Sure, we all have brands we admire whether it is those of clothing lines, shoes, or other products but how far would you go to promote your love for that brand? Wear a t-shirt, write a good review about a purchased product, make a recommendation to a friend, or perhaps get a tattoo of the company’s logo. No?! Well last week a guy got the Google logo tattooed on his arm. The photo was posted in the Google product forum where he asked “I have google tattoo’d on me can I make advertising money??” One commenter joked,

“Google’s legals are gonna have a field day with this. Technically your arm now belongs to them, so you can expect either an amputation order, or an invoice for monthly/annual licensing fees in the mail shortly.”

Here’s a photo of the tattoo…

Photo Credit: productforums.google.com

What are your thoughts? Should companies pay individuals for serving as their walking billboards? What is the difference between this and people getting paid for dressing in costumes on street corners with signs advertising for businesses? What if companies offered money for tattooing their logos on your body, would you do it?

After reading about this I looked up more tattoos of company’s logos and it isn’t as unpopular as I thought. Here are a few others I stumbled upon.

As part of Disney Parks Dated Art Program, Disney artists created original designs for the 2012 promotional logo. Disney narrowed it down to these three designs:

1. Near the bottom of the castle is 2014, with slightly transparent Mickey Mouse ears over the zero.
2. Inside the Roman numeral MMXIV each letter resembling the wardrobe of Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto and Donald Duck, with “TWENTY FOURTEEN” underneath. Mickey’s silhouette is also within the letter O.
3. “TWENTY 14,” with the word “TWENTY” in a blue, star-spangled design over the number 14, which is covered in “stickers” of Walt Disney World attractions.

Which one do you like best? Disney is asking for your help to choose the next world logo. You can cast your vote at the Disney Parks Blog, and on Walt Disney World’s Facebook page. Voting ends January 31; however, the winning design will not be revealed until the end of the year.

Leave a comment sharing which one you like best and why.

1. Its FREE!

All it costs is time. Here are a few sources to get you started:

• http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/photoshop/l/bllps5out.htm
• http://www.photoshopessentials.com/
• http://psd.tutsplus.com/

You can also search for tutorials on youtube.

2. Design Business Cards

3. Clone yourself

4. Design Websites

5. Design Flyers

6. Restore Old Images

7. Turn Black and White Images to Color

8. Cool Text Effects

9. Create Your Own Patterns

10. Make Money!

And I don’t mean designing fake money. Learning photoshop can be very profitable. Its a great skill to have to earn money on the side.

*Click images to learn how…

After 144 years, the University of California changes its logo. UC spokesman Steve Montiel explains that it is “an operational thing.” The goal was to design a logo that could be used in different kinds of media. One issue with the current logo was that it did not look good when it was produced dime-sized. The logo was designed a year ago and UC has been using this new logo for over 6 months. It hadn’t received many complaints until the news media reported on the revamped logo, Montiel added.

Student were protesting against the logo through online campaigns and some complained that the new image was demeaning to the university. The new logo has also been described as a looking like a toilet or a “tacky smart phone stuggling to connect with Wi-Fi.”

Montiel also mentioned that there has been a misunderstanding of the use of the logo. He clarified that “the new graphic would not have replaced the official seal on diplomas and other official documents and was designed to be a bright new look to distinguish system wide messages from campus ones.” However, due to the protests and complaints, university officials announced Friday that they are suspending further use of the logo.

What do you think of the new logo? Please share your thoughts.

If you are a designer or aspiring to become one, you should be familiar with Adobe Creative Suite. If you are a creator, you should be familiar with the Pen tool. For those not familiar with the pen tool, it is one the best tools to use to create new art and shapes. The pen tool helps users create these shapes by combining straight lines and curves.

Here are some examples of art that was created using the Pen tool.

You can create art from the ground up like this penguin…

or use it to trace line drawings like this cartoon.

Worldwide Creative Suite Design Evangelist for Adobe Systems, Inc. Terry White teaches you to use the pen tool in Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign ALL IN ONLY 20 MINUTES!

Check it out!
 

Photo credit: perfection-events.com

Now that you have your first good idea, its time to take it through another test before you start selling. Ask the experts!

Why so many test? Test save you time and money. Yes, testing takes time but you’re actually learning what works and doesn’t during these testing periods so your time isn’t being wasted. Moreover, these tests prevent you from investing in an idea that isn’t profitable.

Find 20 qualified experts on your idea. Start by getting in touch with 3 people then find more. These experts can consist of people who would potentially buy the service or people that would provide the service. The purpose of this test is to further validate your idea. This test can determine if your idea is still a good one or it can help you develop an even better idea.

For example, Sandy’s service idea was to film kids at their football games. Parents can enjoy the game and take home high quality footage of their children playing football. Sounds like a great idea because parents would pay anything for memories of their children, right? Well Sandy, shared her idea at a football game and learned that parents were actually not interested. They explained that there are so many games, they all kind of run together. Like Sandy, it’s important to learn if people want what you’re offering.

Here are some questions to ask the experts:

To prospect clients

1. Have you ever paid for something like this?
2. What’s your typical budget for these types of projects?
3. How high of a priority is this to you?
4. What factors are the most/least important to you when deciding who to hire?
5. What has been your biggest frustration with service providers in the past?

To providers

1. What types of clients tend to be most receptive to this idea?
2. How and where can I get in touch with prospects?
3. What’s the reasonable rate to charge a client for someone at my skill level?
4. Here’s my plan. Would you do anything differently if you were me?
5. I’m new to this. What would be the most effective way to learn this skill on my own time?

Gathering the answers to these questions will lead you in the right directions of finding your first client. What are you waiting for?

Ever said those words? If not, don’t bother reading the rest. This post is for creative thinkers.

