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Building a foundation for your business

Branding. It’s the foundation of your business. It’s the way your customers perceive your business and more importantly, how they perceive YOU. 

Everything from your website, logo, and the work you produce, to your personality, customer service, and mission, is a part of your brand. Without it, you have no direction – nothing to build off of. 

Why branding? 

Identity. It’s as simple as that. You have to know who you are, what you stand for, and what you will bring to the table if you expect to bring people in your doors (or to your website). Once you know, others will know and they will start to recognize it. 

Uniqueness. Set yourself apart from others! You are the only one who can do what you’re doing the way you do it. Whether you’re running a photography business (in the day and age where seemingly everyone seems to be doing it) and want people to know why they should choose you or you’re an underwater basket weaver (trust me you’re gonna need to be “branded” for that too!) the point is that you are YOUnique. Is that cheesy? Oh well, it’s true! So why not have a brand that represents that? 

Direction. A brand is truly a road map of sorts. Be intentional and set clear goals for who you are, what you stand for and how you plan to achieve that. Consistency is key and it helps you and/or your employees gain better insight to provide the best service and let your customers know what to expect. 

*Bonus points if you know what all three of these equal? Answer: Shared Values

That’s right, it all brings us back to those good ole things called values. It’s a part of your -wait for it – BRAND. 

Say it louder Leona! Our community partner Leona Morelock knows all about this. 

“You don’t just buy the product, you buy the person.” 

What does that mean? It’s about more than what you offer, it’s about what you stand for and what you’re representing. Make connections with your audience. Be that person that people choose time and time again. Be that business that is picked out of a lineup. 

 

Example

So let’s put this into perspective for ya: At Ment, you are not just buying office space. Yes – that’s what brought you through the doors, but you are also buying an experience, a community, peace of mind so to speak. You are entering a space where you are not just a customer but a member. Your coming into a place of collaboration and support. 

A place that gives you the freedom to choose the option best fit for you to work and give you the resources to succeed. I know, I know, it didn’t say all of that on your member sign-up form but to be honest, we probably wouldn’t be able to fit everything on there if we told you all about us.

Our story: Let’s just say we knew it was ‘Ment to be’ from the start. 

If you think you don’t have a brand, think again. Chances are you’ve already been asked (and answered the question) time and time again. When someone says “tell me about yourself” or “what is your business?” they might as well be saying “Describe your brand to me.” 

You already know who you are – now go show it to everyone else! 

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Setting Goals for Success

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Setting goals is an imperative part of the process of becoming successful. However, it is important to note that not all goals are created equal. Setting goals that will end in success is one of the most important things you can do in your career. How you set your goals is just as important as the goals themselves. These tips can help you re-evaluate your goal-setting process as well as get you on the fast track to success. 

  1. Ask yourself why?

Ask yourself why you are setting this goal. Truly understand what you want to get out of it and why it matters so much to you. A common business goal is to make more money. Of course, everyone would probably want to make more money. Analyze why you want more money. Is it because you want all the things money can buy or because it will make you look better in the eyes of people you admire? Will more money make you feel more financially secure or to be recognized for the work you do? 

  1. Believe in yourself. 

Believe you can accomplish what you’re setting out to do. A lot of what holds us back from doing really amazing things in life is our mind. I know it is hard, but learn to silence the noise in your head telling you that you can’t accomplish your dreams. You can do anything you set your mind to! 

  1. Visualize where you want to be. 

This goes hand in hand with believing you can do whatever you set your mind to. Visualize yourself where you want to be in five, ten, twenty years. Where do you see yourself? Place yourself in the roles you want to be in. What does your life look like and what is required of you to get there? The clearer your visions are, the easier it is to accomplish them. 

  1. Write them down.

For me, it helps to get anything big that is floating around in my head out and onto something more tangible, whether that is on an actual piece of paper or a word document on your laptop. Being able to visually see your goals rather than have them in and out of your brain will help you better stick to them. 

  1. Get going. 

You have to start somewhere. Start small and work up to your goals one day at a time. Build up from the small to medium, to large goals as time goes on.  It is hard to understand the big picture when we’re focused on the meticulous details and vice versa, if we are only focused on the large scale, you can be left in the dust of your dreams. According to Forbes, “Knowing the ultimate goal, the middle steps, and the micro steps needed each day completes the picture.”

