This Single Video Boosted a Small Brand’s Sales Big Time

A video supposedly depicting couples’ first kisses has taken the Web by storm and it’s been a boon to a small clothing line.

In less than 10 days, the video has more than 64 million YouTube views.

The video is shot in black-and-white and features people purportedly meeting for the first time. They’re asked to kiss each other. The video was shot as a promotion for the launch of a fashion line called Wren, designed by Melissa Coker.

The video was shot for a promotion on Style.com. The promotion featured small-budget fashion lines who couldn’t afford to put on a runway show during New York’s Fashion Week. Coker’s company fit that bill so she decided to hire a director to shoot the video. After the director shared some links to the video, The New York Times reports, its popularity soon exploded.

Here’s the video, in case you somehow missed it:

The viral success of the video has stirred some controversy, according to a report from The Verge. Apparently the kissers featured in the video weren’t just random people off the street. Instead, they were a bunch of models, musicians and actors, all friends of Coker.

Controversial or not, the video has prompted a spike in sales for Wren clothing. Coker told The New York Times that since the video went viral, it has led to a “significant bump” in sales for her clothing line. The song featured in the video, by singer Soko, who was also featured in the video, has also experienced some short-term success. There were more than 10,000 sales of the song since the video was released.

The video didn’t break the bank for Coker, either. The New York Times reports that it cost just $1,300 to shoot and produce. The actors worked for free. Most of the budget was spent renting a studio space and paying for a video editor.

One fashion expert, André Leon Talley, artistic director at Zappos Couture, told The Times that this single video may have provided more exposure to a small company than any runway show during Fashion Week could have.

Honesty Is The Best Policy, But Not for the Reasons You Think

We all know the damage done when being less than honest with our clients, customers and partners. But the cost of lying in business can be much more than we think.

In a conversation with an investor she calls “Peter,” Tech Entrepreneur Rebekah Campbell says she learned the damage lying does to businesses in general.

That’s not just because of the damage to a company’s reputation when a lie is found out. Campbell shares some interesting statistics about the number of lies many people tell in a day.

Quoting from data in a University of Massachusetts study on the topic, Campbell noted that:

• 60 percent of adults can’t get through a 10-minute conversation without lying.
• 40 percent of employees lie on their resumes.
• An amazing 90 percent aren’t truthful when creating a personal profile to look for a date online.

With all these people telling so many lies, you might wonder, why is it even important at all to be truthful?

Certainly we need to maintain a positive relationship and sense of trust among customers, partners and co-workers. But when business leaders lie, Campbell writes in a “You’re The Boss” post for the New York Times, they commit themselves to an alternative version of reality:

“Peter maintains that telling lies is the No. 1 reason entrepreneurs fail. Not because telling lies makes you a bad person but because the act of lying plucks you from the present, preventing you from facing what is really going on in your world. Every time you overreport a metric, underreport a cost, are less than honest with a client or a member of your team, you create a false reality and you start living in it.”

And that false reality eventually takes so much effort to maintain, it starts to interfere with your real business:

“You know the right path to take and choose another, and in so doing you lose control of the situation. Now, rather than tackling the problem head on, you have to manage the fallout from the lie. I know people who seem to have spent their entire careers inflating the truth and then fighting to meet the expectations they have set.”

Lying in a business organization results in lack of trust among co-workers and partners. And eventually, it results in poor productivity and a high turnover rate.

Honesty, on the other hand, leads to many positive results, Campbell insists. Be honest with a customer, client or investor about something they could not have found out about on their own. You’ll find it builds trust in your business and may yield unexpected results.

Lie Photo via Shutterstock

A Checklist When Changing Your Company’s Logo

You finally approved the new company logo and now you can sit back and get back to running your business. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but your work is just beginning.

Your logo may be done, but your brand promotion is just beginning. Since your brand is not what you think or even say about your company, product or service…it’s what your customers and prospects think and say about YOU that matters.

Getting the Most Out of Your New Logo

To get the most out of your new logo you need to carefully consider how the logo is positioned and used in all areas of communication. And the good news is that every opportunity is a billboard for your company’s messaging.

What’s Your Key Messaging?

It’s also a time to work on your messaging. How you deliver information to your clients and prospects says a lot about you.

Are you clear and concise? Do you take time to review, proofread and rewrite your content so it makes sense to your key audience? Can you answer this question, “Why did you introduce a new logo?”

Imagine you are being quoted on CNN about why you updated your company’s logo. Do you want to talk about old logos and new colors and better positioning? No, you want to talk about what your new logo is really about: Listening to the marketplace, changing for the future, a better reflection of your company’s values. That’s what your new logo should really be about.

Your logo should reflect your company’s mission and values, so talk about that when you are asked about your logo. Let the designers talk about color, typeface and corporate identity. You want to talk about substance that resonates with your clients and describes where you want to be as a company.

When Do You Switch Over?

