Creativity is such a buzz word. Everyone is talking about getting creative. But, putting all trends aside, creativity is a part of our human nature. So to be human is to create. We create everyday. For instance, if we look at just how we create our mornings we'd see, for example, that we create our outfit for the day, we create what we eat for breakfast, and we create our plans for how to most effectively get through our day. These are things we do anew every morning and we've formed a habit to create these things in the morning. Therein lies the secret. Habit. Creating a habit is probably one of the most important things you could create. It's actually quite wonderful to know that creativity is something that is innate in us and that we already know how to be creative. So creating the habit just means acknowledging that and then taking action. Today, I am going to write about getting more in touch with that most human part of us and tap into a incredibly intelligent resource within us to create huge results in our work...

I have the book "The Creative Habit" by Twyla Tharp very near me in my office at all times.  This book has offered me inspiration on several occasions.  Mostly, it has provided me with specific actions to take to help me transform my way of thinking and being, allowing me to step away from doing things the way I always do them. It opened up my mind to try something new.  These actions have helped me get through proposals to potential clients, problem solving marketing issues for current clients, and even coming up with ideas for growing my own business. Because I have found this book to be an invaluable resource over the years, I am compelled to share with you one of my favorite passages form this book and I challenge you to "Give Yourself a Little Challenge." 

On page 114, the section numbered 14 is titled "Give Yourself a Little Challenge" and it reads: "George Harrison once decided, as a game, to write a song based on the first book he saw at his mother's house.  Picking up at random, he opened it and saw this phrase 'gently weeps,' whereupon he promptly wrote his first great song, 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps.' You can give yourself the same kind of challenge whatever medium you work in: paint only in shades of green; write a story without using the verb 'to be'; film a ten-minute scene nonstop with one camera.  Giving yourself a handicap to overcome will force you to think in a new and slightly different way which is the prime goal of scratching." For Twyla, scratching is where creativity begins and she puts it " the moment where your ideas first take flight and begin to defy gravity." 

I strongly urge you to take on this challenge.  Let it help you relieve the grip of the mundane and elevate you to a place of curiosity and creativity. Use it to finish that project you started and can't seem to finish. Let it inspire action or provoke the urge to serve in your community. Let it move you out of stagnation and propel you to new heights. 
 
To learn more about Twyla Tharp's creative habit, I encourage you to get the book.   

Finally, if you try this challenge, please share your story here. I'd love to hear from everyone on what they did and how it worked out for them. 

Here's to your illumination!

Over the past 11 years, Firefly Strategies has worked with both non profits and for profits shedding light on and illuminating the impact of programs, products and services in both New Mexico and all over the world! With offices now in Washington D.C., Denver, Colorado, and in Santa Fe, New Mexico, we have a wide reach. Where we have the greatest impact for you and your business is by becoming your marketing department. Through the power of delegating all of your marketing to us, our ability to leverage resources to create a greater ROI, and with a an expert team working on your behalf, in partnership with you, we have nothing but successful case studies to share with you. 

Please feel free to utilize the free resources located here on our blog as it pertains to marketing, or you can join our free Facebook group Fireflies Lab and join a community of businesses who are learning and implementing marketing to grow their businesses, or call us to learn more about how we can take marketing off of your plate. 

My goal with this blog is to help shed light on all of these issues especially as it pertains to marketing/ communications strategy, implementation, and community building. Ultimately, I hope those who find this blog will use its information to help them and their work illuminate. 

Here's to your illumination!

You may or may not know this already, but you are in the midst of a movement. It's huge. In fact it is reshaping our economy into a brand new economy where YOU can play a vital role. We are in, what I like to call the Entrepreneurial Era, and you either already are or have the opportunity to be a trailblazer in this movement. My passion and mission is to help you succeed as an entrepreneur and for you to truly tap into that trailblazing potential. And it's not just those of us that are starting businesses that are participants in this era. No. You can and are part of the movement whether you are a nonprofit leader or an employee in a small business, you just have to tap into and hone that entrepreneurial mindset. When you do, the sky's the limit.

I liken entrepreneurs in the new economy to fireflies. Small yet significant, trailblazing, and building community. When they all come together, what a beautiful result! I've discovered simple tenets for igniting the entrepreneurial mind-set and succeeding in the Entrepreneurial Era. Are you ready to step fully into that movement? Then read on...

Here we are the day before Thanksgiving and on the cusp of the holiday season. I recommend businesses and nonprofits increase their communications during this time of year. Not thoughtless emails just because your supposed to send something out. But, a well crafted message that is of tremendous value to your community. I wrote a blog post about how to discover what is valuable to your audience here.  Once you have a good idea of what your community is asking you to speak with them about, that's what you focus on. 

So getting back to the holiday season, in my last email, PART 1, I told you there are 3 strategies you need to be implementing in order to end the year strong with sales and revenue if you are a business, with donations and gifts if you are a nonprofit. The top 3 strategies are a referral strategy, email strategy, and event strategy. Then, I gave you my tips and actions steps to implement a strong referral strategy. 

Today, for Part 2, I tell you about implementing a successful 4th quarter email strategy.

We all get so many emails in the day. You are likely deleting several or ignoring a majority of the emails in your inbox. When this is your reality it's hard to believe that email is still considered (based on statistics) the best way to communicate with your community.

A couple of things need to be in place to make this accurate for you...  ​

Businesses and nonprofits often ask me what they should be focusing on when it comes to marketing. It’s a good question because how you spend your time and energy is very important – but what goals and tasks should you prioritize?

The answer depends on where you are in your marketing business, the size of your company or organization, who your target market is, and of course what you are selling or asking money for. ALL of these factors have to be taken into consideration when figuring out your marketing mix. However, no matter what size you are, no matter what you sell or who your market is, there is ONE thing that you absolutely have to do...