Bespoke is a British English term employed in a variety of applications to mean an item custom-made to the buyer’s specification (via: Daymix). Why do I use it to define the type of branding I do? I believe in highly customized campaigns that integrate brand missions and perspectives. By sticking to the overall message of one’s brand, we are effectively demonstrating the true essence of that brand’s identity. This helps consumers identify and remember that brand’s products and services.

Apple is one of the leading brands in terms of positive consumer sentiment and approval. In every product they deliver, their message lies solely within. “Think Different” one of Apple’s slogans during the late 90′s that began the biggest comeback by any technology company ever. The Simplicity, innovation and genuinely unique brand marketing effort put forth by Apple at the time was bespoke in every sense of the word. In order for Apple to effectively recover, they need a campaign to highlight everything they are about and “Think Different” nicely encapsulated that. At the time, Steve Jobs made it clear that Apple would bounce back from their relative fall from grace years before and come back stronger than ever.

I decided to brand myself as a Bespoke Marketer for two reasons. One is because I enjoy rich engagement with the new and potential clients. It allows me to truly grasp the goals and objectives of the client. Its not enough to know what the product is and how it functions, but rather why the product was created and how it can change the market it’s in.

Before I begin working with clients I ask them to answer three key questions about their company/brand or product: Why it was created? How it works and What it will do? These three initial questions are the most important to me because they give me the foundation of what the company/brand or product wishes to deliver. This is the fist step in Bespoke Branding and truly enables the overall message to be integrated with the brand campaign.

As you go about your day, notice the different brands you interact with on a daily basis. Can you see their mission in every marketing push they execute. Do you experience a “good” feeling when you buy their brand? When the answer is yes, then those marketing campaigns were successful. It is what makes us choose the name brand over the generic. The reasons may not be clear initially, but they definitely do exist. Bespoke Branding is an essential method that creates these unique marketing efforts and should be utilized by every company.

The intention of “Starting With Why” is to not tell your audience what you are doing, but rather what you believe in. The goal is not to sell a feature, but rather demonstrate how your product will positively change the way a person feels about your work. He noted that this doesn’t only apply to consumers, but also employees who should believe in the company they’re working for. When we don’t truly believe in something, our work becomes monotonous and hard to complete. If we don’t see the true value in what we are doing, the passion is gone. The most notable argument I’ve heard when asking people why they don’t do what they’re passionate about is: “It doesn’t pay the bills.” This is definitely a formidable argument and I agree that some circumstances in life often threaten our passions or what we are passionate about. However, mom’s always told me that “When there’s a will, there’s a way” and I hold that true to this very day.

So how does one “Start With Why?” It sounds fairly easy, but I think the difficult part is knowing exactly what you believe in. Do you believe in your company? The brands you wear? The food you buy? When we look at our lives, are we actually “Keepin’ it real?” By asking these questions, we start seeing patterns and ultimately the see answers that makes us believe what we believe.

After the talk, I was motivated to reexamine my life and figure out why I do the things I do. From work to going to the gym, what is the point at the end of the day? I shared this idea with friends and family, because I was truly inspired to act on this question. Often times I hear talks and keynotes, but I’m rarely motivated enough to act on what the idea is. In this case, I felt determined to start asking “Why?” And let everyone else know why “Why” is important.

In life, we often get stuck in the same routine. I think this behavior is dangerous when trying to achieve our genuine goals. Excuses are created and we begin to hold off on what we initially saw as important. This brings us back to the reason why “Starting With Why” makes sense. Reexamining our lives and asking why we do the things we do, makes us accountable for our current situations. This is the first step in changing our reality to improve our future.

The commonalities between Gilt Groupe and Virgin America
are few and far between, however they share the same basic qualities. Exceptional service, affordability and a genuinely good product. It’s rare to see this type of combination in today’s market. Most companies are either cutting costs to be competitive in their market or charging ridiculous amounts to stay afloat. The Virgin Group, led by billionaire mogul Richard Branson, has always been an experimentally successful company. They seem to thrive in almost every niche industry they play in. Gilt Groupe on the other hand has only been around since 2007 and in just three years, is already valued at $500M.

