Trying to hire a new graphic designer or web developer?
Looking for a bookkeeper or intern?
Need to find a lawyer?

Before you pick up the phone or send an email, it's a good idea to get clear about the scope of your project and what you need to accomplish.

Once you know what you need, write it down. In the creative world, this document is called putting together a Creative Brief. It's like a mini-marketing plan and is used to ensure you and the creative agency you hire are literally on the same page and headed in the same direction.

Why is this important? So you don't use up their time and keep changing your mind and ultimately wasting your money!

Here's an example of a very simple one for a branding project that you could tweak for any other project:

1. Situation: company is growing rapidly and needs to build a solid brand and image

10. Timeline: To be completed by 9/1/08 when new program launches

Any great stories about hiring a vendor? Any nightmares or lessons learned? You can always pop me an email at whitney@whitneykeyes.com. - Whitney Keyes

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Guess what? Publicity is free - or almost! So why not use the power of the media to boost your business?

From articles in the newspaper and blogs on the web to radio and TV interviews, an endorsement from the media can give you:
• Increased sales
• Instant credibility
• More hits to your website
• Access to more customers, and
• Opportunities for new partnerships

Jump start your morning - and your business - with a hands-on, fast-paced, fun workshop I'm giving this Friday, July 18, 2008, to a group of entrepreneurs in Seattle at the Women's Network for Entrepreneurial Training (WNET), sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

You'll learn how to tell your story in a way that will get results. By the end of the workshop, you'll know:
• How PR can support your business goals
• What makes something in your business newsworthy
• How to write a press release for your business

There's still room if you want to sign up to attend. To reserve your space today or for more information you can contact Sherry Mina at 206-553-7316 or sherry.mina@sba.gov.

Agenda
7:30 am: Continental breakfast and networking
8:00 am to 10:00 am: Welcome, introductions, workshop training, and more networking

Workshop Location
SBA Education and Training Center
Fourth & Battery Building
2401 Fourth Avenue, Suite 450
Seattle, WA 98121

Cost
$25 Prepaid Registration ; $35 at the door and $20 for participating organizations

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I just won a free lunch from my fave BBQ place in town.

I was having dinner there the other night when I spotted a pink cowboy hat on the counter. One of those "drop in a business card and enter to win a free lunch" deals.

Normally I wouldn't do it because:
a) I never win
b) I know I'll just get added to an email list and be bombarded with marketing messages that don't interest me and I'll eventually have to unsubscribe

But this was different. I love RoRo BBQ (note: used to be called Rowdy Cowgirl BBQ). I want to know what's going on in their business. I want to be connected to them.

So in went my card.

The very next day, they tracked me down in a surprising way.

I didn't get an email, I got a personal phone call!

"Hi Whitney, guess what? You just won a free lunch from all of us over here at RoRo BBQ! Just stop by any time and bring in another business card so we can match it up with the one you dropped in our hat. Hope we seen you soon!"

Yihaw!

Nice job, RoRo BBQ crew. Not only do you have some of the best BBQ in Seattle (the Seattle PI food critics agree). Not only do you have a ton of yummy vegetarian options and sides, like baked beans and succotash. Not only do you have a great selection of scrumptious desserts (handmade by someone's grandma, so I've heard). But you've also aced your marketing.

I'm not a big believer in giving away something for free (I'm all about helping entrepreneurs keep their money in their pockets) but every now and then this makes good business sense, especially when it comes to restaurants. Here's why: chances are I won't come redeem my free lunch alone; I'll bring someone with me to share the experience.

I feel great because I know something delicious - for free - is waiting for me the next time I go to RoRo's!

Tip: Take a traditional "free" offer done by everyone else in your industry and put your own spin on it, like RoRo's personal call.

Question: Have you found a way to be innovative and stand out from the crowd? Feel free to share your story in the comment section, below.

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Dear Whitney,

Miss Wannabe Author

Dear Author-to-be,

Just the fact that you care so much about not writing this week tells me that you're going to start writing it again with ease when the time is right for you. No pun intended!

Whitney Keyes

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I just got an email from a business I subcontracted some design work out to in the past.

Believe me, it was a good thing I partnered with this guy. I may come from a family of artists but I am by no means an expert when it comes to graphic design techniques.

Here's the note.

"Hi, Whitney.

Hope you and your business are doing well."

I think his email is a great example of how to ask for more business!

3. It made me think about my own projects and see if there is a good fit for something he could help me with

TIP: When you need to drum up some new business, just ask! Remind people that you're open for business and how you can add value and help them. If they can't use your services, don't take offense. Just wait for the phone to ring from someone who can!

Note: Thanks to school.discoveryeducation.com for the drum image

Whitney Keyes

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Last night I went to a cool event called Seattle Green Drinks. I'll write more about it later, but while I was there, I ended up commiserating with several entrepreneurs about being overwhelmed by all the email I have to manage.

That's part of why I decided to interview Stacey Anderson, founder of Organized Innovations. She's got a fresh, down-to-earth, humorous approach to staying organized in your business and what's great about her is that she admits that she isn't perfectly organized all the time! She's human, too! What a relief!

She has a great free offer. You can sign up on her website to get a free weekly organizing tip. Her advice doesn't always apply to your business (sometimes she talks about home organizing, etc.) but I get great value out of what ever she has to say.

Whitney Keyes: Why is it so hard for so many entrepreneurs to stay organized?

