The Lady Hustler of the Week: Shaunell Robinson of Conceited Inc.

By on April 19, 2013 in Marketing TIps

 

LadyHustler1st

 

Shaunell Robinson began her journey as an accounting graduate from Georgia State University. However, her love for fashion and passion for shoes, in specific, birthed the idea of opening up her own shoe boutique in 2010. After much insight and thought, Shaunell realized that every boutique carries the same styles, brands, and nothing innovative. It wasn’t until 2011, when Shaunell decided she had the ability to design her own shoes and start a line herself, entitled Shaunell Robinson. Conceited, the name and theme for her first collection, derived from several aspects. Shaunell wanted to make every woman feel “at their best” when wearing her collection. Shaunell also wants her clients to look good, feel good, and have the

Tell me about your brand/business in 3 sentences.

My company is called Conceited Inc. I provide Mink Lashes, Virgin Hair and Custom Shoes designed by Me. It’s for all Women who love quality products at affordable prices.

What advice do you have for aspiring female entrepreneurs?

Believe in yourself! Don’t let anyone tell you your dreams or ideas are unrealistic. Eat and sleep your brand! Never give up!

Where does you inspiration come from?

I’m inspired by many different things but mostly by watching black women around me succeed. Also, I love Oprah so I watch and listen to everything she does.

Company Websites
http://shaunellrobinson.com/
http://www.conceitedinc.com/
Instagram: missconceited
Twitter: ConceitedbySR

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The Home Shopping Network: Nobody does it better!

By on April 3, 2013 in Business, Entrepreneurship, Inspiration, Marketing TIps, Money, Startups

June Ambrose

A couple weeks ago, I was at home sick and I decided to watch the Home Shopping Network.  June Ambrose, a popular celebrity stylist was launching a line of shoes.  I started thinking wow this has been on for hours and I am still engaged.  I couldn’t stop watching it.  My mom is going to read this article in disbelief. She is a loyal patron of the network. She probably should be on the staff. I am constantly making fun of her watching and buying the items. The strategy can be quite comical, but if you look closer you can gain a lot from their marketing tactics.

HSN has marketing and selling products figured out. Here are a few things that they do exceedingly well consistently:

1. Create a sense of urgency

By using minute by minute updates of what’s sold they are successful with creating a sense of urgency.  This is done by continuously running a tally on the bottom of the screen to let customers know what colors, sizes, or options are sold out.

Steps you can take: Sign up for an email marketing service like Mad Mimi or Constant Contact (the irony in the title yet sometimes business owners miss the message).  Send emails letting customers know what the HOT ITEMS are or what is limited in inventory.

2.  Always Be Closing

I timed it and about every 5-7 minutes they are asking you to call in and place orders.  The presenters consistently remind you about daily specials as well as free shipping.

Steps you can take: Schedule your social media outlets to automatically post your marketing messages with services like Post Planner for Facebook. Email marketing services like Mad Mimi.  Instagram and Twitter  is also useful for this tactic.

3. Sell the Value

The presenters tend to focus heavily on building the value.  They break down each and every feature.  They provide demonstrations in various scenarios, while they offer special prices they are not selling based on pricing.

Steps you can take: Constantly inform your customer about the product’s features. For example: If I were selling this white leather jacket from bebe.com I would talk about Spring trends, pointing out that white is hot. I would also talk about the jacket being 100% leather.

4. Plan, Plan, Plan to Create Customer Anticipation

If you go to the channel you are constantly reminded of what’s coming on next, the next day, the next week, and the next month.  Also, they tend to constantly send emails multiple times daily as well as direct mail pieces. In addition, to the emails they also have several monthly contests.

Steps you can take: Use Google Calendar to schedule your marketing activity.

5. Using Enthusiasm & Fun

The presenters are always dressed nicely and well-manicured.  They are always upbeat and extremely enthusiastic.  In addition, they are good at maintaining your attention with their vibrant personalities, they even talk loud.

Steps you can take: Use lifestyle marketing  and social media outlets like Instagram  and  You Tube to brand your products with vibrant images and videos. When you post to these networks be excited! Make sure your pictures & videos are bright and that your customers can see things clearly.

Often times when small business owners get overwhelmed and busy, the marketing activities are the first to suffer.  Of course, HSN is a huge company with tons of money and many employees,  and it may not be easy to market just like them. But, I would definitely consider taking a peek there is a lot to learn about selling your products. If nothing else, presentation is everything!

Which one of these tactics can you use the most? What is your marketing strategy missing?

Get Busy! Get Excited & Change things!

