People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.

Posted on May 29, 2011 by Stacy

One of my favorite blogs, ArtBizBlog, by Alyson B. Stansfield is focused on the business of being an artist. She has “Deep Thought Thursdays” and this week’s blog post really spoke to me.

Alyson posted a video by Simon Sinek that got me thinking. I’ve been redesigning a “shelf-talker” for my notecard sales over and over in an attempt to relate to the viewer of my art on a deeper, more personal level. Trying to find a way to really connect and have them see me as the individual who created the art and where this creative expression came from. This video is key to answering those communication issues. After watching Simon, I believe his analysis of various business approaches is dead on, and can apply to all small business owners.

Watch the video and see if you can incorporate the concepts into your marketing. I’m betting that if done right, the viewer will be engaged, relate and understand…and then make a purchase based on a personal, shared connection, rather than only based on your skill and creativity alone. Think “why you do what you do”. Believe what you believe and others will too. So much more meaning and personal value to all—this is my goal. And I believe inplementing this with text and images on each small business web site will lead to sales based on that personal connection.

Art Marketing 101: Creative Portfolios

Posted on February 19, 2011 by Stacy

I’ve been talking and working with Erica Allison, owner of Allison Development Group.

They are a PR/Marketing firm working with small business owners, entrepreneurs, artists, chefs and people who have a great story to tell. I’m very impressed with the work Erica has done for her wide variety of clients and she is opening my eyes to new possiblities. We’ve been discussing a strategic PR and Marketing Plan for my art. I’m launching my fine art and she is kick-starting my brain to think as creatively as my paintings. I’m discovering ideas for the fine art cross-over to marketing my web design business.

I have to admit, even though I’m outgoing and talkative, I have a very hard time calling, pitching, selling and closing the deal. It’s not a matter of confidence in the quality of my work—it’s about little experience in what to say. Most of my web design clients are referred by previous clients. However, Erica sparked my interest and I came up with one way to share my work without the stress factor.

You know how much I love Moo.com. I took their products and tailored a marketing idea to help share my work with others. It’s shows my work and is a fun “leave behind” for prospective galleries and boutiques.

First, I designed a business card to coordinate with my other website, MtnArtist.com, and my fine art work. On the back, I put a place for my name, the title of the work, the medium and price. This information is necessary for juried shows, galleries or boutiques. The card can be attached to the art work—double duty out of one card!

Next is the fun part. I created a set of 5 “MiniCards” (tiny versions of a business card). Each MiniCard has a different photo of my art, so people can see a micro-portfolio. On the back of each Mini-Card is a favorite art quote (just for fun) and more contact info. All are tied together with rustic twine and a colorful bead. This micro-portfolio could be used for a tremendous variety of businesses and markets, not just fine art.

So far, feedback has been fantastic. Soon we will see if the results are as great!

Hello, E-commerce Meet…Social Networking & Appointment Scheduling

Posted on February 7, 2011 by Stacy

Wow! It’s been awhile since I’ve blogged.

Stacy Vanden Heuvel

But that is OK because I’ve been busy with family, web design (just finished The Oaks Bed and Breakfast) and launching my encaustic and mixed media art at MtnArtist.com.

More fine art has been entering my blog. The most interesting part is that the articles geared to small business are extremely relevant to the independent artist. I’ve been working on new small business e-commerce solutions and wanted to show you some of the other wonderful programs you can take advantage of.

Here is a list of “Ten Programs You Need to Check Out” to make your precious time more effective and efficient:

Adobe ConnectNow—Start web conferencing with one click. Share your screen. See the participants. Use a whiteboard, chat, and share notes. It’s almost like being there.
FreshBooks Online Invoicing—Focus on what you love to do by using this easy program to send email (or snail mail) estimates, invoices, accept payments online and it integrates with Quickbooks and lots of other software programs.
Mail Chimp Email Marketing—Email marketing that integrates with your social networking …and you can have a FREE account.
MatCutter.com—You create the art, they’ll cut the mats. Easy to navigate site for all artists who want to present their work in a very professional way.
Moo.com Creative Print—When they say ‘we love to print’, they really mean it. The most creative solutions for business cards, postcards and stickers. Especially for people who think outside the box (or for people who wish they did.)
Screenr.com Screencasts—You can create web-based screencasts (no software to download), embed them on your site, post them to YouTube and more. (I’ve got one on MtnWebs.com for my clients, “WordPress Intro Screencast“. Getting ready to add one to MtnArtist.com about my work.
Setster—Amazing! Innovative calendar not only converts web traffic to appointments 24 hours a day, it accepts payments and promotes your services over every social media outlet. Just set your available hours and let site visitors/clients schedule appointments. *see below
Skype Video Calls and IM—In addition to instant messaging, I have it set up so my work number actually calls Skype on my computer. There is an email notification if you miss a call, voicemail, call forwarding and the ability to create a contact list.
Wise Stamp Email Signatures—No one listens to me on this one, but it’s fantastic. WiseStamp Email Appsenable users to bring functionality in every email they send. Check out the Apps gallery where you’ll find 14 social, fun and serious apps. Send all your social networking and even an rss feed of your blog through your email!
Wufoo Online Form Builder—Not just any contact form for you! The form builder helps you create contact forms, online surveys, and invitations so you can collect the data, registrations and even online payments you need without writing a single line of code.

