Focal Tangent: Perspectives That Shift

Today I’m diving into CEO days.  I have a CEO day philosophy that is to take a day where the owner focuses on their own business, working ON their business with no client meetings or engagement, the day is for your business to move the needle.  You may be wondering, what is a CEO day, why is it important and how do you structure it… well, I have good news for you, I have special guest Ashley Kang, business strategist and CEO of AHK Business Management and she’s going to spill the tea on CEO Days for your business.  

About Ashley Kang:

“A real life Hermione Granger” is a tagline used frequently to describe Ashley.  She’s been organizing, planning, and managing everything from a young age, from alphabetizing her personal library to coordinating group projects, to always having a to-do list and up-to-date planner.

During the early years of her career, Ashley spent time working in customer service and client management, juggling grad school and working as an event and client coordinator. She completed her masters in public policy and administration at Northwestern University before spending several years working as a project and policy manager at one of the largest higher education institutions in Illinois. During this time she used her skills in planning and strategy to directly support the board of trustees in areas of policy and project planning and implementation.

The pandemic pushed her to make the leap to be full time in her business, AHK Business Management, where she helps service providers stuck in the overwhelm and chaos of their own ideas. She loves helping her clients set direction and prioritize their action steps so they can move forward with confidence.

When she’s not working with clients, Ashley loves quilting, kayaking, and puttering around in the garden. And in true Hermione Granger form, a book is never too far away. 

Episode Highlights:

• What is a CEO day how it can help entrepreneurs be more effective in business and life
• Tips for design your own CEO day and how to hold yourself accountable
• How to implement a CEO day that transforms your business
• Recommendations on frequency how to optimize your CEO day for success
• Getting started with a CEO day and incorporating it into your routine

Thanks Ashely for sharing your zone of genius on CEO days for your business this episode will truly shift your perspective. Join the AHK Business Management Newsletter: https://www.subscribepage.com/ahknewsletter 

Connect with Ashley: 

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ahkbusinessmanagement/   
• Website: www.ahkbusinessmanagement.com 

Connect with Nathalie:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pictonatphoto/  
• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ca/pictonatphotography 
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pictonatbrandingcreative/ 
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathalie-amlani/ 
• Join the Free Focal Tangent:  Brand Builder Society Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/brandbuildersociety 
• Website:  https://pictonat.com  

In today’s show, I am excited to speak to special guest and Energy Coach, Chernell Bartholomew, about how to reclaim your energy and make habits stick.  

Chernell is a mom of 3 beautiful girls, a Certified Health Coach, A Ritz-Carlton Award winning Registered Massage Therapist & Personal Trainer. She is your Vitality Coach!  Her focus is making moms feel amazing in their body by helping them discover vibrant energy. Helping moms decrease pain & stress and nourish their unique mind & body so they can live a confident and limitless life. She believes health & wellness is not about quick fixes or deprivation but small habits and Progress over Perfection Every Damn Day! Her clients lose weight but most importantly they learn strategies for real long term success in health, business & life!

 It's time to crush these goals & habits once & for all!  Motivation is great but it fades, and new habits take time and planning to become solid lifestyle changes.  So how do we really commit to make these new & improved habits LAST?

In this episode, Chernell tells her brand story and how she started her business and then shares her top tips for reclaiming your energy and making habits stick.

Episode highlights:

• Start small - Break your goal into manageable chunks. Small tasks to do each day, week.
• Make it easy and enjoyable - You have to also enjoy the process, not just the outcome
• Have a visual tracker - So you can see that check mark or gold star each day & feel accomplishment
• Focus on what you Want, not what you don't want - You want to eat More veggies at each meal. You want Energy, Clarity

 
The very most important part of this process is the belief that you can become this better version of yourself. We have one life and one body, you deserve to feel amazing!

Tune into the full episode for the complete list of tips from Chernell, her energy is truly infectious!