Happy Marketing!

K.renee

 

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11 Productivity Tools to Get You Off Your Ass and Into Your Small Business

By on April 3, 2013 in Business, Entrepreneurship, Girl Power, Inspiration, Marketing TIps, Money, Startups

sarahsadEven children find it hard to get things done! Let’s be real for a minute. Who wakes up super motivated every morning? If you do, then consider yourself lucky. For the rest of us we need a little push. Whether you post motivational quotes on your Instagram page or log onto Oprah’s Daily Lifeclass for an added boost; we all have a way to “get started.”

But, sometimes we have to take it a bit further and use tools to get us moving. How many iPhone alarms do you have setup on your phone? Is your Google Calendar bursting at the seams? You get the point right?

Being a business owner is more about “getting things done” rather than hoping and wishing on a star. You can have all the ideas in the world. You can network your tail off but what really matters is the WORK that you and your team gets done. Below find some of my favorite websites and tools that help me maintain billable time, organize projects and simply get things done.

Project Management

Trello

Toodledo

Remember The Milk

Strategy and Mind Mapping

Mind42

List.ly  (for people who love lists)

Mind Meister  (and for those who hate lists but have a visual sense)

Social Media Management

Hootsuite

Social Oomph

Device Management

Log Me In

Password Management

LastPass

Outsourcing Your Work

Elance

Do you have any tools or methods that help you manage time effectively? How do you stay focused? Is it a struggle to get things done? Let us know!

DREAM BIG!

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5 Simple Tips To Get Started Blogging

By on March 20, 2013 in Business, Entrepreneurship, Inspiration, Marketing TIps, Startups

zanade tips on blogging If you are one of many people out there who still does not blog then you are doing yourself an injustice. Blogging is not just for popular gossip sites like Perez Hilton. Just about anyone can and should have a blog. I remember when I first started blogging on the Myspace platform I felt invincible! I was able to blog about numerous subjects under a fake name and not be penalized for it. Times of course have changed and people are no longer afraid to express themselves on the internet.

How do you get started blogging is a question that I get all the time. And, I give the same answer all the time. Blogging is not easy but it can be simple. It is really about knowing what you want to blog about. Below I provide 5 simple tips to get started blogging, where to blog and how to optimize your blog. Optimizing your blog is good if you want to make money as a blogger. Blogging has empowered so many people including moms. A lot of my friends are mommy bloggers and they enjoy posting recipes, DIY projects and family adventures on their blogs. Blogging gives you a sense of community and support. So why not get started blogging today?

1)      Find a subject to talk about

What are you passionate or knowledgeable about? Is there something you want to share with the world? This is probably your best route. Choose something that intrigues you so that you will be constantly motivated to write a new blog. For example, if you love dogs then write about them! By the way, if you do decide to start a doggy blog I promise to be a loyal subscriber :-)

2)      Find a blogging platform

Fortunately, you have two choices when it comes to blogging.

Free: Popular blogging platforms such as WordPress and BlogSpot offer free hosting. Although I have a full website I occasionally blog using my free host at CuriousZanade. The downside to this is that you will not have your own domain. Meaning that if your blog is “I love doggies” then on either WordPress or Blogspot the url (the website address you type in) will be www.ILoveDoggies.blogspot.com or www.ILoveDoggies.wordpress.com However if you want to kick it up a notch and have your own domain name you will have to purchase it.

Paid: There are endless hosting services. I personally use Bluehost with WordPress. Bluehost will host your blog and provide a free domain name with your account registration. Then Bluehost has this cool tool that incorporates WordPress for your blog. Prepare to spend $100-250 annually for hosting. Bluehost also have great deals for 2 year and 3 year plans

*Declaimer: I am NOT a fan of GoDaddy.com so do yourself a favor and find another host if Bluehost is not your preferred choice*

3)      Find a theme for your blog

Free: Here is where things can get a bit detailed. If you choose the free hosting through WordPress then you could opt for any of the various free blog templates. I advise strongly against this if you are looking to become a serious blogger and make some money.

Paid: Hire a web designer to create a simple website for your blog. You could also purchase a custom website theme from many sellers like Theme Forest or Elegant Themes.

A word of caution: Please do not purchase themes expecting to upload it to your website and have a perfectly flawless site. There is many details involved with editing your theme. It may involve HTML coding and CSS edits. If you are not prepared or do not have the time to design your blog or website then please hire a web designer.

