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Business Cards and CRM

January 11, 2010 By

Business cards clog your desk, briefcase and my purse. I collect business cards from all locations and people I talk to. What do you do with them?

For a long time, I wrote notes on them in pencil and kept them on my desk. After they became scattered, I rubber banded them with a tag of where I met the person. Then I have stacks and stacks of them from the various events. They became unmanageable.

In my 100 Days to Abundance class, I was introduced to the concept of CRM or Customer/Client Relation Manager. Wow! A place for all this paper that I can keep and access with ease! I hired out a Virtual Assistant to enter the data into my software and bammer, now I don’t have to keep track of all those pieces of paper! I found Highrise was the FREE product for my use.

Just read a LifeHacker blog post on using your Smart Phone and Google Goggles, a free app to upload directly into software. AMAZING!

How do you plan on storing those cards for future reference?

Brenda Priest
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Know, Like & Trust

January 11, 2010 By

Those three words are quickly becoming my new mantra for my business growth. I do business with and depend on those I know, like & trust.

I am taking the 100 Days to Abundance at Team Nimbus, with Bill Davis. In the process of the class, you learn to look at your relationships as more qualitative rather than quantitative. Who gives you the most referrals? Rather than who has the most business cards in their box or the most friends on Facebook, Inside919, Women’s Power Network or LinkedIn? I am growing my relationships, learning about the people, in a genuine way. Most likely referrals will grow from that, but people have so much more to offer than referrals; advise, suggestions, mentorship, friendship.

I recently went to an after-hours type networking event. The emphasis was not on card pushing but…how can I help your business grow. I did receive a few cards but not been overloaded with email sales pitches. There is a fine line between building business relationships and accumulating cards.

How do you feel about people that do the hard sale on you? Personally I am REALLY turned off. My goal is to grow a friendship, ask questions, let the other person talk and listen to what they say. Business will naturally come up. I strive for that balance, how about you?

Brenda Priest
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Analysis Paralysis

January 9, 2010 By

Goodness Gracious! I have been working on a project, actually a ‘test’ piece for a client. This ‘test’ will see if the client wants to commission me to do further work, lots of further work. The sketch was actually simple…but the landscape was not. I had created a proof for the client to review and then start working on the background. I freaked out!



My husband called it Analysis Paralysis. Wikipedia describes it as “paralysis of analysis” refers to over-analyzing (or over-thinking) a situation, so that a decision or action is never taken, in effect paralyzing the outcome. A decision can be treated as over-complicated, with too many detailed options, so that a choice is never made, rather than try something and change if a major problem arises. A person might be seeking the optimal or “perfect” solution upfront, and fear making any decision which could lead to erroneous results, when on the way to a better solution.



Great term, it was really fitting, working on this landscape was not complicated or elaborate. It was the pressure I was putting on myself, on the inside. I was analyzing each and every tree I was creating and stroke of my pen. I was overwhelmed with the minutia, not the larger picture. My client has been so patient, waiting in the wings, for this temperamental artist to stop having a fit. I am blessed to be working with such a man.



I started over, completely on the landscape, with a fresh eye, and a rested brain. Drew half of the landscape, scanned it and emailed the client, he loved it. I continued to the second half, finished in a few hours. No problem there.



Is that internal pressure is too much. Getting a fresh perspecitive, a friend or spouce to say, ‘take a step back,’ and relax a bit. Look at the bigger picture, squint your eyes and open them again. Are things different? It worked for me!



Brenda Priest

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My drawings in Africa

January 8, 2010 By

My work recently went to AFRICA!



A few months ago I met Andy Hamilton of Edward Jones. Andy is in the Navy Reserves. He has a good friend, Ron Mosely. Ron is a Chief Petty Officer in the Navy Reserve. He works as a International Space Station simulations engineer for United Space Alliance in Houston TX. He was recalled to active duty approximately a year ago to support the US Africa Command in the Horn of Africa.



Andy shared the last few months of active duty is hard. I offered to share a bit of home with Ron, so far-far away from his family. Andy contacted Ron’s wife and we started the surprise! Andy emailed Ron the sketch, he was overjoyed to be coming back to the United States, to his own Home Sweet Home!



Brenda Priest

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V+C=P

January 6, 2010 By

I attended a BNI visitor day. I was actually delivering at finalized drawing of a childhood home to a friend and the best time to meet was at her BNI. I have attended this meeting before as a substitute. I thoroughly enjoyed the meeting and the level of commitment the chapter members have toward their fellow members.

Being a visitor day, Steve Hand, the Executive Director of BNI gave a 10 minute presentation what BNI is all about. I had heard all this before but he mentioned V+C=P. What was that again?

Visibility + Creditability = Profitability. That made me stop and think. Do I have those two key elements in my business? Is my end result a Profit? Still mulling that over but I did determine that what I do as an artist, is a TINY niche market. Yes, I get out there to the Chamber events, LinkedIn, Leads Groups and Women’s Power Networking. What is really missing is my visibility. How can I achieve this on a budget? The answer came to me in my email inbox!

