at least explaining some of these basics to you. If they're not explaining these basics to you, they're wasting your time guys. And more likely they're gonna linger you on, so that you are paying them more money, but at the same time you're not getting any results.


http://www.businesscreditamerica.com/business-credit-services/

I had been being becoming annoyed with a lot of my female clients lately and I didn't know why. Checking out this Forbes post made it clear to me why I was feeling the way I was feeling. It was because to me they were seeming to constantly be apologizing. 

http://www.businesscreditamerica.com/landing/sallie-mae-student-loan-illegal-practices/

Hey guys! Houston here with Business Credit America, and today I'm just gonna get right to the point, and I wanted to talk to you all about Sallie Mae Student Loans. And I know from many of you all, may have seen my student loan video removal of Sallie Mae Student Loans. And the thing about it, you actually can't have those type of student loans because they're, not under the government guidelines. If you have government student loans, you can go to directloan.com. If you go to directloan.com, right there, all of your government student loans, they can consolidate them all into one, and they will lower your payments.

In reference to your private student loans, because they're all under FDCPA, you have the right if you have to, if you need to file bankruptcy, those types of student loans, you can, especially like Sallie Mae. Sallie Mae is a privately held company, and I tell a lot of people that call me, and I talk to them about their student loan. By them being a privately held company, they're not under the government guidelines. And so you do have a right to file bankruptcy under that because like with Wells Fargo, with Chase Bank, Sallie Mae, they all fall under...

What type... What it is is that Sallie Mae... Sallie Mae, what they were doing, they would go to the government, and they would buy student loans from the government. And then, "Okay, we're going to service these." So the government like, "Well, okay. If you service these then, you have to pay us a monthly insurance payment on these loans." See, when you took a student loan, they automatically used... But most of the time they automatically loaned you until the insurance program. And so that insurance program was for in case you default, then the insurance company pays off that loan for you. And so, like a lot of people, they don't know that.

 And if you ask for your original contract with whoever, whatever school you went to, when you signed up for Sallie Mae, if they can't produce that contract, then they should not be reported on your credit report anyway. Also, another thing that Sallie Mae does is that say, that you defaulted way back when on your loan. What they'll do to keep on the collection practices, they'll re-age your account. And so they never report the original default date. So that puts you, like you're just starting over when you actually, because of the seven year time lapse on a loan or a regular loan except for a government loan, then it should have been folding up your credit anyway. But what they do, they re-age your account so to keep the student loan on there, especially when they're not backed by the government.

http://BusinessCreditAmerica.com
Are you in bad need of money for your business but you have bad credit.  In this video, I teach you a process to acquiring a loan for your business even with bad credit. I give you the break down on what you need to set the business up properly so that the business qualifies for that loans.

Even more I teach you how to find investors for your business.

Have you ever wanted to be your own boss, but you did not have the money to start the business?  In this video, I'll share with you some great resources to help you get started in becoming a business owner.

About the Author

Clarence Coggins is an Internet Market. He has extensive experience with applying Web 2.0 technology in the promotion of business and educational ventures. He also works a Leads Broker with the Silver Fox Leads Factory to contact him you can email thebestleadscompanyintheworld@gmail.com or call him at 973-943-4073.

http://www.businesscreditamerica.com/blog/ Have you ever wrote a bad check and now you can not get a checking account? Well, you're now alone.  In this video, I'll show you, how to get a new checking account as well as show you how to contact ChexSystems to remove youself from their database.

How does incorporating your small business benefit you?  In this video, I'll share with you 7 of the great benefits of a corporation.  You'll also learn how easy it is to save thousands of dollars in your small business.

http://BusinessCreditAmerica.com 5 Tips on How to get Bad Credit Financing.
goo.gl/ycLkHf

1. Merchant cash advances- these are loans that are done off of future credit card receipts. It you have an merchant account with flagship merchant, square-up, paypal, or intuit, just to name a few. You can attempt to get a loan without them looking at your personal credit. Although, I still feel you should focus on fixing your personal credit.

2. Forming a partnership with some that has access to cash or credit is another good resource. As long as, they have an clear understanding of what portion of the business they would own. This is why Business Credit America encourages entrepreneurs and business owners to setup C-corporations so you can just issue stocks instead of making people partnerships.

