Author Archives: Vince Jay

Your brand is an accumulation of images, values, and ideas. Branding is putting those images, values, and ideas to work. Brand identity is how you exemplify said images, values and ideas. Let’s take a closer look at each.

Your brand is your unique imprint on the market, it’s what separate you from your competitors. It’s not your logo although it’s associated with it, it’s the emotions attached to said logo. Your brand is how you make people feel, it’s the thing that resonates with your customers, the intangibles, the things that’s ultimately understood and not written, an unspoken promise to deliver. This in essence is what your brand is, your brand is not your company but it’s symbolism, the way others perceive you. Your brand is an extension of you, it’s the fiber optics between you and your customers.

Your brand identity is the way you deliver the promise that your brand guarantees. It’s the physical form of what your brand represents. Brand identity is the more visible aspects of your brand. It’s the thing that actually shapes it. This is where your logo design, color scheme, style etc. comes into play. It’s how you present your expertise to the market. Your energy, taste, attitude, all of those things that your brand represent in action. It’s the body that houses the spirit of a company, it’s what we can see, feel, hear, taste, and smell. It’s how the people identify your brand, thus everything from the color palette, font, imagery, logo, helps make up and shape your brand identity.

Next we have branding, which is fundamentally the way you communicate with your customers or fan base. Things like emails and text campaigns, social media, flyers, posters, stickers, etc. are all elements of branding, it’s the actions taken to position and build awareness for you brand. If the brand is the spirit and the brand identity is the body then branding will have to serve as the mind or brain of the operation, it’s the strategic element devised to make the connection between you and your customers, it’s the how behind the who (brand) and the what (brand identity). It’s the manner in which you package and deliver you brand and values, parallel to marketing.

Hope this was helpful and always remember, good business sell itself…..#peace

As an entrepreneur your health is your number one asset. Especially in the early years where your business depends on you to show up and when it doesn’t work if you’re not. I think this is one of many aspects that’s easily neglected. What you eat determines your mood as 95% of the body’s serotonin which is a nuerotransmitting chemical that sends messages from the brain is electric pulses throughout the body and is responsible many things Mood in particular. Since our mood is determined largely by the things we eat and in return determines are actions then it’s safe to say that it all (success) starts in the gut.

We can only perform as good as we feel and if our energies are low then likewise that which we put out. We cannot out work a bad diet. Everything from our ability to think and rationalize, make decisions, get up in the morning (cheerfully), work hard, etc. is dependent upon the types of food we choose to fuel the body. Thus the importance of a good balanced diet. We can strengthen our immunity, become less susceptible to injury and disease, boost our confidence, become more alert, and function at a really high level. High energy foods such as fruits both raw and dried, good carbs like sweet potatoes, whole grains, good fats (avocados, nuts, oils and seeds) are ideal. Make sure you’re getting your fair share.

Energy is everything and everything requires energy, especially resting where we burn the majority of our daily calories and is designed to help recharge and revitalize the body as a whole so that we may be equipped for whatever task is thrown at us the next day. We want to ensure that we have adequate amount of good calories throughout the day so we can repair, and replenish ourselves, as entrepreneurship is a 24/7-365 type of thing. We can’t run on fumes and expect to produce good works we have to ensure our optimal performance by consuming optimal fuels especially as an entrepreneur as we find ourselves on the go more times than not so it behooves us to eat (when we do) that which is necessary for our success and sustainability.

Although nutrition is key it’s almost worthless if we’re not combining it with some sort of workout or exercise routine. After putting in the right nutrition next we have to get moving so that the necessary nutrients can circulate and reach their designated areas. Regular exercise, a total of 150 minutes weekly as prescribed by the Department of Health and Human Services is suggested for good overall health and wellness, should be a part of your daily routine. Not only does it serve the body and adds years on to one’s lifespan, but it also helps with the daily disciple and structure needed as an entrepreneur. Any and every high yielding CEO has a daily most time morning ritual that includes some sort or exercise as it’s mentally stimulating, produces tons of dopamine which is another feel good hormone associated with achievement and loads of endorphins another feel good neurotransmitter that helps lead to what’s called runners high.

So in conclusion try bumping things up with a little movement and proper nutrition to help put a little pep in your everyday steps. Remember as an entrepreneur you are the end all be all and when it’s all said and done, ultimately it all falls on you. Til next time, good business sells itself…..#peace

I’m business your first impression is everything, the way you introduce yourself, your brand, your product sets the tone on how the people view you. This is of extreme importance, especially when it comes to attracting the right customers and attracting the right customers is the driving force of a longstanding successful business. You want to be seen as a person or corporation that the people can trust. This trust is the main component of a growing brand or business. Do you take pride in what you do? Do you care about the customers wants and needs? Are you conveying that with your branding and messaging? These are a few questions that we should ask and ask often.

