Until last year I had never heard of LeBron James, the basketball superstar who just made front page news by choosing to go with the Miami Heat. His name first came up when I was driving up the California coast with my coaching co-leader Brad Isaacs who described his deep attachment, awe and enthusiasm for this basketball star. Need I tell you that although Brad now lives and works in California, he hales from Ohio, where LeBron has been playing and winning since he began his career. Having a superstar from your home state has a huge impact, which Brad made abundantly clear.
When I was growing up on Easton Avenue in White Plains, NY, my mother referred admiringly to the smart girl across the street: Jane Levy. “Jane Levy goes to Mount Holyoke College.” That admiration was not lost on me. When it came to looking at schools, Mount Holyoke was on my list. I enrolled there three years later.
What do these two anecdotes have in common? And what does this have to do with being an entrepreneur?
I heard one person whose opinion I value talk about something he was passionate about, and I remembered it, even though I’m not interested in the NBA. I paid attention because Brad told me, I heard him, and made a connection. I’ll call him today to acknowledge his pain.
Although my mother wasn’t passionate about Jane Levy or Mount Holyoke College per se, what she admired in someone, what she held in high esteem, was important to me.
The advertising industry is based upon creating these powerful associations in us consumers. As entrepreneurs, the brand experience we craft is one we hope will be passed on by our satisfied clients and customers. Social media have underscored how influential word-of-mouth (or word-of-mouse, as I’ve recently heard it called) is.
These two stories make that connection for me again today. When someone I value speaks with enthusiasm, I take it in and use that information when the time is right. As a business owner, I want to create the kind of experience, success and devotion that clients enthusiastically pass on.
I was fascinated reading your post. I left france at 17 to become an entrepreneur in America….my dream…it took me a while but i finally did it and loved every hard, scary, but so rewarding aspect of it. then everything crashed down, the Euro went through the roof(I imported 80% of my goods), I lost 80% of my clientele with the crash of wall street within 6 months..while having just sent 2 kids in very expensive colleges and financially taking care of my aging parents in France….What saved me? In this case not just the hard work, but the brand I had built around customer service and client relations. We started email blasts, calling clients., calling the press since I had no budget for advertising. I decided to make a drastic brand decision, moved the showroom to a very high end location in New York, laid off an employee (also good friend) whose negativity was affecting the staff and spent the last of my budget on working with a business/life coach to look at my brand, my products and services and help me focus on the positive and develop a branding strategy….it is not a smooth task as the staff is not embracing the process….i guess people are scared of changes and scared of their own fear. Am I feeling safe…no, but starting to replenish the lines of credit, am I scared…no, I actually embrace the challenging work that i am doing with our consultant.
I admire what you do, as in your work, you open men and women to part of their chore and help them be aware of their own creativity and strength.
I am on my way to get your book and make sure that everyone in my office reads it.
@Francine
What a pleasure to meet you through your comment! Thank you.
Jane