I met Pat Howlett, creator of InSide919 a number of months ago at the Fuquay-Varina InSide919 hometown group social. They meet monthly and Pat likes to make his presence occasionally at a new location. I was excited when I had seen him RSVP on InSide919. I was planning on introducing myself to him. We chatted and I gave him my business card. He seemed honestly interested in what I do as an artist and he said there were many possibilities out there for someone like me with a niche business. My level of excitement grew, as I too have grown this business one small block at a time for 3 ½ years. Over the following months, I had seen Pat at several events and never really got a chance to re-connect.

Tuesday in my email inbox was an invite from Pat to become a Network Partner on InSide919. There is my opportunity for better visibility! I have been an active member of the community but to have that little logo below my name and be featured and promoted within my own area code, GENIUS! The benefits are amazing and these are people in my area I already work with.

What is your strategy for increasing your Visibility and Creditability? I know my visibility will be growing in the next few months and looking forward to that Profitability!

Brenda Priest
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Recommendations

January 5, 2010 By

Kathy-Lynn Gariboldi Owner, reInventedSpaces (Interior Decorating) is a friend of a friend.  We had met and instantly connected, she is an Interior Designer and I have formal training in Interior Design too!  She really loved my work.   She told me The Story of her childhood home.  The home is no longer in the ownership of family but had a love of the place.  I really didn’t have much to work from but a copy of an old photograph that we spliced together.  KathyLynn made notes as to what to add and delete.  It was like I had creative freedom to add here and there.  I really had fun working on it!

 

“I asked Brenda to illustrate my family home. This was a home that my Grandparents purchased in 1949, so to say the least, it is very important to me. I had a photograph, but it did not reflect some of the attributes I remembered as a child. Brenda incorporated my memories into the final illustration. It is exquisite! It will be valued and treasured for years to come! I recommend Brenda to any home or business owner wanting to capture a lifetime memory.” June 16, 2011

 

Don’t forget to ask for recommendations from your former clients.  A glowing review from them is worth the asking!

 

Brenda Priest
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BUY LOCAL

January 4, 2010 By

Pat Howlett and Martin Brossman have been touting this mantra for a long time, BUY LOCAL. Just yesterday, at the Final Friday Forum, Pat made it clear how it all works.

 

Pat was the Mayor of a small town in Colorado. He gave a demonstration on how local money was spent and how it passes through the town 7 times.  He compared a small town to the members of Inside919. We are a small town of 4,000. We are all in the geographic are of area code 919. If we can spend our money with other business owners in the Inside919 town, we all benefit!

 

A fisherman pulls a great haul. He sells the fish at the market. He goes to the local pub and buys beers for his friends. The pub owner then buys a new dress for his wife at the local store. The store owner then upgrades his website. The website designer…and so on and so on.

Another comment they made is that the economy will only improve from the bottom up in a formula like this one. We should not expect the US Government to get us out of this situation, it is our responsibility to help where we can.



I am off to the Holly Springs Farmers Market to buy some fresh fruit and veggies from my local farmers, bringing money into my town. I prefer to do this rather thank go to Harris Teeter or Food Lion to buy them…keep local!



Brenda Priest

Your Door & More



(I do apologize to Pat if your example is not exactly as you stated.)

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Recurring Revenue Streams

January 3, 2010 By

Your Door & More



Custom Pen and Ink Illustrations by Brenda Priest, Apex NC

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Revenue StreamThe past few months, I have been working diligently on recurring revenue streams. With the type of work that I do, I produce one item and get paid. If I walked away from my business for a day, week or month, the revenue would dry up. What people purchase from me is their home, they don’t want someone else’s home or memory. Finding a way to keep the money rolling in, is difficult.



Finding those places that people connect with, a slice of history of a particular town or famous place, now that is something a consumer will buy. When I travel to a vacation spot or historical location, I look for a small souvenir to remember the place. Yes, this is something that I can do, sell prints, note cards and mugs! I live in a small historic town, in a VERY historic state. There are places all over the country that I can illustrate and print on demand in small quantity to fill the orders.



It started with the Town of Cary, North Carolina. Cary is a beautiful southern town with lovely old buildings. History has been made in this town. I happened to have registered to be a vendor at the 35th Annual Lazy Daze, Arts & Crafts Festival, right in the heart of downtown Cary. One staple building is Ashworth’s Drugstore; Full Service Pharmacy, Old-Fashioned Soda Fountain/Lunch Counter, Medical Equipment Sales/Rentals & Hallmark Card Shop. The Downtown Cary Depot that serves as an Amtrack Station, the Page-Walker Hotel, the New Cary Arts Center and the Ivey-Waddell home.



I have completed the Town of Apex and now have plans for Holly Springs, Fuquay-Varina, Raleigh, Chapel Hill, etc. The possibilities are endless for me. How have you approached recurring revenue for your business?



Brenda Priest

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