business + wealth articles

announcing: a digital experience for entrepreneurs. the fire starter sessions are going to burn the roof off this mothah!

I’ve said this to hundreds of my Fire Starter clients: “You’re sitting on an empire.” Or, “Just start!” And now I’m taking my own advice… and it feels sooo good. I’m creating a “digital experience for entrepreneurs” called:

THE FIRE STARTER SESSIONS:
Spark your genius. Ignite your business. Do it your way.

It’s a downloadable book, meets video seminar, meets cosmic transmission of love. (And it’s going to be gorgeous!) There’s nothing out there like this. The pre-launch starts the week of April 5, which will be a “buy now” and get a sneak peek offer; and the worldwide release is the week of May 10. (I love saying “world-wide release”. Makes me feel like Sade.)

IDEAS + REQUESTS + OPPORTUNITIES

Need some great content for your site? Interview… Me!
I participated in Seth Godin’s Linchpin book e-campaign, in which he asked 50 bloggers to interview him and run it on the day of the launch. In return, he included our site links in his launch blog post. Traffic spiked for everyone. It was a beautiful thing.

If you want to interview me and post the interview the week of The Fire Starter Sessions pre-launch (or anytime thereafter,) that would be fabulous. We can record a video, an audio, or do something via email. I’m putting this request out now so that I have lead-time to be responsive. If I get deluged, well, I'll dance with it and we'll get every single interview done in as long as it takes to do that. Big bang campaigns are effective, but steady, slow burn campaigning can have lasting dazzle . (Keep that in mind when your publicist says you need to do twenty cities in ten days.)

If you’re game to interview me, send me an email [d @ daniellelaporte dot com] with a few questions, or if you want to record a video, or a phoner (which is my preference, but I’m flexi,) we can set a date.

I will tweet, facebook, and post a link in my blog posts to our interview on your site. I may also create a separate page of just interview links that lives on my site. If your site isn’t the fitting venue, then if you can tweet, facebook and forward links like crazy, I'd be deeply grateful.

WHAT IT WILL COST AND WHY I'M NOT DOING A CONVENTIONAL MARKETING STRATEGY

The Fire Starter Sessions program will be $150. Period. No tiered pricing. No fluffy bonus offers. No preferential, velvet rope, or ‘scarcity marketing’ tactics.

Here's the thing, and this kind of chokes me up... after writing literally hundred of bios and press releases for clients, editing dozens of books, pitching major media outlets and TV networks; and even being the lead author of a wonderfully successful book, this is my first 100% solo, free-flying creative project. I can hardly believe it myself. White Hot Truth (and all things now and evermore) is the result of the creativity sovereignty that I've longed for my whole life. And therefore, I hereby decree that The Fire Starters Sessions will be elegant and straight forward in every possible way. I've hustled on too many less-than gigs, and kissed too many effin' frogs to shrink away from the high road now.

Besides, I believe that people (especially you, my tribe) are innately intelligent. I know that you know that there is no limited time offer on perennial wisdom and vibrant love.

And so it is: $150 for full-tilt extreme value. $5 from every purchase will be donated to a charity (I'm meditating on which one, I may do two charities.)

AFFILIATE LOVE
For the first phase of launch, the affiliate kickback program will be only open to my Fire Starter clients and past seminar attendees, and actual purchasers of the program. We’ll do a 30/70 split. We’ll start the affiliate program pre-launch week, April 5, with cool badges you can pull from my site, and links to the affiliate system. We’ll make this easy breezy for everyone.

MORE TO COME
I’m giving this all I’ve got in one fell swoop. I thought of doing a “series” with a phased-out delivery, but I want to pour it on. So I will. I want this to be one of the best selling digital books of its genre. I want to use state of the art technology to create a classic. I want as many people as possible to feel and shine their light, ever brighter - and to create deep freedom while doing it. You know what I’m talking about.

Lovelove,

p.s. I’m really excited. Like, crazed with excitement. Like, mad artist, scientist crazed. xoxo
p.p.s. if you want to tweet about how excited you are, please do. Hashtag is #FireSS

ONE MORE THING, IMPORTANT:
If you want to get on my official “interested” Fire Starter list for announcements and offers, PLEASE CLICK HERE TO GET ON THAT LIST RIGHT NOW.

