Have you ever stopped to realize that you created your life to be exactly the way it is today?  Consciously or subconsciously, the choices, decisions, beliefs, and actions you took (or didn’t take) resulted in what you have in your life at this very moment. 

“But,” you may be saying, “my life isn’t exactly as I would like it to be.”

Where you are and what you have in your life today is no accident.  Your life is the result of all of the decisions you have ever made (or chose not to make) every moment, every day of your life. 

This is powerful news!  Because, it’s a tremendous testimonial as to the amazingly creative person that you already are!  This means that you have the power to create the life you really want for yourself.

The Power of a Decision:  The first step to actually achieving your goals is to make the decision to do so!  Making the decision to have what you really want must be a real and conscious choice, not simply a wish. 

“To get new results you must take new actions and all actions are fathered by a decision.”  Tony Robins

  Making a Decision:  Your decision must be powerful enough to make the difference you want to see in your life.  This is where many people get stuck, because making a decision to have or create different things in your life most likely means that you are going to have to leave the safety of your current comfort zone.  (I will be writing a lot more about the comfort zone in upcoming articles because this is a biggie, yet it doesn’t have to be as difficult or frightening as it may seem!) 

Here are 5 Keys to help you make powerful decisions that can change your life and help you have exactly what you DO want:

1. Ask yourself what you really and truly want.  This means that you must expand your thinking beyond what you currently think you can have.
2. Decide and commit to making it happen.  Ask yourself, “What decision can I make right now that will support my commitment to having what I want?”
3. Make a clear and concise choice to have what you want and deserve.  You must be clear about what you want and how you are going to get it. 
4. Picture where you will be and what it will look like when you have reached your goals.  Really let yourself imagine and feel what it feels like to be in the experience of what you want for yourself.
5. Take responsibility for your dreams.  It’s easy to point fingers or blame something or someone else for what shows up in our lives.  Don’t give your creative power away by imagining yourself in a victim role when it comes to making choices and decisions that impact your life and your dreams.

  Once you determine your direction, you must be committed to taking the actions that match that decision in order to get it.  When you decide and commit, your subconscious mind will work to help you get exactly what you say you want.  That’s where the phrase, “Be careful what you ask for!” comes from.  The subconscious mind is more powerful than most of us had ever been were aware of in the past.  More and more science and research is showing us the amazing power of our subconscious mind.  (I also plan to write more about that in future articles because this is powerful and fascinating!)

  You have created many miracles in your life, even those you don’t necessarily like.  Setting clear goals and taking responsibility for making conscious choices and decisions that are aligned with those goals is the most powerful thing you can do for yourself and those who you influence.

Make the decision to start now.

“Every choice and decision leads us closer to, or farther way from, what we want.” 

Spinning Gold

The Biggest Thing Most Entrepreneurs Do to Sabotage Success

  If you’ve been in business for a while, you realize that there are ups and downs, and peaks and valley.  When things are going well, you are doing the work you love, you’re working with your ideal clients who appreciate you and your work, you’re making money, and everything feels like it flows.  But when things aren’t going so well, you feel like everything’s a struggle and often you aren’t sure what to do to get back into that flow!

  What many entrepreneurs do is dig their heels in, put their nose to the grindstone, and worker longer and harder.  Unfortunately, that’s exactly what keeps them stuck!

  It’s important to remember that it’s not about working harder.  The most important thing you can do is step back and refocus so your energy is aligned with the results you want.

Here are 3 Keys to Jumpstart the Flow of Success in Your Business:

Key 1:  Be clear about what you want.  One of the biggest reasons most people don’t get what they want is because they don’t know what they want!  

  You must have a crystal clear vision of what you want.  I know you’ve heard this before, and you’ve undoubtedly done this exercise at least once, but I’m going to encourage you to do to it again; write out the story of your perfect life, exactly as you want it to be, and re-read it daily. 

  Make this a priority; schedule time in your calendar, just like you’d schedule any other important meeting.  Give it your full, undivided attention.  Put on relaxing music (I find that music without lyrics works best to allow creative thought to flow.).  Write out every single detail of what you want your life and your business to look like.   What will bring you the most joy and the least stress?  Include colors, smells, ideas and feelings.  In fact, put as much emotion into your story as possible! 

  After you have your story written out, just the way you want it, take time every day to re-read your story.  Be sure you actually feel yourself in the story as if it is already just that way!  You might even find that you want to add some additional visions or details in, and I encourage you to do that!  Make it as detailed as possible.  You will be activating the creative part of your subconscious mind to begin creating this life for you.

