Today, we are going to chat about “SCRAPPY”. As I read this book, I was struck time and time again by how this theme of “scrappiness” continued to be the driving factor and often the difference maker in their success. The Merriam Webster definition of scrappy is “to have an aggressive and determined spirit”. Eric and Adam did have remarkable gumption to fearlessly go after their goals, but what I found most impressive is how resolute they were in achieving those goals. A lot of us can summon the courage to try a hard thing once, but to try again and again after being struck down is a lot harder to do. However, Eric and Adam remained resolute in their goals, but flexible in their approach.

So how do we get a little of that scrappiness for ourselves? There seems to be three main qualities this dynamic duo seemed to have that created this “Scrappy Mentality”.

Quality 1: Embracing the Mentee Mindset

It’s really hard to be the leader of an organization and also allow yourself to be humble enough to admit that there are things you don’t know. Eric and Adam embraced the“not knowing” and got really comfortable with understanding what they were and were
not good at. That level of vulnerability allowed them to grow astronomically, and by extension so did their brand. Eric and Adam were not strangers to rejection, but they did 3 things that allowed them to convert those no’s into a resounding YES.

1. When they were declined at buyer meetings, they didn’t assume they understood why, they asked. They let it get awkward as long as they got the answered they needed to regroup and take another crack at it.
2. They got professional help for the friction points they could not figure out on their own. They knew when to suck it up and spend on the help
3. They never lost connection with their customers. Even when the feedback wasn’t easy to hear, they pressed on trying to understand the customer’s experience so they could come up with a home run.

Quality 2: Never Let Lack of Money Deter You

Money issues exist at every level. There will never be a point where Cash Flow and profit margin are less important. I don’t care how big of an investor, client, or buyer you just landed, you can always find yourself in a cash flow crunch. HOWEVER, a lack of money doesn’t have to prevent you from getting what your business needs. Adam and Eric used all kinds of clever ways to fund or realize their projects. Here are just some of the tactics they used

• Strategic partnerships with companies that had what they needed. They essentially had a barter system on steroids to get their coveted bottle design.
• Made lifestyle cuts in order to not put too much pressure on the business finances
• Utilized their human capital as well as their financial capital. What does this mean? They didn’t just try to buy their way into a buyer’s meeting. They made friends and asked for favors from people who either were invested in them as friends or believed in what they were trying to achieve.

Quality 3: Resilience

Adam and Eric talk a lot about scaling fast, but what I don’t think they give themselves enough credit for is their ability to bounce back fast. The story of their “big break” shows at least 3 devastating and seemingly impossible obstacles that stood between them and Target. They took a beating from buyers, experienced shelf debacles that risked their position at Target, and then had to contend with the sudden flood of the market once their brand took off.

Through all of this, they allowed themselves to quickly experience the emotions and then move on to the solution. They never allowed themselves to make fear based choices. Rather than panicking they slowed down and made well thought out strategic plays and that strategy has been a game changer for them.

I am so stinking excited about today's guest and topic.  When I talk to business owners, one of the most common beliefs they have is that they don't have the financial resources to back their success.  Well today, we are challenging that notion as Margot shares with us some insider information about how lending works.

Margot is responsible for overseeing and strengthening LiftFund’s commitment to cultivate, support and empower small business success through responsive business advising and training services. She is passionate about upholding LiftFund’s promise to deliver a customer experience beyond ‘just a loan.’

The vision of Lift Fund is to transform lives by opening doors, leveling the financial playing field and building a community of shared success through entrepreneurship.

Visit www.liftfund.com/events for upcoming webinars or workshops in your area.

Website: www.liftfund.com , www.liftlearn.com

Twitter: @LiftFund-US

Are you ever frustrated with how your brand "comes off"? You are so painstakingly careful about creating your product. The messaging is on point, but somehow your employees keep fumbling the ball and it's hard to get a win.

You know what you want your brand to do in your mind, but you just can't seem to "buy in". If any of this resonates with you, then this episode is a must. It will answer all your questions about hiring and keeping your team clear and excited about what your brand is all about.

Today, we are on our last segment for The Method Method series and we are going to delve deep into packaging designs that align with your brand. So, what makes a good design? What makes a package design pop against the sea of options? What do I need to consider when designing packaging?

The secret to designing packages is to go beyond thinking outside the box and reimagine that box altogether. You’ve got a split second to catch the eye of a consumer with a billboard as a car speeds down the highway.  In retail, you’re competing for attention with kids, coupons, sample tables, and about 40-150 other brand labels. So, what compels a consumer to stop and glance at a package, even before they are close enough to read the label? It all comes down to the design elements. From color and font choice, to how the product is being displayed. Like most arts, package display is truly a science and in order to nail the formula, you’ve got to have a strategy.

With all the design elements involved, we have patterns, color, fonts, images and shapes, how can we control the chaos? So here’s a trick to follow, when you look at a package, squint your eyes and the first thing you'll see will be the first thing a consumer will see from their peripheral and rushed perspective. It’s important that whatever they see first is the leading message that will make them pause and redirect their attention to you. This can be words or images.