You can change a company logo gradually by phasing in new materials over a period of time. Or you can do it radically: Everything new and in place on the target date. Either way, you’ve got a lengthy list of materials to consider.

Many companies will send out a formal announcement that includes a brief statement of the values and mission of your company. Keep it simple and straight-forward, nothing highfalutin. I recommend that this be done as a mailing along with a press release, an online eBlast and a posting on your home page and in your blog.

What Has to Change?

To get the most out of your new logo and really build a new branding system you should take advantage of every opportunity to consistently and distinctively use your logo. Below is a checklist that can help as you gather samples and pore over business records.

Changing Your Logo: Checklist

Announcement
Eblast
Printed announcement
Trade advertisement

Stationery
Business cards
Envelopes
Fax sheet
Letterhead
Mailing labels
Memo pads
News release form
Postal meter
White papers
Reports

Online/Social
Email Signature
Web masthead
Web favicon (The mini logo in your website URL)
Twitter handle
Facebook page
LinkedIn page

Listings and Certificates
Business directories
Certificates of incorporation
Credit certificates
Directory listings
Licenses
Permits
Stock certificates
Ticker symbols

Business Forms
Corporate checks
Invoices
Payroll checks
Purchase orders
Statements

Employee Communications
Benefits books
ID badges
Medical plans
Pension plans
Recruiting materials
Service awards

Advertising & Promotions
Advertisements
Apparel
Binders
Literature
Novelty items
Packaging
Presentation formats
Yellow Pages

Signage
Buildings
Directional
Doorways
Exhibit booths

Branding Photo via Shutterstock

Make “Cashing Out of Your Business” Your Best Deal Ever

Make “Cashing Out of Your Business” Your Best Deal Ever

We hear and read so much about building a business, but how about considering the end - the day you step out of your business and hopefully into a relaxing and rewarding lifestyle? Every entrepreneur starts out with a business dream of it. But ask any if he or she is planning for an exit, …

Content

Usefulness

Freshness

92

Summary

This book will open your eyes as to what will ensure your business survival after moving on from your business.

92

We hear and read so much about building a business, but how about considering the end - the day you step out of your business and hopefully into a relaxing and rewarding lifestyle?

Every entrepreneur starts out with a business dream of it. But ask any if he or she is planning for an exit, and you should expect a myriad of shrugs and “I’m looking into it” responses.

To really “look into it,” read the ebook Cashing Out of Your Business: Your Last Great Deal by Kathleen Richardson-Mauro and Jane Johnson. The authors have built careers providing high level merger and acquisition advise. Richardson-Mauro has operated 5 small businesses and assisted 150 small businesses, while Johnson lead a successful acquisition of her business in 2004.

I discovered the book on NetGallery, and liked the subject’s practicality as well as the authors’ effort to provide a financial overview to what effectively becomes the most important one-time choice a business owner can make.

Your Last Deal is a Big Deal

To envision the last great deal, as the title calls it, read the first chapters to detail what must go into the deal. The authors do well to define and cover what should happen in each instance. They have a wealth of experience. Johnson, for example, is a CPA and spent her early years in public accounting and finance at General Electric. The end result is a financial-influenced pragmatism that organizes the key factors for a business transfer.

For example, the segment on transfers defines two ways business ownership changes:

“There are two general categories of business transfers - internal and external. “Internal” refers to selling or gifting the business to an insider, such as key employees, managers, or a family member involved in the business. “External” refers to selling to an outsider, such as a competitor, customer, or investor.”

There’s no balance sheet or financial statements shown in the examples, so readers who are a bit uncomfortable with reviewing financial statements should feel relieved. Instead scenarios are supported with desired and actual outcomes segments - descriptions of what was being sought by business owners in the scenario and what can realistically be done in each scenario. This helps readers better understand the authors’ views and make a personal evaluation of their own roles and tasks for their own exit.

This approach is the book’s strength, and offers value for the small business owner. Much of the content addresses how assets are categorized, so the advice fits small businesses that have somehow avoided venture capital investment.

Take Chapter 3, “Counting Beans” - the authors emphasize the importance of seeking assets outside of the business so that the risk of a business going under is minimized. They deftly note what happens when owners transfer privately owned companies to their next generation in the family:

“Many owners have invested the majority of their money into their businesses. Many have also increased their spending (ratcheted up their lifestyles) to match the increasing profits of the company. This is often done, at least in part, to avoid paying taxes. But it is a dangerous game….Then next generation family members get involved, and they put their beans in the same basket, and on and on it goes until the majority of the family wealth is all tied up in one illiquid, privately held business that isn’t going to generate profits indefinitely. Yikes!”