3. Micro-loans- are made by non-profit organizations, such as Accion (http://www.accionusa.org), which will grant small loans (up to $50,000) designed to help startups owned by women and minorities, as well as companies that are established in economic empowerment zones. Loans are also available through the Small Business Administration's (SBA) Microloan Program, which lends funds through non-profit community-based intermediary lenders. Microloans are a great option for businesses with bad credit or no credit histories because their credit requirements are typically more lenient. goo.gl/ycLkHf

4. Crowd funding- is a resource of private investors that are looking for business to invest in for a higher return on their money. When the banks experienced that financial melt down, they stop lending money to business owners. Many of their investors were not getting good returns on bank cd's, money market accounts, or annuities, so these investors started to lend money to small businesses in return for a better interest rate of return. They don't focus on the personal credit. These investors are looking at the profitability of the business is how they determine who they will invest their money with.

5. IRA'S- A lot of people that are still employed or may have access to their retirement plans, may want to consider borrowing from it. The term is called ROB- roll over business. We will discuss how to use the IRA's without being penalized early in the forums.

JMCC ATTRACT, SORT, AND ASSIGN system 

This is the  JMCC way to grow your business!!

www.jusmcc.net

Here is one of the reasons, being a Juniques Multi Cultural Connection member can be so powerful for your business, network, personal, and professional growth.  

There NO COST to being a Juniques Multi Cultural Connections member!!!

Juniques Multi Cultural Community , using the Attract, Sort, Assign system to help grow your business

I am using the ATTRACT, SORT, AND ASSIGN system  to promote many of the activities I am involved with. 

Most people struggle with  HOW to promote their business. 

You can promote any business/service ( so you can share this with those, not interested at all, in any MLM business)

The system is designed to ATTRACT, SORT, AND ASSIGN  this a my success formula.

We can speak more on this. 

This supports the ONE CLICK MARKETING approach.  

People like free and you have to plenty to offer with juniques multi cultural connections.

People like options, business or otherwise ( regardless if they share with you or not, they are looking)

People like low cost ( programs are under $30 per month)

People want help - The Attract,Sort,Assign System provides training and support for any business (on or off the net)

People want simple -  ONE CLICK MARKETING IS AS SIMPLES AS IT GETS

People want to grow - The Attract,Sort,Assign System develops one personally and professionally

People want real - The Attract,Sort,Assign System shows how getting 20 people following you into your business choice guarantees financial improvement - yours and theirs. 

Reality - most people, especially those joining MLM companies, quit within 90 days

Most people, especially those joining MLM companies, will not recruit more than 3 people

Most people, especially those joining MLM companies, do not make any money to talk about.

There is  an extremely low percentage making "real" money. ( 1% to 3% of a distributor base)

Most people, especially those joining MLM companies, QUIT OUT OF FRUSTRATION.

Most people,especially those joining MLM companies, continue to repeat this scenario, too often. 

YOU CAN SHOW THEM A SIMPLER, MORE EFFECTIVE, MORE RESULT DRIVEN, MORE REALISTIC WAY TO GROW. 

Stick with me, I will show you what works.

No hype, No crazy promises, 

No guilt tripping (you should do better, just because, you should do better), 

No unreal expectations ( join my business in less than 90 days you will be making "walk away" income - gimme a break!). 

We will use a lot of 4 letter words

WORK

HARD

EASY

DOIT

Yes, I have more, LOL

Get back to me.

Lets discuss your progress. 

At your service,

Rickey

Get Started Today  www.jusmcc.net

PS I use the Attract, Sort, Assign system at Black Business Women Online.

This system can be applied many different ways, and it is a benefit to all who use it. 

I thought I would get your attention!

Whether you love it or hate it, marketing and sales are critical to the life blood of any business. You can make it more fun, if you take the approach that you want to seriously flirt with a growing list of prospects.

Marketing attraction. It sounds like flirting doesn’t it? And in a way, that’s exactly right.

You do want to flirt with your prospects, to allow them to get to know, like, and trust you. Since it takes upwards of 7 touches to make a sale today, you need to attract them to your product, service, or program in many different ways.

One critical element you must have in your basket of attraction tools today is a fully developed web presence.

People are most likely to Google for you or your service or the benefit/solution they seek first. They are less likely to open the telephone book and flip through the yellow pages. The future of your marketing reach is the internet.

Even with the internet, you need an arsenal of marketing strategies to reach your prospects and attract them to your product and services. You can’t flirt with them, if they can’t find you.

