Evolution Magazine December 2013 8

E Issue 8 | December 2013 volution Business, Tech and More THE FORGOTTEN MARKETING GENIUS OF HENRY FORD Hope Katz Gibbs Are You Ready to Be Inkandescent? Tax Tips That You Don’t Want to Miss Finishing 2013 Strong

E volution Evolution Magazine - December 2013 Published By Evolve Media Group Inc. CEO Evolve MEdia Group Inc. DARNELL G DAVIS Managing Editors PHILIP HART AMELIA CHRISTY SUSAN BAKER PRECIOUS MOORE HEIDI TOTTEN KEVIN BAHLER Photographers EVOLUTION TEAM Graphic Designer EVOLUTION TEAM Evolution Contributors EVA LOUIS KAREN JETT SLYVIA BROWDER DERRICK JONES DONNIE BRYANT www.EvolveMediaGroupInc.com Questions and feedback: PO Box 104, Stewartsville, NJ 08886 Phone: (347) 669 2EVO Email: [email protected] Online: www.EvoMag.co *Unless otherwise noted all stock photos are provided by Deposit Photos www.depositphotos.com.* And IStock Photos www.Istock.com E Innovative marketing volve solutions that will Media Group Inc. transform your business.

www.EvolveMediaGroupInc.com E Innovative marketing volve solutions that will Media Group Inc. transform your business.





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Are You Content Marketing? In spite of the call of the “New” marketing tools available, one thing ‘s still clear for sure: (Relevant) Content is still king. Writing efective content and distributing that content, better known as content or article marketing, can assist you in establishing yourself as an expert and improve your marketing results. Networking and content marketing are two economical and efcient forms of marketing that are easy to do and pay of greatly. It has often been my advice that they should be at the forefront of your marketing strategy Content marketing is a great way to improve search engine rankings, to inform, or to pitch products and services sold. Regardless of your purpose, consider using content marketing as a great way to build a loyal following. For content marketing to be efective, follow these guidelines: Research your niche. Start by fnding a niche that is not only popular, but that you feel you can write about. It would point to something that you enjoy and are actively doing. If you are not interested in a particular area, it will be difcult to enjoy the process. Create a plan. Think about how much time and energy you want to put into your article writing, and for what purpose. You should consider how often you want to produce content, however, if you simply want to write and publish your work, you may only want to do a little bit each day. I suggest, if you are seeking to improve your rankings or sales from your content marketing, your publishing schedule should be more aggressive Submit your article to article directories. Evolution Magazine is welcomes your Evolve your content in content on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. However, there are a few other directories that I believe you should consider. Sites such as Ezinearticles or GoArticles are very well-sourced and active sites and webmasters use these article directories to 2014 with fnd content for their website. Evolution Magazine Content marketing has many benefts. The most important aspect of content marketing, in my opinion, is to clearly understand what you want to use it for, build a plan, and consistently create and distribute content. Following these tips could be the diference in just having words in cyberspace or long-term success that results in Evolving your success together, Darnell G. Davis Evolution Publisher & Founder

Photo Credit Wiki Creative Commons THE FORGOTTEN MARKETING GENIUS OF HENRY FORD Donnie Bryant 8 Evolution Magazine/ December 2013

