Eat anything & still lose fat?????? You're kidding!

NO this is not about only 'feelgood', it is in fact all about being in GREAT health - I am saving $ on unnecessary supplements & doctors bills PLUS having more energy too! How can you beat THAT!

Alex was working with ppl on how to manage their weight - all part of personal branding. He asked for my help because they were developing cravings from skipping chocolates and other faves.  That is BAD news! You know that cravings lead to binging, don't you? And more calories :(

The good news came from a course in nutrition he and I had completed.  We knew that its not about skipping any food at all, but merely about balancing what we eat and when, so that we are healthy & energetic without being bored with our food.  Works well for me :) !!!   I happen to like chocolates & ice-cream and work often places me amidst lavish buffets, but after learning THE balance, my friends remark how much trimmer I look.  That's nice!  And, my stamina has improved too and I hold my own very comfortably through looooong days with ppl much younger who hehehe show signs of wilting :0

So what's the secret then? Its to eat and drink MORE! No kidding! You see, eating less only puts your body into survival mode and it stores fat. That's why those who eat many small meals burn calories faster.  There are other ways of increasing your metabolism too, like starting a meal with high fibre to get the system started.  More importantly, its about eating the right proportions of what you like, and drinking more water too to stay hydrated. So eat and drink MORE often, in the right proportions.

If you have no major illness and want to lose fat and build muscle naturally - no need for workouts - just call me at 6-03-21697704 or email evelyn@atheneumgroup.net. and I'll be happy to share details.

IMPROVING YOUR PERSONAL BRAND WILL IMPROVE YOUR OVERALL PROFITABILITY!

Profit from Feedback!

Did you hear about when a group of senior marketers grouped in a kiddies playroom and delightfully messed around with crayons and other play-stuff?  LOL, yeah?  Well, what they were doing was to get to the actual experience of the kids using their products!

Just like when I described a very interesting, award-winning invention for personal safety to a middle-aged Mum.  "Hmmmmm" she said "what if the teen forgets to adjust the mechanism and it goes off falsely alerting parents and friends?"  GOOD point! And then she went on to suggest how to tweak the gadget.

Really, really, however great a product or service may be in its design, only when it is in the hands of the end-user does its true practicality show! And you know what? That goes for services too!  Yonks ago a regional company wanted to get feedback from its Heads of Departments and requested a facilitation session with a difference.  The venue was to be luxurious; the room was to be large, spacious and comfortable so that they could lounge around on day couches to the strains of evocative music or even stroll around in the gardens outside - all this to induce their creative juices into identifying which company-type to acquire so that they could expand!  Now, did you see THAT coming?  It was one of the more interesting sessions I have facilitated, and at the end of the day VOILA! the profile of their ideal company to buy over, surfaced. :)

So, whether you are selling a product or service, are big or small, getting honest feedback from your paying customers can actually increase your profits.  Sure, those standard survey forms help, but you can do even better by getting candid comments about how to get more sales.  Want some suggestions about HOW? Call me at 6-03-21697704 or email evelyn@atheneumgroup.net.

BRING ME THE BRAND AND I'LL INCREASE ITS PROFITS!

Brand Alignment Streamlines Profits

A mini crisis had erupted!!!  Well, that's how I got called in to a situation: a very successful organization which enjoyed a positive image was growing its services very well.  They attracted many sponsors and donors and were really doing extremely well.  So, what had gone wrong then?

Alarmed by the cry of the Chief Executive, a well-wisher arranged for me to meet the Management Team and to tour their premises to get an overview of their operations.  WOW! Impressive! That was my opinion of their projects and their people too. Then it was time to meet the bosses, who wanted to build their Brand and take it to the next level. Their records were detailed and they had good resources in place too.  Looked good but ................  hmmmmmm. Some questions, probing, suggestions, then BINGO!

True, all there sources and evidence of results were there, so why was the Chief Executive unable to cope?  You know, some things are difficult for an insider to spot from being too close to the operations - sound familiar? It might take an objective eye to spot what's missing.  In this case, they weren't joining the dots - their Brand Alignment was ummm misaligned, and so their message and deliverables were fragmented, leading to frequent brushes with chaos.  In fact their resources were not being utilized well and so operations were lop-sided.  Now, this can be quite dangerous to an organization and might cause it to collapse if not addressed in time.  How so? In this case, the resource (mis)mangement was draining profitability instead of adding to it.  What could also happen is that job functions might not be accomplished if there is much overlapping.

So, I drew them an outline of a message strategy which would collate their resources properly, with room for cross-functions too.  That meant no one needed to be in a position of being unable to cope.

Do you know of someone who has what it takes to fun their business but is somehow finding that things aren't quite coming together as anticipated?  Tell them I could give them a quick assessment of how they could be more profitable by streamlining their operations, and invite them to contact me?  They could phone 6-03-21697704 or email evelyn@atheneumgroup.net.

BRING ME THE BRAND AND I'LL INCREASE ITS PROFITS!

Brand Names affect Profits!

"What a well-spoken man" I thought, as I was introduced to a dynamic mid-career professional. He and his family were visiting his parents.  It was a familiar story - they had sent him to study in another country, where he excelled and so settled down there to bring the best he could offer to the world.

Okay!  So you're asking what this has to do with branding?  Well, although this man was well-spoken and a high achiever, he initially had found it very difficult to get a job.  He was literally tearing his hair out in frustration! Then someone who had received his resume called him for an interview.  Wowee! A breakthrough - and a revealing one too, as it happened.  The interviewer said "It is so nice to know that you speak good English; because of your name I wasn't sure and it is important to my business that my staff speak well". Yes, personal brands do affect company brands, don't they?