Here are a few ideas which you can do quickly and on a budget. They are culled from the likes of Mitch Meyerson, Jay Conrad Levinson, Seth Godin, and Bea Fields.

On your website:

• Build a powerful direct response entity
• Make sure your headlines are engaging with a problem/solution approach
• Direct their eyes to the one thing you want them to do

On your email signature:

• Include your business contact information, of course
• Promote one thing – a new product, service, newsletter, auto-responder series, article, free conference call.

This is your best and first opportunity to ask everyone to engage with you and your company

Develop relationships for referral business – complementary services serving the same market niche and get listed on their websites

Include client testimonials – use them in all your printed and online collateral materials.

The hottest new thing is audio and video testimonials you put up on your site.

Use audio and video conferencing from your PC for sales, presentations, meetings. They work effectively for a prospects, clients and vendors.  It’s no longer novel. It’s cost effective, timely, direct, and can be very interactive.

Write articles and press releases about everything you do and get them published in print but more importantly across the web.

Yes, all of these are ideas you can do yourself, burning the midnight oil.

But what’s even better, is that these tools and systems can be delegated and automated – one more way for you to generate more profit in less time.

We have NEW Autoresponder Courses in which you can use for your subscribers to show them how to use quick tips to help grow their business online. 

Click Here >>>Check them out!

I love automation. It's one of the reasons I have a business, but it can also be a big pain in the rear when it doesn't work.

I remember this one week where I was having terrible problems with my meeting scheduler. I was using a service to set up complimentary appointments with prospective clients and I'd done this big promotion about it. What was supposed to happen is the person would go to this page, click on a link to see my available calendar, and in about 2-3 clicks they're all set.

They'd get an email confirmation and the meeting time would pop into my calendar. No back and forth, no wasted time, boom - there is the appointment.

I had a number of people trying to set up their free time to connect but they weren't getting the handy little meeting schedule. Instead every one of them kept getting an "error 404" page ... those error pages always get on my last nerve especially when it means I have a link not working! Ever had that happen to you?

So what was happening is I kept getting phone call after phone call telling me the link didn't work, asking for next steps, requesting a return phone call. Some were even downright insults saying things like "this is unprofessional" (and yes, remember I said it was a free offer ---sometimes those are the worst kind when things go wrong).

Well once I figured out what the problem was, I'd missed at least 20 prospective meetings. I had to personally call each person back who left a voicemail and arrange the meeting manually, which is what I'd set up the service to help me avoid in the first place! That free time turned into triple the hours I'd planned for.

After that little incident, I learned my lesson. I'll give you a few quick hitter tips you can use so you don't end up falling prey to an automation disaster like this.

Always Test Your Automated Systems

When I sent out the promotion emails and let people know the links were open, I should have already tested the entire process myself along with having a friend or assistant test it. I know this now. Most of the time I'll remember this horrible week and I will have someone go through the entire process as though they are signing up. That way, any errors can be worked out before the whole world hears about it.

Remember, It's People Over Process

Many people think more of their super fabulous tools and systems than what the experience will be like for the end user. If you take the time to put yourself in the other person's shoes -- you know, the person who might just be investing in you or your stuff? -- you will know if you're headed in the right direction. Think about things like, "how easy is this to use?", "how many buttons would I click?", "does this frustrate me more than endear me to the service?".

You should make it easy for people to do business with you, not harder. The more difficult it is, the less likely they will buy.

Always Have a Back Up

Sure in this case I was the back-up. I literally sat down and made a list of all the people and manually called them myself. But what if there was a better way? If I had an assistant at the time, I would have had more help. Or if I learned through the testing process that the service wasn't working, I would easily have changed over to a new scheduling service before the promotion ever went out.

Think through your backup plan. What could you use if a part of your system is not flowing smoothly? What resources are available quickly and within your budget? Just thinking this through may save you a ton of time and money.

Now I can't tell you I've never had an automation problem ever again, but I can say that putting systems in place to help me replicate my work has always cost me less in the end than doing it all manually...both in dollars and in sanity. If you remember the tips I shared with you in this post, you'll reduce the chances of automation fail.

Want to learn more about how to use automation the right way? Get more over at my main blog www.tanyasmithonline.com.