Get in touch with Chernell at:

• Website: https://www.vitalitymvmt.com/
• Instagram: Instagram.com/chernell.energycoach 
• Facebook.com/chernellb
• Get in touch with Chernell for a call to create a plan for you www.calendly.com/vitalitymvmt

Connect with the Host, Nathalie Amlani:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pictonatphoto/
• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ca/pictonatphotography
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pictonatbrandingcreative/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathalie-amlani/
• Join the Free Focal Tangent:  Brand Builder Society Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/brandbuildersociety
• Website:  https://pictonat.com

When I was starting my business, I was overwhelmed with all the tools and systems to choose. It was like researching what kind of stroller to get for a new baby, there are so many options and recommendations and in the end they are all quite similar with different branding.

When it comes to elevating your brand with the help of systems and tools, what does that look like? I'm talking about the behind the scenes view that people don't necessarily see.  Today I'm going to break it down into the top five categories of systems that will elevate your brand, essential for saving time and increasing the conversion rate from leads to clients!

Episode Highlights:
1.  The importance of scheduling tools
2.  Why productivity tools are a huge time saver
3.  The secret to having design tools to showcase your brand
4.  Tips for staying connected to clients behind the scenes on a consistent basis using tools such as Dubsado and Constant Contact
5.  Reasons why Financial systems are essential for making decisions

If the thought of doing any of the above makes you hurl, know that there are so many small business experts that can help out!   You are not alone.  In fact there are professional who can even get you set up in a day.  Yes!  I was in a Done in a Day coaching program by Systems Saved Me and in the group are experts who can set up systems solutions in a day.  For example Dubsado in a day, AirTable in a day, ClickUp in a day.  So there is lots of opportunity to get it done quickly through a VIP day.  A VIP day where you can help out clients in a day and eliminate the back and forth and retainer.  If you're an expert in one of the systems and tools and want to see how you can turn your retainer days into a VIP day, check out the The Done in a Day program.

I hope that this episode was  helpful. I really want it to just break down the categories of systems that will really help elevate your brand. And again, these aren't something that the client will see. It is in the background and it is something that you'll see and you'll be aware of but if you have these in place, it'll just really streamline your processes and the customer experience.

Systems and Tools mentioned in the episode:
Dubsado
Done In A Day Program
Constant Contact

Connect with Nathalie:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pictonatphoto/
• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ca/pictonatphotography
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pictonatbrandingcreative/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathalie-amlani/
• Join the Free Focal Tangent:  Brand Builder Society Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/brandbuildersociety
• Website:  https://pictonat.com

In the latest Pinterest Statistics released by Hootsuite in 2021, it states that weekly conversions on Pinterest grew by 300% last year. With billions of Pins on Pinterest, you'll always find ideas to spark inspiration. 

This week, Nathalie chats with Elaine Timms about how to use Pinterest to increase your visibility and grow your business. Elaine is a Pinterest Expert and Strategist who helps other creative entrepreneurs harness the power of Pinterest to transform their business. 

Through simplifying, educating, and empowering business owners, she helps them get more ideal people into their communities, sell more products, grow their email list and more.

“I always recommend when you're setting up an account or you're going back through your account and auditing it, take the time to create your keyword bank.” - Elaine Timms, Founder of Elaine Timms Creative

In this episode:

• How to leverage Pinterest for content repurposing 
• The 5 pillars to Pinterest success
• How to use keywords
• The key parts of developing a Pinterest strategy
• Tips to monetizing your Pinterest content
• Easy steps to get your brand and business started

“The great thing about Pinterest is that people are actually open to smaller brands. They're not looking to connect with the bigger brands.” - Elaine Timms, Founder of Elaine Timms Creative

Listen in to this week’s episode to learn more about how to maximize Pinterest for your business growth and customer journey.

