Align Your Life Purpose with Your Business for Greater Impact, Profits and Fulfillment.

I believe in the power of branding on both a personal and professional level. When your life purpose and business focus are aligned, you can create an incredibly high-impact brand that changes the lives of others while bringing you unbelievable levels of fulfillment and happiness.

Sure, you can do good work in a business that isn’t perfectly aligned… but you’re always going to feel like something is missing. You’ll feel drained at the end of the day and you’ll find yourself on a roller coaster of ups and downs, with the downs becoming more prominent. You won’t feel motivated and you won’t feel fulfilled.

When you’re in alignment, not only will you begin to produce GREAT work, but you will find yourself buzzing with raw inspiration and energy around the clock! You will LOVE your clients, marketing your business, creating content and you’ll LOVE diving into each and EVERY work day. Monday will lose all meaning and you’ll find it hard to shut down and not work all day and all night.

How to determine your purpose in life.

1) Get Clear on Your Personal Values

Our personal values clearly define what we consider to be important, meaningful and essential in our lives. If you value integrity, then you don’t believe in telling a lie of any size, you never disregard the law and you believe in being a fair, honorable person. If you value innovation, then you believe in thinking outside of the box, constantly pushing limits and high-level, creative thinking.

You need to be 100% clear on your personal values if you’re going to discover your purpose and successfully align it with your business.

Action Step ›› List out all of the words you feel best represent your personal values. Narrow down this list to 3 – 5 values that are absolutely indisputable and are, in your eyes, essential to the way you live your daily life. Some example words include integrity, timeliness, compassion, creativity, innovation, community, respect, honor, service, etc.

2) Listen to Your Inner Voice

While it does take practice, learning to listen to your inner voice and truth is not impossible. In my experience, your inner voice will speak to you about your purpose or passions in what I like to call simple truths. Simple truths are simple statements that pop into your head over and over, to which you don’t respond with rejection, disbelief or even acknowledgment.

Simple truths will start out as passing thoughts that will make you pause. The longer you ignore these truths, the more frequent they will become! They will begin to tug at your heart and cause you a great deal of distraction as they turn from small to LOUD and nagging.

If you want to find your true purpose in life, you have to learn to listen to those simple truths.

Action Step ›› Make note of the simple truths that have been popping into your head for some time. Remember that these will be things you don’t necessarily argue against or believe at the time they occur. The ones that pull at your heart are usually the most telling.

3) Get REAL and be HONEST!

For just a moment, stop worrying about what everyone else expects of you, what you think you should be doing or what makes the most sense. What do you really, REALLY want to do with your life? What do you feel CALLED to create in the world? When you envision your ideal life, what are you doing? Where are you and who are you with?

This isn’t as easy as it sounds… You may find that your answer continues to change the more you think about it. And that’s AWESOME because the more times you attempt to truthfully answer this question, the closer you’re getting to discovering your true purpose in life.

If the answer to this question doesn’t make every single cell in your body burst with excitement, emotion or intense flutters of fear and KNOWING, then you’re not there yet. And if you don’t REALLY know what it means to feel those things in every single cell of your body, then you most definitely aren’t there yet. Because when you know, YOU KNOW.

Action Step ›› Answer the question, “What do you really, REALLY want to do with your life?” until every cell in your body screams in excitement or you burst into tears of joy and relief (or fear :D). Go. And don’t wimp out on this one, it’s the most important part.

Leave a comment below and share your thoughts on this post!

Three Ways to Determine if Your Branding is Effective and You’re Reaching Your Ideal Clients

Since launching my website and refocusing my business, I’ve seen an influx of new followers on Twitter. Every day I get excited to check and see who’s started following me because I know I’m going to have the opportunity to check out some pretty awesome people doing some amazing things in the world.

I’m loving all the new people that are connecting with me because all these new followers are my ideal clients. They are people who are passionate about making a difference in the world and are actively doing so! This brings me right into today’s topic…

How to Determine if Your Branding is Effective

When you’re building a business, it’s easy to get caught up in the many parts and pieces of creating your brand… but how do you determine if your brand strategy is effective? Today I bring you three easy ways to determine if you’re effectively reaching your market.

1) You fans and followers are ideal clients.

When your ideal clients start liking your Facebook fan page, following you on Twitter and commenting on your blog posts, you know you’re doing something right! This means your content is on target, your message is clear and your professional image is in line with your values and audience.

