Just FACE it...

I received an email today, asking me some questions about Facebook. How to use it effectively for a business tool, the worth of doing so, etcetera.

Now, I'll readily admit that I'm no expert on Facebook. I only joined in after a friend repeatedly nudged me to do so (and like everyone else on the planet, I now waste more time there than I should!). I am still in a learning curve there, and am finding a tremendous amount of helpful information from Mari Smith, considered 'the Pied Piper of Facebook'. That link is to her 'Page', and you can access it even if you are not a Facebook member. (Which is different from a Facebook 'Profile', which you must be a member and friend to view). But as much of a neophyte as I am, now that I am using this format, people are asking me about it. And so, I try to decipher and learn and then share...

Can Facebook be used to market your business and to help develop your brand image? Yes, definitely. Is it right for every business? Probably not. Is it right for every person? No. Is it anything more than any other social networking site? It CAN be if you use it that way.

I know people who are using Facebook simply to connect with long-lost friends, classmates, family, old neighbors, etc. - and that is all that they want to do with it. It works well for them in rebuilding relationships. And truthfully, networking is ALL about relationships - whether it's business or personal.

With things being what they are right now, I'd advise that you become very personable in your business dealings! I always define online presence this way: Websites are a commercial - you are advertising what you are, do, sell, etc. Blogs (and social networking) are a conversation - you are connecting with other people and getting feedback from them. You need BOTH.

I also know people who are using Facebook, and other online networks, to create a fanbase, following, and specific network of customers for their businesses. Through professional profiles and 'Pages' for their businesses, they are extending their brand awareness into the social arena. Their blogs syndicate and post to readers and their profile, and their web sites link to them. As this media develops, we'll see more integration of various platforms - making updated info, posts, and photos easier and simpler.

Opportunities for advertising exist, of course, as do those for promoting your 'Pages' to a general audience. The online world is a visual arena, so any business using it must realize that success is dependent upon their logo and brand image gaining visibility. The more opportunities you can find to get your business logo in front of viewers, the better.

Here's another question to ponder: Can you afford it?
Yeah, it's free, in the sense that it doesn't cost you a hosting fee, etc (unless you upgrade). But it WILL take time - time learning to utilize the features, time preparing photos, etc., time monitoring your requests and posts and updates. Even for a simple, business-oriented Page, you'll have to regularly invest some time. And by 'regularly', I mean at least every other day...like blog posts, this kind of viral marketing requires constant upkeep. And your time is worth money. SO, can you create half an hour every other day to Facebook? (Along with a half-hour every other day to blog? And an hour each day to stay current with your email? Are you beginning to see the investment?) I have five blogs that I write regularly for - actually, six, but my family blog is not just me writing! It takes time, effort, and determination to use it wisely in order for it to pay off in contacts, clients, sales, etc.

I personally think that Facebook is a viable option for marketing a business. I have concerns about how the 'Pages' directory system is labeled and categorized, but it's all new and obviously refinement will come.

Facebook was developed as a primarily social communication tool, and has grown to include business resources. Since I am also involved with the Gift & Home Channel, an online resource for retailers, I can see some definite differences between the two. For one, GHC is smaller and has a more defined audience: retail and wholesale industry members & service providers only. It was set up as a business resource, and has been morphing into a 'social networking' venue (can you see my furrowed brow from there?!). Is it for promoting a business? Not really. It serves to educate, inform, and connect retailers & wholesalers. I am one of very few service providers involved there. Though I do have to say, today I received an inquiry about a speaking engagement, and she found me through my videos on GHC!

Then there's Twitter, Stumble Upon, and a slew of other online resources that I can't even begin to discuss...

All that being said, my 'professional' opinion is this: Ruling out any opportunity for promoting your business before investigating it and trying it is probably a bad move right now. If it's free or low-cost, and you can carve out some time to do it right, it really can't hurt to try it.

NEW INFO!!!

Check out my Facebook Page for more info about NEW applications and tricks to maximize your use of Facebook for business! Go here to read more!

What Is CPSIA and Why Is It BAD?

This is an issue that affects everyone, from consumers to small independent retailers & manufacturers. Please be aware and take action.... There is excellent information available on this issue at http://coolmompicks.com/savehandmade/.

Thank you, CoolMoms, for bringing this to everyone's attention! Readers, please pass this link on and post a button in your blog sidebar. Spread the word, take action, Be The Change, YES WE CAN!!!!

Craving Small Business Support?

Most of you know that I've been involved with women's business groups for many years. It all began with my desire to connect with other women who were building their own businesses for moral support, commiseration, and sharing of information..which is what all fledgling businesses want!

Initially, beginning back in the mid-nineties when I was running my own small retail store, I participated in online communities like the old Victoria Magazine-iVillage sponsored 'Business of Bliss' forums and the subsequent (and short-lived) 'Coterie Bliss' forum. When it became 'The Bliss Sisters' forum, and I had moved on from being a shopkeeper to being a retail consultant, writer & speaker, I became a moderator and eventually a director, helping it to grow into 'The Bliss Guild' community & resource for women entrepreneurs, and garner some attention from Country Living magazine. Then I moved on to a partnership that brought about the founding & development of the 'Women Take Wing!' organization & community. I continue to speak at women's groups and organizations across the country, and at trade shows where the majority of my audiences have been female independent merchants.