Key 2:  Be clear about your “receiver” and what “frequency” they are set at.  In other words, you are in business to provide a service; you are the “generator.”  Your target market is the people who need or want your service; they are the “receiver.” 

  If business has slowed, one of the things you need to ask yourself is, “Am I delivering exactly what my ideal clients want, and is my marketing message clearly reaching them?”  In other words, “Am I still tuned in to them?”  Just like a radio frequency, you as the generator must be precisely tuned to what your receiver wants and be sure you are generating a high-quality message, or they won’t receive it!  By taking the time to be crystal clear, you can reach your target audience and easily attract them with far less effort.

Key 3:  Take “right” action.

We’ve all experienced it, when our business isn’t working the way we want it to, we begin to feel frustration.  The worst thing about frustration is often entrepreneurs start doing anything and everything they know to just try to get business moving again.  This is not the time to work harder, it’s the time to step back, clear the clutter and stop doing what’s not working!  Just working harder, longer hours is nothing but an energy drain if what you are doing isn’t directly related to getting the exact results you want (see Keys #1 and #2.). 

  This is like the definition of insanity; continually doing the same thing and expecting different results.  This is a very common way that entrepreneurs fail to move their business quickly and easily forward.

  Imagine that you are stranded in the middle of nowhere.  You call someone, on your cell phone, for help.  The person who answers is not the person you expected; in fact they don’t even speak the same language as you!  You hang up the phone, and dial the same number again – and again you get the same person. 

  This happens several times, you are becoming more and more frustrated.  You’ve read that you can get what you want if you think positive thoughts, so you think positive thoughts and you even visualize (Key #1) that the exact person you want will answer your call.  You repeat your affirmations, and you dial the same number.  You get the same person.

  Now your cell phone battery is almost dead and you can only make one more call.  Do you repeat your affirmations harder and louder this time?  Or do you stop, reconsider what’s not working, and try a new strategy?

  This sounds absurd, but it’s exactly what many people do with their lives and business.  They continue taking the same actions, getting more and more frustrated and exhausted, and they can’t figure out why they’re not getting ahead.

The fact is, when you have these 3 keys working together;

1. have a crystal clear vision of what you want;
2. know what your ideal clients want so you can generate a clear service and message that reaches them; and
3. eliminate what’s not working and start doing only those things that will bring you the results you desire

 you will quickly and easily get the results you really want for yourself and your business!

    If you are feeling stuck, frustrated and want to jumpstart your business success, call me for a fr^ee 30 minute Business Breakthrough Consultation.  In less than 30 minutes, I will show you exactly what is keeping you stuck, and what you most need to do right now to quickly move forward.  I do only 2 fr^ee Business Breakthrough Consultations each week, so call now to schedule yours and do what it takes to get the results you know you want and deserve! To contact me, call: 1-630-515-1722

Spinning Gold

Our world is evolving, and so are we.  Isn’t it time to evolve the way you’ve been working?  You can have more freedom, less stress, do what you love doing, AND make much more money doing it! 

Here are 7 essentials you need to be magnetically attractive to your ideal clients. 

 1)      Start with being crystal clear on your natural gifts, strengths, purpose and passions. 

A  nyone can make money doing just about any job if they choose to.  Those who have the most joy in their work, and make the most money are those who have discovered their purpose.  They capture the pure potential that exists when they hone in, and capitalize on their natural-born gifts.  Get clear on who you came here to be and align your business and your marketing efforts with that to become magnetically attractive.

2)      Be absolutely clear about who you are meant to serve and exactly what your ideal clients want from you.

  We’ve all heard that we must pick a niche, but many resist the idea, saying they don’t want to be “boxed in.”  If you truly want to super-charge your business, you must have a clear niche!  Then you will be able to work only with people who energize and appreciate you.  Have a clear definition of who your ideal clients are and what they want so you can move forward with the focused intention of helping them. 

3)      Know what sets you apart from the competition, and clearly communicate to your prospective clients how you *uniquely* help them .

  Even when you are in a room full of people who are in the same field, or offer the same type of services, it’s imperative that you are clear about what makes you different.  Be crystal clear about what you do in a way that no one else does it, and the results you get that no one else gets, and you can easily set yourself apart from the competition.