  If you’re an entrepreneur or veteran in your business, and you’re finding it difficult to borrow money, then you may need to look at the foundation of your business. It’s unfortunate a lot of financial institutions loan officer do not have the knowledge to help you qualify for funding.
As a business owner for over 10 years, I am very familiar with the stress that comes about when you need money either to expand your business or just trying to make payroll. I discover 4 years ago about business credit, and I took all my free time to learn as much as I could about it. Many used this method to acquire funding, because their personal credit was destroyed.

A few things that I learned from studying business credit was that in order to obtain funding you must have a strong business foundation as well as good personal credit. Although, those facts made since, it made me feel discourage and uncomfortable, but as I educated myself more and took action, I felt a sense of relief.

I’ll like to share with you those steps I took to build up the foundation of my business in this outline.

 1st you must pick a favorable lending code. In the business world they call it SIC CODE or NAICS CODE. I made a video explaining these terms on my youtube channel on my website http://BusinessCreditAmerica.com.  Some of the favorable lending codes with be the following niches such as technology, education, retail, wholesale, and telecommunication.

  2nd step to building the foundation of your business is the structure of the business. Banks and Credit Unions are biased to the structure of the business. The majority of business owners are focused on either a S-Corporation or an LLC. However, banks favor C-corporations, because it’s look at as an entity that can vouch for its own credit, built up correctly. Another reason the C-corporation is preferred is because you can raise capital by issuing stock in the company.

 3rd step in building the foundation of your business is the registration of the company online. There are several avenues you need to take when registering your business. You would start with the business credit bureaus. These would be Experian business, Equifax business, Credit.net, and Dun and Bradstreet. Once you’ve register with those, you move on and register with the government systems like, Sam.gov, ORCA, MBA, and SBA. After, you’ve completed those you’ll register with the top search engines like google, bing, yahoo to name a few. The purpose of doing all of this registration, because this acts as a third party verifier. I discuss more of this in my ebook THE INSIDER BANK SECRETS.

 4th step in obtaining business funding is opening up 3 business bank accounts (checking, savings, and expense). By opening these accounts, you are establishing a relationship with the banks as well as building business credit with the credit bureaus. In my ebook I teach you how to make a small budget go a long way when building a good business relationship with the banks.
If you wish to learn more tips and secrets on how to build business credit to obtain funding join our community and forum at http://BusinessCreditAmerica.com.

You went one step further than the average dreamer--you started a business. Congratulations! But when you are in the beginning stages of forming a business, it is very easy to get over-involved in the formation and forget about planning for the future. Yes, it is very important to make sure that your new business is running correctly, that everything is in its place, but you also must think about prosperity.

If you only concentrate on the everyday functions of your business, you lose the ability to take your business to its next level of success—this comes from first-hand experience!  It can be nearly impossible to transition from this line of thought without help. Business owners have devoted so much of themselves to the creation and opening of their business that they start to believe that there is nothing more.  This is why a business coach is one of the best things you can do for your business.

Business Coaching For Entrepreneurs

One of the easiest ways for a business owner to make the transition from “potential” to “successful” is to employ the services of a business coach. Some cities have small groups of entrepreneurs who pool together to hire a business coach Denver or Atlanta based, or New York, Kingston, or Portland based, to name a few.  These trained professionals can help by looking at your business without the same emotional attachment you have and offering suggestions and help.

To secure your ideas with a solid foundation, a coach might teach you:

• How to create a business plan for future growth. By creating this type of plan, you are making a roadmap to follow to success.
• How to write a proposal. Many businesses fail to take on large contracts because they do not know how to grab the attention of their potential client.
• Bookkeeping methods. It is surprising how many talented and experienced business owners lack skills in this area.

• Drafting loan requests. You must know how to prove to the bank that your company is worth their investment. Many loans are denied because the business prospectus is too vague or did not effectively show the potential for growth in this industry.
• Employee relations. They can teach you how to hire, fire, and work with your employees. They can also show you how to create handbooks, implement regulations, and give proper compensation.
• Marketing strategies. There may be many avenues of marketing that you have not tried that will bring many clients to your business.
• Organizational and time management skills. When you need to do everything but don’t know how to make it happen, nothing will get done at all. Organizational and time management skills are crucial to success.
• Social skills. Yes, business owners must follow certain etiquette with each type of person they encounter. Employees, suppliers, clients, and other business owners each have a set of “rules” business owners should follow to make them look their best.

There are many other things that a business coach can teach, each with its own level of importance. A professional business coach, however, will base their teachings on what you desire and what your company needs.