Connect with Elaine Timms:

• Pinterest
• Facebook
• Instagram 
• Website: https://elainetimms.com 

 Connect with Nathalie:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pictonatphoto/  
• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ca/pictonatphotography 
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pictonatbrandingcreative/ 
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathalie-amlani/ 
• Join the Free Focal Tangent:  Brand Builder Society Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/brandbuildersociety 
• Website:  https://pictonat.com  

When you’re starting a new business, venture, launching a new offer… one of the first things we’re advised to do is to create a website, a virtual storefront with our branding, copy, images.  After it’s all done… now what?  Now it’s time to drive that traffic to our website.  

In today’s episode, I am excited to welcome special guest and Digital Marketer, Diel Gerber, to chat about Strategies for Driving Traffic to your website.

Diel helps companies manage their paid media budget and get higher return on ad spend. Her agency, Gerber Media, also helps clients manage their SEO, content and social media, making sure all channels are working together.  Diel is a blogger and founder of Toronto New Mom blog, a blog that she grows organically every month. Toronto New Mom celebrate 5 years this month.  

“Anything that loads really slow on your website for more than two seconds will hurt your SEO ranking…” ~ Diel Gerber, CEO of Gerber Media

Episode Highlights:

• Learn Diel’s story of becoming an entrepreneur
• Actionable tips for driving traffic to your website
• The lowdown on SEO, what it is, how to apply it to your content, and how to make it work for you
• Why having a Google My Business Account is essential
• How brand photos elevate a website and helps optimize SEO
• Understanding Pinterest as a tool to increase organic traffic to your website
• Organic versus paid traffic and how paid media helps increase conversions 

… and so much more!  

 “Your website is our most important asset, think about social media as supporting it.”  Diel Gerber, CEO of Gerber Media

Thanks Diel for sharing your zone of genius for how to strategically drive traffic to your website.  Be sure to join Diel’s free Facebook community ‘Raising a Business’ to learn more tips and strategies on marketing operations for small business owners:  https://www.facebook.com/RaisingaBusiness.

Connect with Diel: 

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/diel-gerber-29062349/
• Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/RaisingaBusiness
• Podcast: dielgerber.com
• Website: https://www.gerbermedia.ca/ 

Connect with Nathalie:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pictonatphoto/  
• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ca/pictonatphotography 
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pictonatbrandingcreative/ 
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathalie-amlani/ 
• Join the Free Focal Tangent:  Brand Builder Society Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/brandbuildersociety 
• Website:  https://pictonat.com  

Do you ever wonder what branding photography is and what it can do for your business? In today’s episode, Nathalie talks about how personal brand photography helps a business grow.

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying that a picture is worth a thousand words, and that’s especially true when it comes to branding. The quickest way to get your brand identity across is through the images you use on your website and on social media channels. That’s why branding photography is essential for any business owner. Let's take a deeper look into what personal brand photography can do for your business.

Professional images for your brand
Branding photography is a collection of high-quality, professional images created to visually represent your business and demonstrate your brand identity. These photos can include images of you and your team members, your workspace, your products, and any part of your process or daily activities.

Humanize your company
One of the greatest things about branding photography is that it gives potential and current customers a look at the faces behind your business. You may be intimidated by the idea of putting your face out there, but consumers are more likely to interact with and trust a company more if they can see the people behind the brand. Branding photos not only show customers who you and your team are, but they also give interested consumers a peek behind the curtain, so to speak, allowing them to see your process, your products, and what you do every day.

Create a stunning first impression
Did you know that when someone visits your website or social media for the first time, you only have five seconds to make a first impression? You don’t want them to be put off by low-quality images. Professional branding photos create visual interest in your business and give visitors to your website a positive first impression of your brand. The better you present your company, the more likely people will be to get and stay interested in what you offer!

Increase engagement with your brand
While strong content is essential to creating a solid brand identity, visuals are even more important, especially since quality images encourage more people to engage with your business online. Facebook posts with images receive 2.3x more engagement than those without images, according to Hubspot. That’s why images are so essential, especially high-quality, professional branding photos.

You can use your photos everywhere
Branding photos are an investment, but one that’s well worth it! You’ll keep finding places where these photos come in handy, from your website and social profiles, to paid advertising,  email newsletters, and even as your podcast cover image. Having these photos on hand makes it easier to properly promote your business and show potential and current clients just how professional you are.