If your customers don’t feel like they can trust you to deliver the very thing you’re promising your business won’t last long. One way to establish this trust is by showing up. Consistency is one of the first impressions that carries the weight of branding, you have to be seen, as it matters not your branding and messaging if you’re here today and gone tomorrow. So lead with that then slowly build upon it.

Now the question becomes how are you showing up? This is another thing that gets looked over most of the time. Your hair, your clothing, your background etc. these things MATTER. Take the time and effort to pour into your business, make everything that your tasked with a success and all that you do will be just that. People can tell when things are rushed or done without care. Treat your business as if it’s a Fortune 500, if you have a food business ask yourself what will McDonald’s do and do it now! Take good quality pictures of your products, hire a professional if you cannot as delegation is another master tool in business. Think things through, the aim is to standout and garner the attention necessary for a successful business.

Copywriting is another way to leave a lasting impression. Be sure it’s emotionally charged, full of the energy your brand embodies. This can also be delegated sites like fiver dies a great job at connecting professionals. When you’re copywriting be sure to speak specifically to your customer. Use words and language that will resonate that will invoke action, that makes a person want to buy, that they can identify with. Write with the end in mind which is ultimately the final transaction whichever that may be. For some it’s the sale, with others it community and so on and so forth as every business model is different with different ends in mind.

Another way to leave a lasting impression is overloading your offer with tons of value. By giving beyond expectations you will be taken not only serious, as an authority or leader in your respective field, but someone who cares. Don’t be scared to give value the energy you put out will be reciprocated and given back tenfold. Focus on the pain points of your customer and give them the remedy that they can apply immediately and get results. Be the person, coach or mentor you wish you had. Whatever you’re offering always over deliver and place the focus on your customer and not you, they wish to know how your offer fix their problems it’s your job to convince them. Til next time, good business sells itself…..#peace

Successful businesses are successful because they create valuable products at a competitive price that people are willing to pay that solves problems. Without it i. e. value production a business cannot exist. As the more value that can be created the greater the chance of the business succeeding and the opposite proves true also. Value can be understood as something that solves a problem, fulfills a need, and benefits others.

Value may come in the form of a product, service etc. through a wide variety of means be it education, motivation, entertainment, pragmatism so on and so forth. The aim is to put a lasting smile on a customer’s face that remains long after the money is gone. Value can come in the form of advice as we have consultants, loans, shared resources like turo and airbnb, resale by serving as the middle man between consumers and manufacturers, platforms and audience leveraging though affiliate programs and sponsorships, subscriptions and memberships with ongoing benefits etc. there’s many ways to proved value to the marketplace, you just have to find your niche.

Packaging said value becomes the real challenge for some. How you deliver that value is just as valuable than the thing itself. Most customers no matter how great of a product or service it is only care about what’s in it for them, although they want all of the bells and whistles their main concern is how does this apply and improve my life. W. I. F. M. (what’s in it for me). Thus it becomes your job to explain why in fact they need what you’re offering by presenting the value first before the features.

So in conclusion all business are founded upon the creation and delivery of value. The more value that’s created the more successful the business can become, as businesses are dependent upon satisfied and repeat customers. You value lies in the solving of problems, identifying pain points and providing a profitable remedy that satisfies said customers needs and expectations and most importantly provides enough of a return that allows the business to not only do it again, but at a profit, win win! So til next time, good business sells itself….#peace

Begin with the end in mind. Cardinal rule, you have to see it first. One of the best ways to get where you want is to first have the vision, the final product, what does that look like to you? You want to start there and reverse engineer meaning work backwards. What does your ideal business look like, who is your customer, what kind of lifestyle does it afford, are you going to be working in the business or on it…these are the sort of questions you want to ask yourself before starting. Clarity is key as it helps with decision making and efficiency. One problem we often face when we don’t plan properly is the constant question at every mile marker what now? This is a killer of momentum and sometimes morale as we need to feel like we’re making gains and breaking ground in order to keep pushing. Make sure we’re taking the time out to ponder over our dream and put the right steps in place to achieve such. Entrepreneurship is filled with learning curves and new data for us to use to our advantage not as weapons to use against ourselves.

Many times as business owners we kind of just wing it, letting chips sort of fall wherever they will and this is a recipe for disaster. The only way to get what you want is to know what you want and with that said what exactly do you want? Everything requires a blueprint how much more your business? Lay it all out, get the vision and hold it as the universe will naturally align itself and conspire in your favor but first you must be certain of what that is.