4)      Create a editorial calendar

Yes. I am serious. Traditionally, editorial an editorial calendar showed the major editorial features planned for forthcoming issues of a newspaper, magazine, and similar publications. However, times have severely changed and now bloggers are using these calendars to plan their posts. If you are blogging for fun then you probably do not have to do this step, but it wouldn’t hurt.

Find major celebrations and create content around it. Or, look out for current events and trends that you can write about. You have to be organized in order to have a successful blog or website. Plan it out. Understand: Failing to plan is planning to fail.

5)      Use Google to find keyword friendly words

This is important if you want people to discover your blog. If you intend on making money off of your blog then you will have to do two things

1)      Create high quality content

2)      Use SEO to optimize your blog

Clearly, if you want people to be interested in your blog then you must have something interesting to say. Write good content that will spark interest. And, if you want Google to be friendly to your blog then you will need to have specific keywords in your post. Great SEO is no simple task but just use Google’s Keyword tool to get started!

Not so bad right? So stop waiting and get started blogging today! And, when you do please come back and post a comment letting us know what your blog is all about!

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Create your own Opportunities

By on March 20, 2013 in Business, Entrepreneurship, Girl Power, Inspiration

In previous post, we’ve talked about elements of fear, the importance of loving yourself, learning how to invest in yourself, how to turn your purpose into a profitable passion, and have featured game changing women as they tell us about their own journey to success. Today I wanted to change things up by tearing a page out of a my friend Jason M Rene aka JMR’s blog. Yes, as women we need to learn to inspire and empower one another and yes WE RUN THE WORLD, but every now and again our male counterparts can too teach us something about life. His story to success is inspiring on more levels than one– JMR a combat veteran, husband, new father and self-taught photographer started from a grassroots foundation. He like many didn’t have opportunities just knocking at his door or a family fortune to fall back on, so instead he took his destiny into his own hands.

 i was able to capitalize off of asking a simple question back in 2009…”can I shoot for you?”. i asked this question to the editor, via cold contact through email, of Dub Magazine and he responded with a resounding “YES!”.–JMR via loungekingfilms.blogspot.com

Recently, he wrote a post about how a fairly new photography with less than a year of experience nailed the cover art of a national publication just by taking a step out on faith. I’ll let his writings speak for itself, but I encourage you to read the full post here . This is a classic example of how to build your brand from the bottom up. It’s a reminder to CREATE YOUR OWN OPPORTUNITIES  if your believe that your purpose in life is worth the world knowing, you must learn how to speak up and let people know what you’re doing. Don’t underestimate yourself by simply not trying or just assuming that no one really will take the time out to really listen to what you have to offer. If you don’t believe in your brand how on earth do you expect others to invest in you. It going to take “all boots on the ground” in order to really drive your brand to where your trying to go. Yes, some people will tell you no, others won’t even give you’re the courtesy to respond, but I’m certain there will be others that say “hey I know your developing, I believe in your talent enough to invest in you and YES I’m willing to take a chance on you”. We each will walk a different path some will be more rough than others, but the sweet taste of success will all be worth it in the end. That alone is worth a lifetime of trying.

Like JMR would say, stay encouraged.

The world is yours for the taking,

Alaina B.

www.thereinventshop.com

Let’s be freinds–>>@butterflypkwy (Twitter/IG/Pose)

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She’s Sharing Her Story: In order to look good one must feel good inside first.

By on March 15, 2013 in Business, Entrepreneurship, Girl Power, Inspiration, Self Image, Startups

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Hello everyone, I’m Yassin S. Hall. Thanks for taking an interest in my company and me.

I am the founder of “Let’s Journey into Fashion” clothing line. I was born and raised on St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands and have been living in Florida for nearly 20 years.

My goals in life is to be a positive role model to my children, to motivate motivating young girls by guiding them in the right direction, and to be an inspiration for women by instilling the idea in them that they are never too old to live out their true dreams, as well as how to become a successful business women.

In 2011, I ventured on into women apparel and established “Let’s Journey into Fashion, ” an on-line retail store which features many of my own personal designs.

Let’s Journey into Fashion started out as an idea that I had in mind for many years after my divorce. My divorce was my ground zero; I had to rebuild my life. One weekend I went to the mall to look for a blouse to buy wear to an upcoming event .I went from store to store throughout the mall looking for that right “something” which was age appropriate, affordable and fit to contour my body type.

Admittedly, I am quite frugal and spending nearly $100 on myself was always an afterthought, with me being a single mom and knowing the needs of my children come first. As a last resort, I reluctantly purchased a blouse for $90 from a high-end boutique in the mall.