There’s a lot of stuff that has to make it on a label.  From legal requirements, to just value-added information the consumer needs to know.  So, how do you get it all on there without looking like a 3 year old’s collage project? GRIDS… Not only do grids allow you to create proper spacing, but by using grids you can actually get more stuff on the label while still feeling less cluttered. Understanding this invisible grid is the difference between stunning packaging and cluttered packaging.

In this book, Eric and Adam talked a lot about how design was part of their brand promise.  And because their identity includes passion, adventure, curiosity and being a Rule Breaker, they had to find a way to deliver package design that embraced their core identity. They further explained that their brand identity was part of the core values. It was just as important to them to have something that was sustainable, as it was to have the newest, the latest and greatest in design. And that was part of who they were. And because of that, it put their design to the forefront, as an industry leader in packaging and design.

So what are some best practices that a brand can implement to make sure that changing their packaging is an evolution and not just a pivot to something that's going to clutter the brand or be unrecognizable. Well, in terms of keeping a brand focused and determining if the changes are in the right direction, it needs to be in line with your established brand identity. Why? Because your identity not only tells you what about your brand needs to be expressed, but also what your ideal customer needs to hear. Understanding the buyer’s psych, especially the pain points is crucial to creating copy and design that converts.

Another thing to look into is consistency. By curating a style guide and having a system in place, this will anchor your brand and design. This goes beyond just a logo. A good style guide has a logo, submarks, patterns, fonts, and color palates and instructions on how to use them. To take it a step further, having a visual brand strategy is an even better way to make sure you are communicating a message consistently with your visuals across all platforms.

And you have to understand where trends can be helpful to your business and where trends can neglect your business. But one thing we always look at when creating your brand identity is creating something that's going to be timeless.  It’s okay to leverage a trend as it pertains to your brand, but your visuals should be anchored in your identity, not the season’s trending colors.

There is a BIG difference between being on trend and being on brand. And if you're solid in what your brand is, you'll know what kinds of trends you could incorporate small pieces of and which ones you should stay away from.

Jesse released his first book “Find Your Yellow Tux – How to Be Successful by Standing Out” in January of 2018.  The book launched #1 in three categories on Amazon and has been sold in 18 countries.   Staying true to his mantra, “ Whatever’s Normal, Do the Exact Opposite,” Cole launched the book with a World Book Tour….at Epcot. 

Cole is the Host of the Business Done Differently Podcast and owner of Savannah Bananas @thesavbananas, a baseball team in the Coastal Plain League that began play in 2016. The Savannah Bananas currently have sold out every game for three straight seasons and have a waiting list in the thousands for tickets.

Known for their crazy promotions including their Dolce & Banana Underwear, Banana Nana’s Senior Citizen Dance Team, the breakdancing first base coach and their brand new male cheerleading team – the Mananas.

Cole believes to be successful you need to Stand Out and Be Different. He releases daily videos and blogs on LinkedIn and FindYourYellowTux.com and is passionate about creating attention, loving your customers more than your product and loving your employees more than your customers. 

In this episode, we continue to dive into the inspiring book by Jesse Cole where we discuss his idea of Yellow Tuxing Yourself. This is the concept of having the mindset of being a CEO and the inner work that you need to be a leader into three main categories, mirror moments, committing to growth, and being a sponge.

Mirror Moments

When Jesse talks about mirror moments, he's talking about having a good hard look at yourself as an entrepreneur, as a business leader, and as a human who has to play that role every day. Often times, in our haste to be productive, we tend to plow through the day just to get things done and skip this part entirely. And if you take some time to set these things up early on in your career, you're going to save yourself a world of energy, disappointment and struggle down the line.

A very important concept is aiming to be different and better in your industry. Because the way great brands stay great is by continuously finding and looking out for pain points and then areas of opportunity. It's not good enough to be the leader in a brand today, you also have to be the leader in the brand tomorrow.

And so if you don't care about doing it better, don’t invest time and money to continuously do better, then you're not going to make it long term as a brand leader.

Committing To Growth

This is all about pushing boundaries and staying relevant in the industry. And so if we had just stopped when things are going great and not pushed the boundaries, and continue to learn and see what other ideas were out there, in different industries that we could apply to our craft then we would have been marginalized. We would have had nothing unique and interesting to say in our field, because it would have all just sounded like everybody else.

Another part of growing is being honest with yourself. What you love to do or areas of interest might be hurting your business when you are not competent enough in that field. You can still educate yourself, learn the concepts, and how things are done but delegate and let other people do it for you. And so Jesse talks about that difference between knowing all the parts of a business and doing all the parts of a business. Hire the people that you need to hire, don't try and absorb all the jobs, because it's keeping you from doing the thing that's going to make your business succeed.

Being A Sponge

Jesse talks about some outside help that he brought in for his business, an out of the box thinker. And after one day with this guy, listening to his ideas and soaking his wisdom up like a sponge, it completely transformed their business.

This success story was setting up a bookstore and stacking his book in every corner and different sections of the store. You could see the book in the business section and self-help. Even putting a sign that said shoplifting is encouraged! It was all about drumming up awareness and getting the book in people's hands. And it worked. His promotions were covered in national publications like people in USA Today because is was fun and unique.

It was a great example of how someone in a different industry with a different marketing plan can give new ideas or concepts and Jesse was able to figure it out in his mind how he could apply that to his business.

And so you don't have to just look at people who are doing and saying the things that you already know. Be open with going outside of that scope.