Also, understand the end game. It takes the same time and effort to build any dream so be sure to set the aim high. For instance if your ultimate goal is to have a franchise brand with products worldwide make that your focal point from the beginning. Don’t start with well I have to get this and that first, get a store front, then partner with such and such as all these things must take place in order to fulfill your dreams don’t focus on the steps just start walking. The same energy you out out to achieve the smaller objectives is the same energy put out to hit the main. Lots of times we work backward meaning from the ground up and end up spending year upon years just to establish the micro oppose to the macro and have to do it all over again. So start by finding the necessary route to achieve your ultimate dream as you’ll soon see that all of the little steps will take care of themselves.

Another great practice is to behave today like the business owner you wish to be tomorrow. Always take a larger than life approach. Just because you’re starting maybe out of your home doesn’t mean your business has to look like it besides a corporation is nothing more than a few sheets of paper in someone’s file cabinet. Make sure your brand screams i belong here, high quality marketing and branding is key. I’m best into your business and the way you present it, be a professional in every aspect from packaging, tags, website, social media etc. if you wish to be taken serious you have to take things serious. So always start from the top of what your amazing business should look like.

Lastly the vision you have for your business is everything. List it all from the location, aesthetics, what all do you wish to offer, if it’s international then what other countries do you wish to conduct business, brand identity, what type of equipment, staff, business model(s), what problems will you be solving, logo, what job or task will you desire as it still require work and so on and so forth. Hope this was able to be of some help and remember everything thing is created twice first in the mind then in this world so til next time, good business sells itself…#peace

The wealth gap is real and it’s increasing at an alarming rate, and guess who’s not in the race?

This is due to none other than financial literacy or the lack there of. Now, what exactly is financial literacy? In short financial literacy is the understanding of money, how it works and how to use it.

That leads us to the million dollar question, what exactly is money? Money can be defined as a medium of exchange and a store of value, that value being your time and energy in the form of paper notes. These paper notes also known as fiat currency which means a decree or command of which we agree to its value which in essence is nothing. It has only the value we give as it’s not backed by anything since being taken off of the golf standard in 1971 by President Nixon. This perceived value is constantly being leaked away due what the government like to call quantitative easing or the printing of money i. e. inflation. Every time money is printed it’s value or purchasing power decreases, thus the more dollars in circulation the less it buys. The U. S. Dollar has lost 96% of its purchasing power as can be seen through the consumers price index which measures the overall change in consumer prices over specified periods of time. For this very reason it’s imperative that we learn about money how to use it and most importantly how to keep it.

There’s a myriad of ways to do this through entrepreneurship and sound investing. The wealthy understand these principles precisely treating money as a tool to acquire assets to park, store and maintain the value therein. The rich understand that paper money is worthless so they employ it to make them more money and acquire more assets. This is the big secret and remedy to poverty. They achieve this through a thing called compound interests which is earned interest on already earned interest. Simply put the reinvestment of said monies. Instead of taking those earned dollars and spending them the key the accrue even more and over time this method snowballs into a massive return which widens the wealth gap and disparity witnessed today. Take the example of the magic penny for instance or a penny doubled for 30 days. When most people are presented with the question if they’d rather receive a million dollars cash or a penny doubled for a month most typically go with the million cash but that would be a big mistake as a penny doubled for 30 days turns into about $5 million. Big difference right? Right! This is the benefit of compound interest and early investments.

I’m conclusion know that money is a tool to be used and not a trophy to be shelved. Banks don’t pay enough but they most certainly make enough off of your money and give you next to nothing in return. Til next time, good business sells itself…#peace

Throughout my years as an entrepreneur the most common mistake I see amongst my contemporaries is the following of trends and chasing the money over the passion. You have to do what you love to do and if money is the sole driver either one of three things can happen. You obtain the target value you were after and become complacent, you don’t hit it and become discouraged and look else where for your riches or you achieve it and hate the life that comes along with it. This is why I’m my previous blog posts and soon to be book Success spelled backwards I highlight that success is more of who you become rather than what you obtain as wanting what you get and getting what you want are two different things.

Moreover it’s hard to wake up early day in and day out putting all of your available life force into something that you don’t love, it’s stressful and too much stress cause’s disease and worst case scenario even death, per the study that more people die on Monday’s at 9am than any other time. When you love what you do it never feels like work, time disappears, just sheer pleasure and enjoyment, a rush of dopamine no drug can match. You look forward to it, it keeps you up at night and gets you out of the bed in the am. Conversely when your doing things for the money, that’s really the only time you’ll find yourself enthused and no pride generally accompanies that sort of endeavor. If you’re only working for the reward you won’t do good work but if you do good work the reward will without fail come.

