We Give You The World!
by Charlotte L. Hanna
How comfortable are you with the state of your being? Deep question, isn’t it? How comfortable are you with the state of your business may be a more familiar question to entrepreneurs, but they really do go hand in hand. Never be uncomfortable about being YOU – it will keep you genuine.
However, if you are too content in the state you are presently in, you’ll cease to grow – and when you cease to grow, you die.
by Charlotte L. Hanna CMO/Director of PMR/CMBS Global
How do you tell your market that you are the best – that you offer outstanding products and services and are the answer to their needs – without appearing arrogant? Why is humility strength, not a weakness, when you’ve heard that ‘bold is gold’?
In business, we have all been told how necessary it is to be bold, to find a way to stand out in our market and shine…and rightly so. But consider the 10-carat diamond that screams under the jewelry case spot light, demanding attention, versus the lovely little light-catcher that sparkles with an unmistakable, yet authentic fire – even in the average light of any given day. Often, the bigger the rock, the easier it is to question whether (or not) it is actually genuine. However, the authenticity of the smaller gem usually goes unquestioned.
I once purchased a ring that screamed to me from the jewelry showcase of a large retailer – only to step outside into the direct light of day and see no sparkle, only the flaws in the stone. I turned right around and went back inside for a refund. I later purchased a smaller setting from a jeweler with whom my husband had a satisfying experience and though not flawless, it sparkles and captures the attention of all who see it…the results are authentically consistent. [Read more...]
by Charlotte L. Hanna CMO/Director of PMR/CMBS Global
What an exciting time! You are about to start an online business and you want the world to know that YOU are here and ready to launch! So…do you know the essentials for starting an online business – are you confident that you have covered all the bases?
While the Internet has made it easy enough to set up shop, it can also be an anxious time right before you are about to plug in the “open” sign. But, beyond creating a successful business plan – what else have you done to ensure your success online? [Read more...]
by Charlotte L. Hanna CMO/Director of PMR/CMBS Global
Do you have big dreams, big ideas and huge goals? Do you pride yourself in being a ‘Big Thinker’? Maybe you’re a Dreamer who has yet to find success. Does your story include a lot of disappointment and frustration? Then this blog is for you…and millions of others just like you and me.
That’s right – I’m “preaching to the choir” here. I consider myself quite an authority on this subject of dreaming big. I’ve been doing it for years. It isn’t that difficult and doesn’t require that much of me – in fact, I can even do it in my sleep! But…I also know the frustration of having a lot of big ideas and the deep disappointment and dissatisfaction that can come from never seeing those ideas produce much success.
Don’t’ get me wrong – everyone should have dreams and goals! Thinking big enlarges vision and big ideas are necessary in almost every area of business…but they are not what produce the success stories of those we respect and admire. [Read more...]
by Charlotte L. Hanna CMO/Director of PMR/CMBS Global
Unfortunately, most clients cannot tell you exactly what they really want. However, they do count on you to be able to interpret what they want for them. What customers really want is to be able to trust you to help them arrive at what they want – even when they are not able to tell you. Of course, this does not happen overnight and requires building a relationship.
I cannot tell you how many times a client has said, “I’d like to use this example…I’d like to do it just like this”, only to end up preferring something miles apart from the example first shown me. Not because they didn’t know what they wanted to say, not because they were confused about how they wanted it to look – but because they were smitten by what someone else’s content or layout did for them…and they were unable to communicate THAT to me.
In other words, they desire their material to accomplish the same action or evoke the same strong reaction in others that they experienced – but they want it expressed in their ‘voice’ and with their personality. This, in turn, usually means that the end product does not remotely resemble what they originally shared with me. *Knowing your client well can truly help to make this a less difficult process.
Seth Godin spoke to this dilemma (a while back) from the Designer’s point of view. I am sharing it here because I find it to be helpful, speaking to the issues that most everyone involved in any phase of creating and producing items for clients routinely faces from time to time. [Read more...]
by Charlotte L. Hanna CMO/CMBS Global
Something amazing happened to me overnight. When I got on the
bathroom scales this morning, I had lost weight! That alone was amazing, but what really made this overnight success truly something to shout out loud about for me was that I had finally reached a goal. You see, this is the first time in too many years that I am under “a certain poundage” and though I had set this as a goal, I had not really put much effort into getting here. I wanted to see results, but the ugly truth is that I had been a slacker.
I know better than to “just hope it will happen”, but I also had a lot of distractions over the past weeks and just allowed myself to slip into a bit of a rut with my efforts to lose weight. I even cheated – (Dairy Queen has an amazing Blizzard called Georgia Mud Fudge). So, not only were my efforts slacking, but also I allowed other things to cause me to stray off the path that would have assured me quicker results. [Read more...]
By Charlotte L. Hanna CCO CMBS Global
Chocolate. For many, chocolate rules and this one little word can cause the salivary glands to go into full drive and conjure up strong feelings of desire. It can produce “oohs and ahhs”, succeed in making fruit-eaters out of children and persnickety adults, calm anxiety, and even force (women, in particular) to make an emergency run to the nearest convenience store – unconcerned for their attire or lack of makeup.
In other words, there are those who are willing fools for chocolate! They’ve just got to have it.
You may, or may not, be passionate about this nearly universal obsession – but there is no denying the power of this confection when you look at the business of chocolate around the world. Chocolate has been around since the ancient Maya and Aztec cultures started mixing ground cacao seeds with various seasonings to make a spicy drink. The world of chocolate has its highs and lows, to be sure, and the solid milk-chocolate bunnies we all enjoyed as kids are fine for 7-year-olds, but many adults who have been indulging for years have a more evolved palate. Paying premium prices for premium chocolate has become an acceptable form of ‘investment’ for those seeking the pleasure of its company, and thousands of dollars per ounce is not unheard of in today’s gourmet chocolate industry. [Read more...]
By Stephanie Avery COO CMBS Global
People define success in many different ways. Definitions
include achieving a seemingly unreachable goal, earning a certain amount of money, maintaining a healthy work/life balance, employing a high number of people or revitalizing a company that was doomed to fail. The following businessmen fit one or more of these definitions. Below are some of their most famous quotes.
Jack Welch is credited with bringing the value of GE up from $12 billion to $280 billion. His quotes include:
“Be candid with everyone.”
“Control your own destiny or someone else will. “
“The essence of competitiveness is liberated when we make people believe that what they think and do is important – and then get out of their way while they do it."
“Don’t manage, lead.”
“Giving people self confidence is by far the most important thing that I can do because then they will act.”
“Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion.”
“If you don't have a competitive advantage, don't compete.” [Read more...]
