Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear. When I think about what’s holding me back from whole-heartedly pursuing new business, I know it’s not lack of ambition, or skill, or experience. It’s something more elusive and primal. It’s fear... a specialized kind of fear that doesn't back down in the face of solid testimonials, or skill mastery certificates. Mostly, my fear stays tucked out of site; I know it's there, but no one else seems to be aware of it... until it's time to talk about myself and my work, my successes and challenges. That's when fear raises its ugly head, sneering when I attempt to reach out to a stranger at a networking event... fear tells me to just be quiet, that clearly I don't belong here. After all, everyone around me is chatting away with ease! I'm the only one standing in a corner holding the same tiny plate of cheese squares that I grabbed an hour ago. And so, in honor of the Year of the Tiger, my resolution this year is to stand up to fear. I'll still feel it, I know, but I resolve to move ahead and take a chance on talking to a stranger despite that fear. So if you see someone like me timidly approaching you at a networking event, I hope you'll offer me a welcoming smile and listen to a minute or so of my babble. I promise, I'll do the same for you.

I changed my tagline today. Because although I do work for my clients, a verb more accurate than “work” would be “ partner.” How wonderful it would be if content for branding projects came to both clients and designers spontaneously, without effort. Instead, collecting content (images, copy, etc.) is one of the biggest challenges of any project. Collecting meaningful content is nearly impossible without a strong partnership between client and designer. You, as a client, know your business and yourself better than anyone else could. Only you know exactly what you want your customers to know and feel about you and your business. For this reason, honest, organic content must originate with you. For my part, it is my job to help you gather this content, and then present it in the most effective way. To make content collection as painless as possible, I have created questionnaires to help you gather your thoughts and pass along your thoughts to me. We will also speak regularly so that I can pull content from these conversations. And I will never leave you stranded out there alone with a blank page. I will present all proofs with suggested copy from the very beginning to help you along. And of course I will streamline the copy you give me, and edit any images, to make the most out of every thought, image, paragraph and/or bullet points you send my way. So basically, it's just you and me out there, partners in the search for engaging, authentic content to present to your customers.

This week I began rolling out a new feature for all my clients – an individualized portal that will put all of your links, questionnaires, files, proofs etc. at your fingertips anytime, night or day. There are many, many moving parts involved in the production of any branding project. Over the years I've tried many tools to help clients stay on top of everything they need to keep the process flowing, and also manage their brand needs on a D-I-Y basis later, if they so desire. But each tool fell short of reaching the goal. They were either too complex or not robust enough. The goal, after all, is to make the process simpler, not to add new tasks to the list. And a system that would allow clients to view their forms, but not download files, is not enough. The problem behind these tools and systems was often automation. Automation can be a wonderful thing and is often very useful to achieve the simplicity and ease that I always strive for in my process. But design projects are not one-size-fits-all. No two clients will need the same resources for any particular project. The fact is that sometimes, in order to attain efficiency in the long run, it's best to slow down and individualize the tool one client at a time. That is the approach I'm taking with this new tool, and I expect it to make my clients’ branding experience as easy and stress-free as possible.

Our small business word-of-the-week is FLOW – the mental state of being completely present and fully immersed in a task. Flow is wonderful. It’s a seemingly magical phenomenon that pulls one into a timeless vacuum. Nothing can slow you down when you're in a Flow zone. And nothing can bring you down. It’s just pure joy in there... energy, confidence, connection, enthusiasm, passion. It’s no wonder time flies when Flow kicks in. How does one achieve Flow? Unfortunately Flow is not something that can be accessed at will or turned on/off. But there are some ways to set yourself up for success.... Start your task or project with a clear goal in mind Reduce both audio and visual distractions Have all necessary tools and supplies at hand If you're working on a task that you enjoy, or toward an endgoal that you’re passionate about, you may just find that the workday is over when it feels like it just began. That is Flow.

Our small business word-of-the-week is impetus – the force or energy with which a body moves... the force that makes something happen or happen more quickly. Impetus can be elusive at times for those of us fortunate enough to work for ourselves. We must create our own momentum without the aid of supervisors or project managers, of predetermined goals and deadlines imposed by others. This absence of micromanagement is, of course, a big advantage to being self-employed. But a high level of self-discipline, planning and initiative is required to make up for the lack of incentives and consequences that a regular job provides, for better or worse. Where does your impetus originate? Is it the pleasure of overcoming challenges on your own? Or delivering a project successfully to a happy client? Maybe it's the thought of making your income goal for the month. Whatever the source, I hope impetus comes easily to you this week.

One of the most common questions clients ask is – how can I improve my google ranking? First, let’s define what SEO is. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization – the practice of increasing the quantity and quality of traffic to a website through organic (non-advertising) search engine results. Google site ranking is based on many factors, some of which are configured entirely by the site designer (keywords, metadata, etc.) while others (reviews, blog entries, google my business, etc.) require client input and/or management. And then there’s Pay Per Click, also known as PPC, which allows you to advertise your website online through search engine ads or banner ads on other websites. PPC is a sort of shortcut, allowing you to buy traffic to your website, instead of earning traffic organically. Because it requires paying for every click, this can be an expensive option. Some business owners go so far as to hire full-time SEO agencies or experts to manage their SEO and help them maintain high rankings. This can also be a very expensive option. Because it’s such an important and complex subject, I'll be doing a series of articles on SEO as it pertains to my clients, including a description of the SEO elements I build into every website I create, and tips to help clients improve SEO through their own actions.