So, guess what happened?  From that day on Harinder became known as Harry and his career path rocketed in tandem with his abilities!  Sorry Shakespeare but this doesn't always hold true: "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet" (from Romeo and Juliet).

This is a phenomenan known as Brand Dissonance i.e. when the image doesn't match the delivery and it could happen in any part of a company's chain of the delivery of its products or services.  Is your Brand aligned well, in terms of image and delivery?

Actually its quite hard to beobjective about something that we are close to, and it helps to get an objective opinion from a third party as to whether we are projecting a profitable image.  If you'd like my help in this area just call 603-21697704 or email evelyn@atheneumgroup.net and we could chat about what you have in mind?

BRING ME THE BRAND AND I'LL INCREASE ITS PROFITABILITY! 

Product Placement can boost profits while reducing costs

Hmmmm. Kinda empty.  Business was slow because of the holidays.  The owner of the hair salon plonked himself down in the chair next to me to chat - he'd just taken the place over and had become its sole owner instead of a partner and came more often now, intent on boosting his business.

The tv show? At Owner's greeting I recoiled at the memory of poor support from a penny-pinching producer which had me doing my own hair - without any tools! Aaargh! You know what?  After that particular shoot I decided I was going to have to budget for my own assistant in future. Sigh :(

On Owner's mind were ideas for re-vamping the salon and we chatted about how to effect visual changes inexpensively.  The staff and he are service-oriented so I'm a regular there - they are lovely and always warm and friendly.  Nice!  All that was needed was some visual branding and pricing strategies to attract new customers to his salon.  Boy were we having fun tossing ideas around!

Then BINGO! We hit on Product Placement ie using his salon's services and crediting them, on my next series. Less expense, improved Brand Reach for him, and an on-site hairdresser for me. Cool!!!

What about YOU? Whom do you know who can showcase your business in win-win ways?  By arranging to cover costs in exchange for services, you could save yourself some $ expenditure while earning a very credible advertising channel.  Want ideas for how this can apply to your business?  Just call me at 6-03-21697704 or email evelyn@atheneumgroup.net.

BRING ME THE BRAND AND I'LL INCREASE ITS PROFITS!

Would you invest $ in a non-brand?!!!!!!

WOWEE!  The price of gold and silver has leapt by leaps and bounds in just a decade!  And naturally ppl want to know more - especially as inflation creeps up and financial systems lose their lustre.  My associates certainly wanted information on how, where, pay-offs, assurances etc. and invited a some reps to make presentations.

The facts they presented were fascinating and backed by search engines (yeah, grin).  And they brought gleaming samples that attractively winked wickedly too! Quite tempting.  But, but, ...................  questions remained.  What brought those on?  Quite simply, it had to do with facets of their presentations:

One came dressed shoddily (representing precious metals?) and seemed put off by the incisive questions, another represented a well known company but lacked confidence about the products, and yet another had no business card, office or company bank account!!!!!!!

Ahem! What can I say?  Did they really expect investors to part with large sums without presenting some credentials and projecting credibility?  The answer would seem to be obvious yet there are some who just haven't yet made the connection.  Serious customers want to know what checks and balances they can rely on to protect their investments, and personal guarantees alone simply aren't enough.  Almost anything can be faked after all -even gold, its been found!

Do you know someone who has a great product or service, but would make more sales if they took a bit of time to cultivate their personal brand image to reflect the essence of their Brand?  I'd be delighted to help them to become more profitable in shorter durations.  Just have them call me at 603-21697704 or email evelyn@atheneumgroup.net.

BRING ME THE BRAND AND I'LL INCREASE ITS PROFITS!

Great credentials! Good service! What else?

Financial freedom! Ah! How technology has made that so very much more achievable!  The super thing is, many jobs can now be accomplished from home and this is SO good, especially for those with dependants. And so it was with Ms. Accountant:  her marriage had ended and she had to care for 2 pre-schoolers plus put food on the table.  Her ex-husband?  Weeeeell, let's not even go there :(

Ms. Accountant called to ask if I knew of any Accounting firms which need outsourced help; her professional credentials and testimonials were excellent.  She had the skills and the time to do the work from home and needed only the opportunity.  The fly in the ointment was, she had not registered herself as a company - simply hadn't thought about it, because she was accustomed to working in an office.

Does she need to?  Here's the thing: working from home i.e. small office home office (SOHO) means that you become a service-providing company and have more entitlements than a casual worker.  The annual registration fee is minimal and there's no rent, salaries to pay and when you lease or buy equipment etc., you can claim it as a business expense. AND, companies who outsource pay greater respect to being billed by a company (SOHO or not) than by an individual.  It is more profitable for the service provider! And guess what?  You know how sometimes it is difficult to collect payment or deal with some other complaint?  It lends greater weight if the grieviance is lodged by a company than an individual :)

So where does Branding come into this, you ask?  Mmmmmmm well, when the professional chooses a company name, it is the start of a Brand, even if it is in the name of the individual.  Think designer Jimmy Choo or seamtress Coco Chanel.  Hey don't laugh! Even YOU are a brand, you know - just depends what you want to do with it?

Know someone who wants to kick loose and get financial freedom working from home, or even providing services in people's homes?  Tell them they can start a Brand in a small way and get more profit from it than as an individual.  I have a great team of associates who can help them from A-Z and all it takes is the know-how to get launched properly.  Just call me at 03-21697707 or email evelyn@atheneumgroup.net

BRING ME THE BRAND-TO-BE AND I'LL INCREASE ITS PROFITABILITY!