Many of these innovative small business solutions integrate with one another so you can import or export contacts to target new contacts or retain current clients.

I use EVERY ONE of these fantastic business solutions on my web design site, my fine art site or website’s that I design for clients. So, they have been personally tested and I only have rave reviews to report.

I’d also like to introduce you to a wonderful blog: ArtBizBlog: For the Business of Being an Artist by Alyson B. Stanfield. She’s got tons of great posts about the business side of art. Check out this one: 5 minute Self-Promotion Tasks. Great for anyone that gets totally overwhelmed and says “I just don’t have the time to deal with that Twitter thing.” Again, her blogs apply not only to artists but almost all small business owners.

*Psst…Hey, have you noticed the red button on our web page? Have you seen what happens when you click on it? Give it a try! We’ll have to warn you though, you may be in for a surprise! It’s my time wrapped up in a great package and presented to you for your ease and convenience to get a hold of me anytime. Give it a Setster a try

Web Design and the Geek Sensibility

Posted on December 21, 2010 by Stacy

It takes a special combination of computer geek sensibility and creative ability to be a web designer, web developer or graphic designer these days. In fact, there’s an article on a new website to be launched in February by Dave Abrams, TheMarySue.com, targeting the widely underserved: female geeks.

“TheMarySue.com will feature content on topics such as video games, comics and women in technology, and will be curated from a female geek perspective.
“A lot of it is going to be, ‘here are the cool things on the Internet,’ but it’s from the sensibility of women who are really knowledgeable about the tech and geek world,” MSNBC’s Abrams said in a phone interview.

OK…I’m NOT on board with this. Video games and comics? Come on.

Code and technical know-how as well as combining color, symmetry and balance on using cutting edge software are what it takes to be a great web developer or website designer. The ability to communicate while helping the viewer navigate the website is the end goal of every graphic element. Whether it is a male or female web developer does not factor in. While I appreciate the effort to provide the latest geek information for the nerdy requirements of my profession, I object to the rest of their perspective on the subject of female geeks.

Susana Polo (obviously a female) will be editor of TheMarySue.com. She has said she’s excited about carving out a new space for women on the Web. However, I see her as taking us a step backwards.

“One of the things you want to do as a girl geek is you just want to play with the boys; you want to be part of that culture,” said Polo, who currently writes for Geekosystem. “I think there’s value in having our own space.”
“She explained by phone that the name of the site is an ironic twist on the Mary Sue character in fan fiction. A Mary Sue is typically a beautiful female character who represents a standard of perfection that’s impossible to live up to.”

If that is not the most condescending, ridiculous statement toward female web designers, I don’t know what is. Ugh, the images of perfection girls are fed, even in jest. While I embrace my female geek sensibility, I do not feel excluded from any aspect of gathering design information, participating in web forums, or the geek community in general. Being a female in a male environment can be a plus and fascinating, as well.

Hopefully, as the vision for TheMarySue.com develops, it will become a valuable hub and community for techy women, nerdy web designers, geeky developers and more. One that contributes to a tech knowledge base as a whole and not devalue the role of us female geeks in an unintended, “humorous” way. I’m also interested in how much they comment on social networking and women in technology (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) in relation to the web and tech world.

I’d like to share the artistic side of this female tech geek. Here is a sample of some of my latest fine art. They are created with encaustic wax, acrylic paint, ink, Japanese paper and a few other things. Who knows— hopefully you may see them around Hendersonville or Asheville some day. Enjoy.

[portfolio_slideshow]

Fine Art and Web Design Inspiration

Posted on November 7, 2010 by Stacy

Took a break from MtnWebs, web design projects and WordPress (a rare occurrence). We went to the National Gallery of Art in DCand saw works by Renior, Picasso, Monet, Rodin (my favorite), Cassatt, Van Gogh, Degas and more. Also, walked through the Sculpture Garden and saw a Calder and Lichtenstein. It was breathtaking and I’m so glad my sons got to see the paintings and sculpture in person.

