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.
If you don’t know what to do
“If you don’t know what to do, you look around and see what everyone else is doing and don’t do that.” ~ Dan Kennedy, Magnetic MarketingIt’s a simple rule, but it can be hard to follow. We’re social creatures, and we want to fit in. We want to be like everyone else.But following the crowd is often…
The intersection of Hard Work and Inspiration
“Out of about 300 songs John & I wrote together, we never had a dry session. We’d always come in and we never went away from the session going, (sigh) couldn’t get it today. We always finished a song. Which is pretty remarkable.” – Paul McCartneyAuthor Steven Pressfield calls this the intersection of Hard Work and Inspiration. “Diligence produces…
Perfectly present
It isn’t about being perfect. It is about being present.So often we get caught up in the idea of doing things perfectly that we never take any action at all. We overthink things, and as a result, nothing ever gets done.You need to show up and do the work, even if it isn’t perfect. Consistent…
If the competition is doing it, it must be successful, right?
Small businesses have a tough time when it comes to marketing.It’s easy to get caught up in what your competition is doing. After all, if they’re doing it, it must be successful, right? Wrong.Just because your competition is doing something doesn’t mean it’s successful. In fact, copying your competition can often lead to disaster for…
Things don’t have to be hard to be valuable
It does not have to be hard (unless you say it does). You can like what you do and have fun doing it.Seems stunningly obvious when you see it in print, but how often do we make things harder than they need to be?I strive to provide elegantly simple solutions to complex problems… Yet sometimes…
Good Conversations
Most of us don’t converse very well. We listen with the intent to reply, not to understand. A great conversation requires a balance between talking and listening. This balance is important because bad communication leads to bad relationships, at home, at work, everywhere.In this engaging TED talk, professional interviewer, NPR reporter, host and correspondent Celeste…
Revenue is not the only way to keep score
One of the things I love about being an entrepreneur is that there are so many ways to measure success. Revenue is not the only way to keep score. Profit can also be measured in time, energy, and money. What do you value more? Is it more freedom? Time with your family? Financial security? The…
Paul Simon on Inspiration
All new ideas are just a combination of preexisting ideas.So where do you find these preexisting ideas?Everywhere! Inspiration is all around us, we just need to be open to it. Appropriate and recombine — Steal Like an Artist. We can be inspired by anywhere and anything — our subconscious influences and inspiration from unexpected places can…
Remembering what you learn
There is a concept known as The Learning Pyramid and apparently learners retain approximately: 90% of what they learn when they teach someone else/use immediately. 75% of what they learn when they practice what they learned. 50% of what they learn when engaged in a group discussion. 30% of what they learn when they see a demonstration….
Celebrate 🎉 the wins
I had a pretty good week. How about you? The last couple of years hasn’t given us much to celebrate. So let’s each celebrate one thing that happened this week that went well. Me? I signed a new client — a referral from another client who was referred by yet another. 😊 OK, now it’s…