Henry Ford is widely regarded as I think there’s an important lesson here. Just being the better choice won’t get one of the greatest entrepreneurs According to another Harvard professor, a candidate elected; it certainly won’t in history. When you hear his name, Paul R. Lawrence, all the decisions we convince people to buy from you. You you automatically think about how make are based on 4 basic drives: to have to let them know. Paint an accurate he innovated the use of assembly 1) acquire/achieve, 2) bond, 3) learn/ picture of life as they know it, then paint line techniques to revolutionize the comprehend and 4) defend. If you one showing what their experience will automobile industry. Listen to what think about it, everything you purchase be like after they get their hands on Harvard Business school professor satisfes at least one of these motivations. your product. The more vivid the image, Theodore Levitt wrote about Ford: For example, I may buy a Rolex watch to the more compelling it will be. acquire the admiration of my peers. Or, “We habitually celebrate him for the maybe I’ll get the Timex to defend my Back up your claims with proof: scientifc wrong reason, his production genius. bank account. evidence, testimonials, awards, case His real genius was marketing. We think studies, etc. Make it real for them. he was able to cut his selling price and Of course, these drives are unique for therefore sell millions of $500 cars everyone. That’s why you have to dig Once prospects see themselves because his invention of the assembly deep and really get to know your ideal enjoying their new life, making the line reduced the costs. Actually he clients. What drives are dominant in their purchase is the next natural step. This invented the assembly line because he decision-making process? What shape do usually takes work (research, writing, had concluded that at $500 he could sell those drives take? What stimulates those rewriting, testing). So does fling millions of cars. Mass production was the drives? bankruptcy if you can’t get anyone to result, not the cause, of his low prices... spend their money with you. He was brilliant because he fashioned Creating your ideal customer profle is a production system designed to ft great, but make sure it’s rooted in reality, OH, AND ONE MORE THING market needs.” (Author’s emphasis) not your imagination. People generally won’t buy from Ford understood an indispensable key GIVE ‘EM A REASON someone they don’t trust. It is of the to successful marketing: the needs utmost importance for entrepreneurs, and desires of your target market must Having a product people want usually marketers, and salespeople to gain the dictate the products and/or services isn’t enough to make you successful. We trust of their prospects and customers. you provide. That should be obvious. see companies with great products or Unfortunately, many businesses work services fail all the time. Rather than writing about earning trust, hard to sell what they want to sell (their allow me to refer you to an interview latest invention or a gadget they think is Think about the multi-million dollar ad I did with a third Harvard man, best- really cool) instead of what the market campaigns we saw during last year’s selling author Charlie Green. During wants or needs to buy. Those businesses presidential election. Neither Obama nor our 30-minute interview, Charlie talked fail. Romney were just “trying to get their about: why trust is critical to you success name out there.” They beat up the other in business; specifc ways you can Now, let’s look at this point from another guy and presented themselves as the build more trust in your relationships; angle. What did Henry Ford himself better choice with specifc “evidence.” mistakes you might be making that say about his market? “If I’d asked my (Whether or not their statements were can sabotage your eforts to gain the customers what they wanted, they’d true is another conversation entirely.) trust of your prospects; common myths have said a faster horse.” Doesn’t that about trust; and how long it really takes negate what we’ve said thus far? Far Remember Paul Lawrence’s 4 Drives to start building (or rebuilding) trust. from it. theory. Your sales and marketing messages should communicate the Nobody wanted cars, it’s true. But they specifc ways your ofer will address these did want to travel more quickly. So Ford deep-seated desires in your audience. did manufacture and sell what people How does your product satisfy their desire already wanted; it just came in a diferent to acquire something they badly want? package than they expected. How will they come to learn something they desperately need to know by working with you? www.evomag.co 9

Finishing 2013 Strong Michelle Brown-Dawson “Don’t let life discourage you; everyone Tip #1 – Begin by Forgiving Yourself who got where he is had to begin where he was.” Richard L. Evans I talk with people daily who are not where they desire to be in their business. This Here we are in December. Three quarters causes them to lose self-confdence and of this year has fown by! Remember the belief that they will ever be successful. If goals that you set for your business? How this is you, stop beating yourself up and are you progressing? Are you on target? get clear about the reasons you haven’t Are you fnding that you have fallen reached your goals, the underlying behind? emotions that were infuencing those reasons. And then let it go. Well, the good news is that you still have time to hit the reset button, make the Next, rather than wasting time agonizing necessary adjustment in your priorities, over the past, put your focus on taking and renew your commitment to reaching action. Every time we make choices from your goals. You can still achieve the success this empowered place, we strengthen our that you were meant to experience in heart and spirit to continue taking positive, 2013! These four tips will help get you proactive steps forward. back on track. 10 Evolution Magazine/ December 2013

