ORANGE STAR BLOG
Subscribe to Fresh Squeezed, essential ideas on branding, marketing and growing a small business.
Subscribe to Fresh Squeezed, essential ideas on branding, marketing and growing a small business.
10 must-have Excel skills for your bag of tricks
For many of us, Excel is a necessary evil of modern business.Me? I break every spreadsheet I use. It’s like a dark art to me, but still, I try.In order to make the most of this often-dreaded software, here are ten must-have Excel skills for your bag of tricks.I had no idea some of this was even…
The Essentialist’s Dilemma: Social Media vs. Google
92.96% of global traffic comes from Google search, Google Images, and Google Maps. (Sparktoro, via ahrefs) So then why do people spend so much time and effort on social media? For some, it may make sense. I just can’t help but come back to the core question of essentialism: Are you focusing your time, energy, and attention where it…
Confidence without Arrogance
I read something recently about how every good idea and every admirable trait can be taken too far. The first item on the list stuck with me — Confidence without Arrogance — and I’ve been thinking about that as I was struggling with procrastination in pricing a proposal.True confidence is knowing your worth without needing validation from…
Now what? How do we buy from you?
It’s no secret that creating a process for converting leads into customers is one of the most important things you can do for your business.But what’s often overlooked is how important it is to make that process clear and easy to follow.One common reason that leads don’t convert into customers is that they are unsure…
Your email signature
Have you given much thought to your email signature? If not, you should start!A professional-looking email signature can make a good impression. With a bit of creativity, it can even help you stand out.It’s easier than you might think with this free email signature generator from Hubspot. Here are the instructions.
“What was I thinking?! Why did I agree to do this?!”
We’ve all been there. Dreading something or finding yourself in the middle of it asking yourself, WHY THE #$%^ DID I AGREE TO DO THIS?!Austin Kleon shared a question he learned that helps you avoid accepting invitations you’ll later regret — “Would I do it tomorrow?”NOT: Would I do it on some theoretical day in the future? This is the crucial question: Would…
Make them feel important
“Everyone wants to feel Important. The more important you make people feel, the more they’ll value their relationship with you. The more interest you show in other people, the more important they’ll feel. Making someone feel important is not difficult, yet is rare in today’s world: pay attention, listen intently, express interest and ask questions.” ~ Excerpt…
Everyone is Creative — Make Magic
Everyone is creative, not just artists. It’s a myth that only highly intelligent people are creative. In fact, research shows that once you get beyond an I.Q. of about 120, intelligence and creativity are not at all related. This means we all have the potential to wield amazing creative power. Great work comes from a…
Think you know what makes you happy?
“‘Tis nothing good or bad but thinking makes it so.” ~ Shakespeare In this fascinating and funny TED talk, psychologist and author Dan Gilbert discusses the surprising science of happiness and how we can all learn to be happier.
Unsubscribe — a quick tip
Do you feel overwhelmed by the number of emails in your inbox? I sure do.Are you subscribed to too many newsletters and mailing lists? Yep, me too.Unsubscribing from these sources can be a huge relief.Here’s a quick tip:Open your email and do a search for the word “Unsubscribe.” This will show you every email in your inbox…