Hey fellow dreamer, how do you determine if your idea is one worth pursuing?

Photo Credit Sierra Jewell

Research.

Most people take the first they have and run with it before even testing it. They jump on the Internet and start purchasing logos, business cards, websites, etc. only to find out later how horrible their ideas is. After investing in the unimportant things they learn that no one is even interested in paying for their product or service.

So how do you validate an idea?

Firstly, write it down. Often times an idea sounds amazing in your head but if you can’t convey it in written words your idea needs more development.

Don’t stop at just one idea. This is important. Write down as many ideas as you can think of. Try taking 20-30 minutes to just jot down ideas. Even if you initially think they are bad or dumb just write it down, we’ll cancel out the bad ones later. It might not be a bad as you think. The more ideas the better. You don’t want to have all your eggs in one basket.

Next, ask questions. Ask yourself and especially others why your idea will fail. This way you identify the “holes” in your idea. I know what you’re thinking… share my idea? No way! What if someone steals it!! The odds of that happening are slim to none. Whenever you have an idea no matter how unique, assume 100 other people have that same idea. Your task is to make yours come to life. Truth is, many people have many ideas but most are too lazy to actually act on an idea. So don’t worry.

Define your market. Who would pay? Answering that question determines who you are targeting. Be specific. People pay for specialists not generalists. You can’t appeal to everyone. Think about it like this, if you had a knee problem would you visit a general physician or would you visit a knee doctor? Treat your idea the same way. Niche your market.

Next determine if that audience is WILLING and ABLE to pay.

Examples:
1. Your service: Violin Lessons for children
Who would pay? Parents of driven children
Willing? Yes! They want their children to be well-rounded and get into a great college so they are willing to invest in music lessons
Able? Yes.

2. Your service: Dating counselor for introverted college students
Who would pay? Timid Timmy’s
Willing? Yes. He wants to date Sarah, the hottie from his History class
Able? No. College students usually have little to no extra spending money.

3. Your service: Social media consulting for Physicians
Who would pay? Physicians
Able? Yes! Every doctor I know has a lot of extra spending money.
Willing? No. Physicians don’t care about social media.

Once you have complete these small tests, you have just validated a good idea. Congrats! Now get your first client

Setting goals is not only important in your personal life but also for the life of your business or organization. In the book Understanding and Managing Organizational Behavior by Jennifer M. George and Gareth R. Jones they share the four functions of management to increase the effectiveness of a business or organization: Planning, Organizing, Leading, and Controlling.

This post will focus solely on the first factor– planning. Proper planning is the first step to increasing the chance of success in any endeavor and the foundation for managing businesses or organizations. There are two major steps in planning. First, you must decide on the goals of your business or organization and secondly, distribute and use resources or tools to get accomplish those goals.

Sounds simple; however, planning is no easy task. The process requires developing strategies and making decisions that will affect the performance and success of the business or organization. Planning is not a one time exercise and might need to be altered depending on external factors that arrive during the implementation of the strategies you come up with. Don’t fear change, instead learn to adapt to circumstances in order to make progress.

A good way to start the planning process is to complete a SWOT analysis which highlights the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats of your business or organizations. The SWOT analysis should include focused and practical elements. Upon completion, you should have a good idea of what you want your business or organization to accomplish and how it could improve.

Now that you know the first step, starting planning now!

Photo Credit: http://developyourtalent.blogspot.com/

“The only limits on what you can do, have, and be,
are the limits you accept on your abilities and own potential.”
-Brian Tracy

Tracy, known for his expertise on the development of human potential and personal effectiveness argues that in order to change the outside you, you must first change the inside and teaches four powerful mental laws to help you do just that.

1. law of belief
whatever you believe with feeling becomes your reality

2. law of expectations
whatever you expect with confidence becomes our own self-fulfilling prophecy

3. law of attraction
you are a living magnet and you attract people and circumstances in your life that harmonize with your dominant thoughts

4. law of correspondence
outer world is a reflection of your inner world; wherever you go, there you are

These four laws affect our perception of reality, the way we behave, and the decisions we make. It’s easy for us to imagine excuses and prevent ourselves from reaching our highest potential. Remember obstacles only exist in your mind.

If you don’t believe in yourself, why should others?

With that being said, think BIG, keep your thoughts positive, surround yourself with positive people, do better than you did yesterday and you’re bound to reach great heights.

Photo Credit Sierra Jewell

Do you find yourself saying “I’m going to…”

exercise more…
learn a new language…
start this new business venture…
eat healthier…
etc…

but never do?

You’re not alone, that’s most people.

There’s power in words, but there’s more power in written words. If you really want to accomplish something, write it down. Writing is the most important step in goal setting because it allows you to focus in on that goal and it serves as a way of holding yourself accountable.

Simply writing “I want to _________” (fills blank with activity) is NOT goal setting. There’s a formula to it. Here’s a checklist of factors that should be in every goal you write down.

1. A purpose

Know why you want to accomplish this goal. If there’s no passion or point behind it, you’re less likely to fulfill it.

2. A date

Add a month and year to your goal, this keeps you accountable.

3. Must be measurable

If your goal isn’t measurable, it isn’t a goal.

4. Must be clear and concise

How can you accomplish a goal if you don’t know what you’re striving for? That’s like getting inside your car and just driving. Getting to any destination requires direction. Your goal should be straight to the point, try keeping it under 15 words.

5. Identify the obstacles

Goal don’t come easy, anticipate any road blocks so that you can prepare for them.

6. Find out what you need to know

Learn what you need to learn so that you can do what you need to do.

7. Plan of action

Develop a plan and start doing. Writing is just the beginning, without action it’s just words.

You’re all set. Now grab a journal and start writing! Share your goals by leaving a comment.

–Cupcake