  1. Hold yourself accountable. 

Every so often, go back to the goals you wrote down and hold yourself up to them. Have you been on track or are you slipping behind? Set a grade for yourself and then vow to get better if you feel as though you need to step it up. Reviewing your goals keep them fresh in your mind and allows you to re-assess them as time goes on. Maybe you have accomplished one and you can cross it off or your realize one needs to be reworked. 

These tips will allow you to set attainable goals for yourself, and by practicing them, will help you achieve them successfully. I know it isn’t always easy and you may want to hang in the towel once in a while, but refer back to these tips and stay focused on the goals you have set. You will be amazed at what you can accomplish. 

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Failing Forward

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Some amazing things have been created through what seems like “failure”: chocolate chip cookies, Penicillin, microwaves, fireworks, and more. Steve Jobs was fired from Apple, The Beatles were rejected by their first record label, and even more successful people have been knocked down a few times. 

Call it what you want—I am going to call it failing forward—it happens to the best of us, maybe when we least expect it to. It is bound to happen in any setting, but it could not be worse at work. You might have had a big presentation and completely bombed it, or a meeting did not go your way, or you overslept and missed a meeting with a potential client. Whatever the case may be, it happens to the best of us. 

Failing forward at work, school, in life, happens. While it is unavoidable, it is important to not let mistakes consume you. Big or small, it can affect our day to day lives. However, with the right mindset and attitude, you can turn a misstep into a success in the blink of an eye. 

  1. Own up to it. 

While it may be hard to take the blame for something that goes wrong, it will help you in the long run to be honest about your mistakes. Don’t provide endless excuses or cast the blame on another employee. Explain the scenarios of what went wrong, ensure it will not happen again, and figure out how to move forward. 

  1. Figure out your next course of action. 

After a mistake happens, it is hard to bounce back sometimes. Find a solution to your mistake and fix the problem at hand. Make things right. This is what failing forward is all about!

  1. Shift your mindset. 

I know, personally, when I mess up, I feel like that is all I am capable of from then on. If you fail once, it doesn’t mean you are going to continue to fail. Find something you know you are good at and focus on it for a little bit while you manage to get your groove back.

  1. Find the good. 

If you look closely, there is a silver lining in just about everything, especially your failures. There is a lesson buried in there: a way to grow. Find it and hold on tight; let it motivate you!  

  1. Take on your next big project—and succeed. 

I know it may be hard to get back on the horse, but when you do and you excel, you will feel even better. Make sure you really put the work into it to come out on the other side successful. Your “failure” will soon fade into memory. 

  1. You aren’t alone. 

You may feel like you are the only one going through a workplace mistake. That couldn’t be further from the truth! I would just about guarantee that most of your coworkers have made one mistake or another at their job, and if they haven’t, they aren’t learning. 

Don’t go out looking to make mistakes, but know when they inevitably occur, know that you can take them and grow from them. Take these tips into consideration when you feel down and out after failing forward at work, and you might just create the next greatest thing! 

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Why You Need More Vitamin N

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It’s no secret we live in a society where we are always indoors. Most people will leave their homes to drive to where they work (most likely inside) and then back home. A recent study has shown that humans will spend 93 percent of their time indoors. There is also a shift to living in big cities that have limited access to natural surroundings. There are countless other studies conducted about the benefits that nature can have on our health and well-being. 

There is just something so rejuvenating about spending time outside, whether that is in a forest surrounded by towering trees or on the coast with the waves hitting your toes. Spending time connected to nature grounds us and helps us see the magnitude of the world around us. I am sure that you have noticed this phenomenon, especially during the summer months when you are outside more or even on vacation. 

Author Richard Louv questions what he calls “nature-deficit disorder,” which is an alienation from nature altogether. He poses the question in his book Last Child in the Woods, “What could our lives and our children’s lives be like if our days and nights were as immersed in nature as they are in technology?” 

