If you’re still using a non-branded email address because you like using a web-based email and don’t want to lose your history there, you should know that you can still do a self-branded email AND get at it through your web-based email account. It requires just a little finagling with your web-based account and domain registrar, but it can – and should – be done.

If you’re waiting until you have a web domain name and/or website, stop waiting. First of all, deciding on a domain name and grabbing it should be one of the first things you do for your business. And, simply having that domain name – you needn’t have a full-blown web site up and running – will enable you to use a self-branded email address. Again, there’s a little setting up involved to getting your branded email established, but it’s relatively simple — and we’re here for you should you need help.

SIDE NOTE: When you purchase your domain name (we’re big GoDaddy fans), until you put some sort of web presence in place, your web site will consist of an unbranded “parked” page. We highly recommend installing a branded splash page, instead, until your actual site is in place.

Bottom line: Whether you’re working on building your brand or about to start, a self-branded email is essential, and is an easy and consistent way to reinforce your business identity. Need help? Give us a call.

When our clients have a visual marketing emergency, as they sometimes will, they know they can turn to us. Well, last week was emergency central here at Visage Creative. It’s always a whirlwind in our office, but lately that wind’s been ablowin’ harder and faster than ever. While being ever so grateful to be engaged in creative collaboration with so many awesome clients, our coffee pot has really been getting a workout! It was clear we needed our A team on the job—someone on whom we could rely to have our clients’ best interest at heart, just as much as we do—our printer man, Dan. Dan is always up to a challenge and does everything he can to meet our needs, just like we do for our clients. It’s so good to work with someone who is on the same page as we are!

Finding a reliable vendor can be a challenge. But when you’ve got a good one, their support should not go unthanked. Someone like Dan, who goes out of their way to be an active part in your success, needs to be recognized. Getting the job done, after all, is always a team effort. And without vendors who push themselves for us, we wouldn’t be able to come through for our clients in such big ways.

So, in honor of all of the hard-working, team-playing, challenge-accepting vendors out there, Visage now deems today International Vendor Appreciation Day! Take a moment to say thank you to the people who make your job a whole lot easier, by doing theirs so well. Send them a note, bake them some cookies, anything to make them feel appreciated. And, thanks again, to Dan who last week was the butterfly flapping its wings to help us create our clients’ hurricane of success. Thanks for being a part of this journey with us!

Enter Chuck and Susan with Go Natural Paint. Chuck and Susan came to us in need of web presence and a sprucing up of their brochures and business cards. Their product is a natural colored tree trunk paint. From Chuck and Susan we learned two things: 1) the paint is actually used to protect the trunk against the UV rays of the sun, and 2) citrus tree growers no longer have to paint their trees with the eyesore white paint that distracts so drastically from the tree’s beauty because Chuck and Susan have created a singular product. Go Natural Paint is a protective paint that covers the tree just like its white cousin but blends with the color of the bark. It can even cover already whited trees.

Chuck and Susan are wonderful folk and are a joy to work with. They wanted something clean and simple for their website that really mirrored the nature of their product. We designed a look that complements their existing branding and applied that design to their brochures and business cards for a cohesive facelift. Visit GoNaturalPaint.com to see our work and learn more about Chuck and Susie and their great product.

If you’re reading this blog post you know that the name of our business is “Visage Creative.” “How did we come up with such an eloquent business name?” you might ask. Our articulate resident IT/Web man and all-around awesome team member, Chris tells me that he was playing around with the word “visual” when he came up with the name for the company eleven years ago. “Visual…visage…it was a natural progression from one to the other,” he said. “Here at Visage, our business is to make sure our clients succeed and we do that by helping to create the face of their business.”  Lori, owner and lead designer, told me. So Visage Creative was born. At least a third of the people we have come in contact with, however, don’t know the word Visage, or how to pronounce it. Go ahead. Say it out loud. I’ll give you a hint, it doesn’t rhyme with massage.

vis•age (vi’-zij) n.
1. The face or facial expression of a person. 2. Appearance; aspect

Now that you know how to pronounce the word and what it means, courtesy The American Heritage Dictionary, try using it in a sentence. I’ll go first: “We helped replace the conservative and somewhat-staid visage of their website with something truly vibrant and exciting.”