All media are inspirations for web design. Encaustic painting is my newest artistic endeavor. I have a Bachelor of Fine Art from Auburn University, but did not learn encaustic painting while there. It could be explained as painting with heated wax, yet the creative possibilities are endless. You can include unique Japanese paper, image transfers, text, texture and any mixed media you can come up with. Encaustic involves a good sense of design and a huge sense adventure. Can’t wait to get started!

Visit Encaustic Art

Two illustrators that are inspiring to me are James Noel Smith and Laura Coyle (who is also an amazing Jazz singer). They have very different techniques—individualism expressed through visual art. Check them out. Some of my other inspirations are: Savion Glover, Auguste Rodin, Édouard Vuillard, Vincent van Gogh, Daylilies, Isadora Duncan, W. H. Auden, Maya Angelou, Yo-Yo Ma, Donnie Hathaway, Stevie Wonder and Calexico.

Also, be sure to watch this following video, Boy with a Coin.” Stunning…

Why WordPress CMS is the new Platform of Choice

Posted on July 21, 2010 by Stacy

I ran across a post on Squidoo by Mark at Pixelrage.net called WordPress CMS Using WP as a Website Builder. His blog has an incredible amount of valuable web info that will clarify the benefits of WordPress CMS vs. other options. Following are excerpts from a post of his. I condensed/edited it to fit my small business client’s interests…and, of course, I included a humorous video at the end, just because. So, here’s to you Mark.

Who would have known the most popular blogging platform would become the best Content Management System (CMS)? WordPress CMS is quickly taking the place of cumbersome ineffective CMS.

A WordPress CMS Mission Statement

“To replace my ineffective, sluggish, outdated, unreliable Content Management System with WordPress CMS.” But, why?

You may have a Content Management System like Joomla—which is great if you have to manage a LARGE site or need particular functionality. But I’ve discovered that most of my small business clients do not have oodles of time to learn how to be a developer, learn how to program or tweak code.

The best solution is WordPress CMS. It’s NOT a blogging platform. It’s a Web 2.0 CMS. Here’s why—super stable & bug-free framework and admin panel made for “those less comfortable on the computer”— potential for extreme greatness!

WordPress CMS: It Has What You Want from a Content Management System!

Think about all of the things you want out of a CMS:
It works: It’s always nice to know that your website won’t unexpectedly disappear for no apparent reason.
Easy to use: It’s easy enough for the beginner, and robust enough for the hardcore website modifier. You don’t need an IT degree to use it!
Cost effective: WordPress CMS is open-source, with themes and plugins galore, to make your web site unique and stand-out among the crowd.
Quick Loading: WordPress is as clean as a whistle, in terms of its hard coding. Only the necessities are in its framework. You have a site that puts minimal strain on your server, no matter how big your site gets!
Search engine friendly: You get to choose how your URL’s look – name your categories and pages accordingly, and benefit as search engines reward you for doing so! Laugh as your competitors suffer with their CMS’s dynamic URL structure. Link your pages together with tags, and you have an advanced internal linking hierarchy in place.
Modern-day technology: Enjoy your out-of-the-box RSS feed capabilities and get your site integrated with Feedburner.com, so that your visitors can keep coming back for more, in style. Make things easier to find with built-in tags and categories capabilities.
It gets updated: Unlike other development teams that take months (or more than a year!) to update their software, WordPress is updated regularly. Bugs and vulnerabilities take extreme precedence and are patched up immediately.
Expandable [for the future]: WordPress isn’t going anywhere…except upward! It’s the most “safe” platform you can choose, as its developers are not a bunch of kids working in some basement only to disappear someday, but an actual, reputable company with funding behind it. The forums are going strong, and you can get WordPress help on virtually any message board for webmasters or WordPressTV!

See ya’ll next time!

My brother was killed by a drunk driver 1 year ago—No web resources in my post today.

Posted on July 17, 2010 by Stacy

Brett and Jake at Skytop Apple Orchard, Hendersonville

Brett D. Johnson • 3/18/72-7/17/09

My brother was killed by a drunk driver 1 year ago today. No small business web resources or anything about websites or entrepreneurship in my blog post today, sorry. But I’d be greatly honored if you read my dedication to him…

This was the year of the firsts. It seems like there was a big first about every 3 months: the first Christmas without Brett, his birthday, Amy and his wedding anniversary. And then there are the small, daily firsts, like “Brett would really love the stars out tonight.” On every first, I was silent and listened until something came to me that brought peace, soothing the confusion and pain.