Both companies are currently on a hot streak. Virgin, with their airliner and Gilt Groupe with their high end discount shopping. Each of these companies have successfully revolutionized their industries through pushing their product/service the way they want. For example, in Virgin America’s mission statement they note: “(Virgin America) is on a mission to make flying good again, with brand new planes, attractive fares, topnotch service, and a host of fun, innovative amenities that are reinventing domestic air travel.” As an avid traveler of Virgin America, I can attest that they do each and everything they mention in the aforementioned statement. By staying true to their brand and delivering what they promise, Virgin creates brand evangelists such as myself that will tell their story for them. This type of brand identity and trust is what filters the real from the fake.

Gilt Groupe, although not explicitly stating their mission statement on their site, has proven its success through its immediate success. Hand selecting only the finest quality goods and services online, Gilt makes it affordable for everyone to purchase real quality. They understand that most of these brands featured are out of the price ranges of normal folks, but through their unique value proposition, Gilt is able to capitalize off their own innovation. The Gilt Groupe has definitely revolutionized the high end luxury retail business in almost the same way Virgin Groupe did with the airline industry.

I decided to focus on these two companies because they recently joined forces in part of a social media campaign entitled: “Runway to Runway.” The whole idea behind this is that if you purchase any products or services from Gilt Groupe, you’ll also receive Virgin’s Elevate points (their version of frequent flyer mileage). The genius behind this campaign is that both companies hit a lot of the same demographics. Young to middle aged tech savvy adults. The verdict has yet to come in on just how successful this campaign is, but I’m sure we’ll be hearing the praise soon enough.

The decisive reason behind my fervor for utilizing this particular process is the simplicity in it all. Yes, it may seem a bit cut and dry, but its effective and more importantly action oriented.
Just recently we all witnessed Lebron James go on national TV to discuss his major “Decision” on where he’ll play next season and likely for the rest of his career. In the interview, Lebron referenced the all-important Pros and Cons list:

If it can aid Lebron James, arguably the most powerful athlete in the world on the biggest decision of his career, I think we can all put it back in our decision-making tool box. Again, going back to simplicity, I like the fact that it’s easy to understand, straight to the point, and results driven. In this example, one may argue that a simple pros and cons list may leave out vital information that can’t be quantified as either good or bad. However, at the end of the day, the decision relies on the decision maker and it’s that persons job to take that vital information into consideration.

In my experience, making the right decision is often hard to quantify without a pros and cons list. In terms of every major decision I’ve made in life, I’ve either thought of or created an intuitive pros and cons list. Was I right in every decision? No, probably not. But, did I have the confidence to know that the decision I made was based on methodical reasoning, yes.

Each one of us has our his/her own way of making thoughtful decisions. Some processes may be longer than others and some maybe even more complicated. But, if the end result is to be confident, satisfied and in good spirits about our decision, I definitely recommend the pros and cons list process. Food for thought!

Often times we look at our intentions as important actions we’d like to happen. The problem with this ideology is that we aren’t taking control of our intentions. We simply leave it to the future to create what we want. For instance, some of us intend to make a million dollars by the age of 30. But in reality, we do not take the necessary steps to create this outcome. Instead we leave it to some theoretic intention that will make this belief true.

When we really question our intentions and figure out what we want/need, we’re able to gain control of our outcomes again. This is ultimately the first step in following through with our goals. Once we create the intent, we are able to build off of it and plan the necessary outcomes.

Although it is sometimes hard to know what we want, its better for us to figure it out than someone else. I’ve found that when we leave our intentions in the hands of others, we don’t get the most desired outcome. For example, my current job title is the one I chose and came up with myself. Instead of leaving the initial decision up to my employer, I went to my boss and told him my ideal job title that would suit my position best. I felt that it accurately described my current job functions and complimented the overall structure of our company. He agreed and even liked how I related the position to the overall goals of the company.