see the entire picture. As you evaluate Understand that you can still make Tip #2 – Rediscover Your Why your 2013 plan and fnd that things aren’t an impact in your business with just quite where you had hoped they would 3 months left in 2013. It all starts with As you move down the road toward be by third quarter, don’t get discouraged. making a decision to get focused and your goals, it can be easy to forget your The main point is not whether or not you start implementing today! motivation for initiating the process. have achieved all your goals up to this Challenges, obstacles, and negative point, but what actions you are willing to attitudes can begin to crowd out the take moving forward. Commit to taking a Michelle Brown-Dawson, President of Catalyst Enterprises reason why you felt the need to achieve set of specifc steps within a certain time International and the Catalyst Success Institute, is a the goal in the frst place. Make it a point frame (e.g., the next week, or two weeks, Business Strategist specializing in process implementation to stop and ask yourself, “Why am I doing or month). for organizations and small businesses. For more this?” What’s my expected end result? information about Catalyst Enterprises International, visit Why do I feel compelled to spend that Tip #4 – Don’t try to do it alone www.catalystenterprise.com or www.catalystsuccess. most scarce of resources - the time I have When you move in isolation, it’s easy to let com. on this planet - on what I’m doing? Why things slide if you get too busy, or the steps is what I’m doing important to me? What you need to take are too uncomfortable, inspires me about it? How will I feel when or when you just procrastinate. On the I accomplish my goal? What efect will it other hand, when you commit to doing have on my life? What efect will it have on something and you have a witness you the world around me? know will be holding you accountable for doing it, it’s a lot harder to be a slacker. Goals are great, but they can also start Like the proverb states, “Iron sharpens to ring hollow when separated from the iron.” If you want to make sure you keep real motivation. Asking yourself, “Why taking consistent, persistent action for the am I doing this?” on a regular basis can long-term, make yourself accountable. help ensure that you stay connected Building that accountability into your own to the rewards - fnancial, emotional, or journey is a great way to make sure you otherwise - of achieving those goals. stay engaged and on track. It could be as simple as telling a friend what you intend Tip #3– Have an Action Plan to do in the coming week, and asking Success doesn’t happen without a plan. them to check in to see how it went. Or Once you have a plan, you can make you might fnd someone else who is on a informed, conscious choices about your similar journey toward their dreams and life and business because you’re able to act as accountability partners. www.evomag.co 11

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Ravi Shukle SOCIAL MEDIA SPECIALIST Join me today and get this information every week  Facebook Tips  Facebook Tutorials 3 Steps To  Facebook Trends Stop Trading Have all your questions answered by me personally Time For Dollars to help you grow your Tips Most Business Owners Don't Consider business and sales online Angel True using social media “I want my business to be a proft- Michael’s business was doing quite well. business around being an expert graphic He just wasn’t sure how to take the leap generating machine that works easily and designer with a clear understanding of automatically without much attention from “being the business” to “managing marketing tactics and needs, and his on my part” Michael McDonald* said the business” and he was ready to make it portfolio and reputation showed it well. happen… fnally. about his design studio. “I’ve spent all JOIN ME these years building it up, but I know the Michael and I had been having this With his admission, Michael was about to push over the edge of an internal moment I leave, it will all stop working. I conversation for some time now. He was struggle he’d been facing for years. This don’t want that to happen and I’m ready TODAY to make it even better!” good at his work. In fact, he was one of the struggle is likely a familiar one for many WWW.RAVISHUKLE.COM It wasn’t that he was desperate. In fact best in his feld. He’d successfully built his business owners: You build a successful business based on your hard work and

skill, but the transition to growing based on other people’s hard He didn’t have any senior staf that could perform anywhere close work and skill is a challenge. to his level of skill. His business was also barely making the $1M mark – even with all those employees. What Michael needed At one point or another, every business owner faces the same wasn’t more employees, it was a new approach. difculty. Moving from a business that isn’t much diferent than a job, to owning a business that generates income without trading “I’m afraid that if I let go of the details, no one will do a good time for dollars, or one that is based on the work of others, can enough job,” he said quietly. “But I realize now, I’ve never given be difcult. anyone the chance to try.” As he said this, I could hear the slight embarrassment in his voice. No matter what your business looks like or what industry you’re in, the challenge in making this leap is the same. Most important Michael already had all the elements he needed. The problem was to remember is that the shift has less to do with your business he hadn’t given his staf the opportunity to succeed or excel on design and more to do with how you approach it. their own. What he needed to do was give his team bigger tasks, more responsibility, and the incentive to step up to the task. There are certain critical elements that must be in place to smoothly execute this transition. Below are three of the most By making this one simple change, he had the opportunity to critical steps you need to take to get there. hand of the work he’d been managing, while mentoring his team so they could grow. Obviously, this wasn’t a short-term strategy, Rethink Your Strategy so the longer he delayed, the more difcult it became. The leap Michael wanted to make was about more than just having a successful business. He needed to build a business that Release Attachment would thrive without his daily involvement. To do this, Michael Recognizing this strategy shift unlocked the second critical step needed to rethink how he approached his business. that Michael needed to make to stop trading his time for dollars. He needed to let go of the little details. He’d already successfully grown to a point where he had several employees. He had 3 graphic designers, one web designer, a Michael had a habit of double checking and second guessing his receptionist, and a business manager. The bulk of the business work staf. Periodically, it came up as a concern, but he’d usually just was already being handled by his junior staf. The problem was ignore it, thinking his staf didn’t understand what he wanted that he was still in charge of sales, design review, overall business them to do. Now he was recognizing that he’d put a heavy hand strategy, and rallying the troops to get everything done on time. over them, expecting them to “comply” rather than “create” – the specifc task for which he’d hired them. Evolve your content in 2014 with 14 Evolution Magazine/ December 2013