 

a short rant about business cards

An old friend of mine was the Chief Technology Officer of one of the largest banks in the world. He helped Bill Gates design the techno part of his uber techno home. He wore navy pinstripes. He taught me a lot. The least meaningful but fun lesson: business cards are overrated. "If you want to find me, you will," he told people. "The older I get the more I lighten my load."

Adorable CTO, he was.

I've worked with a number of entrepreneurs who actually held off launching their websites or going to networking events because their business cards weren't back from the printer. That left me gravely concerned for their future. Business cards might have their place for on-the-road salespeople and a few retailers, but before you send your logo to Kinko's, check your reasoning. Business cards are not an imperative to a rocking business or being reachable.

WHY I'LL NEVER HAVE A BUSINESS CARD

1. I've never, in twenty professional years, actually finished a box of business cards. Change is the only constant in my career.
2. If you really want to get in touch with me, I’m very, very easy to find. (Most of us are.) Google me. Twitter me. Facebook me. LinkedIn me. Friend Feed me. Buzz me. Email me.
3. If, after hearing me rock the mic for an hour, sharing a drink at a party, or 5 minutes in an elevator, you can’t actually remember my name or my website – then I’m doing a really lame job of showing up, or you just didn't like me enough. If you don't remember my name, it's not meant to be. I'm okay with that. And for the record, I never forget a face, but I suck with names - except when someone has really caught my attention.
If I really want you to get in touch with me, I'll make sure that happens. I'll email you to say, "great to meet, let's save the world together."

4. I can’t remember the last time I looked at someone else's business card to get their info. 2001? Maybe.
5. I save about $100 bucks that I’d much rather spend on shoes or music.
6. Ink, paper, toxins and trees – the world is a little better offer without another box of cards going into the landfill.

NOT HAVING A BUSINESS CARD WILL NUDGE YOU TO:
Shine. Handing out cards can make us feel like we're actually doing something productive. Sometimes we are. But sometimes, we're just filling space and copping out of saying a clear "goodbye" or "I'd like to know more."
Get your own on-line presence if you don't have one. You don't need a "blog," but in this day and age, every working professional should have a one page site/profile of their own, or one parked on LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.

Depending on your business, when someone asks you for your business card, it may be better to smile your twinkliest smile and repeat your Twitter name, your super easy (or clever) Gmail address, and very kindly say, I'm so easy to find. And memorable I might add.

. . . . . .

POST THE POST

Coming attraction: I'm deep in my lab creating The Fire Starter Sessions vook: a multi-media program for blazing your entrepreneurial trail. Watch this space for pre-order information and sparks of inspiration. I'm so excited!

I've sent dozens of clients to web designer, Sarah Bray over the last year and a half. Happiness abounds. Sarah is doing a Gold-Digging Excursion starting April 1 to help you "dig up your website’s hidden profit-opportunities." I recommend it with all my digital love, and I bet it's going to sell out fast. Click here to visit Sarah Bray.

 

branding 101: for plumbers + all entrepreneurs

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE SEGMENT [4 minutes]

. . . . . .

POST THE POST

I've sent dozens of clients to web designer, Sarah Bray over the last year and a half. Happiness abounds. Sarah is doing a Gold-Digging Excursion starting April 1 to help you "dig up your website’s hidden profit-opportunities." I recommend it with all my digital love, and I bet it's going to sell out fast. Click here to visit Sarah Bray.

 

fire starter profile: Financially Smitten’s Lora Sasiela

Lora Sasiela is the founder of Financially Smitten. We did a Fire Starter Session last year and I was truly impressed with her knowledge (she's a psychotherapist by training and trade) and spirit (she's on a full tilt mission to help women make and manage real money.) When she launched her new site and workshop line up, my immediate reaction was, "yesss!" I smiled big and thought to myself, "She did it right, and she did it sassy." Read on for a dose of sage advice that you can take to the bank.

1. Cocktail line:
I'm on a mission to put the femme in finance. You know how so many women are scared about money and think that if they don't deal with it, it will just magically go away or somehow take care of itself? Well, I take them by the hand, and using a proven blend of financial therapy and money coaching am able to support them in creating a conscious and empowered relationship with money. Through this transformative work they are able to kiss their financial heartache goodbye and start rocking their money mojo.