If you find that you’re attracting the wrong group of people, then you need to determine where you’re off message and make the necessary tweaks. Are you attracting women when you really want men? Are your newest followers life coaches when you were hoping to bring in more health coaches? Take a look at the inconsistencies between your ideal clients and who is actually showing up. Shift your content, messaging and approach as needed!

2) People “get” who you are and what you do.

When your brand strategy is effective, you won’t find yourself having to explain, over and over, who you are and what you do. People that land on your site, stumble across your Twitter or Facebook or inquire about your services will have a clear understanding without further explanation on your end.

If you do find yourself constantly explaining your business or services, than you’ll need to take a closer look at your brand strategy, both visually and verbally. Does your website visually represent who you are and the services you provide? Is your content clear and on-message? Are your sales, about or other informative pages detailed or are they vague?

Get with a trusted friend or find some ideal clients that are open to letting you pick their brains. Have them read through your copy or visit your website and tell you their first impressions without any preceding information from you. Make note of the points they experience a hang-up or get confused. These are the areas that will require some reworking and may be your graphics or your content.

3) You’re converting visitors and fans into customers or subscribers!

It’s really important to note that for this to be a solid indicator of effective branding, you have to have been in business and actively marketing for longer than a few days. Your business and target market will determine the exact amount of time, but if you’re brand strategy is effective and marketing is a part of that, you should start to see visitors and fans converting into customers or subscribers! The more on target you are, the higher your conversion will be.

How to track your conversion rates is a topic for another post, but if you’re getting a relatively large volume of traffic to your site and you’re not seeing any sales or people opting into your mailing list, then something isn’t right. Do you have a clear call to action? Is your website well-organized? Is it easy for potential customers to navigate through your site? Is it visually appealing with high quality content?

If you’re not converting, your site, opt-in or store may not be compelling. You may not be giving them a reason to subscribe or explaining your products and services in an irresistible manner. It may also be disorganized without a clear hierarchy of information, causing people to bounce right off your site.

What to Do if You Think Your Brand is Ineffective

One of the easiest things to do is to have a professional brand audit such as the one I offer under my services above. You’ll have the chance to work through both a brand questionnaire as well as an ideal client exercise that will help you gain clarity around your goals and target audience. Once these things are determined, all facets of your brand strategy are reviewed to ensure that you’re in line with your values, messaging and your content is being created to attract your ideal client or customer. You’ll receive a clear plan of action that ensures you’ll start seeing results in no time!

Additionally, you can ask trusted friends and family members to look through your website or materials and get their initial reactions and interpretations. Sometimes as entrepreneurs we just spend too much time with our businesses and we can’t see things the way the majority of people do. Getting a fresh set of eyes can make an enormous impact on the effectiveness of your brand.

Lastly, track down some ideal clients that you know or that friends and family can connect you with. Have them take a look through your materials and get a feel for how it sits for them. You can also talk with them about their needs, ideal solutions and what sorts of things they’re looking for from a business like yours. This will give you unparalleled insight to then revamp your brand strategy going forward.

Take action now and leave a comment below with your thoughts!

Have a question about branding that you’d like answered? Leave a comment or contact me!

Are You Inadvertently Undermining Your Business Success by Undervaluing Branding?

You’re on a mission to make a difference in the world, and in order to do that, it’s important that you understand and truly value branding. Creating a strong brand is one of the most essential steps in the process of building a successful, high-impact business. Branding shapes your customer’s perception and experience while allowing you to ensure trust through an emotional connection. It differentiates you from other “flash in the pan” type businesses and builds a loyal following, which will only increase your impact.

More importantly, it helps get your message out there loud and clear.

When you’re trying to make a difference in the lives of individuals who are constantly being bombarded with messaging on a daily basis, you want to be sure to get yours right the first time. You want to be clear about who you are, what you offer and the difference you’re able to make in their lives.

Why you need to value AND invest in your brand.

For the most part, you understand the importance of having a website and probably even a logo. You know that you’ll need marketing materials like an ebook, an email template for your mailing list or maybe even some printed pieces. However, if you’re not willing to invest in working with someone who really understands what branding is and how to effectively apply it’s principles to YOUR marketing materials, online presence or other touchpoints, you’re going to fall short.

There are a million and one designers out there and I’m almost positive you know a friend of a friend who has a cousin that “does design.” Branding and designers do not always go hand in hand. And furthermore, just because someone may know how to operate design software and maybe even make things look pretty, does NOT mean they understand branding, marketing or even design. When you work with a web or graphic designer that truly understands branding, you’re not only ensured to have a beautiful and strategic presence, you’re working with someone who also instinctively understands and values marketing. Things don’t just look pretty… they are strategically designed and placed in way that directly increases your bottom line.