4)      Have a business model that easily allows you to make 6-figures, even multiple 6-figures, with fun, unique, and energizing multiple streams of income.

  Like so many others, you are probably exhausted by working the dollars-for-hours model.  And, worse yet, you realize that you can only make so much money because there are only so many hours in a day!  With a new way of looking at your business you can have the time and energy to help more people and make the money you want to make!  It’s far easier than you may think!

5)      Have a proven process or system that you love, believe in, and know gives your clients the results they want and expect from you.

  Your “signature system” is your proven process that gets the results your clients want and expect from you.  People are more likely to be attracted to someone who has a system that has repeatedly gotten the results they want.

6)      Have an attractive, healthy sense confidence, grace and ease about yourself and your business. 

  You want everything to feel like it just flows.  You want to be doing what you are meant to do.  When your business is a natural extension of your gifts, purpose and passions, your prospective clients will easily be attracted to you and you will be serving with the people you are meant to help.

7)      Find, and clear away, the hidden blocks, limiting beliefs, and sabotaging habits that hold you back.

  We all have blind spots!  They stand in the way of reaching our true potential.  What secretly slows you down, holds you back, or stops you from doing, being and having what you desire?  Clear these hidden sabotagers away and be freed up to move toward the purpose and potential you know is there for you!

  You too can easily move beyond the “dollars-for-hours” model.  Create exciting and easy to implement multiple streams of income.  You’ll love your business – and your life!  You’ll wish you had made this move in your business, and for your life, long ago!

  If you don’t already have the clarity, freedom, grace and ease in your business, and you aren’t already making the money you want, don’t wait any longer!  Learn what so many others have learned about the evolution of operating your soul-inspired business.  Learn now to take your business from working hard, dollars-for-hours, to aligning your business with your purpose and passions.  Create a better business model that allows you to serve more people.  I am offering you the opportunity for a complimentary 30 Minute Business Evaluation Session so you can get started right now!

  Click here to request your complimentary Business Evaluation Session.  I do 3 complimentary sessions each month.  Request yours now!  You’ll want your complimentary Business Evaluation Session before the end of the year so you can have a fresh perspective and powerfully move forward with the possibilities, opportunities and potential that are there for you!  Start 2011 off with a whole new way of doing business and living and loving your life!

~Laurie Polnski, Spinning Gold

 Find Yourself, By Taking Time For Yourself

  “The myth is, when you focus on yourself you are being selfish.  The reality is, if you don’t know your true self and cultivate an ongoing relationship with her, you can’t truly be with or give to anyone else.”  Jennifer Louden, Author of The Woman’s Comfort Book

  “No Boys Allowed!”  I recall being 9 or 10, and creating a girls-only club with my best girlfriends.  We created our exclusive clubhouse out of sheets and dining-room chairs, and we hung our sign, No Boys Allowed!  Did we always know, even back then, how important it would be for us women to retreat?  And, what exactly does it mean to retreat?

  According to Jennifer Louden, in “The Women’s Retreat Book,”    “A woman’s retreat springs from and is guided by a woman’s inner knowing.”  Perhaps we did have this internal knowing when we were 9 that it was important for us, at least for a period of time, to shut ourselves off from the noise and distractions of our outer world.  So, if this is true, what is this woman’s innate guidance trying to tell us?  Louden goes on to say, “A woman’s retreat is about stepping out of your ordinary existence to listen to and attune to your truest, most authentic self.  It is about being self-referenced to become self-restored.”  Somehow I know that I did always know that particular truth.  And that is the reason I have been doing mini-retreats with girlfriends and clients my entire life.  

  Recently, I have partnered with a brilliant life coach, Jeannie Anderson, author of the Women’s W.E.A.L.T.H. program.  Together, Jeannie and I have co-created our own women’s club; “Abundant Young Women Over 40.”  This club is for women who want more for themselves and are ready to step into their biggest game yet.  We will host a live experiential retreat in October, in the secluded mountainous area in the heart of Arizona , for a small group of women committed to going deeper into their own existence and reclaiming their dreams.  Jeannie and I will be releasing more information about “Abundant Young Woman Over 40” in the near future.  

  Last week, I hosted a free teleclass called “Discover the Energy of Success.”  I am so excited to say that we had an overwhelming positive response to this teleclass!  Thank you all for your kind and supportive comments and feedback, it is sincerely appreciated.  This 6-week teleseries, “Journey for the Best of Your Life,” begins on June 24^th and I am thrilled to have many of you joining me!  If you missed it, you can find out more here: “Journey for the Best of Your Life.”