Listen to the full episode to learn more about personal brand photography, the photoshoot process and how investing in branding photography can help your business grow.

Connect with Nathalie:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pictonatphoto/  
• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ca/pictonatphotography 
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pictonatbrandingcreative/ 
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathalie-amlani/ 
• Join the Free Focal Tangent:  Brand Builder Society Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/brandbuildersociety 
• Website:  https://pictonat.com  

Customer relationship management is a key process that helps us grow our business, make improvements, facilitate the process of making decisions of where the company will go, and strengthen the relationship with our clients.   What customer engagement methods have the highest responses from consumers and how do we get started?  You’re about to find out in today’s episode with special guest Cheryl Mason, founder of the Business Within CRM.  

Episode Highlights:

• Understanding the big picture of ‘Customer Relationship Management’ CRM and how to get started
• Customer engagements trends to explore and execute with the highest responses
• Tips for mapping out the customer lifecycle, journey and value for strategic planning of touch-points
• Understanding customer lifetime value and how to enrich the bond between each customer 

The inside scoop -  the trends to explore as we head into the new year are: 

• Text messaging engagement 
• QR barcodes - having an impactful image, statement that resonates with the audience… can text or email or mail with QR barcode that they can scan to get a private discount, bonus, video.  Example instructions on how to use the product
• Nominating and sharing where people can vote
• Mentorship program or accountability where people buddy up
• How consumers should use the product after they're done… extending the life of the service/product
• Creating a mobile App for your business

Thank you Cheryl for sharing your transformational story and unique perspectives that shift! 

Connect with Cheryl: 

• Instagram Handle:  https://www.instagram.com/business_within/  
• Facebook Link: ​​https://www.facebook.com/thebusinesswithincrm 

Connect with Nathalie:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pictonatphoto/  
• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ca/pictonatphotography 
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pictonatbrandingcreative/ 
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathalie-amlani/ 
• Join the Free Focal Tangent:  Brand Builder Society Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/brandbuildersociety 
• Website:  https://pictonat.com  

If you’ve ever struggled with knowing what to say on your website, sales page… and when you’re launching a new offering it just doesn’t sound right..., then this episode is for you!  Today with special guest Sara Vartanian, we’re going to unblock that writer’s block and gain insight on how you can launch and create copy that converts.  

Sara Vartanian is a launch strategist and copywriter who creates launch strategy & copy that leads with human connection by getting to the heart of what your people need to feel good about you, your offer, and most importantly your promise so you never run out of the folks you love working with or the passion to build feel-good launches.

Episode Highlights:

• Sara’s story and how she became an entrepreneur
• Examples of Sara’s work with entrepreneurs to help with launch strategy and copywriting
• Why is planning and strategy so essential when launching an offer into the world and how to get started
• Five steps for creating an effective sales landing page that converts
• How imagery and use of brand photography helps elevate launches
• Why active listening is the most effective sales strategy and how to apply it

Thanks Sara for sharing your zone of genius for how to launch and create copy that converts, this episode will truly shift your perspective.

Connect with Sara: 

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saravartanian/ 
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/saravartaniansocial 
• Podcast: https://www.saravartanian.com/podcast 
• Website: https://www.saravartanian.com/ 

Connect with Nathalie:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pictonatphoto/  
• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ca/pictonatphotography 
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pictonatbrandingcreative/ 
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathalie-amlani/ 
• Join the Free Focal Tangent:  Brand Builder Society Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/brandbuildersociety 
• Website:  https://pictonat.com  

When I dreamed of starting my own business, I imagined a store.  When I started my photography business, I operated out of my home studio, in my basement.  Yes, we transformed a portion of our house where families would come for photoshoots.  My home studio is now closed and I now do photoshoots on-location such as outdoors or at the client site, or rent studio photography studio space by hour/day.  Do I desire to have my own location?  Yes!  Will it help me scale and grow my business?  I’m sure it will!  Is it possible?  YES!    