2. Best lesson:
Be careful what you share with whom. (more...)

 

doozers and losers: my favourite business mistakes

Devilish angel investors, pissed off magazine editors, princess-style spending, red flags firmly ignored. I’ve made some fabulous mistakes in the name of fame, fortune and reputation management. It is my most earnest wish to save you from a few of them.

WHAT WAS I THINKING?

1. No partnership agreement. No one gets married to get divorced. Business unions are no exception. You’re high on possibility, you’ve signed the lease, you love that your strengths and weaknesses “compliment each other.” You’re in it to win it. What could go wrong? Everything.

Holler for a pre-nup, sugar. The mere exercise of developing a partnership agreement will illuminate the unspoken fears and foibles that usually stay hidden until the shit hits the fan. In my last partnership we assumed that we’d always be on the same page, in agreement. And it wasn’t so much that entrepreneurial bliss had us too starry eyed to create a bonafide and binding partnership agreement, as it was the fear of the confronting some very sensitive leadership and lifestyle issues - and risking that if push came to shove, someone might get shoved out. Very big mistake.

2. Ignored my own 8 Second Rule* (*my personal theory that you get ample intuitive information about someone in the first 8 seconds of meeting them. Ample.) Consultant Boy stood me up on our first meeting. He called two days later to re-schedule. “Did he apologize or explain?” I asked my assistant. “Nope.”

I hired him (and as an employee no less.) I thought he was the only game in town and that I could teach him some respect. a) Nobody is ever the only game in town. b) Save your respect lessons for kids. As for grown ups, it’s a basic perquisite.

3. Got a workspace too soon. This is one of the mistakes that I love saving my Fire Starter clients from. It usually goes like this: “But we need a stylin’ place to see clients, so you know, they take us seriously.” Nine times out of ten, you don’t, not at first. I know guys grossing a million/year with teams of 5+ who don’t have an office. This is what Starbucks and swanky hotel bars are for. The overhead of space can drain you fast. When times are lean, rent will be what you resent paying for the most, and it will be the last thing you are able cut.

4. Tried to force simpatico with designers. If a graphic or web designer doesn’t get within easy reach of your expectations in the first round of concepts, chances are slim that it’s going to come to a delightful conclusion. Aesthetic understanding can’t be forced. It’s like trying to teach someone how to be a good kisser – feelings get hurt and it never feels quite as satisfying as you wish it did. Fire designers early. Move on quickly. This is where kill fees come in very handy…

5. Not discussing kill fees or exit strategies at the get-go. You’re a third way into a project that started with a strong vision and deliverables. But things get weird. And weirder. You’re starting to feel like a sucker because you’ve paid 50% upfront, but it’s time to pull the plug. Zoinks. Getting money back from a service provider is like asking for teeth back from the tooth fairy – long gone. Now I have conversations in the first agreement meeting that are as simple as this: “I know you’re going to rock this, but what if aliens invade your mind and you miss the mark? How much to cut bait and at which point?”

6. I put it in writing. I’ve gotten into more sticky situations because of what I put in writing than what I didn’t. Sometimes it’s in your favor to keep it loose, contracts can bite. This hard-earned theory is not about reneging or changing the rules as you go. It’s about not making promises to overly litigious, neurotic people who’ll ignore the spirit of collaboration and the natural course of life in favour of the fine print.

It’s a tough call to know when to keep it loose and when to lock it down in writing. At this point in my entrepreneurial/Priestess career, if someone must (as in panicky and antsy,) have something in writing, it’s a red flag for me. I prefer the integrity of one’s word, especially my own. I like contracts for complex projects, though and I never sign anything that I don’t fully understand.

7. Offered people too much, too soon. I’m an optimist. I believe in love, and human potential and the search for intelligent life. And after a few too many early-hires, too-soon raises, and resented percentages, I’ve become a big fan of optimistic-but-incremental commitment.

This gives you leeway for mutual accountability, prerogatives, and the space to see how much you’re capable of when you believe in your own talent - and the mistakes that helped you hone it.