  There is a definite power in self-discovery.  A power that comes from being in total integrity with who you were born to be.  A power that arises only from being deeply connected with your true passion and purpose.  And a power in being of service to yourself, your family, friends, community and the world, in the way that only you, through your own unique purpose and brilliance can serve. 

  Make sure you take the time to do your own mini-retreats to deeply connect with your true self.  When you are connected with your authentic nature, you become centered in your own personal power.  You are in total integrity with who you were born to be.

Here are 5 simple ways you can take yourself on instant mini-retreats: 

 Remember to be selfish at least once every day.  As Louden said, “ … if you don’t know your true self and cultivate an ongoing relationship with her, you can’t truly be with or give to anyone else.”

What Stands In The Way Of The Personal And Business Success That You Want?

   Have you ever felt like you are working so hard, doing everything you know to do, and still feel like you aren’t achieving the level of success you know is possible for you?  Have you felt exhaustion and frustration because you know there is more for you to do, be and have but don’t know what else you can possible do to make it happen for you?

  When I ask my audiences in my public presentations, “How many of you have reached the personal level of success you would like to have?” very few raise their hand.  So, what is it that blocks us from being all that that we can be?

  The women who come to me are on their own journey of self-discovery.  They tell me they wake up in the morning with a yearning, wanting something more for themselves, but don’t know how to tap into it.  They’ve tried fulfilling that yearning by getting yet another credential, moving up on the corporate ladder, reading spiritual and self-help books and attending workshops and yet nothing has filled that quiet, yet intense call deep within their heart.

How Do You Find Your Life’s Passion? 

For years, like most of my clients, I was searching; trying to find what it is that would free me of this yearning for purpose in my own life.  I knew there was more within me to be expressed.  I changed jobs, I attended workshops, I followed gurus, waiting, even begging for someone to be able to evoke that deeper brilliance I knew was within me.  I knew that if someone would just help me identify my passion that I would have no problem stepping into it, I just needed help uncovering it!

  Isn’t that odd?  We live with ourselves from the day we were born, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, three hundred and sixty-five days a year, every year – and we still don’t know what that one single thing that is so special, unique and purposeful about ourselves is!  So, we begin the search outside of ourselves to learn the answer.  I call it “looking for me in all the wrong places.”

  Here is the secret; your passion is as close as your very own breath.  If that is true, then why are so many of us living day-to-day with this feeling of being disconnected from our true self?  Studies have shown that 84% of us are not living in congruence with our core passion and purpose!  That means that most adults are still searching for their truth.

  Here is another secret; the transformation that can occur between the search, and discovering your true nature, passion and purpose is simply awareness.  The awareness of reconnecting with who you were born to be.  The awareness that comes from unearthing what is so unique and brilliant about you that you are able to deeply touch and begin to fully express your purpose, your passion and your truth.

  Fortunately, I had the blessing of discovering this awareness for myself.  I now know that it is my purpose to help as many others reconnect with their natural-born purpose and passion as possible.  I know the pain and frustration of feeling disconnected from your core self, and I know the joy and freedom that comes from becoming realigned with my truth.  I have been inspired to help others stop the search and live life as fully and passionately as we are meant to live.

To your joyful and inspired success~

Namaste,

~Laurie

 What Is Your Divine Purpose?

  We all have a creative genius within us, and this genius presents itself only when we are living in alignment with our divine purpose.

  Let me ask you this, have you ever felt like there is a part of you that has not yet been tapped into?  Do you feel like you are living a comfortable life, yet still looking for that thing that really makes your heart sing?  Have you found yourself continually searching for that part of you that is special, unique and absolutely brilliant?

  I have a confession, I remember thinking, since I was 9 years old, that something very special was going to happen for me.  And while many wonderful things have happened, I always was searching and waiting for that one really magical thing that would call forth my divine purpose.  What I learned, after 40+ years of waiting for and searching for that magic, was that it was within me all along.  I just needed the right opportunity to discover that. 

  Fortunately, I discovered the CORE MAP process which completely opened up my entire life to new dimensions, opportunities, and levels of effectiveness.  Since then I have been working closely with other women who were also on the verge of breaking through the monotony of life as it was, and unearthing their true divine purpose and live it fully!