At the heart of all of this involvement was a vision for a multi-level resource for women entrepreneurs that I desperately wanted to see come to fruition. I saw a seedling sprout from those ideas more than once, but it never became the full-grown tree that I envisioned. It was my vision, and it was a great big one, so it made the other people who were involved pretty nervous. And so, at a certain point, I knew it was time for me to let that vision just exist, without working so darned hard to bring it into reality. I had to admit that I wasn't the right person in the right place at the right time for the pursuit of this particular goal. I honestly wondered if there was anyone who could create what I had envisioned. I knew it was viable, and necessary, and yet I didn't know how to jump the roadblocks to do it myself, so I relegated my grand dream to the Universe.

Well, they say that good ideas don't just come around once in a lifetime - they keep circulating until the right person gets ahold of them and runs with them. I know a good thing when I see it, and just have to tell you about www.CRAVEbusiness.com . The entire CRAVEinc. 'empire' was founded by a woman in my local area - Melody Biringer - and is a fabulous resource for women in any kind of business.

From business mentoring & support systems to educational & networking opportunities to retail shopping events, this is the kind of resource for women entrepreneurs that has always lived in my brain and been the dream in my heart as I helped to guide and found other groups. Melody has my respect and admiration for creating something so multidimensional, so open to growth and change that it is truly able to fulfill the many needs of many women pursuing businesses of their own - and will continue to do so well into the future. Online, in print, and in person, CRAVE is a growing, evolving entity that has the advocacy of women in business as the heart of every endeavour.


I look at what she has created, and recognize a kindred spirit and a similar passion, and I wholeheartedly support her. I am looking forward to future involvement with this group, including some local events, and encourage you to check it out and find out if it is in your area, as well. (CRAVE is partnered with Ladies Who Launch , and they have a presence in most states.) For more information, visit http://www.cravebusiness.com/.

Logo from CRAVEbusiness.com

Believe It....or Not???

I just ran across an almost unbelieveable story on AOL.
It seems a home developer in the United Kingdom has been staging their new homes for sale with a most unorthodox style. You might call it the Berenstain method...

They include a messy teen boy's room - complete with disheveled bedding, clothes strewn across the floor, tacky posters on the walls, even 'leftover' food lying around. The food may be plastic stand-ins for pizza & sandwiches, and spilled cans of Coke - but the muddy shoes are real, brought in by an employee in the sales office.

Seems the builder thinks that this approach will startle buyers, make them remember the property, and foster a sense of 'home' that those pristinely-staged rooms don't engender. (Wouldn't you just LOVE to hear Jeff Lewis' - the uber detail-obsessed real estate flipper from Bravo's Flipping Out show - take on this???!!!) Did it work? Well, the article says the homes are selling faster than others in the area.

I'm not sure if this story - which originally ran in the STAR magazine in the UK (which makes one raise an eyebrow) is at all true, but if so it just may start a heinous and altogether unpleasant trend. It takes all kinds!

Click here to read it on AOL and see a few photos. I'd have loved to have shared them here - you really have to see this to believe it...or not???

Color Inspiration

Pantone is the Universally recognized Color Authority.

Not just in the retail industry, but in product, interior, and fashion design, as well. They not only know color, they very nearly re-invent it!

Twice a year, Pantone Color Experts create new combinations of shades & hues to form seasonal collections - which are relased to the public a year in advance. Usually consisting of eight color palettes for fall/winter and spring/summer of each year, these collections form the backbone of new designs that will be released in the coming year. At www.Pantone.com, you can purchase several versions of the color forecasts - in books, paint fans, on discs, and via download.

You can catch a video of Leatrice (Lee) Eiseman, Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute, (also an engaging speaker, creative muse, and very nice woman who lives here in my area!) premiering the new color collections for 2009 - 10. With evocative palette names like 'Wine Country', 'Solar Power', and 'Breathing Room', you can almost taste and feel them!

Pantone has expanded their website to include My Pantone , a section where members (free) can participate in community discussions and inspiration, find loads of resource information about using color, and be eligible for special Pantone products and discounts. They are truly leading the charge in assisting retailers, designer, ALL businesses, by providing more than just product.

I guess you could say that Pantone is painting the town...red, orange, saffron.... just pick your color!

Image Credit: Pantone Color Institute, www.pantone.com

Another One Bites the Dust

I just read on Deb Duesenberry's Curious Sofa retail blog that Country Home magazine from Meredith Corporation is the latest casualty in the shelter publications industry. Deb apparently received an email directly from Meredith, informing her that the magazine will cease production in the near future. Recently I also heard that Oprah's 'O at Home' magazine is no longer being published.

