I've been in the streaming TV industry for 5 years now.  I launched HerTube October 2013.  I'm just amazed at how the industry has grown and where it is headed.  Almost all TVs that people have on their living room walls are smart TVs.  That means that in this space entrepreneurs have the opportunity to actually be marketing to the person sitting at home in their living room or even their bedroom just like the big guys.  

In this video Jon Block talk about how advertising is changing in this space.  As entrepreneurs you can be in the space right now, without spending a whole lot of money.  Here is the thing.  You have to make an investment but that investment can be as small as $750.  Anyway, check out the video and let me know below what you think and if you have any questions.

​Until Next Time
Make It A Great Day!
Audrey

One of the keys to success is building a brand or a product that people will remember.  If you think about brands that you love, there is a lot of work that has gone into building those brands.  You have to think of yourself as brand before you start building a brand.  

Some Entrepreneurs try to build the identity of their brand by imitating other well-established players in the industry. This strategy will prove futile. Customer loyalty is a product of building a unique identity for your brand.   If you are already the mastermind calling the shots for a brand that is struggling, my first suggestion is to turn to your existing customers. You would be surprised how much you can benefit from some good old-fashioned research by means of a brand audit. Carefully assess what customers currently think about your brand and what they think it represents. You may be quite horrified to realize that your clients have completely misunderstood the voice of your brand. In the same breath, take the time to find out how they think your brand fares against the competition. Your business and your brand might be too close to your heart for you to critique it objectively. This can be achieved by means of online surveys or even in-house questionnaires. The key to getting the right information is to ask the right questions.  Ask clear, simple questions that get straight to the point.

Now that you have asked the right people, the right questions and have gotten into the minds of your customers, it is time for action.  But don’t pick a fight with every naysayer you encounter. Choose your battles carefully and always remember that you will not be able to please everyone. Try to identify any common themes in the responses of your clients. Please bear in mind that some of these responses may be aimed at improving the quality of your product or service. Leaving a bad taste in the mouth of your clients will do very little to help you build a successful brand. Build on the complaints or lack of enthusiasm for your brand. Use that information to guide your brand identity strategy. All of your creative resources should be aimed at removing common road blocks from the minds of existing customers and thus potential clients as well. Be sure to also reinforce the positive aspects of your brand that your customers identified.  Now that you know what to do, it is time to learn how to do it!  Building the identity of your brand might take some amount of time, but aimlessly spending money is never the solution.  Now that you are armed with all the right information, it is time to skillfully aim your blows by means of a carefully thought out brand identity strategy.

Designing a good strategy means you have almost won the battle. Your strategy should be centered on
objectives, but only a few. Your strategic objectives should be as SMART as they come. By SMART, I mean Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely.  Don’t be too quick to implement a new strategy. Consider all the ‘what ifs’ before you jump and take the time plan the kind of attack your competitors will never see coming.

Remember to get to this point you have to survey the customers that you already have to get the feedback that you need to come up with a powerful strategy.  

Until Next Time
Make It A Great Day!
Audrey

I was on a webinar earlier today listening to a young lady who is an expert and business consultant for the cannabis industry.  To be honest I didn't know there was such a thing, but there is and she knows her stuff.  Anyway when I got of the webinar I was just blown away by some of the stuff she was sharing about the industry, so I decided to dig a little deeper and see what else was going on there and what other opportunities were popping up.  Well I came across a business opportunity for a Cannabis Event Planner.  I thought to myself what the heck is a cannabis event planner?  

A cannabis event planner is someone who plans excursions where cannabis is involved.  It may be a networking event, a music event or a trade show.  I was so surprised to learn that this opportunity also existed.  I also found out that there is a whole cannabis resort out in Colorado that event planners can take people to so that they can really really relax.  As I sit here typing this I'm laughing to myself, because I can just imagine what that trip would be like for the event planner.  He or she would probably earn a great profit and make some really happy new friends.

Apparently there are more of these business opportunities that push the business limits in this industry and I will be talking to those who have launched out into the green on my new podcast show Green Rush Radio.  I love talking to entrepreneurs, but this show will be especially interesting, because I will be talking to entrepreneurs who are creating  businesses in an industry that is exploding as we speak.  So make sure you check out my new starting in October by clicking on the podcast tab above then clicking on Green Rush Radio.

Stay Tuned
Until Next Time
Make It A Great Day!
Audrey

We are doing it again.  Women making big moves in business.  It's Wonder Woman Wednesday and we have a great woman to recognize today.  Check out the article.
​​
SkyStem LLC, a provider of automated month-end close account reconciliation software, is proud to announce their founder’s gold award for the 2018 Globee® Awards Best Woman Entrepreneur/Founder of the Year. The gold award honors Shagun Malhotra for leading SkyStem’s steady growth and creating the environment that allows SkyStem's flagship solution to be consistently recognized as one of the highest rated software solutions in the industry.

Most of Ms. Malhotra’s career was around audit, internal controls, and consulting for Fortune 100 companies. She saw the problems that occurred with the traditional manual process of using papers, spreadsheets, binders, and the countless menial tasks accounting departments face each month during the close. Combining her accounting and audit experience, she founded SkyStem, and developed a software solution for automating month-end close and balance sheet reconciliations -- ART.

As a female entrepreneur, Ms. Malhotra is keen on giving back to the community through her work with GirlTank, Startup Chile and the New York Public Library. In addition, Ms. Malhotra also actively mentors rising professionals and aspiring entrepreneurs. SkyStem is a women majority-owned company and has previously won Female Team of the Year and Female Accomplishment of the Year.
"It’s an honor to win gold in this year’s Best Woman Entrepreneur/Founder of the Year,” said Shagun Malhotra. “I feel grateful to have the support of my team and customers in achieving so much success. We are looking forward to many more great years together!”