Content like this explains the significance of what can happen beyond the financial definitions. Furthermore, the content is meant to help plan ahead how to best position a company for a sale. Richardson-Mauro and Johnson share the general viewpoint buyers bring to a business:

“Buyers consider many factors when they evaluate a company, but first and foremost they want to know that the business is not dependent on you personally. That is, they want assurance it can be run successfully by your terrific management team or key employees. They want to hear about your obsession with customer service and retention, quality of product and services, processes, and procedures. They want to see your strategy business plan and learn about the company’s potential for future growth earnings. They want to know that you are well respected in the industry and your competitors take you seriously. And to top it off, they want you to demonstrate that very little risk exists to owning your business.”

The book is brief, so readers should consider an accounting book to evaluate their own numbers. Thus the book’s value lies in a straight-forward text that leads to a framework to approach those numbers with wise forward planning.

Cashing Out Your Business will open up your eyes to what will ensure your business survival after moving on. Whether you plan to transfer your business next year or years from now, give this book a read to learn what structure will work best for all the people important in your business and your life.

Make “Cashing Out of Your Business” Your Best Deal Ever

Make “Cashing Out of Your Business” Your Best Deal Ever

We hear and read so much about building a business, but how about considering the end - the day you step out of your business and hopefully into a relaxing and rewarding lifestyle? Every entrepreneur starts out with a business dream of it. But ask any if he or she is planning for an exit, …

Content

Usefulness

Freshness

92

Summary

This book will open your eyes as to what will ensure your business survival after moving on from your business.

92

We hear and read so much about building a business, but how about considering the end - the day you step out of your business and hopefully into a relaxing and rewarding lifestyle?

Every entrepreneur starts out with a business dream of it. But ask any if he or she is planning for an exit, and you should expect a myriad of shrugs and “I’m looking into it” responses.

To really “look into it,” read the ebook Cashing Out of Your Business: Your Last Great Deal by Kathleen Richardson-Mauro and Jane Johnson. The authors have built careers providing high level merger and acquisition advise. Richardson-Mauro has operated 5 small businesses and assisted 150 small businesses, while Johnson lead a successful acquisition of her business in 2004.

I discovered the book on NetGallery, and liked the subject’s practicality as well as the authors’ effort to provide a financial overview to what effectively becomes the most important one-time choice a business owner can make.

Your Last Deal is a Big Deal

To envision the last great deal, as the title calls it, read the first chapters to detail what must go into the deal. The authors do well to define and cover what should happen in each instance. They have a wealth of experience. Johnson, for example, is a CPA and spent her early years in public accounting and finance at General Electric. The end result is a financial-influenced pragmatism that organizes the key factors for a business transfer.

For example, the segment on transfers defines two ways business ownership changes:

“There are two general categories of business transfers - internal and external. “Internal” refers to selling or gifting the business to an insider, such as key employees, managers, or a family member involved in the business. “External” refers to selling to an outsider, such as a competitor, customer, or investor.”

There’s no balance sheet or financial statements shown in the examples, so readers who are a bit uncomfortable with reviewing financial statements should feel relieved. Instead scenarios are supported with desired and actual outcomes segments - descriptions of what was being sought by business owners in the scenario and what can realistically be done in each scenario. This helps readers better understand the authors’ views and make a personal evaluation of their own roles and tasks for their own exit.

This approach is the book’s strength, and offers value for the small business owner. Much of the content addresses how assets are categorized, so the advice fits small businesses that have somehow avoided venture capital investment.

Take Chapter 3, “Counting Beans” - the authors emphasize the importance of seeking assets outside of the business so that the risk of a business going under is minimized. They deftly note what happens when owners transfer privately owned companies to their next generation in the family:

“Many owners have invested the majority of their money into their businesses. Many have also increased their spending (ratcheted up their lifestyles) to match the increasing profits of the company. This is often done, at least in part, to avoid paying taxes. But it is a dangerous game….Then next generation family members get involved, and they put their beans in the same basket, and on and on it goes until the majority of the family wealth is all tied up in one illiquid, privately held business that isn’t going to generate profits indefinitely. Yikes!”

Content like this explains the significance of what can happen beyond the financial definitions. Furthermore, the content is meant to help plan ahead how to best position a company for a sale. Richardson-Mauro and Johnson share the general viewpoint buyers bring to a business:

“Buyers consider many factors when they evaluate a company, but first and foremost they want to know that the business is not dependent on you personally. That is, they want assurance it can be run successfully by your terrific management team or key employees. They want to hear about your obsession with customer service and retention, quality of product and services, processes, and procedures. They want to see your strategy business plan and learn about the company’s potential for future growth earnings. They want to know that you are well respected in the industry and your competitors take you seriously. And to top it off, they want you to demonstrate that very little risk exists to owning your business.”

The book is brief, so readers should consider an accounting book to evaluate their own numbers. Thus the book’s value lies in a straight-forward text that leads to a framework to approach those numbers with wise forward planning.

Cashing Out Your Business will open up your eyes to what will ensure your business survival after moving on. Whether you plan to transfer your business next year or years from now, give this book a read to learn what structure will work best for all the people important in your business and your life.