To make this change, he needed to take a few steps back, trust deserved reputation for excellence, and was well-liked by his his staf, and guide them more strategically than he’d previously clients. To create the change he wanted, he not only needed to done. This change required Michael to do two things. First, he be willing to risk all of that, but he had to be fully committed needed to educate his team using his vast knowledge. Second, to supporting his team in reaching that same level of success. he needed to give them the opportunity to learn from failure. With this one simple admission, Michael had opened the door As a business owner, you are of course highly attached to to taking the leap. He became committed to doing what was “doing it right every time.” Unfortunately, this wasn’t how you necessary to achieve his goal. This is the most critical step of all. learned to be as skilled or successful. You learned from failing, Without commitment, nothing else will work. too. When you are training someone to step up to greater tasks, you need to fnd a balance between letting them fail and As a business owner, you already know that commitment is guiding them toward better results. critical to success. What is holding you back from being fully committed to achieving your dream results? By letting his team fail periodically, Michael was increasing their opportunity to grow, learn, and succeed without his constant Take a moment right now to ask yourself what you want to supervision. accomplish and what commitment will be necessary. Add your thoughts into the comment section below. I’d love to hear Be Committed them! The third step Michael needed to make for this transition was included in his frst statement. He was “ready” to make the If you know another business owner that could use a little leap. As a business owner, making this change from being the support in making the leap to creating a cash-fow-machine, business to managing the business can be slightly terrifying. then share this article with them. Up until now Michael had retained control of everything that *Names and details, are changed, generalized, or combined went out the door. He’d approved designs, contracts, sales and are intended for illustrative purposes only. presentations, and everything else. He hadn’t been ready to relinquish control and trust his staf. In order to make this business change, he needed to be committed to trusting his staf, providing the guidance necessary, and getting out of the way. The last one is often the hardest for business owners. Michael was proud of his accomplishments, had a well- Evolution Magazine Submit your Business, Technology and Lifestyle content [email protected] www.evomag.co 15

Are you ready to Be Inkandescent? Hope Katz Gibbs h, the art of being yourself Since getting in the news is what most and living your dream — entrepreneurs hire PR frms to do, we’ve while making enough money been happy to oblige. We’ve gotten to employ others and grow our clients mentioned in national Ayour marketshare. Isn’t that publications such as The New York every entrepreneur’s goal? Times and Wall Street Journal, as well as “The CBS Early Show,” and on Fox News, Doing it with spirited passion, brilliance, and more. and white-hot light is what makes the best companies stand out from the crowd, But what is the real value of that kind of for they are “inkandescent.” freworks if you don’t catch the embers? Sure, being quoted in the New York That’s the mission for The Inkandescent Times or Wall Street Journal is a great Group, LLC — a PR, content marketing credibility builder, but if you don’t and publishing company that I founded in catch the embers — on your website, 2008: www.TheInkandescentGroup.com. in a monthly newsletter, and on your social media pages — it’s just a pretty I knew there were thousands of memory. entrepreneurs who needed help with their public relations and marketing That’s why we focus on helping our campaigns, but couldn’t aford the big clients develop a logical, methodical guns in NYC. For the last fve years, our PR strategy around their PR and marketing frm “by entrepreneurs, for entrepreneurs” campaigns. This includes using every has helped businesses raise awareness of article they write, every press mention their brand and ideas. they generate, and any accomplishment they achieve three times. Stafed by award-wining print and broadcast journalists, designers, web Embracing the “Power of 3” is also the developers, and photojournalists, our reason we launched our own business team knows how to tell a great story — and magazine in January 2010. We wanted has fun doing it. It’s been very satisfying to give our clients, and other small- to help other small-business owners craft business experts, another means of their message, create stunning websites, sharing their insights and ideas with write educational newsletters, and get our growing network of entrepreneurs. quoted in the news. After all, a tenet of journalism is to Realize that Content Marketing Is Queen “show, don’t tell,” and what better way 16 Evolution Magazine/ December 2013