What can cause us to fall into nature-deficit disorder? That’s not an easy answer. The rise and continuation of technology in our everyday lives, urbanization, and fear of the unknown can all be traced to having an effect on why we are spending much more time indoors rather than out experiencing nature. Louv states that prolonged alienation from natural surroundings can have deep affects on our mental and physical states, especially in our children. Research has shown that spending more time connected to nature can help with depression, obesity, ADD, and can stimulate creativity. 

In his most recent book, Louv has come up with a solution for nature-deficit disorder: Vitamin N. This book details specific activities on how to connect more with the natural world around you. Louv also cofounded Children and Nature Network (C&NN,) which is an organization determined to get children and families outside. Through this nonprofit’s website, you can take a pledge to finding Vitamin N and offers support, tips, and more. 

It might not be practical to drop everything in your life and go live in the woods forever, but there are lots of ways to implement some Vitamin N into your daily life. Enter: biophilic design. If you have been around on our blog for a while, you might have heard us talk about this. It is about integrating nature into your already present environment. It is so much more than just putting a succulent on your desk—do that if you want, though! Biophilic design takes into account the whole space, whether that is your home, your office, or wherever you spend your time. 

Pieces that can be considered biophilic design are plants, water, natural light, even natural air flow. Ment was created with a biophilic design in mind. We have a little green in every room of our space, a huge skylight in the coworking lounge and more. However, your place of work doesn’t have to do the design for you, you can do it yourself. Open the blinds or the windows  in your office. Place some plants everywhere. Your eyes will shift to the green leaves and put you at peace. Buy some nature-inspired art to hang around. The best tip of all would be get outside! Take your lunch out on a bench, meet with clients at a restaurant with outdoor setting, or just go for a walk on your break. 

Our nature-deficit disorder that we might face may not be totally curable in an instant. It is something we have to work on every day. Taking into account the words of Richard Louv, begin to implement some of his tips into creating a life that is more green. 

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Getting Paid to Travel

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There is such a craze around the idea of getting paid to travel. We get it, the Monday – Friday 9 to 5 jobs are not for everyone. “Location Independent Nomads” could possibly be one of my favorite titles and who knows, it could be your next one. However, if you’re not too into the digital ways of work, CNBC released an article last summer on the best travel jobs that pay six figures and they are careers any one of us could be working towards. Taking it a step further, I decided to go on a job hunt for you by using Simply Hired. Here are a few to get you started. Click on the job titles to start applying today and shout us out when you’re a successfully employed traveler!

1.  Airline Pilot Average salary: $137,330

Hotel accommodations? Check. Transportation to the airport? Check. An allowance for meals? Got it! Any other expense incurred while “on the clock” don’t worry about it. The airline you work for will have that covered as well. Not only do you get to get paid to travel, you get compensated when you arrive at your destination. Sounds like a pretty nice deal to us.

2. Cruise Ship Director Average salary: $136,000

Let’s make like a Tom and cruise. Plug in a few nautical terms to your vocabulary and place the hat upon your head because your future out to sea is underway. If you find your skillset to be in planning, events and having fun, this could be the job for you. The cruise director takes charge of activities, entertainment, recreations and events for all ages of a cruise ship, for both kids and adults, whether it’s games and scavenger hunts or happy hours and themed nightclub events.

3. Creative or Art Director Average salary: $133,000

Let’s make like a Tom and cruise, again? Creative or Art Directors have the job of determining the overall vision, working with designers, artists, copywriters and marketers when a new location (or ship) in built within the company. Hotels, cruise ships, airlines, bus companies and more all need creative and art directors. Do you have the eye for this type of job? Aye Aye captain!

4. Travel Publicist Average salary: $116,000

Are you the type who makes best friends with fellow hotel guests while on vacation? You may just have a future in PR. As a travel publicist, you could be working for a hotel (or hotel chain), cruise line, airline or with an agency that represents travel-related clients. Most travel publicists are required to travel for their job to pitch new clients, familiarize themselves with properties they represent, take journalists on press trips or to participate travel trade shows and conferences. This sounds like a dream!

Others listed are Director of Sales ($108,737),  Hotel Manager ($105,000), Luxury Travel Advisor ($100,000), all easily attainable and ready to put you on the map. Where will you go next?

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