For a moment I considered wearing it just that once and returning it, but my conscience would not allow me to do that. So I did the next best thing… I researched the label on it.

I spent days trying to find out who the manufacturer was and who distributed the blouse. Finally, I found the distributor, who was selling the very same blouse to retailers for $90 for the entire pack. I was blown away; however since I have a retailer’s certificate and an Employer Identification Number, which allows me as a retailer to buy directly from the distributor, I created an account with the distributor and purchased the entire pack.

When I wore the blouse, I took a picture of myself in it and shared it on Facebook with my friends. Moments later several of my friends began asking me where I had purchased it. I responded to the ones I personally knew and told them that they could buy one directly from me at a cheaper price than if they bought it at the mall.

So my $90 turned into $150 and I took the entire $150 and re-invested it into more blouses.

Outraged by the markup for the exact blouse by the distributor, I realized, by this time, that my passion for fashion had returned. It was time for me to be the retailer to moms on a budget and women who would like to buy and wear high-end affordable clothing at affordable prices.

Now that I was re-energized and realized what I was destined to do, I declared to myself that if I was going to start a clothing business I wanted it to be more than just about fashion. I wanted it to be the corner-stone that uplifted women who were on the life journey that we all individually travel.

I hope the women’s apparel that I promote, design and sell captures the attention of a young girl or woman and inspires her to realize that our true message is about the journey that we are on, everyday in life, and that the one thing that changes and energizes us has been our fashion.

If I can motivate, empower and uplift just one woman a day, then my goal is met. That is what keeps me going. I offer the following as my guiding principles, shared with me by a dear friend and founder of the Pace Life Management Plan .

What are your 7 C’s to success ?

1.Christ

2. Capitol

3. Credit

4. Good Customer service

5. Communication

6. Consistency

7. Co-operative partnerships


Characteristics needed to start your own business:

1. Self-driven

2. Focused

3. Dedicated

4. Self-confident

5. Patient

How do you encourage others?

1. Mentally

2. Spiritually

3. Professionally

Sources:

http://paceplanforlife.com/

 

For information on Yassin’s Company:
Visit her Website: www.letsjourneyintofashion.com
Instagram: @LetsJourneyintofashion

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Feature Friday: Josephine Baker

By on March 15, 2013 in Marketing TIps
josephinebakercloseup

Photo Credit: Tommenterprises

Happy Friday!

Another long week has passed and I’m feeling somewhat festive; Josephine Baker came to mind for today’s women’s highlight.

Josephine Baker was an American-born French dancer, singer, and actress. Born Freda Jospehine McDonald in St. Louis, Missouri she became a citizen of France in 1937. Fluent in both English and French, Baker became an international musical and political icon.

Baker was the first African-American female to star in a major motion picture, Zouzou (1934), to integrate an american dance hall , and to become a world-famous entertainer. Baker was also noted for her contributions to the Civil Rights Movement in the United States.

Baker’s home going was one that was significant; she was the first American-born woman to receive full French Military honors at her funeral, she was interred at the Cimetière de Monaco in Monte Carlo.

Baker’s legacy lives on as she was inducted into the Hall of Famous Missourians on March 29, 1955. And Place Joséphine Baker in the Montparnasse Quarter of Paris was named in her honor.

 

 

 

Sources:

Wikipedia/Josephine Baker

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5 Ways You Are Not Acting As Your Own Investment

By on March 13, 2013 in Business, Entrepreneurship, Girl Power, Inspiration, Marketing TIps, Self Image

zanade mann leadershipIt took many years for me to begin investing in myself.

What do I mean? Well, at one point in my life I was simply living. I did nothing to boost my stock per se, and I saw nothing wrong with that. I did not motivate myself every day. I wondered how people succeeded in live. I would Google things like “How to succeed in business?” or “How to become successful?” I questioned how did women like Oprah survive adversity? How did she reach her level of success?

My questions remained unanswered. Then I started to read motivational books and quotes by successful business leaders. I also started networking. I opened my eyes to new people and places. The inspirational books I read gave me hope that success is possible. I began to meet people who valued their stock. They were hungry for success. And, they did not have the distinct blueprint on how to achieve success, but they knew key points. They had to do certain things to boost their sales or attract a new client. They were investing in their future by continually doing things to raise their stock price.
There are many ways to reach your goals. Some people do things that distract them from reaching their greatest potential. You have to learn to invest in yourself first.