Go ahead and share your sentence with us via Twitter or Facebook for your chance to win a 16×20 poster print of our recent “Super Hero” desktop wallpaper. Individuals and business are both encouraged to participate. No purchase necessary. Get us your sentence by midnight on Friday, March 9, 2012. A winner will be randomly drawn (don’t worry, class, this isn’t for a grade) from all participants on Monday, March 12, 2012.

Click image to download as your desktop wallpaper. Enjoy!

Here’s to the self-starters,
to those who align the stars themselves.
Here’s to the pacesetters,
the rule benders, the pilots of their own path.
To those graceful globetrotters —
trotting to the tune of their own toot;
to the busy bees, the go-getters, the pistol-whips and firecrackers;
to those balls of fire
flying through life
with only the fuel of their own determination,
inspiring us all to greater heights —
to be our own superheroes.

© 2012 Visage Creative Business Services, Inc. All rights reserved.

1. Set actual workday hours, communicate them to your clients and vendors, and stick to them! This isn’t to say you shouldn’t take meetings out, or run errands during those hours, but being consistent overall will eliminate a lot of confusion and runaround when people are trying to reach you.
2. Get dressed for work. Even though you can hang out in your PJs all day doesn’t mean you should. Studies show that if you look ready for work you’ll be more likely to come to the table, office, or laptop with gusto and get your work done. Your focus will be easier to come by if you feel put together.
3. Always answer your phone professionally. “Thank you for calling Business ABC, Inc. This is Margo, how may I help you?” -vs- “Hello?” or  “Hey, Name of Caller (because I have Caller ID and I think I know that it’s you.)” Starting off the conversation with your company’s name reinforces your brand — as does asking how you may help the caller. Taking care to answer professionally also helps to instill your caller’s confidence – and the more confidence they have in you, the more likely they are to do business with you again and again.
4. Don’t communicate your personal goings-on just because you are in a personal setting. If you just hopped out of bed, or out of the shower, or are actually still in your pajamas, your clients don’t need to know. Focus on projecting a professional atmosphere.
5. Know that sound carries. Don’t let a noisy household carry over the phone…washer and dryer running, TV, children playing, dogs barking… Be sure to communicate your office hours to those sharing your home so that they can respect that time and give you the peace and quiet you need to manage your company effectively.

Projecting a professional image when you’re working from home will help make your “home, sweet home” a “business, sweet business!”

Recently a good friend said to me “It’s the journey that’s important.” As a young woman attending a liberal arts university in Seattle I was immersed in this concept. Each moment was “the point,” whether I was attending a lecture or drinking wine and solving the world’s problems with my peers. As an English major I read the Odyssey and though I was not fond of almost any of the characters (I found almost all of them to be cranky or whiny), I came away with a profound conviction to live my life, not with my eyes fixed on some future prize but with my attention on the now, on the journey. As I get older I find that it is easy to lose that immediacy. As adults, with bills to pay and retirement to plan for and perhaps children to worry about, it is so easy to allow ourselves to stress about the future and have little time for today.

You may be wondering why I’m blathering at you like you’re one of my old friends drinking three dollar Merlot and posturing toward world peace. “What does this have to do with building a strong business?” But think about it a second. As business men and women, if we are constantly looking at the bottom line instead of focusing on the current project or fretting over what’s coming next our business will never flourish as much as it can. The journey is what is important. Each project deserves full attention. Each moment is an opportunity to put your best foot forward with a client. Each interaction or communication is the chance to build relationship and solidify a strong foundation within your network. So to pay it forward, hopefully this blog post will bring you back into the moment and set you back on your journey a little more awake to the now than you were before, like my friend did for me. Allow your attention to be drawn to what is in front of you with a glance here and there to what’s ahead instead of the reverse and you will find that your work comes out higher quality, your collaborations go more smoothly, your clients feel more taken care of, and you feel more fulfilled.