The key point I’d like to emphasize in this post is the importance of knowing our intentions. Not only “knowing” our intentions, but how they relate to our overall goals. In the end, our intentions and accountability lie in our hands. Thus we should account for them the best we can.

Thanks for reading! It’s been a while since I updated my blog, but I’m going to try my best to post as much as I can!

Making our work environment fun, relaxing and comfortable is one of the most important elements in increasing productivity. When we’re in tune with our environment, we allow ourselves more concentration to the task at hand. To clarify, when I say environment, I’m referring to the space and features we utilize when doing our work.

Whether it’s on a park bench in the city or on the steps of our front porch, our environment encompasses inspiration we can use to fuel our productivity. It’s similar to how many of us listen to music while at the gym. The music almost changes the environment we’re in because we become so in tune with the music . As time goes on, we feel as though without the music, we can no longer workout to our full capacity. This is a perfect example of how we can alter our environment to increase our productivity.

In high school I would try to do homework while watching TV, but this never worked. It was impossible for me to be productive, while trying to concentrate on something else. I think most of us put ourselves in this position without even knowing it. We might try to start a project at home, but constantly get distracted by the littlest things. Although we may feel comfortable at home, it might not be the most productive environment for us. In college, I would often find myself getting most of my work done after 12AM. That’s because I’d try to study with friends during the day, but it was a lost cause because we’d just distract each other the whole time (thanks YouTube).

So what’s the answer to the question in the title, “Does The Comfortable Hustle Increase or Decrease Productivity?…” Well, it depends. The definition of comfort is ambiguous and not the most descriptive work habit. However, at the end of the day, it’s about how we approach a project and our willingness to execute it. Once our comfort becomes synonymous with productivity, we’ll be able to complete our projects without distractions and/or procrastination. I constantly compare and contrast the most effective work environments for my productivity. Whether it’s a busy Starbucks or a quiet library, it’s important to realize what environment works for you and whether you can be comfortable/productive there.

One of my favorite things about LinkedIn is that it hasn’t succumbed to spam. With the larger social networks, it’s difficult to manage user spam and preference abuses. I’ve been on Linkedin for a couple years now, and I’ve yet to receive a spam message in my inbox. Everything on the site seems genuine and professional. Restricting users from sending cold messages to people they don’t know is a great way to reduce spam and avoid overflowing inboxes. If LinkedIn is able to maintain this solid structure, we’ll definitely see more effective networking and collaboration online.

I was inspired to write this post after reading Fortune Magazine’s story in May’s issue entitled: “How LinkedIn Will Fire Up Your Career.” Writer Jessi Hempel emphasized the importance of having a LinkedIn profile and how more and more companies are looking to the 7-year old site for future employees. Accenture, one of the largest private consulting companies in the world has said it will be hiring 50K new employees in the next year. Head of Global Recruiting for Accenture John Campagnino announced that 40% of those new hires will be from Social Media. (Hint: If you’re looking for a job, it might be a good idea to create a profile on LinkedIn). Even if your not looking for a job, it’s good to have a presence on a site that spotlights your professional talents.

Coming out of college I had no idea about LinkedIn. Granted it wasn’t as big then as it is now, LinkedIn quickly became my “go to” site for jobs, networking and potential connections. Before I knew about LinkedIn, I would often use the career office at my schools to find future employment. The problem with this was that the choices were so limited and rarely offered any appeal. I’ll admit I did find a few jobs utilizing the school’s database, but the options were bleak. With the help of LinkedIn, we are no longer boxed into certain careers or job opportunities. We can now research those people in the positions we want to be in and find out how they got there. The resources are limitless and definitely worth exploring.