Just last month, Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion magazine announced that its publisher was not renewing their contract, and the November/December 2008 issue was the last one. A few years ago, Victoria magazine was shut down nearly overnight by Hearst Publishing. Victoria was revived in 2007 by Hoffman Publications (who also produce Tea Time and Paula Deen's magazines) and is now alive & well with tons of thrilled fans - hopefully, another publisher will step up to continue the excellence of MEHC and their mission of featuring artisans & shoppes in each issue. This one magazine did more for independent creative businesses than anything else I know of.

Country Home may not be so lucky. Though they have worked hard to stay abreast of trends and changes in the interior design industry, country-style decor is in a constant state of reinvention and varies widely across not just our nation but the world. As far as meeting the needs of a large demographic, they have a lot of competition out there - as did Oprah and many others - and that includes popular decorating blogs. If you can get your inspiration & information FREE on the Internet, why buy a magazine??? If you want to reduce your carbon footprint, reduce your use of paper - browse online and print out only what you need to.

If I had one suggestion for these now-defunct magazines, and others who worry that they'll follow suit, I'd say get busy fast to recreate a content-rich format of their websites, and keep them fresh each day - sort of a glorified/expanded blog theory. Sell ads & links, sell downloads, sell products - but keep those stories and ideas and inspiration coming to us via the Internet instead of the newsstand. Rethink what magazines are really offering us and focus on content instead of printing pages. Keep your staff employed because you can actually put more content on a website than you can in a 110 page printed publication.

Oh, and I'd also suggest that they stop selling magazine subscriptions on their websites when they decide to close down. It's disturbing and annoying to pay subscription fees, and then be informed that you will be receiving another magazine in its place.

OK, off my soapbox...

Farm Chicks Videos!

I recently received an email from Jessica Brustad, online content manager for the Gift & Home Channel, telling me that I could get the codes to display my videos! I was all over that and quickly got to work.

I've embedded the players down at the bottom of my web page at www.debiwardkennedy.com,  where you can cue up all six of my videos, which include interviews with the Farm Chicks, Tammy Gilley, Heather Bullard, Bari J., and visits to some VERY creative retail spaces at the Farm Chicks Show.

2010: The videos are now hosted online by another service provider, not GHC. I am no longer involved with or promoting GHC in any way.

Me...Fashionable?!!!!

Well, leave it to me to be so busy for a month that I miss something important!

I was just alerted by a kind visitor that my blog has been mentioned at Fashion Avenue. com, a trend review site. Here's what they had to say:

Deco Diva Debi
"Deco Diva Debi" is a blogsite featuring retails, fashion, beauty, inspirations, innovations, creative ideas, showroom makeover, seasonal display, retail news, green ideas, display tips, display ideas, books, Diva Moments, Resources and more. It also discusses very interesting topics on the product display such as window display design and more... Deco Diva Debi

Check it out: http://www.fashionavenue.com/blogmembers.asp?user=twenty

Thank You, Fashion Avenue!

A New Thing

New Year, new resolutions, right? New goals, new aspirations. New 'to do' lists. There's only one thing missing:

A New Attitude.
(Yes, actually, I DO hear the strains of Patti LaBelle in the background...)

Have you ever heard the saying "You can't keep doing the same old thing the same old way and expect a new outcome"? Think about that for a second. In an economy and environment where things change moment to moment, where technology evolves by the nanosecond, and consumer access to information and products expands exponentially each day, you just can't continue to do 'business as usual'. Because business isn't usual, it's moving at the speed of life - and life.just.keeps.speeding.up.

Do your New Years Resolutions for yourself and your business look like last years' did? Or maybe five years ago? Is the list populated with items that have appeared before? Remember - if you want a new result, you have to try a new method! Your business is not the same as it was, neither are you - nor are your customers or the lives they lead. You have to keep up.

Make item number one on your list a commitment to expand your expectations, your viewpoints, your education & understanding. Learn more about your demographic, your industry, more about trends that affect customer buying decisions, more about how to operate efficiently and source products effectively. This year, open your eyes, your mind, your heart, your arms, to embrace a new vision of success for yourself and your business. I'm not talking about wearing rose colored glasses or submitting everyone to 'Pollyanna thinking' here, but I am suggesting that you take radical action to adjust your perception of success.

We all have different needs and goals for our businesses, and shouldn't look to neighbors or competitors or forecasters to tell us if we are succeeding or not. We should have our own benchmarks. I have every intention of making a profit in business, believe me, but that is not the primary motivator for me. Never has been. My definition of success is very different than the S&P or Dunn & Bradstreet reports recognize.

My husband and I ask ourselves these questions constantly: Are we meeting the needs of our customers and suppliers? Are we enhancing their lives, and the lives of our employees? Are we contributing to our local and global community & economy? Are we making a difference in ways that are important to us? Are we excited and energized to spend the better part of each day engaged with others to make our business the best it can be? Are we exceeding our own expectations? Are we benefitting from what we are doing in the ways that we desire to benefit?

Our goal is to consistently answer 'yes' to all of the above. Helping us to do that is an outlook that espouses expectations of success on our terms, not someone else's. I encourage you to embrace the ideals of positive change in 2009. Expect a great year, and try a new thing! You might just be surprised at the result...