• Do you sincerely care about your clients? Are you excited about their success? Sincerity is really key here. Unless you are a superb actor or actress (unlike me), it’s not hard for someone to tell when you are feigning concern for their well-being – and there is not much that is as annoying as having someone patronize you in that way.  Offer earnest concern and shared enthusiasm for your client and their business, and their responses will inspire you.

• Do you really hear your clients? Do you listen when they express their needs to you? Or, do you respond to their requests with your own agenda? Practice active listening. You remember – that basic life-skill we learned in grade school? When you receive a request from your client, or, heaven forbid, a complaint, be open to really hearing them and respond by repeating what they’ve said for clarification.

• Is good communication at the foundation of your client relationships? One of my favorite quotes by Anne Murrow Lindburg says “Good communication is as stimulating as black coffee and just as hard to sleep after.”  We want our communication to be sharp, witty, professional and approachable. In a world of emails and tweets, many of us will never meet some of our clients. The words we write and the phone calls we make are our face to them. It is vital that we are intentional in our correspondence. Make sure to keep your clients updated with what’s going on with their orders or projects. Follow-up once they receive a product, to make sure they are pleased. Encourage their feedback. Be polite and try to fashion those emails and written communications to be as much like a conversation as possible by beginning your email with a salutation (e.g., “Hi So and So”) and closing them appropriately (e.g., “Thanks, Me).

• Is there a level of camaraderie in your relationships with your clients that is conducive to collaboration and trust? It has proven true in my experience, over and over again, that if you go out of your way to be friendly with folk, they are more likely to respond in kind. You know the old adage, ” You catch more flies with honey.” This applies here. Get to know your clients. Remember to treat them not only as your client, but as a person, and you will find that your collaboration will go smoother. Be sure to be honest and dependable in your interactions with them so you can build the trust necessary for a solid work relationship.

• Do your clients know you appreciate them? An important skill for everyday life, not just your work life, is to know how to make people feel appreciated, cared for, seen. You can do this in several different ways:

1. Show basic respect on a daily basis (see: life skills learned in grade school).
2. Say thank you. Whether it’s in a thank you note or over the phone, it’s amazing how uplifting it is to know you are appreciated.
3. Help promote their business. This is probably the number one best way to show you appreciate your clients. Introduce your clients to each other – help them network. “Like” their business Facebook pages through your business page, follow them on Twitter, share their posts, and direct others to their blogs or other social network venues. When you run into someone who needs services they can offer, send the work their way.
4. Be truly grateful for the business your clients bring you. After all, they really DO have a choice as to whom they’re doing business with. How nice is it that it’s you?!

You may ask yourself, what will all of this effort get me? Well, it’s our experience that great customer service promotes customer loyalty and longevity. It brings in business because if a client loves you, they’ll send other business your way time and time again. It helps your customers succeed – and that helps you succeed. It’s a symbiotic relationship like a flower and a honeybee. And, finally, good customer service is just, well…good.

Make this issue a priority and watch your business blossom!

Click image to download as your desktop wallpaper. Enjoy!

WARNING: Very sappy, but very heartfelt post ahead.

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it at least hundreds of times: we, here at Visage, are privileged to know and work with the best people out there. It’s true. Not a day goes by that I don’t thank my lucky stars for you. Yes, YOU — clients, friends, vendors and Visage team members. As we close out this year and embark on a new one, I can’t help but be grateful for these relationships and excited for the year ahead. With that, I introduce our newest desktop wallpaper. It was inspired by you and I dedicate it to you. I hope you’ll take its message to heart and put it on your desktop as a daily reminder of your amazing-ness. Thank you, from me and the entire Visage team, for a wonderful 2011 and wishing you a new year that totally shines!

Warmly,
Lori