I’m not about to tell you that you have to drop thousands and thousands of dollars to create a brand, because the truth is you don’t. But if you’re only looking to spend $150 for a logo and website done by this friend of a friend’s cousin, you’re not only cheating yourself, but you’re cheating your customers and you’re not going to make the impact that you want.

No matter what budget you have to spend, make sure you’re investing that money into someone who not only gets branding, but gets what you’re all about and what you’re trying to create. Branding is all about starting with a solid foundation. If that means you only have a small amount to spend, by spending it with the right person, you know you’re getting a solid foundation from which you can easily evolve your brand over time.

Good design ≠ Good branding.

Yes, I said it. Good branding is not defined by good design. Great branding is defined by a solid understanding of the values, mission and focus of YOUR company and how to communicate that with YOUR ideal market. Communication includes your visual presence online and off, yes, but is NOT defined by it. If you make the mistake of throwing your time and money at the cheapest “friend” you can find, you’re going to wind up spending more in the long run. You’re going to have to invest a heck of a lot more in redefining and redesigning yourself in order to grow and stay in business.

Great branding, design and marketing costs money.

I’m getting real with you. Great branding, beautiful design that communicates and a marketing strategy that works COSTS MONEY. By not valuing branding, you are undermining your success as a business. You may be able to limp along as one of the lucky ones with an okay website and strategy, especially if you have an amazing product or service, but wouldn’t it be awesome if you could see instant results and impact right off the bat? Great branding positions you as a leader in your market, which in turn gains instant loyalty and trust.

You’re awesome and you’re out to make an amazing difference in the lives of others. By investing in yourself and your business, you’re guaranteed to make that impact. Get serious about your business and treat it as professionally as possible right from the start.

Three Steps You Need to Take RIGHT NOW to Build a Lasting, Effective and Successful Brand

Consider this your Branding 101 overview of the three important steps involved in creating a lasting, effective and successful brand. These are the first three things every entrepreneur needs to consider before moving forward with their business. Keep in mind that your brand is a representation of you and the heart of what you’re doing. Both of these things will evolve and shift over time. It’s important to revisit these items every 6 – 12 months to ensure that you’re staying true to yourself and to your cause.

Step One: Define Your Core Values

The most important step in creating a brand that effectively communicates with your target market is to define your core values. Core values are created by taking an honest look at your product, service and customer experience as well as narrowing down the defining elements of your business. Your core values are the values which are absolutely indisputable and are found in all touchpoints of your business, from the product or service you provide, to how you communicate with your customers and clients.

Here are some questions to ask yourself:

• Does your product or service have points of differentiation from competitors? Take a look at what you’re offering in comparison to what your top competitors offer. What is unique about your product or service that sets it apart from all other products or services in the market?

• Why should your target audience be interested in your product or service? What needs are you meeting through providing your customers and clientele this product or service? Why would a prospect choose to work with you over your competition?

• As a company, service provider or product manufacturer, what are you passionate about? Passion is a great clue into what your core values may be. Passion creates an emotional connection for your customer and transcends any marketing or advertising that you could possibly put in front of them. What are you passionate about providing, creating or offering?

Here are some action steps to help you further define your values from your answers:

1. Create a list of values. Some examples include integrity, creativity, innovation, customer service, community, growth, technology, efficiency, timeliness, value, affordability, quality, philanthropy or simplicity. Take your time and list out everything that comes to mind.
2. Narrow down to 3 – 4 core values. Too few values will create a flat and boring brand while too many will create a confusing and diluted message. Select the values that are absolutely indisputable and are, in your eyes, essential to the way you conduct your business.
3. Refer to them OFTEN. Once you’ve narrowed your list down, place these values on a post-it note near your computer or desk. Be sure to reference these values every time you’re about to hire someone, partner with a vendor or create a new product or service.

Step Two: Get Clear on Your Vision or Mission

If you’re not clear on where you’re going or what you’re looking to create, you wont be able to build a solid foundation for your brand or your business. Once you’ve gotten clear on your core values, you’ll be able to craft a core message, also known widely as your mission statement. A mission statement can be internal or external facing statement which sums up the focus and direction of your business while taking into account your values, products, services and customer experience.

Here are some things to consider when crafting your mission statement:

• Who you are: Why are you in business? Based on your core values, what is the primary image of the company that you want to portray? What are your philosophies and what do you believe in?

• What you do: What solution are you providing for your ideal customer? Going above and beyond that, how do you provide this solution better than your competitors? What is unique or extraordinary about how you provide this solution?