 

fire starter profile: tara-nicolle nelson, rethink realestate

My Fire Starter clients are...on fire, of course. From RealEstate, to design, to culture jammers, they've got the goods and they're here to share them.

1. Cocktail line:
I'm a real estate broker and attorney by training, but what I really do is create content that feeds the informational cravings of smart women who want to live prosperous lives, and know that being a smart property owner is one way to do that. My main media for consumers are books, webinars and live events. But I also use those same media to help our corporate clients deliver their marketing messages to women real estate consumers.

For example, I've created about 200 articles, tutorials and video webisodes for HGTV's listing website, FrontDoor.com.

Oh - and I also train real estate professionals who want to attract women homebuyers and -sellers into their businesses.

2. Best lesson: (jumbo mistake, repeated learning - the hard way.)
Gurus are everywhere. I honor the failed relationships - business and personal - in my life because of the lessons I've learned.

3. Smartest money spent:
My first home. Law school tuition. Losing a home to foreclosure (the lessons were oh-so-worth it.) (more...)

 

a lil’ invocation goes a long way

We are here now
to give witness
to a shared truth
that absolutely everything is progress
that we have all that
we need
that brilliance is unfolding
here and now

and so it is.
now, let's rock it.

This is how I start my Fire Starter sessions with clients. I try to keep it light so my unsuspecting client doesn't think we're about to sacrifice a goat or I'm going to start talking about fairy guides. (And if you're one of my Fire Starters and I forgot to start off on this note, mea culpa.)

I used to do some freelance publicity with a large independent business publisher in San Francisco. The CEO was very openly a devout Christian. We started meetings with a prayer to God...something like, "thank you for bringing us together to create good things for the world, may we be of service to the whole." There we were, a motley crew of Jews and New Agers and atheists, heads bowed. You couldn't help but be still and appreciate. No one cared if it was about Jesus or Allah, it got us FOCUSED.

I had boss who used to pull up to the board room table at the start of meetings, and charmingly, predictably and say, "So what's this all about, my friends?" My favourite yoga classes begin with a chant. True teams begin with a huddle.

all communication begins with intention.

How do you start meetings, phone calls, apologies, birthday toasts, jam sessions? What's the point? You can invoke the higher powers and the human spirit without anyone knowing you're being all mojo cosmic. You can recite your company's mission statement or Hedgehog, read a Rumi poem, read a fresh inspirational quote or very simply state: "We're here to give our best, where shall we begin?"

The point is that intention is everything. What's declared is more likely to become real. Begin clear, and dare to be grand.

 

ask me about branding

I'm going to liven up my CBC TV, Connect With Mark Kelley segments - and White Hot Truth for that matter, and field some questions from...you, ideally.

This week's theme: BRANDING. The good, the bad and the how-to. Tell me what you need to know to do it right. I'll take basic to high-concept questions. Just ask.

Leave your questions or ideas in the comments and I'll try to refer to them on air and then answer them in a post.

Ever grateful,
Danielle

And while we're on the subject, you might dig these posts:
: 3 keys to un-branding…and why I changed my twitter name
: kissing ass, quantum leaps, and the power of being unqualified
: 4 questions to shine light on your vocation

 

i get around: latest report

Where I was last month, and a bit...

INTERVIEWS
Lindsey Mead asked me Very Big Questions about meditation & presence.
"I’m more interested in observing my mind than trying to control it. Easier said than done, because there are soooo many others things that I’m also hooked on controlling."

The Get Inspired Project asked me where my inspiration comes from. I think I said something inspiring.

A conversation about style.

A fun interview with Yoyomama, "Being an introverted, controlling, Lone Ranger, Creative-type, it’s really the only way to go."

And this interview on Daily Whip Radio.

RA-RA CHEERLEADING:
I made this great list of 80 Small Business Twitterers You Should Be Following

White Hot Truth has been nominated for a Canadian Weblog Award. Cool. You can vote here.

And, did ya know, I'm one of "Ten People to Help Rock Your Career in 2010"? Uh huh.

WRITING ELSEWHERE
My article on Mothering.com on how unconscious grown ups can be when speaking to kids.

My guest post on IttyBiz: No Bullshit Branding & The Sustainable Empire of You

 

take ‘em up on the offer: saying yes to help

click here to watch the segment