  When we are fully aligned with our purpose, and the life we were born to live, we find helpful people and seemingly “magical” or coincidental opportunities coming forward which gently lead the way.  This is the experience of being in the flow, and life becomes much more effortless, joyful and meaningful.

Here 5 simple steps to help you tune in to your own divine purpose:

1.         Brainstorm, and write down everything you really love to do.  Once you have completed the list, go back and number each entry in the order of which appeals to you the most.

            Tip:  Think of the times in the past when you were at your absolute best!  When time just passed, and everything felt as though it were going your way.

2.        Read over your list, and put it away for a day or two.  Make an appointment with yourself when you have some quiet time, and take out your list and begin adding to it.

            Tip:  Make sure you are including only those things that make you feel really joyful.  Sometimes we are extraordinarily good at some things, yet they do not make us joyful.  These are the things that we have learned, or may have been conditioned to do well, but are not part of our life’s purpose.

3.     After you have dug really deep within, and recognize what it is that truly makes your heart sing versus those things you typically spend your day-to-day life doing, go back and re-number the entries.  Make sure what makes you feel most joyful and purposeful is number 1 on your list.  

            Tip:  It may surprise you to discover that the order may differ from the original order you assigned a day or two ago.

4.         Select the top ten entries on your list.  Now, make a list of what each of these top ten has in common.  With this in mind, what occurs to you that may be a clue to uncovering your divine purpose?  

            Tip:  Don’t limit yourself to just one idea.  Play with this over a period of time.

5.         Once you have uncovered some of the clues to what may be most important to you, immediately begin taking steps to bringing more of those joyful, meaningful experiences into your life.  For example, you may have discovered that many of your top ten entries related to travel.  You might begin bringing more of that into your life by subscribing to a travel magazine, or planning your next trip to an exotic destination.

            Tip:  Pay close attention to what energizes you the most.  Again, this may not be the same as what you have been doing most of your life that you are really good         at. But that’s okay, you’ve just added a whole new dimension to your day-to-day life that brings you closer to living the life you were meant to live.

  When you are on the track of your divine purpose, everything you do in pursuit of it will inspire and energize you.  You will begin to call in the people and opportunities that will continue to show you the next steps and open up doors which you hadn’t even known existed for you.  When you are not living in alignment with your divine purpose, you are not in the flow, and life feels like a struggle and drains your energy.  Continue to pay attention to how you feel when you are going through your daily activities.  If it feels joyful and easily flows, you are on the right path.  This is the path of living your divine purpose and when your true creative genius shines through!

To your joyful and inspired success~

Namaste,

~Laurie

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Being clear about who you are, what you do, and the benefits of working with you, will dramatically affect your ability to attract and connect with more of your ideal clients and manifesting the success you want. 

That sounds simple enough, doesn’t it?  Why, then do so many entrepreneurs struggle to attract clients?  Most often it is not because there is anything wrong with what you do, or how you do it, but the problem lies in being able to clearly define and communicate your authentic message in a way that really connects with your ideal clients.

Here’s an important understanding:  You know you have a unique gift that no one else has, and you know that you can help others.  It is your mission to identify your gift, do it to the very best of your ability, and create your compelling branding and marketing message that is authentic to you and attracts clients who want what you offer.


Here are 3 things you must be very clear on that will help you instantly transform the way you feel and communicate about your business, and expand how your potential clients perceive and connect with you and your business.

1)  Know what your unique gift is.  What do you do, exceptionally well, that no one else does?  In other words, what sets you apart from others in your field?

2)  Know who you serve.  The more well-defined your niche market is, the easier it will be to create your messages.  You will also become known as the authority in that area.

3)  Know what authentically connects you with your prospective clients.  People buy on emotion and then back their decisions up with logic.  What emotions do you and your services evoke in people that makes them want to work with you?

As I shared earlier, you must be clear about who you are, including your unique gifts and your core values.  You must be clear about what your services deliver, and what need or desire that fills within your clients.  And, you must know – very, very well, who your ideal clients are so that the connection you make with them is clear, true and authentic.


To your joyful and inspired success~

Namaste,

~Laurie

Spinning Gold Marketing

1. Refine and Narrow Your Niche

   Narrowing down your ideal clients and understanding what their specific needs and challenges are will allow you to consistently put out a focused and clear message.  If your attempt is to market to too wide of an audience, your message gets lost because it is vague and without focus and direction.  You want your ideal client to say “Yes that is me, I need that!” when they see or hear your message.