• Who you do it for: Who is your ideal customer or client? What sets them apart from the millions of other consumers out there? What do you do to create an outstanding customer experience?

These are just some thought starters to get you going in the right direction. Once you’ve taken some time to think about your answers, use the following action steps to start crafting your mission statement:

1. Take your time. Mission statements take time and often require many revisions.
2. Brainstorm and play with wording. Take several passes at jotting down your mission statement taking into account the factors above. Who you are, what you do and who you do it for. Mission statements can be one to two sentences in length and should be clear but concise. Once you’ve gotten a few passes down, work to polish your message and play with words that add excitement.
3. Capture the essence. You don’t have to say everything in your mission statement. Aim to create a statement that captures the essence of your business and your brand.

Step Three: Create Consistency

Once you’ve created a list of core values and a compelling mission statement, it’s time to create consistency across all facets of your business. This is a great time to take an audit of your brand and look at what you’re doing in comparison to the mission you’ve just crafted. Are you in line with your values? Are there areas with room for improvement or overhaul? What can you add to your business that will further reinforce your values and set you on the path to fulfilling your vision?

Once you’ve taken action on the steps above, leave me a comment letting me know what your values and mission statement are! I would love to hear what you come up with. :)

What Do Profitable Entrepreneurs, Enormous Impact and Beautiful Brands Have in Common?

Look no further, the answer to that question would be ME.

First off, I’m super excited to welcome you to my brand new website focused around turning passionate individuals, like yourself, into profitable, cause-driven entrepreneurs! I do this through brand strategy, marketing, planning, design and loads of free, high-value, inspirational and educational content!

What’s a Cause-Driven Entrepreneur?

An entrepreneur that bridges business, passion and cause
in a way that benefits their business, their market & the world.

Chances are you’re passionate about one particular problem or a very specific area of concern in our world. I admire that dedication and want nothing more than to support you in your efforts to make a significant impact. Instead of dedicating myself and services to one single cause, I choose to channel my passion, talents and expertise into helping YOU create a profitable, high-impact, well-branded and fulfilling business.

So, who the heck am I anyways?

My name is Stephenie Zamora and I’m a passionate, cause-driven entrepreneur myself. I’ve spent almost a decade of my life doing graphic design, web design and branding work for various agencies, small firms, freelance clients and my own companies. Despite the impressive titles, amazing mentors and diverse client projects, I was never satisfied with my life as a designer and employee. Deep down, I knew that I was given my view of the world, passion for making a difference and talents for a reason. That reason is to serve the greater good through supporting entrepreneurs like yourself in making the largest impact you can around the cause you’re so passionate about.

Let’s not get hung up on the word “cause,” okay?

Being cause-driven does not limit you to a life in desperate search of funding and donations or mean you have to become the next Mother Theresa. It simply means that you’re passionate about solving a problem in the world and creating a better quality of life for your clients and customers. You may be a coach, writer, blogger, inventor, artist or just a passionate person with a big vision and no idea where to start. Your ideal customer, client, market or niche has a problem and you have a solution. You’re socially and environmentally conscious and you believe in doing what’s best for everyone involved.

Let’s get one thing clear, being cause-driven, does NOT mean that you can’t also be a wildly successful and profitable entrepreneur. Far from it! In fact, being a passionate, genuinely concerned and inspired individual means that you’re already set up for amazing things. You’ve already got everything you need to not only create solutions and change in our world, but to make gobs of money while you’re at it. This blog was created to help you navigate everything else you need to know, including building your brand, marketing your solution and creating the success you’ve been dreaming of.

Lastly, I have a gift created especially for you!

In honor of the site launch, I’ve create a free guide called The 3 Big Mistakes Passionate Entrepreneurs Make While Trying to Change the World & How to Avoid Them! These are three of many common pitfalls that even the most knowledgeable and “expert” entrepreneurs have made and continue to make. When paired with a cause-focused business, these mistakes can be devastating and I simply can’t have that.

You, my friend, are meant for great things and this guide is designed to help you avoid the three biggest mistakes you’ll likely make as a passionate entrepreneur. Use the sign-up form below and get instant access to this valuable guide! Also for signing up, you’ll receive my Tuesday Touchpoints newsletter with tips on how to make huge profits while making an enormous impact!

Take a moment to check out my most recent case studies, my fabulous services and more about me!

More importantly, leave a comment below letting me know who you are, what you’re up to and what questions you have about branding, marketing or growing your cause-focused business!