Hiring a business coach is not a sign of weakness, nor does not mean that your business is failing. Hiring a business coach is simply a way of stating that you are determined to become a success, and if you do your research, you might find that what it costs you to hire a coach is far less than what you stand to make when you apply what you learn from your coach.

Akilah Richards is a full-time entrepreneur who has benefited significantly from the services of a reputable business coach.  She shares articles about the importance of hiring reinforcements to shore up your dreams, and apply sound strategies to your beautiful ideas. If you're looking for a business coach Denver, Colorado has a few great options over at Noomii.com.

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wisewellwoman/6327481577/

Building a brand is all about consistency. Your customers expect to have the same (or darn close to the same) experience whenever they come in contact with your brand.  After all, consistency leads to reliability and trust.

Since I've been doing a lot with visual maps these days, I've really gotten into studying how visual schemes impact your brand.  Here are a few tips that might help you.

Design Schemes and Associations

Think about this - what if you bought one of those red cola cans at a convenience store only to find when you drank it, something orange came out of the can.  That's pretty crazy, right?  You'd probably storm back into the store and confront the cashier at the counter with your red can.  The experience would make you second guess ever buying another from that store, or possibly, ever again.

In fact, that actually happened...sorta. Remember when they came out with clear cola?  It crashed and burned badly...why? Because we expect cola to be dark brown.  And when a very popular condiment maker came out with green ketchup, it ended up making appearances as a collectible on eBay, not on kitchen tables.

Something very similar happens with brands online.  Certain colors and design schemes are associated with certain products. If the product has the wrong color or design, it's off-putting to potential customers.

An important part of creating a consistent brand image is to choose a visual scheme that will always be associated with your name or your company’s name.

Your Visual Brand Language

To create a design and color scheme for your brand, you need to create a visual brand language, or VBL.

So what's that? A VBL incorporates design elements such as shape, color, materials, finish, typography and composition. All of these items together should work smoothly to communicate your company's values and personality.

For a good example, take BMW's front grill. When you see it on an advertisement or website, you automatically think of BMW and all the qualities associated with this luxury car designer. This distinct design feature is used as a visual marketing tool by the company to trigger feelings and associations in the minds of its target market.

An important key to creating a VBL is to remember that it isn't static, but something can be changed and used in different ways.

Think about Google's logo - basic letters on a clean white background. During different times of year or during promotions,  incremental changes are made to this basic design theme. Your VBL can be something flexible as well.

Visuals for Your Niche

Your own images need to create a brand personality that fits with your niche. Think about your target market and what they like. Consider your products and look at how other companies in your expert niche create their brand personality.

For example, some niches tend to showcase stark, hard line visuals, while others use soft, curvy lines. Each image a company uses fits with its personality to create a sense of consistency across all of its marketing and content creation.

Your Brand's Logo

The single most important visual element is your logo.  Recently, I went to my friends over at Logo Nerds to come up with a new design for me.  I knew the one I had was not fitting well with my niche and I wanted it to make a stronger connection with my brand.

To create a logo, you need to go back to your brand's unique selling proposition. What is your brand's promise and personality? These should be communicated through your brand's logo. Your logo should be based on this foundation and it should harmonize well with your other design elements.

The best practice when designing a logo is to start by choosing a primary and secondary color. The primary color is for your symbol, icon, or lettering. The secondary color is for the background. Take advantage of color meanings and associations when choosing colors.

The Importance of Visual Branding

A common business mistake is to bring in outside visual experts as an afterthought rather than a central part of your business's initial planning.  Remember when I mentioned redesigning my logo?  I have seen people make the mistake of trying to design their own, but that sometimes doesn't send a clear message about who you are and your professionalism.

Here's another resource for you.  Pam Wilson has an amazing blog that teaches a lot about visual branding.  Be sure to check out her Big Brand System here for great tips.

Remember - your brand's visual plan is just as important as your unique selling proposition or your products: it's part of your company's basic image and it can help you communicate clearly about who you are and what you do for your target market.

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About the Author: Tanya Smith is a creative online business strategist and coach specializing in showing independent service providers how to simplify, save time & stand out with simple strategies that engage more quality leads and clients. Her company Be Promotable provides fresh actionable strategies and virtual resources to promote business owners as power players in their market. Get free tools to simplify and stand out online at: www.tanyasmithonline.com