Here are 5 ways you are not acting as your own investment

1) You Do Not Eat For Energy! There is nothing worse than having a positive mental attitude to work on a project, but have no physical energy to do it. I have been there before. I have skipped meals (breakfast typically) and have experienced early fatigue hours later. The downside is that I could not finish the task at hand. So, I do my best every morning to eat something that provides a healthy carb/protein ratio. Carbs are a body’s best friend when you need to replenish your energy from a good night sleep. CNN shares some great tips on carbs follow them also @cnnhealth

2) You Do Not Educate Yourself Regularly! In the world of technology you can practically educate yourself for free! Yes, that’s right you can get an Ivy League education online and for free. MIT has OpenCourseware Consortium which features lectures on all sorts of subjects. The only real way to invest in your future is to always keep educating yourself. Stay one step ahead of the game. A wealth of knowledge can go a long way if you are an entrepreneur.

3) You Do Not Self Motivate! I find a way to motivate myself ALL the time. If no one will be your motivational speaker then you have to self motivate! Find inspiration online. I like to read posts by Addited2Success this website gives it to you RAW! They do not sugarcoat anything. Check out this post for a few kick ass motivational quotes. And, follow Joel Brown the founder of Addicted2Success @addicted2success

4) You Procrastinate! Get Started Already! We spend too much time procrastinating. We check emails, Twitter, Facebook and our text messages when we have more than enough to do! Whatever business idea, plan, and/or project you have just buckle down and get started. I typically turn my cell phone off if I have something urgent to finish.

5) You Do Not Go Out and Network! Yes, that’s right. You can do all of the social media updating you want but nothing beats face to face networking and engagement with an people. Sign up for free events if your budget is low. There are great events in the NYC area that you can attend. Check out Urban Girl Squad and/or The White House Project. Not in NYC? Then you can always go to Eventbrite and search for local events in your neighborhood.
Before you think about investing in stocks and bonds you better make sure that you invest in yourself first! Procrastination in my book is one of the deadly sins of life. You cannot get ahead in life if you do not motivate yourself or meet new people. Are you investing in yourself daily? What tactics do you use to add value to your life? I want to hear from you!

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Everything You’ve Got

By on March 13, 2013 in Girl Power, Inspiration

women empowerment quotes“You’ve got what it takes”–the ability to speak these words will come easy to anyone with a 2nd grade education, to be empowered by those words may be a little harder, but the most difficult facet of this affirmation is actually turning your thoughts of empowerment, motivation and inspiration into ACTION.

There is an old saying “faith without work is like dreaming blank dreams”. In context this directly relates to one affirming “yes, I know that I’ve got what it takes…I have the work ethic, I have the natural ability, I have the knowledge etc.”, but knowing and/or believing is only half the battle. It takes a formuala of discpline, determination, perserverance and resilence to truly affirm these words. Giving everything you’ve got is a steady yet strategic plan to put in the work needed to get where you want to go. Most of us aren’t born with silver spoons in our mouth, so if we want something we have to strive unconditionally to achieve it.

Ask yourself. Are you willing to give it all you have in order to accomplish your goals or turn your dreams into fruition? Are you will to put in the hustle it takes in order to succeed? Are you hungry or just parched for water? Are you willing to give it ALL YOU’VE GOT? If your answer is yes, statistically speaking your already 70% more likely to reach success in your quest. Now that’s some pretty darn good odds don’t you think ?

Our DETERMINATION gives us the DRIVE we need in order to have the WILL to SUCCEED. Now, all you need to figure out is how to give it EVERYTHING YOU’VE GOT.

Remember time is of the essence–GO.

Thanks so much for allowing me to come into your thoughts.

Alaina Banks

www.thereinventshop.com

Twitter/IG:: @butterflypkwy

 

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Major Marketing Monday Tools

By on March 11, 2013 in Business, Entrepreneurship, Marketing TIps, Money, Startups

Happy Monday!

macbook-light-shift_l

Photo credit: goobimama / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND

I am a researcher. Omg, I live to read. I live to learn. Not so much in a structured environment, but on my own terms.  I wanted share  to some tools with you guys. I have hundreds in my bookmarks, in my notebooks, and on sticky notes. I will share three each Monday with a brief description. I admit even though I love marketing, social media, and business. It can be a little overwhelming at times. But over the years, I have discovered some tools that will change your business and your life in terms of productivity.

1.  iCharts- A tool that allows you to create beautiful color rich charts for different business purposes.

2. Pingraphy - A tool that allows you to schedule pins on Pintrest great for businesses.

3. Dashboard Junkie - If  you are a Google Analytics novice then you can use this tool. Sometimes, Google Analytics can be a little challenging, trust me this will help.

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