The Best Woman Entrepreneur/Founder of the Year award encompasses the world’s best in leadership from every major industry in the world. More than 80 judges from a broad spectrum of industry voices from around the world participated and their average scores determined the 2018 award winners. Winners were honored in San Francisco on July 30, 2018, during the annual SVUS Red Carpet Awards Ceremony Dinner in San Francisco attended by the finalists, winners, judges and industry peers.
About the Globee Awards

Globee Awards were created to honor and generate industry-wide recognition of the achievements and positive contributions of organizations and businesses worldwide in every area. An annual industry and peers recognition program, Globee Awards honor best companies of all types and sizes in North America, Europe, Middle-East, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin-America, best products, innovations, management and teams, women in business and the professions, and PR and marketing efforts from all over the world. Learn more about the Globee Awards at http://www.globeeawards.com

About SkyStem LLC

​Headquartered in the heart of New York City, SkyStem delivers a powerful close and account reconciliation application for organizations seeking to streamline their financial processes. The company’s flagship solution, ART, is an enterprise technology that helps CFOs and Controllers shorten the month-end close and the time to issue financials by automating balance sheet reconciliations, managing month-end tasks, and providing insightful reporting. The web-based solution streamlines and eliminates up to 90% of manual activities while strengthening internal controls and corporate governance.

Always love to see amazing women get recognized for all of their hard work.  I hope you I can shine the spotlight on you and your accomplishments.

Until Next Time
Make It A Great Day!
Audrey

Share A Video Tuesday is something that I just started.  There is so much great information out there and I felt like this would be a great way to bring it to you from all over the world.  These four guys are the Everyday Entrepreneurs and today their guest will be talking about the importance of finance and accounting in your business.  I don't know if any of you watch the Shark Tank, but one of the things they always stress on the show is to know your numbers.  If you don't know how important this is check out this video and find out.

I hope you enjoyed this video and that if you didn't know the importance of finance and accounting now you do.  I will be back next Tuesday with another shared video for Shared Video Tuesday.

Until Next Time
Make It A Great Day!
Audrey

Wherever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision.  
Peter F. Drucker Said and he was right.  

I hope you are feeling a little more courageous on your journey to becoming a successful business owner.  Sometimes the road gets tough, but if you have the courage to stay the course success will come. 

Until Next Time
Make It A Great Day!
Audrey

I attended a networking event yesterday with a lot of heavy hitters and I had an epiphany that I just might be networking in the wrong circles.  I want to run a multi-million dollar company but the events that I normally attend no one is doing numbers like that.  Check out my video below as I share more about this epiphany.  Then ask yourself are you networking in the wrong circles.  It may be time for you to Level Up!

I hope my epiphany gave you something to think about.  I know it changed my perspective on where I am and where I want to take my business.  I know I need to level up.  Do me a favor and share your thoughts about networking and leveling up in the comment space below.

Until Next Time
Make It A Great Day!​
Audrey

This story is really inspiring.  If you ever had a big idea about hair, this will make you want to get started today.  Gwen needed to do something with her hair and make some money.  Check our her story.

Just 30 days before her grueling divorce was final, Gwen Jimmere from Detroit, Michigan, found herself being laid off from her job. As the breadwinner in the marriage, she was forced to pay the bulk of the attorney fees, which left her with nothing more than $32 in the bank. She was also now a single mother of their 2-year old son, Caiden.

But Gwen saw this as a new beginning, and transformed the "set-back" into a "set-up" for what is now Naturalicious - an international natural hair care brand that ships over 3,000 orders a month. 

Started out in the basement
In the beginning, she mixed, bottled, packaged and shipped every order herself out of her basement. Making just enough to pay her bills, she next approached a then-not-yet-open-for-business Whole Foods store and convinced the buyers to take a chance on her small operation.

"I knew that if I could get Whole Foods to say yes, that would validate my brand in the eyes of the consumer," she said. 

4 years later, her products can be found in several Whole Foods stores around the country, as well as over 2,500 other retail stores across the world.

Her most popular product does the work of 12 products in only 3 simple steps, taking her customers from wash to style in a fraction of the time - a huge innovation in the natural hair care industry for women of all walks of life.

Becoming the first Black woman to hold such a patent
Gwen is truly a gifted visionary on an unrelenting mission to shatter the rules of the beauty game and change them for good.

When she masterminded The Hello Gorgeous Hair Care System, she cemented her place in history as the first African American woman ever to hold a patent for a natural hair care product. 

She comments, "My products are the only sulfate, paraben, mineral oil, petroleum, gluten, and cruelty-free line of products that actually smash your hair care routine into smithereens!"

Inspiring other women
Before starting Naturalicious, Gwen served as the Global Digital Marketing Director at Ford Motor Company. So, her extensive knowledge of business and marketing is what has helped propel her brand to soaring heights in record time. And she is more than willing to share what she has learned with other women entrepreneurs.

In fact, her irresistible charm and relatable personality make her an explosive and highly sought after speaker. She lights up stages across the country, giving keynotes and talks on what it takes to win in business, entrepreneurship, and in life.

Her impressive journey in business is a testament to the magic that results from hard work and unfettered determination.

Now a respected authority in the hair care industry, she was named one of the 100 Most Influential African Americans in the U.S. as a 2016 The Root 100 Award honoree, she is the winner of the Black Enterprise Elevator Pitch Competition, and has been featured on Fox News, TV One, and in Entrepreneur, Essence, Fast Company, and The Washington Post.

For more details about Gwen Jimmere, visit www.GwenJimmere.com
For more details about her company, Naturalicious, visit www.Naturalicious.net

I hope you were inspired by Gwen's story.
Until Next Time
Make It A Great Day!
Audrey