  Every successful business knows the answer to these questions:  Who are my customers?  How will they know I am here?  Why do they want to buy from me?  How can I reach more people like them?  Clearly and concisely answer these questions, and you have the first key ingredient for success.  

  The answer to these questions should influence every the design of each of your products and services.  The answer to these questions will influence your pricing, where you put your message out (distribution) and will be the catalyst to crafting the right communication that speaks directly to your perfect niche.

- “She who chases two rabbits catches none.” – Chinese proverb

2.  Construct a Clear Message

 Networking events are a great place to build relationships and attract new clients.  Do not make the mistake of investing your time and money without having a clear and powerful message to share.

Have you ever been to a networking event where someone asks you what you do, and you feel a slight sense of panic arise within you?  Suddenly you find yourself rambling on trying to explain what it is that you do and you realize that the other person’s eyes have glazed over and in your mind, you know they are now probably more confused than anything?

Here’s a tip to crafting your message; go back to Number 1 above.  Your message starts with your “niche.”  Chances are, if people are not fully getting your message, your ideal clients aren’t hearing you either.

3.  Get Out of Your Own Head

   Most entrepreneurs work on their own.  When you are trying to do everything and be everything for your business, frustration and overwhelm tend to build up.  Do you love your business, but sometimes feel the heartache every business owner feels from time to time?  Have you felt that sense of doubt and fear move through you?  

  When this happens, is it your tendency to just work harder?  That’s okay, it’s what most people do, work harder, put in longer hours which builds up more stress.  The problem is, that if that’s all you do is work harder doing the very same things, you probably won’t get any better results.  When you feel like you are always busy, but your business has hit a frustrating plateau – or worse, if your sales are sliding downhill, you don’t need to work harder, you need to work right!

  I know that you know that your best, most creative thinking do not come from being tired and frustrated.  It’s important to get out of your own head and learn the right steps to rev up your business and jumpstart your marketing program.

  When this frustration and exhaustion begin to overwhelm you, it can be disheartening.  But it doesn’t mean that there is anything wrong with you, or that you can’t do this!  The truth is that you CAN do it, and you can do it really well when you know the right steps to take.  Taking the right steps will add the fuel to your business and quickly get you back on track attracting plenty of your ideal clients.

To your joyful and inspired success~

Namaste,

~Laurie

Spinning Gold Marketing

 Get More Clients With An Effective “Marketing Hook”

  Everywhere you look today you are exposed to one form of marketing message or another. It might be on a billboard, in a magazine or on the internet and no matter what media you are engaged in at that moment, the message is basically the same; “buy our product or use our service.”

  Marketing experts understand that they have just a few seconds to capture their target or ideal audience or their message will be a failure. They have just a few seconds to grab your attention and arouse your curiosity to know more of what they are offering or you will move on to something or someone else. Have you ever surfed the web and gone through countless of web pages without any interest and then one page just popped out and grabbed you, causing you to read more? Have you ever zipped through the channels on your television and found yourself stopping on an infomercial even though it was not your intention? You had no plans on buying anything and you know that they are just trying to sell you something and yet something they said or something they showed you, made you stop and say,”Hey, wait a minute. What’s this?” 

 This is what business marketers refer to as the “hook.”

 Do You need A “Marketing Hook” In Your Business?

  If you are in business and if you want to attract clients then the answer is yes, you most definitely need a “marketing hook” in your business. There is far too much competition out there to just hope and pray your ideal clients will find you and invest in your product or service instead of your competitor. Today there are thousands upon thousands of websites and for you to be successful on the internet, it is a must to be able to grab your prospect’s attention.

 What Is Your “Marketing Hook?”

  Before you begin writing a single word for your web-page, sales page or ad, you will want to do some serious research. At this point what you are looking for is that unique piece of story that will arouse a burning curiosity in your ideal client to make them feel compelled to continue to find out more. It is the eye-popping piece of story that will jar even the most distracted reader into full attention. The best hooks are the ones that come early in your message. Remember, the objective here is to grab attention immediately, to get noticed.

  Every business is going to have a different hook. Every niche market is going to have a different hook. Your business might also have more than one hook, one for every kind of client you serve.

  Many times business owners and entrepreneurs are too close to their product or service to be able to see what is unique about them. What sets them apart from their competition? Mentoring programs, coaching programs and mastermind groups are great resources to turn to in order to get an outside perspective of you and your business’ uniqueness to discover your very own “marketing hook.”