We also find ourselves lots of the time expecting too much too fast, not giving things enough time to develop and prosper before we call it quits. This is especially the case when money is the motivation. Not spending enough time with our respective crafts can only lead to underdeveloped and abandoned works. It’s not that what we’re doing isn’t working, we’re just not sticking around long enough to see it succeed. We sometimes plant seeds then weeks later curse the soil for not producing the fruits, just to go to another plot and plant another and the cycle continues leaving behind a bunch of incomplete projects when if we were to stick with one thing and one thing alone, watering, protecting and nurturing it we will achieve a level of success we only dreamed of but it takes time, patience and faith. Faith In the work that’s being put it. If you’re doing the work, sticking to the game plan, remaining firm therein and doing the best you can then the only thing that can happen is the WIN. It’s the law of the universe, the law of correspondence, sowing and reaping, meaning you get out what you put in.

Another reason we find ourselves discouraged is the constant compare and contrast especially with this new era of social media. Always looking and juxtaposing our stake with someone else’s. Comparing our day 30 with someone’s year 4. That’s a road to destruction. If we spend more time looking across at our neighbors lawn than we do grooming our own how could we ever expect to be successful. Not to mention we have no idea what’s taking place behind closed doors of said businesses. The best practice is to stay in your own lane, eyes on the road, not being distracted by the shiny objects being thrown around by our would be competitors. When you’re constantly looking at what others are doing you’ll find yourself not only unsatisfied but 9 times out of 10 changing your business strategy trying to keep up. It’s ok to be inspired but when that same admiration turn into an obsession that’s when problems arise and you start to lose sense of self and compromise your brand identity to fit the now and not your end.

I’m conclusion, when pursuing your dreams learn to first trust the process and not rush it, keep your eyes on you own and find a why that’s bigger than you and a dollar amount. Till next time, good business sells itself…#peace

“Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal” Earl Nightingale.

This is the best definition by far at least in my humble opinion when it comes to this term or concept called success. In reality when you’re pursuing anything worth while, all it can be is a success. As success isn’t what you obtain but who you become and that’s the beauty of entrepreneurship it forces you to become more than what you are and just as the late great Jim Rohn says you can have more that what you have because you can become more than what you are.

Nowadays we equate success to the acquiring of wealth and things when I’m essence these things don’t make you successful they are rather buy products of such success. This is a great misconception as it mislead people the youth In particular into pursuing often the wrong career fields and business endeavors got what’s perceived to be success (money) just to find out thats not where their heart is and end up hating it.

True success within. We become successful when we become a successful person and we do that by having good character. Good character, whit ourselves good character with our relationships, good character when it comes to goal setting etc. Things like being a person of your word, being punctual, truthful, honest, hardworking, reliable, resourceful, respectful, having good manners and etiquette and other than that. These are the things that actually makes one successful, the money usually follows. A great quote I like is “If you work for the rewards you won’t do good work, but if you do good work then the rewards will come…”

So in all success is something you become not something you obtain from the material world those things follow success and not the other way around. So til next time, good buy sells itself…#peace

One of the most integral components to business is sales and in order to successfully make the sale you have to be able to identify and separate suspect from prospect i.e. those that’s ready and willing to buy that have a need for what you have versus those just wandering the market, kicking tires and window shopping. You don’t want to waste a whole deal of time and energy or that of those in the receiving end making an offer to the wrong person. The best way to cut the fat and get straight to the meat is to ask as many questions as possible. PROBE. PROBE. PROBE. You have to know the pain points of your potential buyers and also if they are a good fit for you and your service, everything isn’t for everyone and you have to learn to be okay with that as all money isn’t good money and the ultimate goal is to create a returning customer and not just make a sale. So me sure to do your due diligence, ask the right questions I’m order to make the right offer and attract the right customer. Til next time, good business sells itself #peace

Essentially business is the exchange of value from one party to another. It is a repeatable process that makes MONEY, and without VALUE creation, a business can’t exist. (See The Personal MBA). Simply put business requires the business owner to provide value by solving problems at an competitive cost and you don’t have to recreate the wheel. The more problems you can solve the more value you provide. The fastest way to create a successful business is to scan your environment, search for voids that can be filled and fill them. For example you may reside in a particular community that suffers from graffiti, trash ridden parks and nearby playgrounds etc. that’s a problem and now that we’ve identified the problem we can offer a solution. It’s literally that easy and everyone will spot something different that’s needed in their respective neighborhood or community, that’s a fast pace to a successful business. How else can we add value? Probing is another way, by joining forums, groups, etc. and asking relevant questions. Creating a successful business doesn’t have to be complicated but it has to be deliberate and understand that a good used and a good business is two different things as good ideas aren’t always practical, so take your time see what’s needed, be sure that the business that you choose not only benefits you but others as well because remember we aren’t in the business of prices and services exclusively but the business of people and solving problems. So take a good look around, ask yourself what do we need as a society, know which way society is headed and for those that has been under a rock for the last few years we are in the age of information and technology is leading the way so be sure the business of choice can’t be outpaced by the internet, i. e. blockbuster vs Netflix, ensure that it’s practical and just not a good idea and that it actually benefits others. Till next time, good business sells itself #peace