This topic may sound vague and random, but I really feel it’s important to note; especially while in the creative process. As the web continues to provide opportunities in almost every niche, genre and subject I’m noticing more amateur products failing to satisfy their own projections. It’s great when new products come along and change the game, but in order to do this, our products need to be amazing.

One problem many of us experience when striving to create the best product is knowing when we’ve reached our goal. We often get hung up on small changes that take forever to fix. This ultimately drains us of our energy and initial focus of our end goal. Avoiding these common missteps and having a better understanding of our products will not only streamline the process, but also improve our overall work habits. We’ll see more improvements on our future projects and be able to take on more tasks.

“Do your best” or “Give it all you got” are a few cliches we often hear in pop culture rhetoric and little leagues around the world. But, If we actually break down these terms and look at them for what they’re worth, we’ll be able to see the true importance of what they mean. So, the first question I’d like to ask is “How do we know when we are doing our best?” There really isn’t a form of measurement is there? I’d like to think that I’m always doing my best in everything I do. The more that I convince myself that I’m doing my best, I’m then able to compare my current best with my previous best. If I see a discrepancy in my dedication, output and commitment, I will then know whether I’m doing my best or not.

This ideology may not make sense to a lot of people, since each of us gauge our performance differently, but it has definitely helped me. It has given me the ability to measure my “best” and work towards improving my “best” whenever possible.

In the end, the key question ends up being “What are your priorities and What would you like to accomplish in a specific time frame?” These are important questions to ask ourselves now because we avoid the last minute research and stress we will likely experience in the future. It also, puts us in the drivers seat in terms of dictating what we want, when we want it and how much we are willing to give for it.

Setting up goals and milestones is important in keeping on track and making sure we are making the most of our time. However, it can become difficult when unexpected distractions, priorities and obligations present themselves. Being flexible and dealing with these occurrences as they come is highly valuable. The mindset of not allowing anything to break us from our goals is stronger than any strategic plan or system. There are times in our lives when we get tested in how to deal with certain situations, but it ultimately depends on how we react and approach the situation, that demonstrates our commitment.

Getting back to the original reason I wrote this post, I want to emphasize the importance of seizing the day. Making sure we get the most out of each day we live is important for our growth, innovation and peace of mind. It makes us accountable in our progression for whatever we want out of life. The more we approach each day with purpose and accountability, the more we can get done. This all goes back to making the most out of our time and seeking new opportunities in everything we approach.

The idea of paying ourselves is often dismissed as impossible or as really difficult to accomplish. But what if more people embraced this “radical” ideal of paying ourselves. This would ultimately mean that each of us would need to be an entrepreneur of some sort and have investors, customers, or clients paying us. I agree. This is exactly what “paying yourself” means. So the real question is, why aren’t more people paying themselves? The answer to that is at the end of first paragraph

Most of us have been told our whole lives that we’re the employee, rather than the employer. From kindergarten to college, it is assumed that once we graduate, we get a “good” job working someone else. My question is, why can’t we all come up with a million dollar idea, get funded and sell that company for more than what we started with? Easier said then done right? Yes, but I guarantee that if more people tried this model, we’d see a shift in the economy.

Bigger companies like Wal-Mart, Viacom and Time Warner, would begin to disseminate while smaller more niche focused businesses would take over. Why is this important? Because it puts us (the majority) back in the drivers seat. We’ve seen this shift from big to small in the marketing world. Companies are now trying to reach customers by infiltrating our social networks, through sites like Twitter and Facebook. What if we could apply this to the general economy. What if we could shift other sectors of the economy into more specific and local oriented agendas? We’d probably see more development almost every community as a whole.

Thinking of an idea, executing it and selling it for millions is definitely a hard task. But so is getting a good job we enjoy? It may not seem like we’re putting much effort into finding a good job because we are desensitized to it. It is the norm to be looking for a job right now because they are few and far between. However, by trying a different route and capitalizing off of what we know, creating profit to pay ourselves shouldn’t be out of the question.