Laurie Polinski

Spinning Gold Marketing

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  Let’s face it, without marketing, your business has little chance of succeeding. You may start getting clients to work with, but eventually, you will find yourself struggling to find clients who want to buy what you have, and burn yourself out.

  Actually, many entrepreneurs dip a toe in the water with their marketing by giving their business a name, coming up with a catchy tagline and getting an icon or clip art to put on their business card and website. Yes, done right, this is a piece of your marketing. So, what else is there, and how can you make marketing the piece that ensures your business success?

  Recently, I was at a local networking event and one of the people in the group was allowed 5 minutes to get up and speak about her business. As she was speaking, I realized that I was having a hard time understanding what it was that she wanted to get across, and why I might want what she had to offer. And, I was not at all compelled to want to find out more about her or her product. That’s not to say that there was anything wrong with her or what she said…… in fact it was more in what she didn’t say.

  I learned her name and her business name right away. That’s always a good thing ~ however, believe it or not, neither really told me what she does.

So, here’s tip #1: Having a business name or tagline that tells people what you want them to know and remember about you.

  This is the beginning of getting your branding across. Putting all of your pieces together in a concise, clearly understood message so people remember what you want them to remember about you. Yes, you want them to like, trust and respect you, but more than that, you want them to know and remember what you can do for them.

  If your name, business name or tag line doesn’t clearly tell people who you are, what you do, how you uniquely help, and why they should choose you to spend their time and money with, then this needs your attention now! Typically, we have only 30 seconds to capture someone’s attention. In those 30 seconds we want to be sure they walk away with what we want them to remember about us. Basically, what’s in it for them?

Here’s what you need to know to craft an effective tagline.

  An effective tagline helps you clarify what makes you or your service special and enables you to sum up your “competitive advantage” in just a few words.

  Next, this speaker handed out her brochure which was professionally printed, on nice cardstock. That’s always a good thing ~ however, believe it or not, the picture on the cover was of a forest of fern plants. Is she a gardener? A botanist? A landscaper designer? No, she is a financial investment manager. I guess money is green and so are ferns and that’s where that connection comes in???

So, here’s tip #2: Your Brand Isn’t Just a Logo, or the Colors You Use, or Your Business Name

  …… it is all of these things, and more, together. Everything must consistently give the one singular message you want people to remember about you. Money management / ferns; I still don’t get the connection.

  A company’s logo, colors and the images it uses all serve to support and reinforce the brand identity. The more you reinforce the features of your brand identity, the more familiar people will become with it and the more likely they will be to do business with you repeatedly.

To strengthen your brand identity, be sure it is:

  Your brand identity can be extremely valuable if done and used effectively. Do everything in your power to build a strong, well-regarded brand image and just about every aspect of building your business – especially the marketing piece – will be much easier.

  Then, this speaker went on to tell the facts about her company and what she does. Actually at that point, I was disinterested because I already know someone who does what she does. In fact, there were 3 others in the room who do the same thing; one of them sitting right next to me! So, what would compel me to learn more about how she can help me, or to recommend her to someone else who may need her services? What does she do brilliantly well that the others don’t? What makes her unique? What differentiates her from the rest? Perhaps it is that she grows ferns in her yard? I don’t know, she never said that, but it’s a guess on my part based on her brochure.

So, here’s tip #3: Your Brand Identity is, or Should be, Unique to You.

  That’s why people choose you to work with over someone else in the same field. You must unearth your own brilliance and unique qualities so that you can make them part of your brand identity.

To create a strong brand identity, you must be clear on:

Make a list of the values you want your company to reflect and be associated with.

Develop the core message for your company:

  Your core message, including your set of values, is what defines your brand. It’s what you want customers to remember about you. When you have a strong, clear message, you’re much better able to develop a strong connection with your customer base.

  These are three key drivers which help to create a strong, memorable image and message for your business. You need to keep your core message in mind when you’re developing your advertising, website, packaging and marketing materials (such as brochures, business card, catalog, etc). It must permeate every aspect of what you do and be the foundation of all your marketing activities.

  The message that clients or potential clients get from you about your business is the key to success. It’s imperative that you create the core message you want to send for your business or service. Without articulating your core message and consistent brand identity, it’s impossible to develop an effective, meaningful marketing program.

  Remember, if you don’t create the message that you want people to “get” and remember about you, they will create their own.

Laurie Polinski
Spinning Gold Marketing