Of course, the first anniversary of his death upset me the most and I’ve been crying for a month. I now realize God has been sending me quiet embraces—guiding me each time to a heartfelt solution.

Brett and I both loved nature and belonged outside, in the woods.

My favorite memory of us as children is sitting with our feet in the creek under the dogwood tree in our back yard. Filling up buckets of water, building dams with rocks, and catching salamanders under the shade of green leaves. He was a kind and gentle boy who became a kind and thoughtful man—he appreciated all of nature’s gifts.

: Cooling my feet in a stream today

: Stones we added to the place dedicated to Brett behind me

: Thinking about childhood memories

: Greg at the stones

Today I sent Brett a message in a bottle. Not in the ocean or a river—I placed it in the ground of a majestic place Greg and I love to hike and climb. Greg and I stacked stones on top like people at Mt. Everest do to honor their loved ones who have died. Other climbers (that I had never met) added stones and offered to place more in honor of Brett every time they hike there. Grief is universal.

Since the message is at the base of a granite mountain, Greg says it is now a 250 ft. monument to my brother. That really made me smile…classic Greg thought. In my message to Brett, I included a poem expressing raw sadness at the loss of a love. I guess I just want Brett to know he is missed and always will be so loved.

Funeral Blues by W. H. Auden (1907-1973)

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone.
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.
Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling in the sky the message He is Dead,
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policeman wear black cotton gloves.
He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever, I was wrong.
The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun.
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood;
For nothing now can ever come to any good.

Will we ever understand why he was killed? I don’t think so. But I do know he was my brother and I love him and that is forever. If you have gone through anything like this, my heart goes out to you, no matter who or where you are. If you drink and drive…stop. A good man has been killed and I lost my only sibling.

After all this has been said, I believe there will be the peace of his presence every time we add a new stone to our special place in the forest.

How Google’s Keyword Tool Can Point You Toward Profits by Entrepreneur.com

Posted on July 13, 2010 by Stacy

: Image via CrunchBase

How Google’s Keyword Tool Can Point You Toward Profits - Entrepreneur.com.

Great article I wanted to pass along to give small business owners more information for their website search engine optimization —SEO.

Death of the 5-Page Website – creating a small business website – Entrepreneur.com

Posted on June 11, 2010 by Stacy

Death of the 5-Page Website – creating a small business website – Entrepreneur.com.

Great article on small business web sites. On how a business owner should invest in Function, Not Pages—and how a CMS (Content Management System) gives you the flexibility to do just that.

Blogging About Small Business

Posted on June 9, 2010 by Stacy

First, I have to share this stunning video The Honorary Title-”Stay Away” from the album “Scream and Light Up the Sky”. Love the visuals and expression. Love the message and the song—I’m kinda spell-bound.

Now on to the web and small business topic I intended to talk about. Found an article on the Chromatic blog called:

9 Reasons Blogs are Great for SEO

They go on to say…

“While blogging is not the answer for all websites, it can greatly benefit the majority of sites and businesses regardless of industry. If your website struggles to have the impact for your business that you would like it to have, take a look at what a blog can do for your website’s search engine optimization (SEO).”

They are absolutely on target with their 9 reasons. I hope all my clients read this article because it’s great information to consider now or to file away for a little later. I strongly encourage blogs, but have not been as successful and convincing as I’d like to be—to impress the possibilities of a blog for any industry. Why not establish yourself as a great source of information and share what leads to success? All while improving your web site’s SEO and making the Search Engine’s happy with fresh content. This eloquent article covers all the points and I will be passing along this indispensable link. Chromatic knows what they are blogging about.

Buzzword Bingo!

Posted on June 1, 2010 by Stacy

: Image via CrunchBase

Moo.com, is a really creative company that produces print products such as business cards and postcards. I just ordered more business cards from them (they call them greetings for meetings) made with 100% recycled and recyclable paper. I love them and highly recommend them to all clients and friends. They have some great resources and ideas for small businesses.

Every Moo business card order comes in a recycled brown box with a “Buzzword Bingo” card. It has 12 terms such as “facetime”, “mission critical”, “paradigm shift”, “blue sky”, “synergistic”, and the high scoring magic word…”monetize!”

According to Moo, the idea is to take the card to your next meeting and tick off each buzzword as you hear it. When the magic “monetize!” word is heard, shout “awesome!” and high-five your closest colleague or client.

If, by chance, none of these words are mentioned, Moo says to please accept their hearty congratulations. “It sounds like the company you’ve been working for is all about blue sky thinking—which is a real paradigm shift…” I’m pretty sure Dilbert plays Buzzword Bingo, too.

Hilarious video, but a little PG-13:

Affordable web sites for small businesses