 If you desire to have a brick and mortar business and gain perspective on how to scale your business to a 7-figure business, this episode is for you.   I’m so excited to welcome to the show today Rebecca Lane, founder and Director of Lane School of Music and Rebecca Lane Coaching who has scaled and grown her brick and mortar business to a 7 figure business.

Episode Highlights:

• Rebecca’s journey to entrepreneurship from teaching in her home with a handful of students to leading a thriving 7-figure multi-location brick and mortar business with over 600 students
• The math of getting started with a brick and mortar business
• The key success factors that helped scale her business
• How shifts in mindset shifts helped in making aligned decisions 
• Advice for effective goal setting and why it’s essential for thinking big
• Lessons learned that led to successful breakthroughs
• Tips for showcasing your personal brand and how it deepens connection and trust

Thank you Rebecca for sharing your transformational story and unique perspectives that shift! 

Connect with Rebecca: 

• Instagram Handle:  https://www.instagram.com/laneschoolofmusic/ , https://www.instagram.com/rebeccalanecoach/ 
• Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/TheLaneSchoolofMusic , https://www.facebook.com/rebeccalanecoach 
• Facebook Group:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/powerhousemusicians , 
• Kids Q The Music Podcast: https://www.laneschoolofmusic.com/blog 
• Website: www.laneschoolofmusic.com , https://rebeccalanecoaching.mykajabi.com   

Connect with Nathalie:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pictonatphoto/  
• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ca/pictonatphotography 
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pictonatbrandingcreative/ 
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathalie-amlani/ 
• Join the Free Focal Tangent:  Brand Builder Society Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/brandbuildersociety 
• Website:  https://pictonat.com  

One of my lessons learned when I started my business is that I needed to have a service agreement or contract in place to protect my business.  And not just any contract… I started off googling contracts on the internet and buying templates but I didn’t truly understand all the terms and conditions, the language… I would get questions from clients, some of the wording sounded scary, it didn’t cover all the scenarios I need to have boundaries on.  It made me realize that I needed to have something created specifically for my business, in my voice.  Which I did.  I reached out to Adrienne Ng, Lawyer and partner of Open LLP and she helped me create contracts for my business that align with my BRAND, my vision, my mission, written in my voice and I understand how to use them. Expectations are clear on both sides, I have a point of reference when things become unclear.

 Contracts are just one side of it, today we’re going to dive into law for startups and entrepreneurs with special guest Adrienne Ng, Law and Partner of Open LLP, a topic that I feel is so essential for the foundation of any brand and business to grow on.  

Episode Highlights:

• Adrienne’s serial entrepreneurship journey
• Understanding law for start-ups
• Why contracts are important to protect your business and ensuring you’re on the same page
• Why a custom contract is recommended over a templated agreement
• How lawyers provide insight and value when creating contractual agreements
• Understanding the components of a valid contract; 1) Meeting of the minds and 2) Consideration
• Risks of not having a contract in place for your business

“The biggest risk of not having the kind of contract in place is there isn't any meeting of the minds. The parties have not thought about different eventualities or situations that have not yet arisen. And to distill it into simple terms is if you are not on the same page and something bad happens, then it's going to be very difficult to resolve because you have not agreed to it before you engaged with each other.” ~ Adrienne Ng, Lawyer and partner at Open LLP

Connect with Adrienne: 

• Instagram Handle:  https://www.instagram.com/open.llp/
• Twitter Handle@openllp
• LinkedIn Linkhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/adrienneklng/ 
• Facebook Link:  https://www.facebook.com/openllp 
• Website:  http://openllp.com 

Connect with Nathalie:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pictonatphoto/  
• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ca/pictonatphotography 
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pictonatbrandingcreative/ 
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathalie-amlani/ 
• Join the Free Facebook group - Focal Tangent:  Brand Builder Society Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/brandbuildersociety 
• Website:  https://pictonat.com