Stacey Anderson: Technology is a great asset to our lives and businesses, but it allows many different distractions and time vacuums during the day. One statistic states that executives experience an interruption every 8 minutes and each lasts an average of 5 minutes. This totals just over 4 hours of the workday. Entrepreneurs are afraid they may miss something if they don't react right away. When the phones rings we answer it, when the email notification dings your run to your computer. I recommend that people turn off their email notification, set a schedule for answering phone calls and returning emails and being bold enough to shut the office door and not allow people to interrupt for certain portions of the day. This will allow you a solid block of time to focus, and more importantly complete, the tasks that you are working on. When you are able to complete tasks, your workspace becomes less cluttered and overwhelmed, and your stress level reduces allowing you to have the motivation to keep going.

Keyes: What's the biggest mistake you see small businesses make when it comes to organization?

Anderson: Not taking the time to focus on organizing if at least for 30 to 60 minutes a week. The thought is that time spent purging your file cabinet is wasted, non-billable time. But in fact, the average executive wastes 150 hours each year looking for lost or misplaced documents, and that it requires $250 in labor to recreate a lost document. It just makes sense to spend the last 10 minutes of your day wrapping up. If you can stay ahead of the mess it is a lot easier, than trying to catch up from a years worth of neglect to your office. Take the time to tidy your desk, file what you can, check your calendar for the next day and do a final email/voicemail check.

Keyes: What is your top tip for tackling long to do lists?

Anderson: To-do lists should be just that: things you need to do, not thoughts of creativity or wishes. When you write something on your list is should be very specific- rather than saying "Call Susan" it should have Susan's full name, contact info and "Get reports from Susan for annual meeting". Your calendar is not the place to capture your to-do's it should be reserved for your scheduled appointments and obligations. (Though I do recommend keeping your list in your calendar somehow, in case you have time to make calls or run errands during the day.) Take the top 5-10 off your long running list and make a separate list- complete those before moving on to others. If something has many steps make sure to list them all out individually so you can track where you are in completing the task.

Keyes: How about growing stacks of paper? Not that I have any of those...

Anderson: There is a theory among many that paper multiplies at night, all by itself and we have no control over it. To tame the beast you should separate "active" information from "reference" information. Active stays on your desk and should be in a tiered file organizer so you can see it. Reference materials should be on a shelf or in a file cabinet. "But if I can't see it I won't remember it" is the cry of many. We keep the piles because we don't trust our systems. Create a system in your computer, calendar or to-do list that references what you have and what you need to get done. Trust that is accurate, and file your papers away. 80 percent of what we keep we never actually access. Before you file something away as a 'must keep' – take the time to actually read it. And ask questions.

When was the last time I referenced this?

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Do you fit one of these descriptions?

a) I run my own business and like it that way but value an outside perspective now and then

b) I run a small-but-we-want-to-grow organization and need some new resources and fresh ideas to take us to the next level

c) I work in a corporation but I'm an entrepreneur at heart!

If so, you won't want to miss this year's BizJam!

It's an indie business conference like no other in town, packed with cool topics and sessions (like "OMG! U So Need To Leverage Social Media" and "High Impact, Low Cost Marketing for Almost Free!", great speakers and plenty of creative ways to boost your business.

Check out the Biznik website for more info and to register.

But hurry! It starts tomorrow and ends this Thursday!

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Need a little Monday morning inspiration?

Check out this interview I did with Heather Correa, owner of These Two Girls and Woobee Kids.

In this short video interview, I asked Correa about the challenges she faces running her own business, especially as a parent. She shares her secrets for maintaining passion for her *products.

The Biz Bite with Whitney Keyes: Heather Correa of These Two Girls talks about running her business

*Correa's products are very cool! I've bought a few as gifts and just bought one of her pistachio-colored, adult-sized blankets for myself, perfect for a picnic!

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Want to learn more about how the big corporate boys are using online videos?

Here are two you can watch from Ford and Microsoft/Xbox.

According to the 360 interactive site I found these on (and there are a few other funny viral videos posted there), the Ford one has won awards and claims to be "consumer generated content" but some people think corporate minds created it.

The 1,358,627 people who have watched it on YouTube don't seem to care.

The Xbox one is an expensive commercial that was banned for having too much "cartoon" violence. It's clearly getting a lot of views now on YouTube. 1,630,436 as of today, to be exact.

Making a video for a business that works virally is an art.

I've got a side business producing and hosting online videos (WhitneyandWyatt.com) and I've yet to hit the one million viewer mark with one of them. But I'm still trying.

It can't look too much like a commercial or skeptical viewers won't watch it.

It has to make people feel something, like laughter that comes from humor or sadness or crying from something emotional or shocking.

And most important, it has to be compelling enough to make people want to do something - tell their friends to watch it.

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"Always do the things you fear the most. Courage is an acquired taste, like caviar." - Erica Jong

I'm still not sure if I like caviar or not, but I'm getting better at swallowing the fear that often arrives as an unexpected appetizer before I plan to dig into a new work or life experience.

I try to remind myself that the exhilaration I feel after finally doing something I was dreading or putting off is delicious!

About Erica Jong
Erica Jong, the American author who made a splash with the sexual frankness of her first novel, Fear of Flying, has written several works of fiction as well as nonfiction books, including the autobiographical Fear of Fifty. She was born in New York in 1942 and now splits her time between New York City and Weston, Connecticut. She has been married four times and has one daughter.

Note: Thanks to dailyinspiration for the quote

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